Pamela's Favorite Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread Mix

As a follow-up to my last post, I thought I would share a picture of my fresh loaf of bread, straight out of the bread machine. Oh, and by the way, that slice is history!!!

Now, I've made several loaves of bread in my Breadman since I got it as a Christmas present last year and I've never had any trouble. The loaves always come out perfect, just like today. However, today when the bread was done, I unplugged the machine, grabbed my pot holders and began to pull out the bread pan. It wouldn't budge. I tried again. Still not budging. I pulled the machine back in. Strange signs and half-numbers came up on the program screen. I tried again to get the pan out. No luck. I unplugged the machine again. Finally, after a couple of rounds like this, I was able to pull out the pan and remove the bread. I waited for the machine to cool and then plugged it in again. This time the numbers and words were normal on the screen. Strange! Something was definitely possessing my bread maker!

Gluten-Free Shopping Blowout

So, today was grocery shopping day. I decided that I was going to go to my local Health Foods Store, The Green Grocer, to get a good supply of GF foods. I was armed with a $5 off of $40 store coupon. Awesome! So, I ended up spending a total of $48.69 for the GF items pictured above. I bought: Perky O's Cereal $4.89 Panda Puffs Cereal $4.99 Koala Crisps Cereal $4.99 Bakery On Main GF Granola $6.99 Enjoy Life Caramel Apple Breakfast Bars $4.49 Pamela's GF Flour Mix $4.49 Pamela's GF Favorite Sandwich Bread Mix $6.19 Pamela's Chocolate Almond Biscotti $5.19 Foods By George Personal Size Cheese Pizza $7.19 (Not pictured, it's in the freezer) Enjoy Life Boom Choco Boom Dark Chocolate Bar $1.99 (Not pictured...OK, so I ate it on the way home) Silk Hazelnut Coffee Creamer $2.29 (Not pictured) I'm hoping that by stocking up on my GF foods and taking advantage of the store coupon, instead of running into the store every week to pick up a couple of things, I will save time and money in the end. Except for the chocolate bar, which is long gone...this stuff should last me several weeks...at least I hope so. I have the Bread Mix in my bread machine, baking as I'm writing this. I can't wait to have some warm, homemade bread tonight with our roasted chicken dinner. By the way, one little tip I've learned from making fresh GF bread and having it get "icky" in a couple of days on the counter...I cut the loaf into slices, eat what I want while it's fresh and warm, then individually wrap each slice in cling wrap, slide the slices into a freezer bag and put them in the freezer. Then when I want a slice, I grab it out of the bag and microwave it for around 15 seconds. Taa Daa! Warm, fresh bread, anytime you want! So, after stopping at the health food store, I went to on Walmart to do the rest of my shopping. I bought a jar of Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter. Man, is that stuff good! The bonus is that it states "Gluten-Free" right on the label! I had it with a sliced Macoun apple for lunch. This peanut butter boasts of all natural ingredients and at only 3 points for 2 tablespoons, if you are counting, it's a great way to get some protein and feed your chocolate craving as well. As always, I have marked the jar with a GF sticker to keep any stray knives out of it!

As a side note, I purchased the peanut butter at Walmart for $3.48. I noticed that on their website, it goes for $6. I guess I got a bargain without even realizing it, huh?

10 Years

Friday will be our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Wow. Ten years. I can hardly believe it. Seems like just yesterday when we were planning our special day and our life together. Our wedding was so wonderful... I know, all brides say that, but it really was spectacular. A full day at The Hall of Springs in Saratoga Springs, NY. It was a beautiful 70 degree day in October. There were still some colorful leaves on the trees on the grounds surrounding the Hall. Our first dance went smoothly. We had taken ballroom dancing lessons prior to our wedding and waltzed to our first song. Everything was great, the food, the music. Then there was our honeymoon at Sandals Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Hurricane Mitch had missed us by mere few miles. The weather was overcast, but steamy. We drank blue tropical drinks and ate nachos with cheese on the beach. I don't think I'd ever been so relaxed and don't think I have been since. That was the life. The view from our hotel room. My blue drink near the blue water. Oh, all the wonderful food. I sampled it all! (BCD...Before Celiac Disease diagnosis.) We've been through a lot in our ten years of marriage. Parenthood, two moves, three surgeries, loss of loved ones, job changes, weight changes, sickness and health, good times and bad. Through it all, we've had each other. For my husband...I know that you don't like to read my blog, because you say it's too depressing...well, this ones for you, Honey. I love you!