Sunday, August 31, 2014

Chobani Indulgent Greek Yogurt

I recently wrote a blog post about Chobani Greek Yogurt Oats, a great new product that I have been eating before I work out in the morning.  For about a week, Chobani's banana maple Greek yogurt with gluten free steel cut oats held the top spot for me when it comes to yogurt.  Then I tried Chobani's new Indulgent Banana & Dark Chocolate Greek Yogurt.  Oh my goodness, where has this yogurt been all of my life?!?  


I spotted this 4-pack of yogurt at my local Walmart Neighborhood Market.  They also carry the mint & dark chocolate, but not the raspberry & dark chocolate, which I would love to try.  


I have always been a huge fan of yogurt made with whole milk, and I love banana yogurt, but I wasn't sure about the dark chocolate part.  I am admittedly a milk chocolate girl, but this yogurt is creamy, has a natural banana taste, unlike so many other brands, and I loved it in combination with the dark chocolate.  One of my first thoughts was that it was so good, I would even enjoy it for dessert.  Well, it turns out that Chobani created this yogurt line as its first dessert product.  


Chobani Indulgent Banana & Dark Chocolate Greek Yogurt is certified gluten free and kosher, contains three types of probiotics, is made with milk from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones, and has no artificial flavors & sweeteners, or preservatives.  Each cup of yogurt is 140 calories, and contains 7 grams of protein.  It might be a dessert product, but I love eating it for breakfast, because it gives me enough energy to exercise for an hour and a half in the morning.  I have also been enjoying it as a lunch treat.

You can read more about Chobani's new Indulgent Greek Yogurt on their website here

September 4, 2014 Update 



Last weekend, I purchased Chobani Indulgent Raspberry & Dark Chocolate Greek Yogurt from The Fresh Market.  My local store on North Mills Avenue carries all three varieties of Chobani Indulgent.  The raspberry seemed a little thicker than the banana, which I really liked, and it was delightfully creamy.  The banana and dark chocolate is still my favorite, but they are both great.  I have also found all three varieties of Chobani Indulgent at my local Target.  


Have you tried Chobani Indulgent Greek Yogurt?  What is your favorite flavor?



Friday, August 29, 2014

Trail's End Restaurant Lunch - Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort

This afternoon, I had lunch at Trail's End Restaurant at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort with Kathryn, a fellow celiac.


Today was a quiet day at Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground, which didn't surprise me, because by Labor Day weekend, the summer crowds are gone.  


Chef Michael went over the menu with us, and I was surprised at how many gluten free options were available.  For an appetizer, we could order the soup of beans & greens (minus the croutons), mixed greens salad, grilled romaine hearts (minus the croutons), house-made cornbread (gluten free version), and a gluten free version of the smoked cheese-stuffed jalapeno could be made for us as well.  


Because of recommendations from my blog readers, I ordered the gluten free cornbread with local orange blossom honey-butter.  I was so excited to dig in, I forgot to take a picture of my untouched cornbread!  The gluten free cornbread at Trail's End is the same amazing cornbread with honey butter that they serve at the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue next door.  


For an entree, our choices included: fresh berries with grilled chicken breast salad (minus the blue cheese), roasted vegetable or BLT flatbread (made with Udi's pizza crust), a barbecue pulled pork sandwich or the angus chuck cheeseburger with a gluten free bun, chicken and waffles made with grilled chicken and gluten free waffles, or spicy shrimp and grits.  


I love shrimp and grits, and they were recommended by Chef Michael, so my choice was easy.  The naturally gluten free shrimp and grits at Trail's End Restaurant is served with Andouille sausage and red-eye gravy.  There were no worries about the red-eye gravy, because it is made from pork pan drippings and coffee.  I really loved all the flavors in this dish, but my grits were too runny.  I want grits to be thick enough that they don't run through my fork.  The shrimp and sausage were great, and I enjoyed what appeared to be pearl onions in this dish.  


I was tempted to get the Angus Chuck Cheeseburger with candied bacon and hickory-smoked sharp cheddar, because I have a serious weakness for bacon, but I ended up just getting some on the side.  It was nice and sweet from the brown sugar, but also had a spicy kick from the cayenne pepper.  


Kathryn did choose the burger with house fries, which she said were very good.  Chef Michael did mention that they had a dedicated fryer for the fries.  When my friend Sarah from Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free at WDW went to Trail's End last November, the house fries were a mix of sweet potato and regular fries.  


Lunch is a la carte, but for breakfast and dinner, Trail's End serves up American favorites at an all-you-care-to-enjoy buffet.

None of the dessert options on the lunch menu are gluten free, but Chef Michael said they had OMG...It's Gluten Free Fudge Brownies, or he could make us some sort of ice cream sundae.  I decided to pass on dessert after eating that huge piece of delicious corn bread.

The next time I dine at Trail's End for lunch, I would like to order the the gluten free version of the chicken and waffles, which is served with warm buttered rosemary-maple syrup.

You can view Trail's End Restaurant's breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus, and make advance dining reservations on Disney's website here.

What are your favorite gluten free dishes at Trail's End?


Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Olivia's Cafe Breakfast - Disney's Old Key West Resort

This morning, I had breakfast at Olivia's Cafe at Disney's Old Key West Resort with Jennifer, a fellow celiac.  


After reading my friend Sarah's review of Olivia's Cafe on her blog Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free at WDW, I knew I wanted to order the Poached Eggs and Hash.  


The Poached Eggs and Hash is described as poached eggs served over sweet potato hash, topped with Key West hollandaise, and served with a buttermilk biscuit.  Obviously, the buttermilk biscuit was off limits, so I asked Chef Julie if I could have gluten free Mickey waffles instead.  


I love poached eggs over hash, so I was very excited to try this dish.  The sweet potato hash at Olivia's was very good.  I enjoyed the combination of sweet potatoes, white potatoes, onion, and ham.  Jennifer ordered the same dish that I did, and ate all of her hollandaise, but I enjoyed the combination of eggs and hash without it.  


The gluten free Mickey waffles at Olivia's are made with Bob's Red Mill, which isn't my favorite mix, but they were good.  I prefer when Disney restaurants use a mix of Namaste and Bob's Red Mill, or use Cup4Cup Pancake & Waffle Mix.  You can view my list of my favorite restaurants for Disney-themed waffles here


Olivia's Cafe is open for breakfast until 10:30, then reopens for lunch at 11:30, serving an all-day menu until closing time.  You can read my lunch review of Olivia's here.  We loved their shrimp & grits, and the flourless chocolate cake.

You can view Olivia's breakfast and lunch/dinner menus, and make advance dining reservations on Disney's website here.

What are your favorite gluten free dishes at Olivia's Cafe?


Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory Dinner - Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter

On Saturday, we stopped at Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory at Disney's Port Orleans Resort for dessert, but ended up sampling one of their new dinner offerings while we were there.  


Sassagoula is a Mardi Gras themed quick service restaurant located at Port Orleans Resort - French Quarter. 


Some new menu items include the barbecued pork baked potato, the chili & cheese baked potato, and a baked potato with broccoli, cheddar & bacon.  The chili & cheese potato was off limits, but the other two are gluten free.  


Because of our big lunch at the ABC Commissary at Hollywood Studios, we decided to split a barbecued pork baked potato with cheese baked on top, then eat some gluten free beignets for dessert.  All five of us dove in and quickly devoured the potato, which we all enjoyed.  After this meal, my girls asked me to make my Chicken , Bacon & Cheese Stuffed Potatoes sometime soon.  


The gluten free beignets were amazing!  My husband doesn't even order the gluten-filled ones anymore.  He loves the gluten free ones as much as the kids and I do.  The beignets are gluten, dairy, egg, and soy free, and require no advance notice to prepare.  Just tell the cast member at the beignet counter that you would like to order gluten free beignets, and they will find a chef for you.  Thankfully, the beignets are served all day, so you can enjoy them anytime Sassagoula is open.  You can read my blog post about the beignets at Sassagoula here.

June 10, 2015 Update

Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory has adopted a new allergy-friendly menu.  You can view the gluten free options on this menu in my blog post about Disney's Port Orleans Resort Allergy-Friendly Menus.

You can view the hours for Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory, and their breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus on Disney's website here.

What are your favorite gluten free dishes at Sassagoula?


Sunday, August 24, 2014

ABC Commissary - Disney's Hollywood Studios

Yesterday, we had a lunch at the ABC Commissary at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  Because of a terrible meal we had there probably 10 years ago, we did not dine at the ABC Commissary for a long time, but the food has improved significantly, and we all enjoyed our lunch.  


The ABC Commissary, a quick service restaurant, has seven different gluten free entrees to choose from.  


I ordered my favorite gluten free chicken tenders and french fries.  The chicken tenders are not only gluten free, but they are also free of dairy, soy, and egg.  My friend Sarah from Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free at WDW has a list of allergy friendly chicken tenders locations on her blog.  You can view it here.   


This is probably the third time I have ordered this meal at the ABC Commissary, and the fries and chicken are always cooked perfectly.  


As far as gluten free treats go, the ABC Commissary has Enjoy Life Chocolate Chip Cookies and OMG...It's Gluten Free Fudge Brownies.  We just had one of the amazing OMG brownies last weekend, so I ordered a package of the crunchy chocolate chip cookies to share with my family.  The cookies are free of gluten, wheat, dairy, casein, egg, soy, peanuts/tree nuts, sulphites, sesame, fish, shellfish, and potato.  They are not my favorite gluten free chocolate chip cookies, but everyone seemed to enjoy them.  


The theming of the ABC Commissary is Art Deco, featuring film and TV posters from the past and present.  


My daughter Emma tried to block me from taking a picture of one of the many palm trees scattered throughout the restaurant.  For some reason, people kept walking by and shaking this tree, and I could just imagine all the dust flying around in the air because of that.  


November 4, 2015 Update


The allergy-friendly menu for the ABC Commissary lists the following gluten free options:

Entrees - chicken club sandwich, 1/3 lb fresh Angus bacon cheeseburger, 1/3 lb fresh Angus cheeseburger, or chicken tenders served with apple slices, steamed broccoli, or french fries; Asian salad served with chicken or salmon, cabbage, carrots, edamame beans, oil and vinegar dressing; 6 oz strip steak served with steamed broccoli and french fries; roasted salmon served with steamed broccoli and french fries

Kids' Meals (include choice of small lowfat milk or small Dasani water) - cheeseburger or chicken tenders served with carrot sticks and applesauce (french fries available upon request)

Desserts - brownie, chocolate chip cookie, chocolate mousse


Earlier this week, I had the roasted salmon with steamed broccoli and french fries for lunch.  Everything was cooked perfectly, and the salmon tasted fresh, but I had to add a little salt to the salmon and broccoli, because they were underseasoned for my taste.  Overall, I enjoyed my meal, and would order it again.


The last time I visited the ABC Commissary, I tried the chocolate mousse, which my whole family enjoyed.  It is nice to have a gluten free dessert options beyond the allergy-friendly brownies and chocolate chip cookies at a quick service restaurant.

You can read more about the ABC Commissary, and view their menu and hours on Disney's website here.

What are your favorite gluten free dishes at the ABC Commissary?



Saturday, August 23, 2014

Williams-Sonoma Gluten-Free Spiced Apple Cider Quick Bread Mix

Yesterday, my order of Gluten-Free Spiced Apple Cider Quick Bread Mix arrived from Williams-Sonoma, so I decided to make it for breakfast this morning.  


The directions were pretty simple.  I melted a stick of unsalted butter, let it cool, then combined it with 3 large eggs, the quick bread mix, and 3/4 of a cup of water.  I stirred the batter well, poured it in my loaf pan, which I greased with butter, then baked it in a 350 degree oven.  


Because my Polish Pottery loaf pan was a little larger than the one recommended in the directions for the mix, I cut the suggested baking time from 60 minutes to 55 minutes.


I let my quick bread sit for 10 minutes before taking it out of the loaf pan.  


I cut my spiced apple cider quick bread while it was still warm, and served it with some butter.  My whole family loved it, even my daughters, who can be quite picky about breakfast.  The bread was moist and flavorful, and reminded me of fall, a season I desperately miss now that I live in Florida.  


Williams-Sonoma Gluten-Free Spiced Apple Cider Quick Bread Mix is made with Cup4Cup flour, which contains milk powder.  The package contains a warning that, "this product is prepared and packaged using machines that may come in contact with egg, wheat/gluten, soy, peanuts and tree nuts," but it is certified gluten free by the CSA, which means that it must test less than 5 ppm.  


You can read more about Williams-Sonoma Gluten-Free Spiced Apple Cider Quick Bread Mix, view the ingredients, and order it here.  It can also be purchased locally at the Williams-Sonoma stores in Winter Park and at the Mall at Millenia.

Williams-Sonoma also sells Gluten-Free Spiced Pecan Pumpkin Quick Bread Mix and Gluten-Free Lemon Quick Bread Mix.

November 9, 2014 Update



This morning, I used the apple cider quick bread mix to make 12 muffins.  I baked them for 25 minutes in a 350 degree oven, and they turned out great.

Update - I have also successfully used this cooking method to make muffins out of Williams-Sonoma gingerbread spice and sweet blueberry quick bread mixes.  I like that they cook quickly, and freeze well.

What are your favorite gluten free products at Williams-Sonoma?  


Margaritaville - Universal CityWalk

Last night, my daughters and I headed down to Universal CityWalk to have dinner at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.  


Our Universal annual passes expired about a year and a half ago, so we haven't been to CityWalk in a while.   Now that I know that parking is free for Florida residents after 6:00, I see an occasional Friday night dinner at CityWalk in our future.    



Friday, August 22, 2014

Chobani Greek Yogurt Oats

I was never a fan of yogurt until I discovered Greek yogurt a couple of years ago.  This week, I learned that Chobani has a new line of Greek yogurt with steel-cut oats, and not just any old steel-cut oats, but gluten free steel-cut oats.  At Publix, I was able to purchase all four of the new Chobani Greek Yogurt Oats.  


Yesterday, I bought the blueberry, cranberry, and banana maple, which I tried first.  


I could see the oats as soon as I opened my cup of yogurt.  They still had that wonderful chew that steel-cut oats have, and the banana yogurt was really delicious, and not artificial tasting like many banana yogurts.  Not being a huge fan of fruit on the bottom or non-fat yogurt, I was happy to see that all of Chobani Greek Yogurt Oats are blended low-fat yogurts.  I would have to say that the banana maple was one of the best yogurts I have ever had, so I was excited to try the other three flavors.  


Before I exercised this morning, I ate two containers of yogurt, which gave me all the energy I needed to power walk for an hour outside in the Orlando heat.  I enjoyed the blueberry, but as I ate the cranberry, I kept thinking it needed some orange zest.  At Thanksgiving, the cranberry relish I make contains an orange and Granny Smith apples, so I found myself wanting a little more depth of flavor in my cranberry yogurt.  Oddly enough, I also wanted it to be a little bit sweeter.  


Before I picked up my kids from school, I headed to Publix again to buy more banana maple and blueberry Chobani Greek Yogurt Oats, but I also picked up an apple cinnamon, even though I was convinced I wouldn't like it.  Well, I am really glad that I decided to try the apple cinnamon yogurt, because it was amazing!  I loved the combination of chewy steel-cut oats with chunks of apple, and a smooth blended yogurt with a wonderful taste of cinnamon.

Chobani Greek Yogurt Oats have 10 grams of protein, and 3 grams of dietary fiber.  They contain no artificial flavors or sweeteners, no preservatives, and are made with milk from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones.  They are certified gluten free and kosher, and contain three types of probiotics.

You can view nutritional information, ingredients, and read more about Chobani Greek Yogurt Oats on Chobani's website here.  

A huge thank you to Anna Sonnenberg from Gluten-Free Jet Set.  I wouldn't have even known these yogurt oats existed if I hadn't seen a picture she posted of the cranberry yogurt on Instagram.

Have you tried Chobani Greek Yogurt Oats?  What is your favorite flavor?



Pepperoni Bread

After seeing a recipe for Italian Sandwich Cupcakes with Provolone Cheese Icing on Keeley McGuire's blog, I knew I wanted to make pepperoni bread with Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix using the technique she did in her recipe.  When we lived in Pittsburgh, my husband used to love the gluten-filled pepperoni bread made at Labriola's Italian Market in our neighborhood, so I thought it might be fun to try and recreate their pepperoni bread on a smaller scale using Chebe Brazilian cheese bread.


For the bread component of my pepperoni rolls, I used Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix, which is free of gluten, soy, corn, rice, potato, yeast, and peanuts & tree nuts.  It is also grain free, non-GMO, and kosher certified.  I stuffed my pepperoni bread with pre-packaged Boar's Head pepperoni and provolone cheese, which are labeled gluten free.


I beat four large eggs in my largest bowl, then stirred in 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil and 2 cups of tightly packed Organic Valley Fancy Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese.  I added two boxes of Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix before finishing off my dough with 1/2 cup of water.  This is the same technique I use for making pizza dough with Chebe, which you can read more about here.  


I weighed my dough on my kitchen scale, and divided it into equal amounts for making 12 pepperoni breads.   Each dough ball ended up weighing about 83 grams.


I used about 2/3 (55 grams) of each dough ball to form a dough cup for each pepperoni bread in my muffin pan.  I used the rest of each dough ball to make a flat piece of dough to cover up the pepperoni and provolone filling.  


For the filling, I placed two pieces of pepperoni on a slice of provolone.  I folded the meat and cheese in half, before ripping it in two, so it would be easier to stuff in my dough cups.  


After 20 minutes in the oven, our pizza breads were ready to eat.  


You will know they are done when the top is nicely browned around the edges, and when you lift them out of the muffin pan, they are browned all the way around.  


Last night, I cut several pepperoni breads in half while they were still hot, but next time I might take them out of the muffin pan, and allow them to cool down to room temperature.  When the pepperoni bread is hot, pepperoni grease might ooze out of the bread when you cut it.  


Today, I had a leftover pepperoni bread for lunch.  I allowed it to sit on the counter for about 30 minutes before eating it, so it would warm up to room temperature.  It was just as delicious as it was last night, though it had a much different consistency.  


Pepperoni Bread with Chebe

Ingredients

2 boxes Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix
4 large eggs
1/4 C olive oil
2 C shredded cheese (sharp or hard cheeses work best)
1/2 C water
12 pieces of provolone
24 pieces of pepperoni

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and lightly grease a muffin pan with unsalted butter or cooking spray.

In a very large bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the oil and cheese.  Add both boxes of  Chebe, stirring well with a spoon. Drizzle the water over the bread mix, stir with a spoon as best as you can, then knead the dough until it's smooth.  Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, rolling them into small balls.

Lay two pieces of pepperoni on each piece of provolone in preparation for stuffing the pizza breads, then fold them in half. Take about 2/3 of each dough ball, and flatten them into a circle in your hands. They should be large enough to line the bottom and sides of your muffin cups when pressed inside of them.  Tear your folded pepperoni & cheese slices in half, then place them in your muffin cup.  Take the remaining smaller pieces of dough, and flatten each one into a circle large enough to cover each muffin cup.  Press them on top of your meat and cheese, making a good seal around the edges.

Bake the pepperoni breads for about 20 minutes, until the edges are nicely browned, and the sides looked browned when they are lifted out of the muffin cups.

Allow to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes on a plate before serving.

Store the leftovers in the refrigerator.

Recipe Notes

I buy my Chebe Original Cheese Bread Mix from amazon.com or from Chamberlin's in Winter Park.

This recipe could also be made with other Chebe dry mixes, like the all-purpose bread mix, pizza crust mix, breadstick mix, or focaccia mix.

This recipe was inspired by a Keeley McGuire recipe for Italian Sandwich Cupcakes with Provolone Icing.  You can view the recipe here.  You might also want to check out her recipe for Chebe Pizza Muffins.  Keeley has had success freezing her Chebe creations, which I will have to try in the future when I have enough leftovers.  Update - my pepperoni bread passed the freezer test with flying colors.  Take them out of the freezer, then defrost them one at a time for two minutes in the microwave.  They tasted just as good as they did on the first day I made them.