#2 on my list, Cook 15 new dishes (#5)

This is a sure fire winner! No one who has eaten this dish suspects that it's GF. Also, for those of you who know the Glovers, I've been told by 2 people so far that they like my Mac & Cheese better than Corey's. For those of you who don't know the Glover's, Corey is a cook by trade, so it's a compliment. Anyway, I've been procrastinating in posting this recipe. I made it while at home for Christmas, but I never wrote the recipe out and posted it.

The first time I made this dish, however, I was making it for an SPG get together that we were having. We had to come up with a dish for "family favorites". Basically recipes that were our family's favorite that we want to carry on a tradition with. Well, my family favorite was probably Pierogies while I was growing up. However, GF Pierogies are really expensive, and right now I don't have the time to work out the ratios of flour that I would need in order to make themfrom scratch. I was stumped for other reasons too, but that was the biggest one. So I decided to just make a recipe that thought would potentially make a good family dinner one day. Like I said, it was the first tim I had made it so my friends swere going to be total guinea pigs, but there were no complaints! The only thing, that I thought of afterward was that I should have put Kali's oven on warn so that the dish would be warmed when served, but other than that it was perfect. Even Chris, who is notorious for making a stink when eating anything GF, liked it. So obviously it fit into the "family favorite" category.

A couple of weeks ago I had my friend Sherri over for dinner and I made this for her. She's not a big fan for this dish, which I didn't know before hand, but I think I've sold her on it. She really liked it!!! I served it with a fresh veggie filled salad and homemade Italian dressing.

Tonight I made it for dinner, which will last me basically all week, except this time I wanted to try it with Pepper Jack cheese, and honestly I can't tell a difference. There's a slight bite to it, but it's not as spicy as I would like.

I don't really have a catchy name for this recipe yet, so if you can think of one let me know and I'll consider changing it.



Super Cheesy Mac & Cheese

Ingredients
2c. of GF penne or elbow pasta
8oz. of cheddar cheese

Sauce
3/4c. of milk
2 eggs
1 TBSP of corn or potato starch
3/4 tsp. of salt
4oz. of Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook pasta according to directions on the box. Rise and set aside.

3. This step is optional if you're shredding your cheese from a bar. I usually get mine from a bag. If your shredding your own cheese, this is where you'd want to do that. Shred 10oz. of cheese (put 2 aside for topping) and also shred the 4oz. of whatever Jack cheese you choose. You'll need it for step 4.

4. In a microwave bowl combine the sauce ingredients. Microwave in 20 second intervals until the cheese is melted and sauce is slightly thickened. The frequent stirring is needed so as to avoid any scrambled egg effect.

5. Combine the pasta, sauce, and the 8oz of cheddar cheese. Mix well and pur into an 8x8 casserole dish. If you want to use a 9x5 dish double the recipe.

6.Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. After the timer goes off uncover and put the 2oz. you set aside on top for more baking, then put back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes, until the top is a golden brown. Honestly I use more cheese then just the 2oz. I like my Mac & Cheese really cheesy. Hence the recipes current name. Then serve it hot. You won't be disappointed:)

#12 on my list, Learn 30 new words (#5)

Truth time . . . I listen to talk radio. We actually have a pretty good talk radio station here in WA KIRO 97.3. I don't agree with everything that the talk show hosts say all the time, but I think they have a fairly decent balance of both sides of an issue. Dori Munson always hits the nail on the head. Plus the afternoon drive time guys Ron & Don are hilarious and sometimes even later at night I can catch TBTL (To Beautiful To Live), which is basically a bunch of random musings by someone who thinks fairly highly of himself, he's also funny but in a more intellectual way and this is where I got my new word.

Ex·co·ri·ate

Pronunciation: ek-'skor-e-ate
Function: Verb
Date: 15th century

1. To tear or wear off the skin of; abrade.
2. To censure strongly; denounce

The way that the word was used was on the radio tonight was the second definition.

#19 on my list, Read 15 new books (#5)

I just finished my 5th book on my list. Gluten Free Girl by Shauna James Ahern. It's just after midnight, but I had to start writing before I forgot what I wanted to say about this book.

Originally when I was reading this book I started to feel like the author was a bit preachy with her specialty shops and organic oratories, for I too know the benefits of living in the majestic North West, but what I was really reacting to was the knowledge that I, and I alone, have not been taking the necessary steps to take care of my own self with celiacs disease. I do the best that I can with what I have, but knowing that there are other things that I should, or at least could, be doing to take better care of myself left me feeling irritated and frustrated with myself over the facts that I wasn't aware of, and should have been. Like root beer. I love root beer. Brown cows (root beer floats to the rest of you) are one of my favorites, and yet until tonight, while reading the very end of the book, I had no idea that the malt used to make the root beer contained gluten. How many times have I had root beer since being diagnosed 2 years ago? I don't even know. You see I don't have health insurance right now and so all of the research that I've done has been on my own, and nothing that I've read up until this point has ever mentioned anything like that!

Restaurants have been another on going issue for me. I'm always wary when going out with friends. My friends are great though (shout out for the girls), but as careful as I try to be, also because they watch me like hawks, I always feel apprehensive about the fork full of food that I put in my mouth, not knowing what it has been near. Even this past summer at the chain restaurant that my friends and I ate at, and even though the waitress we had did understand the disease and did her best to accommodate me, I still had to wonder about that first bite since I don't know what was going on in the kitchen. However, thanks to the authors husband, who cooks gluten free, I now have a new restaurant that I'll have to try, which, if I go, will probably be the only one that I'll attend for awhile. I say it like that since the menu looks a little pricey. So why do I got restaurants if I'm afraid to eat? Because I refuse to let that fear captivate me and take me away from spending time with those that I care about. All that I can do is the best I can with salads and meat filled meals (no fettuccine Alfredo for me). I simply refuse to let the hesitation I have about those places hinder me from a good time. Now I have even more tools take with me the next time I walk inside a restaurant.

But as well crafted as Shauna's tale is, it is not simply a story of someone with celiacs disease. It is, in my opinion, a love story. A story of someones love for food, love for themselves, love of life, and finding love when no one wants to deal with obstacles such as this one. Celiacs disease can be imposing for most people to deal with, for it's always in the forefront of the mind when traveling or going out. But somehow amidst the losers who couldn't see past the static she found someone who not only was willing to look past it, but could accommodate her needs as well. For you see only God could put together something as charming as someone who loves food, as well as being challenged by it, to someone who can cook it. For as I stated earlier she got to marry a chef! Life is full of irony. However, my favorite part of the book was the end. Not only does Shauna's tale come to a happy conclusion, but she talks about the lengths that he goes to in order to keep her safe, which were things that I never thought of. None the less I was touched by the chivalry and care that he took to make sure her system is not tainted. Like, he will brush his teeth before kissing her after eating something with gluten in it just to make sure there is nothing left on his breath that could contaminate her. Now it's been a long time since I was kissed like that, but I can fully appreciate the gesture and tenderness that he must feel for her in order to put her well being before his libido. I mean who would think that something as delicious as a kiss could harm the one you love. Are there anymore of those out there? A girl can hope, right?

I highly recommend this book. Not just for those that have this disease, but for those that love those with it as well. Though Sahuna's story is unique to her, you can get a sense of what the average person goes through and the anxiety they face, in certain situations, with this disease. Shauna embraced her disease with fervor, which honestly I've had trouble with. I miss my breads, and now I know I'll miss root beer too, but knowledge is power and it's good to know that I can continue learning how to make myself better and heal my body so that one day I can take care of not just myself, but my family as well (whenever I get one).

#7 on my list, Have 30 girls nights (#5)

An impromptu girls night happened last night after dinner at the Waldrons.

I spent the day over there since my place is pretty boring, and watching paint dry seemed to be way more fun, or maybe that was the fumes from the paint. In any case a day spent with the Waldrons is always fun. We talked and tried to go to the local thrift store except that it was a holiday and it seemed like every local business, that was not a grocery store, was closed. I made my plum chicken for dinner since they were all busy painting and it just seemed like I could help somewhere so I did. Everyone really liked the chicken, I love this recipe and am totally keeping it, and it made such a difference finally using the boneless chicken thighs instead of the bone in. Anyway, after dinner all the girls watched Anne of Avonlea. Sigh, I love that movie (sniff, sniff)! I couldn't believe that they ahd never seen it before, since I have been watching it since I was about 6, so it was fun to watch it with new people. I was so bad wen I was younger that I used to try and bargain with my dad so that I could stay home, at certain times, and watch it. My argument "But it's my favorite part." My dad's reply "Every part is your favorite part." Obviously my dad was not easy manipulated. We shared in some high humor involving the periodic table of elements, you had to be there, and Mags and I put together the Waldrons new hower curtain, ummm backwards. I blame it on the paint fumes;) LOL, anyway I hope to be able to share in more updates from my list since I'm out of school for the next few weeks.

Peace out!

#5 On my list, Get Maggie to watch a documentary

So this was my #5 goal on my list and I got to complete it last night. However, it was the most boring documentary that I have ever watched. Lately my friends and I have been on a Jane Austen kick, watching Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility and anything else that can come our way about her. So I thought that this would be an OK, but poor Maggie had to suffer through the worlds most boring, dry, and mind numbing documentary about Jane Austen. And truthfully the creators of the documentary made it more about her family in general then her specifically, which was irritating in and of itself. So one goal was completed. I wish I could speak more positively about it, but mainly this post is an appology to Mags for ruining her first documentary experience with that horrible film and for probably driving her away from them altogether. Hopefully not, but I do have to give her props for staying awake. Way to go girl!

This also count as the first of my 30 documentaries to watch as well, but obviously the review is bad, and I let Netflix know about it as well. That's 30 minutes of my life that I'll never get back.

#14 on my list, Meet 30 new people (#4 & 5)

Last night I met 2 new visitors out at church. Their names are Vanessa and John, both were out visiting from the Navy base. They seemed nice. It's always nice to have people visit us, especially on a Wednesday.