Barilla Chickpea Rotini

 

I like chickpeas. I like pasta. I liked this chickpea pasta. It wasn't amazing but it certainly wasn't horrible. I like the consistency but there wasn't any taste to it that I could tell. 

 

I also liked that this wasn't sticky at all, in fact I was shocked that it wasn't sticky. I almost assume gluten free pasta will be sticky and just clump as leftovers. This did not and that is a pleasant surprise. 

 

I definitely recommend you try this pasta and if you do let me know your thoughts on it.

 

Wegmans Plant Based Burgers

Imagine my shock when I found a plant based burger that was gluten free. So many are made with wheat or gluten but Wegmans came through with a gluten green plant based burgers.

I did get these for free from a Wegmans newsletter coupon and honestly I would easily pay for these. I really liked these burgers. It is has been 20+ years since I ate beef but this reminded me so much of beef burgers from way back when. I loved the "spice" and the texture after cooking was very good.

Full disclosure, I thought the burgers looked and smelled like dog food when I opened the package. So I was very very skeptical BUT once cooked up these burgers looked good and tasted sooo good. So don't let your first impressions get in the way :) I look forward to adding these to my meal rotation.

Feel Good Foods - Three Cheese Bites

 

I’ve read from a few people about how much they like these bites. It took awhile to find them but a Wegmans came through. 

I really wanted pizza tonight but I didn’t feel like eating a large amount of pizza. These were perfect! Amazing pizza taste but a simple and light meal. So very good.

There were 10 pieces in the box so it was 5 pieces each which was just right. I can’t believe it was cauliflower for the crust. I would never guess it. I liked the sauce and everything about these bites.

I definitely would buy these again without question. I wish I had more already. 

Katz - Gingerbread Donuts

 

Not as good as the pumpkin spice donuts but these were quite yummy. 

I expected the ginger pieces on the donuts to be overly gingery and possibly burny as ginger can be but they weren’t at all. In fact I wondered if they were ginger after all. 

I would rather the pumpkin spice donuts but I wouldn’t turn these down if I found them again. 

Feel Good Foods - Potato, Egg and Cheese Pockets

Not bad but not great. Definitely does not look like the photo at all. 

These cost $6.99 at Wegmans and I would not spend that again but if they were on sale, I might purchase them again.

I followed the "best" cooking option: 1 minute microwave into a preheated 450 oven for 12-16 minutes. They looked good but when we bit in to them there was not enough egg mixture inside in to offset the pastry outside. But the flavor was good.

I was more hopeful as to my overall liking of this product but again it wasn't bad at all, just not as great as I wanted it to be.

Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Cheese Ravioli

I tried to get these last month but they were not in stock. I lucked out this trip but now I kind of wish I hadn’t. 

I usually love Trader Joe’s gluten free items. These were …. Terrible. I hate even writing that but it’s true. I would never buy these again. 

No taste, and all but one exploded in the pot. It was basically a pile of gluten free pasta with some type of cheese trying to be ricotta all over it. 

I followed the instructions and they were well within their best buy date. 

I was so sad. It was good they were only $4.49. Let me know if you had a different experience with these. 

Gluten Free Bakery Girl

 

We were in Bethany Beach Delaware and one of the coffee shops 3BB Cafe had these gluten free baked goods for sale. 

We had the brownie as a dessert and the bakewell as a breakfast item. They were both delicious. I wish I had bought two of each so we didn’t have to split each one 🙂

The brownie was not overly sweet and the balance of chocolate and peanut butter was perfect. It was savory and so yummy. 

The raspberry almond bakewell was perfectly baked and the raspberry was sweet and just enough filling. The almonds on top were crunchy and tasty. 

The bakewell was $7.50 and while it was delicious, I think that is way too expensive. The brownie was $5.50 and that seems more reasonable and worth the price. For a special vacation treat and supporting a local business, I have no complaints.

You can find Gluten Free Bakery Girl online and order for shipping. I do notice the bakewell is significantly cheaper online, more than just a mark up cheaper but again I’m happy to support a local business and have vacation treats. I might consider an order in the near future and try some of her other items.

Let me know if you have ever had her treats and what are your favorites.

Tattooed Chef Cauliflower Crust Cheese Pizza

 

I decided to try this pizza when I needed to spend a certain amount of money in frozen foods at Giant. I believe it was $9.99 at the time. 

It was not bad but it wasn't great either. I wouldn't turn it down if it were offered to me but I don't think I will buy it again myself unless I need to spend the money and there is nothing else to try.

I think I'd rather gluten free "traditional" crust instead of cauliflower crust. I just seem to prefer the taste of "flour" crust than cauliflower. But again the pizza was good, just not great. It was crunchy which I like and it was a good size for two people to eat in one sitting.

It is worth a try if you are seeking different pizzas to try but if you have something you love, I am not sure this will beat it BUT everyone has different tastes.

Trader Joe's Gluten Free Double Chocolate Muffins

 

I am not sure there were chocolate chips in the one I had but it still tasted amazing. Unless they are melted chocolate chips. I was expecting a crunch of a chocolate chip but there was none. BUT that does not mean these are not excellent chocolate muffins. I am quite happy with them.

So light and airy. I am sure there are no calories in these muffins either ;)

It is a soft chocolate taste and while I expected an overwhelming chocolate, I am actually happy that it was a lighter touch. It was almost refreshing as it wasn't a heavy muffin at all and that is hard to do with chocolate.

Also $4.99 for 4 like the coffee cake muffins, which I think is a great deal.

 

Stouffer’s Gluten Free Macaroni & Cheese

Many of my online gluten free “friends” were very excited for this new offering in the gluten free world.

I am not a huge macaroni & cheese fan but since going gluten free, I have actually eaten more of it than when I was still eating gluten. So when I found this at Wegmans I decided to pick it up and try it.

Well it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great as I was hoping it would be. I would say the number one thing I didn’t like was its gritty texture. I was surprised too since most gluten free foods have figured out how to not be gritty but this felt that way to me. I did do the microwave method to make it so perhaps the oven method would turn out differently.

I know that photos on the boxes for food are never what the food will look like when you make it at home and this was true here too. There was sooooo much cheese. I feel like I shouldn’t complain about that :) but a little more pasta would be nice so it was a little more filling. Mind you we did divide the supposed single serving into two. I guarantee I could never eat one of these on my own and not just because that would be 450 calories but it would just be too much cheese.

I am curious if anyone else has tried this and how they liked it or not. 

Wegmans Gluten Free Cheese Tortellini

Yum yum yum

So good. The pasta is a good amount and the cheesy inside is delicious and savory. I really enjoyed these. It also make a lot!! Like two meals worth for two people. I was surprised. In the package it looked like one meal for two people but when I went to dish it out that way, it was way too much. 

$4.99 for two meals for two! I am on board with this. 

Follow the instructions exactly and you will be happy. Overcooking is definitely not good for the pasta but the inside stays tasty. The second servings I had, I left in the pot because we were ready to eat and I didn’t have time to pull the rest out. Well, they were no longer perfect and the pasta was pretty mushy but again the insides tasted good and it didn’t stop me from eating the leftovers 🙂

 

Pacific Sustainable Seafood - Cod

So incredibly delicious. Crunchy outside, perfect flaky cod inside. Yum yum yum

Followed the instructions perfectly and it rewarded me with an incredible dinner. 

Found at Wegmans for $4.99 for 8 small pieces of fish but it was more than a filling dinner. I will keep stock of this now. So good. 

Cappello’s Sweet Potato Gnocchi

I have tried a few gluten free gnocchi, although it is something I had never eaten when I ate gluten. So I honestly don’t know what gnocchi should be like but I really like this one.

I followed the instructions exactly including the sautéing in oil in a pan after boiling and that probably helped me like them.

They were substantial and I enjoyed the sweet potato flavor. I did have some tomato sauce on the side and I liked these both with sauce and plain. 

I don’t know if I would spend $6.99 for two servings again but I might. Overall I’m impressed with the  Cappello’s items I’ve had recently. What have you found, tried and liked? 

Josie’s Best Gluten Free Crepe Mix

The last Josie’s Best mix that I had is The Crepe mix. It was actually the one I wanted to try the most but it is also the one I knew the least about making. 

I thought I followed the directions for cooking the crepes but apparently I didn’t follow something or understand something.

This is not a crepe. 

I will be honest, I got very frustrated with myself and my lack of crepe making skill and I gave up.

I did write to both Josie’s Best and Alexis Gluten Free Adventures for some tips.

Both got back to me with more information including a video of how to make the crepes from Josie.

The video was a huge help but I was still gun shy to go back and try again.

I promise I will make these, I just need a moment.

In no way is my frustration a negative for the mix as it was very easy to make and looked perfect.

I just need patience and more time to learn how to make the crepe. It was all operator error.

Josie’s Best Gluten Free Waffle Mix

It was a Josie’s Best mix weekend. Next up The Waffle mix. Simple instructions, simple ingredients and simply delicious waffles.

Except for some operator error on timing for these waffles they were very yummy and easy to make.

If you do not bake these long enough they are rubbery when you take them out of the maker but they still taste good. Will try again, making sure to cook them at least 10 minutes if not 12 minutes. At least that would be the timing in my waffle iron. But I love the ease of this mix.

Josie’s Best Gluten Free Pancake Mix

Next up from my variety pack purchase of Josie’s Best mixes is The Pancake mix.

I have a love/hate relationship with making pancakes. I usually HATE making them. There are various reasons for this but mostly the mixes I’ve tried have caused me problems. Too thick or too thin or too lumpy or too watery. Well, we have a Goldilocks winner here. This mix was juuuuust right. I mean it.

I followed the one cup directions perfectly, including the optional vanilla. It stated if you let it sit, it would get thicker ... and it really did. I feel this is the first time ever that the directions matched what I saw as the completed product.

Aren’t they beautiful. Too bad you can’t taste or smell them through the internet. Soooo good. 

I even added blueberries to the second half. 

I can’t recommend this mix enough. Simple, easy, tasty, what more could I ask for.

Thank you Josie’s Best for my Goldilocks pancake mix. Juuuust right!

Josie’s Best Gluten Free Muffins and More Mix - Dutch Baby

Again Alexis Gluten Free Adventures has posted many times about these mixes and in particular making a Dutch Baby or German Pancake. I have never heard of it before but it looked yummy and didn’t look hard to make. So I ordered the variety pack of Josie’s mixes and then made a Dutch Baby.

There is also a waffle mix, pancake mix and crepe mix.

As I use them I will post about them.

I decided to add blueberries to half of the mix as I had some to use up and I was also curious how it would taste.

It was fun to watch this bake.

Ooooo look at it all puffy!

It stayed that way for a little it once it was out.

Look how pretty.

And it was very tasty too. A little more moist than I though it would be.

It really reminded me of funnel cake minus the funneling :)

The recipe calls for powdered sugar and lemon. We had the sugar but no lemon... well not really.

The blueberries were ok in it. I much more enjoyed that we put Blueberry Lemon jam on it that we just happened to have in the pantry.

There is something about the lemon that really made the flavor different and more enjoyable.

I would make it again but I am not sure it will become a regular item.

The mix, though, was easy to use and the recipe was easy to follow.

I do highly recommend these mixes as they are minimal ingredients and allergens.

She is great to follow on Instagram as she interacts well and offers advice on options for the recipes.

Hollywood Brown Derby a Walt Disney World

The main reason for our February trip to Walt Disney World was to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary and to eat at our honeymoon and 10th anniversary restaurant, Hollywood Brown Derby. It is one of our favorites and we always have wonderful service and amazing food here. This time was no different. We ended up splitting appetizers and desserts this time, instead of getting large meals and it was perfect.

Pan-seared Sea Scallops with Roasted Pork Belly - it was a little too spicy for me but the scallop was really good.

Deanna gluten free rolls with salted butter. I could have just had this for dinner :)

Their famous chef salad. So fresh, crisp and tasty.

Hubby had Curried Butternut Squash Soup - too hot for me but he really enjoyed it and would have it again.

I decided to get the special sweet drink, Malibu Beach, the only one without soda in it and it happen to come with a light up ice cube. Silly but fun. Honestly the drink was way too sweet and even though I could get a refill, I did not.

Sorbet with fruit.

Something neither one of us remembers the name but it was good, especially the whipped cream.

As I said this is always a favorite of ours and it is our honeymoon dinner so it has personal meaning to us. We did have an amazing server and service.

The only downfall, is that they changed their dining room set up and we ended up basically eating with someone else, so the romantic nature of our meal was definitely hindered. At least he was very nice, if not too talkative, and finished before us so had a little alone time to reminisce about previous trips to celebrate our anniversary. Until 2025!

Snacks at Walt Disney World

Oh how we love our snacks at Walt Disney World. Our February trip had us seeking out L'Artisan des Glaces in the France Pavilion of Epcot World Showcase. Alexis’s Gluten Free Adventures wrote about these and it was now my mission to find them and try them.

Macaron ice cream sandwiches!

Strawberries and cream was the flavor of the day and I have no words good enough to describe how incredible these were. The macaron was crunchy, airy and so tasty. The ice cream was strawberry and vanilla and it was creamy and sweet. I could have eaten a dozen of them and I am definitely glad we didn’t share one of these ;)

Later we went to find the Maple popcorn at the Canada Pavilion in Epcot.

It was a chilly night so this really hit the spot. It smelled soooo good and tasted just as good too.

The next day, we got one of my favorite treats. 

This always hits the spot and I make sure to get at least one each time we visit.

Our last night we were determined to get more fresh popped popcorn.

Unfortunately (for our want of fresh popped popcorn) we ended up staying in Star Wars Land until after closing and missed out. It was definitely worth it though since we got to ride Smuggler’s Run with only a 20 minute wait, photos with no one else in them by the Millennium Falcon and an invite into Oga’s Cantina with no wait and we got a table!!

Anyway, back to the popcorn...So we got the next best thing from our hotel gift shop. And even though we really wanted plain popcorn, this kettle corn flavor was perfection. It was neither too sugary nor too salty. True Disney magic but once again.