Posts Tagged by Pizza

November Beginnings Meal Plan

Well, the cold season begins in ALL senses of the word.  The Unleashed is home sick from school today.  So with the smell of his favorite Blueberry Tea steeping and the sound of both of us sniffling,  he is helping me Blog and plan.  On our minds?  Suppers of course!

The Unleashed’s “What’s for 5 Suppers ” this week?

  1. WF Hot dogs.  Buns? Romaine Lettuce leaves instead!
  2. Warm Spinach Salad - bacon, spinach , red onions, Renee’s Sweet Onion Vinaigrette (or homemade)
  3. Tomato Soup with Garlic toast ( We will be using Udi’s brand bread that we picked up at Save on Foods this week!)
  4. BBQ’d Chicken with mashed potatoes & green peas ( Sweet Tree’s GF Birch BBQ sauce for us!)
  5. Chicken Pizza & Green salad (Unleashed wants Catalina Dressing and we will be using Kinnikinnik Brand Crusts from Safeway or Green Tree Health Foods )

Supply for the school – Chocolate Cupcakes :

The teachers have been fantastic in keeping frozen cupcakes in their staff kitchen for the boys.  They are then able to pull them out when there is a birthday party or other celebration in the class rooms.

GF BBQ Chicken Pizzas

Ingredients:

Sauce:

  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/2 cup cider vinegar
  • 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon GF Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • dash red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper

Topping:

  • 1 pound diced or shredded cooked chicken breast ( good way to use up left over chicken)
  • 1 medium sweet onion or red onion, quartered and thinly sliced
  • 1 package, about 8 ounces, grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, halved or sliced lengthwise
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese blend
  • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Mozzarella cheese
  • freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Combine Sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside.
Prepare a 12- to 14-inch pizza pan with your pizza dough or crust ( or use your favorite GF Shells). Spread with the barbecue sauce. Evenly sprinkle chicken and toppings over the pizza, then top with the cheeses and sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper.
Bake at 400° for about 20 to 25 minutes , or until nicely browned and cheese and toppings are melted and bubbly.  Follow the package instructions for pre-made shells or crusts!

Quesnel Safeway adds MORE!

A Kinnikinnick Freezer in the Bakery department!  Breads, muffins and PIZZA Shells!!!   Add that to the Smoreables, animal crackers, EnerG line and other great stuff and Gluten Free is getting BETTER!

Gluten Free Pizza…and salad?

I was ecstatic to see that Boston Pizza now has a gluten-free section in their menu. Cue the heavenly music…I can order pizza again!! I don’t eat “junk” food often, but when I do I like to know there is a safe option for me.

So this past weekend I decided to order some delivery from my local Boston Pizza – a caesar salad and a gluten free peperoni pizza. I used their new online ordering system and made a note on the salad: “wheat allergy – no croutons please”. Type in my delivery information and click send. A nice little email is sent telling me the estimated time my food will arrive at my door. I think, “Great! A gluten free feast of yumminess is on it’s way!”

The delivery driver arrives exactly when the email told me they would. I pay for my order. I dance into the kitchen eager to open the paper-bag wrapped packages of sweet gluten free goodness. I take the salad out (because even though I’m eating “junk” tonight, I still want to eat my greens first!), and this is what I see…

I called back to the restaurant and explained to them the situation. That I cannot eat this salad. The girl on the other end sighed and said a new one would be sent out to my house asap. Another 30 min. after I hung up, my salad arrived and I gave the driver back the original salad along with the receipt. Not a single apology from either the girl on the phone or the driver. While I understand that this was a mistake, that mistakes happen…for anyone with a gluten intolerance/allergy that salad was dangerous.

The staff that prepare the gluten free pizza have had training on how to deal with cross-contact. So, in theory, those of us who can’t eat gluten should be able to dine from there worry-free. In fact, I’ve eaten salad and GF pizza from this exact Boston Pizza before…without a problem. My problem is with the lack of knowledge that many people working in the food industry still have regarding food allergies. If each of us could educate just one person about it…imagine where the Gluten Free “movement” could reach?

On a more positive note…the pizza was divine. It was cold by the time I was ready to eat it and I had to re-heat it…but it was delicious. The GF crusts are from Kinnikinnick and have a very sweet taste compared to traditional pizza crusts. Regardless of my poor experience this weekend, I will most definitely order gluten free pizza from them again. My only real complaint about the pizza itself is that I wish they came in bigger sizes (currently they only offer personal sized GF pizza). It would be nice to have a GF pizza party with The Wheat Free Family!

{Brought to you by Erin}

“Mom… I miss Pizza Pockets….”

My 9 Year old, The Unleased, let out a sigh of complete Emo-ness and commented on how he missed Pizza Pockets. I raised my eyebrow. So supper that night was NonPizza Pockets… more

NEWSFLASH – Boston Pizza Does Gluten Free!!!!

Pepperoni, Alfredo-bacon-ham-mozza, and Perogie square pizzas came to the table like manna from heaven. more