Chicago Expo!

I know that it is pushing the limits of the Expo but there is some great things happening that I want you to know about. Holy Crap! is the sponsor of the bloggers lounge this weekend and they have a few giveaways that they are doing.

The first 25 people into the Expo each day will receive a bag of their cereal. (Free stuff!!)

Second they are having a drawing each day of the Expo for a great prize package. It includes a Holy Crap apron, a bag of Holy Crap cereal, Kathy Smart's Gluten Free Book: Live the Smart Way (signed!), and an official space pen. Holy Crap cereal is served at the International Space Station, thus a pen that has been up there with them. How cool is that?!

My bags are packed and so is the car. I will see you tomorrow at the Expo!

Rudi's Giveaway!!

I love Rudi's and use them in my daily life. You can read about their tortilla shells here. Right now Rudi's is having a contest to have people go on a hunt to find Soft & Fluffy. We all know that when it comes to gluten free breads soft and fluffy are often two things that are missing.
Rudi's new bread is to offer gluten free bread that is soft and fluffy. (Yea!) To help you find Soft & Fluffy Rudi's is giving away a package of tools to one lucky reader that will help you find Soft & Fluffy. (This package is awesome!)

To help with you quest here is the package from Rudi's that one of you, my lucky readers will win!

* Compass
* Field Notebook
* Organic Trail Mix (My kids love this one!)
* Peter Rabbit organic fruit snack
* Kelty Backpack
* Stainless steel water bottle

To enter leave a comment on this post saying where you think Soft & Fluffy can be found.
What creative places do you think you can find Soft & Fluffy?

This giveaway will end  January 30th at midnight.





Contest is now close. The winner is kjsmoma!! Thanks for entering everyone!

The Crazy things of life

Hello, is anyone still out there? Things have been crazy here lately and I don't know where the time is going. We have been doing some major house cleaning and reorganizing which has left me no time to do much. Look for big changes coming in the form of several giveaways and new recipes! I am so excited to get back to sharing with all of you about some of the yummy dishes I have made. Here is some of the recipes I have made while I was away.

Paleo "goldfish"
Paleo "ranch" crackers
Low sugar Fruit and Nut cookies
Vegan tacos
No-Cheese, Cheese Sauce
Chicken Freezer Cooking
More canning
Forgotten cookies
Dog treats
Cherry Walnut Cookies

And I have a bulk buying trip to an Amish store coming up too!

What have you been up to?

Gluten and Dairy Halloween Candy

It's October! I am going to try to be more here the month of October and give you lots of neat ideas and recipes for gluten and dairy free Halloween treats. I'm starting off with a company today that I have worked with in the past and I love the selection they have. The Natural Candy Store has a great selection of gluten and dairy free candy that you can swap out the candy they get trick-or-treating. Out here camping they do three weekends of trick-or-treating plus we go out for Halloween. That is a ton of candy that my kids gather. They have no problem handing the candy back out to other trick-or-treaters but a few pieces of candy are nice to have. There are several different candies that I ordered this year to trade out along with some candy I can buy at my local health stores. We don't do many sweets but when all the other kids are having something special it is nice to be part of that group.

Here are some candies that I love from them.

 Gummi Jack o Lanterns they are corn free too!
Sour Worms
Gummy Spooky Spiders
Natural Candy Mix suckers, gummy worms and gum

I also order my food coloring from them and I have not had a problem with any colors. In fact I prefer the natural food colors over the ones I can buy locally because the colors are more true colors.

Black
Orange
Yellow
Red
Green
Blue
Purple

Now I have a challenge for you. I know we all like to get free stuff and as soon as my Facebook page hits 200 likes I will give away an awesome gift box full of gluten free yummies! The faster we reach this goal the more items will go into the box. Help me reach this goal by sharing with your friends and family please.

Fast Friday - Cantaloupe Jam

I can. There is no question about it but I have a new book in my collection which is food in jars by Marisa McClellan. What I love about her book is that it is small batches. Which is perfect for those who are starting out canning. The recipes can easily be done in a larger amount, which is what I did when I canned all the peaches. I used her peach jam recipe and it was my new favorite way to eat peaches. I had so many different ideas of where to start when I looked at the book because it is written to be used year round. With canning our own dog food we can year round but now I have easy ideas that I can make whenever I want.
The cantaloupe jam that I am writing about I made the other night and I knew it was one I would be repeating. I agree with Marisa that it does almost taste like a Creamsicle and it is something I will be making again and again this summer. I love this book so much that I am going to give a copy away to one lucky reader! The details are below but first the recipe.

Cantaloupe Jam
What you need:
2 1/2 cups chopped peeled cantaloupe
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
Zest of 1 lemon
1 Tabelspoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 3oz pack of liquid pectin

Directions:
Combine cantaloupe, sugar and vanilla bean in a pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 8 to 10 minutes over high heat. Add the lemon zest, juice and pectin and return to a vigorous boil. Boil for another 3 to 4 minutes until the bubbles look thick. Remove the vanilla bean or you will be filling jars and come across it! Ladle into 3 half pint jars, wipe the top clean and apply lids. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Before you soak the pot clean, scrape and lick clean. At least that is what we do in my house!

Now for the good stuff! How to enter to win a copy of the book.
One entry:
Look through the preview of the book here and tell me what you would want to try first.
One entry:
Subscribe to my e-mail so you don't miss anything. Leave a comment saying you did so.
One entry:
Like me on Facebook and leave a comment saying that you did.
One entry:
Share the giveaway on Facebook or Twitter and leave a comment saying you did.

The contest will run through August 3rd and I will use a random number generator to pick the winner. Go!