AS PROMISED...

Pretty much all Frittata is Gluten Free, a Quiche is not, but Frittata...yes. I was inspired one morning to make this for my friend Toni for our play date. She had fixed me the best white pizza in the world two weeks previous. So I ran with the idea, and made it my own.

Gluten Free White Pizza Frittata

8 Large Eggs (slightly beaten)
1/4 cup Milk (may use soy or rice Milk as subst.)
1/2 cup Cottage Cheese (may subst. for a dairy free cheese)
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Small Red Potato peeled and cubed in 1/2 in cubes
1 Small Yellow Onion chopped
1/4 cup Chopped Fresh Basil
1/2 cup Diced Fresh Tomatoes

Garnish: 1/4 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese and Fresh Basil Leaves

Preheat oven to 350

Whisk eggs and milk together in medium bowl. Add cottage cheese and mix well to break up any clumps. Set aside.

Heat oil in cast iron skillet on medium-hi heat. When hot, add Potatoes and onions. Constantly moving veggies to prevent burning. Cook until potatoes are soft and onions caramelized. Turn burner down to medium-low. Add Tomatoes and Basil to skillet and toss until basil is wilted. Add egg mixture, quickly whisk eggs and veggies in skillet to mix up ingredients. Cook on medium-low until edges of egg start to cook (do not disturb egg mixture). About 1/2 in. from side of skillet.

Remove from burner and place into preheated oven. Cook at 350 for 40 minutes or until cooked through. You'll know when egg no longer jiggles when you shake the skillet. Remove from oven, sprinkle with fresh basil leaves, and sprinkle with Cheddar Cheese. Place back into oven to melt cheese.

Frittata is a great Gluten Free choice for breakfast or for brunch instead of Quiche. Unless you have a great recipe for a GF Quiche Crust. (I haven't found one yet).

Frittata is known as the "everything and the kitchen sink" dish, because with the base of eggs, milk, and cheese, you can add anything you want. Have fun and play around with different ingredients. A successful Frittata will be light and airy and make people smile!!!

A GREAT WEEKEND!

*Nights of Rodanthe spoiler alert ahead*

I have had a wonderful day of raking, weeding, going for a walk with Carter, and cooking. It has all come crashing down, as tears are flowing down my face. No one told me Richard Gere dies in Nights of Rodanthe! I should have expected it. I guess I will tough it out and watch the rest.

Anyway, we had such a fun filled weekend. We didn't go anywhere, we just stayed home and spent time together as a family. No dinners to go to, or parties to attend. We just did yard work, went out to dinner at Wegman's (yes the grocery store), and enjoyed our quality time together.

Jeff gave the boys a bath (a surprise all in itself), and he even styled Carter's hair!

We spent a lot of time in the back yard this weekend, taking in the sun. It is a rarity in Buffalo you know!

When it rained on Sunday, we just moved on inside and did a little spring cleaning. Carter got his own vacuum, because he wont leave mine alone.

And in the afternoon, Little Bill Kennedy came by to say "Hi" to his friends.

Did I mention I am starting a garden this year? Well I am, and I am growing a very interesting variety of veggies. I am growing Beets, Jelly Bean Tomatoes, Artichokes, Swiss Chard, Pumpkins, Watermelons, and Banana Peppers.

Tucker and I went to Home Depot one day and we just started grabbing the packs of Burpees that looked like fun! And as for as the Beets go, no comments from you Northerners. They ARE good and DONT taste like dirt. Not to mention...did anyone know that the stems are purple too? I guess this makes sense, but when they sprouted I was pleasantly surprised!

A Gluten Free Recipe that we love is coming tomorrow!

A lot happened in our backyard this weekend. Jeff ripped down our pool (it was due to come down anyway), and he decided to cute down a tree as big as the Statue of Liberty. We had really nice weather and enjoyed the sun.

Do you see the size of that tree compared to Jeff?



He-Man is going to pull the tree down.



TIMBER!!!




They are so proud of themselves.



Tucker enjoyed helping Daddy do "big boy" chores.



A tender moment with Mommy and Carter



Look at those dimples!

EASTER IN VIRGINIA PART 2

On Easter Sunday, we all got dressed up and got ready for the Bryant side of the family to come over and have a special Easter Lunch. The weather was absolutely perfect for us to spend time outside. And the food...well lets just say, I will be adding a couple of the things that we had to my recipe book. (Great Cheese Slaw-Sue Sue)

May-Make (Mason) and his adorable nephews!

GG had a great time playing with the boys in the yard.

Emily is my cousin. She is a self-proclaimed kid avoider. She knows she makes kids cry, and wont get near them. Except Sunday...Emily, Tucker, and Carter had a blast together. And would you believe, not one of them cried, even Emily.

Their not BFFs...The are GFFs. (Gluten Free Friends) Emily is Gluten Intolerant too! I think they bonded over Fritos.

Can you hear him giggling?

I love Tucker's face in this picture. It's like he is saying "Do you dare me to get up?"

Mason and I- Now this is how siblings are supposed to pose for pictures.

Mom and Sue-Sue- This is not how siblings are supposed to pose for pictures. Really ladies...could you get serious for one minute?

No need for Part 3 after all. But I do want to say that we had an absolutely wonderful time in VA. I really wish we could've stayed.

The trip home was a lot quicker than the ride down. We made it home in only 9 hours. And again the boys traveled well. Much better than their mother who has ADD and needed to get out of the car. Thanks to everyone who had us down and we look forward to seeing you in July!

Gluten Free Product that I swear by:

This cereal can be found at many major grocery stores. This cereal tastes just like its name "Mighty Tasty". Carter and I eat this at least 4 times a week. One batch will last us almost a week. You can follow package directions, but I don't need that much cereal at one time.

How we prepare it:

Boil 2 cups of Water
Add 3/4 cup of Mighty Tasty Cereal, stir until blended
Immediately drop burner to low and cover pot
Stir occasionally until cereal is consistency that you like.
*I usually stir once a minute to reduce sticking to bottom of the pot. And I only cook it 7 minutes, because it thickens when it stands.

You can add many of the following things to spice it up a bit, or make it your own. But let me know how you like it best.

Here are our favorites:
-Sugar and Butter
-Jelly (Jeff's Favorite)
-Cinnamon and Sugar
-Brown Sugar
-Honey
-Milk and Honey

EASTER IN VIRGINIA PART 1

We're back! We had a wonderful Easter in Virginia. Of course, I can't remember when I had a bad anything in Virginia. The boys were great on the way down, we made several stops to stretch our legs and let the boys run around.

Here is Tucker on one of our stops. We ended up stretching our legs right outside of a horse ranch. Tucker couldn't resist climbing on the fence.

I must have taken 500 pictures this weekend, hence the Part 1 title of this post. There will be at least a Part 2, maybe a Part 3. We got to VA on Thursday afternoon, and we did just about everything there is to do in an hour of arriving. You name it we did it; swung, played in the sand, fished, got ice cream, and many many more things.

On Friday morning we went to breakfast to celebrate GG's Birthday. I happened to catch a tender moment between Poppy and Tucker.

After breakfast it was back to GG and Poppy's house. We also went next door to see Skip and Carolyn. Here are the girls (and Carter); Carolyn, GG, Sue-Sue, Mom, and Carter

And here is CG-Skip and Carolyn's baby. The boys just loved her.
(See Carolyn, CG did make the blog.)

Here is Tucker doing what he and his Daddy do best!

That night May-Make and Tucker slept in the tent together in the Playroom. They have so much fun together.

Saturday we went to the Lough's for a beautiful lunch and Easter Egg Hunt. The whole Lough side of the family was able to get together and bring the kids to play together.

Jeannie, Meredith, and the kiddos are waiting for the hunt to begin!

Olivia and Carter

Sue Lough, her Mother, and Great-Nana watching the Egg Hunt from the Porch.

My little bunny

Olivia, Carter, Tucker, and Baby Jack

This was an incredible day! We had a great time in a beautiful house, with a beautiful family. More to follow!


Gluten Free Tip:

When calling 1-800 numbers to check to see if certain products are Gluten Free, remember to ask them for a copy of all of their products that do not contain Gluten. They will often email or snail mail you this list, as well as a bunch of coupons.

Also, if you are not satisfied with the customer service representative's answers, you can always ask for a supervisor. And when in doubt...do not eat the product.

LET'S CHAT

There are so many things that I should be doing right now, and not typing away on the computer. For example; folding laundry, finishing packing for our trip to VA, getting ready for work...need I go on. But, I realized that I need a break and I have a few unfinished stories or thoughts that I wanted to share before my trip.

When I started this blog, it was a way for me to communicate with friends and family from my hospital bed while on bed rest with Carter. Now it has evolved to so much more as my photography hobby continues and my boys are growing so big. So thank you for continuing to share my life with me.

Now, before I jump into what's been happening lately, I want to say a great big THANK YOU to Michelle Mitchell at Scribbit Motherhood in Alaska for drawing my name to win her giveaway this week. Click on over to her site and check out her life in Alaska. It is truly amazing! Also, Congratulations to Christa and Andy! Their baby boy Brendan came home to them from South Korea this week.

Ok, down to business. So we've had a lot going on these days. So I want to start with Carter and his Gluten allergy. (note: abbreviated but still a lengthy story)Now, he has always been a very very "fussy" child, and we have always said that something was wrong with him from the get-go. Starting in late December we started to switch Carter over to whole milk, as it was about that time. In early January he started to throw up every morning for 3 weeks. I had many calls to the Dr.'s office and got the same reply "we don't need to see him, just switch him back to soy and we will see you for your 12 mth visit." Well, we did that and he still threw up and actually lost weight. He also started to have diarrhea consistently. So I insisted that he go in and be seen, where they concluded that he was lactose intolerant. Ok fine, and they started him on Prevacid to calm and heal his tummy. The Prevacid did the trick with the throwing up, but the diarrhea persisted. Did I mention that he still had yet to sleep through the night and screamed day and night. We did not get more than 2 hours of sleep at a time for 2 months, not including the nights in the 11 months leading up to this that he woke at least 5 times a night. So after several visits to the Dr., she suggested that he was either Lactose & Soy intolerant OR "Do you have a family history of Celiac's?". DING DING DING!!! Why hadn't I thought of that?

Celiac's Disease is an allergy to wheat and gluten that actually damages your stomach and small intestines. Click on the link above for more info. There is such thing as a Gluten and Wheat Intolerance, that has all of the same signs and symptoms, just no damage to your body. (Other than the immediate effects, that are sometimes just as bad). So here is how we started down the path to Gluten Free Living. Carter had all of the symptoms: Family History, red rash on his face, diarrhea, vomiting, hyperactive, bloated tummy, constant smelly gas, unexplained screaming all day, and oh...all night, he would scream with his eyes closed for hours. And many many more symptoms that all lead to Gluten Sensitivity. Those symptoms go away without Gluten and Wheat, then return within an hour of eating something containing Gluten and Wheat.

We made an appointment with the Pediatric Gastroenterologist (tummy Dr.) to get blood work done and for a consultation. Don't even get me started on the ignorant a#%hole today. Dr. Robert Baker from University Pediatrics is the man you want to run from! I repeat RUN!!! You will have to trust me because I will get worked up if I tell you the stories of what we had to deal with. UGH! Now my blood pressure is up. Great!

Needless to say, after a month of tests, trial diets, and Dr.'s visits we have come to this conclusion...Carter may have Celiac's but he is too young to detect the antibodies in his blood. What we do know, is that he is Gluten and Wheat intolerant. So what does this mean for us? It means 2 weeks into starting him on a Gluten Free (GF from here on out) Diet, he slept through the night! HALLELUJAH! (Do you here the trumpets? I do!) So this means, that as long as Carter steers clear of Gluten and Wheat, he is a happy camper. He is a completely different child. He smiles! Whod've thunk it? He sleeps much better than before. And his tummy is feeling much better these days.

Since figuring this all out, we have completely changed our lives! Our kitchen has been turned upside down. Everything labeled GF, stored in separate cabinets for easy grabbing, we make our own bread, we only dine at restaurants that have GF menus, separate butter and jelly containers (we can't risk contamination of Carter's food with Gluten), you won't find a loaf of white or wheat bread within a mile of our house. And many many more lifestyle changes have been made. Education to loved ones is a must, and they get it. Absolutely nothing passes through his lips that hasn't been triple checked first.

So, announcement time: I am going to start to switch gears a bit on this blog. At the end of every post I will be including a GF recipe that we have tried and love, a GF tip, or a GF Product that we cannot live with out. I will be adding labels to my posts (this just means that people searching for Gluten Free Tips can find me easier). Don't worry Mom, I will still be mostly posting pictures of your Grand kids and current events in our lives.

So today's Gluten Free Product is:

Pamela's Products Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix



We made this for Tucker's Birthday and we loved it. We could not tell the difference what so ever. And actually got several comments about how good the cake was.

Recipe Variation: We smeared a layer of GF Carmel Sauce between the layers. It added extra moisture and tasted so yummy. Then we iced the cake with homemade GF Buttercream Icing.

Now you are all caught up. Thanks for reading if you made it this far without snoozing. And I look forward to sharing our, well, new life with you. Hopefully a lot happier, healthier, and less stressed out. Be glad you only read about these things, they are not pretty in realy life.

Until next time:)

WEEKEND 'O PARTIES

As I am extremely exhausted tonight after this weekend, this post is short and sweet.

Yesterday we had Tucker's family birthday party at our house. The whole gang came over for Gluten Free Cake, Ice Cream, and Brownies. The kids had a great time playing with each other, and Tucker got some really cool gifts. Not to mention, overall every one enjoyed the GF cake and brownies. That was a relief.

Tucker had a homemade Spiderman Cake, made by yours truly.

Aunt Jen and Braydon stopped to pose for me.

By the end of the night, Carter was too hopped up on sugar to go to bed.

Today we had Tucker's "friends" B-day Party. He invited all of his friends from school to a Bowling Party. He even invited his old chum Willow who graduated last year. It was an adorable reunion. All of the kids really enjoyed the bowling, a bit hectic for the adults at times, but all in all a great party.

Tucker getting ready to blow out his candles with Willow and Blake anxiously waiting for a bite of Batman cake.

And the next two pictures are from the other day waiting for the bus.

Tucker got a kick out of watching his shadow.