Catelli Gluten Free Pastabilities Challenge

Celiac Awareness month takes place in May. The great folks at Catelli asked me if I would like to participate in their Gluten Free Pastabilities Challenge to help celebrate. The task - to create an original gluten free pasta recipe, using any cut of Catelli Gluten Free pasta. I chose to work with Penne, which Catelli then graciously supplied me with.

Catelli Gluten Free Pasta is made from a unique four-grain blend of white rice, brown rice, corn & quinoa. It is is produced in a dedicated gluten-free facility. Certified by the Canadian Celiac Association’s Gluten-Free Certification Program, it is available in Spaghetti, Fusilli, Penne, and Macaroni. The pasta is made with ingredients that are declared GMO-free as well as Cholesterol and preservative free. You can find Catelli Gluten Free Pasta at all major retailers across Canada

After playing around with some ideas, I came up with a recipe which I have dubbed "Maple Brunch Penne". I'm a big fan of comfort food and for me, this really hit the spot. I hope you will enjoy this as it has quickly become a family favourite in my home of picky eaters.

" Maple Brunch Penne "

Serves 4

Core Ingredients

1     box Catelli Gluten Free Penne     
4     eggs
5     strips of bacon cut into 1-inch pieces
2     tablespoons maple syrup
      shaved parmesan cheese and pepper to taste 

Marinara Sauce Ingredients

3      tablespoons olive oil
1/2   cup finely diced onion
4      cloves garlic, minced
1      jalapeno pepper, finely diced
1      teaspoon brown sugar
1      tablespoon white sugar
1      teaspoon salt

3      tablespoons tomato paste

1      796ml can crushed tomato
    



Directions

1) Heat olive oil in large saucepan or wok, on medium-low heat
2) Add onion, garlic and jalapeno pepper. Cook until soft, but not brown. Stir frequently
3) Mix in brown sugar, white sugar, salt, and  tomato paste. Continue to stir frequently
4) Separate juices from crushed tomato and set the juice aside
5) Add crushed tomato and stir. Bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce reduces. About 15-20 minutes. Occasionally stir mixture
6) While sauce is simmering, bring pot of water to boil and cook Catelli Gluten Free Penne per directions on box
7) While pasta is cooking, fry bacon until slightly crisp and drain. Place bacon in a bowl and drizzle with maple syrup. Add the maple syrup coated bacon to sauce
8) Add the reserved juices from crushed tomatoes to sauce and stir
9) Fry eggs sunnyside up in bacon grease
10) While eggs cook, drain pasta (do not rinse!!!) and add to sauce
11) Place finished pasta mixture in 4 bowls and top each with fried egg. Add shaved parmesan and pepper to your liking. Serve and enjoy!


You can use an egg ring like I did, to produce a nice rounded shape.

Like what I have created here? Feeling up for a challenge? 

Visit Websaver.ca and grab a coupon for $1.00 off of any one Catelli Gluten Free 340g product. Then, create your own Catelli Gluten Free pasta recipe and share it here on Catelli's Facebook page. The recipe can be for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert! The choice is yours. Catelli's Gluten Free Pastabilities Challenge will be held for the public from May 4-31, 2015, and Catelli is offering major prizes for delicious, out-of-the-box gluten free pasta ideas. The three people whose recipes get selected and have the highest number of likes on Catelli’s Facebook page will receive a year’s supply of gluten free pasta, courtesy of Catelli! How cool is that?!



**Disclosure: I received compensation in the form of  product for this post

Save Money With Gluten Free Coupons Canada

We all know that eating gluten free can be both daunting and very costly. Fortunately, there is a silver lining in the form of gluten free coupons.

Head to GlutenFreeCoupons.ca and sign up to have amazing Gluten Free coupons, mailed directly to your home (Canada only). You will receive a selection of coupons from brands such as Enjoy Life, Pillers, Rudis, Pillsbury and many more! Depending on the region you live in, you could get coupons from more than 16 brands.

By signing up, you will also be able to stay up to date on new gluten free products in the grocery store.


The Canadian Celiac Association endorses this program. Each coupon you use provides much needed financial support to further the hard work done by the CCA.

Good News With The Bad - Kellogg's Gluten Free Rice Krispies

Bad News 

Kellogg's has decided to stop selling their Rice Krispies Brown Rice Gluten-Free cereal in the United States. This is BIG news. A lot of people are upset and rightfully so about it. I still can't even wrap my head around this.

Most people assumed that if production ceases in the United States, then it will here in Canada as well. 

I contacted Kellogg's to inquire about the status of this product in Canada. 


Good News

I'm happy to report that Kellogg's Rice Krispies Brown Rice Gluten-Free will NOT be discontinued here. 

On another note, I have read some grumblings in regards to where the cereal will be manufactured, as the London, Ontario plant is no longer in operations. I sent a follow-up email to Kellogg's, inquiring about this. I also questioned why they would stop selling the Rice Krispies Brown Rice Gluten-Free in the United States. Once I have a response, I will post an update here.



You can read Kellogg's statement in regards to the status of Gluten Free Brown Rice Krispies in Canada below.




Dear Sandra,


Thank you for reaching out to us regarding Gluten Free Rice Krispies. We appreciate you letting us know how much you enjoy these!

We are happy to say that our Gluten-Free Rice Krispies are indeed available in Canada at most major retailers and have not been discontinued. 

We suggest that you speak to your local Store Manager about its availability. Our Sales department 
will then be able to work with the retailers in your area in an effort to make this product 
available to you. 

Thanks again for reaching out to us, Sandra. We wish you the best!


Sincerely,

Marie-Claude L.
Consumer Specialist
Consumer Affairs

* See Below for an updated response from Kellogg's *

Dear Mrs. Lajoie,

Thank you for reaching out to us regarding our Rice Krispies Brown Rice.

Most of our products are manufactured in Canada and the U.S. We do not manufacture product in China.Kellogg Canada has an excellent food safety record and we have confidence in the safety of our products. 

I wish I could give you better news about Gluten Free Rice Krispies, I am sorry to say it has been discontinued. Unfortunately, due to manufacturing constraints, we had to make the difficult decision to stop making it. Although it will be hard to replace this cereal, we hope our American fans might want to try our Special K Gluten Free cereal. We will share your thoughts with the team.

Thank you once again for taking the time to email us. 


Sincerely,

Yolande P.
Consumer Specialist
Consumer Affairs

Review: Simply... Gluten-Free Quick Meals

The title Simply... Gluten-Free Quick Meals says it all. It avoids the over complicated route that that many gluten-free cookbooks take. You will find that it is filled with simple gluten-free meals, which are easy enough for even a novice to conquer.

Something that caught my eye right away was the practical way in wich the book is organized. Most of the recipes are sorted into meals. This is a major time saver as you don't have to flip through pages and pages to find recipes which pair together. 

* I was provided with a complimentary copy of Simply...Gluten-Free Quick Meals for review purposes.

• Each menu contains a quick cook strategy to ensure you get the entire meal on the table together.

• Weekday dinners that can be prepared in 30 minutes

• Single dish recipes which take 15 minutes or less to prepare

• Holiday meals

• Basic recipes for gluten-free flour blends, biscuit, pancake mixes and spice mixtures

• Tips for stocking your gluten-free pantry

All-American Meat Loaf  Dinner

I have tried several recipes from the cookbook so far. The family favourite has been The All-American Meat Loaf Dinner. The mini meat loaves were really easy to make. I did omit the Worcestershire sauce as it's not something we normally have in our pantry. I was super impressed with how moist the meat loaves were! The recipe suggests using a muffin pan which has been sprayed with gluten-free non-stick cooking spray. I'm going to pass on that next time around and just bake the mini meat loaves on a sheet pan. Even with the cooking spray, I found the muffin pan was difficult to get the meat loaves out of in one piece.

One of my favourite things about any cookbook is the pictures. A must in my opinion. They help you envision how the final product should turn out. This is especially helpful when tackling an unfamiliar recipe. Simply Gluten-Free Quick Meals has 16 pages of pictures. While the photos are beautiful, I did find them to be a bit of an afterthought. They are lumped together in the middle of the book which was a little frustrating at times. I would prefer to see the photos at the beginning of each recipe or menu.

Overall, this cookbook was a hit in my house. We love that it is full of hearty meals that don't require a lot of fuss to make. It's also full of familiar family favorites with a nice twist. We are a busy family. Work, school and assorted family activities often leave us in a time crunch. I appreciated how quick these down to earth meals could be put on the table. 

Easy Jell-o Pudding Pie

I spotted this pie crust at my local Real Canadian Superstore and had to try it!

I picked up chocolate Jell-O pudding mix to go with the chocolate pie crust. I added the mix and the required amount of milk to a pot and stirred until boiling. At this point, I let it cool down for 5 minutes, stirring only twice. I then filled the pie shell with the mix and let cool further and later placed it in the fridge.

The photo below is the finished product with some whipped cream on top. I've never made anything like this before. Overall, I am quite happy with the results. It reminds me of the pudding pies I had at restaurants (pre celiac) as a kid. The pie crust is sweet, crunchy and down right delicious! Definitely making this againg.