Say Cheeeeeese!

Product Name: Van's "Say Cheese!" Gluten Free Crackers
Manufacturer: Van's Natural Foods
Overall Rating: 5
Taste: 5
Texture: 5
Shelf Life: 5
Cost: 5 | $2.99
Company Website: http://www.vansfoods.com/our-products-crackers#

Review: If I were to think back to my "normal" days prior to being gluten-free, my favorite snack of choice would be any kind of cheesy cracker I could get my hands on. Every afternoon you could find me at my desk noshing on some Cheez-its, Goldfish Crackers, etc. To me these little cheesy tasty delights were the perfect snack. Crunchy, a little salty, and bursting with cheese flavor...now who wouldn't love that? And then, I had to go gluten-free....da, da dummmmm! My cheesy cracker days were now over! How sad, right? Well, not anymore! 

Every once in a while I take a breeze down the gluten-free aisle at my neighborhood grocery store to see if there is anything new and exciting on the shelves, and to my surprise I found these tasty little buggers! Van's created a cheesy cracker just for me! Why thank you Van's, my prayers have been answered! 

Without even hesitating these cheese crackers were in the cart. Price did not matter. What was in them didn't matter....well, at least at that very moment it didn't. I paid for them at the checkout and I didn't even make it to the car before that box was open and I was popping them in my mouth. And, boy were these good! You know that one good friend of yours that you rarely see, but when you get together it is like no time has passed? Well, this was just that! It was like I never was away from those cheesy crackers I had been missing for the past 5 years. I was in cheesy cracker heaven.

Then, after they passed the taste test with outstanding marks, I actually read the box to see what was in them. I wanted to see if I was just putting garbage in my mouth, or if they had any nutritional merit whatsoever. And, again to my surprise, these were actually made of good quality ingredients that I could eat AND feel good about it. 

I am very conscious (well, most of the time) about what I eat. I respect my body and try to treat it with a clean and healthy diet. I eat very few packaged foods. So, when I saw that these crackers were made of only good ingredients, I was even more happy than before. These are made with whole grains, no GMOs, and packed with protein. See for yourself!

Since my first purchase only in February, I have purchased 4 more boxes. Now, do I stick to the suggested serving of 30 crackers as stated on the box? Generally yes, but sometimes I just have to go back for "a few more." If you were a fan of the cheesy crackers like me, I urge you to try these. You won't regret it. I promise. 

Van's has another flavor at my local grocery store called "Lot's of Everything." I've tried them, and they are good, but in my opinion just not as good as their cheesy version. They are just in a class all by themselves.

Enjoy your cheesy bites of goodness and please let me know what you think of them too!

Peppermint Patty Ice Cream Cake

The idea for the recipe I am sharing with you today came out of a conversation I had with my brother about my delicious Melt-In-Your-Mouth Dark Chocolate Brownies and talking with him about his daughter's love for all things mint. My niece's birthday was coming up, so I was telling him that I actually make a mint version of my brownies and offered to make them a batch or two for her 5th birthday party. Within about five minutes of agreeing to do that, I had already expanded the idea into making them a mint peppermint patty-like ice cream cake with my brownies as a base instead. They immediately accepted my offer.

I have been talking about this recipe with some colleagues and friends over the past few weeks and I've already had two people try it out with great success. So then, I began thinking to myself, "What am I, some sort of culinary genius?" Well, that may be a stretch, but both people who tried this recipe had rave reviews from their families, and I totally get why. I mean, who doesn't love chocolate and ice cream together? And, practically a brownie sundae in cake form none-the-less? Come on...it's just another one of those matches made in heaven! You literally cannot go wrong!

This recipe is so easy to make and is sure to be a crowd pleaser at your next get-together or party. You could make this recipe in a variety of different ways using flavors that suit your liking. Today, I am making a mint variation using mint chocolate chip ice cream and homemade mint ganache. But, you could easily use any flavor ice cream you wanted along with a plain chocolate ganache and have the same delicious results. 

Here are some other flavor combinations you could try: 

• Peanut Butter Cup. Peanut butter chip brownies with a peanut butter explosion ice cream and plain chocolate ganache.
• S'mores. Dark chocolate chip brownies with coffee ice cream, and plain chocolate ganache. After the cake has been frozen thoroughly and you're just about ready to serve, put small marshmallows on top of the ganache and put under the broiler for a few minutes to toast up the marshmallows.
• Raspberry. Dark chocolate chip brownies with vanilla ice cream and raspberry infused (using raspberry extract) chocolate ganache. Garnish with a ring of fresh raspberries on the top. 

The options are really endless, just play with the flavors you like!

Peppermint Patty Ice Cream Cake

The finished ice cream brownie cake. 

1st Step – Brownie Base Layer
Ingredients:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature, cut into 8 pieces

8 ounces gluten-free baking chocolate

1 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled

¼ cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder

½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup dark chocolate chips
cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 9-inch spring form pan with cooking spray. Set pan aside.

Place butter and dark chocolate chunks in a large glass mixing bowl. Using a microwave, melt butter and chocolate in 2 or 3 30-second intervals, stirring between each interval until chocolate is smooth and there are no lumps. (I recommend setting your microwave timer to only 30 seconds each time so that you do not burn the chocolate.) After the third heating interval there may be a few lumps left, just keep stirring until they melt down.

Add sugar, stirring until well combined.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder until combined well.

Add eggs to melted chocolate in the large mixing bowl, stirring to combine. Add all of flour mixture to the chocolate mixture. Stir until moistened, making sure not to over mix, about 15-20 strokes. Stir in chocolate chips. Transfer batter to prepared pan and smooth out with a rubber spatula.

Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in spring form pan for about 2 hours. Do not remove spring form from pan, you will need this in place for the next step.

Baked brownies cooling.

2nd Step – Ice Cream Layer
Ingredients:

2 Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream (1.5 quarts each)

Directions:

Let Ice Cream sit out for about 20 minutes to soften. Scoop out softened ice cream and spread evenly over brownies base layer until the ice cream reaches the top of the spring form pan. Once the spring form pan is filled with ice cream, cover with plastic wrap and put the whole pan in the freezer to set for at least 4-6 hours.

Ice cream layer added. (spring form removed to show layers)

3rd Step – Mint Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

8 ounces mint chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

M&Ms Mint Candies for garnish

Mint chocolate ganache.

Directions:

Pour chips into a medium sized glass mixing bowl and set aside. In a small saucepan, bring heavy cream to a boil. Once the cream has reached a boil, pour over chips in your mixing bowl and stir until smooth with a wire wisk. 

After the ganache is made, remove ice cream cake from freezer. The ice cream should be hard and set completely before pouring on the ganache. Remove plastic wrap, but do not remove spring form from ice cream cake. 

Pour ganache over the middle of the top of the cake and spread with a metal spatula. Spread ganache to within a quarter of an inch from the rim of the spring form pan. Garnish the edge with Mint M&Ms and then put the cake back in freezer to set for a few hours or overnight. 

Remove cake from freezer and remove spring form from pan. Let the cake sit out for about 15-20 minutes before serving to let soften for easier cutting. The brownie will most likely still be frozen so you may want to use a metal knife heated under hot water before slicing. 

The birthday girl gives the ice cream brownie cake two thumbs up!

Serves 12.
This recipe is gluten-free, nut-free, and vegetarian.

Homemade Peanut and Chocolate Chip "Larabar"

Eating healthy and from natural sources is very important to me. I have been into health and fitness since I can remember. I had my first gym membership when I was only 16 years old at "My Gym" in Ballston Spa, which by the way still exists today. 

Do you remember that old adage "You are what you eat?" Well, that is one of those basic rules that I live and stand by every day. Every now and again I do deviate from this little rule...I mean, I am only human after all. There will always be a soft spot in my heart for a fresh Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. I think I've already told you about my affliction to peanut butter and chocolate...truly a match made in heaven. 

Larabars are a staple in my house and are consumed on a daily basis. Larabars are gluten-free, come in many different flavors and varieties, and never contain more than nine ingredients. Larabars are a blend of unsweetened fruit, nuts and spices. Both my husband and I eat them as our snack in between breakfast and lunch every day. They are just what we need to sustain us until the next meal. They are also good to have on hand for long road trips, kids snacks, as a pre- or post-workout snack, etc. Larabars are delicious, and as pure and simple as they come. 

Although I love Larabars, they can get pretty expensive after awhile. I usually by them by the box (5 bars) at my local Hannafod for about $5.99 for 5. So, that is about $1.19 per bar. If purchased singly, they are $1.49. Trader Joe's does have them as well and are sold individually for closer to $1.19 per bar. After a while that adds up. 

So, after getting tired of spending all of this money on these, I decided to try and see if I could make them on my own. I looked at the ingredients of my favorite Larabar flavor, the Peanut and Chocolate Chip, and began experimenting. The end result, success! I actually like mine a bit better because they are not as dry as Larabars version. Most of the Larabars are pretty moist, but for some reason this one is a bit drier. 

Give these a try and see what you think. I do warn you, it can get a little messy making them, but it is worth it. Be patient while blending in the food processor, and trust me, you'll be happy you were in the end.

One added tip that I would like to share with you is that if you have a measuring scoop, like the one seen below, this will make your life so much easier and the process a little less messy. I am so glad that I had decided to invest in this basic functional tool after having made these without one many times before. The one seen here is a 1 tablespoon small measuring scoop by Pampered Chef and sells for $15.50. 

Homemade Peanut and Chocolate Chip "Larabar"

Ingredients:
3 cups pitted dates, 2 of those cups soaked in water
2/3 cups dry roasted peanuts, unsalted
1/2 cup cocoa powder plus an additional 1/8 cup reserved
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (optional)
2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
warm water, if needed

Directions:
Take two cups of pitted dates and place in a small bowl, cover with lukewarm water. Let dates soak for 15-30 min. After they have soaked, drain water and put into food processor or blender. (Note: food processor will work better and is the optimal choice.)

Place all remaining ingredients into your food processor. Pulse 5-6 times. Scrape down sides of food processor with a spoon, then pule 5-6 times again. Keep repeating this process of pulsing and scraping down the sides until all ingredients have been blended to a coarse thick, paste-like consistency. 

If you are having trouble getting the food processor to blend your ingredients and it seems like nothing is happening, add 1 tablespoon of warm water and try again. You can add in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the ingredients start to blend. Just be careful not to add too much water at one time or you will get a paste that is too moist and unworkable.

Take remaining 1/8 cup of cocoa powder and sprinkle it on a plate. 

Now that the mixture is at the right consistency, take your 1 tablespoon measuring scoop and scoop out the mixture into equal sized balls and roll them in the cocoa on the plate. 

Place in a airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. You can also form these into bars and wrap in aluminum foil, but I find this way easier to handle.

This recipe makes 30, 1 tablespoon sized balls or about 13 bars.
Serving size is 3 balls.

This recipe is gluten-free, and vegan.