The Perfect Gift: Gourmet Gift Baskets Review
The Perfect Gift… for anyone!
Gourmet Gift Baskets
Who wants to talk about YUMMY gifts? Me! Me! I featured Gourmet Gift Baskets in the 1st Birthday Bash earlier this year, and here they are again, because I think they create fantastic, beautiful gift baskets. For this gift guide, I received a delicious Christmas Gift Basket Classic from Gourmet Gift Baskets – what a treat! It was a large basket filled to the brim with snacks!
Here’s how the basket looks when it arrives: professionally displayed and shrink-wrapped for protection!
And here’s what you’ll find inside:
Something for everyone…
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Dipping Pretzels with Raspberry Honey Mustard Dip
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Lake Champlain chocolates
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Chocolate Covered Cherries
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Peanut Crunch
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Trail Mix
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Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies…and more!
I notice Gourmet Gift Baskets has added a gluten free basket selection with terrific items! And they have organic gift baskets, with a range of sweet, salty, and savory snacks! Definitely going to be a hit among people I know!
If your Christmas list include people who don’t LOVE snacks, try their flowers, plant and dish gardens, grilling & BBQ, or fruit towers. You can shop by price, occassion, category… and each section has different sized versions so you can fit your budget and your gift list!
Gourmet Gift Baskets is always having sales and discount codes, so you should “Like” GGB on Facebook, or follow on Twitter to catch the latest deals!
Participate in the Gourmet Gift Baskets Military Donation program! Gourmet Gift Baskets is donating TWO care packages for every blog post written about their Christmas Gifts selections. To “donate,” simply review their selection of Christmas Gifts on your blog. You should discuss the GGB Christmas gift selection and how they could be a great gift for someone. Posts must be published by December 9th. Send me the link by December 13 and I’ll pass it along to GGB!
What would you love to give or get from the Gourmet Gift Basket site? (For me, it’s just about everything!).
A good time was had by all #ChexPartyMixChange MGT
It’s always fun to get together with my sisters (which in my definition includes my sister-in-law, and at times HER sister, which I call my sister-in-law-in-law). Last night we gathered for a Chex Mix-Change Party. As part of MyGetTogether, I was sent a huge box of Chex cereals and some other goodies for party planning!
I’d invited a lot more people but… we had a lot of cancellations or no shows at the last minute… so it turned out to be a family affair, and a good time was had by all! My son kept asking for “crackers!”
I was excited to try some new Chex Mix recipes – Original is good, but I was looking for a sweet tooth fix. Oh, and since most Chex is gluten free, Chex Mix makes for a great alternative snack! Now, usually around this time of year, I’ve gone to cookie swaps, which are fun, but involve a lot of prep. With a Chex Mix-Change, we eliminated prep time – we made all the Chex Mix at my house and then I packaged them up for everyone to take home!
I initially planned to make three Chex Mix recipes, but they are SO fast and easy to make, we ended up making four. It took us about an hour to make the first three, then we chatted and were looking at recipes on the back of the box and decided to try a fourth!
We made Going Fishing - a salty Chex Mix with goldfish cracker, ranch dressing mix and Parm cheese. Yummy, but not my favorite. Then we tried Snickerdoodle - definitely a favorite! Although I searched high and low for Chocolate Chex, and could not find ANY! So I had to substitute some other chocolate cereal. Bummer.
We also made a very sticky but very yummy Caramel-Chocolate Drizzles Mix, and a Chocolate Coffee Toffee mix that is sort of like Coffee Muddy Buddies. So delicious! Those two were quite messy though!
And… we had a lot of laughs! Watch this video! I was going to edit it, but I kept laughing at all our mess ups and couldn’t stand to cut them out, so this is the un-cut version in all its glory!
DISCLOSURE: I was sent products and supplies for this party; all opinions are honest and 100% my own.
Gluten Free Eats: Fabulous Mac & Cheese
As I’m half Italian, when I started eating gluten free I bought a bunch of pastas, knowing I wouldn’t go long without craving this staple dish. But after a few disappointments, I shoved the half-used boxes in the cupboard.
But Monday I decided to try one more time – this time with a baked macaroni and cheese dish. And I hit upon the PERFECT way to use gluten free pasta. Something about the cheese masks the texture/taste of the “fake pasta” (as I call it). And it actually tastes good!
Here’s my recipe, adapted from somewhere that I can’t remember. But with so many changes it’s pretty much mine now (right?)! Enjoy it!
| Gluten Free Eats: Fabulous Mac & Cheese |
- 2 T butter
- 2 T gluten free flour
- 12 oz gluten free pasta (by dry measure)
- 2 1/2 cups milk (I used 2 cups whole milk and 1/2 cup water)
- 1/2 t Dijon mustard (this makes the dish!)
- 1 t sea salt
- 3/4 cups ricotta
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheeses (I used half cheddar, half mozzarella)
- 1/2 cup gluten free bread crumbs
- 1 T butter, melted (optional)
- OPTIONAL: steamed diced/chopped veggies like broccoli or cauliflour – I successfully tucked these into the dish and it tasted great!
- Boil a pot of water and cook gluten free pasta until al dente. Rinse under cold water just to stop cooking process and set aside.
- MEANWHILE:
- Melt butter in a saucepan. Whisk in flour to create a roux. Watch that it doesn’t burn.
- Slowly add milk, whisking slowly the whole time. Heat on medium until thickened, stirring frequently to avoid clumping or burning.
- Turn off heat and add Dijon mustard, sea salt, shredded cheese and ricotta. Stir until melty and blended.
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Pour cheese mixture over pasta in the saucepan and fold in gently. This is a good time to fold in your chopped veggies if you’re planning to do so!
- Place mac and cheese into an 8×8 pan. Sprinkle with buttered or unbuttered gluten free bread crumbs.
- Bake uncovered 20-25 minutes or until bubbly and heated through. Serve immediately!
You can add other seasonings into your mac and cheese like jalepenos, tomatoes and more! Get creative!
Have any gluten free tips or recipes to share? Leave a link or comment!
I really do eat bon-bons all day
What do I do all day? This is probably the question that runs through my husband’s mind when he steps through the door… onto a toy train engine and sundry toys scattered across the kitchen floor!
I’ll tell you what I do. I wake up to the siren sounds of a baby calling my name (which is Mommy, in case you didn’t know). Sometimes this is at 5:30 a.m. Sometimes not till 8:30 a.m. (rare, but a blessed treat!). I eat cheesy eggs and coffee for breakfast – if I’m lucky.
I start my job driving trains over tracks fraught with danger, like missing bridges and rails. I get chased by sharks in an ocean. I get chased by dinosaurs in the jungle. I get chased by lobsters. Chasing takes up a big part of my day.
I watch for our favorite people: the mailman or garbage truck driver. I watch construction trucks in the parking lot (I’m not the one shrieking in delight!). I watch for nap time to come!
I fix “broken” things with a toy wrench. I build towers. I make pirate hats. Superman capes. Cowboy neckerchiefs.
I make lunch of hummus and toast and applesauce and leftovers. I run upstairs. I run downstairs (not even being chased this time!).
And every once in a while… I get to do what it LOOKS like I’ve been doing all day. Eat bon-bons. Specifically, Udi’s Gluten Free cookies! Having a box of cookies appear at my doorstep – payday! When this happens, I smile big and sigh, “Welcome to MY world!”
Today, Udi’s Gluten Free Foods sent me a box of each of their new gluten-free cookies! Cookies! Real honest-to-goodness gluten-free cookies! I haven’t had cookies in about 7 weeks! And suddenly there was Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, and Snickerdoodle all looking to re-aquaint themselves with my tummy!
I immediately opened up each box and ate one. Two. Three! And one more! Let me tell you – one thing I LOVE about Udi’s products is somehow, they manage to make gluten-free foods not taste disgusting. In fact, their cookies are outstanding and delicious!
Udi’s has created yummy soft cookies (my favorite!); not chalky or crumbly or stale-tasting like gluten-free cookies I have tried in the past (including ones I try to make myself!).
Honestly, if I put out a plate of these cookies at a party or workplace lunchroom, they’d be gone in a second, and nobody would ask if they were gluten-free.
That good.
So, yes. In addition to all the other things I do … I really do eat bon-bons all day. Today, at least… (I think I see a gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich in my future!).
Keep an eye out for Udi’s Gluten-Free cookies and connect with them on Facebook! I love how they came out with three classic cookie flavors at the same time – something for everyone! An 8 ounce box (approx 12 cookies) for $5.00 is a pretty good deal as far as gluten-free treats are concerned!
Have you tried Udi’s Gluten-Free Cookies yet?!
Disclosure: In case you missed the part where I said Udi’s sent me these cookies, yes, I was sent free products to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% my own honest opinion.
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