OH MY!!! Alfredo!!!

I LOVE ALFREDO!!!! I do!! It's so fattening and I know it is absolutely NO good for me, but every now and then, you just need it. Yes, NEED it. I do not like any alfredo sauce I have ever had at any restaurant. It seems a little milky/watery and not cheesy enough and if I am going to eat the fat grams in this, I want it to be cheesy.

It's so hard to pen down a "recipe" for this alfredo because I always just kind of throw the ingredients in the pan and if it doesn't work then I add whatever it needs. I think after making it tonight, I may have some sort of recipe to post. My Mom made this recipe when I was growing up, and still makes it, and now I make it. Actually, my little sister, who rarely cooks can even make this, so that just goes to show that it's EASY. (No offense Bradey!!!)

This recipe will probably be enough alfredo sauce to feed 10-12 people. My Mom and I always cook the pasta in a big pan, drain the water, and then pour the alfredo sauce over the cooked pasta and mix it together. That way, every piece of pasta is covered in sauce. Tonight, I topped the alfredo with grilled chicken that was sliced and fanned out. I could kick myself for not taking a picture! It looked SO pretty!!

Alfredo
1 1/2 sticks of Butter (Do not substitute margarine)
22oz. Sour Cream
2, 12oz cans of Evaporated Milk
8oz of grated Parmesan Cheese

Melt the butter in a medium size pot and then add one can of evaporated milk. Whisk in all of the parmesan cheese and when incorporated, add your other can of evaporated milk. Add Salt and Pepper to your liking. Once all of the ingredients are incorperated and your sauce is hot, remove from the stove. DO NOT BOIL THE SAUCE!!! (Yes, I'm kind of yelling because that is very important!!!) ;)

I like serving it over gluten free penne pasta. It really holds the sauce nicely and is easy to eat. My sister prefers angel hair pasta. Whatever your favorite pasta shape is, I would recommend using that!!!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

I guarantee you that by in the morning, I will weigh five pounds heavier than I do right now, and I don't even care!!! (Good attitude, right??) For dinner tonight, I made Gluten Free Calzones and I will just say, YUM! It's something we do not have very often and it's something my 15 month old, inhales! She loves them! Before I even had decided that we were having GF Calzones for dinner, I had already begun the process of Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls. I haven't had a GOOD cinnamon roll in over four years (I have had a frozen one, YUCK) and I was not expecting anything spectacular tonight. I do not get my hopes up about my recipes anymore because too many fail. Well, in my opinion, they fail. My husband loves eating crumbled up cookies that don't come off the pan, and actually our friends Cord and Emily loved those cookies too!! Oh well, back to the cinnamon rolls. I didn't have my hopes up, but man oh man, when they came out of the oven, my hopes were up and I was on cloud 9!!!!

The other day, we went by Whole Foods and I grabbed a bag of Pamela's Bread Mix and Flour Blend. That's the best decision I've made in a while!! I was looking at the recipes on the back of the package and decided the cinnamon roll was going to be first on my list!

*As always, I am telling you up front that this recipe was not created by me. This recipe is from Pamela's Products Inc. I used their recipe to make these cinnamon rolls but I changed a few things to make them better (in my opinion).*

There are four different recipes inside this one recipe. You have a recipe for the actual dough, the yeast, the filling, and the glaze. I will go one by one and break it down easier than the way Pamela's did. I will also go in order of how I did everything!

**You need two sticks of room temperature butter.**

Yeast:
1 packet of active dry yeast (or 2 1/4t)
1t sugar
1/2c warm water

Place 1/2 cup of warm water in a small bowl (or a 1c measuring container) and dissolve the 1t of sugar. Add in the packet of yeast and combine with a fork. Let it sit for about five minutes until "foamy" (as Pamela's said). While the yeast sits and gets all foamy, get the filling ready.

Filling:1 stick of unsalted, room temperature, butter
1/3c sugar
1/8c brown sugar (my addition)
4t cinnamon (I added that 4th teaspoon)
1/3c of raisins &/or pecans (I did not do this step because of my little girl, but I don't think 1/3c
        would be enough. I would probably at least do 1/2c.)

With a handheld mixer, combine the stick of room temperature butter, 1/3c sugar, 1/8c of brown sugar, and 4t cinnamon. Sit the mixture to the side.

Rolls:3 1/2c Pamela's Bread/Flour Mix
1 egg, large
1/4c and about 2T Milk (recipe called for 1/4c water, really!?!?)
1 stick of room temperature butter
1T of Orange Zest (optional, I didn't have an orange, so I didn't)

The recipe says to use a heavy duty stand mixer, but shockingly, I do not have one. If anyone would like to donate one to me, I would be absolutely 100% ready and willing to accept it!!! :) (The kitchen aid light blue/tealish color would match my hand mixer, for anyone who wanted to know!!!)

I have a Ninja Kitchen System so I just used the bowl and the dough attachment to mix my dough. It worked ok. (First time I had used the dough attachment) So, if you have a ninja or a stand mixer, it all works the same. Use the whisk attachment on your stand mixture if you are going to use that, if you are going to use a ninja, use your hand mixer to combine the butter and egg then transfer to the ninja.

Combine the stick of softened butter with 1 egg, and orange zest, if desired. Then slowly add in 1 1/2 c of Pamela's Mix. Add the milk, "foamy" yeast, and the remaining 2c of Pamela's Mix and combine until well incorporated. Once incorporated, place ball of dough on a large sheet of parchment paper. Roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper, into a large rectangle, about 1/4" thick. Peel off the top layer of parchment paper and spread the filling all over the dough. Spread evenly and make sure you get all the way to the edge.

**This is where Pamela and I are different. Apparently she would rather have done all this work and only get 5-6 cinnamon rolls out of all this effort. In other words, they rolled the short end, to the short end. I on the other hand, refuse to do all this work and get ONLY 5-6 cinnamon rolls. I rolled long end to long end and ended up with a smaller cinnamon roll (exact same size as Pillsbury) and 16!!! 16 Cinnamon Rolls!!!!!**

So, now that I got that off my chest, let's get back to it. After you have spread the mixture evenly, and all the way to the edge of your dough, begin to roll your dough from long end to long end. To get the roll started, lift the parchment paper, and fold 1/4" over itself. It will be a breeze to roll from there. Once you have rolled your dough, you are ready to cut! Get a very sharp knife, I used a big chef's knive and it worked great. Cut rolls about 3/4"-1" thick and place in a greased 9x13 baking pan, about 1/2" apart and 1/2" from the edges. I ended up having a full 9x13 pan and a loaf pan with a few rolls in it.

Now to the hardest part...
Place the pan to the side and let the dough rise for 60-90 minutes. This right here is why I ended up making calzones for dinner!!! Side Note: My dough did not rise. :(

Glaze:
1c powdered sugar
3T milk (recipe called for water, YUCK)

3/4t of vanilla

Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork. Cover and place in the refrigerator until time to glaze cinnamon rolls. Placing the glaze in the refrigerator helps to thicken it, so it's perfect for a hot cinnamon roll!!! This recipe gives you almost 1t of glaze per roll.

It's almost time to reward your patience!!! Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes. When rolls have been out of the oven for a few minutes, glaze and share!!!
Or eat them all... I won't tell!!!

*This recipe may sound complicated, but I promise, it is much easier than it sounds!!

Self Breast Exams

In March of this year, I felt something inside my body I never thought I would feel. I was changing clothes and changed bras and I felt something uncomfortable where my underwire hit. It was a little tender to the touch and I got a little concerned. I called my doctor and got an appointment for the next day. She did an exam and told me it was an inflamed duct. As an overwhelming sense of relief came over me, she continued on and let me know that she wanted to go ahead and do an ultrasound just to make sure everything is ok. I was fine with this idea because it's noninvasive and not a big deal.

 A few days later, I was back in the doctor's office for my ultrasound. As I laid there, the technician asked me to pinpoint the area of concern. She went around the specific area. As she did that, I watched the screen and saw what I now call "the intruder". The technician told me she was going to go get a radiologist to look at my images before I left. A few minutes later, he came in the room and told me that I have a tumor.

Jumping forward to this last Wednesday... I had my follow up ultrasound to check the size of my intruder. Not only has it grown a little but, but it has taken on a whole new shape. The picture below is my first image (top) and my second image (bottom).

(This isn't a size comparison, because the pictures were taken with my phone
from two different types of screens).

As my new radiologist looked at the new images and then took some more images himself, he informed me that the tissue around the tumor is healthy breast tissue, which is very good news. He gave me a few options, a follow up scan in three months, a biopsy, or a lumpectomy. My husband and I decided that we were jumping in head first and taking control of the situation. Like I have said from the beginning, this is an intruder, it doesn't belong in my body and it is coming out. There is no need for us to wait for another scan or go through a potentially painful biopsy when I could just tell this dude "goodbye" forever!!!

There are not but a handful of people in my life who currently know about this little creature living inside my body. I have not brought it to many people's attention because more than likely, there is absolutely nothing to worry about.

I wrote this blog today to share the importance of doing a self breast exam. No matter how old you are, male or female, breast cancer is no joke. It's scary and serious. A self breast exam is so easy and quick.

Here are the instructions on how to do an exam properly, and it's straight from the experts! http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/about-breast-cancer/breast-self-exam.aspx

Do an exam once a month. You may find something, you may not, but if you do, do not hesitate to call your doctor. I was a little concerned that I was going to embarrass myself and it would be nothing, but mine was something. I'm glad I put everything aside, and called. I know it's nothing, I know that I'm fine, but what if it is something? If it is, I saved my own life.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Bites

Scrolling through Pinterest and other places, I have seen little things like this. People are calling them all sorts of things but I am just going to call them "Oatmeal Bites". I have been wanting something healty to just be able to grab when I'm in the mood for something salty or sweet.

In some of recipes I've scrolled through, I haven't see many "tasty" ingredients. Some of them just have mixtures of nuts that don't sound tasty together, oatmeal, and then some chocolate chips. I decided, if I'm going to take the time to make a healthy little snack, it is going to be healthy and yummy all in one bite!! I had all of these ingredients on hand (rare), so I decided to throw some things together and see what I could come up with. I am very happy with the results, and I hope you like them! I can't wait for my husband to get home from work and my little girl to wake up from her nap to taste them so I can get the real 411 on if they are actually good or not!!!

**UPDATE**
These little snacks didn't last very long! Hadley was eating them like they were pure chocolate and Clint loved them as well!!! Hope ya'lls tastebuds danced like their's did!!!

Please enjoy!!!

Gluten Free Oatmeal Bites (Makes 28, 1T size bites)

1c GF Oats (I used Bob's Red Mill Rolled Oats)

1/3c & 1T of GF Peanut Butter (spray the containers with non stick spray before measuring)

2T Honey

1/4c Almonds (I had Honey Roasted Almonds on hand and they are YUM in this recipe.)

1/3c Walnuts

1/2c Milk Chocolate Chips (Use whichever chocolate is your favorite or whatever you have on hand.)

In a small or medium size mixing bowl, combine the oatmeal and peanut butter. Once that is combined, add in the honey.

Finely chop or coarsly chop the almonds and walnuts. I ran them through something equivalent to a "Slap Chop". Add them to the oatmeal mixture and combine, then add the chocolate chips.

Use a tablespoon measuring spoon and dip out some of the mixture. Flatten it into the spoon to where it's flat on top, this helps it to go ahead and start sticking together. Remove it from the spoon and mold it into a ball. Don't roll it, it will break apart. Squeezing it together and molding it works best. I only ended up with 26 Oatmeal bites in the end because I ate one, or three, before I counted. 28 is a good estimate!!! ENJOY!!!

Watermelon, Goat Cheese, & Pistachio Bites

Over Memorial Day weekend, we took a little weekend getaway, two hours South to Orlando. I found us a four star hotel on Travelocity for $59 a night, we had free tickets to Sea World and a list of GF friendly restaurants. I was one excited girl!!! Our hotel had several restaurants and one of them was this super nice, semi fancy place so we decided to treat ourselves to that one! (My sister was with us so we had a built in babysitter!) I called ahead to see if they could provide a GF option for me and they said they would cook whatever I requested! Along with this amazing service, since it was Memorial Day weekend, they were giving active duty military FIFTY percent off their final tab. It was so nice!! We ended up paying $60 for a meal that should have been about $140. (We were given complimentary wine for some reason.)

This recipe, is what we had for our appetizer. It was so wonderful and refreshing. I have made it four times since we have been home. Everyone I have made it for, has loved it!! I seriously can not get enough of it!! Please enjoy and note that there are no measurements here! Everything is done according to how big of a bite you want it to be! Any measurements I do give will be estimated on a serving of about four people.

Watermelon, Goat Cheese, & Pistachio Bites

-I use a seedless Watermelon for this, and cut it into small square bite size pieces. Maybe 1/2"X1/2" (You will use less than half of a seedless watermelon.)

-One small package of goat cheese (from Publix). I think it might be 2oz. Maybe 3oz. It's the package that is $3.99.

-Shelled/Roasted/Salted Pistachios. A container of 6oz is MORE than plenty. You can either run them through a food processor or do what I did for the picture above and put them in a plastic bag and beat the mess out of them!! (They are prettier and crunchier this way)

Place your watermelon on a pretty serving platter, or paper plate... Whatever floats your boat.

Roll your goat cheese into small balls, remember, these are best enjoyed when they are "one bite".

Roll the balls of goat cheese in the crumbled/smashed/processed pistachios and then place on top of a cube of watermelon.

If you have toothpicks, stab them through so they are easier to pick up. We did not have time to put toothpicks through these. I barely got the picture taken before they were all snatched up! I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!!

Side Note:
I have paired these with Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc and they have both been quite nice. Sauv Blanc is the recommended if you are looking at a pairing chart tho.

Preparing for Company

As some of my readers may know, I am having a heart procedure on Monday. It's a very simple/routine procedure and oddly enough, I am not nervous at all! Now, if you ask me Sunday night, I might have a different answer, but right now, Thursday morning at 1:23am, I am excited!

With my husband's busy training schedule, he is not able to take any time off to help me recover when all this is over. Let me rephrase that, he IS able to take time off but, it will set him back in his training and that is the last thing I want!!! He has worked so hard to get to this point and I won't let some silly little procedure mess up his hard work! Fortunately, he will be by my side and in the waiting room on the big day and it will not mess up his training schedule, but beside him in the waiting room will be my Mom, Dad and little sister, and of course, our daughter.

My Mom and sister, Bradey, will arrive sometime Sunday afternoon. They are going to make the sixteen hour drive to Jacksonville, from central Arkansas. My Dad, is going to have to fly because of his job. I will insert here and say that I am blessed with a Dad who is an amazing Music Pastor. God has given him such an incredible gift and I can honestly say, I miss worshiping with him on Sunday mornings. His church has been doing mission projects all over their city this week and Sunday is their big wrap up day, so that is definitely a "Do not miss" day!!! By Sunday evening at 9:45, my family should be reunited and returning to my house from the airport! I feel like a kid getting ready for Christmas! I am so excited! The six of us haven't been together, under one roof, since December 30th, and in my opinion, that is entirely too long!

I am that girl that does way too much in preparation for company to arrive. I wash their sheets on the day of their arrival so that they are as fresh as can be, I make sure that they have a nice body wash and hair products in their bathroom, I fold their bed back (and occasionally place a mint or chocolate), I make sure that breakfast is already made for the next morning, the coffee pot is ready and coffee mugs are on the counter waiting for them. I'm starting to think I missed my calling in life as the owner of a Bed and Breakfast. Sometimes in preparation for guests, Clint tells me I overdo it. I guess he's right, I mean, they are coming in town for my heart surgery, they aren't coming for a spa vacation. I guess I just want them to feel like they are. Am I crazy? Please someone tell me that I am not the only one out there who gets a little too excited about guests staying with you and it is possible that you go a little too far above and beyond.

I know this for certain, on Sunday, I am making a nice loaf of banana bread, a loaf of gluten free sandwich bread and possibly some GF Oreos. I also have them a "goodie basket" made for the waiting room on Monday. Yes, that probably is a little too far, but my surgery could take anywhere from two-six hours, they may get bored and hungry! I just want the best for my guests. Even though they are staying in a 1300 square foot townhome in a semi-ghetto neighborhood, I want them to feel as if they are at a semi luxury resort with all the amenities!!!

OH! Fresh flowers too! ;)

Cake Pop's

I hope everyone is enjoying some of my recipes and tips!!! It makes me smile when I get an alert letting me know that someone has "pinned" my Silky Legs post! I know I do not keep up with this like I should. Things have been so crazy recently and they are only about to get crazier!

I have been battling a heart abnormality for four years and on Monday (July 2nd) I am finally having surgery to fix my "broken heart". It is a very simple procedure and I can not wait to feel normal again!! Well, as normal as I can be anyway!

I have an easy fun recipe for you to take into the holiday. It's a recipe for the easiest cake pops EVER! Some people think that you make cake pops from a round mold and bake it. Hate to burst your bubble, but there's no need to go buy a special pan, it's easier than that!!! All you need is a GF Chocolate Cake Mix, a regular size tub of frosting, and white chocolate almond bark.

 For this recipe, I use the Betty Crocker GF Devil's Food cake mix. Make the cake according to the directions on the box, except do not use water, use milk! (Always use milk over water!!!)

After the cake is baked, let it cool. Once it has cooled, break it up and run it through your food processor until it is a fine crumb. In a bowl or the baking pan (what I normally do) combine the tub of Chocolate Frosting (my choice) and the crumbed cake mix and then roll the messy mixture into small balls. If you have small dowel rods or popcicle sticks, put one in each cake ball and make it a cake "pop". I for one, never have either on hand, so I just make "Cake Balls".

Place in the refrigerator for about an hour and then dip into melted white chocolate almond bark, or just drizzle over the cake ball/pops.

We like to keep our "Cake Balls" in the refrigerator for the few hours that they last. My husband says that this specific combination almost tastes like an Oreo!!!! Which is actually perfect since my Twitter screen name is "i_miss_oreos".

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

HAPPY 4th of JULY just incase I do not get to post again!!!
Thank a military member today!!!

Gluten Free Cheese Crackers (CHEEZIT!!!)

This has officially become my "Most Wanted" recipe! As always, I will be upfront and confess that the original creation of this recipe is not my doing. I found the base of the recipe somewhere else and I have altered it to fit my gluten free lifestyle and the palate of my 14 month old little girl.

We have a hard time around here finding a really good "cracker" so I was excited to see a base recipe for this and use it to create something I have not been able to enjoy for almost four years, a Cheezit. They were so easy to make and so delicious! I'll just stop blabbing and post the recipe! I hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Gluten Free Cheese Crackers

**Hadley Version:
1c Flour
4T Cold UNsalted Butter
2 1/4c Cheese (I used Extra Sharp White Cheddar this time.)
3-4T Ice Water

-Note: Read recipe to see when to preheat your oven. Do not preheat at the beginning.

Pulse flour and butter in a food processor until combined. Slowly pulse in cheese (1/2c at a time) until all is combined. Pulse in 1T of Ice water (without the ice) at a time until dough is not as crumbly Remove from food processor and place in plastic wrap. Wrap up tightly and place in the refrigerator for about thirty minutes.

Once dough is out of the refrigerator, touch as little as possible. The warmth of your hands will start to melt the butter and we do not want that! Roll out dough onto a counter with a little bit of flour on it. Roll until dough is 1/8" thick. Cut the dough into small squares, about the size of Cheezits. I used a pizza cutter and it was fast and easy.

Place squares on a greased cookie sheet. To keep the cracker from puffing up in the middle, I placed a small hole in the center of each square. I broke of one of the teeth off of a plastic fork and used the broken end (bigger end) to poke the holes.

At this point, you can preheat your oven to 350 degrees. After you have placed all crackers on the baking sheet and poked holes in them, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for ten minutes. This will cool down the butter again so that your crackers will stay square and not spread.

Bake at 350 for 13-18 minutes (depending on your oven) and enjoy!

**The non-Hadley version has a few extra ingredients.

1/2t of Pepper
1/8t of Onion Powder
The next batch, I will be substituting Pepper Jack cheese for the Cheddar.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

As I sit here typing this post, I am smelling the most amazing aroma coming from my kitchen! I have banana bread in the oven! It only has about 20 more minutes before it's final resting place in the stomachs of the three of us in this household.

Banana bread is by far one of our favorites! Here recently, I have been making it without pecans, which to me is just sinful, BUT, I do have an almost 14 month old who doesn't need those pieces of pecans just yet! Oh the sacrifices we make as mothers.

This recipe is straight from Pamela's BUT, I have made adjustments to make it better!!! Well, I guess that's my opinion. The only way you will know is if you make it both ways! (Don't waste your time, just make mine!!!!!!!)

I hope you enjoy!!


Banana Nut Bread

1 3/4c of Pamela's Pancake and Baking Mix
1/2c of Sugar or Honey (I use sugar)
3 Rotten Bananas (Anywhere from 2 1/4c-3c., we REALLY like banana)
4T of butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
3/4c of Pecans, chopped (Optional)
1t Vanilla
1/8t Salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan. Combine the baking mix, sugar and salt. Then add in your bananas, eggs and vanilla. After all is combined, add in your pecans.

Place in your loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Baking for 60 minutes is a good time if you have 2-2 1/2c of banana, adjust for a wetter batter, AKA, more bananas!

Let cool as long as you can stand it and ENJOY! I always top with a little bit of margarine, I don't know why, I just feel like it's yummier on top than butter!!! T minus 10 minutes and counting until mine comes out of the oven!!!

Egg, Bacon, Hashbrown Muffins

These "muffins" are yummy fresh out of the oven or leftover! We like them for dinner with pancakes when we are craving breakfast for dinner. They are pretty easy to make. From start to finish, you are looking at about an hour. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
-4 to 5 small red potatoes, cut into small squares
-4 pieces of bacon, cooked (or bacon bits, as long as it's real bacon)
-1/2 cup of bell pepper, chopped
-1/2 cup of onion, chopped (we have been out of town and I did not have fresh onion so I used 1T of dried minced onion)
-6 Eggs
-2T Butter
-Shredded Cheese
-Salt & Pepper to taste

First, chop your bell pepper and onion and cut your potatoes into small cubes as seen below.

In a large non stick skillet place your 2T of butter. When the butter is melted, put the potatoes in with the heat on medium-medium/high. Let them cook for 5-10 minutes before you add in the bell pepper and onion. Once you add in the peppers and onions, season it all with salt and pepper to your liking. I normally give the pan a good twice over with each. Let these things cook until they are done.

Once the potatoes, peppers and onions are done, liberally spray 6 muffin tins with non stick spray. Fill each cup about half full, definitely no more than that. Sprinkle a little bit of cooked bacon in each cup and then top with a raw egg.

Place muffin tin in a pre-heated 350 degree oven and let bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Place back in the oven until cheese is melted.

Please note: Jalapenos and Hot Sauce are optional... This is how my hubby likes them!!

Softest, Silkiest Legs

I know I normally post recipes and helpful gluten free living tips on my blog, but today, I discovered the trick to getting the softest and silkiest legs.

It all started yesterday when Clint and I were out shopping. We weren't shopping for anything specific but recently I have been "shopping" for some sugar body scrub. Let me just tell you, sugar body scrub is NOT cheap, even at Walmart. I finally just decided to do some research and found a recipe for sugar scrub that I could make with things I had on hand at home. When all said and done, this scrub probably cost me $3 to make and it made a lot!!! This sugar scrub is not the key to the soft and silky legs tho, this is just one of the steps!!! Below is the recipe for this at home sugar scrub and the steps to the silkiest legs I have ever had!!! Seriously, I was shocked enough that I'm posting it to a recipe blog!!!

Scrub:
-2 1/2 Cups of Sugar (Yes, just normal sugar)
-1 Cup of oil (I used Olive Oil and of course, I smell a little like Olive Oil. You can also use Canola, Vegetable, Avocado, Coconut or any fragranced body oil you have).
-5 Tablespoons of a citrus juice. Preferably fresh squeezed. (I used Key Lime)

Bath Time:
-Draw you a warm/hot bath.
-Soak for about five minutes.
-Shave one leg.
-Take a palm full of your homemade sugar scrub and scrub that leg and then rinse off.
-Shave your leg again. Yes, again.
-Take a palm full of sugar scrub and scrub your leg again.
-Repeat on your other leg.
-After your bath, dry off and then lotion your legs.

When you shave your leg the first time, obviously, it's going to remove the hair. When you scrub after you shave, it removes any dead skin. By shaving your leg again after you use the sugar scrub, you are getting all of that dead skin off of your leg. You will need to rinse your razor frequently (you will see why).

My Favorite Products...

Over the last three and a half years that I have been gluten free, I have tried and tested tons of baking mixes, cake mixes, brownie mixes, flours, and the list goes on. I have tested which product is better in cakes and which one is better for frying and which mix is the best thing to keep on hand for your "everything" mix. Below is a list of my favorites, where you can find them and a link to the product on Amazon.com so that you can see what the packaging looks like. It's always easier to find if you already know what you are looking for!! I hope this list helps and saves you some time and money!

-Brownies: Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Brownie Mix (Walmart, commissary, major grocery stores)
Betty Crocker's Brownie Mix
-Chocolate cake: Pamela's Chocolate Cake Mix (Some major grocery stores that have gluten free sections and commissary) Pamela's Chocolate Cake Also, Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix Betty Crocker's Chocolate Cake Mix(Commissary) Check the Yeild on these two mixes because the Betty Crocker mix doesn't make as much as Pamela's mix does. With these two mixes, I have found that substituting milk for water makes a much tastier cake!!!!

-Vanilla cake: I haven't found one that is my favorite, but that is probably because I am a chocolate person, but Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Cake Mix is good. (Walmart, commissary, major grocery stores) Betty Crocker's Vanilla/Yellow Cake Mix

Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix: Baking Mix
This one has a list of things that I love to use it for. It is absolutely amazing!!!
-Pancakes
-Waffles
-Biscuits
-Gravy
-Muffins
-Breads (for example: banana nut, pumpkin)
-Homemade Cakes and Cupcakes
-Shallow Frying (Fried Shrimp, fried chicken, onion rings, pickles, etc.)
**NOTE** When you are baking with this product, be aware that it already has some baking powder and baking soda in it. You probably still need to add more, but not the whole serving your recipe calls for. FYI: This is no theory, it has been tested. :)

Loaf of Bread: Gluten Free Pantry's Bread Mix Bread Loaf Mix. I have some of this made and sitting on my counter right now!!! Over the weekend I treated myself to a BLT and French Toast!!! It is wonderful!!!

Cornbread: Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix

Pizza Crust: Bob's Red Mill Pizza Crust Mix

Products I do not recommend:
-Bisquick Pancake Mix. They say it can be used for pancakes, waffles, frying, etc. I have used it for pancakes and frying and the pancakes had no flavor and when fried, it burned way too fast in 350 degrees.
-Any pre-made loaf of bread in the grocery store. These breads are just "eh...". I prefer to spend the same amount of money and buy the mix and do it yourself. The quality is thousand times better and doesn't taste gluten free. These pre done loaves of bread taste gluten free and you will be disappointed.

There are other products that I have on my list but I will have to update later! I have an eight month old baby girl that is ready for some dinner!!! Have a great evening and go enjoy a "treat" from my recommended items!!!