Super easy (Gluten Free) meatballs

My version uses gluten free ingredients, but you could easily use regular ingredients also.

1 1/4 pounds ground meat (I used ground elk)
2 teaspoons Gluten Free Worcestershire sauce

1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup Italian Gluten Free bread crumbs (see recipe here)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3 cloves garlic finely chopped (I use jarred)

1/4 cup finely diced onion (I find it easiest to use a small food processor)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  I just used my hands to mix.  Roll meat into 1 1/2 inch meatballs and place on greased cookie sheet (I used GF olive oil spray) Bake at 350° 10 to 12 minutes, until no longer pink

They freeze really well.  I am craving some meatballs in homemade GF Teriyaki sauce!  Yum! You could also spice them up with crushed red pepper.  Maybe add GF BBQ sauce.  Lots of options here!

By the way, I did freeze a batch of 20 meatballs.  I just reheated in the microwave at 50% power till thawed, then added them to the sauce to heat through.  This time, I added them to a corn/rice pasta and garlic Alfredo.  YUMMY!

Review Pamela's gluten free chocolate cake mix

I've had this cake mix for a while, so I decided to give it a try. I may have out-chocolated myself. I bought this mix at New Seasons. 

It is a rich dark chocolate, which is my favorite. I followed the directions on the package and added about a cup of mini chocolate chips. Yum. I had a can of milk chocolate whipped frosting. All of my ingredients are gluten free of course. 

I used my brownie pan to make square cupcakes, just for fun :-)  I didn't really try to make the frosting pretty. Sorry! 

They are very moist and delicious! Super duper rich & chocolatey...not for the faint of heart. I recommend this cake mix. I didn't frost all of them, because I am going to freeze them. I will post an update about how well they freeze. 

I would love to make these again with some homemade peanutbutter frosting. 

Homemade no-sew dog bed

I have two pretty adorable and incredibly spoiled chihuahuas. Their last bed was destroyed by a very upset puppy tummy, so they just had a small blanket in their sleeping area.

Here are the princesses. The black one is Pixie Stick & the white one is Xena Warrior Princess. 

I wanted to get them a couple of new beds that were machine washable, but I am cheap, so I decided to explore my options. I have tons & tons of fabric, but my sewing machine isn't working, so I decided to do a no-sew dog bed. Pretty simple & I just made it while I was watching TV. 

Not every fabric would work for this project because of fraying. I used cotton  jersey knit or you could use fleece. 

I guesstimated on size for the first one. They are both about 3 lbs, so they don't need a very big bed. 

Princesses need leopard print, right? Lay it out & cut two pieces, back to back, to the same size. 

Go all around the edges & cut fringes. I made them about an inch wide. You could probably cut the fringes 2" long. I did mine a little bit longer because I have long acrylic nails that made it trickier to tie the knots. 

In the corners, cut out about a 3" square of fabric. Then you simply tie the fringes together. Make sure you leave part open to stuff the bed. 

I didn't have any filling or batting, so I took two of my husband's old t-shirts, folded them & placed them inside. Then you simply tie it shut. 

This was my first attempt. It turned out pretty well. 

Pixie immediately claimed it as her own!

Once you tie it together, it bunches up, so this ended up smaller than I wanted. Even if they have 2 beds, Xena insists on sleeping as close as possible to Pixie. 

They are tiny enough that they both fit on this one, but I thought Pixie would appreciate more space, so I made another one. For the stuffing for the next one, I cut up pieces of fleece that I didn't care for.

When I quilt, I don't use batting. I go to the thrift store and buy old blankets & use those for batting. I prefer blankets for inside of quits because its cheaper, I like to recycle, they won't come apart and they make the quilt warmer than batting. 

Of course, you could just go buy batting or filling too :-)

I also made a bigger leopard one & I may make a couple more, so can have alternates for their sleeping area, living room, etc.

Plus when you have these two cuties "helping" you, why not spend your time hanging out with them? 

Xena thinks the fabric on my lap looks comfy. Makes it kind of hard to tie it though. 

Pixie looking at me adoringly while I work.

Xena making herself comfy in my fabric. 

Homemade gluten free breadcrumbs

Gluten free bread is expensive, but gluten free breadcrumbs are ridiculously priced. I bought a standard sized container for $9.00 & they worked, but DANG, they were expensive!

As I was getting a new loaf of GF bread out of the freezer, I started to do what I always did, which was throw the heels (ends) of the bread away. Then I realized how simple it was. I put the heels in a ziplock bag & put them in the freezer. I just kept adding to that bag with every new loaf of bread. 

When I needed breadcrumbs for a recipe, I took a few pieces out & defrosted them in the microwave. Then you have 2 options, you can toast the pieces in the toaster, or, since I was doing several, you can put them in the oven under the broiler. I suggest broiling on high, several inches away from the burner. I keep a very close eye, toast them till brown, then flip over & toast the other side. You want the bread dry all the way through. Moist breadcrumbs don't work. 

I don't have a food processor (**hint hint hubby) so I used a blender & it worked fine. I only did 2 pieces of bread at a time. I broke them into chunks. I added granulated garlic & Italian seasoning, but that is optional. 

I used pulse until they were my desired consistency.

Easy breasy & practically free since I was going to throw the heels away anyway. 

By the way hubby, these would look marvelous in our kitchen :-)