The Original Pancake House: Indy @ 86th & Ditch

In our Chicago vacation blog, we mentioned that we ate at a place called Walker Brothers, and we had GF pancakes. Well, the actual name of the restaurant is Walker Brothers Original Pancake House, and it’s a franchise of The Original Pancake House.

A couple of weeks ago, my parents were eating breakfast at the OPH in Noblesville, and they noticed that it had GF pancakes listed. I got super excited, because I’d been missing the GF pancakes from Chicago. I called the 86th and Ditch location in Indy, and they had the GF pancakes, too. Brandie and I met my parents, my GF sister, her husband and his daughter for breakfast for my birthday, and we (my sister and I) were very happy that we could eat the pancakes. They were very good, though I remember the ones at Walker Bros being better. Still, I got 8 good-sized GF pancakes for a price that wasn’t going to completely break the bank. I am very happy that there is a place near our house that has GF pancakes, but I’m afraid that I’ll keep bugging Brandie to take me for pancakes all the time.

Enjoy!

Jalebi/Chhena Jalebi/Mithai

When I ate Indian one day, I tried a Jalebi and loved it. Then I asked one of the servers what it is made of, and of course, it’s wheat. Ever since that day, I’ve tried to find Jalebi that is made without wheat. Fortunately, I found something at Patel Brothers on Lafayette Road. It was called Mithai on the packaging, but a little Internet research has turned up that it’s generally call Chhena Jalebi, or cheese Jalebi. It’s almost as good as the original. Granted, I ate the wheat Jalebi when it was warm, and the cheese Jalebi at room temperature, so that might have made the difference. I like to eat the Jalebi with ice cream. There are plenty of other GF goodies at the various Indian grocery stores along Lafayette Road, but I’ll save that for another post.

Snyder's of Hanover: GF pretzels

I’ve wanted to try these pretzels ever since I’d heard that they were available in Indy. Finally, during one of our trips to Whole Foods, I remembered about them and bought a bag. As Brandie would say, “OMG, these’re good!” I ate them as a snack to get me through until dinner, but it was hard not to eat the entire bag. I just kept eating and eating and eating. Brandie had to take the bag and hide it, so I wouldn’t ruin my appetite. I would definitely buy these pretzels again, and I think they would be great dipped in chocolate, which is an experiment Brandie and I want to try someday.

Brandie here - I gotta say, GF pretzels are definitely one of those products that are just better GF. I would actually eat GF pretzels over 'regular' pretzels any day.

Enjoy!

Trader Joe's Creme Brulee

I am a huge fan of crème brulee, and when I saw that Trader Joe’s not only sold some, but it was GF, I had to try it. Fortunately, I didn’t have to convince Brandie too much. It is delicious. Not only is it great crème brulee, but it comes in a thin chocolate cup which makes it even better. I could eat these everyday for dessert and never get tired of them.

Look for it in the frozen section. Take them out about 30 minutes or so before you want to eat them (although Brandie prefers them slightly frozen).

Enjoy!

Recipe: 7 Layer Dip

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 LB beef

-1 (16oz) can refried beans

-4c shredded cheese

-1 (8oz) container sour cream

-1c guacamole

-1c salsa

-1 (2.25oz) can black olives, chopped

-1/2c chopped tomatoes

-1/2 c chopped green onions

Directions:

1. Brown beef, set aside to cool.

2. Spread beans into the bottom of a 9x13 inch serving tray that is about 1 1/2 inches deep. Sprinkle 2c shredded cheese on top of beans.

3. Sprinkle beans on top of cheese. Spread sour cream very slowly on top of beef.

4. Spread guacamole on top of sour cream. Pour salsa over guacamole and spread evenly.

5. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese. Sprinkle black olives, tomatoes, and onions on top.

What I love about this dish: you can mix things up. If you don't like guacamole, don't add it. You can use shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese. There are so many ways to individualize it.

Enjoy!

GF Progresso Soup

So this may not be news to you, but we were shocked when we found out there were some soups that Tommie could eat from Progresso. If you click on the title of this entry it will send you to the Progresso site that has a complete list.

Enjoy.

Allyou.com GF article: Eat Well, Gluten-free

One of Tommie's co-workers tore out this article and gave it to him to read. I just wanted to let everyone know about it. It is pretty short, but has a couple of recipes and product reviews.

If you click on the title of this blog entry it will direct you towards their website.

Enjoy!