My First Product Review - Teaser Post

So remember how my goal was to work with some companies and provide you, my darling readers, with a sneak peek at what new products were on the market or coming out on the market?  Well, today my first product was shipped!  I should get it tomorrow or Friday!  Isn't that exciting?  The first blog post should be up over the weekend.  Well thanks for stopping by!  Oh, you want to know what the product is?  OK fine, I'll tell you.  It's Kinnikinnick new Soft Gluten Free Breads.

Photo Courtesy of Kinnikinnick

If they live up to the press release then the gluten-free bread market has just taken a new and fabulous turn!  They will have white bread, multigrain bread, and buns. Now for the highlights from the press release.

• more bread per package (16 slices vs. 12 slices)
• better nutritional values
• lower price point (YEAH!!)
• no artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors
• lower price point ($4.99 for bread and $4.59 for buns)
• no toaster needed
• The soft bread line will be available at select natural and mainstream grocery stores throughout the U.S. and Canada this March

So let's talk about gluten free bread.  We are used to small packages and small slices.  I swear I read that these slices would be bigger but, now that I'm writing this I can't find it on the press release or on the website.  I may be going crazy, going crazier, crazy but I had imagined doing a side by side photo comparing.  I'll still do the photo. :)  The extra four slices of bread in the package means two more sandwiches out of the loaf.  Which is another meal!  

I did the math comparing Kinnikinnick's new line vs. what I would call the leading competitor in the gluten-free bread market.

Bread per slice cost - Kinnikinnick $0.31  Competitor $0.42

Hamburger Bun per bun cost - (Estimating there are 4 in a package) Kinnikinnick $1.15  Competitor $1.13

Hot Dog Bun per bun cost - (Estimating there are 6 in a package) Kinnikinnick $0.77 Competitor $0.79

I estimated on the buns because I can not find an amount listed on the website and those are the amounts the competitor has listed.  I can't wait to share how good these are and if the reviews that I've seen already are any indication then they are going to be AMAZING!!

Where To Connect With Crafting To Do

I'm so thankful to all of you who are stopping by the little blog here.  I'm excited to see the numbers growing by leaps and bounds!  I'd love to connect with you all more.  I thought I'd just remind everyone where you can find us.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/craftingandcookingtodo
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CraftingToDo
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/craftingtodo/
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meekshields/collections/72157625958980738/
Google + : https://plus.google.com/u/0/102506291942103161736/posts
E-Mail: craftingtodo at gmail dot com

If you are following me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Google+ and I'm not following back please leave me a comment with your info and I'll reciprocate the love.  Thanks!

Oh be watching in the next few weeks for some product reviews!

New Sponsor

I'm so excited to bring to you my new sponsor Shabby Apple!  I love their clothing and hope you'll take the time to check them out.  Here's a sneak peek at what you can find at Shabby Apple.  Take a moment to check them out and let them know where you came from!

Goal Update

Well we are almost 3 months into 2012 and it's time to check out where the blog is with the goals that were set for 2012.  If you missed the original goal post you can find it here.

1. Make money - Well I haven't pulled in a paycheck yet but I've add a new affiliate Creative Girls.  I've also signed up for my first sponsored post with them.  Rivet Media also released a video service that I've added.  You can find them on the video tab at the top of the page.  (Full disclosure: I am compensated for you viewing the videos)

2. Grow my readership - This is happening!!  I've almost quadrupedal my readership in the last few months.  This makes me very excited.  Now, we are going to adjust this goal to grow my returning readers.

3. Host Giveaways - I haven't hosted one yet but I yesterday I sent out my media packet and rate card to some companies.  I'll let you know how that goes.

4. Connect With Other Bloggers - Crafterminds has helped me connect with other bloggers now I just need to form relationships to get some guest bloggers here.

5. Use The Blog Frog - Still not doing that. :(

6. Get some perks - See number 3

7. Post more - Not sure if I'm posting more or not but I will be now that I'm not under any restrictions!

How are your goals coming along?

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza!

Pizza my just be our favorite meal.  We both really enjoy it and had it at least once a week before going gluten-free.  For years now we've been searching for good pizza that we both could enjoy.  We hadn't found it, I like thick chewy crust and he likes thin like a cracker crust.  This is neither and somehow it works for both of us!

Photo and original recipe from Accidental Mommies

So this is for a no carb diet.  We don't worry about carbs but it was a good place to start.  We also cut our pieces a lot bigger. :)  I'll admit I was nervous about it at first but it turned out pretty good.  It was even good, if not better, cold!  I've adapted the recipe with different cheeses and amounts.  This isn't truly no-carb now because tomatoes and veggies do have natural carbs in them.  It is gluten-free though!

Gluten-Free Cheese Crust Pizza 

Crust:

6 oz cream cheese, softened

2 oz shredded cheddar cheese, freshly grated

1 oz Parmesan cheese, the dry kind in the container

1 oz Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

2 eggs

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pizza seasoning

Fresh cracked black pepper

Sauce:
1 14oz can fire roasted tomatoes
minced garlic
salt
red pepper flakes
fresh cracked black pepper

Toppings:
Your choice!  We used Turkey pepperoni, breakfast sausage, green peppers, onions, and mushrooms.
Cheese!! (Use the finely grated for the best results)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9x13 pan.

In a medium sized bowl and a hand mixer blend all ingredients together.  Pour into prepared pan.

Please ignore the tomato sauce on the back of the stove. :)

 Bake for 15 minutes until top is golden.  (We tried it 3 ways.  The first way was just until the crust was set and brown on bottom.  The toppings just slid off.  Then I flipped the crust after it came out of the oven, this worked but was hard to do.  The third time we just let the top cook until golden, the bottom did not burn and the toppings stayed put.) Let cool at least ten minutes before putting toppings on the pizza.  Turn oven up to 425.

While the crust cooks put all sauce ingredients into a blender and blend.  I didn't put amounts because I really feel like it's to taste.  I used probably close to a tablespoon of garlic, 1/4 tsp of salt, 2 good pinches of red pepper flakes, and lots of black pepper.  Pour into a small sauce pan and bring to a simmer.  Let simmer while the crust bakes and cools.  You need this to be as "dry" as possible.  Jarred sauce was too watery and this seems to work well.  It will be thinner than tomato sauce but thicker than jarred sauce.

When the crust has cooled top with as much of the sauce as you like and with the toppings you choose.  Bake until the cheese is melted and ENJOY!

If you want to find out the newest creations here please follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Just a quick update!

I just wanted to update all my awesome readers on my recovery process and what I've been doing on my time off.  As of Friday my restrictions will be lifted!!!  I'm so excited but, I also know that I probably should start lifting 50 pounds on Saturday.  :)  It will be nice to go the grocery store and push the cart.  On the down side for some reason my digestive system does not want to work correctly.  :(  I know it takes awhile but I like to eat and well I miss it. The weight loss has been nice though.

Now for what I have been doing.  I've been working on a few recipes.  I have a pizza recipe that is gluten free and yummy.  Just need to make one to photograph.  It's so yummy!!  I've also been working on a gluten free fried chicken recipe.  It's going to need a little more love in the flavor department but the texture is right so that's  a huge plus.  I'm working on a bag inspired from Pinterest.  The pattern is a bit tricky but I'm working hard to bring an easy but still gorgeous bag to you.   Here's the inspiration:

Viva Terra  

The bag is no longer for sale 

I've also been working with a couple of ladies to get a media packet put together.  Now that may not be exciting to most readers but when it's put together perfectly it hopefully will bring some great opportunities for all of us! 

On Saturday, I broke the rules and went dancing.  It was fun!  I took a Bollywood Belly Dance class.  I'm not going on tour nor will I be preforming anytime soon but, it was a blast.  I was careful not to over do it though.  A month with no activity and a month with limited activity was brought to my attention Sunday.  Now, for a first here, I'm sharing a picture of myself.  

Photo courtesy of LightWeaver1 on Flickr

He just happens to be my husband. 

One last thing my gluten free brownies are up for voting at Better Life Blog I'd love if you'd go over a give it a star.

What Bugs Me About Pinterest

First off let me say I really do love Pinterest.  I've been inspired by so many it's not even funny.  It's been a way to keep my sanity while recovering from surgery, one week to go, when I'm not supposed to be doing much else.  Now that I've clarified that I'm a total fan of the site there are things that bug me.

1.  Not linking to the original post - Nothing bugs me more than to see something that I want to know more about and no way to find it out.  Not only does it bug people it's only fair to the original poster to get the credit.  When I see a super cute frosting, I want to know how they made their butter cream do that. Cute t-shirt refashion I want to know how they did it.  It's not that I'm lazy and can't find it on the internet but, when I don't have a place to start it sure makes it hard.  

2. Give Credit! - I don't mean at the bottom in smaller font than the rest of the post.  Be up front, say this was inspired by blah blah blah with a link or say this recipe was adapted from so and so with a link.  I love seeing what you create don't get me wrong but I want to see what inspired you too!  Sometimes it's not the frosting recipe but the way it was colored that I want to learn.  Maybe I don't want a bag but, I want to know how the ruffle was made I can't figure it out unless you tell me where to find out.

3. Limit Length of Pins - I don't care if you pin 50,000 pins in a day as long as your descriptions are short.  This though makes me mad:

If I want to read the full article I'll click on it.  Plus, someone took the time to write that post so people would read it and they could/would get hits on their blogs.  It clogs up my stream and rips off others.  If you find a pin like this and want to repin it, then delete all the text and add your own description.

If you keep these three things in mind then we'll be ok and my guess is you'll be ok with a lot of other bloggers too.  :)