Mixteca Mexican Food

If Brandon is ever in Glendale (which is fairly frequently), I don't even have to guess what he is getting for lunch. He swears by this Mexican food restaurant called Mixteca. I've heard him tell me countless times about their super soft corn tortillas and their shredded chicken meat that comprises their sinfully delicious chicken tacos.

Two days ago while in Glendale for work, Brandon inquired about whether or not their tacos were gluten free. The owner said that he could very easily make sure they were gluten free. All he had to do was really scrub down the grill, and if Brandon gave him some time, it would be no problem at all.

So that's what Brandon did. He returned to Mixteca after work to pick up 4 chicken tacos to bring home for dinner so I could try the now infamous Mixteca chicken tacos. And you know what this frugal wife loves? It only cost 10 bucks.

My first thought upon seeing these tacos was, Oh my gosh, that's a HUGE taco. They do not skimp on anything! I was so hungry that I literally INHALED my first (enormous) taco before even considering taking a photo! HA!


They are double wrapped in two of the softest corn tortillas that you will ever encounter. How do they do that? Because I would surely enjoy corn tortillas a LOT more if I could always get them that soft and pliable. It didn't even bother me that there were two of them...normally that would be corn tortilla overload for me, as I'm not that wild about them.

These pictures really don't do them justice. This was my second taco after I had already taken 2 bites out of it, lol. That's not easy to work around. :)

The chicken meat is SO GOOD. Its tender, with peppers mixed throughout. And my favorite ingredient? CINNAMON! It's not overwhelmed by cinnamon, but its just enough to grab your taste buds and make you say, wow! They also come with salsa on the side that is fantastic.

All in all, these tacos started a party in my mouth and I loved every second. I might even need to find an excuse to drive through Glendale (which is like, an hour and a half from my house) on a weekly basis...

They don't have a website that I can find, so here is their information. I definitely recommend checking them out if you are ever in the area!

Mixteca

6731 W Bell Rd

Glendale, AZ 85308

623-776-3511

I love it when we find somewhere that is more than willing to accomodate a gluten free diet! And finally, a place to eat Mexican food that ISN'T Chipotle! Hooray for having choices!

My Gluten Free Wedding! (Lots of pics!)

So, as you probably already know (because it's OLD NEWS by now...lol!), Brandon and I got married on April 4th!

It turned out EXACTLY like we wanted: small, simplistic, and FUN! Oh, and for the most part, it was gluten free!!

There were only like 60 people there, which was great. At first we were concerned that the wedding kept growing and growing, but in the end, the amount of people there was perfect. The weather was not as good as we had hoped, but it was better than every other day that week! Apparently in Arizona, we don't get rain in the Spring, just lots of wind and dust! The whole week (and particularly the day before the wedding--it was the worst) had winds of 35 mph with gusts up to 50! There was dust everywhere. Did I forget to mention that our entire wedding and reception was outdoors in a park? Yeah. Fortunately, the wind died down on our wedding day to about 10 mph and eventually stopped in the evening. It was only about 75 that day (it was 85-ish the rest of the week!) so it got COLD at night. Luckily the rental place (Affordable Rentals in Tempe) were AWESOME. We managed to get ahold of them, AFTER HOURS, and they rushed like 6 or 8 heaters out to us. It made a WORLD of difference, and everyone could get their dance on without shivering!

I made my grand entrance on our Arctic Cat, driven by my dad. It was definitely an original idea and reflected our life/personalities perfectly! It was even decorated by the groom himself with tulle (you'll see it in the pictures!) It was definitely a conversation piece!

We had John Ore, a Justice of the Peace from Chandler, as our officiant. Let me tell you, if you are in Arizona and are getting married, we HIGHLY recommend him! He brought a little humor to the ceremony, which all our guests loved (and so did we!).

And now, to the important stuff. Gluten free food!

As I mentioned before, we had our wedding cake done by Sugarlips Cakery. The cake was absolutely beautiful. It was 3 tiers, with the top tier being gluten free. It was a vanilla or white gluten free cake with strawberry and buttercream filling. It was so good. Then the bottom two tiers were regular vanilla cake and raspberry filling. The groom said it was amazing. AND the best part is, they separated the top tier from the others with TWO plate-thingys (I can't for the life of me think of what they're called right now, lol), one the exact size of the cake, and the other a little bigger to make sure none of it touched! HOORAY!

The catering was done by Crackers and Company Cafe. I will never, ever, EVER be able to sing enough praises for Crackers and Company. Seriously. They were absolutely AMAZING!! From the moment we contacted them, they were completely on board for preparing the meal gluten free. They were so helpful and so detailed in the menu. We ended up having:

Pork loin (which had some sort of apple glaze or something...incredible)
A carving station of turkey breast (with cranberry sauce on the side)
Roasted red potatoes (that had peppers in it..everyone LOVED them)
A vegetable medley
Salad topped with all kinds of goodies: mushrooms, peppers, etc (croutons and dressings on the side)

They had a bread display, away from everything. They had servers at the buffet table and totally understood the importance of making sure that spoons did not travel. These people blew my mind. We spoke with the owner directly (she was even at our wedding) and they went over EVERY single thing that was going into the food. They sent me a fax of photocopies of ingredient labels for everything, even the meats. They faxed me copies of emails they sent with their providers, ensuring everything's gluten free status. They even told me that if the meat was not gluten free they would go down to AJ's the day of the wedding and buy me my own pork loin! Oh, and I had originally wanted lemon herb chicken for the menu, but picky eaters created a problem (read: my DAD), so the chef offered to make my maid of honor and I our own lemon herb chicken breasts, aside from everything. They were so accomodating! The chef called me the day before the wedding to read me the ingredient label of something before he made the apple glaze. The owner went to back and grabbed the ranch dressing container they use at the restaurant and let Brandon read the label himself. And to top everything off, they said if it ended up raining on our wedding day, that we could move our reception to their restaurant (not even 5 minutes down the street) and have it all to ourselves at no cost!! OMG, right? I could not have wished, hoped, or DREAMED for a better wedding catering experience. They are incredible, friendly, helpful people at Crackers and Company, and seriously, if you are in Arizona, stop by their restaurant--they have a few locations. (And no I'm not getting paid to say all this, LOL! They just did a phenominal job and really went above and beyond; they deserve all the business they get! I've never been to a single restaurant where I've gotten such great service.)

And now...to the pictures. Our photography was done by Cayla Rynerson Photography...she did such a great job on these photos! She was also a lot of fun and VERY affordable!

These are in no particular order..they uploaded all funny. But there's too many to go back and rearrange :)

Our first kiss as husband and wife!

The gluten free cake! Neither of us trusting the other to not smash it in our face :)

The Arctic Cat!

I now pronounce you Mr and Mrs Brandon S.

The ceremony. It was beautiful! Everything we wanted!

My maid of honor, Michelle, and I!

I love this picture!

The wedding cake! Top tier was gluten free!

A friend of mine called this photo, "erotic." LOL!

My incredible sexy groom! My favorite pics of him.

The boys!

This is very close to being my favorite picture! It's hard to decide, but I LOVE it. Cayla Rynerson Photography...for real, she's awesome.

Husband and wife!

LOVE IT!

So there you go, now I'm a gluten free newlywed!

My Gluten Free Bachelorette Party!

My bachelorette party was on March 28th -- the weekend before my wedding! I have NO pictures pretty much...I was too intoxicated to photograph! LOL!

It started with Misty (Brandon's brother's girlfriend...got that? Lol) making me gluten free cheese danishes, a fruit salad, and a mimosa for breakfast! It turned out great! Then it was off to a full body massage, which I was a little nervous about at first! I've had massage therapy in the past that left me feeling sore and like my muscles were bruised. I enjoyed the massage though and it was definitely what I needed after all the stress that I was under! Turns out my shoulders were incredibly tense and so was my right arm, which explained the numbness that I'd occassionally have in my right hand! The nerves in my fingers felt like they were dancing in jubilee after the arm/hand massage.

After the full body massage, Misty took me for a facial. I have never had a facial before. It was very relaxing, and included a hand/foot massage. I do have to say that it is very weird to have some stranger squeezing gunk out of your pores, lol. She did tell me that I had very nice skin though, so I got over it quickly. I've discovered that I don't really like my feet being massaged...she would rub my feet then rub my legs and I just felt like I was covered in foot-ness. Yes, I am aware that I am weird. The facial was very nice and relaxing, but the moisturizer she put on me last left me feeling greasy and oily. Yuck. It soaked in though, and was eventually fine. It was a day of pampering!

After the facial, Misty and I went to Dos Gringos for lunch and this is where the boozing officially began. We had 2 tequila shots, and on top of that I probably had 4 margaritas (and I think my straw may have found its way into Misty's margarita at some point too). I was HAMMERED. Lol. Chris came over to hang out for a bit after he got done playing softball, so I convinced Brandon to come by too. He was cracking up at my drunk antics. Then, the boys drove Misty and I to the mall to do some shopping! Brandon gave Misty $100 to give me for shopping money! Isn't he the best?!? We were not at the mall long, though, because we had to get home to get ready for our evening! All I ended up buying at the mall was candy, everything else was blurry! HA!

So I went home and threw myself together and Misty picked me up. She had a very STRONG peach belini waiting for me! Oh man.

We met up with everyone at Picazzo's, my favorite gluten free friendly restaurant! My maid of honor Michelle (whom I have sung many praises about before) put together a great bachelorette party/dinner!

She had fun pink Girls Night Out leis for everyone and shot glass favors on the tables! She gave me a Bachelorette sash and a Bride To Be hat, complete with a veil attached to it! I arrived to dinner still drunk, so I was game for anything!

I even started wearing the bows from the presents on my head!


I had a delicious lemon drop martini, which is MY FAVE (and according to other pictures I've seen, I drank Misty's too...what is up with that! HA) We ordered gluten free pizza for everyone, which everyone LOVED. We ordered Ulimate Pepperoni and the Chicken and Applewood Smoked Bacon (my personal favorite). Picazzo's NEVER disappoints!

We opened presents, which I will not be posting pictures of, because, well, it was a bachelorette party and the pictures aren't for kids. :)

The bartender mixed us up some sort of shot, for all of us, on the house! They were TERRIBLE, but that didn't stop me from drinking two!

Michelle did a great job putting everything together, and I had a blast!! After Picazzo's, we had a bit of a house party, where I never saw my mimosa glass empty, so I couldn't even tell you how much I drank. I think there were some shots in there too, that were awful. Bleh. I had so much fun. Michelle, though sober, danced crazy with me to Lady GaGa!

Looking back, the party should have ended there because I was going downhill fast, but the night was still young. We went to a club in Scottsdale named Jackrabbit. It wasn't long before I was puking in the bathroom! Yuck. We did hang out there for a bit, but I got overheated and had to leave. The night was pretty much unsalvagable at that point; I threw up in the bathroom at the club, in a gift bag in the car, and in a trash can at a gas station. All of which got some small amount of puke on my person. If it wasn't my Bachelorette party, I would be horribly embarrassed about getting that drunk. But I hardly ever drink, and that's just what you do, right? Lol.

At least we didn't get arrested or anything, I mean, THAT, would be CRAZY!! :)

For more stories and pictures from the evening, check out the post Michelle wrote here. She remembers a lot more than I do :)

Uno Chicago Grill Gluten Free Pizza (and a big SCREW YOU to Uncle Bear's)

Yesterday we decided to try some of the gluten free options we had heard of at restaurants around town. Our two options were Uncle Bear's Bar & Grill or Uno Chicago Grill. I had heard from Michelle (over at Gluten Free Gluttony)that Uncle Bear's had gluten free hamburger buns so that was my first choice, since I had not heard of ANYWHERE else offering such a thing. So we hopped in the car and drove 30 minutes away to Uncle Bear's.

I have got to say, I have NEVER been more disappointed in a restaurant. I will probably never go back here. We asked them if they had a gluten free menu, and our server said no. She then told us that they were completely out of gluten free buns and crust (for pizza) that day. I was thinking, ok no biggie, I guess we should have called. She took our drink order and walked away. I browsed the menu looking for something that maybe I could eat. She came back, set down the drinks and we asked her what on the menu was gluten free. She said, "Nothing." We're like, "Nothing??" I asked her if any of their salad dressings were gluten free, she said no, not that she's aware of. So I asked if they had any corn tortillas for the fajitas, and she said no, only flour. She maintained that NOTHING was gluten free. Not a single thing. We told her that we'd have to go somewhere else. There's no way in hell I was going to risk eating something there if the server is straight up telling me that there is nothing they can offer me. Oh, but it doesn't end there.

SHE CHARGED US FOR THE DRINKS. 5 flipping dollars we had to pay for the drinks that had been set on our table, untouched by us. Not to mention, I asked for a Dr. Pepper, Brandon asked for an Ice Tea, and she brought out two Dr. Peppers. It was unbelievable. I felt the staff there was completely clueless as to what gluten actually is; they were unaccomodating, and very difficult to work with. You'd think when they started offering gluten free buns and pizza, they'd at least educate their staff to help customers who come in requesting it or AT LEAST put together a freaking gluten free menu! Sheesh.

So we moved on to our second option: Uno Chicago Grill. I have heard such great things from the blogging world about the new gluten free pizza offered at this restaurant. Just to be certain that we didn't run into the same problem, we called ahead and checked to be sure they had the pizza, which they did. The experience that we had at Uno was night and day to Uncle Bear's. They had a gluten free menu with lots of choices (NOTE: Their ranch dressing is NOT gluten free so don't get that as a dipper). The thin crust gluten free pizza is even on the "regular" menu! Nobody puts gluten free babies in the corner!

When the pizza arrived at our table, my mouth was watering. It looks and smelled SO good. It is a thin crust pizza, which we always loved to order pre-gluten free and I haven't had one since going gluten free. (My beloved Picazzo's doesn't have gluten free thin crust.) I think I devoured two slices before Brandon even tried his first slice. It was delightful. It tasted like pizza that you would have delivered to your house. Brandon said he liked it a little better than Picazzo's and I'd have to agree...slightly. Picazzo's is more of a fancy-schmancy gourmet pizza, this is just down and dirty, lounging around and watching movies pizza that I used to love so much.

I was two and a half slices in when Brandon starting pondering out loud about their kitchen practices. When our waiter came over he asked them how they handle cooking gluten free food in the kitchen -- separate cooking spaces, utensils, etc. The waiter told us that the cooks went through a several day training period teaching them about the importance of cross-contamination and how to avoid it. They have separate everything dedicated specifically to gluten free. The waiters also went through training, but obviously not as much as the cooks since they don't handle the making of the food directly. I can't tell you how good it was to hear all this, especially after the ordeal we just had at Uncle Bear's. So I continued to gorge myself on pizza, confident in this establishment.

And, I admit, I ate an astounding FOUR slices. That's practically unheard of for me.

I'd say, all in all, it went over pretty well. :)

Dooms Day is approaching...

So tomorrow is the big day. The day that I am 4 teeth lighter. I'm nervous! Everyone keeps telling me their horror stories! The past two nights I have had nightmares about it. I am excited to FINALLY have it over with, though.

I have recently subscribed to the new Food Network Magazine, and got my first issue last Friday. I would like to go on record and say, I LOVE THIS MAGAZINE. Obviously, I can't make everything in there, but I find several recipes that are either naturally gluten free or are very easily adaptable. Plus, they give you great little cooking tips. This past weekend we had Brandon's brother Chris and his girlfriend Misty over to celebrate her recent birthday. I thought it was a perfect excuse to try a few recipes from my newest magazine. I made bacon wrapped shrimp with chipotle barbeque sauce for an appetizer. Then made shredded pork tacos as the main course. It all turned out really good! And I got to spend the day in the kitchen, which always makes me happy! I'll post the recipes for these dishes this weekend when I'm hopped up on pain pills. (Lol) I am a bad employee who is typing this from her desk at work. Way to stick it to The Man, Steph!

Brandon, my mom, and I all went to the Arizona Bridal Show this past weekend, and I'm surprised we lived to tell the tale. It is CRAZY! I hadn't eaten all day too, so I'm shocked that I didn't end up burning the Phoenix Convention Center to the ground during a low-blood-sugar-induced temper tantrum. And, may I say, that those commercials are deceptive. "Plan your wedding all in one weekend!" B. S. And no, I'm not talking about the initials of my gorgeous groom. The commercials should say, "Come to the Arizona Bridal show to get inundated with flyers, stampeded by crazy bridezillas and their entourages, and get bum rushed by people hawking self tanners, lingerie, magic diet supplements, and gym memberships. Walk out grouchy, hungry, and more confused then EVER!" That would be more accurate advertising. You don't "plan" anything there. You get a lot of people yelling at you trying to sell their products/services as you walk though the NEVER ENDING aisles of vendors. You can barely hear anything, and stop in the aisle at your own risk. So my goal of booking all the rental stuff was not acheived. But I do have pamphlets from about 30 companies to go through! Yay!

Ok, so my bitterness at the bridal show is a little exaggerated. True, I was starving and they were serving samples of delicious smelling, gluten FULL food. Not cool. But I did book my photographer, which I think was a flipping miracle. She happened to have contracts with her and I said, Let's book this shit so I never have to make this decision ever again. And that we did.

I made a Wedding To Do list to get myself organized. This was not a smart move for my mentally unstable state. THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO. Who would have thought that MAYBE we should think about the honeymoon early in case we need passports?!?! Ugh. And why can't I just magically know everyone's address by heart?

And to top off my weekend, I got sick from my gluten free haven, Picazzo's Pizza. I have never, ever gotten sick there. I think it was because I ordered their Special Slice of the Day, instead of sharing a whole pizza with Brandon. So maybe something happened during the cooking of my single slice. Who knows. But my tummy is defeated.

Well, it's back to work for this slacker. 4 DAY WEEKEND!! WOOHOO! Who cares if I'm in terrible pain?

Ode To Chili's (I Hope You Die A Fiery Death)

My local Chili's chain,
How I hate you so,
I have heard about your gluten free menu,
So today I decided to go.

I didn't get risky,
Decided to play it cool,
I ordered a caesar salad,
To prevent an intestinal duel.

But you deceive me so!
What did you do?
Just pick the croutons out of my lettuce?
How could I ever trust you?

I couldn't make it through half,
Forgive me if I say,
You weren't worth the plate you were served on,
Yet still, I had to pay.

And now my tummy grumbles,
It's been awhile since it's been this bad,
Tonight it could barely handle,
The gluten free sandwich I just had.

So here's to you, you piece of shit Chili's,
You listen close, you hear?
Here's a big middle finger from me,
And oh, Happy New Year!

One of the happiest moments of my life!!

I know that eating at a place called Wildflower Bread Company may be a bit ironical for someone on a gluten free diet, but their Potato Cream Cheese soup is heaven on earth to my taste buds. The Boy and I wanted to eat there over the weekend, so we took to their website to find out if I could enjoy this soup that I loved oh-so-much. I was really worried because I found out this week that the Zuppa Toscana at Olive Garden is not gluten free. I mourned the loss of that soup a great deal. Surely I could not be so unfortunate to lose both of my favorite potato soups in the same week?? Thankfully they had the ingredient listing on the website...

Ingredients:Water, potato, whole milk, cream cheese (pasteurized cultured milk and cream, salt, stabilizers [xanthan, carob bean and/or guar gums]), onion, chicken base (chicken meat including chicken juices, hydrolyzed soy and corn protein, potato flour, flavorings, autolyzed yeast extract, carrot powder and turmeric), modified corn starch, diced ham (cured with: water, potassium lactate, dextrose, salt, corn syrup, modified food starch, sodium phosphate, sodium diacetate, natural smoke flavor, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite), celery, salt, spices.Allergens: Milk, Soy

Break out the noise makers and confetti!! This soup is A-okay!! We went there on Saturday and I enjoyed my soup more than I ever have before because I knew that I had almost lost it, but now we could be together forever. You can also buy a large quantity (I don't know the exact amount) of the soup in a to-go container for $9.99 so you can enjoy it more than once!!

*Author's note: I did not take the above picture. There was no such sandwhich on my plate. I found this by image searching Wildflower Bread Company on MSN.