Pizza vending machines seem like a really bad idea. the thought of old dough and tasteless toppings that are put together in an at best luke warm format does not inspire hope.

When the idea was presented as a legitimate source of a warm lunch there was a lot of skepticism. Wanting to stay a little bit open minded let’s investigate a bit further. Here is how some of the various pizza machines work. First, there are several different parts to the machine. The refrigeration section, the prep section and then the cooking and delivery portion. Each of these sections are significant and play a vital role. The dough is actually mixed and prepped inside the machine on demand, which is one of the first surprises. The individual ingredients are stored in a clean and safe, climate controlled area and only mixed when the order has been placed.

A typical machine only has a very limited number of options. They all have the same base – crust and tomato sauce. The 4 possible toppings are applied in an entire sheet as to allow a simple and clean and even distribution of each topping.

These limitations make it far more effective at creating pizza that are both consistent and are delivered in an increibly fast manner.

The cooking section is done through infrared which cooks food from the inside out and can bake a 10 inch pizza in about 1 minute.  From the initial depositing of the money and the selection of the topping the process is done rapidly and precisely the same each time.

At a cost of approx $5 each piece is made to order from scratch and made piping hot and in only about 2 1/2 minutes. That is an unbelievably fast way to deliver lunch.

Of course it’s not likely that you can have one of these machines in your kitchen – although it sure would be nice to come home from work and have hot pizza 3 minutes later, right? So here are some choices and ideas that you can use yourself that won’t break the bank.

Some options for automating your pizza making at home

Professional Series PS75891 Stainless-Steel Pizza Baker

Professional Series PS75891 Stainless-Steel Pizza Baker

Dough Many people use a bread maker in the dough cycle to start the dough and then finish it off by hand and bake it in your own oven and add the toppings of your choice.

Breadman TR2500BC Ultimate Plus 2-Pound Stainless-Steel Convection Breadmaker

Breadman TR2500BC Ultimate Plus 2-Pound Stainless-Steel Convection Breadmaker

If you prefer to take a store bought frozen pizza and have a machine that will heat it and keep it warm until you are finished eating, this Presto pizza oven is a simple and easy to use choice:

Presto 03430 Pizzazz Pizza Oven

Presto 03430 Pizzazz Pizza Oven

Veggie Lasagna Gluten Free

Our family has a very unique diet. Several of our older children have been vegetarian for years for health and social reasons. We also have two special needs children who need a gluten free diet for the digestive system. So when all of this came together we had to figure out how to remake some of our favorite dishes. I didn’t look online, I just started thinking about how I could make lasagne using vegetables instead of pasta and still have the great flavor. Our family is not vegan so for those of you who do not eat any cheese you may need to modify the ingredient lists to make vegan lasagna gluten free.

Vegetarian Lasagna Wheat Free Recipe

One small onion

Two garlic cloves

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Mince the onion and garlic and sauté in the olive oil.

1 small can tomato paste

1 small can tomato sauce

1 Tbsp. Italian Seasoning

Add to the minced onion and garlic and simmer while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

1 head cabbage

1 small eggplant

1 green bell pepper

10 mushrooms

2 medium tomatoes

Peel cabbage leaves and cut into square the size of a small serving of veggie lasagna. Clean the pepper and and slice into thin slices and cut in half. Slice mushrooms into thin slices. slice Tomatoes into thin slices. Cut Eggplant vertically and then into squares the same size of the cabbage squares. You can also use yellow summer squash or zucchini instead of the eggplant. You can make your gluten free vegetable lasagna with any fresh vegetables from your garden. We have used thin sliced carrots, spinach leaves, celery, etc.. cover the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking pan with a thin layer of the tomato and onion sauce. Then put in a single layer of cabbage.

24 oz. of Ricotta Cheese (or cottage Cheese)

16 oz. graded Mozzarella Cheese

Parsley

Mix them all together. take half of the cheese mixture with your hands and drop it over the first layer of cabbage leaves in your baking pan for your vegetarian lasagna gluten free. Then add a layer of eggplant or ladle half of the sauce over the eggplant. spread the rest of the cheese mixture over the sauce and add your other vegetables and mushrooms (save the sliced tomatoes for the top). Add a final layer of cabbage and top with 4 oz. of grated mozzarella and top with tomato slices sprayed with olive oil and sprinkled with Italian seasoning. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes let sit for 10 minutes and serve. This is not a thick dish so you may need to serve it in a bowl. You can make your veggie lasagna thicker by using two cans of tomatoes paste and leave out the tomatoes sauce.

Gluten Free Lasagne Vegetarian

Double Bacon Egg and Cheese Flatbread Subway Sandwich

Subway Sandwich has introduced April’s special $5 footlong, the Double Bacon Egg and Cheese Flatbread sandwich. You can choose to have the sandwich on any of subway fresh baked bread.

Subway Double Bacon Egg Cheese Sandwich

This is a quite delicious sandwich the combination of the crisp flavorful bacon with the egg and melted cheese makes this a great breakfast lunch or dinner meal. Personally I prefer the fresh baked whole wheat instead of the flat bread. You can increase the health value of the sandwich by having it with lettuce tomato cucumber and peppers, but avoid any oil or dressings.

Double Bacon Egg and Cheese at Subway

I am quite sure that Subways Jared Fogle did not lose all his weight eating footlong subs with bacon and cheese. This sandwich on flatbread is about 550 calories for a single serving which is not the footlong. If you order the double bacon egg and cheese with egg white you can drop nearly 100 calories to 430 per individual serving. However the calories are not the only thing to count. The fat from the bacon is very high and not part of a healthy weight loss diet. Currently Subway doesn’t offer a turkey bacon substitute or something with lower fat count. You can order a footlong sub with egg and turkey but it doesn’t qualify for the $5 footlong price. If you are really going to get the sandwich and want to take advantage of subways $5 footlong price, order the footlong eat 6 inches for lunch and save the rest for your next meal.

Double Bacon Egg and Cheese

Frozen Breast Milk

Frozen breast milk is breast milk that is expressed or pumped and then put in safe bottles or bags and frozen.

Traditional Use for Frozen Breast Milk

Traditionally frozen breast milk is used by breastfeeding mothers to feed their newborn babies or small infants on days when they are away from the child. Some mothers have been able to plan ahead and return to work and still give their babies breast milk. They store up extra from their intial post-natal time off work and then when they return to work the baby sitter can use the milk in the freezer, during the day at work the mother takes her breaks to use a breast pump to collect additional breast milk for future use. Having frozen breast milk can also be handy for a long trip especially if you are flying or using public transportation and you are very conscious about breast feeding in public.

Creative Uses for Frozen Breast Milk

Several reknowned chefs have recently decided to take a creative look at uses for frozen breast milk. The first one I had heard of was a chef in New York City whose wife had several gallons of breast milk in bags in the freezer with the dates they had been collected. It was collecting faster than their child could drink it so he decided to use frozen breast milk creatively. He developed several cheeses that he served at dinner party for their family. He thought that for safety reasons he would not be able to serve the selection of hard cheeses and soft cheeses made from frozen breast milk in his restaurant. Today I heard that a restaurant in London is selling frozen breast milk ice cream. There are several flavors and options for those who are brave enough to try it. I am not sure it will be more than a short lived fad, but who knows we may find that there are some health values to frozen breast milk and it could be a whole new commercial venture.

Frozen Breast Milk

WINE GIFT BASKETS Arranging Wine Gift Baskets Contents Wine Gift Baskets can be very diverse depending on the choicie of the person sending the gift baskets and the preferences of the person receiving the gift baskets. If you are planning on sending the wine gift baskets you could start planning the contents based on what you know about the person. If they have a sweet tooth you can plan your wine gift baskets with a dessert wine that has a sweeter content and include some fine chocolate, some very nice shortbread cookies or something else that fits nicely with the wine. You may ask yourself next does the person receiving the wine gift baskets prefer a white or red wine. Once you have determined the color of the wine you can choose cheeses, cold cuts, breads, or other additional items that would complement the appropriate color of the wine. It is possible that you may choose to fill your wine gift baskets with champagne and complement it with caviar and water crackers. If you are really intimate with the recipient you may choose to break all the rules and protocol and send them a wine gift baskets filled with the items you know they love that will help create a night to never forget. Wine Gift Baskets Occasions When is the right time to send wine gift baskets? The broader answer is that any time is right time to send wine gift baskets. However there are some occassions that seem to be the perfect opportunity to choose a wine gift baskets as the appropriate way to express your emotion to the gift receiver. If someone you know receives a career promotion or a new job a wine gift baskets is a great way to congratulate them on their career path. Following the birth of a child a new mother (who is bottle feeding her baby) will be ready for her first glass of wine after a nine month hiatus and a nicely arranged wine gift baskets will help the new mom and dad celebrate. Birthdays are a great time to send anyone a wine gift basket. You may need to make sure you are not sending such a gift to someone who is in a treatment program for substance use, or that they have religious believes that would impact their view of the wine gift baskets. Retirement is another opportunity to congratulate someone with the celebratory wine gift baskets.