The Way to His Heart...

Pumpkin Spice Latte (Dairy Free)

2011-09-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

With fall here everyone is talking about Pumpkin Spice Lattes and other yummy fall drinks. Of course I can't just go to the local coffee shop and order one since I am dairy and soy free. Last night a friend shared a recipe for a dairy free version and it is yummy... so to not be selfish I will share it as well...

Pumpkin Spice Latte
(this makes 2 - easily halved for one)

2 cups almond milk
2 Tbsp canned pumpkin
2 Tbsp coconut palm sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1-2 shots of espresso

Combine milk, pumpkin and sugar in saucepan and heat on medium. Remove from heat and
add pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Add espresso and enjoy!
There is a Peppermint Mocha one as well but I think I wrote it down wrong so I will clarify and then post it as well.

More Changes

2011-09-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

My life is evolving .... It is interesting to look back over this blog and see the changes I have made over the last several years. In the last 6 months my life has once again drastically changed. To date I have lost 44 pounds on EET Fitness Plan (70 pounds all together since March 2010) Once again I have changed my eating and exercise routines with fabulous results. To see a brief update on my story and learn a little more about EET (Eating and Exercise Timing) check out this link!
So.... this is a disclaimer. This blog is a progression (EETer's will appreciate that word) It started with my down home comfort cooking and has evolved into my allergen friendly lifestyle and now into my eating and exercise life style. Fortunatley, because of this great plan I can still eat my down home comfort cooking (within my allergy perimeters) at the right time. That is what is so great about this plan - I eat the foods I love and still loose weight (and keep it off!)

Banana Flax Muffins

2011-07-03T18:20:00.000-07:00

I wrote a recommendation for The Allergen Free Bakers Handbook on this post on my sister's and my gluten free blog. I am posting another recipe from it that we really enjoy at the request of a couple people. The recipe for the Basic Gluten Free Flour Mix that the recipe calls for can be found here.

Banana Flax Muffins

1/4 cup canola oil (I use coconut oil)
1 cup light agave nectar
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup golden flaxseed meal
2 1/2 cups Basic Gluten Free Flour Mix
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins (I use mini chocolate chips :-) )

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with 12 muffin liners. (also makes nice mini muffins)
2. Mix together oil and agave, mixing on medium speed for about 20 seconds.
3. Add the mashed banana, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and mix for 20 seconds. Add the flax meal and mix until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine flour mix, xantham gum, baking soda, and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on low until just combined, about 20 seconds.
6. Fold in the raisins (or chocolate chips :-) )
7. Fill the liners to the rim with batter. They will be heaping.
8 Bake in the center of the oven for 25 minutes, or until lovely golden brown on top, rotating the pan halfway through.

Cherry Oat Scones - Gluten Free/Egg Free

2011-01-27T19:09:00.000-08:00

Scones! I have been craving them lately but had not found a recipe that was both gluten free and egg free. The other day I was at a grocery store and saw a book that caught my attention. I came home and looked it up on Amazon - (it was $9 cheaper) The book is The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook by Cybele Pascal She has a basic flour mix that she uses for most of her recipes. I will give you the basic flour mix and the recipe for these scones.

Basic Gluten Free Flour Mix

4 cups brown rice flour (she says you need super fine but I used Bob's Red Mill and it worked fine)
1 1/3 cups potato starch (not potato flour)
2/3 cup tapioca flour (also called tapioca starch)

1. To measure flour use a large spoon to scoop flour into a measuring cup, then level it off with the back of a knife or straighedge. Don't scoop it with the measuring cup as this will compact the flour and you will have to much for the recipe.

2. Combine all the ingredients in a gallon size ziploc. Shake until blended. Store in refrigerator.

The book is allergen free so besided gluten and egg free there is no dairy, soy, nuts or sesame. She says not to substitute but I did and it turned out fine.
****Update****
I made these again and substituted palm sugar for the granulated sugar and butter for the shortening and I believe they were better. My sister made them as well and thought they were a little dry still so thought she would add a couple Tbsp of coconut oil next time.

Cherry Oat Scones
1 cup plus 2 Tbsps rice milk (I used regular milk)
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 cups Basic Gluten-free flour mix (see above)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum (if you live in pdx area buy bulk at Bob's Red Mill - much cheaper)
2 Tbsps double acting baking powder
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 cup gluten free old fashioned oats
1/3 cup dairy free, soy free vegetable shortening (I used regular shortening)
1/2 cup dried cherries (I used cranberries)
Sanding sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
Whisk together 1 cup of the milk and the cider vinegar. Set aside.
In a large bowl whisk together flour mixture, xantham gum, baking powder, granulated sugar, salt and cinnamon.
Add oats and toss. Add the shortening in pieces, and work in with pastry blender or two knives until you have pea-sized crumbs.
Add the cherries, tossing until combined.
Add the rice milk mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until combined but still clumpy.
Flour a work surface lightly with a little gf flour mixture, and turn out the dough. Lightly flour your hand. Sprinkle the dough with a little flour mix.
Divide the dough in half. The dough will be sticky. Shape into two 6-inch disks. Cut the disks into 6 pie shaped wedges. I put the dough on to the parchment paper before I patted it out and cut it. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons rice milk, then sprinkle with sanding sugar.
Bake in the center of the oven for 17 minutes, or until lightly golden.
Serve warm from oven :-)

If there is anything that I don't like about gluten free baking is things are usually drier than baking with flour and eggs. These are little dry but with a nice cup of tea they are great. Troy and Anna both ate one and enjoyed it :-)

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

2010-10-27T08:20:00.000-07:00

I found this little snack in a magazine and thought it would be a good snack for all of us - but lo and behold when checking out ingredients - rice krispies are NOT gluten free! They have barley malt and barley has gluten. Looks like some of the health food brands might have one that is gluten free - will have to research this a little further. Anyway, even though they are not gluten free they make a great snack for the kids - and they love them! If you find a gf rice krispie cereal you can easily make them gluten free by using gf oats as well.

****Update****
I did find gluten free rice krispies and made these and they were yummy

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

1/3 cup honey (I use local, raw honey)

1/4 cup natural peanut butter (I use Adams)

2 Tablespoons butter

1 cup crisp rice cereal

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick-cooking) and if you are making it gluten free be sure and use gluten free oats

1/4 cup dried fruit (I use cranberries)

Place rice cereal, rolled oats and dried fruit in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium, heat honey, peanut butter, and butter. Stir until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over cereal mixture.

Drop mixture by tablespoon (I use my smallest pampered chef scoop) into mini cupcake liners placed in a mini muffin pan. Refrigerate about 15 minutes until set. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week (if they last that long)

Makes about 24

Homemade Lara*Bars and other Healthy Snacks

2010-10-04T13:45:00.001-07:00

In my attempt to cut out all "white" sugar from my diet I looked for a healthy, gluten free bar that I could grab when I needed something to tide me over or something to grab before I go walking in the morning or when I don't have time to make my breakfast first thing. The bar that I found and love is the Lara*bar. It is made totally of fruit and nuts - there is nothing else added except the occasional spice like cinnamon in the Apple Pie version.
Last time my sister was visiting I offered her one and she told me she had bought an e-book on a blog that had 14 recipes for variations of the bar. I immediately looked it up and bought the ebook. It was only $6.95 and worth every penny to me as the bars in the store can add up quite quickly. The ebook is available at Kitchen Stewardship . Right now there is a link near the top of her page but the link can always be found in the right hand column. There are also many other healthy recipes and some of them are gluten free. All are well marked and she gives suggestions on how to make some of the non-gluten free ones, gluten free. She also has another book about real food for camping that looks like a great book for any serious campers that still want to eat healthy away from home.
Some of the ingredients that are called for are dates, peanuts, cashews, raisins and chocolate :-). Not all of these are in the same bars but these are the kind of ingredients that are used. Buying all the ingredients can be a little spendy to start with but most will do several batches of the bars. Each batch makes about 5 bars. She gives different ideas for forming them but the way I have found and really like is to put regular cupcake liners in a cupcake pan, roll the dough into 5 even balls and then press them into the liner. After they are formed I take them out and wrap each one individually in plastic wrap and put each kind in a separate bag with the name and ingredients listed on the outside and then refrigerate. If I am making more than one kind or double batches I reuse the same liners over again.
I got a Kindle for my birthday and I was able to email the PDF to my Kindle so I have it right there with me in the kitchen in a handy form and don't have to worry about printing it out. (I keep my kindle in a quart size ziploc bag when I have it in the kitchen to protect it)

Soooo - bottom line - if you are looking for some frugal, healthy snacks I highly recommend this e-book!

Flourless Pumpkin Pecan Cookies - Fruit Sweetened

2010-09-28T10:47:00.001-07:00

I am so excited about this blog, Daily Bites, my sister found recently. Today they posted this recipe for Flourless Pumpkin Pecan Cookies. We just made them during our break from school and they are soooo yummy. I did put the chocolate chips in instead of the raisins so mine are not totally fruit sweetened but still very good for you. I found the quinoa flakes at Fred Meyer in the gluten free section. You can order them online as well. I was thinking about my wonderful pumkin gingerbread recipe that I will miss so much this year but these make up for it and are almost just as tasty! Enjoy!
**** Update ***** I was not to thrilled with the quinoa flakes - they tend to make it a little bitter so I used gluten free oats the next time I made them and they were really good! Even my non gluten free friends liked them :-)

Shepherd's Pie (Gluten and Dairy Free)

2010-08-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

One of Troy's absolute favorite dishes is Shepherd's Pie. With all of our eating restrictions it is one dish that I had avoided making. I have been thinking about it for a few days and decided to try it tonight. Since I last blogged Troy and Anna have gone off of dairy. So now most things I make are gluten, dairy, egg and bean free :-)

I have been using a lot of coconut oil and coconut milk in my recipes. I use virgin coconut oil as opposed to the hydrogenated kind. I order it here.

So here is the recipe:

Filling:
4 Tbsp virgin coconut oil
2 1/2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
dash of garlic and onion powder
splash of gluten free soy sauce
1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey breast)
Peas or other veggies (about a cup)

Topping:
4 Yukon Gold Potatoes
coconut oil
coconut milk

Wash and cut up potatoes (I leave the skins on). Place in cold water and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and cook until potatoes are tender. Drain and mash with beaters adding a little oil and milk until they are the consistency you like.

While the potatoes are boiling make a white sauce. Melt the oil in a saucepan or skillet over medium heat. When it is melted added the rice flour and whisk together. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes stirring constantly. Slowly add coconut milk and whisk together. Add seasonings. Bring to a boil. Add the cooked ground beef and the veggies you desire. I used to use green beans but they are on my don't eat list so I substituted peas. You could use frozen mixed veggies as well. Heat through and then put in a 9x11 baking pan. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top and bake in a 350 degree oven until bubbly (about 20 minutes) If you are not dairy free a little cheese on top is very good.

Next time I would probably add some onion as well if I was cooking the beef as I was making it. I had already cooked meat and it was in the freezer so didn't think about the onion.

We all enjoyed it and there is some left for the kids lunch tomorrow.

Check out my sister's dairy free Mounds Bar Ice Cream recipe on her blog.

Strawberry Pie - Gluten, Egg and Dairy Free (and Good!)

2010-06-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe this week and decided to try it. On our way home from grocery shopping we passed a strawberry stand and bought a couple pints. We got home and I washed them and ate a couple and put the kids back in the car and drove back for a half flat! They are soooo good! Oregon strawberries must love the rain because these are some of the best I have tasted!
Anyway, on to the pie. I will give you the recipe as I found it and then note my changes:

Strawberry Pie

Crust:
3/4 cup pecans or walnuts, crushed
1/4 cup dried, unsweetened shredded coconut

Filling:
2 cups fresh strawberries
1 cup raw cashews
2 Tbsp vanilla extract (no, that is not a typo)
1/2 cup raw honey
1 pinch salt
1 cup coconut oil, melted

Grind crust ingredients in food processor and press into the bottom of a 9 inch pie pan building up the sides slightly.
Place all filling ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Carefully pour on top of crust and refrigerate 3 hours.

Serve and enjoy!

This pie really was very good. I used walnuts in the crust because that is what I had and I am not a big walnut fan. Next time I make it I will use pecans. The crust tasted bitter to me.

I did not have honey so I used agave nectar (I am trying to get away from agave but have a couple of bottles left so used it in this) I used the expeller pressed coconut oil as it does not have the coconut taste. I am not sure what the creator of this pie intended but I used the one that did not taste like coconut. I buy my coconut oil from here. This is also where this recipe came from.
I need to do some more investigating on this site as it looks like a lot of good recipes!

So, my take on this pie is it is really good and worth the little time and effort to make it! It is also one that everyone at our house can eat! Yeah!

Menu Planning

2010-06-17T22:05:00.000-07:00

I used to be pretty good about menu planning - (when I had only one little girl who took long naps and went to bed really early) but since my life has gotten busier and our eating has changed so much I have fallen out of the habit. I need to menu plan - I know it would make my life less stressful and I would not be sitting here at 5pm wondering what in the world I am going to fix for dinner (I usually manage to come up with something but it is stressful)
I like paper and fun things so when I saw this tonight I had to print them out and hopefully they will help me begin to get back on track - check out these fun summer menu planners and grocery lists and print some for yourself or give them to a friend - they're free!

I found a recipe for a no bake, gluten free, egg free and dairy free strawberry pie. I am going to get the ingredients this weekend and try it and if it turns out I will share the recipe :-)

Pizza - Gluten Free and Low Carb (but not egg and dairy free)

2010-06-14T19:15:00.001-07:00

On this journey of reinventing my eating I love that I have friends and family who look out for recipes I may like to try. This is one such recipe that a friend saw posted by another friend and passed on to me. I made it for dinner tonight and everyone liked it. Troy was not home when I was making it and I pulled it out of the oven and served it to him hot - he could not tell what the crust was made from. It really was quite tasty. I will give you the recipe as is and then talk about what I did differently to accomodate my eating.

This would be a great recipe to try if you are looking for a low carb way to enjoy your favorite pizza toppings even if you don't need to eat gluten free.

I don't really have a name for it - but here is the recipe

1 cup of grated, raw cauliflower
2 egg whites (or 1/8 cup of egg beaters)
1/2 cup grated cheese (mexican blend or whatever you like)
dash of italian seasoning

Mix together and pat flat on parchment paper

Bake in 425 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes until edges are brown

remove from oven and put on sauce and any toppings you like. Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted

Eat and enjoy!

For my pizza I used my EngerG egg replacement. It did not hold together quite as well as the egg ones but it was still good. I am finding more things that I can sub for eggs so I may try it again with something different.

It is a good recipe but honestly one that I will probably not make too often because of the amount of cheese it uses and trying to go dairy free with the kids.

In all the changes you have to decide what things you want to substitute and what you want to just do without. Cheese is one thing that I am trying to decide about - I am not really excited about to many of the cheese "substitutes" so so far have just gone pretty much cheese free with the kids.
However, it does make me think of the different ways I can continue to find to use cauliflower. I am finding it is very versatile!

Rhubarb Recipes (not gluten free)

2010-05-13T20:37:00.000-07:00

With my offer to give away some rhubarb from my garden tonight I thought I would post a couple of REALLY good rhubarb recipes. I am sad I cannot eat them this year but my body will thank me in the long run. Besides these recipes not being gluten free it takes a lot of sugar for rhubarb to not be too sour (unless you are my husband and eat it straight from the garden) But - if you can eat them - it is totally worth the sugar in this case!!

This first recipe for Rhubarb Crunch is awesome! It is a family favorite. When I make this and any of my nieces and nephews are around I can count on it not lasting to long. If they are going to be around I double it because it only makes a 9x9 pan. Ok - enough of the chatter. It is actually my sister's recipe but I checked her blog and she hasn't posted it so here goes: (and don't forget to have some vanilla ice cream on hand when it comes out of the oven!!)

Rhubarb Crunch

Crumb Topping

1 cup sifted flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tsp cinnamon

Fruit Mixture:

4 cups diced rhubarb

1 cup sugar

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 cup water

1 tsp vanilla

Mix crumb topping together and press half the mixture into a 9x9 inch greased layer pan. Cover bottom layer with rhubarb. Combine sugar, cornstarch, water, and vanilla in small saucepan. Cook, stirring, until thick and clear. Pour over rhubarb. Top with remaining crumb topping. Bake at 350 (325 for glass pan) for 1 hour. Cut in squares and serve warm, plain or with whipped cream or ice cream! Makes 8 servings.

This next recipe is from my sister's mother-in-law and she says even rhubarb haters will like this one!

Rhubarb Cake

1/2 cup margarine

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups rhubarb, sliced

1 tsp vanilla

Topping:

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp butter

Cream together margarine, brown sugar and egg. Combine buttermilk, soda and salt in 2cup measure. Add flour alternately with buttermilk to sugar mixture. Mix in rhubarb and vanilla. Pour into greased and floured pan (9x13 inches) Combine topping ingredients together and sprinkle on top of cake. Bake at 350 (325 for glass pan) for 40 minutes.

For apple cake, substitute 2 cups apples and only 1 cup brown sugar.

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

2010-04-29T20:25:00.001-07:00

Cauliflower is a very versatile veggie. Back when I began to watch my carb/gluten intake my sister told me about a friend that used cauliflower in place of spaghetti. I began to use it for my "rice" and other pasta dishes as well. Last year I did a cooking class with some vegetarian meals using garbanzo beans as a base and made a yummy Indian Cauliflower Stew (the recipe is here) I have played around with roasting cauliflower before but finally got a recipe we love! I usually do a whole head of cauliflower with a meat and that is our meal. The kids love it and ask for seconds even before they eat their meat. Did you ever wonder how to cut cauliflower so there are not little while shavings everywhere? I did - so before I taught the class I did some investigation on the internet and found a video on how to cut cauliflower :-) Basically you start with your whole cauliflower and put your knife into the stem part and split it rather than cutting through. You continue to do this until you have the flowerets the size you want them. If you are confused do a search for how to cut cauliflower :-)

This really has nothing to do with cauliflower but I just have to show you one of my favorite pans in all the world. We bought this 25 years ago in Germany and it is the best. It cleans up like a dream - so I never worry about making something in it that may be messy in the pan because I know it will clean up without any effort - besides being so cleanable I think it is darling!

So here is the finished product and the recipe - I made this last week and a friend came by for a meeting after dinner and we were still eating - she finished off the pan and asked me to post the recipe so here it is T.

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower split into flowerets

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

2-3 cloves of garlic

Parmesan cheese

Put the cauliflower in the pan and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Crush garlic and stir all together. Bake at 450 for 25 minutes - stirring occasionally (1 or 2 times) Grate parmesan cheese and sprinkle over the cauliflower. Place under the broiler for 3-4 minutes.

Enjoy!

Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

2010-04-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

As promised in my last post here is the recipe for the Chicken Salad. My brother found this recipe and we made it at my PC party. I have made it several times before and since, including this morning for our playgroup. As usual it was polished off very quickly. So here it is - I will give it to you as it is written and then I will tell you my revisions:

Dressing

1/2 cup canola oil

3 Tbsp smooth peanut butter

1/2 cup juice from 3-4 limes

2 Tbsp water

Table salt

3 small garlic coves, minced or pressed

2 tsps very finely grated ginger

2 Tbsp light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsps hot red pepper flakes

Salad

1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch by 1/4 inch matchsticks

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated

4 scallions, white and green parts sliced thin

3 Tbsps minced fresh cilantro leaves

5 cups shredded roast chicken, room temperature

1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts

1. Puree oil, peanut butter, lime juice, water, 1/4 tsp salt, garlic, ginger, brown sugar and red pepper flakes in blender until combined. Transfer to large bowl.

2. Add cucumber, carrot, scallions, and cilantro to vinaigrette, toss to combine. Add chicken and toss gently to combine. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve immediately.

Now for my changes:

I used a little over 1/3 cup of olive or grapeseed oil

juice from 2 limes seemed to be plenty of lime

I used palm sugar instead of brown sugar

I have not used the red pepper flakes as I serve it to my children but imagine it would be very good if you like a little spice

I use a whole English cucumber or equivalant and 2 carrots. We decided we like it with more veggies and a little less chicken. I probably only use 2 cups of chicken.

The dressing makes way more than you need - I use about half the dressing even with revisions and then save the rest for a regular lunch salad the next day.

Today I knew that our hostess did not care for cilantro so I left it on the side for people to add if they liked.

You can roast your own chicken or a store bought roasted chicken for an even faster meal. I have done it both ways.

Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

2010-04-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

This is the yummy salad we had for dinner tonight! I have a couple of really great main dish chicken salad recipes I want to share with you but you will have to wait :-)

This is a teaser post. My brother will be demonstrating this and another great salad at my Pampered Chef party this Thursday night (April 15th - 7 pm - if you live in the area and would like to attend, leave a comment with your email and I will send you the address etc) so.......... you'll have to wait for the recipe - either at the party or when I decide to post it here :-) Let me just tell you - it is really good - even my kids loved it! and it is gluten/egg free of course :-)

Check back for the recipes :-)

Breakfast - Gluten/Egg Free

2010-04-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

So you might wonder what one eats for breakfast when they cannot eat anything with gluten or eggs? I wondered that at first, too! But slowly I have found some great alternatives. Here is one of my favorites. I used to make this with eggs - so now I just leave out the eggs and add a little cheese for a little more protein. Here is my

Eggless Breakfast Omelet

First I julienne a small zucchini
and prepare any other yummy veggies I may have - today I had asparagus and I almost always have a bag of chopped green onions prepared to throw into a recipe

I stir fry that all in my little pan and add some turkey bacon (I chop up and fry a whole package at a time and then just have it ready to add to recipes)

When that is all cooked I add a very generous handful of baby spinach

Once the spinach is cooked down, I lay a few slices of swiss cheese over the top and cover the pan to allow it to melt.

Here is my yummy breakfast with a half slice of my gluten free, egg free bread, toasted.

(I use this bread mix from Bob's Red Mill and the egg replacement from here )

Almond J*oy! - Tropical Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-03-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

Almonds! Currently my favorite nut as evidenced by a slight sensitivity showing up on my food test. Sometimes if you eat to much of something it can cause a sensitivity and this is apparently what has happened with me and almonds. I am supposed to only eat almonds every 4th day - this is difficult as I bake with almond flour, use almond milk (daughter is off dairy), eat almond butter and LOVE dry roasted almonds. I will continue to use all of these things but try and use them in moderation - I won't have almonds for mid afternoon snack every day :-) They are kind of like potato chips are to some people - once I start snacking on them it is hard to stop.
I love baking with almond flour! I get my almond flour from here and I get most of my recipes from this site, Elana's Pantry and her cookbook which is available on Ama*zon The Gluten-Free Almond Flour cookbook Almond flour is very easy to bake with and does not require a lot of ingredients (just my type of baking) Also the results are very tasty! I will share one of my favorite recipes with you from Elana's cookbook. I have taken these to a few gatherings and they get eaten up by everyone - not just those that are gluten free. This particular recipe is egg free as well so I can make them without having to substitute anything else. (I just bought some egg replacment but haven't tried it yet in my baking)

So without any further ado here is the recipe for the cookies with a few minor change from the original:

Tropical Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup coconut oil, melted over very low heat
1/2 cup of palm sugar (recipe calls for agave but I think they taste even better with palm sugar)
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup mini semi dark chocolate chips (her recipe calls for coarsley chopped dark chocolate (73 % cacao)
1/2 cup cashews, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl combine almond flour, salt and baking soda. (if using palm sugar in place of agave)Measure 1/2 cup of palm sugar and put in a marked measuring cup. Add hot water to make 1/2 cup (as the sugar disolves you will add more water) or use agave if desired. In a medium bowl combine sweetener (palm sugar mixture or agave), coconut oil and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until they are thoroughly combined. Fold in the chocolate, cashews and coconut. Spoon the dough 1 heaping tablespoon at a time onto the prepared baking sheets (I use my smallest pampered chef scoop - perfect size). Press the cookies down with the palm of your hand to flatten, leaving 2 inches between each cookie.
Bake for 7-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes and then remove. Don't overbake - I bake mine for 9 minutes and they are perfect. Everyone's oven is a little different so test it. They will look a little underbaked when done. If you overbake they really do not taste good.
These freeze great as well. I put a few in a sandwich bag and then place them all in a freezer bag. Troy can pull a bag out for his lunch or the kids and I can have a mid afternoon treat.

Changes, again!

2010-03-27T18:52:00.000-07:00

*****UPDATED*****
I have not blogged for quite some time and it has been mainly because I have been frustrated by the fact that I cannot cook like I used to and switching my whole way of thinking and cooking has been hard. I have some definite answers now about what I can and cannot eat so now I feel like I at least have a jumping off place.
A few posts back I blogged about changes in my diet and what I was eating etc. That has all changed once again so here goes again!
I have suspected for some time that I was gluten intolerant and have been eating somewhat accordingly. I knew when I was eating strictly this way I felt better. My back has improved so much since September when I quit eating most gluten. Last month at the urging of my doctor I had a food sensitivity test done. I was not surprised to find that I was very sensitive to gluten and grains associated - wheat, spelt, barley, and rye. The thing I was not at all prepared for and really shocked by is that it showed I was extremely sensitive to eggs! That is just about the worst news I could have gotten (as far as eating goes) I was an avid egg eater and was counting on eggs in my next undertaking which was to find out what my carb threshold is (more about that later) Anyway, I also showed some moderate senistivity to most beans, including green beans and dungeness crab and oysters (neither of which are part of my diet)

I will post a recipe that I had for dinner and as time goes on I will try and post more about what I am eating - so if you know anyone who cannot eat gluten or eggs - send them my way and I will try and put up some great recipes as I discover them :-) They will be great healthy recipes as well if you are just looking for some healthier things to eat.

My sister told me about this salad she had had at a restaurant so today I got the ingredients and made it for dinner - it was soooo yummy and so nice for a change as I have been eating basically the same thing for my meals since I found out about my sensitivities.

I don't have a name for this salad but here goes:
Now have a name:

Yardhouse Chopped Salad
1 cucumber or 2 small persian cucumbers (diced)
1 tomato (diced)
1/2 cup of frozen corn (defrosted)
green onion (to taste)
1 stalk of celery (chopped small)
cilantro (a few leaves chopped)
1 avacado, sliced or diced
***add bacon*** (see note)
Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing

I chopped this all up and tossed with a little of the dressing. Next time I would probably put the avacado on the side if I was eating it by myself so I could put some in the fridge and eat it later. I meant to add a little feta cheese on top and forgot to but a little bit of cheese would be wonderful with it as well.
I grilled a chicken breast and ate it with the salad and savored every bite - it was so yummy!
You could vary the ingredients to your taste - I am not a celery person but am learning to eat it.

*****Note - so my sister says it needs bacon as well - my choice of bacon these days is Trader Joes Turkey bacon - it is really good and I like it better than regular bacon. It has no added nitrites or nitrates and is minimally processed.*****

Tortilla Soup

2009-10-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a craving for tortilla soup - though I have never made it and not sure I have ever eaten it - it sounded good. As I often do I looked at several recipes for inspiration and then made my own variation. This is what I came up with and it was good! The kids loved it which is always a good sign - though they are not picky eaters.

Tortilla Soup

4 cups chicken broth (I used my homemade)
4 cups water
2 chicken breasts
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 bag of Trader Joe's frozen roasted corn
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper

Toppings

green onion
mozarella cheese (leave out to make dairy free)
yellow peppers (that is all I had on hand)
tomatoes
tortilla strips (recipe to follow)

other suggestions that I did not have on hand
avacado
cilantro
green pepper

For the soup I boiled the chicken breasts in the broth and water for about 20 minutes. (You could use thighs as well but breast was all I had on hand.) I would add the chopped onion here as well but added mine near the end as an afterthought. Once the chicken breast is cooked take it out of the broth and shred it. Season the broth with cumin and chili and salt and pepper to taste. Return the chicken and add frozen corn to the broth and simmer until corn is cooked.
Serve with the toppings and enjoy.

Tortilla strips
6-8 corn tortillas
oil (I used grapeseed oil)

Brush both sides of tortillas with oil and stack as you go. I used a pizza cutter and cut the tortillas in half then cut crosswise in 1/4 inch strips. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes in a 400 degree oven until they are golden. Stir every few minutes while they are baking.

Sorry this recipe may be a little hard to follow as I am doing it from my head on what I did last night. Hope you can follow and enjoy! :-)

Soup!!

2009-10-28T13:15:00.000-07:00

We have been under the weather for the last couple weeks so have been making and eating a lot of soup! I love to make my own chicken stock and use this recipe that is on my sister's blog. While we have been sick I made a lot of broth and we ate soup at least once a day for a few days when nothing else sounded good. I stuck to a basic chicken soup but there are many other yummy soups you can make with this homemade broth. I think it makes a huge difference in how your soup tastes!
My sister is looking for a good Minestrone soup today so I will post one here for her. I got this at one of the cooking classes I went to. I made yummy tortilla soup last night and will post it soon.

Minestrone Soup

3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 leeks, chopped or one onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2-3 carrots, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 14.5 oz can diced Italian tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can kidney beans
1 14.5 oz can cannellini or lima beans
1/2 cup Italian green beans
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 zucchini, chopped in large pieces
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup pasta
salt and pepper

Saute leeks or onion in oil over medium hi temperature, add garlic, carrots and celery and saute for another 3 or 4 minutes. Add chicken stock and water, oregano, diced Italian tomatoes, all the beans, and tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Turn heat on low and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the zucchini and cabbage and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add pasta and simmer for another 10-12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

My notes: I add the veggies based on what I may have and what we like in soup. For instance I usually leave out the Itialian green beans. Also, since I am going wheat free these days I would substitute the regular pasta for quinoa pasta or just leave it out. I have been using quinoa in my chicken and rice soup in place of rice as well. It makes for a good substitute.

Exercise

2009-09-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

Exercise is a key component to weight loss. In the past couple of years I have found this very difficult as I have been in so much pain with my back. It was all I could do to get through my day and take care of my kids. This summer I finally got the answer to what is wrong with my back and was referred to a great physical therapy clinic that concentrated on active therapy. I basically worked out 30-40 minutes a day. It has made such a huge difference and has motivated me to continue working out on my own. We really can't afford a gym membership and finding the time to go would be a challenge - so I have a great routine that I do at home. I bought a stationary bike as this is the safest way for me to get the cardio I need. I ride it for 15-20 minutes, then I work with a resistance band that my PT gave me. He showed me how I can do almost anything that you would do with weights at a gym with the band. I also do some other exercises that he had me doing that are simple and I am able to do them at home without equipment. After I do that for about 5-10 minutes I do a 1 mile Walk Away the Pounds video. This also has some resistance band exercises with it. That takes me about 15 minutes - so in all my workout takes me about 45 minutes.
I love when I am done and feel good that I have spent some time exercising. I love that I can do it as well and that my back, along with the rest of my body, is getting stronger and healthier!

What do I eat - now that I am eating differently?

2009-09-27T20:52:00.001-07:00

I am not sure that anyone is reading over here still but just thought I would continue to blog so I have a record of my journey to this new way of eating.

Today I will give you a brief glimpse of what I am eating on a daily basis. As I walk this out I am sure my repertoire will grow and expand and even become a little more exciting - but for now I am liking it :-)

For breakfast I usually eat eggs. I like mine fried, over easy - so I fry them in a little olive oil. Over the years eggs have gotten a bad rap - but they are really not the beasts everyone thought they were. It has taken me a while to bring myself to eat eggs about 5 mornings a week. The other two mornings I usually drink a smoothie lovingly prepared for me by my husband :-) We use the Quest Protein powder in our smoothies because it is low glycemic, lactose free and yet uses no artificial sweeteners. We use almond milk for our base (we use almond milk for everything - including cereal for the kids which they only eat one or two mornings a week) and add frozen mixed berries, frozen blueberries from our garden and sometimes some banana or other fruit we may have around.
Another favorite for breakfast which I have not fixed for awhile is a veggie "omelet" When I get home from the grocery store I cut up my veggies and put them in ziplocs in my crisper - green onion, red pepper, zucchini (from my garden in the summer), asparagus (in season) and anything else that might sound good. In the morning I just grab all the baggies and throw a little handful of each in my frying pan with some olive oil. I saute these until they are just a little tender and then add a huge handful of spinach. I cook it down and then pour a couple of eggs over and it and let it cook. Yum and it is filling and satisfying as well.

Lunch is almost always the same - I am not a big salad person but I think a lot of times it has to do with not finding the right dressing. With the way I have been fixing my salads I find I am craving them! I buy already prepared lettuce - usually romaine - and put a little in my bowl. To it I add the above mentioned veggies and a cut up grilled chicken breast. (I try and buy chicken on the weekend, marinate it and grill it. I do enough for Troy and I for lunch for the week.) If I have an apple I chop up half and apple and add it as well - just went apple picking so will have plenty for awhile :-) I then mix about a tbsp of olive oil and tbsp of red wine vinegar and a little fresh ground pepper together and toss it with my salad - yum!

Can't wait for lunch! Tomorrow I will probably have salmon with my salad instead as I did not have a chance to buy my chicken yet.
As the weather gets cooler I will probably have veggie or chicken soup for lunch some days. I have been cooking chickens when they are on sale and freezing broth - nothing better than homemade chicken soup!

This post is getting rather long so I will end now and talk about dinner another time.

Changes in our Kitchen!

2009-09-24T19:09:00.001-07:00

For the past few months I have been convinced through different things I am learning that our eating, though seemingly pretty healthy, needed a great overhaul. Honestly with all I have had going on in my life over the past two years - two international adoptions and they ensuing bonding and transition issues, a father who relied on me for transportation and attendance at all of his doctors appointments and then his final illness and death this summer and my severe back pain which made me almost unable to stand for more than 30 minutes - I was a bit overwhelmed. Add to that being overweight and not having much strength or energy.
Well, things are changing for me and with those changes I am feeling more energy, clearer thinking and a desire to overhaul our eating once again.
My preschoolers are now in preschool two mornings a week which gives me just enough free time to feel like I am getting a little break. I finally got a diagnosis for my back and some real help from active physical therapy. I basically got to work out with a personal trainer all summer and get an exercise routine that has helped me sooo much!
Last year while we were waiting for AJ I felt led to really concentrate on loosing weight. There is a whole story behind that and God really did a supernatural thing in my life which we later realized was necessary for our adoption - but that is another story. One of the things that I felt led to do at the time was to go off of all wheat. I really believe it was a key. Over time I began eating wheat products again and gained back almost all the weight I had lost.
I have been trying for a few weeks to get myself psyched up again to get off wheat - I have always been a bread and pasta person and at first could not imagine giving them up but did it last year so knew I could.
About two weeks ago I went off wheat again. The transformation has been amazing. I have been virtually pain free with my back, I am not retaining water (by evening my ankles would be so swollen it was really scaring me) I have dropped 6 pounds (probably a lot of water - but can feel the difference) I am not feeling bloated. I was diagnosed with a spastic colon when I was young - do not have issues related to that when I am not eating wheat. I am feeling much more energy - last week I actually cleaned both bathrooms thoroughly and then the next day spot scrubbed my carpet and had no ensuing back pain. This is amazing - I have not been able to clean my house much at all because of pain. I am thinking more clearly and more positively. I feel like I can think through these changes I need to make.
There is a lot of research out there about wheat and it's affects on our body. A lot of it has to do with the way it is processed and prepared and I am not going to expound on it because I don't understand it all yet but if you are having any of the above symptoms and cannot find answers I would encourage you to check it out.
I am not sure anyone is even checking my blog anymore but I am going to write some more about this and how we are eating now and the changes we are making. It will still be a process and learning new things all the time.
What I used to think was healthy has changed - drastically! I am excited to see what develops over the next few weeks and months. I will be posting some links to some great blogs and sites with more information - so stay tuned if you are interested :-)

Blueberries, Blueberries, Blueberries!!!

2009-08-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

One of the things we were blessed with when we moved into our house was 4 well established blueberry bushes. We have had our share of trials with the blueberry bushes - the first year was a good one - then the next year they got a common blueberry disease called mummy berry - we thought our blueberry days were over. After that diseased crop we pruned the bushes way back and wondered if we would be able to get rid of the disease. The next year was so so and one bush was still pretty badly diseased - again we did a major pruning. This year we are reaping the benefits of the deep pruning - we have had a bumper crop of beautiful, big, juicy blueberries on all four bushes. I love the spiritual principles here of pruning and bearing fruit as well. One day I would love to write a little devotional on "Lessons from my Garden" - but that is another story.
So back to the subject of blueberries!! I have had the opportunity to make some yummy things with our blueberries this year and here are the recipes:

Blueberry Coffee Cake

for the topping

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

for the cake

1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 inch diameter cake pan. To make the topping, in a small bowl, combine flour, sugar and cinnamon. Blend in the butter, using your fingertips or a pastry blender, until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

To make the cake, in a large bowl, beat together the egg, milk and butter. Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into a small bowl and add the egg mixture. Beat until just blended. Gently stir in the blueberries.

Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and spinkle with the topping. Bake until a wood toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Serve warm from the pan.

Serves 6-8 - I double this in a 9x13 pan when I need more and it works fine.

Blueberry Buckle

A buckly by definition is a tender cake generally baked with fresh berries inside or on the bottom of the cake.
This cake really is tender - it is so good!!

Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Topping
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter

Beat 1/2 cup butter at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy, gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating mixture well. Add egg, and beat well.

Combine 1 1/4 cup flour, baking powder and salt: add alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.

Pour batter into greased 8 in square baking dish. Top with blueberries.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1/4 cup butter with pastry blender until mixture is crumbly; sprinkle crumb topping evenly over blueberries.

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes. Yeild 6 servings. (I have also doubled this in a 9x13)

Spring Chicken and Biscuits

2009-05-04T18:19:00.000-07:00

Many years ago I found some chicken recipes in Good Housekeeping magazine and they are still a couple of my favorites. One of them can be found in an earlier entry here. In the May 2009 issue there are several chicken recipes that I am looking forward to trying. We tried the first one tonight and it was good. Not sure it will become a classic at our house but it was good and was fairly easy to prepare (which is a prerequisite for any recipe in my kitchen :-) )
So without any further ado - here is the recipe:

Spring Chicken and Biscuits
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp all purpose baking mix (not with buttermilk)
1/3 cup plus 1/2 cup reduced-fat milk
4 medium skinless, boneless chicken-breast halves (1 1/2 lbs)
Salt and pepper (or sepper as my 3 year olds call it)
5 teaspoons olive oil
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 small onion (4 to 6 oz), chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill plus additional sprigs for garnish if desired
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In medium bowl, mix baking mix and 1/3 cup milk until just combined. Onto ungreased cookie sheet, drop biscuit dough to make 4 even mounds. Bake biscuits 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Meanwhile, with meat mallet, pound chicken (I put mine in a ziploc bag) to an even 1/2 inch thickness, cut chicken into 1/2 inch chunks and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper.
In 12 inch skillet, heat 2 teaspoons oil in medium high until hot. Add chicken and cook 6 to 7 minutes or unitl no longer pink throughout, stirring occasionally. Transfer chicken to bowl.
To the same skillet add remaining 3 teaspoons oil, reduce heat to medium. Add carrots, onion and celery and cook 8 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally. Add broth and heat to boiling on medium high. In cup, stir cornstarch into 1/2 cup milk and add to skillet. Heat to boiling on medium-high; boil 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat; stir in peas, dill, lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and chicken.
To serve, spoon chicken and vegetable mixture into 4 shallow dinner bowls. Top each bowl with a biscuit; garnish with dill sprigs.

Crispy Chicken Fingers

2009-04-30T19:48:00.000-07:00

We were invited to join a couple other families on an outing today. At 8:40 am the one who organized the day called me to say everyone was running late and it came up that I was supposed to make chicken :-) She had sent an email at 6 something this morning but I had just turned my computer on when she called. Unfortunately, I had no chicken in the house. Fortunately Troy had just left the house and I called him to run to the store for chicken and cereal. Unfortunately he forgot the cereal. Fortunately I needed to let the chicken soak in the buttermilk for 15 minutes. Anyway, my fortunately and unfortunately could go on and on but I will get to the point. I got the call at 8:40 am with no chicken in the house and out the door at 10 am with these chicken fingers cooked and ready for our yummy lunch. It is a fast, easy, semi-healthy (compared to McD or W*ndys) recipe. We had the leftovers tonight for dinner and they were still yummy :-)

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut across into 1/2 inch-thick slices
1/2 cup lowfat buttermilk (could use coconut milk or almond milk for dairy free option)
Cooking spray
4 cups whole grain cereal such as Corn Chex (for a gluten free option) or corn flakes (not gluten free)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Combine the chicken and buttermilk in a shallow dish, turning the chicken to coat it with buttermilk. Cover and chill for 15 minutes.
Coat two baking sheets with cooking spray.
Put the cereal in a sealable plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Transfer the crumbs to a shallow dish and season them with salt and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in the cereal to fully coat and arrange on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until cooked through, about 8 minutes. Leave the chicken on the baking sheet to cool slightly. It will become crispier.
Serve with honey mustard sauce or other sauce if desired.

Ok - now for my notes :-) First I did a lot more chicken than this recipe called for. I did about 3 or 4 pounds and since I was making it for several 3 year olds and younger I cut it up into chunks rather than strips. I used the Corn Chex and ended up using the whole box.
I baked mine for double the time it says here as well. After 8 minutes they were still pretty pink in the middle - 16 minutes was good and they were still very moist. I did not have time to let them cool on the baking sheets as I was short on time so they were not as crispy as they could have been. I reheated the leftovers in the oven for dinner and they were nice and crispy. Everyone who tried them today thought they were great.

Garbanzo Beans

2009-02-13T21:59:00.000-08:00

The Garbanzo bean, also called a chick pea, is gaining popularity. I have always liked them but used to think they were only for salads. A couple years ago I found a great low fat Hummus recipe in my WW cookbook and started making it. Even my hubby, who is not a garbanzo lover, likes my hummus. I began to explore other uses and found some interesting recipes.
Tonight I was the cook at one of our International Cooking Nights we have through our church. I decided to share some of the recipes that I have found using this great "bean".
In doing some research for the class I found that this is one of the healthiest "beans". It is high in fiber, high in iron, can help lower cholesterol, low on the glycemic index, and one of the highest protein plant foods. It has many other great features as well.
So here are the three recipes I shared tonight. They all got rave reviews.

Roasted Garbanzo Beans

2 15 oz. cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed well
1 Tbsp. chili seasoning
2 Tbsp. olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss chick peas with chili seasoning and olive oil. Spread out in a single layer on a nonstick jelly roll pan. Place on the center rack of the oven and roast 40-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so.
The chickpeas are done when they are browned and taste crispy. If they're still soft in the center, continue roasting in 5-minute increments until done. Sprinkle with sea salt and serve immediately. Roasted garbanzo beans do not keep well, even in an air-tight container.

Hummus

1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed well
½ cup plain low fat yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

In a food processor or blender, puree all the ingredients until blended, but still a little chunky.
Serve with pita chips or vegetables.

I served this with homemade pita chips - just cut pita bread in 8ths and split it. Lay the bread in a single layer on a cookie sheet and toast in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. You can also put olive oil and other seasoning on the bread before toasting but I prefer mine plain.

Indian Cauliflower Curry Stew

I got this recipe from Good Housekeeping magazine. It is a great vegetarian dish but you could add meat (chicken or pork) if you just had to have meat with it. I added a little more curry than it called for and did the final cooking just until the cauliflower was done - the 15 to 20 minutes final cook time is a little to long in my opinion

1 tablespoon olive oil
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder
salt
2 ½ cups vegetable broth
1 medium head cauliflower (2 lbs) cut into small florets (4 ½ cups)
2 15 oz cans Garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
¼ cup plain low fat yogurt plus additional for serving
1 ½ cups brown rice

In 6 quart Dutch oven, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Add carrots and onion, and cook 10-12 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned and tender, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, prepare rice as label directs; keep warm.

Stir ginger, curry, and ¾ teaspoon salt into carrot mixture; cook 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth; cover and heat to boiling on high. Stir in cauliflower and garbanzo beans; cover and cook on medium 15 to 20 minutes longer, gently stirring every 5 minutes until cauliflower is tender.

To serve, stir chopped cilantro and ¼ cup yogurt into cauliflower stew. Spoon rice into serving bowls; top with stew. Serve cauliflower stew with additional yogurt to dollop on top if you like. Makes about 8 cups.

Spaghetti Carbonara

2009-02-12T18:33:00.001-08:00

Here is a very simple recipe that makes a very yummy, fast dinner. Warning - it is not WW friendly or even healthy living friendly but oh so good for an occasional treat :-)

Here is the link to my sister's blog where she has it detailed.

Check out some other recipes while you are there - she has some great ones!

Hamburger Cornbread Casserole

2009-02-09T19:38:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from my Healthy Cooking Magazine. We really like it. I did not have ranch style beans the second time I made it so just used white beans and added a few other things to it.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 can ranch-style beans
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
Topping
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup fat free milk
1 tablespoon canola oil

1. In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add the beans, tomatoes, chili powder, and Worcestershire sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.
2. Transfer to an 11 in x 7 inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. For topping, in a small bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the egg, milk and oil; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Spoon over filling; gently spread to cover top.
3. Bake uncovered, at 425 degrees for 14-18 minutes or until filling is bubbly and a toothpick inserted into topping comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.

Potato Soup

2008-11-12T20:37:00.000-08:00

Tonight was a cold, dark, rainy night - a soup night. I had a bag of potatoes left over from a dinner I made for someone last week so decided potato soup was in order. I looked at some recipes on line for inspiration and then made a very yummy potato soup that hit the spot.

1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
4 cups chicken broth
1 can evaporated milk
5 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
Canadian bacon
1 teaspoon celery seed

This is what I did:
Heated olive oil in dutch oven. I added the chopped onion and crushed garlic and cooked them until the onion was translucent. Add the broth, milk and potatoes and celery seed and cook on medium to low heat. While this was cooking I cut up the Canadian bacon and added it to the soup. When the potatoes were done I mashed them a little right in the pan with my potato masher. I left some in chunks - just kind of mashed a few times to get a little thickness. It was very yummy!
One of my favorite tricks to cool things down for the kids is to add cottage cheese to things. I added a spoonful of cottage cheese to the kids bowls and it was perfect -
Another thing I do to cool things down is add frozen peas.

German Pancakes

2008-10-31T10:50:00.001-07:00

This morning for breakfast I made German Pancakes. You can find the recipe here on my sister's blog, Comfort Cooking. (She is a great cook and you will find a lot of good but simple recipes there!) I just spread a little strawberry jam on ours before I cut them up and the kids really liked them!! We polished off the whole pan without dad's help. We will have to make them again when he is home!

Pumpkin Gingerbread - Updated

2008-10-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight I am making Pumpkin Gingerbread - you can find the recipe here. It is a great fall recipe and I love to make it to give to people over the next couple of months. I am making some tonight because the kids have a friend coming over for a playdate tomorrow. I will make small loaves and freeze some for gifts throughout the season. It smells so yummy when it is baking and tastes so yummy when it is done. I may experiment with it a little this fall and see if I can make it with a little less oil and sugar - but for tonight it is the full blown version :-)
****UPDATE****
I made this again with 1/2 the oil and replaced the other half with applesauce. They turned out just fine - maybe a tad bit denser than the original, but yummy just the same. I also took my sister's suggestion (in the comments) and added a cup of chocolate chips. Yummy!!!!! Troy really liked the new version - so will probably become standard fare at our house! Thanks for the ideas, Marian!

My two little Pumpkins!

Pumpkin Bread - one of last years batches

Baked Fall Harvest Soup

2008-10-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

I don't remember the exact name of this soup. I copied it off the wall at Weight Watchers last week and made it tonight. It bakes for two hours, so while it baked we walked to Safeway and got a yummy loaf of Asiago Cheese Focaccia bread. I figured since the soup was so low in points and I was walking to the store for the bread I could afford to eat a little. I put this all in my Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker (host a party in November and get it for 60% off - I do catalog shows too!) and baked it for 2 hours. When we got home it smelled so yummy. Troy would have liked it with a little meat and you could easily add some chicken or lean beef but I don't think it needs anything else.

1/2 cup split peas
1/2 cup lentils
5 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup carrot, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 cup red pepper, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp pepper

Put all ingredients in covered casserole and bake at 350 for 2 hours.
1 1/2 cups is 1 point

I used a mix I had bought in a bulk section awhile back. It had split peas, lentils, and little veggie pasta abc's. I pulled them out of the cupboard by accident but decided to use them. I also added a little salt and some fresh pressed garlic. I did not have a bay leaf so did not put that in.
Everyone at my house loved it and had seconds.

Coffee Cake

2008-10-03T16:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, two days in a row - must be a record.
This has been my standby Coffee Cake recipe for many years. Recently I made a couple of them for a retreat I did not get to go on :-( . Everyone came back raving about them so I decided I should post the recipe.
I made them on Thursday and they did not eat them until Sunday morning - so maybe it gets better with age :-)

Cake
1 Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix
1 3 0z instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 cup sour cream

Topping
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup nut (optional)

Beat together the cake ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour half the batter in a greased bundt pan. Mix topping ingredients in a separate bowl and sprinkle over the first half of the cake batter. Add the rest of the cake batter.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

I always add a little more topping ingredients than the recipe calls for - makes it yummier!

Satay Chicken Pasta Salad

2008-10-02T13:24:00.000-07:00

One of my Pampered Chef hostesses made this recipe the other night for a show I was doing. It is in the new PC catalog and it was very yummy. One thing I love about Pampered Chef recipes is that they are easy to make and usually taste very good!!

8 oz. uncooked bow tie pasta
1 cup lite Asian viaigrette salad dressing (the only one she could find was a Newman's Own)
2 tbsp Asian Seasong Mix (from Pampered Chef - I will give you the ingredients to substitute)
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 medium carrots, peeled
1 medium red pepper
1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil
3 cups diced cooked chicken (about 1 lb)
Additional chopped peanuts (optional)

Cook pasta according to package directions in (4-qt.) Casserole. Drain pasta using Colander; rinse under cold running water. Once pasta is cool, transfer to Stainless (6-qt.) Mixing Bowl and set aside.
Meanwhile, for dressing, combine vinaigrette, seasoning mix and peanut butter in Small Batter Bowl; mix well using Stainless Whisk and set aside.
Cut carrots into julienne strips using Julienne Peeler. Cut bell pepper lengthwise into ¼-in. strips using (5-in.) Santoku Knife. Cut carrots and bell pepper strips crosswise into 1-in. pieces.
Chop peanuts using Food Chopper and basil using Chef’s Knife.
Add chicken, carrots, bell pepper, peanuts, basil and dressing to pasta; mix well. Garnish with additionalchopped peanuts, if desired.
Yield: 6 servings

Nutrients per serving (about 1 1/2 cups) Calories: 450, total fat 16g, saturated fat 2 g Cholesterol 60 mg, Carbohydrates 45 g, Protein 31 g, Sodium 750 mg, Fiber 3 g

Not to WW friendly - about 10 points for a 1 1/2 cup serving

You can substitute the following for the Asian Seasoning if you like: one 1 inch piece of fresh gingerroot, finely grated, 2 garlic cloves, pressed, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Silver Dollar Oat Pancackes

2008-08-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in my new Simple and Delicious (Sept/Oct 2008) It is the third recipe I have made from this particular issue. These little pancakes were not only a little healthier than your average pancake as far as the ingredients but they tasted good as well. I hesitate to make pancakes and other things like this for my kids for breakfast because of the syrup. I am just not sure about loading them up with pure sugar that early in the morning. These little pancakes were actually pretty good without syrup - though the kids did have a little peanut butter and syrup on theirs. If you haven't had your pancakes or french toast with peanut butter and syrup you are missing a treat.
I am kind of rambling here - so on with the recipe:

Silver Dollar Oat Pancakes

1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup cinnamon applesauce
2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, beat the egg, buttermilk, applesauce and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
Pour batter by 2 tablespoonfuls onot a lightly greased hot griddle; turn when bubbles form on top. Cook until second side is golden brown. Serve with syrup. (or not :-) )
Yeild: 4 servings
WW points - 5 pancakes is 4 points

Summer Corn and Vegetable Soup and Easy Chicken Melts

2008-08-21T18:26:00.000-07:00

I have not posted here for ages and not sure if anyone still checks in but I have a couple of recipes I used today that are really good and wanted to share them. I am on Weight Watchers and have been kind of stalled out for the summer with the adoption and all but trying to get back on track. One of these recipes is a great WW recipe - the others - well- judge for yourself :-)

Summer Corn and Vegetable Soup
from "The Food You Crave - Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life" by Ellie Krieger

4 cups fresh corn kernels or two 10 oz packages frozen corn thawed
2 cups nonfat milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
1 small zucchini (about 1/2 pound), diced
2 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
3/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Put 2 cups of the corn and the milk into a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and zucchini and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining two cups corn and the broth and bring to a boil. Add the pureed corn and the tomatoes and cook until warmed through but not boiling. Add the salt and season with pepper. Serve garnished with the basil ribbons.

I did not use fresh corn and I imagine if I had it would have been even better. I used Trader Joes frozen roasted corn for the whole kernels and just plain frozen for the pureed corn.

For the broth I used my homemade chicken broth.

For anyone on WW this is 3 points for 1 1/2 cups of soup or free on the Core plan.

Easy Chicken Melts
from "Simple and Delicious" Sept/Oct 2008

1 can (9 3/4 ounces) chunk white chicken, drained and flaked (I used some baked chicken cut into chunks that I had frozen)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup diced green pepper
1/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
10 slices Italian bread (1/2 inch thick)
2 plum tomatoes, sliced

In a small bowl, combine the chicken, 1/2 cup cheese, onion, green pepper, mayonnaise, Cajun seasoning and garlic. Spread over bread slices. Top each with a tomato slice, sprinkle with remaining cheese.
Place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes or until bread is toasted and golden brown.
Yeild: 5 servings

Spanish Tortilla

2008-03-29T20:04:00.000-07:00

I found different versions of this recipe in two different cookbooks. I made the simpler of the two. The cookbook version calls for egg substitute but I don't use that and on the Core program I can eat real eggs :-). It was very good and Annalynn loved it! Here is a link to a similar dinner on my sister's blog - not quite WW legal :-)!

Spanish Tortilla

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound of Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
1 to 2 teaspoons water (as needed)
8 eggs, beaten or (egg substitute equivalent to 8 eggs)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes and onions, stirring to coat. Cook covered, for 7 to 10 minutes, or until potatoes are just tender, stirring frequently. If potatoes begin to stick or burn, add water.
Pour eggs evenly over potato mixture. Sprinkle with pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, or until eggs are set.
Cut tortilla into four wedges and serve with salsa (and I used fat free sour cream and avocado as well)

It Has Been a While!

2008-03-29T18:48:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted here. I started Weight Watchers and have been trying to figure out my new eating plan and thus have not been posting a lot of my tried and true recipes. I am starting to get some new ones - healthier and better for you - so watch this site for some new recipies soon!!
After a few weeks of not being to successful on the Weight Watchers Flex Plan I switched to the Core plan 3 weeks ago! I have never had weight fall off of me like it has the last three weeks! I am so excited because I feel like this is truly a way I can eat for the rest of my life. It is healthy and I don't have to count points!!! If you are wanting to loose or on WW Flex plan I encourage you to check out the Core plan!! I will write more about it later!

Easy Dinner

2008-02-11T21:06:00.000-08:00

Tonight all my hard work paid off! I got home at 5:10 pm and grabbed a bag of chicken out of the freezer and put it in a pan of warm water and turned the oven on. I put some rice in the rice cooker and then put the chicken in my new stoneware oval roaster (from Pampered Chef) and put it in the oven. I sat down and made my grocery list and played with Annalynn. 30 minutes later I put the veggies in the microwave and at 6 pm we sat down to a delicious dinner of chicken, rice and green beans. It works!!
Also, I must say that the chicken was delicious baked in the stoneware. It was very moist and tender! Even Troy commented on how tender it was!

Freezer Fun (Part 3)

2008-02-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

Last week Safeway had ground beef on sale for 99 cents a pound. I could not resist such a buy and bought 13 pounds. Monday was my day to prepare it all. The 7 pound package got fried with onion and garlic to add to different recipes including a double batch of my Spaghetti sauce and a batch of Santa Fe soup. The 6 pound package was made into a double batch of Barbecue Meatballs. I ended up with 8 containers each of spaghetti sauce and meatballs, 3 containers of soup (and we had one for dinner) and 9 packages of either 1 or 2 cups of meat to add to other meals.
This week we ate some of the chicken and pork that I had frozen and it was delicious! Dinner is sooo easy these days. I do have to admit that some days I feel like cooking and on those days I guess I will have to find something new to cook. We could get tired of our freezer meals if I do not interject some different things in between.

Menu Planning Monday

2008-02-04T09:32:00.001-08:00

I have not done my menu for a couple weeks as I have been busy preparing meals. I am going to be making several more meals today with hamburger. Safeway had it on sale for 99cents a pound. All of my meals this week are from my frozen meats that I have put up the last couple of weeks. You can see what I have done at this post and this post.

I don't know if we will have these meals in this order but this is what we will eat this week.

You can find a lot more menus over at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Monday - Santa Fe Soup

Tuesday - Mock Sirloin Tips w/Egg Noodles and Veggies

Wednesday - Chicken w/ Rice and Veggies

Thursday - Pork Loin w/ Baked Potato and Veggies

Friday - Soft Tacos

Freezer Fun! (Part 2)

2008-01-27T15:13:00.000-08:00

All the preparation is done and the last of the meat is freezing as we speak. It marinated overnight in the refrigerator and now it is freezing flat on a cookie sheet. We also cleaned out my freezer. I am not sure I want to post pictures of the before - but so you can appreciate the difference I will. At the bottom of the post is everything in my freezer (meal wise) I put the numbers after each one to cross off as I use them. (It looks nicer than this in my Word document. (Check out the last picture - we learned to make Paella at our International Cooking Club last week!)

My freezer before :-(
The chicken all in bags ready for the freezer
The freezer after cleaning and stocking
Another close up of the freezer

Paella - Yummy!

Chicken

2- 8 cup chicken stock
2 - 2 cup chicken stock

5 - 1 cup pkgs cooked chicken 1 2 3 4 5
2 pkg BSCB in Soyvay Veri Veri Teriyaki 1 2
3 pkg BSCB in Trader Joe’s Island Sokiyaki 1 2 3
2 pkg BSCB in Italian dressing/Apricot preserves/tobasco 1 2
1 pkg chicken strips in TJ’s Island Sokiyaki 1

Beef

2 pkg steak in Safeway Ranchhouse marinade 1 2
2 pkg steak in Oklahoma Joes steak rub 1 2
4 pkg steak, cubed 1 2 3 4
3 pkg hamburger/sausage mix 1 2 3
3 pkg meatballs 1 2 3
2 pkg spaghetti sauce 1 2
1 pkg Santa Fe soup 1

Pork

3 pkg pork with Italian dressing/TJ’s peach salsa 1 2 3
2 pkg pork with southwester rub 1 2
1 pork roast 1

Freezer Fun!

2008-01-25T15:40:00.000-08:00

Today I went shopping! Not your average grocery shopping trip. I bought 29 pounds of meat for $51.89. I found some deals and being inspired and motivated by the recent "Investment Cooking Classes" by my Pampered Chef consultant, Sharon, I decided to freeze some meat and meals. From that 29 pounds of meat I hope to freeze a minimum of 27 meals. That is $1.92 a meal for the meat! That is pretty good, I think. Below are some pictures of before. I wish I had thought to take pictures before I started. Add to these two pictures 5.5 pounds of top round steak which is already prepared for freezing. (2 meals with rub, 2 meals marinating in a steak marinade and 4 meals of cubed beef for stew or goulash.)
On top of all of these meat meals I already have two meals of soup frozen, 2 batches of spaghetti sauce, 3 meals of meatballs, and three batches of hamburger/sausage mix cooked for nachos or quesadillas.
That is 37 meals!!! I hope this does not become addicting - because the idea of this is that you should only have to do it every few months. The other thing is that I like having all this stuff frozen and prepared so having a little bit of a hard time convincing myself to take it out of the freezer and use it :-). I also need to get my freezer organized. It is a mess and I need room to put all this when I get it done. Hmmm! maybe I should have thought about that before I started!
When I am finished tomorrow I will try and remember to take a picture of everything! I am using several different marinades and rubs and as we try the different ones I will let you know the ones that are really good. Some are "homemade" and some are bottled.

Pork Loin and Chicken - before. I had the butcher cut the pork loin for me.
The chicken already in the pot. It will become soup stock and meat for enchilladas, quesadillas and soup.

Menu Planning Monday

2008-01-13T14:11:00.000-08:00

Another week and back at the menu planning. Today I actually made a couple of soups that we will have later in the week and will also freeze some for another day. I am getting motivated to try and cook ahead and have some things in the freezer. My only issue with doing this is I really like variety in my menus and kind of cook what I am feeling like eating at the time. I guess things will last a long time in the freezer and I just have to remember they are there. Anyway, on to my menu for this week. You can find other menus and ideas at Laura's blog, I'm An Organizing Junkie

Monday - Couldn't be Easier Tuna Casserole

Tuesday - Roasted Chicken Soup

Wednesday - Santa Fe Soup

Thursday - Out to a Welcome Home Party for friends

Friday - Leftovers

Santa Fe Soup

2008-01-10T12:26:00.000-08:00

I have come across a Pampered Chef Consultant that does "Investment Classes" instead of the traditional Pampered Chef shows. She teaches a series of 5 classes on different subjects. They are basically giving you tips and hints how to cook from scratch more economically and efficiently. In November I hosted a Baking Show where she showed us how to bake ahead and have plenty of things in the freezer for the Holidays and the rest of the year as well. Recently my sister hosted a show on Soups and Stews. It was very helpful and we got some great recipes. One of the recipes that she gave us and my sister made it for the show was this Santa Fe Soup. It was very yummy! This makes a lot of soup and the idea of her recipes is that they are all freezable and you can make a large batch and then freeze some for more meals. As I try some of the others I will post them.

Santa Fe Soup

1 lb. ground chuck, cooked and drained
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
2 cans Pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans Kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans Mexican stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 can Rotel tomatoes, chopped
2 packets taco seasoning
1 packet dry ranch dressing (optional)
1 can green chiles

Cook ground beef. Drain, add onions and garlic. Saute for a few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. (If you do not want chunks of tomatoes you can puree them in a blender) Simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream and tortilla or frito chips on the side.

If you do not like beans in the recipe you can substitute with ones of your choice.

Barbecue Meatballs

2008-01-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

Tonight I am helping to organize a potluck with some of our leaders in our International Ministry at church. We are going to have salmon, a chicken dish (probably something Indian) and I am going to make these Barbecue Meatballs. This is my little sister's recipe and I am looking forward to trying it. I think I will make it a little earlier in the day (like during someone's nap) and then put it in the crockpot. It will make it easier to stay warm and transport to the dinner. I will add an update to let you know how they turn out. * See update below

Barbecue Meatballs

3 lbs. ground beef
1 12 oz can evaporated milk
1 c. oatmeal
1 c. cracker crumbs
2 eggs
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. chili powder

Sauce
2 c. ketchup
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. liquid smoke
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 c. chopped onion

Combine meatball ingredients and form into 80 small meatballs. Bake the meatballs until done, about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Drain off any grease then add sauce and bake 30 minutes more until onions in sauce are done. Serve over rice. These freeze very well. Make meatballs and freeze on cookie sheet. Store in freezer bag.

*Update - These turned out very well. I baked them and then put them in the crock pot and added the sauce cold. They were in the crockpot on low for about 6 hours. They were hot and ready before that - probably 3 hours.
We had them for leftovers the next couple of days and Annalynn loved them. She ate two bowls with rice.

Christmas Goodies

2007-12-24T08:25:00.001-08:00

This was our Christmas Snowman this year. I have made him before using my Popcorn Cake recipe but this year we made a Rice Krispie Treat Snowman.
Troy thought it would be fun to have Annalynn help me decorate it but all she wanted to do was eat the candies - big surprise!
We had a lot of fun making these cute icecream sandwiches. Everyone enjoyed them! They looked a little messy but tasted good!
We have a BIL who is a chef at the Doubletree Hotel. He made this beautiful fruit tray for our Clark Christmas party!

Menu Plan Monday

2007-12-24T08:12:00.000-08:00

I did pretty good about staying with my menu last week. We did eat leftovers one night instead of the planned meal. Also, Friday we had to go out of town to a funeral unexpectadly so we ended up eating on the road both meals. This week will be a short one and then Friday we will be off to my sisters' so no menu next week. You can check out more menu ideas at Laura's blog - I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Monday - Pizza and Movies - no big plans for Christmas eve
Tuesday - Christmas - I am making the Holiday Rolls that are in this post for Christmas breakfast and taking my Spinach Artichoke dip to my sister's
Wednesday - Spaghettii
Thursday - Leftovers
Friday - Vacation starts!

I am going to do another post about some of the fun things we made this weekend for our various Christmas parties.

Stuffed Green Peppers

2007-12-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

Stuffed Green Peppers is one of Troy's favorite dishes. I don't fix them often because I don't care for green peppers. Not a good reason, I know! Anyway, I did fix them last night and used this recipe over at Simply Recipes. They were good and very easy to make. I think in the future I would mix the sauce in with the rest of the ingredients. The sauce was good (I added more Worcestershire sauce then it called for) and I think it needed to be mixed in rather than just on top. Surprisingly, my two year old loved them and ate the green pepper and all! The green peppers were not that strong and I think it may be because the recipe had you boil them before hand for a few minutes.
If you like green peppers (or even if you don't :-) ) I would give them a try!

Easy Stuffed Chicken for a Crowd

2007-12-18T08:41:00.000-08:00

Several years ago I discovered this recipe and it is my standby for a good company meal or a dish for a large gathering. I have made it for anywhere from 4 to 60 people. It is so easy but gets rave reviews whenever I fix it.

Easy Stuffed Chicken for a Crowd

1/2 skinless, boned chicken breast per guest
Stove Top dressing, prepared according to pkg. directions. 1 package will do about 12 chicken breasts.
Cream of chicken soup (about 2 cans per 12 chicken breasts)
Paparika
Sesame seeds (optional)
Fresh Parsley, chopped fine

Place chicken breast on cutting board with membrane side down (one side will be smooth and have an almost invisible membrane). Pound chicken with meat mallet until it is about double in size. Place 2 tablespoons of dressing on ckicken breast. Fold edges toward middle over dressing. Chicken will be very sticky after it has been pounded and should stick together easily.

Place chicken, seam down, in 13x9 inch baking dish and repeat with remaining chicken. After dish is full, pour 2 cans of cream of chicken soup over chicken. Sprinkle with paparika and sesame seeds. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve immediately.

I have made these a couple of times for "potluck" type dinners where I knew there would be other meat dishes. After stuffing and rolling the chicken I cut them in half so the portions were not to large.

Menu Planning Monday

2007-12-16T21:22:00.001-08:00

I have not been to good about posting recipes and did not get around to posting my menu last week. I am trying to get all of my recipes organized and need to start putting some of them here. You can find more menu ideas at Laura's site. Anyway, here is my plan for this week.

Monday - Spaghetti (still have one batch of sauce frozen from a few weeks ago)

Tuesday - Stuffed Green Peppers

Wednesday - Couldn't Be Simpler Tuna Casserole

Thursday - Sweet and Sour Chicken

Friday - Mushroom Cheddar Frittata

Saturday - Christmas get together with Troy's family

Sunday - Christmas get together with my family at our house

Yummy Breakfast Recipes

2007-12-09T10:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some yummy breakfast recipes if you are looking for something to make over the Holidays.

I had been eyeing this Fruity Baked Oatmeal from Simple and Delicious for awhile and this morning seemed the perfect time to try it. It was yummy but very filling and even the 8x8 pan was way to much for us. We will see how it is heated up tomorrow. It would be good if you had company staying over or a larger family.

Fruity Baked Oatmeal

3 cups quick-cooking oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup chopped peeled tart apple
1/3 cup chopped fresh or frozen peaches
1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Additional milk

In a large bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Combine the eggs, milk and butter; add to the dry ingredients. Stir in apple, peaches and blueberries.
Pour into an 8x8 inch baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake uncovered, at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares. Serve with milk if desired.

Another recipe is one that our Bible Study leader has made for several occasions lately. It is super simple and super good! It is one you make the night before and bake in the morning.

Holiday Morning Rolls

20 frozen Rhodes Rolls
3 ounce package butterscotch pudding (NOT instant)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
Cinnamon

Place 1/2 of the rolls in a well greased bundt pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 of pudding powder. Melt butter and sugar, pour half of mixture over rolls. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Repeat. Let rise uncovered on counter overnight.
Bake in 350 degree oven 30-40 minutes. Invert onto plate and serve immediately.

Another recipe that is really yummy is Apple Pie Morning Cereal. You can find the recipe for it over at my sister's blog, Comfort Cooking.

Menu Planning Monday

2007-12-03T10:59:00.001-08:00

Another Monday has rolled around and I have a menu of sorts planned. I had a very busy week last week and managed to cook at home but can't remember what :-) You can go over to Laura's site for lots of other menu planning ideas.

Monday - Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Tuesday - Spaghetti Carbonara
Wednesday - Parmesan Pork Chops
Thursday - Peanut Chicken Stir Fry
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - We have 3 Christmas events to attend
Sunday - Potluck for my in-laws 50th anniversary!

3 of my 4 recipes this week come from Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious. I am working on going through all my issues and recording the recipes that I would like to try.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

2007-12-01T09:13:00.001-08:00

With the threat of snow later today, beef stew seemed in order! I am headed to the grocery store to get the few ingredients that I do not have to make it and the shopping for the rest of my menu I have planned for this week. I made this stew a couple of weeks ago for company and they loved it! I found this recipe in my Nov/Dec 2007 Simple and Delicious magazine.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

2 pounds boneless beef top round steak, cut into 1 inch cubes
8 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 pound small red pototoes, quartered
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
3/4 cup beef broth
1/3 cup dry red wine or additional beef broth
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

In a large skillet, brown beef on all sides. In a 5 quart slow cooker, combine the carrots, potatoes, mushrooms and red pepper. Pour tomatoes over the top.
In a small bowl, whisk the flour, tomato paste and broth until smooth. Stir in the wine or additional broth, salt, garlic, pepper and thyme; pour into slow cooker. Top with beef. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.

Enjoy!

Holiday Appetizers

2007-11-30T10:21:00.001-08:00

Each month a group of ladies from our church get together for a cooking class. As we have many countries and cultures represented in our church these are usually recipes and foods from other lands. This month I was asked to be the guest cook. It won't be to international but I am going to make and share the recipes for several appetizers. It seems that during the Holidays there are always occasions to take a yummy appetizer. Here are some of the recipes I will be making and sharing tonight.

The first one is a low fat Hummus. I love Hummus but always balk at buying the pre-made ones because of the fat content. I found this one in one of my WW cookbooks and love it! It is really very tasty! I serve it with Baked Pita Bread. One of the keys to this recipe being good is the yougurt. I use Nancy's. I have tried other ones but it has not tasted as good. It needs to be a good quality plain yogurt.

Hummus

1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a food processor or blender, puree all the ingredients until blended, but still a little chunky.

Serve with Baked Pita Chips
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut each bread round horizontally in half, then cut each half into 8 wedges. Arrange pita triangles on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp. If you like, before baking spray olive oil on wedges and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and/or garlic powder.

I love this recipe for Spinach and Artichoke Dip

1 cup artichoke hearts, chopped
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Dash ground pepper

Boil spinach and artichoke hearts in a cup of water in small saucepan over medium heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. Heat cream cheese in small bowl in microwave on high for 1 minute. Add spinach and artichoke hearts to the cream cheese and stir well. Add remaining ingredients to the cream cheese and combine. Serve hot. Serve with crackers, chips or sliced, toasted bread.

I have a little crockpot that I like to put this in. I can keep it warm and take it with me if the party is away.

Another recipe that is a nice low fat one and maybe more a summer recipe but I like it anytime of the year is Chunky Artichoke Salsa

1 jar (6.5 oz) marinated artichoke hearts
1/4 cup pitted black olives, chopped
2 tablespoons red onion, chopped
3 medium plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, snipped
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Drain marinade from artichokes into medium mixing bowl. Chop artichoke hearts, olives, onions and tomotoes; add to marinade in bowl. Press garlic into vegetables; add basil and mix gently. Season with salt and pepper.

This one is great served with the Baked Pita Chips as well!

I will add a couple more later. Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!

Chocolate No Bakes

2007-11-19T15:33:00.001-08:00

Imagine my surprise when I clicked on my blog and realized I had not added a new recipe for over a week!! We have been going to a parenting class on Monday nights and my sister has been keeping Annalynn. Each week I have made them a dessert for their help with her. When we pull up the discussion at their dinner table turns to what dessert may be. Of course I make enough to take to class as well. Tonight is our last class - so alas, the last Monday night dessert from the Clarks to the Bradleys! I took the easy route tonight and made one of my favorites - Chocolate No Bakes. These wonderful little cookies have many names and variations on the recipe but all turn out about the same.

Chocolate No Bakes

2 cups sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cocoa
4 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup peanut butter

Combine the first four ingredients in a saucepan. Stir until it comes to a rolling boil. Continue stirring for one minute. Remove from heat and add peanut butter and oats. Stir together. Quickly drop by teaspoonful onto wax paper lined cookie sheets. Let cool until they harden.

Enjoy!

Menu Planning Monday

2007-11-11T13:26:00.000-08:00

Well, last week went pretty well so I am going to try this again. I did switch one night around and then used that nights leftovers for another meal so did not make the Fried Noodles. I will have to try them another time! Find other great menus over at Laura's site.

Monday - Pork Roast and Rice (I have leftover pork roast from an event this weekend)

Tuesday - Crock Pot Beef Stew

Wednesday - Chicken Pot Pie with Herb Crust

Thursday - Leftovers

Friday - eat out

Saturday - Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

Couldn't Be Easier Tuna Casserole

2007-11-08T19:05:00.000-08:00

For most of our married life I have avoided making tuna casserole as early on I was informed it was not something my husband wished to eat. As he has grown up :-) he has decided that tuna casserole is not so bad after all. I had made my own recipe but recently came across my sister's recipe for this one. I did add peas as it suggests because Annalynn LOVES peas! It was easy and made enough for us to have for two meals. It is one of my favorite comfort foods so glad it is back in our menu list!

Couldn't Be Easier Tuna Casserole

4 cups cooked egg noodles
2 (6 oz.) cans tuna, drained
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese
1 can mushroom soup
1 soup can full of milk

Layer in a 2 quart casserole half the noodles, 1 can tuna and 1 cup cheese; repeat. Mix soup and milk; pour over other ingredients. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
You could add green onions, peas, olives, etc. and top off with crushed potato chips.

This could be made in a 9x13 and double the noodles, tuna and soup/milk combo.

Blueberry French Toast

2007-11-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

I had to make "snacks" for my Bible Study group this morning and went through several ideas before I finally landed on the perfect one. One thing that we have been so blessed with is blueberry bushes in our backyard! We have a lot of frozen blueberries that we picked this summer so it only seemed right to make something with them! I found this recipe when I was adding my sister's recipes to a cookbook that my sisters and I are putting together. It was a big hit and really quite easy as it is one that you assemble the night before and then just have to bake it in the morning. I made the syrup while it was baking. It was a big hit at Bible Study and I am glad it will be in our new cookbook! It is originally from Taste of Home.

Blueberry French Toast

12 slices day old white bread, crusts removed
2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
12 eggs
2 c. milk
1/3 c. maple syrup or honey

SAUCE
1 c. sugar
2 tbsp. corn starch
1 c. water
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tbsp. butter or margarine

Cut bread into 1-in. cubes; place half in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Cut cream cheese into 1-in. cubes; place over bread. Top with blueberries and remaining bread. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add milk and syrup, mix well. Pour over bread mixture. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 25-30 minutes more until golden brown and the center is set. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch; add water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in blueberries; reduce heat. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until berries have burst. Stir in butter until melted. Serve over French toast.

Chicken with Veggies

2007-11-05T09:17:00.000-08:00

This is another recipe that I have had for many years and it is another favorite! It is very simple to make with great results!

4 chicken breast half without skin
1 pkg (12 oz) mushrooms, halved
3 small onions, quartered
1 large yellow pepper, diced large
1 large red pepper, diced large
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 tablespoons water

Stir fry chicken - then vegetables seperatley. Meanwhile mix other ingredients except basil. Add to chicken and veggies - then add basil. Cook 5 minutes. Serve over rice.

Lily's Fried Noodles

2007-11-04T22:16:00.000-08:00

This recipe is from my friend Lily who is from Indonesia. She made these the other night at a cooking class and not all the directions were written down. I have tried to write it down as she did it. She cooks like I do - by taste and sight. I am going to attempt to make these on Tuesday so if there are changes I will post them. This recipe would make a large batch - unless you are cooking for a large family I would probably half it. The vegetable seasoning that is in the recipe is like bouillon but vegetable based. It is available in an Asian market - not sure if there is a product like that in regular grocery stores. The Kepac Mannis is only available in Asian groceries at least in our area. It would be best to make this in a wok or at least a very large frying pan.

2 pounds Yakisoba noodles (you can also use spaghetti noodles)
1/2 pound chicken, cubed and marinated in soy sauce and rice wine
1/2 pound raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 pound napa cabbage, chopped
1/2 pound carrots, julienned
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons vegetable seasoning
2 tablespoons Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)
4 green onions
bean sprouts

Marinate chicken in rice wine and soy sauce for a few minutes. Stir fry chicken; when the chicken changes color add carrots and saute for a few more minutes. Add shrimp. Make a hole in the middle of the food and break the eggs into the pan; when the whites begin to turn white stir them a little and let them cook. Add cabbage and continue to stir fry. Meanwhile heat noodles in microwave for 3 minutes (if you are using dry noodles - fix according to package directions and do not microwave - they just need to be warm already when they are added to the veggies) Add noodles and other ingredients. Continue stir frying until well blended and heated through.
If you add bean sprouts - you should not keep for leftovers. If you don't think that it will all be eaten and want to include bean sprouts; serve them on the side.

Menu Planning Monday

2007-11-04T11:50:00.000-08:00

I have been motivated to plan my menu by Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie.

I am going to attempt to plan a menu this week and stick with it. Since my recipe blog is new I don't have all my recipes here yet but will link the ones I do have.

Monday - Spaghetti I made my sauce today (Sunday) and will freeze two batches for another week

Tuesday - Lily's Fried Noodles

Wednesday - eat out - late dr's appt

Thursday - Tuna Casserole

Friday - Chicken with Veggies

Mushroom Cheddar Frittata

2007-11-02T14:21:00.001-07:00

Another hit from Everyday Food! I made this Mushroom Cheddar Frittata last night for dinner and it got rave reviews from my husband who had to it eat it on the run as he got called out just as we were sitting down for dinner :-(. Annalynn has been sick and has not been eating much but did pick out the mushrooms and ate them. She loves her veggies!! The other night at Panda Express the lady behind the counter gave her candy. We let her eat it since it was on Halloween and she ate it intermittently with her zucchini and mushrooms.

Mushroom Cheddar Frittata

1 package (10 oz) white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
1/2 pound red new potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
coarse salt and ground pepper
8 large eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1 cup shredded white cheddar
1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and patted dry

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9 inch deep-dish pie plate, toss mushrooms, potatoes, and oil; season with salt and pepper. Roast 20 minutes, tossing once. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, hot pepper sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Stir in cheddar and broccoli. Pour egg mixture over mushrooms and potatoes, and stir to distribute them. Bake until puffed and set in the middle, and a paring knife inserted in center comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes.

Steak with Cauliflower and Baby Greens

2007-10-31T14:27:00.001-07:00

I subscribe to Martha Stewart's magazine Everyday Food. It has some good recipes in it and I like to try new recipes. This week I picked two recipes from the November issue to try. The name of the first one is "Flat Iron Steak with Cauliflower and Arugula". I made my own variation of it - I used strip steaks and baby greens instead of just the arugula (the bag I bought at Trader Joes did include arugula) Troy and I really enjoyed this dish - Anna on the other hand was not thrilled but she did like the "broccoli" (cauliflower). It was really a very simple dish and I thought very good for the ease! I have taken the liberty of changing the name since I did change the ingredients.

Steak with Cauliflower and Baby Greens

4 small flat iron steaks or strip steak
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 head cauliflower (cored and cut into small florets)
2 garlic cloves (smashed)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package baby greens
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler (1/4 cup)

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season steaks with salt and pepper. Place in skillet, and cook until medium rare, 5-6 minutes per side (reduce heat if browning too quickly). Transfer to a cutting board and tent with aluminum foil to keep warm. Add cauliflower, garlic and 1/2 cup water to skille; st; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing occasionally, until cauliflower is browned and crisp-tender, 8-10 minutes. (If bottom of skillet becomes too dry, add 1/4 cup more water.) Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together lemon juice and oil; season with salt and pepper. Add greens, hot cauliflower, and Parmesan to dressing in bowl; toss (greens will wilt). Serve steaks and vegetables together.

Pumpkin Gingerbread

2007-10-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

With our visit to the Pumpkin Patch the other day (see post here) I was reminded about this yummy recipe for Pumpkin Gingerbread. I got this recipe originally from my sister, Judi, and I am not sure where she got it. It is a recipe that you will often smell baking in both our kitchens in the fall.

Today I made a double batch and it produced two large loaves, 4 small loaves and 24 mini muffins. I am planning on using some tonight for a meeting and freezing what does not get eaten before it cools for an event next week.

Pumpkin Gingerbread
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
2/3 cup water
15 ounces pumpkin
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Beat together sugar, oil, eggs and water.
2. Mix together in a separate bowl pumpkin, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice. Mix this with the first mixture.
3. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add this to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until blended.
4. Pour into 2 prepared loaf pans or 6 small loaf pans.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour (large pans) or 35 - 40 minutes for small pans

****UPDATE**** I made this again with 1/2 the oil and replaced the other half with applesauce. They turned out just fine - maybe a tad bit denser than the original, but yummy just the same. I also took my sister's suggestion and added a cup of chocolate chips. Yummy!!!!! Troy really liked the new version - so will probably become standard fare at our house! Thanks for the ideas, Marian!

Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

2007-10-26T13:25:00.000-07:00

In honor of our first frost this morning I am posting my very favorite soup recipe. This is such an easy, great soup to make. I use the roasted chicken from Costco as it is one of the best I have found and also one of the least expensive. I debone it as soon as I get home as it is easier to do when it is warm. If I am not going to use it right away I package up the meat for different uses and either put it in the freezer or fridge depending on when I am going to use it. Anyway, back to the soup - the pre cooked chicken makes it so simple! It is a wonderful meal on a cold fall or winter evening!

1 cup each onions, carrots, celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 teaspoons oil
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
6 cups chicken broth
4 cups potato, diced, peeled, uncooked
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups roasted chicken breast meat, diced
2 cups uncooked wide noodles
1 cup fat free evaporated milk

In a Dutch oven, saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic, in oil for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in flour, oregano, thyme, and poultry seasoning until blended; saute 1 minute longer. Gradually add broth, potatoes and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in chicken and noodles; simmer for 10 minutes or until noodles are tender. Reduce heat; stir in milk; heat through (do not boil)

Sweet & Sour Chicken

2007-10-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe several years ago and it is one of my favorites! I made it for dinner last night and ate the leftovers for lunch today!

4 chicken breast, cut into chunks
3 green onion, sliced
1 large red pepper, diced
oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can (15 oz) pineapple chunks in juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon cornstarch
4 teaspoons soy sauce (use gf soy sauce for gluten free dish)

Stir fry vegetables and chicken separately in oil. Meanwhile drain pineapple, reserving 1/4 cup juice. Mix the rest of the ingredients with juice. Mix chicken and vegetables with juice mixture in skillet. Add pineapple. Heat through. Serve over rice

Homemade is Best Made!

2007-10-24T14:40:00.000-07:00

I love to cook! I have collected a lot of recipes over the last 25 years and am excited about a place to share them!! I hope that anyone reading this blog will be inspired to make some of these great recipes.

The Way to His Heart...

Pumpkin Spice Latte (Dairy Free)

More Changes

Banana Flax Muffins

Cherry Oat Scones - Gluten Free/Egg Free

Peanut Butter Granola Balls

Homemade Lara*Bars and other Healthy Snacks

Flourless Pumpkin Pecan Cookies - Fruit Sweetened

Shepherd's Pie (Gluten and Dairy Free)

Strawberry Pie - Gluten, Egg and Dairy Free (and Good!)

Menu Planning

Pizza - Gluten Free and Low Carb (but not egg and dairy free)

Rhubarb Recipes (not gluten free)

Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

Chicken Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing

Breakfast - Gluten/Egg Free

Almond J*oy! - Tropical Chocolate Chip Cookies

Changes, again!

Tortilla Soup

Soup!!

Exercise

What do I eat - now that I am eating differently?

Changes in our Kitchen!

Blueberries, Blueberries, Blueberries!!!

Spring Chicken and Biscuits

Crispy Chicken Fingers

Garbanzo Beans

Spaghetti Carbonara

Hamburger Cornbread Casserole

Potato Soup

German Pancakes

Pumpkin Gingerbread - ***Updated***

Baked Fall Harvest Soup

Coffee Cake

Satay Chicken Pasta Salad

Silver Dollar Oat Pancackes

Summer Corn and Vegetable Soup and Easy Chicken Melts

Spanish Tortilla

It Has Been a While!

Easy Dinner

Freezer Fun (Part 3)

Menu Planning Monday

Freezer Fun! (Part 2)

Freezer Fun!

Menu Planning Monday

Santa Fe Soup

Barbecue Meatballs

Christmas Goodies

Menu Plan Monday

Stuffed Green Peppers

Easy Stuffed Chicken for a Crowd

Menu Planning Monday

Yummy Breakfast Recipes

Menu Planning Monday

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Holiday Appetizers

Chocolate No Bakes

Menu Planning Monday

Couldn't Be Easier Tuna Casserole

Blueberry French Toast

Chicken with Veggies

Lily's Fried Noodles

Menu Planning Monday

Mushroom Cheddar Frittata

Steak with Cauliflower and Baby Greens

Pumpkin Gingerbread

Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Homemade is Best Made!

Pumpkin Gingerbread - Updated