Lunch with my ladies!

We don't just like pizza, we LUV pizza. My oldest says the pizza we make at home is "Dangerous pizza! Because it tastes so good you want to eat it all!" So today my lunch with my little ladies was all their favorite toppings on a quesadilla! I know, not a new concept, but it was just so tasty I had to share. One of my secrets is to use tomato paste so it doesn't get soggy and instead of Italian seasonings, we use Dilly Herb blend so it tastes like the cheesy breadsticks from our favorite pizza delivery. I like things a little spicier so I add a bit of crushed red pepper to mine. Super yum!

And we really like the thick slices of the Open Nature uncured salami. Lots of flavor but not too spicy for the girls.

Somewhat homemade muffins!

I made up some amazing and easy muffins today. They would be even more amazing with some cream cheese frosting! They are kind of a cross between carrot cake and banana bread. 

1 box spice cake mix

1/2 cup coconut oil - melted

2 eggs

2 very ripe mashed bananas

3 medium carrots finely shredded

1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

1/2 cup chopped raw pecans

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Line muffin tins with foil cup liners. (Makes 18).

3) In a large bowl, stir all ingredients together just until combined and the evenly distributed. Don't over mix or they will be come tough.

4) Divide evenly into the 18 muffin cups. I like to use a large cookie scoop.

5) Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy plain, or like I said, top with cream cheese frosting. So very yummy!

Treats with the Bigs

Today for a fun treat I made individual coconut crispy treats with my two big girls (ages 4 & 5) in the microwave! Super easy, super tasty, & super quick! They helped with counting marshmallows, scooping "butter," measuring & stirring in the crispy rice and coconut. We used my silicone egg poaching cups to mold them into mounds of yummy goodness.

INGREDIENTS:

(For each generous portion)

4 marshmallows

1 tsp butter (we used Earth Ballance)

1/2 cup crisp rice cereal

Optional: 1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS:

1) Melt marshmallows and butter in a microwave safe bowl on high for 45 seconds.

2) Stir in crisp rice cereal and coconut if using, until everything is evenly coated.

3) Shape and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes. 

The girls LOVED them and declared it an excellent activity. The great news is that this was easy, child friendly, and did not use the stove! And I'm not faced with the temptation of a whole pan of crispy treats calling out to me everytime I go into the kitchen. The not so good news is that I now know I can have fresh made crispy treats any time I want. I guess I'll have to get better at restraint. Ha!

Beauty Experiments!

Ive been reading a lot about the miricals of activated charcoal. From teeth whitening to food poisoning - this magic black powder works by attracting pollutants, holding onto them like a super strong magnet and then taking the nasties with it when you rinse or flush it all away. That is what it is used in water filters, and in hospitals for accidental overdose or poison ingestion.

I decided last night to give it a try as a facial mask. Time to pull the nasties from my pores! I started by steaming my face over the sink to open up everything. I opened up two activated charcoal capsules and dumped them into a bowl of 1 teaspoon Bragg's apple cider vinegar. Next I slathered the thin black mixture all over my face, avoiding the eye area of course. Waited about 3-4 minutes - you DO NOT want it to dry out complete. Then rinsed with really warm water and a wash cloth. Followed it up with a few drops of my favorite moisturizer - mixture of extra virgin olive oil, vitamin E, lavender & mint essential oils.

This morning my face feels so soft and and seems to almost glow. I'll definitely do this one again! Do you have a favorite DIY facial? I'd love to hear about it!

Greek Pizza Quesadilla

Today I had a lunch time epiphany! Pizza Quesadillas!! Why have I never thought of this? So simple & yummy, and it caters to individual tastes without a lot of extra work! Yes! Both kid and mama friendly!

I think the key is to use tomato paste instead of sauce. It helps bind it all together without the quesadilla getting soggy. For the kiddos today I made simple cheese & herbs. If we had pepperoni, salami, or ham, I would have added that and some julienned fresh spinach to hide some veg in there. For myself however, I make a Greek inspired pizza quesadilla.  

INGREDIENTS:

2 Flour tortillas

1 tsp tomato paste

3 Tbsp shredded mozzarella cheese

1 Tbsp shedded parmesan

6 artichoke quarters (I used frozen, thawed them, and cut each quarter in 1/2)

6 kalamata olives, quartered

Crushed red pepper to taste

Olive oil

DIRECTIONS:

1) Spread a thin layer of tomato paste on one of the tortillas. 

2) Top with mozzarella, artichokes, & olives. Then sprinkle the Parmesan & crushed red pepper. Top with 2nd tortilla.

3) Heat a pan over medium heat, drizzle about 1/2 a tablespoon of olive oil into the pan. Once the oil is shimmering, place the quesadilla in the pan and heat until bottom tortilla has crispy golden brown patches, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook the 2nd side for another 3-4 minutes.

4) Serve and enjoy!

M is for Muffin!

This week our preschool theme was the letter M. We talked about manatees, milk, mailboxes, motorcycles, mermaids, magnolia trees, mice, & monsters (they are our friends after all!) And we made various crafts, worked on using scissors, adding & counting monster eyeballs, and memorized the bible verse: My soul rests in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. Psalm 62:1

On Fridays I like to do a kitchen project with them. So today we made snicker doodle muffins. Oh my they are good!

Here's the recipe we used: 

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup AP flour + 1Tbsp

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup non fat plain yogurt

For the Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

4 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Put 12 liners in your muffin tin

2) In a small bowl, mix the topping: sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

3) In the bowl of a heavy duty mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add in the egg and vanilla until combined. Add the yogurt and mix until combined.

4) Add in the dry ingredients in 2 batches. Mix, scraping sides of the bowl as needed until a smooth batter is achieved. 

5) Using a large cookie dough scoop, drop a scoop of batter into the bowl with the cinnamon sugar topping. Gently roll the batter in the mixture. Place the ball into the muffin liner. Repeat until all liners are full. 

6) Sprinkle any leftover cinnamon sugar mix on top of the muffins.

7) Bake the muffins for about 15 to 20 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test.

They came out super tasty! Soft and fluffy on the inside, tangy from the yogurt, and lovely little cinnamon sugar crunchies clinging to the whole muffin. The littlest in our family loved these muffins & kept asking for more - she even attempted to steal mine. My oldest licked the wrapper & wanted to know if she could eat it too. They are THAT good. I hope you will try them and let me know what you think. 

Beer!

For his birthday my husband was given one of those boxes with all different kinds of beers. Through the adventure of trying the various small batch craft brews, I discovered one I really enjoyed. I'm not usually a big fan of dark beers. This one is called a "Brunette Beer" and comes from The Original Firemans Brew company out of Ukiah, CA. I decided to try using it to make a beer bread, and oh my goodness did it turn out great! 

Now, I love me a good quick bread recipe, but many are overly sweet. I combined a few recipes and reduced the amount of sweetener to come up with the recipe below. This bread is hearty and has just the right amount of barely there sweetness. It would be PERFECT served warm & slathered with butter along side a stew or cream soup.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups AP flour

3/4 cup old fashioned oats - ground up in a food processor 

1 Tbsp flax meal

2 Tbsp quick grits (corn meal would make a good subsitute)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup honey

12 ounces of your favorite amber or dark beer

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

DIRECTIONS

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or butter. Set aside.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, flax meal, grits, baking powder and salt. 

3) Add in the honey and beer and mix until just combined. 

4) Spread the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a rubber spatula. Evenly pour the melted butter over the top of the batter. DO NOT skip this step. This is crucial to both the flavor and crunchy crust of this bread. Reduce the fat somewhere else! I mean it!

5) Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test and the top is golden brown. 

6) Transfer immediately to a cooling rack. Allow to sit for at least 20 minutes and then slice & enjoy!

Easy peasy tortilla soup

Wow! Time sure does fly! It's hard for me to believe it has been 2 months since my last post! CRAZY! 

With the beginning of a new year, most of us are looking for ways to eat healthier. My easy peasy tortilla soup has been a great way for us to get in more veggies and eat something that feels like comfort food.

INGREDIENTS:

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

6 cups low sodium chicken or veggie stock

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp dried oregano

2 cloves minced fresh garlic

1 tsp Mrs Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning

2 carrots pealed and sliced into thin coins

1 15oz can no salt added petite diced tomatoes, drained

4 corn tortillas chopped into 1 inch strips

GARNISH OPTIONS

chopped bell pepper

diced avocado

sliced jalapeño

cilantro 

crushed tortilla chips

shredded Mexican cheese

hot sauce 

DIRECTIONS

1) Place chicken, stock, & spices into a large stock pot and simmer until chicken is cooked through.

2) Remove chicken, chop into bite sized pieces, and set asside.

3) Add carrots, tomatoes, and tortillas and continue to simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.

4) Meanwhile, chop and prepare the garnishes you are choosing to use. We like all of them! I usually put everything in desperate bowls on a lazy Susan so that everyone can add their own favorites.

5) Just before serving, add the chopped chicken back to the pot, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes- just until heated through. 

6) Ladle into soup bowls, top with your favorite garnishes & enjoy!

Not Your Mama's Peppers!

I have never been a fan of stuffed bell peppers. First off green bell peppers don't like me & are completely out of the question - I avoid them like my life depends on it. Red, yellow or orange bells are ok, but I'm SUPER picky about them. Basically my experience with stuffed bells has been slimy exteriors and bland (or worse, over-salted) mushy interiors. All topped by flavorless, sometimes burnt tomato sauce. No thanks! 

Well, recently my husband and I have been trying to do weekly meal planning every Friday night. It helps to make sure we buy only what we need, and has made the dinner hour less stressful since there is no frazzled effort to figure out what to make with 3 little girls tugging at you. We have been eating way more fruits and veggies this way too. Anyhow, this week my husband suggested stuffed peppers during our menu planning discussion. He has some fond memories associated with them since his mom used to make them (the traditional way- he didn't think they were gross). Instead of running away in terror, I suggested we try them with a more modern twist. We dreamed up this recipe and I can now say I LOVE stuffed peppers. Well, MY stuffed peppers anyway! Hubby likes them too! 

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup uncooked organic quinoa 

2 cups chicken stock

5 mild Italian sausages, casings removed

1 jar Trader Joe's bruschetta sauce

1 cup fresh spinach, finely chopped

zest of 1 lemon

4 orange bell peppers

canola oil

Garnish: shredded hard cheese like Romano or Parmesan. (Hubby & I both agree that a slice of provolone or shredded mozzarella would be a tasty subsitute)

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

 

2) Rinse 1 cup quinoa in running water for several minutes. Then add to a sauce pan with 2 cups of stock. Cook according to package directions.

3) Meanwhile, in a large skillet, crumble and brown the sausage. Turn off the heat. Drain any grease. Strain and rinse the cooked sausage quickly under warm water to remove excess grease. Return to the pan, but do not turn on the heat.

4) Add cooked quinoa, chopped spinach, bruschetta sauce, and lemon zest to the skillet with the sausage. Stir to combine.

5) Cut bell peppers in 1/2, stem to bottom. Remove all seeds and ribs.

6) Generously oil a 9 x 13 baking pan. Place peppers cut side up. Par-bake in the oven for 20 minutes. (That's right - no filling yet!)

7) Remove peppers from the oven. Generously fill peppers with the sausage filling and top with shredded cheese. Return to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes more, or until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

Served with a salad and a piece of crusty bread for a super tasty dinner!

Fall Smoothie

The farmers market was glorious this past weekend! We picked up delicious organic strawberries, perfect bok choy, adorable baby potatoes, raw peanuts, crisp apples, raw honey, beautiful fuyu persimmons, fantastic pluots, and the makings for some really tasty pico salsa. We are still able to get the best of summer fruits and veggies, at the same time get yummy fall favorites. We are so blessed here in California! 

This morning I combined 2 of our weekends treasures, raw honey & fuyu persimmons with some pantry goods to make a fantastic creamy non dairy smoothie! Wonderful fall flavor packed into a cool summer treat! My 3 girls and I gulped it down. I'll need to make a double batch next time!

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup slivered almonds

1 cup cooked pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

2 fuyu persimmons

1/2 Tbsp pumpkin pie spice

2 tsp stevia

2 tsp raw honey

Pinch of salt

ice cubes (if you want it cold)

DIRECTIONS: 

Throw it all into a high powered blender and process until smooth. 

NOTES: You can use all stevia or all honey if you want. I tried it with the stevia first and felt like something was missing. I added the pinch of salt and the honey and it was perfect! The honey added a depth that was lacking. You could also make it with almond milk instead of water or add some chia seeds if you are looking for more protein. Enjoy!

Strawberry Cornmeal Pancakes

Today is Sunday and my husband is playing on the worship team at church. He got up at six and left the house long before any of the children were stirring. Normally about now I would be issuing orders to the girls to quickly finish eating their cereal and get dressed so we are not late for the first service. But today the girls are getting over a nasty cold and our youngest is still sleeping. So the Hughes girls will be staying in pajamas this morning, playing with toys, and eating a leisurely pancake breakfast. I created these tasty vegan Strawberry Cornmeal Pancakes using Martha Stewart's basic pancake recipe as a template. I bake all my pancakes in a large casserole dish so we can all eat at once. No more flipping pancakes while everyone else eats! 

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup corn meal

3 Tbsp brown sugar

3 tsp baking powder

2 cups coconut milk

2 Tbsp flax meal + 6 Tbsp water (or 2 large eggs)

3 Tbsp canola oil

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup sliced strawberries

Non stick cooking spray or butter 

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a medium sized casserole pan with non stick cooking spray or butter.

2) In a large bowl mix together flour, corn meal, brown sugar, and baking powder. Set aside.

3) In another bowl, mix together coconut milk, flax meal plus water mixture, oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.

4) Pour into prepared baking dish, top with sliced strawberries, and bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

You could easily make substitutions - whole wheat flour for the corn meal, or regular milk for the coconut, or sliced peaches for the strawberries. I happened to be out of eggs, so I subbed in the flax meal and water. Use your imagination and let me know what you think!

D is for Donut!

Each Friday as part of our homeschool preschool, we end the week in the kitchen making some sort of yummy treat. And this week we made quite possible THE BEST THING TO EVER COME OUT OF MY KITCHEN!! We made baked apple cider donut holes. Maybe they don't count in your book as donut holes because they aren't fried in a vat of oil. Fine. Call them a muffin, call them whatever your creative heart comes up with. Just make them. I promise you'll fall in love. You might even get someone to fall in love with you if you can manage to share them. They are THAT good.

I INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE BATTER

1 cup + 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 egg, beaten 

1/2 cup apple cider (I used Trader Joe's)

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Non-stick cooking spray

FOR THE SUGAR COATING

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp cinnamon 

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

2 Tbsp melted butter

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) Spray with a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.

3) In a large mixing bowl, add all they dry ingredients and mix with a whisk. Set aside.

4) In a small sauce pan over medium heat combine the cider, sugar, vinegar, & butter until the butter is melted and everything is combined. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, stirring to combine.

5) Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until there are no lumps.

6) Fill each mini muffin cup 2/3 full with batter.  I use a small ice cream scoop.

7) Bake at 350 degrees for 6-7 minutes. 

8) While the donut holes are baking, make the sugar coating. In a small bowl melt the butter for the sugar coating in the microwave. Set aside. In another small bowl, mix the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.

9) Allow to donut holes cool in the pan for two minutes. Remove each muffin and dip the top in melted butter, then roll in the sugar and spice mixture. Do this for each donut hole and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Enjoy right away. You can store left overs in an air tight container - if you have any!

5 Ingredient Gluten Free Pumpkin Spice Muffins

These are embarrassingly easy. And made from a box, so don't shoot me.  But they are so quick and super tasty, I couldn't NOT share them with you! And they are HEALTHY!!!

Here are the ingredients:

Yep. That's is. And if you happen to have pumpkin pie spice, use that instead of the cinnamon & nutmeg, and it's only 4 ingredients!!

1 box of Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix

1 can of organic pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp grated nutmeg

Preheat your oven to 350. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. Mix it all the ingredients together. Divide batter into your prepared muffin tin. Bake for 18-20 minutes. Fast, easy, light, moist, healthy, & most important, DELICIOUS!

I'm planning to make an apple cider glaze for mine. Slightly less healthy, but oh so tasty. 

GLAZE: 1/2 cup apple cider, 1 Tbsp powdered sugar, & 1 Tbsp melted Earth Balance buttery spread. Whisk it all up and drizzle away. Yummy fall flavors in a portable snack. Gotta love.

Night Before Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal

We are at the end of the month and getting low on groceries. Last night I was racking my brain trying to figure out what I could make for breakfast. I scoured my pantry and then Pinterest. Apparently I'm late to the game with this whole baked oatmeal thing. There are tons of recipes out there and I will definitely be trying out more. And as usual, I tweaked a few recipes to come up with something that worked for our tastes and what I had in the house. I really liked that I can make this the night before and then just pop it in the oven in the morning. Everyone loved this for breakfast with a dollop of jam (the kids had apricot while I indulged in some peach bourbon vanilla jam. Oh so good!) You could change it up by adding dried fruit like cherries. Or I could also see adding chocolate chips for an afternoon snack. Mmmm. Peanut butter and chocolate. I might have to make me some of those tomorrow!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup milk

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 cups old fashioned oats

DIRECTIONS:

1) Liberally grease an 8 x 8 inch pan with butter. 

2) In a bowl, whisk the wet ingredients until combined: milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, peanut butter and brown sugar. 

3) Add in the oats, baking powder, and salt, mixing well. Pour into your prepared 8 x 8 pan.

4) Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

5) In the morning, take it out of the fridge, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and bake it for 30-40 minutes.

B is for Bodacious Bubbles!

We had a blast in our home school preschool today! We are studying the letter B, so today was Bodacious Bubble Day! First I had the girls use straws to blow in a bowl of really soapy water. I just used dawn. We talked about the size of the bubbles when you blow with all your might vs the size of bubbles when you blow gently. My 4 year old really got into it and observed all sorts of things about the bubbles. She loved it.  My 3 year old on the other hand, accidentally sucked the soapy water up the straw and after much tears & sputtering declared she didn't think she wanted to do bubbles anymore. I guess I should have been more specific in my instructions. Sometimes I forget that is she ONLY three.

Next, I made a bubble blower out of a clean toddler sock, a small 8oz water bottle. and a rubber band. There are various blogs that say to cut off the sock & use duck tape to secure the sock to the bottle. I wanted to be able to use the socks again, and since it is just dish soap and water, we will toss the now REALLY clean wet socks into the next load of laundry. The rubber band seemed to keep the sock on just fine for us. If however you are willing to sacrifice the socks, go check out Rainbow Bubble Snakes on the Housing A Forest blog! Totally cool! I might even try the rainbow bubble snakes in the bathtub with the kiddos when it gets too cold to play outside.

Bubble snakes! Even my 3 year old gave it another go after seeing all the fun!

My 4 year old REALLY loved this activity and kept playing for over 45 minutes!

And then we just had fun playing with the big piles of bubbles all over the grass. Good clean fun!

Not Your Typical Banana Bread

This week in our home school preschool we are studying the letter B. In preparation I bought bananas early in the week last week so that they would be perfect for our cooking segment. I found an unusual vegan coconut maple banana bread recipe over at Honeyed Home that I wanted to try. There is a great shortcut Michelle mentions for ripening bananas if yours are not quite banana bread ready - definately go check out her site.

I tweaked the recipe based on what I had on hand (for example I didn't want to use ALL my bananas, so I added peaches which needed to be used). I also added a maple glaze for extra yumminess. I brought it to share with my bible study ladies, and my kiddos gobbled the remaining leftovers. It was gone so fast, I forgot to get a picture! The girls and I will be making this recipe into muffins in a few days, so I'll update with a pic of those.

Maple Peach Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS:

2 very ripe small bananas

1 cup cooked peaches

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup almond meal

1/4 cup flax meal

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1/2 cup organic coconut oil, melted at room temperature

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Coconut oil spray

GLAZE:

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbsp melted Earth Balance spread

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil spray.

2) In a large bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients.

3) In a food processor blend all the wet ingredients.

4) Add wet ingredients the the dry ingredients and fold until just combined. 

5) The batter will be thick like a brownie batter. Dump the batter into your prepared loaf pan and spread with a spatula.

6) Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until it is golden brown and passes the toothpick test.

7) Once the bread is completely cool, mix all the glaze ingredients and drizzle on the bread.

Simply Soup

Many moons ago I threw some ingredients I had on hand into a pot and called it soup. It was fast and simple and turned out tasty! My husband calls it Portuguese Kale Soup. It's not really, but that makes it sound like I knew what I was doing, so I'll go with it.

INGREDIENTS:

16 oz bulk sausage (I use pork)

6 cups chicken stock

1 can white kidney beans, drained & rinsed 

1/2 a bag of ready to use kale

GARNISH (optional, but super yummy)

Drizzle of good olive oil

Sprinkle of Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:

1) In a 4 qt or larger pot, brown sausage. Drain off any fat.

2) Add stock, beans, and kale. Cover and  cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. DO NOT BOIL or the kale may become bitter. 

3) Ladle into bowls and garnish with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

I like to serve this soup with a giant garlic crouton. I love to dip it in the broth. Mmmmm good! To make it, I simply took some rustic wheat bread that I made and broiled it on both sides until nicely toasted. Then I rubbed a raw garlic clove over the surface and drizzled a bit of olive oil on top. Placed it back in the broiler for a moment. And there you have one of my husbands favorite meals. And it took less than 30 minutes to make! Gotta love that!

Gluten Free Muffins & No Odd Ingredients!

My Uncle is gluten free and he & my Aunt are coming over early tomorrow morning to watch our kiddos for the day. To make things easier for them I wanted to have breakfast ready to go. I came upon this GREAT gluten free grain free muffin recipe by Whitney McNutt! Super easy, super fast, and it doesn't use any specialty ingredients! Check out the link to the original recipe because she gives great suggestions for modifying the recipe, including a link for making it paleo or without bananas. Here is how I modified it based on what I had in the house and things I wanted to use up.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup nut butter (I used 3/4 peanut butter + 1/4 almond butter)

1 medium very ripe banana

1 cup shredded zucchini 

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp agave

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

         TOPPINGS

         1 cup strawberries, small dice

         1 Tbsp unsweetened coconut

12 muffin liners

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with muffin liners.

2) Place all ingredients except for the toppings into your blender or food processor and process until a smooth batter is achieved and everything is combined.

3) Divide into the 12 muffin liners.

4) Top each muffin with a spoon full of strawberries. Press strawberries into the batter with the back of the spoon to submerge. Sprinkle with a pinch or two of coconut.

5) Bake for 15 minutes.

NOTES: Next time I make these I am going to drop the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 20 minutes. My convection oven seems to cook things faster and these, while super yummy, are a bit more brown on the outside then I would like.

A Whole Lotta Empanadas

One of my goals for this week is to try some new dishes. Using a few different recipes as guides, I came up with these super tasty, kid friendly, husband approved, empanadas. I added some nontraditional ingredients to boost the veggie factor, and my oldest who is my pickiest eater didn't notice at all. And baby ended up eating 3 of them!!! The kids ate them plain, but my hubby and I dipped them in my blender chimichurri sauce. They would also be good with guacamole, sourcream, and or some chipotle salsa. So so tasty!

This recipe makes a WHOLE bunch (64!) You can cut the recipe in 1/2 or cook up the whole mess of them and freeze some for later!

INGREDIENTS:

2 T butter

1/2 large yellow onion, diced small

1 cup shredded zucchini, squeezed of excess moisture

2 lbs ground beef

4 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp kosher salt

2 tsp Mrs Dash Fiesta Lime

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 a bag of Simply Potatoes shredded potatoes

1/2 cup Fresh parsley, finely chopped

2/3 a cup of low sodium V8 vegetable juice

4 cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (I used Trader Joes)

flour

2 eggs

DIRECTIONS, THE FILLING:

1) Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add diced onions and sauté until translucent. Add zucchini and sauté until most of the moisture has been cooked out - about 5 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

2) Add ground beef to the same skillet and cook until just browned and no longer pink. Add back the onion & zucchini mixture, spices, shredded potatoes, parsley, and V8. Stir to combine and cook an additional 5 minutes. Allow to cool. 

NOTES: I transferred mine the filling mixture to a shallow baking dish and popped it into the fridge to chill for 20 minutes. You could easily make the filling, refrigerate, and assemble the empanadas the next day.

DIRECTIONS, THE DOUGH:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pop open a can of biscuits. Take each biscuit and peal 1/2 off yielding a total of 16 rounds. 

2) On a lightly floured surface, roll out each biscuit into a 4 inch circle. 

3) Add 2 tablespoons of filling to each rolled out biscuit and fold in half, pinching the edges to seal and forming a half moon shape. Crimp the sealed edge with a fork. And place on a lightly greased or silicone mat lined baking sheet, leaving at least 1 inch of space between empanadas.

4) Brush with an egg wash. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

NOTES: I rolled out each biscuit and then filled it rather than rolling out all the biscuits first and then filling all of them. You can freeze baked and cooled empanadas in a single layer in a freezer bag. To reheat, preheat over to 350 degrees. Place frozen empanadas 1 inch apart on a baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Crunchy Granola!

A few weeks ago I made a double batch of granola and I honestly remember blogging about it, but either it wasn't saved or I dreamt it. I even told a friend who tried it a few days ago that the recipe was posted on my blog. And guess what?!? She couldn't find it. And neither could I. So... ANYWHO!! Here it is now!

This is truthfully the best granola - and not because I made it.  It has the right balance. It is a lovely concoction of toasty, salty, sweetness that is quite addicting. We've been eating it sprinkled on Greek yogurt, as a topping with fresh fruit on hot oatmeal, in a big bowl with milk, or just as a snack straight out of the jar. My husband says this is the best batch yet and THIS time I actually wrote down the recipe! Yay me!

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups old fashioned oats

1 cup slivered Almonds 

1 cup Pecan pieces  

1/2 sesame seeds (flax seeds would be good too!)

3/4 cup unsweetened Coconut 

1 tsp salt  Kosher salt

1 tsp Cinnamon  

 1 cup Honey 

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/3 cup Peanut butter

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 300* and lightly grease a deep 9 x 13 baking dish.

2) Mix all the dry ingredients - oats, nuts, coconut, seeds, salt, spices -  in a LARGE bowl.

3) In a separate bowl mix the honey oil, and peanut butter until combined.  4) Pour over the dry ingredients and stir until everything is coated and spread evenly in your prepared baking pan.

5) Bake for a total of 50 - 55 minutes, stir at 25 minutes, and again at 40. You'll know it's done when it is a lovely golden brown and  smells heavenly!

NOTE: The granola WILL NOT be crunchy at first. Let it cool and harden completely in the pan. Then transfer & store in an airtight container.

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