Showing posts with label Recipe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipe. Show all posts

Monday, July 7, 2014

Grandkids and Strawberry Cream Frozen Summer Treat Recipe

Strawberry Boys

It was such a delight to have a few of the grandkids with us on Saturday. As you can see, one of the things we did was pick the strawberries from the garden. Everyone helped, and we got two baskets full.

One of the conversations with the 4 year old went something like this:

Him: 'Do you bemember when I was a baby?'
Me:  'Yes, I do!'
Him: (with furrowed brow) 'I don't bemember when you were a baby.'

I love the things kids come up with.

After lunch, I surprised them with creamy peach Popsicles. They met them with skepticism, but after a few bites, one of the grandsons said, 'Grandma, you should go start a popsicle business.' 

Whether my recipe is used for popsicles or just frozen in little custard cups, it is an easy and delicious summertime treat.


Strawberry Cream Cheese Icy Dessert

We discussed the various flavor possibilities. He suggested blueberry. His sister suggested raspberry. Those sound good too, so we've got at least four different flavors we'll be trying this summer. I don't think my blueberries are going to amount to more than bird food, but the raspberry crop looks very promising, and so far the strawberry crop is doing great. It helps that we're getting regular rains and warm temps.

Creamy Popsicles or Fruity Icy Dessert Recipe:

  • 12   4 oz. popsicle molds  (I bought my 4 oz. molds from Amazon. They're called 'Tovolo Groovy Ice Pop Molds.)
  • 1  8oz. block cream cheese OR the Greek Yogurt/Cream Cheese combination
  • 3 c. fresh berries or peaches
  • 1 small (3 oz.) pkg. sugar-free Jell-O  (or you can substitute 1 envelope Knox gelatin and 4 g. Stevia powder) along with a small pkg. of unsweetened Kool-Aid. (Personally, I didn't like that as much as the sugar-free Jell-O. I would like to find a brand of gelatin that used Splenda)
  • 2 c. water, brought to a boil

Boil water. Sprinkle jello in and dissolve. Add berries or peaches. Place in blender and puree. Then add the 8 oz. cream cheese, a couple ounces at a time, while the blender remains in puree mode.  That's it. This completely filled my blender.

Pour into 4 oz. sherbet dishes or popsicle molds.

Freeze at least 3-4 hours.

Once frozen, you'll have to let the dishes sit out at room temp for10-20 minutes until you can chisel the dessert out with a grapefruit spoon. Believe me, it's worth it, and it lasts longer that way. The popsicles can be eaten as soon as frozen, of course, once you've managed to get them out of their individual molds by running hot water over them for a minute or two.

Makes enough for 12 popsicles or 12 sherbet dishes.

 Strawberry? Coming right up!

By the way, I learned from the lady at Walmart that the little dishes I was using were not called sherbet dishes. Walmart calls them 'condiment cups.' Really? Who uses that much ketchup or mayo??  Anyway, they're the perfect size for a dessert.

I think I'll also try using Knox unflavored gelatin and fruit juice, along with the cream cheese - and see what happens.

I'm planning to keep my freezer stocked with creamy popsicles this summer. I hope my taste testers hurry back to Grandma's house!!

Note: Frozen berries work well, for they bring the hot Jell-O water down in temperature before putting it in the blender. Otherwise, you can dissolve the Jell-O in 1 c. boiling water and then add 1 c. cold water to achieve the same thing.

I use unsweetened berries so that there's no sugar in this dessert.


The 'Magic Tickle Finger With Napkin'

Some things are simply sweet, classic Grandpa games. I'm sure I remember Kevin's dad playing that kind of silly game with our kids and I suspect that his grandpa played that with him. The boys were mesmerized! Grandpa used a different voice (at the boys' instruction) to play this game, and he would tickle them under their chins. Of course they were giggling long before the unpredictable 'Tickle Finger With Napkin' (using that deep and mysterious old-time scary movie voice) ever got near their faces. This went on for a good half hour!

I hope you had a lovely weekend too!


***

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Although I usually forget to do it, there is a chance that this post will be linked to one or more of these great linky parties: Inspiration Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Treasure Box Tuesday and KatheWithAnE and Rubbish Tuesday and Tuesday with a Twist and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and Adorned From Above  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Good Fences on Thursdays and  Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and Junkin' Joe and Vintage Inspiration Friday and A Favorite Thing Saturday

Monday, June 16, 2014

Two Favorite Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Basil Pesto & Pepperjack Grilled Cheese Sandwich

It's a lazy, rainy afternoon as I write this, and I'm trying to think of anything I might have accomplished today. Just now the rainy, cool weather found me thinking of the basil pesto and pepperjack grilled cheese sandwich (pictured above), which I first introduced to you last August.  For those who may have missed it, here it is again. And if you need the recipe for that delicious sweet homemade white bread, you can find the recipe here. So, if you've nothing better to do, whip up those four wonderful, fragrant loaves of bread, and tomorrow they will be ready for sandwiches - if there are any crumbs remaining, that is.
Basil Pesto & Pepperjack Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipe:

2 slices homemade white bread
4 slices of pepperjack cheese
2 large slices of ripe tomato
Enough basil pesto to make a thick layer on the bread
Butter

Lay the two slices opposite one another. Spread one with the basil pesto, then layer on the tomato and pepperjack cheese. Top with the second slice of homemade white bread.

*In an electric skillet, melt a pat of butter. Turn skillet to 300 degrees. Lay sandwich in skillet and cover with lid. Check now and then to see if bottom of bread is light brown. When it is, lift it with a pancake turner and melt a bit more butter in the same spot where the sandwich had lain in the skillet. Place sandwich, other side down, onto the melted butter. Place lid on pan again and wait a bit before checking to see that both sides are golden and cheese is oozing out.

Bacon & Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Bacon & Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwich Recipe:

(This one came from my daughter-in-law.)

Using two slices of homemade bread, spread cream cheese on one, then layer with thin rings of fresh jalapeno pepper and a layer of medium or sharp Cheddar cheese. Place two strips of bacon on top and cover with second slice of bread.

Instructions for frying in electric skillet: Follow first recipe instructions from *.

I'm not sure which I liked better. Neither is gluten free and all my joints will be stiff and achy the day after eating, but it sure is good going down!

It might be a good idea to have half of one and half of the other. Both are delicious!


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Although I usually forget to do it, there is a chance that this post will be linked to one or more of these great linky parties: Inspiration Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday and Treasure Box Tuesday and Rubbish Tuesday and Tuesday with a Twist and  Knick of Time Tuesday (vintage)  and   Tweak it Tuesday and Adorned From Above  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and Good Fences on Thursdays and  Time Travel Thursday and Freedom Fridays and Junkin' Joe and Vintage Inspiration Friday and A Favorite Thing Saturday

Monday, June 9, 2014

Le Creuset Mini Cocotte Set, Chicken Basil Pesto Recipe, Wilson Dog Quotation

Le Creuset Stoneware Mini Cocotte Set of 4

Do you know how often I enter a giveaway?

Almost never.

So I could hardly believe it when Jean of Delightful Repast contacted me to let me know that I was the winner of her Le Creuset Stoneware Mini Cocotte Giveaway a couple weeks ago.  I chose red because it was the perfect red, but I'll have to admit that it was tough making a decision because all of the colors available were also beautiful. And a good thing I hadn't chosen blue, for I know someone who might be plotting to relieve me of ownership.

Anyway, thank you so much, Jean!

Be sure to visit DelightfulRepast.com. Jean has gorgeous food photos and fabulous recipes!

Since these came in the mail just a few days ago, I've not yet used them, but I'll get on that project right away. In the meantime, I thought I'd post a recipe I threw together the other night. Here's the story. Buckle your seatbelts.

Since it was Bible study afternoon and I wanted to get dinner started early, I had put 3 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) into the CrockPot along with about 1/4 c. white wine and 1 container of basil pesto (I had made and frozen pesto last fall since I had had an abundance of basil in the garden - but Classico pesto is good too and could be used in this recipe.) I turned the CrockPot on to Low.

Three hours later, still before Bible study time, I peeked through the glass lid and discovered that they were bubbling around the edges. What? Already? On Low?? I checked with a thermometer and found that not only was the chicken done (165 degrees), but was already 201 degrees. Oh great! This was going to be horrid and tough. Well, too late now. I put the chicken on a plate and let it cool down a bit before covering and putting in the refrigerator - before leaving for study.

Time passed.

Chicken With Basil Pesto...
I realize that it looks a bit scary.

When I got home, I put a little olive oil in a skillet and stirfried some sweet peppers and onions until nearly tender. After cutting that CrockPot chicken into chunks, I sliced up some Kalamata olives. The chicken and olives got folded into the pepper/onion mixture. I didn't want to cook the chicken all over again, but just toss it along with the hot veggies to bring it to temperature. If there's anything I can't stand, it's warmed up chicken. Yech! But this was not cooked a second time, so it didn't have that scalding-the-chicken-to-get-the-pin-feathers-off smell/taste. (And no, I've never done that, but I remember my mom doing it a time or two. That kind of thing stays with you.)

This was served on a small bed of Tinkyada gluten-free fettuccine with a side of black beans.  It turned out to be a delicious dinner, along with a good rescue of that poor CrockPot chicken.

Have you noticed that the new CrockPots run much hotter than the old ones? There's really no way that my new CrockPot could be called a 'slow cooker.' It's annoying. I suppose the temperature settings were changed because of those thousands of deaths from undercooked CrockPot meat.

Remember that? 

Oh, you don't?

Grrr.

***

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Monday, November 4, 2013

Chicken Sausages, Sweet Potato, Parsnips, & Apple Recipe, Gluten Free


Chicken Sausages, Sweet Potato, Parsnips, & Apple Recipe:


If this is looking vaguely familiar, it's probably because this is a variation on a theme, another recipe using Alfresco gluten-free chicken sausages. So far, I've tried Spicy Jalapeno, Sundried Tomato, and Sweet Apple. Changing up the sausages and adding a variety of vegetables or fruit to them keeps it from getting boring. And they're delicious!

Another gluten-free recipe.

Alfresco GF Chicken Sausages (Apple, in this case) - 4, diced.
I cut each one in half lengthwise, then each of those halves in three strips, then diced up the strips. I'm pretty sure you could have figured it out by yourself. lol
1 sweet potato, pared and diced (In this case, I had just used the last of the sweet potatoes, so I used carrot instead)
2 parsnips, pared and diced
1 onion, sliced
1 McIntosh apple, cored and cut into chunks. Do not peel (pare?)

Black beans, rinsed and drained (1 can)
Cayenne (I used one of my dried cayenne peppers, opened and seeds sprinkled onto this dish)
Salt
Butter and Olive Oil

Saute diced sausages in olive oil and butter until one side is crispy. The butter helps brown them. Remove from skillet and set aside on a paper towel or plate.

Steam sweet potato and parsnips for a few minutes. Set aside.

In the skillet place onion and saute until translucent and limp and kinda caramelized.

In same skillet, add the browned sausages and steamed parsnips and sweet potato. Also add black beans.. Toss to heat thoroughly. Add apple chunks and heat thoroughly Sprinkle with cayenne seeds and salt. Toss again.

Serve.

Delicious!

P.S. Bonnie, I love that spoon holder you gave me! :-)


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This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Mosaic Monday and Barn Hop and  Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  The Marketplace  and  and  Market Yourself Monday and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and Le Chateau des Fleurs and   Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and   Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Adorned From Above and  Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Saturday Nite Special

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Sweet Potato Fries, Recipe


Crisp - and - Yum-my
Sweet. Potato. Fries! ♫

Doesn't that sound like it should be part of a jump rope chant? And I realize that most of you would have no idea what on earth I'm talking about. But when I was in grade school, two kids would stand about 12 feet apart, each holding the end of a thick rope and swinging it, and the rest of us would be lined up, chanting the jump rope ditty, and ready to run into the center of the virtual elliptical prism* created by the twirling rope, making sure we don't catch our feet or hands on it. I was really, really good at jump rope. Unfortunately, it was not a sport that anyone really appreciated. And the effects of all that jump roping (jumping rope?) is totally not in evidence today.

And maybe I'm the only person in the Blogiverse who'd never made sweet potato fries before, but there it is.

SO, I had a chuck roast with garlic and red wine slow-cooking in the CrockPot all day. About an hour before dinner, I decided to make some sweet potato fries.

Sweet Potato Fries, Recipe:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2 large sweet potatoes, pared
Cut sweet potatoes in half at the equator (of the potato, of course), then stand each half on its equator and slice from top to bottom, about 1/4 -3/8 inch slices. (This will keep you from cutting your fingers off.) When that's done, slice each of those into 1/4-3/8 inch thick straws. I think mine were actually more like 1/4 inch or less. I really get into cutting up vegetables (and meat) into very small pieces. It's therapeutic. I love it!

Place sweet potato straws into a gallon Ziploc bag.
Put 1/2 T. corn starch in the Ziploc bag too, and toss this well so that the corn starch is evenly distributed. I read that the corn starch, as much as I didn't want to use it, helps make the fries nice and crispy. I wanted crispy. Uncrispy is totally unacceptable.
Place 1/2 t. Penzey's Hot Curry Powder into the bag. Toss to distribute evenly.
Place 2-3 T. olive oil into the bag and toss to coat the sweet potatoes thoroughly.

Turn out onto a jelly roll pan that's been sprayed with a non-stick cooking spray.
Sprinkle a little salt and a little cayenne over the fries. (Yes, we like things hot.)

Bake for 15 minutes, then use a pancake turner to flip the fries over and 
Bake another 15 minutes.

Some of mine got really dark. You might think of it as a failure. I loved them. They were very crispy. But then, I like burned potato chips too. Ever notice how quality control has virtually eliminated those wonderfully burned potato chips??

Anyway, I think the whole thing was a success. They were delicious - and hot!

*Know how hard it is to describe this in words??!

And did you jump rope as a child? And do you remember any of the chants?  

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-This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Mosaic Monday and Barn Hop and  Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and Efforts and Assets and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Knick of Time Tuesday and  Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and Crafty Texas Girls and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and Whatever Goes Wednesday and  All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and  Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Specia-------------------
--

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Alfresco Chicken Sausages Recipe, Stirfry

Pretty and Delicious

Thank you so much to all who responded to yesterday's prayer request. I will keep you posted when there are any updates to share.

***

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. Yesterday we went to look for the new front door to the addition. (Not that the addition is built yet, of course, but just planning ahead). Every door I was looking at (with sidelight) was about $1200 minimum. Are you kidding? When did doors get to be so expensive?? And besides that, there will be so many expenses by the time you add new refrigerator and dishwasher and stove (and that's just for the kitchen) that we pared down our expectations a bit and purchased a lovely door that was on sale for $289.00. The glass in the door reminds me of the Prairie style - Craftsman. I'm not an expert on these things, so there probably is a real name for it. No side light, but there will be so much light coming in from patio doors that it really doesn't matter.  And, we got it home without breaking it - which is always a plus.

On with the show, this is it ♫

This is a variation on a theme -  Angela's breakfast. Not exactly like hers, but enough so that it should have her name attached. It's one of my favorite meals, but I never eat it at breakfast. I like it better at dinnertime.

Angela's Breakfast, Alfresco Chicken Sausages & Veggies Recipe:  (Spicy Jalapeno and Sundried Tomato are my 2 favorites)

Flowering Kale (I raised this stuff a couple years ago as an ornamental plant in my flower garden. I had no idea it was edible!)
Black Beans, rinsed and drained
Alfresco brand gluten-free chicken sausages (all are good), pkg. of 4, thinly sliced
Onion, 1, chopped
Garlic, 1 clove, minced
Parsnip, pared and diced
Sweet potato, pared and diced

In a couple T. olive oil in a large skillet, brown the chicken sausages along with the garlic and onion. Lift sausages from oil and set aside for now.

In a steamer, steam parsnip and sweet potato for just a couple minutes.

Place parsnips, sweet potato, and chicken sausage mixture back into the main skillet. Add flowering kale, rinsed black beans. 

Sprinkle with a little salt and cayenne. Stirfry until everything is thoroughly hot and kale is slightly wilted.

Let me know if you love it! :-)

Hope you had a great Labor Day!


***


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This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and Efforts and Assets and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and Crafty Texas Girls and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and  Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Special

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Lemon Poppyseed Muffin in a Mug, Recipe, Gluten-Free


Hoping for a weekend in Duluth soon...

I've been looking through the book, 'Trim, Healthy Mama,' which seems to me like a variation on the Atkins Diabetes Revolution or South Beach Diet.  Protein is a must, and only good, healthful, low-glycemic carbs. It is not a no-fat way of eating because, after all, it's not fat that makes us fat - it's sugar (high carbs, high glycemic) that makes us fat. When I think of it that way, it's a lot easier and cuts to the chase, so to speak.

Trim, Healthy Mama has some Muffin-in-a-Mug recipes, which are, in my opinion, filling, but not as tasty as this one. I found a recipe similar to this online somewhere, but with a little tweaking, made it my own.

First, I must disclose the fact that I LOVE lemon.

Lemon Poppyseed Muffin in a Mug Recipe:

(This is a great, quick protein snack or dessert)
 
Spray a mug with non-stick cooking spray.
Whisk 1 egg into that mug.
Add 2 T. almond flour
Add 2 T. milled flax seed
Add 1 t. butter
Add 1/2 t. poppyseeds
Add juice and pulp of 1/2 lemon
Add 1/8 t. lemon extract
Add 2 g. (2 packets) raw Stevia powder
Add 1/2 t. baking powder
Dash of salt


Whisk all this together in the mug.
Microwave on high for 1 minute 25 seconds.
Turn muffin out onto a plate and let cool a bit before eating.

I tried this without the butter and then with the butter. The butter helps immensely, making it nice moist muffin with that great lemony taste!

Nutritional breakdown:

Egg:                 9 g. protein, 70 calories
Flax:                3 g. protein, 3 g. dietary fiber, 60 calories, 0 net carbohydrate
Almond Fl.     3 g. protein, 3 g. dietary fiber, 80 calories, 0 net carbohydrate
Lemon juice    1 g. net carbohydrate
Butter             34 calories, 0 carbohydrate
Poppyseeds     so little it doesn't matter, but it does matter a lot to the taste and texture

TOTAL           15 g. protein, 6 g. dietary fiber, 252 calories

I think this is about right.

I like to have half of the muffin after dinner (like dessert) and the other half later in the evening. It keeps me from eating things like popcorn or deluxe mixed nuts or Ritter dark chocolate. Usually.

So, have you ever tried one of these muffin-in-a-mug recipes? Did you like it? not like it? Was it satisfying?

And if you try this recipe, please let me know!

And if you get to Duluth this summer, please let me know that as well. :-)



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This post may be linked to one or more of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and Get in My Tummy and  Cure for the Common Monday and  Clever Chicks Blog Hop and  Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and    Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and Memories by the Mile and  Tweak it Tuesday and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday  and Love Bakes Good Cakes and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and Wildcrafting Wednesday and   Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and All Things With Purpose and Home & Garden Thursday and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Girl Creative, Thursday and  Creative Things Thursday and Be Inspired and Time Travel Thursday and Thrifty Things Friday  and  Friday Fences and  Thursday's Inspiration and  The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and Creative Things Thursday and Weekend Wonders and   Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and Freedom Fridays and From the Farm and   Anything Blue Friday and Junkin' Joe and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and Share Your Creativity and   A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Sunlit Sunday and  Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Special

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Paleo, Gluten-Free Muffins - Carrot, Banana, Date

Moist Carrot Banana and Date Muffins
for the Paleo Inclined
They're Grain-free and Gluten-free

For everyone who loves a tasty, moist muffin without a grain-based flour, these are the best I've ever eaten. In fact, I like them better, because wheat flour always leaves me wishing I hadn't eaten it.

My daughter sent me this recipe which she had recently tried. Her husband had announced that it was the best thing she had ever made! That's quite an endorsement, so I had to give it a try. They are delicious!

This recipe makes a dozen medium-size muffins. I used a non-stick spray on the non-stick muffin tin before spooning in the batter. Alternatively, you can use the paper liners. I just happen not to like those.

Yes, there's sugar in the fruit used, but no additional sugar.

One more thing: I've seen 1# of Bob's Red Mill almond flour at my local grocery store for $14.49 (no kidding), but also found it somewhere for $10.49 and bought it there. One can also check out Amazon.com or Vitacost.com.  Then again, I can purchase almonds when I find them at a good price  and run them through the food processor. Not a bad idea.

Update:  I just bought a pound of raw almonds for $5.49 at Farm & Fleet. This weekend they're going to be on sale for 2 bags for $9.00 (They won't work for people with an actual gluten intolerance, cuz they're processed in a plant that also processes wheat products - but perhaps those with a wheat sensitivity will be fine with these). For me, they work fine. I'll put them in my food processor. A pound is a pound, and I don't care how cute the packaging is, I'll never spend $14.49 on a pound of almond flour.

Paleo, Gluten-Free Muffins Recipe - Carrot, Banana, Date:

Ingredients:

2 c. almond flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. sea salt (next time I will leave out the salt. I felt they didn't need it)
1 T. cinnamon
1 c. dates, pitted (and yes, you can use dates you find in little vacuum-packed bags in the bottom your freezer, even if they've been there for 5 years. Remember my Woolly Mammoth Story??
3 ripe bananas
3 eggs
1 t. apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. coconut oil, melted
1 1/2 c. carrots, shredded
3/4 c. finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In a food processor, combine dates, bananas, eggs, vinegar, and oil.
Add mixture from food processor to dry mixture in the large bowl and combine thoroughly.
Fold in carrots and nuts.
Spoon mixture into the muffin tins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit in muffin tin for about 10 minutes before turning the muffins on their sides (still in the tin). Okay, maybe it makes no sense to you, but I like to turn them before they get stuck to the tin. I'm tired. I'm sure there's a better way to explain this...or maybe not necessary to even try...

These would probably have stayed moist for a week, just sitting on the counter with a sheet of plastic wrap placed loosely over them. I'm not totally sure, however, for they were gone in a couple days.

Don't make these just before starting on a diet. It's impossible to leave them alone.



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Thursday, March 21, 2013

Skillet Glazed Pork Chops & Beans - Recipe

Skillet Glazed Pork Chops & Beans

I don't know about you, but some days it seems it's tough to think of yet another meal to make for dinner. We've recently had chicken stirfry, beef roast and roasted vegetables, chicken vegetable soup, pepper steak, etc. etc. So I was looking in the freezer to see what was there. Pork chops. What to do with pork chops. Well, in the meantime, I could at least partially thaw them so that they could be cut laterally (giving me four 5/8" thick chops) and put in a baggie with white wine and garlic until I figured out what to do next. That was my first step.

The day got busy, and suddenly it was about a half hour before I wanted to eat dinner - and have something decent for Kevin to eat. So I did what I usually do in those circumstances: GOOGLE. 'pork chops recipe.'  I realize that didn't narrow it down a lot, but after looking through the ingredient list on one of the first entries, I decided to go with it.

Skillet Glazed Pork Chops & Beans Recipe: (With a few modifications, e.g. the beans, the garlic, the wine, the title, etc; I'll explain later)

Anyway, the original recipe for the rub was at BudgetBytesBlog

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix the following:
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 t. cayenne
1/2 t. paprika
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Keep in mind that the pork chops had already been marinated for several hours in white wine and garlic.

Remove chops from marinade and pat dry with paper towels.
Rub sugar and spice mixture generously onto both sides of pork chops.

I decided that I wanted beans with these chops, but didn't have any black beans so I used pork & beans  I shudder to think, drained and rinsed thoroughly and drained again. And rinsed thoroughly and drained again. (Yes, at least twice.) Set beans aside.

Melt 2+ T. coconut oil in [my favorite Grandpa Roy] cast iron skillet over medium heat until the oil looks shimmery. At that point, turn the heat down to medium low, lay the pork chops in the skillet and fry them 4-5 minutes on one side. Flip the pork chops over and fry another 4-5 minutes.

Remove chops from skillet and set aside for a minute.

In that same skillet, place the drained beans and pour in any leftover seasoning mix. Use a spatula to mix the beans and oil and seasoning.

Lay the pork chops on top of the beans and place skillet in the preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes. 

It's a good idea to use a meat thermometer so that you don't overcook the pork, but get moist pork chops that are at at least 145 degrees at the middle. The USDA changed the recommendation on pork from 160 to 145.  I think my thermometer read 153 when I tested these chops.

And they were delicious, served with home-canned, unsweetened apple sauce.

Now, if only I knew what to make for dinner tomorrow night. sigh.

NOTE:   Update: Don't use pork & beans. Although they didn't bother Kevin, I had a headache the next morning. No matter how many times you rinse pork & beans, you just can never get the poison out. Next time I will wait until I have beans that haven't been canned in a sauce. 

But I'll have to admit, they were...


Yummy Glazed Pork Chops


***


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 This post may be linked to some of the following: Mop it Up Monday  and  Cure for the Common Monday and Mealtime Monday and Clever Chicks Blog Hop and Mosaic Monday  and Barn Charm and  The Marketplace  and On the Menu Monday and  Mix it up Monday and Make it Pretty Monday and   What's in the Gunny Sack and  Making the World Cuter Mondays and Make the Scene Monday and  Something I Whipped Up Monday and  Motivate Me Monday and  Making Monday Marvelous and Get Your Craft On and   You're Gonna Love it Tuesday and Creative Showcase and  Tweak it Tuesday and Memories by the Mile and  Coastal Charm Tuesday and  Take a Look Tuesday and  Tasty Tuesday and Tasty Tuesday and Love Bakes Good Cakes and  Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays  and Overflowing With Creativity and Mom on TimeOut  and Adorned from Above and 3boysandadog and Trueaimeducation and Cast Party Wednesday and  We Did it Wednesday  and It's a Party at Creative Princess and Home and Garden Thursday and Artsy Corner Thursday  and The Self-sufficient Home Acre and  I'm Lovin' it Thursday and  Mandatory Mooch   and Foodie Friends Friday and  Serenity Saturday and Get Schooled Saturday  and Inspiration Friday(ThursNite) and Vintage Inspiration Friday and Photo Friday and  A Favorite Thing Saturday and Sunny Simple Sunday and Market Yourself Monday and  Saturday Nite Special

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