Tres Leches Cake

Oh man oh man oh man. So we know GF baking can be a little tricky, but this cake is near fool-proof! Promise! I took the shortcut and used a cake mix, so I just tweaked the Betty Crocker recipe for Premium Tres Leches cake and...voila!

I couldn't be more pleased with how this lil' project turned out. I could eat myself sick on this...and will probably do so at breakfast tomorrow. That's right...I said it! BREAKFAST! *GRIN*

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix
- (a few dashes of cinnamon - optional)
- 2/3 cup water
- 2 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 stick butter (softened)
- 3 eggs
- 1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (I used fat free in an attempt to make up for some of the gluttony going on here. Oh well!)
- 1 cup evaporated milk (again with the fat free; you can also use just plain ol' whole milk)
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 container of whipped dessert topping, thawed (Cool Whip, etc.)

DIRECTIONS:

- Heat oven to 325 degrees
- Spray/grease 9x13 baking dish
- Beat cake mix, cinnamon, water, butter, vanilla, and eggs for about 30 seconds at a slow pace then kick it up a gear and beat for approximately 2 minutes (or a minute and a half if your forearm starts to burn! I simply used a whisk, as I have no electric mixer. If you use an electric mixer - do the first 30 seconds on low speed then 2 minutes on medium)
- Pour into pan and bake about 25 minutes (keep an eye on it so it won't overbake!)
- Let the cake stand about 5 minutes.
- Using a long-tined fork (or whatever in the world you can find while rummaging through the kitchen drawer), poke holes all over the cake. (The more holes, the more the milk will get soaked into the cake = moist cake!)
- In a bowl, mix the condensed milk, evaporated milk, and whipping cream
- Pour the mixture carefully and evenly over the cake (yes - use it all!)
- Cover the cake and place it in the refrigerator for at least an hour until cake is entirely cool and the mixture has soaked into the cake
- Cover (frost) the cake with the whipped topping (you can use icing for this if you want a SUPER rich cake. For me, it's a little too much...plus it saves having to make your own GF icing!)

I top mine off by sprinkling cinnamon on top. This stuff is soooooo good. I have a weakness for moist cake, and this cake is anything but dry! It is just sweet enough without knocking your teeth out. Tres Leches is absolutely one of my favorites, so I hope this goes over as well at your house as it did at mine!

Something to consider: I made this as a birthday cake. My logic says that calories do not count on birthdays. So...go get the ingredients and bake, bake, bake! It's a birthday somewhere! Celebrate! *GRIN*

Mango chicken tacos

This recipe was adapted from $5 dinners: Mango Chicken Lettuce Wraps. I made several changes to make this a little more "do-able" for our situation - GF, no grill, and cheap! *BIG GRIN*

If you could see me, you would know I am on my knees begging you to go make these. You won't regret it. Go!

INGREDIENTS:

- 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
- 1 cup mango marinade (READ THE INGREDIENTS!!! PLEASE!! If you are not 100% sure...contact the company. I use Bronco Bob's Roasted Mango Chipotle Sauce. It is incredible! If you are NOT gluten-free...KC Masterpiece apparently makes a yummy one as well.)
- 1 large mango, diced
- 2 dashes of garlic powder (to taste)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 1.5 TBL mango marinade

DIRECTIONS:

- Marinate chicken for a couple of hours (place in gallon-sized Ziploc bag, pour in the 1 cup of marinade, and set in refrigerator)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Place chicken in baking dish and pour marinade on top
- Cover the pan with foil and cook for approximately 40 minutes (every 10 minutes I took the chicken out and redistributed the sauce back over the chicken)
- Remove chicken from pan, dice, and place it back in the pan
- Cook for an additional 15-20 minutes

While chicken is cooking, create mango salsa:
- Combine diced mango, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and 1.5 TBL of mango marinade


I served the chicken on top of corn tortillas and topped the chicken with shredded lettuce, mango salsa, and black beans. I ate mine as lettuce wraps. YOU CHOOSE!


I'd like to point out that the response to these was: "Wow. This is restaurant caliber. Can I have three more?" Toot! Toot! :D

Huevos Rancheros

 A GREAT way to save a little on your grocery bill is to occasionally cook breakfast for supper. "Huevos Rancheros" enter stage left. Talk about a yummy, cheap, incredibly easy breakfast, lunch, OR supper! Right up my alley (and I know it's up yours too!). This recipe is a combination of one used by my sister-in-law with a couple of random additions of my own.

INGREDIENTS:

 - Corn tortillas
 - Oil for frying tortillas
 - Eggs
 - Shredded cheese
 - Ranchero sauce
 - Black beans, corn, or whatever else you want (optional - I did not add any of this during this go-around, but give it a whirl!)

Ranchero sauce:

- Bacon (I use turkey bacon)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 can Rotel

- 1 can tomato sauce 

- Garlic powder (to taste)

- Cumin (to taste)

DIRECTIONS:

- Cook bacon. Remove from pan and place on plate (covered with paper towels to soak up grease!)

- Saute onions (in the bacon grease) - YUM! I'll admit that there is very little grease if you use turkey bacon, but a little bit of cooking spray / butter will do the trick.

- Add the Rotel and tomato sauce to the onion and cook until warm

- Crumble bacon into the sauce and VOILA! (as my sweet sister Doni says in her version of the recipe)

- Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and brown the tortillas (approximately 1 minute per side).

- Remove each tortilla as you brown it and place between paper towels

- Fry an egg/egg white

- Immediately place the egg on top of a tortilla already topped with shredded cheese (this is the sneaky way to melt the cheese!)

- Top each egg with a few tablespoons of the sauce

- Now get to work!!!

Random note from the kitchen:

This sauce is great on the eggs without the tortillas and cheese (this was breakfast for me this morning). Moreover, it makes a SPECTACULAR way to spice up a plain ol' baked potato (this was lunch for me today) *GRIN* Have at it!!

Fried 'Nanners

New favorite dessert. Period.

And talk about cheap!! YES! You can't beat a dessert made with something you can get for less than 45 cents a pound!

So easy. So yummy. So absolutely necessary. *GRIN*

The following recipe came about because I thought these three ingredients thrown together and cooked this way would be yummy. Boy was I wrong. It is INSANELY YUMMY. Oh m' goodness gracious me (for translation, see the explanation of this exclamation at the beginning of my Cajun Cabbage Rolls recipe).

I made this dessert one banana at a time. Make as many as you want *GRIN* but the recipe is set to make only one.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 banana (still firm), peeled and cut in half
- 1/4 - 1/2 TBL butter (depending on how bad you want to be!)
- 1/2 TBL brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:

- Melt the butter in a pan over low-medium
- Place the banana in the butter and cover it well on both sides
- Increase heat to medium
- As the butter and banana begin to fry, top the banana with the brown sugar
- Continue to cook the concoction until the banana is golden on both sides (and your kitchen smells DELICIOUS!)

My suggestion:

Serve the banana (and as much of the carmel sauce as you can POSSIBLY scrape from the pan short of licking the scalding pan and burning your tongue) on top of some Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream. If you don't have access to Blue Bell, my heart hurts for you, but your favorite ice cream will do the job!

And for the record...I am sitting here typing this blog just to keep myself from using the two remaining bananas to make more. YEEESH.

Apple-cheese-turkeyballs

This recipe is (almost) directly from A Year of Slow Cooking. I just couldn't help but share! I made a couple of minor changes and did not cook these in the crockpot because I was too busy today to get started on time. It is an easy meal to make either way!


You read that right...turkeyballs. I figure that "turkey meatballs" is like saying Rio Grande River. *grin*

So most meatballs are made with breadcrumbs. Two issues with that: #1: breadcrumbs are made with...well...BREAD! (don't worry...there are gluten free breadcrumbs). The issue with that presents problem #2: that whole pesky yeast allergy.

These meatballs are a WONDERFUL change from the typical. The added fruit provides the best taste to counteract the onion. These are a phenomenal surprise. I can't get enough.

When my husband is super delighted with a meal, he'll often say "so tell me about these." Translated: "These are really good. What'd you put in these to make them so great?" (Granted, that may not be verbatim, but that's how I hear it! *BIG GRIN*) I was pleasantly surprised at how much we both liked this meal.


INGREDIENTS:

- 1 lb. ground turkey (I use 99% lean)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and shredded (the easiest way to make this happen is with a cheese grater!)
- 1/4 cup craisins (dried cranberries)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese (the recipe calls for sharp cheddar, but I use "ol reliable" - the same reduced fat Colby Jack I always use)

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Spray/grease a 9X13 baking dish
- In a bowl, mix the ground turkey with all of the ingredients (you can have as much fun as you want with this. I do! Use your hands - don't be afraid to get dirty!)
- Make golf-ball-sized meatballs and place them in the pan (I made 16 meatballs with this recipe)
- Bake the meatballs for 20-25 minutes (halfway through the baking I flipped the meatballs to make sure they were cooked evenly).

I served these up with some steamed broccoli and hoecakes. I ate my meatballs with nothing added, but a little ketchup does the trick for those that are "big dippers."

So, to be honest, I was blown away by these. As we sat eating I kept making that "uuuuuugh" noise of satisfaction with the food (okay...and myself). Several times I commented on how great the meal was. Finally, Sam said "You know, hon, you sure worked hard on this meal. How do you feel about the food?" The meatballs turned out to be mighty fine (and healthy) food...what can I say?!

Potato Skins

Welcome to Round #2 of the potatoes. To be honest, if the Overloaded Twice-Baked Potatoes and these Potato Skins got into a match to determine which was the best, it would be a barnburner.

I've always enjoyed the potato skins you can get at restaurants, but it's nice to make a healthier, nongreasy version and get to enjoy them in my pajamas :-)

The following recipe is based solely on the potato tops from the baked potatoes from the previous recipe. However, this recipes is EASILY adaptable to accommodate any number of potatoes and/or mouths to feed.

INGREDIENTS:

- 4 leftover tops of potatoes
- Canola oil
- Salt
- 1 cup of shredded cheese
- 3 pieces of turkey bacon, cooked, crumbled (SIDE NOTE: Bacon does really well in the freezer. We never eat enough of it at one time (don't get me wrong...we definitely COULD!), so I keep it wrapped in the freezer and use slices as needed)
- green onions/chives

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 450 degrees
- Cover a baking sheet with foil (makes clean up so much faster)
- Brush both sides of each potato skin with canola oil
- Sprinkle with salt
- Place potato skins on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes
- Remove the baking sheet from oven, flip the skins, and bake for an additional 10 minutes
- Once baked, put ~1/4 cup cheese and ~1/4 of the bacon crumbles on each potato skin
- Return the potato skins to the oven for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted
- Top with green onions (you can add sour cream, etc. if you so choose)

TAHDAH! Easy way to use up the remains of another meal without it going to waste. I served the potato skins as a side with a meal of sausage and Ranch Style beans. That was about 30 minutes ago. Am thinking that I wish we had more...

Overloaded Twice-Baked Potatoes

Recipe adapted from Eating Well.

I have a confession. I could eat baked potatoes every day. In fact, one of my FAVORITE things to do this summer has been to meet my mamma at a local restaurant here for a big baked potato and a massive glass of iced tea. Oh man...if I could do that every day.... When I first got all of my food allergies figured out, I had to avoid potatoes for a while. CHAD (Crushed Hopes And Dreams). Need I say more? Potato was one of the very first reintroductions I made!

A good baked potato is just hard to beat. Here's the problem with them though...I don't like bites that include only dry potato. I like when everything is mixed up together so you get all the flavor AND it's not too dry. These twice-baked potatoes are the answer to the quandary created by regular ol' baked potatoes and those dry, tasteless bites! You're welcome! *big grin*

I won't lie...these do take a bit of effort; however, they are more than worth the time put in. The best part is that you'll have plenty of leftover "potato guts mix" (that's right...you read that right) to eat the next day!

INGREDIENTS:

- 4 medium baking/russet potatoes
- 8 oz. lean beef (I used 93% lean because it was on sale! That's BIG news around here!)
- 1/2 small onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or to taste...I just add until I think it's enough!)
- 1 cup broccoli florets, finely chopped (I used frozen)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup shredded cheese, divided (I use the same Reduced Fat Colby Jack cheese I use in all my recipes.) Don't forget to notice that it says divided. If you get trigger happy and start dumping it all in, you'll be FORCED to add more cheese later. And we don't want that, do we?! (SNEAKY GRIN)
- 1 container (6 oz.) plain, non-fat Greek yogurt (This isn't as crazy as it sounds...Follow me: this is a great substitution to use in place of sour cream (as called for in the original recipe). I used the Yoplait 2x Protein Greek yogurt - labeled gluten free!)
- Green onions (chives)
- Salt to taste (I use Lawry's Seasoning Salt)
- Pepper to taste (SOOOO good with course ground black pepper)

DIRECTIONS:

- Bake potatoes (You can do this in the oven in the traditional way if you'd like. For faster results (and food in your hungry tummy at an earlier time!), use that lovely piece of machinery: your microwave.) 
(1) Pierce each potato with a fork
(2) Place in microwave and cook at 50% power for approximately 20 minutes (until the potatoes are soft); turn once or twice during this time
NOTE: If your microwave has a "baked potato" setting on it....go that route.

- Brown meat in skillet with onion and garlic powder; place in large bowl
- Cook broccoli as directed (if using fresh, add broccoli and water to the skillet you used for the meat, cover, and cook until tender - no sense in cleaning TWO pans!)
- Drain broccoli and add it to the meat
- Cut off the top third of each potato (Save these for another use. Tomorrow I'll be using ours for baked potato skins as a side dish. YUM.)
- Scoop all the insides out of the potatoes and into another bowl.
- Mash the potatoes up with a fork to break up any big clumps (Though not called for, I used just a few sprays of zero calorie butter spray to add a little moisture. You could use water or even a bit of chicken broth if you wanted, or don't use a thing! It's all up to you!)
- Place the shells of the potatoes in a baking dish or on a plate and set aside (It's difficult to make twice-baked potatoes if you don't have anything to twice-bake the potatoes in! *GRIN*)
- Add cheese, yogurt, water, salt and pepper to the potatoes and mix it all together well
- Add the meat and broccoli mixture to the potatoes and mix again
- Finally, fold in the green onions
- Scoop the potato guts back into the potato skins (I would say divide the mixture evenly as the original recipe mentions; however, that would NEVER work. I only used about 2/3 of the mixture because there was no room left for the rest! Save the extra mix to eat for lunch tomorrow...that's my plan!)
- Top each potato with some of the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese
- Put the plate/dish of potatoes back in the microwave for approximately 3 minutes...until the cheese on top is melted (that should be a pretty good indicator that the insides are warm enough).
- Serve it up!

I didn't serve this meal with anything else. We had potatoes and potatoes alone :-) These potatoes are essentially a meal in an edible boat...how could you want for more?!

NOTE: There are SOOOOOOO many variations to this recipe that would be incredibly YUMMO.
- Sauteed mushrooms and onions
- Salsa, pepper jack cheese, and corn
- Beans
- Meatless (double the veggies and cheese)
- Barbeque sauce and pulled pork
- The sky is the limit!!!

I will absolutely be making more versions of this soon. Let me know how yours go...

Cajun-style Cabbage Rolls

In my house, we often use variations of one particular phrase (typically in reaction to some of the silly things Walle (our puppy) will do...the situations he seems to manage to create):

- oh my (surprise/exclamation)
- oh my goodness (super exclamation)
- oh m' goodness gracious me (reserved for the real serious stuff...you know it has to be serious when all you can muster up is a shortened utterance of the word "my")

For example, you walk in to this...

...and you say "oh m' goodness gracious me"

Well this meal is SERIOUS STUFF, folks. So oh m' goodness gracious me, somebody go make this! Please. Do it for me (just because I know you'll thank me later). Ugh. So good.

In my house, we seem to have some sort of rating system. Really, nothing gets rated unless it is in about the top five favorite dishes/meals of each individual in the household. Though he desperately wants to, Walle doesn't count, as he can no longer get fed from the table (sad day). Last night I made one of Sam's top meals: Ground beef sauteed with onion and seasoning and served with melted shredded cheese, cabbage, and beans (last night's beans were of the Ranch Style variety). YUM. So....here's the predicament: every time I make cabbage we have leftovers. Well, cooked cabbage tastes and looks alright reheated the next day, but any length of time after that and you're looking at a questionable dish. So I set out on yesterday's endeavor with a strategy: save some of the big leaves of cabbage and try to make cabbage rolls today. Rock on! I've come across several recipes in the last month, so I began today thinking that I'd combine a couple of the recipes and give it a shot. Well....I'm cheap, remember? Couple that with the fact that I want to make things as simple as possible, and you end up with a lady using whatever she has in the freezer and/or cabinet to make a new dish (BIG GRIN). So I had some frozen andouille sausage that I typically use to make Amy's New Orleans Chili (don't worry...will share this soon). Given the fact that none of the recipes I could find for cabbage rolls say ANYTHING about Cajun style, I decided I'd strike out on my own. The result: a PHENOMENAL supper. That's right *TOOOOOT TOOOOOOOT* (my own horn again!) The final point to this story: this dish (served with fried cornbread/hoecakes) is now in my top 5.

INGREDIENTS:

- 6 large leaves of cabbage
- 2 c. andouille sausage, chopped (I use HEB's Hill Country Fare brand, as it is labeled GF. Don't forget to remove the casing!)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic (or I use 1 tsp. minced garlic - even though I LOVE cooking, I HATE when my fingers smell like garlic for several days...even after washing and rewashing then scrubbing with lemon and washing again!)
- 1/2 c. cooked rice
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- salt and pepper to taste (I use course ground black pepper)

- 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning

- 1 can diced tomatoes (I use the fire-roasted garlic kind)
- 3/4 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- In a large pot, boil the cabbage leaves for 3 minutes
- Remove from the pot, and set the leaves aside to cool
- Heat/brown the sausage with the onion and garlic
- In a bowl, combine the meat mix, rice, seasonings, cheese, and egg

- Place a couple of heaping spoonfuls (1/6 of mixture) in the middle of a cabbage leaf

- Fold in two of the edges....

- Then close up the roll (like a box or wrapping a present!)

- Repeat with the rest of the leaves and the remainder of the mixture
- Place cabbage rolls in a 2 qt (8x8) baking dish

- In bowl, combine the can of diced tomatoes and the water
- Once mixed, pour this over the cabbage rolls

- Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 1 hour
- Uncover and bake for 15 more minutes
- Remove from oven and let cool for just a few minutes before serving.

What's funny is that, before tonight, I had never once eaten a cabbage roll. If you look around, it is hard to find an appealing photo. Despite all that, these. taste. mmmmmm-azing. That's right. I will, without a doubt, be making these again...as soon as humanly possible.

YUM.

Caramel Corn

This is a great recipe to make if you're having some folks over and you just don't know what to make. To be entirely honest, my reasons for making this tonight do NOT include that excuse. Mine are as follows:

(1) Sam went to the movies; I was bored. When I get bored...I cook.
(2) I worked all afternoon long (all HOT afternoon, mind you) cleaning our garage. I didn't have the energy to do anything more exciting.
(3) I have had several mini-bags of popcorn lurking in the back of my pantry for about a year now...taking up room and bullying the other shelf inhabitants. Enough is enough.
(4) It sounded soooo gooood.

Now I just have to figure out who to share all this caramel popcorn with....

THE bean dip

You know what they say....give credit where credit is due. So this "time out" is in honor of Sam, who knows how much I HATE grating cheese and always takes care of it for me when he can. Remember I said that I'm as cheap as I can be? Welp...to do it in a cheap AND healthy way, I always buy the blocks of cheese and do the grating at home. I'll go on and say it now...y'all wouldn't get half of these recipes if Sammi was not here to help me out - I'd call the game on account of rain (or lack of grated cheese). He's so great...

NOTE: On the Taco Bell sauce....

Yes..it is alright to stoop to the level of taking a couple extra packets if you stop in to grab a tostada (yep....GF!); however, you can buy the sauce bottled as well. At HEB it is only $.99 a bottle, so we take full advantage of it. 

I know...I know...you're ready for me to quit typing so you can get the ingredients and get to rolling (that is...only if you haven't already cut me off and closed the window!) Really...I wouldn't make such a big deal out of this dip if it wasn't as good as it. Enjoy!

Potato-Cheese Soup

So all that to say....here's my version of the tasty combination of potatoes, cheese, and bacon (in soup form).

INGREDIENTS:

- 6 potatoes (I used new potatoes so it took about 8 of them - washed, peeled, and cubed)
- water to cover
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 TBL margarine
- 3 cups milk
- salt and pepper to taste (I used a bit of Lawry's salt as well as some garlic salt)
- 2 TBL chicken broth
- 8 oz. processed cheese, cubed (Velveeta!)
- 1 TBL cornstarch
- 1/2 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:

- Place cubed potatoes in large pot and cover with water
- Boil for 10-15 minutes or until tender
- While the potatoes boil, sauté onion in margarine in a skillet over medium heat for about 10 minutes
- Once the potatoes are tender, drain all but about 2 cups of water
- At this point, I mashed up the majority of the potatoes with a fork - rather haphazardly, mind you! There is no right or wrong way! This is an optional step; I just like thick soup.
- Add the onion and replace the water with 3 cups of milk
- Reduce the heat to low and and season with salt and pepper
- Stir in the chicken broth and heat slowly
- Add the cheese, allowing it to melt completely (stirring as needed)
- In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in 1/2 cup milk and add to the soup
- Mix the cornstarch mixture into the soup and heat until soup is at desired thickness

To each of our bowls, I added some crumbled turkey bacon as well as some shredded cheese. Hey...don't judge - there's never enough cheese *GRIN* I served this with leftover light and fluffy drop biscuits. This makes PLENTY of soup for a larger family or leaves you with "re-do's" for lunch or supper the next day.

Chebe's Corndogs

Recipe is from Delight Gluten Free magazine

Now, since the main ingredient in Chebe's is manioc (tapioca) flour, I suppose that CORNdog is a bit of a misnomer. Nevertheless...these babies are GREAT.

It has been entirely too long since I've gotten to partake in eating a corndog. Period. A few months after being diagnosed with Celiac Disease, I did purchase some GF corndogs at a store; however, I think my savings account may still be recovering! :-) Alright...so it isn't THAT bad, but it certainly is nice to be able to make something a bit cheaper (and even more yummy) for yourself.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 pkg. of Chebe's All-purpose Mix
- 2 eggs
- 2 TBL oil/butter/margarine
- 5 TBL milk (plus a little more in case the dough is too dry)
- package of hot dogs (there is enough dough to make 6 so you'll have a couple left to feed the dog)
- wooden skewers

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Prepare the dough as directed on the Chebe's All-purpose Mix package
- Divide the dough into about 6 equal pieces and flatten each out to a thin layer (Instead, I flattened the entire piece of dough out into a thin layer and, using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into 6 pieces)

- Poke a small wooden skewer through each hotdog to hold after the corndogs are cooked (I didn't have these - as you can tell from my lovely pictures- but the corndogs worked just fine as finger foods!)
- Poke a few holes in each hotdog with a fork (I did not do this, and as the hotdogs began to swell as they cooked, the dough was split)
- Wrap the dough around each hotdog (yep...I suppose this would be more like a lil doggie in a blankie!)
- Place the corndogs on a baking dish / cookie sheet and bake until the bread appears done (mine took about 20 minutes)

I served the dogs up with some baked beans and we enjoyed every bite. I would like to point out that I got this response from my husband: "Honey...I just ate 3 1/2 of your corndogs. I usually only eat two real ones....if that! Sounds to me like you did a great job..." (big grin from me!) Plus I know he would have eaten 4 if I hadn't have stolen the other half as I walked his plate of seconds to him!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So...I mentioned earlier that you'd have a couple of hotdogs leftover to feed your own dog. Welp...our poor lil pup has food allergies (like mother like son, huh?). Now when I cook, it never fails that Walle sits at the edge of the carpet next to the kitchen and waits. Waits. And does a little more waiting - just in case I get sloppy and drop something. It's the only shot he's got, folks. So...just like every other night, Walle was sitting at his post. Turns out, there was a mostly deceased cricket nearby. So Walle began his puppy duty of swatting it about and I told him to cut it out (haha!) So...here is Walle doing as a puppy will do....

And...moments later (after being reminded that it'll probably make him sick to eat it)...adamantly insisting that he is NOT playing with the cricket

So...you see why it takes me so long to get things done around here...How can you ignore a face that cute?! It's the little joys in life. I just thought y'all should know what my sidekick was doing as I made this new meal :-)

Raisin-Banana Quinoa Bread

recipe adapted from Delight Gluten Free magazine 

CLICK TO ENLARGE

You can find Amy's flour mix here or use your own GF all-purpose flour mix


DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- In a large bowl, mix the cooked quinoa, flour, sugar/Splenda, salt, baking powder, and baking soda
- In a small bowl, mash the banana(s) (a fork works really well for this!)
- Add eggs and honey to banana and mix well
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well
- Fold in the raisins and nuts
- Pour into a greased 8x4 loaf pan
- Bake for 20-25 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean)
- Cool the loaf in the pan 10-15 minutes
- Slice it up, serve it up, and eat it up!! :-)

As always with banana bread, this recipe is very versatile. You can incorporate any fruit you want (raisins, cranberries, etc), nuts, chocolate chips, WHATEVER! I will definitely have additional versions of this recipe here on the blog in the future. Have another idea of what to try?? Send me suggestions!

Yummy butter

I might have...MIGHT have....almost cried when I ate this.

INGREDIENTS:

- 2 TBL butter/margarine

- 1 TBL honey

- 1/4 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

- Mix it all together

- Eat this on top of Light and Fluffy Drop Biscuits

What a WONDERFUL dessert (or even breakfast, if you dare!) I used to always look forward to an evening out at Texas Roadhouse because of the cinnamon butter served with their rolls. Well...it is a bit more difficult to enjoy the butter sans rolls, so now that I found such great biscuits, it is high time to bring out the Yummy Butter!

BBQ Cowboy Beans

Recipe is adapted from $5 dinners

(This is a GREAT blog. For anyone who likes to cook things that are budget friendly whenever possible (who doesn't!?), this is worth checking out. There are some meals listed as gluten free; however, others (like this one) are pretty easily converted. Other allergen-friendly meals are available as well.)

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 lb. lean ground beef

- 1/2 onion, chopped

- Lawry's salt (or other seasoned salt, or just omit if you don't want the extra sodium)

- 2 garlic cloves, crushed (I use 1 tsp. minced garlic)

- 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

- 1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

- 1 c. BBQ sauce (Sam and I are faithful fans of Head Country BBQ sauce. It is labeled GF and all versions are incredibly tasty)

- 1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes

- a few shakes of Worchestershire sauce (check to confirm yours is GF! I use French's)

- 1 TBL sugar (brown or white - just to cut the tang a bit if you want to)

ADDITIONS:

- 1/2 bag frozen corn - cook as directed (I cooked a couple of ears of fresh corn. You can just throw this last ingredient in right before you serve or use it as a side dish - your choice! Our thoughts: "why have to return the fork to the plate and back to your mouth TWICE when you can just do it once!?") *GRIN*

- DROP BISCUITS (these MAKE the meal)

DIRECTIONS:

- Brown beef with onion, garlic, and seasoned salt (to taste)

- Add beans, BBQ sauce, and tomatoes, sugar, and Worchestershire sauce

- Let simmer (the original recipe calls for only 10 minutes; however, I am a firm believer in the fact that meals such as this (chili, etc.) are better the longer they cook. I let mine simmer on low for almost an hour; however, you just do your thang! To be honest, the only reason I was able to make it that long without eating was because I was busy baking biscuits.)

I served this with some shredded cheese and then we had at it. We've got plenty left for "re-dos" (as leftovers are called in my family), and that is always the best part. I'll be making this meal again soon.

Light and Fluffy Drop Biscuits

Recipe adapted from Gluten Free Cooking School

Talk about something worth writing home about! Go on...get your pad and pencil, or break out your fancy stationary...it is well worth it! We'll wait....

Alright...I can't lie...I've been looking forward to trying these. I have spent quite a bit of time looking over various recipes for drop biscuits. Having tried a few others, I will say that, without a doubt, this is the best recipe I have found. I am looking forward to using this versatile recipe to try a lot of different things. Have no fear...I'll share my successes (and my failures...just so you don't have to!)

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 1/2 c. brown rice flour (I did not have any brown rice flour left, so I used 1 cup of white rice flour and 1/2 cup of sweet rice flour. It worked really well!)

- 2 c. corn starch

- 1/2 c. sorghum flour (this is the trick to making these light and fluffy! I have made drop biscuits with other recipes that turn out much more dense. These are a WONDERFUL change.)

- 2 tsp. baking powder

- 2 tsp. salt

- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

- 2 tsp. xanthan gum

- 1 stick of butter (chilled in freezer)

- 1 c. milk (can use soy if you cannot use dairy, but I used 2% cow)

- 1 T cider vinegar (if you want, omit the milk and cider vinegar and substitute 1 cup buttermilk. This will serve the same role!)

- 1 c. water

- 1 egg, beaten

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- In a large mixing bowl, combine first seven ingredients (flours through xanthan gum)

- Grate the butter into the flour mix using the small-holed side of a box grater

- Mix the butter into the flour mix so that there are no large balls of grated butter

- Add the milk, cider vinegar, water, and egg to flour mix and stir until combined (How easy is this recipe?! I know..I'm excited too!)

- Drop the dough onto a greased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until the tops start to turn golden brown

(The original recipe says that this will make 16 biscuits; however, mine made about 22. It totally depends on how big of biscuits you want!)

I could not be more pleased with how these biscuits turned out. Tonight I served them with Cowboy Beans (don't worry...that recipe is coming to you directly after this one). The meal was so good that it really kind of hurt *GRIN* Sam and I are still moving slowly around the house (if we're moving at all)!

I will definitely be using these for biscuits and gravy and all sorts of other things. Again, the light and fluffy consistency of this bread is FANTASTIC - especially since I am also allergic to yeast and just don't get that very often! Whew!

Another idea is to add garlic and shredded cheese to the dough. Once they are baked, I would brush the tops with butter and sprinkle on some garlic salt. Can we say Red Lobster-like?! I am excited!! It's the little joys in life....

Stay tuned for the Cowboy Beans and...if you're lucky...I'll even share our dessert!

A+ Lasagna

Confession #1: The only reason I am on here blogging is that there is no room left in my stomach. If there were, I would be downing another helping of this lasagna. I only wish I could tell you I'm lying. I'm not.

Confession #2: We'll call this A+ Lasagna because it is a mixture of ingredients my mother (Andrea) suggested and my own (Amy). Clever...I know. *GRIN*

Confession #3: The measurements for all of the seasonings are what I like to call a guesstimate. I tend to just add to taste or until I like the "feel" of it rather than actually measuring. I think I am close...so make it yours!

INGREDIENTS:

- 8-10 rice lasagna noodles (whatever kind you find that is GF is just fine. I used DeBoles rice lasagna. Please don't forget to double check the package you buy, but for the rice lasagna, you do not boil prior to putting the noodles in the casserole as you would with normal lasagna).

- 1 lb. lean ground turkey (you could use beef, sausage, or whatever you want)

- 1/2 cup chopped onion

- 2 TBL Italian Seasoning, divided (I use McCormick's Salt Free Italian Seasoning)

- 1 tsp course-ground black pepper

- 1 tsp minced garlic (two cloves)

- 16 oz. mozzarella cheese (Yes..it sounds like a lot. That's because it is a lot. I am not a fan of ricotta cheese that you normally find in lasagna, so I just incorporate more mozzarella. Well, that...and I like cheese. I used slices for the bottom layer and then shredded the rest.)

- 1 jar of spaghetti sauce (24 oz) (I used Classico Carmelized Onion and Garlic. Classico sauces are labeled as GF so that is always a plus!)

- 1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce

- scant TBL of sugar

- dash of garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Brown ground meat with onion, 1 TBL Italian Seasoning, 1 tsp black pepper, and minced garlic.

- While the meat is cooking, combine the spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, 1 TBL Italian Seasoning, scant TBL sugar, and a dash of garlic salt in a pot and heat

- Once meat is cooked, add the meat to the sauce mix

- Remove from heat.

- In a 9x13 baking dish, layer as follows:

- 1/3 meat sauce, noodles, cheese

- REPEAT until ingredients are gone, finishing with cheese on top

- Try to make sure that all areas of exposed noodles are covered with sauce

- Cover the dish with foil and bake for 50 minutes

- Uncover and finish baking for 10 minutes

*NOTE: when you cover the dish with foil, either cover so the foil will not touch the cheese or spray the foil with cooking spray before covering. We don't want to waste cheese by letting it stick to the foil!

Confession # whatever:

I am going to eat more.

And I am DEFINITELY making this again.

Girl Scout(ish) cookies (Homemade Samoas)

I only wish I had the words. These are now my #1 favorite cookie. Hands down. That's it. Call the game, folks. It's over.

I was ALWAYS head-over-heels for Samoas, and I will admit a part of me may have died when I found out I could no longer eat them (or it died during Girl Scout Cookie Season, at least). What better way to make lemonade outta lemons that to make your very own Girl Scout(ish) cookies that are WAAAAAAAAAY better? (No offense meant to anyone). I am a fool for caramel and a sucker for white chocolate. What do you get when you add those together and stick them atop a yummy shortbread cookie?? A sucker of a fool. A fool of a sucker. Either way - I'm in!

And I know...another sugary thing?? Well...when your husband returns from a month away of in-the-field training, it never hurts to have something super yummy to share when he gets home!

So, as I mentioned, this is my version:

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 bag of Schar Shortbread Cookies (approx. 30 cookies)

(I had to use two bags because I bought mine on clearance, and well...they were a lil mushed. However, I believe this was THE BEST clearance buy I have ever made. These shortbread cookies are a phenomenal way to make the base for your cookie, and they really are great by themselves. The next time I make these, I will probably try using Kinnikinnick S'moreables Graham Style Crackers for a different taste. There are other gluten-free shortbread cookie recipes you can try, but, in my experience, none come out crunchy. I am typically a staunch soft-cookie supporter, but for these lil babies, crunchy does the trick.)

Topping:

- 3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

- 12 oz. chewy caramels (make sure they're gluten free! Sometimes these are processed on the same equipment as other candies that contain wheat. If so, make the decision YOU feel comfortable with).

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 3 TBL. milk

- 8 oz. white chocolate bark (you can use milk, dark, or white - whatever you want! You could use chips, but I prefer to use the baking chocolate/bark - it works the best for me)

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

- Spread the coconut on a baking sheet and toast for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to prevent any of the coconut from getting a sunburn! (NOTE: a baking sheet with sides is super handy here. If you stir the coconut without sides, it has a tendency to "run amuck." Can't have that.)

- While the coconut is toasting, unwrap the caramels (and try to refrain from eating too many of them. Or...just buy 14 oz. (which is what happened when I bought two 7 oz. bags) and properly dispose of the "extras")

- Put caramels, salt, and milk in a microwave safe bowl and melt on high for 3-4 minutes (stirring occassionally).

- When the caramel mixture is smooth, mix in the toasted coconut.

- Lay cookies out on wax paper.

- Top each cookie with 2-3 tsp (one spoonful in my terms) - BE CAREFUL! The mixture is H-O-T

- While the topping cools on the cookies, melt the white chocolate in a small bowl (I melted 3 squares of white chocolate bark. To prevent scorching, only heat the chocolate for 35-45 seconds at a time, stirring in between heating).

- Dip the base of each cookie in the chocolate.

- Place the cookies back on the wax paper.

- Using a spoon (or a ziploc bag with the corner cut out or a piping bag) drizzle remaining chocolate over the cookies.

- Let the cookies completely cool and the chocolate set and then dive in!

I think I might have already mentioned this, but these cookies are S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R in my book. For me, the white chocolate really tops it off. These store well in an airtight container in the fridge. I used to always like putting the Samoas in the fridge and eating them cold, so I don't mind! Beware, though: these can be a little hard to chew when first out of the fridge. I will absolutely be making these again, and again, and again. For those of you related to me: you WILL be eating these at the next family gathering :-D