Cinnamon Rolls

This recipe is made using the crescent roll recipe I use from Delightfully Gluten Free.

I mentioned that I'd be trying to incorporate the rolls into a few other recipes so....

Round One:

Sam's sister and brother-in-law came to visit us this weekend (along with their precious dog, Penny) and so I wanted to make us a treat for Sunday morning breakfast. This was the right choice! I'm here to say that these taste just like regular cinnamon rolls! They are not big and fluffy (such as Grands Cinnamon Rolls), but they have INCREDIBLE flavor and texture. Please go make these. You won't regret it at all. In fact, you'll only be sad that they're small and the recipe only makes enough for about 8 cinnamon rolls.

I will ABSOLUTELY be making these again. I need to get family to come visit more often so I have a good excuse to make them :-D

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 batch of crescent rolls

- 3/4 cup of brown sugar

- at least 1 tsp. of cinnamon (I like cinnamon a lot so I add more)

- OPTIONAL: 1/4 - 1/2 cup of raisins/nuts/etc.

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees if using a glass pan)

- Roll out dough into a rectangle (approximately 14 inches long - give or take! You just don't want the dough too thin) Do this on a surface dusted with flour

- Sprinkle brown sugar-cinnamon mixture onto dough

- Roll dough into a log

- Cut the dough into 2 inch pieces (should make approximately 8 rolls)

- Place rolls into a greased baking dish (I use a Pyrex pie dish)

- Sprinkle remainder of brown sugar-cinnamon mixture on top of rolls

- Bake 20-30 minutes (rolls will be getting brown and crisp on the outside)

While the cinnamon rolls are baking, you can make the icing (and have time to lick the bowl)

- 1 cup confectioners sugar

- 2 TBL milk

- 1/8 tsp. vanilla

- 1 TBL honey

- Mix all the ingredients until smooth. Add or subtract confectioners sugar to meet desired consistency

- Drizzle the icing over the cinnamon rolls

"HEALTHY" VERSION (:-P)

- Melt 1 TBL butter and pour over half-cooled cinnamon rolls before topping with icing

Bread - the real deal

So this recipe is taken from "A Mess O'Greens - and Other Joys of Living: A Scot's Survival Manual South of the 31st Parallel" (a cookbook that belonged to Aunt Callie and was passed on to me, written by Lance Anderson)

But here's the deal...I didn't get this from a cookbook. This recipe was taught to me - not read - by my grandmother, Nahn. She told me she grew up eating this. The kiddos would run through the kitchen as Big Nannie (my great grandmother) cooked up some hoecakes. They'd pinch off the cooked edges of the bread, and by the time they were done pinching, there was only a little circle left on the plate! If you try these, you'll understand exactly how this is possible. This is the PERFECT bread for me - simple goodness with no gluten and no yeast!

The first time I ate these, Sam and I had gone to eat Sunday lunch at my grandparents' house. As we finished up the meal (which included SEVERAL hoecakes for me), Sam and my grandfather turned their attention to icecream for dessert. When a bowl was offered to me, all I could say was "Not a chance...I'm going to eat more of this cornbread!" I remember telling Sam, "this is the first real bread I've had in MONTHS - don't judge me!!" (with a big grin on my face). This is a simple, mmmm-azing, good ol' tried and true Southern recipe that is worth passing down. Thank you, Nahn, for passing it on to me. I'll pass it on to these fine folks, and one day...to your great grandkids.

The following is an excerpt from the cookbook (with my two cents added in here and there):

HOECAKE

Hoecake is the favorite among experienced eaters of cornbread. Corn chips of recent invention are only thinner versions of hoecake. The flavor is the same. It is the bread of choice when there are only a couple of people in the house. A proper hoecake will serve just two people.

1 cup waterground cornmeal

1/2 tsp. salt (I don't follow this. We like salt, and I don't like to measure...so...) *GRIN*

Boiling water

Oil to fry bread

- Mix cornmeal and salt in mixing bowl.

- Add boiling water slowly until mixture closes quickly behind a stirring spoon.

- Pre-heat oil (I heat mine to Medium heat)

- Pour batter into oil (you can do enough to fill the pan or put in spoonfuls)

- Stand over it and enjoy the aroma.

- When the edge of the hoecake is amber-colored and crisp, flip the hoecake (uncooked side down).

At the first smell of burning, turn the hoecake out on a cooling rack (I use a plate covered with paper towels to absorb some of the oil).

We ate ours with ground meat and cheese, freshly cooked cabbage, and black-eyed peas. Absolutely IMPOSSIBLE to beat. If you want to do this in a healthy manner, slather on some butter and top with honey - YUUUUUUUUUUUM :-P

Black Bean Brownies

You won't believe this.

You really won't.

I didn't.

I made them.

I didn't.

I ate them.

I didn't.

I ate them again.

I still don't.

INCREDIBLE.

Since going a bit more public with my Celiac Disease, friends have begun to suggest different recipes that they come across. During my time working as a Conservation Educator near the coast of Texas on a wildlife refuge, I was roommates with Evie, a lovely lady working on her M.S. research conducting bird research. Not only did I get to assist her with her research, but I gained a new friend. She thoughtfully suggested this recipe, and I just couldn't turn it down!

So about one week after making the Namaste Foods Gluten Free Brownies, I made these brownies. Admittedly, the others are a hard act to follow. Even then, the results of this recipe were INCREDIBLY impressive. The texture is certainly a bit different than the fudgy brownie AND the cakey brownie, but these black bean brownies have a spectacular texture and taste all their own. I told you once that I'd always be honest with you, and I am holding to that. These are genuinely good. My husband had no idea I had made them with anything but flour. After eating on them the first night, we covered the pan and kept them in the fridge. For the next several days we'd pull a couple out, top with some Homemade Vanilla Blue Bell Icecream, and thoroughly enjoy the delight. For all of you who are wondering: No...you do NOT taste any hint of "beaniness." The beans simply provide the bulk of the recipe (since there is no flour). This must have been the beginning of "flourless desserts" and, I must say, should definitely not be forgotten. I do believe you could serve these and no one would ever pose the question "what are these made of?" Take my word for it...it's absolutely worth trying. Thank you, Evie, for suggesting these! I'll definitely make them again!

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

- 3 eggs

- 3 TBL. oil

- 4 TBL. cocoa powder

- 1 tsp. vanilla

- 3/4 c. sugar

- pinch of salt

- 1/2 c. white chocolate chips (the batter is a little thin to hold the chips in place, so they sink to the bottom. Have no fear! They still taste great and are a good addition to the brownies if you like them)

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Pour beans into a blender, set on puree, and blend until smooth

(I took a picture on the slim, off-chance that you didn't believe that I was serious)

- Add the rest of the ingredients to the beans and blend until mixed evenly (since I used our Magic Bullet rather than a full-size blender, I emptied the beans into a bowl and whisked the other ingredients into the mix)

I felt that the mixing bowl deserved its own picture. On March 20, my husband and I had a wedding vow renewal ceremony on our one year anniversary. A couple weeks later, he gave this to me as a gift. It's THE BEST! I figure that food (especially desserts) are even sweeter when made when you're thinking about those you love. Sappy? Yes. Do I care? Nope! Just speaking truth!

- Pour the mix into a greased 8x8 pan

- Cook the brownies for approximately 25 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean

Clearly I did not have a toothpick in the house...

Not only will I make these again, but I would recommend the recipe to others (who aren't even GF!) How can you go wrong when incorporating veggies into a tasty dessert?! That's right...you can't! Not when it tastes this good.

I also added brownie icing to my pan of brownies. The brownies didn't need icing, but what brownies aren't even better with additional sugary goodness?

ENJOY!

Lazy Chicken Parmesan

Well...if that doesn't make me sound super duper motivated, I don't reckon I know what does!

So after you read this, your job is to recommend a better name for the dish. I would have put in more effort to create a better title, but I was full of Lazy Chicken Parmesan and that's all I could muster up...lazy. So maybe the name is fitting?! Don't answer that...

This dish was born out of my inability (and unwillingness) to force myself to put on my battle gear and face HEB on a Sunday afternoon just two days after military pay day. It gets crazy.

I was planning an entirely different meal for supper when I realized I had no milk. Okay...I had milk...but it had seen its better share of days (about a week and a half ago). YUCK.

I already had the chicken cooking in the crockpot (the only ingredient shared by both meals), so I went cabinet shopping and this was the result:

STEP 1: Cropckpot Chicken:

INGREDIENTS:

- 4-6 chicken breast halves (can still be frozen)

- 3/4 cup of chicken broth

- 1 TBL. Italian Seasoning (I use McCormick's Salt Free Italian Seasoning)

- 1/2 TBL butter

DIRECTIONS:

- Place chicken in the crockpot

- Pour chicken broth over chicken

- Sprinkle in the seasoning

- Cut up the 1/2 TBL butter and just drop in the pieces around the crockpot

- Cook on low for 6-9 hours or high for about 3-5 (time will vary if you have big pieces, if chicken is or is not thawed, etc.)

STEP 2:

Realize that you don't have the other ingredients you need for the meal you had planned to make with this spectacular chicken and frantically rack your brain (and pantry) for Plan B.

STEP 3: Activate Plan B: Chicken parmesan and pasta

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 jar of spaghetti sauce (you'll have to find your favorite kind that is GF. A LOT of the major brands are, but check websites and labels! I generally use Hill Country Fare (HEB brand) or Classico)

- Shredded mozzarella cheese (you can really use any kind of cheese, and you can also use sliced cheese just as easily).

- Grated parmesan cheese

- Gluten-free pasta (for 2 people I used about 1.5 cups of uncooked pasta)

NOTE: Any sort of GF pasta is just fine for this - whatever shape you want it in. Yes, I know there are proper names, but I categorize by spirally, spaghetti, macaroni, and penne. I am consistently impressed with Schar pastas. For this recipe, I happened to have Shar Multigrain Penne Rigate in the pantry. There are a LOT of good brands out there, so if you've never tried any and aren't sure where to start - shop around! Most GF pasta is made of corn, rice, a few other flours, or a mixture of these. Just take your pick!

DIRECTIONS:

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Place cooked chicken breasts in a baking dish

- Cover the chicken with cheese (whether shredded or sliced, and cover with as much cheese as you want)

- Spoon spaghetti sauce over the chicken until it is entirely covered (I used about 3/4 of a jar)

- Sprinkle desired amount of parmesan cheese over the dish

- Cover dish with foil and bake approximately 15 minutes (since chicken is already cooked you just want to melt the cheese and make sure the food is heated through)

- While chicken parmesan is baking, cook pasta according to the package directions

- When both pasta and chicken are done, serve chicken parmesan over pasta

STEP 4:

Thoroughly enjoy how well your quick-change meal turned out.

STEP 5:

Realize that Plan B probably should have been Plan A from the get-go.

STEP 6:

Walk out of the office, look down the stairs to where your husband is sitting in the living room, and yell: "TOOOOOOT! TOOOOOT!" (make sure you use the proper hand gestures like a train conductor/truck driver when you make the noise)

This is you tooting your own horn. Go on...you deserve it.