Gluten-free Dairy-free Quinoa Pancakes

Just made these this morning with some leftover quinoa from yesterday's breakfast. I was intending to eat them myself and save some for tomorrow. However, the kids (ages 8 and almost 6) asked to try them and they gobbled up all of my leftovers!!! I'd say these  were a huge success!!! The original recipe came from fitsugar.com, expect it was not GF or dairy-free, so I made some changes and they were absolutely awesome. I am trying to avoid extra sugar too, so I did not put any syrup on my pancakes. The recipe made about 10, but I had 3 as my serving.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa (my cooked quinoa was made with almond milk, ginger,clove, cinnamon and nutmeg)

3/4 cup GF all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon course salt

1 large egg plus 1 large egg white

1 tablespoon Coconut Oil

1/4 cup Unsweetened almond milk

2 tablespoons pure grade B maple syrup plus more for serving (optional)

Fresh fruit for topping 

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk together quinoa, flour, baking powder, and salt. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, egg white, coconut oil, almond milk, and syrup until smooth. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and whisk to combine. (some coconut oil lumps may remain)
Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or griddle with butter and heat over medium-high. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into skillet. Cook until bubbles appear on top, 2 minutes.
Flip cakes and cook until golden brown on underside, 2 minutes. Wipe skillet clean and repeat with more melted butter and remaining batter (reduce heat to medium if overbrowning). Serve with maple syrup and fresh fruit or preserves if desired.

Coconut Curry Chicken

After searching around my pantry and searching the internet for a possible coconut curry chicken, I came up with a recipe that my husband proclaimed the best meal ever!
I am currently not eating gluten, dairy, or sugar...so this recipe had to fit that bill as well!...and it did! :)
Sorry I don't have a picture to post yet, but I'm sure I'll be making this again in the real near future and I'll get one then.

Ingredients *:
1 T coconut oil
1 large carrot, grated or use a peeler to make thin peels of carrot
1 medium onion, sliced in strips
1 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into matchstick sized strips
1 large garlic clove, crushed and chopped
1 pound chicken breast cutlets (basically one breast sliced in 3 thin pieces)
2 1/2 teaspoons curry
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1 can light or regular coconut milk
2 T tomato paste

Directions:
In large pan or wok, heat coconut oil on medium high and place each slice of chicken breast flat on pan, so you can slightly sear each side. (don't move the chicken around or you won't get a nice sear) Give each side 3-5 minutes, then flip. After the chicken is cooked through, juices running clear, remove from pan and set aside. Without cleaning out the pan, place carrot, onion and zucchini in hot pan. Stir them a bit and let them sit to get a little brown. They should still be tender crisp, just with a little color on them. While veggies are cooking, slice the chicken into strips, again matchstick size. Then, add chicken, garlic, curry, and garam masala. Stir to coat. Add tomato paste and stir to coat. Add can of coconut milk and mix thoroughly. The sauce will slightly thicken. Finally add salt to taste.
Either serve over quinoa or in lettuce wraps (I used butter lettuce).

*All of my ingredients are organic except for my spices, though I am trying to head in that direction.

Bacon Wrapped Pecan Stuffed Dates

These may not look too pretty, but oh my! are these some of the yummiest little treats ever!!! And they are so simple to make! A friend of ours made them for our small group, then I made them for my Easter brunch! Delicious!!! The recipe was also found from Paula Deen via foodnetwork.com! 

Ingredients:1 (8-ounce) box pitted dates30 pecan halves10 to 12 slices bacon

Directions:Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Stuff each date with a pecan half. Cut each slice of bacon into 3 pieces. Wrap 1 piece around each stuffed date, place seam side down on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake until bacon is crisp, 12 to 15 minutes. Drain and serve.

Creamy Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup

I don't remember where I originally got this recipe. However, it is fabulous!!! It is such a nice refreshing soup with flavors that will impress your friends, yet it is simple to prepare! It would even make a nice appetizer for your Easter meal!

Ingredients:

·         2-3 large carrots, chopped small

·         1 onion, chopped small

·         1 tsp fresh ginger, minced

·         1 1/2 tsp curry powder

·         1 3/4 cup vegetable broth

·         1 14 ounce can coconut milk (reserve a few T to drizzle on top when serving)

·         sea salt, to taste

Directions:

Simmer the carrots, onions, ginger and curry powder in vegetable broth for 20-25 minutes, until carrots are soft.

Allow to cool slightly, and then puree in blender, working in batches if needed.

Return to heat and stir in coconut milk until well combined.

Season generously with sea salt, to taste.
Drizzle one teaspoon coconut milk on top each bowl of soup, for garnish.

Serve hot, or, chill until cold and serve as a gourmet vegetarian and vegan appetizer soup. This carrot soup will thicken as it cools, so if serving this vegan carrot soup cold, you may want to add a bit extra liquid.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

UPDATE 1/27/14: Since going gluten free, I swapped out the wheat flour in this recipe for Trader Joe's gluten free all-purpose flour.
A couple weekends ago I found this recipe at Everyday Belle, as I was looking for a healthier pancake recipe. Well, it was a HUGE hit with my kids! So, I just got done making them for the second time this morning, only I played around with the recipe a bit more today. The first time I made it I used plain, non fat/sugar free greek yogurt and surprisingly my kids still gobbled them up! Today, I had some left over orange flavored greek yogurt that none of us really cared for, so I decided to use that up in the recipe and I added 1/4 teaspoon of Spice Islands pure vanilla extract (which doesn't contain corn syrup, as many others do). I have to say (and I don't get paid in any way by the company...in fact I don't get paid for any part of doing this blog) that Spice Islands products are awesome!!! They are a bit more expensive, but worth it! A sweet friend of mine recently said that good things aren't always cheap and cheap things aren't always good. I think that is SO true! Anyhow, back to the pancakes...the batter is super thick, but they produce a very light pancake. Make sure you resist the urge to continue stirring the batter as you make the pancakes. It will fluff up a lot as it sits and that is what helps make them so great!
You can use any flavor yogurt you want, but the fact that my kids were just as happy with the sugar free version, I think I'll stick to that next time!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. Thank you to Paige at Everyday Belle!

Ingredients:
6 oz (3/4 C) greek yogurt (any flavor, I used plain fat free)
1 egg
1/2 C Trader Joe's GF flour, scant...which means just a little less than 1/2 (I used to use King Arthur, unbleached/ not bromated)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (if using plain yogurt)

Direction:
Turn on the stovetop to medium heat using a griddle (or non stick pan). Spray pan thoroughly or butter if you desire. While pans are heating up, mix wet ingredients. Then, mix in flour and baking soda until well combined. Let stand for a couple minutes, until mixture is fluffed up (resist the urge to mix again). The batter will be very thick. Plop onto pan and spread gently with the back of a spoon. Flip when edges are looking a little less wet. They will not get the same bubbles that you may be used to seeing on pancakes, so you'll just have to test these. Flip an extra time, if needed, to ensure the batter is cooked in the center.
Serve immediately and Enjoy!!!

Substitution and Snack

My new favorite substitution and my 4 year olds new favorite snack are the same thing. His snack just has a little twist. NON-FAT Greek Yogurt!
I have enjoyed substituting it for any recipe that calls for sour cream!
My son likes it in a bowl with a drizzle of REAL all natural 100% maple syrup! He likes me to whip it all together, then he gobbles it up! I like it too :)
I hope you find this new healthier substitution useful as well!
*I buy it at Costco and 2 large tubs cost about $7 total! A great deal!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Do you buy chocolate syrup from the grocery store? When you buy it, do you look at the ingredients on the label? Well, for years I bought it from the store because it was easy, it tasted good and dare I say it...I never looked at the label! However, as my kids were growing up I starting thinking about what I was putting in their bodies and as a result, what I was putting in my body! I want to live a long long time and so I want to make healthy (or healthier) choices when at all possible. Sometimes that means a little more work on my part, but in the long run I feel it is worth it. I'd much rather know all of the ingredients that are in my food, than just claim ignorance. Things aren't what they used to be. Years and years ago there weren't so many processed foods and there weren't so many pesticides used in our produce. Although, now we have to make a concerted effort to avoid such things. So, I'll get off my soapbox and share with you the most amazing recipe for homemade chocolate syrup, thanks to Rachel at smallnotebook.org (who found the recipe on Tightwad Gazette). I can confidently say it tastes just as good, if not better, than the stuff I used to buy in the store and I used a 1/2 cup less sugar than she did (next time, I am going to try using agave nectar as a sugar substitute)!!! Oh, and by no accounts do I claim that chocolate syrup is healthy! It is a treat that we enjoy sparingly. :)

Ingredients:
½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup water 
1 & 1/2 cups sugar (the original recipe called for 2 cups)
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Mix the cocoa powder and the water in a saucepan. Heat and stir to dissolve the cocoa. Add the sugar, and stir to dissolve. Boil for 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring constantly. Be careful not to let it get too hot and boil over! Add the salt and the vanilla. Let cool. Pour into a clean glass jar, and store in the refrigerator. Keeps for several months. Yields two cups.

NOTE: I bought my jar at a local store that sells specialty beers. Mine contained Schwarzbier. You just need a large enough container to hold 2 cups. Amazon.com also sells a variety of fliptop bottles.

Crockpot Baked Potato Soup

I originally found this recipe on Pinterest and we really enjoyed it. I printed it out, but can't find the reference to the website where it came from. Anyhow, it is easy and delicious and I hope your family enjoys it as well!

Ingredients:
5 lbs potatoes, washed put not peeled, then cubed
1 medium onion, diced
fresh garlic (to taste, I used 1 T of minced garlic from a jar)
8 C chicken stock (I used 8t low sodium better than chicken bullion & 8 C water)
1 T seasoned salt or all purpose seasoning
Add 15 min before serving: 16 oz cream cheese (I used all 1/3 less fat cream cheese/Neufchatel)
Garnishes (if desired): cheddar cheese, chives, bacon

Directions:
Add all ingredients, EXCEPT cream cheese, to crockpot.
Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
Remove and puree 1/3 soup with cream cheese (or use immersion blender, to blend to desired smoothness).
Let soup warm up for 15 more minutes.
Top with garnishes if desired and enjoy!

Serves: 10-12

Chicken Goodness

This awesome recipe you might already know, but my dear friend Alecia made it for me after I had one of my children. It was an instant hit! That was over 4 years ago and I have no idea why this recipe hadn't made it on here yet! So, since I wanted to cook it tonight for dinner, I thought it was about time to post it too! Crazy enough, I had to call said Alecia for the recipe! Now it will forever be on the internet so I can always remember how to make it. Really it is easy enough that I should know it by heart. Maybe now I will! Thank you Alecia for many awesome recipes and for being a totally awesome friend!
Ingredients:
2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
8 oz reduced fat sour cream
1 can (10 1/2 oz.) reduced fat cream of chicken soup (undiluted)
1/2 cup or less chicken broth (dependent on how thick you want the sauce)
1 sleeve ritz crackers (crushed)
1 stick butter (4 oz. - melted)
Serve with rice of choice (we use Texmati organic brown rice found at Costco)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook chicken breasts. I just boil mine until cooked through (no pink), then cube.
In a 2 quart casserole dish, spray bottom with non stick spray. Then mix sour cream, chicken soup, broth and toss in chicken pieces.  Pour mixture directly into the bottom of the dish. Finally put crushed crackers on top and  drizzle melted butter over crackers.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
While cooking, prepare rice, as it usually takes about 30 minutes for rice to cook on the stovetop.
Finally, ENJOY!!!

My Favorite Homemade Granola

Thanks to my dear friend Keli, I now have a wonderful recipe for homemade granola. I have tried many many recipes and haven't been too thrilled with any of them. A few of them were ok, but this one is absolutely awesome...so great that I'm not sure I will ever buy store bought granola again! I hope you enjoy it also!

Ingredients:

4 cups rolled oats (I used thick organic oats)

1 cup shredded or chipped coconut

1 cup nuts of choice, chopped coarse (I used walnuts)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup coconut oil or 1 stick butter (I used coconut oil)

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

To stir in AFTER baking:

1 cup dried fruits (cranberries, cherries, apricots, raisins, etc.) optional...(I did NOT use any)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, silpat or grease.

In a large bowl combine oats, coconut, nuts and salt

The directions call to melt butter or oil in saucepan and blend remaining ingredients into oil, then pour over dry ingredients, but I skipped this step and dumped everything into the large bowl by accident. Fortunately, it turned out great.

Spread onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes (min took about 40 minutes), stirring every 5 minutes until golden brown. Do not overbake!

When it comes out of the oven it will still seem soft, but as long as it is nicely golden brown in color it should crisp up nicely upon cooling.

Place baking sheet on wire rack to cool. Once the granola has completely cooled, stir in dried fruit if desired and store in airtight container or plastic bag. It will keep for several weeks.

Makes about 5 cups of Granola

NOTE: Recipe from http://www.cookingforseven.com

Sweet Milk Waffles

I have searched high and low to find just the right waffle recipe. Some have tasted too eggy, some too dense, some too fluffy...Frankly, I was feeling much like Goldilocks! :) Until finally, I came upon this recipe from recipegirl.com! I adapted it a bit by subbing some whole wheat flour and adding some malted milk powder (which sounds weird, but really made a difference in the flavor to me!). My daughter loves to have waffles in the morning, but it isn't always feasible to whip up a batch before school. So, I make these and sometimes double the recipe and freeze the cooked waffles in a large ziploc. Then, on the days she wants a waffle, I just pop them in the toaster for a yummy and healthier breakfast! Best part for me (as always)...I know exactly what is in them!

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (sub ½ whole wheat flour)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups milk
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

ADD: ¼ c Malted Milk Powder, Carnation makes some (Heather’s secret ingredient)

OPTIONAL: add ¼ cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat waffle iron.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add milk, oil and eggs and whisk together until smooth.

3. Spray waffle iron with nonstick spray. Pour batter into iron until it spreads within about 1-inch of the edges. Cover and bake until done (on my waffle iron, the light goes off when done).

4. Lift cover, loosen waffle with a fork and serve immediately.

Yield: About 5 waffles

Crusty Wheat/White Bread

This recipe comes directly from  the King Arthur flour website. The only change I personally make is substituting King Arthur's 100% Whole Wheat flour for half of the white flour. It is the best bread! And you can make it in a loaf pan as well (without adding water to a pan in the oven), to make soft slice able sandwich bread! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!

The most basic of all no-knead loaves, this is a wonderful way to get into yeast-bread baking. The easy stir-together dough rests in your refrigerator, developing flavor all the time, till you're ready to bake. About 90 minutes before you want to serve bread, grab a handful of dough, shape it, let it rise, then bake for 30 minutes. The result? Incredible, crusty artisan-style bread. If you're a first-time bread-baker, you'll never believe this bread came out of your own oven. if you're a seasoned yeastie, you'll love this recipe's simplicity.

Our thanks to Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François, whose wonderful book, "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day," is the inspiration for this recipe.

Read our blog about this bread, with additional photos, at Bakers' Banter.

• 3 cups lukewarm water
• 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour* (I sub half 100% Whole Wheat flour)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast

Directions

*The flour/liquid ratio is important in this recipe. If you measure flour by sprinkling it into your measuring cup, then gently sweeping off the excess, use 7 1/2 cups. If you measure flour by dipping your cup into the canister, then sweeping off the excess, use 6 1/2 cups. Most accurate of all, and guaranteed to give you the best results, if you measure flour by weight, use 32 ounces.

1) Combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl, or a large (6-quart), food-safe plastic bucket. For first-timers, "lukewarm" means about 105°F, but don't stress over getting the temperatures exact here. Comfortably warm is fine; "OUCH, that's hot!" is not. Yeast is a living thing; treat it nicely.

2) Mix and stir everything together to make a very sticky, rough dough. If you have a stand mixer, beat at medium speed with the beater blade for 30 to 60 seconds. If you don't have a mixer, just stir-stir-stir with a big spoon or dough whisk till everything is combined.

3) Next, you're going to let the dough rise. If you've made the dough in a plastic bucket, you're all set — just let it stay there, covering the bucket with a lid or plastic wrap; a shower cap actually works well here. If you've made the dough in a bowl that's not at least 6-quart capacity, transfer it to a large bowl; it's going to rise a lot. There's no need to grease the bowl, though you can if you like; it makes it a bit easier to get the dough out when it's time to bake bread.

4) Cover the bowl or bucket, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 2 hours. Then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours, or for up to about 7 days. (If you're pressed for time, skip the room-temperature rise, and stick it right into the fridge). The longer you keep it in the fridge, the tangier it'll get; if you chill it for 7 days, it will taste like sourdough. Over the course of the first day or so, it'll rise, then fall. That's OK; that's what it's supposed to do.

5) When you're ready to make bread, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour; this will make it easier to grab a hunk. Grease your hands, and pull off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the dough — a 14-ounce to 19-ounce piece, if you have a scale. It'll be about the size of a softball, or a large grapefruit.

6) Plop the sticky dough onto a floured work surface, and round it into a ball, or a longer log. Don't fuss around trying to make it perfect; just do the best you can.

7) Place the dough on a piece of parchment (if you're going to use a baking stone); or onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Sift a light coating of flour over the top; this will help keep the dough moist as it rests before baking.

8) Let the dough rise for about 45 to 60 minutes. It won't appear to rise upwards that much; rather, it'll seem to settle and expand. Preheat your oven (and baking stone, if you're using one) to 450°F while the dough rests. Place a shallow metal or cast iron pan (not glass, Pyrex, or ceramic) on the lowest oven rack, and have 1 cup of hot water ready to go.

9) When you're ready to bake, take a sharp knife and slash the bread 2 or 3 times, making a cut about 1/2" deep. The bread may deflate a bit; that's OK, it'll pick right up in the hot oven.

10) Place the bread in the oven, and carefully pour the 1 cup hot water into the shallow pan on the rack beneath. It'll bubble and steam; close the oven door quickly.

11) Bake the bread for 25 to 35 minutes, until it's a deep, golden brown.

12) Remove the bread from the oven, and cool it on a rack. Store leftover bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

13) Yield: 3 or 4 loaves, depending on size.

Baked Kale Chips

We are part of a CSA this spring, so we get lots of different fruits and vegetables that we wouldn't normally eat. Therefore, I am trying lots of new things! This was a fun recipe that we all enjoyed!

Ingredients:
1 bunch of kale
olive oil (I prefer EVOO)
sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut leaves from hard stem.
Rinse and dry throughly. This is best done with a salad spinner.
Tear leaves to bite sized pieces and toss in olive oil or drizzle with oil after kale is placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Salt to taste.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until edges are lightly brown, not burnt.


NOTE: Picture provided from allrecipes.com

Perfect Pizza Dough

We've been using this recipe for so long that I forgot where it originally came from. It is by far my favorite pizza dough recipe and I've tried a lot!!! Plus, it is super simple!
Every Sunday night we have family pizza movie night, where I make the dough and roll it out for each family member to have their own personal pizza. Each of us top our pizza with whatever we want and we joke that if you don't like it, it is your own fault (since you made it). Fortunately, we all love it so much it has become a tradition in our house that the kids have become quite attached to! One Sunday we were going to go out to dinner with my grandparents and both kids had meltdowns because they said that we could NOT miss family pizza movie night! Oh, so after the pizzas cook, we lay a plastic table cloth on the floor and eat picnic style while watching a family movie together! It is a lot of fun!

Ingredients:
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp italian seasoning (crushed in hand)
2 1/2 - 3 C flour (King Arthur is my absolute fav... I use 1 c whole wheat and 2 c unbleached white)
2 T EVOO
1 .25oz pkt yeast or 2 1/4 t jarred bread yeast
1 T sugar
1 C warm water (110 degrees)

For a softer crust:
Mix all ingredients in Kitchenaid or by hand (making sure to knead throughly).

For a crisper crust:
Mix water, sugar and yeast in a separate bowl and allow to proof (get foamy). This should take less than 5 minutes.

Once ingredients are fully combined and formed into a smooth doughball, place in a lightly greased bowl, lightly covered. Let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

Use a rolling pin to roll dough into pizza shape.
Makes 2 large or 4 small crusts.
Top with your choice of toppings.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 8 minutes, or until done to your liking (depends on how crispy you like your crust)
We find our best success preheating the oven with the pizza stone inside.
Have fun and ENJOY!!