Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Gluten-Free Birthday Pancakes :)

This morning I made some gluten-free s'mores pancakes for my daughter's birthday breakfast. The original recipe is from "Cooking For Isaiah" (super great cookbook for gluten free and diary free recipes, buy it!)  I modified it to use the ingredients I had - since I was having trouble finding xantham gum anywhere :-/ (Gonna have to order it online).

What you'll need;
Pancakes:
1.5 Bob's Mill Gluten-Free Pancake mix (Wal-Mart is usually pretty good at carrying Bob's Mill stuff)
2 Eggs (I use this to fluff it up and give it some protein, you could use baking soda and protein powder instead)
3/4 cup Milk/Water
Chocolate chips 
1 tsp Cinnamon (optional)

Topping;

Marshmallow Fluff or Vegan alternative is Suzanne's Ricemellow
2 Tablespoons hot water
Chocolate Syrup (optional)

Wisk together the pancake mix, eggs and milk/water until you have a smooth consistency- should be slightly watery, not thick and sludge like. Add cinnamon and mix. Add chocolate chips.

Turn pan on medium heat on the stove, spray pan with Pam or grease with butter or oil, use a 1/2 cup measuring cup and pour onto the pan until the sides begin to bubble. Flip pancake over and cook through.

Marshmallow topping; mix 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff with 2 tablespoons of boiling hot water, mix until smooth.

Add on top of pancake and drizzle chocolate syrup over and there you have a delicious filling breakfast!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Stuffed Peppers

I made these stuffed peppers the other day, the original recipe comes from Gina at www.skinnytaste.com - I modified the recipe how I liked it, so the only similarity is the shredded chicken and bell peppers haha.

I also don't like cooked vegetables so my peppers were fresh and cool and gave this recipe a nice crisp crunch. If you like your peppers baked you can do so at 350 for 20 minutes.

Here's what you'll need;

3-4 Bell Peppers
1lb shredded chicken
1 can of garbanzo beans drained
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 tsp of paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 tsp cayenne / jalepeno (optional)

Cook the chicken fully - I add a cup or so of water when I'm cooking the chicken, it keeps it moist and delicious. Once the chicken is cooked add the garbanzo beans and heat them up - usually about 5 minutes. Add the seasonings.

Cut the bell peppers in half and scoop out the seeds, take a spoon and scoop into the peppers and serve.

You can add some shredded cheese or rice to the mixture if you desire :)

Enjoy!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

French Baguette Dinner

So this recipe comes from a friend who recently visited Paris and brought back this wonderful little recipe that is super simple and very delicious. Even the pickiest eaters in the family loved it and I'm sure you will too!

What you need:

1 french baguette loaf - halved
Hard Salami
Sliced Mozzarella
Sliced Swiss
A potato sliced


Boil the potato. While the potato is boiling preheat the oven to 350. When the potato is almost done (poke it with a fork, if the fork goes through, it's done) put in the baguette and pre-toast. Once it's toasted, pull it out and put a few slices of mozzarella on it, put the boiled potato on top of the mozzarella, put the swiss cheese on top of the potato and bake for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

Serve warm

See how easy that was? Enjoy!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Super Simple Granola

Hello Everyone!

Alright, I know it's been forever since I last posted. I'm not the greatest at keeping up with this anymore. Life has been busy!

But I have this new recipe, it's incredibly simple to do!

What you need:

2 cups oatmeal
3 tablespoons of butter melted
1/3 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Sprinkle of brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, place all the ingredients (except brown sugar) in an oven safe dish, mix them around until you think you've covered all of the oatmeal, sprinkle on the brown sugar and bake for 30-35 minutes (or until browned).

You can add shavings of almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, dried fruit etc. but this is just a super simple recipe to have and it's delicious.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

A Delicious Roast

Today I made a chuck roast, it was tender and delicious and I just thought it had a great simple flavor.

What you'll need

2-3lb Chuck Roast
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2tsp onion powder
2tsp garlic powder
Red Wine

I marinated this chuck roast overnight - from about 10pm to 10am, I poured enough red wine to cover half of it - it's better if you can cover 2/3 of it but I only had enough wine to do half.

I poked holes in the meat to tenderize it a little bit and added the salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder to the top of the roast.

Around 10am everything went into an oven pan - you can marinate in an oven pan then just put it in the oven - I didn't happen to think to do this at the time. I set the oven at 250º and let it cook until 6p.m.

It just fell apart like nothing, it was great. The only way it could have been more tender is if I had added more wine to the marinade.

Another way to marinate this is by using grape juice and sprite (for those opposed to using alcohol).

Super yummy, hope you enjoy!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Manicotti, Ricotta Fritters and Cannoli

Today I wanted to make all-Italian dinner and desserts Manicotti is something that I've made often, it's simple but can get kinda messy!

What you need:

Manicotti shells
15oz Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon garlic
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (or homemade spaghetti sauce)

Start by boiling a pot of water, add the manicotti shells and cook them until they are soft.
While the shells are cooking mix together the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, and seasonings.
When the shells are soft, carefully pull them out - don't burn yourself! Stuff the shells with the cheese mixture, put them in a casserole dish and pour spaghetti sauce to cover them completely.

If you want to you can sprinkle a little mozzarella on top, then place in the oven at 350º for 25 minutes (or until cheese is melted).

I love cooked ricotta cheese, so I tend to put more of it in. My husband on the other hand is a huge fan of Parmesan cheese, so he tends to put more of that in - you can adjust to your liking, but ricotta is the base cheese and makes for an easier time eating.

Ricotta Fritters

Now, I have never had a ricotta fritter before, and really had no idea what I was doing or if it turned out how it was supposed to, but either way they were yummy and everyone loved them!

I got the original recipe from the Food Network

Ingredients
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 1 pound ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cake flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • Oil, for frying
  • Powdered sugar
  • Chestnut honey
Directions

Mix eggs and sugar together. Add ricotta and vanilla. In a separate bowl sift together all- purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to egg mixture. Beat until smooth. Fill a pot or deep-fryer half full with oil. Heat until oil gets to 350 degrees F. (Medium-High) Drop dough into hot oil by the tablespoonful. Fry until golden brown. Remove from oil, and drain on a paper towel. Dust with powdered sugar, drizzle with warm chestnut honey, and serve immediately.


Now, I know this says I will share a recipe for Cannoli, but I have to admit, I failed miserably when trying to make cannoli. I couldn't figure out how it was supposed to work. It was runny and sloppy and I just couldn't get it right - I spent over 2 hours working on it, when I finally threw it in the trash I realized "I bet I had to whip it." Which none of the directions specify but it wouldn't make sense otherwise.

So, any Italian viewers, if you have a recipe or techniques on how to make cannoli please let me know!


Cherise


Wednesday, December 9, 2009

It's a little chili inside.

I know it's been almost a month since I've updated! It's been so incredibly busy around here with Thanksgiving, then getting everything ready for Christmas. I've been on the go non-stop, meaning easy dinners were in order.

With the cold weather, everyone was wanting some comfort food, so tonight's dinner is a simple turkey chili.

What you'll need;

2 jars of spaghetti sauce
2lbs ground turkey
1 can of kidney beans
2tbsp garlic
2tbsp onion powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 teaspoon oregano

Now you can add seasonings like cayenne, hot sauce, or whatever other seasonings you like to create a spicy chili, but this is just a mild version.

Brown the turkey in a pan - I always add a little water to keep it from sticking to the bottom. Heat the spaghetti sauce in a larger pan, then add the kidney beans, turkey and seasonings and stir for about 10 minutes or until warm. Serve and enjoy!

The whole process takes about 1/2 hour.

I will be posting more recipes soon - especially the delicious cherry pie I made for Thanksgiving!

Until then, live, eat and be happy!
Cherise