Corn Dog Muffins

The other day while grocery shopping. Em looked wistfully into the deli case at the corn dogs. "I sure do miss eating corn dogs." Now, I am sure there is a recipe out there that is GF/CF but dealing with a deep fyer, the mess and what not is really of no interest to me!

So, while making chili today, because in Seattle we have JUNE-UARY! (aka freezing in June) I got to thinking about what Emily said. When I was making cornbread muffins (you cannot eat chili without cornbread don't you know!) I thought why not added some hot dogs to the cornbread muffins! Oh my goodness~the kids flipped out! This is definitively going on my menu rotation!  

MMMMM, just out of the oven.

While I was waiting on lunch, I cleaning the kitchen I jumped on Pinerest. Doesn't everyone use Pinterest for fun waste of time inspiration? I found this pin! See I knew i was not re-inventing the wheel on this one. What a darling way to serve corn dog muffins. Of course I would use a mason jar! I was out of craft sticks, so I stuck them on their serving fork, boring I know. I see a Holly Lobby Dollar Tree trip in my future. :0)

Kid tested, kid approved!
May your table be richly bountiful~Blair


Cornbread
Preheat oven to 400 degree F
1 C white rice flour
2/3 C stone-ground cornmeal * I grind by cornmeal a little finer. My family does not like the texture.
2 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C PLUS 1 tbsp earth balance (divided) * see below
2 beat eggs
1 C almond milk (reserve 1/4 C of almond milk to rinse out magic bullet after pureed corn!)
1 can of whole kernel corn
i package of Hebrew Nation Hot Dogs, cut into 1/3 pieces

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl and set aside.
Puree corn in magic bullet to desired consistency. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, pureed corn, milk and melted earth balance. Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients stirring until just moistened. If it is too thin sprinkle a pinch or two of cornmeal until desired consistency. Place a hot dog piece into each corn muffin. Bake 15-20 mins. Use remaining tbs spoon of Earth balance to dot muffins after cooking.
* Note this last step can be omitted.

Migas not just for breakfast!

I am on a quest to shake up our breakfast routine! 

I love the blog Lynn's Kitchen. She recently shared her migas recipe. We have been eating something like this occasionally when we are bored out of our mind with eggs but we just never gave it a name! We add to our eggs some salsa, tomatoes, black or pinto beans, onions, garlic, daiya cheese, oregano, cilantro, kahle and any veggie begging to be eaten....aka almost past it's prime. We never added the tortilla chips. Lynn also suggests this as a quick lunch or dinner. 

Husband tested and approved!

Does this not look yummy!

Migas

• 8 eggs, beat well
• ¼ cup salsa
• ½ cup cheese, shredded (I use either cheddar, jack, or combo)
• 1 cup tortilla chips, crushed (I use like 2 handfuls of chips, not sure what that measures exactly)

Cooked eggs until almost done (you are basically scrambling them). Then add remaining ingredients. Cook another minute or so until eggs are done. Serve with additional salsa if desired.

Heather's Amazing Quiche

So excited to share with you a very special guest post by my oldest daughter, Heather. It is because of Heather's encouragement and support our family was able to make an easy transition to being gluten and casein free. :0)

Not only is Heather an amazing cook but she amazes me in the beauty, ease and tastiness of her dishes. Heather is a fly by the seat of her pants kinda girl. She just mixes things together without following a recipe. I tried to do this several times with the dog or the garbage can having the results. 

I am so excited Heather has shared her quiche recipe. I have wanted it for quite sometime now. I think it will be a wonderful dish to serve our family for Easter Brunch. A little part of Heather with be with us even though she is so far away.

I look forward to sharing more of Heather's recipes. She makes being a vegetarian very easy. I have listed the ingredients for her quiche at the end of the post. The following directions are in Heather's own words.

May your table be bountiful and joyful in the celebration of Easter. ~blair

Does this not delish?!

Heather's Amazing Quiche
CRUST
Making the GF crust is so easy!
It is 1 C of rice flour, with some salt, 1/4 tsp xanthum gum, any spices you would like to add (rosemary and basil are super good ones). Cut in half a cup of earth balance or any other non dairy butter alternative. Once it is crumbly, add approx 1 oz of water. Play with the dough until it forms a ball. Let the dough rest 10 minuted while you prep a pan with oil/butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pie dough in center of pie pan, flatten out to the edges with your hands,
Poke the crust with a fork lots of times. Bake for ten minutes. The quiche itself is versatile. I recommend experimenting.

FILLING
For the filling use any veggies and spices you like. In the one pictured above I used onion, garlic, brocolli, tomato, mushrooms and added some goat cheese. NOTE: goat cheese is NOT CASEIN FREE. Chop veggies to desired size. Place in the bottom of the pan.

EGG MIXTURE
To make the egg mixture, I used 10 eggs, a half a cup of vegetable stock, salt, pepper and a little bit of creme. To make this recipe CF you could easily add more veg stock or milk alternative like almond. I really don't have a recipe, I just kinda make this and typically it turns out well! : ) Pour the egg mixture over the veggies and bake for 55 minutes. Served chilled or warm.

 Ingredients

CRUST

1 C rice flour

pinch of salt (or to your tasting)

1/4 tsp xanthum gum

Spices

1/2 C earth balance

1 oz. water

FILLING

veggies of your choosing

10 eggs

1/2 C veg stock

salt 

pepper

splash creme or milk alternative

Move over Martha..we are reinventing the wheel!

My big goal for 2012 is to bring our food spending under control. It never fails, every month I go over my allotted amount causing us to spiral out of control and ending up borrowing from Paul to pay Peter it seems!

I have been taking a hard look at my freezer purchases. I hate paying $5 for a jumbo bag of tots. My kiddo's love them but I refuse to pay the ransom anymore!!!! So, I am on a mission. I am going to reinvent the wheel if I must starting with an all time family favorite, the tots.

These babies will defiantly be making my menu rotation for breakfast, lunch and dinner! No not every meal everyday! My kids gobbled these puppies up so fast there was barely anytime to take a photo. I think my job here is done. 

May your table be bountiful with savings! ~blair

Tots  
INGREDIENTS
1 cup quinoa flakes 
1/4 cup golden flax meal canola oil1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion 
4 sweet potatoes or russet potatoes, peeled
1 Tbsp. kosher or sea salt, plus more
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Freshly ground black pepper

* to bump up the flavor you could add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper and smoked paprika.

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine quinoa flakes and flax meal in a bowl; set aside. Place skillet over medium heat. Sparingly coat pan with oil. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. Transfer onion to a bowl; set aside. Wipe out to use later. 

Using your food processor, finely grate potatoes to make 4 cups. Transfer to a colander and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. salt. Massage salt into potatoes and squeeze out the excess liquid. In a medium bowl; add egg to potatoes and mix well. Add onion, garlic powder; season lightly with salt and pepper. The mixture should resemble a potato pancake mix but be on the dry side. Using your hands, form potato mixture into 1" balls. 

Roll potato balls in quinoa flake mixture. Heat skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat pan with oil. Working in batches, cook balls, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer tots to a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 10 minutes. 


** Note**
These tots freeze well. Make ahead, but skip the final step. Place tots on a cookie sheet and flash freeze. I do not like to use freezer bags or anything plastic BUT that seems to be the best way to freeze. Bring Tots to room temperature before placing in skillet to avoid being splattered with oil. 

Mason Jars...not just for canning anymore

I am uncertain what the attraction is but I LOVE mason jars! They are versatile, fun and frugal.  We use them as drinking glasses, storage containers, and vases to name a few. 

On Pinterest I found another  awesome dish I want to share. Amberlee at Giverslog is the orgininator of the idea but these are my recipes. My daughter Emily thought I had lost my mind when I set the table last night. She thought it was a lot of fun to eat dinner from a jar! My husband thought I was "brilliant" to pack his dinner. He had no clue I had baked it all together til Emily told him. Sorry no photo my camera battery died :/ so I borrowed Amberlee's photo's. I feel certain there will be more posts of mason jar meals!
May your table be bountiful of mason jars!~blair
                        
Chili and Corn Bread Jars


Ingredients
3 cans of stewed tomatoes with juice
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can of black beans, rinsed
1 can of red kidney beans, rinsed
1 can of pinto beans, rinsed
1 can of white kidney beans, rinsed
1 can of whole kernel corn, drained
1 large sweet onion, diced
1 red pepper diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 pound of ground meat (turkey, chicken or beef)
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp thyme
1/4 tsp chili powder *adjust according to how much heat you like
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked chipolette

Directions
Saute onions, garlic til soft and tender. Add meat season to taste, cooking till crumbly and brown. Drain immediately of all grease. Place on a paper towel doubled over and drain any remaining fat.

Meanwhile place all canned ingredients into a large stock pot including seasons on medium heat until contents begin to barely bubble on side of pan. Turn down heat, simmer for at least 30 minutes. Add meat mixture and simmer for 15 mins.

Cornbread
Preheat oven to 400 degree F
1 C white rice flour
2/3 C stone-ground cornmeal * I grind by cornmeal a little finer. My family does not like the texture.
2 Tbsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C PLUS 1 tbsp earth balance (divided)
2 beat eggs
1 C almond milk (reserve 1/4 C of almond milk to rinse out magic bullet after pureed corn!)
1 can of whole kernel corn

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together in a medium size bowl and set aside.
Puree corn in magic bullet to desired consistency. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, pureed corn, milk and melted earth balance. Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients stirring until just moistened. If it is too thin sprinkle a pinch or two of cornmeal until desired consistency.

Spoon chili into a wide mouth mason jar1/2 full. spoon 1/2 C of cornbread mix on top chili. Bake 15-20 minutes on a baking sheet. Insert knife to check if done.
Serve with a honey infused earth balance.

* to prevent sticking spray jar with with non-stick spray.

                   

French Toast Muffins

Snow Buds waiting for hot muffins.

Did you know Seattle averages 4.5 inches of snow a year? This is now day 5 of snow and we have a little over a foot of the white stuff! We are loving every minute of it with the EXCEPTION for the fact that I am now out of Udi bread to make sammies for the kids and french toast.

I think I might have mentioned before that I have a set daily menu for each meal. It is my minimalist approach to meal planning. Today's breakfast menu is french toast, our youngest daughter Emily's favorite. Did I mention Emily reallllly does not like it if I stray from the said menu? What to do, what to do?

While the kids were outside dragging each other through the snow playing, I spent hours my time wisely on pinterest. The most awesome black hole site on the internet! If you have not checked it out go, right now and do so. I will wait for you right here. So anywhoo, while recently discovering about 100 new recipes to try, I ran across the gem french toast muffins. Thank you Ann at Velvet Lava.

This is the stuff goodness is made from!

And on a side note: My wonderful sister-in-law Sherry sends us maple syrup from her husband's family farm in Vermont. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this syrup. We use it so sparingly to make it last as long as humanly possible and refer to it as liquid gold! I served some of our awesome maple syrup on the side, cause goodness knows there is not enough sugar already in these muffins! Seriously, using the syrup took them to a whole new level! YUMMIE

PLEASE NOTE:
**The french toast muffin recipe originally contained gluten and casein. I altered it to become gluten and dairy free. The original recipe was nut free but I could not serve french toast anything without pecans. :0)

Photo from Velvet Lava 

Hope these find their way onto your bountiful table~ Blair

French Toast Muffins

Ingredients:
1/3 C Earth Balance, melted
1/2 C sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 1/2 C GF flour mix
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C Almond Milk
1 1/2 tsp xanthum gum

Topping:
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C Earth Balance, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 - 1 C of chopped pecans *optional (We LOVE pecans so the more the merrier)

It is VERY important to read your recipe thoroughly before attempting. I mistakenly mixed all the topping ingredients together rather than setting aside the melted Earth Balance ! OOPS! Still yummy according to the girls.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

In a medium-large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir until combined, but still a bit lumpy. Be careful, do not over mix. Scoop batter into lightly greased muffin tin. I used a medium size ice cream scoop to get 12 muffins. I did not fill them as large as I usually do so I could get 12. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until they are lightly gold brown.

Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bow. Place melted Earth Balance into another small bowl. Dip the
warm muffins in melted earth balance then roll in sugar/cinnamon. You could just dip the top of the muffin, but why?!

**FLOUR MIX**

2 C white rice flour

2/3 C potato starch flour

1/3 C tapioca flour

To make 9 C of flour mix:

6 C white rice flour

2 C potato starch flour

1 C tapioca flour

In the past when making muffins or quick bread I have used brown rice flour rather than white rice. I have even thrown in brown rice flour to white rice flour to even out the measurement if I am running low to complete a recipe. 

On a snowing winter day

Looking out my kitchen window to the back yard.

Winter has come to the Pacific Northwest. Snow is gently falling, there is fire roaring in the fireplace, and kids are all worn out from playing outside. There is barely a skiff of snow but that does not deter them!

Sheer joy!

Daddy would not come out to play in the snow. So they created Snow Daddy!

Joseph loves to watch the snow! 

                                      

This morning I was thinking about how this same weekend several years ago we had gone to the farm to spend MLK weekend. While there over a 18 inches of snow fell in 2 days! Needless to say we were a bit snowed in. We actually had to hire a local farmer to dig us out and clear the road so that we could get back to Charleston so Jeff could go to work. :0(

Our kids love the farm for so many reasons, staying outside from sun up to sun down or they are frost bit; and spending tons of family time together working puzzles, playing games and cooking. My favorite thing about the farm is the fact that we are off the grid. No tv, computers and our cell phone is for emergencies only. I take naps, read, take bubble baths or long hot showers and cook my brains out!
One of our favorite comfort foods is corn pudding. I do not make it as often as I should. Why? I have no clue! It is so easy and I always have the ingredients on hand. The origin of this recipe came from my Grandma. I have seen numerous alternatives recipes that use cream cheese, cream, with the list going on. I do change it up occasionally adding red peppers and a dash of chili pepper but honestly I love the simplicity. Everyone always fusses about who has the claim on the crusty rim of the dish. A sign that they like it! next time I plan to serve in ramkins. That way everyone gets the yummy crust! :0)
When Heather is home from school I try to make as many of her favorites as I can. One of her requests this time around was for corn pudding. She asked that it not to be serve with Christmas Eve, Christmas or New Years dinners but to make on a non special dinner night. Her sweet request was, "let's make the corn pudding the specialness of the meal". Before she headed back to Grad School she asked for the recipe but I forgot to give it to her. So Heather, this one is for you honey! XoXoXoXo
May your table always be bountiful of friends, family and wonderful memories. ~blair

Corn Pudding
2 Cans of whole kernel corn or sloppy corn (**creamed corn)
                 or equal amount of fresh or frozen
2 eggs
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp flour heaping (brown rice or white)

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Grease a 8X8 Pyrex with Earth Balance.
Place 1 can of corn in magic bullet with 1 egg mix, repeat with other can and egg. Pour into Pyrex after mixing. Gently stir in sugar, salt and flour. Dot the the top with Earth Balance generously. bake for 1 hour.

** make sure you check the label for gluten and casein.

Thanksgiving Remembered

My oldest daughter called me to ask for my sweet potato casserole recipe. She will be attending a friends family for Thanksgiving. She is quite homesick and wanted to make a dish that reminded her of home.  Golly I miss her very so much. I am so glad that she will not be spending Thanksgiving alone.

Thanksgiving was traditionally spent in the foot hills of the Appalachian Mountains at my husbands family farm. I can see in my minds eye the drive on the winding road through the historical town, Lewisburg, West Virginia then 20 minutes later arriving in the sweet little town of Union. Wyndridge Farm is located 5 minutes out side of town.  Fall is absolutely breath taking, Once you leave the main road, it is a few minutes up the dirt drive way, through the cows if were are lucky, and then suddenly you breach the top of the hill to a stunning view. The drive way is a circular one that gives you the opportunity to take in the quiet beauty of the family home and then back to the view.

No matter what time we would arrive, Jeff's parents would quietly welcome us into their home. Being an ever growing family we would break the stillness with lots of love, hugs and chatter! My heart is full of happiness and love thinking about these special memories. A few tears too!

Jeff's Mom is a wonderful cook. She would always have something delish waiting to fill bellies after the long drive to get there. It was only 3 hours but the last 30 minutes makes it seem like hours more due to the anticipation. Her cooking is always with beauty to the eyes as well to the belly. She never makes crazy over the top meals or dishes. Instead they are simple and yummy: Baked apples, pasta salad, fruit salad made with real whipping creme, bread pudding, beef stew and list goes on. I loved being a fly on the wall while she cooked.

Her Thanksgiving dinners were always beautiful. She would awake at dawn at start the turkey baking next the potatoes peeled resting in water, and cranberries simmering on the stove, all before anyone was awake. My Mother in law would spoil us by purchasing baked goods from ladies of the library bake sale the previous week, There would be pumpkin, cranberry, blueberry breads and muffins to name a few. If the weather was remotely warm, the children would be out the door exploring the farm for the next few hours. We never needed to worry about them but we always made sure they wore something bright just in case because it was hunting season in West Virginia.

Meanwhile, the table was set and the remainder of dishes prepared. We always ate early about 3pm. That way we could enjoy the meal, sleep of the carbs in a heavenly nap only to eat again about 7pm. Following dinner we would drive into Lewisburg watch the latest family movie and call it a night.

I love my sister in law Sherry. Her Thanksgiving day after breakfast is two slivers of pie, pumpkin and peacan respectfully, and a diet coke! To this day I can see her having a love fest! After breakfast we would pile in our cars and head to the Mennonite Bakery and the Cheese and More Store. We would select goodies to be given as gifts and for ourselves. Oh my golly I can taste the Farmer Cheese: milky, light and full of goodness!

Next it would be off to shop at the stores of Lewisburg. The town would be completely decked out to the nine with Christmas decorations. Certainly put you in the spirit if it was lacking! We would finally head back to the farm starving and cold. We were never disappointed with the amount of warmth, love, and food as we arrived back. On Sunday afternoon we would begrudgingly pack our cars and head back to reality. Our spirits renewed, our bellies on over load, and memories to last more than a life time.

I am wishing for you this holiday season the spirit of the holidays to bring you joy, the gathering of friends to bring you happiness and the love of God to surround you bringing you peace,
Love~Blair


SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

4 C sweet potatoes, cubed
1/2 C white sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 C milk, I use almond milk
1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C brown Sugar
1/3 C brown rice flour
3 Tbsp Earth Balance. softened
1 C chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 325 degree F (165 degrees C). Place sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender (about 20 min); drain and mash. 

In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, white sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and extract. Mix until creamy.transfer to a 9X13 inch baking dish that has been greased with earth balance.

In a medium bowl, mix the brown sugar and flour. Cut in Earth Balance until it becomes course. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the topping is light brown. 

NOTE: You may add marshmallows to the top and place under the broiler for a few minutes!

Potluck dinners

I do again!

Although it was snowing, the view was still stunning!

The Sunday before Thanksgiving my husband Jeff and I renewed our wedding vows in honor of our 25th wedding anniversary! It was a very small simple ceremony at Kerry Park (my favorite place in the world) overlooking Seattle, the Puget Sound, the Olympic Mtns and on clear sunny days a splendid view of Mt. Rainer.

25 years 

On our special day snowflakes danced in the air. We were surrounded by our children and Seattle family and friends. This was all arranged by my husband on his own as a surprise. WOW O WOW! Following the ceremony we had a small party pot luck dinner at our house. The wonderful snow continued and we had a wonderful time.

Our beautiful family
Blair, Emily, Jeff, Sarah Elizabeth, Heather and Joseph

I was so touched by how thoughtful everyone was of the kids foods issues. There was only 2 items the kids could not eat. I was so amazed. I made ahead of time dinner for the kids so that they would not feel left out. I did not want them being hungry and eating illegal food. Our oldest daughter baked us a lovely 3 tier cake and then made GFCF brownies for the kids. It was so funny~ the brownies were gone before the cake and no one knew it was GFCF till the youngest daughter mentioned it to one of her friends. :0)

Our oldest daughter baked a 3 layer GF Cake

Inside of cake

Voom to now almost a year later to the day....
I am so excited! I am a geek and I admit it. As a last minute oversight, we are throwing together a potluck Twilight Party. Everybody is bring food to share so we can eat dinner and drool in our food! LOL I am serving salsa with corn chips and my meatballs.

I am curious what others take to potlucks, care to share? Tis the season to Potluck!

Meatballs

1 lb of ground turkey

1 cup of GFCF bread crumbs

2 eggs beaten

1/4 c shredded carrots

1/2 tbsp Sea Salt

1 tbsp black pepper

1 tbsp parsley

4 tbsp olive oil

Add everything together. Tip: place ingredients in a ziploc bag and squeeze it all together. Then dump in to a mixing bowl. Meatballs should be the size of thumbnail. Add olive oil to oil used to sauté veggies. Cook meatballs until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. 

I served my meatballs in this BBQ sauce http://www.food.com/recipe/family-friendly-ww-barbecue-sauce-333071
May your tables be bountiful~ blair

Crock pot Applesauce

Our new house has nice back size back yard and is surrounded by ...surprise, evergreen trees! Our neighbors on the other hand have been blessed with red and transparent apple Trees. My neighbor across the street, Pat, shared some of her transparent apples. Oh my golly, they made amazing applesauce! I had never made applesauce before, holly cow was it easy and yummy.

I took half of the batch camping with us over labor day with our friends the Smyer Family. Rebekah served a massive amount of eggs and bacon to feed the masses. (Between her family and our there were 12 in all.) I served my apples as a side dish. Everyone thought it was apple pie filling! The large mason jar was empty before the bacon was all gone! :0)

Our next door neighbor, Heather, has 2 types of apples, red and transparent. After I asked about her if I could have some of her apples, She thanked me for reminding her she needed to make applesauce and preceded to pick them all. :0(

A week later because of family issues she moved. Heather told me to help myself to her apples and I have! She thought the red ones were crab apples because they were so small but they are not. The red apples did not make very good applesauce I am sad to stay. I did skillet fry some this morning and they were OK. I was not satisfied with them so I used the apples to make a Brown Betty. This was better but I do not think I would use them again. The next step I think will be the dehydrator I got off Freecycle and have yet to use. Sounds like an excuse to try it out.  The apples are super hard so apple rings strung in the basement is out.

I know I am rambling and whining about these apples! I am very happy we have been blessed with apples. The children are thankful because I am cooking again. :0) Not so much though with all the chopping.

May your table always be bountiful.
~blair

CROCK POT APPLEASAUCE


12-14 apples of your choice
1 C apple juice
1/2 salt
Cinnamon
sugar in the raw or brown sugar

NOTE:
The apple measurement is NOT approximate. I filled my crock pot to the top. It might take more or less for yours.

I am feeling a little squash

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE fall! I love everything about it. The brisk mornings, warm afternoons and and chilly nights. The beautiful fall colors are so beautiful. Most of all I love fall food! Pumpkins, apples, red grapes ans SQUASH! Not just one kind but all kinds. I love how there are so many varieties, color and weird shapes. If it were not for my darling vegetarian daughters, I would not have a clue what I was missing.

Remember, my Mom only made certain dishes. She never deviated from them. Fried chicken, cube steak, milk gravy, corn, mashed potatoes, applesauce and cresant rolls to name a few yummies. That is how Momma pronounced them! Pork chops, applesauce, canned party peas, macaroni and cheese.  Do not get me wrong, Mom could cook a mean dinner. She was known for her parties and the food served. I will never forget when my dear friend Cameron Bell came over to hang out. Dinner time rolled around and of course he was invited to stay. I have never seen someone enjoy their food as Cameron did that night. He was sadly disappointed to learn that I could not cook like my Mom! I make a mean skillet of fried chicken but nothing I mean NOTHING could beat hers.

My Grandmother once gave me the ultimate compliment. She told me that my fried chicken was just as good as Mom's if not better! Oh my golly I thought I was going to faint! Of course that was our little secret. :0)

OK, back to squash. Squash is so easy to prepare. Each variety has its own  taste. The squash in West Virginia has a sweeter taste. In Seattle the squash has a more earthy taste. Good in its own way.
Did you know that you can prepare squash in the microwave? I have yet to try to cook it this way. If you have never tried squash is yummy and so easy to make.

                                Sarah Elizabeth hiking with friends from Edmond Heights K12

Hiking in the Cascade Mountains

Check out these monster size leaves. Heather's hand pales in size.

Get out of the house and enjoy the bounty of fall colors. Pack a picnic and take someone near and dear to your heart. Collect leaves and press them in your books. One day you will find them and remember that lovely time you shared. :0)

May your table always be bountiful~blair

ACORN SQUASH                                                             

INGREDIENTS
1 acorn squash
2 apples, cored and sliced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

To easily peel the acorn squash without losing a lot of vegetable, gently drop the squash in a large pot of boiling water, and boil for 15 minutes. Pour off the boiling water and fill with cold water and let sit 5 minutes to cool. When cool enough to handle, use a knife to slice off the peel on the ridges and use a teaspoon to dig out the peel in the valleys. Slice the squash in half and remove the seeds and stem. Then slice the halves into sections and finally cut into 1 inch chunks.

Place the squash chunks into a large microwave-safe bowl along with the apples. Dot with pieces of butter. Sprinkle the brown sugar, walnuts, salt and cinnamon over the top. Cover with plastic wrap, and poke a few holes in it for ventilation.

Cook in the microwave for 7 1/2 minutes on full power. Remove, uncover, and stir. Return to the microwave, and cook for another 7 1/2 minutes on full power, until tender. Serve hot.

VARIATIONS

You could use butternut squash for variety.
Pecans work well in this recipe instead of walnuts.
Honey or maple syrup can used with or instead of the brown sugar.
Adding cranberries and raisins gives this dish an amazing bump up!
If you prefer roasted squash, you can place this (uncovered) in the oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for just under an hour. Be sure to add 1/4 cup of water to the recipe before baking UPSIDE DOWN!

Sloppy Joe's

Every other Saturday night at our house is burger night. Not just hamburgers, but black bean burgers, salmon burgers, ground turkey and ground chicken burgers..the list goes on.

While grocery shopping the other day, Emily mentioned that she missed eating Manwich and asked to have it placed on the menu. (Just in case you did not know it, Manwich is gluten free.) I have stopped serving manwich because of the large amount of modified cornstarch as well as high fructose corn syrup. Sarah Elizabeth is on a school trip for the week-end sailing on the Zodiac Schooner. We all know she is a vegetarian so I thought Saturday night would be a good time to make a mock manwich.    

How is this for a school trip?!

Can't you just taste that sweet tomato sauce on a glorious white bun? Oh I can! But this is reality and we no longer consume white bread (sniff, sniff) Udi does make a nice a hamburger bun. They are so big that we cut them in half and can make two buns. Udi buns are not in my budget for this month so tonight we ate naked sloppy Joe's. No one seemed to mind. I served sweet potato fries, frozen corn. Emily made Betty Crocker GF chocolate chips. If I do say so myself it was good dinner.

I hope this dish makes your menu rotation.
May your table always be bountiful~ blair

GF Sloppy Joe's

2 medium onions, diced
2 tbsp minced, garlic
1 green pepper, diced
2 tbsp oil, oil or canola
2 lbs of ground beef
3/4 C ketchup
4 tbsp GF BBQ sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp chili powder
1/8 tsp ground mustard
2 C water, separated

Place onion, garlic, green pepper in a cold skillet with oil. Simmer until the veggies are tender. Add ground beef and all spices, cooking until brown. As the meat cooks, break up into smaller pieces. Once meet is browned place into a strainer to remove as must grease as possible.
While meat is draining, add one cup of water to skillet allowing any brown bits to loosen from the skillet. After about 2 minutes add ketchup, BBQ sauce, and brown sugar. Simmer until brown sugar is dissolved. Add meat back to skillet coating with sauce. Once meat is completely coated add remaining cup of water. Simmer for 30-45 mins till liquid has become a nice thick sauce.

Joe's can be served on Udi buns or sandwich slices, corn chips topped with daiya cheese, or naked on the plate! Sweet potatoes or steak fries make a wonderful side. I had intended to serve a spinach and strawberry salad but the berries did not look to hot.

Note: 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes will add an extra depth if you like it spicy.

comfort food and Milk Gravy

When I think of the word comfort food, so many yummy images comes to mind. Mac and cheese, chicken noodle soup, baked steak, smashed potatoes, and pot pie to name a few. Oh my golly my mouth is drooling. :0)
I was blessed to have been raised in West Virginia. A place where you never meet a stranger and the women are crazy amazing cooks. My Mother was raised in a small town on the border of West Virginia and Virginia. During Bluefield's hey day it was the hub of the Southern coal fields. My Grandparents  cooking style was a combination of southern and Appalachian. My Grandmother could bake up a storm. My Granddaddy was know for his rolls. I am convinced their food had such wonderful flavors because they cooked with lard.

To quote Wikipedia, " Lard is pig fat in both its rendered and unrendered forms. Lard was commonly used in many cuisines as a cooking fat or shortening:" I know your stomach is not happy right now and your face is all scrunched while saying "ewwwwww". Mind you this is before trans fat, saturated fat and any other fat. I can tell you that lard made the most amazing dinner rolls. 




I have been really sick so maybe that is why I have been craving my Mother's and Grandmother's dishes. Recently I was craving gravy. Not just any gravy. More specifically, cube steak milk gravy. But how would it taste gluten and casein free? I gave it a try using white rice flour and almond milk original. I was uncertain if white flour would thicken like regular flour. I was pleasantly delighted. :0) Now I am a pro again at milk gravy, i have found that I love brown rice flour in my milk gravy. Every once in a while I will even spoil Jeff and make it the "other way" with milk and white wheat flour. He told me the other day how wonderful my sausage gravy was. SHhh don't tell him it was GF and CF! Hee Hee Hee

May your table be bountiful~blair

Spanish Rice

Until recently any kind of Hispanic food has remained off my menus. Suddenly my family loves it. Emily feels it is certain to her beginning Spanish this year! Anyhoo, this must have been good because I ran out. Always a good sign. I think I will incorporate Spanish Rice more often. The ingredients are almost always on hand. This recipe can be found here. 

"Spanish rice, a delicious accompaniment to steak, chicken, and Mexican entrees such as tacos or    enchiladas. Spanish rice is prepared by browning the rice first with onions and garlic, before cooking it in chicken stock with added tomato. The browning is essential to the nutty, almost toasty flavor of the rice. And although bouillon can be substituted for the chicken stock, nothing beats homemade chicken stock, the rich flavor of which is absorbed by the rice." For the vegetarians that I have living at my house (cough, couch, Sarah Elizabeth and Heather :0) I use veggie stock.

Ole!

May your table be bountiful~Blair

Spanish Rice Recipe

• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (can use up to 1/4 cup)
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 cups of medium or long-grain white rice
• 3 cups* chicken stock (or vegetable stock if vegetarian)
• 1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste or 1 cup of diced fresh or cooked tomatoes, strained
• Pinch of oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt

*Check the instructions on the rice package for the proportions of liquid to rice. They can range from 1:1 to 2:1. If your rice calls for 2 cups of water for every cup of rice, then for this recipe, use 4 cups of stock for 2 cups of rice.

1 In a large skillet brown rice in olive oil, medium/high heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook onion rice mixture, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes, or until onions are softened.

2 In a separate sauce pan bring stock to a simmer. Add tomato sauce, oregano, and salt. Add rice to broth. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Lower heat and cook 15-25 minutes, depending on the type of rice and the instructions on the rice package. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Yield: Serves 4

** I double this recipe for my family. If we have company I triple the recipe! Don;t worry it will be eaten.**

Crock pot Applesauce

Our new house has nice size back yard and is surrounded by ...surprise, evergreen trees! Our neighbors on the other hand have been blessed with apple trees, red and transparent apples. My neighbor across the street, Pat, shared some of her transparent apples. Oh my golly, they made amazing applesauce! I had never made applesauce before, holly cow was it easy and yummy.
I took half of the batch camping with us over labor day with our friends the Smyer Family. Our first morning Rebekah served an insane amount of eggs and bacon to feed the masses. Between her family and our there were 12 in all. I served my apples as a side dish. Everyone thought it was apple pie filling! The large mason jar was empty before the bacon was all gone! :0)

The next door neighbor, Heather, has 2 types of apples, red and transparent. After I asked about her if I could have some of her apples she thanked me for reminding her she needed to make applesauce and preceded to pick them all. :0(

As for the red apples, Heather told me to help myself and I have! She thought the red ones were crab apples because they were so small but they are not. The red apples did not make very good applesauce I am sad to announce. I did skillet fry some this morning and they were OK.

My hands hurt.

I was not satisfied with them so I used the apples to make a Brown Betty. This was better but I do not think I would use them again. The next step I think will be the dehydrator I got off Freecycle and have yet to use. Sounds like an excuse to try it out.  The apples are super hard so apple rings strung in the basement is out.

Fried apples were good.

Brown Betty! 

I know I am rambling and whining about these apples! I am very happy we have been blessed with apples. The children are thankful because I am cooking again. :0) ( I do not cook much in hot weather.)  I am going to continue to explore my options and keep you posted!

** Make sure you check out the notes below the recipe.**

CROCK POT APPLEASAUCE


12-14 apples of your choice
1 C apple juice
1/2 salt
Cinnamon
sugar in the raw or brown sugar

NOTE:
The apple measurement is NOT approximate. I filled my crock pot to the top. It might take more or less for yours.
When the crock pot was half full, I heavily sprinkled sugar in the raw and cinnamon over apples. I did this again once the crock pot was full. Mix salt into apple juice then pour over apples. Cover and cook 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. If you are cooking through the night,  make sure to place the heat on low. You can actually burn your apples by keeping them on high too long. Then you will arise to a horrible smell and crock pot to clean.
If you are fast cooking, still keep an eye on your apples. After 2 hours stir apples. I wanted the apples on the top to make it to the bottom. You can tell how your apples are doing by trying to squishing apples on the side of the crock pot. If you are cooking these through the night, no worries. Stirring is not necessary.
These apples were heavenly to awaken to! I served scrabble eggs, bacon and toast broiled in the oven. My Grandma would be so proud. The kids loved it!
For those living in West Virginia and further South, watch for little June apples in Mid-June in the west they are called Shamrock apples. These are the best to fry with a little butter, and bacon grease. It is the closest thing to Heaven I will ever eat. :0)
May your table be bountiful of old fashion yumminess!
Love~Blair