Thanksgiving

I totally forgot to take a picture of my plate when it was piled high.
Here's my plate when I had finished off half my food!

This is horrible of me. I made so much yummy food for Thanksgiving, I don't know where to start!

I suppose I'll start by saying it was an awesome day with family and food, and that I look forward to our Christmas together. (Christmas weekend will be such a weekend of food! Friday is Christmas with my folks and Grandma, morning is just our little family, afternoon/evening with TBG's family, Sunday morning is a Christmas celebration at church, and then that afternoon/evening with my cousins! Wooiee!)

I love my family

We enjoyed amazing food-turkey, potato's o'Doyle, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, cranberry relish, gravy, dinner rolls, red jello for Grandma (her favorite food), fruit salad...and then apple pie, spicy molasses cookies, chocolate cupcakes and ice cream for dessert! Gluttony! Of all that, the only foods TBG and I couldn't have were the potato's o'Doyle-dairy-and I couldn't have the jello-sugar. But everything else? Gluten free. Dairy free. Sugar free. And so darn yummy! (the ice cream is called Rice Dream, btw..)

Tonight I'll just post the green bean casserole recipe. I kinda altered the original sweet potato recipe...a lot,... so I need to remember how I made it.. >_>

1.5 lbs-ish of fresh green beans
10 ounces mushrooms-I made a combo of 3 different mushies 
3 cloves garlic, minced

generous pinch cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
Fresh pepper to taste
2 tablespoons TG's all purpose flour
3/4 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon dry sherry
3/4 cup coconut milk
5-6+ bacon strips, cooked
1 can water chestnuts, chopped

onions, sliced and cut into small pieces
1 egg or egg white, whipped
all purpose flour seasoned with salt and pepper

1. Steam the green beans. Boiling them takes out lots of the nutrients. We want this casserole to have a semblance of health. ^_^
2. Chop the mushrooms into small pieces. You want pieces that you won't mind taking bites out of from your fork-so not huge chunks!
3. Toss mushrooms, salt, pepper and cayenne into a non-stick pan. Stir it around on medium-low heat until softened and the juices start smelling really good and earthy.
4. Whisk broth, flour and sherry together, add to the mushrooms and simmer for about 10 minutes or until it starts to thicken on its own. Add the milk and simmer until it thickens a bit more. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.
5. Crumble/cut the bacon into small pieces. Toss bacon, water chestnuts and green beans together in casserole dish. Add the mushroom sauce. Stir together so the mushroom chunks aren't just on top.
6. Coat onions in egg and dip into flour mix. Fry on stovetop until golden brown and smelling really good. Layer on top of the casserole.
7. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or so.

Enjoy! Serves roughly 10, with 90 calories and 10 carbs a serving!



And also the sweet potato casserole-

2 sweet potato's-LARGE
2 yam's -LARGE
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 TBSP coconut milk

1/4 cup butter, softened
3 TBSP TG's all purpose flour
1/2 cup+ chopped pecans
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Cut the sweet potato's and yam's into even chunks. Steam until a fork runs through them smoothly.
2. Mash the potato's, eggs, salt, butter, syrup and milk until they reach a consistancy that you like.
3. Pour mixture into casserole dish.
4. Now mix together the remaining butter, flour, cinnamon, pecans and sugar. Dollop over the sweet potato's. Bake for 30 minutes at 350.

Serves 16ish, 155 calories and 18 carbs apiece

And I leave you with this image of Lulu, for her Thanksgiving dinner:

Addition to the family, and the best time of day!

Sooo...we've added to our family yet again...

Her name is Lulu Teshua. (Teshua means deliverance, deliverance by God through a human agency)

Isn't she soo cute?!

My hubby found her at work, malnourished, alone, being literally eaten alive by fleas. He called me to come pick her up-to either take to a shelter, or to home. We decided to take her home and find a good home for her. I took her to TAGS-the local shot animal clinic- to get her checked out. The Dr there wasn't sure if she'd even survive the weekend, because of how low on blood she was. He gave her a flea med then and there, and we watched as literally ten or more fleas jumped off her after the med's went on her. She came home, got a bath, got oral med's to increase the production of blood, and has been in solitary confinement since then to prevent the spread of fleas. Now she's lively, flea-free thanks to her med's, has survived THREE bath's, has an amazingly voracious appetite, and loves attention.

We already found her a good home.

Us.

We had both said that our limit is 3 kitties until we move. But TBG fell in love with her, as did I, and so now we have more motivation to move. So note this everyone- WHEN WE MOVE NEXT YEAR, IT WILL BE BECAUSE WE HAVE MORE FELINES, NOT BECAUSE OF PREGNANCY!!! That being said, I can now say I'm happy to have our new family member, and on to the food part of today!

I'll admit I've been wanting waffles. I figured out a good pancake recipe, but waffles, oh waffles! The crunch of the waffle, and the softness of it's innards. The delightful nooks and crannies, just perfect for holding my butter and syrup. The texture and taste and warmth of that first bite. Mmmm... Yes, I enjoy my breakfast. Waffles, with some scrambled eggs and bacon, yummy! But alas, for I could not find a waffle recipe that I could have.

Until now.

Baby, oh baby, these are good! Everything that TBG and I could ask for in a waffle. Texture. Crunch and softness. Flavor. And healthy! Yes, life is good and we are living very blessed lives!

I made a full batch, which gave me 8 squares total. We each had 2 squares, and are saving the last 4 for tomorrow's breakfast. Yay for frozen waffles! ^_^

Never say no.

1 1/4 cup gluten free Bette Hagman mix (see below)

1/4 cup almond meal
1 tbsp flax seed meal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp coconut sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 cup almond milk
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Sift together the dry ingredients, and mix them up a bit.
2. Add all the wet ingredients together-minus the egg whites. Allow it to gel a bit. (flax seed will do this naturally, do not be alarmed!)
3. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl, until the fluffy peaks form.
4. Carefully fold in the egg whites, and stir gently until fully incorporated.
5. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron and bake as normal.
6. Enjoy!

We loved these. The only difficulty? Kinda high carb and calorie-230 calories and 20 carbs each square. >_< Fortunately, they taste amazing enough for it to be worthwhile. ^_^ Pour on your favorite syrup, slather on your favorite butter, or top with your favorite fruit! Breakfast is a lovely time of day, isn't it?

** The flour mix recipe**

2 parts white rice flour
2/3 part potato starch
1/3 part tapioca starch

You can make a whole bunch of this and store in the pantry or fridge. ^_^

A bit of rambling...and then soup!

My stove top is filthy.

It had been sparkling clean earlier this week, but this week has been so insanely busy, that I haven't had the time to upkeep the sparkle. ...and now, it is covered in little bits of dinners and breakfasts from throughout the week. *sighs* I'll be cleaning it tomorrow. Tonight, when I really looked at my stove, it was a frightening sight to behold, and I will not tolerate it anymore! Beware, oh stove top crumbs, your hours are numbered!

So...in case it wasn't obvious, I'm rather tired and my brain is rambling. So sorry!

Don't really know where to start for all this week, so I'll just keep it simple and sweet for tonight. In preparation for the winter and sick season, I wanted to get at least one really good chicken soup recipe down pat. (and also because my throat feels ever so slightly sore from the cooler weather, and hot soup just plain sounded good!) I've been looking through my new Pampered Chef cookbooks for recipes for dinner, and one caught my eye with the soup craving thing-Greek Lemon Chicken Soup. (page 35 of the "It's Good For You" cookbook) I altered it a  bit, because we couldn't have/find some of the ingredients that are gluten/dairy friendly, and I added to it because I had stuff in the fridge that just sounded good. All in all, a yummy, filling dinner! I had some leftover, and I poured it into a ziploc bag and tossed it in the freezer. Now, in case of illness emergency, we have some soup we can pull out, stick in a pan on the stove and heat up! Woot!

I'm going to write the recipe in the rough estimations of what I did. I recommend getting the cookbook, as it's full of great recipes, and if you can have dairy and wheat and such things, then it'll be a great addition!

1 large chicken breast, chopped and cooked
1 chorizo pork sausage, cooked and chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup-ish chopped onion
1 leek, chopped
1 celery, chopped
1 lemon
1 garlic clove
32 oz chicken broth
1/3 carton of creamy portobello mushroom soup (Imagine brand has no dairy!)
1/4 tsp black pepper
2/3 cup uncooked long-grain white rice

1. Zest one lemon, and measure out roughly 1 tsp zest. Juice lemon. (you want about 1/4 cup juice)
2. In the pot you're using for the soup, add carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes. Add chicken, sausage, and all other veggies and broths. Bring to a boil.
3. Add rice, and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. The rice should be tender in about 20ish minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Serves about 8.  230 calories and 26 carbs each serving

You know you're hungry...

 I have only this to say: for being Gluten Free, I can sure make myself a mean sandwich!

Cookies!

For some reason, I've been craving every single carb-y thing that's bad for me lately. Donuts, bagels, cake, cookies, bread, pasta... So far, I've succesfully made the cake, cookies and bread. I buy really yummy brown rice pasta. I have a recipe for donuts. And I have a recipe for bagels. (soo gonna try the donuts sometime soon!)

But when I was reminded that I had signed up to bring 3 dozen baked goods today, I knew I had to make cookies. I wasn't too sure which kind of cookie I wanted to make, but I knew I wanted cookies. So I looked around a bit, and then decided. I was going to make the spicy molasses cookies that Shauna makes (gluten free girl and the chef) and I was going to make the apple quinoa cookies with dates and walnuts that Natalie makes (gluten free mommy). I hit it right on. The cookies are very different-and soo good in their own unique way! My hubby loves the molasses cookies. I prefer the apple quinoa cookies. (Which is funny, because those are the closest I can get to an oatmeal cookie right now. Even though, a year ago, I HATED oatmeal cookies!)  My parents really liked the molasses, our friends from Bible study really liked the apple quinoa. Everyone really liked both-but they each had their preference. Fine by me!

This Thanksgiving, I'll be making an apple pie and molasses cookies. I think that sounds most excellent. ^_^ And we'll see what we cook up for Christmas... For tonight's Bible study, I'll be making more fresh cookies-both types-as well as bringing some tart green apples to lightly bake with maple syrup and mapled pecans. Tonight will be LOTS of food for only 6 adults. (granted, we'll have a 1 year old, and 2 preggo ladies, so that's gotta count for something, right?...)

I really do hope that these posts can encourage anyone who's new to gluten free. I'm still learning as I go, but hopefully this will give a bit of a sounding board to spring from! And maybe, someday, I can grow my Pampered Chef business into something that's more directed just for the celiac community and the lactose free community, and all the different groups with allergies. I know I'm tired of going to events like that where I can't eat anything! I can't be the only person out there like that.

But cookies. That's what we want for today. Just cookies.

Spicy Molasses Cookies

3/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup potato starch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/3 cup arrowroot
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon guar gum
1 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1/4 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
1 cup coconut sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup molasses

1. Combine the butter and sugar. Once that is incorporated, add the eggs, and then drizzle in the molasses. Once that's fully mixed, stop the mixer. (if using one)
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. I highly recommend sifting it all together, but the world won't implode if you don't.
3. Slowly add the flour to the wet mix. (you can turn on the mixer now) Mix thouroughly.
4. Now the hard part. Put that dough in the fridge. For at LEAST an hour. It's best if overnight.
5. Once enough time has passed, preheat the oven to 350.
6. Line your cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into balls about a tablespoon size. I use the palm of my hand to gently squish them down slightly, so they don't roll off my sheet. Place the balls about 2" apart.
7. Bake for 15 minutes. They should be slightly browned on the edges, and have a bit of "give" in the center. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes before transfer. I slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheet and onto the cooler counter top to help cool them faster if in a hurry.  
8. Allow to cool a bit more. Grab a mug of coffee (or milk for you people's who can) and dig in!

When you make them into small balls, you can get about 54 cookies, at 60 calories and 7 carbs apiece!

Want to check out the original recipe? http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2009/11/34-cup-sorghum-flour-12-cup-tapioca.html  Shauna is amazing! And speaking of amazing, she and her hubby Danny are pulling together tons of gluten-free recipes for Thanksgiving! TONS! If this year seems a bit darker and more depressing because it's a first time around for the holidays, you have GOT to check out their blog! I promise you, you will not be disappointed. It has been a very bright spot of warmth and encouragement, and has really blessed me with coping through the last couple months! Say yes. It is possible. And if you try out any of the recipes, or post your own recipe, link it to this post-http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2010/11/gluten-free-thanksgiving-2010.html . They have a raffle going on for items to help start the newbie gluten free chef. They announce winners next Monday, the 22nd. Can we say awesome power couple?!

And you have to check out their cookbook! It has been phenonomal. Remember that pumpkin soup recipe I made? It's from that cookbook. (only, the recipe in the cookbook doesn't have my dairy-free substitutions. Which means it probably tastes even BETTER than what I posted!) Pear apple tart. Aoili dip. Breakfast recipes. Dinner recipes. Recipes that I can read and understand and make. And it's a story too-how she got diagnosed, how they met, how they married, and eventually the newest blessing in their life-little Lu. I HIGHLY recommend asking for that book for Christmas! For gluten-free folk and those who are not-the food is superb and you'd never be able to tell the difference! Go add that book to your wishlist. Now. And then come back and finish reading this post. ^_^

And I'm making it super easy. You can't say you couldn't find it now-I've even got the link for you!

http://www.amazon.com/Gluten-Free-Girl-Shauna-James-Ahern/dp/0470419717/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1289837331&sr=1-1

And now that you've done that, here's the other cookie recipe of goodness and delight. My new favorite, the apple quinoa+d+w. My new name for it. Because otherwise it's too long to write out! *laughs*

Apple Quinoa+D+W Cookies

1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
3 cups quinoa flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
8 oz. pitted dates, chopped
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 cup apple, chopped
2 cups coconut sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Beat butter and sugar until combined, then add the eggs and vanilla.
2. Keep the dates, apple and walnuts separated for now.
3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Slowly add the dry to the wet, mixing constantly as you go. Add in the dates, apple and walnuts. Once it's just mixed, you're ready.
4. Fridge for an hour or so.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 and pull out that dough! Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1-2 TBSP sized balls. I made mine small, but then I had more cookies to eat. ^_^ Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on your oven. Once the edges of the cookie starts to turn brown just slightly, they are done and ready to be pulled out. Allow to cool before transfer and consumption.

When I made my batch, and I admit I made the cookies smaller, I got about 60 cookies from the batch. Those were 110 calories and 15 carbs each. And if you want to see Natalie's original recipe: http://glutenfreemommy.com/apple-quinoa-cookies-with-dates-and-walnuts/ I really like alot of Natalie's food posts. I'm just sad because she hasn't posted anything new in quite awhile. I'm really hoping everything is ok with her and the family..

These women are amazing. It is thanks to ladies like them who blog that I get recipes and recipe ideas and can enjoy life as a gluten free woman. Thank you Lord for blogs and people with creativity! ^_^

13 days until Thanksgiving!

So, with this being my first ever round of holidays with major food adventures, I'm preparing now! Trying out new recipes, confirming old recipes, bustling through the kitchen and dreaming about food when I sleep. I love the holidays!

One of the things I was concerned about was dinner rolls. What Thanksgiving or Christmas is complete without dinner rolls? Almost every dinner table has some type of roll, bisquit, bread or other tasty carb. And I didn't want to be sitting at the table watching every one else enjoying their butter and/or honey laden carbs, while I sit there without. That just wouldn't do. (it would really take the "Thanks" out of Thanksiving for me!)

Well. I am going to very Thankful this Thanksgiving. For the tastebuds the Lord has blessed me with. For the miracle of recipes without the "normal" ingredients. For the family that can congregate around the table and enjoy foods of gastronomical delight. For salvation and the peace of mind in knowing where my eternity is-and where our loved ones are that won't be with us these holidays. God is good.

And another thing to be thankful for-these dinner rolls! TBG and I tried them out a few days ago. We told ourselves we would limit ourselves to 2 each if they were good. ...after we each had more than 4, I had to put away the leftovers in the freezer so we wouldn't finish off the whole batch in one night. Sooo good! With just butter. With butter and honey. With just honey. By themselves. These are dinner rolls!

Happiness in my hand!

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 cup coconut  milk
3 ounces almond flour
3 ounces millet flour
2.25 ounces potato starch
2.25 ounces tapioca flour
2.25 ounces sweet rice flour
2 ounces arrowroot
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons coconut sugar
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon guar gum
1/2 cup quinoa flakes
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
handful of sesame seeds

1. Proof the yeast with the coconut milk and a pinch of sugar. What I did with the milk was to nuke in the microwave for about 2 minutes (do it on a lower power level) until the milk is body temperature. Then add the yeast and sugar, stirring gently. Let sit for 15 minutes until its doubled.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients. It's best to sift the flours together first, just so they're well blended and one coherent flour..
3. Add 6 TBSP of the butter, the egg, and the yeast/milk mixture. Beat for about 3 minutes. The dough will be soft-do not add flour to compensate! Think soft cookie dough. That's what you want.
4. Cover the dough and allow it to rise until double. If you need to, turn the oven to warm and put the bowl in there so it has a low, gentle heat to activate the yeast.
5. Grease your cookie sheet pan or pie pan or muffin pan. Use whatever you prefer to make bisquit size/shape. Roll the dough into balls-think golf ball on steroids. Allow to rise again.
6. Preheat oven to 375. Melt the remaining butter and lightly brush the roll tops with it. Sprinkle sesame seeds onto rolls. Bake for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, and then eat that yummy goodness!

I made mine in the larger of my mini-muffin tins. So they were smaller-which was a really good thing considering how many we ate in the end! I got 24 smaller rolls out of one batch. Huzzah!
            Roughly 138 calories and 14 carbs each.

Oh yeah babe!

More fun with zuccini...there's just something about that veggie!

Moist, fudgy, amazing goodness!

I confess I sometimes wonder if anyone reads this blog...just because few people comment...but then I check the stats, and discover that it IS read! Yay! ^_^

Yesterday I wanted to use up the last of my baseball bat sized zuccini. It was so huge...but I successfully used it up! And in a most delicious way too. First, I made another batch of zuccini muffins. This time I made only muffins with cranberries, and then  muffins with nuts. (TBG loves the nuts best, but the cranberries are our second favorite) I took some to a friend's house for a pre-dinner snack, froze some, and took the rest over to another friend's house. Gotta share the love a bit!

There was another thing I took to both my friend's houses. What I used the last of the zuccini on. Zuccini brownies. Don't make a face! They were the best! So fudgy, rich, thick, soo not unhealthy tasting! So delicious by themselves. Amazing when heated up slightly, and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of it! (mind you, for us dairy-free peoples, our ice cream is Vanilla Rice Dream, tastes just like a vanilla ice cream and sooo good!) That Bearded Guy and I were melting into our chairs. Best dessert ever. We were shocked with how amazing they were. And the best part? They are less carbs and calories than the peanut butter brownies, so I can eat more of them! ^_^ Just what I needed for pre-holidays!

And it was really rather lovely, before, when I'd grate zuccini or anything, I'd use my hand grater. But this time, I used my mandolin slicer that I got with my work supplies. And this doesn't scare me like my old mandolin slicer-this has a much better food gripper thingy! It made quick work of the zuccini, and my fingertips weren't tingling with fear like they used to. (I kinda sliced my finger really deep another time on my old mandolin slicer. I've been scared of the things every since) Yay for a new kitchen toy tool!

I found the recipe online, and it wasn't a gluten-free friendly recipe. Nor was it lactose-free friendly. Or diabetic friendly, for that matter! But I changed that baby around and made it perfect for our consumption. *woot*

And now you can enjoy some lovely, semi-healthy, gluten-free, dairy-free brownies for your households consumption!



1 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 cup white rice flour
1/3 cup sweet rice flour
(if you want, you can use just 1 cup of any rice flour, the blend is best, but if you don't have time or all the flours listed, it is a completely viable option)
1/4 cup cocoa
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup carob chips
1/4 cup maple chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray your 8x11 brownie pan of choice.
2. In a mixer, blend the sugar, oil and flour until it resembles wet sand. (and it will!) After it resembles sand, keeping the mixer on low, add cocoa, zuccini, vanilla, salt and baking soda. Once it's fully incorporated, add in the carob chips.
3. Pour brownie batter into pan and bake for 25-30, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and brownies appear set.
4. Let cool fully before cutting. If you have the patience. It'll look a bit messy if you're impatient. Just FYI... >_>

Serves about 35. 80 calories and 13.5 carbs each. YAY!

 Oh, and as a note, the maple chips give little bursts of sweetness-and they are the lighter colored flecks in the brownie pictures. We've yet to actually find a strand of zuccini. It just melts into the brownie!



With the ice cream of immense yummy-ness!

Leftovers and eggs and a picture of That Cat #2

I love food. And I love sharing it with others! Randomly talked to a lovely gal in the store today, discussing pumpkins and what we each do with it. Told her about my pumpkin soup recipe. Very enjoyable conversation. I just wish there was a way to share gluten free/sugar free/dairy free recipes and foods with people without them freaking out and thinking it'll taste gross. (she didn't, by the way, but most people I mention such things to suddenly look very skeptical and find a way to change the conversational direction very quickly)

JUST BECAUSE YOU TRIED SOME NASTY, ICKY, STORE BOUGHT GLUTEN FREE "FOOD" ITEM IN THE PAST, DOES NOT MEAN ALL GLUTEN FREE IS ICKY!!!

If only people would believe that..I've been having fun with the church food social experiment. Post a sign next to a food. If that sign says "gluten free", next to no one will touch it. Remove sign. Food will be gone in 3 minutes or less.

*sighs*

Anyways, that's not at all what I'm going to really talk about tonight. Well, to be honest, I'm not really talking about much of anything tonight! Just felt like posting yesterday's breakfast and dinner pictures. ^_^ Oh! Did I mention yet? I am now a Pampered Chef consultant! So I just got my HUGE box full of kitchen supplies and goodies, and I've been directed to use them in the kitchen, so when I go out to work my PC shows, I can talk about what I've made with the items. I seriously think I got the better end of THAT bargain! I am hoping to find people with specific food allergies and work with them, but we'll see how well that comes along..

Sephiroth liked the box all my Pampered Chef paperwork came in...
that's the only reason that box is still on our loveseat at this moment in time.
Because he looks too darn cute for us to take the box away!

 So we still have a bit of that pumpkin soup leftover-oh shucks, more yummy soup to eat!-and so I've been looking for ways to still serve the soup, but have more than just soup.

This time I decided to make pork chops on the side and add a salad. The pork chops were an experiment, and they turned out good-but next time they'll turn out amazing. This time I used pumpkin seeds for the breading, and next time I'll use pecans. (for the record, when I say use them, I am somehow implying that they have been pulverized to death in the food processor first. Just in case that somehow didn't carry through...) We liked the pumpkin seeds, but sometimes they were too crunchy-ish. I've done pecans before, and those are just...amazing...brilliant...a soothing blend of awesomeness in the mouth...yeah..try it.

Either way, dinner was good! We greatly enjoyed our leftover soup-for the second night in a row. As long as I keep it somewhat changed, we're both happy. ^_^

Pumpkin seed breading. I do wish I had a more powerful
food processor. Guess what's on this year's wish list?...

The pork chops originally had bones in them. But I cut away the
bones and trimmed the fat off. I tossed the fat, but kept the bones,
I hope to make some stock later next week, and those will be useful.

Flipped! I love searing foods-the only problem is
when I'm not paying attention, and I grab the oil
that has a high smoke factor.. >_>

Finished product!

This has to be one of my best food pictures yet. I must say.

But I also love this picture. So I'm not entirely sure which I like best...

Maybe someday I'll take a photography class, and get a really spiffy camera and take really cool shots of my food. And maybe someday I'll actually figure out good lighting for taking pictures of my food. Until then, I'll just live for the rare moments where the picture turns out as good as those!

 Ever have a horrible case of the munchies? That's now. And I'm already at my carb limit for the day. >_> Meh, whatever. Oh, sweet potato chips, how I love thee! ^_^

Just a close up of yesterday's breakfast. I made a smaller version of
Sunday's egg casserole dish, and then added in mini zuccini
muffins on the side. Soo good!

Imagine if we were allowed dairy? And then I could add cheese?...

OOoohhh...

Halloween and yummy foods

This past weekend was insane. Plain and simple.

Saturday- make 5 course meal for Mystery Dinner
Sunday morning- make 2 different baked goods, a protein dish and 2 fruit dishes for church food table
Sunday night- dinner for friends coming over for Halloween Hullabaloo
Tuesday-working the polls for election day-6am to 10:30pm-need food for myself all day

It was busy. And I survived it! And now I have a few more great recipes in my clutches for this season! *bwahahaha*

Saturday was fun. Plain and simple. My friend was hosting a Mystery Dinner, and she wanted to have a 5 course meal with it. Small problem is, my hubby and I were both going to go, and we have all these food allergy problems. Soo, I volunteered to "cater" it and make food there at the party. So much fun. We had aioli dip with roasted potato slices and carrot sticks, a lovely green salad, pumpkin soup, cranberry chicken with rice and green beans, and an asian apple tart. The tart and soup were my favorite. And this is coming from the girl that has texture issues, didn't like pumpkin for so many years, and couldn't stand cooked fruit dishes. Yeah. Life changes.

That soup. Oh, that soup! New favorite for our house. It is amazing. Plain and simple. The ailoi dip, the pumpkin soup and the tart recipe all came from Gluten Free Girl and the Chef's cookbook. Amazing book-if you have gluten allergies-GO BUY THIS BOOK NOW! Or, better yet, TELL YOUR FAMILY YOU WANT IT FOR CHRISTMAS!!! No joke-best birthday gift I got this year. I use this book so much!

The great thing about the recipes in the book-as long as you follow it and don't make a ton of changes to the recipes, it'll turn out amazing. Everything I've made has been delicious. Even with me needing to alter it for dairy avoidance. Amazing food. Amazing!

 Anyways, back to that night. It was great, I made the tart crust the night before, because the dough needed to be fridged overnight. Prepped as much as I could for all the different aspects I was going to be making. Made the dip a few hours before. Cooked the crust and tart there. I had so many lovely ladies helping in the kitchen to prepare! So many thanks to them! I had one friends slicing potato's into little wedges for the appetizer, another helping with dicing up onions for the soup, and then various floaters who would open the oven door for me when needed and stir this and that when needed. Amazing team effort. I made the tart, got that baked, cooled and put in the fridge to chill. Then focused on the soup. And it was worth it. Every minute spent working on that soup was worth it. My oh my. I had been nervous-THREE recipes I had never tried, but was going to making for a crowd. Why did I worry? Why worry when it's recipes from GFGirl? Seriously, silly me!

Creamy. Chunky. Spicy. Sweet. Smooth going down. A warm, hearty soup that sings of autumn leaves and scarves and evenings with family. I could eat bowls of this all day. Perfect for this weather!

Try it. You won't be disappointed. And if, somehow, you are-then call me and I'll pick it up and eat it for you. But if you follow this recipe, I promise you won't be sad.

One 5-pound sugar or pie pumpkin

6 TBSP EVOO

kosher salt and cracked pepper
1 large carrot, peeled and large diced
1 red onion, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, large diced
5 cloves garlic, smashed into smaller pieces (and peeled, of course)
1 TBSP chopped fresh sage (I only had dry, used the same amount)
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, quartered and medium diced
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (or, like me, powdered)
1 bay leaf
2 quarts chicken stock
1/2 cup coconut milk (or heavy cream, for you dairy people)
2 TBSP butter

2 tsp pumpkin seed oil (or EVOO)

1.  Preheat the oven to 450. Cut the tops off the pumpkins and slice into quarters. Scoop out all the pumpkin guts-but save the seeds for later. Arrange pumpkin flesh side up on baking sheet. Brush on EVOO and salt/pepper mix. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the flesh is soft. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
2. You can use the same sheet if you want, but either way, lightly coat the seeds with oil. Toss in the oven for about 5-10 minutes, until the start to brown ever so slightly. Season with salt and set aside to cool.
3. Scoop the pumpkin flesh from the skin. Dispose of skin. Break/cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces-about the size of chunks you wouldn't mind on your spoon in a soup.
4. Set a large-ish stockpot over medium heat and add the last of the EVOO. Add carrot, onion, celergy, garlic and cook, stirring until the onion turns translucent. Maybe 10 minutes or so. Add sage and cook until you start smelling the herb.
5. Add in the sweet potato. (yay!) Toss in nutmeg an bay leaf. Pour in the chicken stock, and add the pumpkin chunks. Bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until that sweet potato is tender.
6. Find and remove the bay leaf-it has done its job well. Puree 3/4 of the soup and add it back to the chunky soup. It will create a lovely cacophany of texture. Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper.
7. Add cream/coconut milk and butter. Bring to a boil then again reduce to a simmer for about another 10 minutes. We're thickening it a bit, and giving it a few minutes to fully blend and incorporate. Stir it frequently through this time.
8. Ladle the soup into bowls, and garnish with pumpkin seeds a little dash of pumpkin seed oil. Serve.

 Serves 6-8. 322 calories and 35 carbs

I think I prefer my soup without the seeds added to it-I prefer munching on them while cooking and mingling. A delicious little snack. (I say this as I'm sitting here typing and munching on them)

Best soup ever!

Next time I make the apple tart I'll take pictures and post the recipe. (unless you want the recipe now?) Just know it tasted great. So very great!

I'll post one more recipe for now, then I gotta run a few errands for work. (yay work!) The protein dish I made for Sunday. I've never made an egg casserole before, and I felt a bit intimidated when I realized that all recipes for egg casseroels have cheese in them. I mean, an egg casserole without cheese? Would that even taste good?

MMmmm...yes!

May I emphasize this as a protein dish?...

3 sausage
4 bacon
1/2-1 cup sweet potato
6-8+ eggs
1/2 cup+ coconut milk
chili pepper

Cooking the sausage, break into small bits. Dice the sweet potato and add to the sausage. Season kinda heavily with chili powder. Once it's cooked, spread into the bottom of the baking dish, reserving a small amount. Beat eggs and milk, and pour into pan, enough to cover sausage and potato. Cook bacon and break into small bits. Sprinkle 3/4 of the bacon over the egg. Add the last of the egg and sprinkle with remaining sausage/potato/bacon. Bake in oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. Serve.

Sooo good!