Flourless Chocolate Brownies

I just pulled these out of the oven, and my husband and I just ate one! They taste good, but we aren't completely happy with the recipe. They taste a little dry even though they look and feel moist. I added chopped walnuts to the batter and sprinkled a handful of milk chocolate chips on top before baking. The recipe is definitely a keeper. But, next time I'm going to make some alterations to see if I can get it to taste even better!

·4 eggs

·2 TBS butter, melted

·⅓ cup sugar       

·2/3 cup cocoa powder

·Dash of salt

·Optional inclusions (nuts, chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc.)

Preheat oven to 350˚. In the kitchen stand mixer bowl, beat eggs and melted butter together. Mix in sugar and salt. Add cocoa powder and mix until cocoa powder is fully absorbed and well blended, but do not over-mix. Fold in any optional inclusions. Spread into a buttered 9x9 pan and top with any additional inclusions. Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 9 brownies.

GF Meat Enchiladas

We love this quick, easy, and delicious recipe! We made it tonight with shredded beef and added the veggies this time - it turned out great.

·1 lb. ground or shredded beef or chicken

·1 pkg. McCormick Enchilada Sauce Mix

·1 ½ cups water

·1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

·12 corn tortillas

·1 cup shredded cheese (Cheddar or Mexican blend)

·1 medium onion, chopped

·1 green pepper, chopped

Stir sauce mix, water, and tomato sauce in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. In a large skillet, reheat shredded meat from previous crock-pot cooking (or brown ground meat) with onion and pepper. Stir in ½ cup of sauce. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Spoon meat and veggie mix into each tortilla. Roll tortillas slightly and place seam-side down in a 13x9 inch baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas and top with cheese. Bake at 350˚ for 15 minutes.

I've also shared this recipe on: Seasonal Sundays

My Pantry - Blue Diamond Almond Nut-Thins with a Hint of Sea Salt

These Nut-Thins are really growing on us. My husband prefers them over regular crackers - and he's not forced to eat them! I like the Sea Salt flavor better than the Smokehouse flavor I opened earlier this month, but they are still both great! Right now, we are eating them with Vermont Cheddar Cheese - yum!

GF Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli Cheddar Soup is one of our favorites and I've been working on perfecting a non-gf recipe from last winter. My hubby and I whipped up this recipe tonight and kept tweaking it until we loved it! He said, "I'm not gonna lie, this is the best soup you've ever made." I agree, it's amazingly delicious!

·1 medium onion, chopped

·EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

·3 cups chicken broth

·1 cup milk

·2 ½ TBS cornstarch

·3-4 cups broccoli florets

·1 cup chopped carrots

·Salt and pepper

·3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Drizzle EVOO in a large pot and add onion. Cook onions until softened. Add chicken broth and milk, then whisk in cornstarch over medium heat. Add salt and pepper to taste, and cook over medium heat until it begins to thicken. Meanwhile, steam broccoli florets. Once broccoli is steamed, chop into smaller pieces in a food processor. Add broccoli and carrots to soup pot and cook for about 7 more minutes – or until carrots are tender. Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

I've also shared this recipe on: Seasonal Sundays

GF Oreo Cookies

OMG, these cookies are phenomenal!!! I saw this recipe about two hours ago on one of the blogs I follow (http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/). I have no self-control and had to try this recipe ASAP. And, even better, I've really been wanting some Oreos lately. My husband and I tasted the chocolate wafer dough and weren't overjoyed. But, we stuck to the recipe and put them in the oven. To our surprise, the wafers taste delicious and are crisp like a normal cookie. The cream is delicious! When I was putting the sandwich cookies together, I was worried I didn't have enough cream. But, once you start eating them there is the perfect amount of cream. These GF Oreos are delicious and taste better than store-bought Oreos. I can't wait to share these with my family this weekend!

Chocolate Wafer Ingredients:                      ·½ cup & 2 TBS butter, softened   
·1 ¼ cups GF all-purpose flour                         ·1 egg

·¼ tsp xanthan gum                                           Cream Filling Ingredients:

·½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder              ·¼ cup butter, softened

·1 tsp baking soda                                              ·¼ cup Crisco

·¼ tsp baking powder                                        ·2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

·¼ tsp salt                                                             ·2 tsp vanilla extract

·1 cup sugar                                                        

Preheat oven to 375˚. In the kitchen mixer bowl, thoroughly mix the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar. While on low speed, add the butter and then the egg. Continue mixing until the dough comes together in a mass.

Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a baking sheet, lined with a silicone baking mat, two inches apart. Slightly flatten the dough with your hands. Bake for 8 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Set baking sheets on stovetop to cool.

To make the cream, place butter and Crisco in the kitchen mixing bowl. At low speed, gradually beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cookies, spoon a teaspoon-size blob of cream onto the bottom center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie.

Makes 25-30 Oreo cookies.

*In case you are wondering, for all of my recipes that refer to "GF all-purpose flour" I use Bob's Red Mill GF All-Purpose Baking Flour.

GF Fettuccine – Low Cal

Fettuccine Alfredo is one of my favorites. My mom gave me this low cal sauce recipe, and it's delicious! This time I made meatless and topped it with broccoli, tomatoes, and green onions. It's also delicious with grilled chicken. I used Tinkyada GF Brown Rice pasta (picture below). My family recommended it to me and it tastes just like regular pasta noodles!

·1 TBS butter

·¾ cup milk

·2 TBS cream cheese

·1 tsp minced garlic

·¼ cup Parmesan cheese

·Salt & Pepper to taste

In a saucepan, mix and stir butter, milk, cream cheese, and minced garlic over medium heat until bubbly. Add Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper and stir until no clumps remain. Toss with al dente noodles. Sauce will be thin and runny – thickens on noodles.

I've also shared this recipe on: Seasonal Sundays

Southwestern Chicken & Black Bean Tacos (Rachael Ray)

This recipe is one of our favorites from Rachael Ray's Classic 30-Minute Meals Cookbook. We just love this dish, and we only had to make a few easy changes to make it GF. The recipe below is our slight modifications on Rachael's original. Rachael's recipe is actually for large flour burritos, but we can only find small corn tortillas around us - so this dish is more of a taco for us! Enjoy - it's amazingly delicious!!

·3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
·1 tsp. ground cumin
·1 tsp. chili powder
·1 ½ tsp. hot sauce
·1 TBS EVOO
·½ medium onion, chopped
·2 tsp. minced garlic
·1 15-oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed
·⅓ cup bbq sauce (we've been using honey bbq sauce since it's what we have open, but Rachael's recipe calls for smoky)
·Salt and pepper to taste
·Shredded lettuce, as needed for each taco
·3 green onions, thinly sliced
·1-2 tomatoes, chopped, as needed for each taco
·Sour cream, as needed for each taco
·Corn tortillas

Dice chicken before cooking and place into a large bowl. Heat a skillet with EVOO. Season with cumin, chili powder, and hot sauce. Place chicken in the skillet and cook until done. In another skillet, cook the onions and garlic until tender. Add black beans and bbq sauce to the pan with the onions and garlic. Once the chicken is finished, add it to the skillet with beans and bbq. Season with salt and pepper and cook until it's well heated.

For the corn tortillas, heat a non-oiled skillet on medium-high heat. Place tortilla shells, individually, in the hot skillet and cook each side for 10-15 seconds. Once the tortillas are heated, add the southwestern chicken & black bean mixture. Garnish with the toppings of your choice (lettuce, green onions, tomatoes, and/or sour cream).

I've also shared this recipe on: Seasonal Sundays

GF Banana Biscuits and Pumpkin Butter

Fresh out of the oven! We made gf banana biscuits and homemade pumpkin butter tonight, and they both taste amazing (and my house smells like fall - my favorite season)! I found both recipes online today when I was searching some blogs and food articles. I modified the recipes slightly, but didn't keep the sources (sorry). I dropped the biscuit dough onto a greased cookie sheet, but once they started cooking in the oven the dough spread out like cookies. I think they turned out more like crumpets, not biscuits. But they are delicious, nonetheless. Next time, I might try baking them in a muffin tin, or adding more flour to my recipe.

GF Banana Biscuits

·1 ¼ cup GF all purpose flour

·½ tsp xanthan gum

·1 tsp baking soda

·2 tsp baking powder

·3 ½ TBS sugar

·1 cup mashed banana

Preheat oven to 400˚. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Then add mashed banana and stir until dough is slightly non-sticky (may need to add additional flour). Drop onto a greased cookie sheet or in a muffin tin and bake for 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Butter

·1 15 oz. can pumpkin purée

·½ cup Simply apple juice (or apple cider)

·¼ cup maple syrup

·¼ cup brown sugar

·2 tsp ground cinnamon

·¾ tsp ground ginger

·1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

·Dash ground cloves

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the pumpkin butter is thick and spreadable, about 20 minutes.

Allow the pumpkin butter to cool to room temperature. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

I've also shared this recipe on: Seasonal Sundays

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Crème Heart Swirls

This recipe is modified slightly from a cookbook we got for our wedding (Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford). I've been wanting to make it but always forget about it when the fall season arrives. It takes awhile to prepare, but is very well worth it. It's a sweet soup and is perfect for fall! My crème swirls don't look like hearts, but it's a nice touch anyways.

·1 2½ lb butternut squash (3 cups, cooked)
·1 TBS extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus extra for brushing
·1 TBS unsalted butter
·1 medium onion, chopped
·½ tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
·Freshly ground pepper
·3 TBS Simply Apple Juice (you can also use apple cider or brandy)
·28 oz. chicken broth
·¾ cup evaporated milk
·Dash of nutmeg
·1 TBS sour cream

Preheat oven to 375˚. Cut the squash in half, lengthwise. Brush the flesh (inside of the squash) with EVOO, and place face-down on a roasting pan. Check the squash after 35 to 45 minutes, though it could take over an hour. When the squash is very soft and yields to the torch, remove from the oven and let cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, melt the EVOO and butter to a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Be careful that the onion does not color at all. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the apple juice and cook until the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat.

Once the squash has cooled, remove the seeds, and scoop out the squash flesh, discarding the skin. Place in a small bowl. You will need 3 cups of butternut squash; reserve any extra for later use.

Combine half of the cooked squash, half of the onion, half of the chicken stock, and half of the evaporated milk in a blender, and blend until smooth. Pour back into a medium heavy-bottomed pot. repeat, blending the second half of the squash, onion, chicken broth, and evaporated milk. Once blended, pour into the pot with the first batch. Season with sea salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. (Adjust consistency, if necessary, with more chicken stock or water).

Place the sour cream in a small bowl and stir using a spoon, until silky smooth. Thin slightly by stirring in 1 tsp of warm water. Divide the soup among the number of bowls to be served. With a small soon, drop 5 small pea-sized dots, in a circle, on top of the soup. Take a sharp knife, and run the knife straight through the dot, creating a heart shape. Serve immediately.

I've also shared this recipe on: Seasonal Sundays