Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Recipes. Show all posts

8/19/15

After School Peanut Butter Bites

Growing up, my little brother and I could always count on one of two things happening after school. Either mom would be there to greet us and we'd enjoy a yummy snack while talking about our day, or if mom was gone, we'd find a note on the door, written in code to help us find where she'd hidden the house key. You know those fake rocks that hide your spare key? My mom was way more creative than that! She had us hunting through flower pots, or poking around in the barn. It was quite fun!

Most days, she was there when we arrived and without fail, there would be a snack of some kind for us. A regularly occurring snack was the infamous peanut butter logs. I say infamous because some of my older siblings used to receive these in their school lunches. This was rather embarrassing since my mom's traditional peanut butter logs do look rather like another kind of log if you're a young kid into silly potty humor. My mom caught on however and by the time my little brother and I (the two babies of the family) came along, peanut butter logs had been reserved for after school snacks.

Recently, I suddenly had a hankering for a peanut butter log. It's been years since I even thought about them, let alone ate them, so I gave my mom a call and she laughed when I asked her for the recipe for peanut butter logs.
This is my adaptation of my mom's peanut butter logs. I've made them gluten free for me, dressed them up a little, and given them a brand new name. I think they're are great! What do you think?

1/4 C natural, unsweetened peanut butter
2 tsp honey (or to taste)
2 TB oat flour (gluten free for me!)
Approx 1/8 C mixed chopped nuts, seeds, chocolate bits, etc (I used sunflower seeds, and dark chocolate bits, but use whatever you like.) 

Blend the peanut butter, honey and oat flour well. If more thickening is needed, add a little more oat flour. Roll into bite sized balls (or logs if you prefer). This yields about 6 bite-sized treats. Roll them around in the chopped nuts, seeds, or chocolate. You're done! Eat and enjoy!

11/13/13

Spicy Apple Muffins

I was mixing up a batch of apple muffins, when I suddenly wanted something spicy. Muffins can be spicy, right? Why not!? These spicy apple muffins will warm you up on a cold autumn day. These are made using more of the one-handed apples that my brother picked for me. I've been enjoying eating them raw and baking with them too! I don't know what variety they are, but they are delicious! 
3/4 C oat flour (Gluten free if needed)
1/2 C brown rice flour
1/2 C yogurt
1 large egg
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp soda
3/4 C diced fresh apples

Mix all ingredients well. Spoon into muffin tins, I set aside a few of the apple pieces, tossed with some cinnamon and placed them on top of the muffins, but that is not necessary, it just looks cool. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

The muffins are spicy, so if you aren't a fan of "hot" stuff, then you might want to skip this recipe. I write about my brother a lot, I know, but I'm going to do it again... When he was little, he was so sensitive to spicy foods, that he refused to drink soda or eat peppermint because it was "hot". He's grown out of that and although he doesn't like a lot of heat in his food, he does enjoy a little spicy flavor. I think these muffins are mild enough that he could handle them, but they do have a bit of a punch to them. If I have him taste-test these, I'll give him a big glass of milk to go with them just in case...

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11/5/13

Apple Pecan Crumble

My little brother is great! I occasionally mention him in my blog because he is one of my trusted taste testers. As I've been experimenting with this new (to me) gluten free way of life, it's been nice to have his opinion on many of my trials. I can always count on him giving me an honest (but kind) review of my food.

Recently he broke his hand in two places and was stuck in a cast for three weeks, but he didn't let that keep him down! While in his cast, he brought over a whole bunch of apples that he had picked himself... one-handed. The following recipe is using some of those yummy apples! I might be posting a few other apple recipes in the future, not just because I have apples to use up, but because I love apples!
The Apple Layer:
2 C diced fresh apples
2 TB sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TB molasses

The Crumble Layers:
1 C brown rice flour
3/4 C pecan meal (Easy to make in a food processor. Just grind up some pecans!)
1/3 C sugar
1/1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 TB olive oil
4 TB water
1/2 tsp vanilla

Stir the apple layer ingredients well until the apple pieces are evenly coated and set aside.
Mix all of the crumble layer ingredients together until well blended. It should have a crumbly texture to it, but if pressed together, it should clump. Evenly and gently press about half of the crumble mixture into the bottom of a greased (or parchment paper lined) 8x8 baking dish. Pour and spread the apple layer mixture on top of the crumble layer, then evenly spoon the remaining crumble mixture over the top of everything. Using a fork or other implement, evenly press the top layer of the crumble mixture so it is nice and even across the top. This will also allow the mixture to push down into the apple mixture and help hold things together once cooked. Bake at 350 for approximately 40 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. Let cool before serving. Serve warm or cool with or without ice cream.
After making those delicious Maple Pecan Pancakes last week, I wanted something else with pecans and I decided apples and pecans should be friends. I was right, this turned out great and while my little brother hasn't test tasted this one yet, others have and the responses have been good. I do need to have my brother over soon though so he can enjoy some of this.

My husband liked his best warm, but I liked mine cooled. Either way it was delicious! It tends to be more crumbly when warm, and although I would recommend a fork, when served cool, these do hold up fairly well! I admit to just grabbing a slice by hand and munching it that way too, then licking the crumbs off my fingers. Such bad manners! Ha ha!

This post was featured here:
AllergyFreeWednesdayshttp://www.scratchmommy.com/mostly-homemade-mondays-linky-party-week-55/
Recipes and Ramblins with the Tumbleweed Contessa

Waste Not Want Not Wednesday at Poor and Gluten Free
Allergy Free Wednesday at Tessa the Domestic Diva
Gluten Free Wednesdays at The Gluten Free Homemaker
Lovely Ladies Linky at Life With the Crust Cut Off
Work It Wednesday at The Happy Housie
Home and Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life
Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours
Four Seasons Blog Hop at Easy Life Meal & Party Planning 
Gluten Free Fridays at Vegetarian Mamma
Home Sweet Home at The Charm Of Home
The HomeAcre Hop at Black Fox Homestead
BFF Open House at The Answer is Chocolate
Clever Chicks Blog Hop at The Chicken Chick
Sunday Linky at Suburbs Mama
Silver Pennies Sundays at Finding Silver Pennies
Creative Home & Garden Hop at Little Homestead On The Hill
Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do
Monday Funday at Lines Across My Face
What'd You Do This Weekend at Tumbleweed Contessa
Gluten Free Recipe Linky at Musings of a Housewife
Mostly Homemade Mondays at Homegrown & Healthy
Manic Monday at Serendipity & Spice

10/17/13

Sweet Potato Pie Brownies

Combining different tasty food items is not always a success. Strawberries, eggs, dill pickles, and milk for example. Or maybe vanilla, green beans, pumpkin, almonds and onions. If those sound good to you, I apologize. To me they sound disgusting!
Here's another odd sounding combination: garbanzo beans, cream cheese, quinoa, dark chocolate, and sweet potatoes... This combination is different! They may not seem like they should go together, but they definitely do! Don't believe me? Try this recipe! You won't regret it!
Brownie Layer:
1 1/2 C dark chocolate chips (melted)
1 C garbanzo beans, cooked, drained, and cooled
1 C cooked quinoa (I used red quinoa)
2 large eggs
1/2 C sugar
1 TB olive oil
1/2 tsp baking powder

Sweet Potato Layer:
1/4 C sugar
1 C sweet potato puree
3 oz cream cheese (softened)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground clove
1/4 tsp nutmeg

In a food processor, blend together: melted chocolate, garbanzo beans, quinoa, sugar, oil, and baking powder. Once they are blended well, add the eggs and blend some more until everything is smooth.

I do it in this order because I don't want egg to come into direct contact with freshly melted chocolate if it's still hot at all. Once the chocolate is blended in, the other ingredients will cool it down enough to avoid partially cooking the eggs. It might be just fine to blend everything at once, but I'm paranoid because I once had a roommate accidentally cook parts of the egg in her cookie dough when she poured hot melted butter in it. Those cookies were not very good. Anyway, on to the next step...
Also check out my tutorials on making grapevine wreaths and creating brown paper bag leaves.
Pour the brownie batter into a greased 9x9 or similar sized baking dish and smooth it out evenly. Next, mix together all of the ingredients for the sweet potato layer. Spoon the sweet potato layer evenly over the top of the brownie layer. Give it a few stirs if you want to create a marbled effect. Smooth out the top. Bake in the oven at 350 F for approximately 45-50 minutes. Eat warm or chilled. Store, covered in your fridge. I think I enjoy them chilled best and with a dollop of whipped cream, the same way I like my sweet potato pie!

These brownies are gluten free, packed with fiber, protein, and other great nutrients, but they don't taste healthy to me! They are rich and fudgy. So far the non-gluten free people I've fed these too have enjoyed them too. I always make them guess what's in them and they can never tell! I hope you enjoy them!


This post was featured!
Thank you My Simple Country Living & White Wolf Summit Farmgirl
The Little Homestead on the HillAllergyFreeWednesdays

Shared at these great blogs:
Gluten Free Fridays at Vegetarian Mama
From the Farm Blog Hop at Sunny Simple Life 
Farmgirl Friday at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House 
Sunday Linky @ Suburbs Mama 
Clever Chicks at The Chicken Chick
Silver Pennies Sundays at Finding Silver Pennies
Creative Home and Garden Hop at Little Homestead on the Hill
Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do
Monday Funday at Lines Across My Face
What'd You Do This Weekend at Tumbleweed Contessa
The Backyard Farming Connection
Tuesday Link Party at A to Zebra Celebrations
Tuesdays With a Twist at Stone Cottage Adventures
Allergy Free Wednesday at Tessa The Domestic Diva
Gluten Free Wednesday at The Gluten Free Homemaker
Waste Not Want Not Wednesday at Poor and Gluten Free
Down Home Blog Hop at Tilly's Nest
Work it Wednesday at The Happy Housie
Lovely Ladies Linky at Life With The Crust Cut Off
Home & Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life
Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours
The HomeAcre Harvest Hop! 
Feature Friday at Blissful and Domestic 
BFF Open House at The Answer is Chocolate 
Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest

9/25/13

Roasted Jalapeño Hummus

My garden has given me a bounteous crop of spicy jalapeño peppers. Some I've used green and others I've let fully ripen into beautiful red beauties. I think I prefer my jalapeños fully ripened. They seem to have a better flavor - a little sweeter. Also, I love how pretty they are. I decided they would go well in a spicy hummus.
Hummus is a favorite in my house and I love making it because it so easy, delicious and healthy! This recipe takes a little more time if you count the time it takes to roast the jalapeños, but the time is well worth it, plus I don't think it's fair to count that time in because you can roast a bunch of peppers, keep them in the fridge, and use them in things all week if you'd like. That's what I do. Try adding them to salads, sauces, dips, sandwiches, nachos, tacos... there are many possibilities!

Before we get to the hummus recipe, here's a quick rundown on how to roast jalapeños in the oven. It's very easy and they're so delicious. Roasting them mellows out their spiciness and gives them a delicious flavor.
First, cut the peppers in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. If you want them super spicy, leave the seeds in, but be warned they are very powerful.
Place the peppers cut side down onto a baking sheet. Set oven to broil and place peppers on the top rack in the oven. Cook for approximately 7 minutes, but keep an eye on them. The skin will start to bubble and blacken, which is what you want. Don't over do it though or you'll burn the inner flesh of the pepper. Once the peppers are lightly darkened on the tops and bubbly, but not too burnt then you're done! Some recipes tell you to remove and discard the skins, but don't waste your time with this. When roasting other types of peppers, this might be something you want to do, but the skins of the jalapeños are nice and thin. It's also a little tedious trying to peal them and I have no patience for things like that. I use them with the skins on and no one seems to care. You can store your jalapeños in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container.

Now that you've got some roasted peppers, it's time to grab your food processor and make some really amazing hummus!
Roasted Jalapeño Hummus:

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
2 cloves of garlic
1 TB lemon juice
3 TB olive oil
2-6 slices roasted jalapeños (depending on how spicy you want it)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
2 drops pure lime essential oil
1 small drop pure cilantro essential oil

In your food processor, blend together everything except the jalapeños. Add and blend the peppers one at a time, tasting in between until you achieve the right amount of flavor and spice to your personal liking. Once everything is blended, you're done. I serve this with a bowl of tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa. It is always devoured. Yum! Delicious! I hope you enjoy it!


Shared at these blogs:
Gluten Free Fridays at Vegetarian Mama
BFF Open House at The Answer is Chocolate 
Sunday Linky at Suburbs Mama
Silver Pennies Sunday at Finding Silver Pennies
Independence Days Challenge at Simply Living Simply
Super Sunday Link Party at Who Needs A Cape?
Creative Home & Garden Hop at Little Homestead On The Hill
Clever Chicks Blog Hop at the Chicken Chick 
Manic Monday at Serendipity & Spice
Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do
Monday Funday at Lines Across
Mostly Homemade Mondays at Homegrown & Healthy
What'd You Do This Weekend at Tumbleweed Contessa
Tuesdays with a Twist at Stone Cottage Adventures
The Backyard Farming Connection
Rock N Share at The Shady Porch
Treasure Hunt Thursday at From My Front Porch To Yours 
Lovely Ladies Link Up at Life With The Crust Cut Off 
Feature Friday at Blissful and Domestic 
The HomeAcre Hop at Black Fox Homestead 
From The Farm Blog Hop at Sunny Simple Life
Farmgirl Friday at Deborah Jean's Dandelion House
Down Home Blog Hop at Tilly's Nest

9/16/13

Roasted Tomato Marinara & Cheesy Quinoa Bites

Phew! What a crazy week it's been! So much was going on and then to make it more crazy, my computer , which has been on it's last leg for a while, finally bit the dust. It was time to retire the old model and now I'm back with a sleek new machine ready for sharing more of the things that I've been up to. I hope you all had a wonderful week!

This post is specifically for a sister of mine who posed a question on Facebook the other day, "If you had lots of ripe tomatoes, what would you make?" I was one of several people who answered with ideas and when I mentioned "cheesy quinoa bites", I had a few requests for the recipe. So, here it is! Plus, I threw in one of my favorite ways to use lots of ripe tomatoes as well: roasted tomato marinara, which just happens to go extremely well with the quinoa bites. I love that most of the ingredients to these came right out of my garden! Even the egg is from our ducks! I love having a garden!
I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as my family has! We've eaten this twice in the past 4 days!
Roasted Tomato Marinara:
This recipe takes a little time, but is simple and easily adaptable. I'm sorry to say that this is one of those annoying recipes without clear measurements. The fact is, I have never stopped to measure how many tomatoes I use and it varies a lot since I'm using a variety of shapes and sizes right out of my garden. I just chop enough to fill my glass casserole dish. I hope that doesn't throw anyone off. The secret ingredient to this delicious sauce is a tiny bit of 100% pure oregano essential oil. Wow! After making it using the oil, I will never go back! The flavor is superb and it only uses a very small amount of the oil. A little goes a long way, so don't over do it.
Add to a 2 QT glass casserole dish:
1/2 medium onion chopped (more if you really like onions!)
Ripe tomatoes, chopped (Enough to evenly fill the dish)
Drizzle with olive oil
Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper

Stir to evenly distribute the olive oil. Roast, uncovered at 350F for approx. 45 minutes or until everything is bubbly and a few tomato skins are beginning to darken. Drain away the liquid. The more liquid you drain, the thicker your sauce will be. Freeze the left over liquid to use in other recipes later if you'd like. That's what I did! Let tomatoes and onions cool.

In a food processor blend well:
tomato and onion mixture
A handful of fresh basil
1 or 2 drops of  pure oregano essential oil (It's very strong, so start with one!)
Enjoy immediately, or store short term in the fridge, or long term in the freezer. I love freezing a batch in ice cube trays (then transferring to a big freezer bag). It's easier to use that way and very handy if you need just a little bit of sauce. I use this for a multitude of uses including: dipping sauce, pasta sauce, pizza sauce, etc.

Cheesy Quinoa Bites:
This recipe has actual measurements! It is so easy to make and I am regularly mixing it up with different add-ins. With the marinara sauce, I wanted something that would compliment, but not over power. These are perfect! I like to munch them plain as well. They make a tasty snack!

Heaping 1/2 C finely chopped sweet peppers. I used both red and green
1 sprig fresh basil chopped
1 egg
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 C cooked and cooked quinoa

Mix everything together until well incorporated. Arrange spoonfuls onto a greased cookie sheet. You can also put them into mini cupcake pans, but I prefer the cookie sheet method. Bake in the oven at 350F for approximately 20 minutes or until browned on the edges. Serve warm.

Linking up to these great blogs:
Super Sunday at Who Needs a Cape
Manic Monday at Serendipity & Spice
Monday Funday at Lines Across
Mostly Homemade Mondays at Homegrown & Healthy
What'd You Do This Weekend at The Tumbleweed Contessa
The Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage
Rock N Share at the Shady Porch
The Backyard Farming Connection
Tuesdays With a Twist at Stone Cottage Adventures
Allergy Free Wednesdays at Tessa The Domestic Diva
Gluten Free Wednesdays at Gluten Free Homemaker
Down Home Blog Hop at Tilly's Nest
Waste Not Want Not Wednesday at Poor And Gluten Free
Home & Garden Thursday at A Delightsome Life
Treasure Hunt Thursday at From my Front Porch to Yours
HomeAcre Hop at Black Fox Homestead
Lovely Ladies Linky at Life With The Crust Cut Off
Farm Girl Friday at The Dandelion House
Gluten Free Fridays at Vegetarian Mama
Feature Friday at Blissful and Domestic
From the Farm Blog Hop at Sunny Simple Life
Simply Natural Saturdays at The Pistachio Project

Featured Here:

8/23/13

Banana Coconut Macaroons

Recently, I noticed that I had a couple of very ugly brown bananas. Now, for some people that might be a distressing realization, but not for me. An unsightly over-ripe banana is something I find inspiring! It's an excuse to bake something really delicious!

I though about making some banana bread, or some muffins (I'm practically obsessed with muffins!), but I've been thinking about coconut macaroons for a little while now and I was really in the mood for some kind of cookie. Coconuts and bananas are both tropical and delicious, so naturally they should go together!
Banana Coconut Macaroons:
1 medium very ripe banana
1/2 C sugar
1/4 C butter (room temperature)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C brown rice flour
3/4 C almond flour
1 C (be generous!) sweetened shredded coconut

Cream together the banana, sugar, butter and vanilla. In a separate container, stir together the flours and salt, then add to the banana mixture. Blend well. Stir in the shredded coconut until well incorporated. Chilling in the fridge for at least a half  hour is very helpful if your dough is too soft. Place spoonfuls of dough onto a greased cookie sheet, or use parchment paper. The cookies will not change shape with baking. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes or until bottoms are well browned, tops are barely browned, but cookies are still soft. Let cool then eat.
I love how these turned out. Crisp at the edges, chewy and soft in the middle. They are very sweet, so if you don't like your cookies very sweet, you might consider using unsweetened coconut instead. I don't eat a lot of sugar, but every once in a while, I want something sweet and these are delicious! We've been practically fighting over them here. No one cares that they are gluten free! That's how good they are!
My brother stopped by the next day, and I pulled out a plate full of these macaroons... He was only here for a few minutes, but by the time he left the plate was empty! Not even a crumb was left! My husband admitted later that he had snitched three of them... My brother ate the rest! I'll take that as a compliment!
 Shared at these great blogs:

8/16/13

Blackberry Mango Crisp

In my post about wildberry sauce, I mentioned the blackberries I brought back from my wonderful trip to Oregon. My little brother and sweet husband picked them for me on the last day I spent in Oregon. I was sick in bed with the flu. It was not a fun way to spend the last day of vacation, but I'm really glad it didn't happen at the beginning of my trip! As soon as we got home, my sweet husband washed them up and froze them so they wouldn't go bad. He doesn't like blackberries, so they were safe from snitching until I was over my illness and ready to use them. I have been thinking about those blackberries a lot. I wanted to make something special, but I wasn't sure what.

My inspiration came earlier his week when I came across a fantastic deal on mangoes while grocery shopping. I love mangoes! I love blackberries! It seemed like fate! I came up with this delicious crisp that uses both of these fruits. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I have more blackberries left, so I'll be making some other great treats with them in the future.
Fruit Filling:
2 large mangoes pealed and chopped (about 2 C worth)
2 C fresh or frozen blackberries
2 TB lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
2 TB brown sugar
3 tsp corn starch

Topping:
1 C oats (certified gluten free if needed)
1/2 C almond flour
1/3 C brown sugar (packed)
2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/3 C water
1 TB extra virgin olive oil
Extra TB brown sugar

Gently mix together the filling ingredients until the fruit is evenly coated. Spread into the bottom of a 9X9 baking dish (I used two 5x8 dishes) and set aside.
Stir together the oats, almond flour, sugar, spices, and salt until well blended. Add the oil and water and mix until everything is well incorporated. Sprinkle the topping mixture into the baking dish over the top of the fruit. Sprinkle the extra tablespoon of brown sugar evenly over the top.
Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling up on the edges and the topping is just slightly browned.
Serve warm or chilled; it's great either way! Ice cream or whipped cream is a nice addition if you'd like, but it really doesn't need anything.
I loved how this turned out! The crisp topping was perfectly sweet with a hint of spicy clove. The mangoes cooked up so smoothly and the two fruits complimented each other well. The color was beautiful too! I love when my food is visually appealing as well as delicious!

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8/12/13

Oregon Coast Wild Berry Sauce

Recently, I spent some time at the Oregon coast. I grew up in Northwestern Oregon and lived very near the coast for several years, so it's nice to go back sometimes. While I was there, I couldn't resist spending some time in the woods picking a variety of edible wild berries. I've really missed the berries since moving away. Most of them were devoured as soon as they were picked, but I kept a few to bring back home with me.
Beautiful red huckleberry bushes loaded with tasty berries!
I brought back some salal berries and two different varieties of huckleberry: Red huckleberries (Vaccinium parvifolium) and Evergreen huckleberries (Vaccinium ovatum). Salal berries (Gaultheria shallon) are native to western North America and plentiful in the coastal forests of Oregon. They are a lesser known, but delicious edible berry. I also brought back some blackberries, but I'll talk about them later... Today I'm sharing what I made with my huckleberries and salal berries.


Oregon Coast Berry Sauce:
1 cup wild berries (I used a mix of salal and huckleberry)
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 TB honey
1 tsp water
1/2 tsp lemon juice


In a small sauce pan, add berries, sprinkle with cornstarch and stir until they are evenly coated. drizzle with honey, add water and lemon juice. Stir well. Heat berries over medium heat stirring constantly. Smash some of the berries as they cook. Simmer 2-4 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken and berries are smashed to your desired consistency (you can smash them all, or just a few. It's up to you!). Serve warm or cold on pancakes, ice cream, Greek yogurt etc. Store in the fridge for up to a week or freeze to use later. This is really simple, but really tasty! You can use whatever berries you want, so it's super versatile. I hope you enjoy it!

You guys, the Oregon coast is gorgeous! If you've never spent time there, you should! And if you want suggestions of neat places to explore, I know some; I'm happy to share! I hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!
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