Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake with Maple Glaze

Cake:
1 box of Betty Crocker's Gluten Free yellow cake mix
2 tsp of Cinnamon
1 tsp of Allspice
2 eggs
1 tsp of vanilla butter & nut extract (you can use plain vanilla)
1 Can of pumpkin (15 oz)

Maple Glaze:
1 1/2 C. Powdered Sugar
2 tbs of Milk
1 tsp of Maple extract
1 tsp of Maple Syrup
Blend together thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 11 X 7 rectangle pan or a 8 in round cake pan
Combine all ingredients and mix until combined. Pour into greased pan and smooth top.
Bake for 30-40 mins or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Once cake is cooled  drizzle or smooth glaze on top. Slice and Serve.

Beer Sausage Stuffed Zucchini

We got zucchinis from my boyfriend's mom's garden and I was trying to think of what to do with it all. This is what I came up with. It was delicious! I hope you will enjoy it just as much.

You will need:

1 large zucchini cut in quarters or 2 small ones cut in half
2 tbs oil
2 beer bratwurst sausages (not the precooked!)
1/4 of a red onion minced
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 small red potato shredded
salt and pepper to taste
2 1/2 tbs of  oats
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

I apologize ahead of time not all the prep steps have pictures, I prepped everything really fast and forgot to pause and take pictures on some of them lol This recipe is not hard to follow though!

Step 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 2. Cut your if using 2 small zucchini in half and then spoon out the center leaving about a 1/4 inch of flesh, (I havent perfected the boat making process myself so it is ok if they are not perfect).
Step 3. Drizzle the oil into a baking pan, rub the oil onto the zucchini as well.

P.S. If you are using one large zucchini cut into quarters and then scoop the middle out. I had one large zucchini this time so here is an example below.  :-)

Step 4. Chop the scooped out zucchini into small pieces, mince the onion, shred the red potato (using a cheese grater), and shred the cheese.
Step 5. Remove the lining from the sausage links, this is easily done with a small sharp knife just put it under one edge of the lining and cut down to the other edge, the lining will peel right off the meat.
Step 6. Brown the sausage meat in frying pan on med-med/hi.
Step 7. Add the onions, shredded potato, chopped zucchini, garlic powder, italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook until onions are translucent and potatoes are tender. Then drain and empty into small bowl.

Step 8. Add oatmeal to sausage mixture and combine well.
Step 9. Stuff the zucchini boats with stuffing mixture and top with cheese

Step 10. Bake for 30 mins or until zucchini is tender but not mushy and cheese is melted and slightly brown.

That's it :-) 10 easy steps to get delicious stuffed zucchini!

Light Ginger Spice Cookies

                                                                                    You will need:

3 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp of baking soda
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of all spice
1/2 of sea salt
3/4 cup of butter
2/3 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp of vanilla
2  1/2 tsp fresh minced ginger
1/4 cup of honey
In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugars, then beat in the egg, vanilla, ginger, and honey. Slowly stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Mix well. Chill for 45 mins. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place the 1/4 cup of sugar into another small bowl. Make dough into small balls (about 2 tbs each) and roll through sugar. Place each ball on to a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake for 12-15 mins or until browned.
Tip: If dough is too sticky try getting your hands damp with water before rolling into balls and the dough won't stick to them!
Substitutes:
If you don't have fresh ginger it is ok! Just use 2 tsp of ground ginger and add it to the dry ingredients along with the cinnamon and all spice.
For a darker and stronger flavored cookie: replace the honey with 1/4 of molasses.

Sweet Chili Chicken w/ Stir Fry veggies

This was sooo good! Better than take out :-)

 4-6 pieces of chicken (I did 2 leg quarters and it was very saucy)
1 bag of your favorite frozen stir fry veggies
1 tbs of oil
salt and pepper
1- 1 1/2 tbs of corn starch * depends on how much pan drippings you have.
Sauce:
Mix together,
1/4 cup of honey
2 tbs ketchup
1 tbs soy sauce
thumb size amount of minced ginger root
2 garlic cloves minced
1/2 - 1 tbs of chili flakes *depends on your heat preference

Here is what the sauce alone looks like

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, put 1 tbs of oil in baking dish. Place chicken in baking dish and salt and pepper.

Pour the sauce over the chicken

Bake for 40-45 mins until the chicken looks like below, remove chicken from pan.

Blend the corn starch into the pan drippings to make a sauce like this

Add the stir fry veggies to the pan

Stir the veggies and sauce together and add the chicken back to the pan. Bake for 15- 20 mins more covering with foil to keep chicken from browning further and facilitate steaming of veggies.

Remove the foil and let set for 5 mins. Serve chicken, stir the veggies and sauce and serve as a side dish. I even poured a little sauce over the chicken when serving. It was delish! 

Roasted Chicken and Garlic Hummus Lettuce Wraps

This is a healthy and delicious lunch or light dinner that can easily be made with left overs! Which is how I made mine. 

Roasted Chicken (turkey, duck, Cornish hen, any poultry will work really)

Iceberg lettuce leaves (be very careful to not break them)

Roasted garlic hummus (I almost always have some in the fridge)

Baby kale (Baby spinach will work too)

diced tomato

shredded mozzarella cheese

salt & pepper to taste

Take you lettuce leaf, double the leaves if it split and smooth about 1 tbs of hummus inside add about 1/4 cup of chicken, 1/4 cup of kale, sprinkle in a few diced tomatoes, some mozzarella cheese, and then salt & pepper too your taste and poof! you are done! Wrap made. 

Zest BBQ Pork Ribs

OK it's been awhile since I have posted, and honestly this is so good I totally forgot to take a picture of the ribs or the steps to cooking them but this is an easy one. Luckily there was about half a rib left so I can show you what the finished and devoured product looks like LOL

2 very thick cut boneless bbq ribs (or 4 smaller ones)
1 tbs Chicken seasoning
1/2 tbs Garlic powder
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/2 tbs Smoked paprika
1-2 tbs oil\
Your favorite BBQ sauce, I use about 1/2 a cup you can use less or more depending on your tastes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Rub the ribs down with the oil and then sprinkle evenly with spice and rub in.
Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 30 mins
Flip over and slather in BBQ sauce. Place back in oven for 20 mins. Let rest for 5 mins before cutting into.

Cheesy Taco Hashbrown Casserole

 This is a fast and delicious recipe! Easy to do just follow along!

You will need:

1 package of thawed shredded hashbrowns. I use the Simply Potatoes brand since it is gluten free.
1/4 cup of salsa chunky style
1/4 cup of sourcream
1 jar of cheddar sauce. I used Ragu double cheddar
1 lb of beef taco meat. This is just prepackaged diced up skirt steak, you should be able to find in the stores meat section.
1/4 cup of taco seasoning. I used McCormick.
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
3 green onions diced, green part only.

Make sure to preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Grease a medium sized casserole dish. I dont have one so I used my heartshaped cake pan.

Mix the hashbrowns, cheese sauce, sourcream, and salsa together

It should be well blended and look something like this.

Add the taco meat to a heated pan and dump in your taco seasoning. Brown.

Drain and add the taco meat to the cheesy hashbrown mixture. Mix well.

Pour it into your greased pan and smooth it over. Bake for about 20 mins or until it looks like below.

Now its time to top it with the shredded cheese and green onions. Bake for another 10-15 mins.

Voila! You are done! Let it set for about 5 mins and serve! You can top it with any taco toppings you like or eat it as is.

White Chicken Enchiladas

White Chicken Enchiladas

1 - 1 1/2 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small can of fire roasted diced green chilies

1 small can of black beans

1 small can of sliced olives

(I used beans and olives but you can leave them out)

1 tsp of paprika

Salt and pepper too taste

3 cups of  monterey jack cheese shredded

(any white cheese you like will work, I've used mozzarella before and it was good!) 

2  1/8 cups of chicken broth 

1/8 cup of cream

(just save the water after boiling chicken)

2 tbs of butter

2 tbs of flour

1/2 cup of sour cream

(I used Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose)

16-18 warm corn tortillas

Place chicken in a large pan and just cover with water, bring to a boil then turn down and simmer until white and very tender like above. Reserve about 2 1/8 cup of the broth.

Shred the chicken with 2 forks if you are impatient like I am or you can let it cool and shred it with your hands. Heat a small amount of oil in a pan and sautee onions and garlic just until tender. Add the chicken, 3/4 of the can of chilies, drain the olives and beans then add to the pan. Stir in the 1/8 cup of cream and an 1/8 cup of broth. Heat through. Add paprika, salt and pepper, stir. 

Warm up your corn tortillas by either microwaving in small stacks for 30 seconds or you can fry them in a small amount of canola oil for 10-15 seconds each side. Lay tortillas out on a kitchen towel and lay another towel on top, this will help drain the oil if you fried them but will also keep them warmer.

Time to make the white sauce!

In a separate pan melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook for about 1 min but don't let it get dark. Whisk in the 2 cups of broth slowly and simmer until it thickens. This is the base of the white sauce. Now stir in the sour cream, 1/2 cup of the cheese, and the left over green chilies.

Mix well and simmer until it combines and all cheese is melted. It should look similar to below

Time to make the enchiladas!

Take a warm tortilla and place some of the chicken mix and some cheese in the middle like so.

Roll it up and place it seam side down in a greased pan. It will fill up a 9x13. 

(I had to use 2 11x7 this time around and to me they came out saucier when all in one pan)

Repeat steps until entire pan is full!

Next top with the sauce!

Bake for about 30 mins or until top is golden and bubbling

You can top with Cilantro like I did.

Easy Shepherd's Pie!

This is my version of Shepherd's Pie and it is soooo good! It's fast and easy too!

Doesn't it just look amazing?!

You will need: 

1 pound of carne beef taco meat

 (That is how my store labels it, it is just tiny chunks of steak. You can sub in ground beef or turkey)

1 cup of lima beans 

(You could also use peas or cut up green beans)

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce

1 small white onion

1/2 cup of  roasted tomato and garlic spaghetti sauce

1 package of Idahoan instant potatoes Buttery Golden Selects flavor

1 cup of shredded Colby Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Grease a 11X7 pan

Brown the meat and then add the garlic and lima beans, sautee until beans are tender. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and spaghetti sauce. 

Pour the meat mixture into greased pan.

Make potatoes according to instruction on package

(boil 2 cups of water, add package of potatoes, stir and let set for 5 mins)

Spread mashed potatoes over the meat mixture making sure to seal edges

Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top

I sprinkled salt and pepper on top of the cheese but you don't have too.

Bake for 20-25 mins or until golden.

Let cool for 10 mins.

Cool Ranch Oven Fried Chicken Tenders

These are delicious especially when dipped into BBQ sauce or ranch.

Here are your contenders for the evening:

1 1/2 pounds of thawed and paper towel dried chicken tenders

6 cups of crushed Cool Ranch doritos

3 eggs

olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees

Drizzle pan with olive oil

Add salt and pepper to crushed Doritos, I'd say about 1 tsp of both but you can do this to taste.

Dip each chicken tender into beaten egg and then the chips, then back into the egg and back into the chips

Lay them out on the pan like so and bake for 30-40 mins or until they look golden brown like below

Thats it you are done :-)

Here is a serving suggestion:

Broccoli Salad

I made this salad with my son for his Boy Scout BBQ. It was a hit!

Break up 2 small heads of Broccoli and steam until just tender. Do Not Over Cook!

Dice 1 red bell pepper and grate 1 carrot

Place the steamed and drained broccoli into a bowl with the carrot and bell pepper

At this point you could add 1 small minced red onion which I normally would but a lot of the kids did not like onion. 

Add a heaping handful of your favorite shredded cheese.

add about a 1/4 cup of mayo to this... my son is still chopping bell pepper :-) 

Mix it all together gently

Fry up 5 pieces bacon and break it into small bite size pieces after it cools. Add it to the broccoli salad.

You are now all done :-) Serve immediately or refrigerate until it is time to serve.

Note: This does not make a lot of salad so if you are having a big gathering you may want to double the recipe.

Peanut Butter Cookie and Butterscotch Ice Cream Sandwiches

I took the left over Peanut Butter Cookies I made last night and made ice cream sandwiches. They are so good!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Vanilla Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt

Butterscotch sauce

Put a scoop on the flat side of one cookie, put 1 tbs of butter scotch sauce over the ice cream, top with another cookie and gently press down. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze until solid. Voila! You are done! The butterscotch slightly coats the cookie sandwich and become more solid, it is sticky and delicious.

Avocado Salsa topped Cheese Burgers

I dont really have a story for this recipe, it just came to mind one night. As we all know avocados and hamburgers just go together. This meal also pairs nicely with raspberry lemonade.

You will need:

1 lb of ground beef (or ground turkey)

Salt & Pepper

Garlic powder

Sliced cheddar cheese

2 large avocados

Juice of 1/2 a lime

 1/4 Green onion, chopped

Cherry tomatoes, quartered

Cilantro, minced (too taste I dont like a lot but my boyfriend loves it)

Jalapeno, diced

Note: My boyfriend does not like peppers so I left out the jalapeno and added a 1/4 tsp of ground cayenne pepper. It gave it a kick but without the pepper taste.

Make 2-4 patties out of the ground beef (This depends on how many people are eating or how big your appetite is etc.)

Sprinkle both sides of the patties with salt, pepper, and garlic powder (I do this by taste)

Fry over medium heat for 5-6 mins per side, flipping only once and try not to continually smash the burgers down, you want them to stay juicy!

Top each patty with a slice of cheddar cheese and allow to melt.

Top with the avocado salsa and serve either on a bun or on a plate of lettuce like the picture above.

To make the avocado salsa you will want to dice the avocado into bite size pieces and put into a small bowl, add the lime juice, tomatoes, green onion, cilantro, and jalapenos. Mix together gently. It will look like a chunky guacamole.