Aussie Chicken and Flourless Chocolate Cake

My parents are in town and my family gathered at the condo for Sunday dinner!

I took this opportunity to try out some new pinterest recipes and victoriously add them to my "Tried it" board!

This Sunday I tried Aussie Chicken over mashed potatoes served with asparagus and salad. Special thanks to Katie and Curtis for making the mashed and my Dad for making the asparagus :) We all have our jobs.

For dessert, I tried a naturally gluten free dessert. This Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe is a great one. It's not overly rich and delicious with strawberries as a garnish!

There are only 3 ingredients in this divine creation: Eggs, semi-sweet chocolate, and butter. No sugar, no flour!

Katie's famous chicken and GF croutons!

Happy Sunday my friends!
Sunday is such a wonderful day of the week. The best, actually.

My sister Katie made this recipe a wonderful GF fave in our family, since it is one of her faves to make! And, I would go so far as to say she has mastered it.

Katie's Bacon Wrapped Chicken 

So delish. Here's the recipe. 

I made gluten free croutons! Easy! And this is such a good use for gluten free bread that you decide you hate or is about to go bad. 

Gluten Free Croutons! 

Ain't it pertty? On my Cesar salad I chopped up romaine lettuce, tomatoes, sliced black olives (A MUST), shredded parmesan from Trader Joe's, my gf croutons and cesar salad dressing! 

Find the recipe for the gf croutons here. 

Since it is Sunday, here is my spiritual bit for the week.

We can't demand God for answers. He doesn't work that way.  

And when we get answers, in whatever form they come, however soft or subtle they may be, we can't decide that it actually isn't an answer. 

When we pray for guidance and direction, we must pray with the faith that God will answer us and with the courage that we can and will do what He asks of us.

Fear is not of our Savior, it is of the devil. We can't let our fears get in the way of doing the things the Lord asks of us.

An answer is an answer. And if you're afraid of that answer, "Do it afraid". The Lord will provide a way. 

Chicken, green beans, and pretty nails!

Well. I made super easy Crockpot Hawaiian chicken over rice in the crockpot! I used instant rice. Why in the world would you could regular rice when you have instant. That's like deciding to take a horse and buggy to work instead of driving a car.

Anyways, This recipe calls for Hawaiian style BBQ sauce from Target, and since we don't HAVE a Target in Santa Barbara (grumble grumble) I decided to just improvise (with help from the internet) and make some using regular BBQ sauce. It was a little heavy on the teriyaki side, but it was still good. I basically mixed BBQ sauce, teriyaki glaze/marinade, a little garlic, a little ginger, and pineapple juice.

Also, the recipe says you can add chopped onion and green bell pepper, and you should. It's good.

These green beans were the agreed favorite part of the meal. These Buttery Garlic Green Beans are light and simple. Lovely accompaniment to any chicken dish. Get the recipe here.

My talented artistic friend Natalie painted my nails with SUNFLOWERS on them! I love it! She does all these crazy designs free hand with like a paper clip or a mechanical pencil. Talent people. So naturally I attempted artzy pics, cause we happened to have sunflowers.

Also, this.

Heres my virtual support to all my dieting friends and/or those currently struggling with that demon called "self control" (me). 

TTFN! 

Cabbage Rolls and Caprese Salad

Tonight's dinner featured a completely gluten free (and white sugar free, of course) meal.

I was advised by my mom that the best Cabbage Roll recipes are the ones with a little brown sugar in it and hooooray I found one on pinterest, here. It's a crockpot recipe.

And it's a lovely recipe! However, DO NOT BOIL THE CABBAGE LEAVES FOR TOO LONG. Or else you end up with a rather mushy mess to work with. However, as evident by the success of my beautiful cabbage rolls, It can be done! Never say never my friends. Also, I started the crockpot cooking a bit late so instead of cooking it on low for 6-8 hours I cooked it on high for a little over 3 1/2 and it worked out just fine. 

Here is my captive experimental dinner audience in the flesh, posing in just the way I forced them to. (but aren't they cute like that?! I think so :) .) 

And of course a Caprese salad always looks so colorful and lovely with any main course. We suffered the death of yet another basil plant recently, so in lieu of fresh basil I just sprinkled a little dried basil flakes on the top along with tomatoes, mozzarella, capers, olive oil and lots of balsamic vinegar. 

Perf! 

I don't like eggplant.

That is what I discovered with this meal. Gross.

Eggplant Caprese Stacks

Good recipe, bad vegetable. Sorry to all those eggplant lovers out there, but I think there's a reason it was not included in the Veggie Tales entourage. 

This gluten free dish, however, is easy, simple, and delish. 

Ground beef, onions, rice, tomato sauce, and cheese! 

It's Too Easy Cheeseburger Casserole

Find the recipe here! 

*Make sure to use a sauce pan with taller sides than I did! That's a lot of ingredients in one place.*

Zuchinni soup, green bean fries and healthy pie!

Welcome to the world of totally gluten free at the Houston's! The No White diet is in full swing over here, and we also don't eat potatoes of any sort. Let the improvising begin!

I would also like to say that the no white sugar part of the diet is not heavily emphasized at the Houston household so....yea. Take all the "No White diet" recipes with a grain of salt...or sugar. HA.

This meal was one of my/our personal favorites so far!

Zucchini soup!

This recipe is one my mom made a year or two ago that she got from her friend Dee. And lo and behold, here it is. It's like a soup you'd get at Zuppa's! Versatile as either a fall or summer soup. And perfectly delicious either way. 

Zucchini Soup 

-1/2 pound onions, chopped

-1 1/2 pounds zucchini, washed, peeled, and sliced

-3 cups chicken broth

-1/8 tsp nutmeg

-1/8 tsp salt

-dash cayenne pepper (can leave out if you don't like spicy food whatsoever)

-1/2 cup half and half

-cheese, bacon bits, and sour cream to top it

Cook chopped onion in butter until clear but not brown. Combine onion, zucchini, chicken broth in heavy saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer 15 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Add seasoning and blend in blender until smooth (BUT DON'T BLEND IT BOILING HOT LIKE I DID cause it like explodes. There is no other way to describe it.). Adjust seasoning to taste (for fall you may want to add more nutmeg, for summer you may want to add the cayenne.). Add 1/2 cup half and half. Reheat but don't boil. Garnish with toppings of choice. 

Crispy Baked Parmesan Green Bean Fries! 

These are really great if you are bored with just steaming green beans. And personally I don't think they would be good with ketchup. They are plenty flavorful all by themselves. (*side note, I used garlic salt and real minced garlic instead of garlic powder and it was still delish.) 

Find the recipe HERE. 

Healthy No Bake Chocolate Berry Pie! (with coconut milk!) 

This pie is so pretty it deserves two pictures, I think you'll agree. 

Do not skimp on the freezer time. It won't work. I tried. Freeze it for AT LEAST 2 hours before consumption. It is such a creative use of coconut milk! Who knew?! 

Find the tasty recipe HERE. 

Delish zucchini bake and GF cookies!

To go along with our roast, I tried out this squash and zucchini bake that I found on Pinterest. It's really quick, and a good way to use up those veggies that you keep getting for free from your neighbor's garden (or your own!) :) It turned out so tasty! It's cheesy too!

Find the recipe here. 

I made yummy Coconut & White Chocolate Chip Cookies! TOTALLY GLUTEN FREE! And really not too bad for you, either! As far as sugar goes, they have only 1/3 cup of brown sugar in them. 

Find the recipe here. 

I know gluten free cookies often don't look too pretty on the outside, but these are good! TRY IT! 

Best Low Carb Dinner!

My Mom and I cooked dinner together tonight and it was BOMB.

I got to finally try one my friend Ally Smoot's family favorite Quinoa salad! It is sooo yummy. Seriously. I understand if you don't like quinoa, usually. But this is so flavorful and the avo and mango make it so delish. See for yourself!

Here is the recipe:

Summer Quinoa Salad

• about 4 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 can black beans (except I used Kidney beans which were equally as good)
• 1 chopped red bell pepper 
• 1 chopped mango
• 1 avocado
• 1 or 2 green onions (except I used about 1/2 of a red onion and I think that is better) 
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Dressing:
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 TB red wine vinegar
• 3 TB lime juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper

Combine everything together and serve! 

My Mom made this wonderful family favorite soup of ours called Savory Sausage Soup from Weight Watchers. So yummy! 

Here is the recipe:

• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 pound italian turkey sausage
• 2 medium onions
• 1 medium turnip, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 medium carrot, sliced
• 1 medium celery stalk, sliced
• 4 small new red potatoes, scrubbed, quartered
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 medium bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp dried sage
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 small head of cabbage chopped
• 2 tsps cider vinegar, optional

Heat the oil in a non-stick saucepan, then add the sausage. Cook, breaking apart the sausage. Add the onions, turnip, celery and carrot. Cook until the sausage is browned. Stir in the potatoes, cabbage, broth, bay leaf, thyme, sage, and pepper; bring to a boil. Place the cabbage over the soup, then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer until the potatoes and cabbage are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Add the vinegar to the soup, if desired, and discard the bay leaf. Serve. 

Summer Foods

Summer Foods

A delicious summer salad! Isn't it pretty? It looks like a fiesta of veggies. Red onion (my new fave!) and feta cheese really make this salad good. Plus yellow AND red tomatoes as well as celery, cucumber, bell peppers...the usual. 

Gluten free pancakes! Made with Pamela's gluten free flour. You may have a previous impression that all gluten free items taste like cardboard, which I respect and understand. However, these really aren't too bad! Especially when beautifully arranged with strawberries, bananas, maple syrup and whipped cream. Although this may be white flour free, it isn't quite white sugar free...You have to pick your battles I think. 

These are lovely lemon cookies that are perfect for summer and taste like teatime at an English cottage in the sunshine. Yep. Find the recipe here! 

I SWEAR by this chocolate chip cookie recipe I found on Pinterest. It produces PERFECTION cookies! Whatever you do, DON'T add more flour even though you will probably think it needs more after everything is added. Find the recipe here! 

There is honestly nothing better than homemade strawberry lemonade. And since I have the highly esteemed privilege of being in a home that has a Vitamix (at least for the summer....not having one for 6+ months has made me thank my lucky stars for this blessed blender designed by the gods), I literally just threw in about a cup of hulled strawberries, 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of lemon juice and a bunch of water and blended it all up! And boom. Ice cubes in the glass, happiness in my mouth. And isn't that jar just ADORABLE?! Me and my mom are in love with it. 

ALSO, I tried a yummy recipe my sister Katie gave me for crockpot meatloaf that is delicious served with garlic mashed potatoes! But I didn't take a PICTURE of it! I was so mad. But it was so good! Here is the recipe, with some additions I made: 

Grandma’s Saucy Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
3/4 cup quick oats
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup milk
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup dried minced onion

Topping:
1 1/3 cup ketchup
2 T brown sugar
2 T mustard

In a large bowl, combine beef, oats, egg, milk, pepper, and onion.

Shape into a loaf and place in a greased 2 1/2 to 3 1/2-quart slow cooker.

Mix together ketchup, brown sugar, and mustard. Spread 1/2 of the sauce over top.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or until meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

Heat up remaining 1/2 of the sauce in the microwave and add extra to each serving as needed. 

Fancy chicken and beans

Courtesy of my sister Christina Pendleton who gave me the ideas/recipes, I made this delicious meal for dinner tonight!

Strawberry Balsamic Chicken and Caramelized Green Beans! 

Here is a close up. 

My mom said that "the green beans are heavenly!" 

The recipe is from "Our Best Bites". Here is the recipe, altered a little by moi :) 

Caramelized Green Beans

1 lb. (actually, just a little bit more…maybe 1 1/8 lb.) fresh green beans
A large handful of crumbled bacon bits
1/2 red onion, sliced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed (I just used 4 teaspoons minced garlic)
olive oil
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
Lots of freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Start boiling a large pot of water. Place beans in a colander and rinse them well. Then snap the ends off and snap them in half.

Prepare the sauce by mixing sugar, soy sauce, and salt in a small bowl.

Make sure your onions are sliced, garlic is pressed  and everything is ready to go.

 Just use some olive oil and heat pan to medium-high heat. When the pan is hot…

Add onions and garlic. Give them a quick stir and then…

Add beans to boiling water. Place colander in a clean sink. Boil for one minute; you’re not cooking them until they’re done, just blanching them to take the edge off. Meanwhile, stir the onions and garlic so they don’t scorch. After one minute, drain beans in the colander in the sink.

Once beans have been drained, add them to the onions and garlic. Stir fry 2-3 more minutes.

Give your sauce a quick stir and then pour on top of the beans. Keep stir-frying until the beans get kind of glazy. Stir fry for another 2 minutes.

Add crumbled bacon and lots of freshly-ground pepper to the beans. Keep stir frying until the sauce sticks to the beans and the bacon. Transfer to a serving dish and allow to stand a few minutes so the beans cool down a bit and the glaze thickens up a little.

Serve immediately.

Check out the recipe for the chicken at Christina's blog, http://christinascookinupcrafts.blogspot.com/ 

No White Diet

I'm baaaack! I thought I had given up on this blog. But I love food too much to not tell people about it. It's hilarious to look back at my 10 posts from 2012. That was only 2 years ago and yet it was 2 years ago! If you know what I mean. Time flew by and yet I don't feel any older in some ways. C'est la vie.

Also, funny that I stopped my "2012 Cupcake Craze" challenge that I gave myself after about 3 recipes in. Woops.

So. I am home for the summer from BYU and my mom is supposed to try a "No White Diet"that should be an anti-inflammatory diet to help arthritis. My dad is instructed by his doctors to have a very low carb diet for health reasons in general. SO.... I'm trying new foods and recipes that have no white sugar, no white flour, and are low in carbs. 

And here's what I got so far!

Veggie egg scramble

Basically just eggs, tomatoes, bell peppers, white onion, and celery. Topped with feta cheese and garnished with a dollop of sour cream and cilantro, served with avocado and watermelon :) YUM! 

On another note, vegan chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joe's are THE BOMB! As well as European style chocolate yogurt (best with no mix-ins though).