Kitchen Spring Cleaning

Stuck at home with a sick kiddo, I got into the spring cleaning mood.  I rearranged and did a little more decorating.  I have successfully doubled my available counter space.  I will be all set if I can find some time to spend in this room! :) 

Easy Cleaning for Fruits and Veggies

- Water, 1 Cup Vinegar, Soak and Rinse - 

This is supposed to remove chemical, preservative coatings and extend the life of your produce.  

Pork Tenderloin, Risotto Pancake and Savory French Toast Breakfast

Changing it up a bit...

Because of a lack of time in my crazy busy life and because I miss blogging about my kitchen fun, I am going to start posting less detailed descriptions of my meals...pictures, components and ingredients mostly.  I'm not sure that anyone even reads this any more so it will be used more as a photo gallery for my own future reference.

More from the gluten free test kitchen...

Mushrooms, garlic and shallots sauteed in a little EVOO then simmered in some chicken broth to make a light sauce tossed with the gluten free noodles.  Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and parsley. 

Homemade cheese and bacon pizza.  The crust is from a baking mix made by Pamela (I don't know her :)  This particular mix can be used to make many different things.  So far I have tried bagels and pizza crust.  Not too shabby!  We decided we liked it well done and a little crispy!

This is the same Pamela's crust.  This pizza was baby bella mushrooms, red onion and pepperocinis.

Cinnamon Raisin French Toast

This was amazing.  Regular french toast will never happen again in my house.  This bread (Canyon Bakehouse Cinnamon Raisin Bread) was a great find to begin with but "frenching" it was one of the best ideas I've ever had.  YUM!!  

Nachos Ole'

Ground round taco meat, cheese, red onion, grape and yellow sweet tomatoes, cilantro and pepperocinis on top of Rice Works Sea Salt Chips.  These emulate a tortilla chip and stand up quite well to melted cheese and meat.  They were delicious nachos. 

The softest, fluffiest pancakes I've ever made thanks to Pamela again.  This pancake mix can be used for different things but pancakes is all that we have tried thus far.  Delicious. 

Sort of unrelated but still containing food product and gluten free.....egg yolks, jojoba oil and EVOO make a great hair conditioning treatment.  Not to mention a great way to gross out your children. :) 

Gluten Free Pasta

Not just ok, so-so or fine....AMAZING!!!

There is no need for gluten in pasta after trying this! I'm hooked!

Dabbling in Gluten-Free Cuisine

After some concerns from a teacher of lack of attention from my daughter in class recently, we have researched and implemented a new vitamin and supplement regimen and started a mostly gluten-free diet. I would like to attribute her lack of interest to the fact that summer is near and 1st grade is getting boring, but none-the-less....it is a widely researched issue and a move to a healthier diet will not hurt anyone.

I have found many delicious snacks that will help satisfy a 7 year old snacky appetite, but have just begun the meal preparation journey!

These little sliders were homemade gluten-free bagel dough made into little buns with turkey burger (using GF bread crumbs and eggs for the glue) and honey spicy-mustard sauce.

Easy enough and far more satisfying than a boring old hamburger!

The GF journey begins...

Thai Heaven

Pad Thai Pork and Green Curry Beef

Mini Wonton Tacos

Pinterest gives me the best ideas sometimes. I saw a pin that used baked wontons as shells and had to see what the turned out like. They are amazing little finger food vessels for anything you would want to fill them with.

These were a light Mexican delight.

Crispy baked wonton shells, guacamole, lean taco meat and Mexican slaw.

I ate 8 of them.

Bruschetta Crisps

Sometimes dinner just takes too long to cook and an appetizer is required. Without the time to make bruschetta, I just stacked all if the components on top of a baked whole wheat pita chip.

Stack it....

1. Pita Chip
2. Fresh Mozzarella
3. Basil Leaf
4. Cherry Tomato
5. Balsamic Vinegarette ( Balsamic, EVOO, lil sugar, lil salt )

Bon Appétit

Popcorn Fun

Our new Friday night toy is a hot air popcorn popper! Thankfully I didn't have any butter and started seasoning with EVOO. My favorite so far is the salt, garlic and basil!

Healthy, fun, yummy snack!

Yay!

Validation

It may be from a 7 year old....but I'll take what I can get.

This is by far my favorite text I have ever received!

❤

Shawarma Dinner

Mediterranean food = Love

I can't get enough!

My next experiment is baba ghanoush!

Thai Green Curry Pork

Since discovering this, it has become my new favorite comfort food. A local thai restaurant is just a little too conveniently located on my drive home from the office. On a stressful, cold, winter day I have a hard time resisting a stop to pick up some green curry, however, I know it isn't the healthiest dish so I had to skinny it down on my own.

This is as easy as a stir fry.

Sauté meat with onions and garlic and remove from pan.

Sauté veggies and remove from pan.

Add one can of lowfat coconut milk and 2-3 tablespoons of green curry paste and bring to a summer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add meat and veggies back into pan to coat with the curry sauce.

Serve over rice noodles.

So easy and so good!

Spiral-cut Hot Dogs

Skewer it.

Slice it on an angle.

Cook it.

Pile on the toppings.

The grooves hold all of the toppings on.

Pesto Salmon

This is the easiest salmon dish you will ever make.

~Season salmon fillets or steaks with salt and pepper.

~Top with a generous portion if basil pesto. I used a store bought jar that was perfect.

~Bake uncovered in a 350* oven for 20-25 min.

~Serve with any side you desire. This was with roasted grape tomatoes, wilted spinach and couscous.

ENJOY!!

Salmon, Couscous & Egg White Frittata

Using dinner left-overs, this was a bit strange but quite delicious!

•Sauté onion and sweet red pepper in a little EVOO.

•Add shredded cooked salmon & couscous.

•Cover with beaten, seasoned egg whites.

•Cook on stovetop until bottom layer is cooked and then put in 350* oven for 15 minutes until cooked through completely.

•Top with cheese, melt and serve.

Enjoy!

Bailey's 1st Recipe

Taking after her mama, my daughter wrote her first recipe today. She loves to make spice rubs. Today she made one for our bean tostadas and decided it needed to be documented.

I love cooking with her. It makes my heart happy!!

Low Fat Buffalo Pierogies w/ Blue Cheese Dip

A simple snack or meal, these are guilt free and easy!

Toss frozen mini pierogies in buffalo sauce, bake for 18 mins. at 400*

Dip in a mixture of low fat blue cheese and light sour cream.