Fun Food Find Friday!!

This is the powdered milk alternative I used for making sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk from Wisdom Wednesday, Dari Free non dairy milk alternative. There are also Soy and Rice powdered milk alternatives that you can also use. I chose to use this one because it was a little cheaper, and it was casein free, dairy free, gluten free...the list goes on. I wanted to be able to share with you that there are many alternatives out there. I tried this made up just with water and the power, it really wasn't that bad as far as flavor is concerned, and it really does make a nice sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk alternative too.

I found this at the health food store.

Lime Cupcakes

These cupcakes are delicious. They took many, many, MANY tries to get them right. And I'm here to tell you it was worth it! Even those who don't like a lot of lime love these cup cakes. They are light and have a fresh taste to them. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Lime Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 cups spelt flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 cup applesauce

6 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 recipe (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk (from yesterday)

1 recipe meringue frosting

4 tablespoon grated lime peel

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*F. Fill cupcake tins with cupcake liners. In a medium sized bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Then add eggs, 3 tablespoon lime juice and applesauce. In a small bowl mix remaining lime juice with sweetened condensed milk. Pour 1 tablespoon batter in each cupcake liner. Then add 1/2 tablespoon of the sweetened condensed milk mixture to each cupcake liner. Next add 1-2 tablespoons of the batter to each cupcake liner until they are 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting. Add the grated lime peel to the meringue frosting before frosting each cupcake. Serve and enjoy!!

Meringue Frosting

Ingredients

3/4 cup evaporated cane juice

2 large egg white

3 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a sauce pan that can hold an electric mixer bowl above the water. Whisk the evaporated can juice, egg whites, water, cream of tartar and salt in a bowl by hand. Set the bowl above the boiling water and beat with an electric hand mixer at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, about 9 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the vanilla, stir until completely incorporated.

Wisdom Wednesday!!

How To...

Today for our Wisdom, I thought it would be fun to tell you how to make Sweetened Condensed Milk at home. I love that you can make this at home and control what goes into it.

To be able to make sweetened condensed milk you have to also know how to make evaporated milk.

Evaporated Milk

Ingredients

2/3 cup Dari Free powdered milk substitute*

3/4 cup warm water

Directions

Add both ingredients in a bowl and whisk until completely dissolved. Makes 1 cup.

Now I can show you how to make...

Sweetened Condensed Milk

Ingredients

1 cup evaporated Milk

1 1/4 cups evaporated cane juice

Directions

In a sauce pan over medium heat add evaporated milk and evaporated cane juice. Stir until completely dissolved. Then remove and let cool. Make sure it is cooled completely before adding it to any recipe. Makes 14 oz equal to 1 can of store bought sweetened condensed milk.

It may seem like a lot of work, but really it is soo easy to make these and they taste the same as the store bought stuff. At least you can now tell people that you know how to make them at home :]. Happier Healthier Eating!!

*On Fun Food Find Friday I'll show you what Dari Free is.

Tuna Cakes

Yesterday was a holiday in my state, so today feels like a Monday. I'm a little mixed up this week. :]

I'm trying to branch out a little in my cooking, adding more variety to what I cook. A lot of that is because my husband is backing living full time with us. He used to work 2 and a half hours away, so he would live by his work during the week and come home on the weekends. He loves to try new things. When we used to go out to eat I would always order the same thing and he never did. To this day he doesn't have a favorite food, just variety.

I am happy to say that I'm enjoying 'branching out'. My kids do not like tuna. They won't even eat a tuna sandwich. So I was completely shocked when they loved these tuna cakes! I'm not much of a fish eater and I like these too. They are very moist, the have great flavor (not too tuna-ie) and good texture. My kids like dipping the cakes in a mixture of tartar sauce, ketchup, and relish. I'm sure you can try different toppings. :] Hope you'll try these, they're worth the "branching out".

Tuna Cakes

Ingredients

2 cans (6 1/2 oz each) tuna in water, 1 can drained

1 cup crushed crackers (I used these GF ones)

2 egg whites

2 1/2 tablespoons braggs liquid aminos

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons each finely diced red, yellow, and orange sweet peppers

Directions

Heat oven to 350* F, and lightly spray a baking sheet with non stick cooking spray. Place crushed crackers in a bowl and add tuna, eggs whites, braggs and garlic powder. Mix until well blended. Then add peppers and stir until well distributed. Form mixture into 8 evenly sized patties and place on greased baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and turn each patty over. Return to oven and bake for another 8 minutes. Then remove serve and enjoy with your choice of sauce.

Find orginal recipe here.

Fun Food Find Friday!!

As promised our Fun Find for today is a cake mix, Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix. I really liked this cake. The texture was perfect, just like a cake that isn't gluten free. It was very moist and had a very good chocolate flavor.

I bought this at a normal grocery store on sale.

Chicken Murphy

I'm not completely sure why this was called Chicken Murphy. But it was good. I changed many things from the original recipe. I love how it turned out, it needed more flavor. Not only did I love the taste of this chicken but it was another quick meal. It didn't take long to put together and it's healthy and delicious, what more could you ask for?

Chicken Murphy

Ingredients

4 teaspoons garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and onion, undrained

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch chunks

1 large red sweet pepper, cut into 1/4 inch slices

1/2 large sweet onion, peeled and diced

1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

Cooked quinoa

Directions

In a large skillet over medium-high heat cook garlic, onion, and chicken. Stir occasionally until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Stir in tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cook for another three minutes. Add sweet pepper and parsley; cook for an additional 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Serve over cooked quinoa and enjoy!

Wisdom Wedesday!!

Ever since my children were really little I've tried to introduce them to new and different foods, mostly in the vegetable and fruit worlds. Sometimes they love the new fruit or veggie, and sometimes they don't. If they don't, I try to give it to them in different ways. So far the hardest vegetable, by far, for me to get them to eat is Celery. I've put it in soups, I've smothered it with dressing, I've put it in stir fry, I made 'ants on a log' for them and still they don't like it. Even in the soups they can tell and they pick it out! When I came across this article I decided that with celery, it wasn't that big of a deal to get them to eat it. In this article it lists three vegetables that have the least nutritional value. Celery is on the top of the list. I have never looked at the nutritional value of celery before. So I've come to the conclusion that if my kids never eat celery again it's okay, and I'm not going to try and sneak it in to anything any more. The next time I have this hard of a time getting them to eat something, I'll look at the nutritional value to see if it's worth my time and effort or if it's just better if they eat something else. :] Check out the article here for the other two veggies they talked about. And remember Happier Healthier Eating!!

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Meringue Frosting

There are a lot of Gluten Free cake mixes out there. I bought a few of them to experiment with. It was my husbands birthday a few weeks ago and I thought it would be fun to try out of those mixes on him. Don't worry I asked him first. I'll show you what mix I used for this cake on Friday. I really liked how it turned out! It was perfectly moist and you couldn't tell it was a gluten free cake. I followed the directions on the bag, except for the oil I replaced it with applesauce. You know me, I'm always trying to cut the fat out of everything. :] I really think the frosting made this cake. It was unbelievably delicious!! It will be my go-to chocolate frosting from now on. If you are a chocolate lover and if you want to cut out some fat and not taste this is the frosting for you! Try it you'll love it!!

Chocolate Meringue Frosting

Ingredients

3/4 cup evaporate cane juice

2 large egg whites

3 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon fine salt

3 oz. semi sweet mini morsels

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a saucepan that can hold an electric mixer bowl above the water. Whisk the evaporated cane juice, egg whites, water, cream of tartar, and salt in the bowl. Set the bowl above the boiling water and beat with an electric hand mixer at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. about 9 minutes. Remove from heat and mini morsels. Gentle stir until morsels are completely melted. Then add cocoa and vanilla extract until well combined. Let frosting cool before frosting cake, and enjoy!!

Fun Food Find Friday!!

When I was young my Grandma would bring us a bag of candy every time she came to visit. One of my favorite things she brought was a mixture of nuts, candy, candy covered nuts, and candy covered licorice. I was so excited when these Panda Candy Coated Licorice candy came out. They remind me of my Grandma, and now my kids and I can enjoy this healthier version of the yummy treats I ate in my youth. Try them you'll love them!

I bought these at the health food stores.

Grilled Chicken with Tomato and Cucumbers

My tomatoes are growing in my garden, green but still growing. And I saw my first cucumber starting a few days ago. I've been experimenting with recipes that I can use my own veggie in once they finally are ripe. I found this recipe on disneyfamily.com. It's really easy to make, simple to put together, and has a very light but filling taste to it. It's one of those yummy summer dishes you can make and it doesn't add heat to your already hot kitchen. :] Try it you'll love it!

Grilled Chicken with Tomato and Cucumbers

Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped, about 1/2 cup

1/2 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped, bout 1/4 cup

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh or dried cilantro

1 tablespoon lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Heart grill over medium flame, or coals

In a medium bowl toss together tomatoes, cucumber, onion, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While those flavors marry together, cook chicken on grill until no longer pink in center; about 7-8 minutes per side (make sure while turning chicken you do NOT poke holes in it. It will cause the juices of the chicken to dry and it will not be moist. ALWAYS turn chicken with tongs). Drain salsa if necessary. Serve over chicken and enjoy!

Gluten Free Pizza Dough

If you've ever tried to make Gluten Free pizza dough and you've given up because you can't find one that tastes good, look no further. This recipe is by far the best recipe for Gluten Free Pizza Dough!! The flavor and the texture and perfect. It doesn't feel like you're eating something that is gluten free. Very delicious! And if that wasn't enough it goes together really quick. Oh and did I mention it's fat free? Try it, you'll love it!

Gluten Free Pizza Dough

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups gluten free pantry french bread and pizza mix

1 cup warm water

2 1/2 tablespoons honey

2 1/2 tablespoons applesauce
1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1/2 teaspoon gluten free dough enhancer

1/2 teaspoon guar gum

Directions

In the bowl of a mixer, dissolve honey in warm water. Once dissolved, add applesauce, salt, and one cup flour mix. Mix well. Then add yeast, dough enhancer, guar gum and one more cup of the flour mix. Mix well. Slowly add the last 1/2 cup of flour you may not need it all of it. Then leave mixer on for 5 minutes. Dough will be a little sticky. Turn off mixer and let dough rest for another 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400*F. Spray hands and cookie sheet with non stick cooking spray. Roll dough out on a sprayed surface to about 1/4 inch in thickness. Place on prepared cookie sheet. Top with your favorite toppings. Bake in oven for 20 minutes. Cool slightly before devouring. :] (Cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of your dough)

Chicken Casserole

In the summer time I like to have a few meals that are easy to throw together. It seems like we're always running around having fun, so having a few quick dinner recipes are great to have on hand. This casserole is really easy to put together, and your kids can help too. I had mine tear up the corn tortillas. They loved it! This casserole has a smooth texture with slight heat, you can always increase the heat by adding more chili powder. :] I loved the flavor.

Chicken Casserole

Ingredients

1 large onion, chopped

1 large bell pepper, chopped (red or green)

2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I used a store bought rotisserie chicken)

1 10oz can cream of chicken soup, undiluted

1 10oz can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted

1 10oz can diced tomatoes

1 4oz can diced green chiles

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

3/4 teaspoon garlic

12 (6-inch) corn tortillas

Cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

Preheat oven to 375*F. Saute onion and bell pepper in large skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat until tender. Stir in chicken, soups, tomatoes, chiles, chili powder, and garlic powder; remove from heat. Tear tortillas into 1-inch pieces. Layer one-third tortilla pieces in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with one-third chicken mixture. Repeat layers twice. Top with cheese. Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before serving, and enjoy!

Fun Food Find Friday!!

Our Fun Food Find for today isn't a treat but noodles. Brown Rice Pasta Shells. These have really good flavor. They are a great substitute for wheat noodles. They are gluten free. When I cook with these my kids don't even notice the difference.

I buy these at health food stores.

Raspberry Vanilla Marshmallows

What a fun extra long weekend we had with family! I hope everyone in the U.S. had a great 4th of July celebration. Now back to food fun. :]

It's summer, so that means camping and s'mores over the fire. These marshmallows are divine! When you melt these and make them into a s'more it is unlike any s'more you've ever tasted. To me they taste like raspberry cheese cake with chocolate drizzled on top. Really they are that good. I've shared them with even those who don't like marshmallows and they have liked them. You'll be the hit at the fire pit if you bring these. :]

Raspberry Vanilla Marshmallows

Ingredients

3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons but 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin

1 cup cold water, dived

2 cups evaporated cane juice

1/2 cup agave

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large egg whites

3/4 tablespoon raspberry extract

1/2 tablespoon vanilla

3 drops red food coloring

1 to 2 cups organic powdered sugar for dusting

Directions

Grease bottom and sides of a 13 by 9 inch rectangular metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with organic powdered sugar. In a bowl of a standing electric mixer sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water, and let stand to soften and absorb completely.

In a sauce pan cook evaporated cane juice, agave, second 1/2 cup cold water, and salt over low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until evaporated cane juice is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate, cover, and boil mixture. Once boiling, insert candy or digital thermometer and continue cooking until temperature reaches 240*F (soft ball stage). Remove pan from heat and pour cane juice mixture over gelatin mixture. Stir until gelatin is dissolved.

With standing mixer, beat on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about 6 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl with clean beaters beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Then add into gelatin mixture with raspberry and vanilla extracts until just combined. Add food coloring and slightly swirl. Pour marshmallow mixture into prepared pan. Sift organic powdered sugar evenly over top. Chill in refrigerator, uncovered, until firm at least 3 hours or up to one day.

When marshmallows are set, run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers, loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into one inch cubes. Pour organic powdered sugar into empty baking pan. Dip each side of marshmallows into organic powdered sugar to avoid sticking together once they are cut. Place in zip lock back and leave in refrigerator until ready to use. Store for 2 to 3 weeks, and enjoy!

Fun Food Find Friday!!

I love cookies. I love to eat them. I love to make them. And when they are good enough I even like to buy them from the store. These KinniTOOS are really quite good. I was surprise to be honest. A lot of gluten free treats like these have funny textures to them. Especially when these are also dairy free, casein free, and nut free. These cookies are a little addicting and the cookie part isn't as crumbly as most gluten free cookies. I enjoyed them, my kids loved them.

I found them at the health food stores and you can also order them online at their website http://www.kinnikinnic.com/