Grain Free Banana Bread

Paleo eating is interesting as I try to find a good number of recipes that will be "go to" recipes.

This one is close:

I also added a bit of chocolate, I used these chocolate chunks.  I chopped a small handful up and added it to the batter.  I don't think they taste much different from regular chocolate chips.





My two perfect loaves, one went for snacks this week at work and the other went into the freezer.


My black sheep loaf . . . still tasted good though.  :)



I will use this recipe again, although I might do an almond flour/coconut flour blend, because just the coconut flour was a bit chewy for me and I think the almond will help with that.  Deviations, I used regular coconut oil, not virgin, and used coconut milk, instead of almond.

Tastier than expected

Do you remember this recipe for Bacon Onion Balsamic Jam that was mentioned in a previous Sunday Inspirations?

Well, here it is:




I put it over Pork Roast and Roasted Mushrooms.


Here is a view of the hubby's lunch, with roasted potatoes and roasted zucchini.





This recipe was delicious, even the husband really liked it and he is pickier about really liking food. I definitely recommend it.

Angelic Food

When I was out in Washington State, we made gluten free Angel Food Cake. I know, sounds like an immediate let down right? How in the world is that even going to work?

We used this recipe for Gluten Free Angel Food Cake and here is how it turned out:







Isn't that just fantastic looking?!?!?!? Oh, it was so super delicious and we at it with berries! My sister even admitted that it didn't taste too different from Angel Food cake that is full of gluten.

I so recommend this recipe.

How sweet is too sweet?

So I made sweet potato fries, because they are considered less offensive than white potatoes and some Paleo eating says they are okay.










The problem? I found them too sweet. I did not add any sugars, just some oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Maybe mixed with something else to cut down the sweetness, but alone, I just cannot do it.

What makes the world go round?

Homemade sausage!



In Paleo eating they discourage buying processed meat, which includes sausage due to all the things they add to the meat that isn't good for you. So I used one of the recipes in one of my Paleo cook books to make my own.

I use 1 pound of pork and 1 pound of turkey plus a variety of seasonings and let me tell you it is heavenly.

I didn't know before specifically what Fennel Seed was, but I love it now! Extra fennel seed in the sausage recipe.

Food Friday - Baked Goods

I love Betty Crocker's Gluten Free Devil's Food Cake Mix. However, we wanted to change it up a bit, so we bought some gluten free cherry filling and layered it. This was before I found out that Betty Crocker has a bunch of recipes on how to use their mixes to make other things.












It was delicious and I can't wait to try out some of the recipes on their site.

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We also tried Rice Crispy Treats. Kraft marshmallows are gluten free and we purchases some gluten free rice cereal.










Honestly, I think I like these are better than regular rice crispy treats! I am so glad the boy convinced me to try this out.

Food Friday - Pies

I personally am not much of a pie person. Never have been. However the boy LOVES pie. We use to buy pies and I would eat a little and he would eat most of it. Now that I cannot eat them with him, he doesn't like to buy a whole pie by himself. So I figured I better learn how to make gluten free pie so he can still have his pie.

I want to be able to make my own pie crust from scratch but at this time cannot afford to buy multiple kinds of flour to do that, so I decided to try a boxed mix.


This is the gluten free mix I decided to try.


For my record, this is the type of butter I used for the recipe.


For my record, this is the type of shortening I used.


I bought a 9" glass pie pan. I rolled the dough out between two sheets of plastic wrap like the box says to do and placed the first on in the bottom of the pan.


Unfortunately I ran out of plastic wrap so I tried aluminum foil with the top pieces. Uhm, don't do that, it sticks to the aluminum like no ones business.


I mixed the inside for an apple pie as the back of the box for the pie crust suggested to do. My apples were not baking apples like suggested. They were just a bulk bag of apples we had bought that needed to be used soon.


The top is now on and I pinched the two layers together and made the slits on the top.


All baked up.


It was good, however, the apple mixture could have used some more liquid.


The boxed mix makes enough for two pies. For the second one I made a mixed berry pie. I used a bag of frozen blueberries, a bag of frozen blackberries, and a can of raspberry pie filling. I cooked the frozen berries over the stove and added about 4 Tbsp cornstarch until they thickened some. I added the canned raspberry filling and let it all mix together.


This crust was better because the liquid inside the berry mixture helped to not make the crust quite as flaky.


As always, pie is even better with a little vanilla frozen yogurt!



I will admit that I didn't have much faith in this from the get go. I just don't do well with baked goods. This worked out very well. The boy says it's not quite as good as normal pie that you would buy in a bakery, but he said they were better than the frozen pies you buy in the grocery store.

I consider that a compliment. :)

Food Friday - Cauliflower Gratin

When I saw this posting for Cauliflower Gratin I knew I had to make some. I used the recipe as a stepping stone.



First I melted 6 Tablespoons of unsalted butter.



Whisk in 7 Tablespoons of rice flour. When it begins to thicken, whisk in each item before adding the next:
1/3 cup half & half,
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream,
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese,
3/4 cup shredded Mozzarella & Provolone mix.

Mix well, will kind of look like dough and act similar.





Cut up a small cauliflower head into florets. Sprinkle with black pepper and ground red pepper.


Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.


After done, put cauliflower into greased (I used PAM spray) baking dish and cover with cheese mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.


All done!


It was quite good. The boy loved it how it was, but I think having a little more flavorful cheese in it next time might make it better.



This is something I will make again, but will try a little more variety next time. Was surprised the boy liked it so much. :)

Food Friday - Spinach Florentine Potato Soup

I used this recipe for Spinach Florentine Potato Soup. When Amy posted this on her blog, it immediately sounded good to me. My only point of concern is the fact that I am so picky about my spinach. I love spinach, but only if it's cooked just right. :)

I did modify it some:
~ground Rosemary instead of crushed (ground rosemary is the only kind I can tolerate)
~gluten free chicken stock instead of veggie stock (I am not a very big fan of veggie stock)
~did not use the parsley
~did not use the Neufchatel Cheese (did not have it on hand and didn't see any particular reason to use this cheese in specific)
~used 1 cup Parmesan Cheese, instead of a half cup (had plenty of this on hand)
~used 1 cup heavy cream instead of 2 cups of milk
~used black pepper instead of white

Okay, so maybe I modified it a little more than some. :)






I know it doesn't look like a lot, but it was very yummy. I am a complete leftover lover, in fact, I usually think things taste better as leftovers than when first made. The leftovers of this were okay, but not as good as when if was fresh.

I will definitely make this again sometime.

Jalapeno Dinner

I have to blog about tonight's dinner because I am proud of it. It includes an item from my garden(two jalapenos) and I made this dish and it worked. Cooking isn't a natural talent of mine at all.

Boiled linguine, jalapeno and cumin cream sauce, turkey kielbasa(chopped small), broccoli, and sauteed onions with corn and green bell peppers. This was dinner tonight. Quite yummy if I do say so myself. If my camera battery was not charging I would be posting a picture of it too!