Anticipation and Beef and Vegetable Stuffed Peppers with Rice Pilaf...

Today was a day that I had anticipated in many ways, good and bad. Sometimes you can know too much and hit the nail on the head with your "diagnosis," so to speak. Well, today was one of those days. Remind me later to fill you in on all the details! 

Oh! I also have a little secret for you... for $1.xx these little beauties save me so much time and from my hands stinking like onions for days and days on end. At my grocery store, they are in the freezer section with the french fries and stuff.

Now, on to the recipe for tonight's supper! Oh! I will also tell you that this recipe is much more time consuming then what I typically make. While it was delicious, it does take some time to get it all ready and put together. Also, I left out the spinach tonight. I had forgotten to thaw some out. The yummy rice pilaf is Schwan's 5 Grain Rice Pilaf and Oh My, God! It is delicious!


Beef and Vegetable Stuffed Peppers

6 large green bell peppers, tops removed and peppers seeded 
1 lb ground beef 
8 oz package fresh mushrooms, chopped

1⁄2 cup chopped green bell pepper, from the cut tops 
1⁄2 onion, chopped 
1 cup packed chopped fresh spinach (I skipped this)

141⁄2 oz can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings, drained 
1 tablespoon tomato paste 
1⁄2 teaspoon salt 
1⁄4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wrap 6 bell peppers individually in aluminum foil; place in a baking dish coated with cooking spray, and bake 25 minutes. Cook ground beef, mushrooms, chopped bell pepper and onion in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes or until beef browned and crumbly; drain beef mixture, and return to skillet. Stir in spinach, tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Unwrap peppers; spoon beef mixture evenly into peppers. Place peppers upright in baking dish, and bake 15 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Note: When selecting the bell peppers for stuffing, select ones that are fairly even on bottom so they don't tilt over.

Spicy Honey Thighs and Leftovers!

I made these chicken thighs the other night. It was my first time with this recipe, but I really liked it. I cut down on the chili powder, because I didn't want them too hot and omitted the red pepper. Not because I had planned to, but apparently I had ran out of red pepper and never boughten any more. The flavor was so good on these! I loved them! I think this would be great on the grill or with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, as well!

P.S. I doubled the honey sauce! Used one batch for before baking and one batch for during.
P.S.S. If you know me at all... you know this picture was staged... why? Because I do NOT eat broccoli! Sssshhh! Don't tell my children!

• Spicy Honey Chicken Thighs
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder 
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 8 chicken thighs
• Cooking spray
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 425. Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  Mix first 6 ingredients in a small bowl. You can either coat chicken in mixture, or just sprinkle seasoning on top. I placed the chicken thighs in the pan and then sprinkled with the seasoning. I did use all of the seasoning on the 8 thighs that I used. In another small bowl, mix up honey and vinegar. I poured the sauce evenly over seasoned thighs. Bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, pour another batch of sauce over the chicken, cook another 20 minutes, or until thighs are cooked through. 

Recipe altered from: mommyimhungry

So, I had some chicken thighs leftover. For my lunch today, I made these yummy nachos, just by warming up one of the thighs, shredding it and putting it on top of some thin tortilla chips, with cheese sauce, some salsa and sour cream , and a little dash of creole seasoning for spice.

St. Patrick's Day Breakfast and Crock Pot Corned Beef and Veggies!

My mom always had a way of making your regular old pancakes something special on holidays. We often would have stocking or Christmas tree shaped pancakes, bunnies, and hearts. As children, and even as adults, we loved this special treat. Having the special shapes somehow made your everyday pancake taste better! 

So, I started this tradition with my children as well. Typically, we have pink hearts for Valentine's Day, green shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, Bunny head shaped for Easter (with chocolate chip eyes and nose), and Christmas trees for Christmas. 

There is a trick to pouring these my hand and it does take some practice. They will NOT turn out perfect the first time. I often warm my children that they may be somewhat deranged looking... But, the perfectionist in me struggles with ugly, imperfect pancakes. It is just one of the many crosses that I bear. Ha! 

Corned beef and cabbage was the other St. Patrick's Day meal that I remember my mom making. I love corned beef! So, here's to happy eating...

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I know, I know.. I am a day late...


Shamrock Pancakes  
1 batch pancake batter
Green food coloring
Large serving spoon
Maple syrup


Mix up pancake batter, add green food coloring. Spray griddle with cooking spray. Heat griddle over medium to medium  high heat. Using a large spoon, pour batter on griddle in a shamrock share, or you can make the usual round shape. To make the shamrocks, I pour 3 Vs (one with open end up, then one facing left and the other facing right), with the points close to each other, or touching, then add a stem. The batter will spread out and connect/join together to make the shamrock shape. Cook on one side until golden, then flip and cook the other side. Serve with syrup.

Crock Pot Corned Beef
4-5 potatoes
Baby carrots
Corned beef brisket
1-2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. water

Cut up potatoes and put in bottom of crock. You can peel your potatoes, if you wish. Add baby carrots. Place corned beef brisket on top of veggies. Pour 1-2 T. of worcestershire sauce over brisket, and pour water around the brisket. Cook on low in crock pot for 6-8 hours. If you want to cook the cabbage in the crock pot as well, add it on top the last 30 minutes, and turn on high.  Cabbage can also be boiled in a stock pot. If you decide to cook it that way, add about 1/2 to 1 inch of water in the bottom of the pan, bring to a boil. Add quartered cabbage, place lid on pot. Cook for approximately 8-10 minutes, then turn wedges and cook an an additional 8-10 minutes. Once cabbage is tender, drain off water, add 3-4 T. butter and stir in with cabbage, until melted. Salt and pepper, to taste.

Hump Day, FINALLY! Greek Skillet and Yellow Squash with Onions for supper!

Thank goodness it is Wednesday! This coming Friday afternoon begins our Spring Break. I think that all of the staff that I work with are SOOOO ready for the week off. My "week off" is quickly getting filled with things to do... Not sure how exactly that happened, but... it has. Oh, well... All the craziness will begin on Friday afternoon and not stop until sometime (probably late) the next Saturday! 

Supper tonight is Greek Skillet and a side of Yellow Squash with Onions. It was very good! I had questions about the cinnamon in it, but it was good.

Greek Skillet

1 lb ground beef 

1⁄2 cup chopped sweet onion 

2 teaspoons dried oregano 

1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder 

14 oz can diced tomatoes 

1-1⁄2 cups beef or chicken broth 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

1-1⁄2 cups uncooked gluten-free penne pasta 

10 oz box chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 

1⁄2 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided

Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet over medium heat, about 8 to 10 minutes; drain off any fat. I used store bought, frozen chopped onions. Stir in oregano, cinnamon and garlic powder. Add tomatoes, beef or chicken broth and tomato paste and stir in well. Stir in penne pasta and cover. Cook 10 minutes or until pasta is almost done. Stir in spinach and 1⁄4 cup feta cheese. Cover and cook 5 minutes more. Top with remaining 1⁄4 cup feta cheese.

Yellow Squash with Onions

2 tablespoons oil 

1 sweet onion, sliced 

3 large yellow squash, sliced 

1⁄2 teaspoon salt 

1⁄2 teaspoon pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add onion, squash, salt, and pepper. Sauté 10 to 12 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.

Recipes from: eMeals

Herding little drunk people and using up leftovers!

I have been doing 2 miles of walking/jogging, twice a week, with some wonderfully entertaining ladies that I work with. We can do our 2 miles in about 30 minutes, or a little less. The laughs we have make the time fly by! They are amazingly fun ladies, who have a gutter sense of humor, just like I do. We all get along well. I decided that I need to add more in than those 2 nights a week. So, I started the C25K. I just started on Sunday. Well, let me tell you, I thought I might die that afternoon. Really... LOL! Well, tonight was day 2. I drug the children along with me. My oldest daughter did pretty good and finished the whole session with my. My youngest, quit when we got back to the house. We still had about 10 minutes left and I was going to do that on the driveway around the house. My oldest and I finished it up and I was very proud of her for completing the whole session. 

While we were up on the blacktop, it was like herding little drunk people. They were running fast and slow and in front of me, then beside me, then behind me. Priya, our dog, went with us and my oldest was freaking out that she was going to eat trash out of the ditch or that she was running on the wrong part of the road, etc. Herding little drunk people, I tell ya! 

Since I used supper cooking time to get my session in, we had leftovers for supper. I made myself a quesadilla, using leftover roast from the crock pot. It was YUMM!

Quick and Easy Beef Quesadillas

1-2 Tbsp. oil
Corn tortillas, enough for 2 per quesadilla
Left over roast
Cheese
Salsa, optional
Shredded lettuce, optional
Sour cream, optional

Pour oil in skillet, turn heat to medium. While the skillet is warming up, put together your quesadillas. On one corn tortilla, sprinkle a 1/8 c. shredded cheese. Place shredded beef on top of cheese, add more shredded cheese. Top with another corn tortilla. Place in skillet. Cook until golden brown on bottom side, then flip and cook other side until golden brown. Cut into triangle pieces, serve with salsa, shredded lettuce, and sour cream, optional.

Applesauce Pork Chops, Cheesy Scallop Potatoes, and Fried Apples!

From the time that my husband was fairly young, his mother always let him and his brother pick their birthday suppers. His favorite was always Applesauce Pork Chops, Macaroni and Cheese (made with Velveeta and celery seed), and Fried Apples. He has expected this meal to be continued, for his birthday, every year. Well, this year, I dropped the ball. I thought I had Velveeta in the fridge, and upon closer examination, there is no Velveeta.

So, this year, the menu will be Applesauce Pork Chops, Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes, and Fried Apples. Not too sure how well this will go over, but that is what he is getting. The kitchen smells amazing, by the way!


Applesauce Pork Chops
5-6 pork chops, any cut
1 pt. applesauce
cinnamon, paprika, seasoning salt

Preheat oven to 350. In 9x13 pan, lay pork chops in a single layer. Sprinkle with seasoning salt, cinnamon, and paprika. Pour the whole container of applesauce over the top of the pork chops. Cover with foil, bake for approximately an hour, or until done.




Easy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
4-5 c. sliced potatoes, peeled or not
1/2 c. chopped onion, optional
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour (I used gluten free AP flour)
1-1/2 c. milk (I used almond milk)
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare potatoes and slice in thin slices. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. In a small sauce pan, melt butter and stir in flour, until well blended. Stir in milk, cold is fine. Over a low heat, stir frequently, until it bubbles a low boil. Remove from heat and stir in 1-1/2 c. shredded cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir until cheese is melted and well blended.  Put half of the potatoes and onion in the bottom of the pan. Pour half of the cheese sauce over the top of the potatoes and onions. Layer on the rest of the potato slices and onion. Pour remaining cheese sauce over the top. Top with the remaining 1/2 c. shredded cheese. Bake for 1 hour, or until potatoes are tender and bubbling.
Original recipe from: happyhourprojects


Fried Apples
3 T. butter
4 apples, cored and sliced
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon

Melt butter in a skillet. Add sliced apples (you can peel them, if you don't want/like the peel), brown sugar, and cinnamon. I used Granny Smith apples. Stir over medium heat, until bubbly. Continue cooking for 15-20 minutes, or until apples are tender.

Sunday morning gluten free doughnuts!

I love doughnuts! I really, really do. With trying to follow a gluten free diet, doughnuts are definitely not something that I, or my daughter, are suppose to have, obviously. I have bought some frozen ones before, but they had too much sugar for my daughter to process. She was a hot mess for several days after. NOT pretty... I ordered a doughnut pan and then went on a search for a baked gluten free doughnut recipe. The one I found was quick and pretty simple... PERFECT!! I like that kind of recipe! These doughnuts turned out light, fluffy, and so good. I think any cake mix would work for this recipe, it would not have to be gluten free or dairy free.

Here they are... so wonderfully sweet, fluffy, and doughnutty! Mmm...


Semi-homemade Gluten Free Doughnuts
1 box gluten free yellow or chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 c. milk (almond milk works well too)

Cinnamon/sugar
1/4 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Spray doughnut pan with cooking spray. In a bowl, mix together cake mix, eggs, melted butter, and milk. Fill doughnut rounds with enough batter to be at the top of the center peg/hole. Bake for 14 minutes. Roll the doughnuts in cinnamon and sugar, immediately out of the oven. I only put cinnamon and sugar on the tops.

Original recipe from: kitkatplusceliac

Red Beans and Rice tonight, quick and easy!

My children are on a quest to earn extra money, so all of the "extra" chores that need to be done around the house are getting done by them. So, I was foreman and gave them direction and critiqued how they were doing. Whheeww... I am tired. Ha!

Red Beans and Rice

1 lb. ground beef
1 c. uncooked rice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (15 oz) cans red kidney beans, undrained

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained 

1⁄2 teaspoon salt 

1⁄4 teaspoon pepper 

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, optional

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Cook rice according to package directions. While rice is cooking, brown ground beef in stock pot. Add garlic while the ground beef is cooking. After ground beef is cooked through, drain, if needed. Stir in rice, beans, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheese and cilantro, before serving.

Bacon Pancake Sticks... pretty tasty!

So, there haven't been any posts the last few days because I went rogue for a short time. Thursday evening, I went to see one of my favorite comedians, Gabriel Iglesias!! It was SOOO awesome!! Hilarious! I had tears. Good tears, but I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! I strongly suggest you see him, if you get a chance. VERY funny. My supper that night, consisted of amaretto sours and fried dill pickle spears from the Celtic Fox Irish Pub and Restaurant. VERY nutritious meal, if I do say so.

Then, yesterday was Friday, as I am sure you well know. But, many times, Friday means Pizza Hut night at my house. Or pizza from some source. Hey, I deserved it! I made it through Friday on about 4.5 hours of sleep, I got my lesson planning done for next week, was able to get my 1/2 a cow I ordered picked up and loaded in my truck (a HUGE thank you to my friend's husband for grabbing mine, when he picked up their 1/2!!), AND got to the tax preparation appointment on time!!! 

After about 9 hours of sleep, the children thought they needed some breakfast. This morning, I decided to try out something I saw floating around Pinterest or Facebook, honestly, I cannot remember exactly where it was.  Bacon pancake sticks... Harley loved them and they are super easy. They would be great to make ahead and freeze or put in the fridge, then pop in the toaster in the morning for a quick breakfast.

Bacon Pancake Sticks

1 batch of pancake batter  

6-8 slices of pre-cooked bacon

Maple syrup, optional

Mix up a batch of pancake batter. I used gluten free Bisquick, but any will work. This would work well with homemade pancake batter or any from a mix. You want a thicker batter, but not thin enough to still "pour" out of a measuring cup. Place cooked bacon slices on griddle. Pour or spoon enough pancake batter over the bacon to cover it, approximately 1/4-1/2 cup per slice of bacon. Cook until browned on bottom side, then flip. Cook other side until golden brown. Serve with syrup.

Fried Catfish! YUM!

I have been craving fried fish and french fries, so when the grocery store had catfish nuggets on sale, guess what!! I bought some!

My coating for my catfish is a "dump" recipe. So, I really don't have exact measurements, sorry...

Oh! And, Happy Hump Day!!!

Fried Catfish

catfish nuggets, or any other fish (2 lb.)

yellow corn meal (~ 1.5-2 c.)

gluten free all purpose flour (~ 1 c.)

salt, pepper, paprika, onion powder, chili powder or red pepper, or any other seasoning you like (~2-3 tsp. each)

egg

milk (~1/2 c.)

oil, for frying

Put enough oil to be approximately 2-3 inches deep in a sauce pan or skillet. Turn on medium to high heat. When you see small bubbles in the grease, it is hot enough. In a shallow container, lightly beat an egg. Add about 1/2 c. milk. In another shallow container, mix dry ingredients. Dip catfish pieces in egg mixture, then coat with dry ingredients. When oil is hot enough, add one piece of fish. It should start frying/bubbling/cooking immediately; if it doesn't, the oil is not hot enough. Turn over once, when the both sides are golden brown, remove from oil. Place on paper towels to drain. Continue with all pieces of fish. I usually have 3-4 pieces cooking at one time.

The homemade tartar sauce is mayonnaise, spicy brown mustard, dill relish, and some salt.

Something strange is in the air and the sweet aroma of Chicken Pot Pie!

Something strange was in the air today. I really don't know if it was the fact that we actually broke 40 degrees today, or what it was, but things in the atmosphere were just out of whack. My easy going, compliant, happy, sweet child was not so easy going, noncompliant, unhappy, and far from sweet. Meanwhile, my trying child was very helpful and in a surprisingly good mood. To be honest, I was actually somewhat frightened...

A little humor for you, from our drive home from town this afternoon... Harley was asking me a question about Heaven. I told her that I didn't know the answer to her question, because I have never been to Heaven. To which she replied, "Well, when you go to heaven, send me a telegram, would ya?" As I was trying not to laugh at the whole telegram comment, I asked her, "How do you know that I am going to go first?" I could tell that she had not thought about the possibility that she may be there before myself. But I was not prepared for this, "So, are you saying you are going to kill me before you die?" I really had no response to this question, other than complete, hard core laughter. I won't lie, there have been days, my dear child, there have been days... 

Aside from whatever weird stuff is in the air, which is causing personality swaps in my children, I can smell the heavenly aroma of Chicken Pot Pie.... Enjoy!

P.S. Please do not judge the crust... I had issues, it had issues, WE had issues. Just take in how wonderfully golden brown it is and how gloriously flaky it looks.

Chicken Pot Pie

4 T. butter      

1 (12 oz.) bag frozen vegetables

1 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. gluten free flour

2 c. chicken broth

1 c. heavy cream

2 c. chopped chicken (4-6 oz. cans, drained)

1/2 tsp. ground thyme

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1 gluten free pie crust

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add frozen vegetables. I used Country Blend, because I do not like peas. Stir the veggies in the skillet, approximately 7 minutes, or until tender. Add flour, stir until smooth. Add chicken broth; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and stir in cream. Cook for 5 minutes, until thickened, stirring frequently. Once thickened, stir in chicken, thyme, salt, and pepper. 

Pour chicken mixture into a coated 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Unroll or roll out pie crust (store bought or homemade). Place over filling, fold edges under and cut a slit in the top, to allow steam to be released. Bake for 30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Let cool for 10-15 minutes, before serving.

Trying to stay warm with hot turkey and cheese sandwiches!

I am not really using the hot turkey and cheese sandwiches to keep me warm... I am just trying to stay warm. It has been ridiculously cold here this winter. It is March 3 and I am so over winter! It can leave at anytime... Really... ANY.TIME! Like, 2 weeks ago would have been good...

So, this morning, our wind chills were -10 to -24 degrees. That is just insane... I mean, I know that I am in the midwest, and it is winter, but seriously?! I am ready to move on to warmer weather. Spring?!  Spring?! Where are you??

Hot turkey and cheese sandwiches. Can't get much easier than that, which is what I was going for tonight. E-A-S-Y! Here you go! This can be altered to feed however many you want. Note: Next time, I would add extra sauce to the sandwiches.

Hot Turkey and Cheese Sandwiches- 

6 buns or 12 pieces of bread

18 slices of turkey, or 3 slices/sandwich

1 T. mayonnaise

1 T. spicy brown mustard

1 T. honey

6 slices of any cheese (Swiss would be super yummy!)

Preheat oven to 350. In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise, mustard, and honey. Spread some on the top and bottom of the buns (inside). Add 3 slices of turkey and a slice of cheese to each. Put on baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Bread will toast some.

I made mine on Udi's gluten free bread and the others on some hamburger buns I had left over, in the freezer, from a birthday party.

A cold and lazy Sunday, and chili cornbread bake... YUM!

Well, I took the saying that Sunday should be a day of rest to heart. I really did not do hardly anything today. The only productive thing I did, beside cook a meal, is to make another batch of homemade laundry soap/sauce. It is such a pretty pink this time. I might have to make it blue next time, that way it matches my laundry decor a little more. Yes, you just read that last sentence correctly. I have issues with things matching... I blame it on my older sister. It really is all her fault. I will have to share that story with you another time. Ha! It really is funny...

For this recipe, I really just scrounged around in the pantry and fridge to see what I had on hand. I had no idea what I was going to throw together. Below is the result.

Chili Cornbread Bake

Chili-

1-1.5 lbs. ground beef   

1 can chili beans

1 small can enchilada sauce

Brown ground beef in skillet. Add in chili beans, undrained, and can of enchilada sauce. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes. If too runny, make a slurry of 1 Tbsp. corn starch and 1 Tbsp. water, stir in to chili and let simmer, until thickened.

Cornbread-

2 c. yellow cornmeal

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1-3/4 c. buttermilk

1 egg, slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 450. Mix dry ingredients together. Add in egg and buttermilk. Stir all ingredients, just until combined. 

- Being partially dairy free, I substituted 1-3/4 c. almond milk and 1.5 Tbsp. lemon juice. While the almond milk was in the liquid measuring cup, I added the lemon juice and let it sit for about 5 minutes.  

Put chili in bottom of 2 qt. casserole dish. Spoon the cornbread batter over the top, making sure to cover as much of the chili as possible. Do NOT stir in to the chili. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cornbread is golden brown. I sprinkled a little cheese on top, because cheese makes everything a little better.

I would like to introduce you to Dave, the love of my life!

This  is Dave!! 

(he's a little dusty/dirty, but he just finished working really hard)

Dave and I have only been in a relationship for 2 months now, but I can honestly say that I think that I am  in love!! Yes, I said it! I am in love!!  Dave and I met on Christmas Day, we were introduced by my mother-in-law!

I had wanted an iRobot Roomba for years and years now, but I was always too cheap and too scared to buy one. I just kept thinking, "What if I spend ALL THAT MONEY on one and it is a piece of junk?! I will NEVER hear the end of it." So, I had put it off and put it off and put it off. 

Well, around Black Friday, a dear friend of mine bought a different model of one for herself. She came to work going on and on about how good of a job it was doing and how much she loved it. This is a friend that can be rather picky about stuff, ok everything. So, when she raves about something like this, I listen! 

I really truly love how Dave works his way around and will do the whole main living area in my house. He came with two virtual walls that can be set up, to keep him out of areas that I do not want vacuumed. I have put one under my youngest daughter's bed, because, well... if Dave went under there, I am afraid that I may never see him again!

The timer option is AMAZING!! Dave can be programmed to run on certain days or at certain times.  Eeeek!! A man that will clean while I am gone to work!

Semi-homemade gluten free pop-tarts and an evening out!

Well, since I will be going to the local dinner theatre, for a production of Dixie Swim Club, I won't me be making supper tonight! YAY!! They are serving fried chicken, mashed potatoes with gravy, biscuits, and such. Sounds delicious! I can't wait!!  And, the girls are super excited to be with a babysitter tonight. So, it is a win-win!

Anyway...  Since my oldest child is on a gluten, dairy, and egg free diet, cooking for her can be, well, let's say challenging. Ok, I know what you are thinking... "How in the world do you cook like that? Doesn't EVERYTHING have one of those 3 things in it?" My answers are usually, "Very carefully." And, "Yes, yes most recipes do contain one of those three ingredients." So, yeah, I will just say, honestly, it sucks! I am not always successful at making meals that are free of all three. I use a lot of gluten free flours and mixes. I also usually only use almond milk in place of milk, and duck eggs, when I can get them. Supposedly, duck eggs have a different protein than chicken eggs.

I try to make things that are within her dietary guidelines, good for her, and as easy as possible to make.  This is also a challenge, at times.

So, one thing my daughter loves is homemade pop-tarts. They are VERY easy to make and they do not have all of the extra processed ingredients or preservatives in them. I usually make up a batch and freeze them in a container with wax paper between the layers. Then, when she wants one for breakfast, I can pop one in the microwave or toaster for a short amount of time, and presto! Breakfast!

Semi-homemade gluten free pop-tarts

1 container gluten free pie and pastry dough
Jelly or jam of choice
Sugar/cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 425. Roll out already prepared pie and pastry dough. You could use homemade pie crust or store bought pie crust. Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut rectangles the size you want your pop-tarts to be. Spoon jam or jelly on to half the pieces of dough. Spread to approximately 1/4 inch of the edges. Place a cut piece of dough on top. Repeat for all pieces. Use fork tines to press and seal around all the edges of each tart. Poke a couple sets of holes in the top of each pop-tart, to allow the steam to release. Place pop-tarts on a baking sheet, sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle each tart with a little white granulated sugar and/or cinnamon. Bake for approximately 10 minutes, or until golden.