Crispy Carrot Fries

Crispy Carrot Fries

I came across these Crispy Sweet Potato Fries on Pinterest, but had no sweet potatoes on hand. I actually have very little on hand for dinner side options on this particular day but I had some carrots.  So I'm not sure why but I decided to make Carrot Fries using the method from The Art of Doing Stuff that she used on her sweet potato fries.  

First I peeled and cut up  my carrots into french fries and placed them in a bowl of salt water.

Put some cornstarch in a paper bag, drop the carrot fries in and shake thill they are all coated.

Spread out on a sheet of parchment paper and drizzle with olive oil.

 Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, check if they are crispy enough, if not, bake a few more minutes.

The carrot fries were pretty good, they reminded me of sweet potato fries, in that carrots are also kinda sweet.  I think I would prefer to just have sweet potato fries....or regular fries because I love french fries, BUT if you are looking for something new to do with carrots as a side dish, it definitely was a good alternative and will probably do it again sometime.  Normally we just eat carrot sticks raw or diced up and in a stir fry.  Definitely pop over and check out the crispy sweet potato fries post from The Art of Doing Stuff, her photos are awesome and those sweet potato fries look bomb!  I can't wait to try it next time I get some sweet potatoes!

I'm a REAL Cook....I can throw stuff together....but then again...maybe I should just follow a recipe

Ever Get a Little Overconfident in the Kitchen?

I sometimes do and sometimes it turns out great (see the chocolate covered peanut butter chocolate chip balls) and other times...not so great.  Tonight I made a vinaigrette for the salad and thought I could whip it up all awesomely without a recipe or measuring anything.  My husband was the first to dig in and I was confused when I saw him throw his head forward and do some weird coughing thing...what was his problem...did he inhale a spinach leaf and need help?  Hmmm....not really...apparently my dressing was VERY strong...in an eating pure apple cider vinegar and black pepper kind of way.  I teased him and said "What?  That's how all vinaigrettes are made, plus apple cider vinegar is really healthy for you so it's basically a yummy health potion on your salad that I whipped up with no recipe!" and his reply...while choking on his food still was "Potion!!! That's exactly what it is! not salad dressing!" lol.  So then I was secretly scared to try it after his reaction but took a bite...I was like "Oh my gosh you are such a baby, I think it tastes fine..." followed by a sudden, uncontrollable head pulling back and jerking slightly from side to side as I tried to eat it as my whipped up salad potion had quite the zing...or something like that!  I am not even quite sure how to describe it...but I was reminded that...no. I'm still not a real cook...I do need references from cookbooks and online recipes so I don't wind up causing myself or family members to start choking on their food.

I LIKE Green Eggs and Ham!

Green Eggs and Ham 

or in this case bacon

What you'll need

Eggs
Ham/bacon
Blue food coloring
Bowl
Fork
Frying pan
Non-stick spray/vegetable oil
Spatula

Depending on your child's capabilities, you can let them help a lot or a little but this is a fun one for them to make

Place a frying pan on the skillet over high heat, once it gets real hot, reduce to medium heat (I do this so the eggs don't stick to the stainless steel...we don't use non-stick frying pans, they are a no no but you can read more about that at end of post).

Let your child help you crack the eggs on the edge of counter or side of bowl and carefully break the eggs into the bowl.

Let them put a few drops of blue food coloring into the bowl with the eggs.  If you have the wilton food coloring in the little jars, dip the tip of your fork in the food coloring to get just a tiny amount.  Use your fork and stir the eggs up in the bowl, mixing in the food coloring.  (if kids are going to stir the eggs, use a bigger sized bowl so prevent them from spilling over the edge)

Lightly coat the frying pan with oil or cooking spray to prevent sticking.

Pour green eggs into skillet and cook, folding and chopping with the spatula to make scrambled eggs.

When green eggs are cooked, remove from skillet and serve warm.

As for the ham part, you can either take some deli ham and cut into small pieces and stir into the eggs before cooking or you can make a side a bacon like we did.

And DON'T FORGET to read them the book Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

We got our 4.5 year old Green Eggs and Ham for Christmas and I'll never forget the first time I read it to her that night.  She had no idea what she was in for when it started, and as we got into the book, her eyes widened, filled with delight and she rose up higher and higher on her knees 'till she was no longer laying down but bouncing in her bed as the story went on.  We have to read the book at LEAST two times in a row, then we have to act it out 2 times, taking turns being Sam I Am and the guy who doesn't want the Green Eggs and Ham.  Dr. Seuss has just acquired a new fan...and today she requested Green Eggs and Ham for lunch...and of course I had to be Sam I Am when serving it to her...."You do not like them so you say. Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may, I say."  

I know we are not the first to do this fun activity by any means, but it was our first time and it was fun!!!  I was also thinking after the fact, that you could make this healthier by using spinach puree to color the eggs, I'll have to try that next time and see if they still like Green Eggs and Ham!

 *We have thrown out most of our non-stick cookware.  It has been banned in other countries because it is toxic and carcinogenic. When Mary Anne bought a gerbal for one of her kids, the pet store warned them not to keep the cage near the kitchen when cooking because the fumes from non-stick cookware can kill the animal.  We stick to using stainless steel and cast iron for cooking. For more about that, read my Nutrition and Healthy Cooking posts.  

Leftover Turkey?

Have any Leftover Turkey from the holidays?  We got a free turkey from my husband's office that was like 25 pounds and between the two of us and 2 little ones (one who won't even touch it), and being that our turkey was pretty well cooked (if you saw my last post, we slacked on Christmas, took naps all afternoon and got a dry turkey).  Anyways, so what to do with those rather dry turkey leftovers?

Yesterday I made Turkey Tetrazinni for my husband.  I found some recipes on AllRecipes and ended up doing a mix of the Turkey Tetrazzini II and Chicken or Turkey Tetrazzini.


For my daughter and I, I needed something gluten free and dairy free (I doubt she would have eaten the tetrazinni even if it was gluten free anyways) so we made turkey noodle soup with gluten free animal noodles.  It's Super simple, just poured gluten free chicken broth in the pot, added some mixed frozen vegetables, a bunch of turkey chopped up small and lastly, the gluten free farm animal noodles.

These noodles are great by the way, it's not always easy to find good gluten free noodles that the kids will enjoy and these are good, made with vegetables, are fun and my daughter always is excited to have them.  My 20 month old on the other hand....I have YET to get a noodle in his mouth of any kind!  No matter how we try it, he is determined to never touch one....He is a picky eater visually AND he refuses to eat anything we give him...we have to put food we think he might eat somewhere in his line of sight, casually without actually giving it to him or saying anything about it and wait for him to notice it, then we can say "Oh you want this? you sure?' then we can give it to him without him freaking out and acting like we are trying to force it down his throat! lol!  (they say payback is a b!@#$...I was a super picky eater the same way growing up and drove my parents crazy).

Anyways, next on the menu that we can all eat will be Turkey and Rice Soup.  Other years I have made Turkey Enchiladas with a cream sauce.  Another option to use up small amounts of leftover turkey or taco meat is to make quesadillas.  I like to put a little oil in the frying pan then use corn tortillas, add shredded cheese, leftover meat and top with another corn tortilla, fry about 2 minutes on both sides, then place on a paper towel and serve with franks hot sauce.  

After the Turkey and Rice soup, if there is anything else left...too bad....we will be turkey-ed out and I have sliders and fries on the menu!!!

PS- Thanks everyone who voted for my embarrassing stories over at Wanna Be Balanced!  Crystal just told me I won the personal microderm system!!!! YAY I AM SOOO EXCITED! THANK YOU!!!  I'll be sure to let you all know how it works and if it helps!  I've recently started getting the worst acne of my life!  I didn't break out this much in high school! UGH!  Crystal, I really appreciate you doing this awesome contest/giveaway!  I love your blog it's always so fun, interesting, inspiring and educational!!! :)

Pan-Fried Kielbasa and Caramelized Onion Rice Cakes

Pan Fried Kielbasa and Caramelized Onion Rice Cakes

Two nights ago we made stuffed bell peppers and had a bunch of left over rice.  Yesterday we made sliders (mini hamburgers topped with caramelized onions) and we had a bunch of the caramelized onions left over.  I had seen the recipe for pan fried shrimp rice cakes in the Cooking For Isaiah book which gave me this idea, although I made these completely different, that is where I got the idea.  After trying the first batch of fried rice cakes, I decided to add some Tamari to the mixture and that added a really nice touch.

What You'll Need

~ 2 cups cooked rice (we like Jasmine Rice)

~ 1/2 cup chopped Kielbasa

~1/2 cup diced caramelized onions

1/2 tsp salt

little pepper

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1-2 Tablespoons Tamari (a WAY tastier alternative to soy sauce)

Chop up some Kielbasa

Dice up your caramelized onions

to make caramelized onions, just chop up an onion and saute in vegetable oil over med-high till onions turn golden brown, stirring occasionally

Add the Kielbasa, onion, salt, pepper, beaten eggs and tamari to cooked rice and stir together.

Add some vegetable oil (and I likeadd a tablespoon of coconut oil because it has a higher cooking temperature) to a medium size skillet and heat over medium/medium/high heat.  When oil starts to sizzle, use a tablespoon and spoon the mixture into the pan, creating a mound and then use the spoon to flatten out your rice cake a bit. 

Let the rice cake cook for about 2 minutes or until golden brown on bottom and then flip over and repeat til golden brown on both sides. 

Remove from frying pan and set on paper towel covered cooling rack and then start the next batch.

If bits and pieces of rice start to burn in pan after making a few fried rice cakes, try to scrape out the burning pieces with a spoon or just dump out the oil, wipe clean and then start again with fresh oil. 

You could also leave out the Tamari sauce from the recipe and then use the Tamari as dipping sauce when eating.

ENJOY!

Thanksgiving Recap

Hello out there....if anyone is still there!  We are alive over here, however we had family come visit, then went and visited family...pretty much the time between Halloween and Thanksgiving just happened at warp speed.  But we are back and Scrappy Saturdays will be back on this weekend too.
After not posting in so long it's almost hard to know where to start so I thought I'd start with a recap of our Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving day started with these

Gluten-Free Sticky Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes with Maple Frosting

 by Silvana Nardone

 For her other great thanksgiving breakfast menu recipes including this one, visit Silvana's Kitchen!


And our Day Ended with this

Toasted Marshmallow topped Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Ginger Snap Cookie Crust from 

 from Silvana's Book Cooking for Isaiah 

(I LOVE LOVE LOVE this gluten free dairy free cookbook!)

Both were super yummy and delicious, along with everything else we had in-between.  My husband cooked the actual meal and did a great job on everything.  I sure am Thankful for such an awesome hubby!!!  And I'm thankful for all the great resources, including Silvana's recipes that make eating gluten and dairy free easy and delicious!  We had company over for Thanksgiving and they said they would have never guessed everything was gluten and dairy free.

I did make ONE thing for the actual meal from a recipe my sister gave me. I made this the night before and I  want to make this everyday, just to make my house smell like this.  Now I'm desperate to find the perfect candle that smells like this...cranberries, apples, vanilla, cinnamon and clove! *I left out the raisins.

homemade cranberry relish

2 cups fresh apple juice

1/2 cup sugar

24 ounces cranberries

2 slightly sweet apples, peeled and diced

1/2 vanilla bean, slit open

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 -2 cloves depending on preference

1/4 cup golden raisins

Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, on medium-high heat until the cranberries have popped and everything has begun to gel. Spoon into a casserole dish. Let cool.

This is beautiful and super Yummy!!

Gluten Free Corn Bread Stuffing (also got this recipe from my sister)

Use your favorite GF cornbread mix - (Bobs Red Mill is awesome) or substitute gluten free all purpose baking mix for the flour in any basic corn bread recipe. Mix dough then stir in 1/2 Tbs of dried thyme. Bake according to recipe directions.

Once the cornbread has cooled, cut into cubes and arrange on a baking sheet. Let this sit overnight to dry out and create cornbread crumbs.

Stuffing ingredients:

2 Tbs Olive oil

1/2 onion - chopped

4 cloves garlic - finely chopped or pressed

1-2 stalks celery - chopped

1 apple - peeled and chopped

.75 oz of fresh Rosemary, Thyme and Sage

Vegetable or Chicken stock as needed

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute onion, garlic and celery. Add apple, salt and pepper and herbs, cook stirring frequently over medium heat for 3-4 mins. Lower to med/low heat and add cornbread crumbs, toss to coat with herb mixture. Add vegetable stock to moisten cornbread to desired consistency/texture. Serve warm.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Belgian Waffles

Cinnamon-Toasted Belgian Waffles

Gluten free and Dairy Free

From Cooking For Isaiah

This past weekend we had another great success from our Cooking For Isaiah cookbook.  We made the Cinnamon Toasted Belgian Waffle and it was SO delicious, the cinnamon in the waffles with classic waffle texture, crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, it was hard to remember I wasn't actually eating cinnamon toast.  These gluten free cinnamon waffles topped with real maple syrup was the best saturday morning breakfast we've had in a long time.  So far, Silvana Nardone's Cooking For Isaiah Cookbook of gluten free, dairy free recipes has yet to dissapoint...everything we have tried has been awesome and I've even used her flour blend in other recipes like the gluten free blueberry muffins with coconut struesel, chocolate chip muffins and strawberry muffins and I love it.  This is my favorite cookbook, the only other cookbook I have used so much (and not even as much as Silvana's is the big BHG cookbook.

If you are not feeling brave enough to make you own flour blend and get cooking from this awesome book, well, first of all, there's nothing to be afraid of, it's super easy although I was intimidated about the different flours and everything at first...I don't know why it's really not a big deal...ANYWAYS, if you'd rather stick with the gluten free bisquik mix, or if you not gluten free and making normal waffles, make according to package directions and add 1-2 tsp cinnamon to the batter and a bit of brown sugar.  

I'm not working for Silvana or her book, but I just can't help but rave about it every time I make something out of it!  I think she is a genius.

Gluten Free "KFC" Popcorn Chicken

Gluten Free "KFC" Popcorn Chicken

aka  gluten free Chicken Nuggets

No there isn't really gluten free fried chicken at KFC (not that I know of!) but I have this recipe for mock "KFC" chicken seasoning in my family cookbook that my aunt put together one year for our family reunion so here it is, but made into gluten free chicken nuggets.  My daughter was very happy to have chicken nuggets once again, the first time in months.

Gluten Free "KFC" Chicken Seasoning Mix

1 Tbsp salt (I like kosher)

1 Cup gluten free all-purpose flour blend (like silvana's or gluten free cooking school or bob's red mill)

1 Tbsp pepper

2 Tbsp paprika

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 Tbsp mustard powder

1/2 Tbsp fresh thyme

1/2 Tbps basil 

1/2 tsp oregano 1/3 Tbsp ginger

(I don't always have every single ingredient, that's fine, just use this as a base)

Take 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut into bite size pieces

In a large frying pan, add about 1/2 inch oil and heat over medium-high.

Mix all ingredients together in medium size bowl.

In another medium size bowl, break two eggs and slightly beat them.

Place chicken pieces into bowl with slightly beaten eggs and toss to coat.

Using a fork, transfer chicken pieces to flour mixture and toss/stir to coat pieces evenly with seasoning.

Space the gluten free chicken nuggets around the frying pan/sauce pan in a single layer and cook till golden crisp on one side, then flip over...about 5-7 minutes total.  Adjust your temperature if you notice chicken nuggets are browning too fast or not cooking fast enough.  When you think they look done, pick out the largest one and cut open with a knife to make sure it is cooked all the way through (no pink!).  Work in batches.

Remove chicken nuggets from heat and place on paper towel lined cooling racks.

ENJOY!

Serve with russet potatoes cut up into french fries, coated lightly with oil and baked on parchment paper at 450 til crispy, then sprinkled with kosher salt and paprika.

Ps- These chicken nuggets make great left-overs...hubby loves to eat them cold out of the fridge the next day

Be sure to enter my current giveaway!  See previous post or click on the giveaway tab up top!

Savory Waffles as Gluten Free Hot Dog Buns or Hamburger Buns

Gluten Free Hot Dog Bun and Hamburger Bun

Here's another reviewed recipe from the Cooking For Isaiah book by Silvana Nardone.  She has a meatloaf sandwich recipe in there and she came up with the idea of using savory waffles for the bread.  Savory waffles are exactly what it sounds like...waffles with some savory seasonings added in like italian seasoning, sun dried tomatoes...etc.  We made savory waffles to use as hamburger buns a couple of weeks ago and it worked out great! So yummy!  We wrapped up the extra waffles and put them in the freezer so when we decided to BBQ some Hebrew Nationals the other day, I just took them out and put them in the toaster to thaw them and crisp them back up a bit.  I love having these on hand!  I just don't enjoy a hamburger wrapped in lettuce and a hot dog with no bun is no fun!

The Hamburgers we made were so good!  We shredded a sweet onion and then mixed the shredded onion in with the hamburger meat when forming the burgers.  We cooked them over briquettes and then topped with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce and carmelized onions...and my hubby did the grilling just right, they left my mouth watering with that lingering smoky flavor the rest of that evening!  Having savory gluten free waffles for the bun just made them even better, I mean, waffles are awesome and typical hamburger buns and hot dog buns aren't even good...they are like cardboard bread....so it's not a dietary sacrifice by any means...substituting these waffles in for buns is a total upgrade!

You can easily make gluten free buns by making gluten free waffles with either Silvana's Recipe in her Book, or use the gluten free bisquick mix, or if you are way too lazy, you could always try using Vans gluten free dairy free waffles (they just wouldn't be savory..but it would still be yummy without the seasonings)

More props to The Cooking for Isaiah Cookbook...Silvana...you have made living gluten free and dairy free exciting! You are such a genius in the kitchen!  Even if you aren't gluten free...you should try making some savory waffles sometime to use as a hamburger bun, hot dog bun or whatever kind of bun or sandwich bread you need.