Banana Cake, gluten free style!

Remember when I made banana cake here? Well, this is an easy recipe to fix if you buy a flour mix. They are expensive, but it is easier than trying to make your own. I haven't yet mastered my own blend, but when I do, rest assured this will be the first place I post about it.

Here is the edited version. If I am feeling the hankering for cake this week, I will make it and take photos, otherwise, rest assured it looks about the same as the other one ;)

1 c. sugar
1 c. butter
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. flour (rather than all purpose wheat flour, I use a blend like Cup 4 Cup, found in the gluten free section of the store)
1/2 c. walnuts (optional)

Mix in order given. Put in greased loaf pans.
Bake at 350° for about 1 hour. Allow 24 hours before cutting.

Gluten Free

It has been a very long time since I posted for several reasons. I started a full time job and forgot how much fun cooking is. I have been very tired with all of my illnesses in flair and just trying to figure out what they all are. And part of that is that I have gone gluten free do to an intolerance thought to be Celiac Disease. The only thing that makes me not just outright say I have Celiac Disease is that I didn't opt to have a biopsy. I don't need it to know that either way, gluten free has been very helpful for me.

In gluten free cooking I have a few philosophies that I like to use:
1. Food shouldn't cost more because we remove wheat, rye, and barley
2. Fresh is best, but I will still find processed foods if I need them
3. My cooking methods weren't broke, so for the most part, they didn't change.
4. Before you overhaul everything, think of how many things you make that are already gluten free

Over the next few weeks, I will rewrite gluten free versions of each of the recipes that I have posted. Looking back, some of them were already gluten free which is awesome. I will also post about what my favorite gluten free finds have been, as well as some mainstream foods that are gluten free that were super exciting for me to find. Be ready!!

Bountiful Baskets and Menu for March 3rd through 9th

As you can see, this week's basket was pretty awesome. There is some new foods for us to try, but mostly just favorites that we have often. As you can see we got a pineapple, a cantalope, 8 bananas, 6 Kiwis, 6 bananas, 3 yellow mangos (if you haven't had these before, you have to wait until they are wrinkled to eat. They look bad, but it is good), 3 bell peppers, 5 Anaheim peppers, some brussel sprouts, 3 english cucumbers, broccoli, butter lettuce (still living.. with roots on it), and Yukon Gold potatoes.

From all that perfect produce, I came up with a great menu for suppers this week. I will bold the recipes that I plan on posting!

Saturday: Tuna Casserole and Green Beans (fail, we ate out)
Sunday: Turkey Steaks, Cheesy Mashed potatoes (left over russets), and left over salad
Monday: Cheesy potatoes and ham (left over frozen potatoes made to hashbrowns) tossed salad
Tuesday: Chicken burritos (black beans, chicken, onion, lettuce, peppers), Spanish rice
Wednesday: Lettuce wraps and Chow mein
Thursday: Lasagna and green salad
Friday: Roasted red potatoes and oven roasted whole chicken with applewood rub

A sweetly savory treat for lunch!!

Sometimes the kids want to have something special for lunch.. and I don't blame them. Well, I have been wanting to have some sweet potatoes recently, and I just really enjoy them roasted in the oven. A couple day care kids and I went off to Walmart to see what special treats we could find, and this is what came to mind for me. Also, I had been eyeing some strawberries that were on "Rollback".  

Here is what I did to create our yummy sweet taters:

 Step 1 (pictured above): Peel and dice those suckers. I think mine are in 1 inch peices.. maybe some smaller some bigger because I am not a professional chef....

Step 2: Take your ingredients, pictured above, and toss them all together on a sheet pan. I use about 2 TBLS of oil for 2 sweet potatoes, then salt and pepper to taste. If you like yours sweet, this is where you could add some cinnamon, nutmeg etc.

Step 3: bake the potatoes at 425 until you are happy with the tenderness. This batch took 20 minutes. I have had it take up to 40.. just watch them.

Pair with a little cheese melt and some strawberries and you have a delicious and healthy lunch.. YUM! The kids ate their lunch all up with no complaints, in case you wondered how it went over.

Hey all! I know that it has been so long since I have posted and I am working on some great up and coming healthy eating posts for you as soon as I take my state Property and Casulty Insurance exam this weekend. Until then, I want to share with you my new found love that I refer to as produce Christmas... Bountiful Baskets. Please check them out and see if there is a location near you! It has saved us tons of money in the long run. Check out the last few baskets that I have received:

Burrito filling

When our family has tacos/burritos, we don't use the old fashioned taco seasoned beef..we make this delicious and easy recipe handed down from Trevor's mom.

What you need:
1 lb ground beef
1 can chili (whatever kind you like)
2 or 3 TBLS bbq sauce (again whatever kind you like is fine)

You start by browning the beef, like this:


After the beef is browned, drain the fat off. Return it to the pan and add the chili and the bbq sauce, like this:

Mix it all together and heat through. It will look like this:


Just put on a soft tortilla with your favorite taco fixings! MMMM...

Taco Salad..sorry no pics :(

Tonight we had one of Trevor's most favorite meals! Taco salad is pretty easy and delish!

First you make the meat. Here is what you will need:
1 lb ground meat
1/2 C salsa
the juice of 1 lime

Brown the meat and drain it if needed. After draining, add salsa and the lime juice, then let it heat through. YOU DID IT!

Here is the construction order of the PERFECT salad:

Take a pretty good handful of Nacho Cheese Doritos and crush them up on your plate. Take some salad, today I diced up some iceberg lettuce and added tomatoes, but you can used bagged no problems, and top the chips with it. Add a sprinkling of the meat, a bit of shredded cheese, Hidden Valley Ranch, and a bit of salsa.

There you have it. A delicious and healthy meal in minutes! I will post pictures next time we have it, I swear!