{A Week In Review}

So...these photos were supposed to be a representation of life from this week and some of them are.  However, some of the photos were from last week.  Obviously I haven't taken enough photos recently. {Laughs}

 Taste: A little to eggy. Oh the joys of gluten-free baking...

No taste here.  Just the glory of cleaning up the mess. 

Taste: Um, interesting.  Not bad, not amazing either.

Taste: The BBQ chicken tasted good. The shrimp not so good.  It was my first attempt at BBQ without Dear Husband, so well, I am going to give myself grace here. 

 Browning the rice for Mexican rice.  Taste: Something went wrong this time.  Sadly, the rice was gooey and some of the rice wasn't fully cooked.  Not sure why, as I've always made a tasty dish of Mexican rice using the recipe I do.

Taste: Amazing.  Reason?  I didn't BBQ it.  

Dear Husband did.  Happy Father's Day!

Taste: Really good fresh out of the oven.  Really awful once cooled.

This loaf of bread did, however, rise beautifully.  Something this gluten-free bread baking mama was over-joyed to see.

So there you have it.  My week(s) in review.  

belle

simply . living . life

I tried something new...

...and baked some {healthy} goodness!

Gluten-Free Chocolate-Chip Cookies with Flax Seeds and Walnuts.

I discovered the original recipe here. Gotta say at first glance I was impressed. Still am. Thing is, though this is a fantastic recipe, the nutritional value wasn't what I was hoping for. Sooooo, I added some walnuts, ground flax seed, and whole flax seeds.

Ingredients I added on:

1 tablespoons whole flax seeds

1/4 ground flax seeds

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

{Note: You can add these healthy extras to wheat-based cookie dough too!}

{dough chilled and ready to bake}

You can chill the dough in the refrigerator for one hour or you can do what I do.

Place cookie dough in refrigerator.

Preheat oven.

Remove cookie dough from refrigerator.

Take dough, roll into six balls and place on baking sheet,

place remaining dough back in refrigerator,

place the rolled dough that is on the baking sheet into the freezer for about 5 minutes.

Bake for 12-14 minutes.

Repeat process; it helps if you have two baking sheets.

{Note: chilling the dough is a must for gluten-free cookies!}

{waiting for the cookies!}

{it's cookie time!}

Let cookies cool on baking sheet for a couple minutes than transfer cookies to cooling rack.

Pour a glass of ice-cold milk to go along with your freshly baked cookie and enjoy!

{belle}

simply . living . life

Baking gluten-free bread...

...is not for the faint of heart. Though, after baking yet another tasteless loaf of bread, one might certainly feel that way. I know I have. I mean, honestly, there comes a point when one has enough bread crumbs from all the flops to last a year! There comes a point when one just wants to receive a good tasting loaf of bread for all their efforts.

I know I do.

If someone had told me a couple months ago that I would be baking bread when I could purchase it so easily, I would have told them they were crazy! After all, I already knew my pizza dough potential was like zero. So, knowing I had zero potential making something as simple as pizza dough, why would I suddenly think I could bake bread? What could possibly bring me to my bread-baking knees?

Only one thing I can think of... I love my family.

The signs of gluten sensitivity have been present for awhile. I just hadn't recognized the signs for what they were, until one day last month. The good news is not all my efforts to make and bake good tasting gluten-free foods have been a loss.

However, there are things we eat everyday that have certainly been a challenge to make. One being bread. I was disappointed, to say the least, with store-bought, gluten-free bread; first with its price and secondly, the small sized loaf.

Though I am still not satisfied with the taste and texture of my homemade breads, I have had a few bread-baking breakthroughs. So far, I've made four loaves of bread that I plan to make again. Yesterday, for instance, I baked a basic white bread with sesame seeds and flax seed meal that tasted just about the same as a store-bought loaf I tried weeks ago. {Thank the Lord, because I wasn't sure how much longer my sweet family could eat another one of my bread-baking flops!}

So, what grand insight did I discover that made it possible for me to go from "can she flop another bread?" to "yes, she can make bread!"? Reading this, reviewing lots of recipes and making all those flop breads. Truth is, we learn more from our failures. Still, I gotta say, it's been a joy to learn from my successes too! {Such as the loaf of bread seen below.}

It's not perfect, but at least it tastes good. Not great, but good. When I bake a loaf that tastes great, I'll be sure to share the recipe.

So if you wonder why I don't blog often, now you know. In addition to everything else, I'm watching bread dough rise and contemplating the perfection combination of ingredients in my mind. I admit, at times I feel a bit like the Miller's daughter in Rumpelstiltskin, but instead of trying to turn straw into gold, I am trying to make rice flour taste like wheat flour and so far it hasn't happened! I'll let you know should I figure out how.

So there you have it. A newbie's thoughts on gluten-free bread baking.

Probably more than you ever wanted to know, and there's more to come... ; )

{belle}

simply . living . life

The Twelve Days of Christmas Cookies {Day Three}

Hi friends! I hope you are having a fun weekend!

The last weekend before Christmas...Yikes! Where did all the time go?

Now I will admit it seems my brain is running on fumes lately with the craziness of it all, but I can still do basic math. And I know that in order to give 10 more cookie recipes before Christmas, I am obviously going to have to do more than one "day" in a given day! :) I hope you don't mind this!

So, without further ado...

"On the third day of Christmas,

there was a recipe

for

Giant Ginger Cookies"

{see, it even rhymes...sort of}

;)

These are delicious cookies, and they have a "secret" ingredient that gives them a little zip, which is black pepper.

{Ingredients}

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2-1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1/2 ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper (the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon, but it was too much for me! However, for full disclosure, my husband liked it best with 1/2.)

1-1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus 1/3 cup for coating

6 tablespoons unsulfured molasses

1 large egg

{To bake}

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, allspice, and pepper.

With an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg.

With mixer on low, gradually beat in dry ingredients just until combined.

Flatten into a disk, wrap in plastic, and freeze for 20 minutes for easier handling. * I found it took more like 45 minutes until it was easy to handle!

Shape dough into twelve 2- inch balls. Place remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a bowl.

Roll balls in sugar to coat; place on prepared baking sheets, at least 4 inches apart. Flatten into 3-inch rounds; sprinkle evenly with sugar remaining in bowl.

Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are set and cracked on top, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

{Makes 12}

* Now I prefer them a little less large, so I rolled the dough into about 1 inch balls. This way the recipe makes about 2 dozen. But either way, they taste good!

Well, thank you for letting me share another cookie recipe with you! I will be back later today with a craft idea for kids! Have a beautiful day! :)

Until then,

Jenni

Sopapillas {Made Simple}

Early this summer, at a church event, I had the opportunity to eat some Sopapillas for dessert.  The Sopapillas tasted good, though obviously not authentic.  One evening not that long later, while making tacos, I decided to make some of my own.  

Here's the ingredients I used:

Mission Flour Tortillas {Burrito Size}

Olive Oil, but you can use Canola if you prefer

Cinnamon and Sugar

Vanilla Ice-cream 

Maraschino cherries

First, I heated the oil in a well-sized frying pan and fried the flour tortillas.  I then sprinkled cinnamon and sugar on them and set the tortillas out to cool and become crunchy. 

{The flour tortillas fried, sprinkled in cinnamon & sugar and cooling.}

{Vanilla ice-cream}  

{Maraschino cherries}

{Dessert prepared and ready to eat.  I thought the finished product looked like an angel.} One of these days I'll have to eat an authentic Sopapilla, but until than, this recipe will have to do and I have to say it was really simple to do.

belle

simply . living . life

Linking this recipe to the following blog parties:

Featuring Quit Eating Out

When it comes to recipes, look no further. Quit Eating Out is the place to fly away to for inspiration. Kim has a variety of recipes, from heavenly desserts to kid-friendly meals to elegant dinner menus. We're featuring two of our favorite recipes at Beautiful Nest.

My Favorite Sandwich

{photo courtesy of Kim at Quit Eating Out}

{Both Belle and Jenni have made this recipe for their families who loved it! } The pesto loving woman that Belle is, she just couldn't resist making it for dinner one summer evening. Not only did this sandwich taste amazing, it was easy to make, a plus for a busy momma of four lil' ones!

Roasted Chicken with Rosemary Potatoes

{photo courtesy of Kim at Quit Eating Out}

If you're like Belle, you've attempted many a time to bake a tender, juicy, flavor-filled chicken only to be disappointed with dismal results. Well be disappointed no more! Not only was this recipe easy to prepare, the results were stunning! Belle was so impressed with this recipe she intends to use it for this year's Thanksgiving turkey. It will be Belle's first attempt preparing and baking the turkey, so wish her luck!

{photo courtesy of Kim at Quit Eating Out}

Not only does Kim have a quantity of recipes to glance over, but she hosts a blog party each Saturday called Saturday Swap, so if you enjoy baking and cooking be sure to stop by and link your recipe to the swap!

simply . living . life

Chicken Quesadillas Made Simple

I got the basic idea for these quesadillas from a friend and added to it from there.  What I loved about this recipe however, was how simple it was and most of all how much my kids enjoyed these tasty triangles.  Besides making a healthy lunch they also make a fantastic side dish or appetizer.  If you don't particularly enjoy the taste of canned chicken try rotisserie chicken or grilled, oh' so tasty!  

Ingredients:

Mexican Blend Cheese

Burrito size Flour Tortillas

Mayonassie

Canned Chicken

Onion

Tomato

Cilantro

Salt

Pepper

Lime Juice

PAM cooking spray

 I made a quick salsa to go along with the quesadillas.  I simply chopped some tomatoes, cilantro, onions into small pieces.  Add a dash of salt and pepper and a some lime juice to your liking.

Place salsa in small dish.

Add a small amount of mayonnaise to chicken. {To make this project really simple I decided to mix the mayo and chicken in the can.  Why wash another bowl?  After all this is supposed to be simple.}

Take a flour tortilla and add chicken mixture, cheese...

and a small amount of salsa mixture.

Spray bottom of pan with cooking spray, such as PAM.

Grill both sides of quesadillas until they are a golden brown.  {You could substitute PAM for butter for a more flavor if you like.}

Toasty warm and ready to eat.

Simple aye?

Enjoy!

belle

simply . living . life

i linked this recipe to the following blog parties,

Chicken Ranch Pizza

So today I am joining in on all the tasty goodness at Quit Eating Out, Saturday Swap!  I mentioned a couple weeks ago that Sparrow and I planned to begin something similar soon and we still do, with a twist.  However, since this is the first ever Saturday Swap I thought I'd hop on over to Quit Eating Out to celebrate Kim's new blog party and I hope you hop on over too!

Today I am linking one of my all time favorite recipes for semi-homemade pizza.

What you'll need:

 1 Boboli Pizza Crust

Your favorite Ranch Dressing

Baked or Grilled Chicken {rotisserie chicken works wonders too!}

1 Zucchini

Green Onions or Red Onion {your choice}

Mozzarella Cheese

Parmesan Cheese

Mexican Blend Cheese

Italian Parsley

Directions:

Remove Boboli Crust from packaging

Spread Ranch dressing upon pizza

Sprinkle 1/2 cup Mexican Blend Cheese and 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese {add more or less for your taste}

Add cubed chicken, sliced zucchini and onion and parsley.

Bake at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes

While the pizza is baking, why not throw together a quick salad?  Healthy and delicious!

Once pizza is cooked to perfection {just the way you like it} let it cool for 5 minutes. 

Enjoy!

belle

simply . living . life

Chocolate Chip Scones

I like trying new recipes,

even complicated ones...

But sometimes,

like tonight,

I need the tried and true.

The kind of recipe I know by heart.

I am really missing my kids.

They are with their Nana and Papa for the week, and I'm lonely for them.

So I do what I love doing for them when they are here.

They love these scones.

And I must admit, they are good.

They make the best breakfast,

and an equally delicious dessert!

It does make me feel a little better making them...and eating them! ;)


CHOCOLATE CHIP SCONES

2 cups flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 & 1/3 cups whipping cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl. Add chocolate chips. Blend in whipping cream with a fork or spatula, adding 1-2 Tbsp. extra whipping cream, if necessary. When mixed, turn out onto a floured surface and knead several times. Pat into a 10 inch diameter, and cut into triangles. (You can also use a round cookie cutter instead, if you like!) Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 11-13 minutes. Eat and enjoy! :)

Thank you for stopping by!


Blessings,

Jenni

I am linking this recipe to the blog party at Beat Until Fluffy.