Top 20 recipes of 2012

I love to look back through my blog posts and see what was popular.  So, I thought I'd share the results with you.  Here's my top 20 posts from 2012:

#1 My Son's Gravedigger Monster Truck Birthday Cake (not really a recipe, but it was the most popular post)

#2 Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

#3 Homemade Dairy-free Yogurt

#4 Double Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream

#5 Sorghum Millet Bread (and rolls & breadsticks)

#6 Yeast Doughnuts

#7 Carrot Cake with Coconut Butter Icing

#8 Potstickers

#9 Multigrain Seeded Bread

#10 Not Wheat Thins

#11 Chocolate Crepes with Lemon Cream Sauce

#12 Chicken Fried Steak

#13 Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream

#14 Biscuits and Chocolate Gravy

#15 Slow Cooker Beef Stew

#16 Cherry Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream

#17 Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes

#18 Fresh Strawberry Pie with Coconut Whipped Cream

#19 How to Pop Sorghum and Amaranth

#20 Cinnamon Dark Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes

Weekly Menu (12/30/12-1/5/12)

No Bountiful Basket this week, but I do have:

• red pears
• apples
• oranges
• bananas
• celery
• zucchini
• red potatoes
• russet potatoes
• onions
• garlic
• lettuce

This week for breakfast:

For the Kids:

• Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• pancakes
• fresh fruit 
• cereal for the kids
• Smoothies
• Hot Cocoa

For me: (I get up 2-3 hours before anyone in my house, hence why I have a separate breakfast)

• baked oatmeal
• granola
• Cranberry Orange Muffins 
• overnight oats
• fresh fruit and smoothies

This week for lunches:

• PB&J on Udi's bread
• Schar crispbread with pepperoni and cheese
• Glutino Pretzels with Peanut Butter
• Tomato soup with Grilled Cheese
• Hot Dogs
• Ham Sandwiches
• and leftovers :)

This week for dinner:

Sunday:  

• Oven Fried Porkchops
• Mashed Red Potatoes
• sauteed zucchini
• Green salad

Monday: Happy New Year's Eve! (I doubt that I'm going to be staying up late, I prefer my sleep...lame, I know, but I'm happier when I get my sleep)

• Hamburgers with homemade buns
• oven fries
• Salad
• carrots and almond butter
• sliced oranges

Tuesday: Happy New Year!

• Tacos/Taco Salad
• Sliced pears and apples

Wednesday:

• Teriyaki Chicken
• Basmati Rice
• Sauteed zucchini and onions
• sliced pears 
• green salad

Thursday: 

• One-eyed Sandwiches
• hashbrowns
• bacon
• sliced oranges

Friday:

• Potato Soup
• Grilled ham sandwiches
• Green salad

Saturday: 

• Pizza
• carrot and celery sticks

Merry Christmas! and some Snowball Cookies

Merry Christmas!  I hope you enjoy your holiday! I'm definitely going to be enjoying mine.  One of my very favorite holiday cookies, well more like one of my all time favorite cookies is snowball cookies, or Mexican Wedding Cakes, or Russian Tea Cookies...yeah, that one.  In my family we called them snowballs, and they are incredibly easy and quite tasty.  Really, I'd take these any day over a frosted sugar cookie.

So, to celebrate Christmas, here's my favorite Christmas cookie, enjoy!

Snowball Cookies
1 cup pecan pieces
1 cup palm oil shortening or dairy-free margarine
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 cups gluten free flour blend
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
powdered sugar (placed in a 9X13 pan or a gallon ziploc bag)

Directions:
Ground the pecans in a food processor or blender until finely ground.  Set aside.

Cream together the shortening and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Add in half the flour blend, vanilla, and salt and mix well. Mix the other half of the flour blend and the pecans by hand.  Form the mixture into a ball and cover and chill for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F. Roll the dough into 1" balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake for about 12 minutes.  Let the cookies cool for a couple of minutes then roll the cookies in the powdered sugar.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Allergy Free Wednesdays.

Weekly Menu (12/23/12-12/29/12)

This week in our half of the Bountiful Basket (I share with my brother) we got:

• red pears
• Asian pears
• oranges
• avocado
• eggplant
• zucchini
• red potatoes
• parsley
• onions

I also have:

• lettuce
• potatoes
• bell peppers
• yellow squash
• apples 
• tomatoes
• onions
• garlic
• clementines
• acorn squash
• broccoli
• carrots
• green beans
• radishes
• raspberries
• strawberries
• blueberries

This week for breakfast:


We're going to have a special breakfast for Christmas...I just haven't figured out what to make yet, maybe apple fritters.

For the Kids:

• Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• French Toast
• fresh fruit 
• cereal for the kids
• Smoothies
• Hot Cocoa

For me: (I get up 2-3 hours before anyone in my house, hence why I have a separate breakfast)

• baked oatmeal
• granola
• Cranberry Orange Muffins 
• overnight oats
• fresh fruit and smoothies

This week for lunches:

• PB&J on Udi's bread
• Schar crispbread with pepperoni and cheese
• Glutino Pretzels with Peanut Butter
• Tomato soup with Grilled Cheese
• Hot Dogs
• Ham Sandwiches
• and leftovers :)

This week for dinner:

Sunday:  

• Baked Ham
• Roasted Red Potatoes
• Ratatouille
• Udi's Dinner Rolls (just got some to try out)
• Green salad (with cherry tomatoes, radishes, etc)

Monday: Happy Christmas Eve!

• Pork Tamales
• Chili Beans 
• Rice
• Salad
• carrots and almond butter
• sliced oranges

Tuesday: Merry Christmas! We'll be at my parents for Christmas dinner:

• Turkey and Ham
• Baked Potatoes
• Relish Tray, fruit, etc.
• I'm bringing the dessert: Pumpkin Bars and Brownies

Wednesday:

• Sweet Pork with Homemade Tortillas
• Basmati Rice
• sliced pears and Asian pears
• green salad

Thursday: 

• French Toast
• hashbrowns
• bacon
• clementines

Friday:

• Barbecue Chicken
• Baked Beans
• Green salad
• Roasted acorn squash

Saturday: 

• Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
• sliced pears
• green salad

Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies

I'm always on the look out for new cookies.  And I saw these cookies on Pinterest, and remembered having similar ones back in my gluten-filled days.  I decided to make my own version using the chocolate cookie base from my Death by Chocolate Cookies (modifying them to be refined sugar-free) and then using the basic flourless peanut butter cookie recipe as the filling.  Yeah, it worked, these cookies are amazing.

And they work really well as separate cookies, too.  So, you have three recipes in one. ;) This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Allergy Friendly Fridays, and Whole Foods Friday.

Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Cookies
Chocolate Cookie Base:
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup palm oil shortening
1 cup turbinado sugar or other unrefined sugar (or white sugar)
1 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour blend 
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Filling:
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375F. For the chocolate cookie base, in a large mixing bowl cream together the coconut oil, shortening, and sugars.  Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.  In a separate bowl combine the flour blend, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir in chocolate chips.

For the peanut butter filling, cream together the peanut butter and coconut sugar, then mix in the egg and vanilla.

Take and form a ball (about 1") of the chocolate cookie base, and flatten it.  Make a small ball (about 1/2") of the peanut butter filling and wrap the flattened chocolate cookie around it and place the filled cookie on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Cook for 10-12 minutes at 375F.

You can also just make chocolate cookies and peanut butter cookies...if you do this it will take about 8-10 minutes to cook.

Weekly Menu (12/16/12-12/22/12)

This week in our half of the Bountiful Basket (I share with my brother) we got:

• lettuce
• cauliflower
• red potatoes
• bell peppers
• spinach
• yellow squash
• lemons
• granny smith apples 
• grapes
• bananas
• pineapple

We also got the Hostess Pack, which included:

• cherry tomatoes
• onions
• granny smith apples
• potatoes
• parsnips
• carrots
• green beans
• radishes
• lettuce

This week for breakfast:
For the Kids:

• Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• French Toast
• fresh fruit 
• cereal for the kids
• Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies
• Hot Cocoa 

For me: (I get up 2-3 hours before anyone in my house, hence why I have a separate breakfast)

• baked oatmeal
• granola
• Cranberry Orange Muffins 
• overnight oats
• fresh fruit

This week for school lunches:

• PB&J on Udi's bread, Schar crispbread with pepperoni and cheese, or Glutino Pretzels with Peanut Butter
• fresh fruit (grapes and bananas)
• carrots
• chips or crackers
• milk

This week for dinner:

Sunday:  

• Roast Chicken with parsnips, carrots, and red potatoes 
• Green salad (with cherry tomatoes, radishes, etc)
• Apple Crisp

Monday:

• Green Chili Chicken Gorditas (I'll have homemade tortillas)
• grapes
• carrots and almond butter

Tuesday:

• Tacos (taco salad for me)
• pineapple
• carrots with almond butter

Wednesday:

• Spaghetti
• roasted cauliflower and green beans
• green salad

Thursday: 

• one-eyed sandwiches
• hashbrowns
• bacon
• pineapple

Friday:

• Pizza
• Green salad
• Also, we'll be making our annual Gingerbread Houses. :)

Saturday: I think we'll be at my Mother-in-laws...if not we'll just have grilled cheese and tomato soup. :)

Turkey Steak (and Turkey Sticks)

If you live in Utah (especially northern Utah) you know what I'm talking about when I say Turkey Steaks.  There are a couple of restaurants around here that make this, and it isn't what you would think a turkey steak would be.  It's basically ground turkey that's breaded and pan fried.  So, I guess it's kind of like country fried steak, but with turkey and without the gravy. :)  Anyway, we love it and one of our favorite restaurants, Juniper Takeout, makes gluten-free ones, along with kid-friendly turkey sticks, which are basically the same thing in a finger friendly form.

Well, I happened to have some coupons for Jenni-O products, so a bought some ground turkey and made our own turkey steaks.  It is incredibly easy.  Some tips, though, get ground turkey that has some fat in it, or it will be too dry...get the 85/15, it works the best for this recipe.  Save the hills and/or crust on your GF bread to make the bread crumbs, it's all I ever do, and it works out nicely.

My boys were so excited about this dinner, I only got these really sad snapshots of the food, before they were devoured.  This is definitely a kid friendly meal, but one that will easily satisfy your hubby as well.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy-Free Wednesdays, and Whole Food Fridays.


Turkey Steak
1-1.25 lb ground turkey (85/15)
1 cup gluten free dried breadcrumbs
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 egg
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
canola oil for frying

Directions
Split up turkey and form them into patties or 'fingers'.  With our 1lb of turkey we made two steaks and probably at least 4 fingers.

Mix together the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.  Place the seasoned breadcrumbs on a plate.  In a shallow dish, mix together the milk and the egg.

Heat 1/4 cup-1/2 cup of canola oil (enough to give you about 1/4" oil in the pan) in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  Dip the turkey portions in the egg wash, then in the breadcrumbs.

Cook in the canola oil until both sides are golden brown and the center is cooked through.

Serve with your favorite chicken nugget condiments...we eat ours with Ranch dressing.

Weekly Menu (12/9/12-12/15/12)

This week in our half of the Bountiful Basket (I share with my brother) we got:

• lettuce
• mushrooms
• radishes
• bell peppers
• cucumber
• zucchini and yellow squash
• broccoli
• persimmons (jiro this time)
• papaya 
• grapes
• bananas

I also have a tomato, limes, clementines, carrots, potatoes, onions, and garlic.

This week for breakfast:
For the Kids:

• Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• French Toast
• fresh fruit 
• cereal for the kids
• Peanut Butter Banana Smoothies
• Hot Cocoa 

For me: (I get up 2-3 hours before anyone in my house, hence why I have a separate breakfast)

• baked oatmeal
• granola
• Cranberry Orange Muffins 
• persimmon smoothies
• papaya smoothies

This week for school lunches:

• PB&J on Udi's bread, Schar crispbread with pepperoni and cheese, or Glutino Pretzels with Peanut Butter
• fresh fruit (clementines and bananas)
• carrots
• chips or crackers
• milk

This week for dinner:

Sunday:  

• Oven Fried Chicken (using breadcrumbs instead of cornflake crumbs)
• Mashed Potatoes
• steam broccoli
• Salad (topped with radishes and mushrooms) :)

Monday:

• Chili Topped Potato Skins with this Chili (thickened with millet flour)
• grapes
• Salad

Tuesday:

• Pork Tamales for the family
• Chili Beans
• Basmati rice
• Salad

Wednesday:

• Crepes
• Filled with peanut butter, jam, bananas, papaya chunks, ham, eggs, etc

Thursday: It's my husband's work party, so this is what's for dinner for the kids:

• chicken nuggets
• carrot sticks
• clementines

Friday:

• Coconut Shrimp
• Asian style noodles
• veggie spring rolls with cucumber, lettuce, and carrots
• sauteed zucchini and bell pepper

Saturday: 

• Indian Spiced Chicken Kebabs
• Basmati rice
• Saag Aloo
• maybe even some pakoras

Peanut Butter Teff Cookies

It's getting close to Christmas which means it's definitely cookie time.  This is an easy and fairly healthy cookie.  And my little one LOVES these, and so do I.  :) The peanut butter I used was slightly chunky (self ground, so I didn't make it perfectly smooth), but you could use either smooth or chunky. Teff is an excellent source of minerals (it has the most calcium per cup of any grain, and is also high in iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, and manganese) and your B vitamins.  It is a dark grain, so it gives these cookies a darker color than what you would typically see in a peanut butter cookie, but that hasn't stopped my kids from eating them.

This post was shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Allergy Free Wednesdays and Whole Food Fridays.

Peanut Butter Teff Cookies
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
 1 1/2 cups teff flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Mix wet ingredients together in a food processor or stand mixer.

Mix dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the wet ingredients and mix until it comes together, make sure the honey is fully mixed in (it likes to sit at the bottom).

Roll into 1 inch balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Press down with a fork in a cross pattern and cook for ~10 minutes.

Weekly Menu (12/2/12-12/8/12)

This week in our half of the Bountiful Basket (I share with my brother) we got:

• lettuce
• mushrooms
• tomatoes
• carrots (yellow and orange) :)
• broccoli
• persimmons :)
• papaya :)
• cantaloupe
• watermelon
• bananas

We also got the Mexican Pack Add-on:

• grey squash
• green onions
• garlic
• avocados
• jalapeno peppers
• chipotle peppers
• limes
• cilantro

I also have some apples for lunches

This week for breakfast:
For the Kids:

• Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
• Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Cinnamon Sugar Toast
• fresh fruit
• cereal for the kids
• Hot Cocoa 

For me: (I get up 2-3 hours before anyone in my house, hence why I have a separate breakfast)

• baked oatmeal
• granola
• persimmons, once they are nice and ripe 

This week for school lunches:

• PB&J on Udi's bread or Schar crispbread with pepperoni and cheese
• fresh fruit (apples and bananas)
• chips or crackers
• milk

This week for dinner:

Sunday:  

• Turkey Steaks (new recipe)
• Baked Potatoes
• Sauteed mushrooms and squash
• Salad
 

Monday:

• Tacos/Taco Salad
• Guacamole
• Fruit Salad (watermelon and cantaloupe, at least)

Tuesday:

• Spaghetti
• Steamed Broccoli
• Fruit Salad

Wednesday:

• Chili (thickened with millet flour)
• carrot sticks and broccoli florets with homemade ranch
• sliced papaya

Thursday: 

• Honey Oat Pancakes
• bacon
• eggs
• hashbrowns
• apple slices

Friday:

• English-style Battered Fish
• Baked Potatoes
• salad

Saturday: It's my works' Christmas Party (they are even providing me with a GF meal!), so this is what the kids will have:

• Ham sandwiches
• carrot sticks with almond butter
• apple slices