The Hallmark Channel. Who Knew?

It's holiday movie season! The roommates have introduced me to ALL the holiday movies on the Hallmark Channel. And I've...become obsessed. It's amazing how many stranded travelers find love at the airport/gas station/church. (P.S...NEVER get into a car at the gas station. I watch enough Dateline to know that does NOT end in a happy ending. Especially if the guy has a mustache. #murdermustache)

The weather here today...sucks. It's been raining all day and all night and it will probably freeze overnight, so clearly it is a night for Scalloped Potatoes and Ham. I've made the recipe before and found it kind of bland, so this time around I added some spices. I think the next time I'll add cheese. Because almost everything tastes better with cheese.

Comfort Food. Hot, delicious comfort food.

Dairy Free Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Original recipe on Allergy Free Cooking and Baking. You have to scroll down pretty far to get to it.

Ingredients:
6-8 medium baking potatoes, washed, peeled and sliced
about 1-2 cups cubed cooked ham
1 T olive oil
1 T red pepper flakes
3 T gf flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 1/2 c unsweetened coconut milk
1 small can green chilies

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease casserole dish with spray. Add ham and potatoes to dish.
2. Heat 1 T olive oil in pan, add red pepper flakes and cook for about a minute. Add flour, salt and pepper. Cook for about 1 minute and then add milk. Stir constantly until boiling, continue stirring and boil for 1 minute, until thickened.
3. Pour sauce over ham and potatoes.
4. Bake covered for 45 minutes and then uncover and cook for 45-60 minutes more. Let cool a few minutes before serving.

I leave the skins on the potatoes because a) peeling takes time
and b) all the vitamins are in the skin. Eat your vitamins.

I added more red pepper flakes after I poured the sauce over
potatoes. And some more black pepper. 

The Thanksgiving One

I'm all about the really creative titles tonight!

First of all, now that we are post-Thanksgiving, I can officially wish you a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!

My friend Mollie hosted a wreath-making party last weekend, and I surprised myself by actually not making one that would make Charlie Brown's Christmas tree look like the Rockefeller tree. Voila! We also had hot cocoa to kick off the holiday season, so I brought my mix. It is easy to make and tastes great in warmed coconut milk. I've used rice milk also, but the coconut milk makes it much creamier.

My first ever homemade holiday wreath. You
know I made it because that bow is a
hot mess...

Hot Cocoa Mix (Original recipe from Food Allergies on a Budget)
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1-2 vanilla beans, seeded and scraped out
1 cup high quality cocoa
1 tsp sea salt

Directions:
1. Blend together the sugar and vanilla beans.
2. Add cocoa and sea salt and blend together
3. Store in air tight container.

I scoop out two to three spoonfuls into a mug of heated coconut milk and stir. It's also super delicious with a little Peppermint Schnapps too :)

I feel like this bird would murder you in your sleep.

Now, on to Thanksgiving. Holiday meals (and family meals in general) can be a little bit complicated when you're the Worst Dinner Guest Ever. They involve a lot of pre-planning and texts from my mom checking recipe lists and ingredient lists. I always bring at least one side that I can eat and a dessert, but we work really hard to make sure that the main dish (meat dish...come on, this is Iowa :) ) is something I can eat.  Last year I made the turkey and it turned out delicious! My mom made the same recipe this year and, guess what...it was delicious again!

Thanksgiving in our family means turkey, potatoes, green bean casserole (for my BIL), homemade bread (not Kim-friendly), stuffing, and pie. Same turkey from last year, we did roasted potatoes instead of mashed to save room on the stove top, I ate salad instead of green bean casserole, we had two stuffings (one outlined below), and two pumpkin pies (one outlined below).  I always know I'm not going to be able to eat everything at the table, but I don't need to eat everything at the table. As long as I can have dessert, I'm golden.

I didn't take pictures of the steps of either recipe. The stuffing was made at my parent's house on Thanksgiving morning and I barely remembered to take this before it went on the table.  The pumpkin pie was made at 10pm on Wednesday night (aka...Thanksgiving Eve) because I ended up with Dinner and a Movie plans and that takes precedence over not going out and baking. :)

P.S.  Mockingjay 2 was very, very good. But the baby in the end was totally Asian. So, I think Katniss has some explaining to do. #spoileralert

Quinoa Stuffing
Original Recipe at Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients:
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed*
1 T olive oil
salt and pepper**
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
3 cups chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water***
zest of one orange
2 cups roughly-chopped fresh spinach
2/3 c dried cranberries

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
2. In a large mixing bowl, toss butternut squash, olive oil, and seasonings until evenly coated. Spread out in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes or until soft and cooked adn the edges begin to brown. Remove and set side.
3. Meanwhile, stir together quinoa, water, and orange zest and cook according to package instructions. When cooked, set aside.
4. Add the cooked squash, quinoa, spinach, and cranberries to a large mixing bowl, and gently toss to combine. Serve warm.

*So, cutting into a squash is a bitch. As is peeling one. I may or may not have absolutely strained my shoulder because of this recipe. Enough that I had a heating pad on it that night and couldn't do everything at yoga the next day because it still hurt. I'm getting old.
**My mom gets spice mixes from Penzey's and she had a mix in her cupboard of herbs that was amazing, so I sprinkled that on the squash before roasting too.
***I used water because I didn't bring any broth with me.

Voila! Pumpkin Pie with Coconut Whipped Cream.

Vegan Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie
Original Recipe on Minimalist Baker

Ingredients:
Crust*
6 T cold vegan butter
1 1/4 c Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour
1/4 tsp salt
4-6 T ice cold water

Filling
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (about 1.5 15 oz cans)
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c brown sugar
1/3 c unsweetened coconut milk
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 T cornstarch
1 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp sea salt

*I made the crust two days ahead of time so it had plenty of time to chill in the refrigerator

Ingredients:
1. To prepare crust, add gluten free flour and salt to a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Slice or dollop the cold butter in and work gently with a fork or pastry cutter to cut it in. Don't overwork, just get it incorporated.
2. Next add ice cold water a little at a time and use a wooden spoon to stir. Only add as much water as you need to help it come together.
3. One a loose dough is formed, transfer to a piece of plastic wrap and work gently with your hands to form a 1/2 inch thick disc. Wrap firmly and refrigerate for a minimum 30 minutes, up to two days. Just let it warm back up a bit before using.
4. Once dough is chilled, preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pie filling.
5. Add all pie ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Set aside.
6. To roll out the crust, unwrap the disc and place it between two sizable layers of wax paper (plastic wrap will work ok, but wax paper is best). Use a rolling pin to gently roll it into the shape of your pie pan. If it cracks, just reform with your hands once you transfer to the pan.
7. To transfer the crust, remove the top layer of wax paper and gently lay the pie dish down on top of the crust and use the support of the wax paper to quickly but carefully invert it.
8. Once you get the crust inverted, gently use your hands to form it into the pan, working the crust up along the sides. It can be a little tricky, but it bakes beautifully. Try not to overwork the dough in the process. Any holes or cracks can be mended with a little excess dough and the heat of your hand.
9. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes. The crust should be light golden brown and the filling will still be just a bit jiggly and have some cracks on the top. Remove from oven and let cool completely before loosely covering and transferring to the refrigerator to fully set for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
10. Slice and serve with coconut whipped cream and an additional sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or pumpkin pie spice (optional).

I had to use a cake pan because I don't have my kitchen stuff (one month until I move and have all my stuff again!) but it worked fine. The pie turned out great and I have been eating it for breakfast and for dessert for a few days now.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Bring on December!

The Not-Thanksgiving One

Well, we've had snow, ice, and rain, so it must be November in Iowa.

This is the Not-Thanksgiving One.  Over the past couple of weeks, I've been extraordinarily busy, which is why this post is a little off-schedule. A lot of the busy is work-related, but some of it is FUN-related. And that's the best kind of busy.  

Two of the recipes I am posting here were quite good. One was...eh. It wasn't awful, but I didn't love it. Which is also why there are no pictures of it. But first things first. We got quite the winter storm last weekend. I was dog-sitting, and she was worthless at shoveling, but I did manage to get her to wear a hat. For about five seconds. It was magical.

The hat was super cute. Rori was less than impressed.

So pretty! Edward Scissorhands soundtrack/snowglobe.

On to the food!  I made both of these so I would have food to eat while dog-sitting and they were both perfect 'snowed in and it's cold' options. 

Meal #1: Chipotle Chicken Sweet Potatoes

Original Recipe on Half Baked Harvest

Ingredients:

3 medium sweet potatoes

3/4 lb (about 2 small) boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/4 c olive oil

2 T fresh lime juice

3 whole chipotle peppers*

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin

2 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper

2 cups spinach (about half a 10oz bag)

5 ounces lactose/dairy free cheese**

*I couldn't find chipotle, so I used habenero and Holy Toledo. They were spicy but awesome

**I used less because I just used the pepper jack fake cheese that I already had 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash sweet potatoes and prick all over with a fork. Place in oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until fork tender. Place chicken in a baking dish and rub with a T of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in oven with the potatoes and bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool and shred the chicken with forks. When the sweet potatoes are done cut in half and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.

2. In  medium size bowl, combine the olive oil, lime juice, peppers, oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Set aside. 

3. Wilt the spinach in the microwave (1-2 min). Toss the spinach and the shredded chicken together, set aside and keep warm.

4. Turn oven up to 400 degrees. Scrape the sweet potato out of the peel, leaving a medium size layer of flesh inside with the peel so that it can stand up on it's own and place in a baking dish. Brush the skins with a little of the sauce and bake for 5-10 minutes until nice and crisp. While the skins bake, mix the spinach, chicken and sauce together. Remove skins from the oven and stuff with the chicken mixture, top with shredded cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the skins are hot and crisp.

Artistic shot of the GIANT sweet potatoes I used. Too big...

Chipotle [Habenero] Pepper Sauce

Shredded chicken, spinach and sauce

Yum-o

Used the insides to make mashed sweet potatoes.
High Carb Dinner...

Meal #2: Sweet and Spicy Shredded Chicken

Original Recipe on Life and Thymez

Ingredients:

6 skinless boneless chicken breasts

4 bell peppers (yellow, orange, and/or red)

1/2 c chives, chopped

1 c brown sugar (I'll use less the next time...a tad sweet)

2 cans diced tomatoes with juice

Sprinkles of chili pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and cumin

Directions:

1. Take the chicken and place at the bottom of a slow cooker

2. Thinly slice peppers and set aside

3. In a large bowl, combine chopped chives, brown sugar and diced tomatoes before adding in the peppers. Mix well and sprinkle with chili pepper flakes, cayenne pepper and cumin. Pour over the chicken and cook on low for six hours.

4. At five hours, remove the chicken and shred, then add back to the slow cooker

5. Serve over brown rice.

This was super sweet so I actually added pineapple chunks to it when reheating. That was a great addition!

Cyclone Power! #cyclONEnation

Less sugar in the sauce next time...

And...the bowl was a little smaller than expected

Oooh...This is a 'saucy' meal, but adding pineapple also
helps soak up the sauce. As does the brown rice.

Dinner is served!

Meal #3: Hawaiian Barbeque Chicken

Recipe found at The Gracious Pantry. Didn't love this one, won't make it again,

Game Changer

I plan to post about all of the Thanksgiving WINS this week and two hits and a meh later this weekend, but...

I made chili today in the slow cooker with fire roasted tomatoes and it was a GAME CHANGER. GAME CHANGER!

Happy Day After Thanksgiving, everybody! That magical day when it's totally appropriate and expected to have pumpkin pie for breakfast.

Blerg

This week is kicking my ass and it's only Monday... My Monday blog post is happening, but the recipe is not very exciting.

I had a night meeting and then ran to the store afterwards because I've been sick all weekend and had no food. I had to take a call while at the grocery store tonight. Distracted + no list = random crap in my basket. That's what she said.

I got home with the following randos: a box of cereal (that I remember getting-I need to eat breakfast), two Roma tomatoes, a pork loin, chicken tenders, maple bacon kettle chips, and some thin steak thingies.

So, what concoction did I make with that? Pan-fried chicken tenders, French fries from the freezer, and green beans. And I'm on my second glass of wine. Heaven.

I took no pictures. It was all I could do to get my pajama pants on when I got home...don't ask me to find my phone when all I want is wine.

I cannot stress enough how much you
need this in your life

Pan-Fried Chicken Tenders

Ingredients
1 lb chicken tenders
1 T chili-infused olive oil (I didn't measure...I just did a couple of swoops around the pan. Technical kitchen term....'swoops')
salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Directions
1. Heat olive oil over medium heat
2. Pan fry chicken tenders about 20 minutes or until done.

So easy, right!? And I hit all the food groups: protein, vegetables, starch, wine. Done and done.

I've been sick for about a week, and finally threw in the towel and admitted it on Friday afternoon.

I'm basically the real/human form of Monica
Geller...'Chandler...I think I'm sick....'

This week is nuts-o, so this is as good as it gets for a recipe. But it's easy and it's good.

Comfort Food Translates in Every Language

Everyone has their go-to comfort food. Mine is and has always been Chinese food or sushi. I can't do Chinese take-out, and today was definitely an 'I need Chinese food' kind of day. I made an amazing Mongolian Beef recipe last week, so I was going to just make that again, but then I came across a Kung Pao Chicken recipe and that sounded delicious too! And I also had this stuck in my head for the rest of the day...

I watched this a lot when I was in college because the boys I nanny'd for were in love with Veggie Tales. Also, so was my roommate :)

How'd your day go? Mine ended with leftover juice box from
Saturday. It's best to have a juice box instead of a glass bottle
when tailgating. Safety first.

I had to make several modifications, and I actually had to remake the sauce because I broke Cardinal Rule #1, I didn't check the ingredients of the Chinese Black Vinegar bottle before I bought it and only noticed that it had onion and garlic in it when I was looking to see if I needed to refrigerate after opening...so, tossed out sauce batch #1 and started over! Also, one of the main ingredients of normal Kung Pao Chicken is peanuts, and if you can eat them, they can be added at the end. The original recipe is on Closet Cooking.

Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 T and 1 tsp gf soy sauce*
1 T Chinkiang (Chinese black vineggar) or balsamic vinegar**
2 T chicken broth or water***
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
3 T oil (I used chili-infused olive oil and it was delicious)
1 tsp to 1 T Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and ground****
1 T ground ginger (You can use fresh, I had ground in the cupboard)
4 green onions (only use the green part and DO NOT use the white part), sliced
1 tsp sesame oil

Directions:
1. Mix the soy sauces, vinegar, broth/water, sugar and corn starch and set aside.
2. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the chicken and saute until just about cooked and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a pan over medium-high heat, add the chilies and peppercorns and saute until fragrant, about one minute.
4.  Add the ginger and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
5. Add the sauce mixture, bring to a boil, add the chicken and green onions (and peanuts if you can have them), remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil.
6. I served it over brown rice.

*the original called for 1 T light soy sauce and 1 tsp dark soy sauce. I just used 1 tsp and 1 T of my soy sauce and called it a day.
**the Chinkiang is NOT Kim-friendly, so I used balsamic vinegar when I re-made the sauce
***I used water because I haven't had time to make any chicken broth and if you're low FODMAP, you can't eat commercial brand broths
****because I decided to make this at 3pm, I did not have time to go to the Asian grocery store, and not surprisingly, HyVee did not have this. Instead, I just sprinkled some Chinese Five Spice into the pan when I was supposed to put in the peppercorns. Still good

Dried Chili Pepper-in the Asian
Section of your store

Sauce Version #1...the second round looked exactly the same.
You must always have red wine when you cook. 

The smells! So good

Voila! Kung Pao Chicken

Super exciting weekend of Halloween shenanigans, a big WIN for ISU against the Evil Texas Longhorns, and Sunday Craft Day. I'm moving in two months. And I guess I'm nesting? Is that a thing when you are getting ready to move?