Molasses Cookies

These are the molasses cookies that I posted about earlier, adapted from  Elana's Pantry. This picture didn't turn out great, but I wanted to show that my cookies turned out darker than the original recipe, probably because I used actual molasses in them, instead of the yakon syrup. And, of course, I added more cinnamon! These cookies were super easy, and even the non-GF eaters liked them! They are very sweet; sometimes just half of one satisfies my sweet tooth...sometimes. :)

Banana Bread (Paleo)

I decided to go ahead and post this recipe separately, so that I can link to it later from the Recipe tab :)

Road Trip!

My family and I are spending this week of Christmas in Colorado skiing.
Wait, let me rephrase that:
My family will be skiing, I will be inside enjoying my hot tea and books :) Incidentally, skiing is not my thing--at all.

However, it is very beautiful here!

Pear Butter

I thought it was high time that I posted about the pear butter. This, and the apple butter is from this site (can you tell I like that blog??) Multiple batches of these became the majority of my Christmas gifts this year!~

Muffins you can celebrate!

Last week we had our first big snow of the winter...This was the view from my backyard:

And, no, I do not live where there is a lot of water...I live in West Texas, and am fortunate enough at the moment to have a man-made lake (or, rather, pond) in the back of my apartment complex. The geese like it, though, and come in flocks every winter.

What's for Breakfast?

Good morning! As a salute to the weekend, I thought that I would share a couple of easy (yet delicious) breakfast ideas with you.

Inspired by this post by Shauna at Gluten Free Girl, I decided to make scrambled eggs...dressed up a bit.

A work in progress...Gingerbread Cookies

I must say I'm quite proud of myself right now.

I've been looking at several gluten-free gingerbread cookie recipes, wanting to make some for the Christmas season. However, all the recipes I looked at either had a lot of sugar, or several weird ingredients that I don't have, like liquid stevia, coconut sugar, and ground chia seeds.

As promised...Turkey Chili

Mmm!
This recipe is adapted from this recipe at Simply Sugar & Gluten Free. The cookbook calls for ancho chile powder, which I didn't use. It's a unique recipe with unsweetened cocoa powder and a tinge of agave nectar to form a sort of mexican mole. It makes it very yummy!

The Best Cornbread Ever!!

Skillet cornbread with warm chili...I can think of fewer things better when it's cold outside! This recipe is straight from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free--with no tweaks--so I'll just link to this website. It's one of my favorite websites/blogs I've found so far. This cornbread is so moist, and definitely worth it!

Cranberry Orange Sauce

I couldn't resist...I've been wanting to post this one ever since Thanksgiving!

Good for What Ails You

a.k.a. Confessions of a....well,...."me."

I learned something today.

For the middle of your busy week...

Here is a very simple, quick recipe for those weeknights when you don't have time to cook.

I'm not even sure it can be called a "recipe." But it is a great stand-by:

Gluten Free Spaghetti! :)

Butternut Squash Soup

Let me just say: I loooove this soup! It's one of those recipes that just "tastes like fall." Or I guess that can be winter, since the holiday season is now upon us. Nothing like a warm bowl of this soup, flavored with a dusting of nutmeg...so good!

Thanksgiving, Gluten Free!

So, this is my first Thanksgiving going without gluten...and it went very well! Sooo yummy! :) I made gluten free cornbread dressing...I was excited about this, because I thought that I'd never be able to have it again after going GF:

Random...

I was daydreaming yesterday...and I think that I could make it as a personal chef. I read on the Internet that (unlike an executive chef at restaurants), the personal chef cooks for a specific type of clientele. I could cook for the gluten-free, sugar-free crowd! :)

So it begins...

I just got reeeeally excited as I pulled this out of the oven a few minutes ago:

Runners' Bars

This is one of my new favorite snacks. Adapted from these bars from The Whole Kitchen.

Teaser post

Here are some things that I've been experimenting with lately...
(Sorry, no recipes right now, I'm too tired to write them out at the moment...but holler if you want it...)

Here's a holiday gift idea for you!

...Or it may just be an addictive snack that gets eaten within the first 10 minutes! :)

Cinnamon Spiced Nuts!

Spinach for breakfast....but not as you suppose....

Yes, I had spinach for breakfast.

I have learned from a friend to put a (large) handful of spinach in my fruit smoothies in the mornings...so I get an extra serving of vegetables--and I don't even taste it!

More apple recipes...Apple Cider!

With the cold weather coming in, I have been craving hot apple cider. Up until now, I've been used to dumping a little carton of yummy (yet sugar-filled) mix into my apple cider. Since I'm trying to avoid the extra sugar, I decided to experiment with my own. Hence, I have created (from combining various recipes) my own sugar free, gluten free Apple Cider...and it's yummy!!

Cold Front on It's Way...

With the cooler weather rolling in, it makes me want to make soup! Just tried this new Tomato Basil soup, with Grilled Cheese "sandwiches" (a.k.a. corn tortilla quesadillas)...very good, and it was easy!

Adventures in Coupon land

I just thought I'd put a little blurb in here about coupons...Seeing as I want to continue eating gf, I can already tell that this could get expensive. So after my last grocery trip (those groceries better last me a good 2-3 weeks!), I decided to get proactive.

Another tasty appetizer....Hummus!

I am working on spreading out my horizons and starting to make more ethnic foods...Indian, Middle Eastern, maybe even Chinese...and this was the first thing that I could do, considering the contents of my pantry. Simple and easy, but good!

Apple Butter

Can I just randomly say something about my freezer?

I think that the freezer is one of the greatest inventions in the world...if I had about 3 days straight to cook, I think I could easily do that "once a month" cooking. As it is, I have not yet been able to grasp this concept.

Green Bell Pepper Casserole

Here's a recipe for all you people who eat gluten...and it happens to be gluten free! : -) This one's from a friend of mine, and it's very easy. Since packaged fajita seasoning has gluten in it, I made my own fajita seasoning mix from another cookbook, which I used in this recipe.

Blueberry Crumble Bars

 Introducing...my first GF recipe post (drum roll, please)....Blueberry Crumble Bars!
(Let the ooohs and aaaahs begin!) :)

My goal for this blog

I just had a sudden revelation today. Not that it's really anything new, but it just hit me on a new level. Here it is:

People's physical health plays a very integral part in their emotional health.

Here goes....

I said that I'd never write a blog. I guess those are now my "famous last words."

Why? For me, the reason was simple: I did not want the whole world knowing about all my business. However, with my new venturing into the world of a life without gluten (and, for the moment, no--or only natural--sugars), I decided to share my discoveries along the way. I am aware that many others have been doing this for a lot longer than me, and are probably far better at it. But I do believe that my story counts. And maybe this will only be for my own benefit--a sort of "venting" or creative expression--and I am ok with that, too. But I think that God may have more in store.