Blueberry Pancakes

Big blog day. I'm behind and have been making lots of new things so I need to catch up. I'm making something new tonight too but I'll write about it tomorrow. So I've made this pancakes a bunch of times. Mostly during the summer. I haven't had them for awhile and I got kind of sick of eggs for breakfast on the weekend. So I made these this morning. And I showed my boyfriend how to make them so he can now! Since breakfast is his thing. But these are pretty good for being gluten free. Kind of dense but in a puffy way. I would recommend. I almost freaked out when I couldn't find a new bag at Whole Foods today, but it was hiding luckily :) Also, this is a good mix because it is dairy free. Many GF pancake mixes have dairy already in them. This one you add your own milk.

Gluten Free Pancakes
(makes 4 pancakes- 3 inches across)

1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pancake Mix (directions on the bag and I'll write them here) Available at Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage and the like.
1 Egg
3/4 cup milk (any kind is fine. I use almond.)
1 TBS. vegetable oil (don't use olive oil, it gives it a nasty, non-breakfast taste)
Fruit to put in (blueberries, strawberries, bananas, apples, dried fruit)
Butter
Syrup

1. Whisk all the pancake ingredients together.
2. Warm up a small fry pan (non stick) on the stove. Medium setting.
3. Pour a tiny tiny bit of oil on the pan.
4. Pour batter into the pan. Spread out to edges of the pan.
5. Place fruit in baking batter.
6. Keep checking pancake, flip after about 5 minutes.
7. Finish making all the the pancakes.
8. Serve with butter, syrup or make own fruit syrup by boiling sugar and fruit in a pan on the stove. (That's what I did with the blueberries)

Teriyaki Stri Fry

mmmm Woodchuck Cider too!

This is a very quick and simple recipe with all the food groups! Easy to make after work and fills you up. I make this about every 2 weeks as one of my staple meals. Great as leftovers too. Not much else to explain. You either like teriyaki or you don't.

Gluten Free Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry
(2.5 servings)
1 cup brown rice (make as directed on package)
1 cup frozen stir fry veggies
1/2 cup cut up pineapple
1/2 cup gluten free teriyaki sauce (see the bottle in the picture)
2 chicken breasts

1. Get the rice cooking as directed on the package.
2. Cut up chicken into bite sized pieces.
3. Place chicken in gallon ziplock bag or glass dish.
4. Pour about 1/4 cup on the chicken and let sit for 30 minutes to marinate.
5. Take out frozen veggies to defrost.
6. Once the chicken is marinated, fry in pan on stove with teriyaki sauce.
7. When chicken is cooked, add pineapple and frozen veggies.
8. Cook for a few more minutes until veggies are warmed up.
9. Serve with brown rice.

Gluten Free Bagels!

Look Look! I ate a bagel! When was the last time I did that?! A long time ago! My GF friend and I decided to finally try them! We walked into Einstein Bros Bagels in Denver, CO (Colorado and Yale) on a buzzing Saturday Morning. Wow I have never seen a place that busy. Guess I don't eat out that much and I'm in the big city now. My friend and I were excitedly looking all around for our prized of a bagel. They weren't on the menu but we finally found a pack of them in the refrigerator case. And then saw a mini poster about them. I was so excited to eat a bagel I didn't even think what I was going to order on it! I just got veggies (lettuce, tomato, hummus, cucumber and sprouts). We sat down with our coffee and ate bagels with the rest of the restaurant! How often does that happen! The bagels were pretty good. They are made by Udi's Gluten Free in Denver. I eat their bread (mentioned in earlier posts) so it kind of just tasted like that. Not the real glutenous taste of legit bagels. But that's ok the experience was fun. And it's good to know I can go eat their with my gluten eating friends!

***** If you go: I'm pretty sure only 3 stores in the Denver Area are carrying the bagels right now. And some Whole Foods Stores. I would call Udi's for which ones they are. But the Colorado and Yale (by the University of Denver) store is one of the three.

Fruit Chicken

Trying to be better about posting so here I am. I have had my camera card and a note on my desk all week reminding myself to blog about this chicken I made. I don't really like chicken. I don't know why. Some how it just grosses me out. I like beef and would choose that 1000 times over chicken. Costco had organic chicken at a pretty good price so I decided maybe I would like that better. Eh, not really. But my boyfriend appreciates me cooking meat so here it is. I made this fruit chicken when I was in Seattle this summer for my family that was really good. I couldn't find the same recipe so I found this one. It's very simple and pretty cheap. It was good the night I made it but for leftovers it was too sweet.

Pineapple Cranberry Chicken
4 chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)
1 8oz can of crushed pineapple
8oz whole cranberry sauce (1/2 of normal can) (Ug it had high fructose corn syrup in it)
Sprinkle of cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Place chicken in foil lined baking dish.
3. Layer cranberries and pineapple on top of chicken.
4. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
5. Cover dish and bake for 25 minutes.
6. Removed cover and bake for another 15-20 minutes.
7. Serve with veggies of some sort and a starch (bread or potatoes).
Enjoy!

(From AllRecipes.Com)

Weekend Breakfast

mmmmm I love having the time on the weekend to make a yummy breakfast. I usually make the same thing, eggs, toast and fruit. Sometimes I make pancakes but that's more time intensive. Listen to NPR and drink some tea or coffee, a great way to start the day. Lately it's been warm enough to take walks to the park too. So that's an great healthy way to start the day too. But not today because it's snowing. Here's my breakfast:

2 Free Range Eggs
2 pieces of Udi's GF Bread (with Earth Balance Vegan Butter and Jelly)
Fruit (berries, grapefruit, pineapple, and/or melon)
Egg Condiments (avocado, hummus, pepper, salsa, green chiles, sauteed onions)
Coffee or Tea

SUSHI!

I made sushi Friday night. It was a very good meal after a long week. I love making sushi because it's very easy, fills me up, is cheap and I can eat a lot and not feel bad like I would at a restaurant. It's dairy and gluten free naturally too! I take a lot of the credit, but I really can't. My friend Leslie, introduced me to making sushi last summer. And I have been addicted ever since. Thanks Leslie :) I'm still working on the rolling and cutting part but I'm getting better. Anyways, here's the recipe!

Sushi (makes about 6 rolls)
Rice
3 C sushi rice (brown or white) (available at an asian grocery store or regular)
3 1/4 C cold water
1/3 C Rice Vinegar
2 TB sugar
1 tsp salt

Other Ingredients
1 avocado
1/2 of a cucumber
1 carrot
kiwi
mandarin oranges
raw or smoked salmon (found at asian grocery stores or Whole Foods) Remember to eat sustainable and healthy fish.
Cream Cheese
Nori Paper (Seaweed for outside)

1. Boil the rice and water.
2. After boiled, put on simmer for 20 minutes with lid.
3. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat. Leave lid ON and let sit for 10 minutes.
4. While rice is cooking cut up veggies/fruit/meat.
5. Also, warm rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small pan on the stove. Do not boil.
6. When rice is done, put into non metal bowl and mix with vinegar mix.

Please Google for how to roll. There are many videos out here. This is a good website for more information on making sushi. Enjoy!My "Green Roll"--Avocado, Cucumber and Kiwi

Welcome Back!

Wow, a lot has happened since I wrote last. Lets just some it up with, I've joined the real world and school is in my past! A huge relief for me! Because now I can focus on cooking again (I gave up during my last year of school!) I now cook for 2, since I moved in with my boyfriend, which is also exciting. So what to do with the hours after work, cook new things! My boyfriend and I are going to compile a list of meals we both like. One suggestion thrown out was Curry Chicken. Well I didn't have anything else better to cook tonight so I found a recipe online, during work ;), and ventured to Whole Foods after work to get the necessary ingredients. Came home, quickly cooked the chicken and curry sauce. And served it on the dinner table. And the reviews were less than amazing. It's always sad when you don't like what you cook let alone the other people you cooked it for..... But hey I tried something new. I ventured out of my mexican favorites! So I will be proud of that. Here's the recipe with notes of where I might have messed up. Any suggestions? I'm sacred to try it again.... But I have a bunch of spices now....



CHICKEN CURRY (INDIAN OR MALAY)

1 whole chicken (3 lbs.)- I used 2.15 lbs chicken breasts
2 med. yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2" piece of ginger, minced- Pretty sure I used WAY too much, like the only flavor I could taste.
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp. yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. turmeric
3" stick cinnamon
2 c. chicken stock
2 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. gharum masala
1 c. coconut milk (opt.) -I used light, probably didn't help either.

1. Cut the chicken into pieces and brown in oil.
2. In a pot, add chopped onion. Saute until tender.
3. Add garlic and ginger, make sure there is enough oil so that nothing sticks.
4. Add cumin and mustard seed. Fry until the mustard seeds begin to "pop".- I didn't hear this, probably not hot enough.
5. Add the turmeric and curry powder and stir constantly to prevent any sticking. Stir the "paste" until the curry powder becomes fragrant; this usually takes 1 to 2 minutes (be careful not to burn the curry powder). - What does curry even smell like?!
6. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir until they form a sauce (3-4 minutes).
7. Add the chicken broth, cinnamon stick and chicken (& coconut milk).
8. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked (approximately 45 minutes).
9. Stir in the gharaum masala and serve with white rice.- I used brown, of course.