Rice... for breakfast?

Certainly! A girl has to get creative, y'know!

So this morning, I pulled the leftover dinner rice from the fridge and put this together:

I warmed a couple of cups of (brown, pre-cooked) rice on the stove in some almond milk.

Next, I mixed in nearly a whole diced apple, a few good shakes of cinnamon (I love cinnamon! use a lighter hand if you don't love it as much as me.), a sprinkle of salt, and some agave nectar to taste.

I love hot breakfast cereals, but most of them aren't something I'm able to eat any longer. Yes, there are gluten-free oats available, but I haven't gotten brave enough to try them yet. I understand there are some people who still cannot tolerate them. All this to say, I'm glad I gave my idea a try! It was warm and filling, and I loved the texture. Yum!

GF/DF Pumpkin Spice Pancakes with Apple Compote

Alright then--if nobody wants to choose a recipe (ehem! is this thing on??), I'll choose. And I choose Pumpkin Spice Pancakes with yummy Apple Compote, because they were fabulous. And I'm still thinking about them.

Here they are, the little beauties!

I've got to be honest and tell you that this was a make-it-up-as-you-go sort of experiment, and no, I didn't precisely measure much of anything. But really, do pancakes require perfect measurement? Not in my kitchen! Feel free to wing it on the compote too!

Pancake Ingredients:

1.5 cups Bob's Red Mill GF Pancake Mix
1 egg
3/4 (plus) cup milk (I used soy, almond would be great too)
1 Tbsp. oil
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
A healthy sprinkle each of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg
1 cup canned pumpkin (plain--not pie filling)
1 Tbsp. (maybe more?) vanilla

Pancake Directions:

The non-italicized ingredients are taken straight from the BRM Mix package. The other stuff? That was a combination of what I had on-hand, and what I knew, from poking around online, would create a pumpkin-y, fall-ish stack of pancakes. Just like any other pancake recipe, you'll want to combine the dry ingredients, combine the wet ingredients, then blend them together. I have a (plus) after the 3/4 cup milk because I found the consistency to be a bit too thick once I stirred in the pumpkin, so I improvised by adding a bit more soy milk.

Apple Compote Ingredients:

2 apples, peeled and diced
1/4 cup sugar
A healthy sprinkle of cinnamon
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1 cup water

Apple Compote Directions:

Place the diced apples in a small sauce pan, and add the sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch. Stir over medium as the apples begin to soften. You'll notice a thick, glaze-like coating forming on the sides of the pan and the apples. When the apples are cooked through (doesn't take long!), slowly add the water a few Tbsp. at a time, allowing the sauce to thicken before adding more water. The final consistency is up to you, but you'll want to be able to pour it over the top of your pancakes. I left my sauce to simmer, lightly, on the stove while the pancakes cooked.

These were a hit all around, and I was pretty disappointed when, later in the day, Ryan beat me to the one leftover pancake and small cup of leftover compote. Even Camden gobbled up almost an entire pancake, 'bopples' and all.

Recipe: Chicken & Black Bean Salad

What is it about the winter season that makes me feel as if I've been overeating for six months straight? No matter what I do, I just feel... blah. So I opted to make big, yummy salads for dinner the other day when I was in search of something not-so-heavy and likely to induce a coma.

I love this recipe for Chicken & Black Bean Salad, which is almost identical to the one found in a Taste of Home Chicken Cookbook.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups frozen corn
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup green onions, sliced
2 cups chicken, cooked and diced

2-3 heads of romaine, washed and chopped

Directions:

Combine the oil, lime juice, cilantro, sugar, garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper to make a dressing. Mix beans, corn, red pepper, green onions and chicken together in a bowl and then coat with the oil mixture. Serve over lettuce.

Couldn't be much simpler... and it's so tasty!

A couple of thoughts:

My measurements aren't very exact when I make this. We really love cilantro, so I add more than is called for. Same with the garlic.

You can make the topping ahead and stash it in the fridge, putting it over your lettuce when you're ready to eat.

I like to use rotisserie chicken because it's easy and fast. Or, when we're grilling chicken, I make sure there will be leftovers to use for a big batch of salad.

...and? We decided the other day that it might make a tasty chip dip (sans chicken), or a yummy topping for grilled chicken in the summer.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies. I promise.

This is, by far, my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I promise you won't be disappointed, and I promise they're worth the longer-than-average list of ingredients. The original recipe can be found over at allrecipes.com, but I've made a few changes and added a few things here and there.

The Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups of flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups of butter
1 1/2 cups of brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 oz.) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
One bag of milk chocolate chips

The Directions:

Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. Set aside. Bonus points if you sift the mixture together instead of just stirring.

Cream together the butter (no--I do not want to talk about the fact that this recipe calls for four sticks of butter.), and both sugars. Make sure they're really, really well mixed. Walk away from the mixer for a minute or two if you have to.

Slowly add the two pudding mixes to the butter/sugar mixture. Again, mix very well, and only add a little at a time.

Add the eggs and vanilla next, and don't be afraid to add even a bit more vanilla. I promise, you won't do anything but good. Oh--and please, please do yourself a favor. Buy *real* vanilla, and not that imitation stuff.

When all of the 'wet' ingredients are combined, slowly add the flour mixture. Only about 1/2 cup at a time, taking care to mix very, very well.

(...are you tired of me telling you this yet? Trust me--it's worth it, and it WILL make a difference.)

Finally, fold in the chocolate chips. Add some chopped walnuts if that's your thing. It's not my thing.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 45 minutes, preferably longer, and then scoop cute, round cookie dough balls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for about ten minutes.

If you have a melon baller or a small scoop, get it out. It's much easier to scoop round, even cookies if you aren't using a spoon.

Hints:

Let the butter come to room temperature before use. Don't WARM it, but let it come to temperature on its own.

While you're at it, let the eggs warm to room temperature too.

Use milk chocolate chips, not semi-sweet.

Cold dough will make nicer, slightly "puffier" cookies than warm dough.

Cool your cookie sheets between each batch. If you don't have enough to rotate them, run them under cold water. Putting them outside will do the trick too.

Remember, you're only adding the powdered pudding mix. Don't MAKE the pudding.

Try a different pudding flavor for variety.

Take the cookies out of the oven when the edges are only slightly golden brown. The top of the cookies WILL look undercooked. Pleased trust me. Please take them out of the oven before they appear to be completely done. They'll finish cooking on the pan, because you're going to be patient and allow them to sit for a few minutes before scooping them off and putting them on a rack to cool.

Speaking of pans, you'll have better luck with a dark, coated pan. Not a shiny pan.

Remember not to grease your pans.

Oh--and one last step. It's extremely important that you pose your cookies for a photo shoot while your husband sits on the couch and rolls his eyes at you. And teases you. Trust me, it's all a part of the process.

Monkey See, Monkey Do!

This monkey saw monkey bread and just had to make some...



...if you've never tried it before, I *strongly* recommend you head on over to Pioneer Woman's site to scoop up the recipe, made by Pastor Ryan.

Summer time... and Dinner

As recent photos indicate, summer is upon us here in the North West. I love summer. Although I'm sort of a pansy about the heat, I love flip flops and tank tops, getting a tan, and yummy summer fruits and veggies.

...but the heat leaves me stumped at dinner time. My appetite changes. I don't want as much food, and I certainly don't want to eat the 'heavier' dishes that come to mind when I think of cooking.

When it's really hot, I'd rather eat a bowl of watermelon.

So that's where you come in!

What are you favorite hot-weather meals? Do you grill? Make cold sandwiches and salads? ...is there some sort of summer dinner underground that I don't know about?

Help! Please? Ryan's stomach depends on y.o.u.! (Just kidding. I'd probably feed him even if no one responded...) So leave me a link, a recipe, and idea... whatever!

Recipe: Chicken in the Slow Cooker

This is probably the easiest thing you could ever make... but it tastes so good! Quick--make sure you have a pen and paper ready, because these directions are super-hard.

Ready?

Ok. (do I sound like a cheerleader? ack!)

Put 3-4 frozen chicken breasts in the slow cooker.
Pour in a can (or jar) of pre-made spaghetti sauce.
Turn the slow cooker on.
Walk away.

Shwew! Sweating, aren't you? Not up to the challenge?? Sure you are.

I guess I should include a few other, um, hints? Cook your chicken (It doesn't HAVE to be frozen--that's just what I keep on hand.) on the low heat setting for around eight hours. High setting, four-ish hours. Shred the chicken with two forks before serving--and the pasta is optional, of course.

Oh--but that bread in the background? the piece slathered in butter?? It is most certainly not optional. Especially if it's a loaf of rosemary-olive oil bread... *gulp* (and I wonder why I'm not losing those last few pounds...)

One more thing! If you're feeling over-the-top creative, you can omit the spaghetti sauce, pour in a jar of salsa, and serve your chicken on tortillas with taco-like toppings.