Happy Holidays

Hubby and I went on vacation!! It was a needed break from our hectic schedules of work, school, homework and not to mention our opposite schedules. Well, we went to Florida for a good friend's daughter's wedding. We usually don't go to Florida during Christmas break, since our weather disaster at Disney World when the boys were young. We ran around in rainy 50 degree weather with three young boys and a sick husband. But this time we were hoping for warmer weather and we had it for a few days. One good thing-- NO rain for the gorgeous bride on her special day. A little chilly, but a blanket of celebration warmed the entire group of well wishers. Stephanie and Jim - have a great honeymoon and keep that spark going 'for as long as you both shall live'. Another good thing- we loved seeing our good friends Barb and Gary and the rest of the family. Thank you for sharing your holiday with us!!

Best Wishes for a safe and prosperous New Year!!

Welcome 2010!!

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. ~Bill Vaughan

Where had the time gone. I can't believe it's the last day of a decade; one where we have seen more hardship and negative impacts on our country then we care to remember. Some of them, unfortunately we will not forget though.

We plan on celebrating the beginning of a new decade with good friends tonight. Good friends always deserve good food, so tonight we will be having a Spinach Caprese Salad for an appetizer, along with some Parmesan cheese straws. For our main course Paula and Jeff are making crab legs, roasted potatoes, and steamed vegetables. After some challenging games of cards and dominoes we will be ready for Tiramisu Roulade, a chocolate desert that looks heavenly and I am sure will taste the same. Check out Simply Gluten Free for many recipes that everyone will love.

Changing of the Seasons

It was Halloween one day and then it seemed to turn right into the Christmas Season. It is that time of year where we all turn to our fall favorite foods to comfort us. I am always looking for new grain-free recipes for comfort foods. I have found a few new ones and one comes to mind lately. It is not a warm dish, but it is just as good. Chick peas are a staple in my house and they are a great source of protein. The following recipe is one I found in a maple syrup cookbook, but I have changed to make it my own.

Chick Pea Salad with Roasted Peppers

1 can (15oz) chick peas, drained and rinsed

2 peppers (use a variety of colors)

1/2 cup cubed smoked ham

1/2 cup cubed cheddar cheese

1/4 cup sliced scallions

Roast peppers: roast both whole peppers by charing all around under a broiler, on a grill pan or even on your BBQ grill. Once they are charred, cool them slightly and peel the skin off and wipe away the seeds. Cut peppers into strips.

Dressing:

3/4 cup corn oil

2 1/2 tbsp maple syrup

juice of 1 lemon

1 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard

pinch of red pepper flakes

Combine salad ingredients in a bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a container with a lid, shake until blended. Pour over salad, stir together. Refrigerate at least 3 hours. Serves 6.

Share the wealth!!

What a typical cold, rainy day. The only thing that I accomplished today was to go through all of my coupons and just hit the road and shop. We went to Meijer's and saved about $8 in coupons, but it did not compare to the hundreds that which the Sharpen Your Scissor Lady saves. I went to a seminar she had in Farmington, at our district technology expo. She is wonderful and has great ways to save on groceries. She even has a class, where you can learn how to get organized and be able to save like she does. Check her out, I don't think you will be disappointed.

*did you know that Meijer's has coupons on their web-site that you can use along with a manufacture coupon? Check the site out at Meijer's and look for specials in the box on the right.

Favorite Fall activities

I love when the peaches are in season in Michigan!! This post is a little late~ I bought this half bushel of peaches from our local farmers market about two weeks ago and made about seven pints of wonderful peach jam. The peaches were freestone and very sweet and juicy. If you purchase them make sure not to wait too long or you will have peaches that are too ripe. The aroma of peaches in the kitchen was absolutely awakening for me. It brought back the days of when the boys were young and I canned peaches, pears, applesauce, and tomato sauce. I did not have the luck of so much time, which I seemed to have back then. It's a good thing I made the jam when I did, since school and work are consuming me again. When I get my masters, I swear, I won't take on too many extras. I will come back to the times when I did much of my own canning and freezing, taking advantage of all the great things we can grow in our yard or purchase from a local farmer.

Oh my gosh! Having a get-together is one good way to get a lot of stuff done in the house. Just be careful not to overdue it and hurt yourself. I have been nursing a bad back since last weekend. But the harvest still comes in (from Erik's garden) and this weekend we made some Caponata and canned it using his homegrown eggplants. For those of you who do not know what caponata is, it is an Italian anti-pasta dish that is traditionally eaten with cheeses and meats for an appetizer before holiday dinners. We especially like it at Christmas time.

Caponata

2 pounds diced eggplant

3 large onions, diced

3 large green peppers, diced

4 large tomatoes, diced

2 cups good green olives, pitted and halved

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup wine vinegar

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 cup water

Saute eggplant in olive oil for 15 minutes over medium heat; stir frequently. Add onions, tomatoes, green peppers and olives. Cook for 10 minutes and remove from heat. Combine wine vinegar, sugar oregano and water, stir until sugar is dissolved.

Add to vegetable combo. Pour into glass containers or canning jars. Chill at least 24 hours before serving or process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Makes 8 quarts.

Summer BBQ

We have been very busy getting things done around the house that I haven't had time to think about special meals. There is nothing that says "Let's get some of our projects or cleaning done" better than having a get-together. Our first annual "Back to School BBQ" was a success, but our list (or I should say my list) was a bit too long to get everything crossed off.

Our BBQ fare was simple, the grilled burgers and hotdogs and a variety of salads, some I could eat and others I could not. I made sure to have lettuce out to wrap my burger and saw that a few other guests were eating their burgers the same way. My favorite potato salad is great dish to have for everyone. And because I can't make anything small, we have leftovers for at least a few days. Tonight we had the salads with grilled lamb steaks, cut from a boneless leg. Yum, the taste was great but next time I will marinate them to see if they turn out a little more tender.

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna

Thank You Angelo for helping me come up with this great tasting dinner!

1 lb. ground turkey

3 eggplant, sliced lengthwise 1/2 inch thick

6 tomatoes, coarse chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

6 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese

sea salt and pepper, to taste

olive oil

Line two baking sheets with foil. Line eggplant on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil. Turn eggplant over and do the same on other side and sprinkle with salt. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. In the meantime, pour 2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan and brown the turkey. Add the garlic, tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil stirring to combine. Simmer together for 20 minutes. Take eggplant and layer with meat sauce like a lasagna, starting with a small amount of sauce on bottom, eggplant, sauce, cheese and then repeating. Heat in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until bubbling. Serve with gluten free breadsticks. Enjoy!! Serves 6.

Project Time

After a great three days with Aunt Joan and Aunt Bev (my other moms) it is time to start finishing projects that have been neglected for the last 10 years. Today, I started painting the hallway. Just the primer went on today; tomorrow I will paint. Now it is time to start thinking of what to make for dinner. Before I go searching the internet for things to do with my ground turkey I will tell you about the meal I made Monday night for my favorite aunts and uncle. It was a wonderful recipe, from a gluten free site, called Apricot Chipotle Chicken. This was the second time I had made the recipe and this time I used skinless/boneless chicken, which I thought worked better. We had smashed potatoes and a salad with our entree. Dinner was a hit, Uncle Harold even had seconds.

Wow!! Angelo just gave me an idea for dinner tonight. I think I will take his advice and make a dish with eggplant, tomato, ground turkey and cheese. Tune in tomorrow to see the recipe.

Make it a great day, as mine have been lately, and keep your heart happy by staying in touch with family and friends.

Motor City Weekend

It has been hopping around here this weekend, with the 15th annual Dream Cruise taking place just about a mile away. What a wonderful week leading up the big event and this weekend is beautiful too. I think we are hotter here yesterday and today than parts of Florida. We watched the parade in Berkley Friday night, after having leftover hamburgers and a salad. Saturday, after Kasey's baby shower, we had dinner at Panera Bread and their Cobb salad fit the bill for dinner.

Baxter update, he finally got to run yesterday along the fence with the neighbor dogs. And YES, he did jump into the pond, several times I may add, and then bath time commenced. Today he has been in the pond, but he dried off outside and is now napping (in the air conditioning).

We just had a wonderful brunch, hashbrowns, over-easy eggs and wonderful Coleman bacon. The bacon is uncured and has no nitrates or nitrites in it.

I'm off to clean the house and sew a new bathroom skirt for the sink. Tonight the plan is to grill some t-bones and have potato salad and broccoli. Yum, what should I make for dessert?

Perfect Summer Day

Spent a considerable amount of time outside today. The dogs are quite tired and so I am after our walk and all the gardening in the backyard. Baxter didn't even play in his pool he was so tired. It is going to be a night out today, I'm going to dinner and a movie with a friend. Lunch today was just some leftover corn/rice pasta I had a couple nights ago with some fresh tomato and basil sauce. I'll post later what I order for dinner. Here is my Baxter.

I have been lucky and found I can tolerate corn products. The small amount of rice flour is pretty insignificant once in a while also. Tonight was good and a beautiful night for a grilled dinner. Hamburgers on the grill (yes I eat the burger without a bun) and homemade onion rings. Yes!! I modified an old recipe and even the onion ring lovers in the house thought they were great. It has been a long time since I have eaten an onion ring and not regretted doing so.

Tortilla Crumb-Crusted Onion Rings

1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour

21/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

1 1/2 cups tortilla crumbs

1 large white onion (or vidalia)

Oil for frying

Mix the flour, salt and white pepper. Add the eggs, milk, whisk gently until smooth.

Stir in 1/2 cup of tortilla crumbs. Spread remaining crumbs on a plate.

Heat the oil, about 3/4 of an inch, in a large heavy skillet (about 375 degrees).

Peel onion and cut crosswise into 1/2 thick rings, separate the slices. Dip each ring in batter and then use a spoon to sprinkle crumbs over rings. (Work quickly so batter doesn't drip off the rings before they get in the hot oil). Put onion ring carefully in the hot oil. Cook until underside is golden-about 2 minutes. Turn and cook another 2 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. Continue until all onion rings are gone. These won't last!! They are nice and crispy!

* I have purchased tortilla crumbs at Meijer- if you can't find them just use regular tortilla chips and crush them in a food processor. Make sure to sprinkle them over battered rings or the mixture clumps together.