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Honor’s birthday cake!

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Our daughter, Honor, turned 3 on December 30th! She’s changed so much in her lifetime and notably in the past 6 months she gone from a toddler to a little girl. It’s been amazing to see her grow and change.

This year we made her birthday cake together! This is my go-to birthday cake recipe, it makes a 9” round cake. You can also make delicious cupcakes!

Honor’s birthday cake 🎂

Dry Ingredients:

1 ½ cups Garbanzo Gluten free flour

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

¼ cup cacao powder

 

Wet Ingredients:

¾ cup sugar (organic turbinado or demerara)

2 T. ground flax + 3 T. water (stir together and set aside)

1 tsp vanilla

4 T. unsweet applesauce

¼ cup coconut oil

1 cup water

1 T. apple cider vinegar

 

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Combine dry ingredients.
  3. Mix together wet ingredients and pour into dry ingredients bowl and stir to combine.
  4. Pour into round 9” baking pan greased with coconut oil spray.
  5. Bake 30 minutes.

Homemade frosting:

1 cup full fat coconut milk

¼ cup maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla

Whisk together frosting ingredients, frost cooled cake then place cake in fridge to set frosting.

Gingerbread Cake Bites with Orange-Molasses Glaze

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Gluten-Free Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Maple-Orange Glaze

Gingerbread cake bites

Holidays call for fancy looking and fancy tasting desserts! Gingerbread is perfect for the holiday season and the orange glaze adds a nice pop to this yummy cake.

Gingerbread cake bites

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free baking flour

½ tsp pink salt

1 tsp. Baking powder

1 ½ tsp. ground ginger

¾ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. allspice

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:

2 T.  neat egg powder or 1 whole egg

2 T. ground flaxseed meal

½ cup water

½ cup coconut oil

½ cup plus 1 T. maple syrup

¼ cup molasses (not blackstrap)

 

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 375. Grease cake bites pan with coconut oil spray. I used a fall decorative pan or a muffin pan would work great too.
  2. Stir together dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.
  3. Mix together wet ingredients and pour into dry ingredients bowl and stir to combine.
  4. Scoop 1/4 cup batter into baking pan per mini cake.
  5. Bake 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean and mini cakes are golden brown.
  6. Set aside to cool at least 30 minutes then carefully flip mini cakes onto a decorative platter.

Yield: 16 cake bites

To make orange-molasses glaze:

½ cup full fat coconut milk (put can in fridge overnight to separate liquid from the fat.) or culinary coconut milk

3 T. maple syrup

1 T. molasses

1 tsp orange zest

1-2 T. juice from an orange

Method:

  1. Whisk together glaze ingredients. Sweeten to taste.
  2. Add more orange juice for a thinner consistency.
  3. glaze each mini cake before serving.

Yield: 1 cup glaze

 

This recipe is adapted from my original recipe available on Vitacost.com

https://www.vitacost.com/blog/cooking-recipe/desserts-2/gluten-free-gingerbread-bundt-cake-with-maple-orange-glaze.html

Crockpot Chicken and Veggie Soup

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When I have a sore throat all I want is chicken soup and muffins, blueberry muffins! I didn’t have any muffins stashed in my freezer or have the desire to make them but I DID have all the ingredients to make this very soup! What is your go-to food when you are under the weather?

All you have to do here is chop a few veggies and throw them in the crockpot, it doesn’t take long at all. Ready in 2 hours on High or 4 hours on Low.

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Ingredients:

1# organic chicken breasts (or thigh if you prefer)

2 medium carrots, sliced

3 celery stalks and leaves, sliced

1 shallot, chopped

2 small zucchini, sliced

1/2 tsp pink salt

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf (remove before serving)

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

6 cups filtered water

Method:

1. Cut veggies and add to crockpot then add whole chicken breasts to crockpot (you will shred these once cooked!).

2. Pour in water and stir in spices.

3. Cover and set to cook on High for 2 hours or Low for 4 hours.

4. remove chicken from crockpot and shred, then add back to soup and stir.

5. Ladle soup into bowls.

Yield: 8 cups

I think she liked the soup?! Honor preferred to put it in the pocket of her bib and pick it from there and eat it Smile

Plenty made it to the floor for our dog to happily lick it all up, hah!

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Please enjoy my short, sweet and embarrassing video talking about our dinner 🙂

Homemade Turkey Meatballs

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Cooking meatballs with my Mom and her BFF Nancy who I have known since my childhood! Cooking with family is the best Smile

These are hubby and baby approved too! I cut these into little bites and my one year old daughter loved them!

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Ingredients:

16 ounces pasta sauce (homemade or jarred, simmer on stovetop)

1# ground turkey – 94%lean (I use Plainville Farms, humanely raised)

1 Tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 Tablespoons water (flax egg), set aside for 5 minutes until it gels (this is your binder) – or use 1 whole egg

1/4 cup brown rice bread crumbs (I use Holgrain Brown Rice Bread Crumbs)  – or use regular breadcrumbs

1 medium carrot (or 3-4 baby carrots) finely shredded, about 1/3 cup

1 garlic clove, crushed (or 1/4 tsp each garlic and onion powder)

1/2 tsp. basil and oregano

1/2 tsp. salt and pepper

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Combine ground flax with water to make your flax egg, then set aside for 5 minutes until it gels.
  3. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add ground turkey, flax mixture, brown rice bread crumbs, shredded carrot, crushed garlic, and spices.
  4. Use your hands to mix together all ingredients.
  5. Use a mini cookie scooper (1 Tablespoon in size) to scoop meatballs so they are all uniform size.
  6. Line a baking sheet pan with parchment paper for easy cleanup and place rolled meatballs onto baking pan.
  7. Bake meatballs for 20-25 minutes until cooked through.
  8. Once meatballs are cooked, removed from oven then place into simmering pasta sauce to coat.
  9. cook pasta of choice (regular or gluten free) then serve with meatballs.

 

Yield: 24 mini meatballs

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Pumpkin is very seasonal and you see pumpkin in everything from the Fall all the way through winter. We are in the middle of winter so I wanted to share my pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe with you. These are a new twist on the pumpkin bars that my husband loves!

Ingredients:

1+1/2 cups Vitacost garbanzo flour

½ tsp. pink salt

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. baking powder

½ cup pumpkin puree

¼ cup coconut oil

¾ cup organic turbinado sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 T. water

1 T. raw apple cider vinegar

½ cup chocolate chips or chunks

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Combine dry ingredients flour, salt, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder in a medium size bowl.

3. Mix together wet ingredients: pumpkin puree, coconut oil, sugar, vanilla, water, and vinegar.

4. Pour wet ingredients into bowl of dry ingredients. Stir to combine.

5. Stir in chocolate chips or chunks.

6. Scoop out 2 Tablespoons of batter per each cookie (use a medium ice cream scoop).

7. Bake cookies at 375 for 18-20 minutes until done and brown on the edges.

8. Enjoy!

Yield: 1 dozen cookies