Pizza made at home [Gluten Free]

Ryder & I had been craving pizza big time lately. We decided that Saturday night we would make it happen. It was simply divine! We made enough for leftovers which is always a huge bonus. Cold pizza= amazing.

Ingredients

• Udi's gluten free pizza crust (came with 2, so we made both)
• Mozzarella cheese
• Pizza sauce
• Fresh basil
• Turkey pepperonis 
• Tomato
• Olive oil 
• Mushrooms

First, lightly brush the crust with olive oil. Next, add sauce. Then, add: cheese, tomato, mushrooms, pepperoni, & lastly basil. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. 

So easy, delicious, & a healthy alternative to greasy take out pizza. 

Happy Monday! 

Easy, healthy cookies

Ryder & I find it very important to fuel our bodies with healthy food. That being said, I love a good dessert every once in a while. My sister in law sent me a recipe she got off of Pinterest for oatmeal cookies. Seriously, easiest cookies ever. All you really need is oatmeal & bananas; which are always in stock at our apartment.

Ingredients:
1 cup oatmeal (I used old fashion)
2 cups water
2 ripe bananas

Optional add ins:
1 tbs agave nectar
1 tsp cinnamon
Sprinkle of sweetener (I used truvia)

Directions: Prepare your oatmeal. Dice up the bananas & mix it in with the oatmeal. Then put your add ins into the oatmeal. Preheat oven to 350 and bake for 15-17 minutes; depending on your oven.

So delicious & guilt free!

Skinny Pumpkin Pie

Oh, how we love pumpkin pie. I made one at Christmas & we devoured it. We noticed the other day that we still had one gluten free pie shell in the freezer.. What to do? Well, make a pie. Duh. www.skinnytaste.com has so many great recipes. That is where I get a lot of mine from.

Hope you enjoy!

• 15 oz canned pumpkin
• 2 tbsp light butter, softened
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, unpacked
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg whites
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 frozen pie crust, gluten free(thawed to room temperature)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all of the ingredients together, pour in the pie shell, & cook for 60 minutes. Easy as pie. Pun intended.

recipe

Crock-Pot Little Smokies

Another super easy recipe from the holidays.. Ryder LOVED them, as did everyone else! Crock-pot cooking is so easy & makes me feel so domestic. =)

         Ingredients

• 3 lb Little Smokies sausage
• 3 cup ketchup
• 3 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 (or 1 1/5) cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. Place ketchup, bbq sauce, & brown sugar in crock-pot & stir.
2. Add in little smokies & stir.
3. Cook in crock-pot on low for 2 hours.

Healthy Green Bean Casserole

I used this reciple on Christmas Day & was pleased at how easy it was.. Enjoy!

Healthy Green Bean Casserole

• 1 lb frozen green beans
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• pepper

Frazzled Onions

• 1/2 large onion
• whole wheat flour

salt substitute

cooking spray

Directions:

1. For fresh green beans clean trim and cut.
2. Add some water to a pan and cook beans until almost tender while they are cooking make the frazzled onions.
3. Peel onion and cut in half slice very thin.
4. Spread out and salt them let set 1 minute but no longer.
5. Put some flour in a bag add onions and shake until they are all coated shake off excess spray skillet add onions and spray them also cook turning frequently until brown and crisp.
6. Drain green beans and mix with the soup, milk, pepper and half of the crisp onions. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes then top with the rest of the onions and cook another 5 minutes.

recipe

Mexican Breakfast Casserole

picture credit

There's nothing like an easy casserole to make yourself feel like a domestic diva. It was very simple, not many ingredients, & delicious (Ryder said so). We enjoyed the casserole with a couple cups of coffee, fresh strawberries, & turkey bacon cooked by Ryder. (Turkey bacon.. not veggie, fake bacon! I will save the 'we are eating meat' post for later.)

We LOVE breakfast. It's a pretty normal thing for us to have breakfast for lunch and dinner sometimes too.
Ingredients
8 large eggs
6 tablespoons skim milk
2 tablespoons light butter
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 4 ounce can of green chiles -- chopped
1/2 cup diced jalepeno peppers
2/3 cup low fat, extra-sharp cheddar -- shredded

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 1. Put butter in 8" square baking pan. Set in 350 degree F oven to melt.

2. Slightly beat eggs, milk, salt & pepper. Pour into pan.

3. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until eggs begin to set.

4. Sprinkle with cheese & chiles. Draw a wide metal spatula across bottom of pan several times to break up mixture.

5. Bake, breaking up mixture again several times, for 5 more minutes or until of desired doneness.

recipe courtesy of Mom's Who Think website

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cheesecake (Gluten Free)

Stole this recipe from bettycrocker.com

I made this for Ryder's birthday & it was very simple & we thought very tasty.

Ingredients

Crust

1 box  Gluten Free chocolate chip cookie mix
Butter (we used Earth balance; a vegan alternative), gluten-free vanilla & egg as called for on cookie mix box

Filling

3 packages (8 oz each) fat free cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups splenda
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla
4 eggs
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

 

Heat oven to 325°F. For crust, make cookies as directed on box using butter, vanilla & eggs—except press dough into bottom and 1 inch up side of 10-inch springform pan. Set aside

For filling, in large bowl, beat cream cheese and splenda on low speed of electric mixer 30 seconds or until blended. Beat in vanilla and eggs, one at a time. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into pan.

Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until puffed and light golden brown. Turn oven off; let cake stand in oven 15 minutes with door open at least 4 inches. Remove from oven; run knife around inside edge of pan. Cool on wire rack and & refridgerate.

Mexican Shrimp & Corn Chowder

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped & seeded
2 cans rotel
3 cups frozen corn kernels
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 (12 ounce) can of evaporated skim milk
12 ounces frozen, shelled, uncooked, small shrimp, thawed
Ground pepper to taste

In a large soup pot over medium heat, wam oil. Add the bell pepper, onions, & rotel; saute. Place 2 cups of corn & 1/2 cup of broth in a food processsor & blend until pureed. Pour mix in soup pot. Stir in milk, the rest of the corn (1 cup), & the rest of the broth (1 cup).Simmer for 3 minutes. Add the shrimp & simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in pepper for taste.

This was my second time to use this recipe.. So easy and so delicious. A must try dish.

whole wheat blueberry muffins

I love muffins. Especially healthy & easy to make muffins. I got this mix from the grocery store not long ago & tried it out this past weekend. It's super quick and so delicious! You should try it out.

"Real blueberries and Hodgson Mill's stone-ground, whole wheat flour make for a delicious blueberry muffin. Nutritious and easy to prepare, these quick-baking muffins include our Milled Flax Seed, rich in Omega-3 oils (450 mg per serving!), making this wholesome family favorite even better."

• 3 tablespoons of splenda
• 4 teaspoons of olive oil
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of almond milk
• 1 egg

Mix all ingredients & preheat oven to 400 degrees.
The recipe said it makes 9-10 muffins, but I was able to make 12 good size muffins.
I lined my cupcake pan with cupcake holders so I would have an easy clean up.
Bake for 16 minutes.
Enjoy!

 http://www.hodgsonmill.com/

Low Fat Carrot & Sweet Potato Soup

Ryder & I made this for dinner Wednesday night and it was delicious! Very easy. Be prepared: it will look like baby food. But I assure you, it's very appetizing and surprisingly filling. I got the recipe from lowfatcooking.about.com. I did some tweaking and made it according to the ingredients we had in the apartment.

• 2 tsp olive oil
• touch of garlic
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 pound bag of baby carrots
• 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 1/2 cups water
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup of almond milk

Heat oil in a pot & saute onion until softened. Stir in cumin & cook for 1 minute. Add carrots, sweet potatoes & water. Bring to a boil, then cover & simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. When cool, transfer vegetables to a blender & blend until smooth, working in batches. Return to pot to reheat & mix in almond milk if needed. Enjoy!
 

breakfast for dinner

Love breakfast in the mornings, love breakfast in the evenings! We got this great mix from Whole Foods and added blueberries. Superb!

Love is sweet; have a treat!

So if you know us, you know we like to eat healthy. However, we definitely enjoy our sweets from time to time. I am growing very attached to the Whole Foods store that is much too close to our apartment. Found this great brownie mix that turned out to be very delicious if I do say so myself.. Try them out!