Waffle Cookies

The other night my sister-in-law was talking about waffle cookies and I’ve pretty much been thinking about them ever since.  I can’t even remember the last time I had waffle cookies, which is a shame, because they’re amazing and fun all at once.  I found a recipe on allrecipes.com  that I modified a bit to make them gluten free.  I don’t remember what the “regular” ones even tasted like anymore, but these are so good!  The frosting recipe is my favorite chocolate frosting ever, so it makes everything double-fantastic. Enjoy.

Gluten Free Waffle Cookies
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 c. butter, melted (I used pureed beans and it worked great)
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. gf all purpose flour (I used 1 c. white rice flour and 1 c. tapioca flour)
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 c. chopped walnuts, optional (I have no idea why I didn’t add those)

Preheat waffle iron and mix all ingredients together.  Drop dough onto by heaping tablespoons onto the center of the waffle iron. I actually just plopped a huge scoop right in the middle and it turned out great. Close the lid and cook for about 90 seconds. Watch them close so they don’t burn!

My Favorite Chocolate Frosting
8 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 c. skim milk
4 c. sifter powdered sugar
Melt butter in medium sauce pan on low.  Whisk in the cocoa and milk.  Bring mixture barely to a boil, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat. Using an electric mixer, beat in the powdered sugar until thick and smooth.  Pour warm frosting over cookies (or a cake, or whatever).

Quick and Easy Black Beans

My kids are picky eaters, but they will eat just about anything in "bean form."  This little fact means that we eat a lot of beans in our house. I'm ashamed to say that I used to just dump a can of black beans in a pan, warm them up, and call them a side dish. Sad. SO sad. I found this easy recipe on one of my favorite cooking blogs, Our Best Bites and I changed very little about it. This is now the only way I do black beans. Thank goodness.

Quick and Easy Black Beans

2 cans black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 T. olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced (I use the pre-minced, bottled stuffed)
2/3 c. chicken broth
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
juice from 1 lime

In a sauce pan, heat the oil on med-high and saute onions until clear.  Add garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. Add beans, broth and seasonings and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 min or until the beans are as soft as you want.  Add the lime juice and serve.  They do thicken as they stand, so if you want them thicker just remove them from heat and wait a few minutes before serving.

Lemon Rice with Pine Nuts

This is a great recipe I got from my Ward Cookbook. It's one of our favorite rice dishes.  I love to make it with this Tilapia recipe. I was tempted once to make it without the pine nuts...mostly because I'm super cheap.  Thankfully my husband wouldn't stand for it so he picked some up on his way home from work.  They really do make a big difference. Definitely try this one out!

Amy's Lemon Rice with Pine Nuts
2 1/2 C. chicken broth (I used water and boullion cubes)
1 C. jasmine rice
2 Tbsp butter
1 small onion, chopped (I've used sweet, white, and red. All were good.)
1/4 C. pine nuts
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp parsley
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large sauce pan, bring chicken broth to a boil.  Add rice, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 min.  Remove from heat, set aside.  In a medium skillet melt mutter over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until clear.  Add cooked rice, pine nuts, lemon juice, parsley, salt & pepper.

Honey-Hoisin Chicken

My husband found this recipe in Parents' magazine.  It's a real keeper. It was really quick and easy to throw together, but it also tasted delicious.

Honey-Hoisin Chicken

3 T hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb chicken, cut into thin strips (I used to large breast halves)
3 C. cooked rice (I used Jasmine, my new favorite)

Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet. In a small bowl whisk together the hoisin sauce, honey, lime juice and 1 tbsp of oil.  Set aside 1/4 cup of the sauce.  Brush remaining mixture onto chicken strips and place them in skillet to cook. Allow to cook for about 3 min each side, or until cooked through.  Serve chicken on top of rice.  Drizzle with reserved Sauce.

Why I never should have taught my 3 year old why I can’t eat “gluten-free”

My little girl is very conscious about gluten-free food.  When she was pretty little she was always trying to cram gold fish or cookies into my mouth so I had to teach her young that mommy just couldn’t eat them since they weren’t gluten-free.  Today it back-fired. =)

We were in the car running errands and she asked for a drink.  I passed her my water bottle and when she was done I asked for it back and she said, “Sorry, Mom.  It’s not gluten-free.”  I believe the translation is: “Sorry, Mom. I have no intention of sharing with you.”  Kids…

Green Beans with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette

Last week I purchased my first “Bountiful Basket.”  I was not disappointed at all.  I think I’ll do that about once a month.  It’s fun to get “mystery produce” and come up with ways to use it.  I can’t wait to tell you about the bread I made with the sweet potatoes we got.  Sounds ridiculous, I know, but it was amazing and you’ll love me for giving you the recipe.  I was excited to get fresh green beans.  I love green beans and my baby (okay, so she’s 19 months old now) would eat a whole can at one meal if we let her, but my husband only likes fresh.  I’ve never really known what to do with fresh ones, but when they showed up in my basket I decided I better figure it out. I found this recipe on For the Love of Cooking and decided to give it a whirl.  The girls weren’t that into it, but the adults overwhelmingly approved.

Green Beans with Maple Dijon Vinaigrette
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp cider vinegar
3/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 lb fresh green beans
Handful of grape tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp sliced almonds
salt & pepper to taste

Combine oil, syrup, cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt & pepper in small container with a lid.  Give it a good shake and let it sit while you prepare the beans.  Place beans in a pot of boiling water and boil for about 4 minutes.  Drain and drop into a bowl of ice water for about 1 minute.  Drain again and place in bowl with almonds and tomatoes.  Shake the dressing up again and pour it onto the beans, etc.  Toss gently to cover and serve immediately.  Delicious.