Green Bean Casserole - Gluten Free

Back in my Thanksgiving post, I promised I would put up my gluten free green bean casserole recipe. Too many weeks later, here it is.This recipe feeds roughly 12-14 people so if you're not feeding a crowd, half the recipe and you're good to go.

Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole

You will need...

3 cans green beans
2 (I used more like 1 2/3 cans) gluten free cream of mushroom or chicken soup
1 bag Funyuns
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix the green beans and creamed soup together in a large casserole dish while the oven is preheating to 350 degrees. I had to use cream of mushroom because they were out of the chicken soup. I much prefer the chicken flavor though!

Did you know that Funyuns were gluten free? Neither did I until Gabe was not able to have any. We found the perfect substitute for French's French Fried Onions; Funyuns!

Next, stir in roughly 1/3 of the Funyuns after you've crumbled them a bit. I added some salt and pepper at this point also.

Ready to cook.

Cook uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Top with more (finely) crumbled Funyuns as shown in the picture. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until Funyuns become browned.

 Serve and enjoy!

Most Awesome Pumpkin Cookies

So I know that summer is just beginning but the kids and I were in a baking mood the other day and these pumpkin cookies were calling my name! One hours and a few messes later, we had the most AWESOMELY DELICIOUS pumpkin cookies. Not only were they delicious, but I made them Gluten Free too!

PS - They are neighborhood kid tested and approved! The kids loved them so much that they were begging for more!

mmm!

Here we go...

Pumpkin Cookies

1C shortening (I didn't have any so I used butter)
1C sugar
1 egg
1C pumpkin
1tsp vanilla
2C flour (I used a gluten free flour)
1tsp cinnamon
1tsp baking soda
pinch of salt (pretty sure I skipped the salt)

I added a small amount of nutmeg and cloves even though the ingredients don't call for them.

Directions:
Cream shortening and add sugar and eggs; beat well. Add pumpkin and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool then add frosting. Makes 25-30 cookies. (side note: I thought they would flatten/smooth out while baking but they didn't. How you plop them on the baking sheet is how they'll bake. Hence, my lopsided looking cookies.)

Frosting

1Tbs butter
2Tbs milk
1/4C brown sugar
powdered sugar
vanilla to taste (I probably added 2Tbs)

Directions:
Melt together butter, milk, and brown sugar. (I microwaved for 15seconds at a time until brown sugar was dissolved.) Add in vanilla. Stir in powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached. (I felt like I was adding a TON of powdered sugar).

SOOO delicious! The cookies had just the right hint of pumpkin and the super sweet frosting balanced it out perfectly.

Why yes, that is a half eaten cookie sitting there. I just couldn't wait to take a taste! These cookies were great with or without the frosting. I'm not a huge fan of sweet sweet stuff so I left some unfrosted and ate those too.




And like I said, the family loved them and it even had the neighborhood kids coming back asking for more. These pumpkin cookies didn't last more than two days in this house. Gone, just like that.

Let's Can! - Hot Pepper Butter

So this may be my favorite canned recipe so far and I will be making it every year. You can use this stuff as dip, on hamburgers, sandwiches, whatever you want. Seriously good stuff! We shared a can with some family and went through an entire pint jar in one day.

Hot Pepper Butter

you will need

20 green peppers
a few banana peppers or green chilies (I used 5 green chilies)
1 c yellow mustard
2 c white vinegar
3 c sugar
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 c - 1 cup flour (I used rice flour because of Gabe's gluten allergy, but you can use wheat flour)
3/4 c - 1 c water

• Chop peppers into small pieces (I threw mine into the blender)
• Put into large pot and add mustard, vinegar, sugar, and salt
• Bring to a boil
• Meanwhile, make a paste with the flour and water
• Add paste to boiling mixture and cook for an additional 5 - 10 min or until paste has dissolved.

Put it into sterilized jars and water bathe them for 15 - 20 min. It will make around nine pints. 

The pepper butter is a perfect mixture of sweet and spicy. If you want it less spicy, leave out the banana peppers or green chilies and add a couple extra green peppers.

ENJOY!

Bourbon Chicken - AMAZING!

Let me introduce you to my favorite chicken recipe! Chicken is my favorite meat so I like to cook with it often. This is probably one of the only recipes I have found that taste delicious fresh and still tastes as good the next day!

 You're going to need...

• About two pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed into small pieces
• 1 garlic clove, minced (I used pre minced garlic from a jar (see pic below) and just threw in a bunch.)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (again, I just threw in the amount I wanted)
• 1/4 cup apple juice (you could substitute with white grape juice if you don't have apple)
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 Tablespoons ketchup
• 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon cornstarch (use if you want thicker sauce)

As you can tell, I don't do a lot of measuring when it comes to seasonings. Liquids I do, but I like to add the amount I think would be good. Doing that, will give you a different flavor every time you make it. :)

• First, you cube the chicken into small chunks. 
• Heat oil in pan and cook chicken until lightly browned.
• Take out the chicken and add the rest of the ingredients, stirring until dissolved.

mmm, such a good sauce!

• Next, add the chicken to the sauce and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. (I discovered that simmering it for an hour increases the flavor and intensity. Also, it made it slightly spicier. Much better simmering for longer!)
• Serve with white rice.

 OMGosh ya'll, this stuff is AMAZING! If it were up to me, I would make this at least once a week. It has the perfect amount of sweet and spicy.

I'd love to hear if any of you make it, and what you thought.

Weekend Rewind

Saturday morning was a busy one. First the kids had gymnastics. Immediately following that, we headed to Alena's preschool graduation. OMGosh! Talk about cute!

Each graduate wore a cap and gown and there's something about seeing my five year old wearing those that made me have a mini heart attack. I could just picture her 13 years from now at her high school graduation. It was almost too much. {almost} Don't worry, I held it together. :)

My little graduate!

They did a whole ceremony just like high school. There were speeches, baby pictures slide show, and giving of diplomas. The kids even sang a couple songs. I got a cute video (seen below). It's not great because I had to try and keep Christian from running off while also trying to watch.

And yes, that is my little stinker YAWNING halfway through the song. But she's was cute at the end clapping along with everyone else, wasn't she?

Here's a couple more shots from the graduation.

Singing.

They're so cute, right!?

Christian wanted in on the pic with her diploma.

Gotta have cake, of course!

Sunday was the usual. Church, the grocery store (I survived alone with the kids walking and "helping" me the whole time!), and then relaxing around the house. Well, the kids relaxed. I was cleaning because Gabe was coming home from his business trip that day. The kids were super excited to have him home so they were all over him, giving me a bit of a break. Thanks hun! We ordered Domino's for dinner because they've come out with a Gluten Free crust that actually tastes pretty good! And let's face it, I'm taking the chance of not cooking when I can get it. So did any of you watch the eclipse? I tried to do the whole pinhole trick but don't think it worked. So I resigned to watching it live on the internet. Gotta love the internet!

All in all, pretty good weekend. :)