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!

Thanksgiving 2014

It's been 7 years since we were able to enjoy Thanksgiving with family. 7 years of missing out and wishing we could join in the festivities. We had the gathering at my brother's house and all brought various dishes to share.

(Please excuse the crappy phone pics but... you get what you get and we'll all survive.)

I made deviled eggs and this green bean casserole (watch for the recipe soon).

The kitchen was the popular gathering point for us adults. Duh, that's where the food and wine were.

The kids kept themselves busy playing with train tracks and various electronic devices.

The dog gave up. This many people were exhausting.

The babies love grandpa.

After everyone had their bellies filled, it was time for football and games.

Between jokes, farts, and many many laughs, we did manage to snap a few nice family pictures. These were the first ones we've taken in probably 15ish years and I really wish we were smart enough to choose a better place with better lighting.

Our lovely cousin joined us for a few pics too. :)

And now the outtakes...

My niece wanted in the pictures too.

And those pics preeetty much sum up my crazy family. We're weird and proud and of it.

Peanut 'Butter' Scotch Candy

As I mentioned in another post, I made these candies and gave them out as part of the kids' teacher gifts. They take a grand total of only TWO ingredients and roughly thirty minutes of your time.

Ready, set, here we go...

What you'll need:

1 bag Butterscotch chips
3/4C Peanut Butter

Double boiler or two pots
mini muffin pan
mini muffin paper cups

I do not have a double boiler so I used a large pot half filled with water and a smaller pot sitting inside with the butterscotch chips, like pictured below.

Have your stove on medium heat and begin melting the chips. It takes a while to start but once they begin melting, make sure to stir frequently to prevent them from burning. But while you wait, you can put the paper cups into the muffin pan.

Once they are at least 2/3 or more melted, add in you 3/4C peanut butter and finish melting the chips.

You with me? Of course you are. Now that it's melted, simply spoon a tablespoon(ish) amount into each little cup. Continue until mixture is gone and boom. You're done.

The hardest part is waiting for them to harden. Those of you in the cold weather can set them outside for an hour or so. And for us in the warmer climate, just stick them in the freezer for an hour. Now you can enjoy!

P.S. - For you chocolate lovers, you can melt some chocolate once the candy is hard and put a small layer on top. YUM!

Pumpkin Goodness

Way back in the beginning of summer I posted this Pumpkin Cookie recipe. Since pumpkin season is now in full swing, I wanted to bring back the recipe again to share with you. I just made these for our church and received many compliments (great ego booster!).

These can be made Gluten Free too just by substituting regular flour with GF all purpose flour. I left off the frosting when I made them for church and they were still extremely delicious!

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. Also, if you add some extra butter they turn out super soft)
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 or butter 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).

Delicious and Easy Chocolate Cookies

So let me introduce to you the easiest to make cookies that are *out of this world* good. They're so easy, I'm even going to say they are fool proof too!

Ready for this? Here it comes...

Take a box of cake mix. Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, whatever. Follow cake mix instructions (usually just needs water, oil, and eggs). Now, you're going to add in just ONE CUP of flour to the cake mix. Spoon cookie mixture onto a baking sheet and bake at temperature on box but for only 10 minutes.

Ta-da!! That was it.        Whew! You still with me? I know that must have been so tough, right?

These are not your run of the mill average everyday sort of cookie. No, these are much more. They're easy to make. They are super soft but not the fall apart crumbly kind. They taste phenomenal. My kids(and church members) devoured them! Did I mention how easy they are? Not only all that, but you can do this with any boxed cake mix.

I had signed up to bring in snacks for church this week and come Saturday, I still had not planned or thought about what I would make. (Please tell me I'm not the only procrastinator here?) Digging through my cupboards I found several boxes of cake mix that I had every intention of using to make glorious cakes which, come on... let's be real here and admit that they would probably just sit there until expired. Quick thinking and a phone call to my mom and I had the perfect "recipe" for cookies.

I had other intentions of making another batch of cookies, this one from scratch, buuuut, yeah I was too lazy. So 11pm Saturday night, I couldn't go to bed knowing that only 55 people from church would get those delicious cookies (fyi -the batch made 55 cookies). Also, what if someone is dieting or they just don't want sweets? What to do, what to do... I quickly rifled through the cupboards and fridge in search of something a little healthier that I could bring that would take minimal effort. Aha! My wonderful husband had brought home two large bags of grapes the other day which would go perfect with chocolate cookies, no? Oh well, they were quick, easy, and healthy so I took the grapes and some scissors and snipped them up into smaller bunches of 6-8 grapes. Took me all of five minutes and I was off to bed to enjoy the few precious hours before my little alarm clock (ahem, Noah..) needed a feeding.

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.

SNOW in Arizona!

Yes, we had SNOW in southern Arizona! Granted we live almost a mile above sea level so snow is not impossible. It's just highly unlikely. The mountains surrounding us are usually the only way we get to see snow throughout the winter. Being that we are located at a higher altitude, we do get a small dusting at least once a year but not like this. We were blessed with almost two inches on New Year's Eve. (Yes, I am just getting around to posting this almost a month late!)

Gabe and I were woken up to the sounds of Alena screaming "Snow! We have snow! Can we play in it?" And who are we to tell her no when this might be her one and only chance to play in snow this year?

So we were bundling up the kids and getting them ready to head outside when we thought up the idea to take them to the park where there would be more snow than at home. So Gabe and I bundled up too and even before anyone had breakfast, we were out the door to play.

I was joking with Gabe and saying how only in Arizona do you play in the snow before eating breakfast because you know it'll be gone by noon. It's true! I also joked that this was a once in five year type of snow. We have lived here barely over five years and this is about the most we've seen.

We were not the only ones who had the idea to come to the park because there were several other families there enjoying the snow. The kids had a blast and I do believe Christian could have played in it all day! Alena, on the other hand, is more like me. We like for a bit, but when the cold overtakes the fun, we're done.

Trying to make a large ball for a snowman.

You can see in this next one that Christian took the opportunity to nail Gabe with a huge snowball while he was helping Alena with her gloves.

You can see where Alena was nailed right in her forehead.

The others in the park with the same idea as us. They were building some sort of funky snowman (snowfrog?).

After having our fill of snow, we headed home. On the way, we decided we were just too lazy to make breakfast so instead, we would head to a local restaurant for some brunch (since by then it was 11). Gabe and the kids ordered breakfast items but this pregnant momma was craving the Turkey Reuben as soon as I saw it on the menu. And boy was it good! I ate the whole thing and completely overstuffed myself!

Waiting for our meals to arrive.

YUMMY!

We had such a good family day!