A blog of food, travel, rescue dogs & creativity from a young-at-heart baby boomer.
Who wouldn’t love their own mini, individual peach cobblers? It’s just as easy as making a large pan of peach cobbler. I recently took these mini cobblers to a luncheon with some of my girl friends. They were a big hit.
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Do you have your garden overflowing with ripe veggies right now? Me too! I have a healthy, scrumptious, bursting-with-flavor kale salad that I’m betting will become a favorite for you to use up those nutritious vegetables. It is for me.
The thing that takes the most time when making this kale salad is chopping up the healthy ingredients. My all time favorite utensil for doing this is my Chop Wizard. I have the one with two trays. One that cuts larger cubes and the smaller one that cuts very small cubes or strips. For the red pepper and onions, I used the larger slicer. Core, quarter, and remove the seeds and ribs on the red pepper. One at a time, put the pepper quarter on the slicer and lower the lid pushing the pepper against the blades on the slicer cutting it into nice cubes. For the onion, peel off the skin, cut into slices, put a slice on the tray and press the lid down again. It can’t get any easier and quicker than that!
When my daughter and I did a Girl’s Weekend Out on Orcas Island, the bed & breakfast we were at served yummy Morning Glory Muffins. Click here and you can find their recipe and my post about the Blue Heron Bed & Breakfast. I decided I wanted to change the recipe a bit making it gluten free and a bit healthier.
I love apples so I added not only applesauce but big chunks of juicy, tart apples. I also wanted to make it gluten free as I had developed issues with gluten a couple of years ago. I’m not a huge fan of shredded coconut (I think it is a texture thing) but, I found fine macaroon coconut that was just the ticket! It is sweetened with honey and just a tinge of brown sugar, plus all the yumminess from the apples, carrots, raisins, and cranberries. The medley of spices (cinnamon, cardamon, ginger – both fresh and ground) gives the tongue just the right tingle!
Even though spring isn’t officially here yet, the weather is giving us warm hints of what is to come. Remember, the groundhog did not see his shadow – spring is right around the corner. You know another hint that spring is on it’s way? Potted petunias and colorful, tantalizing seed packets of a variety of vegetables are showing up in the garden stores. I can’t wait to pick fresh, healthy tomatoes, peppers, radishes, and other yummy vegetables. Because I’m longing for “fresh garden produce food,” I decided to visit my local organic coop store and buy the ingredients since my fresh veggies aren’t ready (or even planted yet, except for the spinach). What better way to revel in a healthy, veggie rich, protein packed salad than by making Quinoa Black Bean Mango Salad. (Say that five times really fast!)
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The day started with weather warnings of high winds and driving rain. When I drove into town, it really didn’t appear to be that bad. Perhaps it was the lull before the store. I decided to stock up on a few groceries. A big pot of chili sounded good for supper. Boy, was I right! The storm hit hard about an hour after I got home from the store. Electricity went out in town, and our lights were flickering. Were we going to lose all power in a sort while? I decided the best thing to do was to get the pot of chili made as quickly as I could.
I buy bananas every time I go to the grocery store. I use many of them in the healthy protein smoothies that I frequently make for my breakfast. Sometimes, I get a little over zealous in my shopping and buy more than I need. When they get a over-ripe, then I make this tasty gluten-free banana bread. It’s very yummy and good enough to practically be a dessert! You are going to be shocked at an unlikely hidden ingredient in this super yummy banana bread!
This is a very easy soup to make and so delicious. It is the perfect soup for a cold, dreary day (or any day for that matter). It is one of my go-to soups when I need to have something cooking for when my craft group comes over or when I need to take a soup for a soup-salad potluck at work. Be sure to print out extra copies of the recipe as your friends are going to ask for it! You can do it in the crockpot or on top of the stove.
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Gluten-free Protein Snack Balls
These are great, healthy snack balls chocked full of protein. They are quite filling and pack that little “punch” when you feel your energy waning. I love to take these hiking, as a snack when I teach, and always, always when I travel. (They have saved me many times during delays at airports.) They are chocked full of healthy ingredients so they are a “no-guilt” snack, plus they are gluten-free.
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