Nothing new under the sun....or in the snow.

Business as usual in my world.  Snow and ice storms.  Bad roads.  Freezing cold.  Going to work, eating, and sleeping! That about covers what I've done the past month!  Except for turning 32 last week.  Birthdays cease to be exciting after age 24! The only thing I look forward to is food.  Specifically my mom's wonderful lasagna.

 I forgot to take pictures the day of, but here's my after b-day leftover lunch.  Note my sexy new Starbucks coffee mug.  I have an addiction to buying coffee mugs at Starbucks.  Seriously.

For my cake I made key lime cupcakes.The recipe is found here: http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2008/09/key_lime_cupcakes. Naturally I subbed Pamela's gluten free baking mix for the flour.  They were good, but the cake kind of had an unusual spongy texture.  Also I never add food coloring to a recipe.  Just not necessary in my opinion.

Here is my new favorite breakfast!  I go through breakfast "phases" where I eat the same thing for a month or so every weekday morning.  This month it's Lundberg Brown rice cakes with peanut butter, with a side of plain yogurt mixed with frozen raspberries (slightly thawed).  It's so good!  I swear I crave peanut butter and rice cakes all the time! I decided buying a big thing of plain yogurt and mixing it with the berries is #1 cheaper and #2 way healthier than artificial flavored yogurts.  I don't even add sweetner at all!  One bag of fruit and one tub of yogurt lasts a whole week! :)

Today culinary adventure involved using the remaining chicken from the bird I roasted for dinner a few nights back.  I decided on gluten free chicken noodle soup.  I first heated olive oil in my pan, added garlic, mushrooms, and carrots and sauteed for a few minutes.  Then I added a box of Kitchen Basics chicken broth and some cooked Ancient Harvest gluten free pasta shells. I simmered until the carrots were soft, added shredded chicken and continued simmering a few minutes.  It was really good! I also added some Bragg's seasoning blend.  It's kind of similar to Mrs. Dash.

Well now I'm off to eat some dinner and get ready for another week!

Bacon cupcakes rock!

Today was our best friend Mike's birthday!  Mike loves bacon.  He will eat an entire pound of bacon at once!  So I knew I had to make him bacon cupcakes. This recipe was adapted from All Recipes. Of course I substituted Pamela's gluten free baking mix for the flour and leavening agents.  Everything else was as written.  I used all natural, uncured, hickory smoked bacon.  I don't like all the chemicals that are in normal bacon.  For the icing I decided on a simple ganache.  I heated one cup of heavy cream and stirred in a 12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips until smooth.  Then I topped the cupcakes.  Perfection!  They really are good.  My husband was totally weirded out by the bacon, it was too much for him!  Everyone else loved them.  The saltiness of the bacon accentuates the sweetness of the dark chocolate.  Really a unique and delicious cupcake!

In other news I am cooking more due to gluten restrictions.  I love deli roasted chicken for quick and easy dinners but I noticed the ones at Kroger's are not gluten free!  So the past couple of weeks I have been roasting a chicken at the start of the week and using it for a couple of quick dinners and lunches!  As you may notice I do not tie the legs.  This is because I'm too forgetful to buy the twine.  I've read it makes the chicken more moist  but I've not had any trouble without it.  I make this the simplest way possible.  I rinse and dry the chicken, rub it with olive oil and Bragg's seasoning mix plus salt and pepper.  I then put it in the oven at 350 for about an hour and forty minutes.  I let it rest for about 20 minutes and dig in!  The night I make it we will have the legs and thighs with a salad and baked potato.  Then I'll shred some and take for lunch with beans and rice or in a greek salad with lettuce, olives, and feta.   The rest I put in soups or casseroles.  Another good lunch idea is of course chicken salad!

I mix the shredded chicken with Hellman's olive oil mayo, sliced seedless grapes, and toasted pecans.  Served over greens.  Simple and delicious like most of the best things in life!