Cooking With Mommy

I can't believe how fast time is going! I feel like we just moved, we've been in the new house for 5 months already! Well, so far so good. Thanksgiving turned out really well and I'm hoping Christmas will be even better. I don't have alot of money to do gifts this year but being here in a new place definitely feels like a Christmas present. I'm really happy to bring in the New Year here as well. This is what happens when Mommy is tired... we have GF 7up cake with lemon & lime zest in it that my mommy made and LF ice cream for an after school snack. (This is random) Ok, so I feel this is how your plate should look on Sundays for "Sunday Dinner" which I don't do lol! I was able to pretend like I made Sunday Dinner with the help of the leftovers from Thursday!  ;-) Alright! the December Menu is up!! decorated by me and The Lil Chef! I rolled over the food that I was supposed to make in November and never got around to. I doubt

INGREDIENTS 1 medium butternut squash, about 2 1/2 pounds 1/4 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 3 tablespoons butter 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract dash salt dash nutmeg This is the recipe I got a few ideas from to make the candied butternut squash that I make for Thanksgiving. I  took my mother's method of making candied "yams" (actually sweet potatoes) and added the maple syrup, nutmeg and vanilla to it. That's how I came up with my own version. I make this for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It can be made all year it's just labor intensive so I do it once a year. lol PREPARATION Heat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a large baking pan or  spray with nonstick cooking spray . Peel the squash with a vegetable peeler, scoop out seeds, and cut the squash into 1/2- to 1-inch cubes. Put in a bowl. Heat the maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, vanilla, salt, and nutmeg until hot and butter is melted. Driz

I've had a craving for Apple Cake for a while now but I knew I had already reached my limit for Thanksgiving.  I rarely make desserts so I decided to do something different for Christmas . I really hope this turns out GOOD! Prep time:   10 minutes Cook time:   >40 minutes Yield:   1 cake INGREDIENTS 3 cups (about 600 g) peeled, cored and chopped baking apples (Cortlandt, Granny Smith, Empire, Gala and Braeburn are all excellent) (from about 4 large apples) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 16 ounces  gluten free vanilla cake mix   (I like Bob's Red Mill Vanilla GF Cake Mix) 9 tablespoons (126 g) unsalted butter, chilled (freeze the smart balance) 1/2 cup (4 fluid ounces) buttermilk (or milk), chilled (Vanilla Almond milk) Whipped cream, for serving (I would omit this part but there are dairy alternatives  that exist for people who wish to indulge) I would add brown sugar on top of the apples prior

Today is the end of the Thanksgiving weekend. I really hope you guys had an awesome holiday, wonderful food, memorable times with family and friends. Now there's aprox. 3wks to prepare for Christmas. We have a ton of leftovers so that will save me from cooking for a little while until we get tired of it lol. Oh I forgot and 4 wks (aprox) to prepare for New Year's Eve! We had such a nice time having company over for The Day After Thanksgiving that we're considering having company over for Christmas but that's still a work in progress... I will catch you guys up on the things I didn't post in the midst of all the holiday craziness.... (these are not in order by the way) This is what happens when you're out and your sugar drops... you spend $20 on GF "junk food". I've never had the Figgies & Jammies before and they were amazing!!! seriously, I've also never tried the Macaroons...those were like Samoas (the girl scout cookies... score fo

Thanksgiving Breakfast. Grits, Hashbrowns, and Bacon. The onions for the garlic corn. Gluten free, Lactose free, Mac n' Cheese. Candied Bacon. Completed Garlic Corn. Completed Candied Bacon. We LOOOOOOOVE Cranberry Sauce. Thanksgiving didn't go as planned so we decided to do a "do-over" today!!! My parents and my sister dropped by for dinner. Today went very well and everyone loved the food!!! Who said there's nothing to eat with food allergies and intolerances! The Lil Chef's Plate This was definitely a hit at dinner!   And finally I/we truly felt like this! lol

lil chef- we are now officially making the mac n cheese!! and working on the candied bacon, the chicken is very good but it just needs more seasoning. the chef is put to work again this year !! have an early THANKSGIVING !!!!!! \(^o^)/ FROM TH LIL CHEF IM JUST SOOO EXCITED!!!!  ‪#‎ happyearlythanksgiving‬   ‪#‎ currentlymakingmacncheese‬ ‪#‎ chickenisgood‬   ‪#‎ imsoooexcited‬   ‪#‎ fromlilchef‬   ‪#‎ soohappy‬ im sssooooo excited  update you later and dont over cook yourself! take some breaks along the way

Ingredients 3 ripe avocados, peel and seed removed  2 tablespoons lemon juice  ¾ teaspoon garlic salt  1 cup Romaine lettuce, shredded 4 ounces Cabot  Sharp Cheddar , shredded (about 1 cup)  ½ cup grape tomatoes, quartered (about 10 tomatoes)  ¼ cup cooked bacon bits or crumbled bacon pieces  ¼ cup chopped red onion Directions Place the avocados in a medium bowl and mash with fork or potato masher until mostly smooth. Add the lemon juice and garlic salt to the avocado. Stir until well combined. Transfer the avocado to a 9 inch pie plate. Spread it into an even layer. Top the avocado with layers of lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, bacon, and onion.  Cover the pie plate with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve with optional dippers like tortilla chips, crackers, or sliced and toasted baguette.

Today has been the longest day ever and it's not over! lol I literally have been on my feet pretty much since I woke up at 5AM. I did my usual Mommy routine, got The Lil Chef together did my 46:02 mins of exercise and then starting prepping for Thanksgiving. I definitely underestimated the butternut squash. I figured because they were small I needed more of them.....NO! I ended up with way more than I expected. It took me like 3hrs to slice and dice them. (for whatever weird reason I can not sit down and cook, cut, chop, what have you so that's how I ended up on my feet forever.) I have the onions prepped for the garlic corn, I stumbled on something new (for me) with the chicken, took out the greens and green beans from last year (don't judge, it's just more I don't have to make from scratch) I made the "real" mashed potatoes & I could not stop eating them lol. I'm currently waiting on The Lil Chef to shred the cheese for me for the mac n' chee

I think this would be an interesting appetizer or  h'orderve to hold people over until Dinner is served on Thanksgiving    Ingredients 4 slices crusty bread, halved   (GF bread) 8-1 ounce slices of Cabot  Sharp Cheddar , triangle shaped (cut a block of cheese in half, then slice each new block into thirds, lengthwise. Then slice each square into triangles) 2 cups mushrooms, chopped    2 cups fresh spinach    1 tablespoon olive oil    1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar    Salt and pepper to taste  Panko bread crumbs Directions Saute mushrooms. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan and add mushrooms with balsamic and a dash of salt and pepper. Cook down until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from pan.    Lay out your bread slices and place some spinach leaves on each.     Dip each cheese triangle into some panko to lightly coat.     Place cheese slices into heated sauté pan; about medium-high heat. Cook for about 20 seconds and quickly remove from pan and place on t

This looks so good!!! Another Spread/dip you can serve earlier in the day prior to Thanksgiving dinner or afterwards with chips for the football game!  Ingredients 2 ripe medium avocados 1/2 cup Cabot  2% Plain Greek-Style Yogurt  or Cabot  Plain Greek-Style Yogurt   (0% greek yogurt) 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 3/4 teaspoon salt (kosher salt) 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper Directions Slice avocados in half lengthwise; remove pits. Scoop flesh into bowl; mash into coarse puree with fork. Stir in yogurt, onion, lime juice, salt and chipotle pepper. Serve with pita or tortilla chips or fresh veggies for dipping, or use as sandwich spread or burger topping.

Try this for Thanksgiving ... Whole Grain Caramel-Apple Pecan Bars Yield Makes 12 bars Ingredients 1/4 cup  butter, softened (Smart Balance) 2 tablespoons  plain Greek yogurt (0% Greek yogurt )  1 cup  sugar or bake-able sugar substitute (Raw sugar) 3  large eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup  white whole wheat flour (if substituting gluten-free flour add 1 tablespoon flax-meal to flour) 1 teaspoon  baking powder 1/2 teaspoon  salt (kosher salt) 1 teaspoon  ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon  ground nutmeg 2 cups  sliced, dried apples, chopped 1/2 cup  pecans halves, chopped 1/4 cup  caramel sauce (make it or find it dairy free) Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8- x 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cream butter and Greek-style yogurt in a large mixing bowl; gradually add 1 cup sugar, beating well. Add eggs, and beat well. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a small mixing bowl; gradually add to creamed mixture, stirring well. St

Ok, I didn't do this quite as planned. It took 4 1/2-5hrs to do The lil Chef's hair soooooo.... I didn't take pics like I usually do and I cut out an entire step lol . You can read the recipe here . I mixed the ground turkey, diced onions, minced garlic, and cajun seasoning salt and browned everything at the same time. I cooked the GF rotini, when that was done I mixed it all in the stock pot added the diced tomatoes and Cabot cheese and called it a day. I did NOT put anything in the oven, the cheese melted in the pot. I did dice up a Nathan's kosher  pickle and sprinkled that on top. Did it taste like a cheeseburger?.... Yes, for the most part, it was like a weird deconstructed hamburger lol. I definitely suggest making this especially for families with kids.  It's not much to look at but this is my "Deconstructed Cheeseburger"

The Lil Chef and I do not care for ANY sort of stuffing. I like the idea of it. I happen to be on Pinterest scrolling as usual and I found a Lasagna Timpano Pin/Post (which I will be posting in the near future) that looked amazing! I followed the link and it took me to The Food In My Beard site. I decided to do some exploring and I found this!!!!! I had to comment and tell him he was a genius! This is allergy free and not mushy bread, cornbread, stovetop or whatever so The Lil Chef and I are actually willing to try this! I'm excited! I will not be able to make it this year but it's definitely on the list for next year. Hopefully this will be something I can add to my/our repertoire. TATER TOT STUFFING 28   Ounces   Frozen Tater Tots (GF) 1   Pound   Sausage (GF) 1   Cup   Diced Onion 1   Cup   Diced Carrot 1   Cup   Diced Celery 1   Clove   Garlic   (minced) 1   Pinch   Dried Sage 1   Pinch   Dried Rosemary 1   Bunch   Parsley   (chopped) 2   Cups   Chicken Stoc