Roasted Vegetable Pasta

Anybody still here?
Ya you are, I can see you still checking in for some odd reason.

My last post a million years ago, was about how I have embraced a vegan diet and I added a photo of a delicious skillet full of pasta.
Now here I am, still on a vegan diet and still eating that same roasted vegetable pasta dish basically every night for dinner. I guess the only right thing to do would be to share that recipe with you...except I don't really have a recipe so much as a list of ingredients and vague instructions. I refuse to be categorized as a food blogger, so if I just give really crappy instructions on delicious food I feel like that takes that title off of me while still giving me some street cred. My head is a really weird place, and this plan somehow makes sense up there.

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread || Part Deux

Remember that one time I made some dairy free chocolate hazelnut spread, then made that crazy time consuming nutella crepe cake?!

How could you forget right. 

Well, you could probably forget quite easily because you weren't the one who spent a hundred years flipping crepes. 

But I will never forget.

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Chicken Taquitos || Two ways

I have this thing about myself where I fixate on one thing and then over do it to oblivion until I am so sick of it I never want to think about it again.

This happens with foods, television, music, clothing, and anything else that I see/eat/listen to. 

It's why Netflix runs my life and why I've listened to the Brandon Flowers album exclusively on loop for the last two weeks.

This obsessiveness is also why I could never even begin to be a drinker or drug user. There's no such thing as recreational usage of anything when you are me.

Anyway, in addition to eating salmon cakes like they are going out of style I have developed another food addiction while out of an oven.

Being without an oven meant I suddenly developed this thing with frying foods, which is not a good thing so thank goodness I have an oven again.

Now that I do have the power to bake again, I can continue my taquito love in a slightly healthier way, but because I believe in the power of equal opportunity I shall share with you both methods of cooking these little bundles of joy.

Gluten Free Salmon Cakes

As you have probably all come to know by now, my oven is broken.

It decided to take an eternal nap starting right in the middle of cooking an Easter roast. It did take the effort to finish cooking it first though, because we train our appliances to always be kind and considerate around here.

If you follow me on instagram or twitter, (both @carinamdee) you will have noticed that I've been making these little salmon cakes a lot lately.

Thankfully, I started working on this recipe before the oven situation, so I knew I would be okay without it. 

This ones all stove, baby.

Paleo German Chocolate Cake

Last Sunday was my birthday! 

It was super low key because the weekend before we were in San Francisco, and in my old age I don't really care too much about my birthday anymore.

It's just an excuse to eat cake, really.

A cake that everyone on restrictive diets could eat, which meant a cake without cane sugar, dairy gluten or grains.

And yes, I make my own birthday cakes. I enjoy doing it, and have the excuse to make it however I want because it's my day and I can do whatever I want.

Gluten & Dairy Free Acai Smoothie Bowl

In this thing called life, a lot of trends come and go. There is always the current popular thing to do, whether it is a color, hair style (I cut my hair first you guys!) or certain food items.

Soy products where a big thing once, kale was suddenly everywhere, then came in the coconut oil...and now acai. There is always a hot food of the moment.

But here is the thing about trends, they become that way because people like them. Or pretend to anyway. Remember that time bagel foreheads where a thing? I do not know who in their right mind ever jumped on that band wagon...

Because popular things became popular for some kind of a reason, I feel like it is important to try them out. Not because I want to be one of the cool kids necessarily, but just because I want to see what its all about.

Enter the acai smoothie bowl, the new kale green smoothie.

Ratatouille

Raise your hand if you've ever watched the movie Ratatouille, and wondered what it was all about! Raise your other hand if you kept misspelling ratatouille while trying to write this blog post!

Sorry guys, I have no hands left to write this deal,  I'll have to use my elbows. Toes? Nose maybe? It's just sitting there taking up a whole lotta room on my face, being completely useless so... I guess it can get a job.

This is not going in the direction I expected..but when do these posts ever make any sense, ya know?

hashtag rambling.

Bacon Wrapped Dates

'Ello!! 

Today is apparently a national holiday, I bet you didn't even know it. 

National Bacon Day they say. I saw this statement a couple of times on twitter today, but was unable to verify this information.

I'm feeling very detective-y today, as I finally updated my phone for the first time in like a year, therefore was finally able to start listening to Serial. I love myself a good mystery, and am already obsessed with it. So guys, update your phones. Get the Podcast app, download all of the Serial episodes. Listen. 

You're welcome.

Gluten Free Ginger Bread Men

In the last week, the house has been covered in sparkly little lights, filled with Christmas crafts, and swallowed up in what was supposed to be the storm of the century. So what does one need to do when the weather is finally cold and wet and the inside is full of holiday spirit.

Bake.

Chicken Marsala and Gluten Free Naan bread

I'm facing the reality that nothing is going to get done around here until I finish Gilmore girls. I have had absolutely no motivation to do anything all week, I call it the Netflix curse. Every time I start a new series I get thoroughly obsessed until its over, and promise myself to not start a new series ever again. I just cannot control myself to just one or two episodes. It is a serious world issue. 

In the meantime, I'll go ahead and share with you a couple of recipes that I have fallen in love with as of late. I can take absolutely no credit for them, other then switching dairy items to non-dairy products. The photos and the love though, those are all mine.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread French Toast

Remember the great pumpkin bread dilemma of twenty-fourteen? Well, if you happened to have succeeded in making a batch of pumpkin bread then I got an extra little treat for ya today.

Pumpkin bread french toast guys. French toast, made with pumpkin bread. yup.

A perfect little treat for a weekend breakfast, or a for a little pre-gaming Thanksgiving morning.

Gluten Free Burger with Fig and Chèvre

There is a little restaurant here in town, that has become one of my favorite lunch spots. I was introduced by my previous employers, who would often take the staff out for tasty friday lunches. The restaurant was opened by a couple who also have a catering company, so the menu is a combination of smaller foods, which you can mix together for a complete meal.

On the menu are various salads, sliders, and macaroni & cheese variations. The best part of this restaurant, is that they make everything fresh from scratch, and have several gluten free options. Whenever I go, I usually order a "duo" of a bun-less slider and salad. I've tried several variations, and my favorite order is always the quinoa salad (which changes seasonally) and the fig burger. It has some kind of a name, but I cannot recall. Plus you aren't in my town, so it really makes no difference to you. But what will make a difference to your life is when you make this burger for yourself. It is so spectacularly simple, and incredibly delicious.

Spaghetti Squash & Meatballs

As part of my beat the pots-cure the migraines-be healthy enough to move to another country diet, I am trying desperately to avoid sugar and condensed carbs. Meaning no bread, no white potatoes, no pasta's and sorry to say, no cookies. That said. I happen to have the worlds strongest craving situations that ever did exist. If I suddenly develop the urge to eat a chocolate chip cookie for example, no other food will satisfy me until I eat that chocolate chip cookie. Days and weeks can go by, and I will still want one and will have eaten everything else in the cupboards while trying to avoid the one thing I actually wanted. 

Solution: Eat a darn cookie. Usually for me it only takes a bite or two to realize I was fussing over nothing, and then I get over it.
I forgot where I was going with this....
I think what I was trying to say, is don't deprive yourself. Eat what your gonna eat, just do it wisely.

Like a pasta dinner. But lets go ahead and take out the pasta part of that pasta.

Sloppy Joes

Back in the day, I was the worlds pickiest eater. Ironically, the choosiness stopped when I had to start being picky about my food in a whole different way. (read:celiac disease.)

Sloppy Joes were one of those foods that would have to be forced down my throat in order for it to ever enter my body. As I got a little older, I would spoon on just enough of the meat on to my bread to make it look like I was eating something substantial, then i would cover it in cheese to make it down the hatch. Bread and cheese, diet of picky sick children. oui.

 Over the last several years, I have had them for dinner a handful of times without much fuss, but it still was not my favorite. I probably haven't eaten a sloppy joe for a good couple of years, so imagine my surprise when I had a sudden craving for them. Like, I woke up in the middle of the night needing to eat a sloppy joe, and I was going to get it in the crockpot first thing in the morning whether I had all the right ingredients or not. Which I only sort of did.

Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie

Remember how I had that whole ordeal with internet shopping, that left me with a box full of pie crust mixes? I remember, because I'm the one with a cupboard full of them.

I have successfully used one mix so far, now only five more to go! ugh.

So this week, for bag numero two-o I made a chicken pot pie.

Chicken pot, chicken pot, chicken pot pie!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

This post must be started with a disclaimer.

Every fall, women and children alike (I'm pretty sure not much of the male population is included in this) get incredibly excited for the arrival of pumpkin flavored goods.  The day Starbucks rolls out their pumpkin latte, everyone knows about it whether they care or not by the influx of social media attention. Really....I don't need to see another picture on Instagram of a Starbucks cup. Seriously. Stop it.

They get excited to buy cans of pumpkin and use it in every possible baked good they can think of, eat as many slices of pie as they can fit in their mouth, and light candles with the scent of the favorited orange squash.

The one woman-child that does not give a hoot about pumpkin flavored anything,would be this one right here. Yup. I really couldn't care any less about any of it. Actually thats not true, because saying I  couldn't care less gives the implication that I am indifferent to the whole thing, when in actuality I really quite despise it all. 

I said it, I do not like pumpkin.

I cannot stand pumpkin pie, I do not like the smell, the texture or the taste of any pumpkin goods I've come across. Maybe somethings just wrong with me, I dunno. 

Thanksgiving Leftover Croquettes

Sooooo, I'm Dutch. I have a whole bunch of leftovers from Thanksgiving left.

What am I to do?!

Make a croquette of course!

What might making a leftover croquette involve, you may ask.

Not much.

A croquette is simply a fried ball of mashed potatoes and meat. Since we have have mashed potatoes, turkey, and stuffing left over, why not use them all right?

So heres what you do:

Mix a tablespoon GF flour with 2 cups cold mashed potatoes, then take a little bit and flatten it like a pancake. Add a dollop of stuffing in the middle, and a few shreds of turkey. Fold the potatoes back over the filling, and roll into an oval.

See >>

You can make them however large or small you want, I made them exceptionally large for no other reason then that I was too lazy to make a bunch of little ones. But, I would prefer little bite size, appetizer sized ones.

After you've put the balls together, roll them in bread crumbs, then in a raw scrambled egg, then in bread crumbs again. (p.s. I used crumbled Rudi's stuffing mix for the bread crumbs.)

Next, drop them on hot oil for about 3-5 minutes, or until outsides are golden.

Try not to let your oil get too hot, to where you scorch your first item into the frying pan, thus turning the oil black for all future use.

Frying things is not one of my special talents.

The outsides of these little snacks should get nice and crisp, while the insides stay warm and velvety.

Yum.

Enjoy!

Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving recipes!

Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole

I know, I know, Thanksgiving hasn't even come yet-but it's time to dive into the leftovers.

For me on this special Thursday, I tend to spend all day cooking up a storm, only to barely eat anything once meal time comes around. Seriously, I'm not ever actually hungry on Thanksgiving. 

What that tends to mean, is that we have a mountain of food left over. 

Growing up, my mother always made a leftover casserole the day after Thanksgiving. Its almost as tradition, as the traditional meal itself. All thats needed for this casserole, is your main leftover ingredients. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and gravy. 

When I was little, as I have stated before; I was not a stuffing fan. So with this meal, there was a lot of groaning and whining served up as well. I usually was left eating around the stuffing, to get the mashed potatoes and meat that were untouched by the stuffing. I'm not sure how I ever made it through childhood...but obviously I've changed my tune on stuffing ;)

 To make this casserole, Layer accordingly:

Top with gravy, and bake in 350degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Thats it! All the hard work has already been done the day before!

 Enjoy! 

And keep tuning in for more leftover recipes!

Kinnikinnick Bagels and Bread Loaves

One of the biggest trials in being gluten free, seems to be bread.

When someone learns that you don't eat wheat, their mind automatically shoots to bread.

Not the zillion other products that gluten is hiding in, but the one obvious product. If only it were as simple as cutting out one product--being a Celiac would be akin to a low carb diet. 

Not quite folks.

Anyway, this one simple product, seems to also be the hardest product to get right without the wheat.

Too many gluten free breads are hard and dense, and closer to a piece of cardboard then a baked good.

Awhile back, {longer then I'd like to admit ;(} Kinnikinnick sent me a beautiful package, strait from Canada with some of their bread products. Inside the box, was two bagel flavors: plain and blueberry, and two loaves: multigrain and white.

I tested each of these products, and then tested again, and again, and...you get the point. It was some tasty stuff.

Wanna see? Here you go:

Up first, the bagels.

I love bagels. A toast warm bagel topped with strawberry cream cheese, sounds life heaven on a plate to me. Back in the day, when our local sourdough bread company made sourdough bagels-that was true heavenly bliss. I could live off of those bagels. But thats neither here nor there.

Since I could not slather my blueberry bagel in cream cheese, I turned to my closest alternative. Goat cheese chevre. And because I could, I topped in with some warm blueberry compote.

These blueberry bagels, let me tell you about these blueberry bagels. Soft, chewy, with just the righ amount of crispy exterior. A little sweetness, just the right amount of berries mixed in. I think I eat one of these bagels everyday for the rest of my life. I'm not sure how my pants would feel about that, but my tastebuds would sure be happy.

Next on the bagel train, was the plain variety. Is it gluten free? I don't know, I couldn't tell. The package says it is though, and my stomach didn't scream when I ate it, so it must be. Who woulda thought?!

With these plain bagels, I made a delicious breakfast sandwich. This sandwich is everything. I could live happily ever after with this sandwich.

This sandwich, and its images will also be forever ingrained in my mind as I learned of some tragic news while preparing it. While my fingers where snapping these photos, my mind was busy processing a family loss-and once I was done-I ate my feelings full of breakfast food.

and now you know.

{To make sandwich, toast both bagel halves, shmear with butter and top with cooked canadian bacon, a sunny side up egg, and a little spinach to call it healthy.}

Just like the blueberry bagel, it is the perfect texture inside and out. It takes on both sweet and savory flavors with ease, and toasts beautifully. A perfect golden brown, if you will.

You saw savory, lets see some sweet:

Fig butter, have you tried it? My word its good stuff. Its excellent on both the blueberry and plain bagels too :)

So that was the bagels business, now to the bread loaves.

With the multigrain, I made myself a good old fashioned Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich. This BLT may seem like a simple task, as the sandwich itself is easy peasy, but if you have ever made a large beautiful sandwich, only to have its toasted ends crumble underneath the pressure of delicious toppings; you know that its not as easy as it sounds.

I made this lovely sandwich, picked it up slowly-throwing caution to a possible breakage. But my lovelies, my tasty dinner did not fall apart. It stayed perfectly crisp and whole.

Winner-winner BLT dinner!

The Kinnikinnick bread has the perfect flavor, texture and ease of normal "glutenous" bread. 

I always prefer my bread toasted, before and after being gluten free; but I did use this bread once for a super quick peanut butter and jelly sandwich un-toasted. It tasted just as delicious and smooth as it did toasted, not something that I have found to come easy with other gf breads.

With the white bread, I attempted to make a strata.

Every year for Christmas growing up, my mother would make a cheesy strata the night before, for us to eat after opening presents Christmas morning.

It is the most delicious thing, filled with cheese, cheese, and white bread. The only time ever in our lives, when white bread took residence in our home. 

So, for the first time ever, I attempted a strata without the use of cheese. Just veggies, sausage and bread, mixed and baked full of egg. It was good, but not wonderful. Not a recipe worth sharing yet. But, the bread-the bread held up beautifully. It soaked in egg all night, baked in the morning, all without turning to pasty mush. I call that a win.

Kinnikinnick breads are a wonderful addition to the gluten free world, they are fluffy, moist and wonderfully delicious. I would really like to be eating a toasty piece of cinnamon toast right now, but as I don't have any at the moment-go out and enjoy a slice for me, ok?

And check out Kinnikinnick's other products, here.
and see some of my other uses of their other products here and here.

Enjoy!

*while the products review today were provided for testing, no monetary compensation was exchanged. All opinions our mine alone, without further influence.

New and Approved Enjoy Life Chewy Bars

So, a couple months ago I started yet another new job. Between boringness, urgent medical leaves, travel time and crazy bosses, I have been employed by several different medical offices over the years. This new one seems like it might stick though, the best part its in a gastro office. Peoples with stomach troubles, are my people. 

Anyway, why I'm telling you this extremely riveting story, is that while being busy busy at work all day, I get hungry. I am a snacker, I need my mid morning, and mid afternoon snack. Breakfast is not really my thing in the morning, lunch-ehhh. But snack time, I'm all over that.

So what quick and easy snack to I have, basically everyday? Why, Enjoy Life Chewy Bars of course.

They are quick, easy, and dare I say filling. (for a snack bar anyway;)

I wrote a review on these bars a while back, but they have since revamped both their packaging and recipes for these bars. 

During these changes, my local grocery stores where all giving me heart attacks while all the Enjoy Life products slowly disappeared from their shelves. It was majorly stressful guys. Thankfully, the new and improved products have slowly started to make their way back into stores. In fact, I've noticed that most of these new and improved chewy bars, even feature a sample bar of one of the decadent bars. Whoohoo!

But lets get to the new Chewy bars, and my verdict on the new recipes, shall we?!

Cocoa Loco. I am loco for cocoa.

Sorry, had to do it.

This flavors improvement claim is that it has even more chocolatey deliciousness then before. 

When I received these bars, I just happened to have one of the "old" bars on hand, so naturally a side by side comparison was made. Sure enough, the new bars appeared to have more chocolate chips, and had a much more enhanced sweetness to the chocolate bar. 

New bar beat the old bar, hands down.

(not to say the old bar was not good, because it totally was. The new bar was just better ;)

SunButter Crunch was next.

Its claim is that it now features ancient grains.

 Which, I mean-did it not have those before? I don't really know.

I had tried this bar flavor for the first time when I last reviewed these bars. Upon trying them, I declared them my new favorite bar. I don't feel like the bars with the new recipe taste much different. Which is a good thing, because I like them just the way they are.

But yay for ancient grains, right?

Now, the Mixed Berry bars.

This flavor is what I found to be the most improved, hands down.

Previously, this bar had not been my favorite. It was kind of bland, with just bits of berry pieces that kind of reminded my of cough syrup. No longer. 

the WHOLE bar now tastes berry-tastic, and it has plenty of real berry pieces that taste sweet and chewy.

It is also the flavor that all my stores seem to carry, so I'm glad it tastes so good.

Caramel Apple is last but not least, 

I also quite enjoyed the changes in this bar. 

It seems to have a more enhanced cinnamon flavor, and tastes like a wonderful fall day.

Too much?

But really, the bar of the bar has much more flavor, and it still has those perfect little apple pieces.

So my gluten free friends, 

Now you have it. 

Enjoy Life's new and improved Chewy bars, are both new and improved.

Check them out now, at your local grocery store!

And check out the Enjoy Life Website for other products, recipes and coupons!

Also, read my other review on Enjoy Life products, here.

Enjoy!