Stuffed Peppers

These little guys are divine!

You'll need:
2c cooked rice
1 can Italian diced tomatoes
3Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 peppers
1/2c water
salt & pepper to taste
(You could also add 1/2lb cooked ground beef if you'd like)


Stir the rice, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce together in a bowl. Cut the tops off the peppers & remove the seeds. Cram the peppers full of the rice mixture. Set the peppers in your slow cooker and pour water into bottom.

Set on low for 8 hours.
Yum!

Cinnamon Breakfast Bites

I got this recipe from here and it's so good I've made it at least once a month since I discovered it. When my family come to visit, they ask for this every time!

You'll need:
1 can biscuits (I use Grands)
1/4c melted butter
1/2c brown sugar
1tsp cinnamon (I add 1/2tsp more)
1tsp vanilla
1 1/2c powdered sugar
2Tbsp milk

Spray your slow cooker with cooking spray and add the vanilla to your melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut the biscuits into quarters. Roll the biscuits in the butter then in the cinnamon mixture, making sure every inch is covered. Place the biscuits in the slow cooker. Cover the slow cooker with a paper towel then place the lid on top. The paper towel catches the condensation and prevents your rolls from getting soggy. ...Ugh, soggy rolls! Gross!

Cook on low for 2 hours. Mix powdered sugar & milk & pour over rolls when done.

Tex-Mex Calzones

I love spicy foods! I love easy foods! This is a perfect marriage of the two.

You'll need:
1 can pizza dough
1lb ground beef
1 green pepper, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1c shredded cheese
taco seasoning

Cook the beef, pepper, and onion. Drain. Add taco seasoning according to package directions.

Unroll pizza crust and cut into fourths. Top one half of each section with the meat and cheese. Fold over and seal edges.

Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until dough is done.

Gooey Butter Cake

I have a really hard time with sweets. Most have some form of corn and I can't have them. I really wanted a delicious birthday cake that I didn't have to worry about having a reaction to later. If the cake mix doesn't have it, the frosting does. It made celebrating my birthday a little bit of a hassle. I wanted an easy recipe that my husband could make without having to take all day or use 100 ingredients.

Paula Deen came to my rescue. But, as fate would have it, my oven stopped working 2 days before my birthday. We were able to find a sugar-free cake that didn't have corn syrup (it did, however, have maltodextrin, but I was just so tired of trying to find a cake I just said, "The heck with it") and I saved this recipe until after my oven was fixed.

I did make changes to Paula Deen's recipe because I don't love butter as much as she does and I wanted to make this a little healthier. (I said a little, don't get too excited.) Also, this recipe uses powdered sugar. If you're watching out for corn, be sure to read the ingredients on the package. Most powdered sugar contains corn starch.

You'll need:
1 box Lemon Supreme cake mix (no corn syrup or maltodextrin)

3 eggs

1 1/4 sticks of butter, divided

8oz cream cheese, softened

3c powdered sugar

2tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Mix cake mix with 1 egg and 3/4 stick of melted butter. It will be super thick and have the consistency of cookie dough. Press into a greased 9x13 pan.

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add 1/2 stick of melted butter and 2 eggs and beat. Add vanilla and sugar, one cup at a time. Pour onto cake.

Bake 40-50 minutes. It will be soft in the middle.

This recipe saved about 800-900 calories by eliminating 3/4 stick of butter & 1 cup of sugar.

Knock-off: McDonald's Iced Hot Chocolate

Before I found out I was allergic to corn, I practically lived on McDonald's Iced Hot Chocolate. It was the best stuff to go along with a breakfast burrito. Then they stopped offering it. Completely bummed me out.

Now, it's hotter than Hades around here when it's supposed to be winter! Maybe I'm just used to an Idaho winter and I'll be freezing my bum off like the rest of the folks around here come next year. However, I don't like to drink hot drinks when it's hot. Doesn't make sense to me. I got a hankering for an Iced Hot Chocolate, but wondered if I could figure out how to make it on my own. 

News flash: I did.

You'll need:

1 packet hot chocolate mix

1Tbsp chocolate syrup

1c milk

ice

optional: whipped cream

You may have to look around to find a corn-free version of these, but it's really not that hard. If I can find it in a little town in Idaho, I have faith.

Pour everything into a saucepan and cook on low until everything has dissolved and it's slightly warm. You don't need to boil it or anything.

Pour it over ice and stir. I'm not patient enough, but you can top with whipped cream if you like. I'm just 

ready to tear into that bad boy!

Easy Peasy Pasta

I love me some pasta! But here's the thing: sometimes finding sauce that's corn-free is kinda hard. Also, sometimes I just want a dinner that I don't really have to think about. I have a "regular" full-time job, a photography business I'm trying to grow, my husband works full-time, and he's in school. Sometimes I just don't have the time to cook! Plus, there are nights where we don't get home till after 9, but are hun-gry. Here's where this came in:

Looks good, don't it?

You'll need:
1/2tsp red pepper flakes
1/4c olive oil
1tsp jarred minced garlic
1/2c grated parmesan cheese
4oz cooked spaghetti

Cook the spaghetti according to box directions. Drain, add noodles back to warm pot, then add everything else. Eat.

That's it. Seriously.

Best of all, you only messed up 1 pot!

SODA MONTH: 7Up cake

Y'all, this is another recipe from Mawmaw :)
She makes this for all of her grandsons on their birthday. Sometimes she makes 2 depending on how many people show up. The grandsons fight over every morsel. And let me tell you, you don't want to get between them and this cake!

You'll need:
1 box lemon cake mix (this one doesn't have corn syrup)
1 box instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
10oz 7Up (or Sierra Mist to be corn-free)
3/4c oil

For the glaze:
1c powdered sugar (Trader Joe's has a corn-starch free version)
2Tbsp milk
1tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all the cake ingredients together & pour into a greased bundt cake pan. Wilton's Cake Release works magic, just saying. Cook for 45-60 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Let cake sit in pan while you mix the glaze. Whisk all the ingredients together to get all the lumps out. Turn cake onto plate & pour glaze on top.

YUM YUM!

SODA MONTH: Coca-Cola Roast

This is another recipe from Mike's grandma. Man, this lady can cook! A bonus to this recipe is that it's SUPER EASY!

You'll need:
a cooked roast
1/2c ketchup
2Tbsp mustard
2oz Coca-Cola (or diet if you're watching corn)

Mix the ketchup, mustard, & Coke in a bowl.

Pour over your roast & enjoy!

SODA MONTH: 7up Rolls

I decided a while back that I wanted to do something fun and make a month's worth of posts using sodas in my recipes!

The first is something I found on Pinterest. The link took me here, but I decided to use Sierra Mist since it's made with real sugar and not high fructose corn syrup.

You'll need:
1 1/2c sour cream
2c Bisquick (Bisquick Complete & Bisquick Gluten-free are corn free) + more for dusting
1/2c 7up or Sierra Mist
1/2 stick butter.

Heat oven to 400. Cut the sour cream into the Bisquick until crumbly. Add the 7up. The dough will be very soft.
Pour some Bisquick onto the counter, pour the dough on top, and then pour more Bisquick on top of the dough. Flatten the dough and cut into 9 rolls.This is where I went rogue. I melted the butter in the microwave, used the butter to grease a muffin pan, then placed the rolls in the muffin pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I will warn you, these are only good when freshly made. Don't make them too far ahead of time because the rolls get a little....funky once they've cooled.

Mawmaw's Meatballs

My husband's grandma can cook! She's the stereotypical Southern woman: gets her hair done every Thursday, goes to church every Sunday, spoils her grandkids (and their kids too), and has the accent to boot! My own grandmas passed away a long time ago and I tend to think of her as my third grandma. Everyone who knows her calls her Mawmaw. In fact, I was told to call her that the first time I met her. She's been "Mawmaw" to me for 9 years now.
Back to the fact she can cook--and I mean cook! There's a difference in the South: you can cook. Or, you can cook! The difference is one means you have the ability--you can follow a recipe, your food tastes decent, and people ask you to bring "something" to a potluck. If you can cook! you know recipes by heart, people go back for seconds and thirds, and people ask you to bring a certain dish (for my mom it's her banana pudding, for my aunt it's her potato salad) to the potluck.

These are Mawmaw's meatballs:

Divine!
You'll need:
1/2lb ground beef
1 onion, diced
1tsp diced garlic
1/2 sleeve of saltines
1/2 jar chili sauce
1/2 jar grape jelly
2Tbsp butter
1 egg yolk
3Tbsp oil

Brown the onion and garlic in the butter until nice and brown. Meanwhile, put the saltines in a food processor until they're just crumbs. Put the beef, onions, garlic, and egg yolk in the food processor. Pulse until all mixed together. Form the meat into balls and place in a pan with oil.

Cook the meatballs on each side until brown, but not done. Pour in the chili sauce & jelly.

Cover and cook on med-low for 20 mins, stirring occasionally to make sure the jelly breaks up.

We serve it over rice with the sauce poured over it.

Lemon "Brownies"

Do you know how hard it is to find corn-free foods? Trust me, it's hard. The first time we went grocery shopping after our "discovery" we were there for 3 hours! Obscene. Finding snacks I can eat is even harder. Desserts? Fugitaboutit.

All of that being said, I have a serious love affair with brownies. I could eat them all day, ya know, if they didn't have all that corn syrup in them. I did find a recipe though that caught my attention at Becky Charms. Worth a shot.

You'll need:
3/4c AP flour
3/4c granulated sugar
1/4tsp salt
1/2c softened butter (preferably unsalted, but I didn't have it on hand & they were still delicious)
2 eggs
6Tbsp lemon juice, divided-2 for the brownies & 4 for the glaze
1c powdered sugar (powdered sugar can contain cornstarch if you're not careful)
10tsp lemon zest, divided-2 for the brownies & 8 for the glaze

Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8x8 pan.
Beat the flour, granulated sugar, salt, and butter until combined. (A paddle attachment works better, but I don't have one.)
In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with 2Tbsp lemon juice & 2tsp lemon zest.
Pour the flour mixture in with the eggs and beat for about 2 minutes until smooth.

Pour into pan and bake 20-25 minutes, or until the edges turn golden and a toothpick comes clean. Take care not to overcook or they will be dry. Allow to cool completely.
Whisk the remaining powdered sugar, juice, and zest. Once brownies have cooled pour half of the glaze and let set before spreading remaining glaze.

I took a bite :)

Forgotten Chicken

I think by now you guys understand the love I have for my slow cooker. I've made this dish many, many times, but I tweaked it to accommodate my new allergy. I call it "Forgotten Chicken" for 2 reasons: 1) I can cook this when I forgot to take something out the night before to thaw for dinner and 2) it cooks unattended for a long time, like all day, so you can forget about it until it's time to eat.

Needed:
2 boneless, skinless frozen chicken breasts
1 can Rotel
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/4c taco seasoning
(I used to also add a can of white corn, drained)

Add everything to the slow cooker & stir to mix as well as you can. Set cooker to low for 8 hours.

Once you're back home from a long day at work, grab a couple of forks & shred the chicken. Stir again and eat. We used to serve it over tortilla chips. Now we eat it on flour tortillas with a little sour cream.

Now watch reruns of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.

Brownie Batter Pancakes

Let me preface by saying this: I did not like these pancakes. However, I realize everyone has different tastes & someone else might like them. I got this recipe from a friend who had them & loved them...I'm starting to question our friendship.

You'll need:
1/2c AP flour
1/2tsp baking powder
2Tbsp dutch processed cocoa
2Tbsp stevia plus 2tsp sugar
1/8tsp salt
3Tbsp oil (or use applesauce if you're counting calories)
2tsp vanilla
2/3c milk

Mix the dry ingredients together.

Add in the wet ingredients.

Cook as normal.

The entire recipe (if you use applesauce) has only 300 calories. My husband loved them, but I'm not a fan. Proceed with caution!

Mango Passionfruit Lemonade

I saw something on pinterest about a passionfruit lemonade Starbucks sells. I'm not a big Starbucks person because I don't drink coffee, but it looked good. I thought I'd give it a try with my own little spin on it.

First, some research. I wanted to make sure this drink was worth trying to imitate.

Yeah, it's worth it.

I used Tazo's Mango Passionfruit tea. I boiled 32 oz of water & steeped 5 tea bags in it.

Then I added 12 oz of Chick-fil-A's diet lemonade (I swear they put crack in that stuff) and 1 cup of sugar. You can use any sweetener you want though.

Why diet lemonade then use sugar? I'm allergic to corn & I'm never sure what drinks have corn syrup in it. It's just out of habit really that I ask for diet. And by all means, feel free to make your own, but why bother? You know the stuff Chick-fil-A sells is soooo much better.

Verdict: HECK YEAH! Make this stuff! It's a little different because of the mango, but I actually liked it better than the one I got at Starbucks. Shoot, even making a cup of the tea itself was worth the $2.12 I spent. Enjoy!

Strawberry Pancakes & Candied Bacon

My husband just celebrated his 32nd birthday! Yay! I made him a yummy breakfast of strawberry pancakes and candied bacon. The recipe for the pancakes came from Rachel Ray.

You'll need:
1 1/4c AP flour
2Tbsp sugar
2Tbsp baking powder
1/2tsp salt
1 large egg
1c milk
1/2tsp vanilla extract
2c thinly sliced strawberries

1/2lb bacon
2Tbsp brown sugar

For the bacon:
Line a cookie sheet with foil. Lay bacon flat and sprinkle with brown sugar. Cook at 350 for 12-16 minutes (depending on how done you like your bacon).

Once done, set aside.

For the pancakes:
In one bowl whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. In another bowl whisk together the egg, milk, and vanilla.

Whisk the contents of both bowls together until mixed well. Then fold in strawberries.

Cook over medium heat, as you would normal pancakes.

I served mine with whipped cream & more strawberries on top, but it's equally delicious with syrup or powdered sugar.
Happy birthday Mike!

Pretzel Treats

I'm gonna do a two-fer. Two treats, one episode ;)

Depending on the one you want to try, you'll need either Rolos & pecan halves or Hershey Hugs to go along with the pretzels. The squares work better than most pretzels. I've tried many kinds and this is best.

Lay the pretzels in a single layer onto a cookie sheet. Top each pretzel with a Rolo or a Hug.

Bake at 350 3-5 minutes. Top Rolos with pecan halves. Top Hugs with another pretzel.

Enjoy those little guys!