Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe with Gluten Free and Whole Wheat options.....



Bakery style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Take these to a potluck and EVERYONE will ask for the recipe.....gluten free or not these are out of this world!!

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Don't worry there are both Gluten Free AND Whole Wheat options so this cookie will work for anyone!!
These cookies are the perfect cookie.......lightly crisp on the outside....nice and gooey on the inside!
My husband has had a rough few months at work and food has unfortunately become a comfort for both of us.......my weight has gone up and yet.....the comfort and seduction of chocolate has just been too strong!  This is one reason why I have started the Beck Diet Solution...in an effort to regain control of my dietary choices.
My husband took a pay cut to take this current job because they indicated that they would promote him to a sales position within the first year as my husband has 15 years sales experience!  Well, unfortunately due to very unfortunate circumstances he was passed over for the promotion and it has put us in an extremely difficult financial situation!
He came home after a difficult day at work and the only way I could  think of cheering him up was to make some amazing chocolate chip cookies!  I couldn't have even imagined how wonderful these cookies would turn out!
My daughter has been BEGGING me to let her review these cookies on the blog!  She keeps asking....when are you going to post about the cookies?  Well, I decided to hurry and get the recipe on the blog so she could post about them.
**Disclaimer:  These cookies will not take away your stressful or painful situations......but they certainly will help you drown your woes temporarily!
I want to make this cookie recipe so that everyone can enjoy it, whether gluten free or not so I have put whole wheat chocolate chip cookie adjustments for those who don't need to be gluten free.
K's Review of the Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hey y'all peaceful kitchen lovers! :)  These cookies were HEAVENLY!  These were the BEST cookies chef mom has ever made! :)  I only had 7 of them! :P
My husband said that these cookies were amazing for gluten free or otherwise and he actually HID them in the cupboard so he could sneak them off to work!  Yep, they were that good!
Gluten Free Bakery Style Chocolate Chip Cookies
with a whole wheat cookie option.....




Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Option



Saturday, March 23, 2013

Kid Friendly Salad Recipe......Think BBQ and Ranch!

BBQ Ranch Salad Recipe!!


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I served this delicious salad for dinner a few nights ago and the kids LOVED it!  My husband said it was the best salad he had ever had!

You can't go wrong mixing BBQ sauce and Ranch dressing together in the same recipe.

This delicious recipe would be the perfect salad for a summer BBQ or to grace the table at your next potluck, I guarantee you will get many recipe requests with this one! 


Lately I have been creating in the kitchen constantly.....I'm on a good roll and that doesn't always happen.  It has made my weight loss goals fairly difficult to achieve though.  I am constantly battling the strong desire to keep eating and eating and eating even though I'm full and that is NOT conducive to losing the last 5 pounds or so that I have wanted to lose.  Yes, I gained the typical 'Holiday weight' this year and I have been struggling to get it back off.

The absolute BEST program I have found for emotional and compulsive eating is The Beck Diet Solution!  It actually helped me lose the weight I had been trying to lose for years and quite quickly as well.  The book warns not to quit early but to finish the WHOLE program.....well of course me, the biggest impatient short-cutter ever quit once I met my goal weight I quit.  Exactly as the book said, I had not got my new habits down completely and fell back into my old ones!  Stupid, stupid, stupid.....I should NOT have done that....I was warned!

So starting on Monday I will be beginning the Beck diet solution again, it does not really prescribe any specific diet it is more about learning habits that prevent over-eating and other bad habits surrounding food.   Anyway, I may  post from time to time on my progress so you can benefit from seeing how I am doing with this program as I know emotional eating is such a common problem.

Friday, March 22, 2013

Vegan Pizza Night.....With a Twist

Roasted Rosemary and Butternut Squash Pizza


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Surprisingly this different twist on pizza was a HUGE hit with my kids!  It turned out beautifully!
I have so much butternut squash just laying around and it needs to be used so I came up with this really fun pizza idea.  I had no idea how this was going to turn out........But I took the risk!

A delicious combination of white cheese, rosemary, butternut squash and veggies.....

I made my own whole grain gluten free pizza crust and it actually turned out really good!  I made it with brown rice flour, potato starch and teff flour which gives it that whole wheat look.  I had extra butternut squash slices so I roasted them with the pizza and we dipped them in marinara sauce.......you would not believe how delicious roasted rosemary butternut squash is dipped in marinara!  Wow...we loved that!

It was like a very healthy twist on fries!


K' Thoughts on Roasted Rosemary Butternut Squash Pizza.....

Hey guys!  It's K again!  :)  Oh that pizza was glorious!!!  And the crust was amazing!! That is absolutely the BEST gluten free pizza I've ever had!!  Thanks for making it mom!  Love you!  :)


I had no idea how silly 13 year old girls could be until I had one :-)...... I was really surprised that K liked the pizza because he is VERY picky about her pizza....she usually just likes sauce, olives and cheese sauce so I didnt' expect much out of her.....much to my surprise she actually liked it and went back for seconds.

The flavors in this pizza works so well, they were fantastic!

C's thoughts......

best pizza in years the crust was very soft like gluten pizza and it would be great with root beer


My son and my hubby LOVE root beer.....and I'm not talking about the HFCS crap in the grocery store either.  

My husbands all time favorite Root Beer would have to be Virgil's Root Beer, my son likes the Virgil's Cream Soda....we had that earlier this week...well I had a sip anyway and Oh My that stuff it fabulous!  It isn't made with chemical garbage it is actually made from the natural herbs that root beer was originally made with!  Mmmmm nothing like natural flavors.

In this house you can't have pizza without cream soda or root beer!!!  I also like that they have stevia sweetened root beer and cream soda as well, we buy those most often although the BEST flavors are in the originals.



Monday, March 18, 2013

Move on over Cinnabon.....Amazing Gluten Free Cinnamon Bun Recipe!!!

Celiacs Dream Come True.......

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Gluten free can be extremely difficult, especially when it comes to yeasted breads!  Most gluten free yeasted products are either crumbly or so chewy they don't even remotely resemble anything edible in my opinion!!  I have spent the last 2 1/2 years trying to create a gluten free cinnamon roll recipe.....I've had MANY abysmal failures and some fairly good results but nothing that I felt worthy of being called a cinnamon roll........until yesterday!!!

Oooey, Gooooey, delicious, moist cinnamon rolls!  These were absolutely fantastic!  

In full disclosure and all honesty these are not quite as soft textured as gluten containing cinnamon buns.....but they are close!

It took a lot of contemplating about how to get a soft, moist texture but still be able to roll the things out, because most gluten free bread dough is more of a batter than a dough, so when you get a batter consistency just thick enough to roll out.....you get BRICKS!  

With a little ingenuity and creativity I was able to get a dough that was soft, pliable, rose nicely and made delicious cinnamon buns!  FINALLY!!  I almost gave up, this was honestly going to be my last attempt.

K's thoughts on the Cinnamon Buns.....



Hey, i'm here again! :) Those cinnamon buns were heavenly!  I ate 3 of them before mom stopped me!  I could have them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert and not be bored of them!   Thanks mom for making them!  That was one of your BEST recipies ever!     :)
Love, K


C's thoughts on the Cinnamon Buns.....





If you are in the mood for sugar, this is the recipe for you, I love  them!! 

I guess I am a living example of the mantra.....NEVER GIVE  UP!!

My whole family really enjoyed these cinnamon rolls and I was satisfied that I had finally conquered one of the hardest recipes I have ever tried to create.  I tried to take pictures of the process so you could see how to make them....but alas my camera was out of batteries....so frustrating!  So I don't have a pic tutorial as I had planned to have but I will try to explain it......

If any of you struggle getting the details of the recipe right let me know and I will gladly make them again with my camera on full battery and do a tutorial!



Thursday, March 14, 2013

The Beginning of Irish Week...........


Introducing The First Irish Week Recipes....

Cabbage Rolls


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These were super simple to make and my family really liked them.  I looked at a lot of cabbage roll recipes and learned that they are supposed to be quite simple and basic, the flavors are very mellow and unassuming and that is what I experienced with the recipe I came up with, however I think next time I might flavor the lentil mixture a bit more.

I thought I would share the picture with you but on the Facebook page no one seemed too excited about the recipe so I think I'll just leave it as a picture of the week instead.


Potato Farls


Okay first I must say that I DO  love my readers but seriously my followers on Facebook must be completely OUT OF THEIR MINDS!!!

This amazing Irish breakfast recipe got 3 likes, yep you read that right.....3 likes.  What is wrong with you people?  My kids absolutely LOVED these!!!  My husband loved these too we just couldn't get enough of them.   C even said he wanted them for his birthday breakfast and that is a huge deal in this house when you say you want it for your birthday meal!

We served them with a little salt and ketchup and they were fantastic. The ketchup is probably  not 'traditional' but we really liked it.

I think you could dress these up with many different toppings.......
Salsa
Sour cream
Guacamole
Ketchup
Serve topped with black beans and salsa

I realize those are not traditional toppings but you could have a lot of fun with these.

I'm not going to post the recipe here, but if anyone would like the recipe please contact me or post in the comments and I would be happy to send it to you.  If the recipe seems to be popular and a lot of people want it I will post it but for now I'll wait.


Shamrock Shake


This little number was a HUGE hit on Facebook........
I got an email about McDonald's Shamrock Shake recipe, I subscribe to all kinds of recipe emails to get ideas.

I thought, hey, I could make a healthy version of that for St. Patrick's Day.  I made this for my kids  yesterday as a snack and they both loved it.  This is a great way to get some leafy greens into your kids and they won't even care that this is green because it is supposed to be :-)  


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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Curried Quinoa Pilaf Recipe.......Delish!

Curried Quinoa Pilaf 


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Do not be fooled by it's common place appearance.....

This Quinoa Pilaf is a HUGE kid pleaser!

I had been frustrated that my kids were existing on peanut butter sandwiches and quesadillas with my cheese sauce......my daughter is so picky it is hard to get her to even think about eating anything else.  Hmmmmmm........what can I make that is healthy but the kids will actually eat?

Then I had that AH..HA moment and began creating.........The curried quinoa pilaf was born!

This delicious dish features a delicious mix of curry, nutritional yeast and spices, the quinoa and spices are sauteed to enhance flavor and then water is added and the quinoa mixture is simmered until the quinoa is light and fluffy.  

Much to my surprise and joy the kids came back for seconds.  When I asked them if they would like this for lunch again the response was a resounding.....YES!  SCORE!

This recipes is so very simple, it is quick to prepare you just sautee, add water, put the lid on and go about your business for 20 minutes and viola....lunch, add a salad and you've got a perfect meal.

I know my posts have been quite sparse lately, as I explained my computer was throwing tantrums and refusing to work!  Nobody could figure out what to do...........my techie brothers came to my rescue and they fixed it and it actually works better and faster than when the dumb thing was BRAND NEW!!

So....now I can post my recipes anytime I want to and it won't take 2 hours to do it either!  I am so grateful.

I've been contemplating adding some content to my blog.....

Meet the Fam

From Left to Right......C, Me, Hubby, and K

To protect their privacy on this public blog I will refer to my son as C and my daughter as K. 

 I will begin to  let the kids post their thoughts and ideas about each recipe so you can get a kids point of view!
I enjoy posting recipes but I realize that my readers really have no idea who I am....they don't know the 'Face' behind the blog so I thought it would be fun to add some fun facts, pictures and info about my crazy life.  I tell you my life is quite the roller coaster, in one year we lived in Utah, Tennessee and Virginia!!!  Yep....and a new move is on the Horizon which could bring either Utah or New York!  The adventures begin again.

Hopefully this will help you all get to know the 'Face' behind The Peaceful Kitchen a little better!


K's Thoughts on the Curried Quinoa Pilaf.....

"Hey!  I'm K!  I loved the Quinoa Pilof!!  It was delicious!  It was an awesome lunch to have!  I ate LOADS of it!  I would love to have it again!" 


C's thoughts on the Curried Quinoa Pilaf....

"It was one of the best things that I've ever had, my favorite part was the quinoa."

Okay, I did NOT tell him to say that, he really said that on his own but I will say he LOVES food so he isn't hard to please.



One Last Announcement.......

It is St. Patrick's Day this week.........I am doing an Irish Week making all kinds of fun Irish recipes for you so stay tuned and if you haven't joined the fun on Facebook already and want to see all the photos and fun Like The peaceful kitchen on Facebook

Mom's always ask me about nutrition.... 
So I will give you a nutrient breakdown of this dish so you can see how healthy it is.

Calculating per serving

Calories................345
Protein..............14g
Fat......................4g
Iron..................26%
Zinc...................24%
B6.....................30%
Calcium...............7%



Friday, March 8, 2013

Chickpeas & Gluten free Dumplings

Delicious Hearty Chickpeas and Dumplings

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Homemade Miso based broth filled with fresh vegetables, herbs and garbanzo beans make this a wonderful soup for a cool Spring evening....the delicious gluten free dumplings make this an over-the-top delicious meal!

I made the mistake of taking this picture AFTER dinner........
The problem with that is that hubby and kiddos LOVED the dumplings and ate almost all the dumplings with a little bit of soup.  I should have known better and picked the best looking dumpling for the pic instead of letting them gobble them all up first......lesson learned.
You can see the little dumpling that was left in the middle of the picture so you can atleast get an idea.   I should be posting more in the upcoming weeks as my computer is functioning better thanks to my techy twin brothers.   It should be back to full working condition on Sunday, Horray!
It seems every few months or so I get this recipe block as I call it and I feel uninspired and can't think of anything I want to make and then BAM all the sudden it comes flooding back and I make tons of recipes at once...well this week has been a craze of recipe creation so it should be interesting over the next couple of weeks as I catch up on posting them.
The dumplings in this recipe turned out delicious and cooked really well.  I learned from my first gluten free dumpling mistake that you do NOT want to use garbanzo flour in dumplings or your whole soup will be bitter.  These were nice and light and cooked all the way through.  I know this was a success because my kids went back for seconds.  My son will eat anything marginally edible and love it which is nice because that makes me feel good when I make food but my daughter has very refined taste and it must be absolutely delicious or she won't hardly touch it......she went back for seconds on this one!
I would tag this as a very kid friendly recipe and you can adjust the 'heat' in this as your palate requires.  I always err on the side of mild in the recipe so you can play with it as you like.







Friday, March 1, 2013

A Simple Yet Delicious Vegan Sheperd's Pie Recipe

Every Vegan Needs A Delicious Shepherd's Pie Recipe

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This delicious vegan Shepherd's pie features hearty lentils and vegetables in a thick vegan gravy topped off with rustic mashed potatoes baked to bubbly perfection.
I know what you are thinking.....every vegan Tom, Dick and Harry have a vegan Sheperd's pie recipe.  Well, that may be true but that didn't stop me from creating my own :-P
I love the fact that this Shepherd's Pie is extremely simple to make but it tastes fantastic.  My picky kids LOVED this and even my super picky daughter went back for seconds.  I must confess my family's favorite food of all time is mashed potatoes and gravy so the fact that this is a glorified version of mashed potatoes and gravy is certainly appealing to them.
I absolutely HATED Shepherd's pie as a kid!  Seriously, I was a picky kid and I did not like Shepherd's pie....now as an adult I have no idea why I didn't like it.  What's not to love?  Mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food....at least they are in my adult world :-)
I called this a 'Rustic' Shepherds pie because I did not peel the potatoes so it looks Rustic to me.  I prefer not to peel potatoes because  you lose some nutritional value when you do so.  Just inside the skin of the potato is the potassium ring and when you peel the potato you lose this.  I do have to peel potatoes sometimes to appease my picky family including my hubby but most of the time I do not peel the potatoes.
There are a few steps, but it is very easy to cook the veggies, lentils and potatoes at the same time....Don't let all the steps scare you off, it is really easy.
I could certainly make or more 'traditional' style Shepherd's pie with seasoned tempeh and a more complicated recipe but who needs that.....who doesn't love a yummy dinner that can be made quick!  Enjoy!