Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

February 21, 2012 By 10 Comments

These days not much makes me happier than finding an allergy friendly way to make an old favorite treat. A friend of mine discovered this recipe in looking for cookies to make that were Kristin-safe. They’ve quickly become a new favorite, I could eat the whole batch by myself no problem. I’ve made them so many times in the last couple months since I’ve had the recipe. I’ve been bringing them everywhere.

I’m not always very good at baking. I do better in the kitchen when I can make it up as I go along and not worry about exact measurements. However, these cookies are so easy that even I can make them.

Start by beating one egg in a mixing bowl.

Beaten egg

Add 1/4 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar, and mix.

Sugar

Then add to that 1 cup of peanut butter. I like to use Skippy natural because it’s made with only peanuts, palm oil instead of vegetable oil (soy-free), sugar, and salt.

Peanut butter

Form cookie dough into balls and drop onto a cookie sheet.

Dough balls

I like to press them down with a fork to flatten them, then turn the fork and press again to make a criss cross pattern. They taste more peanut-buttery that way!

Fork design

Then bake in a 350 oven for about 8 minutes. Maybe it’s my cookie sheet, but mine take more like 12 minutes to get a little crispy on the outside and stay soft in the center.

Finished cookies

Yum… these are so delicious!

1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg

Enjoy!

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Requested Brussels Sprouts

February 3, 2012 By 3 Comments

It was pretty unexpected that Jesse specifically requested brussels sprouts! He never stops surprising me with foods that he didn’t used to like that he now really enjoys. He’s usually pretty good about trying all the crazy new recipes I’m always finding, but the real test comes when I make it for the second time.

I almost always make a steamed vegetable or vegetable mix with dinner. I buy the steam-in-the-bag kind because we think they taste the best and they take no time to prepare… just throw them in the microwave as I finish up the rest of the meal.

The first time I made brussels sprouts I prepared them the way I do most of our veggies, with just a little garlic salt and some pepper. However, they tasted too plain. So, I thought I’d try them with some more flavor added. I used my “go-to” seasoning blend. I use this often and it seems to taste good on anything… diced potatoes, baked squash, why not brussels sprouts?

I microwaved the sprouts for just a few minutes to unfreeze them and soften them a bit.

Frozen sprouts

Then cut each of them in half, and toss them in a bowl with just a drizzle of olive oil (I use more olive oil on potatoes, but these are pretty watery, so they don’t need much).

Halved sprouts

Spread the sprouts out on a baking sheet and drizzle with honey, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a small about of chili powder.

Sprouts on baking sheet

Bake at 375 until done. We like the edges to be just a little crispy, maybe about 20ish minutes or so.

Finished sprouts

What do you think? Does this make brussels sprouts look any better to you?

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Paleo Pulled Pork

January 31, 2012 By 4 Comments

I found this recipe from Everyday Paleo. It’s so simple and delicious. It has so much flavor, you wont even think about needing to add BBQ sauce. Best of all… I literally threw this into the crock pot during a commercial break. It doesn’t get much faster than that!

Quarter two yellow onions and place in the bottom of the crock pot. Cover roast with dry spice rub, work it into the meat a bit.

Pork roast

Cover and cook on high for 5 to 6 hours and then turn down to low for another 3 to 4 hours, depending on the size of your roast (mine didn’t take quite that long), or until the roast is literally falling apart and easy to shred.

Cooked roast

Shred with a fork and put back into crock pot for a few minutes to soak up the cooking juices (I skimmed a little of the fat out first).

Pulled pork

Serve.

My (adapted from Everyday Paleo) rub recipe:

2 tbsps chili powder
2 tsps cumin
2 tsps onion powder
2 tsps oregano
1 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsps kosher salt

Enjoy!

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