Recipes

Pumpkin Chip Muffins with Flax Seed

Hey you, don’t put the pumpkin away just yet! Yeah, I know Thanksgiving is here and the end of all things pumpkin season is upon us but I have one more really great recipe for you! The chocolate mint and Christmas cookies and candies can wait just a few more days. My Pumpkin Chip Muffins with Flax Seed are calling your name, saying bake me, bake me! Seriously they are.

Pumpkin Chip Muffins with Flax Seed | Country Girl Gourmet

My recipe is the product of me trying to find the perfect pumpkin muffin. I just couldn’t find a recipe that had everything I was looking for. So I took the best of several recipes and made my own recipe. As an added plus they are gluten free and they have flax seed which adds it’s own health benefits. They are full of fiber, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, may even help prevent some types of cancer and more! I sneak flax seed into many things I make for my family. Shh…don’t tell my kids. In addition to flax the muffins get a healthy boost from pumpkin which is full of vitamin A and other vitamins, along with carotenoids and potassium. Lastly I swap out the oil for applesauce to reduce some of the fat in the recipe. I do add chocolate chips (white or regular chocolate) because well it’s chocolate, who doesn’t like chocolate?

These muffins are the perfect thing for breakfast, to put in my kid’s lunches, after school snack or just whenever they are hungry and want a snack. My kiddos are always hungry so these muffins are whipped up often. Many times my kids are the ones helping whip them up because they are that easy to make. So what are you waiting for? Head to the kitchen and whip these muffins up! You will be happy you did!

Pumpkin Chip Muffins with Flax
 
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Ingredients
  • 4 Eggs
  • 1½ Cups Pumpkin Puree
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • ½ cup Applesauce or your favorite cooking oil
  • ¾ Cup Sugar
  • 3 cups Flour
  • ½ cup Ground Flax Seed
  • 1½ teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1½ Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum
  • 1 (heaping) teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon Ginger
  • ½ teaspoon Nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon Ground Cloves
  • 1 cup Chocolate Chips (white, semi-sweet, milk chocolate or dark chips)
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.
  2. Mix sugar, apple sauce, eggs. Add pumpkin and vanilla extract. In separate bowl mix together the Gluten Free flour, flax seen meal, baking soda, baking powder, xanthan gum, spices and salt. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.
  3. Fill muffin cups ⅔ full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

 

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter and Toasted Marshmallow

We are now less than a week away from Thanksgiving, are you ready? I’m sadly not cooking a feast this year so I don’t have a menu to share but that doesn’t mean that I can’t experiment a little to find tasty dishes for future Thanksgivings and/or holidays. So, I have been cooking and coming up with a few new (to my family) dishes that would be great on Thanksgiving  or anytime you are wanting something a little extra special.

We eat a lot of sweet potatoes in our house, they are a staple. My top ways of making them are baking and roasting and typically on holidays I make my sweet potato casserole. It is awesome, it’s even award winning,lol, but i’m keeping that recipe to myself for a bit longer. What i’m going to share with you is,Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter and Toasted Marshmallow. It  is simply awesome.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter and Toasted Marshmallow | Country Girl Gourmet

When looking at this recipe you may be thinking cream cheese and sweet potatoes, say what? I know, I thought the same thing. I never thought to mash sweet potatoes with cream cheese but guess what? It works and it makes them awesome. To make them even better just add browned butter and finish by giving them a spicy bite cayenne pepper. Oh and of course top with some toasty marshmallows. It is a flavor explosion in your mouth!

Outside of how great these taste the only thing better about this recipe is how easy these are to make while looking like you spent hours on them. While they do take a while to make that is because you roast the sweet potatoes and that takes time the rest is pretty easy. While your potatoes are cooling enough to handle you brown your butter. Once that is done set aside while you carefully split and scoop out you sweet potatoes. While you can use a hand masher I use a hand mixer to mash my sweet potatoes to help get some of the stringy fibers that can sometimes be found in sweet potatoes. Then all is left is refilling the sweet potato skins and to do this I use a piping bag to get it done quick and easy. Top with mini marshmallows  and bake until toasty. Then there you have it, a side dish that will make your guest go wow that looks amazing that will be soon be followed by it taste amazing too.

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter and Toasted Marshmallow | Country Girl Gourmet

So how are you making your sweet potatoes this year? Try Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter and Toasted Marshmallow and you and your family and friends won’t be disappointed!

Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes with Browned Butter and Toasted Marshmallow
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 sweet potatoes
  • sea salt to taste
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
  • ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 cup mini marshmallows
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Rub olive oil onto the outside of each sweet potato and sprinkle sea salt over each. Arrange sweet potatoes on the prepared baking sheet.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until a sharp knife easily pierces the potato, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool sweet potatoes until easily handled, 10 to 15 minutes.
  4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat until solids begin to brown and smell nutty, 5 to 8 minutes.
  5. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop insides into a large bowl. Add browned butter, cream cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper and mash using a potato masher until smooth. Spoon mixture back into the sweet potato skins and top each with ¼ cup marshmallows. Place sweet potatoes back onto the baking sheet.
  6. Bake in the oven until warmed through and marshmallows are toasted, about 10 minutes.

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Butterfinger Chunkies and How to Mail Them

It’s been almost 2 weeks since Halloween, do you still have candy? If you have some Butterfingers candy bars laying around I have an awesome cookie recipe for you, Butterfinger Chunkies. These cookies  have become one of my families favorite new cookies. It is full of peanut buttery goodness. First you have peanut butter, then some chopped peanuts and the icing on the cake is crushed up bits of Butterfingers. Can you say yum?

As I was making these cookies I was reminded of my husband’s last deployment and all the baked goods that I use to send him. He is the guy to be friends with while deployed. His last deployment I sent him delicious treats such as chocolate chip cookies with oreos in the middle and then there were the slutty brownies. He always had the good homemade stuff. These cookies would be perfect for a care package and that got me thinking about my best tips for shipping cookies. I have been asked more than a handful of times for tips so here are some of my best tips for shipping cookies.

Butterfinger Chunkies | Country Girl Gourmet

 Tips for Shipping Cookies

The best cookies to ship are easy drop cookies like these Butterfingers Chunkies or Chocolate Chip. Bar cookies and brownies ship wonderfully also. This isn’t saying that you cannot ship other cookies such as rolled out sugar cookies, they just need more care such as individually wrapping.

You want to package your cookies in an airtight container to keep them from going stale. If you have a vacuum sealer it is perfect for this but if you don’t, don’t fret. You can do a poor man’s vacuum seal. Simply place cookies in a freezer ziploc bag, seal bag except for a tiny area where you can insert a straw and suck out all the air. Remove straw and seal. I use the freezer bags because they are thicker and more heavy duty.

When packaging your cookies you can add a slice of white bread or a few marshmallows (yes, marshmallows!) to help keep your cookies soft.

Ship cookies in a box not a padded envelope.  The post office’s flat rate boxes are perfect. wrap cookies in bubble wrap and fill extra space in box with with popcorn, packing peanuts and/or used shopping bags. Used Target and Walmart bags are perfect for packing material.

 Shipping priority mail (2-3 days) is usually good but if you are  worried you can do next day. Fresh cookies are better than stale cookies after all. Pay attention to when you are mailing your cookies so they don’t sit in a post office over a weekend.   Another thing to remember is when mailing overseas it can take a week or two, sometimes longer.

So there are my tips for sending homemade cookies to your friends and family. Sending homemade goodies is an awesome treat that your friends and family will love receiving especially if you are sending them some Butterfingers Chunkies! I can’t wait to bake some up to add to some holiday care packages.

Butterfinger Chunkies | Country Girl Gourmet

What are your best tips for shipping homemade treats?

 

Butterfinger Chunkies
 
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Serves: 2.5 dozen
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Ingredients
  • ½ Cup Margarine (such as Imperial Margarine, I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, Country Crock)
  • ¾ Cup Sugar
  • ½ Cup Brown Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Cup Peanut Butter
  • 1 ½ Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
  • 1 ¼ Cup All Purpose Flour
  • ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • ¼ Teaspoon Salt
  • ¼ Cup Peanuts, chopped
  • 1 Cup Butterfingers, crushed
  • *All Purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend can be substituted for All Purpose Flour with the addition of ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum.
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a bowl cream together margarine and Sugar and Brown Sugar until light and fluffy.
  3. Add egg and combine well. Next mix in both Peanut butter and Vanilla Extract.
  4. In another bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add Flour mixture to creamed mixture, mixing well.
  5. Stir in chopped peanuts and crushed Butterfinger pieces.
  6. Drop cookie dough by rounded 1 ½-2 Tablespoon scoops onto parchment lined cookie sheets.
  7. Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until golden.
  8. Cool on wire cooling rack
  9. Enjoy, sharing with friends and family!

recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com

Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño, and Bacon

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NaturallyCheesy #CollectiveBias

Welcome November! Here in NC we welcomed November with some mild temperatures and rain. The weather here has actually been so mild that my pepper plants in my garden are still producing like crazy. It’s a good thing that we like spicy food around here because i’ve been adding them to everything that I think they would be tasty in.  I have been thinking of some different ways to use them and remembered when I made Jalapeño Cheddar Beer Bread in the past and I thought to myself why not cornbread. All of the flavors go together really well so why not and to kick it up a notch I added bacon too. Cornbread with Kraft Natural Cheddar Cheese, jalapeño and bacon, what is there not to like? Sounds like the perfect comfort food mix to me!

Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño and Bacon | Country Girl Gourmet

I headed up the road to Walmart and picked up some yummy Kraft Natural Cheddar Cheese then hurried home to start creating.

Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño and Bacon

I went to my garden and picked a couple peppers and got to work and created Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño and Bacon. The recipe was pretty simple. It was a mix of different recipes I have used in the past. I used both cornmeal and corn in this cornbread and incorporated in the jalapeño, bacon and Kraft Natural Cheddar Cheese creating some delicious muffins.

Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño and Bacon | Country Girl Gourmet

 

To start I mixed my dry and wet ingredients together and then I incorporated in the corn, jalapeños,bacon, and Kraft Natural Cheddar Cheese.

Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño and Bacon | Country Girl Gourmet

Once well combined I filled a well greased muffin tin and filled the cups 2/3-3/4 full.

Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño and Bacon | Country Girl Gourmet

I then baked the muffins in a preheated 400F oven for 20 minutes.

Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño and Bacon | Country Girl Gourmet

They looked beautiful! I couldn’t wait to try them but I let them cool down a bit before we dug in.

Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño and Bacon | Country Girl Gourmet

The muffins were a huge hit with my family and I can’t wait to make them again for my parents and sister when they come down for one of our monthly family meals. I think they will love them as much as my husband and kids do. I am thinking that I just may have to add these cornbread muffins to my holiday dinner menus they were so good! The muffins are also the perfect side for all the super yummy soups and stews that are made in the cooler months. The combination of yummy cornbread mixed with bacon and cheesy Kraft Natural Cheddar Cheese and the heat of Jalapeño makes these muffins a yummy comfort food must have.

What is your favorite cheesy recipe? Looking for more Cheesy inspiration take a look HERE! 

Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño and Bacon | Country Girl Gourmet

Cornbread Muffins with Cheddar, Jalapeño and Bacon
 
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Serves: 12
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Ingredients
  • ½ Cup Cornmeal
  • ½ Cup All Purpose Flour
  • ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
  • ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 Egg
  • ¼ Cup Sour Cream
  • ¼ Cup Milk
  • 2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine, melted
  • 1 Cup Cheddar Cheese
  • 1 Cup Corn (Fresh, Canned or Thawed Frozen)
  • ½ Cup Bacon, Chopped into Pieces
  • 1-2 Jalapeños, Seeded if desired and diced
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F
  2. In a bowl combine dry ingredients- Cornmeal, Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt, and Onion Powder
  3. In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients- Egg, Sour Cream, Milk, and melted Butter.
  4. Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until combined. Next add in Cheddar Cheese, Corn, Bacon and Jalapeño and incorporate well.
  5. Place cornbread batter in greased muffin pan, filling cups ⅔-3/4 full.
  6. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until done.

 

Smothered Pork Chops

Today is Lil Misses 9th birthday! My little girl is growing up so fast! She is the total package, she has both brains, beauty and she is one heck of an athlete. She is my all american girl.

Lil Miss | Country Girl Gourmet

Since it is her birthday she gets to pick out what she wants to eat for her birthday dinner and of course she picked out one of her favorite things to eat. No not pizza, cheeseburgers or chicken nuggets. She wants pork chops and polenta. Yes, she has grown up tastes when it comes to food. So I thought for today in honor of her birthday I would share one of our new favorite pork chop recipes, Smothered Pork Chops from Swanson®.

Smothered Pork Chops | Country Girl Gourmet

I discovered this recipe through my work with Allrecipes as one of their brand ambassadors, Allrecipes Allstar. Last month my assignment was working with Swanson Broth. The recipes I made were great and the other Allstars had great things to say about the recipes they were trying out. So I tried out a few more recipes and wasn’t disappointed when I came across their Smothered Pork Chop recipe.

I will say I did not follow the recipe as written, I used chicken broth instead of beef. I know the horror,lol. The pork chops turned out perfect with my substitution  and I have made them more than once. One of my favorite things about the recipe is the gravy. It does not use a can of cream of yuck and it is gluten free. That is a big plus for me.

Try them for yourself. You won’t be disappointed! Heck, use the beef broth too if you have it around.

What is your favorite way to make pork chops? 

Smothered Pork Chops | Country Girl Gourmet

4.6 from 7 reviews
Smothered Pork Chops
 
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Ingredients
  • 1¾ cups Swanson® Chicken or Beef Broth
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 6 (5 ounce) boneless pork chops, ¾-inch thick
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves
Instructions
  1. Stir the broth and cornstarch in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth. Season the pork, if desired.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook for 5 minutes or until well browned on both sides. Remove the pork from the skillet.
  3. Heat the remaining oil in the skillet. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes or until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute, stirring often.
  4. Stir the broth mixture and dijon mustard in the skillet. Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens.
  5. Stir chopped fresh rosemary leaves into the thickened broth mixture
  6. Return the pork to the skillet. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the pork is cooked through.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Faux Cookie Dough Dip

I have a few vegan friends so my Facebook feed is often filled with things made with or from chickpeas. Seriously chickpeas can be turned into anything! They aren’t just for hummus anymore. I have seen recipes for everything from chickpea burgers to chickpea buttercream and other sweet treats. I’ve really been wondering how in the world in the world the chickpea does it. Yet alone how do all these chickpea creations taste. So I jumped right on into the deep end of chick pea recipes, Faux Cookie Dough Dip.

Faux Cookie Dough Dip | Country Girl Gourmet

I think most people have memories of making cookies and eating bites of the cookie dough but never too much because of the raw eggs. It’s the best part of making cookies; it’s classic comfort food. With faux cookie dough dip I have found the perfect solution to having cookie dough and being able to eat it without much worry of salmonella or the calories. There is no egg, no butter and no flour and the recipe can easily be made completely vegan if desired. Healthy cookie dough yes please! I am all about healthy substitutions and this dip was a winner!

Faux Cookie Dough Dip | Country Girl Gourmet

I know what you are thinking though, how in the world do you transform a can of beans into something sweet and delicious? I thought the same thing as I was opening my chickpeas but it works. I can’t tell you how other than chickpea magic. I threw my ingredients into my food processor and out came cookie dough deliciousness! My entire family loved the cookie dough dip and had no clue how healthy it really was, let alone it was made from chickpeas. The faux cookie dough dip pairs beautifully with apples. I loved it with a honey crisp apple while my daughter enjoyed her’s with a granny smith. Then again you could skip the apples and just dig into it with a spoon. I wouldn’t judge you if you did, i’d probably ask where is my spoon? Can I have some too?

Do you cook with chickpeas? What is your favorite chickpea recipe?

Faux Cookie Dough Dip | Country Girl Gourmet

Faux Cookie Dough Dip
 
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Ingredients
  • 1½ cups cooked chickpeas
  • 6 tablespoons brown sugar
  • ¼ cup nut butter (peanut butter, almond butter,etc.)
  • 3 tablespoons oats
  • 1 tablespoon milk (dairy,almond, etc.)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅓ cup chocolate chips (carob chips may be substituted)
Instructions
  1. Blend chickpeas, brown sugar, peanut butter, oats, milk, vanilla extract, salt, and baking soda together in a food processor until smooth; fold in chocolate chips

Recipe from Allrecipes.com 

Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower Mash

I’m a veggie girl. I have always been one. One of my grandma’s favorite stories about my childhood was eating dinner and me patiently waiting for everyone to be done and asking to finish the vegetables. Yeah, I was a weird kid. I loved all of those veggies that you hear of kids hating, broccoli, spinach, lima beans, cauliflower, and more. Even today, I have gone through vegetarian periods while my husband has been away. My husband on the other hand was anti-vegetable when we first married but has started to learn to love veggies now that he is in his thirties.  One of those vegetables is Cauliflower.


 Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower Mash | Country Girl Gourmet

I serve cauliflower on a regular basis in our house. Usually I serve it raw, steamed or roasted but sometimes I mash it. I always forget about how good cauliflower mash is and I was reminded again this month while working with Allrecipes and Swanson. This month one of my Allrecipes Allstar activities was to make, review and take pictures of various Swanson recipes and one of the ones I chose was their Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower Mash and I am glad I did. It was delicious and super easy to make!

Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower Mash | Country Girl Gourmet

It honestly couldn’t be any easier. You take a head of cauliflower and cut into florets add to a pot with garlic and chicken broth. For the broth, while I am a huge fan of making my own chicken broth sometimes I use prepared and Swanson now has unsalted broth which I loved! I’m not a fan of overly salted dishes. You have to let the flavor of the food come through and the unsalted broth does just that!

Once you have your ingredients in the pot bring it to a boil, cover, reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes, drain reserving broth and mash adding broth, butter and parmesan. You can also season with some salt and pepper and then voila you have an awesome and easy to make side dish in less than 30 minutes! Add it to some roast chicken and maybe some green beans or broccoli and you have yourself a delicious and nutritious meal.

Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower Mash | Country Girl Gourmet

What is your favorite way to serve Cauliflower? Have you tried it mashed?

Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower Mash
 
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Ingredients
  • 4 cups cauliflower florets
  • 1¼ cups Swanson® Chicken Broth
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
  1. Heat the cauliflower, broth and garlic to a boil in a 10-inch skillet over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover the skillet and cook for 15 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.
  2. Mash the cauliflower mixture in the skillet and stir in the Parmesan cheese and butter. Season to taste.

Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower Mash | Country Girl Gourmet

Recipe from Allrecipes.com

I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com. Products received from advertiser are only used for experienced-based reviews on Country Girl Gourmet. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of Country Girl Gourmet.

 

Heavenly Lemon Cake

While chocolate is heavenly there is something I like more than chocolate. Truth be told I never really liked chocolate until after I had my kids. Yes, it is true. Fruit based sweets have always been among my favorites. If we are talking about candy I will take Starburst and gummy candies over chocolate any day. Same with desserts, I just gravitate to the citrusy and berry filled desserts. Sorry chocolate but unless I have a craving I can do without you.
Among my favorites are all things lemon, lemon cookies, lemon bars, lemon meringue pie, lemon bread and lemon cake. If it were only possible to live on lemony sweets and not gain weight, my world would be perfect. Unfortunately though it isn’t possible even with all the running that I do but I am a firm believer in moderation. You can have anything in moderation. That is why this month I was excited to see a beautiful lemon cake on the list of recipes from Allrecipes of things they would like us to make. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to make it and I am so glad I did because it was lemony perfection. It is a easy to make cake that is packed with lemon flavor. My family tried it warm and cold. My preference was cold with a nice cup of black tea..and yes I ate a slice for breakfast.. don’t tell my kids. If you like lemon as much as I do I am sure this cake will be a winner in your house too!

Heavenly Lemon Cake

 

Heavenly Lemon Cake
 
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Serves: 12
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A dense and lemony cake perfect to have with tea.
Ingredients
  • Cake:
  • 1¼ cups white sugar
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
  • 3 lemons lemon, zested
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
  • Syrup:
  • ½ cup white sugar
  • 3 lemons, juiced
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a round cake pan with parchment paper.
  2. Beat 1¼ cup sugar and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth; beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well before adding the next egg. Stir flour, lemon zest,baking powder and zanthan gum into creamed butter mixture until batter is smooth; pour into the prepared pan.
  3. Bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes.
  4. Combine ½ cup sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes.
  5. Poke holes into the top of the warm cake and pour syrup over cake. Cool slightly before cutting.

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Easy Polenta

When I went gluten free over a year ago I had to redo how we did our meals and come up with some new dishes to include in our regular meals. One of those dishes was polenta. I had made polenta before and I liked it. I’m not quite sure why I never made it again. Maybe it was out of laziness and not wanting to go through all the steps of making it. Back then I made the polenta, then molded it and finally sliced and fried it up. That’s not how we eat it now though. Now I keep it simple, I serve it as is. No molding,slicing or frying.

Easy Polenta | Country Girl Gourmet

The actual creating of the polenta is easy. Your biggest concern is keeping your polenta from getting lumpy. That is pretty simple to accomplish though. Polenta is one of those foods that take a few extra minutes can mean all the difference in the world. When you add your polenta or cornmeal to your liquid you have to take it slow. You slowly pour and stir in your polenta instead of dumping it in. That is all. Stir on a regular basis and voila, lump free polenta. All there is left to do when it is done cooking is add butter and parmesan cheese. It really is an easy dish to make if you take your time.

Polenta has become a staple in our diet because it is just that good. I probably make it twice a month. It is one of my daughter’s favorite things to eat that she begs me to make. She is 8. Now how many 8 year olds do you know that ask for polenta for dinner? Try it for yourself and let me know what you think!

 

 

Easy Polenta
 
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Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup polenta or yellow cornmeal
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • ½ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
  1. In a large pot over medium-high heat, bring milk, chicken broth, and salt to a boil. Gradually whisk in polenta. Reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook 20 minutes, until creamy, lifting the lid and stirring every 3 or 4 minutes to prevent sticking. Remove pot from stove, stir in pepper and butter. Gradually stir in cheese. Serve.

adapted from Allrecipes.com 

 

Mini Chocolate Covered Berry Trifles for 2

So the other day I made brownies in my mini muffin pan and I overfilled the muffin cups. Have you ever done this? The majority of the brownies were ok but a several were overflowing. What’s a girl to do? Then I remembered a suggestion from a friend from many years ago, make a trifle. Easy enough right? I had the brownies, I had strawberries and a really easy recipe for chocolate pudding in a mug. Oh and of course some fancy sherbet dishes that would be perfect for mini trifles. I could totally make Mini Chocolate Covered Berry Trifles and win some awesome wife points at the same time. So I did and it was awesome.

Mini Chocolate Covered Berry Trifles for 2

Making a trifle is easy but when done right it can be quite the elegant dish that is perfect for any occasion.  For my mini trifles I started with the pudding. I made the chocolate microwave pudding and stirred in one tablespoon of berry jam (use your favorite strawberry, raspberry, etc.) after it was done cooking. I then set it in the fridge to cool. The freezer will also work if you are in a hurry but don’t forget it is in there! Once your pudding is made and cooled it is time to construct your trifle. I start with the brownies. For each trifle I used 2 mini brownies. If you do not have mini brownies, 2 two inch square brownies should work. Take one of the brownies and break it up and place in your serving dish. I have some pretty sherbet dishes I used. On top of your brownie I then layered 2 chopped strawberries. If your strawberries are small you may want to use 3. Raspberries would work well in this trifle also. Cherries would too! When you are done with the strawberry layer add half of the chocolate pudding mixture, about 1/4 cup.Then you add more brownies, then strawberries and finally your chocolate pudding mixture. My trifles were only 2 layers. I then covered and refrigerated my trifles until I was ready to surprise my husband. They were refrigerated 2-4 hours which allowed the flavors to meld. Before serving I topped the trifles with a sliced strawberry and some leftover berry buttercream but whipped cream would work in a pinch, along with a drizzle of melted chocolate.  The end result was a very happy husband. So happy that he ate his trifle and ate mine too! Well he was nice and let me taste it before he took it and gobbled it up and then asked if there was more.

I think I will be making mini chocolate covered berry trifles again. How about you? Are you a trifle fan? What are some of your favorite desserts?

Mini Chocolate Covered Berry Trifles for 2

 

4.0 from 2 reviews
Chocolate Pudding in a Mug
 
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A quick and easy chocolate pudding made in a mug.
Ingredients
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ (1 ounce) square semisweet baking chocolate (Chocolate chips will work)
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 dash salt
  • 1 dash vanilla extract
Instructions
  1. Place milk and chocolate in a 12-ounce microwave-safe mug or a 2-cup glass measuring cup.
  2. Microwave on High until hot but not boiling, 60 to 90 seconds. Stir to melt chocolate.
  3. Stir cornstarch, sugar, and salt together in a small bowl; blend into the milk mixture.
  4. Microwave on High for 30 seconds, stir, and continue to heat until mixture thickens and just begins to boil, about 15 seconds more.

 

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