Recipe: Banana Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins

You’re gonna want to make this muffin recipe. It’s good for breakfast, dessert, snack time, to have with coffee...

•

🍌Banana Pumpkin Oatmeal Muffins🎃

Vegan and Gluten-Free!

•

Adapted from Beat Bake Eat

•

Ingredients:

•2 overripe bananas, mashed

•1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

•1/2 cup brown sugar

•1 teaspoon baking soda

•1/2 teaspoon baking powder

•1/2 teaspoon salt

•1 teaspoon cinnamon

•1/3 cup cooking oil

•1 teaspoon vanilla extract

•1 cup flour (I used Pamela’s gf baking mix)

•1/2 cup old fashioned oats

•

•Preheat oven to 375*

•In a large bowl, combine bananas, pumpkin, and brown sugar.

•Add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and mix well.

•Stir in the oil and vanilla.

•Add the flour and oats. Do not over mix.

•Scoop the batter evenly into a 12 cup muffin pan.

•Bake for 18-20 min.

•

I think it would be yummy to also add chocolate chips or nuts!

•

Now, go make some yummy muffins!😋

Chocolate Cake-- that your guests won't know is gluten free

I made this cake on Christmas Eve to serve for the Christmas Day meal that I cooked.  To be completely honest, I made this cake for myself.  I have food sensitivities and often can't fully enjoy traditional treats, because they'll literally make me sick and cause me to have a migraine that lasts two days or more.  I wanted to be able to have a yummy dessert that I could eat without worrying about how it would make me feel.  I did choose to alter a traditional recipe rather than making a "gluten-free" recipe dessert so that no one would notice it was gluten free.  I wanted it to taste like a regular cake and not having anyone guessing it was gluten free.

You can use regular flour, or you can make it gluten free, which is what I did.  This is a rich, dark chocolate cake.  The cake itself is almost a brownie texture with the potential to stick to the roof of your month.  One of my complaints with cake is most of them are dry, flaky, and boring.  Not this cake.  The icing is equally delicious.  I was tempted to just eat it out of the bowl by itself.

I'd like to make this again but experiment by making it dairy free.  I'd like to replace the eggs with flax or chia eggs.  I would also substitute the milk with almond milk.  I always cook with almond milk, but this time around I actually used 2% milk since I was serving it to other people and wasn't sure how the almond milk would do.  I would also like to substitute the white sugar with coconut sugar.  That will alter the flavor but will be gentler on my body.

This isn't a cake for people who don't like chocolate.  This is a cake for chocolate lovers.  I would name it Death by Chocolate Cake and make mini chocolate candy headstones to set on top surrounded by crumbled Oreo cookies (freshly dug graves, duh) if I was making this around Halloween instead of for Christmas dinner 😂.

I hope you enjoy this decadent cake!

Death by Chocolate Cake
adapted from "Especially Dark" cake and frosting recipes on back of Hershey's Dutch Cocoa package

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups Pamela's gluten-free flour
• 3/4 cup Hershey's Special Dark Dutch Processed Cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup oil (I used sunflower oil)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease two 9 inch round pans.  I then lightly sprinkled cocoa powder on the greased pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.  Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Stir in boiling water.  Pour batter into pans.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool 10 minutes then remove from pans to wire racks.  Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting (or let's be real, I call it icing):

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 2/3 cup Hershey's Special Dark Dutch Processed Cocoa (I used half Hershey's Cocoa and half Sunflower brand cacao.  Cacao has super power nutrients and makes the icing taste even darker.)
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk

Melt butter.  Stir in cocoa/cacao.  Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency.  Add small amount of additional milk if needed.  Frost the cake!

This cake isn't overly complicated, and it's worth every bit of work!  I'm definitely going to make it again soon!

Note: If you want a little different (not so dark) chocolate cake, give this one a try.

Crispy Cheesy Chicken (Gluten Free!)

I see all kinds of recipes on Pinterest that look delicious but include ingredients full of gluten.  Uh!  Not acceptable!  Instead of feeling sorry for myself for not being able to batter my chicken with Ritz crackers or cover it with cream of chicken, I'm bound to find a GF solution.

Here is a solution for all those recipes floating on Pinterest about crispy and cheesy chicken.

-Get a bowl of milk, bowl of shredded cheddar cheese, and bowl of gluten free crackers (see below).

-Dip the chicken in the milk, then cover it with cheese, then cover it with crackers.

-Place it in a pan (spray the pan with cooking spray first).

-Bake for 25-30 minutes at 425 degrees, turning the chicken halfway through baking. (I used boneless, skinless chicken strips).

I used Pecan Nut-Thins crackers and put them in the food processor to use them as batter.

Yay for solutions!

Say hello to the Pinterest broccoli that I make weekly!  It makes a regular guest appearance in cooking posts!

HEALTHY Desserts!

I am so glad that someone told me about Chocolate-Covered Katie!

She has a ton of gluten free recipes, and everything she makes is vegan.  Oh, and in case you couldn't tell by the title of the blog, every recipe has chocolate in it!  That's my kind of blog!

I made Katie's Deep Dish Cookie Pie, and will definitely be making it again!

There's no flour in it and no dairy.  You'll have to go to her page to check out the ingredients-- you'll be surprised!  But I guarantee you won't care what it's made with once you taste it!

The best part (besides the chocolate): The pie has around 200 calories per slice as opposed to 700 calories for a traditional deep dish cookie pie.  These pieces are huge, and I usually fill up before I can finish a slice. 

Go check out her page.  You can thank me later ;)

Boneless Buffalo Wings (GLUTEN FREE--YAY!)

If you're not gluten free, you're still going to want to try this out!

For those of us that can't have gluten, missing out on breaded chicken can be frustrating.  And breading your own chicken at home can sometimes be a let down, because the flour doesn't always stick to the chicken.  So don't use gluten free flour.  Use cornstarch!

-Cut up 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts into bite size pieces

-Batter them with cornstarch (it sticks evenly to the chicken without needing to bathe it in butter or eggs)

-Drop the battered chicken into a skillet of hot oil

-Cook till golden brown

-Sit the cooked chicken on a paper towel to drain any oil

-Toss with buffalo sauce (I just bought some at the store!)

I served it with baked broccoli to even out the fried chicken ;)

I'm loving this recipe!

Lentils, Lentils Are Good for Your Heart...

I love beans.  Which I was embarrassed to admit growing up, because apparently kids aren't supposed to like beans.  And if you're a kid and you eat beans in front of other kids, you will likely hear "beans, beans are good for your heart...".  You know how it ends.

One bean I somehow had never tried was lentils.  I had them for the first time this week.

I'm not sure how I hadn't had these before.  They're cheap, easy to fix, and taste good.

If you're looking for a good lentil recipe, try this one from Real Simple.

I had to make a few substitutions to fit what I had in the fridge and pantry:

curry paste instead of curry powder

no bay leaf

vegetable stock instead of broth

spinach instead of arugula/watercress

pre-cooked smoked sausage

This makes a large portion.  I'm going to see if it freezes well (I'm all about freezing leftovers for an easy meal later!).

What's even better than the amount that it makes for such a cheap price is that it tastes really good, and it's hearty!  It's Colin approved.

Why eat lentils?  They're apparently amazingly good for you!

Don't take my word for it!  Check out these sites:

9 Reasons to Love Lentils
Livestrong
Livestrong Again- They really love lentils!

Katie's Potato Soup

About a month ago, I went to have lunch at my friend Katie's house.  She made a potato soup that was delicious!

It's been chilly here this week, and I wanted some of that soup for dinner this week.  I texted Katie and asked for the recipe.  When I went home at lunch, I hadn't heard from her yet, so I went ahead and made it the best I could remember.

When I got back to work, I had an email from her with the recipe.  So, here's Katie's recipe for potato soup:

Ingredients

green onion diced (I use around 5)

block of cream cheese

2-4 cups of diced potatoes (we like ours chunky)

1 can chicken broth

2 cups of milk

1 package of real bacon bit pieces

Put bacon in pot and heat until it starts to shed some of the grease.
Add onion and saute a little bit.
Next pour in chicken broth and milk.
Add cream cheese and let the cheese melt.
Finally add potatoes and cook on low until they are tender.

Top with cheese, sour cream, gluten free croutons etc.!

She added the gluten free croutons for me ;)

So, remember that I said I didn't have her full recipe when I made mine?  Here's how I threw it together:

-Sliced the potatoes

-2 cups of vegetable broth

-2 cups of milk
-block of cream cheese

-5 strips of cooked bacon-- diced

-salt, pepper, garlic salt, onion powder, cayenne pepper (I like spice!)

-Threw it in the crockpot and cooked on high for 4 1/2 hours

-Put green onions in for the last 20 minutes of cooking

-Topped with shredded cheddar and sour cream

It tastes almost exactly the same both ways.  It just depends on what ingredients you have in the pantry that day!

This is a great winter meal, so make it before winter is gone!

PF Chang's Spicy Chicken (Gluten Free/Soy Free Option)

I love Chinese food.

Correction: I LOVE Chinese food.

So it's sad that a gluten and soy allergy keep me from my love.

No more buffet or take out for me :(.

There is a PF Chang's about 30 minutes from where I live, and they have a pretty good gluten free menu, but that's just too far and expensive to regularly fill the void!

I found a recipe online that is a knockoff of the PF Chang's Spicy Chicken, and it's pretty good!

I made a few changes to fit what I had around the house:
-garlic powder
-orange juice (instead of pineapple)
-soy sauce substitute

I cooked this two days in a row, because it's that good!
The first time I cooked the chicken on medium-high for about 15 or 20 minutes.
The second time I cooked on a higher temperature for a shorter amount of time, and the chicken was crispier (not pictured) which is my preference.

Serve it over some brown rice and add more chili sauce or soy sauce to your taste.

This will be a regular meal in our house now!

Crockpot Potato Soup

My best friend (the crockpot) and I made a pretty good potato soup last week.

Place these ingredients in the pot:
-3/4 cup chopped onion & 1 tbsp cooked together in the microwave for 1 minute
-2 1/2 tbsp flour (I used Pamela's gluten free flour)
-4 cups sliced potatoes
-1 1/4 cup milk
-3/4 cup vegetable broth
-1/2 cup water
-salt & pepper to taste

Cook on high for at least 5 hours

Scoop it in the bowl and top with:
-shredded cheddar
-green onion
-sour cream
-salt & pepper to taste

This is perfect for cool weather!

This makes about 2 1/2 servings, and Colin and I gobbled it up!

Dempsey Bakery (in iPhone photos)

Colin and I spent Saturday in Little Rock running errands.  I had a meeting with The Green Corner Store, and we decided to get some more things done while in town.

I was taking a picture of myself, and Colin unknowingly stepped into the mirror!

First stop: Dempsey Bakery

Dempsey Bakery is a new bakery that's entirely gluten free and soy free (two yay's for me!).
They also have dairy free items and vegan goods.

What I loved so much about the bakery is that they had samples out for you to try everything.
Everything!  So you didn't have to wonder if you would like it.

They had cookies, cakes, dessert rolls, breads, pizza crust, soup, chicken pot pie, more things than I can name!
They even had cake pops!  I don't have a picture to show you, because I ate it in about 2 seconds.  It was amazing!

I even love their packaging!

We got a pizza crust (which was so yummy!), rye bread (also delicious); Colin got a blueberry cake donut; I got a death by chocolate cake roll.

Everything was so good that I thought I was going to cry!  I haven't had cake since I found out about my allergies in July.  The last cake was my birthday cake, and I was too sick to even enjoy it.  The cake pop and cake roll made me so happy!  I've already told Colin that I want the death by chocolate for my next birthday cake!

If you're gluten free (or have various other food allergies), Dempsey Bakery is going to make your day!
If you don't have any food allergies, I still encourage you to visit them.  Everything tastes so good-- you won't care if it's missing the usual ingredients!

Thank you, Dempsey.

Now, how about opening a branch in Conway? ;)

Homemade Granola Bars (Gluten Free!)

One thing that's been tough to give up are convenient granola bars for breakfast and snacks.  But now I can make my own gluten free granola bars!

I found a recipe from Udi's and altered it a bit.  You can make these even if you're not gluten free.  If you are gluten free, just make sure all your ingredients are gf.  Two of my coworkers tried what I made and thought it was pretty good!

Ingredients:

-Bag of granola

-Cup of Fruity Pebbles

-1/2 cup of chocolate chips

-1/2 cup of peanut butter chips

-1/2 cup brown sugar

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/2 cup softened margarine

-1/4 cup honey

-1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix together and spread in baking dish (spray with Pam first)

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until crisp and easy to cut.

Mine were a bit soft, so I would cook them a little longer next time.  You'll just need to test it out with your oven.

But it's even good with a spoon!

Potato Potatah

I love potatoes.

So you can imagine my relief when I found out that they were one of the few things that I did not have to give up!  They're naturally gluten free!

Whoop-ieeeee!

We've been eating a lot of potatoes around the house.  I have to be careful about eating them out because they might have been seasoned or battered with something that has gluten in it.

Potato 1

I cut up some sweet potatoes, baked them, and made a drizzle to bathe them in.

Drizzle: mix of brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, milk (I didn't say that these potatoes were healthy!).

I think next time I would skin the sweet potatoes.  The skin isn't as yummy as regular potatoes and was too chewy.

Potato 2

I found this recipe for spicy tators and really liked the outcome.

Colin liked the outcome too...

(grilled pears are also on that plate...yum!)

I also found a gluten free recipe for my favorite dish-- hash brown casserole...I can't wait to try it!

What are some ways you like to liven up potatoes?

Homemade Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (gluten free too!)

These babies are so good you won't know or care that they're gluten free! (unless you need to care!)

The big thing I've noticed since having to go gluten free is that you can be really limited on sweets.

Now, that's a pretty good thing for the waistline.

But a sad thing for the taste buds.

So these were born.

You only need two main ingredients:

-chocolate (I used gluten free dark chocolate)

-peanut butter (I used gluten free extra crunchy)

Step 1:

Melt the chocolate

I don't have a double boiler, so I boiled some water in a pan with a glass bowl over it.  I added a splash of canola oil for the chocolate to melt nicely.

Step 2:

Spoon chocolate in to mold

I got this silicone mold in the dollar bin at Target around Valentine's Day.  They have these for about every season.  I also have muffin size silicone molds from Bed Bath & Beyond, but I thought muffin-sized peanut butter cups might be a little over the top!

You're going to want to pour only enough to coat the bottom with a thin amount of chocolate.  You have to leave room for the peanut butter filling and chocolate on top!

Give the molds a shake to even out the chocolate

Step 3:

Stick in the freezer to set

Step 4:

Add peanut butter filling

I scooped out a few tablespoons of peanut butter and zapped it in the microwave for about 30 seconds.  That way the peanut butter pours and levels out.

Try to keep the peanut butter in the center and not out to the edges so you can have a nice chocolate edging.

Stick in the freezer again to set.

Step 5:

Cover with chocolate

Fill the remaining of the mold with chocolate.  Give it a shake to make the chocolate level out.

Stick in the freezer one last time!

Step 6:

Pop treats out of the mold

Now you have delicious chocolate peanut butter cups!

I might be able to handle this gluten free thing after all ;)

Easy Peasy Spicy Black Bean Soup

This will be the easiest bean soup you'll ever make.  If you find an easier way, then let me know!

This recipe (although made before I went gluten free) could be gluten free if you double check your ingredients and make sure you don't get salsa or beans or seasoning with gluten hidden in them.

Ingredients
Can of black beans
Can of refried beans
Jar of salsa
Seasoning-- will depend on you, but I'll get to that in a second

Take the beans and salsa, throw it in a crockpot and add seasoning.

How spicy (or not) you like your food will determine what spices you use.

Here's what I used:

splash of olive oil for flavor and liquid

splash of water for liquid

garlic powder

onion powder

cilantro

salt & pepper

cumin

chili powder

Cook on high for an hour, then put the crockpot on warm and let it warm for a few hours.

I let it cook on high for an hour on my lunch break, and put it on warm when I went back to work.  It cooked for about 4 hours on warm.

That way the beans don't overcook.

When ready to eat, top the soup with shredded cheddar and sour cream.

Colin and I love spicy food, and we really liked this soup.  If you don't like spice, use a mild salsa and season accordingly.

This would also be a great party dip.  We threw tortilla chips in our bowl.

I got the idea for the soup from Real Simple but simplified it and used what ingredients I wanted to!

This will be a great winter soup, but I had to go ahead and try it, and we loved it even though it's over 100 degrees outside!  I hope you enjoy it too :)