Introducing Snowflake our elf!

12-12-12

We are so excited for the 12 days of Christmas and our Elf Snowflake is here! It took the kids 1 second to name her and she is a doll. Look what she did :0)

Nutcrackers in timeout I guess:)

All the Nutcrackers are showing us their bums!!

The kids were totally surprised and what a hoot. Nick read the letter she brought and we are off to a fun start for 12 days of Christmas with our Elf!

Meet Miss Snowflake 12-12-2012

Her Left hand is damaged and Paisley said, "Look mama, her hand is disabled" I said of sweetie, that  is so sweet of you to notice, I say we see how she handles a challenge and be thankful and blessed for our good hands!  She wanted to touch her so bad but held her hands behind her back and just stared at her every detail. So cute!

Energy Balls that Kids will eat

1 cup GF oats

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup peanutbutter

1/2 cup choc chips or craisins or raisins

1/2 cup flax ground

1 tsp GF Vanilla

Mic till forming a mass, then I used a ice cream scoop to form  the ball. So easy and store in zip-lock or Tupperware. They are better the next day once they have sat.

November 2012 Time Flies

Making Blueberry Muffins today for the swim meet in Jackson this weekend. These are great and you will not know they are GF.

I got this recipe from a friend and modified it to be GF. It is great with regular flour too!

I use my flour blend in place of regular in equal measurements. If it calls for 1 1/2 cups of regular flour I use 1 1/2 cup GF blend. I do not add Xantham  gum to the blend, some recipes do not need it and some need more so I add that each time it is called for.

Blueberry Muffins (or any fruit)

1 1/2 cup GF flour blend
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vege oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup berries

Mix dry then wet, fold in berries, top with crumbled topping.

Makes 10 muffins
Bake 400 degrees 20-25 minutes

topping 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Brown Bear & Salmon Cam - Brooks Falls - Bears - explore

Brown Bear & Salmon Cam - Brooks Falls - Bears - explore

Gluten free pizza crust made with Cauliflower :0)

Cauliflower Pizza Crust
.
Ingredients
.
1 Head of cauliflower (mine was a smallish head)
2 C shredded cheese divided (I used mozzarella, but any medium/hard cheese will work)
Italian seasonings (I used oregano, parsley, fresh garlic and some onion)
Pizza sauce or marinara sauce of your choosing
Toppings (we used crab, black olives and manwaring cheese)
.
Instructions
.
Grate your cauliflower or I used a vita mix and used setting one, use masher to get all flowered heads blended, Do NOT add water or anything to the cauliflower.
.
 preheat the oven to 450* and prepare a cookie sheet or pizza pan by spraying it with cooking spray. This is also a good time to prepare your toppings – cook your sausage, cut up your pineapple, whatever…
.
To the cauliflower mash add 1 C shredded cheese and spices and combine. Add egg and mix well with your hands. Press the crust onto a pan and shape into a 9-12″ pizza (depending on how thin you want the crust). I did mine closer to a 11x 12″ and it worked great! I put it in my pampered chef stoneware, Spray the top of the crust with cooking spray (to help brown) or brush with oil.
.
Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes (or until golden brown). When you pull out the pizza, turn your oven to broil. It even smelled like pizza crust!
.
Add your toppings  including 1-2 Cups more cheese and put pizza under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. Just broil it long enough to melt the cheese and caramelize the toppings a bit.
.
Seriously delicious! Gluten free, and  We ALL loved it!! I made this Sunday and they are already asking for it again!! Cauliflower! Who knew?? The crust is soft but came out in tact and fine with a spatula, it is very filling, 2 pieces was tons! You can not pick it up but a fork works great or add 2 egg's. I may even try mini crusts next time. Way fun!!

Homemade Wholesome Granola( i found this in Pathways!, it is great)

Ingredients

• 8 C rolled oats
• 3/4 C melted coconut oil
• 1/2 C melted butter
• 1 1/2 C kefir (or cultured buttermilk)
• 1C water (if you need more add a bit more, just to make it moist enough to soak, if it is moist without it, just skip)
• 1/2 C raw honey
• 3/4 C maple syrup
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 4 tsp cinnamon
• 4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 C dried coconut, shredded
• 1 C dried fruit, chopped (I usually use apricots or mango)
• 1/2 C pumpkin seeds, chopped
• 1 C nuts (optional) – chopped almonds is wonderful
• 1 C dried apples (this is from the originally recipe and I have yet to add it, but I keep it here in case I do have dried apples on hand at some point)

Instructions

1. Start your soaking in the morning because you will want to soak it for 24 hours, and the bake time is long. Starting your soak after breakfast will allow you to bake during the morning and afternoon and be done with it before dinner next day.
2. Combine your oats with the melted oil, melted butter and kefir (or buttermilk) in a very large bowl, add water last because you may not need much. Mix well. Cover with a cloth and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours (keep it cooler, rather than warmer). After the soaking, preheat the oven to 200° F.
3. Combine the honey, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon and vanilla in a small pot on the stove. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring the mixture, until honey becomes thin.
4. Combine honey and oat mixtures, mix well.
5. Spread mixture out over parchment paper on cookie sheets, or just spray the pans lightly with cooking spray.
6. Bake for 4 hours, until granola is crunchy. It will seem slightly soft, but it crisps up as it cools. Turn the oven off and cool in the oven. Do not turn the oven up because you will burn your granola, and burnt granola is not tasty (again, ask me how I know). Just cook it low and slow. Your patience will be rewarded for a good month or longer. I stir my granola every 30 minutes.
7. Mix in the coconut, seeds, dried fruit and nuts. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. On the counter for a few days or in cool weather is fine, but I have heard many people talk about their soaked granola molding in just a few weeks. Mine has never molded, but I have never kept it on the counter for more than a day - we always put it back in to chill.

This granola is more nutritious and less expensive than any granola you can find commercially. It is delicious with fresh raw milk as cereal. My kids like it best with fresh fruit and yogurt, and my favorite is with plain kefir and blueberries.  Enjoy!

Donut Cake

Doughnut Cake



This moist cake tastes just like a cake doughnut.
Ingredients:

1 ½ cups butter i use unsalted

8 oz. cream cheese
2 ½ cups sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla powder (or gluten free vanilla)

3 cup rice flour or my flour blend below

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh grated nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixer beat the butter and cream cheese on low speed until smooth.  Add the sugar and whip for 4 minutes.  I use setting 3 on my kitchenaide with the paddle. Add the eggs one at a time, vanilla, salt, and the flour. Beat on low until smooth.

Pour into  greased well greased bundt pan and bake for 55-90 minutes until inserted toothpick comes out clean. The top will be golden brown and not shake  when pan touched in oven.My bundt pan is old and very heavy, if you have a new thin nonstick you may need to play with bake time.