Quick Tip: How to Keep Clean When Working With Tomatoes

Now is the time of year when everyone and their neighbor have ripe tomatoes. Some people plant 1 or 2 plants, some plant 16, some plant 100. Either way, chances are you are drowning in tomatoes. There are SO many uses for fresh tomatoes. Our favorites are usually fresh salsa and spaghetti sauce. Whatever you decide to do with your tomatoes, it tends to be a mess.  This past weekend I made 3 gallons of salsa, and helped process about that much in tomatoes that will soon become sauce. I'm going to share with you the way I kept the kitchen clean and had an easy work station and clean up for my messy tomatoes. 

Some of the salsa I made in our giant soup pot!

Tomatoes cleaned up with skin and seeds removed for sauce.

It's really simple and most everyone has the tools for it in their kitchen. I will never cut tomatoes any other way again. 

So here it is. I took a cutting board and placed it into a baking pan with sides, about 1 inch or so deep, that was just a tiny bit larger than my cutting board. It's sides aren't high enough to get in the way and you can push your seeds and excess tomato liquid right off the side of the cutting board and into the tray. When it gets full I dumped my scraps into the garbage disposal and kept on chopping! 

So there you have it, a simple and easy work station for processing tomatoes for any recipe! Clean up took seconds and there was no tomato juice running across the counter and onto the floor. I hope you enjoyed this tip and as always, thanks for reading! 

I want to hear from you! What are some of your favorite tomato recipes? 

Until next time, 

Rachael

7 Ways to Incorporate Turmeric Into your Diet

Turmeric, or Curcumin- which turmeric contains, has SO many health benefits. This yellow root is packed with anti inflammatory powers and is recommended  by doctors as a supplement for patients with arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. It is good for your hair and skin and great for healing so many ailments temporary and chronic. It has even been used in studies healing patients with cancer. Really the list goes on and on. There are so many posts out there explaining more about the benefits of turmeric and why your should add it to your diet. Here in this post I want to talk about HOW to add it into your daily diet.


Add it to your smoothies-This is probably the easiest way to add turmeric to your diet, if you are a frequent smoothie drinker, that is. I usually mix protein powder along with flax meal, almond milk, banana and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and sometimes a spoonful of peanut butter or a swirl of organic chocolate syrup to my smoothies especially after a workout.

Mix into Muffins- Pumpkin muffins with a dash of turmeric added in- yum! Pumpkin muffins would work great with turmeric for 2 reasons. one, the spices in pumpkin muffins will mask any flavor from the turmeric and it may even enhance the flavors and two, the golden yellow color of the turmeric will be hidden due to the orange yellow color of most pumpkin muffins!

Turmeric Milk-This one I have yet to try but there are tons of recipes out there raving the benefits of turmeric and it is very easy to prepare.

Put it on chicken- When I season my chicken I usually a) mix my dry spices in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly on top of the chicken before I cook it, or b) place my chicken, all spices and usually a swirl (about 1 tsp) of olive oil into a zip lock bag, zip the bag closed and massage until it looks well mixed. I recently made chicken fajitas and added it to my seasoning blend and we really liked it.

Add it to rice- Turmeric is one of my favorite additions to brown or basmati rice- Anytime I cook with Indian flavors in mind (which is actually a lot) I always add turmeric to my rice while it cooks. I avoid the quick cook stuff as much as possible for a few reasons- it is more processed(which generally means it looses nutrients), it doesn't taste as good in my opinion, it's more expensive, and it's really not that much "quicker". Indian inspired rice is not the only option for adding turmeric, I really think any rice dish would benefit. The flavor I find is quite subtle and not spicy at all. The biggest difference is it will turn your rice bright yellow. Here is one of my recipes with chicken, turmeric and black beans!

Add to salad dressing-For me this is one of the easiest and most common ways we use it. I make all of my salad dressing at home and adding turmeric boosts my confidence that my salad dressing is even healthier. Check out my favorite homemade salad dressing here.

Mix into Spaghetti Sauce-I recently tried adding turmeric powder to spaghetti sauce and it worked great! I couldn't taste it at all and I was able to add a good amount so we were getting all the nutritional benefits without even knowing it.


**Note: Turmeric has many healing powers, traditionally it has also been used to dye clothing a bright yellow color. This being said, it WILL turn most foods yellow. I recommend using caution when using it to cook with and if you're a messy eater I wouldn't wear a white shirt. I have white counters that now have a few highlighter yellow spots on them (they do fade over time- the best way I have found is to scrub with a paste of baking soda and water) Unfortunately that didn't work for my t shirt :( This is why I recommend using caution when using turmeric but don't let that stop you from using it, the health benefits are far too great to miss out on.


I want to hear from you! What are your favorite ways to use turmeric and do you know any good stain removal tricks?

As always, thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Rachael

Protein Packed Rice with Chicken, Spinach and Black Beans

When it comes to eating gluten free there are a few go-to items when creating meals, mine are usually potatoes and rice. I frequently find myself cooking before I write a recipe. I even find myself not knowing what I am cooking until after it's already happened. But when I do start to make a meal my first decision is rice or potatoes. Tonight, it was rice. So here is my simple, any night all in one rice with chicken, spinach and black beans.

Recipe

1 cup Brown Rice (will serve up to 4 but we like leftovers)

2 Chicken Breasts (or 1 per person)

1 Brick of Spinach or  about 2 cups fresh

1/2-1 Tbs Cardamom seed-ground 

1/2 tsp Turmeric (I always add it to rice) 

1/2 tsp Thyme

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

Sea Salt and Pepper to taste

Splash of Ume Plum Vinegar (Optional) 

Directions

1. Start your rice in a large saucepan. The directions for mine said 1 Cup of rice and 2 Cups of water. I almost always end up using 3 cups of water though. I start with 2 and 1/2 and keep a cup close by during the process, so use as much as you need to keep your rice from burning until it is nice and tender. 

2. Add all of your spices and the Ume Plum vinegar- I use it when a recipe needs more tang and saltiness. But if you don't have it you can substitute rice vinegar or just add a bit more salt. 

3. Get your chicken started. I baked mine in a glass pan with a little olive oil and light seasoning-whatever kind you like. It took about 35-45 minutes at 375 degrees. 

4. When your rice is nice and tender and almost all of the water is absorbed add in the spinach. Until it is thawed, if using frozen or until wilted, if using fresh. At the same time add in one can of rinsed black beans. Mix together and turn off the heat. 

5. When Your chicken is fully cooked cut it into bite sized pieces and mix it in with the rice. Serve in a bowl and if you feel like it needs something more add some sour cream or plain Greek yogurt for more tang and a creamier consistency. 

So there you have it! This recipe is very easy to change up and make your own and I encourage you to do so! What are some variations you have tried? And what is your favorite rice dish? I would love to hear from you!

As always, thanks for reading and until next time, 

Rachael 

Among Friends Gluten Free Brownie Mix Review

This week I picked up a bag of Gluten Free Among Friends Alec's Brownie Mix from Target. Let's talk for a second about how I am the worst baker I know. Seriously though. I have followed box directions before and still ended up with a soggy or crumbly dessert. I've even gotten brave enough to try baking from scratch (with a recipe of course. I'm not the bold.) ..**insert cinnamon roll picture fail here**

* Pictured above left to right Cornbread: made from scratch with a recipe, turned out a little dry but still good. Second. My cornbread with a sad "cinnamon roll" Third: "No rise Cinnamon roll" I followed a recipe that said that, however I tried to make it GF when the recipe wasn't written that way and the rest is history. It was a 50/50 win that day.

.....So needless to say, I don't really bake, I don't really enjoy baking, and I'm not very good at it. However when trying to be health conscious AND gluten free there are not often yummy dessert options, so when I saw this on sale I figured it was worth a shot. Here is my Review of Among Friends Brownie Mix! !

1. Ease of Reading the Directions
 I enjoyed reading about the company a little on the back of the bag and the directions were straight forward. On the first line it specifically states to "read the directions carefully" So, I did.

2.  Prep
After a thorough read I was able to carefully and easily follow the instructions and my batter came out as I expected and as the box predicted -So far so good!

3. I followed the directions (no adding!)- and I set a timer.
When I "bake" I often feel the urge to add, omit, and substitute...I like to make a recipe my own so a little flax meal here and substitute GF all purpose there, shouldn't hurt, right? Do we need to see the cinnamon fail again? Ok.
Now, on the bag it says that it is ok to substitute coconut oil or use a combination of butter and oil. So my use of 4 Tbs of butter and 4 Tbs of coconut oil still counts as following the directions!
I also set a timer. Sometimes I forget...I know. That's why things don't turn out. Maybe...but today I set a timer!

4. Result
As soon as my brownies got to the consistency described on the package I took them out of the oven and let them cool. They looked great and smelled amazing. when they were finally cooled (enough) I was ready to give it a taste. I took a corner piece and OMG it has been so long since I've had a brownie! It separated a little as I took it out of the pan but I'm betting that's from the fact that I was using a butter knife as opposed to a spatula made for desserts, or even just a fork. I took a bite and that was it. I was sold. Very chocolaty (I love love love the fact that it comes with chocolate chips in the mix-thank you) not too sweet, good texture. Yummm.

My first thought was, "This is amazing". My second thought was "I didn't mess it up! It tastes amazing! It's gluten free and I know all of the ingredients! I did it! I did it!"
So that's how it went! One of the most positive baking experiences I've had in quite some time. I would highly recommend this brand and as long as you follow the directions carefully I think anyone could get these brownies to turn out right.

As always, thank's for reading. I really enjoyed doing this review so hopefully there will be more on the way soon. Let me know if there are any GF products you enjoy or would like to hear about!

Until next time,

Rachael

All Natural Salad Dressing Recipe: gluten, soy, dairy and nut free

Conventional salad dressings you find in the stores often contain excess sugar, sodium, preservatives, and fillers. Not only that, but who wants calcium disodium on their salad anyways? Yuck! The easiest way to avoid all of those problems is to make your own. It's actually really easy and it is fun to get creative and easy to make alterations to flavor or diet specifications.

One of my favorite recipes is an alteration of one I have been making for years now. The biggest difference to this variation is Turmeric. I have a post about more ways to add turmeric to your diet coming soon! Turmeric is a yellowish orange spice that is most commonly found in powder form and it comes from a root. As always when using turmeric, be careful, as it can stain your clothes (and counters). 

The addition to turmeric in this recipe adds a very subtle spice, but not in a heat kind of way. I mostly add it for nutritional benefits. Everyone I have ever made this for has raved about it and requested it again and again. So, here it is, my famous salad dressing recipe, with turmeric!

Recipe: Serves ~4

1/3 c Olive Oil

Juice of 1/2 Lemon

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Paprika

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder (organic preffered) 

Dash of Red Pepper Flakes- to taste I probably use 1/4 to 1/2 tsp (depending on how spicy my guests like it.)

Freshly ground Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Directions

Mix all ingredients into a small mixing bowl. I usually use my 1 cup glass measuring cup. Start with the olive oil and all all other ingredients. Whisk together, I usually use a fork. If you have the time, make this dressing before you coom dinner to let the flavors infuse togethe . Is good as soon as it's mixed but this adds a whole new dimension to it so even a few minutes will do it well.

So there you have it! Do you make your own salad dressings? And What are your favorite salad toppings?

As always, thanks for reading.

Until next time,

Rachael

Creamy Garlic Dipping Sauce

Today for lunch I whipped up a quick creamy sauce for our sweet potato fries and chicken. It turned out great and in less than 5 minutes and it was ready. This creamy sauce would be great for french fries, grilled chicken, veggie dip, burgers, the possibilities are nearly endless! It's nice and cool, almost like a tzatziki-without the cucumber. So, without further ado, here is the recipe!

Recipe
1/2-3/4 c all natural sour cream
1 clove garlic-grated
1 green onion (green and white) minced
swirl of olive oil (about 1 tsp)
sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Mix all ingredients into a small bowl and serve any way you like, veggie tray, fries, burgers, you name it!

**Note: Making this sauce ahead of time(for a party maybe) will allow all of the flavors to blend together more, therefore making a stronger sauce.


I am interested in hearing from you! What are your plans for this mix and what variations would you choose?

Rachael

Cookie Dough Recipe (Vegan and Gluten Free)

I don't think there is much explaining needed to introduce this recipe. Here is my cookie dough recipe that is moist and sweet, gluten free and vegan allergy friendly and most importantly, it satiates that cookie dough craving!

To make this recipe gluten fee I have substituted rice flour for wheat, which I find in the bulk section at my grocery store but pictured is Bobs Red Mill Organic Brown Rice flour which can now be found in many grocery stores or purchased online.  I also used coconut oil instead of butter and almond milk for cows milk. This batter feels very light and airy from the coconut oil but it is very sweet a few spoonfuls is all you will need to satisfy that cookie dough craving!

Recipe
1/2 (heaping) cup Organic rice flour
1/2 (Just under) cup Organic cane sugar (granulated)
1/3 c Organic Coconut Oil softened
Pinch sea salt (optional)
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips (Vegan or dairy free if preferred)
2-3 Tbs ground flax meal
3-5 Tbs almond milk

Directions
In a medium mixing bowl combine, with a hand mixer, the rice flour, salt, sugar, flax meal and coconut oil (make sure it is softened). Mix until the coconut oil has broken down mostly into small pieces. Next add in the almond milk, start with less and add as you go. I used about 4 Tbs or 1/8th of a cup. Mix until batter is consistency of cookie dough- when all of the dry ingredients become moist and well combined. (See photo above) Then add in your chocolate chips and either mix with the mixer for a quick second or stir in with a spoon. Optional: chill in the refrigerator before eating.

**Note: For a smoother batter try putting all of your dry ingredients through the food processor or blender for a few pulses before adding in the coconut oil.

I hope you all enjoyed this post and happy snacking!

Rachael