A Little Bit of Heaven, I Mean Paris, In Arizona!

 I knew that when Adam and I went to Paris for our Anniversary that I would enjoy the yummy pastries and desserts, but I never expected to fall so deeply in love with sipping hot cocoa at a cafe while the rain fell around us.  When I came home one of the first things that I attempted was purchasing French Hot Cocoa mix.  I learned that not only is there  not a lot of stuff like that out there (mostly machines), but their aren't many recipes either...  My new mission had become finding a recipe that would help me get by until I was in Paris once again.

After doing a lot of googling and experimenting with what others had come up with I have to say that this is pretty close!  I can't provide the amazing atmosphere, but I can get you close to the taste!  

Tips: 

* The darker the better!!  I don't suggest using anything lighter than 70% Cocoa.

* My husband enjoys adding a TBSP of Heavy Cream to his batch of hot chocolate.

* When you get a cup of Hot Cocoa in France it comes with sugar cubes. You can always add, but taste the richness of the chocolate first.  

*You don't have to use the blender if you don't want the froth, but the cocoa powder looks really cool on the froth!!

BIG PLUS...

We are told all the time that Dark Chocolate not Milk Chocolate is good for us.  People have even said the darker the better...I could never enjoy a 90% cocoa bar, but drinking it as Hot Chocolate is truly amazing.  Now I get to say that Hot Cocoa is a health drink :)

Enjoy!!!!

Gluten-Free Chicken & Waffles

Our family has a semi annual tradition of eating waffles and ice cream for breakfast.  I had to figure out a way to still enjoy this special meal with my little ones twice a year.  Because of travel we switched our waffles and ice cream to dinner so I added chicken nuggets to the menu to make it healthy!!! 

Many kids have picky eating habits when it come to special needs kids.  Chicken nuggets is a very common favorite, and they know when they are being given something that they aren't used to.  Tonight my kids gave me the reviews of "Awesome", "Good on the inside and out." and they were gone in time for their waffles with ice cream :)

 Tips:

* You can use regular flour and still create great chicken nuggets!!

* Remember not to use to much oil...when oil gets hot it expands.

* Temperature is very important in frying.  Make sure your temperature stays at 350 degrees.

 Tips:

* The biggest tip that I can give you is not to over mix your batter.  

Fold your egg whites into the batter don't mix them.  When folding take the batter from the bottom of the bowl and gently fold the batter into the egg whites.

* You can use regular milk and flour for these waffles as well!

Coconut milk ice cream is pretty yummy!  They even make coconut whipped cream :)

It Worked!!

 Our family loves treats as any family with little ones do, but when we had to change our eating habits a lot of our favorites weren't good for us anymore.  I have been playing around with the multiple ingredients that are required to match the texture and baking consistency of all purpose flour.  The thought came to me a few weeks ago though...can I make cookies with our gluten-free oats ground into flour????  I tried it today and it worked!  I won't say that it would work for all cookies, but we had success with our families favorite everyday cookies which was great.  I must say though that they are a bit more crumblier, but not enough to not make them and enjoy them!  They hold together quite well :)

Tips:

* If you aren't in need of a Gluten-Free Dairy-Free cookie then replace the four for all purpose and the Earth Balance for Butter!

Enough for a Party!!

I was recently asked to create two cakes using apples and caramel for a luncheon.  The luncheon was being held after a funeral of a dearly beloved woman.  Her dearest family and friends would be eating and her favorite dessert was anything having to do with caramel.   

I was of course up to the challenge :)  After thinking over what I could do for a few days this is what I came up with. 

I decided to work around a play on pineapple upside down cake.  The idea of not using water for the batter came from wanting to have cinnamon and apples in the cake batter.  Using sour cream tends to keep cakes moist and I made these cakes the day before so I was needing them to stay yummy for such an important event!  Give it a try, I hope you and yours enjoy!!

Tips:

* Serve Hot or Cold

*Check the cake with the oven light before opening the door.  (The cake will sink in the middle!)

* Store in the fridge.

Did You Know?

 Our family has been over the moon excited about the new gluten-free Rice Krispies, using brown rice (which is better for you anyways) was the key!!  Not only has it provided a new choice beside the Chex cereals in the morning we can now enjoy our gooey treats again! 

 And play with our food!!

*I only use 5 cups of cereal so that they aren't hard, but gooey and don't cut your mouth.

Just Peachie!!

 I was talking to a friend yesterday and she was trying to create a few sweet recipes to add to her families diet changed menu.  Her family has a lot of food allergies and so often times the normal substitutions can even be bad for their family.  This got my creative juices flowing.  I looking in my fridge and remembered that I had just purchased some peaches...

 Tips:

* When mixing in corn starch always use cold water.

* Obviously you can use regular oats for this recipe.  If you are not worried about dairy you can use melted butter instead of the coconut oil.   

 *All purpose flour can be used instead of the ground oatmeal as well.

Tonight we topped our crisp with dairy free turtle ice cream.  The caramel went very well with the peaches :)  As the recipe states above though coconut whipped cream would be yummy as well!