Jalapeño Popper Chicken Chili

This may be my all time favorite soup!

It's hearty and creamy (even though I make it dairy free!) with just the right amount of spice... and, HELLO... it is full of bacon!!  What's not to love?!

This chili is great for this time of year because of fall... and football!!  But it's also great becasue we have soooo many jalapenos left from the garden that we need to find a use for!  Perfect!

Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili

1 small red onion- diced
1 red pepper- diced
4 jalapenos (seeded)- adjust depending on how much spice you like
3 garlic cloves- minced
1 1/4 lb chicken- cut in bite size pieces
salt & black pepper- to taste
1- 2 T chili seasoning
1 t cumin
2 t oregano
1 ( 14 oz) can diced tomatoes with the juice
4 C chicken broth
1 can red beans
1 can white beans
1 C corn (frozen)
8 oz cream cheese- I use Go Veggie brand chive and garlic flavor (GF & DF!)
EVOO
1 lb bacon- cooked extra crispy and crumbled

1.  Heat 1-2T EVOO in a soup pot over medium.  Saute the onion, pepper, and garlic until soft.
2.  Season the chicken with salt and pepper.  Add to the pot.  Add the other seasonings and cook until lightly browned.
3.  Add the tomatoes, broth, beans, and corn.  Cook 30 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning.
4.  Add cream cheese and stir until melted.
5.  Stir in the crumbled bacon.

So yum!!
How fun is my black cat soup mug?!

What to do with the Molasses?...Super Soft Pumpkin Gingersnaps

I had a bottle of molasses hanging around from when I made some yummy Mango Habanero BBQ Sauce (I will have to share that recipe with you!). Every time I opened the pantry door it begged for me to do something with it. I'm not a big molasses kind of gal, but anything mixed with pumpkin is perfectly fine by my book... And my book didn't let me down this time!  I think these may be thanksgiving worthy!

Super Soft Pumpkin Gingersnaps

½	cup butter, room temperature
1	cup granulated sugar
½	cup pure pumpkin
¼	cup molasses
1	large egg
1	tsp vanilla
2⅓	cups all-purpose gluten free flour
2	tsp baking soda
2	tsp cinnamon
1½	tsp ground ginger
1	tsp ground cloves
½	tsp salt

    

1.  Beat the butter & sugar together until creamy & smooth. Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, & vanilla, mix until well combined. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, & salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients & mix until combined.

2.  REFRIGERATE the cookie dough for at least 1 hour (or up to 2-3 days).  When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350*F.  Put some cinnamon-sugar in a small bowl. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in the sugar until well coated & place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. 

3.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked & set at the edges. The cookies will still be soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mr. Kat turned his nose up at the thought of molasses, so it seems funny to me that most of these cookies didn't even make it to the container because he swiped them right off the baking sheet! I'm pretty sure I just changed his stance on molasses with these little guys! 

Molasses haters... I could probably change your minds just as quickly as I changed his... Make these cookies! Now!  Thank me later! ;)

Bloody Mary Sloppy Jimmy's!

I never used to be that girl... you know that one that wants something she can't have.

 

Until Celiac.... Now I find myself wanting things for the simple fact that I can't have them!  Silly things that I have never even had or liked before.

 

Perfect example.... I wanted a Bloody Mary like no other!  I've never even liked Bloody Marys.  Or  tomato juice, or really even vodka for that matter! Not before Celiac, not ever.  But I wanted one, so that means I had to figure out how to make it happen.  I hate letting Celiac win!  I would make a gluten free Bloody Mary.  And it wouldn't be just your average Bloody Mary.... no, it would be one of the best damn Bloody Marys ever mixed.  We don't half ass things around here!

 

I could have done it the hard way and made it all from scratch, but being a bloody mary virgin I didn't even know what a good bloody mary tasted like.  So I figured it would be best to go with a mix.  The problem with Bloody Marys is that there is soooooo much (including worcesteshire sauce) that goes into making a good bloody mary mix.  So if the company isn't loud and proud about it being gluten free and specifying all the ingredient sources there is no way to know if it is really celiac safe or not.  I set out to see if I could find a company that loved us Celiacs.... and I did!

 

 

There were a couple choices at Hy-vee, I chose Jimmy Luv's becasue I liked the name pretty much!

 

                                                                  Check them out here!

 

 

 Now when mixing my Bloody Mary I did not go cheap on the vodka.... It's Tito's for this celiac!  Which is super smooth, and of course gluten free.  I added a dash of Lea & Perrin's and a bit of hot sauce because I like it spicy.  Then I garnished it with celery and salami (I don't like pickels and can't eat cheese, but that's what you should add if you can!). 

 

Yum!!  And you get to feel like you are getting some veges with your cocktail.. bonus!! :)

 

As I set there so proud of my first Bloody Mary sipping it happily I glanced at the bottle and wondered what else I could do with it.... thinking about bloody mary chili and sloppy joe's.   I checked Jimmy Luv's website and found recipes, including for those exact things! 

 

 

 

 

Bloody Mary Sloppy Jimmy's

 

2 lbs. ground beef

1 red onion

1 green pepper
1 1/2 cup Jimmy Luv's Bloody Mary Mix

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 tablespoon minced Jalapeno Pepper

 

Brown ground beef and drain fat. Stir in all ingredients. Let simmer uncovered for 1/2 hour or until sauce reaches desired thickness.

 

 

 

 I call them Sloppy Jimmy's and tweaked them a bit as usual, but they are delicious! Serve them with your favorite gf buns and a Bloody Mary of course!

 

 

Salsa BBQ Ribs

I am obsessed with chips and salsa!  Seriously!!  I ran out of salsa the other day, and didn't have time to make any of my homemade salsa (I'll share the recipe later!)  Desperate times calls for desperate measures, so I dipped my tortilla chips in BBQ sauce!  It was good.... and it got me thinking..  What would BBQ sauce mixed with salsa be like? 

I had a specific idea in my head of how I wanted this recipe to be.  I tried to find something similar, but didn't have much luck.  So I did what I usually do, winged it, and hoped for the best!  And it was amazing!!

Salsa BBQ Ribs

Ingredients:
2 lbs Country Style Pork Ribs
1 Onion
1 Jalapeno
1 Red Pepper
Taco Seasoning (my recipe is here)
1.5 C Salsa (I used ALDI Mild Salsa)
1.5 C BBQ Sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)

Make It:
Grease the bowl of your slow cooker.  Coat your pork ribs with taco seasoning, rub it in nice and well.  Place the ribs in the bottom of your slow cooker.  Slice the onion and peppers and place on top of the meat.  In a bowl mix the salsa with the BBQ sauce.  Pour it over the top.  Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

The only thing I would do differently next time is double the recipe!

Healthy Fudgy GF Brownies.... Seriously!!

All I really know of Jillian Michaels is that her Yoga Meltdown DVD can kick your ass!

And now I also know that the girl really knows how to make a delicious brownie!  And they are healthy to boot!

Of course I had to fudge her recipe a bit to make it gluten free, but that's no biggie.

Healthy Fudgy GF Brownies

Ingredients

coconut oil cooking spray
2/3 cup mild honey
1/3 cups natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup GF all-purpose flour mix (I use Sarah's over at Sarah Bakes Gluten Free)
1/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large egg, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8-inch square pan with oil. Set aside.  Place the honey in a large glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until the honey is runny and just bubbling (45-60 seconds). Add the cocoa and stir until well combined. Let cool to room temperature.  Meanwhile, in a small bowl, place the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk until well combined.  In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk together until well blended. Add the honey-cocoa mixture and whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and stir until no traces of flour remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the surface looks dry around the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, about 25 minutes. Do not overbake. Place the pan on a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.
(Store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.)
Makes 16 (2-inch) brownies



According to Jillian each brownie has only 86.2 calories, and 2.2 grams of fat.  (Now I don't know how much that changes with using the GF flour instead of the wheat flour... but it can't be all that much.)


Now just because these are healthy does NOT mean you can eat the whole pan!  I had to keep reminding myself of that!  Oh well, there's always that Yoga Meltdown DVD :)

What's Filling My Cooler All Summer Long?!

It is beautiful out today!!  I can finally feel that summer is really on its way!  Thank GOD!!

With this beautiful weather comes pool parties, cookouts, picnics, and bonfires!   You can't really show up to any of the above without a cooler full of drinks.  I don't know about you guys but there is something I love about being able to grab a bottle out a cooler like everyone else gets to do!  It makes me feel a little more normal to hold that bottle in my hand and be able to lazily take a sip of it! Is that just me?

It's hard finding something gluten free that is easy to just grab a bottle and sip without wincing!  A lot of the gluten free beer on the market is just down right disgusting.  And for some of it, the true gluten free status is questionable..... no thank you!  There is always cider... but some of that is just way to sweet for me.  And if sweetness isn't a problem, there is always that simple fact that it is usually very heavy and filling.  I can only end up drinking one, maybe two max.... until now!




I was at my local Hy-Vee and one of the nice guys in the liquor department said I needed to taste this seasonal cider, and that I would end up buying a whole case!

At first I was skeptical because it was Cider Boys, and I didn't like their Magic Apple (Strawberry flavor).  But this was called Peach County, and I love peaches so I said what's the harm in tasting it?   He cracked a bottle open for me and oh my goodness... It was love at first taste.   Well turned out the harm was to my bank account because now I'm obsessed!

I don't even know how to describe to you how delicious it is.  It is light, not too sweet, but has a distinct peach flavor.  It is basically summer in  bottle!  And thanks to my Mama and Papa who were with me,  I did end up leaving with a whole case as part of my birthday present!  I keep passing bottles out to my friends telling them that they NEED to try it!  Guess I will be needing another case ASAP!

A Vitamix For My Birthday!!

Isn't she pretty!?

 I have been lusting after one of these babies for quite a while, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend the money when I had a perfectly good blender already.  I'm sure I will soon realize that that "good" blender really wasn't so good and not at all perfect in comparison to my newest toy.

I use my blender almost every morning to make my green smoothies.  And then there is always the never ending pitchers of margaritas and other frozen cocktails that I whip up to think about too.  Salsas, hummus, dressings... the list goes on.  I can also make my own flours and my own almond or coconut milk! 

I'm beyond excited for how smooth it will blend my smoothies.   My GI Doc tells me that because of my supercool immune system and it's lymphocytic colitis I shouldn't be having a lot of fiber, especially in the form of fresh fruits and veges.  Well I don't like that kinda talk!  I feel like garbage if I don't get all those good nutrients into my broken GI system somehow.  This way my blender will do all the digesting for me and I can just absorb all the good stuff without all the work for my tummy!  (He thought about getting me a juicer, but knew I wouldn't use it as much if I had to clean all those parts!)

 I think my new Vitamix will soon become the most loved part of my kitchen.

Being a Vitamix virgin, I am not yet aware of all the superpowers the machine possesses.  Do you guys and gals have a Vitamix?   What's your favorite thing to use it for?