Virtual Cookie Exchange

Send some allergy friendly cookie recipes on over to my friend Jenn.

Cherrybrook Farms Brownie Mix

Maggie & I attempted to make Halloween sugar cookies using Cherrybrook Farms Sugar Cookie mix. Gross doesn't seem strong enough of a word to describe what we ended up with. Brady described their vanilla frosting as, "eh." So my expectations for their brownie mix were understandably low. Still, my craving for chocolate was strong enough that I was willing to try it. Surprise! They were just as good as any other brownies from a box that I've made. I'm not going to embarrass myself by revealing how many brownies the rest of my family got. I'll just leave it at my husband was not too happy with me. I recommend Cherrybrook brownie mix, but am still looking for a good sugar cookie recipe.

A Whole Lotta Nothing Tomato Soup

The weather is miserable here - cold & rainy. The temperature I kind of like - there's nothing fun about 70 degrees in November. But the gray sky & rain are getting old. The weather is appropriate, though, because we've been sick in our house. On Thur., Maggie's cold had gotten worse, so we spent the gray day inside in our pajamas. I love a good bowl of soup when I'm sick & on weather days like this, so during breakfast I made tomato soup. Since it's one of her favorites, I thought it might make my sick little girl feel better - come lunch, all she wanted to eat was applesauce. Oh, well! I had good intentions. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
-about 2 T of olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of a 12 in. skillet)
-1 to 2 yellow onions, chopped (I've used 1, 1 1/2 & 2 depending on what I have on hand)
-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
-1 can of whole plum tomatoes
-3 c chicken stock (I know there's fabulously talented people out there who make their own; I'm not one of them. I've found Pacific Natural to be an allergy friendly stock.)
-sea salt & freshly ground pepper to taste ( I hate salt so I put in a pinch. My husband? A handful.)

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium low heat. Add onion & garlic. Cook for about 15 min until they are soft. Stir often.
2. Add tomato (I crush them as I add them,) stock, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn down & let cook for 15 - 20 (I've cooked it on low for longer when I've been unable to check on it.)
3. Puree in a food processor. Reheat when you are ready to eat it.

It's adapted from an Everyday Foo.d recipe to our fit our allergy needs. It's a yummy & easy alternative to blah canned soup.

Pizza!

Pizza has been my favorite food (not much of a surprise there - I'm sure at least half of the people out there would name it as their favorite as well.) My daughter is allergic to dairy, so most pizza is a no-go for us. Although I've never tried soy cheese, I've heard descriptions that are less than appetizing so I try to avoid them. I'm also worried about our soy intake & its effect on our health. So we've tried various cheeseless pizzas. Last night we made Italian Chicken pizza - YUM! YUM YUM! I made a standard pizza dough & the world's easiest pizza sauce (heat up a little olive oil, throw in a can of crushed tomatoes, sprinkle some salt, pepper & oregano, & cook it on low until you need it to be done - at least 45 min, puree it in the food processor - could it be any easier?) I dipped a chicken breast (boneless & skinless) in olive oil, oregano & basil, then cooked it on our Geo. Foreman grill. After cutting a red pepper into strips, I sauteed it with some olive oil on the stove until they were soft & a little browned. I spread the sauce on the dough & placed the chicken & red pepper (cut into bite sized pieces) along with some jarred artichoke hearts on top. It baked for 11 min @ 415 degrees. Delicious! It was an easy, healthy pizza that my toddler, husband & I enjoyed eating.

Another One!

After enjoying reading others' blogs for so long, I'm giving this blogging thing a shot. We'll see how well I keep it updated . . . .