Mexican Corn Chowder

This was DELICIOUS! Okay, let me rephrase that: I loved it, my husband hated it. Sad day, I know. I love, love, love corn, and chunks do not bother me in the least. My husband loves, loves, loves corn, too...however, he and chunks do not get along. I asked him prior to making it if he thought he would be okay with chunks of corn. He said he would be fine, because, well, he loves corn. It was quite the contrary. There is A TON of corn in this soup, and it was just a bit too chunky for him. If you have a chunky-hater like me on your hands, I would suggest food processing 2 cups of corn instead of only one. I also tried to make it a little less spicy by not adding quite so much onion, green chilies, and cumin. BIG PROBLEM! Don't do that...I think that it would have been even more delicious with the full servings of each of these.

The original recipe did not have potatoes, but we added them. It made the soup a little more hearty and filling, where without it I feel like I would have needed a few bowls to fill me up.

Like I said...I LOVED this soup...I will be eating it for lunch for the next 3 days with no hesitation whatsoever...enjoy!

Adapted From: Kill the Gluten

1 small onion, diced

5 medium potatoes, chopped and boiled
3 (15 oz) cans corn, drained
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk or cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic salt
2 cups cooked diced chicken
toppings: sour cream, cheese(this was my favortie), salsa, tortilla chips, avocado

Put onion, chilies and 1 can of corn in food processor, or blender, and pulse for 10-20 seconds.  Pour corn mixture into large saucepan. Add chicken broth, milk or cream, cumin, garlic salt, and 2 cans corn. Heat over medium heat until warm. Add chicken and potatoes. Heat and stir for 10 minutes over low heat. Remove from heat. Serve topped with sour cream, cheese, salsa, tortilla chips and diced avocado.

Stuffed Chicken

Yum, Yum, Easy, Yum. This recipe was great! Not to metion it was so easy! My husband whipped this up with no instruction whatsoever. He even added his own flare to it but using prosciutto instead of deli ham. This is definitely a light, 30 minute meal that we will be putting on our menu often. To make this a heavier meal you could use one chicken breast for each person instead of sharing one. If you do this, I recommend thinning your chicken breast out with a cooking a mallet, this meal is much better with minimal chicken on each side! Once more: YUM!

Note:This recipe is only for 2 servings...so double, triple, or quadruple to accommodate your needs!

Adapted From: Kill the Gluten

1 chicken breast, sliced in half

4 slices of prosciutto (or deli ham, but I recommend prosciutto)

3 swiss cheese slices

Slice each half of the chicken breast lengthways, until almost cutting through. (It will be like a hot dog bun, don't cut it all the way through, leave just a little to keep it connected). The chicken will be very thin on each side. Open breast to butterfly position. Layer 1 slice of prosciutto, 1 1/2 slices of swiss, then one additional slice of prosciutto. Fold top over and use toothpicks to secure.  

Place in greased baking pan to prevent sticking. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. I do not recommend seasoning with extra salt, the prosciutto is very flavorful.

Lemon Curd

This is the dessert that I learned to make in my most recent cooking class. It is simply...delightful. Not to mention, it is done in a microwave! A traditional curd is done on a double-boiler, and can curdle very easily. This is stirred every minute, preventing it from curdling. Kelcey was honestly embarassed to give us a microwave recipe, but she said it is her #1 go-to recipe for lemon curd, and that she will never do it any other way!

From: Kelcey Nixon

1 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1 cup fresh lemon juice

3 lemons, zested

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

In a microwave-safe bowl, whicsk together the sugar and eggs until smooth. 

Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest and melted butter. If the butter is hot, make sure to temper it into the egg mixture. Cook in the microwave for one minute intervals, stirring after eachminute until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. This is called Nape in cooking terms: simply dip the back of a spoon in the mixture and run the tip of your finger down the middle. If the mixture stays firm and doesn't leak into the absent space, your curd is done. 

This can take anywhere from 4-7 minutes, depending on your microwave. 

Remove from the microwave and serve on top of, well, anything!

Ice cream

Ginger cookies

Angel Food cake

Tart shell

Tip: This mixture can be stored for up to three weeks in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Also, if you over cook the mixture or forget to stir, you can pass the mixture through a fine sieve to remove the bits of cooked egg.

My first Cooking class!

My first cooking class...And it was amazing! Okay, so I will start from the beginning...

Basically, I have an amazing husband. I always have these incredibly high aspirations for hobbies in my life. I want to learn to cook, learn to be great at scrapbooking,  learn... well, everything! However, I never take the time to sign up for classes to learn how to be great at these things. So, Cody has recently done some research for me into cooking classes! He knows how bad I want to do them, but at the same time I just don't want to suck it up and spend the money to get what I want. Anyway, he gave me a list of classes at Thanksgiving point in Lehi. I looked it over, thought about signing up, and just didn't do it. (Figures, right?)

About a week later, Cody says to me in a friendly, yet accusing tone, "Why haven't you signed up for classes yet?" I couldn't think of an excuse for the life of me. Even if I thought that I came up with a good one, Cody would somehow counter-defend his angle, and I would be left thinking, "I want to do this, HE wants me to do this, why am I NOT DOING IT?!" 

Later that night, I signed up for my number one choice of classes, 

Kelsey's Kitchen: 5 under 5

Kelsey is LDS and was in the final four on food network's "The Next Food Network Star"! She was every bit as pleasant and likeable as she was on the show. She is completely full of personality and is incredibly entertaining. I loved to hear her stories of how she got to where she is....and now, where she is headed! 

Here was the menu:

Caprese Skewers

Tortellini with Fresh Sage Butter 

Mediterranean Salmon Bake

Roasted Asparagus

Lemon Curd with Fresh Berries

It was all delicious! Not to mention, all of the recipes were under 5 ingredients. I am looking forward to making them myself, although this gluten free thing sure ruins the tortellini. I will look for some other rice pasta that can fit in the recipe I guess. Her two top tips were:

"Always use kosher salt"

"If you can get it fresh, use it fresh!"

I learned a ton of little things as well as how to make the above recipes. It sounds silly, but watching someone else cook really helps you see things that you could do differently. I am so excited to cut an onion! To mince some garlic! To bake some sage!? Yeah, she warms it in the microwave...crazy, but beautiful.

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies

Honestly, boxed cookies? I know, I didn't think that I would ever stoop to BOXED cookies. However, this gluten free...aka homemade cookie free...diet I am on is not helping my sweet tooth! I have made Peanut Butter rice Krispies and PB cookies all to often lately. They are delicious, but I needed a little something different from Peanut butter! 

Anyway, I went by the Organic store tonight and picked up this cookie mix. I was VERY skeptical after experiencing my rather stale biscuit like homemade pizza dough. But, sugar got the best of me, and I just had to try them. The verdict is...they were good! Actually, they were great! They stayed poofy, which I LOVED, and they were just...perfect!

I would give you the recipe, but, let's be honest, it's on the back. Sad. I feel pitiful, yet, satisfied!

I did roll my cookie dough balls in sugar prior to cooking them, which it did not say to do on the back of the box.

Pick these up and enjoy some gluten-free goodness...that doesn't taste gluten free! YEAH!

GF Weekend Dinners

I made both Creamy Italian Chicken and White Chicken Chili this weekend...both Gluten free style! Click on the names to check out the recipes.

Roasted Butternut Squash

This veggie tastes like sugar! I absolutely love squash, it just meets my every craving. I was checking out a friends blog who made soup with spaghetti squash and wanted to do something with it. I did the basic...but it worked for me! Of course, my husband wouldn't have a thing to do with it...but, that just means more for me!

Butternut squash

1/8 cup butter

1/8 cup brown sugar (if desired)

salt and pepper (if desired)

Cut squash in half vertically. Using a spoon, remove all seeds. If desired, you may rinse and bake these seeds in the oven, such as pumpkin seeds.

Rub butter generously over the entire inside surface of the squash. If you desire, you may top with brown sugar or simply salt and pepper.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Remove the squash from the skin and enjoy! You may freeze or refrigerate excess squash.