Banana Bites!

I’ve been craving these little suckers ever since seeing them on Pinterest last week!
This is one relatively healthy dessert, especially if you use dark chocolate! All you need is chocolate and bananas! The bananas in the picture show a them topped with coconut. I’d rather leave it alone or top with peanuts! Yum! Let’s make these! Who’s with me??

Caprese

I heart a good caprese salad and I also really heart balsamic vinegar. So, when saw this recipe on The Pioneer Woman’s website I was happy. I can’t wait to make this!

Flourless PB Cookies …I know

My roommate and I watched someone on the Food Network make these cookies. We had all the ingredients, so Emily made some. So good. So easy. So cheap. So gluten free.

You simply need:

1 cup of natural peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Mix all ingredients. Scoop out little balls. Plop on cookie sheet. Cook at 350 for 10ish minutes. They taste super good if you sprinkle a little sea salt on top when they are hot. Too good.

>Asparagus!

>I love anything asparagus. I love balsamic vinegar. I’m a fan of maple syrup and I like tahini. Therefore I lurve this recipe!

What you’ll need:

1 bunch of perky thin asparagus, enough for four servings [four servings of asparagus is really 2 for me]

For the dressing:

2 tablespoons sesame tahini
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Hot water, as needed

Now this is where the gluten goddess and I part ways. She says to boil the asparagus. No offense goddess, but asparagus must be grilled! If you can’t grill it, then roast it! Also, yummy!

Whisk the dressing ingredients; add a little bit of hot water to thin. Whisk till smooth. Taste test and adjust the balance of sweet and nutty and tart

Serve the asparagus on a plate with a drizzle of Maple Tahini Dressing and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt.

Cook time: 8ish min

Yield: Serves 4 (supposedly)

>Stuffed Portobello Mushroom Update

>A few posts ago I mentioned I was going to make stuffed portobello mushrooms. It was ok. The recipe needed something, but I’m not to sure what. I never imagined that I would ever say the following, but I think it may have had too much balsamic vinegar! I know, I love that stuff, but I think it may have been too vinegary. I’m glad I made the recipe, but I don’t really anticipate making it again.

>What’s for dinner?

>Now, here’s a recipe that I will make many more times! Go ahead and add the ingredients to your grocery list, trust me. Tonight you are making stir-fry.

Follow this link for the delicious recipe. Not gonna lie, I was a little overwhelmed by the recipe, but it was easy. I topped the stir-fry with some chopped up peanuts. Yummmmmmm.

>Gluten Free Delights!

>I’ve been gluten free for almost a week. So far, so good. I think it may be too early to really know how it’s effecting me. I can say that I do just feel good. I used to eat a fair amount of fast food, mainly because my schedule is totally inconsistent. I’m now planning every aspect of day and eating really healthy for the most part! I would like to thank the following for making the week easy:

I have enjoyed these prior to going GF. There are a handful of varieties and they are yummy. I really like eating the pecan ones with chicken salad.

And a huge thank you to:

So very yummy!!

>I’m going gluten free tomorrow! I just went to the grocery store and I definitely spent more money than I typically do, but it wasn’t as terrible as I thought. I try to cook at least one dish a week that I can eat off of for a few days. So, here is this week’s recipe. As far as I’m concerned you can never eat enough mushrooms. I’m looking forward to this! I’ll be using gluten free bread crumbs, so I should be good to go. I’m going to make a side of asparagus marinated in balsamic and olive oil. Yum Yum!!

>Caprese!

>
I love caprese salads. I love the combo of tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese. I saw this recipe on the blog that I just mentioned. I can’t wait to make this during the summer with fresh tomatoes. Yummy!!

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp kosher salt, plus more for seasoning
4 ounces mozzarella cheese cut into cubes or mozzarella balls
cherry tomatoes
fresh basil leaves

Whisk balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1/8 tsp pepper, 1/8 tsp kosher salt in a bowl. Toss the mozzarella with the remaining tsp olive oil and remaining pepper. Season to taste with kosher salt.

Assemble: Skewer 1 cherry tomato onto a stick, 1folded basil leaf and 1 mozzarella ball or cube (note: I cut the mozzarella balls in half because they were large). Repeat using all ingredients. Place sticks on a plate and brush or drizzle with balsamic vinegar mixture.

Tip: The balsamic vinaigrette can be made 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.