Creamy Citrus Vinaigrette

Every time I go to one my favorite restaurants in Florida, I always order the same thing...and I am not sick of it yet!.....This time after I came home I wanted to try and recreate the salad, which theirs has coconut shrimp, toasted sliced almonds ,mandarin oranges and sprinkles of coconut flakes....They also serve it with a citrus dressing.....This is what I came up with, I thought it turned out pretty close.....I made my salad with grilled shrimp along with the almonds, oranges and coconut flakes with chopped romaine lettuce,....But you can add whatever you like!
Here is how I made the vinaigrette.....Enjoy!

Vinaigrette Ingredients

 

1/2 Cup Orange Juice or more( I squeezed 2 mandarin oranges, mine were juicy, you may need more to get  a 1/2cup)

1 lime (juiced)

1/2 Cup Olive oil

3 Tablespoons Honey

1/4 Cup White Balsamic Vinegar

1/3 Cup Mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

 

Add all ingredients to your Bullet or blender and blend until incorporated

 

NOTE**I added an extra orange that I squeezed so it was a little more than 1/2 cup

Garlic-Parmesan Kale Chips

When I am trying to eat healthy the hardest thing always is what to snack on....Plantain Chips are one of my favorites. But when I came across the Kale at the Market I decided to make Kale Chips out of them.....They are so simple to prepare, and for being so healthy for you they can be pretty tasty......You can add what you like to them to season them but for these I added garlic powder and parmesan cheese, along with pink Himalayan sea salt and boy were they good...I could have eaten the whole bowl....When my hubby came home from work and tried them he practically did eat the bowl!..Here are the basics of how I prepared them, You can try them with different seasonings in the future if you like...Here is what I did....Enjoy!

 

INGREDIENTS

 

Kale Leaves

Olive oil

sea salt

garlic powder

parmesan cheese

 

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 300 - Bake for 15 - 20 minutes

 

Cut leaves away from middle stalk of Kale

Add leaves to a bowl and drizzle with enough olive oil to lightly coat and toss

Place leaves on a parchment lined baking sheet

Sprinkle leaves with salt, and garlic powder then sprinkle with parmesan cheese

Bake for 10 minutes then check and turn the leaves that are getting crispy

return to oven for 5 to 10 more minutes until  they are all crispy

Enjoy

This is what was left, but not for long!

 

 

 

 

Carissa's Pineapple upside down CupCakes (gluten free)

Well, I have to tell you when I first saw these Cupcakes being served  and my husband dove into one I was a little jealous!....There was no way I thought they would be Gluten free, but I am so glad I asked.....Yes! they were gluten free, so of course I had to try one...A friend of a friend Carissa had made them, so I started asking her questions of what she did, and she was very nice to let me know how she put them together.....I did not have her exact recipe but I will show you what I did..... they were scrumptious!  So Thank You to Carissa for this idea...I thought these would make a great Easter dessert also.....After making 12 cupcakes I had some batter left, so I filled a tiny loaf pan and a individual bundt pan to make some little upside down cakes to use it up..You can also make these with regular cake mix if you don't need them to be gluten free, still add the pineapple juice instead of water....Here is what I did.....Enjoy!

 

 

INGREDIENTS

 

1 Gluten free vanilla cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)

1 can sliced Pineapple in Pineapple juice (reserve juice)

2/3 Cup of the Pineapple juice to use in place of water for cake mix

Maraschino Cherries

1/2 stick Butter

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

 

 

DIRECTIONS

 

1. Prepare Cake mix as directed on package (my mix called for 2/3 cup water which I replaced with the juice from the can of pineapple)..set aside

 

2. In a glass bowl add butter and brown sugar and microwave 30-40 seconds and stir

 

3. Spray your muffin tin  and place a spoonful of the brown sugar mixture in each spot...then take a slice of pineapple and cut in half, cut in half again and place one on each side of bottom of pan

 

 

4. Cut a cherry and place in middle of pineapple slices

 

5. Pour cake batter on top filling not all the way to top (about 3/4

 

 

6. Bake according to directions (mine took about 20 minutes)

 

 

7. When done, let cool slightly then place a cookie sheet on top of muffin tin and flip over,

they should remove easily

 

 

 

 

 

Clam Chowder Soup (gluten free)

Our family just loves Clam Chowder soup.....But I never really thought  about making it, until I saw a recipe for it and it looked quite simple. My next thought was how do I make it gluten free?.. and will it still taste good?.....So I thought I would give it a try, and I am so glad I did!...I will be making it all the time now. My husband even said it was better than our favorite place we would always get it at. Now if you don't need this to be gluten free just replace the gluten free flour with regular. And I have to tell you the longer this simmers the better it gets. I made it early in the day and then brought to a friends house for dinner ( my gluten free friend loved it)  refrigerating in between. So next time I make it I am thinking I can put it all together and then keep on low in the Slow Cooker....I will keep you posted on how that turns out. Well here is my version of it...If you are not a fan of clams you can add 2 cans of corn and have corn chowder....You can also add a can of corn to your clam chowder if you like...I may do that next time...Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

4 slices of bacon cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 medium onion (chopped)

5 ribs celery diced

4 carrots diced

1/3 cup gluten free flour

 salt and pepper

1 teaspoon ground thyme

juice of the 4 cans of clams

1 1/2 cups chicken stock (I used 1 Knorr boullion cube with 1 1/2 cups water)

2 potatoes diced

2 cups half and half or milk (I used half and half)

4 cans minced clams (drained)

can of corn optional

DIRECTIONS

1. In a colander with a bowl under it drain the 4 cans of clams reserving the juice and set aside

2. Slice your bacon then add to your Dutch oven cooking until almost crisp

3. Add the onion, celery and carrots cook until translucent

4. Add the flour,  salt, pepper and thyme and stir and cook a little more

5.Add the clam juice and chicken stock, then add the diced potatoes

6. Bring to a boil then you will need to simmer this until potatoes are soft

7. Then you will whisk in the cream, next add the clams and stir, simmer a little more. It is ready now or you can simmer until you are ready for it.

CLAM CHOWDER SOUP

Yield: 8

Author: Natalie Buscemi-Hindman

If you love Clam Chowder...why not make it yourself...My recipe is easy enough for anyone to make...Impress your family and friends...My family loves this soup!!

Ingredients:

• 4 Slices of bacon..cut into 1/2 inch or smaller pieces
• 1 Medium Onion chopped
• 4 Carrots diced
• 5 Ribs Celery diced
• 1/3 Cup Flour (gluten free if you like)
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground Thyme
• Juice of 4 cans of minced clams
• 1 1/2 Cups Chicken Broth or stock (I used 1 Knorr chicken boullion cube with 1/2 cups hot water
• 2 Potatoes diced
• 2 Cups half and half or Milk (I use half and half)
• 4 cans of the clams you drained

Instructions:

1. In a colander with a bowl under it drain the 4 cans of clams reserving the juice and set aside
2. Slice your bacon and add to a dutch oven or large Pot and cook until almost crisp
3. Add the Onion, Celery and Carrots and cook until onions are translucent
4. Add the flour, salt and pepper and thyme and stir...cooking a little more
5. Add the clam juice and chicken broth then add the diced potatoes
6. Bring to boil then bring down to simmer until potatoes are soft and tender ..stirring often
7. You then whisk in the half and half next add your clams and stir...simmer a little more...It is ready to serve now or you can simmer until you are ready to use
8. This also works well if you make ahead and reheat the next day!

Created using The Recipes Generator

Cauliflower Mushroom Risotto

One thing you really miss when you are on a restricted diet is rice and pasta dishes!.....So what do you do?....Well you try and recreate your favorite dishes with things you can have...That is what I did here, This "risotto" is actually riced cauliflower which can be used for so many things......I used mushrooms  (I wanted to use fresh, but only had canned on hand)in this recipe but you can add whatever you like, maybe peas or asparagus. And I used regular milk, but you could use heavy cream or even almond milk.....This recipe is very flexible....You can use it as a side dish or even add some grilled shrimp or chicken for a meal...I will show you what I did.....Here we go......Enjoy!

 

 

INGREDIENTS

 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons butter

1 onion diced

1/2 cup mushrooms (your choice) or canned

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cauliflower riced

1/2 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup grated parmesan

salt and pepper

 

 

DIRECTIONS

 

1. Rice your cauliflower and set aside

 

 

2. add olive oil and butter to fry pan then add onion and saute until translucent, add mushrooms

 

3. add garlic and stir and then add the cauliflower

 

 

 

4. add half of the chicken broth and cook for 6-8 minutes stirring

 

5. then add the milk and the rest of the broth and continue stirring until liquid is absorbed

 

6. continue to cook until cauliflower is tender and then add the parmesan cheese and salt and pepper to your taste and more cheese if you like

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrot Cake Muffins Paleo & Gluten free

I am always Gluten Free but when I am trying to be Paleo on top of it I am always looking for something to satisfy my sweet tooth!....And although there is only honey in these to sweeten them they did the trick!...And Carrot cake is one of my favorites so I particularly like these....I also added some Flax meal to make them fiber rich, you can omit it if you like and if you are not a fan of raisins you can leave them out....If you are not restricted you could always add some cream cheese frosting to them!...These are very simple to make..Here is what I did.....Enjoy!

 

INGREDIENTS

 

2 eggs

1/3 Cup Coconut oil (melted)

1/3 Cup Honey

2 teaspoons Vanilla

 

1 1/4 Cup Almond Flour

2 Tablespoons Coconut Flour

2 Tablespoons Flax meal (optional)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Allspice

2 Carrots (grated)

1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts

1/2 Cup Raisins

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350

 

In a bowl add the eggs, oil honey and vanilla and beat with a whisk

 

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well

 

Add batter to cupcake pan with liners

 

 

I filled with my large scoop and got 12 muffins out of this recipe

 

 

Bake for 15-17 minutes

Gut Healing Bone Broth

Ok you may be thinking what is all the rage with Bone broth?.....Well after contracting a couple of auto immune diseases you start to read up a lot on your ailments. In all of my research I kept coming across how good Bone broth is for your immune system...Remember back in the day when you were sick and your Mom or Grandma would make you chicken soup?...Well it turns out they knew what they were doing!...The other benefits are....It can heal your gut (a lot of auto immune diseases come from having a leaky gut) It also can reduce inflammation in your intestines (throw away those Tums!)....It is good for Bone density (which a lot of women lose as they get older).....The collagen from the bones is good for your skin (no need for Botox!)....It is also a detoxifying agent and an immune system booster!....Why wouldn't you want to try this! Alright so how do you begin?...You start out with bones, they can be beef or chicken ...If you use beef bones you roast them in the oven first...For the chicken I used a whole Chicken carcass (I made a whole chicken for dinner and removed the meat)...it is also good to use chicken feet, gizzards and the neck (no livers)...And always use Organic or grass fed bones, this is a must....and using Apple Cider Vinegar helps to extract the nutrients from the bones...I will try to give you step by step instructions on how I make mine. I also make mine in the slow cooker which makes it super simple. I put mine in at 9:00 p.m at night and started jarring it at 11:00 a.m. the next morning so that was 14 hours, but you could brew it even longer if you want. Once I removed all of the bones and vegetables from the broth, I strained it with a cheese cloth lined colander to get a clearer broth. Once I jarred it and refrigerated it the next day I spooned off the layer of fat that collected on the top, also what you want for your broth to do is to gel up...that gel is the liquid gold that is beneficial to your broth, although it may not always gel and it is still beneficial!..I heat this up and add a little Himalayan sea salt and drink it up , but you can use it for soup or any other of your recipes...You can also add whatever herbs you may like ... Here is how I did mine....Ok let's get started!....Enjoy!

 

INGREDIENTS

 

1-2  Organic Chicken carcass (meat removed)  and feet and necks if desired 

4 large carrots wash and leave skin on cut in half

5 celery ribs washed with leaf tips

1 large onion quartered with skin left on

4-5 garlic cloves with skin cut in half

2 bay leaves

Parsley fresh or dried (I used dehydrated)

1 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt

2 Tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar (Braggs)

Enough filtered water  just enough to cover bones I used about 8 cups

 

DIRECTIONS

 

1. Place all ingredients in your slow cooker

 

2. Cover and cook on low for 12-17 hours

(this is what it will look like done...mine was 14 hours)

 

3. Remove vegetables and bones

 

4. Pour broth through a cheese cloth lined colander that has a pan under it

 

5. Once you have broth in your pan you can start ladling into your jars

 

 

6. Refrigerate your jars and once all the fat rises to the top (mine was overnight) you can skim it off and enjoy your broth as you like! You can also add more salt or even pepper to it if you want.

ENJOY!!