lemon quinoa muffins

These were a hit with my Sunday School Class today. They are gluten-free, dairy-free, and are sweetened with pure maple syrup. They were yummy!

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix together 1/3 cup softened butter (butter isn't considered dairy, it's considered a fat)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
3 eggs
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Once that is all creamed together add
1/2 cup gluten-free rolled oats (I soak mine overnight first)

In a separate bowl combine
3/4 cup quinoa flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1 Tbs. chia seeds
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt

Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix together. Add grated zest from one lemon.

Spray mini muffin tins. Fill with batter.
Bake for 20 minutes or until done, maybe a couple minutes less would work ;)

Eat your heart out!

*remember quinoa is high in protein and chia seeds have more calcium than milk and loaded with omega 3's

Granola bars take 2

My 7 year old put it best when he said, "she just keeps adding and adding stuff trying to get the perfect granola bar."

My 4 year old was shocked to hear some of the ingredients and said, "what? There's beans in there?"

So, my friend suggested adding a ripe banana for moisture and I had left over black beans so I tossed them in too.

Today's granola bars were more moist than last weeks, and, I think they tasted better. Plus, the bananas were the only sweetener (aside from the chocolate chips of course) so that was handy.

Here is the new and improved recipe:

1/2 cup pureed black beans
2 eggs
2 ripe bananas
1/3 cup softened butter

Mix all that together then add:

1 Tbs. vanilla
1 cup Raw Almond butter ( I use this brand)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. chia seeds
1 tsp. sea salt
1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
4 cups gluten free oats

Mix until combined and cook in 9 x 13 sprayed pan at 350 degrees for only 15 minutes. Let cool completely.

Yum!

Dairy Free Breakfast Casserole

So I never claimed to be a photographer... for the record.

Good thing looks aren't everything ;)

The other night I made this for dinner and it was really delicious. Common folk think that breakfast casserole has to be smothered in cheese and loaded with cream and bread but we over here aren't your everyday common folk.

So I took a package of ground sausage out of the freezer. Jimmy Deans, baby. I do not think Jimmy Deans is "healthy", but I do think it was in my freezer and when things are tight you somethings have to make use of what you've got. So, that's what I did. 

So I put the frozen hunk of goodness and stuck it in my crockpot with about an inch of water and cooked it on low for the day. You can't get much easier than that.

At around 4:30 I chopped up 3 leftover baked potatoes into hefty chunks. I put them into my 9x13 favorite pan in the world (stoneware pan). Then I drained the cooked sausage and poured it evenly over the potatoes. Then I cracked 10 eggs into a bowl and whipped them with 1/2 cup of water and a little pepper. I figured Jimmy Dean took care of the salt for me! I poured the egg mixture on top of the sausage and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes? Basically until the eggs are cooked... I actually do not remember if it was a half hour or maybe an hour?? Maybe in between the two somewhere. Just watch it. 

So this was gluten free and dairy free.

It was really good and really simple.

We had veggies on the side. You could add veggies and cook them in it but I knew my kids little girl would prefer it without the broccoli cooked in. So, improvise. Enjoy!