Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Getting Creative In The Kitchen With Steel Cut Oats!
Happy Wednesday Morning! We are on the downhill slide of the week now! I hope everyone is enjoying a great week. It's been a a busy one here, but things are definitely heading in the right direction and we are gearing up for a great (productive work) weekend!

Question…have any of you ever entered a recipe contest? I love getting creative in the kitchen, as I know most of you do too, so I wanted to share a little contest Bob's Red Mill is doing where you have a chance to win up to $5000 for the grand prize!

Spar for the Spurtle | Bob's Red Mill

This is The Fourth Annual Bob's Red Mill Spar For The Spurtle competition. All you have to do to enter the contest is, come up with an original recipe, upload it and a picture to their Facebook page. Easy, right? 


Sadly, I am not eligible to enter since I'm an ambassador for Bob's Red Mill, but that doesn't stop me from creating! So, I'm gonna share my recipe for my individual Apple Spiced Crumb Topped Baked Oatmeal!

Before I get into the recipe, I want to start off by telling you a little trick I have when it comes to making breakfast easy. I've started cooking my steel cut oats ahead of time, scooping out what I need for my individual breakfast in the morning, adding a little extra water or almond milk to the oats and reheating them in the microwave. Makes things come together super quick! Then I can top them with whatever I want or I can throw them in recipes like this one for a super quick breakfast. 


With my kids getting older and life inevitably getting busier, having wholesome snacks and quick breakfasts ready for a fast paced life is a must. I came up with these when Jay started running cross country this summer. He's in need of some good recovery foods and these definitely do the trick! The texture is a cross between baked oatmeal and a muffin with a crispy crunchy crumb topping. I love that you can either eat them with a spoon or hold them and eat them with your hands as you run out the door!


Apple Spiced Crumb Topped Baked Oatmeal
makes 7

1 cup Bob's Red Mill Sweet Rice Flour
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup Vanilla Plant Fusion
2/3 cup Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 cup Unsweetened Applesauce
1 cup cooked Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Steel Cut Oatmeal, cooled
1/2 cup Egg Whites
1/2 cup Vanilla Almond Milk
2 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar
1 dropper NuNatural's Vanilla Stevia

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup cooked Steel Cut Oats, cooled
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1 TBSP Vanilla Plant Fusion
2 TBSP Sugar
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
pinch of salt
5 drops NuNatural's Vanilla Stevia


Preheat oven to 350º. Spray jumbo muffin pan with cooking spray. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sweet rice flour through salt. Mix well with a wire whisk to get any lumps out of the mixture. Next add the applesauce through stevia drops to the dry mixture and stir to mix well. Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared pan. I used a jumbo muffin pan and a large ramekin. 

Prepare the topping by mixing the oats through vanilla stevia drops in a bowl until it forms coarse crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over the muffin batter. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pan. Remove from the pan and continue to cool on a wire rack or eat warm. 


I will be sharing this on Gluten Free Wednesdays!

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posted by Sarena Shasteen - The Non-Dairy Queen @ 6:00 AM   15 comments
Friday, June 13, 2014
Best Homemade Gluten Free And Dairy Free Bread Recipe!
Happy Friday Friends!!! Things have been crazy here the past two weeks with house repairs. I will spare you the details and my wallet woes.


I was asked by one of my favorite BLENDS if I would share a recipe for something that is hard to re-create gluten free.


So, I shared a new super easy, gluten free recipe! Head over to Lindsay's site to check it out! 


I will be sharing this on next week's Gluten Free Wednesday
posted by Sarena Shasteen - The Non-Dairy Queen @ 7:39 AM   39 comments
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
Homemade Pico De Gallo and Oven Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

Oh summer time…we love you so. Don't get me wrong, I love all the seasons, but I celebrate the great things about all of them and fresh produce is a summer time favorite here. I have been making my own homemade pico de gallo for years, but honestly, I would put the ingredients in the food processor, blend it to the consistency we wanted and be done with it. Well, a couple of weeks ago, at the beach, I didn't have the luxury of a food processor and using a blender would have made a foamy soup. Not what I was looking for at all. Oh and you need fresh pico de gallo when you're having fish tacos and vegetarian tacos at the beach. So, I hand chopped it.

Just give me a spoon! I could eat this all by it's self!

I can't even begin to tell you how good that was. So, since being home, I've now hand chopped pico de gallo three times and we are already wanting more! It doesn't take long, about 10 to 15 minutes. I love kitchen therapy (and running therapy and lifting therapy and yoga therapy…sounds like I need therapy ;-) so, a few minutes of chopping is actually enjoyable for me. Don't let the chopping scare you off. Seriously, this is worth it!


Also, if you've never baked your own corn tortilla chips, I highly recommend it. They are so crispy, thick and crunchy without being greasy. They are so good and a perfect accompaniment to this thick and chunky pico de gallo.

Fresh Pico De Gallo
makes about 3 cups

5 Large Roma Tomatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs)
4 Green Onions
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 Jalapeño, without seeds if you don't want too much heat
1/4 tsp Salt
hand full of fresh Cilantro
juice from half a Lime

Chop everything to your desired size. Mix together and enjoy!


Baked Corn Tortilla Chips

Corn Tortilla Taco Shells
Salt

Preheat your oven to 375º. Spray baking sheet with oil.

Cut your corn tortillas into quarters. Arrange your chips on the baking sheet without overlapping. Spray the top of the chips with a little of the oil and lightly salt. Bake for 5-10 minutes, watching carefully. When slightly browned, turn the chips over, return to oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until they are browned to your liking.

What's your favorite thing about summer? Do you have a favorite food you eat a lot of during the summer? I LOVE going to the lake during the summer and I eat a frightening about of watermelon. It's one of those foods that, once I get started, I can't stop…

I'm sharing this on Gluten Free Wednesdays!

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posted by Sarena Shasteen - The Non-Dairy Queen @ 7:41 AM   28 comments
Monday, June 2, 2014
Running…On The Beach and Up Currahee!
Holy smokes has life been crazy! Summer is officially here for the boys. They got out of school about a week and a half ago. Thank goodness! I love summertime with my men. We immediately headed to the beach for a very short, but incredibly sweet trip. There is nothing more amazing than an ocean sunrise.


Seriously, as I watched it each morning, I felt an amazing calm come over me.



Maybe it's a state of mind, maybe it's the breath taking view and maybe it was the amazing company?


Whatever it was, it was AMAZING.

We wasted no time getting thrown back into reality. Work was begun immediately upon arrival back home. Darn responsibility…

Oh well, I like to eat and well, I like having a roof over my head, so, you know…I needed to get over it.

Tony and I decided a few months ago to do something a little crazy. My husband is a serious history buff. I have since become somewhat of one too. We live about an hour outside of Toccoa, GA which is where the paratroopers from WWII trained. This year marked the 70th Anniversary of D-Day and so we decided to sign up for the Currahee 10k. Ya'll, that run is no joke. I have a whole new respect for those men that ran that beast of a mountain twice a day. "3 miles up, 3 miles down". The first two miles were hard, but nothing compared to the last mile. That climb was darn near vertical. I have never seen something like that before. I had every emotion imaginable going on inside of me through that run. I am in awe and humbled by the men that ran there before me.


This view from the top was magnificent. It was brutal and beautiful all at the same time. As we were running up the mountain, we were talking about running. I realized that around the last part of May two years ago, that was when I started running for the first time. What started as a way to understand what clients were going through has turned into a love of mine. I always hated running and never thought I would even slightly like it. I can now, without a doubt say that I'm a runner. I am in love with it. The adventures it has taken me on (especially the past two weeks from running on the beach and then up Currahee), to the peace of mind through run therapy, to the amazing chats I have with my husband while we're out for our runs, I am absolutely, head over heals in love with running. When I first started running, I always said that when I would sign up for a race, I wanted it to be for a good cause. I think the preservation of the Toccoa Military Museum (which we viewed after the run after our whore baths in the car and a quick change of clothes) was a great cause for us. I've actually never ran a race before where people were thanking you for running. Military men and those that had family members in wars were thanking us for participating. We both have had family in the military so hopefully, that small thing we did by running and remembering them, demonstrated our way of honoring them and thanking them for their service. 


As we were driving away from our Currahee run on Saturday, Tony and I looked back in the rear view mirror and realized what we had just run up. That mountain in the background, that is the beast. We are already talking about doing it again next year! Yeah, we are that crazy…CURRAHEE!

I will be sharing this on this week's Marvelous In My Monday (which will be on Tuesday). Make sure you check out Katie's inspirational post. It's a great way to start your week!

MiMM MIMM #77 A Very Grateful Thanksgiving <3

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posted by Sarena Shasteen - The Non-Dairy Queen @ 6:44 AM   22 comments

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Sarena Shasteen - The Non-Dairy Queen
Home: Atlanta, GA, United States
About Me: Lactose Challenged
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