White Bean, Tomato, and Avocado Salad

I came up with this recipe on a whim when I was making lunch in a hurry. We had leftover beans from dinner that I wanted to incorporate into a salad, and also the most beautifully green avocado and some ripe cherry tomatoes. So I threw them all in a bowl, added chopped cilantro, chopped jalapeño, lime juice, and cotija cheese...This salad was seriously delicious.



The wonderful thing about this salad is that it can also double as a salsa/appetizer for a party. Put it next to a bowl of tortilla chips and I guarantee it won't last long.



It's like chunky guacamole and chunky salsa had a delicious bean baby. No, that doesn't work at all.

But seriously, this salad/salsa is filling, healthy, and super delicious. And gluten free if you eat it with gluten free tortilla chips!

Ingredients: (makes two salads or one bowl of party salsa)

1 can of canned great northern beans, drained
1 avocado, chopped
2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1/4 cup diced red onion 1/2 a chopped jalapeño, seeded (or more if you like it spicy!)
bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice of a lime
cotija cheese for topping (or you can use feta)
salt and pepper to taste


Toss all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with tortilla chips or on it's own.

Chewy Granola Bars with Peanut Butter, Nuts, and Cranberries

Last week (as soon as we had a working stove and proper ingredients) I made home made granola bars. I was inspired by the some that my boss had made before we moved from San Diego. They were delicious, and chewy, yet just a bit crunchy; the best combination.



My boss had told me she followed the Smitten Kitchen recipe and I decided I wanted to try it out.

However, when I looked at the ingredients, I decided I wanted to tweak it a bit - go figure. It seems that I never want to follow a recipe completely.

These granola bars are a bit healthier than the Smitten Kitchen Granola Bars. I used gluten free oats, and didn't use any flour. I also opted out of the corn syrup and added coconut sugar, which I find has a very caramelized flavor. I used egg whites to bind the ingredients together and it turned out great.



You can really add which ever ingredients you want to make these your own; chocolate chips, raisins, hazelnuts.




These granola bars are a great snack to have on the go. I even had one for breakfast this morning, topped off with extra peanut butter and I was full for hours.




Ingredients:

2 cups gluten free oats
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons flax seeds
3/4 cup dried cranberries
2 egg whites
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
3 tablespoons grape seed oil

Preheat oven to 325 and line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly grease parchment paper however you wish.

In a bowl, mix together oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon, almonds, sunflower seeds, flax, and cranberries. In a separate bowl, mix egg whites, vanilla, honey, and oil until blended. Mix dry ingredients into wet until everything is evenly coated.

Transfer mixture to 8 x 8 baking dish and flatten out as evenly in the pan as possible, pushing down a bit to make sure it all sticks together while baking. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the bars have browned around the edges. Allow to completely cool before cutting.

 

Cheesy Cheddar-Gruyere and Chive Biscuits (GF)

Welp, I'm back! We made the move from San Diego to Los Angeles and we finally have internet so I can post again! Stomach problems are better, after tons of doctors visits, all of which had absolutely zero answers for my symptoms. So I decided just to figure it out on my own, and so far it's working.

Needless to say, I've been eating fairly normal again and I'm back to testing out recipes.




A few weeks ago at my supper club, that I'm no longer a part of because I moved to LA (tear), someone made cheddar biscuits that were AMAZING. I seriously could not stop eating them. So I decided to make my own by adapting this recipe. I made them gluten-free, added gruyere, and added greek yogurt instead of buttermilk, because I didn't have any. These biscuits were absolutely delicious. The gruyere definitely adds an extra layer of flavor to the average cheddar biscuits. Brett ate three with his dinner, and I had one for breakfast with an egg and avocado. That recipe comes next!





Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups gf all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons gf baking powder
1/2 teaspoon gf baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons extra cold butter, in 1/2 in chunks
1 bunch of finely chopped chives (roughly 2 tablespoons)
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
3/4 cup grated gruyere     (I used 1 1/2 cups of Trader Joe's Cheddar-Gruyere cheese, I'm lazy)
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
2 tablespoons water


In a bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add extra cold chunks of butter, chives, and 1 cup of the cheese (reserve remaining 1/2 cup). With your fingers, or a pastry cutter, combine the ingredients until the butter forms peanut sized chunks/balls.

In a small bowl whisk together yogurt and water until fluid and no longer chunky. Add yogurt mixture to dough until it can be formed into a large ball.

On a floured surface roll out the dough until it's roughly 1 inch thick. Cut the dough with a biscuit cutter, or into squares if you want it to be more rustic, and sprinkle the top of each with cheese.

Place biscuits in the freezer for 10 minutes and preheat oven to 450 degrees, moving an oven rack to the upper third level of the oven.

Bake biscuits on a well greased baking sheet for about 15 minutes, or until biscuits are golden.

Family Photos

This past weekend our talented friends Chad and Jenika Gantes came over and took some photos of our family before we move to LA. I've been wanting to take photos for a while, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity. Now we have some photos to put up in our new place! Thanks Chad and Jenika, we love them!

Japanese Grilled Chicken Salad

Ingredients: (for marinade)

4 tablespoons gf soy sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon grated ginger
juice of 1/2 a lime
sriracha to taste (optional)
1 teaspoon chili paste (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
6 chicken breast tenders
3 cups mixed greens
1 cup chopped raw broccoli
1/2 cup julienne cut carrots
1/4 cup chopped scallions
2 tablespoons roasted shelled sunflower seeds or almonds

For Salad Dressing:
1/4 of above marinade
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a bowl, mix marinade ingredients well (except chicken!). Reserve 1/4 of marinade in a separate bowl and set aside for salad dressing. Add add chicken and allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

On medium heat, add chicken to a grill pan coated with olive oil. Grill 3-4 minutes on each side, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove from grill pan and cover with foil while you make your salad. Toss together greens of choice, chopped broccoli, carrots, scallions, cucumbers, and sunflower seeds.
Mix olive oil and vinegar into reserved (chicken-less) marinade and whisk well.

Serve salad with grilled chicken and dressing.