~Mexican Tortilla Soup~

Today was a cold and dreary day, and what better to eat than a comforting bowl of soup?
Some of our friends came over today to have a "Planting Party" and so three of us girls got in the kitchen and made lunch for the elder sisters and moms......A day of delightful fellowship, and Delicious dining! ;-)








Mexican Tortilla Soup~

4 Cups Carrots-Chopped
2 Cups Celery-Chopped
2 TB. Crushed or minced Garlic
1/4 Cup Chopped Onion
2 TB. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 28 oz. can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 14.5 oz. can of Adobo Seasoned Tomatoes
1 TB. Chili Powder
1 Tsp. Cumin Powder
1 Tsp. Onion Powder
1/2 Tsp. Garlic Powder
4 Cups Cooked Brown Rice
3 1/2 Cups Pinto Beans
8-10 Cups Pure Water
2 TB. Salt --or to taste
1-2 Cups Tortilla Chips
Cilantro for garnishing


Saute the crushed garlic and olive oil. Add Carrot, Celery, and Onion and saute till the veggies are tender. Stir in the Chili powder, Onion powder, Garlic powder, salt, and cumin. Pour in the Tomato sauce and water, and stir. Simmer on the stove for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add the cooked Pinto beans and cooked brown rice and cook until heated through. Garnish with cilantro and tortilla chips and serve!


Enjoy your soup!

Christ's Blessings,

Miss Lizzy

Country food just tastes a whole lot better......

Care to know what our little hands have been making? ;-)
(sorry, no pictures yet!) :(

Our top favorite creation was the Double Chocolate Orange Torte From Elanas Pantry....let's just say...Divine, Melt in your mouth goodness that only took a few gobbles to finish! By far the best Gluten Free, homemade desert we've ever made. (We did substitute oat flour, and we used our homemade chocolate chips...)

If you'd like this recipe, click HERE and your on your way to decadence!


Another favorite was the country breakfast's we fixed! Or....more Brunchs....but so delicious!
We made potato hash browns sauteed with GF spinach and feta sausage, green peppers, and onions. YUM and served that with Laura's homemade biscuits with our home-canned raspberry jam and honey. (of course she made me a tasty batch of GF biscuits that I still argue were better than theirs...**grins**) I had mine with applesauce, and so finished a delightful meal.

Another favorite has been the Salads! :-) We made a spinach/red leaf lettuce salad with colorful peppers, salmon, brown rice, cucumbers and drizzled in a yummy garlic balsamic vinegar dressing. SO good!

And last but not least, Laura made a very creative mexican casserole which was layered with:
Corn tortillas
Mexican cheese
Spicy tomato sauce
Bell peppers
Zucchini
Mushrooms
Spinach

She baked that in the oven until the cheese was nice and melted, and it sure didn't last very long! :-)


Those were the highlight meals, and I hope more will follow!

Happy eating, and Christ's Blessings,

Miss Lizzy

Oops!

I almost forgot one of my favorite blogs! Here it is~


http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

This has super yummy recipes your sure to enjoy! :D :D : D


Christ's Blessings,

Miss Lizzy

Top 5 Gluten Free Blog Countdown~

5. http://glutenfreemommy.com/

4. http://holdthegluten.net/

3. http://gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com/

2. http://simplygluten-free.blogspot.com/

1. http://www.elanaspantry.com/


Hope you check out these wonderful Gluten Free Blogs!! :D :D :D


Christ's Blessings,

Miss Lizzy

Homemade Tea~~

Many a time I peep into our tea drawer, and we are either out of our favorite kind, or I just want something different. So.....I began experimenting with herbs etc.... and happened upon these three recipes~


Have any of your heard about the Homestead Blessings dvd's? Well, we've bought every single one of them, and they are just wonderful! In their herbal dvd, they make a wonderful mint tea that is perfect either hot or cold! Go HERE to read more/buy it.

They have a little "promo" clip of it, and it just happens to be on the mint tea! So if you would like to watch that, go HERE.


Also, another favorite is the Lemon Honey Ginger tea! It almost tastes like a hot lemonade.

2 TB. Ginger (Just take of two knobs and peel.......do not shred/etc.... you want the pieces to be a good size.
5-6 Cups Water

Boil this mixture in a pot until the water starts to turn a yellowish color. When it comes to this stage~

Get about 5 mugs/teacups and spoon into each, a mixture of:

3 TB. Lemon Juice
2 TB. Honey

Then just mix, and pour your ginger water into your 5 mugs!

Note...This has a tendency to cool quickly! So drink fast! :D :D :D


And my 3rd recipe is--

My version of good tea: ;-)

Make yourself a nice mug of either earl grey or black tea, and add to it:

3 TB. Milk (Non dairy milks may be used instead)
1 TB. Honey
1/8 tsp. Vanilla extract (optional)

This is SO yummy!!


Have fun making teas!

Christ's Blessings,

Miss Lizzy

Sweet Smoothies~

Valentines day is almost here! And with it brings lots of sweet stuff! :D :D :D And i'm not just talking about the candy...

Here's a pink and pretty smoothie that will look well in any glass, (well....if you omitted the cocoa....) and better yet, it will taste amazing~


I :heart: Smoothie

1 Frozen Banana
1 C. Frozen Strawberries
1 C. Almond or rice milk
1 TB. cocoa powder
1 soaked date-pitted
1 tsp. vanilla extract


Blend until smooth, and garnish with either some fresh strawberries, or even yummier: Some good Green and Blacks Chocolate!

Enjoy!

Miss Lizzy

How many ways can you make a Smoothie?

A LOT!

Smoothies are a GREAT way of incorporating distasteful items such as greens and vitamins, as well as being a wonderful "on the go" meal for when you need a quick and no mess meal in minutes.

Since Smoothies are such an incredible way to get maximum nutrition, I'll be featuring a wide selection of my favorite smoothie recipes on my blog!

For each recipe I'll tell you where I get the products, what to use, what to pair it with, how much time it took etc...


Green Thing~

2 C. Frozen Chopped Mango
1 Scoop Berry Vega Powder
1/4 tsp. Spirulina
Water to thin


That's it! Just 4 ingredients and your on your way!

What is Vega?

Vega powder is a tasty meal replacement/protein powder that makes smoothies really enjoyable! It's 100 % organic and perfectly matched nutrition that you can't beat. It's almost 100 % raw, but it does have some yummy pea protein and brown rice powder that isn't quite raw. It has your greens, probiotics, vitamins, fruits, veggies, proteins and minerals for a great balanced meal! It was created and designed by a man who used to do triathlons, and is great for a sports as well!

What is Spirulina?

Spirulina is a nutrient rich Blue Green Algae that has vitamins and minerals! It's one of the healthiest things you can put in your mouth, and it's very similar to Chlorella. It takes a little getting used to though, so start with a 1/4 tsp. and work your way up to a Tablespoon! It's almost addictive when you start eating it every day!

Where can I find these products?

Vega: www.myvega.com



It's the "Health Optimizer" type! It comes in Chocolate, Original, Berry, and Vanilla Chai! (We usually like to buy it through www.amazon.com because it is cheaper)

Spirulina: You can buy it HERE





Have a delicious day!

Christ's Blessings,

Miss Lizzy

Faire une pause de sucre et des grains~

Need a translation? **wink wink** "Taking a Break From Sugar and Grains" (and yes, that was French.....isn't it lovely?)

Yes, I am officially taking a break from ALL sugar and grains!!! I have been on a starch and sugar overload, and it's just not working.....so what does this mean?

When I say I mean no sugar....I don't just mean the white stuff you find in the grocery store...nope, sugar can disguise itself in many deceiving little ways...like~

Dressings,
Gluten Free Baking mixes/regular breads, canned products, yogurt etc...
Sauces and dips
Desserts...hmmm..... that's pretty obvious
And practically ANYTHING you find in a grocery store.....
Just be aware, if some of the products you are using "don't" have corn syrup, then they will most likely have that awful white, refined sugar.

As to the sugars I'm avoiding?

Agave Nectar
Maple Syrup
Honey
Sugar
And any other sweet substance that is not a fruit! :D :D

Not that the above sweeteners are "bad" for you, by no means! Excluding sugar and maple syrup, the other two leftovers are a great way to sweeten anything without the use of sucre.(sugar)
But I just decided to get all my sugar intake from only fruits.....yum! :D :D :D
Oh, and as Stevia is an herb, and it won't spike your blood sugar, I'll be using that.......

Now, as to the grains....

I will be eliminating the following;

Wheat and Gluten (obviously)
Quinoa
Amaranth
Rice--that will be HARD
Spelt--I don't eat it anyway...
ANY Gluten Free Baking/bread mixes
Crackers
Pasta
Chips
Etc......

So, that about sums it up! I'll be doing this "starch cleanse" you might call it... for about 3 weeks...And I'll be focusing on the really good things, like veggies, fruits etc...!

Where Will I get my protein you ask? From Beans and Greens! :D :D


Have a delicious day!
Christ''s Blessings,

Miss Lizzy

The belated Thanksgiving~

My family and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit some far away friends in TN that we had never met before! We were cyber friends, and couldn't wait to meet each other.....So it happened that we were up there during Thanksgiving week, and we were eager to have our Thanksgiving dinner with them, so here's the final product~


To get you in the mood first though, we will show you how This~






Turned into This~ (and no, we did not eat the above turkey.........)






It was a wonderful meal, the results of 5 young ladies socializing at an unbelievable rate whilst preparing course after course of traditions. It was fabulous, and a wonderful way to spend time with friends!



Eat and Enjoy!


Miss Lizzy

(And yes, thanks to Whole Foods practically EVERY course was gluten free and dairy free, including hot chocolate and desserts!)

Chili~ The delicious way!

It's literally freezing outside right now, and nothing sounds better than some good, hot and spicy chili, and you just don't have to serve it with tamales! One of our favorite ways of serving our tasty organic vegetarian chili is over organic potatoes! Maybe it's just the Texas thing to do, but chili potatoes are definitely a winner! Here's the gist of the recipe~


Small new potatoes--Depending on how large they are, usually 2 is enough per person.

Chili:

I NEVER measure when it comes to chili, I always just add in ingredients till it tastes perfect~

Beans: pinto or black..or if your bold, both!
Organic Tomato sauce-- You can either use the chunky tomatoes, or the smooth sauce.
Mexican spices/seasonings: your traditional chili powder, cumin, onion and garlic powder, and roasted hatch chiles if you want to make things spicy!
Green or red pepper chopped
Salt, pepper


That's basically it! We bake our potatoes first so their nice and soft, pour the chili over, and then top with some Monterey Jack cheese!


Here are the pictures~




Picture #2, I grant you might not look very appetizing....but the picture was taken at dark **Ewww** so don't worry, your food will NOT look like this! :D :D :D





Enjoy, and Christ's Blessings!

Miss Lizzy

Asian Cabbage Coleslaw~

(that's the old version.....it really doesn't look too good does it?.....then try the below recipe!)

I love the crunchy texture of coleslaw! Whether it be drenched in a cream sauce, or lightly flavored it's just a favorite.
Since I can no longer have that delicious creamy mayonnaise dressing anymore, I concocted a special asian slaw that really hit the spot.


(Now....you can either eat this whole batch like a salad-which I do, or it can be a side for any asian/normal meal!)


3 Cups fresh cabbage-shaved or chopped
3 TB. Gluten Free Tamari or soy sauce
3 TB. Agave Nectar or maple syrup
1 Cup Shredded Carrot
1/2 Cup. Purple Cabbage-Shaved or chopped
1/4 tsp. sea salt
3 TB. Toasted sesame oil
Lime juice to taste-optional
1 tsp. Sesame seeds-white or black


Mix the cabbage and carrots together. Add the wet ingredients and toss VERY well till everything is incorporated.

Banana Muffins....Are they fakers?

Yes, these banana muffins are NOT gluten free, but I had to make them for my daddy for his breakfast in the mornings...so I did it! I made wheat muffins without taste testing, hard but necessary! But, to reconcile myself, I indulged and made myself some gluten free banana chocolate chip bread...which I knew would be even better. So....here's the picture~

Hope's Cancer Diary~

There is a young 14 y.o. girl who is currently suffering from cancer.......Here name is Hope~~ What a beautiful name!

Her blog address is HOPE

Please look at her blog, leave her comments, and most importantly, keep her in your prayers!



God Bless,

Miss Lizzy