Recipe// Tea-party Cookies

Hey there!
Our friend Sarah from All Things Vintage invited us to do a guest post. We shared a recipe for Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies. They are a great treat for a tea-party, or any party for that matter!

If you are interested in this recipe, head on over to her blog! And don't forget to follow Sarah, she's AWESOME! But don't take our word for it, go see for yourself :)
Love from,
Layla & Hagen

Strawberry Anytime Tart {GF}

Mom has assigned me with the job to make breakfast every morning. It has been difficult for me to get creative, I just kinda make the same old things. Toast and eggs, muffins, pancakes, muffins....
But....
I have finally made something new, delicious and even low on sugar! Not to mention, it's Gluten-free! What's even better is it doesn't even have to be for breakfast, it's so good it's like having desert for breakfast! It could be really good for a little tea party or luncheon.

Strawberry Anytime Tart Recipe

What you need:

Strawberry filling
2 c. fresh strawberries, chopped
1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. arrowroot
2 tbsp. water

Crust
1 1/4 c. almond flour
1 1/4 c. oat flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
5 tbsp. melted butter
2-3 tbsp. water

Serves: 8

1. Preheat oven to 375* and oil a 9x13 baking pan.
2. For the filling put the strawberries, sugar and water in a saucepan on medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer until strawberries are soft. Mash slightly.
3. In a small bowl mix the arrowroot and water together. Pore into strawberry filling and stir thoroughly. Pore the combined strawberry filling into a bowl. Set to side and let cool.
4. For the crust whisk all dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Make a well, pore in the butter and water. Stir until well combined. The dough will be somewhat crumbly but still should come together in a ball.
5. Press 2/3 of the dough firmly into your pan. I pressed it up on the sides just a tad, but that is optional. 
6. Pore all of the strawberry filling over the crust, spread evenly.
7. Crumble the remaining dough overfilling. You could do a little sprinkle of sugar as well.
8. Slide in the oven and wait patiently for about 25 minutes or until crust is light brown and filling is bubbly. 
9. Let cool until the crust comes away from the sides of the pan. Cut into 8 squares.
10. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and finally, EAT!

I found this recipe here but as always, made it my own with what I had...
This is a pretty flexible recipe. I used frozen strawberries once and would suggest that if you choose to also, that you add only 1-2 TSP. of water instead of 2 TBSP. of water.
It could also be really good to use different berries such as blackberries, blueberries or even raspberries. It could even be good with peaches, apples, pears. If you use a juicier fruit you will probably have to use less water as I said above.
It also works fine if you make it the night before and just store it in the oven or fridge overnight, it would probably be good cold, too.

This was a real hit. I was VERY pleased with it! Mom just got home from the store with four boxes of organic strawberries.... I'm totally making this for breakfast tomorrow! 

If you try this recipe let me know how it works for you and if you tried any other type of fruit what tweaks you might of made.
Hope you like it as much as we do! 

Love,
Hagen

Guest Recipe// Thai Lettuce Wraps

Good Morning, Everyone!
Today we have a guest recipe we would like to share. Chef Linda Rosario from New York is sharing her wonderful Thai Lettuce Wraps recipe. They look like the perfect dish for a cool spring day! Thank you, Chef Linda for your contribution! And now, words from the one and only, Chef Linda Rosario...

How to make Thai Lettuce Wraps

" In this article you are going to learn how to make some Thai lettuce wraps, this is a favorite in my house and I am going to show you what the secrets are behind the best Thai lettuce wraps. While there may be a lot of ingredients, it is a really simple process so I encourage you to read this article if you are interested in making your own tasty Thai lettuce wraps."

List of ingredients

50 ml of sesame oil

100 ml of NamaShoyu (organic soy sauce)

Red pepper flakes

50 grams of sesame seeds

100 ml of raw honey

50 grams of fresh graded garlic

200 grams of walnuts

150 grams of carrots

150 grams of celery

100 grams of green onion

50 grams of fresh cilantro

300 grams of butter lettuce

"In the processor, we are going to put some sesame oil, some NamaShoyu, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds & raw honey, use whatever brand you like just make sure that it is raw and wild.

Add some fresh grated garlic, some ginger and remember that when you mix garlic with ginger you have a really wicked taste that makes an amazingly tied dish if you also combine those two flavors 

with some honey and some red pepper. Keep in mind that the processor can do most of the job but I like to grate it because it distributes it evenly and by grating it evenly we avoid any misbalance in taste.

 When you are grating ginger you don’t have to worry about taking the skin off. Now that you placed all the ingredients it is time to whip all of these ingredients together."

" Now it is time for the second round of mixing, just throw in the main ingredient of our meal, the high protein walnuts, throw in some carrots, celery, green onion and some fresh cilantro.

This time I'm not going to mix the ingredients too hard, I am just going to pulse them so that they are a bit more consistent. Now that you are done with mixing the second turn of ingredients just get some butter lettuce and use it to support your ingredients."

" Strictly because of aesthetic purposes, I like to garnish the lettuce with some carrots and some mung beans."

50 ml of sesame oil ………………………………………………………. 80 Calories

100 ml of NamaShoyu (organic soy sauce) ……………………………... 120 Calories

50 grams of sesame seeds ………………………………………………… 70 Calories

100 ml of raw honey ………………………………………..…………… 200 Calories

50 grams of fresh graded garlic …………………………………………… 30 Calories

200 grams of walnuts ……………………………..……………………… 450 Calories

150 grams of carrots ………………………………………………………. 90 Calories

150 grams of celery ……………………………………………………….. 50 Calories

100 grams of green onion …………………………………………………. 50 Calories

50 grams of fresh cilantro …………………………………………………. 20 Calories

300 grams of butter lettuce ………………………………………………… 185 Calories

" Now that you know how to make Thai lettuce wraps consider the short amount of time it took to prepare this delicious and organic meal, of course that without a blender it could take 10 minutes instead of five but anyway, I think that you will love these Thai lettuce wraps."

Chef Linda Rosario is a food blogger from Chef Needs, one of the trusted suppliers of bakery display cases. She also loves to paint and dreams of having her own art gallery. Aside from painting and drawing, Linda has a heart for cooking and food.

If you are interested in restaurant equipment, check out the Chef Needs website for tons of products! For tons of recipes visit their FaceBook & Pinterest pages.

Ooh, I cannot wait to try these out! If you use Chef Linda's recipe, please let us know how you like it!
Love From,
Layla

Peanut Butter Cups

Hello dears! Today I have a recipe for you!
I had been craving these little cups of yummyness for forever, and couldn't stop thinking about them. So, I decided the best thing for me to do was to just make them!

Peanut Butter Cup Recipe

Makes 17 mini cups

3/4 cups chocolate chips

2 Tbsp. coconut oil

3 Tbsp. smooth peanut butter

1 1/2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
17 mini baking cups

I will say the more chocolate you have the better

 because the layers will be thicker....

1. Pour chocolate chips in a sauce pan along with the coconut oil. Put on medium heat. Stir until melted.

2. In a bowl, combine melted coconut oil and peanut butter. Stir until liquidy.

3. Place the baking cups on a cookie sheet. Pour a tsp. of the chocolate mixture in each cup. Put the cookie sheet in the freezer for the chocolate to harden.

4. When the chocolate is nice and hard, pour about a tsp. or tsp and a half of peanut butter mixture on top. Pop them back in the freezer to set-up.

5. Then simply pour another tsp of chocolate over the peanut butter, let harden in the freezer for about 6 minutes and voila! You've got yourself a delicious, melt in your mouth treat! 

Well let me know how you like them! Because....uh....we did... :)

Love,

Hagen

Pumpkin Muffin Recipe {gluten & sugar free}

Like I said, it's all Fall around here! Don't you just love the flavors of Fall? Apples, squash, pumpkins, and greens. All that nutrient- rich food to get you ready for the harsh Winter... I am flipping out with excitement! 
Okay, are you ready for a delicious, nutritious Autumn recipe?

I'm going to try a different approach to giving you the recipe... 
I hope this is legible...

And make sure you enjoy them with plenty of butter! You know, 'cause melted gold makes everything taste better... :)

I am always tweeking recipes and experimenting with different ingredients. You can, too! 
Try tossing in some walnuts, or if you're a raisin eater, do raisins instead of cranberries. You can even add chocolate chips, if you like! I would love to hear about your version of this recipe!

By the way... 
Have you guys checked out Hagen's blog? It's awesome! If you haven't, please head on over to Jewel In His Crown Photography and show her some love!

Love you,
Layla

GAPS Power Bars

These little bars of happiness put a smile on my face, and they will put one on yours, too! Here is a recipe and video, all in one. Enjoy!

What did you think of the video? We have been practicing with Hagen's camera for making better videos!

This recipe is pretty versatile, you can replace any of the dried fruit for whatever you have on hand.
Here is a list of  ingredients you can mix-and-match:
dried cherries
dried blueberries
shredded coconut
almond butter
almonds
oats
figs
prunes
chocolate chips
cocoa powder
cashews

The possibilities are endless. These quick and satisfying bars are sure to please your palate!

We'd love to here your combos,

Layla & Hagen

Recipe~ Creamy Coconut Macaroons

Here is a taste-bud-popping recipe, as promised! 
 

-Creamy Coconut Macaroons-

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 Tbls cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup honey

4 eggs

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 Tbls coconut flour

1 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

2 Tbls coconut oil 

1. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, cream cheese and honey.
2. Add in the eggs, one at a time.
3. Sift together the coconut flour and baking powder, and stir in. Make sure you don't over mix!

4. Drop batter by tablespoon fulls onto a lightly greased pan and bake at 350* for 12- 15 minutes. While cookies are baking, put remaining batter in fridge. 
5. While cookies are baking, melt together the chocolate and oil in a double boiler.
6.  Let cookies cool in the fridge before dipping.
7. Dip cookies in chocolate one by one. Place the dipped cookies upside down on a sheet, and place in the freezer for ten minutes.
8. Enjoy! Store cookies in the fridge. Makes about 36 macaroons. 

The sun started melting the chocolate, as you can see. Being sun-kissed made them taste even better!
These macaroons are so simple, I think the best part is that they are gluten and sugar free. 

Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!
Bake on,
Layla

Recipe~ Honey Cheesecake

Another recipe on a Wednesday... maybe I should call this 'What She Ate Wednesday'!

Now this was a first for me. I love cheesecake, but for some reason I have always been a bit intimidated by making one from scratch. Let's just say there are rational and irrational fears. This one was certainly irrational! So, I faced my fear, and this was the result...

-What you need-

 For the crust
1 cup gluten-free oats
1/2 cup pecan (or almond) flour
4 Tbls butter, melted
1 Tbls honey  

For the filling
8oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup honey
4 eggs

 -What to do-

1. Heat your oven (or toaster oven) to 350*

2. Put the oats in a blender or food processor, and blend for a few minutes.

3. Pour the blended oats, pecan flour, butter and honey into a 9 inch pan. Mix together, and press into the bottom and sides of the pan. 

4. Bake crust for 10 minutes.

5. While crust is baking, cream together the cream cheese and ricotta in a large mixing bowl.

6. Beat in the honey and eggs, one at a time.

7. Pour mixture into the pre-baked crust.

8. Bake for 30- 45 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs.

9. Cake is done when the middle is firm to the touch.

10. Let cake cool in the fridge for at least 5 hours, but over night is better.

 Easy-peasy, huh? It was so delicious! I love the texture that the ricotta added, and the oat/pecan crust almost tasted like a graham cracker crust. What's even better is that I didn't have to use any sugar! I can confidently say that I am over this irrational fear!

 I was short on fruit for topping, so I served mine with homemade lime jello. If you try this recipe, I would love to hear what kind of topping you made!

Keep calm and Bake on!
Blessings,
Layla

 

Chocolate Birthday Cake

Hey y'all!
Last weekend, Mom became another year wiser. That's right, it was her birthday! Our aunt came down, spent the weekend with us and took Mom shopping. Of course we made her presents and cake, chocolate cake!
 
Here is an adorable paper frame Hagen made. I love the little RV!
 

And here is a little video of us singing 'Happy Birthday', and Mom blowing out her "candle"....

We had an enjoyable weekend celebration!
And now onto the cake...
 

I have a confession to make about this cake... it was made from a mix... go ahead, ridicule me...

Are you done? Okay, well this mix is our favorite to use whenever we are short on ingredients and time. It is gluten and soy free, and we only use it occasionally. 

For the cake you will need:

 1 bag of Pamela's Chocolate Cake Mix 

3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1 cup strong coffee
 1/2 cup water

Mix together the above ingredients and pour into greased cake pans. Bake at 350* for 25- 30 minutes. This mix makes two 8-inch round cakes or 24 cupcakes.

For the ganache you will need: 
  1 10 oz bag of Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips 
2 Tablespoons cream cheese
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk, or heavy cream
    
Put these ingredients into a saucepan or double boiler on low heat. Stir until you have a nice liquid. I started out with 1/4 cup of milk, then slowly added more to get the consistency I wanted. You may have to add more liquid, depending on if you use milk or cream.

When your cake is cooled, pour the ganache over the top. I like to do a small amount at a time, letting it soak in and spread out. 

When it comes to chocolate, I'm a pushover...
I hope you enjoyed this not-so-made-from-scratch recipe!
Blessings,
Layla

Recipe: Lime-Orange Jello

Spring is here in Texas! We had a lot of rain last week, and now there are flowers popping up everywhere. I know Hagen is happy, she loves taking pictures of flowers! 

With the mild heat, we needed a nice treat to cool us off. I was short on ingredients, so went searching on the internet... I came across Whole New Mom's recipe for homemade jello. 

Here's my version...

What you need:

4 Tbsp gelatin

1/4 cup raw sugar

1 1/2 cups boiling water

3 cups cold water, divided

Juice from 4 limes 

Juice from 1 orange

1/2 tsp orange extract

1/2 tsp grated lime rind

1. Put gelatin in a large bowl, pour in 1 1/2 cups cold water. Allow gelatin to soften while water is boiling.

2. Add boiling water to gelatin, and stir until dissolved.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, including the other 1 1/2 cups cold water.

4. Pour into 13x9 pan.

5. Refrigerate until set, about 5 hours.

Enjoy!

I would like to try this recipe again, using honey as a sweetener. 

My younger siblings had never eaten Jell-O, it being full of sugar and who knows what! When I put a bowl of this homemade jello in front of them, they didn't know what to do with it!

    Do you like jello? If so, what is your favorite flavor?

Blessings,

Layla 

 

 

Recipe~ Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

It has been a while since I've posted a recipe. Actually, it has been a while since I've been able to bake. I have been trying to get used to the tiny oven in our tiny house. I think these Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies are worthy to post!

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/4 cup honey

1/2 cup orange juice

4 eggs, room temperature is best

1 teaspoon vanilla or orange extract

1/2 cup Enjoy Life chocolate chips

1 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup pecan (or almond) flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1. Pre-heat oven to 350* 

2. Foil cookie sheets and grease with coconut oil 

3. In a large bowl, mix together the first 6 ingredients 

4. In a small bowl, stir together the flours and baking soda 

5. Mix dry ingredients into the wet

6. Allow batter to sit for a few minutes, letting the coconut flour soak up the liquid

7. Drop cookies by tablespoon on the cookie sheets

8. Bake for 10- 15 minutes

9. Let cookies cool a bit before removing from pan

10. They taste even better when they have been refrigerated over night!

    

 

Since my oven is so small and doesn't radiate heat too well, I had to set the heat higher. You might want to try 325* first, depending on your oven.

It has been fun experimenting in the RV. I hope to add more RV recipes in the future!

 Chocolate and orange are one of my favorite combinations! What's your favorite chocolate combo? 

Blessings,

Layla 

Recipe: Grain- Free Zucchini Muffins

Today I tried something new, something I have been reluctant to try for quite some time...

Zucchini Bread

Actually, Zucchini Muffins. They turned out to be a hit! I found the recipe from The Roasted Root,
it was a guest post from Seaweed & Sassafras.
Her recipe called for almond flour and Greek yogurt,  but I had to use pecan flour and keifer. The were DELISH! Okay, time for the recipe...

Grain- Free Zucchini Muffins
Makes one dozen

1/2 cup raw sugar
3 eggs
3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp keifer
1 1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cup pecan flour (or almond) 
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp baking powder

Topping:
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 Tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp cinnamon  

1. Heat oven to 325*
2. Place muffin cups in muffin tin.
3. In a bowl, wisk together first 3 ingredients until sugar is dissolved.
4. Add zucchini and spices to the wet ingredients.
5. In a large bowl, mix together your flours and baking soda.
6. Add wet ingredients to the dry, mixing until incorporated.
7. Divide batter into muffin tin evenly.
8. Sprinkle on almond topping.
9. Bake for 30- 35 minutes.
10. Enjoy!   
   

Aren't these muffin cups darling? I got them for my birthday from some very special friends...
(you know who you are)

 Now grab your favorite thermos, fill it with some herbal tea, and enjoy yourself!

I hope you are having a wonderful Sunday!
Blessings,
Layla