Carey Makes a Mean Brownie

My dear Philadelphia pal always arrives in Baltimore with a perfectly gooey pan of gluten free brownies for me. She said she adapted her recipe from a recipe on bon appetite substituting plain white rice flour in place of the wheat flour and using regular Hershey's dark cocoa powder.

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/cocoa-brownies

Back to Work: Easy Soups for the Working Mama

I started back to work full time in January and have been trying to collect some easy recipes I can either put in the slow cooker or prepare before heading out to work.  I had great luck with the following two soups.

Sausage, Potato, Spinach Soup
Found here: https://damndelicious.net/2014/10/29/sausage-potato-spinach-soup/


and

Spanish-style White Bean and Kale Chorizo Soup
Found here: https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/spanish-style-white-bean-kale-and-chorizo-soup-1914944

To do: Stop Buying Siggis Yogurt and Attempt the Same Technique

Icelandic style strained yogurt. Thick creamy. And expensive. I haven't attempted my own yet but I came across the best resource to do it.  I am most excited about versions that fold in whipping cream.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017991-creamy-homemade-yogurt

Baby Approved: Banana Oat Pancakes

Some time ago I tried a version of this recipe with great success. At that time the recipe I found called for pulverizing the oats to make an oat flour, then folding it into the other ingredients.  In my search for the recipe online I came a cross an easier approach altogether: blend all four ingredients, rest the batter, then fry the cakes.  This is a very healthy version of pancakes containing only: bananas, eggs, oats, baking powder, and salt. My piggy baby ate six pancakes in one sitting.  Do make sure to let the batter rest for the full twenty minutes before starting to griddle the cakes.

Ratio of ingredients:

-one banana
-one egg
-1/4 cup oats
-1/4 tsp baking powder
-dash salt

Found at: http://simply-delicious-food.com/easy-healthy-banana-oat-pancakes/

Recipe Reviews: Pizza Beans and Sheet Pan Meatballs

This past week I tried out two of the recipes on Smitten Kitchen. Pizza Beans and Turkey Sheet Pan Meatballs with Crispy Turmeric Chickpeas. Both recipes were also enjoyed by my 13 month old and will likely make a regular rotation in our weekly meals.

Pizza Beans: Not much to critique here. Delicious buttery beans soaked in tomato sauce and coated in bubbly mozzarella. The recipe incorporates a few other healthy vegetables like carrots and kale and is already gluten free so there was no need to make major modifications other than finding a gluten free french bread to accompany the dish. I like Against the Grain's baguettes.

https://smittenkitchen.com/2017/09/pizza-beans-cookbook-preview/


Sheet Pan Meatballs: I served these meatballs and chickpeas next to a pesto pasta (gluten free). Next time I make it I'll skip the pre-cooking of the chickpeas as I'd prefer them less crispy--or not crispy at all. I can imagine that having a crunchy topping on a pita sandwich would be great but the appeal wanes when you eat this meal as a dish in and of itself. Plus, my practically toothless baby will be able to better enjoy the chickpeas if they are soft and flavorful.

https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/01/sheet-pan-meatballs-with-crispy-turmeric-chickpeas/