Ginger cookies

It's Christmas Eve and I'm out of cookies!

That's okay. I made some more. Ginger cookies this time. No molasses, here. Just a bright, spicy ginger flavor.

I had made the dough and was rolling it up into balls when I noticed the egg still sitting on the counter. I had forgotten to add it in! They were a smidge dry, but
they are still delicious. I would probably make them without an egg again, maybe decreasing the flour to 3/4 c.

Ginger cookies

2 T. shortening
2 T. Vegan I can't believe it's not butter
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
fresh grated ginger, I didn't measure
1 egg
1 c. GF flour mix
1/8 t. salt
1/8 t. baking soda
1/8 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. ground ginger
dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

For the outside of the cookies, mix in a small bowl:
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. ground ginger
dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Using a hand mixer, mix the shortening, "butter," fresh grated ginger, and sugar. Beat in the egg.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Dump the dry ingredients into the sugar/butter/ginger mixture, and mix well.

Form balls of dough and flatten them down a little bit. Dip each side into the sugar/ginger/cinnamon mixture, and place them on a greased baking sheet. These cookies do not spread at all. They will pretty much come out exactly how they were placed on the sheet.

Bake them for 12-15 minutes, until the edges begin to brown and the tops are set.

Makes 8 cookies.

Kale quinoa salad

This year, for my man's family Christmas, in an effort to decrease the stress, he catered BBQ. Yes, the BBQ place has a gluten free menu, and I've eaten there before with no problems, but I also wanted something absolutely safe to eat.

There were quite a few vegetarians and vegans in attendance, so I wanted to at least bring a side that would meet their needs. Us folks with dietary restrictions gotta stick together! We joked that amongst the meat and potatoes and beans, it was the only green thing on the table. I think it was very pretty!

Kale and Quinoa salad

You can really toss in any veggies that are in the fridge. I used:

chopped kale
chopped fresh cranberries
chopped purple cabbage
1 can of black beans, rinsed
sliced almonds
cooked quinoa, cooled
salt + pepper
olive oil
juice from 1 lemon

Stick it all in a bowl, place a lid on it, and shake it around.

There were no leftovers, but I made another batch and ate it with some chicken a couple of days later. Yum.

Travel meals, this week

Do you remember when I said that I might be done traveling for the year?
I was wrong. One more week, and THEN I get some time in my own bed, with my cat, with my man, with my family, with friends.

This week has been lonely, probably because it's so close to the holidays and everyone is having fun back at home without me. Such is life, sometimes.

I booked a hotel room with a kitchen this time, which makes life so much easier.

Here's what I'm eating:

Breakfast: Eggs and kale, with avocado. Plus fruit and cucumber slices.

Lunch: I am forcing myself to eat veggies, since I've been happily grazing on cookies and potato chips for the last few weeks. So I'll have salads on salads on salads.

Monday- Travel day. Packed a salad with any veggies and a leftover burger patty on top, to clean out the fridge. Didn't get to eat it until 4pm.
Tuesday- Salad with no meat because my feet hurt at the grocery store the night before.
Wednesday- Salad greens with leftover chicken and veggies on top
Thursday- Same thing as the day before.
Friday- Travel day. Snacky lunch of pretzels and an apple.

Dinner:
Monday- Long day. I originally planned to have an Amy's frozen dinner but since I had lunch so late, I snacked on pretzels and and apple.
Tuesday- Chicken and veggies
Wednesday- Pasta with meat sauce
Thursday- Leftovers
Friday- Back at home! Dinner at my nephew's birthday party, so I'll probably pick up an Amy's frozen dinner.

Snacks: GF Pretzels + peanut butter from the hotel breakfast, apples, larabars

For reference, the grocery list:
Amy's frozen dinner
Eggs
Kale
Salad greens
Avocado
Fruit
Pretzels
Chicken thighs
Frozen broccoli
Frozen peas
GF Pasta
Spaghetti sauce
Larabars
Prunes
Wine
Water

Bring from home:
Travel kit
Seasonings for chicken
Garlic
Frozen chopped green pepper

Clever leftovers, salad edition

Sometimes, when I'm not sure what to do with dinner leftovers, I put them on top of salad greens. Ha! I'm so clever! I'm getting rather bored with salads over here, so I'm finding ways to get some variety.

Obviously some things work better than others, but cold leftover meat and veggies almost always taste great on top of a salad.

I feel like I'm winning the cold lunches game right now.

Chicken and veggies

Y'all know I'm so happy to have a kitchenette in my hotel room. It's lightly equipped, so meals have to be simple, but simple is good!

Tonight I cooked chicken and veggies. I planned ahead and brought the seasonings from home, then today after work I went to the store and bought some chicken thighs and frozen broccoli.

I'm not used to cooking on an electric stovetop, so I tend to get the pan too hot and have to quickly turn it down to avoid setting off the smoke alarms.

Chicken and veggies

Turn the pan to MEDIUM heat. Add in 2 chicken thighs, 1 clove of chopped garlic, and 1/2 of a chopped green pepper. Sprinkle with 1 tsp ground thyme, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, and salt and pepper. Let that cook for a minute before adding in frozen broccoli, straight from the bag, and then throw in some torn kale from the fridge (because there's a huge bunch in there).

Let that all cook merrily for a while. If it starts to look too dry, add in a little bit of water and cover. Again, I'm paranoid I'm going to set off the hotel smoke alarms.

When the chicken is cooked through, shred it into smallish pieces with a fork, and let the veggies get a tiny bit of char on them. I'd let them get more charred at home, but, again, smoke alarms.

There ya go, a simple meal on a Tuesday.

Travel salad without meat

I went grocery shopping this evening after a very long day, and walked across the store and back before I realized I forgot to get lunchmeat for my salad tomorrow. Being on the opposite of the store, with my feet and back hurting, I said screw it. I can go without meat for a day.

I grabbed a little salad kit, although I did not use the packets of dressing, cheese, or spices. I was mostly interested in the assortment of greens to add a little interest.

For protein, I boiled a few eggs and tossed one in. When I cut into the avocado in the morning for breakfast, I'll add the other half to the salad.

Not the most exciting thing, but I'll get my greens.

This salad contains:
kale
greens from the salad kit
sundried tomatoes from the salad kit
boiled egg
sliced cucumber
avocado
olive oil
salt and pepper

I layer everything in the order listed above, and add the olive oil to a corner instead of drizzling over everything. This way, it stays in a localized area and doesn't wilt the greens. The kale is on the bottom and can handle an overnight soak in olive oil.

Happy Monday, I'm going to finish this glass of wine and unpack.

Peanut butter cookies

For some reason this year I've been really into making cookies. Peanut butter cookies are my favorite.

I like this recipe for a peanut butter cookie, because it doesn't use any butter or shortening, instead using all peanut butter for a stronger flavor. Plus it's naturally dairy-free.

Peanut butter cookies:
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 egg (or, 1 T flax seed meal + 3 T hot water)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. GF flour mix
1/2 t. baking soda
1/8 t. salt

With a hand mixer, beat together the peanut butter and sugar. Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking soda, and salt. The dough will be oily. Form into small balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with foil, for easy cleanup. Press a fork into the dough at 90 degree angles. (This is required).

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until the bottom of the cookies have started to brown. Top with chocolate, if desired. (I did half and half, but this is recommended)

Makes 1.5 dozen smallish cookies that freeze well.