Oven-baked french fries

Someone came home with McDonald's and the smell of greasy french fried potato goodness was mouthwatering. I had to have french fries.

I personally love the thick-cut steak fries with the skins still on. Oh, yum.

Of course, they're easy to make. Just clean a potato, then cut it into strips. (If I'm in a hurry I like to stick them in the microwave for a minute so they'll cook quicker.)

Then, line a cookie sheet with tin foil for easy cleanup. Spray cooking spray liberally on the pan, place the fries on the sheet, and spray a little more. They will stick badly without some kind of lubrication.

Put them into a hot oven, about 400-450 degrees, for about 10-15 minutes or until they're... well, french fries. Sprinkle them with salt, let them cool, and don't feel bad for a minute that you don't get to eat McDonald's fries.

123 Gluten Free: Blueberry Muffins

This post is brought to you by 123 Gluten Free: Meredith's Marvelous muffin/ quickbread mix. Chris was buying some of those manly protein powder things online, and the website he was using carried these. Being awesome, he added this to his order. Then, for weeks he teased me by saying he had a surprise for me but he didn't have it yet. Gah the suspense!

When it finally arrived, it was in the middle of a very busy week so the package sat on my counter. This morning was very un-busy and there just happened to be a huge thing of blueberries in the fridge, so I decided to try it.

There are directions for both banana bread and blueberry muffins on the package, with online instructions for pumpkin, carrot, or zucchini bread.

I deviated from the directions a bit. I didn't have 1/2 c. butter, so I used about 1/4 c. butter, and filled in the rest with sunflower oil and applesauce. I also didn't use milk. I used water instead.

The package directions say to bake for 2o minutes, but mine got a little brown. If you make these, check them at around 15.

How was the muffin? Good texture and overall flavor, but I felt it was missing something. They tasted just a tad bland. I think using orange juice in place of the milk would yield more flavor, and I think the recipe could have used a tad more blueberries than the 1 1/4 c. called for.

Would I finish the batch? Definitely, and I'd even share them with company. That's the real test of a recipe, you know.

Would I purchase the mix again? Probably not, but only because it's so easy to make muffins from scratch.

It's a good quality product, and I'd recommend it to beginners or people who don't like making muffins from scratch.

Midnight snack: apples & peanut butter

I don't always like to post recipes. Some times I post what I'm snacking on. We tend to eat the same old things, and I love when I see these types of things on other blogs. Gives me inspiration.

Back to studying!

pumpkin muffies

A little blurry, but you get the idea.

For years, my favorite thing at Panera was their pumpkin "muffies." It's a cross between a muffin and a cookie. Genuis. It's like they took a muffin and lopped off the top.

I was recently at Panera (by the way their classic salad is awesome) and I saw them in the case staring at me. Of course, when I start craving something like that, it's off to the kitchen to recreate it. These were soo easy and smell so wonderful- like fall. Using honey for some of the sugar would probably give them a more complex flavor (I know, I'm talking about complex flavor in muffins...) and make them a little moister. These were by no means dry, unless you get distracted and let them bake too long. They're still yummy if that happens.

Pumpkin Muffies

1/3 c. millet flour
1/3 c. brown rice flour
1/3 c. corn starch
1/2 t. xanthan gum
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 t. vanilla
1 egg
1 T. applesauce
1/3 c. pumpkin puree
1/8 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
3/4 t. cinnamon
1/8 t. nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves
dash of ginger

Mix the dry ingredients together well. In a separate bowl, add the wet ingredients to a slightly beaten egg and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and mix them up well. Let the batter sit there a minute before you start spooning it onto a greased cookie sheet. It will be like making really wet cookies. They will spread out on the sheet, but they won't spread much in the oven. Bake them at 350 for 10-15 minutes, sprinkle them with powdered sugar, and try not to eat them all at once. It makes about a dozen muffies, or probably about 6 muffins.

*As you can see by the picture, my muffies are not as puffy as the ones at Panera. I think the only way to achieve that is to bake them in rings, but if you're going through that much trouble you might as well make muffins. Either way, we get a tasty treat so we win. :o)

**Note: Check the comments for a different version that might be a little better.

Quick Vegetable Soup

When I want something hearty and healthy in a hurry, I make vegetable soup. It freezes well, so it's easy to make a big batch and freeze individual portions for instant meals.

This isn't really a recipe, but more of a guide:

-Start with the tomato base: Mix equal parts broth with tomato juice.
          Of course, this is flexible. Whether using chicken broth or vegetable broth: Make sure it's GF. Sneaky source of hidden gluten. Tomato paste or sauce may also be used. Or, leftover spaghetti sauce.

-Add in leftover, cooked, canned, or frozen veggies.
          Beans and cooked rice or quinoa can also be thrown in. This is a great time to clean out the fridge!

-Season with salt, pepper, oregano, fresh minced garlic, and parsley

That's it. Suddenly you have soup. I like to pair it with cornbread, crackers, or grilled cheese.

So, freeze a big batch and cross your fingers another Hurricane Ike doesn't happen and ruin the freezer full of food!

Iced Coffee

I know, another drink post.
It's really good though!

Iced coffee is super easy to make. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than getting one at a coffee shop, and it tastes just as good.

Start with a glass of ice and your favorite creamer or milk, soymilk, rice milk, whatever. I like to use the flavored ones.



Brew a pot of coffee 1 1/2 to 2 times normal strength.

Pour it over ice, add cream and sugar to taste, and stir.



See? Easy! And I didn't pay three bucks for it.

Glenny's Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

picture links to product info

I was wandering around HEB last night, and I always take a peek at the gluten free section in case there is something new or something is on sale. Sure enough, I ran into these. I've never heard of this company, but the website looks like it sells healthy snacks. In the mood to try something new and loving all things oatmeal right now, I picked them up.

I got home, settled into my couch, and pulled out the cookies. I read the box first: America's First Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies, 55 calories per cookie, dairy free, 11 grams of whole grains per serving. Not bad.

They come 10 soft cookies to a box. They taste great, and I promplty downed 165 calories. There is something about these cookies. They taste and smell like some treat I used to eat when I was a kid, but I can't quite place it. It's gunna drive me nuts trying to figure it out.

Would I finish the box? Yes

Would I buy them again? Maybe. They were tasty, but because GF oats are expensive, the box was $5. I could make my own for less money.

Glenny's also makes gluten free oatmeal raisin cookies.