Corn Chowder Recipe

November 19, 2013 By

corn chowder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been on Weight Watchers for a few weeks now. This is actually my second Weight Watchers  attempt in the last year.  I love Weight Watchers because it really does work if you work the system. I tend to use mostly fresh, homemade foods so it requires a bit more work on my end to keep up with Weight Watchers (since you have to make “recipes” for all of your homemade foods) but ultimately Weight Watchers keeps me from overeating and has helped me lose a total of 14 pounds to date!

One of the easiest foods to make is soup AND soup is so low in Weight Watchers points (which is a good thing, means you can eat a lot more of it!). Weight Watchers also encourages you to eat low calorie foods that are full of protein and fiber. This equates to a lot of fruits and vegetables with very little carbohydrates. That sounds like it is right up my dietary alley.

I decided to through together a tasty, easy and healthy corn chowder. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Corn Chowder

5 slices uncured bacon diced ( I use my kitchen shears  to cut the bacon)

1/2 of a medium white or yellow onion

1 large carrot, diced

1 large celery rib, diced

1 cup diced potatoes

64 oz of Organic Chicken Stock

Himalayan Pink Salt

pepper

1/2 teaspoon Organic Cumin

1/4 teaspoon Organic Chili Powder

3 Tablespoons butter

1 bag of frozen corn

1 bag of frozen lima beans

Method

In a large Stainless Steel Stockpot over medium heat, cook the bacon until it has rendered its fat and has just become crispy.  Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook until the onions are translucent and the carrots have begun to soften. Add the potatoes, stock and season with salt, pepper, cumin, child powder and butter. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes have softened. Add the corn and lima beans and reseason if necessary. Allow to cook an additional 15 minutes or until the flavor has deepened. Reseason if necessary. Serve as is, or use your Hand Blender  to puree a bit for a naturally “creamy” soup.

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Gluten Free Bananas Foster Pizza featuring Udi’s Pizza Crust

February 28, 2013 By

bananas foster pizza

 

 

 

 

 

When I was younger I considered myself a bit of a foodie. I loved all the great powerhouse restaurants from New Orleans such as Antoine’s, The Court of Two Sisters, Brennan’s and of course Commander’s Palace. So when I took a quick trip to Las Vegas and found out there was a Commander’s Palace in one of the hotels I simply had to go. My then-best friend and I decided to try dinner there, and knowing what I do about Commander’s Palace, that it is a Brennan’s restaurant, I knew we had to order the Bananas Foster, if for no other reason than to say we had eaten it at a Brennan’s establishment. We also ordered the chocolate lava cake under the assumption that since we were both chocoholics that we would be fighting over the cake. Boy were we wrong! That bananas foster was the best dessert we had ever eaten. We were both vying for that dessert and shoving politely offering the other one the chocolate cake.

I do not believe anyone can improve on that quintessential dessert but I do enjoy playing around with the flavors, and that is why I decided to try to make a Bananas Foster Pizza. I wanted to make this a kid friendly dessert so I skipped the alcohol, but I’m sure if you wanted to add it to your adult version, it would be magical, just like the real dessert. I also wanted to keep it gluten free and dairy free for my boys, but I wanted to make it easy to eat. Gluten Free Bananas Foster Pizza was born.  I used Udi’s Gluten Free Pizza Crust which is a favorite in our family.

5.0 from 8 reviews
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Gluten Free Bananas Foster Pizza featuring Udi's Pizza Crust
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 8
 
Ingredients
  • 2 Udi's Gluten Free Pizza crusts
  • ⅛ cup butter, ghee or Earth Balance dairy free spread (do NOT use coconut oil)
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon + additional for garnish
  • ⅛ cup banana liquor (optional and may not be gluten free)
  • ⅛ cup run (optional and may not be gluten free)
  • 2 ripe bananas, sliced into rounds
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tablespoons milk of choice
  • dash of vanilla
  • dash of cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Preheat an oven to 375 and pre-bake the Udi's Pizza Crusts.
  2. In a large saute pan melt the butter and sugar over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
  3. Add the cinnamon and stir.
  4. Add the banana liquor and rum.
  5. Flambe is desired to cook off alcohol if using.
  6. Spead the sugar mixture over the pizza crusts.
  7. Top with sliced bananas
  8. Mix the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and cinnamon in a small container until a drizzle if formed.
  9. Drizzle the icing mixture over the pizzas and dust with additional cinnamon.
  10. Cut and serve immediately.
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bananas foster pizza-1-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was provided with samples to help facilitate this review and recipe. All opinions are my own.

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NuNaturals Chocolate Stevia Egg Cream Soda Recipe & Giveaway

February 25, 2013 By

 

Dairy Free Sugar Free Egg Cream Soda Recipe

After running errands and going to swimming lessons, we often like to stop by Cheeburger Cheeburger for lunch on Saturdays. Cheeburger Cheeburger is modeled after a 1950’s diner and they offer such novelties as vanilla cokes and egg cream sodas. Every time we are there my boys want to know what an egg cream is. I sort of knew, but I ended up looking it up on Google to make sure. An Egg Cream soda recipe is made from carbonated soda water, cream and vanilla or chocolate syrup, and not an ounce of egg. When I got the NuNaturals Chocolate Stevia liquid I knew I wanted to turn it into a sugar free, dairy free Egg Cream soda recipe. Yes, it can be done! And I have to say, with NuNaturals Chocolate Stevia it can be done well.

The Egg Cream Soda Recipe

I have been using So Delicious Coconut Creamer in my coffee and have really enjoyed it, so I knew it would be perfect with the NuNaturals Chocolate Stevia. You can certainly make this egg cream soda recipe with half and half if you prefer, but it is so delicious with the coconut creamer. (OK, I couldn’t help myself with that one.)

5.0 from 3 reviews
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NuNaturals Chocolate Stevia Egg Cream Soda Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Beverage
Serves: 1
 
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup So Delicious Coconut Milk Creamer Original flavor
  • ¾ cup San Pellegrino sparkling water
  • 3 to 5 droppers NuNaturals Liquid Chocolate Stevia
  • ½ teaspoon chocolate extract
Instructions
  1. In a glass mix the all ingredients.
  2. Adjust stevia and extract if necessary to achieve the desired sweetness and chocolate intensity.
  3. You can serve over ice or straight up in a glass.
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The Giveaway

4 readers will win a prize pack containing one bottle each of the Lemon, Orange, Peppermint and Chocolate Stevias. Simply Enter below.
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Dairy Free Sugar Free Egg Cream Soda Recipe

I was provided with samples of NuNaturals products to facilitate my review. All opinions are my own.

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Gluten Free Mexican Rice and Beef Recipe

February 19, 2013 By

mexican beef and rice-1-2

 

 

 

 

 

 

Matthew loves all things Mexican. He loves the flavors, the language, the culture. Everything. He wants to go to Mexico when he gets older and hopes to learn Spanish soon. But that means he always requests Mexican inspired dishes. His favorite seems to be “Mexican Pizza”; our version of tostadas, but I can’t make them every night. He also seems to not want to eat meat much, so I am always looking for new ways to get protein in him. That is how I came up with my Gluten Free Mexican Rice and Beef Recipe.

We purchase a 1/2 of a grass fed steer every year, so we have tons of ground beef. I needed to use up some of it and coming up with an easy one-dish meal seemed like a great way to do it. I hope you enjoy.

4.0 from 1 reviews
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Gluten Free Mexican Rice and Beef Recipe
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 6
 
Ingredients
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper or 5 small sweet peppers, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • olive oil
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2 cups white rice, uncooked
  • 1 can tomatoes, diced with juice
  • 3 cups Beef Broth, organic or homemade (or more)
  • 2 tablespoons cumin (or more to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 can tomato sauce (optional)
  • fresh cilantro, washed and chopped
Instructions
  1. In a very large skillet cook the beef until done.
  2. Remove the beef and set to the side.
  3. Heat the oil in the pan and saute the onions and peppers until they have softened and the onions are translucent.
  4. Add the garlic and cook a moment longer.
  5. Add the rice and stir so that it is covered with the oil and cook for about 2 minutes.
  6. Add the spices and cook for a minute.
  7. Add the tomatoes and beef broth.
  8. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover with a lid.
  9. Allow to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, checking occasionally for doneness and to make sure you don't need more liquid.
  10. If more liquid is necessary add more beef broth or a can of tomato sauce.
  11. Once done, add cooked beef back in and stir in the cilantro.
  12. Serve immediately.
  13. To reheat, add tomato sauce and heat over low heat on the stove.
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