Gluten Free, Dairy Free Cheesecake!

I have to say, that I consider this Jonathon friendly (i.e. gluten free and dairy free) cheesecake one of my greatest kitchen achievements. Especially since I had no recipe and it tastes halfway decent. But enough with the pride. Here’s how it happened.

Attempting a cheesecake that Jonathon can eat has been in the back of my mind for some time now, with occasional reminders when I would pass by gluten free graham crackers in the grocery store. But as I was planning to make regular cheesecake for our family Christmas celebration, I figured it was as good a time as any to go for it. Though I didn’t strictly use any recipe, I based my proportions somewhat on the other recipe I was using, found on AllRecipes. I made the altered version in a mini springform pan, so roughly estimated a third of the amounts, which was enough for almost 3 minis.

Though I’ve seen a few different types of gluten free grahams, these seemed to be the best quality for the price. One sleeve of the crackers, mixed with 1 Tbl sugar and about 1 Tbl of melted dairy free Smart Balance made enough for two mini crusts. Bake the crust at 350 for 6-8 minutes.

While my initial plan for the filling did NOT include tofu, this was all I could find when I did my shopping, and believe it or not, it is actually a satisfactory cream cheese substitute. I combined one 8 oz container, 1 egg, 1/3 cup sugar, and 1/2 Tsp vanilla. To go with my other caramel macchiato cheesecake, I also added some strong coffee and topped with caramel. But you could go with just about any flavor with this base! Bake at 325 for around 30 minutes until center has set and edges begin to brown.

Finished product!

Project 31, Day 24: Bobby Pins

I have posted this idea before, but as it is one of the best organizational tips I have ever found, I think it needs a shout out during this project. Bobby pins- me and my wild hair can not live without them, but somehow they manage to get everywhere and yet be nowhere when you need them! I have tried many tactics over the years- keeping them in a dish, tying them together with a rubber band, and more, but I felt that none of them sufficiently contained the pins, while keeping them easily accessible and easy to return. And then I saw an idea to attach a strip of magnet to the inside of your drawer, cupboard, or wherever is convenient. So I gave it a try by taking an old unnecessary magnet from the fridge, applied strips of two sided tape to the picture-side, and attached it to the inside of my hair and makeup drawer.

Voila! And several months in, I can still honestly say this is the simplest, fastest, most efficient fix I have ever found!

Project 31, Day 20: Meal Planning

Planning meals is something I need to have organized or else I quickly fall into a rut and we end up eating the same three dinners over and over. So I found a few similar ideas on pinterest that I adapted to best fit my needs, and this is what I came up with…

The bulletin board is on the side of our whiteboard calendar on the fridge. I found mini clothes pins at Michael’s, hot glued them to the board, then glued on the days. I cut index cards into strips and wrote down individual meal options, which I keep in a box right above, on the top of the fridge. Every time I try a new recipe and it’s a keeper, it goes in the box! Any time I’m stuck, I just look through the box. Also, it’s posted so if Jonathon feels like starting dinner when he gets home, it’s super easy 🙂

Project 31, Day 16: That Awkward Corner Cupboard

In our cozy little kitchen, we have three cupboards and no pantry to hold our food. One of those cupboards is small and houses our spices, sauces, etc, one stores our cans, pasta, rice, popcorn, coffee and tea, and the third is a big, awkward corner cupboard in which we throw everything else with no semblance of organization. When we first started discussing this project, this cupboard immediately came to mind.

This cupboard is nice because it is quite large compared to our other spaces, but it is also inconvenient, because most of that space is out of reach to someone of my stature (and I’m not extraordinarily short). Of course to begin, I emptied it all and wiped down the shelves. I moved everything that belonged elsewhere and threw out random samples of things we were never going to try. Next I got out some Rubbermaid storage containers that we received as a wedding gift and had in storage (ironically enough). I used these containers to hold the items we buy in bulk at the wholesale club- very good deal, very inefficient packaging. One container for oats, one for chocolate chips, and another for nuts- both almonds and pecans left in their individual bags and consolidated into one container. The last container I put to good use with our coffee. These three containers I lined up on one side of the middle shelf; because they are long and skinny, they fill the space to the bag and I can still reach them from the ground. In the very back corner of the middle shelf, I put another dollar store bin, filled with baking mixes, syrup, honey, and other small items. The bin is long enough I can reach to slide out and get what I need. The remainder of the items I organized in the reachable parts of the bottom two shelves. The top shelf I kept for things that aren’t needed as regularly- extra mugs, popsicle molds, our apple peeler/corer/slicer, and straws. Now everything was in and there was an amazing amount of room to spare! So I cleaned off some counter space by moving our vitamins in and freed up our dish cupboard a little by adding mason jars to the top shelf.

There it is! I apologize for the description-heavy, picture-light post, but I am not very good about remembering to stop and document once I get in the middle of it 🙂

Project 31, Day 11: Under the kitchen sink, Take 2

The alternate title for this post is: “Foil and Saran and Ziplocs, oh my!” That is the biggest organizational issue under our kitchen sink- piles of wax paper, parchment paper, every size of Ziploc, multiple kinds of foil…at times neatly piled, but of course whatever I need is always on the bottom, resulting in an avalanche and subsequent shoving and quickly shutting of the door.

Exhibit A:

It also poses extra challenges, because in addition to the typical pipes, we have a drinking water system that takes up the left side and back of the cupboard. But first problems first, so I was off in search of something to contain all the wraps and bags. What I found was ice cube bins at Target for a few dollars. I picked up two and arranged vertically in one all the foils, saran, papers, and a random roll of shelf liner. In the other went the ziplocs (also vertically). Then I took everything else out of the cupboard, throwing away unnecessary packaging, moving what didn’t belong (like birthday candles to the birthday drawer, a duster to the cleaning supplies), and organizing all extra sponges, scrubbers and such to a plastic bin from the dollar store (though I later saw an equivalent bin at Target for $0.89…you win some, you lose some). When replacing things, I tried to organize based on what is used most frequently- wraps, ziplocs, and trash bags handy, extra sponges, paper products, and bleach to the back.

All finished and room to spare!

Project 31: Day 7

This post may be superfluous now that Carina has given us a fabulous idea for storing all your plastic bags, but I thought I’d share what I’ve done. When we got married, we had to do quite a bit of rearranging and organizing to fit both our selves and our stuffs in our cozy little apartment. Our front closet, however, did not see such attention. Finally, we got around to going through what was in it, getting rid of what needed to be, moving what went elsewhere, and rearranging what remained. But my primary priority was to find a solution to all the plastic grocery bags. Hundreds of them, filling up an entire shelf. So I recalled the bag dispenser that Grandma Branks has and which I always thought was pretty cool. I took an old kitchen towel, sewed elastic along each end, then sewed the long sides together, making a long tube. All that was left was to fill it with bags and get rid of the rest! It only took a few minutes and freed up an entire shelf in our closet!

Add a ribbon to the top and hang!

Minestrone Soup

Though I’m not a fan of the cold, I do get excited about soup season. I love soup because it is so simple, it makes plenty to last us for lunches and leftover dinners, and it just tastes so good when everything is cold and dreary. My latest soup is minestrone, adapted to be gluten free. I started with this recipe from the Food Network. The biggest change is substituting rice pasta- we use Trader Joes, because it is the best price we’ve found and tastes great. Other than that, I’ve used half water and half chicken broth, and switched the kidney beans out for great northern beans. And I may not strictly measure everything (another thing I love about soup- very forgiving!), but I do recommend measuring the pasta. I failed to do this the first time and the pasta somewhat overpowered the soup and sucked up a lot of the liquid.

Enjoy!

Kielbasa, Pepper, Onion and Potato Hash

I found this recipe on The Two Bite Club about a month ago and have made it several times since- super easy, delicious and filling!

• 1 (14 ounce) package turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/4 inch rounds
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 yellow, red or orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 small or 2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

1. In a heavy bottomed skillet (I like to use my cast iron), heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the potatoes to the skillet and season with salt and pepper. Fry until golden brown and cooked through, around 8-10 minutes, stirring a few times to ensure even browning.
2. In a separate skillet, brown the sliced kielbasa for around 5 minutes in 1 tbsp of olive oil over medium high heat.  Remove the kielbasa from the pan and set aside.  Add the peppers and onions to the skillet and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Cook for 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the cooked potatoes and kielbasa to the skillet with the onions and peppers and mix everything together.  Serve nice and hot!

I usually use more potatoes to ensure lots of leftovers for lunches, and you don’t need a lot of salt, as the kielbasa is pretty salty. Last time we had it with a side of cooked apples. Yummy!

Bobby Pin Organization

If you’re anything like me, you’ve often wondered how in the world bobby pins manage to get EVERYWHERE and if there is any possible way to effectively contain them. Well then, this is the post for you. I found this site pinned on pinterest a while back and last week decided to try some bobby pin management. The result? Success!

All I did was take an old magnet from the fridge, put strips of double-sided tape on either end, and stuck it to the inside of my bathroom drawer! Gluing it would work as well, depending on how worried you are about it being permanent. So easy and it works wonderfully! And yes, I do have a Hello Kitty hair clip. I found it in my preschool classroom in a moment of desperation.

Gluten Free Almond Butter Cookies

Desserts can be pretty tough to make Jonathon friendly and delicious, but these cookies are both, in addition to being incredibly easy! I found this recipe on myrecipes a couple years ago and they have been my go-to ever since. Everyone raves about them!

Ingredients

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Stir together peanut butter and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl until well blended. Stir in chocolate morsels.
2. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets.
3. Bake at 350° for 12 to 14 minutes or until puffed and lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets on a wire rack 5 minutes. Transfer to wire rack, and let cool 15 minutes.

Instead of peanut butter, I used almond butter, since peanuts are on Jonathon’s list (although I’m sure they would be delicious with peanut butter as well!) We like to use the Barney Butter brand because the consistency works the best, but the Maranatha brand (sold at Wal-Mart) seems to be cheapest and will also work. I also only put in about half the chocolate chips and it is plenty, any more just ends up wasted at the bottom of the bowl. It is so easy to just throw all the ingredients in my KitchenAid and mix them up! The dough is a bit crumbly, but just form it into a ball, then flatten slightly.

It can be hard to tell when they’re done, because they don’t change color, but I usually take them out once they look a little more dry than gooey.

Enjoy!