Goop Apple Cake

I go this recipe from the GOOP newsletter. I dont care what people say about Gwenyth Paltrow, her recipes are AWSOME. and so was this cake. Make it!

TIME: 1 hour approx. including baking time
1 cup sugar
½ stick or 2 ounces butter, melted
½ cup applesauce
1 egg
1¼ cup flour
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2½ cups chopped apples (i used macintosh)
¾ to 1 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease your baking dish. Mix the sugar, butter, applesauce and egg together with a hand mixer. Whisk the dry ingredients together. Blend the wet and dry ingredients and then add the apples and walnuts. Pour into baking dish and bake for 30 to 50 minutes (depending on your pan and oven temp) or until knife or toothpick comes out clean when inserted.

Pecan Tartlets

I updated this recipe, because my friend Cybelle - the best photog EVER - took photos of these tartlets! Check out her blog at www.cybellecodish.blogspot.com. Thanks Bella!

These Pecan Tarlets are so great. They are delish and sooo super cute too! Perfect to take along to a party!

These were so super fun and SOOO super easy. Go make them now. im positive you have all the ingrediants in your fridge!

Recipe:

Tartlet shell:

1 stick of butter, softened

4 oz of cream cheese, softened.

1 cup of flour.

Cream the butter and cream cheese together then add flour. Cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate for 1 hour.

Filling:

1 egg

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1 tbs vanilla

3/4 cup of finely chopped pecans.

beat the egg with a whisk and add the sugar and vanilla. Then add the chopped pecans.

This recipe will yield 24 tartlets. Divide the dough equally into your little tartlet pan - rolling the dough into little balls.

When you have filled the pan - take a spoon (i used the tbs measuring spoon - worked like a charm) and smoosh the dough into the tartlet pan and use your fingers to make sure the dough rises to the edges. Then fill with the filling.

Bake at 375 for aobut 20 minutes - or until they are lightely brown.

Perfection!!!

Have fun :) smooches, gigi.

Serbian Galete

Me and all the Serbian kids i know pretty much grew up on these cookies. They are so good. They however, are not very "American" which means that they are not sweet or filled with any chocolate deliciousness BUT are amazing on their own. They are buttery, lemony, vanillay discs of heaven. To make them though, you must have a waffle iron. But trust me, go buy one, you have to make these. They are AMAZING! AND the recipe (which i am translating from a Serbian recipe) says they can last up to a month! and they just get better and better and better!

Ingrediants:

2 sticks of unsalted butter softened

2 turkish coffee cups of vegetable oil (im sorry if you dont know what these are but i dont know how else to translated it :-/

3 eggs

15 tbs of sugar

1 tbs of baking powder OR 1 Prasak za Pecivo (for my fellow serbs)

1 tsp of baking soda

2 packages of vanila sugar (vanilin secer) - This comes to about 2 TBS.

1 cup of milk

zest of 1 lemon

800 grams of all purpose flour

Directions:

Beat together Butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and beat until incorporated.

After the eggs are incorporated add the remaining ingrediants except for the milk and flour.

Once all the other ingrediants are in begin adding the flour and milk in 3 additions starting with the flour and ending with the milk. Your dough will be nice and moist.

At this point, plug in your waffle maker and let it heat up well. Then take a heaping spoon full of dough and shape into a ball and drop into the waffle maker.

They will cook up very quickly - in about 40 seconds or so - so dont walk away from them. Let them sit on a cooling rack straight from the waffle maker and package them up when you are done. You may come out with several dozen depending on how big you make them. Send some to your friends and family. They will love them! enjoy :)

Slow Cooker Jambalaya

I used to work above Fishbones in Downtown Detroit and used to order Jamalaya allll the time! Well, here is a quick and easy version you can do at home. It makes a bunch and is delish!

Ingredients
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 package of turkey keilbasa, sliced
2 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans

1 onion chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 can reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound frozen peeled and cooked shrimp, thawed
2 cups instant uncooked rice
Directions
In a slow cooker, combine chicken, sausage, tomatoes, onion, green
pepper, celery, and chicken broth. Stir in oregano, Cajun seasoning,
hot sauce, bay leaves, and thyme.
Cover, and cook on LOW for 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours. Stir in the
thawed shrimp, cover and cook until the shrimp is heated through,
about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Add a cup or 2 of uncooked instant rice and let it sit for a bit until it softens up and there ya go!!!

Banana cake with Pecan Crumb Topping

I have the same issue with bananas as i do with blueberries। When they are in season, they are EVERYWHERE! I'm always trying to figure out what to do with them before they get to the point of no return and i end up making yet another loaf of banana bread. So, a co-worker of mine subscribes to the Good Housekeeping Magazine and she always brings them into work when she is done with them. I am "that girl" who rips out the recipes that i like leaving blank pages in the magazine. (sorry!) Well, one day i came across this banana cake recipe that looked so good, so i ripped it out in usual gigi fashion.

Well this weekend my friend kelly who is having twins was having her baby shower and i thought, what a perfect time to make this cake to take along! After all, it is so super pretty! So i did, and it was a hit!!! So good! So moist! You must make this! It is so good either warm or at room temp. I made it the day before so it could cool off and chill for a bit. You have to make this! It is sooo great!

Pecan – Crumb Topping
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp cinnamon
2 tbsb cold butter or margarine
¾ cup chopped pecans
Banana Cake
1 1/3 c mashed fully ripe bananas (abour 4 medium)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter (1 stick) softened

3.4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 lg eggs.

1. Prepare topping:

In a medium bowl combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles carse crumbs. Set aside.

2. Pre-heat oven to 350. Lightly grease 13" by 9" pan.

3. Prepare cake: in a bowl mix bananas, lemon juice and vanilla.

4. On wax paper, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

5. In large bowl with a hand mixer, beat butter and sugars until creamy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

6. On low speed alternately add flour and banana mixtures and beat until smooth.

7. Spoon batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with crumb topping and bake 25 minutes or until toothpick insterted in ceter comes out clean.

8. Cool in cake pan on wire rack.

Cut it up, put it on a pretty tray and viola!!! Again, you end up the star of the party!
Smooches! gigi

Turkey Meatloaf

Mmmmmmmmmm........
Turkey Meatloaf...

Here we go!

Ingredients

1 tablespoons good olive oil

1 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)

1/6 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup chicken stock

1 teaspoons tomato paste (i substituted ketchup here)

2 pounds ground turkey breast

3/4 cups plain dry bread crumbs (i used italian)

2 large eggs, beaten

1/4 cup ketchup

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saute pan, over medium-low heat, (cook the onions - if you are using them), oliveoil, salt, pepper, and thyme until translucent, but not browned,approximately 15 minutes.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock,and tomato paste and mix well.

Allow to cool to room temperature.

Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, eggs, and onion mixture in alarge bowl.

Mix well and shape into a rectangular loaf on an ungreasedsheet pan.

Spread the ketchup evenly on top.

Bake for 1 1/2 hoursuntil the internal temperature is 160 degrees F. and the meatloaf is cooked through.

Serve with love and collect all of the fabulous compliments you can handle :)

smooches! gigi

Zucchini Lasagna

My parents didnt grow or buy zucchini. I dont think i ever tasted zucchini until well into my 20's. But they are everywhere! So, what to do? I figured why not lasagna! And thank goodness gigi is so sharp because this was delicious! Sadly, i dont have a picture, but no worries, you can do it without one.

1 large or 2 small zucchini - sliced lengthwise (i did this the day before. You can even do it 2 days before...)
1 cloves of garlic - or 2 tsp already minced from a jar
1 pound ground turkey
1.5 jars of marinara sauce
1 16 oz container fat free ricotta cheese
1 egg beaten
1 tsp dry parsley
1 tbs dry italian seasoning
2 cups shredded mozerella cheese



Directions:

Grill the zucchini until it is semi-soft - i used a George Forman

Step 1.
fry the minced garlic for just about a minute,
add and Brown the turkey
To the browned turkey add the marinara sauce.

In the meantime:
Combine 1 cup mozerella
Ricotta cheese
1 beaten egg
2 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp parsley
dash of pepper



Cover the bottom of the casserole dish with a thin layer of the sauce mixture
layer zucchini slices to cover the bottom of dish
spoon and smooth the cheese filling on top of the zucchini
cover with a layer of sauce
Repeat until you are out of ingrediants ending with sauce
Sprinkle the remaining mozerella cheese on top of the dish.

Bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees.


Serve and bask in your beautiful glory as you have just made another awsomely fabulous meal and nobody will ever know that it took you no time at all :)

smooches! gigi

Yummy Cakey Chocolatey Zucchini Cookies from Heaven!

How much zucchine bread can one person make? I decided to mix things up a bit, in true gigi fashion. I found an awsome recipe for a double chocolate cake zucchini cookie and decided to give it a try. Man, oh man, these were GOOOOOOOOD! They were good when i made them, but trust me they are WAAAY better the next day and the following days after!

I had a huge zucchini so i doubled the recipe. After i squeezed the juice out of the zucchini, i came out with about 2.5 cups, instead of 3 cups for the double recipe, but it was more than enough.

Ok. make these. now!

Cakey Chocolate Zucchini Cookies

courtesy of http://kirbyvonscrumptious.blogspot.com/

Ingredients-

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup white organic sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 organic free-range egg

2 1/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups zucchini, shredded on the small holes of a grater; drained and pressed

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

DirectionsPreheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Beat the butter and sugars in a large bowl with a (hand) mixer.

Beat in egg.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl.

Gradually stir into the wet ingredients.

Fold in zucchini, then stir in chocolate chips.

Line baking sheets with parchment paper, and drop tablespoons of dough onto the tray (dough will be sticky).

Bake for 9-11 minutes in a preheated oven.

Remove from oven, cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then serve!

Store in a tupperware container to keep the cookies extra moist.

Go ahead and pass these out to your favorite neighbor(s), your co-workers, friends and your sweetheart. You are bound, yet again, to be the belle of the ball!!!!!!!

Smooches ***gigi

Chocolate Chip Party Bars

So, i'm always looking for fun things to serve to my friends when we all get together. And, although i LOVE making cookies, i just feel like bar form cookies are a bit more posh. So, i found this toll house chocolate chip cookie recipe and gave it a shot. and OHHH MAN are they awsome! and easy. I learned from my bff Bambi that she uses crisco instead of butter, and thank goodness i did because i cannot tell you the difference it makes!

talk about a delish and moist cookie!!!!!!!!!! They oooooze chocolate. yum! WOWZERS! you must make these NOW.

Gigi's Side note: for "non-bakers," i think most bakers get intimidated by baking because they have messed something up once and don't ever want to try again. Here is one tip to always getting a great result. DO NOT OVERMIX. EVER. this means once you have the flour in your dough. you can mix the sugar and eggs and butter until your arm turns blue. BUT! once the flour is in, just mix until your ingrediants are incorporated. This will ensure that you get a moist delicious batter as opposed to a dry and dull one. :)

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened (i used butter flavored crisco, and you should too!)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1 (12 ounce) package semi-sweet chocolate chips

secret ingrediant: 1 tsp cinnamon!

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350, Grease a 13x9-inch pan.

2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

3. Beat butter, both sugars and vanilla in large mixer bowl.

4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.

5. Gradually beat flour mixture into butter mixture. * Do not overmix!

6. Stir in chocolate chips.

7. Spread into prepared pan.

8. Bake 2o-25 minutes or until golden brown.

And Voila! Go and show off your baking skillzzzzz and be the hit of the party!

Fresh Blueberry Cookies

YUMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!

Hey gang, i bought tons of fresh blueberries from the farmers market and wanted to do something fun with them. I saw this awsome recipe on the Food Network site from Giada. You have to make these cookies, they are absolutely delish! and smell soooo good! (and possible the easiest thing ever) - oh! and they come out being this really pretty light yellow color with the pretty blue from the berries. i tweaked the originial recipe just a bit, and my changes are in the parenthesis.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/almond-blueberry-cookies-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter (room temp)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup whole milk (i used 2% - but i bet you could use soy milk and that would be delish)
1 teaspoon almond extract (i used vanilla extract)
2 teaspoons lemon zest, about 1 lemon
1/2 cup chopped almonds, toasted
1 cup frozen blueberries, thawed and drained (i used fresh, and you should too, because it made a HUGE difference)

Directions
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
In another medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a hand mixer. Add egg and beat to incorporate. Add milk, almond extract, and lemon zest.

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the almonds, then the blueberries. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Using two small spoons, dollop mix onto cookie sheets. Bake until golden brown around the edges, about 15 minutes.

Let them cool down before messing with them or they will fall apart. Then, pack some up for your friends, neighbors or favorite guy - these are sure to please :)

party salad!

I always get a bit flustered when i think about what i am going to bring to a party. Usually it is a dessert, but, sometimes i like to switch it up a bit. The other day i was browsing Internet food sites and saw these really amazing muffaletta salad type deal. It looked awesome, so i switched it up a bit and came up with this amazingly delish salad that was a total hit! Here we go...

2 pints cherry tomatoes

2 balls of fresh mozzarella cheese, diced

2 cans white beans

1 can chick peas

a bunch of green olives

a bunch of Greek olives

vegan saton or turkey salami sliced up
1/2 purple onion diced

1 jar of artichoke hearts

1.5 cups or 2 cups of Greek dressing - totally eyeball this part (or use your own favorite vinaigrette - i think i'm going to use balsamic next time)

Toss it all together and you get this super yummy take along salad that all of your friends will love. Feel free to switch it up to suit your taste.

This is MUCH better if made the day before or even 2 days before!

sooooo good.

Enjoy!

gigi

Fresh Blueberry Crumb Bars mmmm....

I bought tons of fresh blueberries from the farmers market, with the intention of baking with them. Having said that, i didn't have any recipes for great things featuring blueberries. UNTIL! i stumbled upon a wonderful blog "For the Love of Cooking" and it featured these gorgeous blueberry bars. Just in time for the downtown fireworks tomorrow! yeah!!!

I am baking them right now and they smell sooooooo good!

So, here we go!!!!!

Blueberry Crumb Bars:Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking Recipe from One Perfect Bite

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup + 1/4 cup white sugar, divided

1 tsp baking powder

2 sticks of cold butter

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp of vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

Zest and juice of one lemon

4 cups fresh blueberries

4 tsp cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Coat a 9 x 13 glass baking pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl whisk together flour, brown sugar, 1/2 cup whitesugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in butter until mixture is in pieces no larger than a pea.

Mix in egg and vanilla.

Dough will be crumbly but will stick together when squeezed.

Pat half of the dough into the pan.

In another small bowl, mix 1/4 cup white sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Add blueberries and gently toss them to coat.

Pour blueberry mixture on top of the dough in pan.

Then crumble remainder of doughevenly over the blueberries.

Bake in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the top is slightlybrowned. Cool completely, then cut into squares. Enjoy.

gigi thoughts: OH MY GOOOOODESS! These are by far the most DELICIOUS things on the planet. OMG. I'm pretty sure i'm not going to have any left for te party. OMG. You all must try these, they are PHENOM!!

Healthified raspberry bars

I'm hoping to turn baking into a guilt free adventure for our taste buds. So, i tried this recipe that i saw on the Betty Crocker website: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes.aspx/healthified-raspberry-bars?WT.mc_id=taf_recipe_BC

I tweeeeeked it a bit, and my changes will be in the parenthesis that follow....

You will need:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar ( i only used 1/2 of a cup)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg white (i used a whole egg)
3/4 cup raspberry jam/jelly
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
***i added a 1/2 tsb of baking soda for some body***

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 8-inch square pan with foil. (I used a 9 inch square pan so that these would be more bar like and less cake like). In large bowl, mix flours, sugar, butter and egg white with electric mixer on low speed until crumbly. (i fudged up and mixed a bit long and lost the crumb like texture, but it didn't make a difference)

(i also added a handful of chopped walnuts to the batter)

2. Reserve 1/2 cup crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining crumb mixture firmly in bottom of pan. Spread fruit spread to within 1/2 inch of edges. Sprinkle reserved 1/2 cup crumb mixture over top; sprinkle with walnuts.

3. Bake about 40 minutes (i went about 37 minutes) or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

RESULT:

These actually came out a bit dry, even with the extra moisture i added, i think next time a bit more jam will be necessary. hmmmm....i think i may add a glaze. But, hey! they are still good, AND healthy! I think they'd be GREAT for an after school snack for the kiddies. Give'em a try and lemme know your thoughts!

Smooches! gigi!

Best Banana Bread. EVERRRRRRR

Sooo, i got this recipe off of MSN one morning. I'm telling you, if God made banana bread, he'd use this recipe.

First, i love making banana bread, it makes the house smell sooooooooo good. I've tried dozens of recipes, some better than others, but NEVER have i found one this FAB! Not only is it to die for delish, but it is soooo pretty. You MUST make this. Make it for your family or friends because as soon as the bite into it, they will know how much you adore them :)

Nutty Banana Bread

Yields 6 to 8 servings

2 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. kosher salt

1/2 c. sugar (recipe called for 1 cup - don't do it. You don't need it, and lets think about not getting diabetes later in life, shall we?)

1/2 c. canola oil

2 large eggs

1 t. pure vanilla extract

1/2c. buttermilk

3 medium bananas, mashed

1/2 c. walnuts, finely minced (about 2 oz.)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan.

In as mall bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a medium bowl, beat together the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanillauntil well combined. Alternately add the dry ingredients and thebuttermilk in three additions. Gently stir in the bananas and nuts.

3. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the bread cool in the pan for 5minutes. Carefully turn out the loaf to finish cooling on a wire rack.

FYI - i end up baking mine a bit longer - like 1 hour and 5 minutes - the bread is super moist so be careful not to underbake.

Enjoy :)

Blueberry Crumb Cake

From: Cooking Light Annual Recipes, 1999, page 30

You will Need:

Cooking Spray

1/3 cup sugar (recipe called for 2/3 cup, but i mean, come on, lets not go into sugar coma over here)

1/4 cup stick butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg

1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk

1 cup blueberries

3 tablespoons sugar (or splenda)

3 tablespoons flour

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350.
Coat a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Line bottom with waxpaper, and coat wax paper with cooking spray. (i dont use the wax paper, its your choice)
Beat 2/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup butter at medium speed of a mixer until blended (about 5 minutes).

Add vanilla and egg; beat well. Lightly spoon 1-1/3 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

Stir in blueberries.
Pour into prepared pan.

Combine 3 tablespoons sugar and remaining ingredients in a bowl; stir until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Sprinkle sugar mixture over batter.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutesor until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on awire rack.

Spinach and spice and everything nice soup. mmm!

Gigi says: If this soup were shoes, it would be a sexy pair of stilettos. It is fabulous in every way, simple, healthy, full of love, low cal and delish!

FYI: this soup should hang out until the next day before being served because the flavors continue to develop.

1 package of Italian Tofurkey sausage (if you are a meat eater, feel free to use chorizo here or spicy chicken sausage or spicy turkey sausage – whatever you like)
1 large or 2 small yellow onion – diced
4 cloves of garlic – crushed
1 can chickpeas – drained and rinsed
2 cans of northern beans – drained and rinsed
1 can of light kidney beans – drained
4 cans of chopped tomatoes w/juice
3.5 cups of fat free chicken broth (about 2 cans) – (or vegetarians use 2 cups of water plus additional 1.5 cups of vegetable broth to what is already listed)
1 cup of vegetable broth
¼ cup Italian parsley – chopped
6 oz baby spinach leaves
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 TBS cumin
1 tsp chili powder
if you like heat, add a dash or 2 of red pepper flakes
(you can adjust the seasoning while it is cooling off)
****to make the soup a bit thicker, i ALWAYS dilute 1 tsp of cornstarch with a bit of the broth or some water and add it to the soup while it is simmering.***
( I freaking LOVE cornstarch. It is like magic!)

Chop up the tofurkey or sausage in a large soup pot that has a lid. Cook for about 5 minutes or until its browned. Add the onion and sauté for another 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chickpeas and beans and cook together for a minute. Add the tomatoes, broth, juice and bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add parsley and spinach. Simmer for an hour with the lid on. Season with salt and pepper and cumin.

Allow to cool and refrigerate overnight. Reheat the next day and Presto!
(This also freezes beautifully)

Chicken and Vegetables in Coconut Curry Sauce

Chicken and Vegetables in Coconut Curry Sauce

You will need3-4 chicken breasts (whatever comes in 1 package) Or 1 package of Extra Firm Tofu for the vegitarians

1 green bell pepper (the original recipe called for red, but i only had green, although i'm going to try red next time because i think it would look so nice)

1 white onion

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 pckg of white button mushrooms

1 pckg pea pods(feel free to add whatever vegies you like, i bet broccoli, cauliflower or anything crispy would be great!)

1 can chicken stock1 can lite coconut milk

olive oil to coat pan

1.5 tsp curry powder (or less if you dont like a strong flavor)

1 tbsp flour

1tsp corn starch - dissolved in a bit of water. (this is optional, but i dig cornstarch as a thickening agent to about everything i make :)

salt and pepper to taste

red pepper flakes are optional

Chop up all your veg's, except the pea pods.

Cut the chicken into bite size chunksSaute chicken, pepper, onion and garlic.When they are nearly done cooking sprinkle with the curry and flour, saute and additional 1 minute to let the flour cook off and add the mushrooms and pea pods and whatever other veg's you like.

Saute an additional minute and add the the chicken stock and coconut milk.

Add diluted corn starch.

Let it simmer for about 15 minutes and let the delicious aroma fill your home.

Serve over rice or rice noodles

Gigi's Glam trail mix cookies!!

I love making cookies. LOOOVE. They make people happy. All people, kids, grown ups and they are great for bringing to parties. These cookies are so super fab. Sustaining, easy, and yummy. I used cranberries and sunflower seeds instead of raisins and walnuts like the recipe called for, but feel free to use whatever you like. The cookies end up being a bit sweet, a bit salty but absolutely irresistible!

1.5 cups firmly packed brown sugar (feel free to use less sugar about about ¾ cup because the chocolate and cranberry add plenty of sweetness)
¾ cup butter flavor Crisco (or 1 stick of sweet butter or margarine)
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
2 ½ cups quick oats, uncooked
1 cup flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk chocolate chunks
1 cup dried cranberries
½ cup sunflower seeds

(if you are a vegan – add soy milk instead of regular and use egg beaters instead of eggs)

1. Heat oven to 375. Grease baking sheets

2. Place brown sugar, shortening, egg, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Beat at
medium until well blended.

3. Combine oats, flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to shortening mixture. Beat at low speed until blended. Stir in chocolate and nuts.

3. Drop cookie dough by the tablespoon full an inch apart of cookie sheets.

4. Bake one cookies sheet at a time about 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on these, do not over bake. Remove to a cooling rack and let them cool for an hour. mmmmm

Black Bean soup

Gigi's Dazzling Black Bean Soup

This is one of my absolute favorite recipes, first because it is superdelish and always a crowd pleaser, and second, because its pretty much the easiest thing on earth!

1 pound of ground turkey (you can use beef if you eat red meat, or nix the meat for vegetarians and maybe add barley for texture)

5 cans of diced tomatoes

2 cans of black beans

2 cans of kidney beans

1 can of corn

1 tbs black pepper

2 packets taco seasoning

2 packets of ranch seasoning

1 tbs chili powder

1 can green chilis

1 tbs cumin

First, brown the turkey by itself.In the meantime, in a slowcooker add all of the ingredients.Add the turkey when it is done and set your timer.If you don't use a slow cooker, I'd let this simmer for 45minutes or so, so that the flavors marry and Viola! A fabulous dinner awaits :)

This also freezes beautifully.