Confessions Part II

I went home (to my parents' house) last weekend. When I packed up to leave I raided their pantry and freezer and came home with enough groceries for the week. I feel like this isn't ok considering I am a "grown-up" now.

I run a Twitter handle for work. Every time a business/organization follows my on Twitter I wonder, "What human is behind this Twitter account reading all my tweets??"

I cut five inches off my hair last weekend.

Speaking of haircuts, my nephew got his first haircut last weekend. If this isn't the cutest thing you've ever seen, I don't know what is.

I am now a contributor to Lubbock in the Loop! You can check out my posts here and here. Right now I've done solely wedding-related posts, but there are more things coming soon!

Happy Friday! Pin It

On the Menu: Fourth of July

Reagan and I spent our holiday hosting friends for a barbeque.  Reagan manned the protein portion of the meal with our new grill, and I of course handled all the (mostly gluten-free) sides.

Our Fourth of July menu included: slow cooked ribs, BBQ chicken, pepperslaw, baked beans, rolls, and skinny margaritas.

I tried out a new coleslaw recipe from Cooking with Paula Deen, and it received rave reviews! To be exact, it was described as "fresh and not swimming in mayonnaise." Can I get an amen?

Pepper Slaw (from Cooking with Paula Deen)
makes 6 servings

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups thinly sliced bell peppers (about 4)
3 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 cups matchstick carrots
1/4 thinly sliced sweet onion
**I used one pre-packaged bag of coleslaw instead of the cabbage and carrots.
In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and salts.

Stir in bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, and onion. Toss to coat.  Cover and chill at least one hour, or until ready to serve.


Like any good barbeque, we had to have baked beans. These came straight from D'Ann Wiley's recipe book.  Although, I think most southern moms have their version of this recipe!


Mom's BBQ Baked Beans
makes 8 servings

1/2 onion, chopped
10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup BBQ sauce
1 can kidney beans, drainded and rinsed
1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed
1 can red pinto beans OR pork 'n' beans, undrained
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Saute the onion (in the bacon drippings if you're brave!) Stir in the other ingredients. Spoon into a baking dish and bake for one hour.

Since Reagan was using the oven to cook his ribs, I put the beans in the crockpot on low for about three hours, and they still turned out great. 

Happy 4th of July! Pin It

It Doesn't Have to be That Hard

I would most definitely say that the lack of to-die-for desserts is worst part of having to become a gluten-free eater.  Notice, I said to-die-for.  I can eat a decent gluten-free cookie, but it just isn't the same.  As a sweets lover (i.e. I can eat icing with a spoon...), you can see how this would be a problem for me.

Or so I thought.  My mom, and my mother in-law coincidentally, recently found a recipe online for peanut butter cookies with no flour. {Insert happy dance here.}

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies (from the Food Network)
makes 18 cookies
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place racks in the upper and lower third of the oven.

In a medium bowl, mix the peanut butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until well combined. Spoon 1 tablespoon of mixture about 1 inch apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten the mounds with the tines of a fork, making a crosshatch pattern on the cookies. Sprinkle coarse salt on top of the cookies.

Bake until golden around edges, about 10 minutes, switching the position of the pans halfway thorough baking. Transfer to racks to cool. Repeat with the remaining dough.

**Sidenote: to make the cookies extra doughy and awesome, cook them only 8 minutes. They won't look cooked all the way, but believe me, it's worth it.


Also, I stumbled across these coconut oatmeal squares from How Sweet It Is last week. Oatmeal? Coconut? Chocolate? I'll be darned, I can eat all of that.  See, it doesn't have to be that hard.

Thin + Chewy Chocolate Drenched Coconut Oatmeal Squares (from How Sweet It Is)
makes one 9×9 pan (about 16 squares)
1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups shredded, sweetened coconut
1/4 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
pinch of salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup coconut oil (measured solid)
1/4 cup honey

Spray a 9×9 pan with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, combine oats, coconut, brown sugar and salt. Heat a small saucepan over low heat and add butter and coconut oil, stirring until melted. Add the butter and oil to the oat mixture, then add the honey and stir very thoroughly until the entire mix is moistened. Press it into the pan and stick in the fridge for 15 minutes.

chocolate layer
8 ounces good-quality chocolate, chocolate
2 tablespoons coconut oil (measured solid)
Using the same saucepan that you melted the butter and oil in, add the chocolate and oil and stir over low heat until melted. Remove the pan from the fridge and pour the chocolate evenly over top, spreading with a spatula or spoon. Place back in the fridge for about 30 minutes. When ready to eat, either cut the squares in the pan, or gently lift the square out and place on a cutting board to cut. It helps if the bars somewhat come to room temp before cutting, as they will slightly crumble a bit if super cold!

Pin It