Crock Pot Banana Bread

This bread was probably one of the moistest breads I have ever made and eaten!  It was still very moist on day two and three.  It got rave reviews from the hubby and kids as well!  

The recipe came from here.

Crock pot Banana Bread

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (featherlite)

1 1/4 tsp Xantham gum

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup butter or margarine

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

2 tbsp honey

3 ripe bananas, well mashed

Instructions

Grease and flour (use gluten-free flour) a 4 1/2 quart crockpot. (I just lined mine with parchment paper and it worked great!)  Mix flour, xantham gum, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl, set aside.  Cream butter with an electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly add sugar, eggs, honey, and mashed bananas. Mix until smooth.  Gradually add flour mixture to creamed mixture.  Pour into crockpot, cover and cook in high for 1 1/4 to 1/2 hours or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. (It took close to 2 hours for mine to cook all the way through)  Let cool, then invert bread onto serving platter.  Enjoy!

Pineapple Salsa

My sister-in-law made this at our family reunion a few weeks back and I fell in love!  It is a very strange combinations of flavors, but somehow, it all just comes together in your mouth and leaves you wanting more!

It is one of those recipes that you really just put in the amounts that give you the flavor that you like.  I searched out a few online, and listed below is a starting point.  I found that I like mine chilled for a few hours for two reasons.  I like my salsa cold and it gives the flavors time to blend together.

The recipe below came from here:

2 cups diced fresh pineapple
1 cup diced red pepper
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons finely chopped jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded
1 clove garlic, minced (I did not add this)
Juice of 1 large lime
Salt, to taste

In a medium bowl, combine pineapple, red pepper, cilantro, red onion, jalapeno, garlic, and lime juice. Stir until well combined. Season with salt, to taste. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Chicken and Crackers

I was cruising through Costco the other day and they were sampling these little snacks.  I got really excited when I realized how easy these would be to pack up for school lunches!!

1 13 oz.can of Chicken Breast (I used Costco's brand)

Mayonnaise (I like to use the one with olive oil in it)

Garlic powder

Ground black pepper

Crunch Master multi-grain Gluten Free crackers (can be bought at Sam's or Costco)

Drain water from chicken.  Add enough mayonnaise to moisten chicken.  Add garlic powder and pepper to taste.

Spoon onto crackers and enjoy.  Refrigerate any leftover chicken mixture.

**The following day we added some dill relish to the leftover chicken and it was awesome!!

Brazilian Cheese Rolls - Pao de Queijo

I can't remember how I came across this recipe, but I am so glad I did!!  It comes from Our Best Bites.  I have made two batches in two days and my sister has made 4 batches just today they are that yummy.  It takes a little less than 30 minutes to make a batch and the finished product is so light and fluffy that it will be hard to eat just one, or two or maybe even three!

Quick Brazilian Cheese Rolls {Pao de Queijo} 
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light olive oil/avocado oil
1 cup tapioca flour (sometimes labeled tapioca starch) no substitutions
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 C grated cheddar cheese (preferably medium or sharp)

** I also add 1/4 C parmesan cheese, a heaping TBSP of garlic and diced green chiles...

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender and blend until smooth. Add cheeses and pulse 2 times. Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin (if your muffin tin isn’t non-stick, spray lightly with non-stick spray first), filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan. Serve warm.  These actually don’t re-heat well so I recommend making and eating fresh.

Yield: anywhere from 16-24 rolls, depending on how full you fill your muffin pan. I fill mine pretty full (a good 3/4 full) and I generally get about 16-18.

Mini Sweet Peppers

This is a new found favorite snack!!  Even my three year old likes them.  They are way easy to prepare.

Sweet Mini Peppers (I get mine at Costco)
Cream Cheese
Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning

Slice and clean out seeds from pepper. In a bowl soften cream cheese and add seasoning to taste.
Fill each pepper with cream cheese.  Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.