Fiddle Faddley Popcorn + Stovetop Popcorn

Happy New Years! I just made a batch of this popcorn for a party at friends tonight, and well I may have to make more by them time we leave. It is SO good. I don't have a popcorn popper and I hate microwave popcorn (always burns), so I did mine on the stove in a big stock pot. {see my video below}

Now, I ended up making double the glaze, it was so hard to coat all that popcorn and nuts before it started to set up, so mine will be extra yummy. I wanted to be sure all the popcorn and nuts got some.

Stovetop Popcorn

Add 2-3 TBL canola oil to a large stock pot, let it get hot over medium heat, add 3/4 C. kernals, add lid to pan and shake to coat the kernals. After a few minutes the kernals will start popping, keep the lid on and when you hear the popping come to a slow (about 3 seconds between pops) take it off the heat. Serve as desired.

Fiddle Faddley Popcorn

food snots

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 quarts plain popcorn, popped (20 Cups)
2 cups nuts

In a medium saucepan combine sugar, syrup, and butter. Bring to a boil, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Slowly pour over popped popcorn and nuts . Quickly stir hot syrup mixture into popcorn until evenly covered. Cool and serve.

20 Cups of fresh popped popcorn

enjoy,

Korean Crock-pot Beef Tacos {Gluten Free}

These tacos were so good, looks like another crock-pot keeper recipe. I can only imagine what the food trucks taste like, but since I haven't even eaten from one, these will do just fine. They're delicious.

Korean Crock-pot Beef Tacos {Gluten Free}

from crockpot 365

3-4 pounds beef chuck roast

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Tamari sauce
3 TBL garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 onion, diced
1 inch fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 whole jalapeno, diced, seeded

Spray your crock-pot dish and add beef and jalapenos. Combine the rest of the ingredients ina bowl then pour over the roast. Cover, and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove from pot and shred beef, add some of the leftover liquid. Serve in warm corn tortillas with slaw.


Slaw:
1 bag shredded coleslaw
1 tablespoon Tamari sauce
2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Toss together and serve over beef. (can make up to a hour before)

enjoy,

Light and Fluffy Biscuits {Gluten Free}

I had originally planned to use this biscuit dough for chicken and dumplings, but when I saw that recipe was not working out, I didn't chance wasting the dough. I made regular biscuits instead and froze them to use as I'd need them. They turned out pretty good, great with butter and jam and even breakfast sandwiches. I've even had them dipped in my hot beef stew as the rest of the family had dinner rolls.

Light and Fluffy Biscuits {Gluten Free}

from Gluten Free Cooking School

(Yield: 16 large biscuits)

1 1/2 c. brown rice flour
2 c. corn starch
1/2 c. soy flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 stick of cold butter
1 1/4 c. milk
1 1/4 c. water
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 egg, beaten

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large mixing bowl thoroughly combine the flours, corn starch, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and xanthan gum.

3. Grate the butter into the flour using the small holed side of a box grater. Mix the butter into the flour so that there are no large balls of grated butter.

4. Add the milk, water, vinegar and beaten egg to the flour and stir until the dry and liquid ingredients are combined.

Using a large spoon (I used my large scooper), drop the dough onto a greased pan to make 16 biscuits. Cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
-Can be frozen, thaw before use.

enjoy,

Lemon Chicken

Pinterest has become my new recipe box. I saw this there and it looked so good, but we're not big on lemon chicken. I made it anyways. It was really good. The skin crisped up and the chicken wasn't too lemony. I used a cut up whole chicken and threw in extra legs for them. This needs marinating time, so keep that in mind.

Lemon Chicken

from Annie's Eats

2 tbsp. lemon zest

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp. fresh rosemary leaves, finely minced
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
2-4 lbs. of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs or drumsticks
2-3 tbsp. melted butter
Thinly sliced lemons, for garnish

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large zipper-lock plastic bag. Seal the bag and shake well to blend. Place the chicken pieces in the bag with the marinade, pressing out excess air and sealing once more. Refrigerate and let marinate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and transfer to a baking dish, skin-side up, reserving the leftover marinade. Brush the top of each piece of chicken with melted butter.
Bake for 50-55 minutes (check the breasts after about 40 mins so they don't dry out), until the skins are crispy and well-browned. Halfway through baking, pour the remaining marinade over the chicken pieces in the baking dish. Once fully baked, cover loosely with foil and let rest 10 minutes before serving. Transfer to a serving platter, garnish with lemon slices and serve.

enjoy,

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

When I saw a fellow blogger Lori aka Recipe Girl (also from San Diego) post about her gluten free cookies, I had to try them out for Christmas. I loved gluten ones I made years ago and since I can longer have them, these are a must try. They came out just the way I like my cookies, soft, dense and chewy and the spices weren't too strong, subtle infact. My kids enjoyed them as well. These freeze well too.


Molasses Crinkle Cookies {Gluten Free}
from Recipe Girl

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons brown rice flour
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons white rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour (aka Mochiko)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 (scant) teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, melted
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/3 cup dark molasses
additional small bowl of sugar for rolling

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients- flours through cinnamon.

2. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine butter and sugar. Blend in the egg and then the molasses. Add in the dry ingredients, a little at a time, until you can no longer see any streaks of flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silpat mats. Scoop out a spoonful of the dough, roll it into a ball with clean hands and roll it in the bowl of sugar. Place it on the cookie sheet and continue with the remaining cookie dough. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are crackled and set. Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove them to a wire rack to cool completely.

enjoy,

Baked Pineapple Glazed Ham

I have always done a basic baked ham, this year I decided to dress it up with pineapple and cherries. This recipe also has a glaze of brown sugar, pineapple juice and lemon lime soda. Everyone loved it and it looked so pretty, so pretty we wanted to hurry and eat it so there are no after photos.

Baked Pineapple Glazed Ham
slightly adapted from allrecipes

1 (11 pound) bone-in ham
1/2 cup whole cloves
1 (20 ounce) can pineapple rings in heavy syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 (12 fluid ounce) bottle lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage
1 (4 ounce) jar whole maraschino cherries

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).

Place ham in a roasting pan. Score the rind of the ham with a diamond pattern. Press a clove into the center of each diamond. Drain the juice from the pineapple rings into a medium bowl, and stir in the brown sugar and lemon-lime soda. Coat the ham with this mixture. Arrange the pineapple rings over the outside of the ham. Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring, and secure both with a toothpick.

Bake covered with foil for 2 hours 45 minutes (about 15 mins/pd), basting frequently with the juices. Remove toothpicks and cloves before serving.


enjoy,

Christmas Pretzel Candies

The easiest recipe of all. Perfect for parties and snacks. I made these for the 3rd grade class. My little boy helped me sort the M&Ms into colors, then helped me count them and bag them up in an A, B pattern. You can use any small shape pretzel and chocolates. For our Christmas treat plate, I'm going to use rolos and toasted pecans on the pretzels. A friend who made these said the peppermint kisses were also good, so I'll make some of those too.

Christmas Pretzel Candies
from family fun

Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels
Hershey's Hugs (fyi- 2 bags gave me 150 treats)
M&M's plain candy

Heat the oven to 170F. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Hug.
Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.
Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. (I kept mine in the garage where it's cold) Allow them to set completely before bagging up.

bagged up, ready for the class party

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enjoy,

Christmas Goodies Wrap Up

If you're looking for Christmas goodies to bake this week, I have a round up of past recipes here. There you'll find photos and links to Candy Cane Cookies, Mexican Wedding Cookies, Candy Cane Chocolate Crackle Cookies, Gingerbread Men Cookies, Cherry Blinks and Gingerbread Cake.

I also have these goodies I made last year:

Christmas Peanut Butter Balls



Christmas Crunch Bark



Cream Cheese Mints

Eggnog Quick Bread

Minty Hot Cocoa Cookies


I forgot all about this, Peanut Brittle



Also, Chocolate Truffles

New for this year, Christmas Pretzel Candies


~Be sure to follow my recipe blog so you can get all the latest goodies!~

enjoy,

Apple Puff Pancake {Gluten Free}

I made this for breakfast this weekend and it was a big hit with everyone. Cinnamon apples in a baked pancake? What's not to love? I am thinking this for Christmas breakfast.

Apple Puff Pancakes {Gluten Free}

adapted  from Cook It Allergy Free

1 stick Butter, melted

2 Apples, peeled and very thinly sliced (I used Granny Smith)

3 Tbsp Brown Sugar

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups Milk

1 cup + 1 TBL All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour blend (below)

3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract

3/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

Shake of Ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place melted butter in bottom of 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish. Place thinly sliced apples on top of the butter, then sprinkle the apples evenly with 3 Tablespoons of brown sugar. Place in pre-heated oven for 5 minutes. While apples are in oven do the following:

In high speed blender, blend the eggs at high speed for 1 minute. Next add: Milk, Gluten-Free Flour Blend, Brown Sugar, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Salt. Blend on high speed for 1-2 minutes.

Remove baking dish from oven and pour batter evenly over apple mixture. Place back in middle rack of oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until pancake is puffed and brown.

Serve immediately. Note that the pancake will start to fall as it begins to cool. This is normal and what it is supposed to do.

*To make gluten, use regular All purpose flour in place of the GF blend.

Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Mix

3 parts brown rice flour
3 parts corn starch
2 parts soy flour or sorghum flour
1 part masa harina

I used a 1 cup measure, so I end up with 3 c. brown rice, 3 c. cornstarch, 2 c. soy flour and 1. c. masa harina.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. (If you’re new to mixing flours, then you want to make sure that you don’t see any clumps or streaks of indiviual flours. By the time you’re done it should be one homogeneous bowl of flour.) Transfer the flour to a canister or other storage container, this is a master mix to use with a few recipes.

click photo to enlarge

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enjoy,

Ham and Potato Hash with Eggs

This has been my favorite breakfast lately. I use leftover baked potatoes, leftover Thanksgiving ham or steak from the night before. There really isn't a recipe I follow, just dice up some cooked potatoes, start frying in a little oil in a large hot skillet, toss in some diced meat of choice, diced onion and bell peppers, season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika and let it get a little crispy. Meanwhile, start frying up your eggs how you like them, then top over the hash.

steak hash & eggs

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enjoy,

Chocolate Birthday Cake {Gluten Free}

my kids left me notes all over the house =)

The other week was another year older for me and when I saw this gluten free cake posted I knew that would be my birthday cake. I also knew that if anyone was going to give me a cake, I could bet it wasn't going to be gluten free, and it wasn't. So I had two cakes that night. Lucky me. I thought this came out pretty good, it's my first GF cake and tasted pretty much like a regular all-purpose flour cake. I frosted this with a pink cream cheese frosting.


Chocolate Cake {Gluten Free}
from The Happy Tummy

1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup Potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup Hershey’s Special DARK Cocoa
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup strong black coffee
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare 2 x 9″ (or 3 x 8″ for slightly shorter layers) cake pans with butter and flour or parchment paper. In bowl of electric mixer, sift all dry ingredients. Add all remaning ingredients to bowl with the dry ingredients and with paddle attachment on mixer, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed and pour into prepared pans. Batter will be liquidy.

Bake for 20 minutes and rotate pans in oven. Cakes are done when toothpick or skewer comes clean about 25-35 minutes. Cool on wire racks for 20 minutes then gently invert onto racks until completely cool and frost.

~Be sure to follow my recipe blog so you can get all the latest goodies!~

enjoy,