Monthly Archives: September 2012

NBC 10! Show: Honey Chicken and Magic Cookies

It is time again for another NBC appearance. My next appearance on the NBC 10! Show is next week and I am gearing up to make two great recipes. They are both gluten free kid friendly recipes. With the new school year in full swing it’s important to keep some easy go-to weeknight recipes.

I made both of these recipes as a kid with my mom. Get the kids in the kitchen and have them help. Kids are more inclined to eat food that they help make even when it’s the super healthy stuff. The skills they learn will be with them for life. Especially if you have children that are living gluten free, the only way they will start to understand what they can eat is by hands-on learning.

Tune into the show and find out where you can go to give the cookies a try!!

Honey Chicken

This is a real family favorite. I promise everyone think you are a super star with this one.

Ingredients –

10 Chicken Thighs Skinless and well cleaned (I like to get them off the bone but on the bone also works great)

1 Cups Ketchup* ( The store bought stuff is filled with sugar and preservatives. Make it homemade with my recipe at www.guiltfreefoodiecutie.com)

1 Cup Honey* (Local Raw honey is the best. Try using We Bee Brothers honey. ( Check it out at http://www.webeebrothers.com )

Salt and Pepper

Place the dry chicken thighs in a big bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then pour in honey and ketchup. Mix well and place in a greased baking dish. Pour extra sauce on top. Cook for 1.5 hours at 375 (cook longer if on bone).

*You can do this recipe with any amount of chicken just by increasing or decreasing the amount of sauce used. Just keep the ratio of ketchup to honey equal.

Magic Low-Carb Peanut Butter Cookies

If you have never cooked gluten free this recipe will make you better understand how taking out wheat can be really easy. This recipe will surprise you everyone and you wont feel bad giving the kids some home cooked cookies. This recipe also works well as the crust to a GF ice cream cake or for ice cream sandwiches.

1 Cup Peanut Butter (Works best with Peanut Butter and Company’s Flavored Peanut Butters. Get them all at http://ilovepeanutbutter.com/shop-online )

1 Cup sugar (feel free to sub ½ a cup of regular sugar for ¼ of splenda)

1 egg

2 tsp baking Powder

Dash of salt

Dash of vanilla optional*

Mix all ingredients well in large bowl. Roll cookies and place on lined and sprayed cookie sheet. If dough is soft they will spread on their own but depending on the peanut butter you use they may need to be pressed down a little bit but DO NOT FLATTEN. Cookies will spread so use two sheets and give them room. Cook at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cookies will burn quickly so it’s important to keep a eye on them and not overcook. They will seem very soft but will harden as soon as they stand for five minutes outside of the oven. Feel free to add chocolate chips if you want.

We Bee Brother Honey

I am always looking for great new products the are gluten free, guilt free and worth being noticed. I have always believed in the health benefits of honey and regularly useing it in my cooking. While looking for ingredients for my next show I stumbled on We Bee Brothers Raw Honey.
They are a great local family own and run company. They are retrieving bee’s from around the area and making some great honey. They also like to get creative and make fun flavor’s.
Honey is great as a drink sweetener, cooking, addition to any cheese plate, ice cream topping and many medical benefits.
I will be using their honey on NBC tomorrow along with a bunch of recipes I will be posting soon. Tune in to check it out.

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Thyme Martini

The We Bee Brothers don’t just make the best honey but they also like to get creative. I recently got a sample of their thyme honey and the second I tried it all I could think was cocktail. You have to give this one a try.

Ingredients:
1/2 Lemon
1 tsps We Bee Brothers Thyme infused honey
1 oz water
1 oz vodka

Heat water and add honey. Stir until honey is dissolved. Pour honey mixture into a shaker along will juice of lemon, vodka and a few piece’s of lemon peel. Shake well and add one ice cube. Shake again and then strain into nice glass removing ice cube. Garnish drink with lemon wedge and peel. Enjoy!

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Popcorn Balls

The easiest healthy snack has always been popcorn. Since it’s the best go-to gluten free snack I wanted to try something new with it. Popcorn balls are super easy and fun to do with kids. Add anything you want. Try your favorite candy or some healthy nuts. Maybe colored sugar or sprinkles for a great holiday treat. With Halloween around the corner adding some candy corn could make this a great alternative to the pounds of candy kids consume.

Ingredients:
1 Bag Popped Popcorn (remove all   kernels not popped )
12 Marshmallows
2 Tbsp Peanut Butter ( my favorite for this one is Peanut Butter & Company’s Honey Version, combined with the marshmallow it makes something that taste similar to caramel)

Simply melt peanut butter and marshmallows in an oiled pot on medium low heat. It will happen fast and need to contently be mixed. As soon as it melts pour over popcorn in a large bowl. Mix together well by hand. Don’t worry about breaking the popcorn because it will all stick together. The mixture hardens quick so work fast. Form balls with mix just like you would a snowball, pressing together firmly. The size of each ball will vary depending on hand size but you should get about 8 out of this mix.
If you follow this recipe exactly they each are under 90 calories. Great for after school snack!

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Tour Stop: Tampa

Tour Stop: Tampa,Florida

Second stop for the Guilt Free Foodie tour was Tampa, Florida. Due to the hurricane, my trip was cut a little short but I still got to visit three great places. At each stop I would hear about another “must try” gluten friendly location. The best part of touring around so far is hearing all the stories people have of the reasons about why their restaurant is making the effort to be gluten free and all the positive feedback they’ve had from the gf community.

The first stop on the trip was a place called “Taco-Bus”. They have a few locations around the area but I visited the St. Petersburg location. The Taco-Bus was recommended by a gluten free blogger in Tampa who said that “it’s the best place in town”. It has also been featured on different TV networks, on shows like Man vs. Food. I was greeted by both their wonderful PR rep and the store manager who took us through the menu and let us taste a lot of goodies before ordering our meal. Since it is Mexican food, it is for the most part gluten free with options of corn tortillas for tacos, chips and tostadas. In addition, the beans, all the meats, and even the tempeh is gluten free. The samples first started with some of the homemade beverages. My favorite was the half and half mix of pineapple and watermelon water. Then I tried samples of all the taco fillings from chicken to steak and even tofu, tempeh, mushroom corn mix, and my ultimate favorite – the butternut squash. I love my meat but this squash was different than any taco filling I have ever had, something I will have to replicate. It is spicy and sweet with almost a creamy texture. I tried the guacamole too which was outstanding and super fresh. By the time I ordered food, I was almost full but my squash tacos, rice and beans were really good! The best part about this place is that they are 24 hours four days a week and serve breakfast EVERYDAY. We enjoyed it so much that they we went back the next day for a late night snack. The Taco-Bus is a must try when you are in the Tampa area. Check out their website to find the other locations around Tampa Bay. Website: http://m.taco-bus.com/

The second stop was a gluten free pizza place called Gourmet Pizza. They serve gluten free pizza, bread sticks, dessert and beer. The gluten free pizza is on a thin ten inch crust and can be made into almost any option. I tried the specialties which include Crawfish Cajun, BBQ Chicken, Pineapple Bacon and Veggie. The crust was very crispy and firm enough to hold the toppings without needing a knife and fork which seems to always be an issue with gf crust. My favorite topping was the BBQ chicken for sure but they were all very good. Website: http://www.gourmetpizza-company.com/

The last stop, was like finding a hidden treasure for the GF world. It was Burger21 which is a fun, modern and hip burger and shake spot. Good gluten free options and substitutions are starting to appear more but Burger21 is taken safe gluten free eating to a whole different level. Burger21 has, by far, the safest gluten free procedures I have seen yet. All the staff was outstanding and they allowed me in the kitchen to watch my burger get made. The process they use to avoid cross contamination is amazing. When a gluten free order comes into the kitchen, the staff knows to wipe down the counters, clean hands again, get out the designated gluten free utensils and to only use the designated gluten free grills. Their burgers, buns, most sauces and fries are all gluten free. I had the cheeseburger with sweet potato fries with apple cider sauce and a chocolate frozen yogurt milk shake. The whole meal was very good and the gluten free bun tastes just like a regular one and just as fluffy. This burger was the best gf burger I have ever had and even Jeff (who is not gluten free) was amazed at the quality of the bun. The staff (PR people, managers, waiters, cooks and cooks in training) made the experience even more enjoyable. The best part is that Burger21 is starting to expand beyond their locations in Florida and is planning to open two in NJ in 2013. I can’t wait!!! Website: http://www.burger21.com/

The more that I travel and meet people, the more I realize that the gluten free community is making an impact. It is becoming rare to meet someone that does not know someone who is gluten free. Restaurants are learning that eating gluten free is not a diet fad but rather, an illness. Don’t be scared to travel and try new places. Do some research before you go and you may be surprised at what you find.