Adventures in Cooking

Since starting the new eating plan-- no flour, no sugar, no soy, I have really started to experiment in the kitchen. When ordering pizza from my guys across the street is no longer a fall back option, one needs to get a little creative.
It's been so fun!
I have found new blogs to follow. I found some things on Pinterest (I mean, who knew?!), and have just expanded my horizons.
Obviously, some recipes are total flops-- Creamy cauliflower garlic rice comes to mind. I may attempt this again with some adjustments but it will definitely not be an instant go-to. Or Quinoa Broccoli baked cheese dish, which I will not make again. Quinoa in a grain form is not as good as a noodle so cannot mimic Macaroni ad cheese. On the other hand I did use quinoa pasta and made an AMAZING macaroni and cheese with some broccoli last week. Seriously, yum! Really.

This past weekend I was motivated and feeling awesome. I did not have a sleep in Saturday since the neighbors have taken to being super loud in the mornings...not cool. But it did mean I was up and ready to hit the day running. I cleaned and then did some cooking and socialized a wee bit. Amazing what can be accomplished when you're feeling good!

For breakfast I made Raspberry Chocolate Muffins--

AMAZING! Seriously-- YUM! And really not all that bad for ya, chocolate not withstanding of course.

I ventured out to be an observer of the Rock & Roll Marathon and got a little chilly. When I got home, I wanted something warm and cozy. After some inspiration from pals, I ended up with a craving for Tortilla Soup.

I made a Mexican Chicken soup  adapted from two different recipes.
http://www.onceuponachef.com/2011/01/chicken-tortilla-soup.html
http://detoxinista.com/2013/03/mexican-chicken-soup-with-vegetarian-option/
Again, SO good!

Plus, this bad boy allowed me to use my new kitchen gadget-- the immersion blender. I am obsessed with how fun it is to use! Though next time I need to remember to keep it better under control because I found soup splatter marks ALL over the kitchen! Whoops.

And then, as if the above wasn't quite enough, I was craving something a little sweet and decided to make Peanut Butter Brownies. YUM-O! Seriously I am convinced these are so good that I could trick others into thinking they were normal brownies. Delicious!

It was a delicious weekend of good food. I've got some other things lined up to try out this week. I'll keep ya posted!
No matter what I have really enjoyed being in the kitchen and trying out new things. Plus, it's all so good for me! Whole, healthy foods. Yumminess.


**sorry about the wonky pics. I'm not sure what's up and can't seem to fix them. But even with the wonky you get the idea.