Recipe: Kale Salad + Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Coconut Oil Cookies

Kale Salad with Champagne Honey Lemon Vinaigrette.

3-4 cups of chopped kale [I bought a pre-chopped mix from Whole Foods that contained carrots and cabbage]

1-2 red bell peppers diced

1/2 cup red seedless grapes sliced in half

1/3 cup of roasted unsalted sunflower seeds

1/3 dried cherries

1/3-1/2 cup of freshly grated pecorino cheese

shaved manchego cheese for topping

Champagne Honey Lemon Vinaigrette [I used this recipe]

Combine all of the ingredients above except for the Manchego and pour dressing over everything [reserve a little to add to taste before serving], making sure to massage into the kale for a few minutes. Cover and chill for at least a few hours before serving and top with the shaved Manchego cheese to taste. Make sure to serve cold. This salad will hold up for 1-2 days so you can make ahead of time!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Coconut Oil Cookies.

I used this recipe from Averie Cooks [read her direction thoroughly before starting!] but subbed the flour for Trader Joe's Gluten Free Flour Mix, added 1/2 teaspoon Guar Gum and sprinkled with Maldon Sea Salt [make sure you chill the cookies for a few hours and bake them directly from the fridge or else they will spread!]. I served them after cooling for about 5-10 minutes on the cooking sheet with Talenti Sea Carmel gelato.

I made these to recipes yesterday for our anniversary dinner and they were so delicious I wanted to share! This salad is perfect for summer and is great as a side or paired with seared salmon or quinoa as an entree. Let me know how you like them if you make them and enjoy! XOXO

Recipe: Oatmeal, Almond Butter, Chocolate + Sea Salt Cookies

3 Eggs

1 Cup of Brown Sugar

1 Cup of White Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1 Teaspoon of White Corn Syrup

2 Teaspoons of Baking Soda

1 Stick of Butter, Melted

1.5 Cups of Raw Unsalted Almond Butter

4.5 Cups of Oatmeal [I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats]

1 Cup of Semi Sweet Chocolate Chunks

Maldon Sea Salt Flakes

Mix together all of the ingredients listed above until just combined. Use an ice cream scoop to form uniform balls, place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and then lightly press on the top of each cookie to slightly flatten them. Sprinkle each cookie with the sea salt flakes and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

This is a new take on the Monster Cookie recipe [original recipe here] that my sorority house mom used to make for us in college! The almond butter makes for a nice change and the chocolate chunks and sea salt topping make the cookies a bit more fancy from the M&M version [although you can't beat the original!]. This recipe is also gluten free [as long as you ensure that you buy gluten free oats]! XOXO

Recipe: Gluten Free Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cookies are my thing. I don't have a huge sweet tooth but if you put a cookie in front of me I can't resist it! These were inspired by the sea salt chocolate cookies at La Grande Orange and I made them gluten free so everyone can enjoy!

1 stick of unsalted butter

1/2 cup of brown sugar

1/4 cup of granulated sugar

1-1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 egg

1 and 1/4 cup of gluten free all purpose flour [try Bob's Red Mil or Trader Joe's]

1/2 cup of almond flour [found at Whole Foods]

1/2 teaspoon of guar gum [found at Whole Foods

1/2 teaspoon of baking soda

1/2 teaspoon of sea salt

1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks [I use a mix of both]

Maldon Sea Salt Flakes for topping [found at Whole Foods or Williams-Sonoma]

Combine the butter and sugars until mixed. Add in the vanilla extract and egg. Next, mix in all the dry ingredients until just combined then add in your choice of chocolate. 

Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour. This is an important step to prevent the dough from spreading [I usually put mine in the freezer for 45 minutes since I'm impatient].

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Use an ice cream scoop to help form a perfect ball of dough, place on baking sheet and then lightly flatten the top of each cookie. Sprinkle with the Maldon Sea Salt Flakes and bake for 12-14 minutes until light brown at the edges. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Should make approximately 16 cookies. XOXO

Recipe: Rosemary Roasted Almonds

 The Ingredients

Raw Almonds, Fresh Rosemary, Olive Oil, Sea Salt, Chile Powder + Red Pepper Flakes [optional].

Simply combine all the ingredients [full recipe and instructions here via Cooking Light] and bake for 20 minutes until lightly toasted at 325 degrees.

Served on an antipasto platter with a sprig of fresh rosemary.

I wanted to share this super easy [and quick!] recipe that I made for Friday night... It only took a few minutes of prep work but added a nice touch to our appetizer spread. Leave me a comment if you have another quick and easy appetizer recipe to share, I could always use new ideas for our next get together! XOXO

Recipe: Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Muffins

Some of the star ingredients for an October treat.

All mixed up and ready to bake.

I made Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Muffins with this recipe {omitted the ginger and added semi sweet chocolate chips} this past weekend and they turned out yummy enough to share! To turn the recipe from bread to muffins I cooked them for 22-25 minutes and left them in the pan for 5 minutes before cooling on a wire rack. A warning: this makes a ton of muffins so try halving the ingredients if you don't plan on freezing or sharing the extras. XOXO

Recipe: Valentine's Day Monster Cookies

My sorority house mom in college would make us these amazing cookies for special occasions.  She gave us the recipe before we graduated and I've been making them for my family ever since.  They can be made for any holiday- simply buy the festive holiday M&Ms {I'm partial to the Valentine's Day and Easter M&Ms for no reason other than the pretty colors}!

Ingredients: 3 eggs, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon white corn syrup, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 stick of melted butter, 1.5 cups of peanut butter, 4.5 cups of oatmeal and 1 cup of M&Ms.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and stir until mixed.  Bake on parchment paper at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool before serving.  Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all! I hope you have a day filled with lots of love! My hubby took me on a surprise Valentine's vacation this past weekend to Scottsdale- photos coming up in my next post!  Until then check out my Closet Clean Out Sale here. XOXO

Recipe: Recently Made Dishes

Robin Miller's Vegetarian Chili

{I substituted quinoa for the couscous and added red pepper flakes and extra chili powder.}

Quinoa with garbanzo beans, feta and chopped red pepper dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, white truffle oil and oregano.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Barefoot Contessa's Mustard Roasted Potatoes

Barefoot Contessa's Banana Crunch Muffins

{ I halved the recipe and it made 12 muffins.  I also omitted the shredded coconut.}

Leave a comment with a link to your favorite recipe if you want to share.  I would love to try some new things! XOXO

Recipe: Nordstrom Tomato Basil Soup

The ingredients... carrots, who knew?!

On Sunday I decided to cook something for dinner for the hubby and was having a craving for some warm soup.  After a few searches, I came across this recipe for Tomato Basil Soup inspired by the one served in the Nordstrom Cafe.  An accompanying grilled cheese was a must (the secret trick is to hand grate the cheese instead of using slices.  I used sharp cheddar and pepper jack on sourdough bread).  Enjoy!

Recipe: Lemon Scented Quinoa With Tahini & Chickpeas

All the ingredients...

... to create this!

I had a potluck dinner with my girlfriends tonight and wanted to try to recreate one of my favorite side dishes, Lemon Scented Quinoa with Tahini & Chickpeas, from Joan's On Third.  I used this recipe and thought it turned out pretty close to the original- it's gluten free and vegan too!

Recipe: Martha Stewart's Smoky Sweet-Potato Soup

I got this recipe from my sister's Martha Stewart magazine October issue and thought it be fun to share with you all... In a total blonde moment, I just realized I used butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes... haha major fail on my part!  That's probably why I thought it was a tad off- it was still good but if you make it I would use the sweet potatoes like the recipe asked for.