Author: Brynn Kimel

Listen up Y’all this is a good one. Last night Mom and I made Ina Garten’s Roasted Mustard Chicken recipe. The only thing we change to make it gluten free is using gluten free panko flakes, rather than the regular panko flakes the recipe calls for. This is one of my newfound favorite recipes. It’s a lighter chicken dish that is oh so savory. The mixed green salad, topped with a fresh lemon and mustard vinaigrette, complements the chicken perfectly by giving each bite a touch of freshness. Here is the link to the chicken recipe: https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/crispy-mustard-roasted-chicken. As I mentioned above we serve this chicken over a mixed green salad, and top it all off with a lemon and mustard vinaigrette. The lemon and mustard vinaigrette is also Ina’s recipe, it is super easy to make. Here is how to make it: Whisk together 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard (we like to add a little more), 1/4 cup well chopped shallots, salt and pepper, and 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar. As far as sides go, we usually make roasted fingerling potatoes or mashed potatoes depending on the day. The chicken doesn’t take long to make and is perfect for any occasion. Especially as summer approaches this recipe is great for those gorgeous days you want to be outside as long as possible, and not in the kitchen making dinner. I am telling you guys my mouth is watering just thinking about the leftovers I get to have for lunch, mmm mmmm. Enjoy Everyone, and eat well.

Until next time,

Brynn

Huddle up Everybody. Today we are talking Buffalo Chicken Soup. The perfect soup for Game Day or a Tuesday. It’s hearty and filling, without being too heavy. It is a cream based soup topped off with fresh cheese. This is one of my favorite soups. It warms you up from the first spoonful. Don’t worry the buffalo spice isn’t overpowering, ensuring that the soup is not too spicy. The best part is that it takes less than 30 minutes to make.

Here is the game plan: In an Instant Pot or pressure cooker combine two boneless skinless chicken breasts (frozen is okay, they will fully cook in the pot), three cups low-sodium chicken broth, 1/2 cup diced celery, 1/4 cup diced white onion, one clove of minced garlic, one tablespoon ranch dressing mix, two tablespoons butter, and 1/3 cup buffalo hot sauce. Cook the ingredients at high pressure for 10 minutes and then do a quick release to depressurize. Remove the two chicken breasts and shred them. Next return them to the soup and add one cup of heavy cream and two cups of cheddar cheese. Let the soup warm up for a few more minutes in the pressure cooker and serve. Now you fabulous foodies get out there and make some Buffalo Chicken Soup!

Until next time,

Brynn

I feel very blessed because growing up my family always had meals together as long as everyone was at home, and not traveling. When I went away to school these family dinners were one of the things I missed most. Upon coming home due to Covid-19 this was something I was most excited for. Chicken Piccata is one of my favorite meals. Granted I say that about so many meals, let’s be realistic I am not picky. We made it tonight using an altered, gluten free, version of Giada De Laurentiis’ Chicken Piccata recipe. Here is a link to the recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chicken-piccata-recipe2-1913809 The only alteration we made was substituting the regular flour, used for dredging the chicken, with gluten free flour. For sides we always serve mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. I absolutely would recommend this savory meal for a cozy night in.

Until next time,

Brynn

I would like to start this off by wishing all of the lovely mothers out there a Happy belated Mother’s Day. I feel so blessed to have such a positive and supportive role model both in the kitchen and out. Our mother, Stephanie, is the woman behind this whole operation. Without her hard work to embrace out gluten free lifestyle Brooke and I may never have known how to live our best gluten free life. Mothers do so much for us year after year, and they truly deserve the world. As a thank you to our mother, Stephanie, I made her favorite cake. A chocolate peanut butter cake, her favorite flavor combination to date. Let me tell you all how we made it.

For the chocolate sponge base we used Anne Byrn’s Chocolate Espresso Sponge Cake recipe which can be found in her book, “The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten Free”. It’s a very simple recipe that produces a delicious, rich, and moist chocolate cake.

After the cake is baked and cooled, it is covered in a peanut butter cream cheese frosting. Personally this is my favorite part of the whole cake, and I could probably eat a ton of this frosting by itself. For the frosting we use Smitten Kitchen’s (Another food blog) peanut butter frosting recipe. To make it, mix together five cups of sifted powdered sugar, with 1/2 cup room temperature butter, 1 1/4 cup room temperature cream cheese, and 2/3 cup peanut butter until smooth. Frost the middle of the cakes as well as the outside of the cake generously.

The last step is to make the chocolate peanut butter ganache. We used Smitten Kitchen’s recipe for this as well. To make, combine 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate, 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter, 2 tablespoons honey, and 1/2 cup of half and half in the top of a double boiler. Whisk frequently until the chocolate is melted and the mixture smooth. Immediately pour the ganache over the center of the cake. Do so slowly and allow gravity to pull it down the sides. Let the cake cool, thank your mother for being amazing, (whether it’s Mother’s Day or not) and dig in! I hope you all enjoy this decadent chocolate peanut butter cake. Thank you Mothers everywhere. Stay well and eat well.

Until next time,

Brynn

We had some well aged bananas on our countertop and Brooke asked me to make some banana bread. Of course I said yes! Banana bread is by far in our family’s top five favorite breakfast treats. I had enough to make two loaves: one with chocolate chips, and one without for Brooke. What can I say, she may be a little crazy but we love her anyway. I guess she’s entitled to her own opinion ;). I am just kidding, I know there are many mixed feelings about chocolate chips in banana bread. For me it is a must. This is a tweaked version inspired by Marjorie Johnson’s recipe. Here is how I make it:

I mix together two mashed bananas, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup softened butter, and 2 eggs added individually. In a separate bowl I mix my dry ingredients. I whisk together 2 cups of gluten free flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Then I add my not so secret ingredients: A generous dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. I slowly mix together my wet and dry ingredients. Between additions of my dry ingredients I pour 1/4 cup buttermilk (Baking tip: or just a teaspoon lemon juice and the remainder of milk mixed together) into the mixture. I mix everything together well. On the side, I spray my bread tins and flour my chocolate chips before adding them to the bowl (Baking tip: flouring chocolate chips before putting them in a bread will keep them from sinking to the bottom). I fold the chocolate chips into my mixture, put it in the tin, and bake it at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes, or until my toothpick test comes out clean.

The quarantine may be making us and many families go bananas, but when life gives you bananas make banana bread. I hope you all enjoy this super easy gluten free banana bread recipe. Happy Celiac Awareness Month. As always if you have questions please reach out. Please stay safe and healthy.

Until next time,

Brynn

Hello Everyone! Spring is here, and so are th0se “April Showers.” I don’t know a better way to enjoy a rainy day than in the kitchen. A few years ago my family and I took a magnificent trip to Europe. Throughout our journey we ended up spending a morning wandering around on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy. There I saw the biggest lemons I have ever seen to date. From then on, whenever I see a lemon I always think of that morning. Lately I have been perusing around social media for some recipe inspiration, a few days ago I saw about seven or eight recipes with lemon as the star of the show. I made up my mind that the next dessert I would make would be lemon tarts. Added bonus was that then I could use the leftover dough in the freezer from my floral spring tarts I made a couple weeks ago.

All Recipes’ Lemon Butter Tart recipe was the inspiration for my Lil’ Lemon Tartlets, I did of course make a few alterations of my own to the recipe. Here’s how I made them:

First off my Grandma gave me these super cute little tartlet molds, so rather than a traditional tart mold I used those. Then I of course used the leftover gluten free pie crust dough that had been in my freezer. I rolled it out and placed it in my little molds, that I had sprayed generously with non-stick spray. From here I par-baked them at 350 degrees fahrenheit until they were just lightly tanned (about 9-ish minutes).

While those were in the oven I got as much of the lemon curd done as possible. I whisked three eggs and two egg yolks thoroughly. I combined them in a saucepan with 1/2 cup butter, 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, 3 teaspoons lemon zest, and 1 1/4 cup sugar. I put this all on low heat and stirred constantly until it was thick. After the curd was finished I set it in the fridge to cool, while it cooled I took the tartlet crusts out of the molds. I then placed them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. After this I made the meringue topping. For this I whipped up 3 egg whites, 1/4 cup white sugar, and a generous dash of cream of tartar. I use cream of tartar in my meringues to make sure they have stiff peaks that can withstand piping.

Once the lemon curd had chilled I piped the curd into the individual tartlets. Next I piped the meringue on top of each tartlet covering them completely. I then put them in the oven and baked them at 350 degrees until the meringues were a very light brown (about 7 min). Once they cooled completely I brought some over to my neighbors who share a love of lemon desserts. These turned out great, and I am so excited to make them again. If you have any questions, as always, please feel free to reach out.

Until next time,

Brynn

We may not be Arby’s but when it comes to meatloaf i’d say we got it going on. Meatloaf has always been one of my favorite dinners (and lunch leftovers). You can’t beat a good meatloaf, potato, and carrot trio. I personally have been making meatloaf since I was about seven or eight. I remember using the Molly’s Cooking Studio by American Girl cookbook for the meatloaf and “Volcano Mashed Potato” recipes. My new favorite meatloaf recipe comes from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Foolproof cookbook. This is our family’s go to recipe, it makes enough for leftovers and is oh so delicious. Mom always seems to get it just right so there’s a little crust on the outside and the inside is juicy and flavorful. I can’t forget the garlic sauce to pour over the meatloaf. The garlic sauce is also in Ina’s book, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof. It is the perfect finishing touch to the meatloaf, and elevates the flavor of the meatloaf even more. Here is a link to a online version of the recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/meat-loaf-recipe-1921718. Enjoy the images below and check back soon for some more updates.

Until next time,

Brynn

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

Think of your mom’s chocolate chip cookies, can you smell them coming out of the oven? Can you taste the warm chocolate? Mmmmm. Oh i’m sorry, am I making you hungry for cookies? Teehee my bad, my sweet tooth tends to take over these dessert posts. I know everyone says that their mom has the best chocolate chip cookies, but in my family three generations have been able to say that about the same recipe. My great grandmother, on my mom’s side, Evelyn Odegaard-Howard passed down her recipe and it has been used ever since. It’s important to note that I have no clue where Great Grandma Evelyn got her chocolate chip cookie recipe. My Grandma, Evelyn’s daughter, doesn’t even know, but if you ask anyone in the family we all agree her recipe is by far the best. Now I am not saying drop all that you know about chocolate chip cookies and immediately convert to my family’s recipe, but if you ever want to branch out and try a new one I am the first to say: “Give this one a try.”

Like many recipes in our family this one was not originally gluten free. As we do with most recipes, we simply made a few conversions to make this recipe gluten free. These cookies are incredible! They get a little crunch on the outside, but are soft and gooey on the inside. To make them gluten free, all you have to do is substitute the regular flour for gluten free flour. An added bonus is that instead of butter we use Crisco in our cookies. If you substitute dark chocolate chips for the semi-sweet on the recipe, then the cookies are 100% gluten free and dairy free. These cookies are a great example that through a couple easy substitutions anything can be made gluten free. As Mom always says: “Don’t mourn what you can’t have, just find a way to make what you love gluten free.” By doing so you will be able to live your best gluten free lifestyle.

So often I find myself searching for new dish inspirations, and I come across these gluten free recipes with so many random ingredients that can only be found in niche grocery markets. I see these ingredients and think to myself about when I would ever use them again, unless to remake the recipe. I think this is wasteful of energy, time, money, and at the end of the day the other 3/4 of that random ingredient you bought and never used again. Simplicity is key, work smarter not harder. You don’t always need that one crazy ingredient the gluten free version of your favorite food calls for. If you have a recipe you really love and want to convert it to gluten free, use it! Just look for places substitutions can occur. Cooking and baking, like art, requires creativity and heart no matter the recipe. Have fun in the kitchen remaking what you love, gluten free. This is how my family knows that everything can be made gluten free. Enjoy the pictures of our cookies below, and if you have questions about getting the recipe please feel free to reach out.

Until next time,

Brynn

Hello Everyone! I am so excited to write about this soup. Mom found this recipe while I was away at school before COVID-19 brought me home for the school year. I have been home now for about five weeks, and so far we’ve made this soup three times. Mom found the recipe for this “Creamy Chicken Poblano Soup” in Joanna Gaines’ cookbook, Magnolia Table, the recipe can also be found online. Here is the link: https://magnolia.com/creamy-chicken-poblano-soup-recipe/. It is by far one of my all time favorite soup recipes. It is full of vegetables, and it’s not too heavy. We make it most often for lunches, and can usually spread it out a couple days. This soup definitely beats lunch at the school dining hall, and is my favorite way to break up online learning. I hope you all stay well and healthy.

Until next time,

Brynn