Freshly Squeezed Lemonade

 Nothing says summer like freshly squeezed lemonade!

1 cup lemon juice, about 6 - 7 lemons
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1 cup cold water

Squeeze the juice out of the lemons, enough for 1 cup of juice.  In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups water and 2 cups sugar to a boil.  Cool to room temperature.  Combine lemon juice and simple syrup.  Add 1 cup cold water.  Mix.  Serve in glasses with ice.  If it's too tart, you can dilute it with more water, or more ice.

Sweet Potato Fries

Sweet Potato Fries, yes please!  These are quick and easy to throw together and are more delicious than many sweet potato fries I've tasted in restaurants!  I love, love, love the Redmond salt and the organic garlic pepper!  They're delicious on these!  I've decided I need to double the batch for my family because they devour them!

4 small to medium sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic pepper 

Preheat oven to 450º.  Slice sweet potato into 1/2 inch strips.  Coat with 3 tablespoons olive oil.  In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, salt and garlic pepper.  Pour over sweet potatoes and coat.

Cook in a single layer on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes.  Using a spatula, turn fries over, and cook for another 5 - 10 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Butter Syrup

This butter syrup is the perfect addition to a fruit filled Swedish Pancake, or to top a waffle!  The recipe can be easily doubled.  

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
1 cups milk

Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Boil for 3 minutes.  

Fruit Pizza Cookie

This might be one of my all time favorite desserts.  The cookie I use is my Cream Cheese Cookie recipe.  It is light and fluffy with a hint of almond.  The topping is lighter than a cream cheese frosting and goes well with fruit.  You can top it with any fruit you'd like!  It's a refreshingly delicious dessert!  

Cream Cheese Cookie:

1 cup butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
5 cups GF featherlight flour, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Place butter and cream cheese in a large stand mixer and mix together well.  Add sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract.  Mix together well.  Add 3 cups flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.  Mix and then add 2 more cups flour.

Mix well and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight.  You can speed chill for 30 minutes in freezer.  It works best to wrap in plastic wrap to chill.

Roll out on floured surface about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick, and use a cup to cut circles.  Bake at 350º for 9 - 14 minutes.  Don't over bake.  (Convection oven:  300º for 9 minutes.). Cool on wired rack.  

This recipe makes about 50 3-inch cookies.

Topping: 

3 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened
8 oz whipped topping

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Using a mixer, combine until well mixed.

Wash and cut fruit.  Frost cookies with the topping.  Place fruit on topping.  

Make sure the fruit is dry before placing it on the cookies.  

Shrimp Tacos

These tacos are delicious and quick to make!  Serve them in a corn tortilla with cabbage, avocado cream sauce and pepper-jack cheese!  We like to warm the tortilla with some cheese first, before layering with cabbage, shrimp and avocado cream sauce.

Corn Tortillas

Cabbage, chopped

Shrimp

Avocado Cream Sauce

Pepperjack cheese (or any cheese you'd like)

Shrimp

24 oz shrimp, raw and deveined with tail off

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon chili powder

Melt butter in a large saucepan.  In a bowl, toss shrimp, salt, paprika and chili powder.  Add shrimp and garlic to the buttery pan.  Saute, stirring occasionally until shrimp is pink.  About 4-5 minutes.

Avocado Cream Sauce

1 avocado

1/4 cup cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons avocado oil

juice of 1 lime

Place all ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.

Copycat Zupas Tomato Basil Soup - Instant Pot

Zupas Tomato Basil Soup is one of my all time favorite things.  I've tried several different recipes for Tomato Basil soup and I've liked some of them, but this hands down is my fav!  It tastes exactly like it!  Wahoo!  It's thick and creamy and fills my whole soul with comfort!  Yum!  Thanks to my sister for sharing it!  The original recipe came from devourdinner.com.  I like to use the S&W Tomatoes (Stewed Italian Recipe) and Costco's Kirkland Basil Pesto, for the canned tomatoes and the pesto.

3 tablespoons butter

3 stalks celery, diced

1 cup onions, diced

4 14.5 oz cans Italian Stewed Tomatoes 

1 cup basil pesto 

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Fresh Parmesan to garnish

Place butter in the Instant Pot.  Add celery and onions.  Saute until soft, stirring often.  Add canned tomatoes, pesto, sugar, salt and chicken broth.  Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.  When finished, use quick release to release the pressure.  Pour hot soup in blender and blend until smooth.  (Or you can use an immersion blender.)  Pour blended soup back into the Instant Pot.  Stir in whipping cream.  If the cream cooled the soup down too much, just press the saute button, and heat it for a minute or two.  Turn off saute when it's the temperature you'd like, and press keep warm.  Serve with fresh parmesan if desired.

Grandma's Scottish Shortbread

My Grandma Carlson made Scottish Shortbread every Christmas.  This recipe came from her mom, my Great Grandma Davidson, who grew up in Scotland.  I have adapted it to make it gluten free and it tastes just like I remember!

5 cups gluten free flour

1 tablespoon xanthan gum

2 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 cup chopped nuts

Mix all together with your hands until it sticks together and is combined well. Spread evenly onto an ungreased cookie sheet.  Using the back of a fork, make lines going horizontally and then again vertically.  Bake for 1 hour at 300º.  Cut into 1 inch squares as soon as it comes out of the oven.  Let cool completely.   

Lemon Blueberry Cream Pie

This sweet but tart lemon pie is delish!  It's a Thanksgiving favorite of mine!  One large lemon will be enough for the lemon peel and fresh lemon juice.  I would for sure use the full fat Dairy sour cream.  

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup milk
3 beaten egg yolks
4 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon shredded lemon peel
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
8 oz Dairy sour cream
2 cups fresh blueberries

Baked GF pie crust

In a saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch.  In a small bowl, stir together beaten eggs and milk.  Add to sauce pan.  Add butter and lemon peel.  Cook over medium heat until it boils.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes while boiling.  Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice.  Cover with plastic wrap until cool.

Wash blueberries and let them dry completely.  When pudding is cool, stir in sour cream.  Stir in blueberries and pour into a baked pie crust.  Cover and chill for 3-4 hours.  Top with whipped cream.  You can also whip some lemon peel into the cream.

Moroccan Lentil Stew

This hearty curry vegetable stew is delicious and warms the soul!  If you want it to be more of a soup and less of a stew then add 1 1/2 more cups of broth.  You can also increase the cayenne pepper if you want it spicy.  I use homemade canned whole tomatoes, but you can use 32 oz of any canned tomato you'd like.  

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion
4 cloves minced garlic

4 ribs celery diced

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 quart whole tomatoes

1 lb frozen cauliflower florets

2 cups sliced carrots

4 cups vegetable broth

1 bay leaf

1 cup red lentils

Saute onion in olive oil over medium heat.  Prepare celery then add to the onions and saute for 3 more minutes.  Add garlic, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and cayenne pepper to the pot.  Stir and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Add tomatoes, chickpeas, frozen cauliflower, carrots, broth, and a bay leaf.  Turn heat to high, place a lid on, and bring soup to a boil.  Add lentils and let it come back to a boil.  Turn heat down to low and simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on.

Remove bay leaf, and salt to taste.

Favorite Chili

This is by far my favorite chili recipe!  I took some things I liked from a few of my past recipes and combined it to make the best chili ever!  It's thick and chunky and soothes the soul on a cold day!  

It has just a little kick if you put in a whole jalapeno, but I wouldn't say it's spicy.  If you'd rather not have that extra heat, you could just put in 1 tablespoon jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped. 

1 lb ground beef

2 onions or 1 extra large onion

1 cup green pepper, diced

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped  

1 (10 ounce) can Mexican-style tomatoes (Rotel - Mild Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilis)

1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce (or four 8 ounce cans tomato sauce)

1 quart homemade canned tomatoes, or store bought crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons cumin

2 tablespoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon paprika

2 (14 ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

Toppings - sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese

Cook ground beef with onions and peppers in a large cast iron pot or dutch oven.  Season with salt and pepper.  Drain excess grease and add the rest of the ingredients.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30 - 60 minutes.