Dairy Free Buffalo Chicken Dip

Yes, you read that right- DAIRY FREE Buffalo Chicken Dip. When I started my search for this dish, I came across a lot of variations. This recipe is the one that was the most like the original recipe. I found it at Adventures of a Minnesota Girl written by Melissa. This dip is cheesy, gooey, indulgent... everything a dairy free person misses. It tasted just like the original dairy full dish- just with a lot less grease and oil.

I first made this for our New Year's Eve party. The dip was a huge hit with everyone- and they were all dairy eaters except me. In fact, we finished off two of them! The ingredient list is short, the method is super easy, and it comes together beautifully.

Ingredients:
~Cooked and shredded *chicken. You can use leftover rotisserie or boil up a couple chicken breasts. I boil up two breasts for 1 dip.

~4 oz.of your favorite dairy free cheese plus a little more for the top. You can use cheddar or mozzarella- I used cheddar. I use Veggie Shreds because I do not have a casein allergy. I suggests using Daiya if you have an allergy instead of an intolerance.

~8 oz.dairy free cream cheese. I used Trader Joes brand.

~1/3 cup *mayo

~1/3 cup Franks Red Hot sauce. More if you want it hotter.

~1 Tablespoon lemon juice

~Salt and pepper to taste.


Directions:
1.If cooking the chicken, boil it until it is cooked through and easy to shred.

2.While the chicken is cooking mix up the Mayo, lemon juice, cheese, and salt and pepper.


Add the cream cheese, then the chicken and hot sauce.


3.I sprinkle the top with extra cheese as well.This is optional

4.Bake at 350F for about 15-20 minutes or until hot.


Melissa told me that you can also do this in a slow cooker. I have not tried it that way myself though. But I plan on trying it soon!

**You can make this Vegan by using tofu instead of chicken, and Veganese instead of mayo.

A HUGE thank you to Melissa at Adventures of a Minnesota Girl for sharing this recipe on her blog, and for allowing me to share it on mine. You should definitely head over to her blog and check it out!

Homemade Pico de Gallo

Whenever we have a gathering my husband always asks me to make my homemade Pico de Gallo.  Even the kids love it. 
I am well aware that there are several recipes like this out there on the web. I promise this recipe is my very own- I made it up one summer afternoon years ago in my kitchen with absolutely no help from any cookbooks or Internet sites. So if it is similar to another, that is pure coincidence. My mother also makes a similar recipe, but she adds a small amount of garlic to hers.

I do not measure anything with this recipe- it is all according to personal taste.

Serves: 4-6 as an appetizer

Ingredients:
3-4 large fresh tomatoes
1 medium purple onion
1 jalapeno
juice from 1 lime
large bunch fresh cilantro
Kosher Salt


Directions:
Cut or dice each veggie the size you want it. I chop them as small as I can stand to, with the onion being the smallest. I also sometimes only add in half the onion depending on how much tomato I use. It really is all according to taste. We like it pretty spicy so we use a whole jalapeno with the seeds. If I know the kids are going to be eating a lot I will cut back on the heat for them. Once all the veggies are added, squeeze the fresh lime juice over top.

As for the salt- I add about a teaspoon to start with and adjust that if needed. Remember- you can always add more salt but you can't take it away once you have too much. Mix well.


To pack it up and take it over to our friends' I used a Ball jar. It looks so pretty in a jar, and if you are going to a party you could even dress up the jar with ribbon or some sort of decoration for the occasion.


The trick with this recipe to make sure you have the freshest ingredients you can find. The fresher, the better.

Enjoy!

Cranberry Apple Bread

My daughters have been asking me to bake something new for a couple of weeks. After the holidays I was on baking burn-out so I took a break (and we still have goodies in the freezer). On Friday afternoon I had some spare time (ok, who are we kidding? Of course I didn't, I was just putting off other things that needed to be done). Since the baby was napping and the girls were working on some art projects I had some spare minutes to try out something new in my kitchen. I had a basket of apples on my counter and a bag of cranberries in my freezer. I have been wanting to try an apple bread that I had a recipe for and since I had the cranberries, I decided to incorporate them as well.

I used the basic dry ingredients measurements from another of my bread recipes, but fiddled around with the other ingredients. What I came up with is now my daughters' favorite bread.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup organic sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups chopped, peeled apples
1 cup cranberries- finely chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350F and spray your loaf pan with cooking spray.

2.Peel and chop your apples. Chop your cranberries in a food processor- I made mine very small. Zest your lemon. Set these aside until you are ready to use.


3.In your stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl) combine sugar, eggs, and oil. Beat well.

4.In a separate bowl combine your flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, allspice, and cinnamon.

5. Gradually add to the wet mixture. It will be thick. Once the dry ingredients are blended in, add your apples, cranberries, and lemon zest. The liquid from the fruit with help thin the batter a little bit.


6.Pour into your bread pan.


Bake a for 60-65 minute, or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Mine took exactly 65 minutes.


This bread is great as a snack, a treat to have on hand for company, as dessert for kids, or for breakfast.
~Happy Baking!~

DairyFree Detox

Over the past 2 weeks or so I've been feeling kind of... blech. Not sick, just not well. Those with food intolerances or allergies probably understand that feeling. I normally eat all organic and natural foods, I seldom eat processed anything since most of it contains dairy. Occasionally I will find a treat that has no dairy in it, like Oreos, Sweet Spicy Chili Doritos, or some coffee creamers. But after a couple of days of eating that treat I will start to not feel well. I've had a headache for 2 weeks (those are always fun) and it is apparent that something in my diet is not agreeing with me too. I am pretty sure I have narrowed it down to my coffee creamer. I was so excited that I found Dairy free creamer in flavors I love. Even though they are lactose free, there is obviously something in them that my body does not like. So I am going to have to toss them and go back to my organic soy and almond milk in my coffee.

In order to get back on track I am eating those foods that make me feel good- oatmeal, avocados, eggs, and lots of veggies. And water- lots of water. It's a way that I kind of detox myself after eating something that I should not.

Breakfast looked like this:

Organic multi-grain raisin spice oatmeal with banana, almond milk, and ground flax seed. Instead of coffee I opted for a cup of rooibos tea (rooibos is good for everything- digestion, allergies, it is anti-inflammatory, and promotes overall health. It is also a lot easier on the stomach than green tea.)


It was so good!

For lunch I had a white bean and veggie open faced sandwich with a side of organic baby carrots.
I made a quick and easy white bean spread. I didn't follow a recipe- I looked in my spice cabinet and picked out what I thought would tasted good.

1 can white kidney beans
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
juice of half a lemon juice
2tablespoons or more of olive oil

Here's what I did:
Drain and rinse the beans. Put them in a small sauce pan, add the cayenne pepper, garlic powder, and cumin (About a 1/2 teaspoon of each- more if you want a lot of flavor). Let the beans heat through, stirring often so they don't burn to the bottom of the pan.
When they are hot, put them in a food processor (I used my small Kitchen Aid for this). Add Olive oil and juice of half a lemon. Puree them until you get a smooth consistency. You may have to add more olive oil as you go. Once it is to the consistency and flavor you want, you're done.

To make my sandwich I toasted up two slices of bread, spread the beans on them, added some organic baby spinach, a little red onion (it was leftover from the previous night's salad), sliced avocado, and then sprinkled it with salt and pepper. This sandwich with a side a baby carrots, a little more of the bean spread/dip, and a huge glass of water was so good for lunch.



I skipped my smoothie for the day-I had a few cups of my rooibos tea instead.

Dinner was simple- just plain scrambled eggs and toast. I followed it up later with a Cliff Bar and a glass of water for a snack.

I also went to bed early- after watching the Season Premiere of One Tree Hill, of course!

It is amazing how much better I feel today than I did yesterday. My headache is still there, although not nearly as bad as yesterday. And part of that is most likely allergies. My energy is back and my mood is better (I get cranky when I don't feel well). I don't eat poorly often, but when I do boy does it make me feel gross. Hopefully this sort of detox will get me back where I need to be.