Chocolate Cake

I found a collection of old recipes at DI. I sifted thru all 800 of them and found most of them to be keepers. I tried this one for Maggies birthday. The frosting was the best part of it.

1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
5 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Bake 350 for 40 minutes

Frosting:
2 cups whipping cream, whipped
1 jar chocolate fudge sauce (the kind you put on ice cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Honey Lime Cilantro Dressing

Yummmmo! We have been eating lots and lots of salads, this jazzes them right up for me. Its so good. Just toss everything into your food processor. This recipe came from allrecipes.com

• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil (I use grapeseed)
  

Chick Pea Chicken Nuggets

I got this recipe from a friend. My kids love these things, and they are even better the 2nd day.

Wet ingredients
3 C cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained (can also use canned chickpeas. 2 cans, rinsed then cooked in water on the stove until tender, about 30 mins)
4 T toasted sesame oil
Juice of 1 small lemon, or ½ of a medium or large lemon
1/2 of an onion, diced

Dry ingredients
1 C brown rice flour
2 tsp xanthan gum (you can use either chia or flax seed and water but I have heard they fall apart unless eaten really quickly. I made plenty for leftovers so I used Xantham gum)
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp rubbed sage
½-1 tsp smoked paprika, to taste
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp black pepper

Mash the chickpeas in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and lemon juice. Mash again a couple of times to mix in the liquids. Chickpeas should be pretty mashed, some smooth, some still partly whole.

In a small bowl, mix all of the dry ingredients together.

Add the dry ingredients into wet and stir until fully mixed. It may be crumbly at this point. Add some water until you get to a thick, almost bread dough consistency. It should be wet enough to mix well without crumbling but not soupy. I added the onions in at this stage (they were not in the original recipe but I think many things are better with onion!).

Form into little balls or patties and brown on each side in a cast iron skillet with a little coconut oil. Salt a little more once cooked.

Energy Balls

I dont know what these are really called, or where I found the recipe. I scratched it on a piece of paper and tried it out the other day. They taste yum and are really easy and quick...NO BAKE!



1 cup oats
1/2 cup nut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup ground flax
1 tsp vanilla
you can also add mini chocolate chips or raisins.

Incorporate all ingredients and roll into little bit size balls.

Flourless Raisin Cookies

We are all kinds of "free" in this house. In the last 2 months or so we have cut out sugar, dairy, and gluten. Its opened up a whole new world to me. The main meals were not really hard to switch over, but I am a snack-er! I like sweet treats. So we have been baking some up recently, I just wanted to save some of the better ones here.

Flourless Raisin Cookies

1 cup almond butter (any nut butter)
1/4 cup agave syrup (or honey)
2 Tbs. coconut sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup raisins

Incorporate all ingredients and drop by Tbs on parchment paper. Bake 350 degrees 11 minutes. These cookies are soft and such a yummy treat!

Quinoa Cookies

These are really good. They have a different texture than a traditional cookie, but they hit the spot! I copied this recipe from Steve and Chris, the link is here:

http://www.cbc.ca/stevenandchris/2011/10/gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies.html.

The secret ingredient in these nutritious and delicious chocolate-chip cookies? The amazing protein power of quinoa!

By Peggy Kotsopoulos

4 large, very-ripe bananas
2 tbsp almond butter
1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup cooked whole-grain quinoa
1 cup uncooked quinoa flakes (or oatmeal flakes)
1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 380 F.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas with a fork and add almond butter, vanilla and coconut sugar. Mix well.
3. Add quinoa, quinoa flakes and coconut. Mix until well combined.
4. Stir in chocolate chips.
5. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and drop batter on to cooking sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and let cool.

1/2 cup Pemmican

This recipe is so yummy! Full of healthy things and its sweet from the fruit, no sugar added. I have been eating it a lot lately. Its very forgiving, you can leave out whatever you would like. And its also easy to convert to gluten free, I left out the wheat bran and wheat germ and used ground groats in place of the flour. I usually double all of this so I can make enough for a 9 x 13 pan. Then we have plenty for snacks or breakfast.

Half-Cup Pemmican from Mary Jane Butters

1/2 c golden raisins

1/2 c pitted dates

1/2 c figs (stems removed)

1/2 c almonds

1/2 c cashews

1/2 c walnuts

1/2 c pecans

1/2 c wheat germ

1/2 c wheat bran

1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/2 c powdered milk

1/2 c honey

water to moisten (the more you use the softer the bar)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

(I chopped all the ingredients that could be chopped, although the original recipe does not say to do that. There's no way I was eating a whole fig or a whole date)

Combine the fruits and nuts in a mixing bowl. Mix the wheat germ and bran, flour, and powdered milk together and add to the fruit and nut mixture a little at a time, alternating with the honey. Add just enough water to moisten and pour into a buttered pan. You can use an 8X8 pan, a 9X7 Bake for about 20 minutes. When cool, slice into bars or break apart and wrap.