Solid Gold

Ok, so it's actually Liquid Gold, but Solid Gold sounds so much cooler!
Today's Juice Creation is all about the Gold
Golden Beet
Golden Pineapple
Golden-ish Apples
Goldi-Peel Lemon
It's beautiful, delicious and of course healthy.

The Deets
1 Golden Beet - washed and peeled
2 Cups Pineapple - I use the core which is usually about a cup + a cup of sweet juicy fruit
3 Apples
1 Lemon - peeled (I always add a lemon to beet juice to keep it crisp)

The How To
Wash all your fruits & veggies
Always peel your beets or your juice will taste dirty - literally, it will taste like dirt.
Always peel citrus fruit or your juice will taste bitter
Cut into pieces that will fit in your juicer and juice away.

Enjoy your Golden Nutrients!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I know what you're thinking, "Soup?, but it's spring". Yes, I know it is spring, beautiful sunny days mixed with cold rainy days. And those rainy days, they call for soup. The following recipe is adapted from the culinary genius, Pioneer Woman. 

The Deets

1 Rotisserie Chicken or 2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 TB Olive Oil             

1 tsp Chili Powder

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Taco Seasoning

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 Onion Diced

3 Cloves Garlic, Minced

1 Can Rotel Tomatoes And Green Chilies

4 Cups (32 ounces) Chicken Broth

1 small can of Tomato Paste

4 cups Hot Water

1 can of Black Beans, Rinsed and Drained

3 Tablespoons Cornmeal (mixed with 1/4 cup of water and made into a paste)

For the Toppings
1/2 Avocado for each person
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream
Green Onion, Onion, and/or Cilantro 
5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches or 1 bag of Frito Corn Chips

The How To

Cook Chicken or Pick up a Rotisserie Chicken; 
Cool and Shred/Chop Chicken; Set aside
Add Olive Oil to Large Stock Pot
Add Onion and Garlic, Cook until clear
Add Seasoning, Rotel, and Tomato Paste, Stir until seasoning is well distributed
Add Water and Chicken Broth
Bring to a Boil and cook for 45 minutes

Add Black Beans and Cornmeal paste
Add Chicken
Simmer for 15 minutes to let reduce further

Turn off heat and let sit for another 10-15 minutes

Spoon up, Top, and Enjoy!

Numero Uno! Cake time.

This latest Cake creation is for a very special one year old. It's bright and fun & likely to put a smile on anyone's face. I do not have a cake recipe to share, because, quite frankly, Martha let me down. The cake was no bueno. So let's just pretend it was good cake and move on.

This was my third fondant creation, and though I still have a long way to go, I am slowly getting better at working with fondant.

The recipes for the frosting and the fondant are my trusty standbys. Here are the deets:

The Frosting

1 1/2 Cup Butter (3 sticks)

2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Pure Almond Extract

6 Cups Sifted Confectioner's Sugar (Must be Sifted!)

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

The Frosting How To

Whip it all together on medium high for 3ish minutes. I cream the butter and 1/2 the sugar, then add the other ingredients and remaining sugar.

The Fondant Deets

1 Bag Powdered Sugar (2lbs or about 7 cups)

1 Cup plain Shortening (don't use butter flavored or the fondant will be yellowish)

1 Cup Light Corn Syrup

1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Pure Almond Extract

1 tsp Salt

Gel Food Coloring (A lot of coloring!)

The Fondant How To

Mix until smooth and stiff. If the Fondant is sticky add more powdered sugar. To color separate into balls (depending on how many colors you want to make) Be sure to leave extra white - you will always need more white. To color use gel colors (liquid will not work) Coloring takes a long time, so you have to kneed, kneed, kneed. Once you get the desired colors roll it out on a powder sugar coated surface and decorate as desired. Remember Fondant will crack if it gets dry, so be sure to keep anything you aren't using within 15 minutes covered.

Not quite large enough

The Assembly 

Bake the cake of your choice, let cool

Crumb-coat (apply a thin layer of frosting on each cooled layer of cake) and stick in the fridge to "set"

Apply a layer of frosting over the crumb coat

Roll fondant into a thin circle large enough to cover your tier

Smooth fondant over tier

at this point I added stripes to the bottom layer and the circles/dots to the top layer

To stack the tiers, I put the top on a piece of cardboard so it could easily be removed for the "smash" cake.

For the topper I created this out of fondant, it is two sided with the babe's name on the other side and toothpick in the middle to hold it up, I set it on a smooshed up paper towel to dry overnight.

Here is the finished product

Happy Birthday sweet Babe!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

As you know, I love cookies. Cookies are by far my favorite dessert. I love cookies so much that it saddens me when others, especially those I love, can't enjoy gooey-chocolatey-cookie-deliciousness. I first became familiar with Celiac disease 9 years ago when I met one of my now good friends who suffered from the disease (and I do mean suffered). I know there are many people who choose to live gluten free for whatever reason and if that's your choice, I hope you enjoy this recipe, but this recipe, is really for those who do not have a choice, those who become severely ill from contact with gluten. Celiac is no joke, so it struck a nerve yet again this weekend when one of my dearest friends revealed that she had been recently diagnosed and was going through the struggle of starting her gluten free life. She's a few months in and feeling much better, but although the gluten free options are much better than they were 9 years ago, they are still limited. After a quick chat I quickly sent her this recipe, which is a variation on my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Since more and more people I know seem to be having gluten issues, I thought it was time to share this delicious recipe!

After experimenting with various flours, I personally prefer oat flour (ok I really prefer wheat, but you know what I mean). Feel free to try what you like - but I know this will satisfy gluten free and gluten-gluttons alike! So, without further adieu, gluten free chocolate chip cookies! 

The Deets

1/2 Cup Margarine or Shortening


3/4 Cup Butter (1 1/2 Sticks or 1 stick + 4 TBS)


1 Cup Sugar


1 Cup Brown Sugar


2 Eggs


2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract


1/2 tsp Almond Extract


1 tsp baking Soda


1 tsp baking Powder


1 tsp Salt


3 Cups Oat Flour


3/4 Cup Oats


1 Bag Chocolate Chips

The How To

Cream Butter, Margarine, Sugar and Eggs

Add Vanilla and Almond Extract, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt and 2 Cups of Oat Flour, Mix until smooth

Add Whole Oats and remaining Cup of Oat Flour and mix until smooth

Add Chocolate Chips and Mix until well incorporated

Roll into Balls for Baking

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes (I like my cookies gooey!)

Enjoy the gluten free goodness! Now if I could only find a way to make them calorie free...

Red PrimeSteak OKC

It's been a while since I've done a resaurant review, partially because "everyone" seems to take photos of every meal they eat and I am not "everyone" and had thus stopped doing so, and lets face it, a food blog without the visual just isn't as good. That being said, I had the most amazing meal last night! So good that photos or no photos it demanded attention. Lucky for you, the resaurant website had photos of most of the deliciousness!

This week we had a Celebratory Dinner at Red PrimSteak in Oklahoma City. Red is a well known for their amazing Prime meats, wine list and of course their red neon lights. The service is great and the food is even better. Here's the rundown on the delicious dishes.

RP Tomato Salad
This salad is a perfect Caprese Salad +; the + being fried green tomatoes. The mozzarella was perfect, milky and fresh; balsamic redux and basil infused evoo hit all the right notes. And the fried green tomatoes? Amazing! I make pretty amazing fried green tomatoes, but these, oh my goodness, mouthwatering deliciousness!  The RP's Tomato Salad was the Perfect Start to the evening.
The RP Tomato Salad earns 5 of 5 stars

Prime Sirloin
Normally I'm a Ribeye girl, but I was sold on the 10 oz Prime Sirloin, and it was superb. At Red Prime, each steak comes with your choice of Rub and Sauce. I chose the Blue Cheese Rub with Red's Custom Steak Sauce. Now, we are taking about Prime meat here, so you know it's going to be good, but this steak, oh this steak, was melt-in-your-mouth, i-can't-wait-for-my-next-bite amazing. It was tender, perfectly aged, seasoned and cooked to my preferred medium-rare +. When it comes to steak I'm normally a purest, no sauce, basic rub - but since these are part of the allure of prime, I had to try them. The blue cheese was bold and flavorful, the Red steak sauce was bold and deep. It was a perfect medley of flavors.
The Prime Sirloin earns 5 of 5 stars

Green Chile Mac
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love a good Mac and Cheese. Red Prime did not disapoint. The Green Chile Mac was rich and creamy, with a kick. A bit too much of a kick  for me, but the overall flavor was amazing.
The Green Chile Mac earns 4 of 5 stars.

Chocolate Spoon Cake
To top off the night we had the chocolate spoon cake, a rich nutty, slightly gooey chocolate cake topped with vanilla ice cream and served with salted carmel sauce and poached cherries. The cake was sweet and rich without being too rich, the carmel sauce was divine - the perfect blend of sweet-salty goodness. The ice cream was standard, nothing to write home about, but it completed the dish. The cherries fell flat; they were bland and the texture was off.
The Chocolate Spoon Cake earns 4 of 5 stars

Red PrimeSteak is a must eat. The food is divine and the service is outstanding. Overall Red PrimeSteak earns a 4.5 of 5 stars.

*Photo Credit http://redprimesteak.com/