Recipe Archives - JosiePie

Christmas 2020

Past Christmases involved gathering as family Christmas Eve at my parent’s place. Dad would read the Christmas story; we’d sing several songs. A gift exchange would follow. A delicious spread of appetizers and desserts would complete our evening together. Christmas Day we would have a formal festive meal.

Like the rest of the world this Christmas had elements of change. Our little family spent Christmas Day working at our new home. (We’ve been building this past year and need to be moved by the end of January.) Meals were leftovers or whatever we could scrounge quickly!

My kind, generous mother offered to make ham and turkey for everyone’s Christmas meal the day after Christmas. (My amazing sister is an RN and worked Christmas Day thus the late celebration.) What is better than curbside pickup from your mom’s kitchen? I made sides to accompany the delicious entrees provided.

My sister, fondly known as Petunia, gave me this beautiful beeswax candle made locally. It was perfect for our centerpiece.

Spiraled ham, deviled turkey, roasted sweet potato rounds, sautéed green beans, low carb stuffing and cheddar biscuits was our main course. Dessert was epic! I was on a quest to recreate past favorite holiday flavors. I made my current favorite chocolate cake (replaced the eggs with chia eggs) that is free of all the things. I made a decadent filling with cream cheese, whipped cream, vanilla, a few drops of LORANN peppermint oil, a pinch of xanthan gum and sweetened with stevia. A ganache made with Lily’s white chocolate chips was drizzled over the filling. I garnished the top with crushed SF peppermint candies. This cake was dreamy and perfect with a cup of coffee.

Sharing simple everyday joys together matters to me. I’m grateful I get to call these peeps my family! Though Christmas held elements of disappointment I’m grateful we’re together, well and safe.

Braised White Beans for Zoe’s Fans

We are always on the lookout for restaurants that are suitable for dietary restrictions. While eating out is not our norm, it is a treat. Those of you with food restrictions understand the joy of eating something you did not have to create and knowing it is safe. Continue reading “Braised White Beans for Zoe’s Fans”

Perfect Pickles the Easy Way

It’s been a long while since I’ve taken the time to sit down and blog. Life in the Hershberger household is still much the same as where I left off this time last year. A few more recent happenings include: building a new house, (I hope to post some pictures soon.) and learning to eat the THM way (Trim Healthy Mamma). I know I was supposed to list three things but I couldn’t think of a third option that you’d find interesting and this isn’t English 112. Continue reading “Perfect Pickles the Easy Way”

Summer Chicken Avocado Salad

Here is one of my favorite summer salads. Simply layer the following ingredients on a dinner plate:

green or red leaf lettuce, or Romaine lettuce and a handful of spinach
*chopped cooked chicken
almonds
shredded cheddar cheese
Craisins
tomato wedges
Avocado dressing – see below

Continue reading “Summer Chicken Avocado Salad”

Delectable Coffee Cake Dairy and Egg Free

Often scrumptious baked items call for eggs and dairy. I recently found this recipe and glanced over the list of ingredients. I thought with some tweaking it might be suitable! I gave it a try and both hubby and I were pleased with the results.

This cake is best complimented with a steaming cup of coffee. I’d highly recommend Archer Farms Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee. 🙂 Continue reading “Delectable Coffee Cake Dairy and Egg Free”

Refreshing Nondairy Peanut Butter Ice Cream

If you’re learning to adapt to a nondairy lifestyle, you’ll appreciate this recipe. If you’re dealing with a nut allergy, I’m sorry. This recipe would need some tweaking to make it suitable but it could be done. 🙂 Continue reading “Refreshing Nondairy Peanut Butter Ice Cream”

Healthy Homemade Ketchup

My mom is the canning queen. She has an exorbitant amount of patience and tried and true methods for canning. I still have much to learn and have been very grateful for her willingness to help me. (I was the one who always said canning isn’t an absolute to be a Mennonite!) Though it certainly isn’t, I’m realizing it is handy to have canned items on hand. The best part is that I know what ingredients were put into the jar! My mom and I tried our hand at homemade ketchup the other day. I was pleased considering I haven’t had ketchup for a long time. (I haven’t been able to find ketchup that is corn free.)

Continue reading “Healthy Homemade Ketchup”

Staple Peanut Butter Cookies with 3 Simple Ingredients

Initially, when I had to remove gluten from my diet; I was thrilled to find a delicious peanut butter cookie that I could enjoy. Later, eggs no longer were an option, so I thought I’d likely not be able to make these simple treats again. However, I’ve started using an egg substitute and decided to try it with these peanut butter cookies. The results were tasty though slightly crumbly!

Continue reading “Staple Peanut Butter Cookies with 3 Simple Ingredients”

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Banana Muffins

I recently tried these muffins and was pleased with the results. They actually looked like a normal muffin and have a wonderful flavor!

Banana Muffins

2 C. brown rice blend (1 1/3 C. brown rice flour & 2/3 C. tapioca starch/flour)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder (Featherweight is corn free.)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
*2 eggs, beaten (I used egg substitute- 1 tsp. baking powder & 1/4 C. water)
1 C. sugar
1/2 C. oil
2 1/2 C. mashed, ripe bananas
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl mash bananas; add beaten eggs, oil and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir just till combined.

*If you are using egg substitute mentioned, mix the water and baking powder together last and simply fold in your batter. This will help the muffins be lighter.

Bake at 350 in lined muffin pans. Bake for 15-20 min or till toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Enjoy! The texture is a bit different from regular banana bread; however, the taste is much the same and delicious. These are best fresh from the oven. If you make a batch to freeze, simply warm them before serving.

Allergen Friendly Brownies that are Worth Eating!

I was pleased to find this brownie recipe to fix my chocolate cravings.

Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Brownies (Gluten & Dairy free)

1/2 C creamy peanut butter
1/4 C. oil
1/3 C. milk (dairy free)
1/2 C. maple syrup
1/4 C. sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C. oat flour
1/3 C. oats
1/4 C. cocoa powder

Cream Peanut butter with oil, maple syrup, sugar and egg. Add vanilla. Mix dry ingredients together and add to wet ingredients. Mix till combined. Bake in a greased 8×8 pan for 20 min. (Don’t under-bake these or they’ll be rather gooey!)

*This recipe has options! You could easily substitute the peanut butter and use another nut butter. Use an oil that is safe for you. I used 1/2 tsp. baking powder with 2 Tbsp. of water for my egg. A sugar substitute would be fine to use instead of the regular sugar or just increase the maple syrup. Additionally, if oats are a problem don’t be afraid to try an alternate flour that you can have. It may take some tweaking but after all that’s often how allergy cooking goes! Enjoy.