Snow Day Adventures

That anticipation. Wondering if the call will come in. Fingers crossed. Finally 6am rolls around and the call comes, work is closed! What a glorious phone call!! I don't think I have been this excited for a snow day since high school. Snowpocolypse was here and the world appeared as it was coming to an end; good luck finding a loaf of bread within a 5 mile radius. 

So what does the Traveling Cupcake do on her snow day?
1) Snuggle with her puppy (after doing an intense flexibility Pilates workout: note the fun rebounder in the background) 

2) Be amazed by God's creation, covered white with snow

3) Bring the puppy out in her cute pink snow coat and watch her explore this new world

4) Help your brother shovel your car out of the garage 

5) My favorite thing: bake bake bake.

I haven't had a chance to create a stock pile of gluten-free, healthy snacks for weeks it seems so I took this opportunity to spend a good 6-hours in the kitchen food prepping for the weeks ahead. Here's just a few highlights from the day: 

Blueberry Bark

Protein Peanut Butter "Cookies"

Rice Krispy Treats...okay these aren't actually that healthy, but they are Gluten Free :) 

Seriously, spending time in the kitchen is one of my favorite things! I also made a GF chicken and asparagus stir-fry, meatloaf for a later date, peanut butter protein cups (healthier version of a Reese), homemade granola and I may or may not have broken down and made chocolate pudding...but I won't say.

Jack had a friend spend the night so I spent the rest of the night hunkered down watching every great movie out there: You've Got Mail, The Holiday, Notting Hill, Father of the Bride I & II, and of course Pride & Prejudice... while enjoying a glass or three of Pinot Grigio, hey it's gluten-free!

I hope you all enjoyed Snowpocalypse 2014 and had just as great of a day as we did!

GF Adventures: Homemade Applesauce

There's a nip in the air, the leaves are starting their slow cascade to the ground, and Starbucks has rolled out their Pumpkin Spice Latte; know what that means? Autumn must be upon us! I don't know about you, but my family has fall traditions that we always like to do: pick apples from an orchard, run through our local corn maize, eat our favorite carmel apples flew in from Minnesota, and pick pumpkins from the patch! 

Usually when we pick apples from the orchard we have an exorbitant amount of apples left over and there is only so many apples you can eat and so many apple pies you can make, so I decided to make my first attempt at homemade applesauce. 
After searching for the perfect recipe I decided to try our the Pioneer Woman's recipe, who also happens to be one of my personal favorites.  

Homemade Applesauce 

Ingredients

6 pounds Apples, Peeled, Cored, And Cut Into 8 Slices

1 cup Apple Juice Or Apple Cider

Juice Of 1 Lemon

1/2 cup Brown Sugar, Packed

1 teaspoon Cinnamon, More Or Less To Taste

Optional Ingredients: Nutmeg, Maple Syrup, Allspice, Butter

Preparation Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.

Carefully puree in a food processor or blender (don't fill too full; split into two portions if needed) until smooth.

Store in the fridge and serve by itself, over pork chops, over ice cream, over pancakes...or any place where applesauce is needed!

GF Adventures: Homemade Pesto

Summer is officially coming to an end and the garden is quickly disappearing so I decided to go out and pick a bunch of the fresh basil and make some homemade pesto to store up for winter. 

It takes a whole heck of a lot of basil to make just a small amount of pesto so cut up about 2 cups of basil leaves

 Wash & dry the basil and then place it in a food processor with salt and pepper. Add in a few cloves of garlic and a heaping handful of parmesan cheese. 

With the lid on, drizzle in several tablespoons of olive oil and voila - homemade pesto. Store in an air tight container and freeze until ready to use. Perfect for pasta, pizzas, and chicken!