Container Garden Update

Well its been a little over a week since I planted the container gardens.  Its been a time of cooler temperatures, high winds and rain.  But they have survived and are growing.  The radishes are sprouting, the basil is doing well its two types but I don't remember what they are.  The peppers are growing more flowers are forming.  The only pepper that has no change is the jalapeno peppers they have not flowered yet so no peppers starting on that one.

Basil is growing

The beginning of the radishes

The beginning of the other variety of radishes

New tinkerbell pepper is growing

New flowers and tiny peppers starting.  Have to look really close to see them.

The sweet red pepper the first one is starting to grow and about 4 more flowers as well.

more flowers starting on the pepper plant

Lots of sweet heat peppers are starting.

The first sweet heat pepper is starting to turn red.  So excited :)

The other tinker bell plant is starting to form new peppers.

Lots of tinkerbell peppers still green so hard to see but they are there.

The adventures continue still might add a container of beets.  Looking forward to seeing the containers continue to grow.

 Until next time, Happy Gardening!!

Container Gardening

This is my second year of my container gardening. Last year had some successes and some not.  I only got about 10 peppers the whole season from my three plants and some bunching onions.  The red onions and white onions did not grow at all.

This year I have more planters and I might end up with way too many peppers.  The two containers on the ends with the cages have tinker bell peppers, the third caged container is sweet heat peppers. The red container I planted jalapeno peppers, next to it are red k peppers.  The other container has yellow Gloria peppers and next to it is bunching onions.


As you can see some of the peppers have already started to form and some new flowers are forming as well.  So far no peppers have started on red k, yellow Gloria or the jalapeno peppers.

This year I also planted radishes from seeds.  I did two types of radishes french whites and cherry belles.  I have forgotten which ones are in which planter only time will tell.  It will be a nice surprise,

So time will see how this season planting goes and if I end up with way too many peppers then I will have to come up with new recipes and blog them :)

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free)

Nothing beats a oatmeal chocolate chip cookie.  This recipe is delicious they are nice and chewy.  This recipe is based on a recipe my mom used to make, I tweaked the recipe a little and the results are fantastic.

In the bowl of a stand mixer add the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, softened butter, peanut butter. 

Mix until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.

Add the gluten free oats, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix until combined.

Then add 1 package of mini chocolate chips.  (I also usually add some coconut but didn't have any one hand)

Mix the chocolate chips into the batter.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the dough and drop onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  Slightly press down on the cookies to flatten them a little bit.  Then bake in oven for about 10 mins.  Do not over bake they will continue to firm up when cooling.

Fresh from the oven

Seeing how big the cookies came out.  I made one more batch using the ice cream scoop and then used a mini ice cream scoop for the rest.  I also flattened them a bit as well. I baked this size for about 7 minutes.

The smaller size fresh from the oven.

The cookies cooling on a rack.  Let them cool a little before having one if you can.  I must admit fresh from the oven the cookies are so good but be careful not to burn yourself.  It is better to let them cool a bit,  They are filling and great with a mug of tea.  Enjoy :)

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of creamy peanut butter

1/2 butter, softened

4 1/2 cups of gluten free oats

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 package of mini chocolate chips

INSTRUCTIONS:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside

2. To the bowl of a stand mix add the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, softened butter and peanut butter.  Mix until thoroughly combined

3.  Once all the ingredients are thoroughly combined add the oats, salt, baking soda, ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix on low until combined.

4. Stir in the bag of mini chocolate chips.

5.  Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the dough onto parchment lined baking sheet.  leaving space between them as they will spread.  Slightly flatten the cookies.  Then bake in oven for 10 minutes.  Do Not over bake they will continue to firm up while cooling.

6. Once baked removed from oven let cool for 5 mins them remove them to a cooling rack.,

7. Using a mini ice scoop, bake for about 7 mins.

8.  Once cooled enjoy these cookies with tea or milk.  They are delicious and stay chewy and soft. 

This recipe makes about 50 cookies depending upon size of the cookies.

Pineapple Pepper Chicken Drumettes and Wings

Today's post is about my pineapple pepper Chicken Drumettes.  First off I would like to thank my friend Rosette for giving me the idea and inspiration for this recipe. Rosette used pepper jelly in her wings so I took the idea and changed it up for my recipe.  I must admit I do love the drumettes and this recipe is quite additive.

To begin cook the drumettes and wings.  Its a combo pack here in Canada, I would prefer all drumettes but both work. You can deep fry the chicken wings and drumettes but I prefer to bake them in the oven on a foiled lined cookie sheet fitted with a rack.  I season the chicken with pepper and cayenne pepper and then place on the rack and cook in the oven.

While the chicken is cooking, I prepare the sauce.  In a small saucepan  on medium high heat, I add all the ingredients and still until melted and mixed together.  To the saucepan I add the jar of pineapple pepper jelly, 2 Tablespoons of honey, pinch of red pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon of butter.  

Once the chicken is cooked I remove them from the oven and place the chicken drumettes and wings into a serving dish. And pour the sauce over them and toss them all together.  Then before serving I sprinkle chopped green onions over them.  

Enjoy, these are delicious and quite addictive.  Also have fun with this recipe and change the pepper jelly that you use.  Just browsing my local store and there are many varieties of pepper jelly.

INGREDIENTS:

1 package of drumettes/wings

ground pepper

cayenne pepper

1 jar of pineapple pepper jelly

2 Tablespoons of honey (use an additional tablespoon if you don't want your wings too hot)

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 Tablespoon of butter

1 bunch green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Season the drumettes and wings with cayenne pepper and ground black pepper.  Cook as you prefer either in the oven or deep fried.

To make the sauce add the jar of pineapple jelly, pinch of red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon of butter, 2 tablespoons of honey.  Heat until everything is melted and mixed together.

Once the drumettes and wings are cooked transfer to a serving dish and pour the sauce over the drumettes and wings.  Toss together and sprinkle with the green onions.

Enjoy!

Kitchen Sink Veggie Crock Pot Soup (Vegan)

Nothing is as comforting as a big bowl of homemade soup on a chilly day.  You might be wondering why its called kitchen sink veggie soup.  Well its a phrase my mom would use when using up leftovers in a dish.  We had many kitchen sink stew or casseroles. She used to say the dish contains everything except the kitchen sink. :)   So I decided to call this soup the Kitchen Sink soup plus it sounds better than cleaning out the fridge soup.

I was cleaning out the fridge and used vegetables that were near their time as well as some pantry ingredients.  The soup contains, lettuce, spinach, onions, sweet potatoes, field red peppers, jalapeno peppers, ginger root, pears, corn, turmeric, cinnamon sticks, light coconut milk and water.

I chopped all the ingredients and put them in the crock pot, added turmeric, ground pepper, cinnamon sticks, can of coconut milk and can of water, I used the coconut milk can for measurement.  Put the lid on the crock pot and set to low for 4 hours.

After 4 hours, remove the lid and turn off the crock pot. Remove the cinnamon sticks.  Allow to cool slightly before pureeing the mixture in a blender.  Be careful as contents will be hot.

Once pureed, taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary.  Serve up in a bowl and enjoy :)

INGREDIENTS:

1  large sweet potato, peeled and chopped

2 onions, peeled and chopped

2 pears, cored and chopped

2 field red peppers, deseeded and chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and chopped

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 /2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 small head of gem lettuce, chopped

2 inch piece of ginger root, peeled and chopped

2 cinnamon sticks

1 / 2 teaspoon turmeric

4 turns of pepper mill

1 can of light coconut milk

1 can of water

DIRECTIONS:

Chop the vegetables, pears, and ginger root,  and add to crock pot.  Add the turmeric, black pepper,  and 2 cinnamon sticks. Add the can of coconut milk and 1 can of water use the coconut milk can for measurement. Put the lid on the crock pot and set to low for 4 hours.

After 4 hours remove the lid and remove the 2 cinnamon sticks.  Allow mixture to cool slightly before pureeing the mixture in a blender.  Be careful as the mixture will be hot.  taste for seasonings and adjust to taste if required.  Serve soup in a bowl or big mug.  Enjoy !

CROCK POT LEMON HONEY CHICKEN

Lemon is one of my favourite flavours.  I absolutely love lemons, even as a child I love sucking on lemons and I put lemon in my water, teas, veggies etc.  I created this recipe today and its good not sweet it has a pucker to it. The only thing is I would prefer more sauce so I will definitely make double the amount of the sauce next time.

I chopped boneless, skinless chicken breast into cubes and added them to a ziploc bag which contained cornstarch, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. I coated the chicken in this mixture and then, in batches I lightly browned the chicken in a sauce pan with melted coconut oil.

Once the chicken is lightly browned (the chicken will continue to cook in the crock pot) I added it to the crock pot.

Once all the chicken has been lightly browned and added to crock pot I made the sauce.  The sauce contains lemon juice, honey and grated ginger.

Once the ingredients have been whisked together add to the chicken in the crock pot.  Put the lid on to the crock pot and set to low.  Cook for about 4 hours.

After 3 1/2 hours remove lid stir and add the chopped green onions, reserving some of the green onions for garnish.  Replace lid and continue cooking for 15 - 30 mins more.

Serve over rice and garnish with green onions and a wedge of lemon. 

Enjoy :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 cup cornstarch

1 / 2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

salt

pepper

2 Tablespoons of Coconut oil

1 / 2 cup lemon juice, about 5 lemons juiced

3 Tablespoons of honey

2 inches of ginger root, grated

1 bunch of green onions, chopped

DIRECTIONS:

Cut the boneless, skinless chicken breast into cubes.  Add to a ziploc bag that has the cornstarch, salt and pepper to taste and cayenne pepper. Close the bag and shake until chicken is coated.

Melt 1 TBS of coconut oil in a saucepan on medium high. Once the coconut oil is melted add the chicken and lightly brown.  Do this in batches adding more coconut oil if required.  Once the chicken is lightly browned add to the crock pot. The chicken will continue to cook in the crock pot.

In a large measuring cup, squeeze the juice from the lemons. It should measure 1 / 2 cup of juice, whisk in 3 Tablespoons of honey and the grated ginger root. Once it is thoroughly whisked pour the mixture over the chicken in the crock pot. Place the lid on the crock pot and set to low for about hours, until the chicken is cooked.

After 3 1/2 hours remove the lid, stir the chicken and add the chopped green   onions. Replace lid and cook for another 15 -30mins.  Serve the chicken over rice.  Enjoy :)