Hey, veggies! No need to sit on the sidelines at your first barbecue of the season.
Try a juicy burger—sans the beef! This vegetarian option is just as filling as the original, with beans that pack a protein punch.
 
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 tablepsoons canola oil
2 medium portobellos, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon honey mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
6 tablespoons dried breadcrumbs
4 whole-wheat buns
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
4 lettuce leaves
4 tomato slices

Preparation
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Cook mushrooms, onion and bell pepper, stirring occasionally, until pepper begins to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Add beans, paprika, garlic powder and black pepper. Cook, smashing beans with the back of a spoon, 1 to 2 minutes more. Transfer mixture to a bowl and mix in eggs, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and breadcrumbs. Form into 4 patties. Wipe out skillet; heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat and cook burgers until brown and firm, 6 to 7 minutes per side. Place on buns; top each with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce, a lettuce leaf and a tomato slice.

1 6 oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 6 oz  can frozen limeade concentrate
1/4 cup powdered sugar
3 cups crushed ice
2 cups club soda, chilled
Lime slices if desired
Coarse salt, if desired

1.  In a blender container, combine lemonade and limeade concentrates, powdered sugar and ice.  Cover and blend until of slush consistency.  Add Club soda and stir gently.

2.  To serve, rub rims of glasses with lime slices;  dip rims in coarse salt.  Fill each glass with punch mixture.  Garnish with lime slices.

When we made this it came out very strong so you might want to taste it carefully before you make a bunch of this.  The coarse salt is next to the regular salt in the supermarket.

Have a great dinner party next week!

1 1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup + 3 tbls tapioca starch
1 cup rice flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbls baking powder

Sift these 5 ingredients together thoroughly. This recipe actually makes 3
batches so you can either store the dry ingredients or make a batch of
waffles, a batch of pancakes, and a batch of doughnuts all at one time. It
works great for all 3! For each batch mix 1 1/3 cup of the mixture with 3/4
cup of milk substitute, so if you plan on using all of it at one time that
would be 2 1/4 cups of milk substitute. Or you can make 1 batch and store
the remainder of your dry ingredients for another time. For variation I add
chocolate chips to my waffles, blueberries to my pancakes and dip doughnuts
in powdered sugar

2 eggs – separated (I use Ener-g Egg replacer
since we also can’t have eggs. I need to try
this recipe with gelatin)
1 c buttermilk (add 1 Tble of vinegar to any milk
substitute. I use rice vinegar. Regular milk
substitute can also be used)
1/4 c oil
1 cup Rice Flour (I’ve also used garbanzo bean flour)
1/2 c tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder.
( I will sometimes add some vanilla powder
for taste)

Beat egg whites to form dry peaks (or whip egg replacer lightly)
Set aside. Mix egg yolks with buttermilk and oil.
In another bowl, mix dry ingredients.
Add egg yolk mixture to dry ingredients.
Then fold in egg whites (or whipped egg replacer).
Bake in a well oiled and heated waffle iron.

ROAST CHICKEN ON WAFFLES
(or toast points)
yields: 6 servings
Can also be made up ahead of time and frozen
in freezer bags.

2 c. cooked chicken
Rosemary, salt, pepper to taste
3 Tble oil / casein free margarine
2 Tble chopped onion or flakes
1 clove of garlic, crushed (can be left out if needed)
3 Tble flour (I used sweet rice flour or corn starch)
1 1/2 c. veg/chicken broth
nutmeg, cayenne pepper to taste
6 waffles

Saute onion in butter in saucepan until tender.
Add garlic. Cook over low heat for 5 min.
Add flour. Add broth. Cook until thickened
and bubbly, stirring constantly. Reduce heat.
Simmer 10 min longer. Stir in chicken and spices.
Cook until heated thru. Toast waffles/toast in the meantime.
Spoon chichen mixture over waffles.
Garnish with parsley.

3 TBLS = 1 Taco Seasoning Packet

4 tsp dried minced onion
2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano

Homemade Pizza Seasoning:

2 TBLS Oregano
2 TBLS Parsley
2 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Onion Powder
S&P

Mix and store in old spice container

What better time to get some friends together and have a cookie swap! This could
also include candy, as well! It is a great opportunity to spend time
with your friends and have some fun all while sharing some great
recipes. It will also get you into the Christmas spirit!

How To Get Started

You will want to start with invitations of course! It would be a good
idea to send these out at least 1 month in advance of the cookie
swap. The Christmas season is usually very busy and the weekends fill
up fast! You could also think about having your cookie swap on a
Sunday afternoon or weekday night. Do whatever works best for you and
your friends. Be sure and state on the invitation a few key rules.
Let’s look at those real quick.

Bring at least 3 dozen cookies

It is a good idea for everyone to bring at least 3 dozen cookies if
not more. You want to make it worth everyone’s effort to come to your
cookie swap. Usually 1 dozen per person invited….example…you
invite 12 people…everyone must bring 12 doz. cookies. To leave
with only a dozen or so cookies would not make it worth it for some
people. You will also need to note on your invitation to bring a dish
from home to transport their goodies back home.

Homemade cookies/candy only

This rule just makes it fair for everyone. You don’t want Sally to
bake all day or 2-3 days on her goodies only to have Betsy show up
with a box of store bought cookies. So, homemade only! It would also
be a good suggestion to bake your goodies 1-2 days in advance of the
swap.

Please R.S.V.P.

I would definitely require everyone to R.S.V.P. if they plan on
attending. This will let you know how many to expect and how much
food to have. Although it is also a rule to expect about half or less
to show up of the ones you invite. If you are doing a cookie swap at
your church or other organization it may be a good idea to post a
sign up sheet for everyone to sign up. You could also share in
bringing the finger foods and drinks.

Tips For The Host

Here are a few tips and suggestions for the host of the cookie swap.
Have some recipe cards and pens available for everyone to share their
recipes. Hopefully everyone will be willing to share. It may also be
a good idea to have some parchment paper available. If you really
want to be thorough you could have a few extra take home boxes in
case someone forgot theirs.

Presentation is Everything

When your guests start arriving have them fill out a card to place in
front of their goodies with their name and recipe name. It would be a
nice touch to have Christmas decorations and the table decorated
nicely and arrange all the goodies creatively.

To begin your swap I would suggest everyone eat and visit for a bit
and then when everyone is done go around the room and have each guest
state what they brought and any story or history behind it. This is
always fun and sure to bring a lot of laughs! You could also do a
prize for the guest who is dressed the most festive.

After everyone has shared what they brought you will need to form a
line and have each guest take about 3-5 cookies from each plate. You
will probably be able to go around 2-3 times until the cookies are
gone. For the most part, it will all come out evenly.

Cashew Crickle

2 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
3 Tablespoons GFCF margarine
1 teaspoon GFCF vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups salted cashews

In a large saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup and water; bring to a boil,
stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Cook, without stirring, over
medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 300 degrees F. (hard-crack
stage). Remove from the heat; stir in margarine, vanilla and baking soda.
Add cashews. Pour into a greased 15-inch X 10-inch X 1-inch baking pan.
Cool before breaking into pieces. Yield: about 2 pounds.

Baking plays a big role during the holidays. There are endless
opportunities, whether for gifts, for parties or just for family and
friends who are around the house during the holiday season. Being
prepared is key.

Waiting until the last minute to start baking can be stressful and
also can affect the quality of the baked goods.

* Plan your baking menu. Get out your favorite recipes and select the
cookies and confections you will bake for the holidays. Make a list
of supplies needed.

* Take inventory of your baking ingredients. Make sure you use fresh
yeast, baking soda and baking powder. Check the dates on these
ingredients.

* Check your baking equipment – cookie cutters, decorating tips and
cookie sheets.

* Count your containers. Do you have enough to properly store
finished baked goods? Do you have containers for baked gifts?

* The best cookie sheet is one made of heavy-gauge metal, so it will
hold the heat evenly and will not warp over time. It should not have
high sides, which would hamper the even flow of heat over the
cookies. Non-stick surfaces work well for cookie sheets, but dark
surfaces cause the bottoms of cookies to brown too quickly. Double
insulated cookie sheets will keep the bottoms of cookies from
browning too quickly.

* Measure, do not guess. In baking, accuracy really counts. For
measuring liquids, use a transparent, marked measuring cup. Set the
cup on a flat surface to check the measurement. For measuring dry
ingredients, graduated measuring cups make it easy to obtain the
exact amount needed by leveling off with the sweep of a
straight-edged knife or spatula rather than judging by sight.

* Use a scoop for placing cookie dough on the cookie sheet rather
than a spoon. The cookie size will be more consistent.

* Line baking sheets with parchment paper, heavy aluminum foil or
nonstick liners

for easy cleanup. Liners seldom need to be buttered.

* Two cookie sheets in the oven may require a longer baking time than
one sheet. One of the pans may be ready sooner than the other.
Reverse the pans in the oven for evenly baked cookies.

* Store different flavored cookies in separate containers. A butter
cookie could absorb the flavor from a spice cookie. Store soft and
crisp cookies separately. If crisp cookies are packed with soft
cookies or moist bars, they can absorb moisture from the other
cookies and lose their crispness.