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The Muffin Tin Cookbook: Fun and Easy Meals Your Family Will Love (Plus a Fish Tacos Recipe)

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The Muffin Tin Cookbook

A while back, I was sent a wonderful cookbook to review, The Muffin Tin Cookbook: 200 Fast, Delicious Mini-Pies, Pasta Cups, Gourmet Pockets, Veggie Cakes, and More!

Love it, love it, love it.

Cooking is more than just one of my favorite hobbies and pastimes – it’s a passion that I love greatly.  Even now, I’m sitting at my desk in my home office – working in a frenzy of  keyboard tapping and brainstorming, breaking only for much needed sips of coffee.  Yet all I can think about is what I’m going to cook for supper, what my next dessert will be, and wondering when I can try out a new stuffed chicken recipe I saw yesterday.

Cooking, baking, cooking, baking, cooking, baking… a peek inside my brain.

Given the fact that it’s something I love so much, I want others to get the same kind joy from cooking as I do. I think that’s one of the reasons I get so excited about fresh, fun, and creative new cookbooks like The Muffin Tin Cookbook.  Not only are new cookbooks a complete joy ride for me in my amusement park of a kitchen, I know that other foodies will get a huge kick out of them as well.

I also like to see cookbooks filled with recipes that people will actually make! Recipes that don’t call for you to visit a foreign country and bring back an extract you can only find there – then stir it into a broth using the feather of a virgin peahen… Please. Every single recipe in  The Muffin Tin Cookbook is one you’ll make and make again.

Another thing I like to see in a cookbook is plenty of recipes that are quick and easy.  A lot of people have to work outside of the home AND come home and cook supper. People who have a limited amount of time to work with don’t need fussy recipes. They need recipes that can be thrown together quickly, cooked in a flash, and don’t require a lot of cleaning up afterward. The Muffin Tin Cookbook is a dream come true for someone looking for such recipes.

Since the recipes on Get Cooking are gluten-free (as are all of the recipes I personally make and eat – health reasons), I will point out that this is NOT a “gluten-free cookbook.”  Many of the recipes call for flour and a host of other foods off limits to those of us why have to eat gluten-free. HOWEVER, as with most cookbooks in my collection and recipes I find in the wild, I simply make the necessary substitutions.

Book Description

Muffin Tins—They’re Not Just for Muffins Anymore

There’s nothing you can’t make in a muffin tin—and we’re not talking merely muffins. All you need is a muffin tin, paper liners, and this ingenious, one-of-a-kind cookbook, and you can whip up delicious dishes that are as easy to prepare and serve as they are good to eat.

From quick-serve appetizers and sides to gourmet entrees and desserts, you’ll find an amazing variety of mouthwatering options for your dining pleasure, including:

  • Shrimp Cakes with Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce
  • Egg Crescent Pockets
  • Deep-Dish Pizza Cups
  • Cornmeal-Crusted Mustard Chicken with Sweet Potato Coins
  • Duchess Potatoes
  • Zucchini, Corn, and Tomato Cups
  • Mini Ice-Cream Cakes

The best part (besides the tasty goodness): It’s fast, easy, mess-free, and provides built-in portion control. Kids will love to help you make them—like cupcakes, only better for your family!—and leftovers are as easy as popping the muffin-meal into the microwave.It just doesn’t get any better than The Muffin Tin Cookbook . . . your next memorable meal is just a muffin tin away! – From Amazon

Fish Tacos Recipe

3 pieces tilapia, about 3-4 ounces each, cut in half
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
Salt and Pepper
6 taco-size flour tortillas
Light sour cream, chopped green onion, chopped tomato, lettuce, and salsa for serving

  1. Place the tilapia, chili powder, cilantro, oil, lime juice, and salt and pepper in a bowl and allow to marinate 1/2 an hour, in the refrigerator.
  2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and prepare 6 jumbo muffin cups by spraying with cooking spray.
  3. Push one taco tortilla down into each cup and press any sections that bubble out against the sides.
  4. Place 1 piece of marinated tilapia in each cup and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness of fish, until cooked through.
  5. Serve with toppings.

Taco tortillas are smaller tortillas and are just the right size to line jumbo muffin cups. Lemon juice can be substituted for the lime juice.

Muffin Tin Recipes

There’s an entire chapter in The Muffin Tin Cookbook devoted to Breakfast – a time of the day when few of us have unlimited time. Recipes in the Breakfast chapter include:

  • Egg Crescent Pockets
  • French Bread French Toast
  • Grits Casserole
  • Cheese Danish Cups
  • Bagel Sausage Sandwiches
  • And More!

Other chapters include:

  • Appetizers and Snacks (Asian Dumplings with Dipping Sauce, Spiced Pecan Cups, Hot Pretzel Bites…)
  • Beef and Pork (Mexican Meatloaf, Sloppy Joe Cupcakes, Taco Mini Pies…)
  • Chicken and Turkey (Teriyaki Turkey Cups, Chicken Tortilla Pies, Italian Chicken…)
  • Seafood (Salmon Cakes, Deviled Crab Tarts, Shrimp with Polenta…)
  • Potatoes, Rice, Pizza, and Pasta (Candied Yams, White Pizzas, Stuffed Gnocchi…)
  • Vegetables ( French Onion Pie, Edamame in Rice Paper Cups, Cherry Tomato Cups…)
  • Muffins and Breads (Corn Muffins, Monkey Bread, Peanut Butter & Jelly Muffins…)
  • Desserts  (Hot Chocolate Muffins, Lemon Pound Cake, Apple Cupcakes..)

Each recipe indicates the size of muffin tin needed.  As the author says on page 8, “Keep in mind that you can make your dishes any size you like, but you will need to adjust cooking time up or down accordingly (if you make a bigger cup than the recipe suggests, baking time will be longer; if you make a smaller cup baking time will be shortened).”

Please see The Muffin Tin Cookbook  for more information.  When giving cookbook reviews, I like to suggest the sort of cook that the cookbook in question is “ideal” for.   Although this cookbook is PERFECT for busy cooks, it’s just as fun and enjoyable for those of us who are simply busy cooking!  It would make an excellent gift idea for someone who’s new to the world of cooking – maybe even in a bag with a brand-spanking new muffin tin.

Change Bites: Change Your Plate, Change Your Life (Review)

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I was recently sent a review copy of Change Bites: Change Your Plate Change Your Life in exchange for telling you about this exciting new book. Before I get to the actual book review, itself, I wanted to give a few quick thoughts as well as a brief personal story.

A Few Quick Thoughts

  • I love that the book is relatively short, totally uncomplicated, and very easy and fast to read. Let’s face it, most of us simply don’t have the luxury of sitting and reading for hours each day – especially around Christmas and New Year’s! The fact that this book reads fast is a huge bonus.
  • I love that the book, while using the author’s experiences as examples, focuses on the reader. This is YOUR story about YOUR health and it has the power to help a lot of people.
  • I love that the book is interactive. There are numerous places for you to jot down your symptoms, your goals, your plan of attacks, etc. Books that serve as workbooks keep the reader engaged and the change they seek is infinitely more likely to happen because they are taking an active part.
  • When doing book reviews on my various blogs, I often like to include a “Who Needs this Book” section. I’m not doing it this time simply because everyone needs this book! Whether you’re trying to transition to a vegetarian diet, trying to add more healthy foods into your daily meals, or suspect you may have an intolerance to dairy, gluten, and/or wheat, this book will help you tremendously. What’s more, if you simply want to take a proactive approach to your health and give yourself a good “once over,” this book will prove invaluable. 
  • I have multiple blogs and joyfully do book reviews on each. This year (seems to be a boon on great books!), I allowed myself to become swamped in books. I honestly had to struggle to keep up. Around October, I stopped taking in new books (for the rest of the year). Then the e-mail about this particular book came through. I knew, from the introductory e-mail, alone, that this was a very special book – one that could give people their lives back.. a book that could, in fact, even save lives. As you can see, I made an exception.

I’t a lot easier to take a leap of faith if your current state of “pain” is worse than the pain of changing. – page 21, Change BITES

My Personal Journey

Years ago, I began experiencing a number of health problems that I chalked up to a number of things: allergies, aging (after all, when you get on this side of 40, a lot of interesting things happen!), thyroid, etc. I had digestive issues that, honestly, became so commonplace that they didn’t even register with me. I was taking Benadryl daily – in fact, I averaged two or three a day.

The tiredness, lethargy, and overall feeling that I had to fight to make myself exert energy? That was attributed to the Benadryl – which, I’m certain didn’t help matters.

Worst of all, however, was the fact that I LITERALLY kept at least one mouth sore or mouth ulcer for over a year. That’s right… for over a year, each and every day I had at least one mouth sore. The doctors would prescribe medicines, I’d swish with salt water.. it was a nightmare that I cringe over to this day. Those things are painful!

Around this time, my oldest daughter, Emily, began to have a few health problems. She had to have her gallbladder removed and, just when we thought she was returning to normal, her health seemed to get worse. After reading everything I could get my hands on, I told her that I thought she should do an elimination diet with gluten/wheat because it sounded like she was either Celiac or extremely gluten-intolerant. 

I told her that I’d do it with her – to help her out and give her support. We researched food, restaurants, and armed ourselves with all the information we needed for the journey.  I’m an avid cook, so I knew that I’d be able to come up with gluten-free dishes for us to eat. What could have and maybe should have been frightening and depressing was actually kind of exciting and fun. Having someone with you on the journey, in my experience helps a lot.

We decided we’d give it a month and see if her symptoms improved. Not only did they improve – they improved after just two weeks of totally eliminating gluten/wheat from her diet.

But there’s more. 

My mouth sores and mouth ulcers disappeared and, over the years, have only returned when I’ve accidentally eaten wheat/gluten. My energy returned, I slept better, my digestive issues improved, and I was able to stop buying two boxes of Benadryl each week.

We’ve, needless to say, avoided gluten entirely since doing so put us squarely back in the game of life.

Change Bites: Change Your Plate, Change Your Life

Change Bites was written by Marissa S. Costonis, H.C., who had her own personal journey with her health and the way her body was responding to food.

It makes sense, when you think about. So much so that I’m amazed it takes most of us so long to make the food and body connection.

Imagine if a new experimental drug came onto the market. If you’re like me, there’s no way on earth you’d take even one, let alone a daily dose, if you weren’t certain of the effects it’d have on your body. Yet, we put bite after bite after bite of food into our mouths each day without a second thought.

Some of this food may be doing as much harm to your body as the drug would be.

One of the interactive exercises in this book involves taking a close look at your health. You’re asked questions you probably had not considered before and are given an opportunity to uncover clues your body has been leaving for you – clues that something is wrong. If my daughter and I had had this book years ago, we would have saved ourselves a lot of pain and sickness. What’s more, we’d have been able to STOP eating something that was causing damage to our bodies.

About the Author: Marissa S. Costonis spent over a decade in change management consulting leading a variety of business transformation initiatives around the world. After developing neuropathy and a host of other health problems began to pile up, Marissa decided to break down the change process one bite at a time to transform her health with great success. She became a Certified Health Coach and launched her business, Change Bites, LLC.

Change Bites by Marissa S. Costonis

From the Back Cover:

Finally, a step by step process for how to change your eating habits and transform your health!

  • Are you inspired or even forced to try a new eating strategy, but not sure how to get started?
  • Do you have a good sense of what to eat, but not sure how to to make lasting changes to your eating habits?
  • Want to improve your health, but don’t want to give up all the foods you love today?
  • Have a growing list of health problems, but afraid to admit that food could be the culprit and the cure?

 

New Year, New You?

My husband and I frequently talk about the important role food plays in health. I love how, on the back of Change BITES, the author says food can be the culprit and the cure. Profound and so very true.  Whatever the condition my daughter and I have, I’ve often thought of people in our family and wondered if they, too, had this condition and suffered needlessly. Perhaps, because their problem wasn’t caught early enough, they did lasting damage to their bodies.

I hope you’ll read more about Change Bites: Change Your Plate Change Your Life – if you recognize yourself in any of the following, this could be your first step to making 2019 the year you begin feeling better than you have in years!

  • Do you feel more tired than usual? It is NOT always a sign of the aging process. Your body could be maxed out simply trying to digest food that it’s having difficulty digesting.
  • Are you, for health or other reasons, thinking about becoming a vegetarian or vegan? This book can help you overcome any initial setbacks and help strengthen your mind and resolve.
  • Do you suspect that you have a food intolerance? Does dairy seem to make you bloat or do you feel unusually gassy after something as simple as a sandwich? Food you eat each and every day could be doing more harm than good. This book can help you know for sure.
  • Do you want 2019 to be the year you and your family eat healthier… and not just for the first two weeks of January?! The reason resolutions usually don’t stick is because we don’t have the “glue” to make them stick. This “glue” is how we react to change and the various challenges it presents. Again, this book could prove invaluable.
  • How about your moods? Food intolerances don’t just effect how we feel – they often effect how we behave. If you suspect you’ve been crankier or more emotional than you used to be (undoubtedly loved ones will let you know if this is the case), the cause may be in the kitchen and not the person in front of you. I read an article written by a man with a severe gluten-intolerance. He said that the first (and most profound) symptom he had when he had been accidentally glutened (when gluten or wheat passes your lips without you realizing it) was a severe shift in mood. In fact… and I found this kind of fascinating… his wife and children usually realized it before he did. They’d basically tell him to go to his man cave for a week or two until the symptoms passed! 

Basically, if you aren’t the same person you were a few years ago (or even a few months ago), it may be what you’re putting into your mouth. The self-assessment exercises and golden advice given in this book can help you get back to the person you remember. Again, I really, really, really hope you read more about Change Bites: Change Your Plate Change Your Life and consider grabbing a copy for you and/or anyone in your life who could benefit.

~ Joi (“Joy”)

150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Cookbook

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Is anyone even half as ready for autumn and winter as I am? Don’t get me wrong, I love a lot of things about summer – baseball, fresh produce, songbirds at my bird feeders that aren’t there in cold weather, grilling out, and so on. Summer’s awesome in every way… but, having said that, autumn and winter are super special.

As a foodie, the cooler months make me think of soup, stew, chili, casseroles, chai tea lattes, and (of course) Halloween goodies, Thanksgiving dishes, and Christmas baking… how could a foodie NOT love this time of year???

I may be one of the biggest soup fanatics in the world, which is one of the reasons I’m excited about a new cookbook I was sent to review: 150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches.

Naturally, grilled cheese sandwiches are perfect all year. We certainly eat them year-round in our house. In fact, we’ve been known to enjoy grilled cheese sandwiches at all times of the day and night.  Talk about a delicious comfort food.  Cheesy deliciousness that comes together pretty darn fast – sign me up.

150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches is a perfect guide to getting extra creative with this wonderful comfort food.  Although the modern version of the grilled cheese sandwich dates back to 1920 (when it became popular during the great depression, for obvious reasons), these delicious and inexpensive delicacies are currently a popular trend in cooking.  I think one of the reasons is the fact that they aren’t expensive to pull together.  I think the popularity of food trucks has also helped revive this wonderful sandwich.

Some people are even calling the grilled cheese sandwich the “new burger.”  The fact that so many people are eating less meat is another reason these sandwiches are so wildly popular.

From the Back Cover: A grilled cheese sandwich is classic comfort food and it’s enjoying an incredible resurgence in popularity. These fabulous recipes all begin with the grilled cheese we all know and love, and then from there, creative twists showcase just how incredibly versatile this sandwich can be.  The recipes reflect an almost endless and delicious variety of choices that include simple and timeless as well as gourmet and artisanal. From breakfast to dessert, there’s something for everyone in this book.

Another reason grilled cheese sandwiches are so popular is, let’s face it, they’re fast and easy to make.  You can have a warm, delicious, and comforting meal in a matter of minutes. This is one of the reasons they’re so popular with bachelors, college students, and beginner cooks.

Whether you enjoy your grilled cheese sandwiches with soup (one of my favorite meals), chips, or alone, nothing beats a great grilled cheese sandwich.

As I’ve probably mentioned on the food blog, when I had to totally give up wheat and gluten a number of years ago (health reasons), it threw my cooking persona into a tailspin. Imagine everything you are accustomed to cooking and baking for your family and yourself thrown out the door. Then finding yourself having to start over, pretty much, and discover a whole new way of both cooking and eating.

BUMMER!

It’s a hideous predicament for anyone but for an avid cook and food blogger who was extra keen on homemade breads, cornbread, cakes from scratch, pies, etc.. it knocked me on my backside for a bit. However, I (honestly) found out that many aspects of gluten-free food are actually as good as their gluten-y counterparts and some are even better in many ways.

For example, for whatever reasons, gluten-free fried catfish is actually better.  Don’t ask me why (please), but the combo of rice flour and yellow cornmeal makes the best fried catfish in the world. Trust me, this is a personal favorite and something I’ve been cooking since I was allowed to touch the stove.

Grilled cheese sandwiches have been another pleasant surprise (along with French Toast, for that matter). Gluten-Free bread, in my opinion, makes them even better. I think it’s because they’re denser and, sometimes, thicker, than regular bread. Then again, Texas Toast is a great way to go with grilled cheese sandwiches.

150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches includes so many creative, fun, and delicious recipes you won’t stop until you’ve made them all.  The cheese combinations, along with the additions of complimentary ingredients will boggle your mind.  I cook every single day (and have for years) and consider myself to be really creative in the kitchen, but even I found myself saying, “Ooooh, I would’ve never thought of that...”  One of the combinations that was wildly new to me was the one given in the recipe below.  I wouldn’t have ever invited Muenster Cheese to a grilled cheese party, but this recipe has me slapping myself for the oversight.

The recipe below is from the cookbook and is outstanding. I love it alongside tomato soup or chili and have been known to have it simply with a large dill pickle and Funyons.

I know how to live, after all.

Classic Grilled Two Cheese

Author: Alison Lewis
Serves 4

8 slices white or whole-grain bread (1/2 inch/1 cm thick slices)
2 TBS butter or margarine, softened
4 oz Muenster cheese, thinly sliced
4 oz Cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. Brush one side of each bread slice with butter.
  2. Place on a work surface, buttered side down.
  3. Top 4 bread slices equally with Muenster and Cheddar cheeses.
  4. Cover with remaining bread slices, buttered side up, and press gently.
  5. Place sandwiches on preheated panini grill or in a large skillet over medium heat and cook, turning once if using a skillet, for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is melted.
  6. Serve immediately.

When it comes to grilled cheese sandwiches, you have to really be careful with cheese combinations. Make the wrong move and the result will be thisclose to gross. You also have to be careful with what fillings you add and how you treat the bread. Again, the wrong move can leave your taste buds borderline depressed.  In this wonderful and fun cookbook, Alison Lewis has done all of the hard work for us and taken all of the guess work out of our hands.  We’re left with a ton of delicious recipes and combinations that’ll make us the Queen or King of Grilled Cheese.  Whether you use a Panini or Sandwich Press or a favorite skillet, you WILL use these recipes again and again and again.

Below are just some of the recipes included in 150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches:

  • Roast Beef with Asiago and Watercress
  • Grilled Steak and Blue Cheese
  • Italian Tomato-Basil Bread
  • Hot Bacon Swiss Crostini
  • Havarti and Cucumber Sandwich
  • Grilled Spinach, Pepper Jack, and Bacon
  • Warm Peanut Butter Power Wrap
  • Italian Salami Panini
  • Sweet Pepper Relish
  • Hummus
  • The Pilgrim
  • And many, many, many more.

See 150 Best Grilled Cheese Sandwiches for more information and to order your copy today… just in time for soup season!


Review: Eat a Little Better by Sam Kass

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Eat a Little Better by Sam Kass

Eat a Little Better: Great Flavor, Good Health, Better World by Sam Kass

The links in this post are affiliate links, meaning I earn a small amount when you click through and make a purchase. This (of course) costs you nothing extra – it simply allows me to support my cat in the lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to!

As I’ve mentioned on the food blog a number of times, I collect cookbooks and have since I was a teenager. I have candy cookbooks, vegetarian cookbooks, meat lovers cookbooks, Paleo cookbooks, Keto cookbooks, cookie cookbooks, Indian cuisine cookbooks…. okay, I have just about every conceivable kind of cookbook you can imagine.

You’re looking at the newest member of the cookbook family above: Eat a Little Better by Sam Kass. 3-4 years ago, I had to give up all gluten and wheat (health reasons). Around that time, a close family member had to have a stint put in and these back-to-back health upheavals shook up my world as well as my kitchen. The fact that the way we eat directly effects the way we live hit home and I totally changed the way I looked at food.

I hope to never see another person I love in recovery of a cardiac hospital and I am determined to do my part to keep it from happening again. I’m also committed to stay as healthy as I possibly can because, if we’re being honest, this crazy family of mine needs me more than they realize!

For this reason, the majority of my cookbooks now focus on eating healthy. NOT counting calories, NOT depriving yourself of delicious food, and NOT obsessing to the point of making people want to throw an entire cheesecake at you…. but simply eating healthier food and making smarter choices at the store as well as in the kitchen.  You know, things that’ll help keep you playing horseshoes in the yard with your family as opposed to having them visit you in the hospital.

Books like Eat a Little Better make it easier because the food is DELICIOUS and… this is something we all appreciate… the recipes are completely doable, with ingredients we’ve heard of, can easily find, and very often already have on hand.

Grilled Vegetables Recipes in Eat a Little Better

Did you know that fried potato consumption (hello, French fries) beats out even soft drinks as an indicator for obesity?

From the Back Cover: As a chef, and then as a senior food policy advisor to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Sam Kass became an expert on the ins and outs of deliciousness, nutrition, and sustainability.

Recipes in Eat a Little Better Include…

  • Whipped Sweet Potatoes  with Maple-Cider Vinegar
  • Slow-Roasted Salmon
  • Barbecued Chicken
  • Roasted Chicken Stir-Fry
  • Dirty Brown Rice
  • White Bean Hummus
  • Canned Salad (fascinating!)
  • Mustard Green Salad
  • Celery-Radish Salad
  • Charred Zucchini
  • Grilled Cauliflower Steaks
  • Pork Chops with Tomato Corn Relish
  • Rigatoni with Pork Ragu
  • And many, many more…

While I do have to eat gluten-free and most of the recipes on Get Cooking are gluten-free…. this is not a gluten-free cookbook. However, as I always point out in all of my non-gluten-free cookbook reviews, all recipes are easy enough to tweak and twist in order to make them gluten-free. Simply substitute gluten-free options for the gluteny ones listed! For example, in the Rigatoni with Pork Ragu, it’s a cinch to substitute gluten-free pasta for the traditional rigatoni.

Sam Kass, former chef to the Obamas and White House food policy advisor, makes it easier to do a little better for your diet–and the environment–every day, through smart ways to think about shopping, setting up your kitchen so the healthy stuff comes to hand most naturally, and through 90 delicious, simple recipes.

This book lays out Kass’s plan to eat a little better. Knowing that sustainability and healthfulness come most, well, sustainably when new habits and choices seem appealing rather than drastic and punitive, Kass shares his philosophy and methods to help make it easy to choose, cook, and eat delicious foods without depriving yourself of agency or pleasure. He knows that going organic, local, and so forth all the time is just not realistic for most people, and that’s ok–it’s all about choosing and doing a little bett er, and how those choices add up to big change. It’s the philosophy he helped the Obamas instill in their home, both in Chicago and that big white one in Washington.  – Amazon

Recipe from Eat a Little Better

 

I love everything about this beautiful cookbook. I love that it’s hardback (so much more durable!), I love the big gorgeous photographs, I love the creativity and the simplicity of the recipes (a rare combo), and I love the fact that the focus is on eating healthier.

But there’s something else I love… I love the peak we get inside President and Michelle Obama’s family – as in their efforts to eat healthier. This focus on health, of course, led Sam Kass and the First Lady to implement healthier meals in our public schools. Their efforts were incredibly commendable and I hope their hard work continues.

One thing that stands out the most from reading this book actually has to do with children. It’s up to us to provide them with better diets than French fries, soft

drinks, and hamburgers. Arming yourself with wonderful recipes is the single best way to provide healthier meals for your children, grandchildren, spouse… and, of course, yourself!

You will love Eat a Little Better – click through and read more about it (there’s even a recipe on the Amazon page for “Lucky Pasta!”).

Eat a Little Better 

 

Note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. The opinions are entirely my own.

Food52 Mighty Salads: 60 Ways to Turn Salad Into Dinner

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Food52 Mighty Salads Cookbook
I think I’ve finally figured out why I’m such a salad fanatic and the it turns out it isn’t much of a mystery at all… I’m all about vegetables. And, oddly enough, it doesn’t have anything to do with their nutritional value. That’s just a bonus. I love the taste, the crunch, and the visual appeal of vegetables and a salad is sort of a masterpiece where they all come together.

Okay, so that’s a little flowery, but you get the idea.

Food 52 Mighty Salads: 60 Ways to Turn Salad Into Dinner is, understandably, my latest cookbook obsession. Here’s the thing about cookbooks – you can (and should) try out the recipes, as instructed… only substituting where necessary – like for allergies or intolerances or for ingredients you either can’t find or have zero intention of paying for (I’m looking at you $saffron). However, you can (and most definitely SHOULD) also use recipes in cookbooks as “guides” and “inspiration.” Mighty Salads is a beautiful example of the latter, in particular.

Granted, when it comes to salads, I am a pro. If salad making were a sport, I’d be LeBron James, Serena Williams, Peyton Manning, and Albert Pujols rolled into one. Sorry, I just don’t have time for modesty today. However, even I found innumerable ideas and creative inspirations in Mighty Salads. There were techniques I’d never thought of and even ingredients I’d never considered.

While salads are beautiful and delicious, they can also be next level nutritious, especially when you can add a variety of vegetables or fruits to your creation. So, a cookbook that gives you countless ideas for doing so is… in my opinion… priceless.

From the Inside Cover:

A collection of 60 recipes for turning ordinary salads into one-dish worthy meals.

Does anybody need a recipe to make a salad? Of course not. But if you want your salad to hold strong in your lunch bag or carry the day as a one-bowl dinner, dressing on lettuce isn’t going to cut it.

Make way for Mighty Salads, in which the editors of Food52 present sixty salads hefty with vegetables, meats, grains, beans, fish, seafood, pasta, and bread. Think shrimp and radicchio tossed in a bacon vinaigrette, a make-ahead jumble of white beans with charred lemon and fennel, slow-roasted duck and apples scattered across spicy greens. It’s comforting food made captivating by simply charring one ingredient or marinating another—shaving some, or roasting a bunch.

But because we don’t always follow recipes, there are also loose formulas for confident off-roading, as well as back-pocket tips and genius tricks for improving any old salad. Because once you know how to fix too-salty dressing, wash greens once and for all, keep an avocado from browning, and even sprout your own grains, the humble salad starts looking a lot more interesting—and a whole lot more like dinner.

Salad recipes, tips, and ideas cover lettuce-based salads, pasta salads, and potato salads. While this is not a “gluten-free” cookbook, each recipe can be easily adapted to fit those of us who have to or choose to eat gluten-free.  Also, while there are a lot of recipes that call for meat, vegetarians will find them equally easy to tweak. In fact, I think this cookbook is IDEAL for vegetarians (as well as anyone looking for ways to add more vegetables to their diet.

I just can’t tell you how many innovative ideas and creative tips are included in this one very handsome cookbook. It’s packed with them!

{Continued Below….}

Food52 Mighty Salads Cookbook
Recipes Include:

  • Fresh Corn Cakes With Crab-Tomato Salad
  • Roasted Potato Salad with Mustard-Walnut Vinaigrette
  • Wilted Escarole with Feta and Honey
  • Grilled Bread, Broccoli Rabe & Summer Squash Salad
  • Lemony Greek Pasta Salad
  • Thai Pork Salad with Crisped Rice
  • Charred Broccoli & Lentil Salad
  • Shaved Brussels Sprouts, Endive & Apple Salad
  • And many, many more great salad recipes and ideas.

“While Emily’s and the other recipes in this book are mighty, they are just the beginning. Even if you never make a single recipe in the book to completion but instead create a mash-up you like better or that serves as a happy home for your leftover vegetables, we’ve done our job.” – From the Introduction

Food52 Mighty Salads Cookbook and Salad!

Food52 Mighty Salads: 60 New Ways to Turn Salad into Dinner
When doing cookbook reviews, I detest the idea of giving away any of the recipes or tips the author(s) work so hard to compile. However, sometimes a “tease” helps give the reader an idea of what they can expect – as well as a hint as to why I’m so excited about the book. One of the coolest ideas I take away from this book of beautiful and innovative recipes is the idea of “shaving” unexpected vegetables into salads. Brussels Sprouts, asparagus, and beets to name a few. The “shaving” technique makes them easier to incorporate into a salad, easier to eat, and… let’s face it… beautiful to behold (and photograph, if you’re a food blogger and/or foodie).

I also (as an experienced salad pro… still zero hint of modesty) found myself saying, “I agree!” or “Preach on!” again and again. For example, when making your salad’s dressing, they tout the importance of taste-testing the dressing, not on a spoon or finger, but on one of the salad’s stars. A great dressing is meant to be a co-star – it isn’t meant to be the star attraction. It should compliment the diva of the salad and the best way to see if it’s worthy of sharing the spotlight is to test it on a cast member.

I completely and whole-heartedly recommend Food52 Mighty Salads: 60 New Ways to Turn Salad into Dinner. It’s a great-looking cookbook that’ll make your kitchen healthier, more colorful, more creative, and (perhaps most importantly) more delicious. If you click through any of the links above, you’ll find a recipe from the book: Cobb Salad with Hard-Boiled Egg Dressing!


Note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. The opinions are entirely my own.

No Excuses Detox by Megan Gilmore (Review)

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No Excuses Detox
No Excuses Detox
You may have heard of Megan Gilmore’s first book, Everyday Detox (you can read my Everyday Detox review here).  I was beyond excited when I heard she had another cookbook out and couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Her recipes are creative, easy, and feature foods you have most certainly heard of and probably even have on hand.

No Excuses Detox is just as exciting as her first cookbook and the recipes are just as creative and delicious. Megan proves that creating healthy meals for yourself and your family doesn’t have to be difficult. She offers tons of great recipe to make sure your family doesn’t keep eating the same things over and over – a trap that’s easy to fall into when you’re trying to eat healthy.

But let’s be honest – you can only eat so many grilled chicken salads and vegetable soup before you start to lose your inspiration. That’s when fried potatoes, greasy “head-sized” cheeseburgers, and pizzas topped with everything in the refrigerator start to look good. This collection of recipes keeps you from getting to this point and (this part I really love) the results are far more delicious than the less-healthy options.

The book includes Megan’s great advice on substitutions, time-saving tips, meal plans, and even a “Beginner Five-Day Shopping List.”

Do you feel all of those excuses slipping away???

From Everyday Detox author Megan Gilmore, powerhouse blogger behind Detoxinista.com, here are 100 quick-to-prepare, affordable, and delicious whole-food recipes that make it easy to follow a healthy lifestyle for you and your family every day.

In No Excuses Detox, Megan Gilmore presents a collection of satisfying, family-friendly recipes developed with speed, convenience, and optimum digestion in mind. Because enjoying what you eat on a daily basis is crucial to maintaining health goals, these recipes for comfort food favorites–from Freezer Oat Waffles, Butternut Mac n’ Cheese, Quinoa Pizza, Loaded Nacho Dip, and Avocado Caesar Salad to Frosty Chocolate Shakes, No-Bake Brownie Bites, and Carrot Cake Cupcakes—taste just as good as their traditional counterparts, but are healthier versions packed with nutrients. Megan Gilmore sharply identifies many of the reasons people fail to stick to a healthy diet—too busy, budget conscious, cooking for picky eaters, concerns about taste or fullness, and more—addressing them head on and offering simple solutions. This beautifully packaged and artfully photographed book gives readers no excuse to not eat well year-round.

No Excuses Detox Cookbook Black Bean Burgers
About the Author

Megan Gilmore is the creator and recipe developer behind Detoxinista.com, a website that makes healthy living easier and more accessible, and the author of eEveryday Detox. A certified health coach and certified nutritionist consultant, she trained at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and NHI College.

Recipes Include

  • Fresh Pico de Gallo
  • Mushroom and Black Bean Tacos
  • Sloppy Joe-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
  • Loaded Nacho Dip
  • White Bean & Rosemary Dip (AMAZING!)
  • Zucchini Hummus
  • Creamy Cauliflower “Potato” Salad (perfect for this summer)
  • Knock-Off Italian Dressing
  • Frosty Chocolate Shake
  • TONS more!

The average person gives the following excuses for not cooking and eating healthier meals:

  • “The food doesn’t taste as good.”
  • “My family won’t eat it!”
  • “I’m too busy to cook.”
  • “It’s too expensive to eat healthy food.”

Basically, this cookbook addresses (and obliterates) these concerns and leaves us all with… you guessed it No More Excuses! Each excuse is taken, individually, and the author offers great advice… from someone who knows because she has been there.

You can find No Excuses Detox on Amazon. The paperback version (the one I was sent in exchange for telling you all about it) is actually available right now for nearly $10 off the list price! It’s even cheaper than the Kindle version. 

No Excuses Detox

350 Best Vegan Recipes: Great Cookbook for ANYONE, Vegan or Not

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350 Best Vegan Recipes

One of the cookbooks I’m currently getting the most use out of is Deb Roussou’s 350 Best Vegan Recipes.

Am I a vegan? No.

Am I a vegetarian? No.

Am I a vegan half the time? No.

Am I vegetarian half the time? Not so much.

And yet… this is a cookbook that I use regularly for recipes, ideas, and inspiration for my own recipes.

The last part of that, “inspiration for my own recipes” is probably the number one way I use cookbooks. While I almost always make it the way the recipe states first, I do love to take a great recipe for a joy ride and see what wonderful other sights we can see.

I’ll be posting a recipe in a few minutes that’s actually based on one of the smoothie recipes in 350 Best Vegan Recipes. The original “Desert Sunrise” is delicious, as are the other variations I’ve tried. Adding aloe vera juice and sparkling water makes for some out-of-this-world smoothies. As soon as I post the recipe, I’ll come back here and link to it right about here.

350 Best Vegan Recipes Cookbook Recipe

Some of the recipes in this cookbook:

  • Pan-Fried Onion and Potato Hash Browns
  • Basic Pizza Dough
  • Quick Cherry Tomato and Pesto Pizza
  • Manicotti Florentine
  • Orecchiette Pasta with Eggplant Garlic Sauce
  • Roasted Red Pepper and Chipotle Dip
  • Ranch Dressing
  • Fragrant Rice-Stuffed Peppers
  • French Onion Soup with Croutons
  • Lemon Cucumber Tabbouleh
  • Stacked Green Chile Enchiladas
  • An a lot more – 350 in all.. and more when you “tinker” with the recipes and create new ones.

While this is not a “gluten-free” cookbook, substitutions are always possible and it’s usually as simple as replacing a regular pasta with a gluten-free pasta. Easy peasy.

350 Best Vegan Recipes is perfect for anyone’s cookbook collection, because even if you aren’t a vegan or vegetarian and even if you (like me) have zero intention of becoming one (my love for burgers and fish are simply too strong), the healthy, creative, and delicious recipes will add both flavor and nutrition to your meals.

If you ARE a vegan or vegetarian… you’d better go ahead and order this book today because you will love it with all your vegetarian heart.

 

 

300 Best Potato Recipes: Cookbook Review from a Potato Fanatic….

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300 Best Potato Recipes Cookbook
300 Best Potato Recipes
I love potatoes so much you’d think I came from Idaho instead of Kentucky… up until I opened my mouth that is. The y’alls would give me away. Sweet potatoes, Russet potatoes, new potatoes, Yukon Gold potatoes… if it’s a potato, I’m a fan.

Health Benefits of Potatoes

  • No fat, sodium or cholesterol.
  • Excellent source of Vitamin C -one potato gives you nearly half of your daily requirement of this all-important vitamin.
  • One potato has more potassium than a banana.
  • Potatoes are  good sources of vitamin B6.
  • Potatoes also provide you with fiber, magnesium and healthy antioxidants.
  • I’ve often read potatoes mentioned in beauty magazines as being a great vegetable to add to your regular rotation.  Apparently they’re great for both skin and hair when it comes to anti-aging. For one thing, collagen requires Vitamin C to protect our skin from the aging effects of the sun. It also promotes collagen’s ability to smooth wrinkles and improve overall skin texture. Boom!

Read more health benefits of potatoes.

In addition to the fact that potatoes taste fantastic, they’re also budget-friendly and I’m always on board for that.

I was sent a copy of 300 Best Potato Recipes in exchange for telling you about the book and, given my history with potatoes, I’m only too happy to do so. This beautiful cookbook is packed with recipes you’ll use again and again. The author takes potatoes in a fun and sometimes even funky new direction and her creativity is nothing short of a joy ride.

The humble potato is a culinary powerhouse and inspires adventurous and tantalizing fare.

A “desert island” vegetable if ever there was one, the potato appeals to all of us, whether in the form of traditional comfort dishes or in the guise of the new and exotic. Versatile, nutritious, inexpensive and unfailingly delicious, no other vegetable, and few foods in general, can make those claims.

These are just some of the delicious possibilities that the humble potato offers in this wide and varied assortment of recipes:

  • Classic mash de luxe
  • Garlic roasties with rosemary
  • Real English chips
  • Gnocchi-roni and cheese
  • Saffron potato cakes
  • All-American potato pancakes
  • Sweet potato-crusted shrimp
  • East Coast chowder
  • Creole potato salad
  • French potato galette
  • Fennel, potato and white bean stew
  • Potato lasagna
  • Oyster pie with top mash
  • Sweet potato gnocchi
  • Mennonite country potato doughnuts
  • Potato fudge.

Appetizers and snacks, soups and salads, side dishes, main courses, hearty vegetarian main dishes, baked goods and desserts make up this vast and colorful collection of recipes. The author also includes a complete history and origins of potatoes as well as a comprehensive chapter that covers hundreds of potato varieties.

This is a wonderful cookbook and a must have for fellow potato lovers everywhere. See 300 Best Potato Recipes for ordering information.

300 Best Potato Recipes Cookbook Pictures

Gifts from the Kitchen: 100 Irresistible Homemade Presents for Every Occasion

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Gifts from the Kitchen: 100 Irresistible Homemade Presents for Every Occasion

Inevitably, after months of shopping and planning, my best-received gifts are the cookies and candies I’ve made for my loved ones. That’s why, in the days leading up to Christmas, you can only find me if you look in my kitchen. I’m the one covered in powdered sugar, chocolate, and corn syrup – dancing around to Christmas music.

Man, I love this time of year!

If you love giving gifts you’ve made in your own kitchen, too, here’s a cookbook you’ll want to add to your library right away.  Gifts from the Kitchen: 100 Irresistible Homemade Presents for Every Occasion, by Annie Rigg, is an uncommonly beautiful book. As a cookbook collector, one of the first things I notice about a cookbook is how good it feels about itself –  the cover, artwork, and photographs let you know, right off the bat, if the cookbook feels really good about itself or if its heart is only half in it.

Gifts from the Kitchen feels amazingly good about itself – we’re talking “supermodel” confidence, here.

Naturally, for a book to be a great book – there has to be more than just great looks going for it. Thankfully, Gifts from the Kitchen comes through in the personality department, too  – it’s not just a pretty face.

{Continued Below…}

Gifts from the Kitchen: 100 Irresistible Homemade Presents for Every Occasion
While I’m telling you about Gifts from the Kitchen a few weeks before Christmas (timing is everything, guys), this book is actually off the charts useful throughout the year. Why? Because people LOVE homemade gifts all year long!  The book covers all celebrations and all seasons. Not only can you use the beautiful delicacies for gift-giving, you can also use them to celebrate special occasions.

Special Occasion Recipes Include

  • Fortune Cookies (Chinese New Year)
  • Chocolate Valentine’s Cakes (Valentine’s Day or Anniversaries)
  • Love Heart Sugar Cubes (Valentine’s Day)
  • Double Dark Chocolate, Pecan and Ginger Cookies (Father’s Day)
  • Easter Nest Cupcakes (Easter)
  • Rugelach (Jewish Celebrations)
  • Baby Shower Cakes
  • Wedding Cake
  • Raspberry, Lemon, and Almond Friands (Mother’s Day)
  • Stained Glass Snowflake Cookies (Christmas)
  • And More…

Recipes for Gifts That Fit Any Occasion Include

  • Chocolate Truffles
  • Peanut or Madadamia Brittle
  • Creamy Vanilla Fudge with Chocolate and Nuts
  • Pickled Beets
  • Pickled Shallots
  • Spiced Cranberry Jelly
  • Florentines
  • Chocolate-Coated Candied Almonds
  • Mango Chutney with Chili Pepper and Ginger
  • English Muffins
  • Cherry Jam
  • Strawberry and Vanilla Preserves
  • Chocolate and Hazelnut Spread
  • Honeycomb (look especially perfect for Halloween)
  • Pesto
  • And Many more….

In addition to the clear and simple recipes, Gifts from the Kitchen provides beautiful examples of ways to present many of these food gifts to your lucky foodie.

This is not a “gluten free” cookbook, but many of the candies and other recipes are, in and of themselves, gluten free. I have not tested any of the other recipes with gluten free flours, so I can’t say how well they’d take to substitutions. It is, however, in my opinion, more than worth having in your collection. The candies, spreads, jellies, etc. outnumber the cakes and cupcakes… and even they provide inspiration and ideas for the gluten free cook.

I’m especially excited about a recipe for “Wholegrain Honey Mustard.” Wholegrain mustard is an obsession of mine – I add it to more recipes than you can imagine (potato salad, BBQ sauce, deviled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, salad dressings…). I can only imagine how amazing this homemade Wholegrain Honey Mustard will be!

See Gifts from the Kitchen for more information.

While you’re on Amazon, check out the other beautiful cookbooks by Annie Rigg.

Gifts from the Kitchen: 100 Irresistible Homemade Presents for Every Occasion


Review: Gluten-Free Small Bites by Nicole Hunn

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Gluten-Free Small Bites by Nicole Hunn
Before I get to my raving-licious review of Nicole Hunn’s newest MUST HAVE gluten-free cookbook, Gluten-Free Small Bites, I just want to publicly thank her for the time and effort she puts into her gluten-free blog (Gluten-Free on a Shoestring), her gluten-free cookbooks, and even her social media accounts.

Before I had to give up gluten/wheat nearly four years ago, I had always been known in my family as an avid baker and cook – and (*tosses modesty aside for just a second) and a darn good one.  As compliments poured in, I was always thinking of the next bread or cake from scratch I’d make. I was known for my sourdough breads, buttermilk biscuits, cakes, pies, cookies, cornbreads, pastries, etc.

If we’re being honest, my sourdough bread was legendary.

Baking was a major part of my identity.

Then… it wasn’t. My body decided gluten/wheat were poison and they had to be permanently removed from my kitchen. I’m not exaggerating when I say that (as a food blogger, restaurant reviewer, and avid cook/baker), my world was rocked and I was in a daze for about a week. If it had not been for blogs like Gluten-Free on a Shoestring, and cookbooks such as the ones Nicole Hunn writes, I might still be in that daze with a ridiculously stupid look on my face.

Thank God for these lifelines because I don’t wear stupid well. It wasn’t long before I was, once again, baking bread, making pancakes, cakes, cookies, and even pies. I could make fried chicken again and, trust me, for a Kentuckian, that is huge. The work is sometimes more difficult and, let’s not fool ourselves, it’s usually more expensive to make gluten free recipes than traditional recipes – BUT you can’t really put a price on getting a major part of your identity back.

While I don’t have all of them yet, I am in the process of collecting Nicole Hunn’s gluten-free cookbooks. My husband gave me an early Christmas present about a week ago – Nicole Hunn’s newest cookbook, Gluten-Free Small Bites. He handed it to me in the middle of the day and that was that. Not a single thing got done the rest of the day. I escaped to my favorite den chair with iced tea in one hand and my new cookbook in the other.

{Cookbook Review Continued Below the Corn Muffins…}

Corn Muffins - A Gluten-Free Recipe from Gluten-Free Small Bites by Nicole Hunn
As I gawked at the recipes that were once again a possibility for me, I felt like Disney’s Pocahontas must have felt when she sang,  “A Whole New World… Shining, Shimmering, Splendid.”

Side note: when you raise three daughters, songs from Disney Princesses become firmly planted inside your brain and they play at pretty random times – at least this time, the song choice was appropriate.

From the Back Cover:

100 irresistible one-bite recipes—for everything from parties to portable meals

You know those days where dinner is grab-and-go, but you’re not sure what to grab? The older kids have a soccer game, a ballet lesson, the little one has a kazoo party, and they all need to be fed? Or maybe you’ve been volunteered to bring the mini quiches to the office potluck. Well you’re in luck: with Nicole Hunn at the helm, you can choose from 100 recipes for small bites—from party-pleasers like jalapeño poppers and pigs-in-blankets to easy meals like hand pies and chalupas. Have one of those special occasions when you can sit down for a meal? Nearly every recipe has instructions for how to make a bigger bite.

Recipes Include:

  • Pretzel Dough
  • Phyllo Dough
  • Flour Tortillas
  • Corn Tortillas
  • Naan Bread
  • Pizza Dough
  • Miniature Mac and Cheese Cups
  • Garlic Pizza Breadsticks
  • Pizza Bites
  • Cheesy Potato Pierogi
  • Miniature Chicken and Waffles
  • Sweet and Sour Meatballs
  • Empanada Dough
  • Shrimp Pot Stickers
  • Sopapillas
  • Glazed Donut Holes (!!!)
  • Pretzel Dogs
  • Pigs in Blankets
  • Fish Sticks
  • Samosas
  • Egg Rolls (YES, egg rolls!)
  • Fried Wontons
  • Cheddar Hush Puppies
  • Mozzarella Sticks
  • Onion Rings
  • Truffles
  • Chalupas
  • Wraps
  • And many, many more…

Basically, all the things you thought you had to do without eating and live without making are right here in one beautiful book, ready to bring new life back into your cooking and baking.

{Cookbook Review Continued Below}

Gluten-Free Small Bites by Nicole Hunn
The first recipe from the book that I made were the ridiculously adorable Corn Muffin Bites (page 73).   I did not have any corn in my kitchen and since it was pouring down outside, running to the store wasn’t in my game plan. So, I decided to just add a little jalapeno and chopped green onion in place of the corn. These corn muffins weren’t just beautiful to look at, they were out of this world delicious. I can’t wait to try them with corn next time (although, I’m not lying, the jalapeno and onions were knock outs).

I also made them in a traditional muffin pan instead of a mini-muffin pan. Why? Total accident. In my defense, I was under the influence of my allergy meds (Benadryl) and by the time I realized I was greasing the wrong muffin tin, I’d already committed to it. In my state, the thought of re-greasing another pan was out of the question.

The second recipe I made from Gluten-Free Small Bites were the Asparagus Fries (page 67). I made a ridiculously simple dip for them (Ranch Dressing with Prepared Horseradish and Kosher Salt) and they were unspeakably delicious. Crunchy, fun to eat (and make), and full of flavor.

I can’t wait to make both of these recipes again – and to use the Asparagus Fries as inspiration for Green Bean Fries. That’s a classic example of what separates good cookbook authors from great ones – good cookbook authors provide you with recipes, period. Great ones provide you with recipes, as well as techniques, that inspire confidence and creativity. They encourage you to branch out and try new things and they remind you that cooking isn’t just fun, it’s an adventure!

{Cookbook Review Concludes Below the Asparagus Fries!}

Asparagus Fries - A Gluten-Free Recipe from Gluten-Free Small Bites by Nicole Hunn
I 110 percent recommend you skip right over to Amazon and grab a copy of Gluten-Free Small Bites for yourself and anyone on your life who is gluten-free. If you need a little more inspiration, go back to the section above that lists some of the recipes included in this cookbook. Then remind yourself that these are just SOME of the recipes in this cookbook. Recipes and experiences that I, for one, thought were gone forever.

Reunions are a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Find Gluten-Free Small Bites on Amazon.
Find Nicole Hunn at Gluten-Free on a Shoestring!

Corn Muffins - A Gluten-Free Recipe from Gluten-Free Small Bites by Nicole Hunn