Organic, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Cherry Meringue Pie

My hubby wanted a cherry meringue pie for his birthday this year. Apparently he thinks highly of my cooking skills to request such a pie given our diet restrictions. Or he has no idea what ingredients you use to make one. At any rate, I started looking for a recipe. The only ones I could find called for "cherry pie filling", gross! So I decided just to "wing it" and see how it turned out.

I started with a gluten-free pie crust:

1 cup organic brown rice flour

1/3 cup Grapeseed Oil (Spectrum Organic Shortening works great too)

2 T cold water

1 tsp xanthan gum

Pinch of salt

Mix it all together in a small bowl, then press it into the 9" pie plate. 

Bake at 475 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until just turning light brown. 

Next:

Put 4 cups pitted cherries (I used Organic Dark Tart cherries that were frozen that I found at Costco)

2/3 cup of organic sugar

1/4 cup water

into a pan on the stove top on medium heat. 

Let it simmer for about 30 minutes, to fully break down the cherries and let the mixture reduce down. 

Add

2 teaspoons organic cornstarch

and stir for about 4 minutes while it is boiling. 

While the cherries are simmering, 

Stir together in a small pan

1/2 cup organic sugar 

4 teaspoons organic cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until it begins to boil. Boil for one minute (keep stirring) and then remove from heat. Put it straight into the freezer for 10 minutes so that it cools completely. 

The cherries should still be simmering so next use a large bowl and put in

4 organic egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp sea salt

Blend with hand mixer until soft peaks form. Then grab your cooled sugar cornstarch mixture from the freezer. Slowly add it into to the egg white mixture and keep mixing away with the beaters on high. 

Once you have stiff peaks (see picture above) you have officially made meringue! 

By now the cherries should have been done simmering and you can add the cornstarch (mentioned above) and finish it up. Spoon the hot cherries directly into the precooked pie crust. 

Then gently add the meringue on top, use the back of a large metal spoon to spread it around. Make sure the meringue is touching the pie crust on every side otherwise it will shrink up when you cook it. 

To get the little peaks on top, use the back of the metal spoon and gently touch it to the meringue and pull straight up. My gramma taught me this, plus then you don't have to spend a lot of time trying to smooth out the meringue and making it look "perfect"

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees F or until it is turning a beautiful golden brown. 

Remove carefully from the oven and let it cool for 2 hours in a non drafty place. Having air blowing on it or bouncing it around will cause the meringue to loose air inside and get deflated. 

Final step:

Find some friends (who are up for an experiment) and enjoy the pie together!

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 cup organic brown rice flour

1/3 cup Grapeseed Oil (Spectrum brand organic shortening works great too)

2 T cold water

1 tsp xanthan gum

Pinch of salt

Cherry Filling:

Put 4 cups pitted cherries (I used Organic Dark Tart cherries that were frozen that I found at Costco)

2/3 cup of organic sugar

1/4 cup water

Meringue:

1/2 cup organic sugar 

4 teaspoons organic cornstarch

1/2 cup cold water

4 organic egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp sea salt

Snow snow snow!!

We looked outside last night while we were eating dinner and it was snowing!! I took the kids outside for a bit before bed because usually the snow we get in the Pacific Northwest melts pretty quickly.

By 10:30 this morning we had a solid 2 inches and the kids were asking to go play in it again.

We layered on the snow clothes (poor Xander had to wear Gabriella's old hand me down pink suit), grabbed our sled from the garage and walked two blocks to the local elementary school for some fun.

This morning out our front window

Getting ready to sled. 

It was the kids' first time sledding and they both LOVED it!!

Silly boy!

Sledding all by herself

Action shot of Matt and Xander sledding down the stairs. 

Silly boys!

Gabriella didn't want to wait for the sled so she slid down on her bottom multiple times

Family face prints in the snow

My two main men!

 

Me and my love!

Getting ready to slide down the snowy slide. 

Back home and laying in the snow because Gabriella wasn't ready to go inside yet. 

Mmmmmm!

Me and Xander playing around.

Snowball fight with daddy!

Love how much they love playing together!!

Then we made some "snow ice cream" from snow and chocolate almond milk. 

Such a fun surprise to get so much snow!!! Whenever it snows I always think to myself, "Jesus loves me so much!". I was telling Gabriella about how the Bible says that Heaven has giant rooms that are full of snow. She said, "Yeah, and I want to play in the snow with Jesus!"

Crock-pot Tortilla Soup

Last week hubs and I were at Grocery Outlet and found some organic Tortilla Soup Base for $1! I grabbed the only two they had (even though I've never had let alone made tortilla soup) because who can pass up a quart of something organic for $1?

I looked around online and on Pinterest for some recipes and then made up my own from what sounded good. Here it is!

Ingredients:

1 quart Pacific Natural Foods Organic Soup Starter, Tortilla (this is sold at Fred Meyer/Kroger and other natural food stores)

2 lbs organic chicken (I used boneless, skinless thighs)

4 organic corn tortillas 

1 16 ounce can Organic Diced Tomatoes (I used home canned from our garden last year)

1 cup dried black beans

1 cup dried pinto beans

1 sweet pepper

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Juice from one fresh lime

1 tsp chili powder

1 Tablespoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons salt

1/4 cup diced fresh cilantro

Garnishes of your choice:

Avocado slices

Grated Cheese

Sour Cream, etc.

Dice the sweet bell pepper and cilantro

Slice up the tortillas into large, noodle like chunks. 

Then pour everything into the crock-pot. 

That's right, just dump it all in. I didn't cut up the chicken, either, only the cilantro and the bell pepper. Once it is all added to the crock-pot, then add 6 cups of water (use less water if your crock-pot is too full!). 

I cooked mine on HIGH for 7 hours. Basically it needs to cook long enough that the beans are cooked and the chicken is done. When everything is cooked, just use a large spoon and a knife to gently break up the chicken. It basically falls apart on its own because it is so tender. 

Here it is, all done, fresh from the crock-pot and garnished with fresh avocado slices. 

I cooked some rice to go on the side. 

It was amazing!! Plus the house smelled like a restaurant, which is always a plus when hubby comes home from work. 

This will definitely be a recipe we will use regularly!!

Super Bowl Sunday

We went to our church's "12th Man Service" yesterday evening so we had a free Sunday morning to spend together. The sun was out and it was blue skies so we headed out for a walk after breakfast.

We walked to the local elementary school and played on the playground.  Then I showed Gabriella the track and told her that is where people run. She said, "let's race!" so off she and I went. She ran an entire 1/4 mile lap without stopping (I was shocked!!) then needed a quick sock fix before we headed out for another round. She ran 1/2 the loop before deciding to join daddy and Xander on the swings.  I think we have a future track star on our hands!!

We walked across the pedestrian bridge that goes over the freeway and then jumped in a few puddles on our way home.

Gabriella "helping" me make cookies. 

We put the kids down for a nap (they were both pooped) and started the Super Bowl pregame show. It was my most enjoyable Super Bowl party yet. Just the four of us. Xander yelling,  "Do Hee-haaw!" everytime Matt or I hollered at the tv. And during the halftime show Gabriella asked ," is football going to come back? ". I love that our kids love the game!! We are going to start saving up so we can take the kids to a home game next season.

We had a delicious all organic dinner (drumsticks with homemade bbq sauce, green beans and mashed golden potatoes). Plus some delicious non-gmo Maple Bacon chips and some raw coconut cookies I made. Yummers!!

Feeling very blessed to be a Seahwaks fan, for delicious and nutritious food (on a budget), sunny skies, living in the Seattle area, and most of all for my family!!

All Natural Disinfecting and Cleaning Spray!

I have been on the hunt for more "green" and all natural products to use around my house, especially since I have two toddlers who like to help me do everything. Today I'll show you how I made disinfecting and cleaning spray that is safe to drink (if you like the taste of vinegar), has no toxins or chemicals, and actually works!!

Here is what you need:

Orange peels

Vinegar (I useApple Cider Vinegar because then it isn't grain or corn based)

Salt (any kind)

Distilled water (or well water)

A large glass jar with lid (I used a Santa Cruz Organics lemonade bottle)

Fill a jar with orange peels. 

We don't eat that many oranges in one sitting, so we store our peels in a large 32 ounce BPA free container in the freezer. When it is full, I know I have enough to fill a jar with cleaner.

Fill the jar with orange peels and add 1 Tablespoon of salt. 

Then shake it up to get the salt to spread throughout the jar.

I had two little helpers for this part. 

Once the salt is spread about in the jar, let it sit for about 20 minutes on the counter. The salt helps pull the oil out of the peels. 

After 20 minutes, fill the jar completely with a mixture of half vinegar and half water. 

Then label it with the date and store it in a cool, dark place. 

I store mine under the kitchen sink. 

Then wait 2-3 weeks. 

After 2-3 weeks, you will need a cheesecloth and a large jar/pitcher/container. 

In this picture I have a funnel inside the jar with the cheesecloth on the top of it. 

I used two jars full of the peel, vinegar, salt, water mixture. 

Pour the liquid out of the jars, through the cheesecloth and into your waiting pitcher. 

Then funnel or pour it into a squirter bottle. 

I got this one at Walmart for $.97

Okay, time to try it out and see if it actually works. 

I didn't clean my range top for 2 days. I am a messy cook so it usually gets cleaned after every meal. This was very gross!!

I wiped off the dried stuff and then sprayed a normal amount of my cleaner spray on it. Then ..... BOOM!

It worked!!

I was super happy. I'm not a huge fan of the smell of vinegar, but man, this sure worked good. Plus with the orange essential oil in it (that is why you put the salt and peels in it first), it really helps with the cleaning power and the smell. 

I can't wait to use it on other things. Its mean, its clean and its green!