Beach Easy Free Friday!

So, it only took 2 weeks to to do the easiest snack in the world that is carb free, sugar free, and gluten free.   It's quick, fun and the kids will love it.  Delicious and high protein, it's a great snack to keep you going all afternoon.

Since today is a beach day for us, we are headed out to Lido Key to watch the sun set over blue Carribean waters and enjoy the surf.  I'll do a quick post today and hopefully be back Monday.  Mondays have become really busy so I'm considering moving to Tues, but I'll still love sharing my finds and gems for sugar free gluten free living so everyone can enjoy them!

Today's is grilled cheese and baked bacon.   Baked bacon is the best thing since finding 100 dollar bills on the street.  Basically, you save yourself the mess, cleanup, pesky grease burns and guessing time on cooking.  Grilled cheese is amazingly crisp like a cracker on the outside and chewy warm on the inside.

Let's start with the cheese:


I used Sargento Light cheese sticks (mozzarella) and cut them in to about 1" pieces.  I preheated my electric grill to 325/350f and when it was hot, dropped them with plenty of space between them to spread.  Also you can do this with sharp cheddar - it's much more greasy, but when you're done you have the most amazing tasting cheez-its taste alike!    Cook until brown on one side or solid, use a  pancake turner to loosen and flip them then cook another 3-4 min a side.

For the bacon, get some nice quality thick cut bacon, line a 13x9 cookie sheet with foil and place the whole package, some-what crowded, onto the pan.   Bake for 20 min for chewy bacon, 25 for moderate, 30 for crispy and 35+ for blackened/ super crunchy.

Here's pics of the order!  Enjoy your delicious snack!!

Return of the Blog

Yes!  I'm alive!  For a while, I was pretty sure that the food blog world would mourn my inevitable passing as time went on and everyone realized that there were no more posts to be found from me, however, it's just a short term trend while I got back on my feet from my last excursion.

I'd share all the lovely pictures but, alas, they were all stolen.  If you ever didn't want to re-learn a lesson in your life that you already knew, then you know exactly where I'm coming from.  It was one of those scenarios that you know is happening right in front of you, but as the clueless tourist I am, did not heed the warning bells in my head.  Always listen to that.  I knew this.  Around and around in circles we go.

Needless to say, there aren't many pictures (the backup plan is a product endorsement I would rather avoid today, but I still bought one of them; and thank you my friend for letting me fill your phone with my frivolities.)  I spent this week pretty much replacing all my stuff.  In the meantime, my blog has suffered greatly from negligence again, BUT on the bright side, we have a new photographer.  For the time being I will post my own (mediocre at best) photos of the food I make but when she contributes, I'll be sure to let everyone know who's work it is (like you won't be able to tell - lol.)

Today we're taking on that continuation of Monday from 3 weeks ago.  I would LOVE to share what I learned on my trip, but they're not so good for the sugar free crowd (fried plantains) but they are my current addiction.  Finally, I found a market today that sells the good ones.  I fried three, ate them all with my version of Costa Rican sour cream (plain yogurt) and then realized that was probably 2 more than I should have eaten.  They were really good though.  So, for the gluten free, sugar free crowd, today we have a nice "salad."  It's more of a classic and surely nothing new or exciting so much, however it IS one of my personal favorites and a great addition to a summer table.  Healthy and colorful, this would be a great salad for your table during tomorrow's festivities.

So, my meal suggestion/recipe for today is a modified Caprese Salad.  The traditional Caprese has mozzarella, basil (or some type of pesto) with nice bright red tomatoes and hearty olive oil.  But today, I'm changing things up a bit, we're going to add some kick and your friends and family are guaranteed to love this salad on a hot summer day as a nice cool, light meal.


Kicked Caprese

2 bright full red tomatoes, chopped
1 medium ball of fresh mozzarella, chopped (a little bigger than one of the tomatoes)
couple handfuls of torn basil
2 medium hardness avocados, chopped and drizzled with lemon or lime juice to slow the browning
salt and pepper to taste
salad worthy olive oil of your choice
clean and bright balsamic vinegar of your choice

The simplicity is part of the fun in this summer salad.  Since everything is chopped, gently toss them together in a bowl.  Crack some fresh pepper over the top - I love to use a multi colored pepper, reds and black and white, all together to give it some snap.  Give a couple twists of fresh ground sea salt over the salad - go easy, the cheese will give it some saltiness.  Drizzle the olive oil and balsamic over in light handed quantities. I do not put exact measurements on this because one person's dressing is another person's swimming pool.  You could even leave a couple nice bottles out of the oil and vinegar separate from the salad so people can add their own, and completely skip the step with adding these dressings.

This fresh salad is a crowd pleaser, easy to make, and visually fun.  Enjoy!

If you're wondering where my beautiful fresh basil leaves are in this picture, well you'd be as sad as I was to realize after I chopped everything, I didn't have any fresh basil.  I did sprinkle with dried, but it's simply not the same.  Make sure you have real, fresh basil before making this salad, you'll be oh-so-not-sad you did!