Santa Bread

I came across this recipe on Taste of Home and thought it looked so cool. I know I would not be able to make it look this good, but hey it would be fun to try!













Directions:

1. Start with 2 loaves of purchased frozen bread dough and turn them onto a lightly floured surface. Take a small portion of one loaf and add it to the other loaf, making it slightly larger.
2. On a lightly floured surface, shape the larger portion of bread dough into an elongated triangle with rounded corners for Santa's head and hat.
3. Shape and flatten half of the smaller portion of dough into a beard. Using a scissors or pizza cutter, cut the beard into strips to within 1 in. of the top of the beard.
4. Carefully pick up the cut beard piece with both hands and position the beard on the bottom of Santa's face.
5. If desired, twist the cut strips in the beard and slightly curl up the ends of the strips to shape the beard.
6. Use the remaining dough for the mustache, nose, hat pom-pom and brim. Shape a portion of dough into a mustache; flatten and cut the ends into small strips with scissors. Place above beard. Place a small ball above mustache for nose. Fold tip of hat over and add another ball for pom-pom. Roll out a narrow piece of dough to create a hat brim; position under hat.
7. With a scissors, cut two slits for eyes; insert raisins into slits. In separate small bowls, beat egg each yolk. Add red food coloring to one yolk; carefully brush over hat, nose and cheeks. Brush plain yolk over remaining dough.
8. Add red food coloring to one beaten egg yolk and carefully brush the tinted red yolk over the hat, nose and cheeks.
9. Cover loosely with foil. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-12 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 1 loaf.

Taco Salad with a Twist

Post courtesy of Debi from Who Say's 8 Is Enough? Debi was kind enough to share this recipe for Taco Salad made with natural ingredients. Make it and set it out for a quick yummy meal during your busy holiday season!

One of our favorite, favorite foods to eat at a party has always been Taco Salad.

So when we decided to switch to a natural diet, I was really depressed, thinking we wouldn't be able to eat it very often, as it contains lots and lots of "no-nos"...

Well, it got me thinking the other day when I was craving a little Taco Salad... surely I can find a way to make it healthy, can't I???

And, so I went to the market, shopped around and was thrilled to find that I can, in fact, make it healthy!

Best Ever Taco Salad! (trust me)

Normally, the recipe would call for a bag of Doritos, but that is a HUGE non-natural food and definitely not on our diet, so I found these super yummy and natural chips by Mission. These chips have a bit of a kick, as they have salsa in the flour, but boy are they yummy :)

Now, this might sound crazy, but you will need to take that lovely bag of chips, open it up, sample one or two chips and then crush the rest of them into bite-sized pieces.

Next, take a pound of ground beef or turkey and cook it through.

Add a 1/2 medium-sized onion and cook until translucent.

Drain the fat.

Add taco seasonings according to package for 1 pound of meat.

While meat is cooking, chop 1 medium green pepper, 1 pint of cherry or grape tomatoes, and one head of lettuce. (whatever type you prefer)

In a large bowl, add lettuce, green peppers and tomatoes.

Toss together.

Pour bag of chips on top of salad and toss together.

Add 6oz of shredded cheddar cheese and mix well.

Top with 8oz of Catalina dressing. This was almost the deal breaker for me as 99% of salad dressings contain high fructose corn syrup and we do not eat HFC. However, of all the dressings that Kraft makes, Catalina regular dressing contains none :)

So, I figured we could deal with a little food dye for one day....

If you want to avoid that as well, you can try any type of tangy french dressing, or make your own....

Mix all ingredients together until it resembles this.

Right before you are ready to serve, top with warm meat and toss together.

This is what it should look like :)

Serve and eat!

This makes a large quantity. Perfect for a side-dish for a party or a simple meal at home...

Debi Bouffard is mom to NINE kiddos and manages to come up with the greatest recipes. I am thrilled to have her contribute to the gift guide with some easy alternative recipes for those families with kids who need gluten free options. Debi writes over at Who Say's 8 Is Enough? Visit her and get to know more about her, her family, and her love of photography!

Nanna's Bread Pudding

Post courtesy of Debi from Who Say's 8 Is Enough. This is her grandmother's recipe, and she is being awesome and sharing it with you guys. Seriously, I think this would be either great as a brunch item or awesome for breakfast. Who says "dessert" has to be just desserts?!

Start out with a large loaf of raisin bread. I made this one in my bread machine, but you can just buy one at your local bakery or grocery store if you don't want to make your own. (or, just use two loaves of whatever brand name loaves you can find)

Cut 4 to 5 thick slices and then cut those into 1 inch pieces.

Place into an ungreased baking dish.

I used a large oval Corning Ware piece. (not sure dimensions, but I would guess 10 inch )

Heat 2 1/2 c. milk in a saucepan over medium heat, but DO NOT bring to a boil.

Remove from heat.

Place 4 large eggs in a large bowl

Add 3/4 c. sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla and beat together.

Add milk to the beaten mixture, making sure it isn't hot enough to scramble the eggs.

Add a pinch of salt.

Mix together very well.

Pour over bread, making sure to saturate every piece.

Sprinkle with cinnamon, if desired.

Place into a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until set. (it should look like custard)

Serve warm or cold.

We like to serve ours warm with fresh seasonal berries.

ENJOY!

Debi Bouffard is mom to NINE kiddos and manages to come up with the greatest recipes. I am thrilled to have her contribute to the gift guide with some easy alternative recipes for those families with kids who need gluten free options. Debi writes over at Who Say's 8 Is Enough? Visit her and get to know more about her, her family, and her love of photography!

Super Easy Natural Chocolate Eclair Squares

This recipe is courtesy of Debi from Who Say's 8 Is Enough? If you are looking for a great dessert that is gluten free and okay for a little one with Celiac's Disease, then this is right up your alley. Enjoy.



Today is my son David's birthday. He is turning 17!
I know!
I have a son that is SEVENTEEN!
So, for his birthday dinner, we will be making a delicious gluten-free, flour-free cake since David has Celiac's Disease.
However, last night was his party and we needed a dessert for celebrating then too, so I made this family favorite for everyone and made a small one for David using gluten-free graham crackers.
I had originally found this recipe many moons ago here, but having made the change over to a natural diet, I decided to make it naturally and it turned out just as fantastic as before.
YUMMY!
Super Easy...
Natural Chocolate Eclair Squares
Ingredients
2 cups cold milk, divided
1 pkg. (4-serving size) Dr. Oetker Organic Vanilla Pudding
1 pt Heavy Whipping Cream, 1/4 c sugar
22 New Morning Honey Graham crackers
4 squares BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
Prepare pudding according to pie directions, adding 1 3/4 cup of milk to mix. Whisk together and chill in refrigerator for a few minutes.
Pour heavy whipping cream and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat on HIGH until very stiff peaks form.
Gently fold whipped cream into chilled pudding.
Line the bottom of 13x9 pan with graham crackers. Pour half of the pudding mixture on top and spread out evenly. Place another layer of graham crackers on top of pudding and repeat pudding layer.
Top with a layer of graham crackers.
Melt butter and chocolate in microwave safe bowl for 1 1/2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add remaining milk and powdered sugar. Stir until well blended.
Pour immediately on top of graham crackers.
Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.

ENJOY!
ps Although David isn't a fan of the gluten-free graham crackers normally, in this dessert he said they were delicious :)


Debi Bouffard is mom to NINE kiddos and manages to come up with the greatest recipes. I am thrilled to have her contribute to the gift guide with some easy alternative recipes for those families with kids who need gluten free options. Debi writes over at Who Say's 8 Is Enough? Visit her and get to know more about her, her family, and her love of photography!