Gluten Free Dinner- Roasted Lemon/Garlic Chicken, Garlic Mashed Pototoes and Carrots with a brown sugar glaze

Who says eating gluten-free has to be boring?! It can be quite delicious actually!

While searching for dinner ideas a while ago, I stumbled upon a GREAT blog- Full Bellies, Happy Kids! Every recipe I have tried from that blog has been absolutely delicious- even the gluten filled ones (duh! lol). I got this chicken recipe from her blog, and adjusted it to our liking.

Roasted Lemon Garlic Chicken-

- 1 whole chicken (cut up)

- 3 or 4 garlic cloves (depending how garlic-y you would like it), thinly sliced

- 1 lemon

- salt & pepper to taste

- 2 tablespoons of butter

- 2 bay leaves

Place cut up whole chicken in a baking dish. Place sliced garlic and slices of butter over chicken. Cut your lemon and squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken pieces. Add salt & pepper to taste, and 2 bay leaves. Cover and let sit (refrigerated) for at least an hour.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 375 and bake for 2 hours.

I assure you, your house is going to smell AMAZING and you will be deemed the best cook in town...just not MY town because I'm the best cook here (ok, maybe not, but one can wish, right?!).

Garlic Mashed Potatoes-

- 5 or 6 medium potatoes, peeled, cubed, and boiled until soft (keep in mind, I'm cooking for a family of 7)

-3 tablespoons of butter plus 1 tablespoon for garlic

- 1/2 to 3/4 cup of milk (I never really measure..)

- 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

- salt and pepper to taste

While your potatoes are cooking, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a small frying pan and add your minced garlic. Only cook for a minute or so...do not over cook your garlic or it will turn bitter to the taste. Set to the side once done. Once your potatoes have boiled and are soft, drain them and place them back into your pot. Add the 3 tablespoons of butter, the cooked garlic, 1/2 cup of milk, and salt/pepper to taste. Blend together with a hand mixer until smooth. You may need to add a little bit more milk if you find that the potatoes are too stiff.

Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots-

-7 or 8 carrots, peeled, cut into thin sticks

-1 tablespoon of butter

-1 heaping tablespoon of brown sugar

Melt the tablespoon of butter in a frying pan, add your carrots and cook over medium-high heat until they are softened but still a little firm (10 minutes give or take). Once the carrots are the desired softness add your brown sugar and mix until the sugar is melted onto the carrots and remove from heat.

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Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Have you ever tried making delicious, mouth watering gluten filled Chocolate Chip Cookies while living a gluten free diet?? It's not easy! Not easy at all! So, I decided to look around for some gluten free chocolate chip cookie recipes that I could make for myself while making the "normal" chocolate chip cookies for everyone else.
Every recipe I saw had ingredients that I didn't have, so I just got creative. To be honest, I was scared to death to try my creation lol The dough didn't look appetizing at all. However, once the baked, they rose so beautifully and tasted AMAZING (especially for being gluten free! lol)

Ingredients:
-1/2 cup of nut butter (I used peanut butter, it was not a "knock you down" flavor)  
-2 eggs
-3 tablespoons of butter (softened) 
-3 tablespoons of sugar
-2 tablespoons of soy flour (you can buy this at walmart!)
-1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
-As many chocolate chips as you like!

Blend together the nut butter, eggs and butter. Add the sugar, soy flour and baking soda. Once combined add as many or little chocolate chips as you would like.

Bake in the preheated oven of 350 for 10-12 minutes (less time if you make smaller cookies).

I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!