Happy Independence Day!

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!  

Hello Friends!

I so hope you have fun planned for today.  I have to say, it's truly an honor to be an American.  Cheesy to say, I know, but I really am so very thankful for my heritage, for my country and for all of the brave men and women who serve our country to ensure we have freedom each and every day.  So thank you.

This is my very FIRST 4th of July on the West Coast.  Boy is it dramatically different than what I'm used to.  The fourth is always celebrated with a large family barbeque and fireworks {which I believe we plan to partake in with friends here in Monterey}, but the big difference this year is I'll most likely be bundled in a hoodie as opposed to sweating it out in shorts and a tank. 

When asked to make something to bring to our get together with friends, I immediately tried to think of something cold, summery and red, white and blue {of course!}, so I was leaning towards popsicles.  But the more I thought about it, I realized it may be a bit too chilly for popsicles.  {That concept it just too weird for my brian right now.}  

So I hopped on MarthaStewart {she always has the best 4th desserts} and found this fun strawberry shortcake recipe {follow the link below}.  Not too cold, but still fruity and refreshing - perfect!  I'm going to attempt to do my own gfree version, we'll see how it goes.  If you have a great gfree shortcake recipe you want to pass along, I'd love to have it!

Strawberry Shortcake with Vanilla Whipped Cream

While I'm sad to be away from my family this year, I'm so thankful for all of the wonderful friends who have taken us in and treated us as family.  We're really looking forward to hanging out with all of them.

I'd love to hear what you have planned for the 4th, and would love to know what festive dishes you'll be making/made.

Have a wonderfully happy and safe 4th of July!

{OH!  And a shout out to my beautiful friend Jill - HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!  Miss you sweet friend.}

Lots of love {& fireworks}....

Apple Cobbler

Hallelujah - we have ac again!  In Florida, you can NEVER take your working ac unit for granted.  Sure, it racks up the power bill, but oh my goodness, it keeps this girl in a good mood.

What a crazy week it's been.  Hubby and I are preparing to head to Monterey, California (yay!) Sat to lead worship for a church on Sun.  We're so looking forward to being on the West Coast, taking in "mountains" & ocean (anything larger than a sand dune is a mountain to me :), breathing in the fresh air and scoping out the fun local places.  Any suggestions as to what we should do/see while we're there?

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my sister was recently in town and as usual, her visit was far too short.  For her last night home we made a big g-free dinner - it was delish!  We made one of my new favorite meals from a recent Martha Stewart magazine, Braised Chicken with Potatoes, Olives & Lemon, and it's naturally g-free (& oh so beautiful)! (The only substitution I make is swapping out the cornstarch for arrowroot pwdr.)  It was a hit.  To wash down the chicken, we had Apple Cobbler & topped it with vanilla ice cream - can you say yummy??  You can bet this Apple Cobbler will be making a Thanksgiving appearance.  It was so fantastic, I decided to share.  Would love to hear your thoughts, if you give it a try.

Gluten Free Apple Cobbler

Filling
5-6 Green Apples, peeled & sliced
3/4 Cup White Sugar
2 T Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Almond Flour
1 t Cinnamon
1/2 t Nutmeg
1 t Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Hot Water
2 T Butter, Softened

Topping
1/2 Cup Almond Flour
1/2 Cup Arrowroot Powder
1/4 Cup White Sugar
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 t Salt
2 T Butter, Softened
1 Egg

Directions
Serves 6

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, combine all filling ingredients, leaving out the butter.  Toss gently and pour into a lightly greased square baking dish.
3. With a teaspoon, spoon softened butter in several rows on top of filling.
4. Combine topping ingredients and mix until batter is smooth.  Drop batter on top of filling in spoonfulls, evenly (I like to use an ice cream scoop).
5. Bake for 35 minutes or until top is golden and filling is bubbly.
6. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped topping.

{Prepared and ready to bake}

{Baked to crispy, flakey, gooey-apple perfection!}

{I'm pretty sure it's safe to say we licked the dish clean}

Okay, I'm off to do some packing & sneak in a few bites of the sushi my hubby just walked in with!  Lots of love...