My sister-in-law recently asked me for some ideas for recipes using chicken breast. It's so easy to get sucked into cooking the same ol', same ol' chicken recipes so I shared a few that my husband and I really enjoy. Maybe you can add one of these to your chicken repertoire!

• Butterfly each Chicken breast, lay flat on a cutting board and lay plastic wrap over it. Pound the chicken with a meat mallet until the breast is thin and flat.
• Remove plastic wrap and season both sides of the chicken with salt, pepper & garlic salt. Set aside.
• In a large sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped shallots with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook 2-3 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes.
• Add all the spinach and cook about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
• Now, assemble the chicken! Take the cheese and lay 2 sticks onto each chicken breast. Add a little spinach on top of the cheese and roll up the chicken like a burrito. Tuck in the ends, roll and secure with toothpicks.

Preheat oven to 350°.

• Using the same pan you cooked the spinach in, add remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat the pan over medium-high heat. Place the chicken rolls in the pan and brown each side for 3-4 minutes.
• Transfer pan to oven and cook for 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, heat spaghetti sauce in a small saucepan.
• When chicken is done, let it set for about 10 minutes so it can cool slightly. Remove toothpicks and slice the chicken breasts.
• Place the chicken rollatini on a plate a spoon a little of the sauce over it. Grate some fresh Parmesan cheese over the top & serve!

My first Thanksgiving after I was diagnosed with gluten intolerance was miserable. Mainly because I missed out on my absolute favorite thing....."Day After" Turkey Salad Sandwiches (with Miracle Whip of course) and my mom's leftover Mashed Potato Soup. Now that gluten-free sandwich bread is readily available at grocery stores, I'm back in business! I hope these two recipes will get you excited about grazing the fridge the day after Thanksgiving, once again.

Turkey Salad Sandwiches
Makes approx. 2 sandwiches

Ingredients:

• Udi's Sandwich bread (or any other brand of GF bread)
• 1 cup cooked turkey, cut into small cubes
• 1 tablespoon sweet relish
• 2 tablespoons Kraft Mayo
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 rib of celery, chopped
• 1 tablespoon walnuts, chopped
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded, finely chopped (optional)
  *Add apples, dried cranberries, etc. to your liking

Directions:
Mix the turkey, sweet relish, mayo, black pepper, celery, walnuts and jalapeno in a bowl until well-combined. Serve immediately on toasted bread.


Mashed Potato Soup
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• salt & pepper
• 2 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 cup gluten-free chicken stock
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 slices bacon, cooked crisp, for topping
• 2 scallions, chopped

Directions:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and saute for 3-4 minutes until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and saute another 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the pan and continue to stir for 2 minutes to toast the flour. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Gradually whisk in the stock, then the milk. Stir in the mashed potatoes and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the soup for 10 minutes.

Add half of the cheese a handful at a time, stirring until melted and smooth after each addition. Taste the soup to see if it needs more salt or pepper.

Top with crisp bacon, chopped scallions and remaining shredded cheese. Serve & enjoy!

It's that time of year when soups and chili are a staple in our house, so I decided to try my luck at a classic: Broccoli Cheese Soup. My husband deems himself the connoisseur of soups, chili, etc. so I would need to pull this off without a hitch! Here's how I did it:

Broccoli Cheese Soup
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 cup yellow onions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 3 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour
• 3 cups gluten-free chicken stock or broth (Kitchen Basics brand is GF)
• 1 head fresh broccoli, chopped or 1 (16-ounce) package frozen broccoli, thawed and separated
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cups shredded medium Cheddar
• Croutons, for garnish, recipe follows

Directions:

In a medium pot, melt the 3 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Add garlic and thyme and stir until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the flour and stir for 2 minutes. Slowly add the chicken stock, whisking constantly, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook, occasionally stirring, 15-20 minutes. **If you are using frozen broccoli, reduce cooking time to 10 minutes.

If you prefer a smooth soup without any broccoli florets, remove the pot from the heat, allow it to cool, and puree with a hand-held immersion blender. (Alternatively, in batches, puree in a blender or food processor and return to the pot.) I like my soup chunky, so I typically skip this step.

Add the cream and bring to a simmer to heat through. Add the cheese and cook over low heat, stirring, until melted. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons cold butter, stirring to blend.

Remove from the heat and ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle croutons over the top of the soup and serve immediately.

Gluten-Free Croutons

• 3 slices gluten-free sanwhich bread
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375°
Cut the bread into 1/2 inch cubes and spread onto a nonstick baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle the salt, pepper and Herbs de Provence over the bread. Toss it all together to make sure it's well coated. Toast in the oven, stirring occasionally, until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes.
Serve with soup and save any extras for salads!

Since Jeff and I had a destination wedding, we decided to have a reception after we returned home to celebrate with our extended family and other close friends. I work at a church so they were nice enough to let us use their facilities.

I decided to use a one of the photos from our engagement shoot on the invitations since we had to mail them out before the actual wedding. I think they turned out pretty cute!

This past September, I got married! It was a small ceremony on the beach in Florida, a real dream come true! As you can imagine, this was the perfect opportunity to marry my love for food and design. My husband is also very creative so designing all the sweet little touches was something we really enjoyed together. From the "Save the Dates" and invitations to the name cards and menus, I was very excited about how it all turned out!

Flower Arrangements We found this old coffee can at Jeff's Grandparent's old barn.

Guest Door Hangers These guest name tags were hung on the doors throughout the beach house so our guests would know where they were staying when they arrived.

Guest Gift Bags I designed this logo and had a local print shop print it on these canvas bags we picked up at Hobby Lobby. All of our house guests received a bag filled with beach goodies!

Napkins/Name Cards/Menus Talk about multi-tasking! Jeff and I picked out a bunch of different vintage-looking fabrics and my mom sewed all the napkins. This was great because we now have a beautiful collection of napkins we can use for dinner parties, holidays, etc. We designed the menu cards and then cut out pieces of the golden-yellow paper (left over from our invitations) and wrote each persons name on them. I used bronze tacks to attached them to the menus.

Signs My mom & dad made this adorable sign. My dad used wood from an old fence to put it together and then my mom painted it with acrylics. We posted it up outside the beach house where we got married so our guests could easily find it. If you are interested in having one of these adorable signs made for your event, my mom does custom orders on Etsy. Check it out!

Bibb Salad This dish was inspired by one of our favorite restaurants, Fireside Pies. Boston Bibb lettuce, cherry tomatoes, bacon, hearts of palm, avocado, goat cheese and a tangy red wine vinaigrette.

Kabobs & Grilled Vegetables In keeping with the beach theme, we decided to go simple: chicken & shrimp kabobs with grilled asparagus and roasted red potatoes.

The perfect day!