The Laundry Room Chef

BBQ Beans, Slaw and Smoky Green Beans=Heaven!

2016-05-19T15:58:00.001-07:00

Tonight: BBQ beans, slaw and smoky green beans! Recipe @thelocalvegan

http://www.thelocalvegan.com/recipe/bbq-bean-sandwiches-and-smokey-green-beans

Carolyn Braden: Strawberry Lemonade Cake

2014-05-17T18:32:00.001-07:00

I created this as a Mother's Day/Birthday cake for my mother-in-law. It was truly delicious.

Get the recipe at myrecipes.com. Search for Southern Living's Strawberry-Lemonade Layer Cake. It will be your new favorite cake!

Carolyn Braden's Under the Sea Cake

2014-05-17T18:25:00.001-07:00

I created this Under the Sea cake for my friends 1 year old. It was her first birthday so it had to be special. It was 3 cake layers that were each 4 layers of fresh strawberry cake with lemon zest and homemade strawberry lemonade jam. I also dyed it bright pink to match the white chocolate sea candy I made. I dusted the candy and fondant "pearls" with an edible shimmer powder. I love having an idea in my mind come to life and look even better! It was my first try at the ruffled fondant and I love the look. I dyed the fondant so it would have an ombre look. I put took picks under the ruffles to keep them 3-D as it dried.

Here was Brinley's own cake. I made this with buttercream icing so she could easily eat it. She loved it.

Carolyn Braden: Spider-Man Cakes By Me!

2014-04-13T17:01:00.001-07:00

I created these Spider-Man cakes with some inspiration from Pinterest.

Carolyn Braden's Monster High Cake

2014-03-15T15:14:00.001-07:00

I created this Monster High themed cake for my niece. I added a touch of shimmer dust as everything looks better with a little sparkle!

Carolyn Braden: How to Make Oreo Pops

2013-10-07T17:47:00.001-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5tfyZNwJ7Y

InStyle Mag: Wendy's Wunderbars by Carolyn Braden

2013-10-06T18:14:00.001-07:00

I created Wendy's Wunderbars from InStyle Magazine and they are yummy. They are the perfect combination of sweet, sour and salty in a healthy snack. Here is the recipe (made a little easier by me).

Place wax paper in a 8 oz. square baking pan, covering the entire pan.

Melt 2 oz. dark chocolate (I used 71% cacao organic chocolate) with 1 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate in a double boiler.

I created my own double boiler by melting the chocolate in a saucepan that was sitting on top of another saucepan filled with boiling water.

While the chocolate is melting, finely chop 1/3 cup shelled pistachios with 1/3 cup toasted almonds (I toasted my almonds for 6 minutes on 400 degrees).

Finely chop 8-9 oz. halved and pitted dates. You can use a food processor if you wish.

Combine the dates with 1/3 cup dried cherries. Mix in 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract and 1/8 tsp. sea salt.

Mix all ingredients together (either in a food processor or by hand) and pour into the wax paper covered baking pan. Cover with wax paper and press all the ingredients firmly into the pan. Chill until firm. (About 1 hour).

Remove from pan and use a serrated knife to cut it into 16 bars.

Carolyn Braden: Clean Living and Eating, Humans and Animals

2013-08-12T12:10:00.001-07:00

It's been almost a year since I committed my life to clean living. My husband and I have not felt deprived of

anything since starting our new way of life.

We treat food as energy instead of an indulgence and that's what it's supposed to be.

The only big change we felt was not being able to eat out as much. That was actually a great change

because it saves so much money! We've found a few restaurants in Louisville that fit our way of life and

whenever we travel, we do a little research before we go and can always find filling and good food.

Fast food was an issue until I put together a meal plan for Wendy's. When you travel by car, finding a place

to eat that is healthy is very difficult. We used to think Subway was such a great alternative to McDonald's but

that is so not true! Wendy's has baked potatoes that are just that; baked. They don't add anything to them prior

to or during the baking process. I add a garden salad (dressing free) on top of the potato with a little salt (they

have sea salt) and pepper.

Whenever possible, we pack a cooler with my homemade organic chicken salad, waters, Cliff or Kind Bars and

kettle chips or Blue Diamond Nut Thins.

Yes, people may think we are strange because of our new way of life but we don't worry about that. I just

don't think most people in the United States know much about health. When someone comes along with a

strong statement about health, they turn away because they hear it all the time. There's not a day that goes by

that news isn't saying something else will cause cancer. We are so numb to hearing terrible things so we don't

listen when it's actually true. After all the research my husband and I have done we know what to listen to and

what not to.

My clean living started with exercise, as it's always been a part of my life. Branching out into the clean world of

eating came next. Now I am starting to pay much more attention to the products I use to clean the house and

the products I use on my body. I switched to Natracare tampons recently. They are 100% organic cotton. I

discovered my Playtex tampons were made with rayon and bleached cotton (and they never really did a great

job) which is not a good thing to put in such an important part of the female body. The pure cotton ones are

wonderful and not any more expensive.

We are also very conscious about the food we feed our animals. We have our "kidney patient" cat eating

Nature's Variety Instinct wet food, our Maine Coon on wet Wellness Core food and our dogs on Merrick wet

and dry food. We're trying to wean our Maine Coon off of Core, but she's picky so it will take a while. Although,

Core isn't a bad product. We just want her to eat on what our other kitty is eating to make it easier.

(He can't tolerate the phosphates in Core and will get sick if he eats her food).

People think eating organically and using healthy products is too expensive. I sometimes hear people in Whole

Foods and Rainbow Blossom (the people that stop in, not their regular shoppers) gasping when they look at the

prices. Eating clean actually fills you up longer because of the lack of preservatives and fillers. Thus, it is actually

the better deal. But in reality, would you really put a price on your life and health?

I know we can't rid our lives of everything harmful but we can try. I wish more people would truly take the time

to see what is going into their bodies. I still get sick sometimes and know my way of life doesn't make me

perfect. I just know it is a smart thing to do. America needs to get on the bandwagon of other countries and

ban the GMO's. In closing, look that one up. See what a GMO is and why America sneaks them in.

I'll give you one hint on why America allows them: Money.

Two yummy organic and GMO-free meals: Quinoa Coconut Milk and Almond breakfast and Summer Veggie

Curry.

Clean Eating with Quinoa and Coconut Milk Organic Breakfast

2013-08-12T11:39:00.001-07:00

I tried this recipe from Our Best Bites.

Here's the link:

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2013/06/coconut-almond-breakfast-quinoa/

It was yummy and very filling. There's so much you can do with quinoa!

Summer Vegetable Curry #Organic and #GMO Free

2013-08-11T17:08:00.001-07:00

I found a recipe for Summer Vegetable Curry on this site:

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/summer-vegetable-curry-recipe.html

I changed it up a little to make it a little easier to make.

I added 4 tablespoons of coconut milk (the thick part at the top of the can) with 2.5 tablespoons of curry paste

and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to a large pan. I brought it to a simmer on medium heat. I added 2 chopped green

onions once it was simmering.

I cut about 6 small purple potatoes into small chunks and the rest of the can of coconut milk and let it all

simmer on medium, covered, for 10 minutes.

While that cooked, I cut 3 stalks of broccoli into florets and about 6 oz. of firm tofu. I added them to the potato

mixture after the first 10 minutes. I added about 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

and 1/2 teaspoon fresh cilantro. I allowed everything to simmer on medium heat for about 5-10 more minutes.

You can add any vegetable to this dish and add more or less curry and salt. Just taste as you go to make sure

you have it the way you want it. This was enough for 3 people to have a good sized meal. You can try serving

it over cooked quinoa so it will serve more.

Eating right can taste great! Just do a little experimenting and you can make delicious meals that are healthy for

your family every night of the week.

The Best Gluten Free Organic Brownies: Wholesome Chow

2013-08-10T12:38:00.001-07:00

I love Wholesome Chow's mixes. I recently made their brownies. I used coconut oil instead of butter. They were light and full of chocolate flavor. The fact that they are organic, gluten and GMO free is an added bonus. I purchased this mix at T.J. Maxx.

Gluten Free Sea Salt Caramel Brownies: #Pinterest Pin!

2013-04-28T17:35:00.001-07:00

Yet again I have had another Pinterest pin success. This recipe is for Sea Salt Caramel Brownies from glutenfreefix.com and it proved to be great! They are very rich but so good. Next time I will make them without the caramel. I loved the sea salt and caramel but sometimes I just like a good plain brownie. Although these are gluten free and sweetened with honey, they are as good as my "best ever" homemade brownies I made in the past with regular flour.

Carolyn Braden's #Firetruck #Cake: #Birthday

2013-04-14T11:52:00.001-07:00

Here is my version of a firetruck cake. I created it for my nephew's 3rd birthday. I haven't made a fondant cake in a while but it still turned out exactly the way I wanted. It was a fresh strawberry cake (I pureed strawberries and added them to the batter) with sliced strawberries as the filling.

Carolyn Braden: Wholesome Chow Cupcakes, #glutenfree

2013-03-30T20:14:00.001-07:00

These are the best cake mixes ever. Wholesome Chow cake mixes are organic and gluten free but full of flavor. I've made their chocolate, spiced chai and lavender cake. All three are yummy! I wasn't sure I'd like the lavender but it really tastes good. The lavender adds a bit of a spice flavor. Two mixes made 22 cupcakes. I made my own organic buttercream for these cupcakes.

Carolyn Braden's Wholesome Chow Organic/Gluten Free Cupcakes

2013-03-07T16:54:00.001-08:00

These were truly the best cupcakes from a mix! They may be gluten free and organic but you could fool anyone into thinking otherwise. I used Wholesome Chow's organic and gluten free chocolate cake mix and their vanilla icing mix. I purchased the mixes at a local T.J. Maxx. I was able to get 10 large cupcakes from the mix. I kept them in the refrigerator. To add my own element, I added organic chocolate pudding. I scooped some mix into the cupcake liner, then some pudding and topped it off with more mix. It really made the cupcakes extra moist.

Carolyn Braden's Easy Dairy Free Smoothie: Pinterest Pin

2012-12-28T15:21:00.001-08:00

All the ingredients I used were organic and GMO free and still it is very yummy!

Gluten and GMO Free Creamed Corn and Corn Pudding

2012-12-24T07:55:00.001-08:00

http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/53304/recipecream-corn-like-no-other

Here's a creamed corn recipe I am trying today. I'm making corn pudding and wanted to truly make it all from scratch. This creamed corn will be replacing my normal canned cream corn. I'm also making it completely gluten free. I'm going to use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix and all organic ingredients. Eating GMO and Gluten Free is not as hard as many think.

Carolyn Braden's Gluten Free Banana Brown Sugar Oatmeal

2012-11-23T20:06:00.001-08:00

This oatmeal is the most filling and delicious anytime meal. I used Bob's Red Mill Old Fashioned Rolled Oats. After following the package instructions for oatmeal, I added some milk, a couple of tablespoons of organic brown sugar and slices of banana. My husband and I loved it.

Carolyn Braden's Gluten Free Holidays: Upside Down Pumpkin Pie

2012-11-23T19:58:00.001-08:00

I created something new this Thanksgiving: An Upside Down Pumpkin Pie. My quest do do an organic (GMO free!) gluten free holiday turned out very well. For this dish I used an organic pumpkin pie canned mix. I created the pie following the label instructions. I baked it without a crust. When it cooled, I refrigerated it overnight. In the morning I mixed 4 oz. of cream cheese with a small amount of date sugar and powdered sugar. Just enough to sweeten it a bit. I spread that layer over the crustless pie. I then created whip cream by beating some heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar. I spread that over the cream cheese layer. Lastly, I crumbled some gluten free graham crackers and sprinkled them over the whip cream. I used all organic ingredients. This pie was easy to make and a big hit at the dinner table!

Carolyn Braden's GMO Free and Vegan Shepherd's Pie

2012-11-20T19:17:00.001-08:00

Here's a super yummy recipe that is GMO free if you use the recommended organic and vegan ingredients. It was very yummy and husband approved too!

Carolyn Braden: GMO and Gluten Free Yummies!

2012-11-10T19:16:00.001-08:00

In our new food revelations: GMO means Genetically Modified Organisms. Okay, so tell me in what world you want to eat something with that title linked to it?
I am finding great food products that are gluten free and GMO free. Try Pamela's products. The brownies I made recently were fabulous!

Carolyn Braden's Gluten Free Pizza Attempt: Success

2012-10-17T19:55:00.001-07:00

I am trying to add more gluten free food into my life. I am trying to rid myself of the bloated "wheat belly" we all get after eating too many carbs loaded with gluten. I found this pizza crust mix and invented a pizza that my husband and I loved. The mix is by Hodgsdon Mill. I made the crust according to the package directions. After baking the crust for the first 10 minutes, I pulled it out of the oven and let the creativity fly.
I brushed the crust with olive oil. I added organic roasted rosemary seasoned red potatoes (I made these prior to starting the crust), organic fresh spinach, organic cheeses (mozzarella and parmesan), sun dried tomato pesto and some fresh garlic. I baked it for about 15 more minutes. It is my new go-to pizza dinner. It is so worth the effort!

http://www.amazon.com/Hodgson-Mill-Gluten-Pizza-16-Ounce/dp/B004IN43TO

Carolyn Braden's Jazzed Up CPK Pizza

2012-10-13T11:53:00.001-07:00

I recently experimented with adding my own flavor to a frozen pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. I chopped up some golden potatoes and roasted them with olive oil and rosemary. I topped off a CPK White pizza with the cooked potatoes and some parmesan cheese. I baked it for around 15 minutes my new favorite pizza was born. Try adding your own flavor to a frozen pizza!

Carolyn Braden's Jungle Pals Cookies

2012-08-10T22:40:00.001-07:00

I am truly enjoying cookie making! Thanks again to www.sweetopia.net for all the helpful tips!

Carolyn Braden Is Making Life Easier, Crock Pot Style

2012-08-06T14:36:00.001-07:00

To have homemade meals waiting on me when I walk in the door....a dream, right? Oh, but that is possible......I must use my crock pot!
Teaching elementary students can wear me out! Sometimes it seems so much easier to order some to go food and pick it up on my way home so I don't have to cook. That gets expensive.
So, this year I've decided I'm going to crock pot it as much as possible. I found this great website that will help me achieve my goal. Check it out, the recipes look yummy!

http://crockingirls.com/recipes/

Also, here is a recipe from a someone at my school for Crock Pot Lava Cake.
A book that is great for easy weeknight meals is Southern Living's Easy Weeknight Favorites.