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Kari & Courtney

Salted Caramel Apple Dip

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How do I say this without sounding a little bit like a bad mom? Ok, I will just come right out and say it…I’m happy that the kids are back in school, actually thrilled. It was time, summer was long enough and if I had to hear “I’m bored” one more time I was thinking of temporarily moving out. Those moms that look at me with a tear in their eye and tell me how hard it was to send their kids off to school and how much they miss them during the day. You know those moms? I often wonder if they really and truly feel that way or if they are just saying that because they think that’s what they are supposed to say. I think they are secretly doing cartwheels inside, but more power to them if that’s really how they feel. I on the other hand am a part of the thrilled that the kids are back in school club.

Okay, let’s regroup…sorry, I guess I’m just really excited about the back to school thing.  Since the kids aren’t as excited as I am about being back in school, I am making them this little slice of heaven to have when they get home today. Courtney and I started making this last year and it was such a hit with our kids we added it to our GTK favorite list. Salted caramel apple dip, yes it’s as good as it sounds. The caramel is simple to make and is actually healthy. Yes, healthy caramel exists when it’s made with dates and coconut oil. Your kids will love it and it just may end up being one of your favorite snacks too.

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Salted Caramel Apple Dip
 
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Serves: Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
  • 10 medjooli dates, pitted
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • pinch of malden salt (or other course salt like sea salt)
  • 1 apple (honey crisp if available) sliced into wedges
Instructions
  1. In a food processor combine dates and coconut oil until mixed to a paste, scraping down sides. Romove from food processor and place in serving bowl, sprinkle with maldon salt. Serve with sliced apples, yum!!

Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Mushrooms, Roasted Red Peppers & Goat Cheese

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Last night was one of those nights, like many nights in our house, that I had absolutely nothing planned for dinner. I had 4 hungry mouths looking at me asking what I was making and 3 of those mouths had been asking me what they were having for dinner since the second I picked them up from school. I guess that means that they think about food as much as I do! Sometimes I tell them that I have no idea what I’m making for dinner but secretly I have a few options up my sleeve; this was not one of those nights. I had to scramble and scrounge for a few ingredients I could throw together to make a meal.  Often times it’s those nights that I end up making something very easy and simple that becomes a family favorite.  This was one of those nights, all four of those hungry mouths absolutely loved this dinner…including mine, so that makes five!

The last of my produce was a large stalk of broccoli rabe and a package of crimini mushrooms, and I happened to have a bit of goat cheese left.  I found a jar of roasted red peppers, gluten free brown rice pasta and some chicken broth in the pantry.  These few ingredients mixed with a couple of other kitchen staples turned into an awesome dinner that I’m pretty sure you will be happy that we are sharing with you.  Now don’t be like me with no dinner plans, go grab these ingredients and serve this awesome pasta dish up tonight!

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Pasta with Broccoli Rabe, Mushrooms, Roasted Peppers & Goat Cheese
 
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Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 10 oz GF brown rice pasta - or pasta of choice
  • 1 bunch broccoli rabe, bulky stems removed
  • 8 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
  • ¾ C roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped
  • 1 tsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp good quality olive oil
  • 1 shallot, minced
  • ½ C dry white wine
  • 1 C chicken broth
  • 2 oz goat cheese, crumbled into chunks
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes - optional
  • S & P to taste
Instructions
  1. Fill a large stock pot with water, generously salt and bring to a boil. Add broccoli rabe and remove with a mesh strainer after 30 seconds. Place broccoli into ice cold water (blanche), and then drain. Add pasta to the same pot of boiling water and cook according to package instructions.
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat melt butter and olive oil. Add shallots and sautee for 1 minute. Add sliced mushrooms and continue to cook for about 5 minutes. Turn up the heat to medium-high and add white wine. Let the wine cook off for about 1 minute. Add roasted peppers and chicken broth and simmer for about 3 minutes. Add broccoli rabe and season to taste with S & P, add red pepper flakes for spice (optional). In a large serving bowl add pasta, pour in the vegetables and sauce from the skillet and fold together. Top with goat cheese and additional red pepper flakes if you like it extra spicy!
Good Thyme Tip - Chicken is a great addition to this dish if you want to add protien.

Meusli

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By now you know our obsession with overnight oats. They are an answered prayer to those of us that want breakfast ready and waiting in the morning but don’t want to actually have to make it! Somehow having breakfast at your finger tips almost calling your name in the morning makes your day that much brighter. Meet overnight oats older sister, her name is Meusli. Meusli is a little more complex and sophisticated but don’t let her fool you, she’s easy just like her sister!!

I first had Meusli on one of the most memorable girls trips ever. I went to this super cool wellness resort outside of Tucson, AZ called Miraval. The resort experience is supposed to teach you how to gain greater self-awareness and experience personal growth. I did sucessfully climb way too high up a pole and shimmy across a tight rope, although I almost peed my pants during the process. I don’t know if I really accomplished any of the personal growth stuff. However, I had a blast with my friends and we ate a lot of awesome food! Isn’t that really the point of a girl’s trip anyways?

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The Meusli, along with the merengue cookies which is a must share as well, stuck with me and I have been making it ever since! It’s basically the same base as overnight oats (rolled oats combined with nut milk or dairy milk soaked overnight) but being the sophisticated older sister, Meusli has the added zip of orange juice and chopped apples. The citrus gives it an unexpected zing, in a good way! Just like Meusli’s little sister, Overnight Oats, you can’t help but fall in love with both of them…they really are great girls!

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Stephanie Heymann Photography

Meusli
 
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Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1¼ C rolled oats
  • ⅔ C unsweetened cashew milk - or milk of choice
  • ⅔ C 0% greek yogurt
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • ⅔ C orange juice
  • 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
  • 1 apple peeled and chopped into ¼ inch pieces
  • ¼ C unsweetened coconut flakes
  • ½ C raisins
Good Thyme Tip ? - Also great to add sliced almonds, chia seeds, oranges...be creative!
Instructions
  1. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl. Cover and chill in refrigerator overnight or for 6 hours before serving.

Tricolored BBQ Roasted Potatoes

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You know that bestie that you can always count on to be there for you?  We all have one, and we love them because they are reliable and loyal.  Well, these BBQ Roasted Potatoes are kinda like the bestie of side dishes.  You can always count on them to be amazing, they will never disappoint, and they will win the heart of everyone that meets them.  You can go a while without seeing them and when they appear it’s like they never left your side.

These potatoes go well with most anything such as steak, salmon, chicken etc.  They are even amazing as leftovers the next day.  So go ahead, invite your bestie over for dinner and serve them up the bestie of side dishes.  We guarantee they will love them too!

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Tricolored BBQ Roasted Potatoes
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 C tricolored baby potatoes, scrubbed
  • 1 Tbsp good quality olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp shaved parmigiano reggiano
  • S&P to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat BBQ
  2. Using a kitchen scrub brush, scrub potatoes under cold water to clean.
  3. In a large saucepan boil 4 cups of water. Once boiling add potatoes and cook until you are able to easily insert a knife into a potato - about 10 minutes.
  4. Drain potatoes. In a bbq safe pan add potatoes, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with S&P. Grill with lid closed for approximately 5 minutes. Top with shaved parmigiano reggiano and serve.
Note - If you do not have a grill you can roast the potatoes in the oven at 450 degrees instead of grilling.

Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate, Raisins and Coconut

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I think since we added raisins, coconut oil and Greek yogurt to these cookies then they should be deemed as healthy, right? I know it’s a little bit of a stretch but hey, sometimes a girl just needs have a cookie, or 4….I mean I’ve never done that, I’ve just heard of people that have done that.

In the grand scheme of cookies these are A LOT healthier than most and they are D to the Lish. You can see that I had a little cookie monster on this particular baking day, which made it even more fun. It’s always better to taste test cookies with a friend so if someone asks where all of the cookies went you have someone else to blame!

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These cookies are every bit as good as they look. Gooey chocolate chunks with flaked coconut and sweet raisins. So good you might just have 4!

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oatmealcookies

Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate, Raisins and Coconut
 
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Serves: 24
Ingredients
  • 1¼ C rolled oats
  • 2½ C unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¾ C melted coconut oil
  • ¾ C dark brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp Fage 0% greek yogurt
  • ½ C shredded coconut (either sweetened or unsweetened)
  • ½ C semi-sweet chocolate chunks
  • ½ C raisins
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl mix dry ingredients together (except brown sugar) and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat coconut oil and brown sugar. Add in egg, vanilla and Fage and continue to beat until smooth. Slowly add in dry ingredients until well incorporated. Add in coconut, chocolate chips and raisins until mixed together.
  3. Using a cookie scooper, drop cookie dough onto a un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 9-11 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Mesh Grill Basket with Removable Handle

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A couple of years ago our family was at a friend’s house for a BBQ and it was there that I met the grill gadget love of my life. We are always grilling at our house and have been through our fair share of grill baskets and trays. I was immediately smitten when I was introduced to the mesh grill basket with detachable handle. We have had a love affair ever since. I somewhat feel like a cheating girlfriend sharing this pretty little mesh basket with you but I will take my chances.

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The reason why I love it so much is because it makes grilling corn off the cob possible, since it’s made of mesh the corn won’t drop into your grill. We have grilled just about every type of vegetable in this basket and she never disappoints. Just toss veggies with a bit of olive oil and season with S & P, put her on the grill and let her do her magic. I guarantee you will fall in love with her too!

cornmeshbasket

Purchase one of your own below (affiliate):

Microplane

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I think I can vouch for Courtney on this one; we would both be LOST in the kitchen without our microplane. It’s in our top 5 must have kitchen gadgets and something we both use on a daily basis. A microplane is what you want to use to zest any type of citrus or for a fine grate on cheese; we even use ours when grating fresh ginger or nutmeg. Zesting citrus adds a new dimension to a recipe boosting the flavor tremendously. If you have yet to invest in a microplane, it’s time. Happy zesting!!
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Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs

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How frustrating is it when you boil up a nice batch of hard boiled eggs only to find that when it comes time to peel the egg, half of it gets stuck to the shell? That is seriously the worst!

Never fear, do we ever have the solution for you. Try steaming your eggs instead of boiling for a clean peel every time. This is seriously borderline life changing if you are as egg addicted as we are. We both wasted many years boiling our eggs, until our friend let us in on her little secret and it’s been steam city ever since. Peace out shell stuck eggs, our relationship is officially over!

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Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs
 
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Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 12 organic eggs - or desired amount
Instructions
  1. In a multi pot or steamer add eggs to the steamer basket, fill pot with approximately 1 inch of water, cover with lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, continue to boil for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and remove eggs in steamer basket from pot. Let cool or if you are in a big hurry to eat the eggs, blanch the eggs in ice cold water.

Homemade BBQ Sauce – GTK Style

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Move over store bought BBQ sauce, make room for Homemade BBQ sauce – GTK Style. We just moved in and we’re pretty darn good! This recipe is quick and easy and you can adjust the ingredients based on your personal taste. For example, instead of using regular pepper sauce try adding smokey chipotle pepper sauce. Gives it a slightly smokey taste.  Here’s another bonus. You will look pretty awesome and impress your friends and co-workers when you roll up to your next potluck and you tell everyone that you threw together your own Homemade BBQ sauce in like 5 minutes. Just sayin’!

This recipe was put together through some trial and error until we finally found the right combination of sweet, smokey and tangy. It’s versatile and goes great with other dishes. We recommend you use it with our recipes for  BBQ Chicken Pizza with Smoked Mozzarella or BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders or BBQ Pulled Chicken Sandwich. So give it a try, and just remember…when everyone suddenly wants to talk to you at the next potluck, you’ll know why!

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GTK Homemade BBQ Sauce
 
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Serves: Approx ½. Cup
Ingredients
  • ½ C ketchup (Trader Joe's Organic or other organic ketchup)
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 1 Tbsp cider vinegar
  • 3-4 dashes hot pepper sauce (we use smokey chipotle pepper sauce) - adjust based on the amount of heat you prefer
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ¼ tsp dry mustard powder - we prefer Coleman's
  • 1 tsp liquid smoke
  • 1 Tbsp molasses
  • ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
  1. In a bowl whisk all ingredients together. Store in refrigerator in airtight container.

Gluten Free Pesto Pasta with Sautéed Baby Hierloom Tomatoes, Fresh Spinach and Feta

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We are obsessed with this dish. How can something with so few ingredients be bursting with so much flavor? Well, the answer is easy…Pesto!! We have a little bit of a love affair with pesto. It can honestly be life changing…okay, that could be a stretch but seriously, that’s how strongly we feel about it. Making up a batch of pesto takes only a few minutes and then you can easily transform anything into the most flavorful dish ever. So for this amazing creation, we just boiled up some gluten free pasta that we had in the pantry, sautéed some gorgeous baby heirloom tomatoes in a little olive oil and then tossed it all together with some fresh spinach and feta cheese and voila! There you have it folks, an easy peasy healthy pasta dinner. The great thing about this dish is that the leftovers are amazing too.  Hopefully you have some left so you can enjoy this one again tomorrow!

pestopasta

Pesto Pasta with Sautéed Baby Hierloom Tomatoes, Fresh Spinach and Feta
 
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Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • ½ lb GF brown rice pasta (TJ's - or pasta of choice)
  • 1 small container mini organic hierloom tomatoes, halved
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 3 C loosely packed fresh spinach, stems removed and chopped
  • ⅓ C feta cheese, crumbled
  • approx ⅓ C pesto - (see homemade recipe below- can also use store-bought)
  • approx ½ C reserved pasta water
  • S & P to taste
For the Pesto:
  • 2 C packed fresh basil leaves
  • ¼ C toasted pine nuts
  • 1 cloved garlic, chopped
  • ½ C grated parmesan cheese
  • ½ C good quality olive oil
  • S & P to taste
Instructions
For the Pesto:
  1. In a food processor combine basil, cheese, garlic, pine nuts and ¼ C olive oil. Slowly drizzle in the remaining ¼ C olive oil while the food processor is running. Season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Store remaining pesto in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
For the Pasta:
  1. Boil large pot of generously salted water. Add pasta, stirring occasionally. While pasta is boiling, heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add tomatoes and cook for approx 5 minutes until they begin to break down. Remove from heat and set aside. When pasta is done remove approx ½ C of water before draining. Drain pasta and place back into original pot. Add spinach and stir to incorporate, add pesto and water, pouring water slowly as to not add too much. Add tomatoes and feta and fold into pasta. Season with S & P and transfer to a serving bowl. May need to adjust pesto measurements depending on how strong of a pesto flavor you prefer.