Birthday Celebration Cleaned Up

Yesterday was my dear husband Barry's birthday.  I made a menu for his birthday dinner and then changed it twice.  I felt I was facing three major hurdles with his celebration meal. 

• First, I wanted the meal to be healthy. 
• Next, I wanted it to be enjoyable for everyone.  (That seems to be something that I struggle with these days.  I am always afraid that guests will not enjoy eating the food that I have switched to.) 
• Finally, I needed to come up with a dessert worthy of his birthday celebration.

The final menu looked like this:

Mojo Grilled Chicken Breasts
Organic Chicken Italian Sausage
Pan Fried Sweet Potatoes
Oven Roasted Broccoli
Tossed Salad
   ........and, drum roll please...........

Gluten Free Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream (SO Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk Ice Cream)


I know you are dying for the recipe, so here it is...

Ingredients:
4 large Apples, I used Fuji Apples
1 Tb. Lemon Juice
1 Tb. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Allspice
1/8 tsp. Nutmeg
1/8 tsp. Ginger
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 1/2 Tb. Arrowroot
2 Tb. Coconut Sugar (you might need more if you use an apple that is tart)

Topping:
1 c. Gluten Free Oats
1/4 c. Earth Balance Soy Free Butter, melted
1 Tb. Brown Rice Flour
1 tsp. Honey

Directions:
Peel, core and slice apples.  Toss with lemon juice, then rinse with water.  In a bowl toss apples with spices, vanilla, arrowroot, and coconut sugar.  Transfer into an 8 x 8 baking dish.  In a small bowl mix the topping ingredients.  Sprinkle topping over apples.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

I tried the SO Delicious Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream and it was fabulous.  Honestly, it tasted like regular ice cream.  I highly recommend it!

My Barry loves apple pie and that is normally his request for dessert on his birthday.  He prefers it to cake anytime.  He is not a huge sweets eater and will almost always pass on dessert.  So, when he woke up this morning and again complimented me on the Apple Crisp, I knew it was a keeper.