Feast!!!

It's been a crazy summer with lots of traveling.  But we made it through it all and I'm ready to share some delicious recipes with you again.  Last night we had a family from our church over.  Their little girl was just diagnosed with Celiac Disease.  I wanted to make sure she knew what "gluten free" could taste like.  It took me years to find what was yummy!  Here I'm sharing what I made last night.

Simply Seasoned Chicken (from Simple & Delicious magazine)

serves 2-4

Ingredients:

2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 ounces each)
2 Tbsp. gluten free Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. Honey
1/3 cup Panko gluten free bread crumbs
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp gluten free seasoned salt
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 Tbsp. butter

Instructions:

1. Flatten chicken to 1/4 inch thickness.  In a shallow bowl, combine mustard and honey.  In another shallow bowl combine the bread crumbs and seasonings.  Dip chicken in mustard mixture, then coat with crumb mixture.

2. In a large skillet (I used an 8" cast iron skillet YUM! which wasn't quite big enough) over medium heat cook chicken in oil and butter for 5-6 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees F.

***My chicken got a nice dark crust.  I ended up breaking it up into smaller pieces so that it would cook faster.  Big HIT!

Farmers Market Squash Saute (also from Simple & Delicious magazine)

serves 2-4

Ingredients:

1 medium yellow summer squash, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 1/2 tsp. olive oil
1/4 cup grape tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp. minced fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried basil
dash salt
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

In a large skillet, saute squash and zucchini in oil until crisp-tender. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Remove from the heat. Stir in mozzarella, basil and salt. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Easy Dinner Rolls (12 rolls)

-One of my favorite recipes.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
3 Tbsp. milk, warm
1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1/4 cup oil
1 tsp. cider vinegar
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. xanthan gum
2 tsp. yeast

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin cups.
2. Mix wet ingredients.
3. Place dry ingredients in stand mixer. Beat on low speed and add wet ingredients.
4. Place dough in muffin cups and immediately bake for 25-30 minutes.  (If you are using a larger cupcake size then it may make only 6-8 and take 35-45 minutes.) Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Mashed Potatoes

I don't ever follow a recipe for these.  But I mostly peel, chop, boil my potatoes until they are soft and I can pierce them with a fork.  Then I drain and mash them.  While mashing I add in butter, a little bit of milk, and sour cream or cream cheese, garlic powder, salt and pepper.   Yum!

Carrot-Pineapple Cake

This is a Nuzman family recipe.  I have converted it to be gluten free because it's too yummy to go without!

***This recipe makes a large 10x17 cake or two round cake pans full.  I used 9x13

Ingredients:

2 cups brown rice flour

3/4 cup potato starch

1/4 cup tapioca starch/flour

2 cups sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

4 eggs

2 cups finely shredded carrot

1 cup crushed pineapple with syrup (total amount of pineapple and syrup should be 1 cup)

2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a 10x17 cake pan.  (I don't have a pan that big so I used 9x13 which is barely big enough and it took another 5-8 minutes baking time.)

2.  First add flours, starches, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, xanthan gum, and salt to a stand mixer.  (The recipe says to sift...which I'm sure would be beneficial...but I don't sift)

3. Add the rest of the ingredients.  Mix until all ingredients are moistened.  Scrape down sides.  

4. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed.  

5.  Bake 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.  Cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

6-8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 tsp. vanilla

dash salt

3-5 cups confectioners sugar

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cream together cream cheese and butter.

2. Beat in vanilla and salt.

3. Gradually add in confectioners' sugar.  (The original recipe calls for 5...I think 3 is enough.  I think I went for 4 because there were kids coming over and I wanted them to like the frosting.)  

4. Stir in chopped pecans (which I left out, unfortunately)

*EVERYTHING WAS SO YUMMY...but especially this CAKE!  MMmmmmm

Fruit Pizza....so so so so yummy

This has always been one of my all time favorite desserts.  I always look forward to summertime when I can make it.  And, you can snack while you eat because there is always leftover fruit!

The original recipe for this fruit  pizza comes from an old ward cookbook I have.  From Denise Schwab.  So thank you Denise because I was able to adapt it to make it gluten free.

Here is the original recipe:

Sugar Cookie Crust:
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar

Orange Sauce:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. orange peel, finely shredded
1/4 tsp. lemon peel finely shredded
1 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tsp. cornstarch

Filling:
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla
7 cups fresh fruit pieces (peaches, nectarines, kiwi, bananas, mandarin oranges, grapes, apples, and/or berries)


****Changes that I made:
-instead of 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour I used:  1 cup brown rice flour, 1/2 cup sorghum flour, 3/4 cup cornstarch, 1/4 cup potato starch, 1 tablespoon potato flour, and 2 tsp. xanthan gum

-in the orange sauce I used more like 1 tablespoon of orange peel and 1 tablespoon of lemon peel.  Because I felt like it. :)  It was still yummy.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Lightly grease 2 (12 inch) pizza pans.  Or one 12" pizza pan and one cookie sheet.  Just make sure you make it about 1/2" or less thick.
2. To prepare crust, cream butter, the first 1 cup powdered sugar and 1/3 cup granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extract, beating well.  Combine flours, starches, xanthan gum, baking soda, and cream of tartar.  Add to butter mixture, beating thoroughly.
3. Divide dough in half.  Pat dough into prepared pans with lightly floured hands (this worked well).  Bake for 12-15 minutes or until crusts are golden.  Let cool (really important).
4. To prepare orange sauce, combine the sugar, orange and lemon peel, orange and lemon juices, and the cornstarch in a saucepan.  Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is thick.  Cook and stir for two minutes more.  Cover and cool the sauce without stirring.
5. Meanwhile, to prepare filling, beat cream cheese, the remaining powdered sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy.
6. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crusts.  Top with fruit.  Glaze the fruit with the cooked sauce.  Chill the pizzas until serving time.  I ended up doing one pizza on my pizza stone and another bar type  on a cookie sheet.  It yielded 24 servings.  12 of those in pizza (triangular) slices and 12 as bars.

As you can see I had fun arranging my fruit.  But I was RUNNING out the door to deliver half of them to a friend that babysat my kids for FREE!  And preparing the other half to go to one of my hubby's work parties.  So all you get is a crappy cell phone picture.  But, everyone loved it.  LOVED IT!

So enjoy.

Bagels...What you've been missing (or paying out the nose for)

I've been trying several bagel recipes lately.  And the best one I've found is here.  I've been super impressed with No Gluten No Problem.  Everything I've tried so far is delicious.

I found the bagel instructions incredibly easy to follow.  The only changes I made were to make my bagels half the size of what they say to do.  I find that if I have huge bagels then I will eat huge bagels. :)  And I tried some different additions to mine such as: cheese (I rolled it in with the balls) which was SO YUMMY, cinnamon craisin...also SO YUMMY, chocolate chip--which I liked and was a hit with the kids (I was thinking of John's Bagel Deli---awesome place, sadly full of gluten), and plain.  I just bought some dried blueberries so that the next batch I make can be blueberry bagels.  All of these additions I rolled in with the balls.

I hope that you are able to enjoy some fresh delicious bagels.  I've used this recipe several times now, and it has worked great!

Simple is Better

Lately, I've been feeling a bit inadequate.  Especially in the blogging world.  I've never been much of a blogger.  I'm not a photographer.  I just wanted to do this because I had people asking me for recipes all of the time, and it was an easy way to share them.  Lately, in my search for new and wonderful gluten free things I have been finding impressive blogs! Blogs that have beautiful pictures and delicious looking food.  Food that they have perfected after trying again and again; after adjusting this or that.  Expensive ingredients that would make me feel so decadent!

So I decided to share with you, again, my philosophy.  Simple is better.  I eat gluten free because if I don't I end up very sick and I cannot function.  I am on a limited grocery budget, and always have been.  I look for meals that are easy and cheap to prepare.  But I hope they are also fun to prepare.  But what I do put on this blog, I have tried myself, and I'm pretty picky.  And, what I really want is for someone that might not know where to start, to be able to have a place to start.

That said, I really do wish that I had the money and time to prepare those really amazing dishes that I see on other blogs and in some recipe books.  The ones that call for... watermelon radishes and vanilla pods.  :)  And maybe someday I can try it out. But for now, I'm happy where I am.

Since I feel like such a newbie myself still, I hope that in my searches through these really awesome blogs, I'll be able to grow too!

On that note, Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies.
***originally from The Wheat Free Cook by Jacqueline Mallorca (One of my very first GF cookbooks. It has several treasured recipes in it)

Makes about 40

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup brown rice flour
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Using a stand mixer, paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth.  Beat in the peanut butter, then the egg.  Add the brown sugar, rice flour, salt, and baking powder, and stir to blend.

3. Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped nuts.  The dough will be soft and sticky.  (I stuck  half of mine into the freezer for later.) Drop by rounded tablespoon on the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. (I used a cookie dough scoop) Bake until golden and just set, 12 to 15 minutes (mine took 12).  Let stand on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

A New Place and New Challenges

I am so sorry that I have not written in so long.  In the last 7 months we've moved twice, had a new baby, and Aaron started his first real job. :)  It has been very exciting.

And now I am excited to start blogging again.  That doesn't mean I've stopped baking.  I have lots of fun new recipes to show you all.  And today I'm trying a new bagel recipe so we'll see if it's good enough to make it up here.

The real thing that applies here is that my little girl, at almost 3 years old has been getting so sick!  It's been months of stomach problems, skin problems, and tummy aches.  Sound familiar?  We've been in between pediatricians so I didn't get her tested for Celiac Disease.  But I cut the gluten out of her diet (which wasn't a large amount) and she has started to feel better.  She has an appetite! Which she never before had.  But now that I am cooking for her...she has different demands.  I now want to learn how to make gluten free snacks of all sorts.  Including gluten free goldfish and pretzels.  And I need to make sure I travel with gluten free snacks for her.  Otherwise we end up at someone's house and there is nothing she can eat!  And with her being so young, I need to tell anyone she is around that she can't have gluten.  And on Sunday she was so fast and grabbed some sacrament bread with gluten and was sick for the rest of Sunday and Monday.  My poor little girl.  I am going to learn everything I can about gluten free cooking and baking and try to be the best I can.

So...it's nice to be back.  Wish me luck!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I just have to say that this recipe is a WINNER!!!!!  I love these muffins.  They never last more than a few days because everyone eats them up so quickly.  They are perfect for anytime of year, but especially the fall. Because I absolutely love stuffing myself with pumpkin in the fall.  By Christmas my husband is begging me not to put any more pumpkin dishes on the table (I just can't help it).  But, he can't resist these.  I have to hide them from him, just so that I can have some too.

Recently we moved down to Alabama to be with my family.  My dad (who is skeptical of anything gluten free) said "wow, these are good, you can eat these?"  See...this recipe is a winner.

Ingredients:

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

16 ounces pumpkin

1 1/2 cups oil (or 3/4 cup oil and 3/4 cup applesauce)

2 1/4 cups rice flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 tsp. xanthan gum

2 tsps. baking soda

2 tsps. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon (I always add more)

1 1/2 to 2 cups chocolate chips

***maybe try adding nuts, chocolate covered raisins, Craisins, etc.

Instructions: 

(super simple)

1. Mix wet ingredients.

2. Mix dry ingredients. Stir into wet ingredients until incorporated.

3. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Bake in greased muffin cups at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes.

Can you tell it's a pumpkin???

5. Eat them up, but don't give yourself a tummy ache. 

Peach Orange Spice Cake

Well it's official!  We're moving away from Maryland and down to Alabama.  At least that's the plan right now.  I'm sure our lives are full of upcoming twists and turns.  It would be nice to say that my husband has found an awesome job, but for now we're still searching.  The real challenge that's on my mind right now is that when we move to Alabama I'll be 7 months pregnant and have no insurance or doctor/midwife to deliver the baby that is coming!  So that's a little stressful.  So to relieve stress...I bake!

This is a new recipe that I just found, it comes from Living Without (a super awesome magazine that has recipes and articles on living with allergies and they cater mainly to people who cannot have gluten!).  I made this for a few friends of ours when they came over to play music and games with us.  They LOVED it!  So of course I needed to share it with you!  And, it looks so pretty. :)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup gluten free flour blend of your choice (I used 3/4 of a cup of this blend: 1/2 cup rice flour, 1/4 cup tapioca flour, 1/4 cup cornstarch)

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. xanthan or guar gum

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup + 3 Tablespoons sugar, divided

8 Tablespoons butter, room temp

1 1/2 tsp. orange zest

2 large eggs

1 Tablespoon orange juice

4 ripe peaches, sliced (about 8 slices each...my peaches were HUGE so I used less)

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

whipped cream, for topping

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly oil a 9" springform pan. 

2. Combine flour blend, sorghum flour, baking powder, xanthan/guar gum, and salt in a bowl.  Set aside.

3. Beat 3/4 cup sugar and butter until fluffy.  Add dry ingredients and orange zest and beat until crumbly.  Add eggs one at a time.  Add orange juice and beat to incorporate.  

4.  Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.  Arrange peach slices on top, form concentric circles that cover the batter.  Press lightly.

5. Combine 3 tablespoons sugar with cinnamon.  Sprinkle over top.

6.  Bake 55-60 minutes until golden and tester comes out clean.

7. Serve with whipped cream. 

Apple Pie, Babies, and Job Hunting

I apologize for my hiatus from writing.  I have some good reasons though!  We're expecting baby number two in November right around Thanksgiving.  Another girl, and we are so excited.  So you can probably guess that the last time I wrote was the last time for quite a while that I felt like creating anything in the kitchen!  But now, I'm back to baking and cooking all the time.

My husband has been job hunting all summer long.  I don't think I've ever been so anxious about something (even having a baby) as I have been about waiting to hear back from job interviews.  It should be any day now that we hear either something AWESOME or totally lame.  I feel like I haven't been able to plan anything more than a few days in advance.  Are we moving?  Are we staying?  Do we have enough money for this month?  Should we move in with our parents for a little while?  How do you stay motivated?!  And on top of it, I'm pregnant and I want to paint the girls room, buy a big girl bed, know where I'll deliver the baby, and just stay sane in the process.  So baking has been quite a release for me these last few weeks.  And that said...I have several blog posts for you!

Apple Pie

I love this Apple Pie recipe.  When I first went gluten free there were lots of things that I missed.  And one thing in particular was my mom's apple pie.  I've tried about a dozen different pie crust recipes and this one works the best!  It tastes delicious, is flaky, is easy to use (which I haven't been able to say about ANY OTHER GLUTEN FREE PIE CRUST!), and is everyone's favorite.  This pie crust complements apple pie very well and I haven't tried it with any other pie.  The other amazing thing about this pie crust is that I've made this in 3 different locations.  Low altitude, average humidity; high altitude, dry as a bone; and low altitude, very very humid.  And in every location, it has performed beautifully!  The recipe for the crust comes from the book "The Wheat-Free Cook" by Jacqueline Mallorca.  

The filling for this pie is my mom's original recipe (with a tweak).  

Ingredients: 

Crust:

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 cup sweet white rice flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. xanthan/guar gum

1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cut in small cubes

1 large egg

Filling:

6 cups (2 lbs.) thinly sliced, peeled, Granny Smith apples

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup sugar

dash of ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tsp. cinnamon

2 tablespoon butter

1 egg yolk

cinnamon-sugar to sprinkle on top

Instructions:

Step 1: Process the cornmeal in a food processor for 2 minutes until more finely ground.  Add the rice flour, cornstarch, sugar, xanthan or guar gum, and salt, and process to combine.

Step 2: Add the butter, and pulse until it forms pea-sized lumps.  Add the egg, and process briefly to mix.  Add 1 tablespoon ice water, and process briefly to make a ball of dough that barely clings together, adding another teaspoon of water if necessary to make a damp dough. 

Step 3: Turn the dough out, crumbs and all, onto a sheet of plastic wrap, and form into a log with your cupped hands.  Cut in half.  The dough is now ready to use or can be enclosed in plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.  

Step 4: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Have ready a 9" pie pan.  Combine the apples, lemon juice, sugar, nutmeg, cornstarch, and cinnamon in a bowl.  Toss to mix.  Set aside.

Step 5: Working with half the dough at a time, roll out between sheets of plastic wrap (I usually use a couple sheets on the bottom overlapping, and a couple sheets on top...but if you buy the HUGE rolls of plastic wrap you may be able to just use one on bottom and one on top.)  Lift the top sheet and tuck in the rough edges (this really helps!), into 11 inch circles.  Set one aside for the top crust.  Use the other circle to line the pie pan. Peel off the top sheet of plastic wrap and flop the dough into place, then carefully peel off the remaining sheet.  

Step 6:  Fill the pastry lined pie plate with the apple mixture; dot with butter.  Cover with the top crust and flute the rim (which actually works with this pie crust, if it's not working seal it with the tines of a fork).  

Step 7: Combine the egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of water, and brush over the top, but not the rim.  Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.  Cut small slits or prick with tines of fork to let steam escape.  Place the pie pan on a baking sheet to catch any drips.  

Step 8: Bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F and continue baking until the filling is tender and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes.  I usually have to cover my crust for the last 10-15 minutes with aluminum foil so that it doesn't get too brown.  

Step 9: Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.  :)

Boston Cream Pie

Drumroll please...I know this is the one that you have been waiting for, and it is finally here! Boston Cream Pie. Oh so scrumptious and delicious, and beautiful as well. I went above and beyond with this recipe and used agave nectar as well. But you don't have to, if you don't want to. So I will write the original recipe down and then note the changes for using agave nectar.

Ingredients:

"Butter Cake"

1/2 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/2 potato starch

1/2 cup tapioca starch

2 tablespoons chickpea flour

2 tsp. gluten free egg replacer (I used flax seed meal or you can use 2tsp. mashed banana)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. xanthan/guar gum

1/4 tsp. salt

2 sticks butter, softened

1 cup sugar (3/4 cup agave nectar)

4 eggs, room temp--very important that it's room temp (or 3 eggs if you use agave nectar)

1 tsp. vanilla

4 tsp. milk of choice

Vanilla Pudding:

2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/3 cup light cream or milk of choice, divided (I used whole milk)

1 egg yolk, beaten

1/2 cup sugar (or 3/8 cup agave)

pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup heavy cream or coconut milk (not lite) (I used coconut milk, yummy)

8 ounces dark/bittersweet chocolate chopped

What to do:

"Butter" Cake

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-9" round cake pans. Dust w/ flour (I used 2 tablespoons of my first 5 ingredients to dust.) Set aside.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, cream butter until it's white. Add sugar (or agave) and continue creaming until fluffy (about 5 minutes.) Add eggs to butter, one at a time, beating until smooth.

Step 3: Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture. (If the eggs are cold or not well incorporated, the batter may appear curdled. To rectify this add an additional tablespoon of the flour blend.) Add vanilla and milk.

Step 4: Pour batter into pans. Bake on middle rack 15-20 minutes (toothpick coming out clean indicates that it's done). Let sit 5 minutes in pans before removing. Allow to cool completely on rack. To assemble, spread vanilla pudding on one cake layer (all the way to the edges...I didn't quite get this right). Gently place 2nd layer on top. Brush off any crumbs and top with chocolate ganache.

Step 5: Enjoy!

Vanilla Pudding:

Step 1: Dissolve cornstarch in 1/3 cup cream. Whisk in egg yolk. Set aside.

Step 2: In saucepan, mix together sugar (or agave), salt, and remaining 1 cup cream. Bring to a boil.

Step 3: Slowly whisk 1/4 cup hot mixture into yolk mixture. Then slowly whisk back into pan. Over medium heat, stir until thickened. Remove from heat, add vanilla.

Step 4: Strain pudding into a clean bowl (I didn't strain, because I'm lazy...but you can!) and cool slightly. Cover pudding. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Chocolate Ganache:

Step 1: Bring cream to a boil.

Step 2: Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth.

Step 3: Set mixture aside until it begins to thicken. (let it cool a little while, mine was too runny when I put it on my cake, but later it thickened nicely)

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps and Egg Drop Soup

This meal was so scrumptious. It has so many fun flavors and it's super easy to make. The egg drop soup is the best I've ever had.

Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps: (Serves 5 people, two lettuce wraps each)

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey

1 pkg. (16 ounces) frozen stir fry vegetable blend, thawed

1/3 cup teriyaki sauce (make sure it's gluten free)

14 cup hoisin sauce

3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sesame oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

4 green onions, chopped

10 lettuce leaves (Boston, Green Leaf, Romaine, etc.)

What to do:

Step 1: Cook turkey in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat until no longer pink.

Step 2: Chop stir-fry vegetables and add to the pan. Stir in the teriyaki sauce, hoisin sauce, peanut butter, ginger, vinegar, and oil. Stir-fry over medium-high heat for 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.

Step 3: Remove from the heat; stir in green onions. Place about 1/2 cup turkey mixture on each lettuce leaf. Fold the lettuce over filling.

Egg Drop Soup (Serves 5 people)

Ingredients:

5 cups chicken broth (make sure it's gluten free)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup sliced fresh spinach

2 green onions, sliced

What to do:

Step 1: Boil Broth and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat.

Step 2: Reduce heat to low. Drizzle beaten egg into hot broth. Remove from the heat, stir in spinach and green onions.

Rainy Days...

Usually, I love rainy days. The days where you turn up the girly music and open up the blinds and enjoy the drizzle on the window panes. But sometimes, rainy days make me feel a little blue. Chocolate strawberries are the perfect answer for those days. My daughter helped me by drying the strawberries. I think more made their way into her mouth than into the chocolate.

1 cup chocolate chips

1 Tablespoon shortening

Heat for 1 minute in the microwave at 100%. Stir and dip.

I hope that your blue days pass by quickly. We have so much to be thankful for and look forward to.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingrid Michaelson has been one of my favorite musicians for quite some time.  My husband was looking through the paper and found this recipe along with an article about her.  I guess this is one of her favorite recipes to make for parties.  This chocolate cake is so much different than any other chocolate cake.  The exterior ends up being kind of crunchy and the interior is like a very fudgy brownie.  This is always a hit when I make it too.  It doesn't end up looking very pretty, which is why I put strawberries on top.

You Will Need:

7 ounces really good semisweet chocolate (45-50% cocoa)
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar, divided
4 eggs, separated
Fresh fruit for topping, optional
powdered sugar, optional

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler.  (I always put mine in the microwave on half power at 30 second intervals...works great!)

2. In a separate bowl, stir together half the sugar and four egg yolks.  Add this to melted chocolate concoction.

3.  Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites; slowly add remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until stiff peaks form.  (Usually this works great for me, but my electric mixer was broken and they never formed stiff peaks...but hey it still turned out just fine!)
4. Fold mixture into chocolate. Pour into greased 9 inch cake pan (which you can remove later) or pie pan if you just want to serve it from the dish.

5. Bake 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with just a few wet crumbs on it.  Cool 30 minutes before removing from the pan or topping.  Dust with powdered sugar or top with fresh fruit.

Quinoa With Chicken

I am always looking for good quinoa recipes.  When it's something you eat all the time, you definitely get tired of the cold "summer salad" type quinoa dish.  That is why this one really stuck out to me. This is a one dish meal and it is pleasing to the taste-buds as well as the eyes because of all the colors.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

You Will Need:
1 cup uncooked quinoa
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 1/4 cup chicken stock or water, boiling hot
pinch of salt
1 medium red pepper, diced
1 medium yellow pepper, diced
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, sliced into thin strips
1 medium carrot, diced
8 ounces of asparagus or green beans, trimmed
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted (optional)

Lemon Roasted Garlic Dressing
2 garlic cloves
1/3 cup olive oil, divided
dash of salt
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon of honey or more

What to Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Soak quinoa for one minute in cool water, stirring to loosen any dirt particles.  Pour into strainer and rinse.  Place in a small baking dish.  (I used a 8x8 inch baking dish and this ended up being kind of crowded. I recommend something a little bigger.)
3.  Bake quinoa in preheated oven for about 8 minutes.  Stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and bake an additional minute.  (I had never thought of doing this before, but it gives the quinoa a really nice texture.)
4. Carefully add chicken stock or water and salt to quinoa, stirring to blend.  Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.  (Be careful when you put it in the oven not to slosh the dish because then you'll get quinoa all over the bottom of your oven, oops.)
5.  Heat remaining olive oil in a pan and saute chopped pepper and chicken strips.  Set aside.
6.  While that is sauteing begin making Lemon Roasted Garlic Dressing.  Place garlic cloves in a foil pouch.  Drizzle with a little olive oil and salt.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  (Instead of doing this I used store bought minced garlic and skipped the whole roasting step.)  Place roasted garlic in a blender.  Add lemon juice and honey and process until smooth.  With blender running, slowly pour in remaining olive oil until dressing emulsifies.
7. Steam carrots and asparagus or green beans for 1-2 minutes until brightly colored and slightly tender.  Drain and submerge immediately in cold water for 30 seconds.

8.  When quinoa is done, remove baking dish from oven.  Add pepper, chicken, carrots, and green beans/asparagus, stirring gently to combine.  Drizzle with Lemon Roasted Garlic Dressing and serve.

Tilapia Po'Boys

I always crave southern food in the summertime.  I don't know if it's the warm weather or maybe if it's just here because I'm almost living in the south, but this sounded so delicious.  And it was!  I used the buns from the previous post for this recipe.  I am so happy to be baking and blogging again.  

What you will need:

Cajun Mayo:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon cajun seasoning*

*I didn't measure any of the seasonings.  I tossed in some chili powder, white pepper, cayenne pepper, black pepper, thyme, garlic salt, and even allspice which tasted yummy.  The point is, put in whatever you want.  

Sandwiches:

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup GF flour (for this I used King Arthur Gluten Free Multi-purpose Flour) 

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1/4 teaspoon Seafood seasoning

2/3 cup buttermilk

4 tilapia fillets

Vegetable oil for deep fat frying

4 buns

What to do:

Step one: In a small bowl combine the mayo ingredients and set aside.

Step two: In a shallow bowl (I used a pie pan), combine the cornmeal, flour, salt, and seasonings.  Place buttermilk in another shallow bowl.  Dip fish in buttermilk, then coat with cornmeal mixture.  

Step Three: In a skillet, heat 1/4 inch of oil.  (To know when it is hot enough the oil needs to be even more "fluid" than when you put it in.  Flick a little bit of water into the oil and if it sizzles it's ready.  If the sizzle made you jump...it's too hot.) Cook fillets for 2-3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Drain on paper towels.

Step Four: Place mayo mixture on bun bottoms and put fish on top of that.  Add in whatever toppings you desire.  I chose avocado, tomato, and lettuce.  

Step Five: Enjoy!

Buns!!!

 Success at last!  I was determined to find a recipe for hamburger buns and I recently received my August/September issue of Living Without.  I have thoroughly enjoyed being subscribed to this magazine and all of their recipes are delicious!  With a few slight changes to one of the recipes I was able to make hamburger buns!  I used these as buns for dinner that night and buns for breakfast the next morning. Scrumptious!  I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did.

What you will need:

2 cups rice flour (possibly more)*

1 cup cornstarch (possibly more)

1 cup tapioca flour/starch (possibly more)

3 teaspoons xanthan/guar gum

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons honey

1 extra large egg + 1 extra large egg white **
2 cups warm milk (any milk will work)

*I say possibly more because it depends on the altitude you are baking at, the humidity, and the consistency of the dough.  Add more if it needs it, don't add more if it doesn't.  :)

** I don't buy extra large eggs.  I used a large egg and a large egg white.  I didn't seem to need more, but if yours does, put a tablespoon of mushed up banana in.  It will be enough to act as an egg but not too much to change the taste.

What to do:

Step One: Spray two baking sheets and set aside.
Step Two: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment place the rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour/starch, xanthan/guar gum, cream of tartar, and salt.  Mix on low speed until well combined.  Add the yeast and mix again until well combined.

Step Three:  Add the oil, honey, and eggs, and mix until wet ingredients get incorporated into dry mixture.
Step Four:  With the mixer on low, add milk to the mixture in a slow, steady stream.  Once the mixture has started to come together, turn the mixer up to half speed and beat for about 6 minutes.  The dough should be thick and smooth, but tacky to the touch.  If it seems too wet, add more flour by the tablespoon and mix well until you reach the right consistency. It is about here that I realized my dough was not thick and smooth or tacky.  I started adding in tablespoon by tablespoon alternating between my three flours/starches.  2 rice:1starch:1starch.  I ended up adding in the equivalent to about 3/4 cup more flour.  But after doing that the dough was thick, smooth, and no longer "sticky" but tacky.

This is before I added any extra flour.

Step Five: Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured flat surface.  Pat down the dough into a mound about 1 1/2 inches tall and divide into ten balls.  Roll each ball between wet palms (which worked wonderfully) to make a proper ball.

Step Six:  Divide the balls of dough between the two prepared pans, spacing them evenly.  They will be relatively close together.  Cover the pans with sprayed plastic wrap (spray the "bun side" of the plastic wrap with vegetable oil spray so that it doesn't stick) and place them in a warm spot.  Allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes or until the rolls are about 1 1/2 times bigger than originally.

Step Seven: While the rolls are rising preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Step Eight: Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until they are lightly browned.
Step Nine: Enjoy!