Gluten Free Hearty Lasagna Soup

One of those cold and lazy winter days. I didn't get it together to make a big meal but soup this time of year hits the spot. This is a new recipe I decided to try since I had a coupon for various canned tomatoes. It was delicious and my children gave it the thumbs up. So I am sharing it with you for your family. Check out the link for the Lasagna Pasta - Amazon.com has a sale on it. Enjoy!


Gluten Free Hearty Lasagna Soup

1 lb Ground Beef
1/4 Cup Chopped Onion
1 tsp Minced Garlic
1/4 tsp Dried Parsley Flakes
3 1/2 Cups Beef Broth
1 Can Diced Tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1/4 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 1/2 Cups Gluten Free Lasagna Mini Noodles
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preparation

1. Cook the beef, onion, garlic and parsley in a 3 qt saucepan over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until the beef is well browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat.
2. Stir in broth, tomatoes and Italian seasoning in the saucepan and heat to a boil.
3. Stir the pasta in saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes or until the pasta is tender. Stir in the cheese. Serve with additional cheese sprinkled on top.

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Elana's Pantry Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook

One of my favorite gluten free bloggers as well as an author of the new Gluten Free Almond Flour Cookbook.

Elana's giving away her cookbook as well as a 5 lb bag of Honeyville Almond flour. Check it out!


http://www.elanaspantry.com/cookbook/

To your health in 2010.

Stephanie

The Soaked Flour Gluten Free Bread

My flour has soaked and I used it to make a simple gluten free loaf of bread. I used the Gluten Free Cheese Bread recipe minus the cheese. I did not add any liquid either. Here is the result. I pulled it from the oven, let it cool a bit and then sliced it and slathered with butter. My son begged for more and my daughter wolfed down a slice. I have to admit it was moist and fluffy. Very good and worth the effort.

To soak my flour I took equal parts of water and flour (ie 2 cups of water to 2 cups of flour) and added 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar for every two cups. For one cup of brown rice I added 1 tsp. I don't think there is a right or wrong amount. It will just make it a bit more "tangy" if you add too much.

Another adventure taken and conquered. Now to work on more grains to grind, soak and bake.

To your health!

Stephanie

My New Toy - KitchenAid Grain Mill

Some may not consider a KitchenAid grain mill something worth getting excited over but to me it is one of the coolest things. There is something very comforting to me about getting back to the old way of cooking. I know that I am doing the very best I can to keep my family healthy with nourishing foods. Each time I attend a Weston Price conference I am more convinced of this. So much vitality and positive *emotion* flows from the people there. It's inspiring.

So now I have a grain mill. Why did I want this? For two reasons. Gluten free flours are more difficult to get quickly. This way I can stock the grains and grind as I need them. No more bags all over the house of 20 different flours. Of course there will be some that still remain like teff and sorghum. But brown rice and white rice are easy now. Second, as I read more I am learning that as soon as the kernel of the grain is broken it begins to deteriorate. The wonderful vitamins and oils within it begin to diminish and go rancid. Since we are eating food to be nourished it makes little sense to use something that is less than optimal. I have also read that rancid oils can be damaging to our bodies. That got my attention!

So now you can see what the grain mill looks like attached to the end of my mixer. A little tip for those of you who may want to buy one. Take your 20% off Coupon to Bed Bath & Beyond and have them order the grain mill for you. If you get it before the end of the year you can send a refund offer into KitchenAid for another 20% off. It's a great deal!

This is the end knob. You can see how it turns 360 degrees around to go from fine to course grind.

This is the top of the hopper - see the rice in the bottom. It's almost finished......

And here it is....... my first batch of freshly ground white rice flour. My next step is to learn how to soak my flour to get it to break down the phylates that make grains hard to digest. Nourishing Traditions book (by Sally Fallon) here I come.......

Keep watching my blog to see how my new adventure with a grain mill goes.

To your health.

Stephanie

Gluten Free Almond Bars

As Christmas approaches once more my memories return to my childhood of cookies and bars that my family made each year. One of these were almond bars. I loved them. That sweet center of gooey almond paste was hard to resist. But this year (and in recent years past) these old recipes remained a memory as they were loaded with gluten. As my skills have matured in converting old favorites I return to them one by one to re-create them. So yesterday I set out to make these bars. They turned out great and my children fell in love with them. They kept saying "Hmmmm.....Hmmmmm..... These are SOOOOOO YUMMY!" Yes I am raising true Dutch children with a passion for almond paste. So here it is.

Mix Together

1/2 lb Butter - softened

1 Cup Powdered Sugar

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar

1 Egg

1 Tsp Vanilla

In a Separate Bowl Sift Together
2 Cups Gluten Free Cake Flour Mix
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Combine sifted ingredients and butter mixture and chill.

Roll out 1/2 of the dough and place it in a 9 x 13" pan. (roll out between two pieces of waxed paper)

Filling - Mix the following together

3/4 lb Almond Paste

3 Eggs, unbeaten

1 Cup Sugar

Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes.

Put tilling on top of the dough in the pan and cover with the remaining rolled out dough.

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Merry Christmas!

Stephanie

Gluten Free Cut Out Cookies

We made gluten free cut out cookies tonight. I tried a recipe last Christmas but they just weren't like the ones we always made before going gluten free. So I set out to find another one. Google is my best friend in times like this. I stumbled on a recipe on the Land O Lakes website. This is a website I would have never thought to look for gluten free recipes. They turned out delicious! As you can see my children enjoyed piling in the sprinkles too.

Go here to see the "Star Cut Out Cookies" recipe.

Gluten Free Zucchini Spice Muffins

Great muffin for breakfast, lunch or to accompany soup on a cold day. These are really good and I am quite pleased with the consistency. You'd never know they were gluten free.


GLUTEN FREE ZUCCHINI SPICE MUFFINS

2/3 Cup Sorghum Flour
2/3 Cup Tapioca Flour (Starch)
2/3 Cup White Rice Flour
1 tsp Xanthan Gum
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Apple Pie Spice
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Celtic Sea Salt

In a separate bowl combine:
1 large egg
5 Tbs Coconut Oil (or butter)
2 Cups chopped or shredded zucchini
1/2 Cup Agave Nectar or sugar

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and blend until well mixed. Pour into greased muffin tins and Bake at 375 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes.

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Wonderful Pumpkin Bran Muffins

I am heading to the Weston Price Conference this week and am making some food to take along. They have fabulous food and I will enjoy not cooking but you get those early morning and late evening munchies. :)



I used to make these muffins when I was working. I would pop them in my travel bag and eat them for snacks or breakfast. But now I am gluten free and that means I had to convert it. No big deal for me anymore. Bring it on! So here is the final product and they turned out great!!




Wonderful Pumpkin Bran Muffins

1 Cup Rice Bran
2 Tbs Flax Meal
3/4 Cup Gluten Free Flour Mix
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Molasses
1/4 Cup Honey
1 Cup Puree Canned Pumpkin
1/2 Cup Coconut Milk (I used So Delicious - you could also use regular milk)
2 Eggs
4 Tbs Unsweetened Applesauce
1/4 - 1/2 cup Raisins (softened in hot water)


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees


In a large bowl combine rice bran, flax meal, flour, baking powder and spices, salt.

In the mixing bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and blend. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until well mixed. Mix in raisins. Spray or line 12 muffin cups and fill with mixture.


Bake 20 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.

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Enjoy!!

Stephanie

Gluten Free Bean & Teff Bread

I over bought on GarFava bean flour so I was looking for something to make with it. I just got my Teff flour from Amazon.com and it was so wonderful in the last bread I made that I decided to see if I could come up with a new bread "creation". I am so pleased with this bread. Light and fluffy and full of good nutrients from the beans and the teff. I hope you enjoy it too.

Gluten Free Bean & Teff Bread

1 Cup GarFava Bean Flour

3/4 Cup Corn Starch

1 1/4 Cup Tapioca Flour

1/4 Cup Teff Flour

4 tsp Xanthan Gum

1/4 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

3 Tbs Brown Sugar

3 Eggs

3 Tbs Vegetable Oil

1 1/2 Cups Warm Water (110 degrees)

2 1/2 tsp Dry Yeast

Assemble the flour mixture, salt, yeast and Xanthan gum and set aside.

Combine the eggs, apple cider vinegar, water, oil and brown sugar and blend until mixed.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet.

When blended place in a well oiled bread pan and allow to rise in a warm place for 1/2 hour.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 50 mins. If the crust starts to get too brown before the bread is done, "tent" it with aluminum foil.

Curried Pumpkin Apple Soup

I am on a pumpkin kick. They are very healthy! Check it out here. On my shopping trip yesterday to my favorite Meijer's store (the one with all the organic and gluten free foods) I wandered over to the chef they have making things for people to sample. She was making this pumpkin soup. I tasted it and thought it was really good. It is a deviation from the normal things I eat. So I grabbed a card and made it this morning for lunch. Now I will share the recipe with you.

Pumpkin Apple Soup

2 Tbs Butter
1 C Chopped Onion
1 C Chopped Celery
1/2 Large Apple, peeled & chopped
2 tsp Curry Powder (I used Penzey's Sweet Curry)
3 Cups Organic Chicken Broth
1 1/2 Cups Canned Pure Pumpkin
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 Bay Leaf
1/3 C Heavy Cream (next time I will try coconut milk)
2 to 3 Tbsp Maple Syrup or Honey

1. Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in onion, celery and apple. Partially cover., and saute until onion is clear, about 8 minutes. Stir in curry powder, saute 1 minute more. Stir in 1 cup of the chicken broth and simmer 1 more minute.

2. Transfer onion mixture to blender or food processor, add pumpkin and blend until smooth.

3. Pour pumpkin mixture into saucepan and stir in remaining chicken broth. Add salt and bay leaf. Place saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

4. After 5 minutes stir in heavy cream and 2 Tbs of the honey/maple syrup. Simmer 2 minutes. Remove soup from heat and ladle into serving bowls.

Per Serving: 230 calories, 21 g carbs, 6 g protein, 14 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 3 g fiber, 60 mgs cholesterol, 470 sodium

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Gluten Free Pumpkin Teff Almond Spice Muffins

Wow that's a mouthful. But these muffins are packed with healthy ingredients. I was looking for a good fall recipe for some muffins for the kids lunches tomorrow. I just love pumpkin. These are packed with some wonderful flours. Try it! I know you will like them.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Teff Almond Spice Muffins


Ingredients:
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup teff flour
• 1/2 cup white rice flour
• 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 c brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 c rice milk
• 1/4 c (1/2 stick) dairy-free margarine, melted
• 1 c canned pumpkin purée or cooked puréed pumpkin

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. In a bowl, combine all flours, xanthan gum, baking powder, spices, and sugar.

3. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add eggs, milk, and margarine. Fold to mix, then fold in pumpkin. Mix until ingredients are barely combined and the dry ingredients are wet.

4. Fill 18 lined muffin tins about 2/3 of the way full. (If you prefer not to line them, you can grease the tin, or use a silicon muffin pan.)

5. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until muffins are browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool before removing.

Dark Teff Sandwich Bread - GF/CF/EF

I made an absolutely fabulous bread. It contains a very nutrient dense flour - Teff. Teff is an Ethiopian grain. I had used it in smaller amounts in various recipes but never as much as this bread calls for.

For this bread I used the Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen Dark Teff Sandwich Bread recipe. I did not let this bread rise enough so the next time I make it, I will allow it to rise a bit more. The best part(s) about this bread are that it is gluten free, casein free, and egg free. It tastes a lot like the whole wheat bread you would get at an Artisan bakery. The one down side is that Teff is expensive. One pound at my local health food store was a little over $8. Thank goodness for Amazon.com's subscribe and save program. I ordered 4 bags of Bob's Red Mill Teff Flour from them for $21.

Bake some bread, slice it up warm and enjoy......

Stephanie

Gluten Free Almond Oatmeal Cookies

I got an e-mail for a recipe for Almond Oatmeal cookies. It looked so good and being that I am of Dutch descent it was even more enticing with the almond paste. So today I decided to try to make them gluten free. It worked! They are a wonderful almond flavored cookie. So here is my creation to share with you.

Dry Ingredients
2 1/2 Cups White Rice Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 cups gluten free oats

Wet Ingredients
1 stick butter (softened)
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 free range organic eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla
7 oz Almond Paste

Icing1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon water


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Blend the wet ingredients together in a stand mixer. Mix together dry ingredients in another bowl. When ingredients are mixed, slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until well blended. Spoon out onto a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet. Press the balls down a bit so that they are shaped like a flat but semi thick pancake. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges.

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When cooled, drizzle the icing across the top of the cookies.

Enjoy!

Stephanie

Struggling with Lunches and other Meals

I thought I would share some tips for those of you struggling with gluten free lunches for your children as well as family meals. I am by no means an expert but have learned a few tricks and found some good tools.



Lunchbox "helpers"

These are called Bento Boxes. You can find them on the Laptop Lunches website. The set on the left is the newest version called Bento 2.0. The contained box on the right is the original version. We have been using the original for the last 3 years. I just love them because you do not need all those ziploc baggies. I forgot to also show that you get real silverware with the box (fork & spoon) as well. We are blessed that my children eat in their classrooms so the risk of throwing items away is reduced. This snap together container fits inside most zip around lunchboxes. I also forgot to picture the little dipping cup that is shown with the other set.

The Bento 2.0 just arrived at our home last week so I have not had time to use it but I am eager to get started as there were many times I wanted lids on all my containers as well as a bigger sandwich container. If you would like to look at some ideas from other moms that use these bento boxes here is a great resource. Flickr Laptop Lunches

Next, I bought thermos after thermos and tried to get one that would keep my children's food warm and was stainless steel. I tried the thermos brand with the cute images on the sides and they were pathetically lacking. They work great for the cold items - we use them for drinks but keeping things hot for 6 hours (the time we needed) did not work. I threw away more food because it was cold. I finally found Thermos' Elements series in the camping section and they keep things hot for 7 hours. This opened up a world of more food options to send with them. They were $20 each at Target. This container was used for a year and has been toted back and forth on the bus in a backpack. It held up well and is still going strong.

Here is a sample meal plan for my week. We are a busy family - running children all over so I try to keep things simple. I do have to bake my own breads and hamburger rolls which you can find in this blog. Hopefully this helps you on your journey.

Meal Planning September 20 - 29, 2009

To your health.....

Stephanie

This is our favorite pancake and waffle mix.

Living Without Magazine
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Favorite Pancakes
Serves 4

Brown rice flour and sorghum flour add extra protein and fiber to these tasty gluten-free, dairy-free pancakes. Top them with sliced fruit, warm applesauce, maple syrup or powdered sugar. For convenience, mix ingredients the night before, cover and store overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, remix the batter while your griddle heats up. Don’t over-mix. If batter becomes too thick, add more liquid.

¾ cup brown rice flour
½ cup sorghum flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup milk of choice (plain-flavored rice, almond or soy milk)
1 teaspoon oil of choice

Mix together flours, xanthan gum and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
Add eggs, vanilla and sugar. Add milk slowly, until batter is desired thickness. Do not over-mix or batter will become thick and stiff.
Heat oil in a heavy skillet or non-stick pan. When skillet is sizzling hot, pour in batter or drop by large spoonfuls to make pancakes. Spread batter out in pan if necessary. Cook until pancakes have bubbles throughout and bottom is lightly browned. Flip with a spatula and cook briefly until done.
*TIP For banana-nut pancakes, add half a ripe, mashed banana and 2 tablespoons ground almonds, if tolerated. (Grind almonds with a coffee grinder.) For blueberry pancakes, add ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries and increase sugar to 5 tablespoons.

Each serving contains 316 calories, 6g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 106mg cholesterol, 501mg sodium, 59g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 7g protein.

GFCF Banana Bread

Gluten Free / Casein Free Banana Bread

Ingredients
1 cup brown rice flour (fine ground is best)

1 cup Gluten Free Flour Mixture

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease a bread pan (or 3 small loaf pans). Combine the bananas, eggs, sugar, oil and blend in the mixer at medium speed. Assemble the remaining ingredients and slowly add to the wet ingredients in the blender. Blend until well mixed. Pour into the bread pan(s) and bake for 45 to 1 hour or until the stick comes out clean. (For small loaves check them approx 30 mins into the baking cycle.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Slice and enjoy! You can also add some Enjoy Life Dairy Free chocolate chips.

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To your health....

Stephanie

Gluten-Free / Dairy Free Cinnamon Muffins

I decided that I wanted to make cinnamon muffins today. My children love the taste of cinnamon so I figured it would be a winner. I scoured the net for a gluten free recipe and I found one. So I gathered all the ingredients, mixed it up and put it in the muffin pan. When the oven heated I popped it in. But...... 15 mins later I smelled something burning. It was the dough oozing over the sides. It had not risen at all and was one big blob of goo. So after it baked I took it out and cleaned up the pan. I decided to try again. I figured I could come up with something better on my own.

And I did!!! This is absolutely fabulous. The texture from the flour mixture is so close to gluten that no one would be able to tell. There is no funny taste either. (Hint: click on the mixture names in the recipe to be taken to the recipes for them)

I hope your family enjoys this as much as mine did. My daughter asked for me to put it in her lunch. Yes that is coming again......




Gluten Free / Dairy Free Cinnamon Muffins



Makes 12 muffins

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together and set aside for use in the topping and cake.

Streusel Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup gluten free flour mixture
1/3 cup spectrum shortening, room temperature
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl until a clumpy mixture forms. Set aside.

MUFFIN

1 Cup Better Batter Mix
1/2 Cup Gluten Free Flour Mix
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 free range eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup rice milk (or other non dairy milk)
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a standing mixer, place all the muffin ingredients into the bowl and mix for 2 - 3 minutes on medium speed.

3. Pour batter into greased muffin pan. Sprinkle the streusel topping onto batter.

4. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes before serving.


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More Cookies for Everyone......

I have been baking and cooking like a mad woman. I will join my hubby tomorrow in Oregon and the kids will be left with grandma and grandpa who are gluten free and dairy free challenged. So I end up doing a weeks worth of work in a few days. I made pizzas, bread, waffles, and cookies... ah the cookies! I am loving the new Enjoy Life Cookies for Everyone. I thought I would tease you with some more.

Page 70 - Positively Pumpkin Cookies. These are very good and good for you. They contain pumpkin, rice bran and flax. Plus raisins if you please.

Then for the sweeter side of cookies.....

Page 59 - Oh So Delicious Sandwich Cookies. When they say to bake until the cookies are crisp you will need to do this or they crumble into bits. I put them back in the oven to get them like oreo's.

I highly recommend this cookbook. It is a must have for the allergy family.

To your health!

Stephanie

Egg & Vegetable Pie Italiano - The Garden of Eating

A few weeks ago I was approached by a lovely woman (Chef Rachel) about reviewing some cookbooks of hers. I agreed to try the recipes and she agreed to send me her books. Life has been hectic around here lately so I haven't had a chance to make anything but this recipe had jumped out at me due to all the herbs. We had them all in our garden so I could go out and pick them fresh for dinner tonight.

I was actually surprised that my picky son said that this was very good. My husband said it tasted like hot dogs. Not sure where he got that taste on his pallet but it must not have mattered because he took two slices. My ever fussy daughter....ate the herbs off the top and left the dense egg part on the bottom. I guess that's a 7 year old for you. The rest of us enjoyed dinner. It took me about 25 mins to prepare but that was including my trip to the garden for herbs so the estimate of 15 mins may be close to accurate.

You can tell I have been an insomniac lately. Too much Iron Chef watching. My husband laughed at my plate that I put together for my photo. Hey, presentation is everything. :)

A little about the cookbook this came from. It is called The Garden of Eating. It reminded me of a more user friendly Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Chef Rachel has added some great things like seasonal meal plans along with a few pages outlining what her typical eating menus are like. I loved that! Her food is very nutrient dense and includes good fats, grass fed meats and veggies. You can check out her website at http://www.thegardenofeatingdiet.com/.

So here's the recipe:

Egg & Vegetable Italiano

Extra Virgin olive oil, unrefined coconut oil, ghee or clarified butter to grease baking pan.

1 1/2 cups diced fresh tomatoes, or drained, canned diced no salt tomatoes, divided

1 Tbs dried parsley or chives or 1/2 cup washed, dried, minced fresh parsley leaves or chives.

1/4 cup dulse flakes or 1/2 cup dulse leaf or laver (wild nori) sea vegetable, sorted to remove small shells or stones and cut into tiny pieces with shears, optional (I did not add this)

6 medium to large free-range chicken eggs or duck eggs or 8 small eggs

1/2 cup dried, powdered egg whites

2 Tbs dried onion flakes

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp dried basil or 1 Tbs fresh basil leaves

1 tsp dried oregano or 1 Tbs fresh oregano leaves, stems removed

1/2 tsp dried thyme or 1/2 Tbs fresh thyme leaves, stems removed

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 tsp ground chipolte or black pepper

1/2 tsp Natural Liquid Hickory Smoke Seasoning such as Wright's, optional

1. Place rack in center of and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Oil a 10 inch deep dish pie plate or 9x9x2-inch baking pan. Scatter half the tomato and parsley or chives over bottom of the pie plate. Sprinkle with dulse if desired.
2. Combine reserved tomato and remaining ingredients in blender. Process until smooth and frothy, stopping to scrape sides with spatula. Do not over mix.
3. Pour egg mixture over vegetables in pie plate. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until puffy, firm in the center, and lightly golden on top. Cut into 8 slices and serve, or cool, cover and refrigerate for later. If desired, top each serving with 1/4 of a sliced avocado. Use within 4 days.

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Gluten Free / Dairy Free Corn Flake Cookies

Gluten Free / Dairy Free Cornflake Cookies

2 Cups Gluten Free Flour (click here for mix)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp celtic salt
1 1/4 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten well
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flaked or shredded coconut
2 cups gluten free corn flakes (I used Natures Path)

Sift together first 4 ingredients and slowly add the sugar and beat until light. Add eggs and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and creamed mixture. Add coconut and corn flakes (I crushed a bit). Place rounded dough on a parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 mins or until edges are lightly browned.

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Here is a picture (above) of the finished beautiful cookies. They taste great too!

Enjoy!!

Stephanie

Gluten Free Blueberry Crisp

We were on a small vacation this week and I came home to find my blueberries in the refrigerator a little less than desirable. So I needed to use them up. What better way than to cook them. So I decided that blueberry crisp would be in order. Here it is. It smells so yummy! Enjoy with coconut milk ice cream for a dairy free / gluten free delight.

Gluten Free Blueberry Crisp

2 Pints Fresh Blueberries - washed

1 cup gluten free all purpose flour (I used Pamela's wheat free bread mix)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Shortening

1/3 cup gluten free oats

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease the bottom of an 8 x 8 baking dish.

Mix the blueberries with 2 Tbs of the flour mixture and place in the dish.

Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, oats and shortening. Use a fork to mix the shortening through the mixture. Hint: the shortening works best if cold / solid.

Pour mixture over the top of the blueberries and bake in oven for 30 minutes or until it bubbles and the crust is browned.

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Enjoy!

Stephanie

Oh Honey Grahams - Enjoy Life ( Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Egg Free)

I recently got the Enjoy Life cookie cookbook. My daughter and I decided to make the Oh Honey Graham crackers.

Ingredients include Brown Rice Bran, Rice flour, Flaxmeal, cinnamon, rice milk.

To get your Enjoy Life Cookies for Everyone click on the title and it will bring you to the Amazon site. You can view the cookbook online too.

These taste like real graham crackers!!

Gluten Free / Dairy Free / Grain Free Red White and Blue Muffins

I found this recipe at the Nourishing Gourmet Website and just had to try them. I love baking with coconut flour. Some say it is expensive but you use very little of it and it lasts longer than regular flour so it evens out. I buy the 4 bag boxes of Bob's Red Mill on Amazon.com . I used fresh berries - raspberries and blueberries.



Red, White and Blue Cupcakes-makes 10-12 muffins

You can also use all blueberries for a delicious blueberry muffin.

(To make these GAPS friendly, just leave out the baking powder, to make it SCD substitute baking soda. )

1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs, gently beaten with a fork
1/3 cup of honey
1/3 cup of coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 cup of fresh or frozen raspberries
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1-In a medium size bowl, place the coconut flour, sea salt, and baking powder. Whisk to remove any lumps.

2-Melt honey and coconut oil in a small saucepan, just until melted (if you have over-heated it all, let it cool before combining it with the eggs so that it won’t curdle it. Combine wet ingredients (eggs, honey, coconut oil, vanilla), and whisk thoroughly into dry ingredients.

3-Fold in fresh or frozen berries. In papered or lightly greased muffin tins, put about 1/4 cup of batter in each muffin tin. Make sure to have some of the blueberries and some of the raspberries in each muffin

4-Bake for 375 degrees until the muffins are lightly browned on the top and a toothpick comes out clean when poked into the middle of the muffin (20-28 minutes)

Enjoy! To your health......naturally.

Stephanie

Gluten Free / Dairy Free Smoothies

Someone recently asked on a GFCF group I am on for smoothie recipes. So I shared mine and then decided it would be a good blog entry for my GF blog as well so here they are. I also want to comment that when the kids are not looking I will grind up flaxseeds and sneak some into their smoothies for some good Omega 3 Fatty Acids.


Berry Smoothie
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup berries
1/2 cup rice milk or water
honey or agave nectar to taste
Ice if the berries are fresh and not frozen

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
1/4 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup rice milk or water
5-7 ice cubes
1/2 tsp vanilla
nutmeg
cinnamon (both spices to taste)
honey to sweeten

Chocolate Covered Banana Smoothie
1 banana
1 Tbs cocoa powder
1/4 cup coconut milk
5-7 ice cubes
1/2 cup rice milk or water

Strawberry Banana Smoothie
1 banana
1/2 cup strawberries
5-7 ice cubes
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup rice milk or water
cinnamon (to taste)
Agave or honey to sweeten a bit (depends on sweetness of berries and banana)

Avocado Blueberry / Peach Smoothie
1/2 avocado
1 peach
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 coconut milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup rice milk or water
Agave or honey to sweeten

To your health!

Stephanie

Gluten Free Cake Flour Mix

I use this mixture for my cakes. It works very well and creates a gluten like cake.

Gluten Free Cake Flour Mix

3 Cups Brown Rice Flour
1 Cup Potato Starch (not potato flour)
1/2 Cup Tapioca Flour
1 1/2 tsp guar gum or xanthan gum

Sift ingredients together, combining thoroughly. Use in place of flour in cakes and other baked goods. Store in a ziplock bag or airtight container.

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Gluten Free / Dairy Free / Egg Free Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

I made another great recipe today. The best part is that these are gluten free, dairy free and egg free and contain a good fat - avocado. My son loved them (my allergy child) saying "mommy these are so good". Yeah! I used a muffin top pan so that is why they look a little odd.



GFCFEF Chocolate-Avocado Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups Mock Better Batter Mix
3/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 Avocado (pitted and peeled)
1/2 cup Maple Syrup
1/4 cup Agave Nectar
3/4 cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk
1/3 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 - 3/4 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips


Add all the ingredients into the mixer bowl and blend. Put in a cupcake pan and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees. Bake for 25 mins.

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Gluten Free / Dairy Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Happy 4th of July. We're just hanging around the house. So I decided to bake.

Now for our next adventure in baking......

How do you make a cookie dairy free? Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening! This is the basic Nestle Toll House Cookie recipe with the 1 cup of butter replaced with 1 cup of Spectrum Shortening and the chocolate chips replaced with Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips.

Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Muffins

It's the time of year for farmer's markets. I went to my first one this weekend and came home with bags of great fruits and veggies. I always over buy. So I need creative ways to use them up. I was thinking of making zucchini muffins but then I began to scour the net and found some carrot and zucchini muffins. I needed to make it not only gluten free but dairy free for my little man. These are really good. I have already polished off 2 while taking pictures. At least I got more veggies in today.

Gluten Free Carrot Zucchini Muffins

2/3 cup sorghum flour
2/3 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup Agave Nectar

1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon celtic salt
1 cup coconut milk
1 large egg
5 tablespoons of coconut ghee (or butter)
1 1/2 cups carrots (I put them in the food processor)
1 cup zucchini, shredded

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease muffin tins or use liners. Add all dry ingredients into your mixing bowl. Then add carrots and zucchini. Mix in the rest of the "wet" ingredients and blend on medium for 2 minutes. Spoon the batter into muffin cups. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. Do not over bake.

Makes about 15 muffins.


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Living Without Gluten Free Dairy Free Favorite Pancakes

I got an e-mail yesterday from the Living Without magazine website. They were advertising a recipe for gluten free pancakes. I have been using Pamela's mixes because I couldn't seem to find a recipe that worked well for us. However, my son recently went dairy free due to an allergy and Pamela's contains buttermilk. This recipe looked good so I decided to try it this morning. My daughter had a sleepover with a friend so she got to try them as well. All three were happy and my daughter's friend was not gluten free.

The only thing I would change is to add more liquid (which I did). The batter was way too thick to pour into the pan for pancakes. I also added a bit of cinnamon because my children love it.


Gluten Free, Dairy Free Favorite Pancakes

SERVES 4

¾ cup brown rice flour
½ cup sorghum flour
¼ cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons sugar
1 cup milk of choice (plain-flavored rice, almond or soy milk) - I added 1/2 cup more liquid.
1 teaspoon oil of choice

Mix together flours, xanthan gum and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
Add eggs, vanilla and sugar. Add milk slowly, until batter is desired thickness. Do not over-mix or batter will become thick and stiff.
Heat oil in a heavy skillet or non-stick pan. When skillet is sizzling hot, pour in batter or drop by large spoonfuls to make pancakes. Spread batter out in pan if necessary. Cook until pancakes have bubbles throughout and bottom is lightly browned. Flip with a spatula and cook briefly until done.

TIP For banana-nut pancakes, add half a ripe, mashed banana and 2 tablespoons ground almonds, if tolerated. (Grind almonds with a coffee grinder.) For blueberry pancakes, add ½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries and increase sugar to 5 tablespoons.

Each serving contains 316 calories, 6g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0g trans fat, 106mg cholesterol, 501mg sodium, 59g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 7g protein.

Banana Blueberry Coconut Muffins

Long time "no bake". Things have been crazy here at our house since the kids got home. I have also had to venture into a new land of "casein free" baking. I need something to have on hand that is good for my son who's appetite is slowly increasing. Yeah!!

This muffin recipe was a hit with my daughter too. I was shocked because I never thought she would like the blueberries in a muffin.

Banana Blueberry Coconut Muffins

1/4 cup non-dairy shortening (like Earth Balance - they have a new soy free!)

1/4 cup organic cane sugar

1 egg

1/4 cup coconut cream with a little liquid (this is the thick stuff on top of the canned coconut milk - I use Thai Brand Organic)

1/2 cup of organic mashed ripe banana's

1 Tbs shredded organic coconut

1 cup Mock Better Batter Mix

1/2 tsp aluminium free baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp celtic salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbs Flaxseed meal

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Cream the vegetable shortening and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Mix in the coconut cream and banana's and mix until well blended.

In a separate bowl whisk together all the dry ingredients and then add them slowly to the "wet" mixture. Fold in the blueberries - gently.

Spoon batter into muffin cups - makes 8 full sized or 24 mini muffins. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 mins or until lightly browned.

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Enjoy..... It's gluten free...Naturally!

Stephanie

Gluten Free / Casein Free Rice Bran & Raisin Muffins

I got this recipe from a fellow gluten free blogger. I haven't had a bran muffin since going gluten free. These tasted so good! I used NOW brand rice bran. It is in the refrigerated section of your store. I forgot to mention (and have added it) that I added 1 tsp cinnamon to my batch. I love cinnamon and it is anti-inflammatory.


GF/CF Raisin-Rice Bran Muffins
Recipe makes 6 regular-size muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rice bran
1/4 cup sorghum flour (or rice flour or millet flour)
1/4 cup tapioca starch flour
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1/3 cup + 2 Tablespoons unsweetened, natural apple sauce
3 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup of raisens (rehydrate them by putting them in hot water for a few minutes)
1/4 – 1/3 cup cold water

Directions:

1.Preheat your oven to 375F. Spritz the inside of 6 paper muffin cup liners with oil. (This last step is optional, but the muffins may stick to the paper liners otherwise.)
2.Mix together dry ingredients with a whisk: rice bran, sorghum, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, salt and brown sugar.
3.Mix together wet ingredients: apple sauce, egg, water.
4.Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add raisins.
5.Fill muffin liners 2/3 full with batter.
6.Bake at 375F for 15 minutes or until golden brown and the middle is firm/set to the touch/tap.

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To your health! Gluten free......

Stephanie

A little plug for a book - GFCF Cooking

In my quest to help my son with his gluten free, casein free, soy free, egg free diet, I received two copies of this cookbook. So I have listed one on eBay. Check it out if you need some fresh ideas.

Special Eats: Simple, Delicious Solution for Gluten Free & Dairy Free Cooking

Gluten Free Mocha Cookies

I have been working so hard on making things my children would like and not for myself that I decided it was time to find one for just me. I love coffee and was on the hunt for a mocha recipe. These little *pop in your mouth* cookies are just the ticket.

Gluten Free Mocha Cookies

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 unbeaten egg whites

1 cup almond meal

3 Tbs Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 Tbs Instant Coffee or Espresso granules

pinch of salt

1 tsp Vanilla

Put all the ingredients in your mixer and mix until you have a sticky dough.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Wet your hands and roll the dough into mini balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper.

Bake for 11 minutes. Pull from oven, allow to cool on pan for 2 mins and then place on a cooling rack for the remaining time to cool.

Enjoy with a cup of coffee.

Stephanie

Birthdays - Gluten Free Style

Last week Thursday (6/4/09) was my daughter's 7th birthday. It was our first birthday that was gluten free. We had a family party on her birthday and then we had a party at Build-A-Bear Workshop on Saturday with 4 of her friends. I made a cake for Thursday. It was a white Namaste cake. I added Penzey's Lemon Extract, Lemon Peel and Lemon Juice to it to make a lemon cake as my daughter requested. The theme of her birthday was High School Musical. You can see the cake below. It turned out really good. I love Namaste's cakes. They are so moist and close to a wheat cake.

For the birthday party I decided to make cupcakes for ease of serving with her friends. I decided to try my hand at decorating a new way - with an icing bag. These were Namaste Chocolate Cupcakes with pink frosting. Aren't they pretty?

Overall her first gluten free birthday was a success. As a mom of children with food issues I am relieved that it is over and all were happy.