Gluten Free Brownies

I have been playing in the kitchen for a few weeks now, in an attempt to see how many of my family's old favorites can be made gluten free without losing any of the taste or texture that made them such a hit.
I have come up with a few that we all agree need a bit more work, but this brownie recipe isn't one of them. Back in the old days, filled with gluten, these were one of the kids' favorites, and easy to make. Last night I decided to try out my newest flour blend to make them gluten free, and I have to say that I think I did it.
I used a blend of sweet rice flour, teff, sorghum, potato starch and tapioca starch. I have been having good results with this blend in several items. You can use any all purpose blend you prefer.

Ingredients:
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, melted
2 C sugar
5 eggs, room temp
2 tsp pure vanilla
187g (1 1/3 C) all purpose gluten free flour
2 tsp guar gum
1 tsp salt
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 C baking chips or toffee bits

Preheat your oven to 350*F

1. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper, leaving a bit of overhang. If you cut the paper in the corners of the pan, it fits snugly and makes it easy to just lift the brownies from the pan.

2. In the bowl of your mixer, beat together your eggs and sugar 3 minutes at medium speed, or until light and fluffy. Add butter and vanilla, beat for 2 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together your flour, salt, guar gum and cocoa powder. Add slowly to wet mixture and mix on low until combined.

4. Pour batter into pan, sprinkle the top evenly with baking chips. Bake for about 30 minutes, or till a toothpick comes out clean.

Let your brownies cool before cutting, OR cut them when they're still warm and top with ice cream! 

Gluten Free Glazed Donut Muffins

If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I was experimenting with flours yesterday. I was on a mission to make a gluten free flour blend that offered a bit more protein and vitamins than my usual.
Making your own flour blend is simple if you follow the simple rule of 40% gluten free whole grain flours 60%  gluten free starches.
The blend I made yesterday contains:
200 g sweet white sorghum flour
100 g teff flour
100 g brown rice flour
300 g sweet white rice flour
300 g potato starch.
Just weigh your flours, mix them well in a container, and you have an all purpose blend that you can use just like wheat flour. Each cup is 140 g.

Oh yeah, the muffins!
I was wondering what to test my new flour blend on. I was torn between donuts and muffins, so decided to make donut muffins.
I found a recipe on Lovin From the Oven, and adapted it to make it gluten free.
The smell that filled my kitchen while these baked had us drooling, and when we finally got to bite into them, it was heavenly. These aren't as dense as my usual muffin recipes, but more light and fluffy like the inside of a raised donut, but without the chewiness.
The taste reminds me of the cinnamon donuts that I used to enjoy at the small diner in the town where I grew up.
Chance devoured 2 of them in a flash. Enough said.
I highly recommend double dipping them in the glaze if you can wait the extra 1- 2 minutes it takes ;)

Ingredients:
5 TBL butter, softened
1/4 C olive oil
1/2 C white sugar
1/3 C brown sugar
3 eggs, room temp
1 tsp pure vanilla 
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
374 g gluten free all purpose flour blend
1 C milk

For the glaze:
3 TBL melted butter
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla
1-2 TBL warm water

Preheat your oven to 350*F 

1. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and spray them with non-stick spray for easy peeling, unless you have silicone muffin cups.

2. In a medium bowl, cream the butter, oil and sugars until they are smooth.
Add your eggs and vanilla, beating till they are combined.

3. In a separate bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients. Stir the flour mix into the wet mixture, alternating with the milk, until everything is combined well.

4. Using an ice cream scoop, fill your muffin cups about 3/4 full with batter.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

5. Mix up your glaze by whisking together the melted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and water in a small bowl.

6. Dip your muffin tops into the glaze, giving them a little twirl to cover the top, and place them on a platter to set up. I dipped them a second time, because I still had glaze left and you know how I hate to waste food.
That's my story, and I'm sticking with it.

If you make these, I would love to know how they turned out and if you enjoyed them as much as we did.
* I have recently tweaked the recipe a bit, using 3 eggs and we like them better this way. I have also replaced xanthan gum with guar gum in my baking.

Oven Fried Pork Chops

Are you going to fry those?  This is what The Teen always asks whenever he sees pork chops in the fridge. I wasn't in the mood last night to go through all the work and cleanup required to fry them up in my electric skillet, so I decided to make them in the oven, and they were delicious.
I really need to get a better picture of them the next time, because the coating was crispier than it appears here. But, the guys were starving, and if I had dilly dallied much longer with playing photographer, I would have had an uprising in the dining room.
Anyhoo, shoddy photo aside, these are a fairly quick main to have on the table on a week night, and the men in my house said they didn't really mind that I didn't fry them the way I usually do.

Ingredients:
6 pork chops, about 1 inch thick- I used boneless
1 egg
1 C milk
1 1/2 C. crushed gluten free saltines
3 TBL all purpose gluten free flour
seasoning of choice ( I used 1 tsp. paprika, 2 tsp. of powdered Ranch dressing, and salt & pepper. I may have also tossed in 1 TBL of Weber steak and chop seasoning)

3 TBL butter
3 TBL olive oil

Preheat your oven to 400* F

1. Line a 9x13 baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup and put your oil and butter on it. Place in the oven for a few minutes to melt the butter.

2. Whisk the egg and milk together in a small dish. Combine your cracker crumbs, flour and seasonings in another dish.

3. Dip your chops in the egg/milk mixture and then put them in the crumbs, turning to coat all over. Place on your baking sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, turn over and bake another 15 minutes. Pork is done when it reaches an internal temp of 160*F

See how easy that was?!?

Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings

I have a thing about using up every bit of food possible. If you were to come to my house and dig in my freezer, you would find containers of leftover meats, bags of fruit and vegetable pieces and peels, (which are great for broths) chicken wing tips, fat trimmed from roasts, breads butts, corn cobs, and a variety of other scraps that I find a way to use. I just can't bring myself to toss out perfectly usable groceries.
I roasted a chicken on Sunday, and being the scrap hoarder that I am, I saved the carcass to make broth of course.


Last night, I decided that my chicken carcass was destined to become chicken and dumplings. Chance had the flu all weekend, and he went back to school today for the first time since Thursday,so I wanted to have one of his favorite comfort food meals waiting for him when he finishes attacking the piles of homework that I know he will need to make up.

I used vegetable scraps and peels from the freezer in my broth this time, but the recipe shows what I would have used otherwise.
You can also use ready made broth, and just add the chicken.

Ingredients for broth:
1 chicken carcass (or a whole chicken, quartered)
1 onion cut into wedges
3 stalks of celery, cut into large chunks
3 bay leaves
1 clove of garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
2 carrots
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar (this draws vitamins like magnesium and calcium out of the bones. Omit if you aren't using a carcass or whole chicken)
1 tsp peppercorns
2 gluten free chicken bouillon cubes, or equivalent in granules ( I use Herb Ox
2-3 cups chicken, cooked and chopped (omit if using whole chicken)

Ingredients for dumplings:
3 C all-purpose gluten free flour blend ( I used Krusteaz)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 TBL cold butter, cubed
1 C milk

1. Place everything except for the cooked chicken, (that gets added later) into a large soup pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 3-5 hours.

2. Remove from heat and strain into a large bowl. You can toss the vegetables, or put them back them in the broth. Put your broth into the fridge so that you can skim the fat off when it cools. 

3. Pick all of the meat from the chicken and set aside in the fridge to add to the broth later. You'll want about 3 cups of chopped up chicken. If I am using a carcass, I usually bake 2 or 3 boneless breasts to use since there isn't much meat on a carcass.

4. Once you have skimmed the fat from the broth, return it to the stove and bring it to a simmer. Add your chicken, bouillon, salt and pepper. 

5. In a medium bowl, combine your flour, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers in a snapping motion, cut butter into flour until it is a sandy consistency. Add milk slowly, stirring just until everything is wet and it forms a ball. It should be slightly sticky. You might not need to use all of the milk, or you may need a bit more. 

6. Sprinkle a good bit of flour on your rolling surface, sprinkle a bit more on top of your dough, and using a floured rolling pin, start in the middle and roll your dough out to 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Use a pizza cutter to cut it into roughly 2 inch square dumplings. 

7. Bring your broth to a low boil again, and add your dumplings to the boiling broth slowly. Don't worry about any flour on the dumplings, it will help to thicken your broth. Lower heat to a simmer after all dumplings have been added. 
Don't over stir after adding the dumplings. I usually just give it a swirl or 2 with my spoon to submerge the dumplings.
At this point, you can slowly add up to 1 C. of milk to your broth, if you want. Sometimes I do, other times, I don't. This time I didn't.

8. Cook your dumplings for about 5-10 minutes.  Add a teaspoon of chopped parsley leaves before serving if you want, for appearance.

Ladle into bowls, and enjoy.

It's All About You!

I haven't been posting much lately. I have been trying to decide which direction I should go with this blog. Something is missing here, and that something is you.
I need some input and ideas on what it is that you would like to see here.
How do I get you to engage?

I am thinking of beginning scheduled posts, probably 3 days a week, like M-W-F, and making one of those days a theme day. My ideas are possibly "Make My Favorite Recipe Gluten Free', where everyone suggests something, and then I make the most popular and post the recipe.
Maybe lunchbox makeovers, or restaurant copycats made gluten free? Weekly meal plans? Articles on coping with a Celiac child and all that goes with it?

In order to do this, I need ideas and suggestions from all of you. Being new to the blogging world, I am still trying to figure out how to encourage comments and interaction among my followers, and build a community where we can share and learn from one another.

I am on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and interactions there are good, but Facebook has begun to limit my audience and not many are seeing posts. I would like to see more of you participating here.
I have only once logged in here to find a comment, and can't figure out how to change that. I know people are viewing posts, but how do I get you to share your thoughts here? This blog is nothing without you and your input.
Somehow, I am failing to promote that sense of community on this page, and it makes me feel that we are all missing out on something good.

I am leaving this here, and hoping to find some comments and suggestions. If you have a blog yourself, and have any advice, I would love to hear it.

Garlic Cheese Biscuits Using Bizzy Lizzy Flourless Bread Mix

I received a box from Sheila at Bizzy Lizzy Bakery  a while back, with a few samples of her fabulous mixes, and I meant to get something baked up with them, but I was so crazy with holiday baking and candy making that I couldn't focus on much else. I do feel like I should also mention that I love the shirt you sent me, Sheila, and wear it almost every time I bake :)
If you haven't heard of Bizzy Lizzy Bakery , you ought to go to the website. Sheila runs the first and only flourless bakery in the country, and her goodies are delicious. You can purchase baked goods, along with mixes on her page.


Well, today I was making up a mess of slow cooker meatballs from Nicole over at Gluten Free on a Shoestring (they were amazing, by the way), and I needed to come up with some garlic bread for Chance, because we all know that you can't have spaghetti and meatballs without garlic bread.
That is when I remembered the bread mix that Sheila had sent me. With a few additions to the basic mix, I had some delicious garlic cheese biscuits that I can honestly say were a pretty good stand in for the famous biscuits of a certain seafood chain. They were soft and fluffy on the inside, with just the right amount of crunch on the edges.

Ingredients:
1 pkg. Bizzy Lizzy flourless bread mix
1 1/3 C warm water
6 TBL butter, melted
1 TBL garlic powder
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
8 oz finely shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 375* F

1. In the bowl of stand mixer, combine contents of package,1/2 tsp of the salt and garlic powder with water for 1 minute, let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Mix 2 minutes with mixer, or 5 minutes if mixing by hand.

3. Add 2 TBL of the melted butter; mix for 30 seconds. Stir in the shredded cheese. The dough will be very sticky and thick at this point.

4. Using an ice cream scoop, place about 2 inches apart on a parchment lined insulated baking sheet. Press the tops down just a bit. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

5. Add parsley to remaining melted butter with 1/4 tsp salt and brush onto the biscuits when you remove them from the oven.

Gluten Free Tater Tot Casserole

I have prepared a huge variety of meals throughout the years... fancy, plain, foreign dishes, you name it and I have probably attempted to feed it to someone. There is just something very comforting to me about a casserole. Give me a casserole for breakfast, brunch, or dinner and I am a happy girl.
Casseroles of all kinds had always been a popular meal in our family when we had 5 kids at home, but when the older kids moved out, and we were down to 4 of us, I stopped making casseroles much because of a picky eater that shall not be named.
Now that Picky Eater has a job and grabs something after work some nights, I don't feel bad about making something that the rest of us like.
This casserole is easy to throw together and can even be put together, covered and put in the fridge in the morning and tossed in the oven when you get home if you work.
I personally think that the leftovers taste even better the next day.

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs. ground beef (or turkey)
2 cans vegetables of your choice, drained (we like corn and green beans)
1 can gluten free condensed cream soup* (or equivalent home mix) - This is the recipe I use to make mine.
3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese, divided
3 TBL sour cream
1 TBS cornstarch
1 tsp. onion powder
1 TBS dry Ranch dressing mix
1/2 tsp pepper
2-3 C tater tots ( I usually let them thaw for about an hour first so they cook well.)
* If you use canned soup, add 1/2 C of milk

Preheat your oven to 375*F

1. Brown your ground beef in a large skillet and drain. Return meat to skillet, stir in everything but the tater tots and 1/4 C of the cheese.

2. Pour your meat mixture into a greased 9x13 baking dish, place tater tots in a single layer on top, trying to have them all touching.
Bake for about 35 minutes, or until tots are browned and crispy.

3.Remove from oven, sprinkle with remaining cheese and return to oven for about 10 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Peachy BBQ Pork Chops

My mom used to make a pork chop dish when I was growing up that I was crazy about, but when I asked her not long ago how she made it, she couldn't recall exactly what I was talking about, so she gave me a basic recipe that she has used for years, and I built on it. The result was delicious!
In the photo, I had chopped the peaches up in my food processor and added them to the sauce, but the next time, I added the peaches to the top of the chops towards the end of baking and liked them better that way.
We like spicy sauce, but if you don't, you can omit the sriracha.

Ingredients:
1 can peach slices
1 C catsup
1 TBS sriracha sauce (optional)
1/4 C finely chopped onion
2 TBS dried mustard
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 TBS worcestershire sauce
2 TBS All-purpose gluten free flour
1 inch thick pork chops (as many as you need- I used 6)

Preheat oven to 350*F

1. Drain juice from peaches, set peaches aside for now.

2. Put juice and remaining ingredients in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer for about 3 minutes.

3.Place pork chops in a 9x13 pan and pour sauce over them. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

4. Remove foil, turn pork chops over, place peaches on top of pork chops. Spoon some sauce over chops and return to oven for another 15 minutes.

Zucchini Bars With Browned Butter Frosting

I love veggies and will eat them just about any time, prepared in any way. My hubby and The Teen refuse to eat any veggies other than corn, and potatoes. Hubby will eat salad, green beans, raw carrots and radishes, but I feel they could both stand to eat more.

I am left with no choice but than to hide vegetables in places that they would never suspect.

This dessert is one of those hiding places. I originally intended to make zucchini bread, but as I was getting ready to mix it up, I realized that I had taken a 1 cup package of zucchini from the freezer... my bread requires 2 cups, so I decided to make bars.

These are not dense, and have more of a cake-like texture. The browned butter frosting is absolutely sinful, and my taste testers say that this is a new favorite.

Ingredients:

1 C finely shredded zucchini

2 eggs, room temperature

1 C sugar

1/2 C Extra light olive oil

1 tsp. pure vanilla

2/3 C (93 g.) All-purpose gluten free flour blend

1/3 C (42 g)  sweet sorghum flour

1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

1/2 tsp. sea salt

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 350*F and grease a 9x13 pan  

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside.

2. Beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add zucchini and mix well.

3.Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until smooth.

4. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting ingredients:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla

2-3 C powdered sugar

2-3 TBLS heavy cream (or milk)

1. Brown your butter while bars are baking. If you have never browned butter, here is an excellent tutorial.

2.Add the cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and cream, alternating between the two, until you reach your desired consistency. Beat until smooth.

3. Frost the bars and try to wait for them to cool before cutting.

I frosted my bars while they were still warm, and there was a big corner missing before I was finished washing dishes. 

I really need to catch that mouse ;)

Spicy Pretzels

With Christmas approaching, there is a half day of school on Friday and it has been declared a movie day for Chance's class. They all voted on a movie to watch, and everyone gets to bring a favorite snack and a drink. Chance decided that he wanted spicy pretzels, and they are one of the easiest snacks to mix up. I used to make this with oyster crackers before his diagnosis.
I will warn you that these are addicting though.
Pictured above are the ingredients you will need.

Ingredients:

1-14 oz. bag of gluten free pretzels
1/2-3/4 C. of Extra light EVOO ( I measure right in between the two)
3 TBL Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
1 tsp cayenne pepper (less if you like, we like it spicy)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp seasoned salt
1/4 tsp dillweed

Preheat your oven to 200*F

1. Combine all of your seasonings with the evoo with a whisk.

2. Pour your pretzels into a large bowl. Pour the seasoned oil over them and mix well, making sure to coat all of them.

3. Spread onto a foil lined baking sheet and place in the oven for about 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Let your pretzels cool before storing them in an airtight container.

Tis The Season For Cross Contamination

I got the notice from the school last week that the school Christmas parties are coming up this week and it made me cringe because Chance got glutened at last years shindig and spent the first 3 days of his Christmas break feeling awful.
This year makes me especially wary because they have opted to have a walking taco bar.
There is a part of me that just wants to keep him home on days where there will be a classroom full of fifth graders dipping into a buffet style meal, but I can't keep him from everything, so I am working out a plan for him to bring his own little taco bar that I can be sure is gluten free.
And although our school adopted a policy a few years ago where all treats brought to parties must be store bought and packaged due to food allergies, I will be baking some treats for him to share as there is one girl in his class that also has Celiac. I will be sure to list ingredients on the containers.
Do you think I'll be black listed and forbidden to provide treats in the future?
Guess who doesn't give a hoot.

I do what I need to do to prevent my son from getting ill and suffering damage. I have found that while many people are hyper vigilant about severe food allergies, many people still have the impression that parents of children with Celiac disease are simply difficult and that just a little gluten won't hurt.

No, my son won't go in to anaphylaxis, but he WILL become ill, and there will be damage to his intestinal tract. 

So Chance will be attending his holiday celebration, and he will be bringing his own taco bar and treats.
It's how I deal with the party stress and keep him safe.

Mish Mash Cookies

Yesterday I was doing my thing, getting busy in the kitchen and I called my mom in between projects to chit chat. I asked her what she was up to and she told me that she was making my cookies. I thought, 'How sweet that even though we are so far apart, she still bakes my favorites'.
Thoughts of her amazing raisin filled cookies and ginger creams popped into my head, so I asked her which one she was baking, and her response was, "Neither. I'm baking the cookies from that recipe that you came up with the day that you  couldn't make up your mind".
Yeah, my 83 year old mother was using a recipe that I had crafted and sent to her nearly 10 years ago, and then forgotten about. I went on a frantic search through my old shoe box full of different recipes I have come up with throughout the years and BINGO, there it was at the bottom of the box!
Now all I had to do was convert them to a gluten free version. Well, I did it, and here it is, just in time for Christmas baking.
This recipe makes 48 cookies.

Ingredients:
1/2 C butter, softened
1/4 C granulated sugar
1/2 C brown sugar
2 eggs, room temp
6 TBS peanut butter
2 TBS milk
1 tsp pure vanilla
109 g (or 1/2 C + 6 TBS) all purpose gluten free flour blend ( I used Krusteaz)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 Cup + 2 TBS gluten free oats
1/4 C semi sweet chocolate morsels
1/4 C white chocolate morsels
1/4 C chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 350*F and line an insulated cookie sheet with parchment. If you don't have an insulated sheet, you can double up regular sheets, and it will be just like an insulated sheet. You're welcome!

1.In a small bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda and xanthan gum well.

2. In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter and sugars till light and fluffy. Add your eggs, one at a time, beating after each.

3. Add the peanut butter, milk and vanilla; beat on medium high for 2 minutes.

4.Turn your mixer to low and add the flour mixture. Mix for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl if necessary.

5. Add the oats, chips and nuts, mix on lowest speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl if necessary.

6. Place in fridge for about 30-45 minutes. Drop by teaspoon or small cookie scoop about 1 1/2 inches apart onto cookie sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges look like they are getting brown and crisp. Remove from oven, let set on cookie sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool.
Let your sheets cool completely between batches. 

Sweet Potato Casserole

I love sweet potatoes. I could eat them almost every day without complaining, but I never really cared for the traditional candied recipe...you know the one with marshmallows?
When I was living down south, I was introduced to this fantastic recipe, and I can't for the life of me recall who gave it to me, but I cannot have Thanksgiving without it. I have one family member that tells me he won't come to my house for dinner unless this is on the menu.
It is that good. I have found myself eating it in place of dessert at times, because it is almost like a sweet potato pie without the crust.
This recipe makes a big casserole, so you can cut it in half for smaller meals.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 C (about 4 medium) cooked, mashed sweet potatoes ( I'm not too proud to admit that I have cheated and used canned)
1 C sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla
1/4 C buttermilk ( add 1 tsp vinegar or lemon juice to milk and let sit for 5 minutes to make buttermilk)
1/2 C melted butter

Topping ingredients:
1/3 C (42 g) gluten free all-purpose flour 
1 C chopped pecans
1/3 C melted butter
1 C packed brown sugar

Preheat your oven to 375*F and grease a 2 quart casserole dish, or 9x13 pan.

1.In a large bowl, mix together your casserole ingredients and pour into the casserole dish.

2. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until it has firmed up in the center when you jiggle it.

3. Combine your topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of your casserole. Place back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes, or until the topping has cooked a bit. It should look like pralines, and be a bit crunchy.

4. Remove from the oven and let it sit for about 20 minutes, because that topping is lava hot right out of the oven, and I don't want you to burn the roof of your mouth.

Coconut Flour Cinnamon Muffins

My boys would love it if I got up at the crack of dawn on school days and made cinnamon rolls, but I don't see that happening, so I made some muffins that have the flavor of cinnamon rolls, without all the work.
I make these up in the evening, and all they have to do is pop one in the microwave for about 10 seconds for a warm breakfast that is filling and tasty. They also freeze well, so you can double the recipe and freeze some.
This recipe makes 6 muffins.

Ingredients:
1/2 C coconut flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
4 eggs, room temperature
1/3 C sour cream or yogurt
1/2 C honey

For the cinnamon mixture:
1 1/2 TBS cinnamon
2 TBS honey
3 TBS brown sugar
2 TBS melted butter
1/4 C chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350*F and place liners in your muffin tin or grease them.

1. In a medium bowl, mix together coconut flour, baking soda and salt.

2. Add your eggs, sour cream and honey to the coconut flour mixture, making sure to mix well. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow coconut flour to absorb liquid while you make the cinnamon mixture.

3. Combine all of your cinnamon mixture in a small bowl.

4. Using an ice cream scoop, put the muffin mix into your muffin tin, filling them about 1/3 of the way. Place a spoonful of the cinnamon mix in the center of the batter, and top with batter to about 2/3 full.

5. Spread another spoonful of cinnamon mixture on top of the batter.

6. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I whip up some icing for them while they are still warm, but they are good without it.

Jerky

My men folk are crazy about jerky, but it's expensive, so when a friend went on an elk hunt this year and gave us some meat, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.
You can also buy a lean cut of beef for jerky. Flank steak works great. You want the leanest meat you can get, because fat goes rancid, and nobody likes that, so you want to take the time to trim away as much fat as possible.
I slice the meat when it is partially frozen, because it is easier. Also, if you slice with the grain, the jerky will be more chewy, against the grain, it is easier to bite off, and less chewy.
I always play around with different seasonings and you should too. Sometimes I make it sweet, sometimes spicy, and other times a bit of both.
This recipe results in a spicy teriyaki flavor.

Ingredients:
4 lbs lean meat, sliced into 1/8-1/4 inch thickness
1 TBS onion powder
1 TBS garlic powder
2 tsp cajun seasoning or jamaican jerk seasong
3 TBS brown sugar
1/2 C pineapple juice
1/2 C gluten free soy sauce
1/2 C worcestershire sauce ( Lea & Perrin's is gluten free)
1 TBS sriracha sauce
1. Combine all of your marinade ingredients in a glass bowl, and whisk well.

2. Place your meat in a gallon size ziploc freezer bag, or a large glass bowl.
pour the marinade over the meat and mix well with your hands. 
Place in fridge (cover your bowl with plastic wrap, if that is what you used), and let marinate for 12-24 hours.

3. Drain liquid from meat and squeeze out any excess. Place in trays of your dehydrator, leaving gaps between the slices so air can flow.

4. Dry at 160*F for anywhere from 5-12 hours. This will vary according to how thick your slices are and how much moisture is in your meat. I usually average 6-9 hours
I check it periodically by taking a piece out after a while and letting it cool. It should bend without breaking.
From time to time, I will use a paper towel to dab away any fat that shows up on the surface of the strips, because no matter how much you trim, there will always be some there.
You will find that it doesn't all dry at the same time, so be prepared to remove some and leave the rest to continue drying. I usually start with 6 trays, and by the end, I'm down to 1 or 2.

5. Let it cool and place in ziploc bags or if you have a food saver, package it up for storage.

6. If you want any for yourself, HIDE IT!

Rebecca's Gluten Free Baking Mixes Review

Rebecca sent me 2 different cookie mixes to try and today I helped my 10 year old make a batch of her Brownie Cookies. Yes, it is so easy to make these cookies that I basically just supervised ( until it came time to roll the dough into balls and put them in the oven. Yeah, I'm maybe still a bit of a mother hen). I rolled the dough into balls, and he rolled them in the sugar provided.

We decided to add 1/2 C of white chocolate chips, and they were great. Also, the package states that it makes 18-20 cookies, but we got BONUS COOKIES! We ended up with 32 cookies, and it was a good thing, because hubby started in on them before they could cool.

So head on over to Rebecca's and tell her I sent you. These mixes would make a great stocking stuffer for the Celiac in your life :)

While I did receive free product, I was in no way compensated for this review, and it is my honest opinion.

Parmesan Ranch Potato Wedges

I love potato wedges dipped in ranch dressing, so I decided to come up with a potato wedge recipe that has the flavor baked right in. These are a hit at my dining room table, and so easy to make that it's crazy. Just look at that picture and tell me that you don't want some...I double dog dare you!

Ingredients:
2 large russet potatoes, scrubbed and dried
2 TBL olive oil
3 TBL grated parmesan
3 TBL Hidden Valley Ranch Seasoning I'm not sure of the packets, but the canisters that I buy are gluten free.
1 gallon size ziploc freezer bag

Preheat your oven to 375*F

1. Cut your potatoes into wedges.

2. Place your potato wedges into your ziploc bag and pour the oil over them. Shake them around to make sure that they all get covered with the oil. I usually massage them with my hands to make sure.

3.In a small bowl, mix your parmesan and ranch seasoning. Pour into the ziploc and shake to coat your potatoes.

4. Spread your potato wedges evenly onto a foil lined baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray.

5. Bake for about 35-40 minutes, turning once halfway through.

Flour Weights Per Cup

Below is a list of gluten free flours and their weight in grams per cup.
And here is a link to a flour weight conversion chart for using when converting other  recipes.

Millet-120 g
Sorghum-127g
Teff-158g
Sweet rice-204g
Potato starch-192g
Corn starch-128g
Almond flour-112 g
Amaranth-120g
Brown rice-158g
Buckwheat-120g
Coconut-112g
Potato flour-180g
Tapioca-125g
White rice-158g
Quinoa-112g
Oat flour-120g
Millet-120g
Corn flour (Masa Harina)-112g
Corn meal (medium grind)-128g

Weighing Gluten Free Flours

I have had questions about substituting various gluten free flour blends for wheat flour in recipes, and tonight I am going to do my best to explain how I do it.
In some recipes, like coatings for meats, measuring by cup works just fine, but when you want to substitute a gluten free blend for wheat flour in a baked good, it is a whole new ball game.

Enter the digital kitchen scale...

Do you see my scale saying hello? That scale is one of my best friends when it comes to baking gluten free. I purchased this particular scale for less than $20, and it is worth it's weight in gold to me.

The important thing to know about baking with gluten free flours, is that they all have a different density, so they all weigh differently, and it is imperative to know the weights if you want your baked goods to turn out properly.
Before I figured that out, I tossed a few projects, which was beyond frustrating, and we won't even mention the cost of gluten free flours tossed out.

When I started weighing my flours, and writing down the weights of the different flours and flour blends, baking became a breeze.
I am about to drop some gluten free knowledge on you, and promise that you will be happy that you didn't play hooky today.

1 C of all-purpose wheat flour weighs 125 grams
1 C of my home made GF all-purpose blend weighs 140 grams
1 C of Krusteaz all-purpose blend weighs 125 grams
1 C of King Arthur all-purpose blend weighs 120 grams

Do you see where this is going?  If you have a scale, and know the weight of wheat flour, you can substitute a GF blend fairly easy.
Say your recipe calls for 3 cups, (375 g) of regular flour...If you are using King Arthur's blend, you would use 360g.
You put a container on your scale, tare it out and measure your flour.
If you want to figure out the weight of your own custom blend, measure and weigh it at least 6 times, and go with the average.

You also want to add xanthan or guar gum, as it binds everything together. Xanthan gum is expensive, but it will last a long time.

For pizza and bread dough, you would add 1 tsp. xanthan gum per cup of flour.

For quick breads, muffins and cakes, add 1/2 tsp. per cup of flour

For cookies and bars, add 1/4 tsp per cup of flour.

I am going to try to come up with a chart with all of the flour weights.
I have them written down inside my cooking notebook, but if I took a picture, you probably couldn't read my chicken scratch.

Does this make any sense to you?  I hope that it helps.

Chicken Tenders

Is there a kid walking this planet that doesn't like chicken tenders? I know that all of my guys love them, and they are a quick dinner to whip up. I can have dinner on the table in less than 45 minutes on nights that I make these. I serve them up with honey mustard sauce for dipping.
Add a salad and some potato wedges and you have a tasty meal.

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken tenders
1 egg
1 C milk
1 1/2 C. gluten free all purpose flour blend 
1/3 C grated parmesan cheese
2 TBL Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/4 C butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 400*F and line 2 baking sheets with foil for easy clean up.

1. Whisk together the egg and milk. Combine all the dry ingredients in a dish with sides ( I use a glass casserole dish).

2.  Soak your chicken in the egg/milk mixture, and drop one or two pieces at a time into the flour mix, covering well.  Transfer to the baking sheets. Repeat until all are done. 
Sometimes, I will repeat the whole process for thicker coating.

3 Drizzle your melted butter over the chicken, and bake for 30 minutes, turning them after 15 minutes.

Honey mustard sauce:

1/2 C gluten free Dijon mustard
1/2 C honey
1/4 C mayonnaise
a dash of lemon juice
a dash of cayenne (optional)

Mix well and chill in the fridge while your tenders are cooking.