Sunday, March 8, 2020

A million minutes

A lot can happen in a million minutes! Its been almost 2 years since my last post and I have missed blogging. Sometimes life gets in the way of the things we want to do. We moved to Kansas in 2017 and it has been quite the adjustment. I've had a daughter graduate and complete her first year of college. The same daughter went on a church mission to New Hampshire! I started working for a different Real Estate firm here in our small town. My other children have been very active in the local theater scene, and have been in numerous plays.. Life just doesn't seem to slow down. I'm still doing gluten-free baking on the side, filling custom orders locally.
I still dream of having my stuff in shops locally, but that hasn't come to fruition yet.
Meanwhile, I'm still baking and creating recipes.
Today I'll be sharing a simple recipe, but it's a goodie!

Fast as a Flash Pasta



6-oz Barilla Gluten-Free Pasta, cooked
1 TBSP Olive oil
1/2 small white onion, sliced
1/3 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
3 oz sliced deli salami
2 wedges Laughing Cow garlic and herb cheese
2 oz Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp red pepper flake

Saute onion in olive oil until softened. Add sliced cherry tomatoes and cook until juice is released. Add salami and cook until fat is rendered. Add cooked pasta and stir fry until pasta is heated through and starts to soften. Add laughing cow, and parmesan cheese.
Stir until melted. Top with Parmesan and red pepper flake. Enjoy!


Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Can you believe it's almost back to school time! (gasp) The school supplies are back in the stores,
and I'm starting up my bento box lunch meal-planning.
I don't know about your kids,
but I'm tired of buying Lunchables that my kids pick out what they want, and throw the rest away. Such a waste!
I'll be posting the list here in the future.

I love a good French onion dip. I believe Lipton brand was gluten-free at one time, but why not make your own? The original contained MSG, which gave me monster headaches. My son and I searched the cabinets and came up with the super easy version.
I hope you like it! Serves 2




Homemade French Onion Dip Mix

2 TBSP gluten-free brown gravy mix, dry
1 TBSP dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
8 oz container sour cream

Measure out dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, Stir and add sour cream. Mix well and let set in fridge 1 hour.
Serve with chips or cut up veggies.

There you have it- simple and fast. Enjoy!


Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Happy Summer!!!
I keep thinking that I will eventually give up on this blog thing(as you can see from my very sparse posts, I pretty much have) but I just can't seem to let go. Yes, I have no big sponsors, I'm not on YouTube, but I do enjoy sharing my recipes here.

This morning I was in the mood for Hot Chocolate but it's 80+ degrees outside here in Kansas, so that's a no! Then I remembered our local coffee house sells frozen hot chocolate for a pretty penny. Its like 4$ for a small!! Surely we can do better, so I broke out my blender and got to work.

I started with 2 cups of lactose-free 2% milk in the blender. I added 3 envelopes/pkgs of cocoa mix powder and blended until smooth.
I then added 3 cups of ice, and pulsed until smooth. I topped it with whipped cream, and gave mine a drizzle of magic shell( yes, the stuff for ice cream)


I served it in my colored plastic tumblers I got from Aldi on clearance. It was really good especially with the crunchy chocolate bits from the Magic Shell! My kids loved it!
Until next time!




Sunday, February 12, 2017

Nothing like a five year break in blogging , right? A lot has happened- a move, a complete change in jobs, and children graduating high-school. It all goes by so quick.
I'm in year 25 of being gluten-free and I'm still going strong and creating new recipes to try on my family.

January is a hard time of year for me. As others are making resolutions and changes, I seem to be battling the "winter blues" and just trying to survive day to day. I think this is a common thing with Celiacs. Our bodies just dont get the proper nutrients we need to be healthy, and let's not even talk about our weak immune system. Honestly, I just cant wait for Spring!

I thought I would share a recipe we made on a Snow Day in January. I just LOVE having my kids home, and the relaxed atmosphere it creates.


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For the Crullers
6 tablespoons butter unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup Potato Starch Flour
3 whole extra large eggs
2 extra large egg whites
Oil for frying
Pan Spray for foil squares

Vanilla Glaze
1/4 cup lactose free milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar

In a medium-sized heavy bottomed pan, place water, butter, salt, and sugar. Bring to a rolling boil over medium high heat. Add vanilla extract. Reduce heat to medium low and add flour all at once. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes. The mixture will be sticky. Place dough into stand mixer, and beat on medium for about a minute. Add eggs one at a time, and mix until incorporated. Place dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip.
Prepare foil squares by cutting 4 inch squares of aluminum foil from roll. Spray these with baking spray.(Very important or the cruller will not separate from foil during frying)
Set fryer to 350 degrees.
Pipe dough in a circular motion on greased foil squares.

Gently lower squares into hot oil one at a time(my fryer basket held three 3 crullers) Fry for 2 minutes while pulling foil square from donut(save these and reuse for the remaining dough) Flip and cook another 2 minutes. Drain on paper towel. While cooling make vanilla glaze.
Mix milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a bowl. Dip warm donuts in glaze and drain on baking rack. We love these with homemade hot cocoa!


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

The Bomb!

One of my favorite places to eat gluten-free, is PF Changs. For the last year we lived in a state, yes I said a state, that did not have one location. So, I perfected a copy cat version of my favorites, Mongolian Beef and Chicken Lettuce wraps. That got me to thinking of my favorite dessert, the Chocolate Raspberry Bomb torte. You know the little round, chocolate dessert, with the fancy vanilla and raspberry sauce. I'm happy to say, that last nights version tasted exactly like the one at PF Changs. The recipe is a little time consuming, as you are making two sauces that accompany the chocolate torte. This dessert is pretty heavy on the dairy side, so if you have that intolerance, you might want to try some substitutes. Here's the recipe:




P. F. Chang's Chocolate Raspberry Bomb Torte
serves 5


1/2 cup Butter
3 cups Semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 Eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Vanilla Sauce

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 Vanilla extract
4 Egg yolks

Raspberry Sauce

1 12 oz bag frozen raspberries, thawed
3 tablespoons Granulated sugar
4 tablespoons Water

Fresh Raspberries for garnish


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate chips and stir occasionally until chocolate is completely melted. Do not over melt! Remove chocolate from heat to cool.
Beat 4 eggs until fluffy in a large bowl, add sugar and vanilla and mix well until sugar is dissolved.
Temper the egg mixture by mixing in just a few tablespoons of the warm chocolate. Add the remaining chocolate mixture, and stir until well combined.
Pour the batter into 5 buttered and parchment paper lined ramekins. Bake for 30 minutes or until middle of the cake begins to firm up. Remove and cool to room temp, then cover, and chill in fridge.

To prepare the vanilla sauce,combine cream with 1/4 cup sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat mixture, stirring often, just until boiling, then remove from heat.(watch carefully to avoid boil over)
In a medium bowl whisk together remaining 1/4 cup of sugar,vanilla, and egg yolks until smooth. Temper the egg yolks by adding a few tablespoons of the hot cream mixture. Pour the entire mixture back into the saucepan and heat it up again, stirring often until it begins to boil. Turn off heat and cool for 5 minutes. Then a cover using a piece of plastic wrap laid directly on top of the sauce and chill in the fridge until you are ready for it.

Make the raspberry sauce by pureeing the thawed raspberries in a blender. Add 4 tablespoons of water to thin the berries . Pour pureed berries into a saucepan over cook over medium heat. Add 4 tablespoons sugar. Heat until mixture boils,remove from heat. Cover and chill.

To assemble torte, I like to transfer the sauces to a squeeze bottles.( I like the Wilton brand) I squeeze a thin line of raspberry sauce on the plate, followed by larger dots of vanilla sauce on either side. I carefully invert the baked torte from its ramekin,peel off the paper, and place it in the center of the plate. Top with fresh raspberries, and a little extra of the the two sauces on top.

Warning: this is very dense and rich, and I often have to share a serving with my husband! Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Mini Cheesecakes

Well, it's back to school time again. And you know what that means, freedom, oh no, I mean baking! I love having free time, to tweak recipes and bake to my hearts content. I have been craving cheese cake lately, and was trying hard not to give in. Unfortunately my children don't eat it, so the hubs and I end up devouring the whole thing.
So I had the thought, how about mini cheesecakes? Maybe I wouldn't feel so guilty :)
Here's the recipe:

Mini Chocolate Chip Cheesecakes
Crust

1/4 cup crushed gluten free cookies or othe gluten free crumbs
2 tbsp brown sugar
a dash of salt
2 1/2 tbsp butter, melted

Filling
1 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line a muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, brown sugar, and salt and stir to combine. Pour over melted butter and mix together with a fork. The mixture should look like sand. Place about a tablespoon of crumb mixture in each of the prepared muffin cups and press down with the back of spoon.

In a large bowl, cream together cream cheese, sour cream and sugar until smooth and creamy. Then, beat in the egg and vanilla extract. Once combined, stir in the chocolate chips.

Evenly divide cheesecake batter between the muffin cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until cheesecakes are set.

Allow to cool for 20 minutes in the muffin pan, then carefully transfer cheesecakes to a cooling rack to cool completely. Store finished cheesecakes in the refrigerator.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Magic Cookie Bars!

Are you ready for some messy, chocolatey goodness? I am!
I remember my mom making these "cookies" when I was a child, which got me to wondering, could I pull off a gluten-free version?
The answer is yes. With just a few modifications, you too can have this yummy treat. The substitution lies in the graham crackers.

I used a mixture of crushed Rice Chex cereal, and some doughnut crumbs, from a recent baking disaster. You can use just Chex crumbs, if that is all you have on hand.
I'm not sure if there are gluten-free Graham Cracker Crumbs out there yet,(there probably is and I just don't know about it) but it would make the recipe a little easier.
Doesn't matter anyways, cause this bar cookie is totally worth it! Onto the recipe:


Magic Cookie Bars


1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/3 cups shredded coconut


Melt butter in a microwave safe bowl. Add butter to crumbs and press into the bottom of a 9x13 dish, that has been liberally sprayed with non-stick spray.
Open the can of SCM,(try not to eat it all)and pour evenly over the crust.
Sprinkle chocolate and butterscotch chips evenly over the milk layer.
Top with chopped nuts, and coconut.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
Cool completely, and cut into squares.