Gluten Free Cookie Mix in a Jar

I just created this, and I'm really excited! This is a tried and true recipe, that I just adapted into a jar mix. The only thing that I think I will do differently next time, is put the butterscotch chips in a different place...maybe next to the chocolate chips.  The flour layer was so thick, that as you can see in the picture, you can't really see the butterscotch chips at the top. (Although it is entirely possible that the flour could have been packed down farther, as my 8 year old put this together and may not have had the strength to do so.)

Here are the layers, going from bottom to top:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• flour mix: 1 c. rice flour, 1/2 c. tapioca flour, 3/4 cup sorghum flour, 2 tsp. xanthan gum (mix together in bowl, then add to jar)
• 3/4 cup butterscotch chips

Layer in order, packing each ingredient down after you pour it in.  Attach directions onto jar; see photo above.

 I'd love feedback on this if you make it.  Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!

Recipe Jackpot!

This is the picture from Heidi's blog...she added in M&Ms which is a fabulous idea!

Man oh man...did I ever hit the recipe jackpot! 

Chocolate chip cookies.

For months I have been relying on Betty Crocker's chocolate chip cookie mix, or Pamela's mix.  I had tried other recipes from scratch, but didn't like any of them enough to keep making them.  Unfortunately, money is tight and my food budget is tiny, so I can never afford to pick up a mix anymore.  So I did another online search for recipes.  Boy am I glad I did!

Say hello to Gluten Free "Toll House" Chocolate Chip cookies.  Many thanks to Heidi over at Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom.  These are delicious and you can't tell they are gluten free!

Such a wonderful discovery (other than what it may do to my waistline)!

Sausage & Zucchini Polenta Bake

A wonderful way to use up that zucchini from your garden!  This is super simple to make, and delicious.  ALL of my kids loved this dish.  I posted a similar recipe quite awhile back, but have improved on it since then.

Sausage & Zucchini Polenta Bake

Ingredients:

18 oz polenta (if you live near Trader Joe's, that is where I got mine)
1/2 lb italian sausage
26 oz. jar pasta sauce
1 large or 2 small sliced zucchini
shredded parmesan cheese

Grease a 9 x 13" pan. Brown sausage and drain; slice polenta into thin slices. In pan, layer half of the polenta, followed by half of the sausage, and half of the sauce. Top with parmesan cheese (however much you desire...I like lots) then repeat layers and top with more parmesan. Cover with foil. Bake in 400 degree oven for 35 minutes, then take foil off and bake another 5 minutes. Let stand for about 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a tossed green salad.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Muffins

I found a delicious recipe for zucchini muffins at Gluten Free Homemaker's wonderful site!  These are soooo good, I have to make a double batch for my family, and even then they go quickly.  This is a great way to use up all of that zucchini from your garden.  Head on over to the website to get the recipe.  You won't regret it!

Udi's Gluten Free Buns

Guess what?!?  Udi's--the wonderful company that has made being gluten free tolerable--has come out with hamburger and hot dog buns!  Oh. my. goodness.  I have yet to taste them, but I am already dreaming of eating a burger WITH A BUN. 

It's been almost 3 years.

I'm very excited--can you tell???

When I make my long-awaited burger, which will be soon, I will take a picture and post it on here.  Because such great moments should be caught on film!

Cornbread

I am absolutely certain that this is the best gluten free cornbread recipe out there! It is fluffy, and sweet, and...just delicious.  And no one can even tell it's gluten free!  I dare you to serve this to someone who is NOT gluten free and not say anything.  They will say it's delicious, and they will not believe you when you tell them that there is no gluten in it!

Ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp. xanthan gum
3 T. sugar
1 T. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 buttermilk
1/4 cup oil

In a large bowl, combine cornmeal, flours, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs, then add milk, buttermilk, and oil.  Beat together until combined, then add to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Pour into a greased 9 x 9 inch baking pan.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

DELICIOUS!  Enjoy!

This post is linked to Gluten Free Wednesdays

Rice Krispies Going Gluten Free!

Hooray!  Kellogg's has announced that they will be releasing Gluten Free Rice Krispies in June.  It will be made with brown rice, and the ingredients are as follows:

Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® Gluten Free cereal

Ingredients: Whole grain brown rice, sugar, contains 2% or less of salt, BHT for freshness.
Vitamins and Minerals: Iron, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), vitamin E (alpha tocopherol acetate), niacinamide, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine hydrochloride), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B1 (thiamin hydrochloride), folic acid, vitamin D, vitamin B12.

Kosher Status

Kosher/Parve

I just thought I would share that wonderful tidbit of gluten free news!

Chicken Pot Pie

Ahhhh....there is no comfort food quite like pot pie, is there?  Previously I had been making my gluten free pot pie with a pie crust made from Pamela's bread mix, but I didn't totally like the overall flavor.  So, I experimented using a biscuit topping, and it turned out really yummy!  I used leftover chicken from a whole roasted chicken.  Here is what I did:

For the filling:

1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup rice flour
1/4 tsp pepper
few dashes of salt
1-3/4 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
leftover chopped chicken (approx. 1-2 cups...I use whatever I have on hand and it always works)
2-1/2 cups vegetables (varies...see below)*
2 cloves minced garlic

In a medium saucepan, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent.  Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.  Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk.  Simmer over medium low heat until thick.  While that is simmering, get a large bowl and put your chicken, vegetables, and garlic in it, and toss all together.  *For the veggies, I either use 2-1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies, which is definitely the easiest, or if I don't have that, I will mix a combination of chopped carrots and celery, frozen or canned corn, and frozen green beans.  Any combination will work great.  If you do the fresh carrots and celery, it works best to boil them for a couple of minutes first to partially precook them.

Next prepare your biscuit dough.  You will need:

1 cup millet flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. sugar (you might want to omit if you don't want sweet dough)
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk

Combine dry ingredients in a mixer bowl.  Add oil, egg, and buttermilk, and beat on high about 30 seconds.  Then, what I did was I put a "blob" of the dough in the bottom of a pie plate, and spread it to cover the bottom to make a thin crust.  Sorry I can't be more specific on the amount, but I put just enough to cover it.  Next, pour your chicken/vegetable mix into the pie plate on top of the crust.  Then pour your thickened hot filling over the top of that.  Finally, drop the remainder of the biscuit dough, by spoonfuls, over the top of the filling, covering as much of it as possible.

Bake in preheated oven at 425 degrees for about 35 minutes, or until dough is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

If you try my recipes and you like them, please leave a comment!  Thank you, and enjoy!

Absolutely Perfect Bran Flax Waffles

Yum!  Non gluten free hubby and son love these, and say they're better than wheat waffles!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten free flour mix
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup flax meal
• 1/4 cup rice bran
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 T. brown sugar

In a large bowl, combine flour mix, baking powder, salt, flax meal, and rice bran; mix well.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs, then add buttermilk, milk, oil, vanilla, and sugar.  Beat together, and then add to flour mix.  Stir with whisk just until combined.  Batter will be thick and lumpy...don't worry, it's supposed to be like that!  Hubby always thinks it looks too thick, and I've tried adding liquid, but then they don't turn out right!  Cook according to the directions on your waffle baker.  In mine, I pour 1/3 cup of batter per waffle, and bake for 7 minutes.  Enjoy!  Leftovers can go in the freezer, and work great as freezer waffles another day.

Butterscotch Brownies

These are amazing!  Eat as is, or with vanilla ice cream. 

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup gluten free flour mix
• 1 tsp. xanthan gum
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 of a 12 oz bag butterscotch chips
• 1/2 cup coconut

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add vanilla and eggs and stir to combine.  Add flour mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt and mix well.  Stir in butterscotch chips and coconut.  Pour into a greased 8x8 inch pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Delicious!!

I-Can't-Believe-These-Are-Gluten-Free Brownies

Be verrrry careful with these...you will want to eat the whole pan!

• 2/3 cup gluten free flour mix
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
• 6 oz. semisweet chocolate (use squares, or weigh chocolate chips with scale)
• 1/2 c. butter
• 1-1/8 cups sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (any kind! milk chocolate is delicious, but semisweet works also...or white or peanut butter...)

1)  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line an 8-inch square baking pan with foil and grease foil.

2)  Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and xanthan gum in a small bowl.  Set aside.

3)  Melt chocolate and butter in a medium-size saucepan over low heat.  Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla.  Whisk in eggs, one at a time, and continue to whisk until mixture is completely smooth and glossy.  Add flour mixture and whisk until just incorporated.  Sitr in nuts and chocolate chips.

4)  Pour batter into pan and place in preheated oven.  Bake about 45 minutes are until knife inserted in center comes out with wet crumbs.  Cool in pan on rack about 5 minutes.  Remove brownies from pan by lifting out foil, and cool completely on rack.  Enjoy!!!

Gluten Free Italian Goodness

This links over to my other blog, to a post on gluten free cooking:

http://countrymomto4.blogspot.com/2010/08/gluten-free-italian-goodness.html

Enjoy!!