Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Berry Cobbler

This almost-healthy cobbler is guaranteed to make your mouth water!

For filling:
3 cups mixed berries (blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry recommended)
3 tbsp corn starch
1 tbsp vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Mix cornstarch, vinegar, brown sugar, and lemon juice. Pour over berries and incorporated without smashing berries. Pour into casserole dish or pie form.

For topping:
1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour (Pamela's baling flour recommended)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Beat butter and sugar. Add in remaining ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over filling in dish.
Heat oven to 375 and cook 45-50 minutes.
Enjoy!

!Margarita Fajita!

These fajitas make for a fabulous Mexican fiesta!

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts or steak
1 can diced tomato
2 cups rice
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup margarita mix
2 tbsp fresh cilantro
2 cubes bullion
1 tbsp garlic
2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp celery seed
3 tsp chili powder
1/2 cup guacamole
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 425. Slice chicken or steak into thin strips. In a bowl, mix diced tomato, margarita mix, cilantro, 1 cube bullion, garlic, 1 tsp cumin, pepper, salt, celery seed, and 2 tsp chili powder. Heat olive or canola oil in a deep frying pan, and place meat strips in pan. Cook as desired, stirring occasionally. Pour tomato mix into the pan. Let meat strips simmer in the tomato mix until ready to serve.
Cook rice with 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp chili powder, and 1 cube bullion. Serve rice and fajitas with guacamole, salsa, and shredded cheese. Enjoy!

Friday, March 26, 2010

Shredded Chicken Tacos

A yummy, healthy, mexican recipe from mi casa to tu casa. Plan ahead with this: the chicken takes a while to cook, but after cooking and shredding it, the rest goes very fast. I make the shredded chicken on a day I have less to do, and have a taco dinner using the shredded chicken later in the week.

Ingredients

For shredded chicken:
2 Chicken Breasts
2 cans diced tomato, or 4-6 diced tomato
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 tsp cayenne
2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

For tacos:
Shredded Chicken
Taco Shells (corn, if gluten free)
Sour Cream
Guacamole
Salsa
Shredded Cheese
Shredded Lettuce
Refried beans

For the shredded chicken:
Put chicken breasts in a large pan and pour in just enough water or chicken broth to cover them. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil. Once at boil, reduce heat and let simmer 30-45 minutes until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove from water and let cool. Once cooled, shred chicken using a fork or your fingers, just like you would shred string cheese. Set aside shredded chicken. Pour out the water from the large pan used for the chicken. Dice onion and bell peppers. Heat olive oil in the large pan, add in onion and bell peppers, and let cook on medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring veggies occasionally. Add in tomatoes, shredded chicken, and spices. Stir and cook 5-10 minutes. You can either use the shredded chicken for tacos now, or keep in the fridge up to a week for tacos, quesadillas, salads, cracker toppings, etc.

For tacos:
Put each ingredient in a seperate bowl with spoons and let everyone create their own taco.
!Ojala les gusta la receta! (Hopefully you like the recipe!)

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

These wraps require a lot of mincing, but they're perfect for those days you just craaave chinese food!

Ingredients
2 chicken Breasts
1 onion
2 cups Mushroom
1 mango (or green apple)
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup Gluten Free hoisin sauce (BBQ sauce worked too)
1/4 cup tamari soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp corn starch
2 heads of lettuce

Mince the chicken, onion, mushroom, apple or mango, and garlic. Fry with sesame oil and oyster sauce on medium heat for 10-15 minutes until chicken is completely cooked. Add in tamari, hoisin sauce and corn starch. Spoon into lettuce and eat as a wrap. Enjoy!

Crumble Coffee Cake with Chai Frosting

This crumb cake makes for an amazing coffee cake. I used Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten free baking flour which gave it a slight bean taste. I would recommend another brand such as Pamela's baking mix for the all-purpose flour. The cake recipe is from Bob's Red Mill, the chai frosting recipe is my own.

Crumb Cake from Bob's Red Mill

Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 tbsp vinegar
2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 Egg
1 cup Gluten Free Rolled Oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
2 tsp Vanilla

Directions
Combine milk with vinegar and let stand 15 minutes until curds form.
Mix together flour, sugar, Xanthan Gum and melted margarine until crumbly. Take out 1 cup of the crumb mixture, add the cinnamon and set aside.

To the remaining crumb mixture add the rest of the ingredients, including the milk/vinegar mixture. Mix well and pour batter into a greased 9 X 13" pan. Sprinkle remaining crumb mixture over the top of the dough.

Bake at 350F oven for 40-45 minutes until a stick will come out clean.

Chai Frosting
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil if dairy free
3 or 4 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
5 chai tea bags
1/4 cup water

Boil 1/4 cup water and brew with 5 tea bags for 10 minutes. Whip butter or coconut oil. Add in remaining ingredients a little at a time. Spread over cooled crumb cake. Ta-da! You've got a scrumptious coffee cake.

Spiced up! Scrambled Eggs

I find breakfast is generally the hardest meal for a person living without gluten, so I'll supply you with my family's favorite breakfast. It's your job to get the ingerdient-amo and conquer the war between gluten-free and breakfast blues! This makes 2-3 servings

Ingredients
5 eggs
1/2 cup milk (optional)
1 cup shredded cheese (optional)
1 tsp olive oil
1 bell pepper
1 cup mild salsa
5 slices ham, diced
1/2 cup spinach, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup guacamole
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Whisk together eggs, milk, and cheese (or just eggs if dairy intolerant). Heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add in egg mixture. Turn heat to low. With a spatula, slowly stir eggs in frying pan every few minutes until fully cooked. Add in 1/2 cup of the salsa (save the other half), bell pepper, ham, spinach, and mushrooms. Slowly incorporate with with the scrambled eggs. Sprinkle on paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Serve with guacamole and salsa on top. Enjoy!

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Bread Pudding

This ridiculously tasty and simple bread pudding will take you just minutes to stir up and stick in the oven! Gluten free bread works perfectly for this recipe as it is usually already stale.

Ingredients

2 cups GF bread, crumbled

¼ cup raisins or cranberries

2 c. milk

½ c butter

½ c sugar

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

½ tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

Preheat to 350 degrees. Spray 8" square baking dish w/ vegetable oil spray. Spread bread crumbs on bottom. Top with raisins or cranberries. In medium saucepan over low eat combine milk, butter, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Heat until butter melts. Pour over bread and raisins. Beat eggs slightly and pour over. Stir slightly. Bake 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Wonderful Cake!

This cake tastes amazing while keeping a great moist yet sculpture-able, frost-able texture for creating 3d or birthday cakes. View some cakes I've made at camillascakes.blogspot.com
A lemon poppy seed variation is below the recipe.

Ingredients

2/3 cup corn starch

2/3 cup potato starch

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 teaspoons baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

2/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons oil or butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a baking pan with shortening.

2. Sift together sugar, corn starch and potato starch in mixing bowl. Add baking soda, guar gum, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, egg, milk, sugar and oil.

3. Mix and scrape the mixture into a round baking pan. Bake 25 minutes, until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a serving plate.

Variations on cake:

Lemon Poppyseed

Substitute vanilla extract for 1 tsp almond extract and 1 tsp lemon (or orange) extract

Add as much poppyseed as preferred

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These amazing chocolate chip cookies are the ONLY ones i've found that taste as good or better than the wheat-flour ones! This recipe is from Alton Brown of the food network with my variations on it at the bottom

Ingredients

* ¾ cup butter

* 2 cups brown rice flour

* 1/4 cup cornstarch

* 2 tablespoons tapioca flour

* 1 teaspoon xanthan gum

* 1 teaspoon kosher salt

* 1 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/4 cup sugar

* 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar

* 1 whole egg

* 1 egg yolk

* 2 tablespoons whole milk

* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom medium saucepan over low heat. Once melted, pour into the bowl of a stand mixer.

In a medium bowl, sift together the rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca flour, xantham gum, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

Add both of the sugars to the bowl with the butter and using the paddle attachment, cream together on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture until thoroughly combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir to combine.

Chill the dough in the refrigerator until firm, approximately 1 hour. Shape the dough into 2-ounce balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 6 cookies per sheet. Bake for 14 minutes, rotating the pans after 7 minutes for even baking. Remove from the oven and cool the cookies on the pans for 2 minutes. Move the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely. Store cooked cookies in an airtight container.

Variations:

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies: Add cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to dry ingredients. Omit chocolate chips, add 2 cups oatmeal, 1 ½ cups raisins

Snickerdoodles: Omit chocolate chips. Add cinnamon. Replace white sugar with powdered sugar. Add ½ cup cream cheese. Add 1 tbsp molasses.

Candied Pecans and Almonds

My mom and brother devour these by the handfuls, consuming them all before they've had any chance to cool. They take a little effort to make but boy are they worth it!

Ingredients
3 or 4 cups Pecans and/or Almonds
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400. Line cookie sheet with wax paper and spread pecans and almonds evenly on sheet. Cook 10 minutes.
While nuts cook, heat sugar, water, cinnamon, and vanilla on medium until sugar grains dissolve. Set aside until nuts are cooked. Add in nuts and raisins, cooking on low-medium heat stirring often for 7 or 8 minutes until nuts and sugar mixture stick well together. Put mix on cookie sheet and separate nuts from each other with fork (this is the time consuming part) until cooled. Stick in fridge to add crunch or eat directly! Must not be refrigerated. These make a perfect snack too...but in moderation if that's possible!

Simply Delicious Simple Custard

The perfect solution for extra egg yolks!
I started baking Bob Redmill's Gluten Free Wonderful Bread Mix, and realized it called for nearly a cup of egg whites. What to do with the 6 yolks I've got laying around? Ended up making a custard

Ingredients:
5-6 egg yolks
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
dash salt
2 cups milk

Directions:
Heat milk over stove. In bowl, beat yolks, add in sugar, vanilla, and salt, mix well. Slowly combine hot milk with yolk mixture. Pour into pan and stick in oven 350 degrees, 25 minutes.
Enjoy!

Lemon Ice Cream

When life hands you lemons, make ice cream! I had no ice cream maker, so I simply stuck all my ingredients in a blender and froze it afterwards. A bit watery but the family loved it anyways.
Ingredients:
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/4 c. milk
Juice and peel of 1 lemon
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. nonfat dry milk
2-3 c. ice cubes
Directions:
Mix until smooth, freeze at least 2 hours. Enjoy!

Java Crunch Ice Cream

Summertime calls for good old ice cream, but the pints upon pints of plain vanilla in our freezer were in dire need of a face lift. While making toffee I realized that was just the thing to mix into vanilla ice cream! This ice cream is sweet, but not too sweet, crunchy but not too crunchy. A little spoon of heaven

I Scream Java Crunch
Ingredients:
1/2 cup toffee (homemade recipe here)
1 quart ice cream (vanilla, chocolate or coffee- vanilla's preferable)
1 tbsp. coffee granules
1 tbsp. cocoa powder

Directions:
Let ice cream melt a bit (10-15 min), in food processor grind 1/2 cup toffee into tiny pieces. Place in small bowl. Grind the other 1/2 cup of toffee finely, until same texture as flour. Add to bowl with the first 1/2 cup of toffee. Add in coffee granules and cocoa powder, mix until all powders are combined. Spoon the ice cream into a large bowl and create hole in middle. Pour toffee/coffee/cocoa mixture into the hole in the ice cream. Using wooden spoon or ice cream scoop mix well. Put new mixture back into original ice cream carton and freeze.
Yum :)

Coconut Toffee

Whether you're using this toffee for "I Scream Java Crunch" or just as a crunchy snack it's a quick, easy treat you're bound to love.

Coconut toffee:
Ingredients-
1/2 c. corn syrup
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. peanut butter (almond works too)
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. Coconut shreds

Directions:
Roll out two sheets wax paper. Cover one sheet with 1 c. coconut shreds. In saucepan on medium heat combine corn syrup, sugar and nut butter. Cook 5-7 minutes stirring frequently. Add in vanilla extract, salt and butter. Stir until butter melts. Remove from heat. Add in baking soda, stir. Add in 1 c. coconut shreds. Pour toffee onto wax paper covered in coconut shreds. Form as you'd like, making sure to keep coconut shreds between toffee and wax paper.

Italian Garlic Chicken w/ Rustic Risotto

I love love love Italian food, but it's hard to go to an Italian restaurant and not drool over the glutenous pizzas and pastas. Here's an Italian dinner that beats out those drool-worthy gluten-filled meals hands down.

Garlic Garlic Chicken:

2 chicken breasts
Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp vinegar (i reccomend apple cider or white wine)
1 tbsp gluten-free mustard
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp or cloves chopped garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp pesto

Preheat oven to 425. Mix marinade ingredients well and place in gallon-size ziplock bag with chicken to marinate 30 minutes to an hour. Take out chicken and put on baking sheet. Pour any marinade left in bag on top of chicken. Put in oven, cook 17-20 minutes.

Rustic Risotto
1 cup Arborio Rice
1 tbsp Olive Oil
4 cups Chicken Broth
1 Cup Milk or Coconut Milk
1 onion diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 bell pepper thinly sliced
2 diced tomatoes
Salt and Pepper
1 tsp chopped garlic

Heat oil on high heat in a medium pan. Reduce heat to medium and add in Rice. Let rice turn golden brown (approx 2 minutes) stirring a bit. Add in 1 cup chicken broth at a time and allow rice to soak up liquid prior to adding more broth. Lastly add in one cup of milk. While the risotto cooks, stir fry the onion, mushrooms, bell pepper and tomatoes. When the risotto is fully cooked and soaks in all liquids, combine it with the stir-fry. Add in the salt, pepper and garlic. Enjoy with garlic garlic chicken!

Coconut Fruit Bread

Up for a mango banana bread with no added sugar or starches? Coconut flour is a great gluten free flour in that it's so high an fiber and protein while staying low in starches. This makes it a wonderful low-carb alternative for a healthy bread. After quite a few coconut flour experiments I think I've figured out the vegan gluten-free bread.

Coconut Fruit Bread
2 cups fruit puree
-- ideas can be banana (1 banana=1/2 cup), mango (1 mango=1 cup), apple sauce,
apricot puree, pear puree, berry puree, etc. I used 1 mango, 1 banana, and 1/2 cup
apple sauce
6 tbsp flax seeds
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp water or juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine puree, flax, vinegar, baking soda, water and vanilla and beat well. Add in coconut flour, xanthan gum and baking powder. Add in raisin and/or nuts if desired. Mixture should stick together well and not attach to bowl. Put into a 9x13 bread pan and bake 35-40 minutes. Enjoy!

Substituting Ingredients

I've learned a few lessons in substitutes from experience, and thought I'd share them with readers

Gluten- To substitute gluten you generally need starches such as corn and tapioca mixed with either bean or gluten-free grain flours such as rice, sorghum, etc. In order to hold the mixture together xanthan gum is also required. I'd recommend sticking to gluten-free recipes until you've figured out your favored balance between the starches and flours. Each flour has a distinct taste, never use only one flour for an entire recipe. I once used a garbanzo bean flour in a cake, and the cake turned out tasting like hummus.

Butter- I've only experimented a bit with butter, but in breads any fruit puree mixed with flax seed seems to do the trick. Per stick or 1/2 cup butter, I'd substitute half a cup of fruit puree such as apple sauce or a mashed banana and a tablespoon flax.

Egg- Again, I've only experimented with egg substitutions in bread, no other types of recipes, but I feel like I've come across a sturdy substitute for egg. Flax! Flax, flax, flax. For one egg, combine 1 tablespoon flax, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar) and 2 tablespoons juice or water. Beat the ingredients until similar in thickness to an egg prior to combining with recipe.

Sugar- What I've learned is a) stevia has a horrible after taste, b) xylitol should be used only in moderation as it can also function as a laxative, and c) the more fruit you can subsititute in the liquid ingredients, the less sugar you need. If you get used to less sweetness in foods, they'll taste better without sugar than they do with sugar. And flavors such as vanilla extract, cinnamon, and cloves enhance sweetness without calories.

Hope these tips help!

Quick Snacks

I've been trying really hard not to snack on the hidden candies on the highest shelf in the kitchen, so I came up with a few tasty treats to hinder my sweet tooth.

1. Banana Pudding- Mash a banana with a fork and add quite a bit of cinnamon and a few drops of vanilla to it. Voila! Pudding! Or try adding a few spoons of cocoa powder to the mix and you've got chocolate pudding.

2. Lightly candied almonds and pecans- see recipe in blog.

3. Ants on a log- celery with peanut butter and raisins in it.

4. Carrots and cucumbers dipped in salsa and guacamole. I prefer it over tortilla chips!

Hope these few ideas help :)

Blissfull Banana Bread

This is possibly the tastiest, and healthiest banana bread i've ever made. It's gluten, dairy, egg, soy and nut free. Lots of ingredients, but no lengthy process! And it's full of healthy fibers and fats from the flax seed, as well as tons of fruit! (Adapted from "The Gluten-Free Gourmet cooks fast and healthy" by Bette Hagman, a wonderful book!)

Combine dry ingredients:
1/3 cup bean flour
1/3 cup white rice flour or sorghum flour,
2/3 cup corn starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp tartar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves

Set dry ingredients aside

Mix wet ingredients:
1/2 cup applesauce
3 tbsp flax seed
4 tbsp liquid (either apple juice or water)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar, or any vinegar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
7 mashed bananas
1 cup raisins
5 drops stevia (optional for sweetness)
Touch of honey (optional for sweetness)

Add in dry ingredients, and pour into a sprayed 9x13 bread form.

Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes
Enjoy!
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