Breakfast 4Ever-y meal

by motherofwonder

(*We had these again! Still a fan favorite! And we’ve tested it out on Grandparents and Uncles… let’s just say, we don’t normally have leftovers of this meal!! Pictures have been added! (hooray!) And I noticed an oops! I switched the amounts of sugar vs. water in my sauce! Yikes!! So the parts that have been updated are highlighted!)

These are SO delicious… I felt a little selfish not sharing them with you! Really- soooo yummy! Good enough that my 4 year old that DOES NOT eat pancakes, NEVER HAS eaten pancakes will eat two of them, in one sitting. And says they’re “Ooooh, delicious!” They’re that good. I guess I should also note that Husband is the one that does our weekend breakfast cooking (you know, the days when you feed yourself and your kids things other than yogurt, cereal, or oatmeal). And so he found this recipe online and made it two days in a row!

Now the original recipe called for Gluten Free Bisquick (side note: I find it uber annoying when things claim to have these wonderful gluten free recipes and then say generic things like, use gluten free bisquick or substitute gluten free all-purpose flour for wheat flour… blah!! I know in general it’s for simplicities sake, but for me, it’s an extra trip to the grocery store) and it had you using a cup of “strawberry syrup” (I assume, like the ice cream topping). True to form, I HAVE to make it my own. So the first time we did the recipe exactly as it called for with the exception of the strawberry syrup- we just used a can of strawberry pie filling, and it was good (good enough to make again), but we knew it could be even better! So day #2 I made my own strawberry sauce, and of course, me being me…I made enough to freeze some! So there was my leftover fix of the night! And I mean this in all sincerity when I say it was so good that I will be trying it on various fruits and hope to never use generic pie filling FOR ANYTHING ever again! And so this time I made them (because we’re on week 3 of Husband working late) and I made them my way! So… I’m including my recipe! (c’mon, this is my blog after all.)

Yummy In My Tummy Pancakes

1/3 cup almond meal/flour
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 Tbs sugar/honey/sweetener of choice
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs canola oil
1 egg
1/3 package cream cheese, 1/4 in cubes *

Mix together the flours, baking soda, and salt. In separate bowl beat the egg and oil, add to the dry ingredients. Add in milk and mix. Once mixed add in the cream cheese, folding gently (you WANT lumps of cream cheese, not for it to be mixed in)…. and cook. Griddle 350 degrees or med. high heat on the range.

(Substitutes): You can substitute any/all of the flours for 1 cup of all-purpose flour (gluten free or otherwise). You can substitute the milk for whatever your “dairy” preference would be (would be so yummy with almond milk). You could also substitute the canola oil for oil of your preference. I wanted to use my sunflower oil, but couldn’t find it until after I’d made them.

*freeze cream cheese for best/easiest results

Berry Delicious Strawberry Sauce

1 pkg strawberries
1/4 cup sugar/honey/sweetener of choice
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp corn starch
1/2 tsp coconut flour

Wash and slice strawberries. Place in sauce pan over med. heat. In bowl add water and thickener -about a tsp of whatever thickener you prefer will work- and mix, add sugar. Add to strawberries. Cook until boiling, about 2 more minutes. Strawberries should be soft and syrup the preferred consistency, adding water by the Tbs as needed, or pinches of thickener as needed. You may like more sweetener as well. I started out with a small amount so that I could add it as necessary and keep my sugar content to a minimum!

So go ahead and pick up whatever you need for the ingredients and make your family your own version of this yummy, yummy treat!!

Gluten Free Life According To Me Recipes

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The Leftover Mama

by motherofwonder

I have at least 3 other posts in the works… but I’m just not feelin’ any of ’em. At least at this particular moment. In fact, the reason I haven’t done any new posts for about a week, is I haven’t been feelin’ any topic! I’m not sure what that’s all about, but I’m going to attempt and muddle my way through to break the spell.

I stay busy…pretty much all day, pretty much every day. And I am guilty of snack meals. I make the kids lunches and yet I just grab something quick. If at all. Sometime in the afternoon, the cups of coffee without any food jitters start to set in… and then I grab something. For me the worst is when the husband is working late… I make the kids dinner and sometimes will eat with them. But I’m very much less into making a family meal, when we’re not eating as a family. Which is silly because by the time I’ve searched through the pantry or fridge trying to decide on something that sounds good… I could have actually made something that tasted really good. Last night was a victory for me, small, but a victory none the less! You see, I’m kind of queen of the leftovers! I LOVE finding random things left over from meals that don’t have enough left to be a meal itself and finding a way of combining and making it new! Especially when it’s just the kids and I (they’re much less picky!). So this last week or two we’ve had: chicken sausages (the yummy kind from Trader Joe’s), cannelloni (ricotta filled!), pizza (Chicken, spinach, white ranch sauce), and of course various forms of noodles, just to name a few.

So night-without-daddy #1: There were only 2 chicken sausages left. Sweet Italian and Jalapeño. I put them in the food processor, mixed with some ricotta (left over from the cannelloni and ravioli) and put over noodles. (note: I always make at least one extra serving of all meals so that there’s enough for hubby’s lunch the next day). The kids ate THREE whole bowls full- each! I repeat: 3!! I barely had any, and there was none left for Daddy! But the kids were happy and full, and let’s face it, we wouldn’t trade that for all the lunches in the world!! Night #2: Also inspired by leftovers. Made rice noodles (that taste like wonderful egg noodles- seriously, so, so good!). Used leftovers from pizza! Ranch sauce had been thrown in the fridge in a dish with the spinach and chicken, so I put it all in a pot. Sauteed some more spinach, threw a small dish of leftover breakfast sausage in the food processor, and added in some of my “add to everything” almond flour… it was so yummy! Night #3: Made kids their favorite kind of sandwiches: gluten-free waffles (used just like 2 slices of bread) filled with nutella, a dollop of peanut butter, and a drop of jelly. Just as I was thinking about eating a waffle myself… I looked at the breast and a half of thawed chicken that needed to be cooked anyway. And the leftover mama (how many names can I make up out of this?) opted for delicious! And all but the almonds were left over from previous meals: spinach, blue cheese crumbles, chicken, toasted almond slices, and strawberry poppyseed dressing. So good.

We are hoping to start eating more fish… here is what I’m making this weekend:

Chili-Seared Salmon

2 Tbs chili powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper
4 (6 oz) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
2 tsp olive oil
Sweet Pepper Salsa

Combine chili powder, salt, and pepper; rub evenly over salmon fillets. Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add salmon, cook 4 minutes on each side or to desired degree of doneness. Serve with Sweet Pepper Salsa.

sidenote: For an easy but delicious salmon dish with crispy skin, be sure to use “pure” olive oil, not extra-virgin olive oil, which burns more easily.

Sweet Pepper Salsa

4 plum tomatoes, seeded and julienned
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1 lg yellow bell pepper, seeded and julienned
1 sm red onion, julienned
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbs fresh lime juice
2 tsp cider vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red pepper

Stir together all ingredients. Let stand 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I may double it, just so I have leftovers I can work into another recipe! What are your favorite meals to make out of leftovers?

Chicken Gluten Free Recipes

I’d like samoa please!

by motherofwonder

Let’s face it, don’t we all love girl scout cookies?! I bought ten boxes this year (yes, ten!). 4 Samoa (hubby fav), 4 thin mint (proptly placed in the freezer- my fav), and two other boxes of…I don’t even remember! Well, because Miss E can’t have any (the wheat factor) it seemed unfair for her to not have a chance to share in this slice of Americana. So I searched out recipes, compared, contrasted, and of course- made it my own! This doesn’t really fall into the “quick and easy” or “healthy” categories, but after sending out recipe after recipe to all my friends who’ve been asking for it (and therefore making me feel much less guilty about having made and eaten so many of these cookie!)…I’ve had a change of heart. So enjoy it, eat it up, and hopefully share them! (they also LOOKED really good, so if you want a recipe that is sure to impress- this is it! Hopefully I can find the adapter for my camera so I can post a picture of these delicious beauties!)

Samoas via the phone

This is my favorite (gluten free) version of the recipe:

1 cup butter, soft
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup almond meal/flour
1 1/4 cup gluten free all-purpose flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
up to 2 tbsp milk

*to make “regular” cookies: use 2 cups all-purpose flour in place of the almond meal and GF all-purpose flour (or keep the almond meal and just substitute regular flour for gf). And use 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract.

sidenote: I used the almond meal because I love the taste and because the current brand of GF all-purpose flour we are currently testing out has a “vegetabley” taste (it’s main ingredient is garbanzo beans). Adding the almond and cutting down the all-purpose kept that taste from lingering after baking (as did the extra 1/2 tsp of vanilla)! Plus the added protein and healthy benefits of having the almond in! (makes me feel a tiny bit better about eating these cookies!)

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk, adding in the milk slowly to make sure it’s not too sticky (you may not need all the milk- *I did need it*). The dough should come together into a soft, not-too-sticky ball. Add in a bit of extra flour if your dough is very sticky.

Roll the dough (in 2 or batches) out between pieces of saran wrap to about 1/4-inch thickness (or slightly less) and use a cookie cutter to make rounds (or the top of a glass). Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and use a knife, or the end of a wide straw, to cut a smaller center hole. Repeat. While I did a few circles with holes, most were flower and monkey shaped… because of course, I had helpers! And, to be honest, it was the end of the day, I was tired and cranky and got very quickly frustrated with the “stickiness”… And hubbyman finished rolling them out and cutting them with the kids. (Just another sign: he is a good man.) You can of course make them however you want in whatever shape you want. If you’re really wanting them to look like the girl scout version, then go with the water glass/circle cookie cutter route.

Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes, until bottoms are lightly browned and cookies are set. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. (let cool about 2 minutes and then transfer- sooner they crumble and if you wait too long they’re more difficult to move as well)

*If you’re making Samoa Bars: just leave out the baking powder. Press it out evenly into a parchment-lined 9x13in dish and make sure to press it out almost as thin as you would the cookies to match the girl scout consistency. Mine were a little thicker and while still incredible, made them a little different than the GS version and I think if the cookie had been thinner it would have tasted more similar. Bake 350 for about 12-15 minutes. (I believe mine took 15 minutes but I’d check at 12 and see where yours are at.)

Topping

3 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1 1/2 cup brown sugar *
1 cup butter *
1/3 cup karo syrup *
8 oz. dark or semisweet chocolate (I used semisweet chocolate chips and that worked perfectly)

*If you’re not up to making the caramel, you can always substitute in12-oz good-quality chewy caramels, 3 Tbsp. milk, and 1/4 tsp. salt. (Unwrap, place in microwave-safe bowl with milk and salt. Cook on high for about 3 minutes, stopping to stir several times- about every 45 sec.)

Preheat oven to 300. Spread coconut evenly on a parchment-lined baking sheet (preferably one with sides) and toast 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until coconut is golden. Cool on baking sheet, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Bring brown sugar, butter, and karo syrup to a boil over medium heat. Stirring frequently! Boil for 2 minutes. When smooth, fold in toasted coconut with a spatula. Using the spatula or a small offset spatula, spread topping on cooled cookies, using about 2-3 tsp per cookie. Reheat caramel briefly (stovetop or microwave) if it gets too firm to work with.

Sidenote: As mentioned previously I made both cookies and bars. So I used 4 cups of shredded coconut instead of three. It really makes a lot of caramel and I found that it was the perfect amount. Covered every cookie and every bar. So if you’re only making one batch of cookies (I figured it was way too much work for just one batch!) you can cut down your caramel if you’re making it from scratch. (the amounts I gave for the pre-made caramels is for one batch)

While topping sets up, melt chocolate in a small bowl. Heat on high in the microwave in 45 second intervals, stirring thoroughly to prevent scorching. (about 3 times) The original recipe (that I can no longer find anywhere!) said to dip the base of each cookie into the chocolate, but I found that was kind of tedious and a couple of times half the cookie part came off with the chocolate. I found it worked better to just put a quick swipe on with my spatula and place on a clean piece of parchment paper. Transfer all remaining chocolate (or melt a bit of additional chocolate, if necessary) into a piping bag (or make do like I did and use a ziplock bag with the corner snipped off) and drizzle finished cookies with chocolate.

Let chocolate set completely before storing in an airtight container. The base does take a while to cool and set completely.

*The recipe says it makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies but I found it was more like about 2 dozen.

end sidenote: If all the rolling out and cookie-cutter-ing sounds too time consuming and not fun, I vote for the bars! They don’t taste any different than the cookies and were so much easier! If I make them again, I’ll be doing the bars from now on!

Gluten Free Life According To Me Recipes

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Pasta-licious

by motherofwonder

I’ve been working through a post about WHY we eat and cook the way we do…but it’s not quite *there* yet. So, until it is, just know, my recipes will be gluten free, or how to make them gluten free… And usually, easy. I really enjoy cooking, but mainly only have time for easy. And I want to share recipes that other people would actually use- within the amount of time a normal parent has to get dinner going and on the table! That being said, I’m going to share 2 noodle recipes. Each are good, easy…and gluten free. Hubbyman even made the noodles yesterday!

Version 1 (from Gluten Free Italian)

2/3 cup brown rice flour *
1/3 cup tapioca starch (plus extra if needed)
1/2 tsp xantham gum
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 lg egg
1 lg egg yoke
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tsp for cooking the pasta
1 tbs water

Combine the rice flour, tapioca starch, xantham gum, and salt in food processor and process to mix. Combine the egg, egg yoke, and olive oil, and water in a small bowl, and whisk.

With motor running, pour the egg mixture over the flour and pulse until the dough forms into a rough ball. (If it’s too wet to roll out, add about 1 tbs tapioca starch; if it’s too dry, add a few drops of water.)

Turn out, crumbs and all, and pat together into a disk. Cut the dough in half and work with one half at a time. Enclose the other one in plastic wrap. Place the ball of dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and roll into a very thin, even rectangle approximately 10×12 inches, turning the sheet of dough several times. Repeat with 2nd ball of dough.

If using immediately, peel off plastic, and cut into strips of desired width. Lay strips on clean kitchen towel and let dry slightly, for about 10 minutes. If freezing the dough, leave the sheets inside the plastic wrap and cut later.

to cook: bring 2 quarts of water to a rolling boil. Add 1 tsp of salt and the pasta. Stir occasionally, until pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. Drain and toss with butter and Parmesan (3 tbs butter and 2 oz Parm), or sauce of choice.

*Italian cooks say you should be able to read a newspaper through it- hubbyman says then put a light behind it! We used white rice flour instead of brown, because it’s what we had! And no food processor, because it was less to clean! We also doubled the recipe and rolled out the two extra sheets and froze. They thaw in about the time it takes water to boil. This time we used it in a pasta salad and it was so good!

Version 2: (my version)

1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup corn starch
3 tbs potato starch
3/4 tsp salt
4 1/2 tsp xantham gum
1 1/2 tbs vegetable oil
3 eggs

Mix dry ingredients together. In separate bowl beat eggs oil, then mix with dry ingredients. Work dough into a firm ball, kneading for 2 minutes. Roll out as thin as possible (using potato starch instead of flour to prevent sticking). Cut in size/shape desired.

Salt boiling water with 1 tbs oil and add noodles.

*these ones came out very thick. I’m not sure if it was because I didn’t roll them thin enough or just how the noodle is. (my first attempt at pasta and my only try with this recipe) Would make excellent noodle for soup! (reminds me a lot of traditional chicken noodle soup noodles) And they were so, so, SO yummy!

Mangia!

Gluten Free Pasta Recipes

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food glorious food!

by motherofwonder

I don’t especially like when hubbyman has to work late. But… sometimes I appreciate that it gives me extra time to get things done, because I like to make the most of the time he has with us! And if you read yesterday’s post you know I am undertaking the project of “The Love Dare” on my family. Yesterday’s dare (on top of continuing the “not saying anything negative”) was to do something kind. Well, I’m at home all day with 3 little ones and the puppy… and I was a little tempted to just say the not saying anything negative thing was kindness enough! Instead, I put my kindness into “man language.” Also known as food. A language my husband, and even my children, recognize as love. I’d gotten a wonderful magazine (Disney FamilyFun) from my aunt with “ways to jazz up dinner” by Andrew Zimmern (from the TV show Bizarre Foods). And two caught my eye: Korean Fried Chicken Fingers and Chinese Peanut-Sesame Noodles. I opted for the first, but I’m hoping to try the noodles this weekend! While Erik came home earlier than anticipated and I started it a little later than I’d anticipated… it was still a hit! While fried of course isn’t the healthiest of choices, it’s better for you (and tasting!) than mcnuggets! The kids really LOVED it and so did the adults. So much in fact, I’m tempted to make it again tonight! And maybe you should try it too! Here’s how:

Marinade:

2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup minced scallion
1 tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
8 lg boneless, skinless chicken thighs, each sliced lengthwise into three strips

Side note: I didn’t have everything to make this recipe “exact” (and it just might kill me to follow a complete recipe word for word) used 1/2 cup minced red onion (because that’s Erik’s favorite so it’s what we had) and I didn’t have white pepper so I just used my black pepper grinder. I also used sea salt instead of table salt. Oh, and I used boneless, skinless chicken breast instead of thigh (again because it’s what I had!)

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the marinade. Add the chicken and marinate it in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes, but as long as overnight. (I suggest overnight or a few hours. I only did maybe 1/2 hr and it was still really good but I’d like to give the flavors longer to set in next time)

Batter:

Oil for frying
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup corn starch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3/4 cup cold water

Side note: I used veg. oil, but plan to try sunflower oil next time! And the flour I did 1/4 cup almond meal flour (because it’s just so yummy!) and 1/4 cup all-purpose gluten free flour. Again, I also used sea salt instead of table salt.

Fill a heavy, deep pan with 2 inches of vegetable oil and heat it to 350 degrees. combine the dry ingredients for the batter. Quickly whisk in the water until the mixture is evenly blended.

Use tongs or a pair of chopsticks to dip and coat the chicken in the batter. Fry the strips in batches of 6 for 5-7 minutes, then drain on paper towels. (I found that about 6ish minutes was a good time. And once you put them in, let them settle, and then scrape them off the bottom. If you wait to long they stick and removing them pulls a lot of the breading off. Also I’d just the next 6 strips in the batter while the other batch was frying.)

Heat the oil to 380 degrees. Fry the chicken in batches once more until crisp, about 60-90 seconds. Place the cooked chicken fingers on fresh paper towels and sprinkle them with salt. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

*If you were in a time crunch and didn’t mind using the extra oil, you could have a second pan set up so that after you drained the chicken you could immediately move it into the hotter oil.

The chicken would be good with rice or any kind of potato, or really any vegetable for that matter! I made mashed potatoes but forgot all about them! (Guess what we’re having tonight?!) And for the dipping sauce we used sweet and sour. (the recipe suggested it) Although really any kind of dip you have or enjoy would be good with this, I would think. It did also suggest a dip you could serve with it for a spicy kick…but I didn’t have most of the ingredients, and Miss E is allergic to most of them anyways. Plus I kind of shy away from recipes where I’d have to buy a lot of ingredients that I wouldn’t know what to do with other than this one recipe. (Although I do admit it does sound good.) So for the bold, here you go:

Spicy Korean Red-Pepper Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup Gochujang (Korean red-pepper paste found in Asian markets)
3 tbs ketchup
1/4 agave nectar (or in a pinch, corn syrup)
1 tbs dark sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tbs lemon juice

Mommy’s Helper Note: I like to make things the kids can help with and the kids LOVE eating things that they’ve helped to make. While they obviously can’t help with the raw chicken or the frying… I did put the chicken in a ziploc and had them help me pound them with a rolling pin (not necessary but thought they’d cook more evenly if they were uniform and I knew the kids would enjoy the activity). And I always let them help me “unload” all the ingredients into the bowl for the batter.

Chicken Gluten Free Recipes