The Best Gluten Free Biscuits .. A Sunday Morning Dream

There is something so necessary about a good biscuit. A biscuit you can make up on those cold Sunday mornings, or perhaps for those Sunday evening breakfasts we are so fond of in this house. Something that is so good that the kids AND the husband keep going back for more ... until you know what... you are out of biscuits and they are asking for more. These have quickly become a regular on our table. Enjoy!

Fluffy, Buttery Biscuits -

2 cups brown rice flour

1/2 cup + 6 TBSP cornstarch

dont' ask me why those measurements.. I just kept adding until I liked what I saw and haven't bothered to update the recipe)

4 tsp baking powder

4 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp salt

8 TBSP sugar (again with the measurements)

1 cup butter, cold & cubed

4 eggs

1 cup hemp milk (or your choice)

2 TBSP sour cream

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. mix dry ingredients. cut butter in with fingers until crumbly. make a well in the center of the bowl and add wet ingredients. mix thoroughly with a fork and turn out onto a rice floured work surface. sprinkle top with a little rice flour and lightly press out to about 1 inch thick or more. cut with biscuit cutters (I flour mine to help with sticking), and place in a greased 13 x 9 inch pan. bake for 25 - 30 minutes until top is browned and biscuits have risen.

Baby It's cold outside... but I'm warm in the kitchen

Leaves are changing color, tumbling one after the other across my lawn. I love watching the world go by out my kitchen window as I am busily baking warm, yummy creations in the oven. I ran across this Apple Danish recipe at Flour Arrangements

It looked to good to resist. So I got to work. The wonderful thing about gluten free goodies, especially yeast risen ones, is that they don't require a lot of fuss. You mix, shape, and wait a bit to rise, then bake. No all day double rises required. Frankly, us gluten free foodies deserve something to be a little easier in our lives, don't we? The only modifications that I made from the original recipe were to replace the tapioca flour with cornstarch, and the corn meal with corn flour. Also, when I make it again I will definitely double the appley filling.. I love the taste of it.

After the fun of baking and braiding, I had to get on with the realities of the day, and paired the yummy danish with gluten free cornbread muffins, and a layered chicken salad. Both have become such a staple in our home that I know the recipes like the back of my hand. I must say, the cornbread recipe is by far the best that I have ever tasted (if I do say so myself), better than the original for sure.

Gluten Free Cornbread Muffins

* can also be poured into an oiled cast iron skillet that has been prewarmed in the oven.. for that crispy outer crust.

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup brown rice flour

1/3 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

mixed together, then create a well in the center of the bowl and add:

1 cup hemp milk (or whatever you like)

2 eggs

1/2 cup olive oil

Mix... mix...mix, then pour into your oiled muffin pans and bake at 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes... more if you are baking in the skillet.

They are DELICIOUS.. especially when served warm along side a chilled

Layered Chicken Salad

Simple to make, if you do a little prep.

in a 13 x 9 in deep dish pan layer:

organic lettuce greens

frozen green peas

sliced organic carrots

quartered boiled eggs

thinly sliced roasted chicken breasts, cooled

a handful of chives, chopped and sprinkled over.

In a separate bowl mix:

1/2 cup or more Canola Mayonnaise

1 - 2 tsp of sugar

Spread over the layered salad, then topp with grated mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle with more chives if you desire.

Dinner is SERVED!!! Time to go play with the kids.

Chili Steak Stew

Rainy days mixed with sick kids has me thinking about warm & spicy bowls of soup. Not too spicy, but just enough to kick start the immune system and make you feel warm and fuzzy all over. That's a lot to ask from a bowl of soup, I know.... I sort of went the route of a Stew & Chili combined. A little kick mixed with a hearty blend of round steak & vegetables.

*

Chili Steak Stew

1 1/2 lbs round steak, cut into small bite size cubes

1 TBSP olive oil

1 onion chopped

1/2 sweet green pepper, chopped

1/2 sweeet red pepper, chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3 celery stalks, chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tsp chopped jalepeno pepper

1 can organic adzuki beans, drained & rinsed

1 can organic tomato sauce

1 can organic diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

1- 2 cups organic low sodium chicken broth

2 TBSP mild chili powder

1 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

couple dashes of hot sauce, to taste preference

*

Heat 1/2 the oil in large stock pot and cook the vegetable for about 5 minutes or until slightly cooked. Remove from pan. Heat remaining oil and brown the steak in it. Drain off liquid and any fat. Put the vegetables back in the pot, along with the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then lower temperature to simmer for several hours. In my case I think I started it right after lunch and let it go until around 5 pm. It was probably ready long before that, just allow it to cook until a good thick broth forms & the meat is fork tender.

Sweet Potato Pita - Gluten Free

I woke up this morning with energy to burn... that is a rare event when you have a toddler. So, I decided to make good use of it and bake up something in the bread department that might be used for school lunches, and dinner tonight. Like always, I turned to my fellow bloggers for inspiration. This day I happened upon a gal all the way from the UK. ... she had several wondeful recipes for pita's that really struck me. First off, let me say to those of you that are new to the gluten free world. It's not unusual for most of your baked items to be more "white flour-ish" less "whole grain-ish" than I prefer. I am going for the baked items to be a healthy alternative to the whole wheat we can no longer eat. So, when I saw this recipe.. all those different whole grains & the sweet potato really jumped out at me. The one problem... converting the ounces by weight into standard cup measurements.. basically something I wouldn't need a scale to make. Luckily I had one of those scales that I use for soap making.. so I got busy.. I think that they turned out to be fantastic. The sweet potato really adds to the subtle sweetness of the pita, and luckily all of mine popped up in the oven just like normal pitas would . We have already begun feasting on them, as they made a great "home from school snack" stuffed with almond butter & bananas. As for tonight, they are going to be stuffed with Ginger Lime Chicken Salad. Thanks go out to http://www.milkforthemorningcake.blogspot.com/ for her creativity.

Sweet Potato Pitas

1 1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup teff flour (she listed millet, but I substituted)
1/3 cup cornstarch
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1 tsp yeast (possibly more for a bigger rise next time)
1 tsp honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1 organic egg
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup roasted sweet potato, skin removed

Mix dry ingredients first, then add in the wet. Leave for 5 minutes in the bowl while you ready the area for rolling out the dough. I used saran wrap & a little rice flour to coat each "egg sized" ball before rolling it out into an oval shape about the size of my hand. I left on the silpat lined baking sheets for about 30 minutes, as I prepared the rest. Preheated the oven to 390 degrees, and sprayed them down with a spritz of water & a sprinkle of seeds before popping them into the oven for 10 minutes. I rotated the pans about half way through. Removed from oven, cooled, sliced & used a knife to pry them open in the places where the bubbles didn't form.

Honest Kids Juice .... almost as good as water..

While meandering through the Walmart aisles the other day.. I happened upon a fantastic find... Honest Kids Organic Thirst Quenchers. These are simply... Fantastic, as they have only 40 calories per pouch and are filled with water, and organic juices. They give your kids a 100% hit of Vitamin C in a cool package.. From the Makers of Honest Tea & Honestly.... I am in love with them. My kids love them, and they are the perfect alternative to sending the same old thermos full of water in their lunches. Plus it's every organic eating, gluten free kid's dream ... they are cool to look at and show their friends.

Kid Friendly & Quick Too.... Turkey Burger Drumsticks Rock!

I am always on the search for quick and easy ideas for dinner that will thrill the kids. When I found a recipe for something similar to these in Rachel Ray's magazine, it was just the incentive I needed to get dinner on the table last night. Gluten free, healthy, oozing with melted cheese inside & crunchy on the outside... can you say Yumm-O to Rachel for the idea. Of course I added my own spin to it, and they were served up along side Sweet Potato Fries & steamed broccoli. Needless to say they were gone in no time.

Turkey Burger Drumsticks

1 lb ground turkey

1/4 cup or so milk (cow, soy, hemp, whatever)

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 tsp parsley flakes

1 tsp dijon mustard

(a tsp of any spice mixture you might like to jazz up the flavor... or not)

2 oz of mozzarella cheese (I use organic valley mozzarella)

2 cups or so Crushed CornFlakes cereal in a bag

6 - 8 skewers, break in half to make 12-16

In a bowl, mix the turkey, 1/4 cup evaporated milk, the onion & 2/3 cup crushed cornflakes; season with salt & pepper, parsley, dijon & other spices. Divide into 12 - 14 portions. Cut the cheese into 12 small cubes or thin sticks and thread onto each of the skewers. Wet your hand with a little extra milk, then mold some of the meat around each cheese piece, shaping into 2 inch ovals or smaller. Basically a little bigger than a large meatball, but oval shaped. Add the remaining cornflakes to a plate and coat each "drumstick" with the crushed cornflakes.

Rachel mentions to cook in a large skillet with olive oil, but I chose to put these on a cookie sheet in the oven lined with a silpat.. I preheated the oven to 400 degrees as I was also cooking the sweet potato fries at that temperature. I sprayed the "drumsticks" with olive oil spray & cooked in the oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the internal temperature was 180 degrees.

The sweet potato fries were made by cutting one sweet potato into "fry size" pieces and tossing in a little olive oil, salt & pepper and roasting at 400 for about 30 minutes. Occasionally shaking the pan to toss the fries around to brown on all sides.

A Sweet Tart for my Little Tart

Anything with lemons in it is always a big hit with my family. Yesterday was no exception. Having an entire day with just my daughter and I at home always inspires me to get busy in the kitchen making & baking with her by my side. She wanted to create a dessert, not an unusual request from a 7 year old. So my job was to not only make it gluten free, but also a bit healthier than it's lemony counterparts. Each serving of this gooey, lemon scented, sweet tart is only 316 calories & bonus... has 5.2 grams of protein in it. So, as far as desserts go my friends, you can rest assured this one will not spend a lifetime on your hips. And the kids .... they gave it two thumbs up!

Lemon Tart with an Almond Crust (8 Servings)

3/4 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp salt
4 TBSP butter
1 TBSP canola oil
1 large egg yolk (reserve egg white for later)
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup cold water

Mix dry ingredients together first in a food processor, then add in butter that you have cut up into cubes, pulse until crumbly. add in remainer of ingredients & pulse again until all ingredients are incorporated. Grease a tart pan with butter or spray. Press the crust mixture into the pan and up the sides, making as even as possible. Place in the freezer

for 10 minutes to harden & preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake crust for 10 minutes, then remove from pan.

In your stand mixer mix together the following ingredients for the filling:

1 egg white (you saved from the crust recipe)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice

pour ingredient into your tart shell & bake for 25 minutes on 375 degrees. Remove from oven and let cool. Sprinkle lightly with powdered sugar. * Inspiration for this recipe came from a fantastic photo that I found at www.heythattastesgood.com so go check it out... it's chock full of gluten free recipes.

Gluten Free Dinner Rolls

There comes a time in every gluten free converts life when you just want a good tasting dinner roll. I'm thinking "mini sandwich sliders" for little one's lunch tomorrow and these definitely fit the bill. They had that crusty, herby smell almost from the get go while baking in the oven & came about having risen and cracked open.... Yum. Speaking of Yum... the original recipe came from www.bookofyum.com ... I adapted it a bit by removing the tapioca and replacing it with cornstarch. For some reason tapioca and I do not agree... one of many things in my life I am sure. Try these.. especially if you are searching for that yeasty, warm, crusty outside that reminds you so much of standard rolls. You will not be disappointed.

Gluten Free Dinner Roll Recipe

Ingredients
3 eggs - use Extra Large (otherwise 4 large eggs)

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups milk (I used hemp milk, plain)

1 tsp. salt

1 TBSP xanthan gum

1/3 cup potato starch (NOT flour)

1 cup white rice flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup tapioca starch (I substituted corn starch)

1/3 c. GF teff or buckwheat flour

1 TBSP active dry yeast

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

For rosemary thyme variation, mix chopped fresh thyme and rosemary, and dried onion flakes with a dash of olive oil and reserve. I used dried rosemary, italian seasoning & dried onion flakes in mine & decorated on top)

Garnish: More fresh, chopped rosemary (or dried), fresh thyme, chopped, black or kosher/gourmet salt (large crystals are key), dried onion flakes, and anything else you feel like.

Directions

Preheat Oven to 380 degrees.* Note: the gal who wrote this actually started these at a higher temperature, more like 450, and then turned the temperature down, in the attempt to get a crunchier crust. Try experimenting with the temperature and see what you like. I personally warmed my oven up to 450 along with the water inside to create steam, then turned the oven down when I put the rolls in.

Beat eggs in heavy duty mixer and then add oil, vinegar, and sugar, combining. Add dry ingredients. Warm milk in the microwave (or on the stove) and add to the bowl, gently folding it into the flour. Add your rosemary thyme mix. Turn on motor, let ingredients combine thoroughly then turn power to medium and leave for 4 minutes while it stirs.

Spray baking pan (cookie sheet type) with nonstick cooking spray and/or line with parchment paper. The original recipe says to flour your hands with gluten free rice flour and grab a ball of dough from the mixing bowl. Gently shape it into a roll. Place it on the prepared cookie sheet. Make another roll, continuing until all dough has been used for rolls. I used a spoon and sort of formed the rolls that way.

Brush with whisked egg. Sprinkle with garnish (fresh herbs, salt, onion), poppy seeds or sesame seeds if desired.

Let it rise in a warm place until doubled. (Frankly mine never doubled, but I did let them sit for 20 minutes to rest before I put them in the oven).

Place a pan 1/2 inch of boiling water on the lowest rack in the oven 5 minutes before you put the bread in and leave in there until bread is done. Open oven, put in your rack of rolls and let bake for 20-25 minutes. This should result in a crunchier outer crust.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls ... so BAD, but so GOOD!!!

There are times in your life to eat healthy, which I would say is MOST of the time in this house. Then there are times when your husband tells you that the one thing he misses from the pre gluten free days is a good warm cinnamon roll. Of course the kids are always willing participants, so online I went in search of somebody elses idea for cinnamon rolls, because FRANKLY.. I was at a loss. I do believe I have found the mother ship folks. These went together in about 30 minutes of prep work, no need to even rise. Popped them in the oven and WALAH!!! the best darn cinnamon rolls that my husband says he can remember tasting. Even better than the wheat variety according to him. So, with valentines day fast approaching, what better time to bake up these SWEETS for your SWEETIE. Mine loved them and you know they say there is no better way to a man's heart than through his sweet tooth. So, I am allowing this one indulgence for all of you out there who might like to go off the health wagon for the day. Enjoy.

Cinammon Rolls (recipe from http://www.iamglutenfree.blogspot.com/)

Serves 8 or 9

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons shortening (I used butter)

1/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup of milk, room temperature

1 packet yeast (about 1 tablespoon)

1 egg

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup potato starch

1 cup corn starch (someone subbed arrowroot successfully)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 teaspoons xantham gum

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

TO SPRINKLE ON BOARD COVERED WITH PLASTIC WRAP

1 - 2 tablespoons sugar

FILLING

1 cup brown sugar ( actually cut this down to 1/2 cup and had leftovers)

1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped nuts - optional

GLAZE

¾ cup powdered or confectionary sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

milk to thicken (I used soymilk)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In medium bowl, combine shortening and sugar. Mix well. Measure warm milk and add yeast to milk. Whisk well to fully dissolve. Add milk/yeast to sugar mixture. Add remaining ingredients. Mix very well, being sure to remove all lumps. Dough will be quite soft. Take a piece of plastic wrap and lay it out so it covers a 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" square. Sprinkle sugar on the wrap. Lay ball of dough on top of that. Then pull out another sheet of wrap and gently lay over the dough. Pat the dough down into a roughly squarish pancake. Lift the top wrap up and then reposition it. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough in between the two layers of wrap. Occasionally you'll have to lift and reposition the wrap because it gets "stuck" under the edges. You might have to occasionally flip the whole thing over. Make sure that when you're done you've got ABOUT a 13 1/2" x 13 1/2" square of dough.Remove top piece of wrap. Combine filling ingredients. Spread evenly across dough's surface. (Original recipe poster suggested leaving about a 1 1/2" sugar free edge because when you roll the dough all the sugar shifts and fills this in; otherwise all the sugar spills out). Use the bottom piece of wrap to lift the edge of the dough and start to roll it up forming a long cylinder. Start with the sugary edge, which will be the center of your roll and roll toward the sugarless edge. Cut off or trim up the irregular ends of your "log". Then cut into 8 or 9 slices of similar size, about 1 1/2" wide. Place rolls into a greased round glass pie pan. Bake approximately 20 minutes, until tops are lightly browned. Combine powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk to make glaze. The amount of milk you use will depend on how thick you want the glaze to be. Stir until all lumps are dissolved. Drizzle over warm rolls if desired.

Homemade Pizza Worth Making at Home

I tell you, this Gluten Free business can be hard somedays. Especially if you have a family that loves their pizza. Unfortunately there is only one place that I have found where I can order gluten free pizza and have them deliver, and that is San Diego. Washington State farm country on the other hand...... not so much. So, it was up to dear ole mom to devise a plan. I didn't just want some sort of thing that kinda resembled pizza. I wanted the real thing darn it. The thing about this pizza is that is was fantastic. We all loved the way the crust felt light on the inside and crispy on the outside. I threw some pasta sauce, leftover grilled chicken, steamed veggies & mozzarella on top and it was a meal for the whole family. I found this recipe online at www.suretalent-books.com/recipes. What I have found about gluten free baking is that you can actually play around with the recipe and substitute this flour for that one. So don't be alarmed if for some reason you are out of teff flour. I have successfully substituted sorghum or buckwheat. It just changes the flavors a bit or the appearance, but hey you might just find out that you like your new creation better anyway. So tonight, when the kids ask what's for dinner, you can say "Pizza!"

Thick Crust Pizza

1 1/4 cup cornstarch

3/4 cup millet flour

2 cups white rice flour (I have used brown rice too)

1/4 cup teff flour

1 1/2 TBSP Xanthan Gun

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 TBSP sugar

1 TBSP honey

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 egg white

1 3/4 cups warm water

Place cornstarch, flours, xanthan gum, salt, spices & yeast in the mixing bowl; mix. Add in the vinegar, sugar, honey, oil, eggs, egg white & lastly the warm water; mix. Increase the speed to high and beat for 4 minutes.

Coat your pizza pans with spray. Dough will be a bit sticky to work with. I used a spatula sprayed with nonstick spray to help spread it into a pizza shape. Form the dough around the edge of the pizza thicken that the inner region. Allow to sit in a warm, dry location loosely covered with plastic wrap for 40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and pre bake the crusts for 20 minutes. Remove the pizza crusts for the oven. Increase the temperature to 400 degreees. Then add your toppings of choice & cook for an additional 20 minutes. Just make sure the meat you put on top is ALREADY cooked. Enjoy!