Easy Snackin'

Blue Diamond Nut Thins are one of our favorite go to snacks.  These crackers taste great and you wouldn't really know they are gluten free.  The price on these are very reasonable and I can find them in all the stores I shop at.   There are quite a few varieties that are all gluten free.  Here is a link to their website. 

 

My favorite thing to eat them with is the new Land-O-Frost Premium Minis.  These meat slices are pre-cut into circles that are perfect for stacking on crackers for a quick snack.  Here is a link to LandO'Frost's website.

Chex Caramel Chocolate Drizzles

How can you say no to these girls just begging to try a recipe on the back of the Chex cereal box.  This one is yummy and quick to make!

3	cups Corn Chex cereal
3	cups Rice Chex cereal
1/2	bag (14-oz size) caramels (about 25)
2	tablespoons butter or margarine
2	tablespoons milk
1/4	cup semisweet chocolate chips

 

1.	In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals.
2.	In medium microwavable bowl, microwave caramels, butter and milk uncovered on High 2 to 3 minutes, stirring after each minute, until caramels are melted and mixture is smooth. Pour over cereals; gently stir until evenly coated.
3.	Microwave on High 3 to 4 minutes, stirring after each minute, until just beginning to brown. Spread on waxed paper to cool.
4.	In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips uncovered on High about 1 minute or until chocolate can be stirred smooth. Drizzle over snack. Refrigerate until set. Store in airtight container.

Quinoa Pizza Bites

I wasn't expecting this to be such a hit but we all seemed to love it!  This is definitely a healthy alternative to getting that yummy pizza flavor.  We will be adding this to our dinner rotation but I will most likely need to double the recipe to have plenty for my family of six. 

 

 

Ingredients:  
1 cup uncooked quinoa  
2 large eggs  
1/2 cup chopped onion  
1 cup shredded mozzarella  
2 cloves minced garlic  
1 Tbsp dried basil  
1 Tbsp dried oregano  
1 tsp salt  
1 cup chopped pepperoni  
1/8 tsp red pepper flake  
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook the quinoa and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low.  Let is simmer for 15-20 minutes.  Combine all other ingredients (except marinara sauce) in a mixing bowl and stir.  Spray muffin tins with cooking spray.  Drop a heaping tablespoon into each tin.  Bake for 15-20 minutes.  Serve with warm marinara for dipping.

Gluten Free Angel Cookies (aka Snickerdoodles)

I found this recipe HERE at www.lynnskitchenadventures.com. It is a fun find for me because I have always  loved to make gluten filled snickerdoodles and this seems to be a good substitute for my gluten free girls. I made a few changes to her recipe to include the sugar cinnamon mixture for rolling them in before baking.  Also I had a box of gluten free flour that I used instead of the separate flours that the original recipe called for.  The recipe below reflects my changes. 

(photo courtesy of Lynnskitchenadventures.com)

Gluten Free Angel Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 3/4 gluten free all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

 1/2 teaspoon salt

cinnamon and sugar mix for rolling cookies in before baking

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2.In mixing bowl beat together butter, shortening, 1/2 cup + 1/3 cup sugar, and brown sugar.

3.Add egg and vanilla.

4.In a separate bowl combine flours, cornstarch, xanthan gum, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add to butter sugar mixture and mix well.

5.Shape about 1 tablespoon of batter into a ball and roll in cinnamon/sugar. I used my cookie scoop and then dropped them into sugar mixture and it worked great.

6.Place on cookie sheet and bake for 9-11 minutes. 9 minutes for a softer cookie and a little longer for a crisper cookie.

New GF Pasta and Smith's

 

I am always on the hunt for new gluten free products on my grocery store shelves.  I was excited to find these Kroger brand gf spaghetti noodles for under 3 dollars at my nearby Smith's store.  They are a corn and rice noodle which tastes far better than many others we have tried.  I don't shop Walmart very often, but I do make a trip there specifically for their brand of gf noodles.  Now I will have one less reason to ever go there:)  I am loving all the gf products that are now being stocked on the shelves at my Smith's store.  Things are so much more readily available now then they were 5yrs ago when we started our gluten free journey.  Thank goodness!

Oven Baked Tacos

(photo courtesy of blogchef.net)



Several of my friends have raved about doing tacos this way so I thought we would give it a try.  I've never been the biggest fan of a meat taco, but this filling mixture is amazing!  Not only does it combine the meat and beans but I loved adding in my own seasonings rather than a package mix.  I would definitely recommend using the stand and stuff style of taco shells that are flat on the bottom as the cheaper round ones don't line up as well in the pan.  This is a great way to have all the tacos hot and ready so I don't have to be a short order cook and prepare each persons meal one at a time.  We will be making this again soon!  I used this recipe found HERE at blogchef.net.

Ingredients:

2lbs ground beef
4 teaspoons dried minced onion
3 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
2 cups shredded Colby-jack cheese
18-20 hard taco shells
Optional Condiments-
lettuce (shredded)
tomato (diced)
Salsa
Guacamole

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl combine dried minced onion, chili powder, cornstarch, garlic powder, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper. Mix well and set aside.


Step 2: In a large skillet brown ground beef over medium-high heat. Drain off any excess liquid. Add refried beans, tomato sauce, and prepared taco seasoning. Mix well.

Step 3: Spoon the taco meat mixture into the taco shells and place into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, standing up. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the taco meat in each shell. Place into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the tacos are heated through. Remove from the oven and top with any optional condiments for serving.

(Makes 8-10 Servings)

Gluten Free Yellow Cake

We were having a lazy Sunday afternoon when my girls decided it would be a great day to make a cake.  The only problem was that we didn't have a gluten free cake mix in the pantry.  So what to do?  I haven't always had the best of luck baking gluten free goodies from scratch.  I did have a box of Gluten Free Pantry All Purpose Flour so I felt I might have a chance.   

I googled gluten free cake mix recipes and found THIS one on allrecipes.com. 

I was surprised to see mayo on the ingredient list but the picture of a perfect looking cupcake made me want to give it a try.  I must say that it turned out great.  Maybe even better than great!  In fact, I also made another store bought gluten filled box cake for the rest of the family and even I couldn't tell the difference.  I like this recipe because it filled a 9x13 pan.  Most boxed gf mixes are only enough for an 8x8 pan.  I've included my own pictures to show just how lovely it really was.  I used Pillsbury's Funfetti frosting on top. 

1 1/2 cups white rice flour (I used 2 1/4 cup Gluten Free Pantry All Purpose flour instead of the 2 listed flours)
3/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xantham gum
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2/3 cup mayonnaise
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons gluten-free vanilla extract

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and rice flour two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans. (I used a glass 9x13 glass dish.)

2.Mix the white rice flour, tapioca flour (this is where I used my all purpose flour instead), salt, baking soda, baking powder and xanthan gum together and set aside.

3.Mix the eggs, sugar, and mayonnaise until fluffy. Add the flour mixture, milk and vanilla and mix well. Spread batter into the prepared pans.

4.Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 minutes. Cakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or when a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool completely then frost, if desired.