Gluten Free Caramel Rolls

I have been craving caramel rolls and thought the first morning having my little pumpkins back home would be a great time to have them. I followed this recipe for the rolls but I changed the sauce for them from rhubarb to caramel. They were so good and I couldn’t tell they were gluten free at all. This is either because my cooking rocks, I’m sure this is the reason, or I’m getting very used to GF breads. Either way I was pleased.

Caramel Sauce (from Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book)

2/3 C brown sugar
¼ C butter
2 T agave nectar (or corn syrup)

Place the three ingredients in a saucepan and stir on medium heat until combined. Pour into an ungreased baking dish.

It hits the spot!

Glutenfreeda's Real Cookies

The week my dad was helping Hubby drywall our basement I tried to feed the men well and offer them treats in the evenings. I also needed to free up some space in my freezer since things have been overloaded ever since we bought a quarter of a bison. It’s worth the sacrifice. I had forgotten I had these Glutenfreeda Real Cookies in our freezer and they are so very easy to whip up because all you do is place the frozen cookie dough on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven. Yes, gluten free can be easy too!

We all like these cookies, even the gluten eaters I’ve shared them with. I like the taste of the Chip Chip Hooray! chocolate chip cookies much better than Betty Crocker’s GF Chocolate Chip cookies so if you need ease I would go here first. The only thing I’m not too crazy about is that they have walnuts in them, I’ll still eat them but I believe nuts have no business being involved with sweets at all, well most the time anyways.

My favorite so far are the Chocolate Minty Python cookies, sorry I don’t have a picture of the container. No nuts in these and they are very chocolaty. You can buy Glutenfreeda’s Real Cookies at the Co-op and Rosauer’s Huckleberry Market.

ETA: You can check out this site for retailers in Montana. Bozeman, Great Falls, Whitefish, Hamilton, Billings, Livingston, Helena, Kalispell, and Missoula all have locations.

Gluten Free Coconut Shrimp

I was on a fried food kick last week and I found myself making coconut shrimp, it was so worth the calories. This was a new recipe for me and I was really happy with it, the only change I would make is using fresh shrimp instead of frozen but when I walked through Costco the line for the fresh fish was too long and my patience was running low.

Beer Battered Coconut Shrimp (adapted from All Recipes)

1 egg
½ C Gluten Free Mama’s Coconut Flour (or use any GF flour you have)
2/3 C GF beer (I used Bard’s)
1 ½ t baking powder
¼ C GFM’s Coconut Flour
2 C flaked coconut (I used Bob’s Red Mill Shredded Coconut & it worked wonderfully)
24 shrimp
Oil for frying

In a bowl combine the egg, ½ C flour, beer, and baking powder. Put ¼ C flour in a large plastic zip bag and put the coconut in its own bowl. Add the shrimp to the plastic bag and shake to fully coat the shrimp with the flour. This was so much easier than dipping each one separately. Shake off any excess flour then dip each shrimp in the beer batter allowing excess batter to drip off. Coat the shrimp in the coconut then place on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a skillet to 350F, I just put enough oil in the bottom to cover the pan but not to submerge the shrimp. Fry the shrimp in 2-3 batches. Cook on one side for 2-3 minutes then turn and cook another 2-3 minutes or until browned. Place the shrimp on paper towels to drain the excess grease.

Marmalade Dipping Sauce (from All Recipes)

½ C orange marmalade
¼ C Dijon prepared mustard
¼ C honey or agave nectar
¼ t hot sauce

Mix the four ingredients in a small bowl and serve alongside the coconut shrimp.

Hubby and I both liked the shrimp a lot and I used the leftovers chopped up in quesadillas last night. I loved it but it was a bit too coconutty for Hubby. I’m not a huge marmalade fan but the dipping sauce was still good. I think next time I’ll play around with plum instead of marmalade.

If you're wondering what the vegetables are on the plate it's steamed radishes and rutabaga.

Gluten Free Steak Fingers

Last week my parents took the kids so we were feeling very free & easy, well lazy may be a better term. I asked hubby if he wanted me to make anything for dinner and he requested steak fingers. Since we can’t get greasy fried food outside of the house I do my best at home every now and then. I’ve made this recipe with different GF flours and haven’t been disappointed with any of them. Try your favorite flour mix and enjoy these tasty treats.

Steak Fingers (adapted from All Recipes)

1 egg
2 C buttermilk* (DF use your favorite DF milk w/ 2 T lemon juice, let it sit for about 30 min)
2 t onion powder
½ C GF flour (I’ve had success with Bob’s AP flour & Gluten Free Mama flour)
1 ½ pounds tenderized round steak cut into strips (I buy it already tenderized)

2 C GF flour
½ C Montina flour (you can substitute this with your GF flour)
2 t garlic powder
Salt & pepper to taste
Oil for frying

Beat together the egg, buttermilk, onion powder, and ½ C flour in a bowl. Add the steak and toss until coated. Cover and place in the refrigerator at least 2 hours, I prefer to let it sit over night.

Mix the GF flour, Montina flour, garlic powder, and salt & pepper. Remove the steak from the marinade allowing excess batter to drip off. Dip the steak into the seasoned flour coating well and set aside on wax paper. Heat the oil to 370F in a skillet. I put enough oil to cover the bottom of the skillet but not to cover the entire strip of steak. Place the steak fingers in the hot oil and fry for about 5 minutes then flip and fry the other side for another 3-5 minutes or until brown. Remove from the oil and allow them to drain on paper towels before serving.

We keep these simple and dip them in ketchup, they are delicious.

*If you don’t have buttermilk you can replace it with 2 C milk and 2 T lemon juice.

Montana Ale Works

I'm trying to make up for not posting anything last week so here's a two-fer for today.

We found ourselves at Montana Ale Works a couple weeks ago and I inquired with our server about whether the GF pastas could be served with GF sauces. I was hoping that the e-mail I sent them after our last visit had an impact. I’m happy to report that all of the pasta dishes can be made GF, just inform your server that you have an allergy. These pictures are terrible because it was dark in the restaurant and I didn't fiddle with the flash, sorry!

I had the Mac & Cheese with bacon and it was delicious, I had to give it to my dad so I wouldn’t eat the whole thing. It was so creamy and my one year old kept signing more because she couldn’t get enough either.

Hubby had the Chicken Gorgonzola and it was really tasty with a nice tang to it. He cleaned his plate.

Our boy had the Pasta & Parmesan from the kids menu and he enjoyed it, he never eats much when we’re at a restaurant but he did eat it.

Thank you Montana Ale Works for offering these gluten free items and for having such a knowledgeable staff! You are my new go-to restaurant.

Chocolate Chex & Honey Nut Chex

I, I, love, love, honey, honey, chex, chex, better, better, than, than, the, the, rest, rest, rice, rice, corn, corn, we, we, want more…! Well it’s something like that but I’ve been singing the song all weekend because I found these at Lee & Dad’s IGA.

They are delicious and hubby and I have been enjoying handfuls from the boxes all weekend. In honor of being able to eat these I had to make a dessert and since it was delicious here’s the recipe. It was a great pick me up after a nice hike on Sunday.


Chocolate Chex Treats

¼ C butter
16 oz marshmallows (miniature are easier)
5 C Chocolate Chex cereal

Butter a spatula and 9x13 inch pan, you will need this at the end. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until they are melted and blended with the butter. Stir and cook for an additional two minutes then remove from heat. Add the cereal and stir until coated by the marshmallow mixture. Taking your buttered spatula press the mixture into the buttered pan and holler for your husband when you’re covered in marshmallow that you need a metal spoon, well that’s at least what happened to me. Once it’s cooled cut into squares and enjoy!

They taste a lot better than this picture makes them look, trust me!

Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, Noooooo!

I'm pretty bummed here as I've just read the ingredients in Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. I've known it was gluten free but I didn't realize it had High Fructose Corn Syrup in it, why would they do this? All the other worcestershire sauces out there have soy sauce in them so now I'm forced to make my own. If I find a good recipe I'll be posting it here.

Celiac Disease & Placental Failure

I found some interesting research regarding Celiac Disease and pregnancy and I wanted to share it with others. My son was induced at 36.5 weeks because I no longer had any amniotic fluid. When he was born we discovered that my placenta had failed and he had IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction) weighing only 4 lbs 11.5 oz. We were blessed because he was fully developed so other than some extra days in the hospital everything was fine. When I became pregnant with my daughter I asked what was found in the pathology report that was done on my placenta. They didn't find anything in the report and had no idea why my placenta had failed. I figured it was a fluke so I made sure I was getting 80 g of protein daily and my daughter was born at 37.5 weeks weighing 6 lbs 14.9 oz, much better. The thought had crossed my mind before to see if there was a correlation with CD and placental failure and when I did a search yesterday I found a lot.

It seems women with CD that are not following a gluten free diet have an increased chance of IUGR, placental failure, and pregnancy loss. Here are a couple articles and there's a lot more out there if you're interested.

http://www.healthline.com/blogs/pregnancy_childbirth/2008/11/celiac-disease-and-pregnancy.html

http://www.celiac.com/articles/643/1/Fertility-and-Pregnancy-in-Women-with-Celiac-Disease-by-Michelle-Melin-Rogovin/Page1.html

I've never been diagnosed with CD but this finally gives me an answer as to why my placenta failed with my son.

Twisted Bakery Angel Food Cake Mix

I promise this is my last post for the day :) We had a quiet 4th with no guests at all, it was nice to relax with the family and just enjoy the weather and our day. To accompany the corn on the cob, cucumber salad, and buffalo steaks we had for dinner I wanted a light dessert where I could also use strawberries so I decided to have angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries. I wasn’t feeling up to making a cake from scratch so I ran to Lee & Dad’s IGA and picked up a Twisted Bakery Angel Food Cake Mix. It was a good thing I read the back of the mix before leaving the store because I needed more eggs to make this cake become a reality. This was really easy to whip together, thanks to my Kitchen Aid Mixer, and the cake was really tasty. As my hubby put it, it tastes like angel food cake. The texture is also perfect, you'd never know this was GF. I haven't seen the Twisted Bakery mixes anywhere other than L&D's but you can buy some of their pre-made frozen products (I believe their angel food cake included) at Oak Street Natural Market.

For the whipped topping I opted for homemade since the store bought stuff contains High Fructose Corn Syrup and that is a no-no in my house. The topping was really fast and perfect with the cake or just alone with the strawberries.

Whipped Cream

1 C heavy cream
1 t vanilla extract
2 T powdered sugar

Place the bowl and beater in the freezer for 10 minutes or the refrigerator for 30 minutes to chill them. Whip the cream in the bowl until stiff peaks are just about to form. Beat in the vanilla and sugar until peaks form being careful not to overbeat the whipped cream.

This is the perfect summer dessert.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix Review

I know two posts in one day isn’t my norm but I have so many things to post about, I’ve been a baking machine. Plus I have really exciting news on a restaurant in Bozeman BUT I first need to figure out how to get pictures from my phone onto my computer. Hubby is on the case so I’m sure it won’t take long to figure out.

My sons 3rd birthday was on the 1st and I had to send him to day care with cupcakes so he could have a little party. This was my chance to try out Betty Crocker’s chocolate cake and I liked this one also, two out of three is a pretty good record in my book. It’s easy, it tastes great, and there’s no grittiness at all. I think the mix doesn’t make as big of a cake as a gluten mix would so be sure to check the box if you have a minimum size cake to make. Here are some delicious pictures of the cupcakes. I used my butter cream frosting and was able to use my Pampered Chef Decorator again, I love that thing!

I filled the cupcakes with some frosting because you can't do much better than a filled cupcake.

This pictures makes my mouth drool everytime I see it.

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Brownie Mix Review

I was antsy to make these brownies to see if they were better than the cookies but my hubby wouldn’t let me make them the night before my birthday. Turns out it was because he was planning to make them on my birthday for a treat. I think he had to bake them longer than the box called for but I’m not totally sure since I was sitting on the deck reading a book, it was a great birthday. These brownies are really good, they’re chewy and delicious. I still prefer my homemade brownies but these will be great to keep on hand for times I need something fast.

Doesn't this just make you want to bite into that chewy chocolate? Mmmm...

Pickle Barrel

Today at work is inventory day, we do our final count for the year and see where we fall. To bribe all of the counters we have breakfast and lunch provided for us and since this is my first year gluten free I knew it was going to be interesting. First it was breakfast, I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy the bagels with everyone and that's OK, I ate breakfast at home. For lunch they decided to order from the Pickle Barrel, this is a sandwich shop and obviously not a very gluten free place to eat. I was told they made salads so I figured I'd be OK with that and didn't put up too much of a fight. Yesterday when they called to place the orders our Admin was informed that only the downtown location made salads so my only option is a sandwich. Now I'm a bit peeved that they weren't willing to understand the situation and improvise for me but I guess this is why I'm not giving them a very good review either. The second part that burns me is they have all of the vegetables for a salad already chopped and ready for the sandwiches so how hard is it really to throw them in a bowl? So keep walking by my gluten free friends Colombo's down the street has a great salad bar for us and wonderful gluten filled pizza for the gluten eaters.

S'Better Corn Dogs

I’ve been in a cooking slump, I’m tired of the same recipes but I have no desire to try anything new. As we approached dinner and I didn’t have any idea what to make I remembered the box of S’Better Corn Dogs that I had in the freezer. I love corndogs, well I would just love the cornbread on a stick but I have yet to find that anywhere, so when I saw these I figured they were worth a try. We baked them in the oven and sat down for corndogs and fruit. The corn bread was great, it had a wonderful texture and it did not fall apart at all. I wasn’t too crazy about the hot dog inside but my son ate almost the whole thing and hubby stated they were the best corndogs he’s ever had, even better than any gluten filled corndogs. So there you have it, if you’re craving a gluten free corndog you have an option. I have only found these at Oak St. Natural Market.