Dairy Free Chocolate Pudding

My family loves them some Jello pudding cups, it's a good incentive some nights to get the kids to finish their dinner. I felt bad when the kids were enjoying their pudding and Hubby couldn't have any. I'm such a sucker. This motivated me to search for a dairy free pudding recipe and the hardest part was waiting for it to cool. I couldn't wait to sample it when I got home yesterday and it was divine! So thick and creamy, much better than those Jello cups. There's nothing like homemade.

Coconut Chocolate Pudding

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

1 can coconut milk, I used the full fat but you can use the light

3 T agave nectar

1 dash salt (4 squeezes from my grinder)

1 small heaping teaspoon cornstarch

3 T cocoa powder

1/2 C DF/GF chocolate chips (Enjoy Life or Tropical Source)

1 t vanilla

Shake the can of coconut milk to mix the milk and cream portions then pour 1 1/4 C in a saucepan. Add the agave and salt then cook over medium heat until it simmers. While this is heating mix the remaining coconut milk, corn starch, and cocoa powder.

Once the milk mixture simmers turn the heat to medium-low and slowly add the cocoa powder mixture while whisking the whole time. Continue whisking until it thickens a bit, I went for 5 min though the original recipe called for about 1 minute. If you go with 1 minute it may not turn out quite as thick if that's what you'd prefer.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk an additional minute to let it cool a bit. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Pour into serving bowls then chill in the refrigerator.


If you are looking for coconut milk don't wander around like an idiot, like I did, wondering where the heck it's kept. It will be in the Asian section at any grocery store.

My girl couldn't get enough of this and I'm pretty sure she liked it better than the Jello pudding because she finished the whole thing, usually there are a few bites left.

Our Favorite Casserole, Gluten & Dairy Free

When Hubby said he needed to go dairy free there was one recipe I immediately thought about and worried over how I'd still be able to make it. Afterall it is referred to as the favorite casserole in the house and whenever I ask my boy what he wants for dinner this is it. I make sure I only ask that question when I'm planning to make it.




It took me a few tries to get it as close in taste as it's dairy version, the last version was way too tangy and my boy was not happy. With some tweaks I made it again last night and the boy cleaned his plate, I took that as a thumbs up on getting it correct. So here it is, our favorite caserole gluten and dairy free.


Cheeseburger Skillet Dinner


1 pkg GF & DF Mac & "Cheese"*
1/2 to 1 lb ground beef or buffalo
1/2 C chopped onion
2 C frozen corn
2/3 C ketchup
1/4 C water
1/4 t garlic powder
1 C shredded dairy free cheddar cheese**

Prepare the mac & cheese as directed on the package. In a large skillet brown the meat, onion, and garlic powder then stir in the corn, ketchup, and water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minutes or until the corn the crisp tender. Reduce heat to low and stir in the cheese. Add the mac & cheese to the meat mixture and mix well, cook another couple minutes or until it's heated through.

*The best GF/DF mac & cheese (according to my tastes) is Namaste Foods Say Cheez. It has a bit of a tang to it so I've omitted the mustard from this version of the casserole. You can find it at Rosauer's and Oak Street.

**I haven't been too impressed with the dairy free cheese I've found in the area, I hate that it doesn't melt. I used Daiya vegan "cheese" for this recipe and it's fantastic, I'm so thankful to all the bloggers out there that have raved about it. The Daiya cheese melts wonderfully (with quesadilla's, pizza, etc) and I'm glad I ordered it. Yup I had to order it. I can't find it in our area and Daiya's store locater states it's only sold at ZPizza in Billings for the state of Montana. I did order in bulk through Vegan Essentials and it wasn't cheap but it was worth the money. I froze it in 2 C bags and I don't have to use a lot in the recipes to get the cheesiness I want. It reminds both Hubby and I of nacho cheese with the flavor, yum!

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Rhubarb Muffins

Rhubarb season is back, I know this because my rhubarb plant is up to my shoulders. I'm short but still it's pretty big! I had one bag of frozen rhubarb left in my freezer and I figured it better get used before my first harvest this year. I looked through a lot of recipes and decided on muffins because after all my family loves muffins and I needed to give them a dairy free try. They turned out great, Hubby said they look professional so that's a plus!




Cinnamon Rhubarb Muffins
Adapted from Fine Cooking



2 C gluten free flour (I used Gluten Free Mama's Almond Blend)
2 t xanthan gum
3/4 C granulated sugar
2 1/2 t baking powder
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 C sour cream (for DF use Tofutti Sour Supreme)*
8 T butter softened (for DF use Earth Balance Natural Buttery Sticks)
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 -2 C diced rhubarb



For the topping

3 T granulated sugar
1/2 t ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl mix the flour, xanthan gum, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl mix the sour cream, butter, eggs, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined. It will be very dry at this point but that's OK the rhubarb is next. Add the rhubarb and mix thoroughly.

Split the mixture between 12 muffin tins. Use the back of a spoon dipped in water to smooth the tops.

Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon for the topping and cover the tops with 1t of the mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Yum!

*I didn't have any dairy free sour cream on hand but I did have Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese. I used this instead of the sour cream by adding 2 T of Rice Milk and mixing until smooth. This brought the consistency to a sour cream level and worked great.

EZ Gluten Test Take 2

Here are the results of the additional tests I've done using the EZ Gluten test kits. I did test gluten filled beer so I could see what a positive result looked like, let me know what you think.

I wanted to test the Tastefully Simple Italian Garlic Blend because the ingredients are GF but it states it is made in a facility that also processes wheat. The reason I wanted to test this is because when I used it I had some intestinal reactions to it that I've had with other GF food that has preservatives in it. I'm pretty sure I'm just reacting to the preservatives but figured this would be a good way to find out.

The test shows that it is GF.

Next up was a gluten filled beer that was in our basement from family being over. I was expecting a high postive immediately but the only line that showed up was the very top control line. I thought maybe I did something wrong so I did the test a second time with the same exact results. It's hard to see in the picture but the only line visible at all is the control line. I felt confident it wasn't invalid but the only way I could believe it had gluten (other than knowing) is that the results were definately not the same as the negative results. Any thoughts?

Gluten Free in Big Timber

My mother in law informed me of deNotre Cuisine located in Big Timber, MT. They are a deli and pastry shop that sell homemade gluten free scones. I never thought I'd hear about this in Big Timber! I haven't tried them but was told they are delicious. They are located at 104 McLeod St. Check out their webpage for contact information.



I can't wait to give them a try, if you beat me to it let me know what you think.

Gluten Free/Dairy Free S'mores Brownies

I found this evil recipe yesterday and had to make it immediately. It is as delicious as it sounds and won't dissapoint any chocolate lover. I adapted it to make it gluten free and dairy free and you'd never know it was either one. Enjoy but don't blame any weight gain on me.

S'mores Brownies

Adapted from Picky Palate

1 box GF brownie mix (you could also make it from scratch if you prefer, I just used what I had on hand)

GF graham crackers (I used 2.5 rows of the S'moreables)

4 Tropical Source GF/DF chocolate bars (Hershey's work if you can have dairy)

20 large marshmallows

Preheat oven to 350 F and line an 8x8 baking pan with tin foil sprayed with cooking spray. Prepare the brownie mix according to the package and pour half the brownie batter into the pan. Put a layer of graham crackers on the batter then a layer of the chocolate bars and marshmallows. Pour the remaining batter over the marshmallows and spread evenly as much as possible. It will not entirely cover all of the marshmallows and that's OK. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean from the center. You have to let it cool completely, it's torture I know! Once it's cooled remove from the pan and cut into squares.