Pretzel Crusted Tilapia

My family really likes tilapia, well my boy isn't as sold on it as the rest of us but he still eats it. It's such an easy fish to prepare and I wanted to try something different so I was really excited when I found this recipe. It went over well with the family and other than it being a little salty in spots from the pretzels it was perfect. It's also an easy dish to whip together, another plus on weeknights for me.

Pretzel Crusted Tilapia

Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

4-6 Tilapia fillets

8 oz gluten free pretzels

1/2 C mayonnaise

1/4 C spicy mustard

Preheat oven to 425 F and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Crush the pretzels in a ziploc bag with a rolling pin until no large pieces remain. Mix together the mayonnaise and mustard.

Baste one side of a fillet with the mayo mixture then place that side down onto the crushed pretzels. Press down a bit to make sure the entire side is covered with pretzels. Baste the side up with the mayo mixture then turn it over onto the pretzels to cover this side. Don't be stingy with the mayo mixture. Place the covered fillet on the cookie sheet and repeat with the remaining fillets.

Lightly spray the fillets with cooking spray and bake for 20-25 minutes until the thickest part of the fish flakes easily. Tilapia is a forgiving fish that will tolerate a little bit of over baking in case you're uncertain about fish. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Bacon Potato Soup

Now that the weather has dropped back down to the expected temps for this time of year I was in the mood for soup and potato is what caught my eye. This recipe was easy to throw together and tasted delicious, plus it was dairy free. Just look at my girl eating this up, she went for two bowls she liked it so much.

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Bacon Potato Soup

Adapted from AllRecipes

1 package of bacon

1/2 chopped onion

1 C chopped carrots

2 celery stalks

4 garlic cloves, chopped

4 C GF chicken broth

4 C potatoes, cubed

1/8 t cayenne pepper

1/2 C DF cheese, I used Daiya

Salt to taste

In a dutch oven or saucepan cook the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to the bacon grease and saute until the onion is soft.

Add the chicken broth, potatoes, and pepper. Bring to a boil and scrape up the bits of brown from the bottom of the pan. Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the cheese and heat until melted but not to boiling. Chop the bacon and add to the soup then season with additional salt if needed.

We served some beer bread along side and it was the perfect meal for a cold day.

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!

Chocolate Pretzels

I read online about a week ago that Glutino has come out with GF chocolate and yogurt covered pretzels. They haven't hit the shelves in most places and I haven't seen them here yet but they did get me craving chocolate covered pretzels. I had to find a recipe and my taste buds were happy I did but my hips, not so much. I played with this recipe a bit and it leaves a lot of combinations. The best part is it's fast and gives a great snack both kids and adults will love.

Chocoalte Pretzels

Adapted from All Recipes

48 GF pretzel twists
1 package of Hershey's Kisses (chocolate, dark chocolate, caramel, hugs, or peppermint)
1 package of M&M's (chocolate, dark chocolate, peanut butter, peanut, or almond)

Preheat your oven to 275 F. Lay the pretzels on a cookie sheet and then place a kiss on each one. Heat in the oven for 2-4 minutes or until the kiss is softened. Remove from the oven and place a M&M on each kiss pressing down lightly to spread the kiss on the pretzel. Cool in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes and enjoy!

Do a flavor combo of the kisses and M&M's that sound the best to you. I made two combos and they both tasted great. One was a caramel kiss topped with a chocolate M&M, this was the favorite in the house but after I made them I realized the caramel kisses have HFCS in them so until I find a HFCS free option we won' be having this combo again. Boo! These only needed about 2 minutes in the oven.

The other combo was a chocolate kiss topped with a peanut butter M&M, also a delicious duo. These needed 4 minutes in the oven.

I think these will be on the to-make list for the kids' birthday parties.

Gluten Free Play dough

My boy knows he can’t have play dough because it has wheat in it, he points this out to me whenever we see a play dough commercial or see toys for it at Target. I’ve been telling him that we can make some that’s safe and I finally came through with my promise. The recipe is really easy and it’s quick to make. I felt like it wasn’t going to work at first but just keep stirring and you’ll get there. We were able to play with it right away and my girl thought it was good enough to eat, blech. We’ll build up our color options over time but this is a fantastic alternative for him.

Gluten Free Play Dough
From Celiac Sprue Association

½ C rice flour
½ C cornstarch
½ C salt
2 t cream of tartar
1 C water
1 t cooking oil
Food coloring

Mix the ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir on low for 5 minutes or until it starts to thicken and clump together. After cooled store in an airtight container or plastic bag.

If you don’t want to make your own you can purchase some pre-made GF play dough. Here’s the link for Aroma Dough and Colorations Wheat & Gluten Free Dough.

Skillet Lasagna

I love lasagna but I rarely have the foresight to plan ahead for it or the time because I didn’t plan. This dish is a quick version of lasagna that saves time and is easy enough to whip together after work. It was my first try at not cooking the lasagna noodles before using them and I was very pleased with the results. If you haven’t tried that yet please do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Skillet Lasagna
Adapted from Kraft

1 lb ground beef or buffalo
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jar spaghetti sauce
2 C water
¼ C Italian dressing
12 GF lasagna noodles, broken into thirds (I use Tinkyada)
½ C cottage cheese
1 C mozzarella cheese

Brown the meat and garlic in a large saucepan. Add the spaghetti sauce, water, and dressing. Bring to a boil then stir in the noodles and cover. Cook on medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until the noodles are tender, stirring occasionally. Be sure to separate any noodles that stick together or they won’t all cook through properly. Add the cottage cheese and mix well then top with the mozzarella and let stand until the cheese is melted.

For a dairy free option omit the cottage cheese and use DF mozzarella (Daiya is my fav). It will still be delicious. Be sure your spaghetti sauce is DF, our favorite had cheese in it so we had to buy the non-organic version which is DF.

Maple Syrup Brussels Sprouts

Last fall I felt daring when I picked up a package of Brussels sprouts from Costco, I figured they were worth a try since I really had never had them before. I feel these poor things have a bad reputation, it’s just one of those vegetables that people automatically put in the terrible category. I crave this recipe and even though the rest of my family doesn’t really care for them, Hubby will eat one and that’s it, I’ll happily eat them all. My girl did eat all of hers so hopefully I’m at least bringing one of the kids over to my side.

Maple Syrup Brussels Sprouts
Adapted from Mrs. G.F.

15 brussels sprouts, washed and sliced in half (I just used 1/2 the bag)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 T butter (you can use olive oil)
2 T olive oil
4 T maple syrup
1 T butter (again you can use olive oil)

Warm the olive oil and 2 T butter in a skillet on medium. Add the garlic then lay the Brussels sprouts in the pan cut sides down. Cover and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

Heat the maple syrup and 1 T butter in the microwave. Add the syrup mixture to the Brussels sprouts and toss to coat. Happily serve to your family even though they don’t appreciate all of the Vitamin C and K packed into these bundles of love.

Tilapia Parmesan

Here is a low calorie quick meal that is delicious. It’s easy to make and gets my kids eating fish. My boy won’t touch salmon yet but tilapia is such a mild flavored fish that he doesn’t think twice. If you have a different fish on hand try the sauce, it really hits the spot.

Tilapia Parmesan
Adapted from All Recipes

½ C grated Parmesan *
2 T butter, softened - Use Earth Balance for DF
3 T mayonnaise
2 T lemon juice
¼ t basil
¼ t pepper
1/8 t onion powder
2 pounds tilapia fillets

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray. Mix together the Parmesan, butter, mayonnaise, lemon juice, basil, pepper, and onion powder.

Arrange the fillets in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for about 6-8 minutes, flipping once, or until the fillets are cooked through. They will easily flake when pricked with a fork in the fattiest portion when done. Cover the fillets with the Parmesan sauce and bake another 2 minutes.

*For a dairy free option I like to use 1/2 Daiya mozzarella cheese and 1/2 vegan parmesan cheese topping. You can find the parmesan at Rosauer's Huckleberry Market.

Caramel Apple Pork Chops & Coconut Fried Rice

This is a recipe I stumbled on while searching for some ideas on how to use up the pork chops in our freezer. I like pork chops but it can be so hard to not overcook them and I get paranoid about undercooking them. I like this recipe because even if I do overcook them a bit it can be easily hidden. Plus it contains caramel apples so who isn’t happy with that? The whole family likes this dish and in my book that makes it a keeper.

Caramel Apple Pork Chops
Adapted from All Recipes

4 pork chops (I get the big daddy’s from Costco so they need to cook for quite a bit)
Grape juice for marinade (I use whatever juice we have in the fridge at the time but grape is fantastic)
olive oil
4 T brown sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
¼ t ground cinnamon
¼ t ground nutmeg
4 T butter
4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (found organic ones at Costco)

Marinade pork chops over night in the grape juice flipping once.

In a large skillet add olive oil and pork chops cooking over medium heat. Turn occasionally and cook until done, salt & pepper to taste. I usually keep them covered while I cook them.

Meanwhile in a bowl combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Melt the butter in another skillet then add the brown sugar mixture and apples. Cover and cook until the apples are just tender. This only takes a few minutes so watch it, if you cook it too long (like my picture below) the caramel gets to be too runny.

To serve top the pork chops with apples and sauce.

I merged different recipes I saw online to come up with a different fried rice recipe, nothing I saw was exactly what I wanted to do. I've also added some of my own things and I must say this rice is fantastic. It's got a little kick to it with some sweetness, definately a keeper.

Coconut Fried Rice

Sauce
2 T GF soy sauce
3 T lime juice (lemon works also)
1 T brown sugar

2 C cooked rice
1 medium onion, diced
½ t red pepper flakes
2 T coconut oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T fresh ginger
1 can crushed pineapple, drained
3 eggs lightly beaten
1/3 C coconut


Sauté the onion and pepper flakes in coconut oil over medium heat until the onion are soft. Add the garlic and ginger sautéing for another minute or two. Add the eggs then top with the rice, pineapple, coconut, and sauce. Let it sit for 1 minute then stir and continue to cook until the eggs are cooked through.

If you would like to add shrimp use 1 lb and add it with the garlic and ginger. Make sure the shrimp is fully cooked before adding the eggs, etc. You can also add color with some green onions or other vegetables. Add them in after the eggs.

Gluten Free Cheesy Beer Bread

I saw this cheesy beer bread recipe at Tasty Kitchen and I had to try it, it looked too good to pass up plus there wasn’t much time needed to whip it together. This accompanied our roast this last weekend and it was delicious. It’s a quick bread so no time wasted for it to rise, just mix and bake resulting in a dense but tasty loaf. Delicious? Yes! Healthy? No! The whole family liked it and it’ll be my new recipe for when I need some bread and I need it fast.

Gluten Free Cheesy Beer Bread
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

3 C gluten free flour (I used Mama’s Almond Blend)
2 t xanthan gum
3 t baking powder
1 t salt
¼ C granulated sugar
1 C cheddar cheese, shredded (For DF Daiya works perfectly)
12 oz gluten free beer, I used Redbridge
¼ C melted butter
Garlic & onion powder to taste
Parsley flakes

Preheat oven to 375 F. Sift together the flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Stir in the cheese and mix well. Mix in the beer, it will be a bit hard toward the end but I was able to get it all mixed together by hand. Put in a loaf pan or separate into muffin tins. Pour melted butter on top of the dough, sprinkle with garlic and onion powders to taste, then sprinkle with parsley flakes to make it pretty. Bake for 1 hour with a loaf, I would try for 40-45 minutes with the muffin tins.

7 Bone Roast

With a high today of -2 F it’s a good time to throw something in the crock pot and have a hearty warm meal for dinner. I’ve been trying to use up the buffalo meat we have in our freezer and I have a lot of roasts to cook, that’s not such a bad lot in life. One roast cut is a 7-bone roast and I was a bit nervous to cook this. I’ve never heard of it for one and there weren’t a lot of recipes online to give me ideas on what to do. I found this recipe and it was fantastic. The roast was moist and delicious plus the meat just fell off the bone so all I had to do was pick the bones out and remove a little bit of fat. It’s a nice hearty meal and the leftovers will make great BBQ sandwiches.

7 Bone Roast Gluten Free

Adapted from Family Recipe Box

1 7 bone roast, I used buffalo
½ C water
1 C red wine (I used a Syrah)
1 envelope GF French onion dip (I used Simply Organic)
1 onion, chopped
6 carrots, sliced
4 medium potatoes, cubed
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 celery stalks, sliced

Place the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot then place the roast on top. Season with salt and pepper then pour the water and wine over the meat and vegetables. Sprinkle with the onion dip. Cook on low for 10 hours.

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.

Gluten Free Lazy Town Topsy-Turvy Cake

My son’s 3rd birthday party was on Saturday and I always over-do myself on birthdays, especially the cakes. I think it’s because when I remember back to my birthdays my favorite memories were the cakes my mom would make. Knowing she’d let me pick out the one I wanted and would then make it for me was such a nice treat. My son loves Lazy Town, if you don’t have young children and don’t watch Noggin you probably have no idea what I’m talking about so Goggle it, and we decided to go with that for the theme. The Lazy Town themed cake had me stumped for awhile and then I thought of the Swiped Sweets episode. The kids make a cake for Bessie’s birthday and it gets swiped by Robbie Rotten, how perfect if I could make a cake like Bessie’s for my son. It’s not exact of course but its close enough and to add to the fun it’s a topsy-turvy cake. It was actually easier than I expected so you should give it a try some day.

I followed the instructions at Cakes by Rosa for making my two tiered cake adjusting a few things here and there. I first made three 8 inch, two 6 inch, and one 4 inch cake. I made these a few nights before the party and put them in the freezer until I was ready to “build” the cake. I think working with them while they were slightly frozen was helpful and didn’t make it feel flimsy. I used the Chocolate Cake recipe from Jill at Hey, that tastes good! and it turned out fantastic, so delicious and not crumbly at all.

Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

2 C gluten free flour mix (I used Gluten Free Mama’s Coconut Mix)
1 t xanthan gum
2/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ t baking soda
½ t salt
12 T softened butter
2 C brown sugar
4 eggs
4 T vanilla
1 C milk

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease and flour two 8” round pans or one 9”x13” pan, that’s if you aren’t going for a topsy-turvy cake. Sift together the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Cream the butter and brown sugar until a little fluffy then beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mix and milk alternately starting and ending with the flour. Pour into your pan(s) and bake 40-45 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow it to cool before putting it in the freezer or frosting it.

For my three 8” cakes I made 1.5 of this batter and for the two 6” and one 4” I also made 1.5 of this batter, it worked fine for me.

To build the cake take the three small cakes and stack them with the two 6” cakes on the bottom. Take a serrated knife and trim/carve the sides down to give them a tapered look. I placed the stack on wax paper and used that to turn my cake easily while I was carving. Once things are tapered turn the whole stack upside down (or upside backwards as my son likes to say). Take the now top cake, which should be the largest cake in this stack, and carefully slice it diagonally. You will slice from the top of one side diagonally down to the bottom of the other side. Take the sliced top and turn its thicker portion so it is on top of the thicker portion of the bottom piece. Make sense? I sure hope so! Take some delicious butter cream frosting and put it between each layer to help hold them together. Do any additional carving needed to clean it up. For the bottom stack you will repeat what you did with the top stack but use the three 8” cakes.

If you’re going to use fondant you want to look at the directions that Rosa has on her page, I chose not to use fondant so I differed here. You will need to cut out a shelf in the bottom layer for the top layer to sit on. I took the 4” cake pan and put it on top of the bottom layer and used my knife to cut around the pan. I then cut out a wedge of cake so my top layer could sit flat. I put butter cream frosting on the bottom and up the side of the shelf then placed my top layer on the shelf.

Butter Cream Frosting (from Better Homes & Gardens New Cook Book)

1/3 C softened butter
4 C powdered sugar
¼ C milk
1 ½ t vanilla

Beat the butter until its fluffy then gradually add 2 cups of the sugar beating well. Slowly beat in the milk and vanilla then add the remaining sugar and beat on high for 3-5 minutes or until its fluffy. If needed you can add more milk to reach a better spreading consistency. This amount will frost the tops and sides of two 8”-9” layers.

Before frosting my cake I took my basting brush and swept the extra bits of loose cake off the cake surface. This helped with frosting so those crumbs don’t get caught up and show through (I hate that). I made the frosting a light blue and covered the entire cake then I made another batch of frosting leaving that white for the edging. I was so happy to finally use my new Pampered Chef Decorator. Dum Dums were used for the lollipop decorations. A few notes because this was not perfect. As I was frosting the cake my top piece decided to start falling. I luckily caught it (and a handful of frosting) and had to put two kabob skewers through the cake from the top down making an X. This held it together really well and no one had any idea, until I told them. My second note of advice is about the Dum Dums. I didn’t realize that as they sit out of their wrapper they will absorb the moisture in the air and start to drip so I had a few drips on my cake. Just be sure to put those on right before you’re ready to show the cake so you don’t have any issues.

The cake was really delicious and everyone seemed to like it a lot, I was very happy with the results.

Rhubarb Cinnamon Rolls

There is nothing like fresh baked cinnamon rolls especially when they have rhubarb with them. I wanted to make my hubby’s Father’s Day special so I made rhubarb cinnamon rolls and they were delicious. I always think cinnamon rolls are so time consuming and hard but they actually are pretty easy and I now can’t wait to make caramel rolls.

Rhubarb Cinnamon Rolls

Rhubarb Sauce (From Taste of Home magazine)

2 C sliced rhubarb
½ C brown sugar
½ C Agave nectar (you can use light corn syrup)
½ C butter

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 3 minutes then pour into an ungreased baking dish.

Cinnamon Rolls (From Jeanine at the Baking Beauties)

2 T shortening
¼ C white sugar
2/3 C milk, slightly warm (I put mine in the microwave for 20 seconds)
1 T instant yeast
1 egg
¼ C olive oil
1 ½ C Gluten Free Mama Almond Flour (or you can do ½ C potato starch & 1 C cornstarch)
¼ t baking soda
2 ½ t xanthan gum
2 t baking powder
½ t salt
1 t vanilla extract
2 T sugar

Cinnamon Filling

2 T softened butter
½ C packed brown sugar
2 T cinnamon

Mix all three ingredients together. You can add nuts, fruit, etc to the filling if you would like.

Add the yeast to the warm milk with 1 t of sugar and set aside to proof. When bubbles form you know it’s properly proofed, if they don’t form after 5 min be sure to dump that out and try again. Be very careful that you don’t overheat your milk, I’ve found that 20 seconds in my microwave is usually plenty. In your mixer beat the shortening and sugar then add the proofed yeast mixture and mix well. Sift together the flour (or cornstarches), baking soda, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt. Add the egg to the mixer then add the olive oil and mix well. Add the sifted flour mixture, mixing well, and add the vanilla extract.

Lay out a piece of wax paper measuring longer than 8”x16” and sprinkle the 2 T sugar over it. Place the ball of dough on the wax paper then place another piece of wax paper over the dough. Pat it out to a rectangular shape then roll the dough out, with the wax paper on top of it, into a roughly 8”x16” rectangle. Remove the top wax paper sheet and spread the filling over the dough leaving about ½” of dough along one long end.

Starting with the long end that has filling to its edge roll the dough into a long cylinder. You can easily pull the wax paper away from the dough as you go. Pinch the filling-free edge of the dough to the cylinder to seal it. Cut the cylinder into 1 ½” wide pieces using a sharp serrated edge knife (be careful to not squish your dough) or a piece of string placing it under the roll and pulling it up to cinch through the dough. Place the rolls on the rhubarb sauce and bake in a 375 F oven. I initially baked mine for 20 minutes uncovered then I covered them with foil and baked another 15 minutes. Invert the pan onto a plate and serve.

I made these the night before and put them covered in the refrigerator. I took them out about 1 hour before baking them to let them rise.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

I have a lot of frozen ripe bananas and figured it was time to make some banana bread again, I think I’ll actually make more this weekend since we’ve already finished these muffins. This recipe is one I’ve tweaked and played with and it is a favorite. My hubby went back for seconds which doesn't usually happen with banana bread and my son wouldn’t stop eating it. The chocolate chips are optional and I like to freeze half of it to grab one here and there for my son’s lunch at day care.

Banana Bread or Muffins

1 ½ c gluten free flour mix (I used the Gluten Free Mama Almond Blend)
½ T xantham gum
1 ½ t baking powder
½ t salt
1 t cinnamon
1/3 c white sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
1/3 c butter at room temperature
1 t vanilla
2 large eggs
3 ripe bananas
5 oz chocolate chips

Sift together the flour, xantham gum, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a separate bowl. In your mixer cream together the butter and sugars then add the vanilla. Beat in the eggs until combined and then the bananas until combined. Add the flour mixture in 2-3 parts then add the chocolate chips. Pour into a loaf or muffin pan. For a loaf bake at 350 F for about an hour and for muffins bake for about 40-45 minutes. It will be done when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

I find that using frozen bananas is a lot easier to mix, just let them thaw for a bit on the counter top before using, it's fun to squeeze them out of the banana peel.

Meatball Bake & All Things Italian

I was surfing through some local blogs and I happened upon All Things Italian located in Bozeman. I figured it would be fun to check out their selection of goods and who would have thought I’d find some gluten free pastas? I sure didn’t. I rushed over there on a lunch break and picked up the two rice pastas and the one corn pasta they had available. I’ve read such good things about European GF pastas that I just couldn’t resist. I did consider buying their Beretta Gnocchi Di Riso which is made with rice flour but on the package it said it may contain wheat so I opted to avoid it. I wanted to make some sort of meatball lasagna type dish and I came up with this meatball bake, it was really tasty and I will be making it again. I used the Beretta Rice Fusilii for this dish and if you’re new to GF pastas always be sure to bring the water to boiling before adding the pasta, otherwise things just get too sticky. The pasta cooked a lot faster than I expected, maybe I was distracted, so it was a little more done than I had wanted. It was a tad mushy but nothing like my Tinkyada pasta would have been if I had overcooked that pasta. Trust me, I love my Tinkyada pasta and keep it stocked in the pantry I’m just really good at overcooking pasta. Overall this is a nice pasta and I want to try it next in a pasta salad.

Meatball Bake

½ -1 pound ground beef
1 egg beaten
½ c gluten free bread crumbs*
¼ c milk
1/3 c parmesan cheese
1 T oregano

Mix the egg, milk, and bread crumbs in a bowl and let sit for a couple minutes to allow the bread crumbs to absorb some liquid and soften up. Add the beef, parmesan cheese, and oregano mixing well. Roll the mixture into 1 inch balls and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes at 350F or until the meatballs are no longer pink.

1 T olive oil, I prefer garlic flavored
8 oz gluten free pasta, fusilli, spiral, penne, or elbow will work

While the meatballs are baking boil your water then add the olive oil and pasta. Cook the noodles until they are al dente the strain. If there happen to be any noodles sticking together rinse them under warm water and gently break them up with your fingers, this is more common in GF spaghetti noodles.

1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese

In a 2 quart dish spread some spaghetti sauce on the bottom then cover it with all of the noodles. Spread half of the remaining sauce over the noodles and sprinkle half of the cheese on top. Place the meatballs evenly over the cheese, then top with the remaining sauce and cheese. Cover with tin foil and bake in a 350 F oven for 35 min, remove the tin foil and bake an additional 10 minutes. This can easily be be put together the night before, you may need to adjust the time it bakes.

* I make my own bread crumbs from homemade bread that is starting to dry out and needs to be used up. Preheat your oven to 250 F and cut your bread into your desired bread crumb sizes. I like to use my pizza cutter so I can cut multiple pieces of bread at a time. Arrange the crumbs on a cookie sheet and bake for roughly 45 min, or until they are crispy. I store them sealed in my freezer so they're available anytime I need them. You can season them before using in a recipe, just mix them with with butter or olive oil and the spices you want.

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies

We recently went on our first long road trip as a family of four and since food can be an issue I did a lot of baking so we’d have snacks. One treat I made was oatmeal raisin cookies and it was my first GF oatmeal cookie attempt. They turned out OK but were crunchier than I like and they spread a bit more than I wanted. I decided to give it another attempt with Jill Elise’s (the wonderful cook at Hey That Tastes Good) oatmeal sandwich cookie recipe. I was a bit paranoid on the cookies spreading situation so I didn’t add any butter (because butter makes GF cookies spread) and instead I used 1 C of Spectrum shortening. I also substituted Gluten Free Mama’s Almond Flour for Jill’s brown rice flour mix. My first batch didn’t spread at all, not the first time this has happened to me, so I flattened the dough with my hand to help it out. The flavor is delicious and the texture reminded me of gluten filled oatmeal cookies, they were heavenly. This is THE oatmeal cookie recipe, I promise. The next time I made these I used the full stick of butter and I added 1.5 cups of raisins since I like my cookies raisiny. I also like to make up words. This last batch was beyond perfect and they didn’t last long in my household.


Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 ½ c Gluten Free Mama Almond flour (or use your favorite)
¾ t xantham gum
½ t salt
½ t baking powder
½ t cinnamon
1 stick of butter softened
½ c shortening
1 ½ c packed brown sugar
½ c white sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
3 c gluten free oatmeal
1 ½ c raisins

Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and sift or mix well. In another large bowl beat the butter and shortening until smooth then cream in the sugars and beat for 2-3 minutes to get a fluffy look from the mixture. Add in the eggs and vanilla mixing well. Add flour mixture in three parts mixing well with each addition. Add oatmeal then add raisins until incorporated. Bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes at 350F.

The picture I have, sorry it’s not very good, is of the oatmeal cookie sandwiches so if you’d like to give them a try here’s the delicious filling recipe.

Vanilla Filling
½ stick of butter softened
¼ shortening
1 ½ c powdered sugar
2 t vanilla

Mix everything in your mixer beating on high until smooth and fluffy.

You can find certified gluten free oats at Led & Dad’s IGA, I did a happy dance when I saw them there and I hope no one was watching me. I really must be an interesting person to observe when I'm food shopping with all the talking to myself that I do and of course the dancing. You can also get them at Oak Street Natural Market and Rosauer’s Huckleberry Market. I haven’t seen them at the Food Co-op yet and I believe L&D’s has the best price.

S'Better Chicken Fingers & Honey Mustard

Some nights when I don’t have the desire to cook or just don’t have any time I really miss being able to grab something quick to eat or to call the hubby and ask him to grab something on the way home. I have found something to help me out on these nights and it doesn’t hurt that they are delicious. S’Better makes Chicken Strips you can find at Oak Street Natural Market and they are worth every penny. One box feeds us with a few left over for hubby to take to lunch the next day. The quality of chicken used is great and my fear of finding a chicken tendon in it so far has not happened. I have some weird food issues, it’s just who I am. We all like the taste and texture of these, just like gluten filled chicken strips, and my son happily eats them and will also ask for more.

Because we avoid HFCS I’ve been having a hard time finding condiments and have decided to start making a lot of my own. Honey mustard is one of my favorite dressings/dipping sauces and I found this lovely recipe at allrecipes.com submitted by Mary Ann Benzon.

Honey Mustard Dressing

¼ C mayonnaise*
1 T prepared mustard
1 T honey**
½ T lemon juice

In a small bowl whisk together all of the ingredients. Store covered in the refrigerator.

*A lot of mayonnaise has HFCS so be sure to read the label, I use Hain’s Safflower Mayonnaise.
**You can substitute Agave nectar for the honey, it tastes just as great but is more runny.

Cheeseburger Skillet Dinner

I work full time out of the house and I need as many quick and easy recipes as I can get. I love to cook and bake but some, OK most, days I only have 30 minutes to get dinner on the table and this recipe is one that meets my needs. We all like this meal, my 2 year old will eat an adult sized portion and even my dad who doesn’t like macaroni and cheese loves this recipe. This is most definitely a favorite in our house.

Cheeseburger Skillet Dinner
(Adapted from cooks.com)

1 pkg GF Mac & Cheese*
½ to 1 lb ground beef
½ C chopped onion
2 C frozen corn**
1/3 C ketchup***
¼ C water
½ t Dijon mustard
¼ t garlic powder
1 C shredded cheddar cheese

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

*I use Annie’s GF rice mac & cheese. You can find it at Rosauer’s but I purchase it through Amazon since it’s cheaper. I do add 2 T of butter to the noodles and then only add about 2T of milk, I find it to be too runny if I at the ¼ C milk like the directions ask for. I have also used the Namaste mac & cheese for this recipe and it gave it a great kick, you can purchase this at Rosauer’s also.

**The original recipe called for frozen mixed vegetables so experiment if you’d like. I like the sweetness of the corn.

***Be sure you use GF ketchup, we also avoid HFCS and we love Annie’s Naturals Organic Ketchup. This is another product I order through Amazon but I know you can get it at Lee & Dad’s, the Coop, and Rosauer’s.

The picture doesn't quite do it justice but trust me this is worth trying.

My son didn't want his plate left out of the picture taking. This is serving one of his three total.