Gluten-Free Gingerbread Recipe for the Holidays

Image: iClipart

This is the gingerbread recipe that I use for my GF holiday gingerbread.

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 c. shortening
1/3 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 c. molasses
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. milk or soy milk

Dry Ingredients:
1 c. rice flour
1 c. potato starch flour
1/2 c. almond flour or amaranth flour or corn starch
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum

Final Touch:
powdered sugar


Beat all the "wet ingredients" together (which includes a few dry things, like salt and spices). In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together until they're thoroughly mixed. Blend the two mixes until the batter is sort of cake-like (but a bit thicker than a gluten-containing cake would be).

Bake in a 9x13 inch greased pan at 350 F for 30 minutes. (I believe 350 F is approx. 175 C for those of you working with a metric oven.)

Once the gingerbread has cooled, sprinkle powdered sugar on top with a sifter, for the final touch!

Gluten and Dairy-Free Rhubarb Cobbler Recipe NO Strawberries!

Image: iClipart

I made this dish for our Celiac Support Group's yearly pot luck dinner, over the summer. My aunt had asked us to harvest her overgrown rhubarb recently, so I tried making this rhubarb cobbler for our dessert dish. I adapted a regular recipe to be gluten- and dairy-free, and I was surprised it turned out as yummy as it did.

A lot of people make rhubarb pies with strawberries in them, but the lady who runs our Celiac Support Group is allergic to strawberries. Not only that, but I think strawberries can make the cobbler too sweet. I enjoy the tangy-ness of rhubarb. So we made it nice and tangy.

Ingredients:

2 C. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

8-9 C. rhubarb, fresh or frozen, chopped to 1/2"

3 C. water

few drops red food coloring

4 T. margarine dairy-free margarine (Earth Balance)

1 C. rice flour

½ C. almond flour

½ C. potato starch flour

¼ tsp. xanthan gum

12 T. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 C. dairy-free margarine (Earth Balance)

12 T. soy milk

1 ½ tsp. grated orange peel

Directions:

In saucepan combine 1 C. sugar and cinnamon. Add rhubarb, water and coloring. Cook and stir until mixture boils; cook 2 min. more. Stir in 2 T. margarine. Pour mixture into a 1 1/2 - 2 qt. casserole or baking dish. Keep bubbling hot in oven. For topping, sift together flour, 6 T. sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in 1/4 C. margarine; stir in soy milk and orange peel. Push topping from spoon into dollops atop bubbling hot fruit. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 - 30 min. Serve with non-dairy ice cream, like Rice Dream.

Results:

YUM!

Yummy Gluten-free Mango Salsa Recipe

Ingredients:

4-5 mangoes (firm, not quite ripe)

4 Serrano peppers (more or less depending on how spicy you want it

1 Jalapeno

10 cloves of garlic

6-7 firm avocados

10 firm roma tomatoes 

1 cup chopped cilantro 

2 limes squeezed throughout

1 tsp of olive oil

1/2 of a red onion

Dash of salt

Chop mangoes up first in medium sized chunks, then add the diced red onion and squeeze half a lime over it. Let this marinate for an hour.  Dice the tomatoes, add chopped cilantro/peppers/garlic to the tomatoes.  Squeeze half of lime over and let marinate for an hour as well.  Halve the avocados right before you are ready to serve it, and cut them up in cubes.  Pour the olive oil and squeeze a half of lime over avocados before adding the other two bowls.  Finally combine three bowls, lightly mix it all together and squeeze another half of lime over entire dish. Lastly add salt as needed. 

Gluten-Free Chicken Wraps Recipe Like PF Chang's!

When our gluten-free family wants a real treat, we eat at PF Chang's in Boise. But for us, it's a two-hour drive.

So when my cousin's wife, Andrea Musick, posted her recipe for PF Chang's-style gluten-free chicken wraps on FB, I asked if I could include this on my recipe blog. Because YUM! So here you go:

4 large chicken breasts

1/2 can of water chestnuts

2 chopped green onions

1/4 c of Hoisin sauce

2 tsp chili sauce (I used the garlic chili sauce from the Asian isle)

2-3 cloves garlic (crushed)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 cup of peanuts. ( I used the salt and pepper peanuts but anything will work just don't buy any sweet flavor)

1 tbsp. fresh ginger

2 tbsp. Tamari GF soy sauce

head of lettuce ( butter lettuce holds it better but cost wise iceburg lettuce will work fine)

1) use a small amount of olive oil and a little crushed garlic to sauté the chicken. (garlic and oil  is in addition to above list)

2) while the chicken is cooking (at a point when it is almost done), in a separate pan add oil and garlic on a med to low heat. After a min or so add ginger, soy sauce, Hoisin, chili paste and mix together for a couple mins. you have to constantly stir these or they will burn or reduce down to nothing.

3) once the chicken is cooked through take it off the heat and chop in up into very small pieces. bite size or smaller.

4) Add the chicken into the sauce mixture with the chestnuts, 1/2 the onions and peanuts. The cooking tends to make the peanuts and onions soft so I only put half in so I still get some fresh and crunch. at this point just let it cook for 8-10 mins on low heat to get it well flavored. There shouldn't be any running sauce the ingredients should suck up all of the sauce mixture.

5) Add the rest of the onions and peanuts and cook for maybe a min or so longer.

6) wash lettuce and leave in large leaves. Add a few scoops to the lettuce and roll like a burrito. I sometimes will cut the lettuce down the middle if I use iceburg lettuce because it can be quite big.

I'm not sure where to buy Hoisin sauce gluten-free, but I'm going to look for it in my local Asian store before making this recipe. I'll post information on GF brands if I find any. If I can't find any GF, I'll work on finding a good substitute.

Ideas for Gluten-Free Lunch Boxes for Back-to-School

School is about to get underway again. We parents of kids with celiac disease struggle, every year, brainstorming new things to put in our kids' lunchboxes. There's only so many times a kid can eat a PB & J with Fritos before they lose their minds!

So this is my list of the many great things you can put in your kid's lunchbox. They're all GF, and many of them are things a working mom can just purchase at a grocery store, so you're not spending a half hour every morning, rushing to get that lunch made:

• cold gluten-free pizza
• stuff for making mini-pizzas on a GF cracker (Lunchables style)
• home-made GF lunchables (my daughter's favorite)
• GF stick day (GF pretzel sticks, cheese sticks, and pepperoni sticks)
• GF chips and salsa with bean dip
• cookie-cutter mini sandwiches
• bag of GF cereal
• Udi's muffins
• Udi's cinnamon rolls
• Yoplait yogurts (read labels) or Go-Gurts 
• Del Monte fruit cups/jello fruit cups
• plain Jell-o cups
• pudding cups (read labels)
• carrot sticks
• celery sticks
• peanut butter celery sticks
• cream cheese celery sticks (read labels on the cream cheese)
• thermos of soup (see my "soups" recipes for ideas)
• S'moreables graham crackers

• Quaker GF rice cakes
• Glutino breadsticks
• Glutino bagel chips (YUM!)
• GF fruit chew snacks (read labels)
• fresh fruit
• Easy Cheese (but the bacon one has gluten)
• Fritos
• Lays Stax
• cottage cheese
• cheese sticks
• Old Wisconsin beef sticks
• Old Wisconsin summer sausage (check for GF label)
• Hormel Canadian bacon
• Hormel pepperoni slices
• K-Toos (Oreo-style cookies)
• boiled eggs
• deviled eggs
• egg salad with GF crackers to spread it on
• Cheetos
• Juicy-Juice
• Shasta sodas
• raisins
• yogurt-covered raisins
• home-made trail mix (find my recipe on this site under "lunches")
• EnviroKids rice "granola" bars
• Fruity Pebble/Cocoa Pebble Treats (now available in stores, always check labels)
• Popcorn
• Popcorn balls made with Kraft marshmallows
• Kraft colored mini-marshmallows
• PB&J made on Glutino crackers
• Jell-o Knox blocks 
• apple slices
• Glutino pretzels or EnerG pretzels
• California roll (sushi nori) home-made with tuna instead of raw meat (for safety)
• beef strips cut from leftover pot roast (send them some BBQ sauce for dipping
• cold quesadilla on GF tortillas 

I post recipes for some of this stuff on this site, so follow me, and you'll get a new recipe once a month. My specialty is the lunchbox-stuffer, but I sometimes offer recipes for other meals and desserts as well.

Happy lunch-boxing!

What to Serve at Your Gluten-Free and Diary-Free Tea Party

Summer's here, and little girls are going to want to have a tea party outside, with friends. But what can you offer little girls who are used to eating gluten? You need to offer them something they won't turn their noses up at.

If you want to bake something, I suggest getting a miniature muffin tin and using Pamela's gluten-free vanilla cake mix and Pamela's GF chocolate cake mix to bake some cupcakes everyone can frost. You can also buy miniature bundt cake pans, which make adorable little bundt cakes. We did this at my daughter's 10th birthday party, and it was a big hit. (See pictures.)

We bought Betty Crocker's GF white frosting (check labels), but be aware that this stuff isn't usually dairy-free too. So if you have a dairy-free person in your household, I recommend using powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar), Earth Balance spread, and soy milk to make your own frosting. Also check to make sure your food colorings are gluten- and dairy-free.

Candy sprinkles are usually safe, but it's always a good idea to check those labels too.

We also included marshmallows, GF hot chocolate (but that's not dairy-free, usually), strawberry guava juice, lemonade, and K-Toos GF and DF cookies on our tea party menu.

I had the girls frost the cupcakes and bundt cakes, so they had a lot of fun with that (although expect a mess). By frosting the cupcakes themselves, each person at the tea party takes pride in what they've made. You'll have fewer problems with non-gluten-free eaters turning their noses up at a cupcake they frosted themselves.

Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Jo-jo Potatoes Recipe

When I first started eating gluten-and-dairy-free, I remember going into a mini-mart and seeing all those deep fat fried foods and wishing I could eat them. Well here's a recipe for one of my favorites: Jo-jo potatoes! Yum!

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp. Olive Oil

5 Medium-to-Large Potatoes

1 Lime

1 tsp. Coarse Ground Black Pepper

1/2 Cup Cornstarch

4 Tbsp. Yeast

2 tsp. Paprika

Large Dash of Cayenne Pepper (or Arizona Mesquite Seasoning from DTN Spices in Phoenix area)

3 tsp. Celery Salt

1 tsp. Onion Powder

1 tsp. Garlic Powder

2 tsp. Mustard Powder

Directions:

1. Cover a cookie sheet in aluminum foil. Pour 1 Tbsp. of olive oil onto the aluminum foil and rub it all around with a paper towel or napkin. (Make sure your cookie sheet has a lip or rim around the edge so the oil doesn’t drip into the oven!)
2. Slice potatoes into eight wedges of equal size.
3. Slice the lime in half and squeeze lime juice out until you have 4 Tbsp. of juice. Mix 4 Tbsp. of lime juice with 4 Tbsp. of olive oil.
4. Mix all dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
5. Saturate potato slices in liquid lime/oil mixture. Then transfer them to the dry mixture and coat them completely.
6. Lay them on the baking sheet. Bake them for 45 minutes or until golden brown, turning them half-way through.

Serves 4

Here's what my lineup looked like while I was making the Jo-jo potatoes:

For GF/DF ranch dressing, either click on "sauces" in the side margin or go back about three recipes. Yes! You can have your Jo-jo potatoes and dip 'em in ranch dressing too! Isn't that fantastic?!

Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free GF/DF Spanish Rice and Beans Recipe for Cinco de Mayo

When you first go GF/DF, it's hard to find those rice-in-a-box dinners that you used to rely on. They all have gluten in them, and many of them have dairy products too. Ugh!

Well here's one possible solution. It's my recipe for Spanish rice with beans, just like the stuff you used to make from a box-o-rice. Only healthier! And I'm posting it one month before Cinco de Mayo, so everyone can enjoy it with their Mexican fiesta celebrations!

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. olive oil (for frying)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro
3 med. garlic cloves, chopped or mashed
15 oz. pinto beans, drained (reserve their juicy stuff for later though)
8 or 9 oz. can of golden corn, drained (no need to reserve the juice)
7 oz. can of diced green chilis
1 tsp. chili powder
scant 1/4 tsp. onion powder
1 five-oz. can of chicken breast plus the liquid
3 cups cooked rice (I like Jasmine rice best)

Directions:
1. Cook the rice according to the directions. Measure out three cups of the cooked rice and set it aside.
2. Mix onion powder, chili powder, and salt in the liquid left from draining the pinto beans.
3. Fry the chicken, garlic, and onion in the olive oil, on medium heat, in a deep-dish frying pan. Cook this mixture, stirring regularly, until the onion looks transparent.
4. Add the rice you have set aside.
5. Drizzle the salt/chili powder mixture over the top.
6. Mix in the beans, corn, and chilis.
7. Cook for two more minutes on medium heat, stirring constantly.
8. Lower heat and simmer five minutes or until the beans and corn are cooked to your liking.

It is possible to use fresh, pre-cooked chicken instead of canned chicken, but if you do that, I'd add a little broth to make sure the rice doesn't turn out too dry.

In the picture provided here, I garnished my Spanish rice dish with avocado, which tasted great mixed in with the rice, by the way!

Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Reuben Sandwich Recipe for St. Patrick's Day

Any time I've ever shopped for a package of corned beef to cook in my crock pot, I've found them to be gluten-free and dairy-free. But do check labels anyway. We all know it's a good idea to be careful, when you have to eat GF and DF. 

Once you've cooked your traditional corned beef and cabbage in the crock pot, though, what do you do with all the left over corned beef? Make yummy Reuben sandwiches! (I'm going to make this recipe for a single serving, but you just double it for two, quadruple it for four, etc.)

Ingredients:

2 slices of GF bread (I prefer Udi's for this recipe, as it tastes the most authentic)

1 Tbs. GF/DF ketchup

1 Tbs. GF/DF mayonnaise

1/4 cup Steinfeld's Homestyle Sauerkraut

1 Tbs. Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese OR goat's milk cheese sliced (if you can tolerate it)

1 Tbs. Earth Balance Spread

Directions:

1. Spread Tofutti's Better Than Cream Cheese on one side of each piece of the bread. (If your stomach can tolerate goat's milk cheese instead, skip this step.)

2. Mix the ketchup and mayonnaise in a bowl. Spread it over the top of the Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese. We'll call this the "inside" side of the bread slices, because this spread will go inside the sandwich once it's made.

3. If you're planning to use goat's milk cheese, this is when you add your cheese slices to the inside part of the bread, covering the ketchup/mayo spread (only put cheese on one slice of bread). You don't need both Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese and goat's milk cheese; just pick one or the other. If you're not worried about going dairy free, substitute the goat's milk cheese for Swiss cheese.

4. Drain the sauerkraut in a colander. Really drain it! I use a paper towel to smoosh it down into the colander until all the juice is gone from it. If you don't do this, your Reuben sandwich will be soggy.

5. If you're using real cheese (goat's milk or Swiss), place the sauerkraut over the top of the cheese, but if you're using the Tofutti cream-cheese substitute, it doesn't matter which slice of bread you put the sauerkraut on.

6. Lay slices of corned beef over the top of the sauerkraut. Then put the other slice of bread on top, with the ketchup-mayo mixture on the inside of the sandwich.

7. Spread Earth Balance margarine substitute on the outside of both sides of the sandwich. Place your sandwich in a frying pan and brown it on both sides.

Now you have a Reuben sandwich that even Saint Paddy himself would approve of! It goes great with chips and fruit. The one pictured above was made in the summer, so I had watermelon with it. Make sure you've got plenty of liquids to drink because a Reuben sandwich makes you thirsty!

Groundhog Day Recipes: Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Stuffed Bell Peppers

Will Punxsutawney Phil see his shadow? Here's a recipe that'll smell so good coming out of the oven, Phil will have to come out to investigate!

And if you're having guests over, why not place a little cardstock groundhog on the end of a toothpick and have him poke his head out of these stuffed pappers? I've included a cartoon groundhog at the end of the page, so you can print him off and tape him to toothpicks. What fun!

Ingredients:
4 large or medium sized bell peppers
1/2 pound Italian sausage or hamburger
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can of tomato sauce (8 oz.)
3 cups cooked rice (I like Jasmine rice)
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Directions:
1. Cut the tops off the peppers. Remove the seeds within. Then, in a large boiling pot, blanch the peppers in boiling water for three minutes. Drain and rinse them in cold water and set them aside. They should be flexible but not soft.
2. In a skillet, brown the sausage or burger over medium heat, adding onion and garlic after a minute or two. (If your sausage is already spicy--like Jimmy Dean's GF sausage--you can leave out the garlic, onion, and probably the thyme too. Only season as needed in that case.)
3. Stir in the tomato sauce, thyme, salt, and pepper. Simmer for two minutes, stirring constantly, to allow seasonings to blend into the tomato sauce.
4. Scoop about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of the saucy meat mixture into a bowl and set aside. (This depends on how big your peppers are. If they're big peppers--like the monsters you can buy in a store--only set aside 1/4 cup. If they're smaller peppers--like the ones I grow in my garden--set aside 1/2 cup.)
5. Add the rice and stir.
6. Spoon the mixture from your saucepan into the blanched peppers. Place the peppers in an ungreased casserole dish. Use the 1/4 cup that you set aside (and any extra you left in the pan) to drizzle over the top of the peppers, filling the edges of the casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F (approx. 175 degrees C).

Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free German Pancakes (Also Called Dutch Babies)

When I was a kid, the German pancake (Dutch baby) at Elmer's Pancake House was the yummiest breakfast in my breakfasting repertoire. But that was before I had to go DF and GF.

Now I can make it whenever I like! And the recipe is surprisingly simple to follow.

If you're new to GF/DF cooking, let me share a word about xanthan gum. When I first started cooking GF, I thought, "What the heck is xanthan gum and where do I buy it?" It's what holds things together in GF baked foods, and it's an essential ingredient for people who eat gluten-free. You'll see it in a lot of baking recipes, from breads to cakes to pastries. So it's well-worth buying. If your grocery store offers Bob's Redmill products, they probably carry xanthan gum. If not, check your local health food store. You don't have to buy very much because it lasts a long time.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. dairy-free shortening (I use Earth Balance, which works like margarine)
6 extra-large eggs
1 and 1/4 cups soy milk (I use Pacific brand)
1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup potato starch flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/4 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice (or more--if you like it more lemony)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). As the oven preheats, place the shortening in a 13x9 inch casserole dish, and stick it in the oven just until the shortening is melted. Then take it out. Spread the shortening around a bit with a spatula.
2. Put the eggs, soy milk, salt, and xanthan gum in a blender and mix it until frothy (30 seconds or so). Add all three kinds of flour and mix again. Stop the blender after 30 seconds and scrape the sides with a spatula. (Flour often gets stuck to the sides.) Mix a while longer (maybe another 10 seconds or 15). You want the mix to be frothy and wet, but not lumpy at all.
3. Pour the mixture into the very center of your melted shortening, in the casserole dish. Do not redistribute it at all. You'll see some shortening settle on top of the batter, and that's okay.
4. Bake 18 to 20 minutes. I live at a high altitude, so I bake mine for 20 minutes, but I'm told people at sea level can get by with less time. Just make sure the eggs in the center of it are cooked all the way through. When it first comes out of the oven, it puffs up like a deformed balloon. But it will shrink down to the size of bar cookies in just a few minutes. Let it shrink down a little before you do the next step.

5. Use a sifter to dust the rectangular pancake with powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar). Then evenly sprinkle lemon juice over the top of the powdered sugar (see picture). If you like yours really lemony, you can squeeze more lemon juice than the recommended tablespoon. In my opinion, the lemon juice is what makes it super-yummy!
6. Cut it into about eight rectangles and serve warm. No need to use syrup, as the powdered sugar makes it plenty sweet (although my brother used to add syrup to his).