Cinnamon Buns

OOOO LAAA LAAA!!!!  This is just love with sugar on top!  :-)  Our family breakfast favorite has always been cinnamon buns!  When we found out my sweet baby has to do without gluten, this is one thing we missed the most!  Nicole Hunn at www.glutenfreeonashoestring.com  has the best recipe in her cookbook - which, of course, I have!  It is titled Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Quick and Easy:  100 Recipes For the Food You Love - Fast!  Love it!!!!

Pic of buns right out of the oven - mmmmmmm, scrumptious!  This was one of those times I had to use my brand new rolling pen!  

Ingredients:

3 1/2 to 4 cups high quality gluten free flour

2 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it)

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

12 Tbl unsalted butter at room temp

2 extra large eggs at room temp lightly beaten

1 cup milk at room temp

1 cup light brown sugar

2 Tbl ground cinnamon

4 oz mascarpone cheese at room temp*

1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease the wells of a standard 12 cup muffin tin and set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, place 3 1/2 cups of the flour, xanthan gum (if needed), baking powder, 1/4 tsp of the salt, ant the granulated sugar and whisk well.  Add 6 tablespoons of the butter, the eggs and the milk and mix until the dough comes together.  The dough should be smooth and relatively easy to handle.  If the dough seems sticky, add more flour by the tablespoon and knead it in with well-floured hands until the dough is smooth.

3.  Turn the dough out onto a piece of lightly floured unbleached parchment paper.  Place another piece of parchment paper on top and roll the dough into a 10 by 15 inch rectangle, about 1/4 inch thick (no thinner). 

4.  In a separate small bowl, place the brown sugar, cinnamon, 4 tablespoons of the butter and the remaining 1/8 tsp of salt and mix well.  Set the bowl aside.

5.  With a small offset spatula or large spoon, spread the cinnamon mixture in an even layer over the top of the dough, leaving about 1/4 inch clean around the perimeter.  Starting at a long side, roll the dough away from you into a tightly formed roll. Slice the roll in cross-section into 12 equal pieces, each about 1 inch thick.  Place each roll in the well of the prepared muffing tin.

6.  Place the tin in the center of the preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes ro until the rolls begin to turn golden brown and the filling starts to bubble out of them.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool until the rolls are firm enough to handle, and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.  Be sure to remove the rolls from the muffin tin before they are completely cool or they will begin to stick to the baking pan.

7.  While the rolls are cooling, make the icing.  In a separate small bowl, mix together the mascarpone, the remaining 2 Tbl of butter and the confectioners' sugar until smooth but thickly pourable.  Drizzle or spread the icing on the rolls before serving.

*So, I am sure that Nicole's sugary drizzle is to die for but to be honest, I don't even know where the mascarpone cheese is found in the store!  :-P  I use some melted butter, milk and enough confectioners' sugar to make the mixture thick and yummy!

Just look at that gooey goodness!!!!  I should have taken a picture of my boys while eating these!  You should have seen their faces when they sunk their teeth into these things!  It just warmed my heart!  I'm sure I was so overwhelmed with pride over their pleasure that I didn't think to take a pic!

Let me know if you try these!  Enjoy!!
XOXO

Chocolate Breakfast Muffins

Oh my stars!  Chocolate goodness!  These breakfast muffins are more like dessert!  The recipe is from one of my favorite websites - www.glutenfreeonashoestring.com  and it is fantastic!

Don't these look yummy?!?!  You may notice that shine on top - that would be a little bit of butter!!  :-)  These were very easy and didn't take very long to make either!

Ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk at room temperature

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 extra large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose GF flour (I use Carol's)

3/4 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already contains)

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease or line a standard 12 cup muffin pan with vegetable shortening or unsalted butter and set aside.

2.  In a container with a tight fitting lid, combine the milk and cider vinegar, close lid and shake vigorously.  Set the container aside.

3.  In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until well combined.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until smooth.  Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine.  

4.  To the wet ingredients, add the flour, xanthan gum, cocoa powder, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt, beating well after each addition.  add the milk and beat the mixture until it becomes thicker and a bit more elastic.

5.  Distribute the batter evenly among the twelve muffin cups.  Place muffins in the preheated oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, rotate once during baking.

Ok, so let me just say that this was an experience!  I was afraid they wouldn't turn out well because the batter was way too dry before I added the milk.  As a matter of fact, I added the cocoa and it flew all over my kitchen!  :-P  I quickly turned down my mixer!!!!  I added the milk right after the cocoa to give it moisture so it would blend and then it turned into chocolate magic!  After a minute of mixing, it became thick and gooey (pictured above).  

Also, I folded Hershey's chocolate chips into the batter!  YUM!  Automatically turned them into double chocolate breakfast muffins!!!!  

Right out of the oven, they were fluffy chocolate goodness!  Believe it or not, we had some left over!  That is unusual but it was only because we had just finished our bacon, eggs and grits.  After lunch,I mixed up a powdered sugar topping, popped a couple of these in the microwave for a few seconds and then poured that sweetness on top of these muffins.  Oh my stars!!!!!  They melted in my mouth.  That was when they became dessert!!!!!

The powdered sugar topping is what I make to pour over my cinnamon rolls:

1 tsp butter - melted

2 Tbl milk

enough powdered sugar to give it a nice creamy texture :-)

(warm it up in the microwave and it is ready to drizzle)

Enjoy!

XOXO

Chicken Pie

Chicken pie is one of my family's favorite meals.  I have made several different recipes and have finally found one we all love.  I will have to admit, the first time I made a GF chicken pie, I made a flour blend by weighing all of my different flours and made my own dough.  I got to the stage in my crust where I had to roll it out between two sheets of wax paper.  I realized at that moment that I didn't have a rolling pen!  I began searching all over the house.  My glasses aren't round.  It finally hit me - my boys play baseball!!  I sent them out to the garage to find the "cleanest" baseball bat they could find.  I then, proceeded to roll out my dough with the baseball bat - I of course didn't allow my bat to come in contact with my dough and also did a lot of cleaning and hand washing!!!  (We survived!)  The end result?  My boys both liked it but only enough to eat one small plate.  My husband went back to the kitchen to fix him something else.  He couldn't eat it.  :-(  It was a little heavy.  Oh well, my chicken pies have come a long way and they are "easy as pie"!!!  My sweet friend Nikki gave me a recipe that we all like very much but I have adapted it to fit my fam.

Ingredients:

3 large cans chicken breast 

1 can Progresso GF cream of mushroom soup

Butter to taste

1 Pillsbury pie/pastry crust (found at Lowes foods in the refrigerated sections with the biscuits)

3 hard boiled eggs - *optional

My boys don't like eggs in their chicken pie so I normally don't include them but I grew up eating chicken pie with sliced boiled eggs.  I don't know if that's a southern thing or if it is just my family's thing but they add a little something to the dish.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Drain and rinse canned chicken several times to remove as much salt as possible.  Empty chicken into a 9x13 inch dish.  Pour cream of mushroom soup on top of chicken (My boys don't like the mushrooms because sometimes, the chunks are large so I strain my soup and discard the mushrooms.)  Dollop (is that a word?) some butter on top of the chicken and soup mixture.  Remove dough from container and separate dough into 2 pieces (if you are only putting dough on the top) and knead dough until elasticity forms - basically, 'til it sticks together.  Place between two pieces of wax paper and roll with a rolling pen until very thin.  Transfer to dish and cover chicken mixture with crust.  Bake 25 - 30 minutes until golden brown.

This makes a flaky crust that is the closest I have found to the non-GF pie crust that I grew up eating.  We have also tried and liked GF Bisquick as our breading/crust.  That turns out yummy, as well.  My fav though is the Pillsbury crust!  

This recipe turned out so good that Kasen ate three large servings and literally licked his plate!  I know that doesn't exhibit very good manners but I was so glad he liked it that much I just let him lick that plate - after all 3 servings!!! :-)  Needless to say, we had NO leftovers!!!!!

I hope you love this EASY Chicken Pie!  Happy Cooking! <3

Funfetti Cupcakes

Absolutely, the best GF cupcakes - EVER!!!!

CUPCAKES ARE NOT FORBIDDEN FOR THE GLUTEN SENSITIVE! 

In the beginning, I was so sad that we couldn't find a GF cupcake that was good enough for us to even want to finish!  We tried all kinds!  When I finally got over my pity party, dug my feet in and decided to buy a rolling pin, I made it a mission to make the best cupcake ever!  I, of course, did not create the recipe, nor did I create the flour blend; however, I did bake them with my own little hands in my own little oven - not out of a box but with flour, butter, baking powder, etc.!

I tried several different flour blends.  I bought white rice flour, brown rice flour, xanthan gum, potato starch, potato flour, tapioca flour, non-fat dry milk and corn starch to make a flour blend that made a very good cupcake.  It was very involved in that, I had to measure my different flours by weight.  Just creating the flour blend was time consuming, not to mention the whole baking process.  Did I mention that I work full time, sell Cookie Lee Jewelry, have a hubby who coaches high school ball and two boys who play ball non-stop?  I really don't have time to do a lot of creating!

I finally found a match made in Heaven!  I found a pre-made flour blend by Carol Kicinski.  I absolutely LOVE IT!!!!!!!  It is called Carol's Amazing All Purpose Flour.

http://simplygluten-free.com/flour-cookbook-sales

I have not found a flour blend that I like better than this. I never thought I would actually say I like working with a particular flour but I can say that about this flour.  In all of my taste tests, if the flour blend includes sweet rice flour, it is usually yummy!  I don't know what it is about that sweet rice flour but it ROCKS!

I also have fallen in love with a particular website:  http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/   Nicole Hunn is the author of this site and she is so funny!  I love to read her recipes.  She has THE BEST recipe for GF cupcakes!!!!

The combination of Carol's flour and Nicole's recipe is by far, my family's fav!  Enough chitty chatting!  I'm sure you want the recipe.  :-)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C plus 2 Tbl GF all purpose flour
3/4 tsp xanthan gum (omit if your blend already contains it - Carol's does)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C sugar
8 Tbl unsalted butter (at room temp)
1 extra large egg plus 1 extra large egg white (at room temp)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2/3 C milk (at room temp)
6 Tbl GF confetti sprinkles

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Line muffin tin with cupcake liners or grease the wells and set them aside.
2.  In a large bowl, place the flour, xanthan gum (if necessary), baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar and whisk to combine well.  Add the butter, egg, vanilla and milk, mixing after each ingredient is added.  The batter will be pourable.  Fold in sprinkles.
3.  Fill the prepared muffin tins 3/4 of the way full with the batter and sprinkle a few more sprinkles on top.  Place in the center of the oven and bake until golden brown or a toothpick comes out clean.  (about 19 minutes)
4.  Move to wire rack to cool
5.  Frost cupcakes and add a few more sprinkles to the top to make them look cute ;-)

                         

Don't they look YUMMY?!?!

I'm tellin ya, they don't even taste GF!  

Try them, I'm sure you will love them!!! <3 

Those Granola Bars were YUM!

Let me just say that I made those granola bars last night and I melted some Hershey's milk chocolate baking chips and drizzled that melted goodness over top of those granola bars.  They went in lunch boxes today and I had one for breakfast. When I asked my boys if they liked them, the response was, "Yes!  They taste like cookies! Can I have one now?"  I love it!  Not only do I love making GF goodies for my babies, I love it when my babies think they are yummy!  It just warms my heart! <3

Granola Bars

I have tried and tried to find GF granola bars or protein bars that are inexpensive and that taste yummy!  My sweet friend Marsha gave me this recipe and I love it!  Kasen does too and that is most important! :-)

This recipe is so easy.  You just throw all the ingredients together and squish them until everything is good and moist.  The most expensive item is the bag of oats.  I bought a 2 lb bag of GF oats for about $8.  Considering how many bars that bag makes, that's still not bad!!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C quick oats - GF

1/2 C crisp rice cereal - GF

1/2 C mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 C plus 1 Tbl canola oil

1/4 C plus 2 Tbl honey

1 tsp vanilla

*optional - 1 scoop protein powder - GF (you will have to use more oil and honey if protein powder is used)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients except for chocolate chips really, really, really well.  I start with a large spoon but then end up using my hands too.  Be sure to take your time to make sure everything is really blended.  Taking your time also allows the wet ingredients to sort of soak into the dry components.  If your mixture seems dry after mixing then you may need to add a little more oil and/or honey a teaspoon at a time - until it starts to clump up a little.  Then add the chocolate chips.

Spread in a 9x13 baking dish.  Bake for 17-22 minutes until golden.  When I take it out of the oven, I go ahead and cut into bars while still warm.  (It's easier that way!)  They are supposed to sit for a couple of hours until cool.  That is the hardest part!!!!!!  I will admit, I can't wait - I have to eat one while it's hot and gooey! :-P

Granola is picky to cook so keep watching it - It will burn easily. I will have to confess to you that the first time I made these, I didn't really know what they were supposed to look like as I had never cooked oats before.  I left them in about 5 minutes too long and the edges were very dark and crispy.  It didn't matter though - they were eaten anyway!  They are also good for breakfast with a little yogurt!  Mmmmmmm.  Oh, I bet they would be good with ice cream too!

Ya know, my boys used to love those granola bars covered in chocolate.  If we were gonna be really sinful, I bet we could melt some chocolate and roll these babies in it or even just drizzle some across the top to look pretty or even just dip one side in the chocolate - Oh, the chocolate possibilities!!!! Yum!

Happy Granola!

My GF Pantry List

I just had a sweet friend that I, unfortunately don't get to see very often, contact me to say she has just found out that she has developed a sensitivity to wheat/gluten.  I jumped in to give her some advice and then thought that maybe more people might benefit from what we have learned.

My first suggestions is - Don't go out and buy one of every pre-packaged GF item you can find!!!!!!  I had a little moment of panic and did just that.  There were many tears shed and money spent on dry, grainy, tasteless foods that Kasen wouldn't eat.  I couldn't even eat it - it was such a waste of money!

Of course, lots of fruits and veggies and lean meat are always best for all of us!  If we could all eat the way Jesus did, we would all be so much healthier!  :-)  However, after Jesus ascended into Heaven, some crazy person invented processed food, including cake icing!!!!!  UUUUUUUGGGGG!  My taste buds and Kasen's taste buds have acquired such a taste for that sweet stuff!

Just a little tid-bit, Betty Crocker icing is GF!!!!  YAAAAY!  It's just getting the cake to be GF!  That has been a little tricky!  I have found a solution and I will share my cupcake recipes later, in another post.  If you're local, hollar and I'll bake you a gf cake! ;-)

As far as gf items that we purchase and keep on hand?  I will list them below:

• Lay's potato chips (I posted the link earlier in my chicken nugget post)
• Doritos (Included on the Lay's gf list)
• Cheetos (Included on the Lay's gf list)
• Ore-Ida french fries (They have over 30 varieties that are GF and it says so right on the package)
• Idahoan boxed potatoes (The Steakhouse varieties are yummy)  check out the link for a list of their gf options:  http://idahoan.com/category/products/gluten-free/
• Pebbles (Fruity and Cocoa are both GF - even the ceareal bars!)
• Gushers and other fruit snacks 
• Glutino Pretzels (We do splurge on these from Harris Teeter.  They are very good and work well in the lunch box)
• Glutino chocolate sandwich cookies (These look like oreos and we definitely splurge on these.  Kasen doesn't like them so much by them selves but i will put those babies in the food processor for incredible oreo balls and they also make a PERFECT pie crust! Oh, and Harris Teeter has them.)
• Glutino table crackers (These are GREAT!  Kasen likes to put peanut butter on one and nutella on the other and smush them together for a nice healthy school snack.)

Ok, so my pretzel bag doesn't look so hot.  They were good tho! heehee

• Amy's GF Macaroni and Cheese (found at Wal-Mart and HT but WM is cheaper)
• Plain Rice
• GF BISQUICK!!!!!!!  YAAAY!
• Progresso gf cream of mushroom soup (makes a great chicken pie)  http://progresso.com/Products/Gluten-Free
• Glutino Genius soft white bread (found at Harris Teeter in the frozen food section) for bread, it is the best we have found so far.  He doesn't like a sandwich but toast or a grilled cheese are both good.
• GF Soy sauce and Teriyaki sauce (HT again)

So, that is a list of what we stock in our cabinets.  All of this, of course, in addition to meats, veggies, dairy and fruits. :-) If I find that I can add to this list, I will let you know!!  I have noted that these items are found at Harris Teeter but that is just my regular shopping spot.  I'm sure they are also available at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's.  Most are also available at the local Company Shops Market. 

One of our biggest struggles has been finding a gf granola or protein bar that Kasen will eat - that is inexpensive!!!  I finally found a No-Gii bar made by Elizabeth Hasselbeck.  They are yum-o but are about $1.50 per bar! (I have only found those in the check out line at Dick's Sporting Goods and on line, of course.)  That's a little pricey to have every day for snack or even between baseball games at a weekend tournament.  I finally found a recipe for homemade granola bars and they are good!!!! I will share that soon. 

I hope my little list has helped.  I named this post My GF Pantry List and it is really bothering me that Ore rida french fries and Glutino bread are in my freezer and not my pantry. Please forgive me for this misnomer.  I just wanted to name it something that might be easy to find later if you need to check back. :-)

If you find a gf item that is a "must have" be sure to comment below so we can share the info!  Happy Pantry Shopping!  (Please note, it does not say panty shopping!  You wouldn't believe how many times I have checked my typing to make sure I didn't type the wrong word! heehee) 

Pepperoni Bites

This recipe is the one I posted on facebook that actually started this blog.  I thought it would be fitting that this would be my first recipe posted. :-)  They are so, so good!!!  And they are easy!!  They should freeze well, too! I am planning on making a batch and may scoot a few in the freezer for a quick pre-game meal for Kasen.  They might even be good in his lunch box.  Hmmmmm.  I'll have to check that out! 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c flour (I use gluten free flour)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 T Italian seasoning

1 1/2 c milk

2 eggs lightly beaten

2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

2 c pepperoni (diced)

1/4 tsp salt

preheat oven to 375; grease/spray muffin cups, whisk flour, baking powder, seasoning and salt; whisk in milk and egg; stir in moz., parm. and pepperoni.  Combine and let stand for 10 minutes.  Stir again and divide into mini muffin cups. Bake until golden - abt 25-30 minutes.

*** As soon as they come out of the oven, I top with a little garlic butter and that makes them melt in your mouth!!!

* I fill up the muffin cups and this recipe makes 48 mini bites.

* You could even heat some pizza sauce to dip, if you like.  We love 'em so much we don't even bother with the sauce tho'!  I don't think they would last long enough in this house to warm the sauce!!! :-P

YUM!!!! ;-)  Enjoy!

Oh, and by the way, I found this recipe on Pinterest.  There were several variations - some gf and some not.  The above is the recipe I used and the pic is the actual pic I took when they came out of the oven.  YUM!

Chicken nuggets

My sweet baby and probably every other child, big or small, loves chicken nuggets!  When you need to make a GF choice, there are some options available for purchase.  Even our local Wal-Mart and grocery stores carry some frozen brands - Perdue and Tyson both offer GF chicken tenders.  They are both very good.  My favorite, however, are homemade and EASY!!!

Just grab some potato chips - there are varieties that are GF!!!!  Check out the link below for a list of Lay's brand:

http://www.fritolay.com/your-health/us-products-not-containing-gluten-ingredients.html

Smash up those chips and set aside.  Cut up boneless, skinless chicken into small pieces.  Dredge chicken pieces in bowl of milk OR a water and hot sauce mixture (to your liking).  Roll chicken in smashed chips.  Fry in canola oil on stove top OR bake in oven at 350 until golden brown.  YUM!!!!

My dad is wonderful!  He makes us some nuggets to keep in the freezer for those busy ball game nights.  The last couple of times, he used boneless, skinless chicken thighs.  They make a tender, juicy nugget that is oh, so good!

My older son, Keanan, who doesn't have a gluten sensitivity loves these nuggets too.

That's Keanan. :-)  He likes to heat up a little Sweet Baby Ray's Honey BBQ sauce to pour over them.  And yes, Sweet Baby Ray's is GF!!!  It says so right on the bottle!  YAY!

Welcome!

I love to take pictures of my GF baked treats and post them on facebook and instagram.  I recently had someone suggest that I start a blog to share my favorite recipes and include tips for easy, yummy, GF goodness!  Stay tuned for more to come!