Gluten Free Flax Bread

I found this recipe for gluten free bread in my desperate search to replace bread made with wheat and white flour.  I don't eat a lot of bread but once in a while would like toast or a sandwich.  The kids eat bread a lot more than I do.  When I eat it I want it to taste as much like regular bread as possible.  While its extremely difficult to make a good gluten free bread I have found that it can be done.  Here are some great places to find good recipes:

"The Gluten Free Gourmet" by Bette Hagman
"The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread" by Bette Hagman
"Special Diets for Special Kids" by Lisa Lewis, PhD

I've used a few of the recipes from these books and from others.  Many times they are SO pricey to make that it's better if I just go purchase a loaf or two.  This recipe came out awesome the first time, no tricky techniques required.  I have even used different flour blends in it with good results.  The flaw with the recipe is that it makes too much for the normal loaf pan and it spills over the edges and all over the oven. The reviewers warned about this, but did I listen...nope.  I just HAD to try it myself.  Haha!

I decided to adjust the recipe to fit into a regular loaf pan so that I wouldn't have to go and purchase a new pan.  Below you will find my adjustments to the recipe.

Gluten Free Flax Bread

1 cup gluten free flour mix
3 Tbsp garbanzo bean/chick pea flour
6 Tbsp potato starch
3 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp flax seed meal
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/4 cup water or almond milk or coconut milk (I do half water and half dairy free milk)
1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 1/4 Tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

Combine flours, flax, starches, gum, yeast, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In the mixer, combine wet ingredients together and then add the dry. Scrapes the sides of the bowl.  Mix on medium speed for 4-5 minutes.  Pour into 1 greased loaf pan.  Let rise to the top of the pan in a warm, but turned off oven for about 40-80 minutes. Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool and slice.

GF/DF Oven fried chicken Yummy!

My grandmother shared this delicious recipe with me in the recent years.  I asked her for the recipe again a few months ago and then I lost it.  I was thrilled to find the recipe again on this page. My family absolutely loves it!  I changed it to make it fit our needs.  Now it's gluten free and dairy free....and STILL delicious!



Oven Fried Chicken

This simple oven fried chicken is coated with a seasoned flour mixture and baked with a little butter.
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

3 to 4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
1/4 cup corn flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup  dairy free butter or olive oil
Preparation:

Directions for oven fried chicken recipe
Preheat oven to 425°.
Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels...if desired. In a bowl with a lid, combine flour, paprika, salt and pepper. Place lid on and shake to coat chicken with the flour mixture. I ended up making a second batch of the flour mixture and threw that in until it was evenly coated.

Put butter in a shallow baking pan; place in oven to melt. When butter is melted, arrange chicken in the baking pan in a single layer, (if using bone-in chicken, place skin side down and add an extra 10 minutes to baking time, after flipping). Bake at 425° for 30 minutes; turn and bake 5 minutes longer, or until chicken is tender and done. Oven fried chicken recipe serves 4.

GF/DF Corn Bread recipe

So...I wanted to make cornbread to go with my friends chili for our get-together this week.  I made some last year and it was okay, but nothing to make me go WOW. It was simply OKAY.  I have made really yummy cornbread for years and the idea that just because I am eating gluten free means I can't have good corn bread was just NOT okay in my book.  Ludicrous!  I am a FIRM believer that if you have a good recipe you can always make delicious food.

I decided to pull out my original recipe...my go-to recipe...for cornbread.  It's one I have altered and adjusted over the years, to my taste.

Gluten Free/Dairy Free Corn Bread

1 1/4 cup Featherlight Flour mixture
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup corn meal
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup almond milk (or other dairy free milk)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 egg beaten

Grease an 8x8 or 9x9 inch square pan, or a round pie plate, or casserole dish.  Set aside. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl.  Mix well.  Stir in milk, oil and egg.  Mix just until moistened; making sure that any large clumps are broken up.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake @ 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Or for glass or dark pans bake @ 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
These make great muffins too.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.  For dark pans: 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

This recipe came out moist and delicious!  I LOVE sweet cornbread, so if that's what you like you might enjoy this treat!  This tastes scrumptious with pumpkin butter spread onto it too!  Happy Fall!

Oh...the Featherlight Flour Mixture is as follows:

1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1 cup tapioca starch
1 cup cornstarch
3 tsp potato flour

The original recipe comes from Bette Hagman's The Gluten Free Gourmet Bakes Bread book.  I altered it slightly to fit my needs.

Hummus

My new obsession...hummus.  I've had it a few times over the years and I have enjoyed it, but have always thought of it as a treat for a special occasion.  I'm not quite sure where that thought came from. Since I have recently started a gluten free/dairy free diet I am constantly on the look-out for foods that are delicious and fit the diet.  While at a recent Bridal Shower, I had hummus and was reminded of how yummy it is.

I started looking up recipes and talking about it.  This weekend we went to Kansas City to spend time with my husband's brother and his family and also attend the temple there.  While at the store with my sister-in-law I mentioned hummus and she showed me one she really liked.  I HAD to try it out.  It was so yummy!

Today, all I wanted was hummus. So, I got out the ingredients and began making it.  Find the original recipe here. I added parsley to the recipe because I found it on another page, but I can't seem to find the link anymore.  If I find it, I'll post it.

Hummus

·  1/4 cup (59 ml) fresh lemon juice or 3 Tbsp lemon juice

·  1/4 cup (59 ml) tahini

·  Half of a large garlic clove, minced

·  2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for serving

·  1 teaspoon kosher salt

·  1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 Tbsp parsley crushed

·  One 15-ounce can (425 grams) chickpeas

·  2 to 3 tablespoons water

·  Dash of ground paprika for serving

In the bowl of a food processor, combine tahini and lemon juice. Process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl then turn on and process for 30 seconds. This extra time helps “whip” or “cream” the tahini, making smooth and creamy hummus possible.

Add the olive oil, minced garlic, cumin and the salt to whipped tahini and lemon juice. Process for 30 seconds, scrape sides and bottom of bowl then process another 30 seconds.

Open can of chickpeas, drain liquid then rinse well with water. Add half of the chickpeas to the food processor then process for 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl, add remaining chickpeas and process for 1 to 2 minutes or until thick and quite smooth. Most likely the hummus will be too thick or still have tiny bits of chickpea. To fix this, with the food processor turned on, slowly add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water until the consistency is perfect.

Scrape the hummus into a bowl then drizzle about 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with paprika.
Store homemade hummus in an airtight container and refrigerate up to one week.

Now go...spread it on your bread instead of mayo or mustard...dip your veggie sticks into it...and scoop it with your favorite tortilla chips or vegetable chips.  

Traveling and eating Gluten Free/Dairy Free and food dye free can be a challenge!

We are going to visit family this weekend and need to be prepared with food for my lovely Gluten Free/Dairy Free diet and Littlest Miss's dye free diet. We discussed possible options with family and decided to go with tacos.  Therefore, today I am making myself some corn tortillas for the occasion.

I found a recipe here that is very simple and easy to follow.  

I have a flour tortilla press that is electric and does the same basic thing that a corn tortilla press does.  I covered the cold plates of the press with plastic wrap and pressed the dough in that.  You can also place your dough ball between the plastic wrap and press it down with the bottom of a small pot. (got that idea from a youtube video on making tortillas)

Then I placed the tortilla on a hot cast iron pan, that is dry; without any oil or butter.  Cook it for about 1 minute and then flip and cook for 30 seconds or so.  They seem stiff at first but if you put them in a linen cloth inside a glass dish they get nice and soft and PERFECT for tacos or any other meal.

I spread some dairy free butter on it and dribbled some homemade peach jam inside.  THAT was delicious.  Most of the time I DO NOT feel like I am going without or missing anything by doing this GF/DF diet. Instead, I am getting more creative.

Get creative with your food today!!

Gluten Free Cookie Dough Bites...YUM!

I seriously DID NOT think these would taste very good.  But, I was wrong.  So very wrong! These are yummy! I found the recipe here. They are SO good when they are warm and gooey; fresh out of the oven.  If they have a chance to get cold, you can place them on a paper towel and heat them for about 7-10 seconds, in the microwave, to make the chocolate chips gooey again. I will admit that they didn't last long in our house, since the batch only made 1 1/2 dozen.  Next time I will double the batch so it fits better in my Ninja blender...and lasts a bit longer than an hour. LOL!  My kids even liked the dough.  Littlest Miss was asking for thirds on her little spoon.  I wonder how these babies would taste with Ghirardelli Classic White chips.  My notes are un-bolded so that they stand out a bit from the original recipe. ;)

Gluten Free Cookie Dough Bites

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, well-rinsed and patted dry with a paper towel (I used the entire 15 oz can, so as not to waste.  Worked out just fine.)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (165 grams) natural peanut butter (can use PB2 from gym to make healthier, check your labels)(I used 2/3 cup of Skippy natural or Jif Natural)

1/4 cup (80 grams) honey (agave would be amazing too!)

1 teaspoon baking powder

a pinch of salt if your peanut butter doesn't have salt in it

1/2 cup (90 grams) chocolate chips (I used dairy free)

Directions

1.    Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C. Combine all the ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, in a food processor and process until very smooth. Make sure to scrape the sides and the top to get the little chunks of chickpeas and process again until they're combined.

2.    Put in the chocolate chips and stir it if you can, or pulse it once or twice. The mixture will be very thick and sticky.

3.    With wet hands, form into 1½" balls. Place onto a Silpat or a piece of parchment paper. If you want them to look more like normal cookies, press down slightly on the balls. They don't do much rising. (I scooped them with my Pampered Chef medium sized cookie scoop and then flattened them gently with my hand onto my baking stones. Worked great, was super duper easy, and took less time too!)

4.    Bake for about 10 minutes. The dough balls will still be very soft when you take them out of the oven. They will not set like normal cookies. (I left them on my baking stones for about 10 minutes before transferring them to the cooling rack.)

5.    Store in an airtight container at room temperature (or in the fridge) for up to 1 week.