Friday, December 30, 2011

GFCF Hearty Chicken & Veggie Lasagna

My recent visit to my in-laws house for Christmas inspired this next dish. My mother in law, makes her famous lasagna once a year, on Christmas eve.  My immediately family was unable to partake due to our GFCF restrictions. I ended up making another GFCF pasta dish that was pretty tasty but we sure missed having lasagna with everyone else.  So I came back home with a mission to make my own version of lasagna just for my family, GFCF southern style. I started with Whole Foods basic GFCF lasagna recipe and added my southern twists. My additions are highlighted purple.  I made this for dinner tonight and received rave reviews from my family. It was sooo good, if I do say so myself. Go ahead and try it, you will be pleasantly surprised.  My husband had 3rds, both of my daughters (4 & 6) had seconds and my 1 year old son had 3 small portions and wanted more.  I love finding ways to make old recipes work! Until next time...enjoy!  Janice




You will need:

1 (14 oz) package of soft tofu, drained
4 italian GF chicken sausage links (if you buy them fresh from the meat department, you can just peel off the casing) or you can just use ground turkey or chicken. I like Sprouts because they make fresh GF sausages everyday.
1 large onion, finely chopped
3/4 button mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 diced yellow squash
1 cup of Daiya Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds (ooh ooh, while I was looking up this link, I found this recipe for Lasagna Roll ups).
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped or 2 tsps of freeze dried garlic
2 tbs of freeze dried oregano
1 tsp of season all
1 bunch of baby spinach coarsely chopped
2 tbs of freeze dried basil
5 cups of GF marinara sauce (I use Ragu's garden combo**)
2 eggs beaten
1 can of chili pinto beans (Yes that's right!)
1 pkg of GF uncooked lasagna noodles (I use DeBole's rice Lasagna- no precooking required)


To prepare the filling, coarsely crumble the tofu onto two layers of a lint-free dish towel. Wrap tofu in the towel and lightly press out excess moisture; set aside

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until tender. Add Chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until just brown. Add diced squash, mushrooms, garlic, oregano, season all and cook, stirring occasionally until liquid has evaporated.

Add spinach in 2 batches and cook until just wilted. Stir in basil and marinara sauce, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 mins. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Open 1 can of Chili Pinto beans. Drain. Puree or mush up beans really good. Set aside.
Whisk 2 eggs and pour into bowl with pureed pinto beans. Mix and blend well, until thick. Unwrap tofu, crumble it into small pieces and add to egg/bean mixture. Add in 3/4 of Vegan Mozzarella Shreds. Stir well; set aside.

Preheat oven  to 350 F. To assemble Lasagna, ladle 1/4 cup of the sauce into the bottom of a medium size casserole baking dish and spread it out evenly.  Arrange 3 Uncooked lasagna noodles on top of sauce. Place 1/3 of the tofu mixture on the lasagna sheets along with a 1/4 of the sauce, distributing evenly. Repeat layering two more times. Finished last layer should be a final layer of noodles covered with remaining sauce, taking care to spread sauce evenly all the way to the corners. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 of Vegan Mozzarella Shreds on top.  Cover dish tightly with parchment paper and bake for 60 minutes.  Set aside, uncovered, to let stand for 15 minutes.


**Ragu GF sauces ( I really like Ragu because a good portion of its Sauce line is GFCF and I can use it for quick pizza sauces. These listed below are GFCF)
Chunky: Garden Combo, Mushroom & Green Pepper, Roasted Red Pepper & Onion, Sundried Tomato & Sweet Basil, Super Chunky Mushroom, Super Vegetable Primavera, Tomato Garlic & Onion
Light: No sugar added Tomato & Basil, Tomato & Basil
Old World Marinara
Organic Garden Veggie
Pizza: Homemade Style, Pizza Quick Traditional
Robusto: 7 herb Tomato, Chopped Tomato Olive Oil & garlic, Roasted Garlic, Sauteed Onion & Garlic

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

GFCF Birthday Cupcakes for Joshua


Happy Birthday to my beautiful son, Joshua!!

We had gluten free, casein (dairy) free cupcakes and he thought they were yummy. Since we were traveling, we used UDI's chocolate chip muffins and Duncan Hines whipped cream cheese frosting. (its GFCF as well).  For his birthday meal, we had buttery brown rice (Earth's balance vegan butter) and sautéed veggies (Diced zucchini, yellow squash, different color bell peppers, red onion) with a little Season All for flavor. He, his sisters (2, 4 and 6) loved them. They had little honest kids juice boxes to wash it all down.   We followed it up with a family puppet show. Lots of fun!





Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas!!!




Merry Christmas from the Connolly Family!!

Christ-mas is the holyday that celebrates the "symbolic" birth of Christ; God in human form. And since God is Love, a time to celebrate LOVE. "Mas" in Spanish meaning "more". Christ-mas or Christ-more therefore meaning LOVE MORE. So my prayer for you this holyday season is to LOVE MORE!!!! Leading By Example...I present to you a gift of LOVE. Don't let it stop there...add to it and pass it on to someone else. Have them do the same thing and let LOVE increase. Lets begin 2012 with MORE LOVE Than ever. For if LOVE conquers all, then I can't think of a better gift to share. MERRY CHRISTMAS FAMILY...to you and yours...I LOVE YOU!!!






Sunday, December 18, 2011

25 min Meal- BBQ Rotisserie, Veggies and Potatoes

Hello GFCF Family!!!

Just had an amazing quick meal tonight. It was done in 25 mins.

Grab one of those natural or organic Rotisserie chickens from Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joes.
1 jar of Stubbs GF BBQ sauce (I like any of their Sweet ones), 1 tupperware full of sliced or diced veggies kits that I showed you how to make in advance in an earlier posting.



















In a baking pan, lined with parchment paper (NO Aluminum foil (heated aluminum causes Cancer and Alzheimer's)).  Turn the oven to 450 to preheat. Smother chicken in the barbecue sauce as much as desired. set aside.
In another baking sheet, add cut up chunk potatoes, line the pan with parchment paper.  Add a little bit of olive oil onto the parchment paper. Layout potatoes on the pan, season with season all. Put in preheated 400 oven for 25 mins on bottom rack.  Add cooked chicken at 15 mins mark.

Saute veggies in a stainless steel skillet with either Earth's Balance butter or Olive oil.  Add Season all and/or pepper to taste.

Friday, December 9, 2011

Gluten Free Dairy Free Cake Pops by UDIs!!!!


WOW, I just discovered this by UDIs-


To make it Dairy free, I made a few modifications to the original recipe. Click any of the links to find the original GF only recipe.  My Modifications are ** below.  Enjoy! 

Soulfully yours, Gluten Free Momma

Holiday Cake Pops - Udi's Style

Friday, December 9, 2011 by Leigh Buckley
What’s better than a cake pop?  How about a gluten free cake pop...Udi’s style!  This whimsical confectionery trend is in full swing.  Little bite sized morsels of sweet cake wrapped in chocolate and planted on a lollipop stick has been a huge baking hit lately.  But who says the gluten free world can’t take part in this fun sweet treat?  We'll show you how to make some Udi's cake pops perfect for the holidays and entertaining.  Bonus: we’ll give you instructions on how to make these delicious treats without any baking!


Gluten Free Cake Pops
(Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free)

Ingredients:Udi's Cake Pops
  • 1 Package Udi's Gluten Free Muffins (any flavor)
  • **3/4 can of gluten free frosting/dairy free frosting (I use Duncan Hines Creamy homestyle: The Buttercream, Dark Chocolate fudge, lemon supreme, classic chocolate are GFCF)
  • **1 Package of Enjoy Life (dairy, nut, soy free) Semi Sweet chocolate chips
  • Sprinkles
  • Lollipop sticks
  • Parchment paper
  • Block of Styrofoam 

Instructions:
  1. Take Udi's muffins out of container and either crumble with hands or in a food processor until muffins break into very fine crumbs.  Place in a large bowl. 
  2. Mix in frosting or buttercream until the mixture is pliable and spongy but not runny.  If the cake mixture needs more moisture, spoon in extra frosting until you reach desired consistency.   
  3. Place entire mixture into the refrigerator and let firm overnight.  If not using right away, you can cover the container and let the mix sit for up to several days.
  4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  5. Take muffin mix out of refrigerator and start rolling the muffin dough into small balls.  Place each finished ball onto the parchment lined baking sheet.  Each container of muffins will yield approximately 12 large cake balls or 16 small cake balls. 
  6. Place finished balls back into the refrigerator for 1 hour to set.
  7. In the meantime, pour your package of chocolate candy disks into a small microwave safe bowl.  Melt chocolate in the microwave in 1 minute increments, stirring in between, until chocolate is smooth and runny.
  8. Take cake balls out of the refrigerator.  Dip 1 lollipop stick into melted chocolate and push into each individual ball.  Dip each cake round into chocolate.  Let excess chocolate drip off and then poke each lollipop into Styrofoam to finish drying.  While hardening, sprinkle the chocolate with colored sprinkles.
  9. Repeat until all cake balls are finished. 
  10. Either leave cake balls decorated in sprinkles, or drip additional colored chocolate across cake pops (pictured above). 

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Happy Holidays...are you having fun yet?

Hello my fellow Gluten/Casein free mommas!!! I hope everyone had a successful Thanksgiving and that you were able to keep up your lifestyle choice for your family. We had a great time with my family in Oklahoma.  My mom was pretty awesome, she had alot of our items ready so that it would be an easy transition when we arrived. I made only 3 trips to Whole foods while I was there for the week. (only for little things) It was good to feel as though I had practical options. The key to traveling with a GFCF family is to be prepared with a backup. Rule of thumb for our household: Always have a bag of snacks on hand for the kiddos. If you don't want spontaneous relatives sticking candy and cookies in your kiddos faces, have a pack of GF cookies or candy available to offer as an alternative. I tasted a really good coconut ice cream bar this past holiday that I quickly ran out to grab at the local Whole foods one evening. Another surprise that I found was these delicious Rolls by Gillian's.


I didn't have time to make any rolls, so I grabbed these in the frozen food section of Whole foods. They are Wheat, gluten and dairy free. They have no preservatives so they have to stay refrigerated.  They were awesome!!! They come in plain and cinnamon raisin. Let's just say I am addicted and have grabbed them a couple of times now. You heat them in the oven on 300 for about 5 mins and then spread some Earth's balance Vegan butter on it....Yummy!!!  How did your holiday diet go? What worked and didn't work for your family? What can you do better during the Christmas break?

So as we transition into Christmas, I have just been so busy preparing for traveling and conducting photo shoots.  My husband and I are heavily creative and artists, so we have been busy little bees taking photos and designing through our new business together, BHD Collective (its an art collective of design, photography and fine art). BHD stands for Bad Hair Day.  :-)  We thought it was a cool artistic name since we are earthy bohemian type people with WILD hair. LOL!!!!  So we had a lot of fun creating our logo below. He He! We are in the process of creating a website that will showcase our work...I will let you know when its up and ready. It will be www.bhdcollective.com. Hopefully it will be up and running by Xmas. Yay!  In the meanwhile, here are a couple playful shots of my hubby and I. Perhaps we can educate our clients on the perils of Gluten and Dairy through this Art Collective. Until my next post....stay consistent and stay away from processed foods......

Soulfully yours,

Gluten Free Momma!






Tuesday, November 22, 2011

GFCF Holiday Menu


GF/CF Holiday Soul Food Style

Apple Rum Turkey
 Honey Baked Ham

Cucumber Mango Spinach Salad
Collard Greens w/smoked turkey wings

Broccoli & Rice Milk  or Daiya Cheese Casserole

Green Bean Casserole
Squash Casserole
Sweet Potato Casserole

Creamed Corn
Mashed Potatoes
Candied Yams

Dinner Rolls

Pear, Apple or Peach Cobbler
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Cake



*Brown Sugar should be made naturally with Organic Sugar + 1 1/2 tbs of Molasses
*Nuts are optional in some of these recipes
*Peaches and Apples are Simple Sugars and will turn into Sugar in your bodies, a good substitute is a Pear. I will provide recipes that use apples or peaches or but you can use Pears as a substitute


Substitutes

Butter                     Earth Balance Vegan Butter or butter sticks
Sugar                      Organic Sugar in the Raw
Brown Sugar         Organic Brown Sugar
Milk                        Rice, Soy or Almond Milk
Eggs                        Egg replacement
GF Broth               Members Mark All Natural, Kroger Brand,
O Organics, Pacific Natural

Quick Alternative Items to have on hand



House Seasoning:


1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.


Creamed Soups for recipes

Creamed Soup mix extras can be poured into ice cube trays, then later into ziplocks for
easy 3 mth storage. Homemade soup is better just because you the canned versions are
processed and tend to hide MSG. MSG is also hidden under the names of hydrolyzed
vegetable protein, autolyzed yeast, spices, flavorings and other non specific ingredients.

Cream of Mushroom Or Cream of Celery:

5 cups chopped portabella mushrooms or 2 cups of Chopped Celery
1 tablespoon Earth Balance Butter
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon parsley or thyme
1 ½ cup of Vegetable Broth (See GF brands above)
4 teaspoons tapioca flour or Arrowroot
2 cups Rice, Almond or Soy milk
1 tablespoon of Sherry Wine (No wine if making the cream of celery)

MAKES APPROX 3 CUPS "CONDENSED" MUSHROOM SOUP WHICH WILL WORK FOR MOST RECIPES CALLING FOR CANNED SOUP.
Heat the butter on medium heat in a sauce pan.
Add the mushrooms, and saute until cooked through.
Add the sea salt, pepper, parsley.
Cook and stir 1 minute more.
Add the half and half.
Allow the mixture to just come to a boil, then stir the tapioca flour into the water and add it to the milk.
Cook and stir until thickened.


Cream of Chicken:

2 cups chicken stock or 2 cups chicken bouillon
2 small potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup celery leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Bring stock or bouillon to a boil.
Add vegetables, salt and pepper and return to a boil.
Cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
Pour into a blender and liquefy.
Serve hot.
If soup is too thick, use milk substitute or bouillon to thin.


Recipes

Apple Rum Turkey 

Turkey (up to 22 lbs) (Honeysuckle, Jennie O, Shelton, Perdue are GF, Get rid of the gravy pack)
Olive oil 
1-2 carrots 
1-3 celery stalks 
1-2 onions 
3 granny smith apple 
Rosemary 
Sage 
Thyme 
Poultry rub 
1 stick of Earth balance butter
1 tsp Garlic salt

Inject your turkey with Garlic Butter (Melt garlic and mix 1 tsp of garlic salt insert into  injector)

Remove neck and bags inside turkey; rinse and pat dry. Place inside turkey cavity an apple cored and sliced into quarters; 1 celery stalk cut into 3-4 pieces (include leaves); 1 onion quartered; rosemary, sage, and thyme sprigs or in seasoning form.  Cut carrots, 2 celery stalks and a chopped onion for roasting bed. Place turkey (breast side up) on vegetable bed and rub olive oil, followed by a rub of kitchen bouquet (for browning) on turkey. Sprinkle with lightly generous coat of poultry rub. Set on medium heat; once vapovalve clicks steadily, turn to lower setting. Allow 20-25 minutes per pound. Do not open or baste. Upon completion, remove turkey and let sit about 20 minutes before carving. You may thicken the savory juices left behind with GF all purpose flour or soy flour and a bit of rice, soy or Almond milk for a delicious gravy. You may want to pour juice into another container to check for skimming off any possible fat; but usually there is minimal present.You may salt to taste; but the flavor tends to be great without!

If you dont want to use apples, you can use pear as a simple sugar alternative


Ham - (Honeybaked, Boarshead are GF)
9-pound Ham (Precooked or uncooked) 
1⁄2 Cup Brown Sugar (Organic Sugar + 1 1/2 tbs of molasses mixed= natural brown sugar)
1⁄2 Cup Honey
Fresh Pineapple Slices
1⁄4 Cup Pineapple Juice 
1 Tsp Whole Cloves (a good handful)
Mix Brown Sugar,  Agave Nectar, Pineapple Juice. Coat all over Ham and between spiral cuts. Top and surround with Whole Cloves and fresh Pineapple Slices. If uncooked, cook for 4 1⁄2 hours  (25- 30 minutes per pound). If precooked, gently warm on  for 15 minutes per pound. 


Cucumber, Mango, Spinach Salad
10 oz or Bunch of Fresh Spinach 
1 Mango, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces 
1 large Cucumber, peeled and sliced
6 Green Onions, thinly sliced 
1⁄2 Cup Fresh Basil, thinly sliced 
3 Tbs Lime Juice 
1⁄4 Cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar 
1⁄4 Tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper (or to taste)

Wash and drain spinach, tear into bite-size pieces, if necessary, and put into a large serving bowl. Cucumber, Green Onions, and Basil in a medium bowl. Add Lime Juice and Vinegar and stir to mix. Arrange Mango mixture on Spinach and sprinkle with Black Pepper. To enjoy the fresh flavors in this salad, eat immediately after tossing.
Serves 10-12


Collard Greens

1/2 pound smoked turkey wings
1 tablespoon House seasoning, recipe above
1 tablespoon Season All
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
3 tablespoons of Organic Sugar in the raw
1 large bunch collard greens or  1 bag of Glory's, precut Collard Greens
1 tablespoon Earth's balance vegan butter
1 tsp of Crushed Red pepper flakes

In a large pot, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil,  and add smoked turkey wings, house seasoning and season all. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 hour.
Wash the collard greens thoroughly. Remove the stems that run down the center by holding the leaf in your left hand and stripping the leaf down with your right hand. The tender young leaves in the heart of the collards don't need to be stripped. Stack 6 to 8 leaves on top of one another, roll up, and slice into 1/2 to 1-ince thick slices. Place greens in pot with meat and add butter, cider vinegar, sugar and crushed pepper flakes. Cook for 45 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. When done taste and adjust seasoning.
Serve with favorite dish as a side.


Green Bean Casserole

1/3 stick Earth Balance Vegan Butter
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups sliced green beans
3 cups Organic chicken broth
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup (Recipe above)
1 (2.8-ounce) can French-fried onion rings
Pinch House Seasoning, recipe above
1 cup Daiya Chedder or Rice milk chedder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
 Melt the butter in a large skillet. Saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter. Boil green beans in chicken broth for 10 minutes and drain. Add the green beans, mushroom soup, onion rings, and House Seasoning, to taste, to the onion mixture. Stir well. Pour into a greased 1 1/2-quart baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, then top the casserole with the Cheddar and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the casserole is hot and cheese is melted.



Broccoli and Cheese Casserole
2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
2 cups cooked Basmati or Jasmine rice
8 ounces shredded Daiya or Rice Milk cheddar cheese
3 cups of cream of chicken (recipe above)
1 small onions, chopped
Earths Balance butter
½ can of Original Diced Rotel (mild)
1 small can of sliced mushrooms

Cook onion in butter in large skillet until done.
Cook rice separately. Drain.
Add cheese, thawed broccoli, mushrooms, onions to cooked rice.
Add remaining ingredients and cook just until cheese is melted.
Put in 2 quart casserole dish.
Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

To make ahead and freeze: Mix all ingredients together (start with your rice cooked, not raw) and spoon into two or even three smaller casserole dishes, cover, label and freeze. If you thaw overnight, just cook the one hour. If cooking from frozen state, add ten minutes or so, check for doneness. Many thanks to Tornado Ali, for her wonderful tips for freezing this.


Squash Casserole

6 cups large diced yellow squash and zucchini
Vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 tablespoons Earths Balance Vegan Butter
1/2 cup GF sour cream
1 teaspoon House seasoning, recipe above
1 cup grated Rice Milk Cheese or Daiya Cheese (Both cheeses melt really well)
1 cup crushed butter crackers (recommended: Glutino GF Crackers-much like Ritz)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
 Saute the squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it has completely broken down, about 15 to 20 minutes. Line a colander with a clean tea towel. Place the cooked squash in the lined colander. Squeeze excess moisture from the squash. Set aside.
In a medium size skillet, saute the onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.




Creamed Corn

6 ears corn, shucked 

4 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan Butter

2 tablespoons GF all-purpose flour

2 cups water Salt and white pepper
Use a sharp paring knife to cut the tips of the corn kernels off the cob, keeping as much of the kernel intact on the cob. Transfer the corn tips to a bowl. Using the back of a heavy chef's knife, scrape the cobs thoroughly to release the remainder of the corn off the cob into the bowl, making sure to include any released corn "milk" that is released from the cob. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the corn and flour to the pan and cook, stirring often, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the water, salt and pepper, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally. A crust will form on the bottom of the pan from time to time -- be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan well when stirring and continue to cook, stirring frequently towards the end, until the corn is very creamy, 30 to 40 minutes. 




Southern Style Butter Mashed Potatoes

2 pounds Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces 

1 1/4 cups Rice Milk 
4 tablespoons Earth's Balance

1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 


Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water by 1-inch. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander.
Return the potatoes to the cooking pot and add the buttermilk, butter, salt, and black pepper. Mash with a potato masher or heavy fork until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper, to taste. Place potatoes in an ovenproof dish and cover with parchment paper


Sweet Potato Casserole

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3 large), scrubbed 

2 large eggs, lightly beaten 

3 tablespoons Earths Balance Vegan Butter, melted, plus more for the preparing the pan 

2 tablespoons packed Organic brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg 

Freshly ground black pepper 

1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans (Optional)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and pierce each one 2 or 3 times with a fork. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool. 
Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F. Scoop the sweet potato out of their skins and into a medium bowl. Discard the skins. Mash the potatoes until smooth. Add the eggs, butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and the pepper to taste. Whisk the mixture until smooth. 
Butter an 8-by-8-inch casserole. Pour the sweet potato mixture into the pan and sprinkle the top with the pecans. Bake until puffed, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.


Candied Yams

3 pounds sweet potatoes or yams
1 cup organic sugar
1 cup organic brown sugar
2 sticks Earth balance Vegan butter, cubed

Peel potatoes and cut into 2-inch cubes. Place potatoes in large pot, cover with sugar, Organic Brown Sugar and butter cook over medium heat until potatoes are fork tender (about 20 minutes) but not mushy.


Peach, Apple or Pear Cobbler

2 Bags of thawed frozen peaches, Apples or Pears (Save juice from bag- add little water-set aside in a cup)

or 2 cups of cut up fresh peaches, apples or pears (boil until soft on stove with water and 1 cup of Organic Sugar, 2 tsp of Earth balance butter- save juice)

or 2 29 oz cans of plain peaches, pears, apples with juice not syrup
(save juice)

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cornstarch (Bob Red Mills, Kroger Brand or Safeway)
1 cup Organic sugar
1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour blend (Bob Red Mills or Pamela’s)
1 3/4 teaspoons gluten-free baking powder (Safeway, Bob Red Mills)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg (or Egg Replacer)
6 tablespoons melted Earth’s balance stick butter
2 tablespoons rice o soy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (Adams Best)
1 tablespoon cane sugar mixed with 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon for topping
2 thawed Gluten free Pie crust

Preheat oven to 350° F / 176° C
Spray 11 x 7 baking dish with nonstick spray
Take 1 thawed  pie crust and line the bottom of 11 x7 dish with it. Just enough to cover the bottom.
Drain sliced peaches in a large mesh sieve. Place drained peaches in mixing bowl. (save juice) Sprinkle with cinnamon, nutmeg and cornstarch, add vanilla, Rice or soy milk , a little juice as needed for moisture and stir to blend. Should be a little juicy so the baked pie will not dry out in the oven. Pour peach mixture into an 11 x 7 baking dish with the lined pie crust.
Add ½ stick of butter in slices on top of the mixture. Tear 2nd thawed pie crust into pieces. Lay pieces spread out evenly across pie mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until batter is golden brown. Cool before serving -- sauce thickens as cobbler cools. Serve with a scoop of Rice or Soy Dream ice cream - optional.

Dinner Rolls
1 Pkg. GF Homemade Bread mix (Bob Red Mills)
1-2/3 cups warm Rice or Soy Milk
1 whole Egg plus enough Egg Whites to equal 3/4 cup 
1/4 cup melted Butter or Oil 
1 tsp. Cider Vinegar
PLACE contents of package in large bowl of heavy-duty table top mixer. Remove yeast packet and add yeast to warm milk in separate bowl. Let foam for 5 minutes.

ADD eggs, melted butter or oil, vinegar, and yeast-milk mixture to bread mix.

MIX with regular beaters (not dough hook) at medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl with spatula as necessary. Coat palm of hands with oil and using a small handful of dough, shape into rolls and place dough on greased cookie sheet. Pat down dough slightly.

COVER with oiled aluminum foil or plastic wrap and let rise in warm place for 20 minutes. Remove cover.

BAKE at 375F for 15-18 minutes (do not under bake). To test for doneness, tap roll with fingernail. A crisp, hard sound indicates a properly baked roll. Enjoy!

Makes 2 Dozen Rolls.

Chocolate Chip Cookies


3/4 cup Earths Balance Vegan butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/4 cup organic sugar
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract (Adams Best)
1/4 cup egg substitute or Eggs
2 1/4 cups gluten-free baking mix (Pamela’s or Bobs Red Mill)
¼ cup of organic applesauce
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (Enjoy Life- GFCFSF)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F ( 190 degrees C). Prepare a greased baking sheet.

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar. Gradually add replacer eggs and vanilla while mixing. Sift together gluten- free flour mix, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir into the butter mixture until blended. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips.

Using a teaspoon, drop cookies 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes or until light brown. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before removing to wire racks.

Yields 18 cookies


Double Chocolate Cake

1 1/2 cups gluten-free All purpose flour (Bob Red Mills)
1/2 cup cocoa
Chocolate chips (Enjoy Life GFCFSF)
1 cup Organic sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon guar gum or 3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
5 tablespoons cooking oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (Adams Best)
1 eggs (or egg replacer)
1 cup water
Icing (Duncan Hines Homestyle Creamy Dark Chocolate is GF)

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Add all liquid ingredients and mix well.
Bake in greased and floured 9" square pan (or lined with waxed paper), at 350 F, for 30 - 35, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

***Here is a Quick Icing Recipe that I found www.orgjunkie.com (love confectioners sugar icing!!)

Adapted from The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook
3/4 cup Earth Balance butter
Pinch of salt
2 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons rice milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Foods brand)
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and salt on medium speed for about 2 minutes.  Add the confectioners’ sugar in three batches, beating after each addition.  Add the rice milk and vanilla.  Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.  Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl for a couple of minutes stirring frequently.  Add melted chocolate to frosting and beat for another minute.  Spread the frosting on cake.


Reminder: Always make sure your work surfaces, utensils, pans and tools are free of gluten. Always read product labels. Manufacturers can change product formulations without notice. When in doubt, do not buy or use a product before contacting the manufacturer for verification that the product is free of gluten.