Gluten Free Pop Tarts

I really couldn't tell you the last time I had a Pop Tart.  I remember eating the brown sugar cinnamon unfrosted Pop Tarts occasionally in college, but that was over 20 years ago.  Maybe I've had them since, but I'm not really sure. I've always tended to stay away from sugary processed foods for breakfast.

A couple of months ago, I spotted these Glutino Apple Cinnamon toaster pastries in Whole Foods and decided to buy them in a moment of weakness.  They sat, and sat, and sat in my pantry for weeks, maybe months, unopened.  I did sample one before going to California, and decided to take them with me on my trip in June.  They certainly came in handy many a morning when I needed something to get me through to lunch. I knew I had the potential to gain some unwanted weight on our 12 day eating extravaganza through Disneyland, Temecula, San Francisco, and Napa, so I didn't want to consume too many calories for breakfast.  One toaster pastry and a piece of fruit, and I was good to go.  

I've been eyeing up Nicole Hunn's recipe for Pop Tarts on her blog, Gluten Free on a Shoestring, for months, but they involved a rolling pin and free hand cutting of the pastries.  I'm a perfectionist and I have a slight case of rolling pin phobia, so I didn't even consider making them until I spotted this handy dandy little gadget on Williams Sonoma's website. 

I  was already ordering their GF Red Velvet Cupcake mix, a family favorite, and I needed to spend a couple extra dollars for free shipping.  It was on sale too!  How could I pass it up?!?  My journey towards making GF pop tarts had begun.  :-)

I've been trying to cut down on my dairy/lactose intake, so I nixed the idea of using Cup 4 Cup, and instead used Better Batter Flour, my second favorite GF all-purpose flour.  I also used Lactaid 1% milk.  I don't mess with butter, though, so my pop tarts still had dairy, but many people who are lactose intolerant can tolerate butter and some types of cheeses and yogurts. My family called me the Butter Queen when I was little for a reason.  The thought of ever having to give it up would break my heart, but it hasn't come to that, thankfully! 

This recipe was ridiculously easy -- no mixer, few measuring cups because I used my kitchen scale for the flour and sugar, the dough was easy to work with, and I had my toaster pastry press.  The smell of the dough was so good, I almost sampled it raw!  

For the filling, I used 1/2 C brown sugar, 2 tsp of cinnamon, and 1 T gluten free all-purpose flour.  I use Penzys Vietnamese Extra Fancy Cinnamon, which is super strong, so next time, I might cut it back to 1 1/2 tsp, because the girls and I thought it was a bit overpowering.  I put 1 T of this mix in each pop tart and had a lot left over.  Next time, I would also love to try some raspberry jam as a filling.  

Look what a great job the toaster pastry press does!  The recipe only yielded 7 pop tarts for me, maybe because of the size of the pastry press, or because I did not roll some thin enough.  They were all delicious, regardless!  

We are inpatient people, and we were hungry, so the first three got eaten right after they came out of the oven.  

The fourth was consumed by the girls and I when they cooled down, and I must say, we definitely preferred the pop tart at room temp.  Baked goods are usually too sweet for me when they are warm.  I can't wait to try the leftovers tomorrow morning!  

Here's a link to the recipe:

http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/gluten-free-pop-tarts/

What kind of filling would you like to put in a homemade pop tart?  

Carbonara Frittata and Herb Beer Bread

If you love pasta carbonara as much as I do, Simply Gluten-Free's Frittata alla Carbonara recipe is for you!  I was blown away by how much this frittata tasted like carbonara.  It might have something to do with the fact that it contains all the same ingredients --pasta, bacon, eggs, heavy cream, and Parmesan cheese.  One of my daughters declared it her favorite dinner the first time she tried it, and my girls aren't even huge fans of pasta carbonara.

I have successfully used Barilla Gluten Free Spaghetti, Bionaturae Gluten Free Linguine, and BiAglut Spaghetti in this recipe, weighing out 8 ounces on my kitchen scale.  I do not rinse my pasta as suggested in the recipe, because I don't use brands that require rinsing. 

I usually use 6 to 8 pieces of bacon instead of the 5 pieces called for in the recipe.  Sometimes I use Parmesan, sometimes Romano, sometimes a combination of both.  Another change I have made to the recipe is that I like to sprinkle some cheese on top of the frittata before putting it in the oven.  About three big pinches will do.  

I use my 12" All Clad Stainless Steel Pan for this recipe.  I have non-stick pans, but I use stainless steel whenever possible.  

The four of us eat half of the frittata for dinner, and save the rest for breakfast, lunch, or dinner the next day.  It's even good served cold.  

Ingredients

8 ounces of gluten free spaghetti or linguine

10 large eggs

1/2 C heavy cream

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper

6 to 8 pieces of bacon

2 ounces of Parmesan or Romano plus more for sprinkling on top of the frittata

You can view the directions for Carol Kicinski's gluten free frittata alla carbonara recipe here.  

Recipe Notes -- I have successfully used 9 extra large eggs in this recipe, and up to 8 pieces of bacon, as long they are not thick cut pieces.  Make sure to leave enough of the bacon grease in the pan to coat the pasta well.  Sometimes I remove some of the bacon grease with a paper towel before adding the pasta, if the amount of grease seems excessive, but if you remove too much, the frittata will not taste as good.  

Herb Beer Bread

Last night, we served the frittata with Herb Beer Bread.  This is the second time I have made Nicole Hunn's recipe.  Last time, I used oregano, which my girls weren't too fond of.  Knowing how much they like basil, I decided to change it up a bit for the second go around.  I used about 1T of oregano and 3T of basil. It was delicious, and a huge hit with my daughters.  

No mixer or yeast involved in this recipe 

Nicole Hunn, also known as Gluten Free on a Shoestring, is the reason I purchase Better Batter, the flour I used in this recipe.  

It was ridiculously hard to find unflavored gluten free whey in Orlando.  I finally ordered Organic Whey from amazon.  

Isn't it beautiful?  

Here's a peek at the inside.

The leftover bread is currently hanging out in my Polder Bread Box, another recommendation from Nicole Hunn.  

Here's a link to the recipe from Gluten Free on a Shoestring.  Buy her cookbooks!  I have purchased a lot of gluten free cookbooks in the past 5 years, but hers are the only ones I actually use.  I am never disappointed by Nicole's recipes, and they don't involve a ridiculous amount of gluten free flours.  

http://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/herb-beer-bread/

Creamy Corn & Potato Soup with Cotija Cheese

Yesterday afternoon, I asked my husband what he wanted for dinner.  His response - surprise me.  A Skinnytaste recipe for Creamy Corn Soup with Queso Fresco and Cilantro had caught my eye, but I am not a huge fan of the cilantro, sour cream, chicken bouillon cube, or scallions called for in the recipe.  I eliminated those 4 ingredients, added sweet onion, whole milk, bacon and basil, changed up the potatoes and ingredient amounts, and this is what I ended up with.  It was pretty amazing!  

My whole family loved the soup, especially the garnish of bacon, basil, fresh corn, and Cotija cheese, which we had never tried before.  

Creamy Corn and Potato Soup with Cotija Cheese

Ingredients

1 T olive oil 

1/2 to 2/3 C sweet onion - chopped 

1 tsp minced garlic (2 cloves)

8 medium ears of fresh corn (corn cut off the cob) or three 10oz bags of organic frozen corn 

3 medium organic yukon gold potatoes (1 1/2 lbs) - peeled and chopped into small cubes

2 C  lowfat milk 

3 C whole milk

3 T fresh basil - chopped  

Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper - to taste

Cotija cheese - grated

10-12 pieces (12 oz) of cooked bacon - chopped/crumbled

Directions

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat.  Add the oil and onion, stirring occasionally until the onion begins to brown.  Add the garlic, and continue to stir for a minute or two.   After the garlic begins to brown, add the potatoes, milk, 2 packages of corn plus 1/2 cup from the third bag (or 3/4 of the fresh corn), and half of the basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the corn and potatoes are tender.  Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat, and purée the soup with a stick blender, leaving it just a little bit chunky.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Garnish each bowl of soup with Cotija cheese, the remaining corn and basil, and bacon.

Serves 6

Recipe Notes

I purchased my immersion/stick blender from amazon.  It has become one of my favorite kitchen appliances.  It's great for puréeing soups and making smoothies, and it is easy to clean up.  

Instead of cotija cheese, you could use crumbled queso fresco.  I purchased my cotija cheese at Whole Foods.

September 29, 2014 Update - I made this recipe today with Publix GreenWise Organic Sweet Corn from the freezer section, because I try to avoid genetically modified corn whenever possible.  The soup is just as good with this variety of frozen corn, which is nice and sweet.  

Linked to:  Gluten-Free & DIY Tuesday

Applewood Egg Special

The first trip my husband and I took together was to Williamsburg, Virginia, a destination my parents had taken me to many times during my childhood.  As a history and government teacher, I have a huge appreciation for this amazing town.  I love that feeling of being back in time when I'm there.  On our first trip together, we stayed at Applewood Bed & Breakfast.  One breakfast we had there completely blew us away,  and we were determined to recreate it at home.

I love kitchen gadgets!  One of my favorite is my West Bend Egg and Muffin Toaster, that I purchased from amazon.com after my toaster oven from college died.  It's perfect for this recipe!  

First, I start by toasting a Food for Life Gluten Free Multi Seed English Muffin for a full cycle on high.  They are organic, and contain brown rice and tapioca flour, potato starch, yeast, flax/chai/sesame/sunflower seeds, sea salt, and vegetable gum (xanthan, cellulose). 

While the English Muffins are cooking, I put 2 eggs in the egg cooking part of my toaster, and pour in the right amount of water to soft boil them.  A handy dandy measuring cup is included to aid in this process.  After my English muffins pop up, I turn them, hit the egg/toast button, and watch my toaster do its magic. 

When the cycle is finished, I rinse my soft boiled eggs under cold water, and cook my English Muffin for another minute to make sure it's nice and hot.  I then add butter, a generous amount of orange marmalade, and a sprinkle of kosher salt to each half of my English muffin.  I peel my eggs, then cut them in half on top of the English muffins so all that lovely yolk oozes all over the place.  At this point, I sometimes up the calorie count with some bacon.  Two pieces for each half will do the trick.  Time to dig in!  Just a warning - this is a messy breakfast if you're willing to eat it with your hands and not use a knife and fork.  My girls love it!  I am partial to the fact that it's the perfect combo of salty and sweet.  

At Applewood, the chef poached the eggs, so the presentation was really beautiful.  We rarely poach our eggs, because it is just easier to soft boil them.  You have got to try this dish.  I know it sounds like an odd combination, but it is one of my favorite breakfasts, and I'm not much of an egg lover.  This is one of those rare breakfast dishes that my daughters, who are super fussy about about what they eat in the morning, ask me to make.  

Easter in July

I love the holidays, especially Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  It's great to spend time with family,  and I love to eat the special meals we cook.  We have carried on family traditions while making them our own.  Today, I'm going to focus on our Easter meal, which we make about 2 or 3 times a year because we love it so much.   When my family was in town this past Easter, we served lamb roast, hummus, Easter Bread Buns, lemon risotto, and green beans.  Today, we will just be making lamb, Easter Bread, white bean hummus, and mini sweet peppers, because we tend not to serve as many courses when we don't have guests over. 

My family has always served lamb for Easter dinner, but they usually marinated cubes of lamb and grilled them on skewers, or bought racks of lamb that they seasoned with mustard, breadcrumbs, and rosemary before cooking them in the oven.  We prefer to make a lamb roast.  We buy a boneless leg of lamb roast and ask the butcher to butterfly it.  For 13 people, we made two 4 pound roasts this year.  When it's just the four of us, we purchase a 3 to 3 1/2 pound roast so we get two meals out of it.  I try to make big meals on Sundays, so we have leftovers for Monday.  It's an easy way to start the work week!  

Lamb Roast

Marinate a 3 to 4 pound boneless leg of lamb roast that has been butterflied, for 4 to 6 hours.  

Marinade - juice of 2 to 3 lemons, 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, 4 cloves of garlic (cut in half), 3 or 4 sprigs of rosemary, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of coarse ground black pepper.  

We purchased the lamb at Whole Foods

We marinate our lamb in a bag in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Massage it and flip it over a couple of times while it marinates.  

My husband cooks the roast on his Big Green Egg (BGE).  He sears it on direct heat, then cooks it over indirect heat on 450 for about 30 minutes until medium.  My husband used to cook this on his Weber Charcoal Grill before he acquired his BGE.  

White Bean Hummus -- this recipe now has its own blog post.  You can view it here.  

Ingredients

1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas) -- rinsed

1 can of white cannellini beans -- rinsed
4 T extra virgin olive oil

2 T fresh lemon juice 

2 T tahini
3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp minced garlic

Directions

Use a NutriBullet, food processor, or stick blender to puree all the ingredients until smooth.

We serve this hummus right on top of the lamb.  The combination is so delicious!  

Lemon Rice -- This recipe now has its own blog post.  You can view it here.  

My family has been making lemon rice for as long as I can remember.  I changed the family recipe a bit with the the use of Arborio rice instead of long grain white rice.  

In a medium size pot, I sauté 2 cups of Lundberg White Arborio Rice with 2 tablespoons of butter for a couple of minutes on medium high heat, until the butter melts.  

Add 3 cups of gluten free chicken broth, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, and the zest of 2 lemons.  Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

Remove the pot from the burner and let it stand, still covered, for 10 minutes.

Fluff with a fork and add 2 pinches of kosher salt, and 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter.  

I buy Lundberg Rice almost exclusively.  Their short grain brown is so good!  We love to season it with a little kosher salt and butter, and serve it with steak.  I purchase it at Whole Foods and Publix.  

Green Beans

Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables, and my kids love them too.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Publix Microwave in Bag French Green Beans were really good.  After cooking them in the microwave for the minimum suggested time, I add a little butter and kosher salt.  I used to buy fresh green beans that we had to snip the ends off of before I steamed them in a frying pan with a little bit of water, but these beans are so much easier.  

Lastly, the pièce de résistance-- Easter Bread Buns!!!

This recipe now has its own blog post.  You can view it here.  

Easter Bread Buns

Ingredients 

1/3 C warm water

1 package of GF rapid rise yeast (I use Fleischmann's RapidRise)

1 tsp granulated sugar

4 C Jules GF All-Purpose Flour

3 T plus 2 tsp granulated sugar

1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp GF baking powder

1 C Lowfat Vanilla Stonyfield Farms Yogurt at room temperature

5 large egg yolks at room temperature

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 C canola oil (I purchase non-GMO canola oil from Whole Foods)

4T honey

Zest of one orange and one lemon

1 large egg, beaten

Preheat your warming drawer on low.  If you don't have a warming drawer, preheat your oven to 200 degrees, then turn it off.  

In a small bowl, mix together the first 3 ingredients.  I proof my yeast on the warming zone of my stove.  If your yeast mixture hasn't bubbled and grown after 5 to 10 minutes, throw it out and start all over again with another packet of yeast.  

Whisk the second set of ingredients, the dry ingredients, together in a large bowl.  

In the bowl of of your stand mixer, combine the third set of ingredients, the wet ingredients.  I like to use my dough hook.  Add your yeast mixture, mixing to combine on low speed.  Lastly, gradually add in your dry ingredients with the mixer on low speed.  I usually add a few spoonfuls, mix, turn off the mixer, add some more, etc.  When all the dry ingredients have been added, mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.  

Spray your muffin pan with cooking spray and scoop a generous amount of batter into each cup.  

Mix the extra egg and a splash of water together in a small bowl, and brush the egg mixture onto the top of each bun.  Place your muffin pan into your warming drawer or oven, cover with parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray, and allow your buns to rise for 30 minutes.  

After the buns have risen at least slightly, place them in an oven preheated to 350 degrees.  Cook for about 17 minutes on the top shelf until nicely browned.  

I drizzle them with a powdered sugar/water mixture before serving.  I love to eat my Easter Bread warm, with a little bit of butter.  

Dinner tonight was fabulous!  Instead of eating dessert, I had a second Easter Bread Bun!  

On Easter, my gluten eating family was doubting my Easter Bread was going to be any good.  They all loved them and were disappointed that everyone only got one!  My mom has even used my recipe, because it's easier than her Easter Bread recipe.  She does not need to eat gluten free, so she uses wheat flour.  

My Easter Bread recipe was inspired by a Jules Challah recipe.  

2014 Update - A picture of our Easter dinner.  We skipped the green beans on Easter Sunday, and made them with our leftovers the next day.  

Baked Oatmeal Recipes

I first saw a recipe for baked oatmeal on Lynn's Kitchen Adventures.  You can view all of her baked oatmeal recipes here.  Sometimes I tweak her recipes, sometimes I make up my own variations.  Here's a collection of our favorite baked oatmeal recipes.

Banana Triple Berry Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

2 large eggs (beat with a fork)

3 C gluten free quick cook oats (if using old fashioned rolled oats, soak them in the milk for at least 30 minutes or overnight) 

1/3 cup light brown sugar  

1 C milk (I used non-fat)

2 T unsalted butter -- melted

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 T flaxseed meal

Heaping 3/4 cup mashed banana -- about 3 small bananas (can substitute plain yogurt or use some of both-- if using yogurt, increase sugar to 1/2 cup)

Heaping cup of your favorite frozen berry blend -- I used a blend from Costco that has raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together, except the frozen fruit. Gently stir in the berries after you have mixed everything else well. 

Spread the mixture into a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.   Bake for 20 minutes.  

Peaches and Cream Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

2 large eggs (beat with a fork)

3 C gluten free quick cook oats (if using regular oats, soak them in the milk for at least 30 minutes or overnight) 

1/2 cup light brown sugar 

1 C milk -- low fat or nonfat 

3/4 C whipping cream

2 T unsalted butter -- melted

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 tsp kosher salt

2 C fresh peaches -- chopped, without skin

1 T gluten free all-purpose flour -- I prefer Better Batter or Cup4Cup

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together, except the peaches, flour and cinnamon.  Chop the peaches, then add the GF flour and cinnamon.  Stir gently.  Add 1 to 2 tsp of brown sugar to taste if your peaches are not very sweet. 

Spread mixture into a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with cooking spray.   

Bake at 350 for 22-23 minutes.

My peaches and cream baked oatmeal ready to go in the oven.  

This recipe was inspired by a recipe for Strawberries and Cream Baked Oatmeal from Lynn's Kitchen Adventures, another great recipe that I've made several times.  I prefer my baked oatmeal at room temperature or right out of the fridge. It will keep in the refrigerator for several days.  

Here are some pictures of Strawberries and Cream Baked Oatmeal.  

You can view the recipe here.  

Banana Raspberry Blueberry Baked Oatmeal

Ingredients

2 large eggs (beat with a fork)

3 C gluten free quick cook oats (if using regular oats, soak them in the milk overnight) 

1/3 cup light brown sugar  

1 C milk (I used non-fat)

2 T unsalted butter -- melted

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 tsp kosher salt
2 T flaxseed meal 

Heaping 3/4 cup mashed banana -- about 3 small bananas (can substitute plain yogurt or use some of both-- if using yogurt, increase sugar to 1/2 cup)

1/2 C frozen blueberries
1/2 C frozen raspberries

Directions

In a bowl, mix all the ingredients together, except the frozen fruit. Gently stir in the blueberries and raspberries after you have mixed everything else well. 

Spread mixture into a 9 x 13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. 

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

If using a muffin pan, fill all 12 cups and bake for 22 minutes.  

I love when I can prep everything for a recipe in one bowl.  

January 4, 2014 Update -- Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal

You can view my recipe for Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal here.  My daughters, who are very picky breakfast eaters, both love this one.  

I use Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Quick Cooking Oats in all of my baked oatmeal recipes.  

I buy them at Whole Foods or subscribe and save them from amazon.  

My Mexican Chocolate Banana Baked Oatmeal has its own blog post.  You can view it here.