Happy Gluten Free Birthday

I've attended many birthday parties in the past few months where I've been unable to have a slice of my most favorite dessert - Birthday Cake!  So, when my birthday was coming up, I knew I had to have my own gluten free birthday cake.  I taste tested a few cupcakes from local GF bakeries, but nothing satisfied my birthday cake expectations, so I decided to take it upon myself and bake my own.  My boyfriend wanted to help - so I let him decorate it :-)  Below is the recipe, along with my new favorite "low fat" chocolate frosting.

Gluten Free Birthday Cake

Ingredients:

3 eggs, separated

4 T butter, softened

2 c gluten free baking mix

1 c sugar

1/2 c milk

3/4 tsp GF vanilla extract

2 T cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare two 9-inch pans with non-stick spray and use GF flour to coat.  Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.  In a separate bowl, cream butter.  Add in baking mix and sugar and mix well.  Add in milk and extract and combine.  Mix in egg yolks, one at a time.  Fold in egg whites.  Set aside 1 - 2 cups batter.  Pour remaining batter into cake pans.  Add cocoa powder to remaining batter and mix well.  Drop chocolate batter into cake pans by spoonfuls.  Using small knife, swirl chocolate batter into pans.  Bake for 25 - 28 minutes.  Cake is done when toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool in pan for 5 - 10 minutes.  Run knife around edge to loosen and invert onto cooling rack.  

"Low Fat" Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 c butter, softened

7 oz marshmallow creme

2 tsp GF vanilla extract

1/2 c cocoa powder

2 c powdered sugar

2 - 3 T milk

Cream butter.  Add marshmallow and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.  Add cocoa powder and powdered sugar and mix.  Frosting will be thick.  Add milk by tablespoons until you reach desired consistency.  Frost onto cooled cakes.  For best results, place cakes into fridge to avoid crumbles of cake getting into the frosting.

I Scream You Scream

While being gluten free definitely has its disadvantages, the one thing I am incredibly grateful for is that I can still have dairy.  Of course, my tummy is sensitive already, so I can't have too much dairy, but I can definitely have it in moderation.  So, knowing that today at work we were having a little ice cream social, I avoided dairy otherwise.  I pretty much "saved up" my dairy tolerance so I could enjoy the "Build your own Sundae" event.  The ice cream was delicious! So good, in fact, that I forgot to take a picture until after I was done!

And yes, they even served them in mini Minnesota Twins helmets.  Today was a fun day at the office, tonight they are taking everyone to the Twins game too!

Tinkyada Pasta

Before I went GF, I loved eating pasta!  I especially loved all the fun shapes that you could find! My first time trying gluten-free pasta, I tried a rice spaghetti.  Of course, with sauce, there isn't much difference, except that if you overcook it, it tends to stick together.  Then I tried corn pasta, this was so much better, especially with mac & cheese, or even a mexican based pasta dish.  I found the corn pasta as shells, and thought I hit the jackpot with a different shape!  However, recently, I tried Tinkyada pasta.  I first found  this as a spaghetti and it was much better than the first rice spaghetti I ever tried.  They even had brown rice spaghetti, which is much better for you.  After digging around a bit more, I discovered that have many more shapes of pasta too!  So, last night, we cooked up some Tinkyada Brown Rice Fusilli pasta - yummy little spirals - with some sauce and it was delicious!  

Tinkyada Fusilli Spaghetti

Ingredients:

1 lb Italian Jennie-O Turkey Sausage

1/2 clove garlic, minced

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 jar Muir Glen organic spaghetti sauce

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp oregano

1 green pepper, chopped

1 c baby bella mushrooms, chopped

2 -3 tsp fresh basil, chopped

1 package Tinkyada Brown Rice Fusilli pasta, prepared as directed

Brown sausage with garlic and onion in skillet.  In crock pot, combine sauce, spices, pepper and mushrooms.  Add in browned sausage and onion.  Set on low for 2 - 3 hours.  (If desired, cook in large stock pan on stove until hot).  Serve over cooked pasta and enjoy!  If desired, sprinkle with parmesan cheese or additional fresh basil.

Amy's Kitchen - Lots of GF products

I love the products from Amy's Kitchen! I was always a fan of her products even before I was GF, but mostly stuck to the rice bowls.  And now, I have tried many of her products, and have been satisfied with most of them.  Amy's has macaroni & cheese, enchiladas, and even pizza!

Last night, Mr. Man and his brother wanted pizza.  I was planning on making one from scratch using a GF pizza dough, but after a long day decided not to.  They were craving pizza so bad that they decided to order one in and luckily I had Amy's on hand!  Mr. Man was ever so sweet and garnished it with fresh tomatoes and some Hormel canadian bacon (also GF) for me and popped it in the oven.  (Un)Fortunately my pizza was done first and Mr. Man's brother decided to try the famous GF pizza.  He liked it (too much) and ate half of it! Luckily, I can't eat more than half anyways, but it would've been nice to have a few leftovers! 

Chili in Summer?

On Friday night I asked my boyfriend what he wanted for dinner.  Usually, this question is answered with a series of "I don't know's" and "Something 'gluten-friendly.'"  Mr. Man is not GF, so his choices are not as limited as mine... But on Friday he told me that he was craving chili.  Chili? It's 85 degrees outside! Of course, I obliged and picked up some ingredients on my way home. Now I prefer my chili chock-full of veggies, but I've realized over time that the meatier the chili is the happier Mr. Man is.  When I got home, the air was cranked up a little bit... thank heavens... and Mr. Man even picked up a bottle of wine. Wine & Chili - wow, we are fancy!  Below is a quick recipe for my chili, even though my chili never seems to turn out exactly the same...

"Summer" Turkey Chili

1 lb ground turkey

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp garlic, minced

2 (28 oz) cans Muir Glen crushed tomatoes (Regular or Fire Roasted)

2 (14 oz) cans Joan of Arc light kidney beans

1 yellow pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, diced (if desired)

1/2 T chili powder

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

Optional garnishes (sour cream, shredded cheese, scallions, tortilla chips)

Season ground turkey with pepper.  Brown turkey over medium high heat along with chopped onion and garlic.  In large pot, combine crushed tomatoes, beans, peppers and spices.  Mix in turkey and allow chili to cook over medium heat.  Once it begins to boil, reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook through for 15 - 20 minutes.  Serve, if desired, with optional garnishes. 

Mr. Man loves to eat his chili with Fritos corn chips. Luckily, these are GF, so I am able to enjoy as well.  Frito-Lay lists all of their GF products on their website here.  I never used to be a big fan of potato chips, but when you can't eat other things, they become quite tempting!

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Risotto

During the week, dinners are sometimes tough to pull together because usually I'm not home until after 7 or 8 and we end up eating really late.  Last night, I was able to get home a bit early and start cooking right away.  On the menu: Baked Chicken Legs and Parmesan Risotto with Spring Vegetables.  

During my last trip to the grocery store I bought a package of 12 drumsticks for a whopper of a deal.  After cutting off the skin, I coated the chicken in a mixture of rice flour and assorted spices and layed them on a slightly greased cookie sheet covered with aluminum foil.  While those were baking I took out one of our favorite side dishes, Parmesan Risotto.  At first, my boyfriend wasn't too fond of the idea of risotto, but once I doctored it up he quickly became a fan!  I always like to mix it up with different veggies, whatever's on hand, and a blend of spices.  

Baked Chicken Legs

1 dozen fresh drumsticks (trim skin if desired)

1 egg

1 T milk

3/4 c rice flour

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions: Preheat oven to 400.  Line cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly spray with non-stick spray.  Whisk egg in bowl large enough to dip chicken legs into.  In another large bowl mix together rice flour, pepper, salt, red pepper and garlic.  Dip chicken legs into egg mixture and then coat with rice flour mixture.  Line drumsticks along cookie sheet.  Place into preheated oven and bake for 50 - 60 minutes.  

Parmesan Risotto with Spring Vegetables

1 box of Lundberg's Parmesan Risotto

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 medium squash, chopped

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1 medium tomato, chopped

Parmesan cheese, if desired

Directions: Prepare risotto according to package directions, however, do not include all of the water they ask for.  It asks for 2 1/2 cups, I usually put in 2 1/4 (you'll get additional water from the veggies).  When you turn it down to simmer, add in zucchini and squash and spices.  (We like things spicy so crushed red pepper enters our kitchen for a lot of recipes!)  Once risotto begins to thicken, add in tomato.  Continue to cook for another 1 - 2 minutes and remove from heat.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, if desired.

Welcome!

Hello fellow gluten-free folks and foodies!
Almost a year ago, I was diagnosed with a gluten allergy. After years and years of pain and suffering, and misdiagnosis from many doctors, and many, many prescriptions that never worked, I discovered my intolerance of gluten. At first, I didn't know what I could and couldn't eat. The first months I ate a diet of eggs, fruit, almonds and yogurt for breakfast, veggies and chicken for lunch, and veggies and chicken and rice for dinner... and chocolate! I knew nothing about gluten! Of course, with all the almonds and chocolate, I put on a few pounds! But, I felt so much better! After a short time, I started to look at more foods. I realized more and more of what I couldn't have. It was so depressing! So many things that I never expected such as tomato soup and soy sauce, and of course my favorite cereals and the oatmeal the doctors told me I should be eating every day... Darn those doctors - it made it worse!

I cleaned out my cupboards, donating to friends cereals, crackers, pasta, sauces and so much more. My kitchen was bare! I began cooking more and more rice dishes with things I knew were naturally gluten free, but I craved something more. I was afraid to try anything that was made to be GF, for fear of a lack of taste and over processed products. Eventually, I caved. I had no choice! I started off with something easy, GF pasta. Oh wow, was it delicious! Then I tried GF granola, this I didn't like so much, so I tried again with another GF cereal, and it was great. I discovered more and more things that were gluten free and became excited everytime I saw those two magical words printed on any product "Gluten Free!" If it said GF - I tried it.

The more and more I bake and cook gluten free, the more I learn, and I wanted to be able to share some of that with others, because I know the blogging community is a strong one and I've learned so much from it that I wanted to give back. So, here I am - ready to cook and write my way into the Gluten Free world online.

You'll find many recipes, some with pictures, some without (sorry, I'm not the greatest photographer, and I won't always remember to take a picture of my food). Most of the recipes will be Gluten-Free, but there may be a few that aren't, because I love baking for others and I do make special things for my boyfriend just for him once in a while.

I will also post reviews on gluten free foods and experiences dining out gluten-free, as I'm sure you've all experienced many of the same problems I have when you try to go out with friends.

Thanks for stopping by. As I write recipes and share my stories, I welcome yours in return.

~Lara