Pina Colada Fluff

So, the Monkey and I decided we would try several things from Pinterest. I have the ingredients for three items. We got to making one, because we had to pack him up for computer coding camp. Momma had a hard time leaving him there today, let me tell ya.

So for his last meal before living on a college campus for a week, I made him sloppy joes with fries and this pina colada fluff. He thinks even with some changes that he will still prefer green fluff (you know with pistachio pudding). I think we would drain the pineapple juice, and cut the coconut/marshmallows/pecans in half. We did make one change that would stay. Since we don't like vanilla pudding, we used white chocolate. Mmmmmm!

Eggnog Parsnip Muffins

My sister found this almond eggnog for the Monkey. He declared it to nutmeg-y, and wouldn't drink anymore. As I don't do eggnog, it has sat in the fridge. Then I happened upon the idea of muffins. 

I did a quick alteration of our favorite muffin recipe, and popped them in the oven this morning. My dad likes them, and the Monkey says they taste a bit like zucchini bread with a hint of eggnog. Mom thinks they maybe need nuts or more spice. I will take it for this first recipe of 2015.

Eggnog ParsnipMuffins 

Makes 2 dozen

3 eggs

3/4 C coconut oil, melted

2 C parsnips, peeled and grated

2 C eggnog

1 C coconut sugar

1 teaspoon Chinese five spice 

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 C sorghum flour

1 1/4 C brown rice flour

1 C sweet rice flour

1/4 C tapioca starch

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Set aside. In a large bowl, beat together eggs and oil. Mix in sugar and parsnips. Alternately add eggnog and flour mixture until combined. Scoop into muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Cheater Refried Beans

It has been an extremely busy summer filled with planting, replanting, work, and summer camps (for the Monkey).  It has, also, been filled with farmer's markets, which in this house means leftover sample jars of jams and jellies that need to be used up.

These jars are from my mom and aunt's business, Hundred Acre Farm. They added a fourth market this summer, which has increased the number of little jars in the fridge. The fruit ones get ten eaten easily enough. The herb and pepper ones not so much since I am really the only one in this house that likes them. This recipe was born from trying to figure out what to do with those jars.

Cheater Refried Beans

1 can black beans, drained & rinsed

1 can pinto beans, drained & rinsed

4 oz. habanero gold jelly (or other spicy jelly)

Dump in your small crock pot, and cook on low for three hours. Take your potato masher, and mash them to your desired consistency. Serve warm with rice or in a tortilla. Makes 4-5 servings.

Half Birthday Dessert Pizza

The Monkey's birthday always falls around Thanksgiving. Last year with the move and  the craziness of December, we never got to the friend party. So we decided to host a half birthday party this past weekend. It was a beautiful day complete with a huge bounce house, pizza and eleven kids ranging in age from 4-10 plus one infant.

The Monkey had seen a dessert pizza in one of the cooking magazines that lay around our home. We ended up with something slightly different, but the results were phenomenal. I had kids asking for seconds and thirds. The base of it was Grandma Darling's Sugar Cookies pressed into three 9-inch pie plates. We were playing with it in this new form so really aren't sure how long to bake. Start with 10 minutes and add on until the edges start to turn golden. Cool and add white chocolate frosting, 2 tablespoons of corn free strawberry jam, and 4-5 strawberries cut like pepperoni. Coconut flakes are optional.

White Chocolate Frosting

1 stick butter, softened
4 oz. white chocolate baking bar, melted (I used Hershey's)
3 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons almond milk

Beat butter until creamy. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl in the microwave. Two minutes was just about right for just getting to the liquid phase. Again by 15 second intervals to ensure that you don't burn it. Add the powdered sugar by 1/2 cup increments. Beat in white chocolate. Milk should be added a tablespoon at a time until the frosting is creamy, but not soupy.

That's my green, jumping Monkey!

Jalapeño Sausage Stew

Have you noticed how much I love my crockpot? Or how I like to chuck stuff in to see what happens? 

I am a dump and pour kind of cook, and it suits my sense of whimsy. Yes whimsy. I never cook the same dish twice. Or not exactly the same. This particular one ended up needing some brown rice to cool it down. I love me some spice!

Jalapeño Sausage Stew

1 package jalapeño chicken sausages

1/2 bag butternut squash

2-3 zucchini, diced

2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies 

1/4 bag fresh spinach

Dump and cook on low for 4 hours. Makes 6 servings (2 green, 1 red 1 yellow with rice)

Crockpot Quinoa Take Two

Or maybe it is more take 300. I have been modifying my crockpot meals just a little each time. This one utilizes quinoa and some amazing new chicken stick. Have you tried any of the new infused broths? Amazing!!

Spicy Crickpot Quinoa

2 cups Mexican tortilla infused chicken broth

3 summer squash, chopped

2 zucchini, chopped

5-6 small peppers, sliced

1 cup quinoa

2 chicken breasts

21 day fix southwestern seasoning

Dump everything in the crockpot. Put chicken in on top, and sprinkle with seasoning. Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

Makes 4 servings (1 red, 1.5 yellow, 1 green) with 2 additional servings (1.5 yellow, 1 green)

Cranberry Pepper Crockpot Meal

So for the last 5 weeks or so I have been doing the 21 Day Fix from Beachbody. Minus the week I was on a cruise with Team Beachbody. 

The first round I lost 8 pounds and 7 1/2 inches. Then I gained four on the cruise. All those desserts and white mochas. :p

I am now five days into my second round, and created this amazing meal. Totally fixed approved. Works out to be 1 green, 1 purple, 1 red and 1 yellow containers.

Cranberry Pepper Crockpot Meal

Serves: 6

1 can diced tomatoes with green chilis

1 can cranberry sauce or fresh cranberries

2 diced sweet potatoes

5-6 small bell peppers, diced

3 chicken breasts

1 habanero pepper (optional)

Throw it all in the crock and cook on high for 6-8 hours. Fish out the habanero before dividing into 6 small containers for eating and/or freezing.

Turkey pesto sandwich

When I was doing the five day fast track with my new workout program, Focus T25, I posted a lot of yummy food photos. Someone mentioned that I should post the recipes or at least share. This is my take on the turkey pesto sandwich, which was the highlight of the foods I enjoyed & proof that "dieting" is not about deprivation. 

Start by toasting two slices of whole grain bread. In my case, I used Rudi's original gluten free bread.

Then add a slice of Swiss cheese.

A tablespoon of prepared pesto.

Two slices of deli turkey.

Some cucumber and red bell pepper.

A small mound of fresh spinach.

Slice in half and enjoy!!

Ratio Rally Cobbler

 

About a week ago, I had the rare opportunity to be off on a Sunday morning. I got to attend church for the first time since Easter, and then went with my family to a farmer's market at a local orchard. I was excited to see what fruits might be available since I knew I needed something for this challenge. The only fruit there though were these Baldwin apples. Picked them up even though I had wanted to do something a little more exotic than apple cobbler.

 

Then my brain started whirling, and I thought why not add cranberries to the mix? Yes, I know traditionally cobblers are a one fruit wonder, but I decided to live on the edge. :) Heck, we went all out and this is a chocolate cobbler. Oh, yeah! 

For those of you unfamiliar with the Gluten Free Ratio Rally, I invite you to the inaugural post of pancakes. It is a simple idea of baking using ratios. This month we are hosted by TR of No One Likes Crumbly Cookies. Go check out all the other fabulous recipes from this month!

 

Apple-Cranberry Cobbler

1 1/2 Cups apples, peeled, cored, sliced thinly

1/2 Cup cranberries

1 teaspoon cinnamon

100 grams sorghum

60 grams teff

40 grams dark chocolate cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

120 grams coconut palm sugar
1/2 Cup butter, melted
8 ounces non-dairy milk

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place butter in a pie plate, and put in oven while putting together everything else. Combine apples, cranberries and cinnamon in a small bowl, and then set aside. In a larger bowl combine, sorghum, teff, cocoa, baking powder and sugar. Add milk slowly and stir until just combined.

 A lot of recipes I looked at said to just pour this batter over the top of the melted butter in your pan. I decided to combine it in. You can do it either way. Spoon the fruit carefully on the top. Place in oven and bake at 350 for about 75 minutes. Remove and cool.

Ratio Rally Tea Breads

I do believe this is my first post of the year. I have written parts of posts, but due to illnesses, surgery and family emergencies I never quite got back to them. My four jobs haven't helped much either. That said, when the idea of tea breads was floated to the Ratio Rally I jumped on it. The Monkey and I are huge lovers of other quick breads, and this seemed the best way to get my feet wet again in the blogging sense.

Quick breads are used for breakfast or for late afternoon tea time or anytime. I have been known to serve them at lunch with a side for fresh fruit and yogurt. The ratio makes it a fairly simple item to put together. The ratio for quick breads is 2 flour: 2 liquid: 1 egg: 1 fat. With that in mind, let's visit the other blogger's take on tea breads.

Heather: Discovering the Extraordinary -- "Figgy" Tea Bread

Adina: Gluten Free Travellette -- Rhubarb Tea Bread

Morri: Meals with Morri -- Oatmeal Raisin Tea Bread

Brooke: B & the boy! -- Scottish Tea Bread

 

Scottish Tea Bread

8 ounces Scottish breakfast tea

4 ounces canola oil

2 large eggs

4 ounces oatmeal cookies, crushed

3 ounces sorghum

1 ounce potato starch

4 ounces dry oatmeal

4 ounces raw sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Boil water for making the tea. Add to one tea bag in your glass measuring cup. Steep for 30 minutes, and remove bag. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients thoroughly. Add all wet ingredients, and stir until just combined. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-75 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Makes one large and one small loaf.

Ratio Rally Bundt Cake

Have you noticed that I have been gone for awhile? I have become a crazy person in the last month or so by deciding to take on a third part-time job in addition to helping my mom with home-schooling and running my home business. Yes, I am insane. What precious little time I have had has been spent with the Monkey or sleeping. However, this past Sunday I got off at noon and was actually able to bake! I nearly swooned I was so excited!

Then disaster struck. Okay, not disaster. Just normal life stuff, and really the Monkey and Boo were pretty well behaved. The prep of the sweet potato and the apple-cranberry sauce took more time than I would have liked, and then....it came out half raw. Sigh. I took pretty pictures of the cake though. It looked fabulous!

Decided I should try again, still using the ratio for a cake using puree from one of the other ralliers, and just cook it longer. More like my granny's carrot cake. The ratio incidentally is 1:2:2:2:3 (fat:sugar:puree:egg:flour). So here I sit waiting for the second cake to come out of the oven while I type and prep to send the Monkey off to Sturbridge Village tomorrow for home school day. The way it smells I am betting it turns out fine. If you are interested in how others cakes turned out, head on over to our host's,  Adina of Gluten Free Travelette, post for her take on bundt cakes and the full list of participants.

Spiced Sweet Potato Bundt Cake with Apple-Cranberry Sauce

100 grams sorghum
60 grams teff
20 grams potato starch
110 grams brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons all-spice
110 grams brown sugar
2 ounces melted coconut oil
4 ounces mashed sweet potato
2 flax eggs
6 ounces apple cider

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease your bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a large bowl, combine sorghum, teff, potato starch, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and all-spice. Add melted coconut oil, mashed sweet potato, and flax eggs. Mix until combined. Add apple cider and ounce or two at a time mixing as you go. The batter will be fairly thick. Scoop out a 1/3 of the batter into your pan and spread evenly along the bottom. Spoon apple-cranberry sauce into the center of the batter all the way around. Reserve a little of the sauce for plate decoration. Scoop small amounts of the remaining batter on top and spread carefully. Don't want any sauce poking out. :) Smooth and pop into the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes. Let cool completely in pan before turning out onto plate. Drizzle glaze over the top and fill center with remaining sauce.

Apple-Cranberry Sauce

1 Cup fresh cranberries
1 small apple, cored, peeled & diced
1/4 Cup apple cider
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until a thick pie-filling like consistency is reached. Set aside.

Glaze

1/2 Cup powdered sugar
5 teaspoons apple cider

Mix together. Spoon or brush over the top of the cake.

Ratio Rally Tortillas

When the Monkey was first diagnosed with his allergies, I was all gung-ho to make everything from scratch, and tortillas were near the top of my list due to his excessive love of the bean burrito. Let me say that my one and only attempt was a failure. Not just any failure, but a huge flop. They couldn't even be cooked it was that bad. Sigh.

So we looked into alternatives and found the brown rice tortillas from Food for Life. These are good, but went bad before we could use them all. So, I just gave in and we dealt with the flour tortillas. His allergy causes behavioral issues, and since we didn't do it often I was okay with this level of exposure. You will find that we make decisions like this a lot around here.Since then those tortillas have become available in the frozen section giving them a longer shelf life, but again I just couldn't see the point given the frequency (say maybe one or two a month?) that we ate them.

Shredded chicken, peppers, adzuki beans, & a bit of mango sauce

Tortillas were on my mind again though when I decided to host the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally. After a little discussion, I was put on the calendar for this month, and I started doing my research. Know what my research shows? That there really isn't a standard ratio for this "baked" item. Rhulman doesn't have one, and every recipe that I have looked at is just enough different that you can't make a generalization. Or at least that is my interpretation of it.

You do need three things. Flour, water and fat. I think at the final hour I finally licked this ratio thing. At least in the sense that I found something that works even if it isn't pretty. The math? You have heard me mention that my math brain doesn't work real good, right? I ended up with roughly (verrrrry roughly) a 2:1:1 ratio of flour:water:fat. It really isn't that clean, but we will leave it at that and you can play with it, right?

Before I get to my recipe, I want to make sure you can go and visit all the amazing bloggers who have participated this month in the tortilla/wraps challenge. Please visit, comment, and re-create their creations. :)

Jenn | Jenn Cuisine	Corn Tortillas
Jonathan | The Canary Files	Vegan Curried Flour Tortillas
Meg | Gluten-Free Boulangerie	Lefse (Norwegian Potato Flatbread)
Pete and Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem	Flour Tortillas
TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies	Gluten Free Flour Tortillas - Quesadilla
Heather | Discovering the Extraordinary	Sundried Tomato & Basil Tortillas
Charissa | Zest Bakery	Paleo Grain-Free and Gluten-Free Tortillas
Karen | Cooking Gluten Free!	Gluten Free Healthy Flours Tortillas

Buckwheat Tortillas

100 grams buckwheat flour
60 grams brown rice flour
40 grams potato starch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons hot water
1/4 Cup + 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil

This recipe from Jazibe's Recipes was the one that got this off the ground.

So measure it out and mix it up. Add water and oil to a well in the middle of your flour. Mix it with your extremely clean hands until it comes into a nice ball. If it is still crumbly feel free to add another tablespoon or two of hot water. This is what did the trick for mine.  Roll into 6 fairly equal balls and let rest for 10-20 minutes under a damp cloth. Roll them out one at a time to about a 6 inch diameter. Cook in a warm skillet (Or griddle. oh, how I wish I had one of those) for about 90 seconds on each side. Cool and fill with whatever you like.

Black beans & rice with a bit of guacamole? yes please!

Ratio Rally Bagels

This post nearly didn't happen, and I am not sure that it really is happening. My idea was a long time in coming, and motivation was waylaid by the allergy monster. Incidentally, the allergy monster did a number on my workouts as well. It's been a rough month.

So why did it almost not happen? Ummm, the first batch came out like hockey pucks. Seriously. The batter was gorgeous, and tasted good. Then we got to the rising (not really), shaping (ha!), boiling (they were boiled), and then baking. It just wasn't pretty. Given the way the second batch has turned out my money is on the yeast being out of date. Even though I kept it in the fridge I just think it wasn't meant to be. So new yeast yields a new result. Crossing my fingers. Did you cross yours?

....and they aren't what I wanted. Sigh. Now I think I don't have enough flour. The idea behind these came from my sister who remembers having peanut butter bagels when we were younger. I did a little searching, and found this recipe at Have Cake, Will Travel that I based mine off of. I played with the ratio, and think I came close to the 1.9 flour:1 liquid. However, I can't honestly say what's a liquid or a flour or a bagel at this point. For a more coherent explanation of this month's rally, you should check out our host Morri at Meals with Morri where the complete list of yummy, gluten free bagels is ready for you to enjoy.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bagels

150 grams oat flour
100 grams brown rice flour
50 grams arrowroot starch
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 Cup water (heated to 100 degrees F)
1 package active dry yeast
2 Tablespoons agave nectar
4 ounces peanut butter (or whatever you can use)
2-4 heaping Tablespoons jam (in this case Blueberry Butter made by Hundred Acre Farm)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a large cookie sheet and set aside. In large mixing bowl, combine flours and salt. Set aside. (I like that phrase!) In a 2 cup glass measuring cup, warm your water. I microwaved for about 2 minutes, and then had to let it cool back down to 100-ish degrees.  Pour in agave and yeast. Stir to combine, and....set aside to do its frothy thing. Add peanut butter to flour, and mix well. Once the yeast mixture is ready pour into mixer, and beat well.

The next instructions were for kneading, and maybe I should have done it. I prefer to let the mixer do it for me. Either way the dough should be worked in some way for about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl coated with oil/spray that will allow the dough to double in size. Cover with plastic wrap, and set your timer for about an hour. Go do the dishes or exercise while waiting. Punch down the dough, divide into 4 pieces, and shape into balls. Let rest for about 10 minutes. While you are waiting this time you will want to bring your sauce pot of water to a boil. Divide the dough again and roll into balls that are fairly smooth in texture. Flatten and then make a hole in the middle. These babies should rest again. It is really tiring being a bagel.

Put each bagel in gently for 30 seconds before turning for another 30 seconds. Remove from boiling water to the prepared pan with a slotted spoon. When all have been boiled, place the baking sheet(s) in the oven for 30 minute or until golden brown and they sound hollow on the bottom when tapped.

Maybe they need to rise a second time?

Blonde Bean Bunny Brownies

So, the idea popped into my head to do a more grown up non-chocolatey brownie, because I am not overly fond of the brownie. Sue me! I do the chocolate for my boy. With some research on black bean brownies, I decided to do a pseudo-blondie. They were kind of thrown together last minute as my plans for baking last week kept getting thwarted by work. I will say that I am pleased with them, and would only add some white chips and/or dried cranberries to them. Hmmm. I still have a can of beans in the pantry........

Blonde Bean Brownies

70 grams coconut flour

4 ounces melted coconut oil

4 ounces agave nectar

4 ounces white chocolate

2 flax "eggs"

1 can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed

splash of vanilla

1/8 chopped pistachios

Melt coconut oil in a glass measuring cup in the microwave. Add white chocolate and microwave for an additional 90 seconds. Remove and stir until chocolate and oil are mostly combined. Add agave to this mix and then pour into the bowl with the beans. Using a hand held blender, puree the beans and liquid until smooth. Add flax eggs and vanilla, and blend some more. Stir in by hand the flour (my alternate to cocoa) and chopped pistachios. Bake in a greased whoopie pie pan at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or in a 9 x 11 greased pan for about 35 minutes. Cool completely.