Gluten Free Mom

Thank you Udi for Bringing Quesadillas back to our Table - Review of Udi Gluten FreeTortillas and a Giveaway

Quesadillas were once upon a time a quick and easy go-to meal at our house. 

I loved the ease and convenience and the family just loved the taste. 

But we have struggled over the last couple of years to find a good gluten free tortilla.   I have made them from scratch, but when you spend an hour making the tortillas for the quesadillas it is no longer a convenience meal.

For a while we were using Brown Rice Tortillas and I loved them, but we stopped using them when the Gluten Free Watchdog tested them and found they contained more than 20 ppm gluten (they have subsequently been re-tested and were well under that limit but I never heard an explanation as to why they tested above it in the first place and so I just don't trust them). 

We also tried Rudi's GF tortillas but just weren't crazy about the flavor.  We eat Mission Corn Tortillas on occasion but did not like how they tasted as quesadillas. 

Then along came Udi with their new Gluten Free Plain Tortillas and quesadillas were back on the table.  

They are made mostly of starch and some sweet rice flour so they are also dairy, soy and nut free - too hard to eat right out of the bag but pliable once you warm them in the microwave.  Just warm them and they will make a nice wrap for lunch. 

I have to say that our family of five gave them a four star rating - that is four of us were completely thumbs up but my Gluten Free Teen did not like them.  I know celiacs don't like to be called picky eaters, so I will just say she has a very discerning palate and she thought they were too soft.  The rest of us totally loved them.

They are thicker tortillas than I have used in the past so I did have to cook them a little longer to get them to be crispy.  But the flavor was delicious.

Click HERE to find a store near you.  They sell for $5.20 for a pack of six large tortillas or $4.35 for an eight pack of small tortillas.

Quesadillas are so easy, I am not even sure you need a recipe but here is one just in case.

 

Recipe for Gluten Free Quesadilla

 

Ingredients:

• 8 tsp canola oil
• 8 gluten free tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
• Any optional toppings such as:  cubed cooked chicken, turkey, pork or beef, black beans, salsa, sauteed onions and/or red peppers, GF re-fried beans, mushrooms

Directions:

• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a nonstick skillet, add one tortilla. Layer with ¼ cup cheddar cheese, ¼ cup Monterrey Jack cheese and whatever other optional ingredients you like.   Top with the second tortilla. Cover and heat until cheese melts and bottom tortilla is crisp and golden brown.
• Turn over and cook until bottom tortilla is crisp and golden brown and cheese is melted.
• Cut into wedges; serve with sour cream, salsa or guacamole if desired.    

Click HERE for a printable version of this recipe.

Now for the Giveaway

Not only did Udi bring quesadillas back into our meal rotation, they also sent me coupons to giveaway.

 Winner will receive a coupon for one free Udi’s gluten-free product.  The coupons are good through May.

• This giveaway is limited to U.S. residents 18 and older.
• One entry per person
• Enter by leaving one comment on this post or one comment on my Facebook page.
• The giveaway begins now and ends on March 1st, 2013 at 12:00 pm pacific time.

No purchase is necessary.  Odds of winning are based on the number of entries.  The winners will be randomly chosen and will be contacted by email.  The winner will have 24 hours to respond.  If the winner does not respond, a new winner will be randomly chosen.

Disclaimer:  I was provided with free product to sample, but was not paid to write this review. The opinions in this post are my own.

Gluten Free Samoas - Good enough to make any Girl Scout Happy

 I heard it on Facebook!  The first shipment of Girl Scout Cookies has arrived.  Time to whip up some Gluten Free Samoa Cookies for my family (easily adaptable to be casein free as well).

This recipe takes quite a commitment, but it is a good substitute for Girl Scout Samoas.  To simplify, do not cut out the round center of the cookie. Not only was it time consuming to cut out the centers, but the donut shape made it more challenging to add the chocolate on the bottom and coat the tops of the cookies.

 Recipe for Gluten Free Samoas

 




To make the Cookie:

Ingredients:

• 1  1/4 cup butter (use Earth Balance for CF)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 1/4 cup gluten free flour
• 3/4 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 cups GF Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips (Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips are both  gluten and casein free.)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 5 minutes.  The mixture will become light in color and very soft and fluffy. Fold in the flour by hand.  
Roll the dough into tablespoon-sized balls and flatten with the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in sugar to prevent the dough from sticking.  Cut out the middle of the cookies with an apple corer. (To make this recipe less time consuming, do not cut out the center and make round cookies).

Bake for 18 minutes until they are a very pale golden color.  Let cool.

Melt the 1 cup GF semi-sweet chocolate chips in the microwave on 50% stopping to stir every 30 seconds.  These do not take long to melt.

Flip the cookies over and coat the bottom with a layer of chocolate.  We found it easiest to do this with a spatula.  Put in the refrigerator or the freezer to set the chocolate.  

 

For the Topping:

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups toasted coconut
• 6 Tbsp butter (Earth Balance for CF)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 cup condensed milk (1/4 cup almond milk for CF)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Spread coconut evenly on a cookie sheet and toast for 12 minutes or until it is golden brown.  Check to make sure it does not burn.

In a 2 quart saucepan over medium low heat, combine the butter, sugar and corn syrup.
Stirring constantly, heat to a full boil.  Boil 3 minutes.

Continuing to constantly stir, add either the condensed milk or the almond milk. Cook over low heat until candy thermometer reaches 220 degrees. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Beat with an electric mixer for 4 minutes then stir in the toasted coconut and mix well.

Use a butter knife to frost the cookies with the coconut mixture.  The mixture sets quickly.  Microwave to rewarm if needed.  

Melt 1 cup semi-sweet GF chocolate chips in the microwave on 50% stopping to stir every 30 seconds.   

Use a pastry bag or a Ziploc bag with a small hole cut in the corner and add the signature chocolate swirl across the top of the cookies.  Store in the refrigerator.

 

Gluten Free Donuts by Dough Buddies

Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting two of the nicest ladies and even better yet, they came bearing donut holes. 

 

 

Karen Manarolla and Pat Landy have been friends for years, meeting as undergraduate students and then teaching French to local high school students.  

 

Karen started experimenting with gluten free donut mixes when she realized she needed to eliminate gluten from her diet but did not want to give up on a favorite treat.  

 

Following retirement from teaching, the two ladies took their love of good food and their friendship, mixed it altogether, and founded Dough Buddies - a gluten free mix for donuts.

 

 

These donuts holes are killer good!  The ladies were nice enough to bring me some cooked donuts to sample and I really cannot say enough good things about them. 

 

 

 We have not eaten donuts in so long it was hard to remember how good they were, but my Gluten Free Teen decided these had to be as good as any "wheat flour" donut.  

While I loved the donut holes, I was honestly skeptical about making them myself.  The mixing part is easy, but the directions call for them to be fried in three inches of oil.  We don't fry anything ourselves.   I was worried about the huge mess from frying donuts and that the house would smell like a fast food joint.

It turns out that my fears were unjustified as the frying process was very simple and not messy at all. 

  

To cut down on the mess, I used my Le Creuset 3-1/2-Quart Round French Oven.  I decided it was small enough that I would not have to use a ton of oil and it has a heavy bottom which I thought would be good for frying.  The donuts did not splash at all so there was little to no clean up.  I just let the oil cool then put it in a jar to reuse.

I did not cut the dough as instructed when I dropped it in the oil so my donuts ended up with little tails, but no one seemed to mind. 

The reward - smiles all the way around from my kids. 

I am not saying that I will make this every week, but for a special treat like a birthday morning or a class party when someone else brings in the dreaded box of Krispy Kremes this mix will come in handy.  You can order it on-line or buy it at these local stores:

 

Seattle Ken's Market, Queen Anne    Leschi Market Village Market Thriftway, Mountlake Terrace West Seattle Thriftway Sunset Hill Green Market, Ballard	Everett Janell's Gluten Free Market Sno-Isle Co-op	Tacoma  GF Joe's H&L Produce, Lakewood
Bellevue   Matthews Lakemont Thriftway	Kent Nature's Market Puyallup Tacoma Boys at South Hill	Burien The Grainery
	For on-line orders, go to Nature's Market Kent  website:  www.naturesmarketkent.com

 

Naturally Gluten Free Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake

I am normally not one to get overly excited about all of the different holidays.  Lately, it seems like every day has a title from National Pancake Day to Throwback Thursdays.  I've always kinda felt that way about Valentine's Day.  I didn't think that I needed a national holiday to tell everyone that I care, how much I love them.  And, honestly, it just seemed like another day when I had to make extra treats for school.

This year was different. 

I decided to embrace Valentine's Day and I spent the entire day showing the people that I truly care about how much I love them.  I snuck up to the school and filled my teenager's car with heart shaped red balloons to surprise her after school.  I left boxes of See's candy hearts on my kids' pillows.   I even wrote my husband a sappy love letter.  But the icing on the cake was this fabulous flourless chocolate cake I made as my gift of love to the entire family. 

I still don't think that I need a holiday to show my loved ones how much they mean, but it was okay to take a day out to make an extra effort at showing love. 

My family may have gotten a few extra treats, but in the end it was my heart that felt all warm and cozy. 

 This cake is so amazingly great that you don't need the excuse of a holiday as a reason to make it.  This recipe should be in every gluten free cook's recipe book. 

Four simple ingredients, some easy directions that you should follow exactly as written, and you will be rewarded with a decadent dessert that will have your gluten free family and friends licking their lips.

Since the essence of this recipe is chocolate, the better the chocolate, the better the cake.  But I used what I had in the cabinet which was one-half pound Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate Squares and one-half pound Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips and it tasted heavenly.  Because I wanted to partake in the dessert, I also made it casein free by using Earth Balance instead of butter.  I can only imagine how rich and creamy this recipe would be with real butter. 

One thing that is essential for this recipe is a Springform Pan.  The recipe also calls for an instant read thermometer to check the temperature of the cake before you take it out of the oven.  If you have one that is great.  I just used my standard Classic Candy Thermometer and it worked fine.  

 

Naturally Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Cake

Recipe for Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Cake
Gluten Free Mom Recipes

Ingredients:

• 8 large eggs, cold
• 1 pound bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped coarse 
• 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces (use Earth Balance for Casein Free)
• 1/4 cup strong coffee
• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting the cake and strawberries for decoration

Directions:

1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper or waxed paper and grease the sides of the pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with 2 sheets of heavy-duty foil and set in a large roasting pan. Bring a kettle of water to a boil.

2. Beat the eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer at high speed until the volume doubles (to approximately 1 quart), about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate and butter (adding the coffee, if using) in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost simmering water, until smooth and very warm (about 115 degrees on an instant-read thermometer), stirring once or twice.  Alternatively, you can melt it in the microwave.  To melt in a microwave, heat the chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl at 50 percent power for 2 minutes, stir, add the butter and coffee, if using, and continue heating at 50 percent power, stirring every minute, until the chocolate and butter have melted and are smooth, another 2 to 3 minutes total.

4.  Fold a third of the egg foam into the chocolate mixture using a large rubber spatula until only a few streaks of egg are visible; fold in half of the remaining foam, then the last of the foam, until the mixture is totally homogeneous.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. Set the roasting pan on the oven rack and pour in enough boiling water to come about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake until the cake has risen slightly, the edges are just beginning to set, a thin glazed crust (like a brownie) has formed on the surface, and an instant-read thermometer inserted halfway into the center reads 140 degrees, 22 to 25 minutes.

6. Remove the cake pan from the water bath and set on a wire rack; cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

7. About 30 minutes before serving, remove the sides of the pan, invert the cake onto a sheet of waxed paper and peel off the parchment paper. Sieve a light sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar over the cake to decorate.  Decorate with strawberries cut in quarters and lined around the outside of the cake.

 

To serve, use a sharp, thin-bladed knife, dipping the knife into a pitcher of hot water and wiping the blade before each cut.

For a printable version of this recipe click HERE.

Original Source of this Recipe is Baking Illustrated.  This is my go-to cookbook when I am looking for guaranteed good recipes that are either naturally gluten free or easy to convert to gluten free.

 

Hunkering Down for the Big Storm? Cuddle up with some White Bean and Chicken Chili

 

Recipe for White Bean and Chicken Chili

Great on a chilly night!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 4 ounce can diced green chilies

• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 red pepper flakes
• 6 cups white beans (We use White Navy beans but when short on this kind, I have used whatever is in the pantry.  If using dried beans wash, soak and sort before using.  This recipe also works with canned beans).
• 6 cups GF chicken broth
• salt
• black pepper

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and one onion and sauté' until tender. Add chicken and sauté' until thoroughly cooked.
Add green chilies, cumin, oregano and red pepper flakes.  Stir until well combined.
Add beans, chicken broth and one onion.
Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for one hour.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve warm with Tostitos and garnished with sour cream, cheddar cheese or guacamole.  

Click HERE for a Printable Version of this Recipe.