Chewy Granola Bars (Gluten-free/Dairy-full)

I meant to post this just after the Dairy-Free/Gluten-Free Chewy Granola Bars that I posted in December, but then the holidays came along and I felt like a proper cookie made more sense.  Anyway, here we are in 2011 and here is another tasty bar to add to the snack mix in  your house.

This is the dairy-full version of the regular player in our house.  I miss dairy everyday of my life.  I love this recipe and hope you enjoy it on behalf of the old me **sigh**.  It is ridiculously easy and fast.  Mia digs this one best.  Mike thinks they are equal to cookies on some days (this is a big compliment if you know him).  They are full of goodness and so darn easy to make. 

Ingredients:

• 2c Rolled oats, gluten-free if needed (I prefer the chewiness of regular, but you can use quick)
• 1-2c mixed dried fruit
• 2c mixed chopped nuts (I like a mix of blanched almonds, pine nuts, pecans, cashews & soy nuts)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2c natural peanut butter (optional, but definately recommended)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper and grease or spray with non-stick spray. 

In large bowl, mix oats, nuts & fruit. Pour sweetened condensed milk in and mix.  If using peanut butter, mix this with the milk first for more uniform action.

Pour the mix into your prepared pan and pat down.  Cook for ~30 minutes, 'til lightly browned around sides and top.  It may still seem a bit gooey.

Dairy Delicious on The L, Dairy-Free on the R

Russian Tea Cookies (Gluten-Free)

What are they really, these cookies?  I found many other possibilities online including Mexican Wedding Cakes, Russian Teacakes, Swedish Tea Cakes, Italian Butter Nut, Southern Pecan Butterball, Snowdrop, Viennese Sugar Ball, Sand Tarts, and Snowball and finally, Butterballs (my favorite, of course). I went with what I used to make, please choose your favorite.

These began with a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that I found on another blog. I have been pretty chicken to make gluten-free baked goods since this whole thing started.  I flopped pretty badly in my first bread-making attempt and who has the time (resources, ego...) for that on a regular basis?  This recipe met all of the necessary criteria for me to give it a try:

1) It looked easy and fast

2) I had most of the indregients on  hand and otherwise had probably good substitutes

3) I had been seriously craving something of a 'treat' at night- Gluten-free snacking is a complicated thing.
4) They are pretty low sugar, given they use agave and only 1/2 C

5) I was totally avoiding all of the cleaning that has been piling up around this house.

I think they turned out pretty darn tasty, albeit a bit greasy (I cut quite a bit of the oil from the original).  They had much more of a 'Tea Cookie' texture than a typical chocolate chip cookie, though.  I happen to like Tea Cookies, but couldn't shake the expectations and incongruencies.

 After a bit of thought, I just decided to adapt the recipe into what I felt it better lent itself to and I must say it is delightful. I hope you like it!  I didn't have any white rice flour on hand today, so I used brown rice flour instead this time.  I think that in this instance, white rice flour would be better for a lighter texture but I won't complain.  As a side note, the original Chocolate Chip recipe was pretty darn tasty, too- just more of a Chocolate Chip Tea Cookie.

"Helping"- Obvioiusly a chopstick is key here for proper cookie execution.

Ingredients

• 1.5 c  White rice flour
• 1 c tapioca flour
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1 t xanthan gum
• 2/3c canola oil (If you can have real butter here, why wouldn't you?
• 1/2 c agave nectar
• 3/4c finely chopped pecans
  

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Spray baking sheet with canola oil spray or line with parchment paper. 
2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl, adding nuts at the very end. Mix thoroughly. 
3. Roll cookies into 1.5 inch balls and place on cookie sheet
4. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. 
5. After completely cooled on rack, roll in powdered sugar once (or twice if you want them super dusted)

 

Made about 24-30 cookies

Chewy Granola Bars - Gluten-free (naturally)/Dairy-free

This is very fast, easy to make and couldn't possibly be more versatile or flexible.  Every time I make this, I tell my good friend, Bert "I made bars again, I think these are my best yet".  They are always different based on what I have on  hand and I benefit from the difference each time.  The inspiration for these came even before going the gluten/dairy free route for me.  As a new mom, I found that it was hard for me to find good, healthy and fulfilling snacks to keep me going during the day without eating just junk or not eating at all.  If you aren't in need of dairy-free, the other version is ridiculously amazing and I will post it next.  This version is super tasty, but more healthy tasting, too. Truly, there is no need to be precise with the ingredients or amounts, as long as it is gooey as a batter and sticks together.  What I put down here is what I currently have been enjoying, but it will change next time.... These last for ages, too.  Also, one time I made them and decided the next day that they were too gooey so I cooked them again and it worked great!  Really, these can't messed up.

Ingredients

• 2c Rolled oats, gluten-free if needed (I prefer the chewiness of regular, quick are also delicious)
• 1c Toasted brown rice cereal (totally optional, but good for texture variation and lightens it up)
• 1-2c mixed dried fruit (I just use currants and keep it to 1c since I don't like things too sweet)
• 2c mixed chopped nuts (I like a mix of blanched almonds, pine nuts, pecans, cashews & soy nuts)
• 1/2-1tsp salt (again, totally optional, but I like a more savory flavor.  You could use some salty nuts as well- yum!
• 1/2c natural peanut butter
• 1/2c unsweetened apple sauce
• 1/3c low-sugar jam or preserves

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.

Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper and grease or spray with non-stick spray.  If you are adding lots of nuts and rice cereal, maybe you will need a 9x13 pan.

In large bowl, mix the dry ingredients. In smaller bowl or in a large measuring cup, mix the wet ingredients well.  Pour the wet into the dry and mix together.

Pour the mix into your prepared pan and pat down- they should be maybe 1-2 inches thick.  Cook for ~30 minutes, 'til browned around sides and top.  It may still seem a bit gooey.

Let cool in pan ~10  minutes before transfering to cooling rack and cooling completely.  Cut them into 12-16 squares as you like.

gooey into the pan!

Just done

The corner is the best part!

Banana Bread (Gluten-Free)

I nabbed this recipe from my youngest sister-in-law's good friend Ali after she put something about it on Facebook (another strange and wonderful byproduct of social networking).  I wish I had it together in my early twenties to think of dietary changes as they related to other aspects of my life- my post-partum life may have been a touch easier!  I thought this was delicious, but there may be some of you out there who don't like the heartiness of the buckwheat flour.  For you people, there are options.  I loved the texture it added.  This is really only one of my first attempts at actual baking and I am quite pleased at the results.  The Gluten-free flour game is tricky and very expensive, so not to be messed with too much in my kitchen yet.  I made several modifications to reduce the fat, sugar and replace the eggs.  I noted the changes I made as well as her tips along the way.  I think I enjoyed it the most when I toasted up two thin slices the next day and made a banana bread-almond butter sandwich!

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
1 cup buckwheat flour (Ali just use's 2 cups rice flour)
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup app sauce
1/2 cup plus 2T canola oil (original recipe called for 1 cup plus 2 tbsp butter and no applesauce)
1/2 cup sugar
2-3T agave (original recipe called for 1 1/4 cups sugar and no agave)
23 oz bananas (I use 3 average sized ones)
4 large eggs (I used Ener-G egg replacer and flaxmeal vs. eggs here for my particular needs)
4 tbsp icing sugar (Ali just use regular sugar) (I didnt even bother with the icing bit, too lazy)
1 tbsp lemon juice

*Ali says "Sometimes i omit the lemon "icing" and put 1 tea of both cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a little more fall flavor."

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350

Sift flours with baking powder and salt.
Beat the oil or butter, applesauce, sugar (and agave if using) and bananas together until smooth and then briefly stir in the eggs (or egg replacer). Stir this into the flour mixture until blended. Pour into a large loaf pan and bake for about 50 min.
Cool for 10 minutes and then mix the sugar with the lemon juice and drizzle over the top. (Ali says: "I like it lemony so I use more lemon juice")

ENJOY!

I am so thankful for the wonderful people in my life and for those of you I have not yet met. 

Oatmeal Apple Crisp (Wheat-free/Dairy-Free/adaptable)

Grandma Jeanne's Best Apple Crisp

This is a cheater post, since I put this recipe up two months ago.  I thought it wasn't a bad idea to re-post it with Thanksgiving is upon us and folks working out the menus and such.  Everytime my Mom makes this she gets recipe requests- and for good reason! 

GF note: I have never made it with gluten-free flour, but you certainly could if you know your flour mixes and xanthan gums.  I am still working my way around baking in the gluten-free world, so I't not ready to say how best to adapt it there.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Kickin' Chicken Soup (naturally gluten-free!)

I should have realized when I was craving soup for three beautiful, sunny days in a row that I was getting sick.  Sun means grilling usually, but not this week.  Soup is usually a winter thing for me, but I couldn't get enough of it.  Miso soup, lentil soup, and then chicken soup.  I love easy soups like this one because they are fast, you can't mess them up, they are totally versatile, they are a great way to use up misc. veggies on hand and they are so light and rewarding.  Plus, Mia loves soup, so it is a great way to pack lots of good nutrients into a quick meal for everyone. 

Easy Chicken Soup (Feeds 2 bigs and 1 little)

2c chicken stock (homemade is best, but otherwise low-sodium)
2   chicken breasts (you could easily substitue tofu or pork or whatever here)
1   celery stalk
1   small zucchini
1   medium carrot (we didn't have any on hand this night, but chicken soup is always best with carrots!)
1c cooked rice (brown preferably) or pasta of your favorite shape
1t  pesto or other fresh herbs (optional)

Directions:

1.  Cut chicken and all veggies into roughly the same size- about 1/2 inch pieces ('cubes' if you must use that word to describe food).  Add the pesto or herbs here if you like.
2.  Bring chicken stock to a low boil and add celery and carrots.
3.  Meanwhile, in seperate pot, bring a quart or so of water to a boil, then put chicken in and cook for ~3 minutes to poach lightly; drain.
4.  Add poached chicken to broth with veggies (keeping at a low boil) and cook for a minute or two.
5.  Add the zucchini and cook for 2 minutes
6.  Add the rice or noodles and cook for another minute then salt/pepper to taste before serving.
7.  Ladel into bowls and maybe top with some pecorino or parmesan for good measure.

Obviously this is always best with a good bread to accompany it.  Let's not kid ourselves, bread needs gluten to be delicious.  However, Great Harvest Bakery makes some pretty good close seconds (especially the one here in West Seattle) and most health food stores will have GF options if you need them. 

Note:  The listed veggies were just the ones we had in the fridge.  You could use anything you wanted to here....  corn, mushrooms, onion, edamame, beans, peas......

Note:  For Mia, I usually toss frozen peas in her bowl, then the soup cooks them just enough while the peas cool the soup

Note:  If the thought of prepping your own chicken tonite doesn't work for you, you could buy a rotisserie chicken at the store and shred it, then just toss that in at the end with the rice/pasta.  The broth would lose some of the delicious chicken-ey flavor, but sometimes the trade is worth it to not touch raw chicken, right?

Chicken Parmesean (Pecorino) Gluten-free/Egg-free/Dairy-free Adaptable

This is a surprisingly fast dish to prepare and very tasty, it just takes several dishes for the assembly line.  Kind of a comfort-meets-fancy dinner but very easy.  I often freeze half of it and it holds up surprisingly well if maintained in a good air-tight freezer container, then thawed for 1-2d in the fridge before cooking.

(serves about 4 bigs and 2 littles and nobody goes hungry)
Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise (these will be even better if they are pounded flat, however in my house, the time just isnt there, so I skip that part)
• 1/2c seasoned breadcrumbs (or just add a pinch each of dried basil/oregano/lemon pepper to plain crumbs if you have plain crumbs at the ready)
• 1/4c grated pecorino or parmesean cheese
• 2-4T flaxseed meal
• 2t olive oil
• 1/4c milk, buttermilk, soy milk, rice milk or 2 eggwhites lightly beaten
• 4c tomato sauce, heated
• 1-2c shredded cheese (Use what you like here.... Mozzarella is standard, Jack is great, any non-dairy meltable cheese works- I used Goat Gouda from TJ's and it was fab)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425.
1. Combine breadcrumbs and pecorino, then put into a shallow dish.
2. Put the flaxmeal and milk each in separate shallow dishes or a plate.
3. Dredge one chicken breast in flax meal, then dip in milk or egg, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture.  Repeat with remaining breasts.
4. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chicken and cook about 5 minutes on each side until done or nearly done.
5. Place each breast in 9x13 slightly oiled glass baking dish.
6. Cover them with tomato sauce and top with cheese.
7. Bake for 10 minutes or just until cheese melts and sauce is a little bubbly.

This is Flaxmeal on the top and the Breadcrumb/Pecorino mix on bottom.

Browning up!

This was some Roasted Tomato Sauce from our freezer- straight into the pan and ready for dinner!

 

Delicious served with or over noodles!  In our case, I just tossed some Trader Joe's Brown Rice Spaghetti noodles with olive oil, salt & pepper.

 



Mom's portion



Mia'a portion!

We ate this with the Raw Tuscan Kale Salad that I can't seem to get enough of.  Great meal!