Brazilian Cheese Bread (Pao de Queijo)

 

½ c. olive oil or butter

1/3 c. water

1/3 c. milK

1 t. salt

2 c. tapioca flour

2 t. minced garlic

2/3 c. Parmesan cheese

2 beaten eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pour olive oil, water, milk, and salt into a large saucepan, and place over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately, and stir in tapioca flour and garlic until smooth.

Set aside to rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir the cheese and egg into the tapioca mixture until well combined, the mixture will be chunky like cottage cheese. Drop rounded, 1/4 cup-sized balls of the mixture onto an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven until the tops are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

Creamed Chicken

1 medium onion

1 large carrot

1 stalk celery 

4 cloves garlic

1/2 red bell pepper 

3 mushrooms (optional)

2 c. water

3 c. diced cooked chicken

2 c. chicken broth 

3 T. capers

1/4 t. dried sage

1/2 t. black pepper 

1 t. dried savory

1/4 t. dried rosemary 

1 t. salt

1 c. shredded cheddar

1/4 c. flour (can use gluten free)

1 c. half and half 

Cooked rice

Prepare vegetables and cut in chunks. Place in blender with water. Blend until vegetables form small pieces- do *not* purée. Pour into a large saucepan. Add chicken, broth, capers, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and cook approximately 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Meanwhile, combine flour and half and half, set aside. Reduce heat to simmer. Add cheese to the vegetables and mix until completely melted. Slowly add the flour mixture and stir until thickened. Serve over rice. 

Mini Tea Party Cheesecakes

 

Crust

3 oz. cream cheese, softened 

½ c. butter, softened 

1 c. flour (can use gluten-free) 

Mix until dough forms. Divide into 24 balls and press into mini muffin tins.

Filling

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 t. vanilla 

1 egg

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add egg, mixing until blended. Spoon into shells. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool. Top with a dab of lemon curd or jelly. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. 

Cooks notes: I make these with Bob’s Red Mill 1to1 gluten-free flour (the blue label) and they turn out great. 

Crockpot Mojo Pork (or Chicken)

6-8 lb. pork roast (or chicken)

1½ c. chicken broth

1 c. orange juice

½ c. lemon juice

½ c. lime juice

2 onions, chopped

1 jalapeno, diced

1 head garlic, cloves separated & peeled

2 t. salt

2 t. oregano

1 t. pepper

1 t. cumin

1 t. smoked paprika

4 bay leaves

Place all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Once the

pork (or chicken) is tender, shred it with two forks. Serve over rice.

Egg Roll Veggie Bowl

 

2 c. chopped mushrooms

1 lb. ground sausage

1 T. freshly grated ginger

1 c. shredded cabbage 

1 cup shredded carrots

¼ c. soy sauce 

4 c. grated zucchini

1 lime juiced

2 green onion, thinly sliced

Place meat and mushrooms in a large pan and cook until sausage is browned. Drain and set aside. Place about a tablespoon of the meat drippings back in pan and add ginger, cabbage, carrots, onions, lime juice, and soy sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until the cabbage begins to wilt, about 3-5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and add the zucchini stirring until warmed through and just barely wilted. Add salt to taste. 

Chocolate Pudding

 

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. cocoa powder 

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/2 t. salt

4 c. whole milk

2 T. butter

2 t. vanilla 

In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; boil and stir for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Spoon into individual serving dishes. Chill until serving. 

Almond Flour Pound Cake

1/2 c. butter, softened

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 c. sugar

4 eggs

1 t. vanilla

2 c. almond flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9X5-in. loaf pan. Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla, salt, and baking powder. Gradually add in almond flour while beating on medium speed. Pour into prepared pan and bake 45-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. 

Recipe notes: Moist, looks and tastes like normal pound cake. 

Brown Bagging It: Gluten Free

• cubes of meat which have been marinated and grilled (chicken is especially good)
• cubed cheese
• shredded roast with barbecue sauce or seasoning (beef, pork, chicken, venison)
• sliced ham, turkey, or summer sausage (make sure any lunch meats are gluten-free)
• pickle rolls (ham, pickle, cream cheese)
• jerky
• lettuce wraps (like a tortilla wrap with lettuce instead of tortilla)
• chicken, tuna, or egg salad  (with GF crackers, corn chips, or served in an avocado half)
• deviled eggs
• cottage cheese
• trail mix or gluten free granola bars
• homemade Lara bars (dried fruits and nuts ground in food processor and formed into bars)
• green smoothies w/ ground nuts or some other protein added
• avocados
• veggies & dip
• fruit
• sour cream and salsa with tortilla chips
• yogurt or pudding
• potato salad
• carrot raisin salad
• green salad loaded with meats and cheeses
• layered taco dip with chips
• baked beans
• soup in a thermos

Caroline’s Ground Beef & Vegetable Soup

Yield: 10 servings

2 lb. lean ground beef
2 medium onions, chopped
8 stalks celery, diced
4 cubes beef bullion (gluten-free)
16 oz. frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, beans)
10 c. water
5 potatoes, cubed
12 oz. tomato paste
2 t. each: garlic powder, basil, & salt
1 t. pepper

In a large soup pot brown beef and onion; drain grease. Add next five ingredients; cook until vegetables are tender. Stir in remaining ingredients and cook until heated through.

Gluten-free Goodies

After several years of eating a diet with limited gluten, I was recently I was forced to switch to a gluten-free diet. This has not been a big problem since I am not much of a bread person, and I have found most recipes easily adapt to gluten-free flours. But, as Christmas approached, I was a little disappointed that I might not be able to enjoy some of my favorite holiday treats.

My grandma baked dozens and dozens of Christmas cookies each year. These were not ordinary everyday cookies. They were special recipes that she usually only made once a year, and Christmas celebrations never seem right if they do not include Grandma's cookies. Almost four years after her death, her descendants are still taking turns baking at least some of the varieties each year. This year, my brother and sister-in-law took it upon themselves to make almost every single kind. But I was still not going to be able to have any.

So, I decided to come up with gluten-free versions of some of my favorites. My first project was Tea Time Toffees. These little cookies look and taste like miniture pecan pies. They are a special favorite of many of the men in our family, and they are really yummy.

My local bakery has just expanded their gluten-free section, and one of the items I purchased there recently was Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free All Purpose Flour. I figured this would be a good test for it, since the pie-like crust would be difficult to mess up. What I didn't realize (because I didn't bother to look at the ingredient list) was that this flour is heavy in fava and garbanzo bean flours. The dough had a strong bean flavor- and taste. Yuck! Since I only had enough walnuts to make one batch of filling, I was hesitant to risk a bean-flavored crust. But, in the end, I decided to risk it. The results were actually very tasty, if a bit more "crusty" tasting than normal.

My next project was Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars. I wanted to make these for our church Christmas party, so I Googled some gluten-free graham cracker recipes. When I ran out of time, I ended up making a pan version of Buck-Eyes instead. Yuck! Without the graham cracker crumbs, the peanut butter layer was way too sweet. Since this was the one recipe that hadn't already been made for our family's celebration, I really wanted something that tasted like the ones my grandma made.

Starting from scratch (in the most literal way), I had my oldest son make some Gluten-Free Graham Cracker Crumbs from the Gluten Free Gathering's blog. These tasted pretty good- a bit closer to shortbread crumbs than graham cracker, but good. The bonus was that they were already in crumb form. I just used 1 1/2 cups crumbs instead of the package of crackers called for in the recipe.  Actually, my second born son made them while I ran errands. (There were at least 2 cups extra crumbs, so I may try a cheese cake next!) And the results were . . . PERFECT!

Since we don't eat a whole lot of sugar, I figured that these would be more than enough to satisfy my craving for Christmas comfort foods. But then I saw a recipe for a Gluten-Free Flour Mix while I was browsing Pinterest. Supposedly you could use it in all your regular recipes and they would come out like normal. And there was no bean flour in it. I had to give it a try. Molasses Spice Cookies are one of my favorite Christmas cookies (though not one Grandma made), so I set one of my kitchen elves to work making a batch. They love to bake, and I was busy wrapping gifts.  

There was an oh-so-subtle difference, but they were good. And after the four or fifth one, you really couldn't tell any more. This flour mix is either going to be my best discovery  ever, or my worst. We also tried it out in the brownies we made for my daughter's birthday, and they seemed to turn out well, though we haven't tasted them yet. * update: while the brownies were delicious while fresh, they dried out very quickly. A few days after being made, they were quite crumbly. I've noticed this tends to be a trait of GF baked goods.

So, I've added two new recipes to my collection this week- GF Graham Cracker Crumbs and GF Flour Mix. And now I can join everyone else in dieting this January, because my house is full of yummy (but still fattening) gluten-free goodies!

Oven Scrambled Eggs

12 eggs, beaten
¼ c. butter
1 t. salt
1 ¼ c. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in a 13 X 9 inch baking dish and place in oven to melt. Meanwhile, combine eggs, salt, and milk. Spread melted butter around bottom of the pan before pouring in the egg mixture. Bake uncovered for 10 minutes; stir. Bake 10-15 minutes more or until eggs are set. Serve immediately.

Variation: Add a small can of green chilies to the eggs before cooking. Sprinkle ½ c. grated cheddar on eggs before serving.

Corn Tortilla Chicken Lasagna

12 Servings

18 corn tortillas (6 inches)
3 c. cubed cooked chicken breast
2 c. black beans
24 oz. salsa
1½ c. sour cream
1 can sliced black olives, drained
1½ c. shredded Monterey Jack
1½ cups shredded cheddar

In a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish, arrange six tortillas. Layer with 1 cup chicken, 2/3 cup beans, 1 cup salsa, ½ cup sour cream, 1/3 of olives, ½ cup Monterey Jack cheese and ½ cup cheddar cheese. Repeat layers twice. Cover and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Uncover; bake 10-15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

2 large ripe tomatoes, seeded & coarsely chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded & coarsely chopped
1/4 t. chili powder
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1/4 t. salt

In a medium bowl, combine all except salt. Add salt just prior to serving.

Chile Cheese Egg Puff

10 eggs
1/2 c. white rice flour
1 t. baking powder
2 c. cottage cheese
4 c. (16 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. butter, melted
8 oz. chopped green chilies




In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs well. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour into a greased 13X9-in. baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

An egg is always an adventure; the next one may be different. ~Oscar Wilde