David's Pizza Rice

In a bowl, add about 1/2 cup of rice, top with about 4-6 pepperoni, then top with mozzarella cheese (or your favorite cheese).  Now if I could just sneak some spinach in this!

I love pasta!!

Ok, this one is real easy, and yes, it has to do with pasta!  I love gluten-free pasta and I love hummus, so naturally I decided to combine the two.  Then I added a little goat cheese to top it off.  It was so yummy.  Just add the amount of hummus you desire for taste.  I used the Trader Joe's Chipotle hummus!  I love the kick it has to it!! 

David's Black Bean Rodeo

1 can black beans
1/2 cup gluten-free BBQ sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Add black beans and BBQ sauce to a glass bowl and microwave for 40-60 seconds.  (Make sure and cover them with a paper towel or something.  You can even warm them up in a pan if you would prefer.)
With a food processor, carefully process until smooth and creamy.  Add the rest of the ingredients and enjoy!  David put them in a corn tortilla (which we warmed up in the microwave for 20 seconds in between two damp paper towels) and added cheese.  I have to say that this kid wouldn't eat black beans for anything before.  He named these and gives them 2 thumbs up! 

I can't believe it's Zucchini-Devil's Food snack cake!

Cake: 
1 box Betty Crocker Gluten-free devil's food cake mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup shredded unpeeled zucchini ( about 1 medium)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 TBSP vanilla
1/3 cup water
3 eggs

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease bottom of a 8 or 9 inch square pan.  Add all ingredients into a mixer and mix on low for 30 seconds or until well-blended.  Pour batter into pan.  Bake for 35-48 minutes depending on your pan size and oven.  You will know it is ready when you can insert a toothpick into the middle and it comes out clean. 
I made powdered sugar frosting for the top of it.  Haven't told David that it has zucchini in it yet!   I'll let you know how that turns out!  I hope you enjoy it!

Pizza place in Franklin and Aunt April's yummy cake!

Yesterday, David and I had the wonderful opportunity to drive to Franklin, Tn and eat at a pizza place that has gluten-free pizza.  It's not a very big place as far as places to sit, but we were able to sit at the one table available.  I think it's mostly a take out pizza place though.  David ordered a meat lover's kind of pizza and I ordered a pick-your-own toppings pizza.  Mine had artichoke hearts, banana peppers, red onions, white sauce, spinach and Roma tomatoes.  The wait time for the pizza's was 15 minutes and while we waited, well, there just happened to be a very large gluten-free chocolate cake starring at us!  It should not surprise everyone that after about an hour an 15 minutes in the car and of course being completely famished, we decided this delicious looking cake would be a fabulous appetizer!  To make this moment even more spectacular, the baker of the cake was waiting for her pizza too!  April, who is owner and chief baker of Aunt April's Bakery, was so much fun to talk too!  She was a wealth of information about places to eat in Nashville that have gluten-free menu's (menu's with more than two items to choose from).  We talked about cooking and all sorts of gluten-free stuff!  While we were talking, David was eating his cake.  He had a look of pure satisfaction!  I guess he was so busy eating, that he didn't hear her tell me the recipe for the chocolate cake was a vegan recipe that she had adapted, but that it was still vegan.  Of course, I'm not sure that he knows what that means anyways, but either way, he enjoyed the cake!  Now, back to the pizza's.  They were delicious!  And for those of you that don't know, I do not have to eat gluten-free, only David.  He's the one with celiac.  I just choose to eat it for his sake, plus I do find it to be easier on the digestive system.  Matteo's will definitely be somewhere we go again and since they carry Aunt April's baked goods (they carry her brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and oatmeal cookies too!) well as far as I am concerned it's a win-win for all involved!  http://www.matteospizza.com/ and http://www.auntaprilsbakery.com/ 

David's Cracker Delight

Ok, this is SUPER easy, but I had to share because David was involved and since this is about "our" cookbook (as he liked to remind me) I will share our recipe with you!

multi-grain gluten-free crackers (or whatever kind of gluten-free crackers you happen to have)
laughing cow sun-dried tomato & basil cheese
your favorite lunch meat (or you can use smoked salmon)

You take the cracker, put some of the cheese on it and top it with the meat.  You could layer it with a sliced cucumber or tomato, too!  I will say that I was very surprised how many crackers I could cover with one of the laughing cow cheese wedges!  It went a long way!  We hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Caroline's Monday Salad with Cilantro & Lime dressing

baby spinach, probably about 1-2 cups
herbed goat cheese, about 1/3 cup crumbled
peperoncini, about 2 TBSP sliced, I use Mezzetta's deli-sliced in the jar.( I love these things!)
green onions, 1 TBSP diced
cilantro, as much as you want!  I love this stuff too!
1 tomato, diced
Layer, starting with spinach. 
DRESSING:  1/4 cup olive oil, 2 TBSP lime juice, 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar, 1/4 tsp of onion powder, 1/4 tsp of minced garlic, 1/2 tsp of dried or fresh cilantro (told you I love this stuff!). 

This dressing will make more than enough!  I mixed it up and used 2 TBSP on my salad and it was perfect!  I did crumble up tortilla chips for my topping, which added that special crunch to it! 
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Betty Crocker gluten-free chocolate cake (from the box)

Ok, I know that this is a box mix, but I wanted to share what how I had to use an alternative to make my cake.  The cake mix calls for 1 stick of butter, 3 eggs, and 1 cup of water.  I used 1 stick of margarine (it's all I had), 1 1/4 cup milk, and 2 heaping tablespoons of potato starch.  I mixed it in the mixer for a few minutes, followed the rest of the directions, after some time in the oven, out came a yummy chocolate gluten-free cake!  I hope you enjoy it!

Interesting tuna combo!

1 can of tuna, drained
1/2 of a tomato, diced
1/2 of a pickle, diced
1/4 cup of goat cheese
1 -2 TBSP of mayo (depends on how much you like mayo!)
2 slices of canadian bacon, diced
2 slices of gluten free bread, or you can use gluten free crackers
1 jar of hot pepper jelly (I didn't use the whole jar)

Ok, while the bread was in the toaster, I mixed all the ingredients together, except the jelly.  The jelly I spread on the bread after it was finished toasting.  The flavors just some how kind of all work together.  It would work well on crackers if you put the jelly on the cracker then some of the tuna spread.  Yummy!

BLOGGER

Easy Butter-Sugar bars

1 cup melted
1 1/2 cups sucanat
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups sweet rice flour

Directions:
Stir melted butter and sucanat together. Mix well. Add eggs and vanilla, mixing well. Stir in flour and mix until combined. Pour batter into a 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Enjoy!

Found a great cookbook!!!

Hi everyone! I found a great allergy & celiac cookbook. It just so happens to be called The Super Allergy Girl Gluten-Free, Casein-Free, Nut-Free Allergy & Celiac Cookbook From a Mother Who Know by Lisa A. Lundy. I have tried a lot of recipes lately. Finding one that I would purchase and use repeatedly has been a rare thing. However, the bread recipe in the book is wonderful! It is one of those "multi-uses" type recipe. It's for pizza crust, danishes, and rolls. I just made it into large bun shapes for my son. We just sliced them and made grilled cheese sandwiches for him. He loved it! They cooked up great as grilled cheese, too! I encourage everyone with food allergies or celiac to try it!! Have fun!

Chicken salad with a twist!

Ingredients
1 8-ounce package of cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
2 cups of cooked, cubed chicken
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1 4-ounce can diced green chilies (do not drain)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Directions: In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy. Stir in the chicken, cheddar cheese, chilies, and seasoning. Now this is where it gets exciting! You can use them on gluten-free rolls, gluten-free crackers, or stuff them into a roasted bell pepper! I decided to softened some corn tortillas and fill them with this and made little enchilada! Yummy!

Cabbage-Potato Soup

Ingredients
2TBSP oil
3 cups chopped onion ( I used 3 TBSP of onion powder)
3 cups shredded white cabbage ( I cut my cabbage into strips)
3 cups diced potatoes
2 quarts chicken stock
2-3 cups of seasoned taco meat ( I used the pre-made ground turkey meat that I made for tacos) (this is an option, it does not have to be added)
1 cup half & half
1 TBSP garlic powder

Directions: In a soup pot heat the oil with the onions until the onions are tender, about 3 minutes. Add cabbage and potatoes, stir. Add stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, add the taco meat and half & half to soup and simmer 10 minutes more. Enjoy!

Gluten-free cheesecake surprise!!!

Left-over batter from corn dog batter
cream cheese (amount will depend on how many you make at this time)
powdered sugar

1. While the oil is still hot, take about 2 TBSP full of batter and spoon it into the oil. The oil needs to almost cover the top of it, but not quite. I had to add a little oil before making mine.
2. Next, you will want to take about 1 1/2 tsp of cream cheese and kind of slice it so it lays flat on the batter and place it in the middle of the batter.
3. At this point, the batter should be bubbling around the edges, similar to what a pancake does.
4. Using a small spoon, sprinkle some powdered sugar on the cream cheese and gently press into the batter until it disappears.
5. When the batter appears to be set, flip it on the other side. It will not take long for the "cake" to be finished at this point.
6. Place the "cake" onto a paper towel lined plate.
7. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and let cool for a few minutes. Enjoy! It tastes very similar to a funnel cake!!

Gluten-free corn dogs

Ok, this recipe is an adaptation from a recipe out of the Kid-Friendly Food Allergy Cookbook. Also, I would like to add that I don't usually purchase food allergy cookbooks, just gluten-free cook books because David doesn't have food allergy issues. However, I noticed this one at the library and thought I would give it a try first. So far, all the recipes have been great! And they have been easily adaptable which is also great! So here's the recipe for the corn dogs.

10 hot dogs
1 cup masa corn flour (I didn't have any so I used sweet rice flour.)
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup honey or sugar (I used honey)
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk or water (I used milk)
1/2 cup olive oil, divided

1. Rinse hot dogs with water and pat dry. Also, I cut mine in half to make them easier to handle.
2. In a medium-size bowl mix together the masa flour, cornmeal, honey, egg, baking powder, milk and 2 TBSP of oil. Mix well, it will be a bit runny.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan until hot. Ok, let me also add that I also added a little more oil after each bunch of dogs that I fried. So, now you dip a hot dog into the batter (I used my hands) and coat well. Let excess batter drip from hot dog before placing it in the frying pan. Fry a couple at a time. You will need to turn them over and they do not cover the entire hot dog the same way. They do coat pretty well and are still yummy. Remove when finished onto a paper towel lined plate to drain.

These are quite yummy! I hope you enjoy them!

Easy-breezy Butterscotch Bars

1 cup melted butter
1 3/4 cups sucanat (I do use sucanat, but you could use sugar if you wanted)
2 eggs
1 TBSP vanilla
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour (I actually used a gluten-free pancake mix I picked up at the commissary for $1.50!)
3 tbsp yogurt

In a mixing bowl, add melted butter, sucanat, and eggs. Mix on medium speed until well blended. Add vanilla, flour and yogurt. Beat on medium speed for about 2-3 minutes. Pour batter into a 9x13 inch baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Enjoy!!

Cheesecake Pancakes

2 eggs
5 tsp gluten-free flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Lightly beat eggs in the large bowl. Add softened cream cheese, flour, sugar and butter. Mix until well combined. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Spray pre-heated skillet. This is where I use a small measuring cup to place the amount of batter I need on the pan, but you can use whatever you use to make your pancakes. Cook pancakes about 3 minutes on medium to low heat. Turn and brown other side. Because the main ingredient in these pancakes is cream cheese, they will not have the same consistency as regular pancakes. They will be more like cheesecake, soft, but not runny. Also, this recipe only makes about 6-8 small, and I do mean small pancakes. Once you've made them, you'll be oh so glad you did! Have fun! It's dessert for breakfast today!

Breakfast with left-over ranch fries

Ok, this is so yummy! And this is thanks to my husband.

2 eggs over medium
4-6 ranch fries
1 slice of your favorite cheese

Cook the eggs. While you're cooking the eggs, microwave the ranch fries. Place the ranch fries on the plate, slice of cheese on top of the fries, then the eggs on top of them. It is mighty delicious!!

Ranch french fries

1/4 - 1/2 cup ranch dressing (gluten-free)
4-6 baking potatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel potatoes and cut up into "french fry" shapes. Add slices potatoes into large ziploc bag. Add ranch dressing (the amount will be determined by how many fries you have). Mix and cover all potatoes. I then placed my baggie into the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Then, I took them out and placed them into the oven on a baking sheet. Spread them out pretty good, they can be touching but not on top of each other. I baked them for about 30-45 minutes. I hope you like them!!

Roasted Bell Pepper on a tostado

Yellow bell peppers
Red bell peppers
Orange bell peppers
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
4 tablespoons of cream cheese (softened at room temp)
corn tortillas

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees. Cut up the bell peppers into large slices. Place slices of bell peppers on baking sheet, skin side down and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Bake for 45-60 minutes in the oven. In a small skillet, add enough oil to cover the corn tortillas. Heat oil on medium heat (you can use canola oil if you'd prefer). When oil is bubbly (usually within a few minutes) you can add a corn tortilla. I like my tortillas kind of soft, so I turn it over within about a minute or so. You'll get the hang of it after awhile. Once you've cooked both sides of the tortilla, you take it out of the pan and place it on a paper towel that is on a plate. I make 2 if I'm just cooking for myself. I then place 2 tablespoons of cream cheese on the tortilla then add the bell peppers on that. Fold it up and enjoy! It's yummy! This makes 2 servings.

Taco cabbage saute

1/2 cup seasoned taco meat
1 head of green cabbage
1/4- 1/2 cup olive oil
2 TBSP cream cheese
1/4 cup cheddar (or your favorite shredded) cheese

Heat a pretty good size skillet with olive oil on medium heat. While it's warming up, shred or slice cabbage (I slice it). You'll need almost the whole head of cabbage. Add to skillet. Add the taco meat and begin to saute. (My husband says I'm frying it, but I like to think I'm sauting it!) Continue to mix and heat for about 5-10 minutes. When the cabbage begins to get kind of soft, turn the heat to low and add the cream cheese. Continue to mix every few minutes until the cream cheese it melted. (If you can not have milk products this recipe is fine without the cheese.) Turn the heat off and add the cheese. I usually add about half of the mixture to a plate and put the rest in the refrigerator for later. Enjoy!

Chocolate chip, peanut butter, cheesecake bars

1 box Betty crocker gluten-free chocolate chip cookie mix
1 8 ounce package cream cheese (softened)
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
2 TBSP of peanut butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the cookie mix as directed on box. Press mixture firmly in the bottom of a 8-inch square pan. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and peanut butter until smooth. Spread of cookie dough. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!

Yummy gluten-free pizza crust

3 1/2 cups of gluten-free all purpose flour
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup melted butter
1 tsp salt

Mix the salt and the flour together. Add the yogurt and melted butter. Mix thoroughly. It will form a ball of dough. I spread it out on the pan, added the sauce and cheese and baked it at 350 for about 25 minutes. I had enough dough left to make a few breadsticks and another pizza crust! Yeah!