Recipe Review: Gingerbread Muffins

Yum!  Gingerbread muffins.  Found this recipe online last night from Daily Dish Recipes.  My little girl helped me make them for breakfast and they were delicious.  And now our home smells like gingerbread.  These will definitely go in the Holiday rotation because I can make a big batch of them and freeze them for quick breakfasts.

GLUTEN FREE DIRECTIONS:
I substituted the 2 cups all-purpose flour with 2 cups of Bette Hagman's Gluten Free Mix or:
210 grams superfine brown rice flour
85 grams potato starch (not flour)
27 grams tapioca starch
Plus:
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons pectin
I spooned the batter into a Ziploc bag and piped the batter into the muffin cups about 1/2 to 2/3 full, then smoothed the tops with wet fingers.  The muffins did not rise a ton, so I could have done it 3/4 full like the recipe says, but they were a little heavy so I was happy with the smaller muffins.  Also, my little girl shared 4 of these with me before I had to tell her that was enough, so I didn't mind that they were smaller.

LOW IODINE DIRECTIONS:
Use a LID-safe milk substitute and 2 egg whites instead of  the whole egg.  Make sure to use non-iodized salt.

Homemade Hershey's-Style Chocolate Syrup

I needed some chocolate syrup the other night and didn't want to run to the store.  Furthermore, I wasn't sure I would find something safe for our family food allergies once I got there.  So I hopped online and found a couple of really easy recipes!  I combined this recipe and this recipe.  It didn't turn out very thick, but it has a strong, rich flavor and I've decided I don't need it to be any thicker than it is.

Chocolate Syrup

1 1/2 cups water
2 cups white sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
1 dash salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the water, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt together in a saucepan over low heat; whisk constantly until the mixture thickens and begins to simmer. Remove from heat and stir the vanilla into the sauce. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate until serving.  Will thicken upon cooling.

This chocolate syrup is naturally gluten, soy, diary, egg, and nut free!

Jen's Gluten Free Gravy and Cream Soup Substitute

Since I have had to go gluten free, it has been difficult to find gluten free recipes for a lot of the foods that I love.  This chicken gravy satisfies that gravy niche for me.  It's smooth but also creamy, and very easy to make.  And one of the nice things about it is that it makes a good cream of ??? soup substitute, too.

Jen's Gluten Free Gravy and Cream Soup Substitute


2 cups broth, stock, and/or water (stock really tastes the best)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons instant dry milk (1-2 Tblsp) -- optional, to taste
chicken bouillon or base -- to taste
salt -- to taste
black pepper -- to taste

Whisk broth, cornstarch, and dry milk in a saucepan. Heat until bubbling and thick. Add bouillon, salt, and pepper to taste.

CREAM OF ??? SOUP SUBSTITUTE DIRECTIONS:  To make cream of ???? soup substitute, use about 3-4 Tblsp dry milk and 3-4 Tblsp cornstarch. To make cream of mushroom, throw in a can of finely minced mushrooms (processed in the food processor).

GLUTEN FREE and SOY FREE DIRECTIONS:  Use gluten and soy free broth and chicken bouillon.

DAIRY FREE DIRECTIONS:  Use dairy free chicken bouillon. Use a dairy free powdered milk substitute such as Vance's DairFree. If you do use Vance's DairFree, add it when the sauce is warm in order for it to dissolve better.

Yield: 2 cups gravy

JEN'S NOTES: This makes a good creamy gravy, but you can leave out the dry milk if you would like.

Recipe Review: Gluten Free Whole Grain Sandwich Wraps

I made these Gluten Free Whole Grain Sandwich Wraps (from Gluten Free Gobsmacked) for dinner last night to wrap my chicken gyros in and they were delicious!  I did cook them longer than the recipe calls for and they were still a bit underdone, so next time I will just cook them longer.  These would be wonderful wrapped around just about anything - grilled chicken, veggies, sandwiches, peanut butter and banana, maybe even Mexican food.  I've almost eaten all of them already and will be making some more today so I can have some ham and veggie wraps in the next couple of days.  Yum!

Chicken Tortilla Soup (Jodi's)

Got this recipe from my sister-in-law, Jodi, when I was having surgery and she made us some freezer meals. It freezes beautifully and it's delicious topped with chips, cheese, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, or whatever you want. Scott really likes this soup (even though he'll tell you that he doesn't like soup).

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Recipe Source: Jodi
Serving Size: 12
Categories: Chicken, Crock Pot, Food Storage Recipe, Freezer Recipes, Pasta, Grains, & Legumes, Quick & Easy, Soups, Sandwiches, & Sauces
Rating: 7 - Very Good (out of 10)

4 large chicken breasts, no skin, no bone
2 - 15 oz Mexican stewed tomatoes
4 ounces green chiles -- chopped
2 - 15 oz black beans -- undrained
1 cup salsa
14 ounces tomato sauce
tortilla chips
cheese

Combine all ingredients except chips and cheese in a large slow cooker. Cover. Cook on low 8 hours. Just before serving remove chicken breasts and slice into bite sized pieces. Stir into soup.

To serve, put a handful of chips in each individual soup bowl. Ladle soup over chips and top with cheese.

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:
PREPARATION: Place everything except chips and cheese in a labelled freezer bag and freeze flat. (Alternately, you could leave out the canned ingredients and add them when you cook, but it is always good to have at least some liquid in with the meat which helps keep the meat from getting freezer burned.) Or you could even cook the soup and then freeze it.

TO SERVE: Thaw. Follow above cooking instructions.

Serving Ideas : Top with tortilla chips or Fritos, cheese, onions, tomatoes, sour cream, etc.

NOTES : Jen's Notes: Half of this recipe is just the perfect size for my 3.5-quart slow cooker. I don't usually need to cook meals in my slow cooker as long as the recipes call for, so I cook this for about 4 hours.

Pasta with Meat Sauce Bake

I made up this recipe myself. It's really easy and Scott always likes it!

Pasta with Meat Sauce Bake

Recipe By: Jennifer Gabbert
Serving Size: 6
Categories: Casseroles, Food Storage Recipe, Freezer Recipes, Gound Beef or Turkey, Pasta, Grains, & Legumes, Quick & Easy

6 ounces rotini pasta (I love Ronzoni Smart Taste) -- uncooked
18 ounces spaghetti sauce -- to taste
2/3 pound lean ground beef -- cooked and drained
1 1/2 cups warm water (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
1/4 cup parmesan cheese -- to taste
3 ounces mozzarella cheese -- shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degreesF. In a bowl, mix sauce, hamburger, water, and parmesan cheese. Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Place pasta in the bottom of the pan and pour sauce mixture over the pasta. Mix a little to make sure to coat the pasta, adding more water if pasta is not covered well with sauce. Top with cheese.

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degreesF for 50-60 minutes or until pasta is cooked and tender. Cool for 5 minutes, covered.

FREEZER DIRECTIONS:
ADVANCED PREP: Cook ground beef. Grate cheese.
PREPARATION: Place uncooked pasta in a labelled quart freezer bag. Place sauce, cooked ground beef, and parmesan cheese in a labelled gallon freezer bag; you can also add the water at this point or wait until you cook the casserole. Place the mozzarella cheese in a pint labelled freezer bag. Bag these all together and freeze flat.
TO SERVE: Thaw. Add water to sauce mixture and mix well if you didn't add water when you froze it. Follow the above cooking instructions starting with preheating the oven to 375 degreesF.

Serving Ideas : Serve with a green salad and french bread.

NOTES : Cooking time may vary. Every time you look under the aluminum foil to check to see if it's done, you let all the steam out that cooks the pasta, so don't check it until it is almost done.
Jen's Notes: I usually use All Purpose Ground Meat Mix from the Make-A-Mix cookbook by Eliason, Harward, and Westover.
3/19/08 Made this recipe up and Scott really liked it. Tasted kind of lasagna-ie, but was way easier.