Gluten Free Ranch Chicken Bites

An impressive tasting and looking g-f chicken dinner that is really too easy to merit a recipe!  Sept 2013 retro. 

Only THREE ingredients:

 2 chicken breasts (or any part of the chicken, really)
G-f ranch dressing (1/2 cup? maybe more?)
A couple cups of GF breadcrumbs (use your dried GF bread failures! Not such a failure NOW!)

Dip and shake and bake in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes just until the chicken is opaque not dry.

Dip

Shake

Bake

Devour.

Asian Lemon Chicken

Marinate some chicken in

soy sauce
lemon juice
garlic
ginger
honey

for 20 minutes.

Saute sliced onion in some canola oil...
add the chicken mixture...
cook for a few minutes until the chicken is almost white,
then add a chopped up package of medium-firm tofu.

Very last, throw in some diced red pepper and water chestnuts if you have 'em,

and zest some lemon peel over the whole thing.

Serve with hot rice and canned corn and cantaloupe (whaaat? I didn't plan ahead!).

G-F Foccacia Wrap Bread Recipe

Reposted as one of my Top Ten Gluten Free Recipes rated for ease, flexibility and speed.
It's easily in the top five for deliciousness!





Flat-bread, foccacia, happiness in 20 minutes, easiest bread substitute we've come across.  

Gluten-free foccacia bread like professionals in minutes.  I have always been impressed with this recipe and just today I dragged it out, dusted it off and mixed a bunch of ziploc bag mixes up for a friend.

With another friend, Lidia, we baked a pan up in less than fifteen minutes WITH prep. and BAKING!  Don't believe me?  Just try it.  But we ate it in less than that when we served it to the family.  Thanks Lidia, you rock!


Last posted March 8, 2009  New UPDATE 4-4-10: College Boy attempts Wrap Bread: Story HERE.

WRAP BREAD

1 full cup brown rice flour or sorghum flour or my wholegrain flour mix. (any GF flour mix works.)
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons xanthum gum
2 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt

OPTIONAL MODIFICATION:
1 teaspoon italian seasoning (Lidia and I used this and it was great)

Wet ingredients blend together:

1 tsp  cider vinegar or dough enhancer
2 Tbs. canola oil (I CHANGED THIS from olive oil, baked goods preferred oil is canola. I read that online!)
2 eggs
3/4 cup very warm water 


(SOMEDAYS, I USE HALF THIS MUCH WATER) It should not be thin or pourable, but form somewhat of a soft, thicker, ball on the pan.  This time Lidia and I started with 1/2 cup, but ended up using the whole 3/4.

Mix dry and wet ingredients together in a heavy duty mixer. Beat for (three and three quarter) or four minutes on high.

Flatten in 11 x 17 greased pan (I use a sprayed plastic wrap and rolling pin for speed).  Lidia and I topped it with parmesean cheese.  Delish!

We let dough raise 15 minutes. Bake at 425 degrees 10 minutes, or until top is browned.

Cool 2-10 minutes Cut into pieces and store these wrapped tightly.

11-09-08: I was just sent a recipe online from Glutenfreeclub.com... It sounds so good, I printed it off and made it up and WOW! I am really impressed. It tasted so good, better than my last Wrap Bread recipe from Jennifer Cinquepalmi's cookbook, The Complete Book of GlutenFree Cooking.
That's what I have to do, keep evolving, keeping testing, keep challenging myself and be open to new and different recipes. I can't get stuck in the rut!

BUT, then the two recipes comingle in my file and I can't remember which is the good one and which is the old one. I check out the ingredients, hoping for a clue... and find to my chagrin, the recipes are exactly the same.



The only difference? One recommends that it be baked at 350 for 11-15 minutes and the other 425 for 5-8 minutes.

Fool me. Whatever. So since it was sent to me free online, can I reprint here with no compunction? I think so, particularly since I have modified it.

flatbread? flat-bread, flat bread, flatbread

Carrot Cake Balls -- GF, CF, sugar-free, faux-cream cheese

IT's NATIONAL DIET MONTH!!!     Today I'm looking for something that will be delicious and yet not bust apart my 21 day diet. (because I'm not up to starting over.)  

This might work!  







Cream cheese cake balls that are dairy-free, sugarless, gluten-free, grain-free, healthy, raw and delicious?

And about which the 14 year old says,  "Okay Mom, they are not terrible."  Woot!  High praise indeed.

The impossible dream?  
Well, maybe. 
It's all true, except for the cream cheese.  

There is none of that in the recipe, but I made these and asked the guys what they  reminded them of and they came up with the name.  

Actually they said they tasted pumpkin too, but I thought that was really stretching it.  

Who knew dates are the secret ingredient? 

None of the guys and they will not!  

3/4 cup carrots, peeled, diced (2 or 3 full sized)
4 dates (pitted and diced)
1 teaspoon minced ginger root (I use the stuff from the jar in the fridge)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon orange extract
1/2 cup pecans

I have a good food processor, so I did it all together using my processor blade, but try chopping the carrots first then remove and do the rest and add the carrots to thoroughly combine into a dough.  I used my handy-dandy melon baller and then rolled them in coconut.  

This is the birthday cake ball recipe that my dear friend Pam researched and fed to me for my September birthday.  It's taken a month to get it replicated.  I hope you love it as much as I do.    

Reality Bite:  And for the record, I still do not like dates... alone. (hee,hee.)

Last posted 10-29-13

GF 15 minutes Doughnuts ? ? ?

THE GF KIDS ARE IN TOWN
AND WE ARE EATING LIKE KINGS!!!!

First posted 3-27-12

Delicious G-F Doughnut Holes

I've been on pinterest again... 16 pins sitting in my draft portion of my blog just waiting to be recipe modified or tested. STOP ME!

The most recent is the doughnut craze. I can tell that the craving has overwhelmed me when 4 of the 16... that's 4/16 or 1/4 for those of you homeschooling with me...

-------------------------------------

Aaaagggghhhhh,
anyway, it's apparent that a disproportionate number of posts are about doughnuts, so it's time to bust out the deep fryer and hustle up a batch.

The other doughnut recipe I tried this month wasn't as good as I wished, even rice krispies can't salvage that recipe. So I was cautious about the 15-minute doughnut recipe that I pinned, because right at the start, the author admits that they aren't as good the second day.

We G-F'rs know that if normal food isn't good the second day, gluten-free food probably wouldn't be good the first day! So instead of using her recipe, I used my own. It was fast, and aside from the rise time, they really only took 15 minutes to mix up.


Take your favorite bread mix (I used my recipe for healthier featherlight bread modified from Bette Hagman's - Praise Be Her Name) and added two extra tablespoons sugar.

I've used Gluten-free Pantry's sandwich bread mix before and I think it would work well in this recipe too.


Mix up the bread mix using 1/4 cup less water. The dough will be scoopable, yet still soft and squishy. Scoop out balls (using a floured melon baller or cookie scoop) and place gently on rice-floured wax paper, rolling into soft balls.

Set aside to raise 15-20 minutes while the oil heats.

I used regular canola oil, heated to 350. (If it gets hotter, pull the plug--as too hot means doughy centers)

I dropped them bottoms down.  Then fried them til brown, they almost rolled over by themselves.  Drained them on papertowels, rolled in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar. Waited until cooeler to dip in a powdered sugar glaze.

And Then I Ate Every Single One - except for the ones that the youngest son got to first.

Delicious!  Make 40 doughnut holes.

Reality Bite: I did make the husband reserve one to see if they were as good today and when he ate it this morning, he affirmed that yes, second day, just as delicious!

_______

G-F doughnut recipe that is fast and easy and cheap? The last week of vacation Mom and I fried g-f doughnuts.  We delivered a plate to the neighbors, who mistook them and the whole non-gf family gobbled  them up.  The GF friend got NOTHIN'.   MY POINT?  They loved them!  I had to send over g-f carrot cake to make up.  

Pao de Queijo (Chebe Bread)

Cheese Biscuits for Thanksgiving?  Everyone will love them, gf and non alike.  Delicious alternative to yeast rolls -- quick and easy, mixes in five minutes and bakes in ten minutes and it's multicultural!



Terina last posted this on 12-12-12 and then again on 10-11-13. 

I just made them with my gal pal Lidia and they are delicious. So here is a new photo:

Quick recipe:

1 1/4 cup tapioca starch (available cheap at Asian stores or Honeyville Grain)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup cheese 

(mozzarella, asiago, cheddar, I've used them all. Or leave it out) 

1 teaspoon seasoning (I've used taco, italian, dill)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) of butter/oil

2 eggs

Stir it up and drop/roll into balls.  Bake at 425 for 10 minutes only.

DO NOT OVERBAKE--If these aren't to die for, it's due to overbaking.

Makes about a dozen.

__________________________________________
This recipe had it's beginnings in 2008 - It's also called Chebe Bread or Pao de Quejo and sells for big bucks in the grocery stores.  Really a delicious g-f alternative.  

I trust GF Gobsmacked because her oreos are directly from a heavenly planet, so I tried her recipe for Brazilian cheese bread (chebe) and like she indicated, I found it happiness personified--in only 15 minutes and using only one flour.

The whole story follows so skip to the end if you must:

"ancient file photograph--2010"

When you are on a ski vacation, there is not much time for making or baking food of any kind, so the original plan was to order pizza from Park City Pizza whose owners, Jeff and Nikki Keye have worked to develop gluten-free recipes as good as the original. Jeff was diagnosed with CD six years ago, and is dedicated to preventing cross-contamination.

But I'm a 30 year skiier, who really hates skiing (see blog excerpt below).

"Skiing has its own unique verbiage to disguise its inherent wretchedness. The ski term off-piste means to glide rapturously in deep powder off trail, through snow-covered trees. When I ski off-piste, it happens accidentally, flailing frantically out of control, dodging and ducking trees, ditching skis and poles, and any sharp object that could imperil my ungainly finish.

Most of the time, I ski “piste-off,” fighting the ski position, half bent over, leaning precariously forward, sliding and slipping while all the way screaming, and wildly zipping past signs that say slow."

____________________________
Aug., 2012 update
The new SIL (son in law) tried this recipe and loved it, but recommended that when it says tapioca that one uses flour, not the tapioca that most American's are familiar with, the one that makes it taste like graveled buns.)

_______________________________________________


Long story short, I convinced the husband that I would be so much happier staying in at the homey chalet, keeping the fires burning... and baking.

I recipe experimented over the holiday weekend. First I viewed a standard non-gf recipe at allrecipes, but their Brazilian cheese bread was more a pate choux recipe, like the cheese gougeres (a savory cream puff) that I already make. Delicious, but not new.

So I dug out and snowshoed (obvious hyperbole) to the library and searched the "tried and true" gluten-free community blogs and found this one--another keeper from GF Gobsmacked ( I feel I know her well enough to abbreviate.)

I had to modify (no chives fresh or dried in the country store) and I added an extra egg when I could not get the crumble to stick together in balls. It's a keeper, delicious and cultural--and freezable in balls prior to baking. See this article from the S.L. Tribune if you missed it last week.

GF Asian Sesame Green Beans

This is an easy, quick side with a tangy Asian sauce. Throw in sesame seeds if you have them or substitute (like we did) with slivered almonds or another nut.
The essentials are just soy sauce, sesame oil and (of course) green beans.

2 TB soy sauce to 1 tsp sesame oil,
about a pound of green beans (we steamed 'em first),
and sesame seeds.

Stir it all together until the wet has sucked into the beans and the whole thing smells Asiany.




Reality Bite:  Having spent two years living in Hong Kong, and speaking fluent Cantonese, I can totally say that.

GF Gougères

A gougère, in French cuisine, is a baked savory choux pastry made of choux dough. There are many variants: add some sugar and they're cream puffs, add some cheese and they're ...um, cheese puffs.

In GF cuisine, it's an impossibly easy single flour win that's gonna ruin your calorie count for the next fifteen years. STILL DO IT.  I made them plain and ate them filled with tuna while standing over the pan. I had to hide them from myself to keep some for hubby and some for a friend! 

So simple it's magnifique: 

Melt together 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
1 cup water
1 tsp salt in a pot.
When it's boiling, turn off the heat and add one cup rice flour all at once.
Stir it together with a big wooden spoon (or something else strong), then add one egg at a time, stirring between eggs, until the batter is doughy but not runny (usually about three eggs). 
Plop onto a cookie sheet (metal, not glass) and cook them in a hot, hot oven (425*) for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350* and cook for 5 more minutes.

Time: 30 minutes.
Makes: not enough.

Cheezy Potato Spinach Casserole

A delicious way to use up the leftover mashed potatoes from Valentines... uh, Christmas... uh Thanksgiving? Hey, this recipe test has been sitting in my draft file for a really long time.  Glad I finally tried it.  It's a keeper.

10 potatoes cooked and mashed
10 oz. frozen spinach (thawed and drained)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used plain yogurt)
1 cup cheddar cheese (divided in half)
Salt and pepper to taste (my autocondimentor likes        all his pretty salty--that's what he gets.)

Stir it all up together,reserving half of the cheese for the top.  Place in a greased 2 qt. casserole, top with cheese, Bake at 350 15-25 minutes (depending on the heat of your potatoes to start).  Mine were refrigerated leftovers (No not from Thanksgiving) and so I heated them first in the dutch oven on the stovetop.

Reality Bite:  Autocondimentor extraordinaire, Terry Pratchett, you are a literary monument.

GF Beet, Broccoli and Cabbage Salad

This beautiful, eye-catching salad is a great addition of veggies to your winter meatandpotatoes since each ingredient is easy to find in cold months.

Broccoli (2-3 heads, don't throw away the stalks),
beets (4, already cooked),
cabbage (red, only 1/2 a head),

Food process the above veggies (including broccoli stalks) BUT don't purree them. Keep relatively large chunks, as shown on the right. If you're nervous about the power of your food processor and would rather chop, go ahead.

Reality Bite: Or you could learn from experience and get an entire head of broccoli down to broccoli powder before you notice. Oops.

Dress this mix with balsamic vinagrette, apple cider vinegar, sweetener of some kind and salt to taste. Warning, some tastes (like mine) may be different than other tastes (like my husband, who insists I added a cup too much vinegar). Can't ever have too much vinegar!

Red Chicken Curry G-F

Fast and Easy curried chicken with a five minute sauce blend--NO CHOPPING.

http://www.redstarrecipe.com/2013/10/slow-cooker-coconut-chicken-curry.html

My G-F Reality is that we don't always have time for the slow cooker, but this quick curried chicken recipe is a delicious main meal cooked either way.

I cracked the crock from my pot so thinking out of the box I began boiling chicken in water while steaming the rice and blended the sauce.  After five minutes or so, I put the partially cooked/drained/diced chicken in an oven dish, poured the sauce over and popped it in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes.  Just 10 minutes prep, while I steamed rice and heated freezer veggies, and I'm set.

Quick and easy.

Recipe Modified: 
The only thing I changed on the recipe?  I used hot red curry from the India for the typical grocery store curry so I left out the red peppers.   And it seemed thick enough so I left out the corn starch and water.

Final Touch?

After it was cooked, something was missing... couldn't quite place it.  Just seemed too sharp at the end... hard to explain, but it made me unable to gobble this until I was sick.   I stirred in a tablespoon of honey.  That did it.  Smoothed out the finish and made it unable to put down.  Delicious.

Can't waaaaait to eat--it smells divine!

http://www.redstarrecipe.com/2013/10/slow-cooker-coconut-chicken-curry.html

PHOTO COMING !!!   I promise.

GF CF Chocolate Meringue Cookies from King Arthur Flours

short and round, but dark and handsome: picture from King Arthur flours

No flour, no dairy cookies? Light and crunchy on the outside yet deep and chewy on the inside? Less than 30 minutes for the whole deal? Only four ingredients??

Yes, please.

Here's the link to the recipe: we just suggest you whip the sugar and egg whites together like any good French chef and THEN add the rest of the ingredients. Can be a pain to scrape off the pan if you neglect some sort of parchment paper or grease.

Gluten Free Spaghetti

Gluten-free Pastas are often soggy and limp. Our favorite is Tinkyada rice pasta, which is true to the promise on weird purple packaging, "Can withstand quite a bit of overcooking without becoming soggy."

We made this pasta ourselves by frying up garlic and an onion, adding carrots and meat, throwing in frozen peas and finally a can of tomato paste and half a packet of sketti seasoning. Then we let the whole thing simmer for half and hour. This can be as quick as you need.

Gluten-Free Fried Rice

A quick and simple fried rice that can get as authentic as you dare. Just remember the GF soy sauce!!

TOFU OPTION: Get firm or very firm tofu and drain all the water off. If you're a purist, weight the thing with a plate and a heavy pan on top to squeeze out even more water while you're getting ready to cook. Then chunk it, season with salt and pepper and roll in potato starch. Fry 'em up in a few teaspoons of canola oil.

The Fried Rice:

 Start with plain (cooked) rice,

 slice up and sizzle the Asian trio:

GINGER

GARLIC

GREEN ONION

 Then throw in the rice, whatever veggies you please, and an egg.

 Cook it around for a bit, then season with fish sauce and soy sauce, both GLUTEN FREE.

Finish with a handful of peanuts and the already-cooked tofu (or other meat) and serve hot. 

Gluten-Free FAST AND EASY Potato Smash

Can't mess up this delicious and FAST kid or teenager filler-upper. Cheap, easy and quick meal for on the go.

When Mr.-then-Boyfriend in college found out I was gluten-free, he didn't stop cooking for me (maybe that's why he became Mr. Husband), but he's anything but a gourmet gluten-free chef. He was a college kid!

He made up this Potato Smash to make on the run. It's flexible, easy, and quickly thrown together and microwaved. Plenty of carbs, starches and calories for hungry celiac bellies.

Nuke potatoes,
add any of the following:
chili, cheese, sour cream, salsa, can of beans, can of corn, leftover soup, spinach, tomatoes, whatever!

Warm it all up and you're done.

The only way you can mess it up is to use rotten potatoes. Trust me, we've tried it ALL!

Gluten-free Corn Quesadillas

Just three ingredients:

1. corn tortillas 
2. refried beans (canned like me, or fresh if you know how to do that)
3. cheese (sliced or shredded)

Corn tortillas taste like pasty cardboard COLD. Warmed in the microwave, they advance to a state similar to soggy cardboard. Save yourself the misery and pull out a flat grill or frying pan. The minuscule extra labor is well worth the bettered taste and texture.

Modify as you wish: 

 add guacamole, nix the cheese, add sour cream, lose the beans, use mozzarella and marinara to make mini pizzas, switch out the insides for pb&j, add chicken or beef, slice tofu thinly and sandwich it with a peanut sauce, use shredded tilapia or snapper and make fish tacos... The world is your oyster. Ooo, Oyster Tacos?

Less than 10 minutes, less than 2 dollars.

Gluten-Free Recipes: Easy, Fast AND Cheap?

Five easy, fast, delicious gluten-free staple meals that you can eat in the next 30 minutes.

That's right, it's a promise: as a working newlywed with a HUNGRY law student husband, I understand the need for easy, cheap, quick (and delicious) gluten free food.

Is it possible?  YES! 

You're going to want to branch out on some rainy Saturdays when you wind up with an hour or two free, but for now we're interested in getting some calories into that wheat-free belly.
*All of these recipes can be made WITHOUT dairy, soy, meat, nuts, and/or eggs. It just takes some ingenuity!*

corn quesadillas (3 ingredients, 10 minutes, contains cheese)
fried rice (4 ingredients, 15 minutes, super cheap, contains egg)
potato bar (3 ingredients, 10 minutes, cheap as dirt)
spaghetti (2 ingredients, 30 minutes, a little more expensive)
simple stone stew (10 canned ingredients, 30 minutes, cheap as ...a rock)

Look for some recipes and pictures next time I make these favorites (aka within two or three days!). They are so simple and consistent I find myself making them over and over.

What are your "go-to" recipes for when you need to eat FAST? 

GF Thai Tuna Patties

What fun it was to make this simultaneously with the daughter long distance over the phone last night.  We joked, laughed and cooked together, her modifying the crumbs to whatever she could find in a newlywed cupboard.  Once again, the guys liked it so much they fought over the last burger.  Truly delish!

First posted 1-25-10

My boys loved this recipe! Shock and awe! I called it a tuna burger... that might be why.

1 lb of Ahi Tuna flaked (or you could do like me and open three (5 oz.) cans of Starkist)

1/2 cup bread or cracker crumbs (YAY someplace to use all those stale loaves.) (watch out for dairy)

Mix the following ingredients together then combine all together:

1/2 tsp onion powder (or green onions)

1/4 tsp minced ginger (I doubled this and it was great)

1/2 tsp sesame oil (Sushi Chef most are GF)

1/2 tsp fish sauce (Thai Kitchen  most are GF)

1 Tablespoon GF soy sauce (LaChoy or Kikuman's new GF type)

1 egg

Mix altogether and form into patties. Brown on each side in a nonstick skillet or my trusty cast iron on medium heat.

Serve atop greens with a Cucumber Aiolo sauce (fancy name for a simple sauce)

1 Tbs. mayo

1 Tbs. finely grated cucumber

Delicious! Easy and already to make from the contents of the pantry!!! So this one moves to one of the top twenty easy/fast main dish recipes.

Jason's Deli Trip, Gluten Free?

It's the younger GF gal today, reporting on my latest GF endeavor: eating out with in-laws!

They are so aware of GF, and asked me to pick some options for the family dinner.

My family used to go to Jason's Deli,so I thought I'd give it a chance. Free ice cream sounds good, right?  The family thought it sounded great, so we went.  

their website has a link for Gluten-free in the lower left hand corner, but the menu is hard to see and understand. The in-restaurant one is much better, although it doesn't have any prices and, according to the cashier, is a little outdated.

I was reassured when I walked in to hear the cooks joking around, "don't you stab me with the gluten free knife, I'm not gluten free!" I should've thought twice about MY comment: "Hey, I'M gluten free!"

 I still got my GF sandwich--on GF BREAD, sliced with a DEDICATED KNIFE on a DEDICATED CUTTING BOARD--yes!!!--and enjoyed every bite. (Without getting stabbed, either.)

Here's a picture! I really like spinach, OK...

GF Buckwheat Pancakes

Last night, while conversing with friends, I was reminded of an lil' 'ol hole in the wall up Ogden canyon in Utah. It is renowned for it's delicious old fashioned buckwheat pancakes that were so big and hearty that you could only ever eat one.

Click, click, click, and that's all it takes for all the pieces to fall together and convince me to mix up some old fashioned buckwheat pancakes. It also helped that gluten-free-works send me an email this week with a recipe.

I find that these are delicious and simple with eggs, oil, milk and only one flour. This recipe made more than the three Darcey's could eat at one sitting. Oh, if only college guy were here.