Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Pancakes

My son requested Chocolate Chip pancakes this morning and this is what I came up with. They turned out light and fluffy and TASTY!





1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato starch
2 TB sugar
6 TB buttermilk powder*
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
2 eggs
2 cups water


* you can sub sweet rice flour for dairy free

Whisk all dry ingredients together.

Whisk eggs into the water and slowly add to the dry ingredients, whisk until just combined.

Fold in 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Pour by just under 1/2 cup scoops onto a hot skillet, cook until bubbles start to form on the top, flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake

I made this for our little family Thanksgiving. It turned out delicious! I used this recipe but changed it just slightly











Crust
2 cups ginger snap crumbs(I uses 1/2 this recipe and it was the perfect amount)
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Combine all and press into a 10 inch spring form pan coming up the sides just slightly.
Bake in 350 oven for 8 minutes, set aside to cool

Topping:
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter

Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
Melt butter over medium heat, add in brown sugar and pecans. Stir then allow to boil undisturbed for 1 minute.
Remove from heat and pour onto the baking sheet and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes until bubbly.
Cool completely, then break into chunks.







Filling:
32 oz cream cheese, room temp(4-8 oz packages)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 TB flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree(approx 1 -15 oz can)
1/4 cup bourbon
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs

Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy, add in flour and spices, mix well. Add in pumpkin, bourbon and vanilla. Last beat in eggs , one at a time, until well combined, don't over beat after the eggs are in.

Optional: gently Fold in half of the topping to the filling

Transfer filling to the crust. Sprinkle topping over the top.



Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hours and 45 minutes, until the center is jiggly.

I recommend a water bath for baking the cheesecake, not everyone thinks this is necessary.

There are instructions for baking it IN water in the above link, I tried it and really didn't care for the results.

I prefer to fill my broiler pan with water, then set in a wire rack and set my pan on top of that.

Remove from oven and allow to cool, run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan. Chill in the fridge, then release the spring-form.

Cut into wedges and serve!

Pork Chops with Apple Pico de Gallo

Not exactly sure how to describe this but it turned out DELICIOUS!!!!!











6-8 thin sliced pork chops(I use boneless)
1 medium white onion, sliced
1 medium tart apple, sliced(I used a granny smith)
1/4 cup bourbon whiskey
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 clove garlic minced
salt and pepper to taste



Preheat oven to 350

In a dish place onions, apples and whiskey, toss to combine.

Layer chops over the top and sprinkle with brown sugar, garlic, salt and pepper.











Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until thermometer registers 165.

While it is baking you can make your pico de gallo
You can use about 1 cup of a store bought one and add apples or you can mix up an easy one

3 small roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced*
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 Tb fresh cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
1/2 clove of garlic, minced
1 TB fresh lime juice
1 small granny smith apple, cored and diced.

*to easily peel tomatoes place them in boiling water for 20 seconds, then place them immediately in ice water for 1 minute. The peel will easily slip off.




Place chop on a plate and topped with desired amount of pico.

I served mine over quinoa that I had boiled with chicken broth.
Enjoy!

My Nikon P90 is a Lemon :(

I am so unhappy. I did tons of research on what kind of camera I wanted. It took me months to pick the one I wanted. I wasn't wanting to move up to a DSLR yet , but  I like a larger camera. After all my searching I found the Nikon P90. My husband bought it for my for our anniversary and I was quite happy with the selection. I have taken many lovely pictures with it.
Then one day just 1 month after the factory warranty expired, the flash just stopped working. Nothing happened to it, I had used it that day with no issues. It just STOPPED.  So I packed it up and sent it in to Nikon to be repaired(we have no camera service centers here). It cost me over $100 to fix the problem, but I thought it was worth it since it was a "nice" camera.
I got it back and had no issues, until just a little over a month after the "service warranty" expired and guess what?? Thats right NO FLASH. This camera will not take nice pictures indoors without a flash unless lighting is JUST perfect, which is not very often and even then they are rarely as clear, so a flash is a must have. It even seemed that pictures that do NOT require a flash were even coming out with less quality as well.
I contacted Nikon and explained the situation, they took me through the basics, resetting the camera(of course all that I had already done) I told them I did not want to pay for the same repair twice in the less than 2 years I have owned the camera. I was told to send the camera in to them.....
I packed it up and sent it out insured via USPS.....and had a whole ordeal with that but after more than 10 days it finally made it to the service center( at one point I was just praying USPS had indeed lost it and I could just get the insurance money LOL)
This morning I get an email saying that I had to approve the $108 fix to the camera.....approval denied! With this second repair it would make it over 1/2 what I originally paid for the camera.
So I guess they will be sending back my flashless camera and I will be buying a new one, certainly not a Nikon, thats for sure!


RIP dear Nikon P90

Ooey Gooey Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

Oh so yummy cinnamon rolls. My husband requested some cinnamon rolls this morning and my gluten free son of course was right there behind him begging for some too. I found a few that sounded good and combined it into my own....
I am without my good camera so I could only take a few with my crappy camera. I will add more in next time I make them...if I ever see my good one again(It is currently en route to the Nikon repair place and "missing", was supposed to be delivered on the 9th, but they have not received it)





Rolls:

1 TB yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup warm milk
5 TB sugar
1 TB xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup superfine brown rice flour
6 TB potato starch
3/4 cup tapioca starch
2 TB corn starch
1 1/2 cup sweet sorghum flour
4 TB butter, melted
2 TB canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 tsp cider vinegar

Filling;
2 TB butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 ts cinnamon
raisins/pecan as desired

Topping
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar

In a bowl combine yeast, milk, water and sugar. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.

While that is proofing in another bowl combine xanthan gum, baking powder, brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch and corn starch.

When the yeast mixture is done proofing add in butter, oil vanilla, egg and cider vinegar. Mix well.

Add in flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time until fully incorporated.

I switch to my dough hook at this point, if you are using a kitchenaid mixer

Slowly add in sorghum flour 1/2 cup at a time until you get a dough that holds together well, it will still be sticky but you want to be able to handle it without making a gooey mess. You may need more or less flour to get it just right so add slowly.

Knead for about 3-5 minute.

Turn dough onto a surface that has been lightly floured(you can used sorghum or rice flour, which ever you prefer)

Sprinkle the top with a little more flour and roll to a large rectangle, I made mine about 15 x 8-9

Filling

Combine melted butter, sugar and cinnamon and spread over the rectangle all the way to the edges.

Sprinkle with raisins or pecans if desired and lightly press them in.

Roll you carefully from the longer side.

Slice into 1.5 inch pieces  and fit into a greased pan.



Cover loosely and allow to rise 30 minutes in a draft free location(I always stick it in my oven to rise, just make sure you take it out before you turn the oven on to preheat , yes I have done that before LOL)

Bake in preheated 350 oven for 25-30 minutes, this time makes the middles slightly underdone which we prefer. You can increase the bake time if you like, just watch the tops so they dont burn.

Mix the sour cream and powdered sugar until no lumps remain.

Pull them out and immediately frost.

Allow to set for 5-10 minutes then scoop and serve!

Kalua Pig White Chili

I made a pork roast the other day but I got it on to cook way too late to be ready in time for dinner. So I decided to shred it up and make it into chili for tonight. The recipe I used for the pork made a fantastic compliment! (Kalua Pig, my roast was a little over 1.5 lbs so cook time was less and I used 1/2 the salt but same amount of liquid smoke)



approx 1.5 lb pork roast, cooked with above linked recipe and shredded
4 cups cooked great northern beans (approx 2 cans)
1 qt chicken stock
4 oz diced green chilies
2 cups frozen corn
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green and/or red bell peppers
2 ts cumin
1 ts garlic powder
salt and pepper(preferably white pepper) to taste
hot sauce to taste
add chopped jalapenos for a spicy kick

Combine all in a slow cooker and mix well. Set to low and cook approx. 6 hours




Freezes well! Just chill thoroughly and place in a resealable container(I place a layer of heavy plastic wrap directly on top of it before placing the lid)