Gluten Free Graham Crackers

Perfect for snacks, s'mores or graham cracker crumbs for a cheesecake crust or GF moon pies, which I plan to make soon!








2/3 cup sorghum flour
2/3 cup tapioca starch
2/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
6 TB cold water

sugar for sprinkling


In a bowl combine all dry ingredients, mix well.











Cut butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles something like pea gravel.










Add in honey and vanilla, then add water 1 TB at a time until it just holds together and isnt dry, you dont want it over sticky, but you dont want it to fall apart either.

Mix it very well.
Preheat oven to 350






Remove from the bowl and hand knead it for a few seconds and gather it into a ball.









Divide into 4 sections and roll out to desired thickness sprinkling with cornstarch or sweet rice flour to prevent sticking. These puff slightly while baking so keep that in mind when rolling. I generally do pretty thin, between 1/8 inch and 1/16 inch, although thicker is good too.

Place on parchment paper lined baking sheets. Generously poke it with a fork, then cut into desired shapes. Sprinkle with a bit of sugar.



Place in hot oven and bake 18-20 minutes until golden brown and starting to harden up. Remove from the oven and allow to cool 5 minutes, if they are not crisp at this point put them back in the oven for a few minutes more.

My Favorite Veggie Burgers

I can't believe I have gone this long without putting this veggie burger recipe on here! This is one of my favorites! I found it years ago but of course I have since changed it up per our tastes and needs. These freeze wonderfully after baking for a quick pull out burger too!






1 large carrot, shredded
2 medium zucchini, shredded
1 small white onion, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 TB olive oil

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats*
1/4 cup ground flax
1 egg
2 TB Bragg's Amino Acid or Soy Sauce
1 tsp (or to taste) hot sauce, I used Cholula Chipotle
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded cheese(your preference, cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella, provolone.....)

*certified GF for those that need it


Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat, add carrots, zucchini, onion, garlic and baby spinach.

Sauté until veggies are tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Remove from heat and pour into a colander, drain well, pressing slightly to remove a little more liquid.

Place veggies into a large mixing bowl. Add oats, flax egg, amino acid, hot sauce  and seasonings.

Mix well, cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.

After it is well chilled mix in the shredded cheese.

Form into patties(this makes 8-10 smaller ones or 6 nice big ones, I did 3 bigger ones and 4 smaller ones) then dust with a little rice flour(all purpose is fine for those not needing gluten free)

Refrigerate 15- 20 minutes more.

Place patties on a greased baking pan and broil for about 5-7 minutes on each side.(adjust times as needed for the size of your patties)

Serve on a bun with all the fixings!

This one is a GF bun for my 8 year old

This one is on a wheat bun for my husband.

Pineapple Turkey with Coconut Rum Glaze

I had a turkey sitting in my freezer and I figured it was time we used it. I wanted something a little different and I had some Parrot Bay Coconut Rum sitting on my shelf so I decided to put it to use.







12 lb turkey
1 whole pineapple
1 cup pineapple juice
3/4 cup brown sugar, divided
1/2 cup coconut oil, divided(butter if you have no coconut oil)
1/2 cup coconut rum
salt and pepper to taste



Slice the rind off of the pineapple, if you can do it in 1 large piece with a filet knife even better, I put my rind directly under the rack of my roasting pan.

Slice the pineapple into slices.

Rinse and pat dry your bird inside and out.

Place the bird on the top of a rack inside a roasting pan or roasting oven, pour pineapple juice in the bottom of the pan, gently loosen the skin around the breast and drumsticks

Combine 1/4 cup of the coconut oil(softened) with 1/4 cup brown sugar, mix well.

Spread the brown sugar mixture under the skin of the bird.

In a sauce pan combine remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup coconut oil. Heat over medium heat until boiling. Simmer for a few minutes until slightly thickened.
Remove from heat and add rum, mix well and return to heat and bring to a boil again. Boil 1 minute more. Remove from heat  and allow to cool until it thickens slightly.







Place slices of pineapple all over and inside the turkey , securing with toothpicks if necessary.


Brush with 1/2 the rum glaze and sprinkle with salt and pepper as desired.







I did mine in a roaster oven so I set it to 325 degrees and put the lid on and let it go, basting it every so often. At about the 3 hour mark I brushed it again with 1/2 of the remaining rum glaze, and again right at the end with the rest. Cook it to an internal temp of 185. Generally about 3-4 hours for an unstuffed 12 pounder at 325.


I have never done a turkey in my regular oven but if you want to do that I would suggest 325 as well and cover it with foil, after you put the glaze on at the 3hr mark, leave the foil off and allow it to brown, glazing/basting often.

Gluten Free English Muffins

My son loves English muffins and it is one thing I have not attempted since we went Gluten restricted with him. One of his jobs this week was to make up a lunch menu for the week. He put down mini pizzas for one of the days so I figured it was time to make an English Muffin recipe!











1 cup  warm water
1/2 cup warm milk
1 tsp sugar
2 1/2 tsp yeast

1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup rice flour(brown or white)
1/4 cup ground flax
2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 eggs
1 TB honey
1 tsp cider vinegar



In a bowl place water, milk, sugar and yeast. Allow to proof until foamy. (This pic was taken a little too early, it should foam up quite a bit more)








Whisk together flours, starches , flax xanthan gum and salt.










When the yeast is foamy add in eggs, oil, vinegar and honey. Mix well.










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










On a baking sheet place 8-10 English Muffin Rings(depending on size preference), spray well with cooking spray then sprinkle a little cornmeal in each ring.








Scoop muffin batter into the center of each ring and  gently pat down (with damp fingers to prevent sticking)










Allow to rise in a warm draft free location for 15-20 minutes.











Heat a skillet to medium/med-high (300 if using an electric skillet) heat, spray with cooking spray, and sprinkle with cornmeal









Carefully flip each ring onto the hot skillet.










Cook for 7-9 minutes. Then carefully flip. (you can remove rings here, or you can wait until they are done and cooled)Cook 7-9 minutes more until hollow sounding when tapped or a toothpick comes out clean.







Remove from skillet and allow to cool completely












*No Skillet? You can bake them in the rings on a baking sheet @ 350 for 15-20 minutes, the tops dont turn our as flat like a standard English muffin, but they are just as tasty!









Fork split , toast and top as desired....

The baked version is in the back, the skillet cooked in the front, you can see there is minimal difference in the texture between cooking variations...

Spinach, Swiss and Strawberry Stuffed Pork Chops

My sons went berry picking with my mom this morning, so I decided I had to use some of them for dinner tonight. I wanted something simple so this is what I came up with. I think this would be excellent with chicken as well. I had originally intended to use Havarti cheese but when I got into my cheese drawer my Havarti supply was depleted LOL.






Amounts are relative to how much you need, don't go nuts and overfill though.

boneless pork chops pounded thin
shredded swiss cheese
fresh sliced strawberries
baby spinach leaves

oregano
lemon pepper
salt

Topping:(enough for 4 decent sized chops)
1/2 cup raspberry vinaigrette(premade or I have a great recipe here)
1 TB honey
2 TB half and half

Whisk all the topping ingredients together and set aside.











Place thin pork chops on a flat surface and place on a few leaves of baby spinach, some sliced strawberries (maybe 2 berries per chop)and top with a sprinkle of cheese(I use about 1-2 TB per chop)







Gently roll up from and tucking in sides as you go and secure with toothpicks if necessary.







Sprinkle them with the seasonings.( I actually did Sicilian Lemon Salt, black pepper and oregano but I figured more people would have lemon pepper so I listed that instead)

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 TB olive oil. When the oil is hot, swirl it around the pan, then add the rolls, cover and cook turning only as needed.








When they are just about done(15-20 minutes depending on thickness) pour the topping over them, cover and continue cooking  until the internal temperature reaches a minimum of 165.

Remove to plates and scoop a little sauce over the top.

Gluten Free Peach Rolls

I started out making cinnamon rolls for fathers day but I decided to do something a little different, I had one peach left in the fridge so I decided instead of having a fight to the death between the kids about who gets to eat it I would chop it up and use it in the rolls!

Rolls:

1 TB yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup warm milk
6 TB sugar( We prefer raw, white is fine though)
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
6 TB coconut oil, melted*

1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp pure peach extract**
1 egg
1 tsp cider vinegar

Filling:

 3 TB coconut oil, melted*

1/4 cup raw sugar

1-2 fresh peaches, diced

sprinkle of cinnamon

Topping:

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2-1 tsp peach extract**

*if you don't have coconut oil, you can use butter

** you can use orange extract if you cant find peach, its not exactly the same, but it will do.

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 oil , extracts, 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.


Place dough into a greased bowl and allow to rise 30 minutes in a draft free location.

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 9 x 12 rectangle

Filling:

Spread the coconut oil to the edges of the rectangle, sprinkle the sugar evenly over the whole thing.

Spread chopped peaches out over 1/2 , making sure to extend to the ends(of the 12 inch side) so the end slices have peaches too, sprinkle ever so gently with cinnamon to your taste preference.

Roll carefully from the long side and press gently to seal.

Preheat oven to 350

Carefully slice depending on the size of rolls you want...I did about an inch wide and ended up with 11.

Allow to rise while the oven heats.

Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, this leaves them slightly underdone in the centers which is how we prefer our breakfast rolls, you can adjust baking time if you like, just watch so they dont burn on the tops.

Topping

Combine sour cream, powdered sugar and extract, mix until smooth and lump free.

When the rolls come out of the oven immediately frost with the topping. Allow to set 10 minutes then serve hot.