Recipe: Gluten Free Granola

Saturday was a busy day. DH and I got up early and went for a bike ride. It had been awhile since we'd been riding and I wanted to test out my new bike. Friday night we went shopping for a new bike for me. The one I had been riding weighed a ton and I didn't like riding it all that much. Fortunately it wasn't hard to find a lighter one. After the ride I did some standard weekend chores. I wanted to get things done so that we could enjoy the rest of the weekend.

In addition to all the goings on Saturday morning DH, Kiddo, and I went to the drive-in to watch Men in Black 3 and Dark Shadows. There is exactly one drive-in movie theatre left in my area. It's in Stephens City, VA. It's called The Family Drive In Theatre. If you get the chance to go, do it. Seriously. Their snack bar isn't totally gluten free but they do have some pretty awesome gluten free choices. They have french fries, corn dogs, candy, and popcorn. Not the healthiest of fare but still pretty good.
Planning ahead, I wanted to bring at least one snack with us that was guaranteed to be Gluten Free. I knew they'd have popcorn, after all you can't watch a movie without it, so I decided to make granola. Granola is another one of those things that DH hasn't had in awhile and misses. The recipe is really simple and like most other things that I make, it doesn't take a whole lot of time to do. I adapted the recipe from my favorite Iron Chef, Michael Symon. I'd post a link to it but I grabbed it off of  his Facebook page when he posted it. If you want to try to find it he called it Lizzie's Granola.

Gluten Free Granola
Ingredients: 
4 cups Gluten Free rolled oats. I used Bob's Red Mill quick cooking rolled oats. 
2 cups sweetened coconut 
2 cups almonds 
1 cup cashews 
3/4 cup olive oil 
1/2 cup honey 
2 tsp cinnamon 
1 tsp kosher salt
2 cups Craisins
2 cups dark chocolate peanut butter m&ms

Directions: 
Toss all ingredients (except for the Craisins and M&Ms) together to coat and bake on sheet tray at 350 for 30 minutes..or until golden..let cool completely in pan..add 2 cups of Craisins and and 2 cups of your choice of m&m's and serve or store in airtight container. 

I should have only baked mine for about 20-23 minutes as my oven runs hot. The edge pieces of my granola were a bit burnt but that's ok. It was still very yummy. Feel free to toss in any type of nut or dried fruit that you like.

Rule of thumb: If you can smell what you're baking then pull it out of the oven because it's about to burn. I've learned over the years that if there is a strong scent in the air of whatever it is that I'm baking that I need to hop-to and pull that treat out of the oven because it's almost ruined.

Remember: most baked goods will continue to cook a little bit even after they're taken out of the oven.


I'm looking forward to making this one again but with different nuts and fruits. 


Enjoy!

Recipe: French Silk Pie

Happy Labor Day Everyone!
I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend. The family and I had a definitely did. It was chock full of fun activities and a little bit of doing nothing. I also happened to do a lot of cooking and baking this weekend...not that I minded one little bit. There is nothing better in the world than making friends and family smile. The way I see it there is only one surefire way of making that happen and that's to feed them delicious food.

My weekend started last Thursday. I had to leave work a little early because I had some errands to run. So, I had a bit of time before my hubby came home from work and I thought I would make him his favorite pie...French Silk.

This recipe is so very simple to make and so worth every single calorie. This recipe has been adapted from a recipe of I retrieved from Faithanne on Bakespace.

Crust:

• 1-1/2 cups GF All Purpose Baking Flour (I recommend using Bob's Red Mill GF AP Flour and not Mama's Gluten Free Almond Blend)*
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum + a little extra
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Margarine (one stick)
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla (if you can, use the real stuff not the imitation)
• 4 Tbsp Cold Milk

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 400.
• Mix all ingredients together. To make the job a bit easier cut the margarine into small cubes before mixing the dough together with a pastry blender or fork.  To show you just how well I follow directions I just realized as I was typing this that I've been using butter and not margarine sticks. Don't do what I did. Use margarine and not butter. Using butter sounds like a good idea but it makes the pie crust gooey and difficult to press into the pie pan. 
• Add the vanilla and milk one tablespoon at a time until you have incorporated all of the liquid. The dough might be a little dry and that's ok. I found that it works well to continue to work the dough with my hands (yes, I washed them first) until all of it came together.
• Place dough in between two pieces of parchment, flatten the dough with your hand, then roll out to the appropriate size with a rolling pin. Be careful not to roll it out too thin.
• Remove the dough from the parchment. This might not be easy. The dough might be a little sticky in some places. That's ok.
• Press dough into the pie pan and poke holes in the dough to allow steam to escape while baking. This will keep the crust from bubbling. 
• Bake for 10-20 minutes depending on whether or not your oven runs hot or not. Mine does so 10 minutes is good for me. The crust should be nicely browned.
• Let the crust cool completely before adding the filling.

Use a stoneware pie pan whenever possible. Not glass like I did.

Filling: 

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2-oz semisweet or bittersweet (60% cacao) chocolate, melted and cooled**

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large eggs, room temperature 

Directions:In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer), cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in chocolate and vanilla extract.
Add in one egg and beat at medium speed for 5 minutes (I prefer the paddle to the whisk if you’re using an electric mixer). Scrape down sides of bowl. Add in the second egg and beat for an additional five minutes. Mixture should be very light and smooth.
Pour into pre-baked pie crust and smooth with a spatula.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving, until firm.
Serve cold, with whipped cream and chocolate shavings, if desired.

Makes 1 pie. Serves 8.

Again, I failed to follow directions and didn't see that I was supposed to beat each egg into the chocolate mixture for 5 minutes each. What I did was to let the mixer run for longer after I added the 2nd egg. It still turned out just fine.

*Mama's gluten free almond blend flour is wonderful to bake with. I did find that it produces a crispier crust. If you prefer your pie crusts crispier I say go for it. If you want a thicker crust stick with using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free AP flour. Definitely don't forget to add the xanthan gum. 
  
** I did this in a double boiler on my stove. To me it's worth the extra time for a smoother finish. The original recipe calls for 1 ounce of chocolate. 1 ounce of chocolate is definitely not enough in my book so I doubled the amount. 


To finish off the pie I took Faithanne's advice and added a dollop of whipped cream to the pie before hubby and I dived in. Hubby liked it so much he took some to work with him to share with his coworkers. The report was that it was a hit there too. 


Delicious, decadent, creamy, and chocolatey. Who could ask for more? 


Bon Appetite

Product: Udi's Gluten Free Bagels

This tasted much better than it looks.

Earlier this week DH and I decided that we wanted  to have steak and cheese sandwiches for dinner. It had been awhile since DH had had a steak and cheese sandwich. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I had one either. So, we thought that having a gluten free steak and cheese sandwich for dinner would be good...and it was!

This was really simple to make. You will need the following items from the grocery store.

• 1 bag of  Udi's Gluten Free Plain Bagels (they're in the freezer section);
• 1 box of frozen steak slices (like Steak Um's);
• a few slices of your favorite cheese;
• 1/2 of one red onion, diced. Skip this if you're not a fan of onions; and
• A selection of your favorite condiments. 

Cook and assemble as you would any other hot sandwich. Make sure that you toast the bagel first. Otherwise it won't be as tasty. The photo to the right really doesn't do justice to the deliciousness of this sandwich. I think it would have been better if I had put the cheese on the steak instead of on the bagel. Live and learn, right?

You know what I love most about these bagels? How light and crispy they are. They still have the chewiness of a wheat bagel but they aren't as heavy. They're absolutely delicious. DH, Kiddo, and I have made our own versions of McD's breakfast sandwiches using these bagels. I really want to try the cinnamon raisin bagels. I love cinnamon raisin anything so as soon as I find these bagels I'm going to buy them and eat them.

Has anyone made their own GF bagels? I'd be very interested to read about how you did it and how they turned out. Please comment here and tell me all about it.

Don't forget the10th person to become a member of this blog gets a free box of Gluten Free Pantry's pizza crust mix. If you're the person who recommends the 10th person to join and they do, you get a free box of mix too.

News: Tax Deduction for Celiacs

I came across this article this morning as I was searching for a strawberry rhubarb muffin recipe on celiac.com. The article discusses that in 2012 it is possible to deduct the extra cost of gluten free foods and products. For example; if you buy gluten free sandwich cookies that cost $8 and a package of non-gluten free sandwich cookies costs $3, you can write off $5. However, if there is a product that is gluten free but is not specifically marketed as such and you purchase the more expensive, specifically gluten free product you might not be able to deduct the cost difference. There is one other hitch to the program and that is that you have to be the one who is diagnosed as Celiac.

It's also possible that the cost of the gluten free foods and products can be taken out of an eligible Health Spending Account. There are limits to the amounts needed to claim a deduction. Currently, the amount is $7,500. Which if you're regularly buying GF products you know that the costs can add up quickly and by the end of the year I have no doubt that you'll reach that $7,500.

Beware though that in 2013 the article claims that there will be a few changes to the tax deduction program. The deduction amount will increase from $7,500 to $10,000. There are also other changes that are listed in the article that discuss medical deductions.

To read the article from Celiac.com please click here.

Celiac.org also provides information about tax deductions. click here

I would love to know if anyone has any hints, tricks, tips for deducting your gluten free diet expenses.

Recipe: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

This weekend was another wonderful weekend. DH, Kiddo, and I hung out, watched movies, and visited with family. Saturday afternoon I decided that while DH was working on his car I would try to make a strawberry rhubarb pie. Up until Saturday I had never tried to make a pie crust from scratch. I also had never even touched rhubarb. I've eaten it but never worked with it myself. It's surprisingly simple and just as delicious as I remember it being.

I should tell you that the reason I never thought about making a pie crust from scratch is because thought of making one myself terrified me. I had always heard how hard they are to make and that the crusts always shrink or crack. So, I took a deep breath and jumped right in. I thought that if the crust turned out terrible that the filling would probably still be edible. I can honestly say now that I am glad that I faced my fears. Not only did the crust not crack but it also didn't taste gluten free. Win!! If you've had the experiences that DH and I have had you've probably eaten a lot of dry, cardboard-y tasting pie and pizza crusts and breads. I give you my word that if you follow the pie crust recipe below you will have a wonderful pie crust that you can use for any pie.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Pie Crust (adapted from Bob's Red Mill): 

• 1-1/2 cups GF All Purpose Baking Flour 
• 1/4 tsp xanthan gum + a little extra
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Margarine (one stick)
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla (if you can, use the real stuff not the imitation)
• 4 Tbsp Cold Milk 

Instructions:

• Combine flour and salt, then cut in margarine using a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. 
• Sprinkle milk, one tablespoon at a time, while blending, until all ingredients are moist. Use only as much milk as you need to combine the ingredients.
• Using wax paper, place dough onto one sheet, flatten with palm, place another sheet on top and roll out to desired size. Be careful not to roll the dough too thin or the next step will be tricky.
• Remove the top sheet and invert into pie pan.

Filling (adapted from Eat Better America):

• 2 eggs
• 3/4cup granulated sugar
• 3tablespoons Gluten Free AP Flour. I used Gluten Free Mama's Almond Blend
• 1/4teaspoon almond extract
• 3cups coarsely diced fresh rhubarb
• 2cups sliced fresh strawberries
• 1/2cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4cup Gluten Free AP Flour. I used Gluten Free Mama's Almond Blend
• 2tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4teaspoon ground nutmeg 
• 3tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Instructions: 

It tastes better than it looks. I promise!

• Heat oven to 375°F. In large bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until light. Beat in granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons flour and the almond extract until well blended. Place the 3 tablespoons of butter on the pie crust. Then, mix together the cut up strawberries and rhubarb then pour into crust-lined pan. Pour egg mixture over fruit.
• In small bowl, mix brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour and the nutmeg. With pastry blender or fork (I do this part with my hands), cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over top.
• Bake for 25 minutes then cover pie crust edges with a pie shield or tin foil. Bake for an additional 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is set in center. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut into wedges. Store in refrigerator.  

Notes:
There is no need to blind (pre) bake the crust. Especially if you bake it in a stone or ceramic pie pan. The bottom crust will turn out nice and golden along with the rest of it. 

Keep an eye on your crust as the pie bakes. You don't want it over bake it as it will crumble as most GF items are wont to do. The edges of this pie did crumble a little bit.

I hope you enjoy this pie as much as me and my family did. They liked it so much there was only one small piece left at the end of the day. If you have any questions please let me know. 

Since I found this pie crust recipe so easy to make I just might make DH a French Silk Pie...his favorite.

Until next time...

Bon Appetite!

Product Giveaway & Recipe: Gluten Free Pantry Pie Crust

In celebration of spring and the ripening of berries and other spring fruits I am giving away a box of Gluten Free Pantry's Pie Crust mix to the 10th person that joins the Gluten Free People blog (myglutenfreepeople.blogspot.com) and one box to the person that recommended that they join (if applicable). 

To enter in the giveaway join the blog and comment on this page with your name (last name need not be included) and the name of the person who recommended you join. It's really that simple.  After all, who doesn't love a good pie? 

* photo used from buy.com

This weekend the family and I will be hanging out with my new in-laws and I plan to make a strawberry rhubarb tart. I love strawberries and I really like rhubarb so what could be better than putting them together in a delicious dessert? My best friend's mother makes a to-die-for strawberry rhubarb pie with a pretzel crust. It's sweet and salty and crunchy and delicious. I haven't had it in probably close to 8 years (and I miss it!). Since I'm not ready to try to tackle her pie recipe yet I'm going to try making a strawberry rhubarb tart. 

I knew I picked the right family to marry into when my DH and in-laws said that they like rhubarb. Well, there are a myriad of other reasons they're wonderful but the liking of rhubarb, in my experience, is rare. Soooo with that in mind, I'm going to make a tart for them. Below is the recipe from Eat Better America. Of course, I have modified it to make it gluten free. 

Crust:

1 box of Gluten Free Pantry Perfect Pie Crust Mix - made according to the instructions.

Filling:
2      eggs
3/4   cup granulated sugar
3      tablespoons Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free all-purpose flour
1/4   teaspoon almond extract
3      cups coarsely sliced fresh rhubarb
2      cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2   cup packed brown sugar
1/4   cup Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free all-purpose flour
2      tablespoons butter or margarine, cut into pieces
1/4   teaspoon ground nutmeg 

Baking Instructions:

• 1 Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, mix flour, salt and 1/4 cup oil with fork until mixture is consistency of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all water is absorbed and dough sticks together. Shape pastry into a ball, using your hands. Press pastry in bottom and up side of 9-inch glass pie plate; flute as desired or press pastry to top edge of pie plate with fingers or fork.
• 2 In large bowl, beat eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until light. Beat in granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons flour and the almond extract until well blended. Alternately layer rhubarb and strawberries into crust-lined pan. Pour egg mixture over fruit.
• 3 In small bowl, mix brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour and the nutmeg. With pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over top.
• 4 Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is set in center. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut into wedges. Store in refrigerator.

 Don't forget, the 10th person to join this blog and their co-conspirator each get a box of Gluten Free Pantry Perfect Pie Crust Mix.

Bon Appetite!

Reminder: May + Amazon = GF Savings

I know that there are tons of places that offer gluten free products and goodies. However, most stores only carry a small variety of gluten free products. To me, this is very frustrating because it means that I have to visit several different stores to find the products that I want. Let's be real, everyone is over-scheduled, over-worked, and stressed. Who really wants to drive around looking for the things they need? Not this gal. 

This is why I am such a staunch supporter* of buying the gluten free things that my family needs from Amazon. My Amazon Prime membership has more than paid for itself in the last couple of months. PLUS now through the end of May Amazon is offering discounts between 5-15%. Click here for more details. I haven't done the subscribe and save thing yet but I fully intend to once DH and I move and get settled into our new place. 

If you have tried the subscription service please comment and let me know what you think of it. Is it worth it? Would you recommend it? 

* I am in no way compensated for saying these nice things about Amazon or it's programs. I'm just a really big fan of them.