Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

One thing I was sad about going gluten free was no more bread. Well thank goodness for all the sites out there providing GF recipes, I found this one and am honestly enjoying it. This is the first GF bread I've baked so I can't compare it to any other recipe. I did buy a big GF name brand's hot dog buns for a sandwich roll, and boy those were just horrible. Stick with this recipe, you'll enjoy it more.

So you make up some GF flour mix and it'll be enough to make about 3 loaves, maybe more. I used some of it for some pizza muffins (another post) so I can't be sure on that. Anyways, it's fairly easy to make, you mix it up in your mixer and pour the dough into the pan. It is a runny dough so don't be alarmed. My first loaf took only 15 minutes to rise in a warm oven but my second loaf, another day took longer so keep an eye on it. I used the oven directions below. Once done and cooled, I slice it up then wrap it well and freeze it. I take out what I need that morning or night before so it'll be thawed (keep it in a baggie). It stays super soft even if you don't eat it the next day. I even made a sandwich w/mayo and all on it and it held up just fine a few hours later when it was time to eat. So if you are gluten free and looking for a good bread to toast or have a sandwich on, give this a try, I promise.

*I just made another loaf, and after slicing it, I placed 2 pieces of bread in a baggie (this loaf gave me 12 slices, + extra end pieces to make bread crumbs) so I just have to grab a baggie out of the freezer to thaw, instead of prying each slice apart when frozen.

Gluten Free Sandwich Bread

from Gluten Free Cooking School

1 Tbsp. bread machine yeast

1 Tbsp. sugar
1 ½ c. water (105 degrees or a little less than hot)
2 ½ cups gluten free flour mix (see below)
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1tsp. salt
3 eggs (or 9 Tbsp. water and 3 Tbsp. ground flax seed)
1 ½ Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. cider vinegar

1. Start by combining the yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Add the water while gently stirring the yeast and sugar. Let this mixture sit while you mix the rest of the ingredients – bubbles and foam should form if the yeast is happy.
2. Combine the flour mix, xanthan gum and salt in the largest mixing bowl and stir well.

3. In a third bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and vinegar until the eggs are a bit frothy.

4. By this point the yeast mixture should be foamy, so you can pour the two liquid mixtures into the flour mixture. Blend the dough with a mixer for 4 minutes.

Bread Machine Directions:
Scoop your dough into the bread machine and smooth the top of the dough. I bake my bread using an 80 minute setting that allows for 20 minutes of kneading, 18 minutes of rise, and 42 minutes of baking. However, since I don’t use the paddle in by bread machine, I’m effectively doing a 38 minute rise and a 42 minute bake. (The advantage of not using the paddle is that you don’t end up with a hole in the bottom of your bread.)

Conventional Oven Directions:
Scoop the dough into a greased loaf pan (I also recommend adding some parchment paper, in case the loaf sticks). Allow the dough to rise in a warm area until is is about 1 inch from the top of the pan. Then bake at 375 degrees for 50 – 60 minutes.

For more notes on this recipe, read her post here.



Gluten Free All Purpose Flour Mix
3 parts brown rice flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
3 parts corn starch
2 parts soy flour, sorghum flour or garfava flour
1 part masa harina

I used a 1 cup measure, so I end up with 3 c. brown rice, 3 c. cornstarch, 2 c. soy flour and 1. c. masa harina.
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. (If you’re new to mixing flours, then you want to make sure that you don’t see any clumps or streaks of indiviual flours. By the time you’re done it should be one homogeneous bowl of flour.) Transfer the flour to a canister or other storage container.

~Be sure to follow my recipe blog so you can get all the latest goodies!~

enjoy,

Sausage and Cheese Manicotti

Here's another tried and try recipe we like. Again from the rceipe cards from long ago. I love the simple flavors of this, particularly the brightness of the tomato sauce. I had some issues with my noodles, most of the, broke while cooking. Luckily the recipe makes enough to fill 10 and I had 9 full tubes and the broken one, I just rolled closed. I was also having troubles stuffing the manicotti. I tried using a baggie, but the mixture just sort of ripped the noodle open more. Then I figured out that I could roll the mixture into a tube shape and stuff the manicotti that way.

Sausage and Cheese Manicotti

slightly adapted from Healthy Meals in Minutes recipe cards

1 package (8oz) manicotti shells (this recipes will use 10, prepare for torn shells)

14 oz reduced sodium tomato sauce (I used 24 oz)

6 oz hot or sweet (Italian) sausage, casings removed (I used Italian ground turkey)

15 oz part-skim ricotta cheese

1 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 TBL chopped fresh parsley
Italian Seasoning grinder (to taste)
1/8 tsp pepper


Preheat oven to 350'. Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray, set aside.
Cook pasta according to package, but do not add salt. Drain pasts in a large colander.
To prepare filling, in a large nonstick skillet, cook sausage over medium heat, stirring to crumble, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
In a large bowl, combine ricotta, sausage, egg, parsley, and pepper. Mix well. Add mixture to cooked manicotti. (TIP: this is how I did it: if the mixture isn't too wet, you can take a little and roll it into a cigar shape, then stuff each shell that way.)
Place stuffed manicotti in a single layer in prepared pan (I actually added a little tomato sauce & Italian seasoning to the bottom of the pan too). Spoon tomato sauce evenly over manicotti, sprinkle with mozzarella and more Italian seasonin. Bake covered until heated through, about 25 minutes, then uncover ans cook another 10 minutes.

~Be sure to follow my recipe blog so you can get all the latest goodies!~

enjoy,

Sweet Onion Tartlets

Sweet Onion Tartlets

adapted from Sandra Lee

4 tablespoons butter

1-2 Vidalia sweet onions, diced, about 3 cups
1 pie dough
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups half-and-half
1 (1.3-ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix (such as Lipton)

1 tsp each, pepper, parsely, garlic powder

3 TBL sliced green onions
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

-Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

-Roll out pie dough. Use a 2 1/2-inch round cutter and cut as many rounds as possible (about 14 to 16), reserving scraps repeat with second pie dough. Gather together scrap dough and cut out as many rounds as needed to make 36 in total. Fit dough rounds into cups of mini muffin pan. (TIP: Prep ahead, freeze tartlet doughs in pans to mold, then unmold and place in freezer safe bag, when ready to use place back into pans and bake). Pre bake: Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and set aside, to fill.

-In a blender, blend together eggs, half-and-half, golden onion soup mix, pepper, garlice powder, parsely and green onions. Set aside.

-Divide onions among tartlet shells, about 1/2 teaspoon each. Add egg mixture until tartlet is almost full, then sprinkle on cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

 1 pie crust gave me 46 mini tarts.

I have been making these for a few years now, and we just love them! I usally do them for appetizers before the Holiday meal. I use Dorie Greenspan's pie crust recipe for this:

Good for everything pie dough
-Dorie Greenspan

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 T sugar

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/4 sticks (10 T)very cold (frozen is fine)unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces

2 1/2 T very cold (frozen is even better) vegetable shortening, cut into 2 pieces
About 1/4 cup ice water

Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with a metal blade; pulse just to combine the ingredients. Drop in the butter and shortening and pulse only until the butter and shortening care cut into the flour. Don’t overdo the mixing — what you’re aiming for is to have some pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Pulsing the machine on and off, gradually add about 3 tablespoons of the water — add a little water and pulse once, add some more water, pulse again and keep going that way. then use a few long pulses to get the water into the flour. If, after a dozen or so pulses, the dough doesn’t look evenly moistened or form soft curds, pulse in as much of the remaining water as necessary, or even a few drops more, to get a dough that will stick together when pinched. Big pieces of butter are fine. Scrape the dough out of the work bowl and onto a work surface.

Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour before rolling. (If your ingredients were very cold and you worked quickly, though, you might be able to roll the dough immediately: the dough should be as cold as if it had just come out of the fridge.)

*please note all product reviews and giveaways are posted here now http://ldylvbgr.blogspot.com/

Follow my new recipe url so you can get all the latest goodies!

enjoy,

Garlic Chicken Kiev

When I worked in a deli, we made chicken kiev. It was so good! I've never made them at home before, so I looked up a recipe that came in an email. It seemed pretty easy to do, mix a seasoned butter, chill it. Flatten chicken breasts (TIP: use a heavy sauce pan to pound it out) and add some butter, then roll up. Well, the rolling up part is a little tricky. Be sure to have some toothpicks on hand to help hold it together and close any openings. These were really good, except my butter ended up only at one end of the chicken, so be sure to place the butter in the middle, not at the end, then roll up.

Garlic Chicken Kiev
adapted from Betty Crocker

6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or parsley (I used both)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 pounds)
2 cups Panko
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 cup buttermilk
.
1.Mix spread, chives and garlic powder; shape into 3x2-inch rectangle. Cover and freeze about 30 minutes or until firm.

2.Heat oven to 425°F. Spray baking sheet with cooking spray. Flatten each chicken breast half to 1/4-inch thickness between sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper. (be careful not to rip them apart)

3.Cut chives butter lengthwise into 6 pieces. Place 1 piece on center of each chicken breast half (width way to how you're rolling them up). Fold long sides of chicken over chives mixture; fold up ends and secure any openings with toothpicks.

4.Mix panko, parsley and paprika. Dip chicken into buttermilk, then coat lightly and evenly with panko mixture. Place chicken, seam sides down, in pan. Spray tops of chicken with non stick spray (or drizzle with melted butter to achieve more brownness).

5.Bake uncovered about 30-35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.

*please note all product reviews and giveaways are posted here now http://ldylvbgr.blogspot.com/
Follow my new recipe url so you can get all the latest goodies!

enjoy,

Shrimp and Chicken Scampi with Linguini

One of my favorite dishes to order at that Italian Restaurant chain is their chicken scampi. When I saw Tyler Florence make it the other day on his show, I had to make it. I was craving it so much just thinking about it, that I made it 2 days later. I adapted his recipe to include bell peppers and chicken, since the kids won't eat shrimp. As I was cooking the oil, butter, shallots, red pepper flakes and garlic together, I ran into the garage where Mr. was to get a clean dish towel from the laundry, and he said "It smells SOOOO good!". This was good, we all enjoyed it! It's similar to another one I made, but that has a little cream in it if you like that.

Shrimp and Chicken Scampi with Linguini
adapted slightly from Tyler Florence

1 pound linguini
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 large shallot, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, diced
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 pound chicken breast tenders
10 large shrimp, about 1/2 pound, peeled and deveined, tail on
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine, Sauvignon Blanc (TIP: freeze leftover wine into ice cubes for later use)
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
 
For the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to the boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the linguini. Stir to make sure the pasta separates; cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of water.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using) until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until just golden, turn and cook the other side until just golden also, remove and set aside. (You may have to add a little more oil & butter to continue cooking shrimp and peppers) Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Saute the bell peppers until just tender, set aside.
Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta and reserved pasta water. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve immediately.

Sharing some of this goodness with


*please note all product reviews and giveaways are posted here now http://ldylvbgr.blogspot.com/

enjoy,

Southern Baked Corn Casserole

In the past couple weeks, I've grilled probably a fields worth of corn on the cob! This time we had some leftovers, so I wanted to try a new recipe. I was going to make everyone's favorite, creamed corn, but decided on this corn casserole instead. I thought it was great! Mr. ate more than one serving and said he liked it, but the kids didn't really touch it. Check out my tip below on how to get the kernals off the cob.

Southern Baked Corn Casserole
adapted from here

2 cups fresh grilled corn (see tip for removing kernals)
¼ cup onion, diced
½ cup red bell peppers, diced
2 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp ground mustard powder
1/8 tsp black pepper
¾ cups whole milk
1 egg (beat lightly)
1/3 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
1 TBL butter
1 TBL dried parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put 2 TBS butter in skillet and melt. Stir in onion and bell peppers and cook until the onion is cooked and clear looking.
Take skillet off burner and mix in flour, salt, paprika, mustard powder, and black pepper. Stir well and put back on burner until the flour/seasoning mixture is lightly bubbly.
Slowly add milk while stirring. Continue stirring until the mixture boils and keep stirring constantly for one minute.
Remove mixture from heat and stir in corn and egg.
Put the corn mixture in a one quart baking pan or casserole dish.
Melt 1 TBS butter and blend with cracker crumbs and parsley in a small bowl.
Sprinkle the cracker mixture on top of the corn casserole.
Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F or until the crackers are lightly browned.


*I once saw this tip on Michael Chiarello's show, how to get cut the corn off the cob. Place the cob in the bundt pan hole and slice away. It worked great!



*please note all product reviews and giveaways are posted here now http://ldylvbgr.blogspot.com/

enjoy,