Pumpkin Muffins Gluten Free

Pumpkin Muffins

So I totally borrowed from this recipe. I tweaked it a little to make it gluten free and this is what I came up with.

2 eggs slightly beaten
2 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil
1 tablespoon oil, also
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

3 1/2 cups gluten free flour mix

1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon allspice
5 tablespoons rice flour
5 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tablespoons butter

Preheat the oven to 350.

Make the streusel topping by combining the 5 tbsp rice flour, 5 tbsp sugar, 3/4 tsp cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.

Mix together the eggs, sugar, all of the oil, and pumpkin in a large bowl.
Whisk the flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice in a different bowl.
Pour the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture. Stir just until combined. Pour into lined muffin pans. Sprinkle streusel over the tops.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until done. Let cool and serve.

I tried this recipe with both a flour mixture and all rice flour. It is best with a mixture of flours but the muffins I pictured used all rice flour. The difference between the two would be density, all rice flour is denser. Of course these are pumpkin muffins so they will be a little dense no matter what. And yes, that is a lot of sugar. But they are really good.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes-Gluten Free

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancakes

So this isn't really a recipe, as just something I tinker with when I feel like feeding my children pure joy first thing in the morning. And then sending them off to school.
Take a package of gluten free pancake mix. Make them according to directions for about 20 pancakes. Then add,

1/2 cup cocoa
2-4 Tbsp sugar

Stir well, then add

1 cup chocolate chips

Pour onto hot griddle as directed, cooking until the edges are dryish. Flip and finish cooking. Eat. Enjoy the sugar high.

This is the package of mix I use:





I like it. It's easy. It comes to my local grocer. Score.

These are the finished product. Before my children added the chocolate syrup. And drank a glass of chocolate milk.

breakfast

This recipe and photo is from Erin in NYC. She wanted to let us know this is her all-time favorite breakfast she eats almost every day. Thanks Erin, looks healthy & hearty!

I make one cup of uncooked quinoa with 2 cups of water. It makes 4 servings of quinoa. I add a small handful of mixed, unsalted nuts (chopped up), some dried cranberries, dried raisins, a dash of cinnamon, a tiny bit of milk and a little less than a tablespoon of the Splenda Brown Sugar blend. I keep the pre-made quinoa in the fridge so I heat it up the whole bowl with all the toppings in it. The milk makes it less dry. Quinoa is a high protein grain, its gluten free and it satisfying in the morning.

breakfast

Arrowhead Mills has a good gluten-free pancake mix that is nice to have on hand. I have not used it for anything else, so please share if you have found this mix to be yummy used any other way. Their products have been available in my regular grocery store's organic section (Safeway).

An easy dinner to have is breakfast: pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

Big Dutch Babies (German Pancakes)

This recipe is from Kristen:

My daughter who is 4 1/2 has Celiac! I make this recipe for my entire family and we can't tell a difference from using real flour!

Big Dutch Babies (aka: German Pancakes)

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup rice flour

4 Tbsp. butter/margarine

Mix all ingredients and beat well. Melt butter in an 8x8 baking dish. Pour batter in dish and bake for 20-25 minutes at 375! Eat it with jam and powdered sugar (our favorite) or syrup!

ENJOY!
Double the recipe for a 9x13 pan!

***

Thanks for sending this to us, Kristen!

muffins

Gluten-Free Pantry Muffin and Scone Mix

It would have been nice to know there were not blueberries included in this package for the muffins. I probably could have read the back. I wish I had baked them a little longer for the browning on top to occur.

Taste- my husband and son enjoyed them, but I only ate a couple. I will prefer a mix with the berry in it already. They were easy to make and I would get them again.

Gluten-Free Cereal

Gluten-Free Cereal Round-up

We love the emails we get thanking us for this site. We also love the tips on new GF products and questions that come our way. One recent question came from Lindsay. She asked about cereal options of the gluten-free variety and where to get them. Here is what we have tried in our home.

1) Barbara's Bakery brand makes Puffins Cereal and Corn Flakes


2) EnviroKidz makes Peanut Butter Panda Puffs, Koala Crisp, and Gorilla Munch



3) Post makes Cocoa Pebbles and Fruity Pebbles



As for where to get these cereal options, it depends on where you live. When my husband was first diagnosed we lived in Brooklyn, NY. Whole Foods and Trader Joe's were not options for me, so I had to think outside of my routine and found many health food stores carried a great variety. As I have moved to the suburbs, I am finding organic or health food sections of regular grocery chains have started to carry gluten-free foods such as cereal. The internet is a great tool to assist you in your search for local (or neighboring town) health food stores or seeking a product's availability for ordering on-line, such as Amazon.com!



Do YOU have any cereal suggestions to add to our list?! Please share the love!


*photos from amazon.com

GF Crepes

I have a long list of things I want to learn to make this year and crepes is listed among many others items. Book of Yum made some beautiful crepes this week and inspired me to dust off my mom's regular recipe and try it out GF style.

Gluten-Free Crepes

1 cup rice flour
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbls butter, melted

Combined sifted flour, sugar, and salt. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add enough milk to make a thin batter (I used the whole cup). Beat until smooth. Stir in melted butter. Pour some batter into a lightly greased skillet and flip once top begins to bubble. Fill with fruit and whippped cream/ heated chocolate or spread with jam and roll up. No matter how you fill it, be sure to sprinkle top with powdered sugar.

Gluten Free French Toast

Gluten Free French Toast

GF cinnamon raisin bread

2 eggs, beaten

cinnamon to taste

nutmeg to taste

sugar to taste

syrup

butter

Mix eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg in a bowl. Soak bread in bowl. Cook on medium heat in a fry pan until begins to brown. Top with butter and syrup.

This GF bread came from my sister in Washington, she has a great gluten-free bakery called Sunny Valley Wheat Free. She recently discovered they deliver! So check them out: the bread, cookies, eclairs and cream puffs are worth it.

Yogurt with Fruit

Yogurt with Fruit

1 carton gluten free yogurt

fruit: bananas, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mangoes, pineapples, etc.

Yes, it's that simple. My absolute favorite kind of yogurt is Yoplait Light Thick & Creamy. Only 100 calories but it tastes sooooo good. The Key Lime is delicious, as is the Strawberry. I usually put bananas on top, but blueberries are in season now so it's an extra special treat. I eat this for breakfast, for snacks, even dessert sometimes with a dollop of whipped cream.

Breakfast Caserole

This is a hearty meal I made for dinner with hash browns and fruit on the side. I got this recipe from Bette Hagman's The Gluten-Free Gourmet: Living Well Without Wheat cookbook.

Gluten-Free Breakfast Caserole

6-8 slices of gluten-free bread, crusts removed

6 slices Swiss cheese

1 pound ground pork sausage

6 eggs

2 cups milk

Dash of salt

Line 9x13 greased pan with enough bread to cover the bottom. Top with slices of Swiss cheese and the pork sausage, which has been cooked a little* and drained.

Beat the eggs and add the milk and salt. Pour this mixture over the bread and refrigerate overnight. Bake the next morning in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Makes 6 servings.

I think this recipe could be good, as well, with ham steak and cheddar cheese in the place of the sausage and Swiss.

* As you can tell from the photo, I cooked the sausage for more than 'a little'. It still tasted great, just not as pretty to look at.

pancakes

Gluten-Free Pancakes


ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
2 tablespoons of baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix it altogether. Add additional milk and/or flour until you get the consistency that you want for pancakes. Keep in mind they are generally going to be thin.

For waffles add mashed bananas, batter will be thicker.

This is another recipe my husband came up with.

Banana Bread/ Muffins

Cream:
1 stick butter
1 & 1/3 cup sugar

Add:
2 eggs
1 teaspoon GF vanilla

Sift, then add:
1 & 1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt

Mix together and add:
3 ripe bananas mashed
1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1 cup nuts if desired
chocolate chips if desired

Pour into greased loaf pan or muffin pan.
Bake 350 degrees for 45 mintues for loaf, 15 minutes for muffins (10 minutes for mini muffins- those are the ones in the photos).

The trick for me is having sour cream and bananas on hand at the same time- the rest is almost always in my pantry. These come out flat as muffins, but taste nice and moist.

Breakfast for dinner

I didn't have time to take a picture of our dinner last night, mainly because of the gigantic hurry we were in to make it, scarf it down, and get out the door to softball. But this is what we have for dinner usually every other week.

Breakfast

This can take on many forms. Last night it was fried eggs, hash brown potatoes, and sausage links(Jimmy Dean). It took all of 20 minutes to make. Perfect for those busy nights.

Sometimes we make gluten free pancakes or waffles from a mix. Some nights we have omlettes. My kids especially love french toast, and I use store bought gluten free bread for mine (Ener-G is awesome). And of course, when we are really in a rush, cereal. Add some fruit and a glass of milk and you have a healthy, easy meal. And the kids think it's so much fun.

Would I do this every night? Of course not, but on nights when there just isn't time for dinner, make breakfast. Do you ever do this? What do you make? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Eggs Florentine

Ingredients

deli ham

eggs

spinach, mushrooms, or tomatoes

dash of salt

dash of pepper

cheddar cheese

Fill greased muffin tins with deli sliced ham (as if they are cups) and place dried spinach, mushrooms, or tomatoes on the bottom of the ham 'cup'. Put your raw egg in next and top with a dash of salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes at 375 degrees, then top with cheddar cheese and cook an additional 5 minutes. Below are photos of the prep:

Cereal

Peanut Butter Panda Puffs

This is my husband's favorite GF cereal.