Gluten Free Graham Crackers

 I usually buy the Kinnickinnick Smoreables at the store because they are convenient and edible.  I have made homemade graham crackers before but they took a lot of  time.  My friend needed some graham cracker that needed to be gluten, dairy and soy free, so I offered to make some.  I pulled out my recipe, made a few adjustments, and we are now hooked. Now that we have been spoiled by these yummy ones, it will be hard to use the ones from the store.  I have figured out some tricks that make them much easier.  #1- you need a Silpat liner when rolling out gluten free doughs.  The doughs are so fragile that it is  hard to transfer them. When using a Silpat liner-  just roll it out on the liner, then slide it onto the pan.  They work great for these, as well as sugar cookies, or any dough that needs to be rolled.

#2- refrigerate the dough, and #3- use a cut Ziploc bag on top, this keeps the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.  This might sound intense, but doing these 3 things you will have your homemade graham crackers in no time.  I usually throw together the dough the night before and then it is ready for me the next day whenever I have time.  Now, with all that said, here is the recipe!

Graham Crackers

½ c. brown sugar

½ c. millet flour

¾ c. sorghum flour

1/3 c. tapioca flour

1/3 c. potato starch

1/3 c. oat flour(if you can't do oats, just use one of your favorite flours instead)

1 t. baking powder

½ t. xanthan gum

½ t. baking soda

½ t. salt

6 T. butter(Earthbalance dairy/soy free works great)

1 T. molasses

2 T. honey/agave(honey makes it tastes the most authentic, but agave is great too)

1 t. vanilla

3 T. cold water

Mix together dry ingredients.  Work in butter until crumbly.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Refrigerate dough for 1 hour.  Place ½ of dough on a Silpat liner(this makes it so easy because you don’t have to transfer the dough).  Take a gallon Ziploc bag and cut the sides and place on top of the dough and then roll until about 1/8-1/4” thick.  Use pizza cutter to cut into desired size, prick with fork and bake at 325 for 12-15 min.  As soon as you take them out of the oven, use the pizza cutter to go back over the lines and cut again.  Repeat with remaining dough. 

*This is linked to Linda's gluten free wednesdays, check it out!

Homemade Freezer Jam

I am a jam snob; I cannot eat store bought jam!  I was raised on homemade wheat bread with homemade jam and I continued this tradition with my own family(until I realized the pain I was causing with the bread!)  Once you have homemade jam you can't go back.  For those of you who already make your own jam, this can be your reminder.  For everyone else, I want you to know how easy freezer jam is to make.  I can make a batch of raspberry jam in 5 minutes, no joke.  There are a lot of pectin's out there and basically the box will give you the recipe.  I have tried several brands and now only use Ball, instant pectin.  The main reason is for the sugar content, Ball uses much less sugar than any other brand.  I know there are low sugar pectins out there but when I tried them my jam didn't always set up.  Use whatever you can find, or the brand you prefer and get to work.  There are only 3 steps and here they are(amounts based on Ball Instant Pectin):

Homemade Freezer Jam

1- wash and mash fruit(3 1/3 c.mashed fruit)

2- mix sugar and pectin in a bowl(1 1/3 c. sugar + 1/4 c. pectin)

3-add fruit to sugar mixture and stir for 3 minutes

Pour into containers, let sit out for 30 minutes, then freeze or refrigerate.

Gluten Free Apple Streusel Muffins

These are a favortie at my house.  We eat a lot of quick breads & muffins for snacks.  These are both healthy & yummy.  They are also easily made dairy & soy free as well.  Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you, they are just a lot of whole grains which you will love.  The coconut flour is what makes them so moist, if you don't have any, I would recommend substituting it with 1/2 c. tapioca flour, yes, you have to use twice as much and starch isn't healthy - so go out and buy some coconut flour today! (I hate the flavor of coconut but I cook with it daily as flour and milk, who knew?)  

Gluten Free Apple Streusel Muffins

Dry                                         
¼ c. coconut flour

½ c. tapioca flour

1 c. sorghum flour

½ c. millet four

½ c. teff flour

1 ½ tsp. xanthan gum                

1 T. baking powder         
1 ½ tsp. baking soda                 
1/2 tsp. salt                             

1 c. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon               
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Wet

3 eggs

¾ c. applesauce

6 T. olive oil

2 ¼ c. grated apples

Streusel Topping

½ c. sugar

1 t. cinnamon

¼ t. nutmeg

1 T. butter

               

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry and wet ingredients together. Fill muffin tins ½ to ¾ full. Combine streusel topping ingredients, and sprinkle on top of muffins. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.  I like to make mini muffins.  However my mini muffin pans are from a Grandma and the pans are very old, and the size is a little bigger than the mini muffin pans now.  So, I don't really know how many muffins this makes, but it makes a bunch.  Pick your size muffin pan and just stick a toothpick in to test if they are done.

*Check out some other great recipes at Linda's Gluten-Free Wednesdays!
**Whatever you won't eat the first day, throw in a freezer bag.  They freeze great! 

Frog Eye Salad - the only gluten free version I have ever seen!

I don't know the real name of this salad, but at our house it is known as Frog Eye Salad.  The original recipe uses a type of pasta that looks like frog eyes(aceite de pepe).  My oldest daughter loves this salad and I still remember the first party we attended after she went gluten free and they were serving this salad.  I took one look at her and there were huge tears in her eyes, she was heart broken.  She thought she would never again eat her favorite dish.  I was determined to figure it out.  I racked my brain with a replacement for the pasta and remembered my neighbor making a food storage dish, similar to this, out of wheat.  The wheels began turning and I started experimenting.  First, millet.  Decent, but I knew I couldn't stop there.  I needed something a little bigger with a little less flavor - sorghum.  Second, sorghum, Jackpot!  My solution might sound strange, but it works for us and my daughter looks forward to it every time we have it, plus it is healthier. I know sorghum might be hard for some of you to find.  I buy it in bulk and grind it myself.  If you don't have sorghum, give millet a shot, or experiment with with another grain.  Let me know what works, or doesn't work, for you!  The key is to cook it until it is soft.  I usually only make half this recipe, it makes a lot!

Frog Eye Salad

Presoak 2 c. sorghum(overnight) and then boil it like pasta, for about an hour(until it is soft). 

¾ c. sugar

2 T. corn starch

½ t. salt

1 can pineapple tidbits

1 can crushed pineapple

2 eggs, beaten

4 t. lemon juice

2 cans mandarin oranges

4 c. coolwhip

1 c. pineapple juice (reserved from can)

In a small bowl combine sugar, starch and salt, then whisk in pineapple juice.  Transfer to a pot and add in eggs, stirring constantly over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and remove from heat.  Stir in lemon juice and let cool.  When cool, combine with grain(or pasta).  Best if you let it sit over night, or for a few hours, in the fridge.  This gives the grain time to really soak up some sauce.  Before serving, add drained fruit and stir in coolwhip.  Keep refrigerated.

Creamy Cinnamon Syrup

Sorry it has been a while, I just got back from helping with a girl's camp for a week.  Now I need a week to recover!  I promised our favorite Cinnamon Syrup that makes everything taste like a cinnamon roll.  You have got to try it out!  I love to cook from my food storage so I use noninstant dried milk.  Don't let this scare you, I'll post all the variations at the bottom in case you don't use dried milk!

 Creamy Cinnamon Syrup

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. water

1/4 c. powdered milk

½ t. cinnamon

1 t. vanilla

2 T. butter

Easiest Method:  Place everything but vanilla & butter in a blender.  Blend on high for 4-5 min.(3 min. if you have a blender similar to a Vitamix/Blendtec).  Stir in vanilla & butter.

Method #2:  Bring sugars, water, milk and cinnamon to a boil, stirring constantly.  Cook and stir for 3 min.  Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter, stirring until butter is melted.

Milk substitutions:  If you don't cook with powdered milk, and you can handle dairy, replace water and dried milk with 1 c. evaporated milk. 

If you like coconut -Use 1/2 c. coconut milk/ 1/2 c. water.  The syrup will have a slight coconut flavor.

If you don't like coconut and you don't do dairy, try one of your favorite milks, it will just be slightly thinner.

Popeye (German) Pancakes - gluten free

These are a staple at our house and we eat them at least once a week!  I make one batch dairy free and one batch with milk.  The ones with milk taste better and rise a little better, but the other ones are decent.  All in all, I end up making 4 9x13 pans for may family of 7, and it really isn't enough.  Don't feel like a pig if you eat an entire pan by yourself because I am really putting 1 batch in 2 pans - go ahead, eat twice as much!

German Pancakes

1/2 c. sorghum

1/2 c. millet

1/2 c. tapioca starch

1 c. milk *(water if dairy free)

3 eggs

1 tsp. salt

4 T. butter,divided(Earthbalance dairy/soy free buttter)

Preheat oven to 425.  In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs.  Add flours, salt and 1/2 c. milk and whisk until smooth.  Add remaining milk and mix.  These work best when you do it by hand, the blender seems to be to much and they won't rise as high.   Melt butter (2 T. per pan) in 2 9x13 pans while oven is heating.  When butter is melted, pour batter equally between the 2 pans.  Cook for 18 min.

 *It might sound strange to use water, but I have tried several different "milks" and water works best, plus it is the easiest!

We love to eat these with powdered sugar and lemon juice.  Another favorite topping is our yummy cinnamon syrup that makes them taste like a cinnamon roll.  Check back soon for the syrup recipe!

Chicken Taco Salad

I was so excited to see that Linda is hosting create a salad this month for her gluten free challenge.  Check out all the yummy recipes.  This is one of my all time favorite salad recipes - hope you like it, too!  The recipe is for a huge amount, I usually do about 2/3 the amount (about 2 of everything), but do whatever works for your house!

Chicken Taco Salad

2-4 chicken breasts

Marinate in 1 c. honey, 1 c. gf soy sauce and garlic)

Bake 350 for 25 m.  Cool and dice or shred

3 cans black beans

3 cans white corn(I use frozen)

2 cucumbers

2 avocados

3 tomatoes

3 peppers – red, green and yellow

1 red onion                                          1 pkg. homemade ranch dressing

4-5 fresh limes                                  1-2 heads lettuce

3 T. rice vinegar                                 1 bag lime tortilla chips

Dice and mix together.

Layer:  chips, lettuce, veggies and dressing!