On-the-fly Supper Success

It can be a real challenge to come home and make a great gluten-free dinner when you haven't planned things out. I don't claim to be a great planner by any stretch, but when my kids are sick planning takes a definite back seat. Between the fevers and the snotty noses, I ran into the kitchen yesterday evening to figure out something to fix that would make everyone happy, and the following was the result:

I call it Cheeseburger Casserole. Even though this is not the greatest picture that I snapped very quickly, when I realized this new creation was universally loved by the numerous male persons in my household (and, admittedly myself) and might be a nice addition to our summer cookbook, I thought I should include a visual.

So, here are the ingredients:

1 20oz bag hash browns (garlic, salt, and white pepper flavored)
1 lb ground beef
1/2 onion chopped fine
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the hash browns around the bottom of a deep, greased casserole dish. Set aside. Brown the ground beef and onion adding salt and pepper. Drain the excess grease. Stir in the sour cream and spread the mixture over the top of the hash browns. Cover with pepper jack cheese, then cheddar cheese. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until hash browns are fully cooked.

Serve with salad or your favorite vegetable.

Weekend Gluten-free Cooking

We are working on perfecting our gluten-free summer recipes, and I thought I share a few pictures of the results.

We worked on pasta salad with gluten-free pasta using our own salad dressing recipe - isn't it frustrating that so many salad dressings contain gluten!

Here's a single serving - and boy was it tasty!

I'm calling this our BLT Pasta Salad (even though the "lettuce" is actually spinach). We used Ken's lite ranch dressing, which is gluten-free, and Tinkyada Rice Pasta, which does particularly well when you give it a couple extra minutes of cooking time.

We also made this red cabbage slaw with an Asian flair - lots of ginger made this a delicious alternative to the traditional mayonnaise-based slaws.

We also made gluten-free cheese cake squares (in which the recipe is *almost* there) and our own from-scratch slow-cooker baked beans. Nowadays you can get gluten-free baked beans, but ten years ago when we started this journey, it was almost impossible to find. The weird thing? Baked beans don't need gluten. Now we are that much closer to having our "No Apologies Gluten-free Summer" cookbook finished! Yay!

It's Friday and I'm Gluten-free Pin Crazy!

I love Pinterest! I could spend hours using it, but there are two things I look up the most. One is crochet patterns. I recently took up crochet and found I love it! So I've been going a little crazy pinning things on my crochet board.

The other thing I pin the most are gluten-free recipes. I have a board called Gluten-free And Happy About It, and I pin any recipe that I think might be remotely nice to try. Many I have never tried, but I look forward to doing so - or at least something similar.

Is it terrible that I, a cookbook author, very rarely completely follow a recipe?

But I love the ideas, and I particularly love them on a Friday because I am thinking of the treats that I can make my family for the weekend. If you find yourself wondering what you are going to make for your family tomorrow night, you may want to check that board out by clicking the linked picture below.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

GFAF Atlanta Expo Author Team Members!

We are very excited to announce that we will be participants in the Gluten-free and Allergen-Free Atlanta Expo Author Team! We will have a table to display our book, and we are also looking forward to see all the new products available!

Tickets are available online here, and if you use the code AUTHATL, you get 35% off!!

A new kitchen tool

Recently, I began looking for bun pans. I needed them to make gluten-free buns, because my grandson would almost never eat his gluten-free bun from the grocery store. It was not too surprising since they were usually a bit hard and were not a moist and tender as regular buns. Another motivating factor is that they were almost always three times the price of regular buns.

I finally realized that muffin rings would make great buns so I purchased two sets of four for approximately $12. And, I LOVE them!

After my dough is ready, I pour it into greased rings, then let them rise and bake them.

My grandson really likes them. It's the best kitchen tool I have found in quite a while.

Now if someone would just tell me how to get a reasonably priced hot dog bun pan, I would really appreciate it!

Microwave-toasted Pumpkin Seeds - a family favorite snack

I found a similar recipe in a cookbook long ago, and I have been making this family favorite for quite some time. Even my husband who professes to dislike every kind of nut and seed but peanuts (and we can't keep those around because our little man with a severe allergy) loves these.

They are easy, yummy, AND healthy. Try them!

Now, you can put them in the oven and toast them, but would you believe they are not quite as good? They aren't. When you put them in the microwave, they puff up into a crunchy, well... puff. This doesn't happen in the oven.

All you need:
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons water

Mix all ingredients in a microwave-safe covered dish. I like my Pampered Chef Small Micro Cooker. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir. Two more minutes. Stir. One more minute. Stir. Do this until the seeds have turned puffy and brown. Allow to cool and enjoy!

Before cooking.

After the first couple rounds of cooking.

Finished!

Gluten-free Chocolate Cake Recipe - Decorated for Easter

Do you like chocolate? I like chocolate. This gluten-free cake is FULL of chocolate. I made if for a family Easter celebration, and decorated it in the only way one can for such a celebration. With Peeps!

So you have a sunflower.

It was almost too pretty too eat - almost.

Whether you need it for a birthday, a graduation, or some other celebration, this gluten-free cake is an "any-kind-of-eater" pleaser.

Chocolate Cake
1-1/2 cups sweet (glutinous) rice flour 1 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 cup corn starch
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

75

1/2 cup water
3/4 cup butter, melted 4 eggs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sweet (glutinous) rice flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, corn starch, sugar, and salt. Stir with a wire whisk until well combined. Add oil, eggs, and water and combine until well mixed. Pour into two 9-inch round baking pans that are well-greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until fork in middle comes out clean. Don’t overcook.

Chocolate Cocoa Frosting
2 boxes confectioners’ sugar
1 cup cocoa
3 sticks of butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
Approximately 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk
In a small bowl, combine confectioners’ sugar, cocoa, and salt until well mixed using a wire whisk. Add butter and combine. Add enough milk to make the dough creamy and spreadable.