Yummy Food!

Burgers for Lunch - Gluten Free Hamburger Bun Recipe

My lunch

Lily's Lunch

Ryan's Lunch

Gluten Free Buns

In a large bowl whisk together to blend

1 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup each ground flax seed, arrowroot flour, sweet rice flour and white rice flour
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar

In a small bowl mix together and let sit for 5 minutes

1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons of hot (potato) water (see below)

Add gelatin water to flour mixture.  Add the egg, olive oil and enough water to make the dough into a pancake like consistency.  

1 egg
2 Tablespoons first cold pressed olive oil
1 cup + warm water or potato water (the leftover water used when boiling potatoes)

Cover with a towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour.  Preheat your oven to 400 F with cast iron mini cake pans inside.  After dough has risen to about double the flour will have absorbed a lot of the water.  Add more water until the dough is once again like a pancake batter.

When the oven is hot, take the pans out and grease with olive oil or bacon grease so the crusts won't stick.  Pour about 1/4-1/3 cup of batter into each cup and bake 6-7 minutes until firm, cool on a wire rack while you are getting your toppings ready, or for a more crispy crust flip and bake another 6-7 minutes on the other side.  Cool.

Kid Approved Homemade Gluten Free Pizza Crust

   We love pizza!  Around here we eat pizza at least once a week and I have been searching for a great tasting, crispy, solid (you can pick it up), easy to make and as healthy as possible pizza crust recipe for a long time now.  In the past year I have tried so many recipes from the web and none of them have received my full families seal of approval.  There is always one of us is usually disappointed with the result.  Until now.  I am going to double this recipe next time so I can freeze some crusts for a quick meal.

   People will tell you that baking is a science.  People will tell you that you have to follow recipes exactly of the food won't turn out.  But I'll let you in on a little secret, it's not true.  I have been tweaking recipes to conform to my diet as it has evolved over the years.  Playing with recipes is how great foods are created, so don't be afraid to play with your food!

Kid Approved Homemade Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Makes 4 - 10 inch round crusts.

In a large bowl whisk together to blend

1 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup each ground flax seed, arrowroot flour, sweet rice flour and white rice flour
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar

In a small bowl mix together and let sit for 5 minutes

1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin
2 tablespoons of hot (potato) water (see below)

Add gelatin water to flour mixture.  Add the egg, olive oil and enough water to make the pizza dough into a pancake like consistency. 

1 egg
2 Tablespoons first cold pressed olive oil
1 cup + warm water or potato water (the leftover water used when boiling potatoes)

Cover with a towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour.  Preheat your oven to 400 F with cast iron pans inside.  After dough has risen to about double the flour will have absorbed a lot of the water.  Add more water until the dough is once again like a pancake batter.

When the oven is hot, take the pans out and grease with olive oil or bacon grease so the crusts won't stick.  Pour batter onto hot pans into desired size and bake 6-7 minutes until firm, cool on a wire rack while you are getting your toppings ready, or for a more crispy crust flip and bake another 6-7 minutes on the other side.

Heat the oven to 425 F and top you pizza with your favorite toppings and bake for about 10 minutes until your pizza is cooked to your liking.

Adam's pizza before 2nd baking.

The finished product.

Maple and Sage Breakfast Sausauge

This is one of my all time favourite breakfast proteins.  So easy to make requiring just a few simple ingredients.  I really love how they taste warmed up so I often double the recipe to have a quick to warm up protein for breakfasts and snacks.  

Maple and Sage Breakfast Sausage

In a small bowl combine all ingredients.

1 lb ground pork

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1/2 tsp  salt

1 Tablespoon dried sage

2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup

Mix well with hands until spices are spread evenly throughout meat.  Scoop into a frying pan by the tablespoon with a little bacon fat.  Flatten with a fork and fry until both sides are golden.

I bought a small stainless steel scoop from Pampered Chef a few years ago and I just love it.  I use it all the time for making sausage, salmon patties and cookies.

Breakfast on the go.

Chicken Sandwich Using Lettuce for Bread

I love roasted chicken, I make it every other week.  I get so many meals out of one chicken, we eat it for 3 days!  Roast chicken dinners, chicken sandwiches, chicken and gravy over homemade fries and don't forget the chicken soup.  Today my chicken sandwich was so tasty I had to make a second one.

Roast chicken on romaine lettuce.

Some salt and pepper, a paper thin layer of butter and a couple pieces of bacon.

Don't forget the cucumber.

A chicken sandwich with a side of carrots.

For dessert I had a gala apple and 2 squares of Cocoa Camino 80% Dark Chocolate.

Oven Roasted Carrots

This is Ryan's favourite way to eat carrots.  After roasting they end up so sweet he says they are like candy!  Tasty and great for you, the best combination.  When making this recipe remember the carrots shrink so make more than you think you'll eat, they taste great reheated the next day as well so don't be afraid to make a lot.  When I take these out of the oven I tip the dish to the side so I can collect the extra carrot enriched butter which I eat on my other vegetables.


Oven Roasted Carrots

Preheat oven to 400 F.

1) Peel and cut carrots and place them into a cast iron pan or an oven proof dish with 2-3 Tablespoons butter and a pinch of salt.

2) Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

3) Uncover and turn carrots, return to oven uncovered for 15 minutes.

4) Turn carrots and return to oven uncovered for up to 15 minutes until carrots are done to your liking.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins - Gluten Free

These muffins are delicious I made a batch on Monday and by Tuesday they were all gone!  I have been eating a very low added sugar diet for a while now, in my baking I prefer to sweeten with  honey or maple syrup instead of table sugar.  Because banana's are so high is natural sugars already I found these muffins to be a bit sweet (for me) first time I made them so when I made them again yesterday I left out the honey and added an extra half cup of banana and they turned out great.

And yes I know the chocolate has sugar in it so I only put in a small amount because I love chocolate!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins - Gluten Free

Preheat oven and cast iron pans to 375 F.  In a medium sized bowl mix together dry ingredients.

1 cup almond flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup arrowroot flour

1/4 cup ground flax meal

1/2 tsp salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

In a large bowl mix wet ingredients.

1 cup melted butter

4 eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup honey (or substitute an extra 1/2 cup mashed bananas)

2 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mixing well.

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Stir in the chocolate chips.  Half fill hot pans with batter and bake at 375 F about 10 minutes for small muffins and 12-15 minutes for the mini cakes.  Let cool 5 minutes and remove from the pan. Cool on a rack.

Super Easy Spicy Baked Chicken

This recipe is so simple.  I buy frozen chicken breasts from a local farmer and for this recipe I just throw the frozen breasts into the oven and within the hour dinner is ready!

Super Easy Spicy Baked Chicken

Preheat oven to 400 F

1) Place 2 frozen chicken breasts in a cast iron pan and bake for 15 minutes.

2) Make a sauce from 2 tablespoons THAI Kitchen's Red Curry Paste, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper.

3) Take the chicken from the oven and using a pastry brush, spread half sauce onto the chicken and bake another 10 minutes.

4) Take the chicken from the oven and spread the remaining sauce onto chicken.  Bake 10 minutes more and test internal temperature of chicken to make sure it it done 180 F.

Delicious Homemade Parmesan Sweet Potato Fries and Garlic Herbed Potato Fries

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Preheat clean cast iron pans in oven as well.

Scrub potatoes until clean.  Cut potatoes into 2.5 cm/0.5 inch cubes and slice sweet potatoes into wedges about 2.5 cm/ 0.5 inches at the widest part.  Soak in cold water for a few minutes.  Note:  I have read the longer you soak the fries the crispier they will be.  I however usually don't plan that far ahead.  Soak up to 24 hours.

Drain excess water on a clean tea towel.

Parmesan Sweet Potato Fries

Toss potatoes in half butter and half olive oil with a pinch or two of sea salt.

Spread fries on a preheated cast iron pan.  Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.

Finely grate some parmesan cheese.

Turn fries and sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.  Bake another 10 minutes until golden and cheese is crispy.

Garlic Herbed Potato Fries 

Toss potatoes in half melted butter and half olive oil, a few cloves of garlic, 1 Tablespoon dried oregano, a pinch or two of salt and some pepper.  These are all to taste.

Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes, toss, bake 10 minutes, toss, bake another 5 minutes until golden.

Grain Free Salmon Loaf

Everyone in our family likes salmon loaf so it is a big go to protein dish for me.  I will often turn this recipe into salmon patties which are a great take along snack for a busy family.  This recipe is easily doubled.

Drain water from a can of salmon and reserve.  Mash up the salmon with a fork or a pastry cutter.

Add 1/4 cup almond flour.

Add a small onion chopped, 1/8 cup chopped celery and a pinch of salt and pepper.  (I subbed 1 Tablespoon of dried parsley because I was out of celery.)

Mix it all together and add 1 beaten egg.

Add reserved salmon water and 1/8 cup cream or milk.

Mix and press into a 5x7 inch pan.  Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

I will post the fry recipes tomorrow.