Fudgesicles

Gluten Free Fudgesicles

Most (if not all) fudgesicles contain gluten, but that doesn't mean you have to go without! They are actually super fast and easy to make. All you need is milk, cocoa powder, corn syrup, sugar and vanilla (optional). Of course I forgot to take pictures of the final product... I guess we were too busy eating them.

Popsicle molds are really cheap. I got mine for 2 bucks from superstore and it works just fine.

Makes 7-8 fudgesicles

Ingredients

2 cups Milk
1/3 cup Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup Sugar
2 Tbsp Corn Syrup (or sub Agave Syrup)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions

Put all ingredients into a medium sauce pan.
Put on stove at medium heat, stirring very often, until all ingredients are combined. Don't let the mixture boil.
Remove from heat and carefully pour into popsicle molds. (If you don't have enough room in your molds you can freeze any remaining liquid in a plastic storage container and eat by the spoonful)
Insert sticks and freeze for 6-8 hours or overnight.

Add ingredients and mix

Heat and stir until all ingredients are combined

Pour mixture into popsicle molds

Insert sticks

Freeze for 6-8 hours

Monkey Bread

Gluten Free Monkey Bread

I really don't know where the name "Monkey Bread" came from, but it seems to be what everyone calls this delicious mass of sticky bun balls all stuck together. I actually use the same dough recipe for this as I do for my cinnamon buns.

I have started a tradition of monkey bread for Christmas breakfast. It's great because we can make it the night before and take it out of the fridge to rise first thing when we get up. Just remember to give it a little extra time to rise. If you have little kids, they can get help make the balls of dough and dip them in the butter and sugar. It's also great for dessert or brunch any time of the year!

This recipe is enough for 2-3 people and is made in a loaf pan. You could easily double the recipe and cook it in a tube or bundt pan with a hole in the centre (or 2 loaf pans)

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsp Yeast
1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 cup Warm Milk

1 1/4 cup All-Purpose Gluten Free Flour Blend (see Flour Blends page)
1/4 cup Tapioca Starch
1/4 tsp Salt
2 tsp Guar Gum (or 1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum)
1/2 tsp Baking Powder

3 Tbsp Oil
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Vinegar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Base Sauce:
3 Tbsp Melted Butter or Margarine
1/4 cup Brown Sugar

1/3 cup chopped Pecans, Almonds or Hazelnuts (optional)

Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup Melted Butter
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon


Directions

In a small bowl, combine yeast, sugar and warm milk. Set aside to proof for 5-10 minutes.
Using a stand mixer or by hand, mix dry ingredients (first 5 ingredients) in large bowl.
Mix remaining 4 wet ingredients separately.
While mixing, add wet ingredients and yeast mixture to dry ingredients. Let mix for 2-3 minutes (or mix well by hand)

Monkey Bread Dough

Prepare your loaf pan by buttering the sides

Base Sauce:  mix together 3 Tbsp butter and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a bowl, microwave until bubbling (about 20 seconds) and pour into loaf pan. Sprinkle nuts all over the bottom.

Base Sauce and Chopped Hazelnuts

Dipping Sauce: place 1/4 cup melted butter in a small bowl. Combine 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a separate small bowl.

Form small balls (1 1/4-1 1/2 inches in diameter) from the dough. (this is the part the kids can do!)
Coat the balls in the melted butter, then roll in the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture and place in loaf pan, leaving a tiny bit of space for rising.
Continue until all the dough is used up.

Dip Balls in Butter then Sugar/Cinnamon Mixture

Place in Prepared Loaf Pan

Let rise until roughly doubled in size.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 mins or until top starts to turn brown.
Let cool for 5-10 minutes before turning out on a plate (this will help the balls stick together better)

Monkey Bread Before Rising

After Rising

After Baking

Let cool 5-10 mins and turn out (we didn't wait long enough and it kind of fell apart... not a huge issue for me!)

Enjoy!

BlueWater Grill Fish Review (and GIVEAWAY)

Giveaway Now Closed

I was contacted by BlueWater Seafoods to review their new gluten free frozen grill fish fillets. I was excited to try this product because we are big fans of fish and easy dinners. In the mail I received 1 FPC (free product coupon) for a BlueWater frozen seafood item and a BlueWater bag. I also received 3 envelopes, each stuffed with a coupon and bag to mail out to 3 lucky readers.

 

 I decided to purchase the Haddock Classic Grill variety. I baked the fish in the oven according to the directions on the back of the box (I believe it took somewhere around 15 minutes at 400 F). It is clear that this product is made with high quality ingredients. The texture of the fish was moist, tender and flaky.  My only complaint is the size of the fillet. I felt that I could have eaten at least 1 1/2 times the amount. The flavour was very good but not too spicy or overpowering for those that prefer mild seasonings. These fillets would be a good option for people who do not especially enjoy fish, but are trying to incorporate more fish in to their diet, because there is no strong fishy after taste.

frozen haddock

after baking

As most of you probably know, fish is a very healthy meal option. BlueWater products make it easier to incorporate fish into your diet because the fillets are so easy to prepare. Many packaged, pre-seasoned products contain gluten, but BlueWater has provided a gluten free version that is equal to or greater in quality than other similar products. This convenience does come at a price, however. When I used my coupon to buy the Haddock Classic Grill fillet, it was on sale for $3.99 (for 2 fillets - 179g). I believe the regular price is somewhere around $5.00 and above. This makes for a very expensive meal, especially if you are feeding more than 2 people. I usually buy frozen, unseasoned white fish for  $1.00-$1.50 per 100g. The BlueWater Haddock product came to over $2.00 per 100g on sale. It's not something that I would be able to afford on a regular basis, but if you can afford it and you think it will help you get more fish in to your diet then I would definitely recommend it. Or you could just win a free box of fish by entering my giveaway (see below)!

BlueWater Haddock with a veggie and quinoa side dish

I served up our fillets with stir fried veggies mixed with quinoa and a little Italian dressing. I found this meal to be extremely filling and satisfying. BlueWater has some gluten free recipe ideas on their website if you're looking for something a little more exciting to do with your fish.


Health       5 stars
Cost          1.5 stars
Taste         4.5 stars
Texture     4.5 stars
Overall Rating 3.9 stars




What you can win:

1 FPC (free product coupon) for any BlueWater frozen seafood item
1 BlueWater bag

FPC

bag in attached case

open bag

GIVEAWAY INFO - now closed

You can enter up to 3 times but will only be able to win once (it will just increase your chances of winning)

Note:You need to post a new comment for every entry because I will be using a random number generator to choose the winning posts. If the same person is drawn twice, I will generate a new number in its place.

This giveaway is only open to Canadian readers. Sorry to everyone else :(

Entry 1: Post a comment on this blog saying why you would love to try the BlueWater grill fish fillets. (Send me an email at andraglutenfree at gmail dot com with your email address so I can notify you if you win - or simply include your email address in the comment)

Entry 2: Go to the gluten free page on BlueWater's website and tweet the page on your twitter account (click here to go to website). Post the link to your tweet in a new comment.

Entry 3: Go to the gluten free page on BlueWater's website and click the like button to like them on Facebook (click here to go to website). Post a new comment telling me you did this.


I will accept entries until March 30th, 2013. The winner will be contacted by email and announced on this page. The winner will have 48 hours to respond. If I have not heard from them by then, I will choose a new winner and they will have 48 hours to respond etc, etc.



Thanks BlueWater Seafoods for providing these free samples for me to review. All opinions are my own.

Santa Fe Chicken Casserole



Gluten Free Santa Fe Chicke Casserole

I love the Tex Mex flavours in this recipe. It's a great use for left over rotisserie chicken, but works well with raw chicken too. You can customise the add ins to suit your family's tastes (red/green peppers, corn, jalapenos, cilantro, green onion, etc).

I also love that it's a one dish meal that can be prepared ahead of time and thrown in the oven just in time for dinner (you could probably even freeze it - before or after baking - for a rainy day) Just pair it with a salad or other easy veggie side dish!

The leftovers make a great take along lunch.

serves 4-6
Ingredients

1 cup shredded cooked chicken (or 1-2 raw chicken breasts thinly sliced)
1 cup frozen or canned corn
1/2 cup chopped bell peppers (more or less as desired)
1 can black beans rinsed
1 can GF mushroom soup or cream of chicken soup (I use "no name" low fat)
1 can milk (use empty mushroom soup can to measure)
1/2 cup salsa
3/4 cup dry white rice
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup grated cheese (preferably low fat)
2 Tbsp sour cream
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
1 Tbsp Chili Powder (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.
In 9x13 baking dish, stir together shredded chicken (not raw), corn, peppers, beans, soup, milk, salsa, rice, spices, sour cream and cilantro.
If using raw chicken breast, lay slices on top of the mixture so that they cover most of the surface.
Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
Bake for 45 mins to 1 hr (until most of the liquid is absorbed and cheese is bubbly - if cheese gets too dark, cover with aluminium foil)

combine ingredients in 9x13 pan and sprinkle with cheese

bake at 350 for 45 mins - 1 hr

 

 

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Just a quick recipe to spice up your Monday! These muffins go great with afternoon tea.

They also make fabulous mini loaves. (may need to increase cooking time slightly)

makes 12 muffins
Ingredients

1/3 cup Margarine Melted (or butter)
3/4 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Milk
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 1/2 cups Light Flour Blend (recipe here)
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
Zest of one orange or lemon
2 Tbsp Poppy seeds

Glaze
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp Sugar


Directions

In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and salt .
Make a well in dry mixture and beat eggs with milk, lemon juice and melted margarine (or mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl, then combine with dry ingredients)
Mix in poppy seeds and orange/lemon zest until just combined.
Pour batter into 12 paper lined muffin tins.
Bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes (until centre hold its shape when poked)

Make glaze by mixing lemon juice and sugar.
Spoon glaze over warm muffins.
Let cool completely, then freeze whatever is not eaten within the day.
Microwave from frozen to eat.

Poppy Seeds and Orange Zest

bake at 350 for 17-20 mins

Glaze while still warm

Let cool and freeze

Enjoy Life Foods Plentils Review

A couple weeks ago I was asked to review the new Plentils (crunchy lentil chips) from Enjoy Life Foods. They sounded really interesting and I was excited to try them. After I agreed to review them I kind of forgot about them. Then one evening, my husband and I were sitting in the living room watching TV and the doorbell rang. My husband answered the door and brought back a package, declaring that he had been brought a gift. He had no idea what it was yet, but had been complaining all night that he needed some snacks (he is a sucker for crackers and chips). Before I could take the box away from him, he had it open and was starting to snoop. All of the sudden his face lit up and he shouted "Snaaaaaacks! From Santaaaa! I prayed to Santa and he sent me snaaaaaacks!". He started running around the house celebrating and inspecting his 4 flavours of snacks including Light Sea Salt, Dill and Sour Cream, Garlic and Parmesan, and Margherita Pizza. Of course they were my snacks, but he gave me no choice but to share. It was all I could do to keep him from eating every bag right then and there. We opened the garlic and Parmesan flavour that night and tried the next 3 flavours over the next 3 nights.


The texture wasn't what I expected. They were more puffed up than chips and felt very light and airy. I liked that they weren't too crunchy. The closest texture comparison I can make is to those new pop chips. The flavours were fairly mild but good. My favourite was the margherita pizza and my husband liked all of them about the same (so long as they're crunchy and salty). I also appreciated that they contained less fat and more protein than potato chips.


This product is a great alternative to the regular snack chips and crackers. At just under $4 a bag they cost more than potato/corn chips, but are not outrageously expensive. They would make a good snack for individuals with multiple allergies.

Cost        3 stars

Taste      4  stars

Health    4  stars
Texture  4   stars

Overall Rating: 3.75 Stars

Thanks Enjoy Life Foods for providing these free samples for me to review. All opinions are my own

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

gluten free carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing

I made these cupcakes last weekend for my dad's birthday. It's actually December 24th, but we like to celebrate it on November 24th to give some separation from Christmas. We like to refer to it as his "un-birthday" (-Alice in Wonderland) Carrot cake is his favourite and he hasn't had much since he's been gluten free. The cupcake part is delicious, but nothing can compete with cream cheese icing... mmmm.

Something tells me it's your unbirthday too!

makes 18 cupcakes
Ingredients

2 cups my GF light flour blend recipe
1 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 tsp guar gum
2/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cups shredded carrots
½ cup crushed pineapple with juice
¼ cup of coconut

Icing
1 package cream cheese at room temp
1/4 cup butter or margarine at room temp
1 1/2 cups icing sugar (more if you need it)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Directions

Peel and grate carrots.
Mix together wet (oil, eggs, vanilla, carrots, pineapple and coconut) and dry ingredients in separate bowls.
Stir all ingredients together until no lumps remain.
Pour into cupcake papers.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Let cool completely on rack.

Icing

In an electric mixer, beat together margarine and cream cheese until smooth.
Add vanilla and beat.
Add icing sugar, 1/3-1/2 cup at a time, beating for 1 minute in between additions.
Spread icing with a knife or put in plastic bags or decorating bags to apply. (make sure cupcakes are completely cooled before icing)

before baking

just out of the oven

let cool completely

cream cheese icing

makes 18

Freeze any leftovers in plastic containers and let thaw at room temperature before eating.