Garlic Steak Fries

Thick and hearty potato wedges roasted with lots and lots of garlic. A very easy side-dish that could also pose as a hot snack.



Serves 1.5
15 minutes prep + 60 minutes baking
- large baking pan or cookie sheet
- Al foil
- spatula
Easy

INGREDIENTS
2 large russet potatoes
6 garlic cloves
1 large shallot
1 Tbsp. butter
salt and pepper
[1/2 c. favorite cheese, grated -- optional]

DIRECTIONS
0. Spread a sheet of Al foil over the baking pan. Preheat oven to 400 F.
1. Wash potatoes and cut in half lengthwise, then in half again long-wise (into 4 quarters, perpendicular to the first cut). Slice each quarter lengthwise into 4 wedge-like pieces. Peel garlic and shallots, discard ends, then coarsely dice.
2. Place potato wedges on the aluminum-coated baking pan. Try to arrange them all with peels facing downward, resting on the foil.
3. Place into 400 F pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and carefully rub down with butter. Let butter completely melt and coat the wedges. Lay the potatoes out, but this time with an inside 'face' resting on the foil. Spread the diced garlic and shallot pieces out over the top.
5. Place back in to the oven and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes. Check frequently near the end to avoid burning. Remove before the garlic singes.
6. Let the browned wedges cook for 5 minutes. You might need a spatula to scrape the wedges from the foil. Sprinkle potatoes with salt and pepper; toss a little to mix. Eat warm, perhaps with a little bit of cheese melted on top.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Pretty good cake-- slightly on the dry side, but soft like white velvet. It is heavy, but, hey, it's a damn pound cake! Perfect, in my opinion, to soak up homemade strawberry or peach syrup drizzled over the top.
Another non-original; I picked it up from here.



Makes 1 shallow bundt cake
Preheat 310 F
- large mixing bowl
- handheld beater
- spatula
Easy

INGREDIENTS
1 c. butter (2 sticks), softened
5.3333 oz. regular cream cheese* (2/3rds of an 8 oz. container), softened
2 c. white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour
2 heaping tsp. xanthan gum

*Kraft Philly cream cheese is GF (Tofutti cream cheese is also GF and does well in baked goods)

DIRECTIONS
0. Preheat oven to 310 F. Grease a large bundt cake pan.
1. Let butter and cream cheese sit at room temperature for an hour, until quite soft.
2. Place butter and cream cheese in a large mixing bowl and beat until soft and creamy, about a minute or so.
3. Add in the white sugar. Stir in till no longer powdery, then beat with mixer for about 30 seconds. Will look like paste.
4. Crack in the 4 eggs. Pour in the vanilla extract. Beat with mixer for a minute, until a uniform color. Batter should look like a thick custard.
5. Spoon in the flour, stirring with a heavy spoon or spatula. Also mix in the xanthan gum. The batter will get thicker, but should still have alot of 'body'-- much like dense whipped topping.
6. Scoop into waiting bundt cake pan (it definitely shouldn't pour!). Smooth top of the cake with the spatula.
7. Bake in middle of preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Top will turn a nice golden-brown and crack a little. Toothpick inserted in the top should come out dry.
Enjoy this warm with ice cream or homemade fruit syrup. Cake freezes remarkably well, actually.

Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

This is the best thing ever. Seriously.
The fruit in most cobblers turns out mushy and shapeless, here the fruit sits halfway into the batter, resulting in sweet, juicy fruit bites bursting with rich flavor. The spongy cake puffs up around the fruit and forms a butter-induced crispy layer on top. Incredibly good.
Recipe courtesy of my favorite college housemate, Reid. (adapted to be gluten-free, in a smaller pan)



Makes a 9 x 9" pan worth of cobbler
- 2 medium sized bowls
- 9 x 9" Al pan or glass pan lined with Al foil
Preheat to 365 F
Easy

INGREDIENTS
Fruit:
2 large peaches, sliced into 8ths
~3/4ths of a pint of fresh blueberries
1/2 to 3/4 c. sugar
Butter:
1/4 c. butter
Batter:
1.5 c. sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 c. brown rice flour
1/4 c. + 2 Tbsp. Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour
1 heaping tsp. xanthan gum
1.5 tsp. baking powder
3/4 c. milk or non-dairy milk substitute

DIRECTIONS
0. Preheat oven to 365 F. Line a glass baking pan with aluminum foil.
Fruit:
1. Wash the peaches and cut into 8 wedges. Half each of the wedges if you want smaller peach pieces. Wash the blueberries. Place fruit into the medium bowl and toss with 1/2 cup of white sugar. Taste berries; add in another 1/4th cup of sugar if you desire sweeter fruit.
Butter:
2. Before you mix up the batter, place the butter into the lined 9 x 9 pan. Pop pan into the preheating oven to melt the butter. Remove once butter had completely melted; swish around to get a uniform layer.
Batter:
3. Mix dry ingredients together (1.5 c. sugar, rice and BRM flour, xanthan gum and baking powder) in another medium-sized bowl. Stirring, pour in the milk. You actually want a viscous, almost paste-like dough (too crumbly, add in another tsp. of milk until smooth). If the batter easily pours, it is way too liquid-y and will turn out soggy.
Assemble:
4. Before the butter solidifies again, spoon the batter over the liquid butter (still resting in the lined pan). DO NOT mix the butter/batter. You want the layers separate-- the oil might move aside as you drop batter spoonfuls in, that's okay. Try to get a semi-uniform layer of batter, though.
5. Press the sugar-coated fruit pieces gently down into the top of the batter layer; evenly space out the berries. Make sure you don't transfer too much sugar water along with the fruit.
6. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes in the oven. The cobbler is done when the fruit is tender and roasted and the cake part is nice and browned. The inside of the cobbler will be moist. This is best served fresh right out of the oven (it gets dense after refrigeration, but the taste is still fantastic!).

White Top Cupcakes

These were incredibly tender and moist inside. Like little bites of brownie heaven. Soft, not too dense, and full of chocolate with a creamy white topping.
This recipe has definitely been around; I found it here.



Makes 16 cupcakes
25 minutes prep + 30 minutes baking (or 60 min, depending on #cupcakes in your pan)
- electric hand mixture
- medium bowl for cream cheese
- large bowl
- muffin tin with liners
Easy

INGREDIENTS
Cream cheese 'Filling'
8 oz. cream cheese*
1/2 c. fine grained white sugar
1 large egg
1 c. mini chocolate chips*
Chocolate Cupcakes
1. 5 c. flour ---> [1 c. brown rice flour + 1/2 c. Bobs Red Mill All Purpose Flour + 1 heaping tsp. xanthan gum]
1 c. sugar
1/4. c. cocoa powder*
1 tsp. baking soda
1 c. water
1/3 c. corn oil
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla*

*Kraft cream cheese is GF; Toll House s.sweet morsels are GF; Hershey's cocoa powder is GF; McCormick vanilla extract is GF

DIRECTIONS
0. Preheat 350 F. Fit a standard size muffin tin with paper liners.
Cream Cheese
1. Whip the cream cheese, sugar and egg with an electric hand beater for 1 minute, until creamy. Stir in mini chocolate chips. Place aside.
Cupcakes
2. Combine the flour(s), xanthan gum, sugar, cocoa powder and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. Push the dry ingredients to the sides of the bowl (making a 'well' in the center for the wet ingredients). Add the water while stirring. Pour in the water, corn oil, apple vinegar, and vanilla extract.
4. Stir well to incorporate the oil-- it won't mix well at first. Keep stirring until the batter is smooth and silky. The gluten-free batter will be quite thick. Spoon into prepared muffin tins, filling half way.
5. If you want cream cheese inside the cupcakes, (as opposed to just the tops) you will need to sandwich it between the chocolate layers or pipe it in. Me, I just plopped the cream cheese on top of the chocolate batter. During baking, the cream cheese spread out and sat nicely on top of the cupcake, like baked-on icing!
6. Cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Check often near the end so that the cream cheese doesn't burn. You want it slightly tanned when removed from the oven. Cool slightly before removing them, they were quite impressionable when warm. I don't think these freeze very well, so enjoy then while fresh!

Roasted Artichoke

A painless, flavorful way to prepare this wonderful vegetable. Cut it, season it, then throw in the oven until tender and juicy. Quite satisfying.
Watch the great, original video for easy directions.



Serves 2
10 minutes prep + 1.5 hours roasting
- cookie sheet or baking pan
- Al foil
Easy

INGREDIENTS
2 large artichokes
4 cloves garlic
juice of 1 medium lemon
1 tsp. olive oil, split between two artichokes
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
0. Preheat oven to 400 F.
1. Wash and cut the stems off of the artichoke (so that they sit comfortably upright on a flat surface). Slice off the very top of the bloom-- a fair amount, about an inch on upward. Also remove the prickly tips of the remaining further-down petals (but don't slice all the way through).
2. Set the lobotomized artichoke upright and spread the petals apart with you hands, opening up the vegetable.
3. Peel and cut the ends off of the garlic. Slice each clove into 3 or 4 long, skinny pieces. Slip the garlic inside the artichoke so that about 8 pieces rest between petals equally around the bulb.
4. Drizzle with freshly squeezed lemon juice and a little bit of olive oil. Season lightly with salt and pepper
5. Wrap the artichokes securely with aluminum foil. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 F for about an hour and a half. Remove** and eat promptly, either plain or dipped in mayo. **Careful of steam when opening up the hot Aluminum packets!

Blueberry-Strawberry Cobbler

Has a nice mixed-berry taste. Was shooting for red and blue-- came out more like purple-pink, but that's okay. The topping here is fluffy and spongy, reminiscent of muffin; definitely not a crisp.

I did just blueberry last week while on vacation using Bobs Red Mill pancake mix as pre-leavened, pre-xanthaned 'flour'. Fairly easy dessert to make while visiting a friend with a kitchen. All I needed, in addition to the pancake mix, was some extra white sugar, cream (use slightly less cream and less sugar in the batter), a lemon, an egg and a few berries. Didn't even require an electric mixer. Just as good!
Adapted from this recipe.



Make one 9" pie
65 minutes (15 min for fruit + 10 min for topping + 40 minutes baking)
- medium bowl
- 9" pie pan with deep sides; Al pan works fine
Easy

INGREDIENTS
Fruit Filling:
18 oz. of blueberries (-or- ~10 oz. blueberries + ~8 oz. strawberries)
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. GF flour (don't add xanthan gum!)
1 tsp. almond extract (use 1 tsp. lemon juice if you don't have almond extract)
Bread Topping:
1 large egg
3/4 c. heavy cream (try coconut cream if you can't do dairy)
1 c. GF flour ---> [I used Bobs Red Mill all-purpose flour + 1 level tsp. xanthan gum]
1/2 c. white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder

DIRECTIONS
0. Preheat oven to 375 F
Fruit:
1. Wash blueberries. If you're adding strawberries, remove the green end bit and cut the large ones into quarters (leave the strawberries as fairly big chunks).
2. Place berries into a medium-sized bowl and add the 1/4 c. sugar, 2 Tbsp. flour and almond extract [fresh lemon juice is good, too]. Stir gently with your hands to mix. Scoop berries into the waiting 9" pie pan and spread evenly along the bottom.
Topping:
3. Crack the large egg into the rinsed bowl and mix with the heavy cream. [If using a pancake or cake mix, use less cream and sugar]. Whisk with a fork to break up the egg yolk. Pour in the flour, add xanthan gum, white sugar and baking powder. Stir the flour mixture to incorporate with the wet-- the dough should be thick, stretchy and soft.
4. With your hands, scoop the dough over the sweetened berries. You might need to stretch or squish the dough into thinner sections to evenly coat the top. Once the topping is uniform and covering, place into the oven for 30 to 40 minutes. [I believe the pancake batter was slightly thinner and needed to be cooked for almost 45 minutes to brown.] The cobbler is done once the top is golden-brown and berries are bubbling. Serve warm with ice cream.

Lasagna Roll-Ups

More really good vegetarian things. These will impress your guests.
I tried the rolls with both cottage cheese and ricotta based filling. Both versions were excellent-- the main difference was texture (plus, I thought the cottage cheese added a little more 'cheese' taste). If you want Italian manicotti-style rolls, use the ricotta. If you want a slightly more 'American' version, use the cottage cheese. The rolls weren't that hard to make, but it did have several steps and dirtied quite a few pans.
Based off of this recipe.



Serves 3 (around 15 rolls)
15 minute noodle prep + 35 minutes for sauce + 10 minutes for filling + 15 for assembly + 40 min for baking (almost 2 hrs total)
- large saucepan
- small saucepan
- large baking pan (cookie sheet will work) covered in Al foil
Involved

INGREDIENTS
Noodles
~10 oz. box of lasagna noodles (around 14 noodles) --> I used Tinkyada GF rice noodles
Sauce
6 cloves fresh garlic
1 medium white onion
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 (15 oz.) can crushed or finely diced tomatoes
Handful of fresh basil -or- 1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
dash of salt and pepper
Filling
4 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp. olive oil
half of a 6 oz. bag of fresh spinach (quite a large handful of spinach-- it wilts alot)
1 tsp. fresh parsley
1 tsp. onion powder
1/4 c. mozzarella cheese
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese
1.5 c. cottage cheese -or- ricotta cheese
1 large raw egg
Topping
1/2 c. mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
Noodles:
1. Lay the full lasagna noodles into the large saucepan with enough water to cover them by 1 inch. If they don't all fit, do them in batches. On an empty counter, lay down a large sheet of foil.
2. Bring the noodles to a rolling boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, or until noodles are barely tender... you want them flexible enough to roll and bend without breaking, but DEFINITELY not fully cooked. They should be chewy on the inside.
3. Place the al dente noodles flat onto the aluminum foil. Don't overlap them too much... they'll stick together once cool.
4. Continue to cook the noodles and lay them out flat; add more boiling water as needed. Let the noodles be for awhile as you prepare the filling and sauce (they won't loose elasticity if they cool). Go ahead and rinse and re-use the large saucepan for the sauce.
Sauce:
1. Peel and mince up the (total) 10 cloves of garlic. [Hint: I like to mash the cloves slightly with a meat mallet so they'll slip right out of their peel and lie flat for easier dicing!] About half of the garlic will go in the sauce, the other half will season the filling. Peel and remove ends of the onion, then dice it up. Wash and coarsely chop up any fresh basil, oregano or parsley leaves. Set them aside.
2. Throw about 6 cloves worth of diced garlic into the waiting large saucepan. Add in all of the onion and 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Saute the garlic and onion for 3 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Don't let the garlic burn.
3. Open the can of diced tomatoes and pour right into the saucepan (DON'T drain!). Go ahead and add about 1/4. cup more water to the sauce. Season sauce with basil, oregano, salt and pepper.
4. Let the sauce simmer over medium-low heat for about 15 minutes. Stir it every once in awhile. If too much water boils off, add a little more in (it's a sauce, after all).
Remove from the heat and focus on the filling
Filling:
1. In a small saucepan, place the rest of the diced garlic with 1 tsp. olive oil. Begin heating over medium-low heat. Rinse off the spinach leaves and stuff about half into the saucepan with the garlic/oil. Stir the leaves until they wilt, then add in the rest. Let the garlic, oil and wilted leaves sizzle for a minute or two. Add in and chopped parsley and onion powder and stir well.
2. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add in the 1/2. each of mozz. and Parm. cheeses. The mozzarella will melt-- that's okay-- stir it vigorously to significantly break up and incorporate the spinach leaves.
3. Allow the concoction to cool to lukewarm (not hot enough to burn anymore), then add in the cottage (-0r- ricotta) cheese. Stir well. The spinach leaves should speckle the filling with green. Tast the cheese mixture and add in salt/pepper/more onion powder or cheese as needed.
4. Stir in the raw egg. Mix everything thoroghly; you don't want the egg to scramble (it definitely shouldn't be that hot anymore). The cheese filling should be a nice paste consistency and easily spreadable.
Assemble and Bake:
0. Preheat the oven to 380 F. Line a 9 x 12 baking dish or large cookie sheet with Al foil.
1. Starting with one flat, cooked lasagna noodle, smear about 2 tsp. of cheese filling evenly over the entire face, leaving a small space at one end. Start from the end with full filling and gently roll the lasagna noodle up-- don't press to hard, if done properly the filling won't squeeze obnoxiously out of the ends of the roll.
2. Place the 2" thick roll onto the Al lined baking dish, seam side down. The noodle should stick nicely to the foil and not unravel on you. Continue filling and rolling the noodles until they are all completed. Spread any remaining filling out over the tops of the rolls.
3. Spoon the tomato sauce evenly over the top of the noodles, then place them, uncovered, in the preheated over to bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the ruffly, exposed edges of the noodle start to tan and the sauce is bubbly. Remove rolls from the oven and top with a generous amount of extra mozzarella cheese. Return the pan briefly to the oven to melt the cheese (around 2 to 3 minutes should do). Serve immediately with more veggies or favorite GF bread.

Meyer Lemon Ricotta Muffins

Meyer lemon has a softer, sweeter flavor than 'regular' lemons. These muffins are tender and moist with a hint of lemon. The glaze is super easy to make and adds even more citrus-y goodness. Also, don't skip on the almond extract-- it tastes great with the lemon.
Inspired by these two recipes and the meyer lemons I found at the farmer's market.

Question: Anyone else notice sour cream and ricotta cheese seems to make GF baked goods fall after baking? They rise okay in the oven, but fall while cooling. Muffins seem to fare better than cakes, but fluffiness still takes a hit. Maybe I should investigate this...



Makes 12 medium muffins
20 minutes prep + 20 minutes cooking time + 40 minutes glazing/drying
Preheat 350 F
- large mixing bowl
- electric mixer
- large spatula or spoon
- muffin pan; lined with paper or butter
- small bowl
Easy

INGREDIENTS
Muffins
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
1 c. white sugar
Lemon zest from 2 lemons (~1 Tbsp.); you will also need the juice of said lemons, so keep them!
1 egg
1 c. ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Lemon juice from 1 to 1.5 lemons (~1 Tbsp.)
2 c. GF flour --> [1 c. Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour + 1 c. white rice flour + 2 heaping tsp. xanthan gum]
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
Lemon Glaze
1/2 c. powdered sugar + more
Juice from 1/2 of a fresh lemon

DIRECTIONS
Muffins

0. Let butter come completely to room temperature. This should take about an hour if the butter isn't frozen. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line the muffin tins with paper or grease with a little butter.
1. In a large mixing bowl, briefly hand mix the soft butter and sugar. Scrub the outside of 2 large lemons and add in their zest. Place the zested lemons aside (you will use their juice later). Beat the butter/sugar mixture with an electric mixer until white and very fluffy-- around 3 minutes.
2. Add in the egg, ricotta cheese, and almond extract. Cut your fresh lemons in half and hand squeeze them to produce around 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice. Be sure to remove any errant seeds. Briefly beat in the egg, cheese, almond extract and lemon juice with the mixer until well combined with the butter/sugar mixture.
3. Add in the flour mix [BRM All-P flour, white rice flour, xanthan gum], baking powder, baking soda and salt all at once. Gentry stir the dry ingredients over the top of the wet (you could mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl if you wish). Once the dry ingredients are combined, start mixing them with the wet ingredients sitting below; I use a spoon for this. Hand stir until the dough is well mixed. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl and will be almost spongy in texture.
4. Plop the dough into the waiting muffin tins. Equally distribute the fluffy dough; 12 muffins will be filled almost to the top. Place muffins into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden. Take them out and let cool before glazing.
Lemon Glaze
1. Spoon 1/2 c. powdered sugar into a small bowl. Squeeze in fresh lemon juice. Whisk with a fork until clumps disappear. You want the glaze to just drip from the fork. If mixture is too thick, add in more juice... to watery, use a bit more sugar.
2. Clump the cooled muffins close together on a tray. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the muffins until they are well-covered. Let the muffins sit out for over a half hour, or until the glaze dries. Eat immediately or store in the fridge for a cool treat.

Oreo Cookies

These were GREAT!! Nice rich chocolaty crunch and smooth vanilla filling. Just like I remember them (granted, it's been over three years since I had a 'real' oreo). In fact, they were better... everything is better extremely fresh. Try to ignore the fact that the filling is basically sugar and Crisco and just enjoy these babies.
I bet these wafers would make GREAT thin mint cookies if covered in melted peppermint-chocolate.
Original recipe from here. She has much better pictures (sorry-- I'm terrible with icing).



Makes ~18 2" diameter sandwich cookies (around 36 chocolate wafers)
15 minutes mixing + ~70 minutes baking + 20 minutes whipping icing and assembling cookies
Preheat 375 F
- large mixing bowl
- wire whisk or electric beater
- cookie sheet lined with Al foil or parchment paper
Easy

INGREDIENTS
Chocolate Wafer
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter or dairy-free alternative
2. Tbsp. vegetable shortening*
1 egg
1.25 c. flour --> (3/4 c. brown rice flour + 1/2 c. Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour + 1 heaping tsp. xanthan gum)
1/2 c. cocoa powder*
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 c. white granulated sugar
dash of salt
Vanilla Icing
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp. vegetable shortening*
~1.5 c. powdered sugar
~1.5 tsp. vanilla extract

*Crisco is GF, Hershey's cocoa powder is GF,

DIRECTIONS
Chocolate Wafer
0. Place stick of butter on the counter to reach room temperature. Make sure it is very soft before continuing. Preheat oven to 375 F.
1. Mix 1/2 c. butter, 2 Tbsp. shortening and 1 egg in a large bowl with a wire whisk (or electric beater) until well combined. The oils and egg don't have to be whipped or anything, just stirred till a uniform color.
2. Add in the brown rice flour, BRM All Purpose Baking Flour and xanthan gum over the top of the oil/egg mixture. Stir the flours together lightly with a large spoon, then add in the cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Again stir dry ingredients without incorporating the 'wet' below. When it looks consistent, mix deeper to include the wet ingredients. Stir entire contents of bowl; the cocoa will start out light brown, then get a nice dark chocolate look once mixed well with the egg/oils. Continue to mix by hand until no more clumps appear. The dough will be soft and have a shiny chocolate look to it.
3. Pinch off about a teaspoon of dough and roll it into a 1 inch diameter ball. The dough should yield about 36 spheres. Place spheres onto an aluminum foil coated (or parchment paper coated) cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart. Use a level-bottomed drinking glass and squish each ball flat out to about a 2" diameter (around 1/4" thick).
4. Place cookies into the oven and bake for exactly 10 minutes at 375 F. They will come out soft, but will harden after cooling; wait at least a minute to transfer wafers to a cooling sheet. Continue baking; it took me a little over an hour to bake all of the balls-- I placed the waiting dough back into the fridge while cooking.
Vanilla Filling
0. Again, be patient and let the butter fully come to room temperature. Watch a Daily Show or something.
1. Place 3 Tbsp each of butter and shortening in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar, mix by hand until the sugar is not as volatile.
2. Add in the vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. at a time, beating with the mixer after each addition. You are looking for a thick, creamy consistency here-- it IS oreo filling. Basically you want to add vanilla extract until the mixture just turns from 'grainy' to smooth. Compensate for too much liquid with a little more sugar.
3. Beat the filling for 2 to 3 minutes to get it extra creamy.
Assembling
Place around 1 tsp. filling between two chocolate wafers. Press and twist the cookies together to mechanically bind the sandwich. If you want to add more icing, they'll come apart okay to do so. I suggest storing the cookies in the freezer, it makes them hold together better. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Lemon Coolers

These small little cookies ended up crumbly, fat and wonderfully tinged with lemon. Almost like dry, fruity bon-bons. Coat these with tart powdered sugar-- I found them rather novel and very easy.
Original recipe here, but this one is GF.



Makes 50 bite-sized cookies
20 minutes preparing + almost 2 hours baking total
Preheat 330 F
- large mixing bowl
- wire whisk -or- electric beater
- cookie sheet lined with Al foil
- large heavy duty gallon sized ziplock baggie
Easy

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c. + ~3/4 c. powdered sugar
1/3 c. white (granulated) sugar
1/3 c. butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1.5 c. GF flour mix --> [1 c. white rice flour + 1/2 c. Bob's Red Mill All-Purpose GF Mix + 1 heaping tsp. xanthan gum]
1.5 tsp. baking powder
zest from 1 fresh lemon
juice from 1 fresh lemon (about 1 Tbsp.)
1 tsp. powdered lemonade drink mix*

*Country Time Lemonade mix I think is GF; I used it and didn't get sick

DIRECTIONS
0. Preheat oven to 330 F. Place the butter on the counter to soften for awhile.
1. Wait till butter is room temperature (soft!) to begin mixing ingredients. In a large bowl, briefly mix the sugars (1/2 c. powdered and 1/3 c. granulated) with the butter, egg , vanilla and salt by hand. Once incorporated, cream together with a wire whisk or electric beater. The mixture should be creamy and consistent, but not fluffy.
2. Add in the GF flour mix and baking powder. Scrub the lemon well and add entire lemon zest into the bowl. Cut the lemon in half and easily squeeze its juice into the bowl, careful to remove renegade seeds.
3. Stir the entire mixture well. As usual, the dough will be thick, so I normally just hand mix it. Stir until the dough is slightly moist and easily forms a ball.
4. Roll dough into small little balls, no bigger than an inch-- I tried for about 3/4". Place balls onto the lined cookie sheet and press each one down slightly with your thumb; not too much. They will spread and puff out a little more in the oven, but you can get them fairly crowded on the sheet with no problems.
5. Before finishing the first batch, pour the remaining 3/4 c. powdered sugar into the heavy-duty plastic bag. Add in some of the powdered lemon drink mix and shake well to mix. Taste.** Add in more sugar or lemon drink if necessary (depends on how tart you want the powder!)
6. Bake for 16 to 20 minutes. They will get slightly tan on the top when done. Remove cookies and let cool for about 1 minute on the sheet. Before they cool ALL the way (they should still be warm, but not burning hot), plop the cookies into the bag and shake well to coat.
7. Continue baking and then coating the cookies. It took me about 5 rounds to finish the whole batch. I ended up just leaving them in the bag, there was enough sugar to go around.

**If you want more adult-like morsels, don't coat them with powdered sugar-- they have a good lemon taste on their own. I did prefer the melt-away lemon tang, though, and I'm in my 20's!

Mexican Chicken Rolls

My mother's recipe. Tender chicken covered in a toasty breaded exterior and filled with melted, spicy cheese. Excellent.
It takes a little more time with the make-your-own breadcrumbs and the pounding and rolling, but it's worth it. My mom suggests making quite a few at once while you're at it since the rolls freeze so well.



Serves 8
2 hr for breadcrumbs + 1.5 hours of pounding/rolling/dredging + overnight freezing + 1.5 hr baking (obviously these take awhile)
- blender or food processor
- Al foil
- 9" x 12" baking dish
- meat tenderizer (or a hammer)
- small saucepan
- 16 toothpicks
Difficult/Involved

INGREDIENTS
3/4 c. fine, dry prepared GF bread crumbs -OR- make your own with 4 slices favorite GF bread (I used Glutino corn-based frozen white sandwich bread and the crumbs turned out very fresh)
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese*
1 tsp. chili powder*
1/2 tsp. cumin*
1/4 tsp. pepper*
8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 Tbsp. butter
1 (8 oz.) cube spicy Pepper Jack cheese

*Kraft Parm. cheese is GF (and low in lactose), McCormick spices are GF

DIRECTIONS
Homemade Breadcrumbs:
0. Preheat oven to 180 F.
1. Arrange 4 slices of bread onto a cookie sheet and place in the warm oven for 1 hour.
2. Flip the bread to the other side and return them to the oven for another 40 minutes of drying.
3. Take dried (not burned) bread out of oven and break into pieces with your hands. The bread should be very stiff and you will get crumbs everywhere.
4. Place breadpieces into a blender or food processor and pulse several times until they become fine crumbs. 4 slices should get you around 3/4 cups of crumbs.
5. At this point I just mixed the Parm cheese and spices into the bread crumbs while still in the blender.. saved me from having to wash another bowl. Place spiced crumbs aside and skip to preparing the chicken.
Store-bought Breadcrumbs:
1. Mix prepared breadcumbs with Parmesan cheese, chili powder, cumin and black pepper. Place breadcrumbs aside.
Preparing Chicken:
0. Cover baking dish with aluminum foil (the chicken makes a mess when cooking).
1. Wash the 8 pieces of chicken and remove excess fat. Place 2 pieces of chicken into a heavy duty gallon size freezer bag. Place that bag into another freezer bag (double bag them). Lay the bagged chicken onto a counter and pound to 1/4" inch with a meat tenderizer mallet (or a wide hammer). The breasts will almost double in size. Take the flattened chicken out of the bags and lay onto the baking dish. Continue beating meat, 2 per bag, until all 8 pieces are pounded.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Bring the seasoned breadcrumbs over to the same area.
3. Cut the cheese cube crosswise (as opposed to lengthwise) into 8 equal pieces. Place each cheese slice onto the middle of a chicken breast. Start from the short side and roll the chicken breast up around the cheese. Secure the chicken roll tightly with two toothpicks at the seam of the roll.
4. Once all of the chicken is stuffed and secured, dip each roll into the melted butter, covering evenly with oil. Then dredge the chicken in the waiting breadcrumbs. Make sure they're well coated with crumbs (the homemade crumbs were so dry that they easily stuck to the chicken).
5. Arrange the breaded rolls onto the baking dish, cover and freeze until solid. I let mine freeze overnight and cooked them the next day. Alternatively, you could place the rolls into another freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months.
Cooking the Rolls (the next day):
0. Pre-heat oven to 400 F.
1. Place frozen rolls (arranged on the prepared pan) into the oven, uncovered.
2. Cook for 1 hour, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown, cheese is bubbling and chicken reaches an inside temp of 175 F. Mine needed 1 hour and 30 minutes.. best to just check at the hour mark and adjust from there. Serve warm with something good, like Rich Asparagus Risotto (pictured) or Spanish Rice.
**CAUTION!! Remind your family and friends about the embedded toothpicks!!!**

Sugar Cookies with Lemon Buttercream Frosting

My mother would make these for Valentine's day when I was growing up. To this date, I still associate Valentine's day with these cookies. They are light and crisp, but still have some 'body'... even translated over to Gluten free. The lemon icing is wonderful.



Makes 25 huge (~3" diameter) cookies
25 minutes + 3 hours of chilling time + 30 minutes rolling and baking
375 F
- electric beater (or whisk)
- cookie cutters
- rolling pin
Easy

INGREDIENTS
Cookie:
1 c. butter, softened
1.5 c. confectioner's (powdered) sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract*
1 tsp. Almond extract*
2.5 c. flour mix ---> [1.5 c. white rice flour + 1/4 c. potato starch + 1/2 c. tapioca starch + 1/4 c. cornstarch + 3 heaping tsp. xanthan gum] feel free to use your own favorite GF mix
1 tsp. backing soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar*
Lemon Frosting:
1/6 c. room-temperature soft butter
1.5 c. confectioners sugar
3/4 tsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbps. milk (or water, for dairy free)
zest of one lemon (preferably the one you just juiced)
GF food coloring*
*McCormick spices and extracts are GF

DIRECTIONS
Cookies:
0. Set the butter out on the counter to warm. Go watch TV or something while it softens.
1. In a large bowl, mix soft butter, confect sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extracts till smooth. I normally use an electric beater for this, but a wire whisk will work okay.
2. Hand blend in the flour mixture (white rice flour, xanthan gum, tapioca, corn and potato starches), baking soda and cream of tartar to the butter/extract. The dough should be smooth and slightly sticky. Like most GF dough, it will also be dense; I suggest using a strong spoon.
3. Split the dough into two 'lumps'. Cover both with saran wrap and chill for 3+ hours. You want to do this... the dough is horrible to work with if you don't chill it first.
3.50. Heat oven to 375 F.
4. Place half of the cool dough onto a clean countertop and try to press it down a little by hand (it should be fairly hard). Cover the dough with a large piece of saran wrap and roll the dough out with a rolling pin to about 1/8th of an inch thick.
5. Cut the rolled dough into shapes. I like circles.
6. Place on parchment paper and bake 7 to 8 minutes until the cookies are light bown on the edges. Pull out and let cool for a minute or two before scooping them up.
Frosting:
0. Let the cookies TOTALLY COOL before icing them!
1. Blend softened butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, milk and zest in a bowl until soft.
2. Add in dye. Frost the cooled cookies gererously.

Zucchini Boats

A.k.a. Stuffed Zucchini.
These were great; egg-free, gluten-free, vegetarian side dish. (even oil free and dairy-free, if you wish) By squeezing most of the water out of the cooked zucchini pulp, and baking the empty shells beforehand, I managed to keep these from getting soggy. Cooked on the inside and crispy on the outside; bursting with garlic, Parmesan, parsley and tomato.



Makes 8 'boats'; enough to feed 2-3 people
10 + 15 + 30 minutes (about an hour total)
-large pot and mesh sieve for steaming vegetables
-medium mixing bowl
-Aluminum foil lined cookie sheet
Involved

INGREDIENTS
4 thick, large zucchini
1/2 medium white onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium tomato, peeled
handful of fresh parsley
[1 egg, slightly beaten; optional]
[1 Tbsp. olive oil; optional]
3/4 to 1 cup finely crushed Original Baked Lay's potato crisps
1/4 Parmesan cheese-- or non dairy-alternative (Galaxy Nutritional Foods has some good ones)
dash of black pepper
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
dash of dried thyme leaves

DIRECTIONS
Steaming
0. Steam whole zucchini over boiling water for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft enough to 'give' slightly when pressed (not mushy). I use a metal sieve large enough in diameter to 'sit' over the top of my pot, then covered with a lid. You might have to steam them 2 at a time.
Cool before handling. (I chilled mine overnight.)
Filling and Baking
-Preheat oven to 350 F
1. Once zucchini is cool enough to touch, cut off both ends and scoop out the inner zucchini 'meat' with a small spoon, leaving a firm shell (don't make shells too thin). Squeeze the pulp to remove excess water. Discard the water, but place the zucchini meat in a medium bowl. Don't expect lots of zucchini innards.. I barely had 2 Tbsp. total.
2. While oven is warming up, line a cookie pan with Aluminum foil. Arrange empty shells on the pan and place into the preheating oven. Let them cook for around 15 minutes. They should be dry when you pull them out.
3. Peel and dice the white onion. You need the onion pieces small. Also, remove ends, peel and mince the garlic cloves into very small pieces. Remove the tomato skin with a paring knife, then dice up the tomato, but don't turn it into mush. Wash and chop up the fresh parsley.
4. Using your hands, mix the onion, garlic, tomato and parsley in with the zucchini pulp. [If you want eggs in this, you may add in one slightly beaten large egg to the bowl at this time. Likewise, if you want to add in the oil, do so now. I didn't use either egg or oil and it tasted fine and held together okay.]
5. Crush the last 1/4th of an open bag of Baked Lay's original potato crisps until the chips are reduced to small pieces (use a hammer if you wish). Toss the chip pieces in with the veggies, adding more if the mixture still seem too moist. Add in the Parmesan cheese, oregano leaves, thyme leaves and black pepper (DON'T add in extra salt.. the chips are salty enough!). Mix evenly.
6. Fill slightly-cooked shells with mixture-- really be generous, it at first looked like I had too much filling! Top with another dusting of Parmesan cheese.
7. Bake zucchini boats in the oven for 30 minutes, uncovered. The tops should be toasted and crispy once removed; the boats should be cooked all the way through, but not mush.
Eat warm as a side dish, or serve as the main dish with enough fresh steamed white rice.

Creamy Green Bean Casserole

While spending thanksgiving at my Aunt and Uncle's place, we couldn't help but notice all the TV ads for that nasty-ass canned green bean/condensed soup/fried onion casserole. It got my Aunt and I thinking-- fresh green beans don't sound too bad... what about a casserole thickened with a roux, packed with cheese and bacon? Well, I finally tried it (changed the bacon to ham; I didn't want to overpower the green beans) and it's mighty fine! So utterly creamy, with a topping of crunchy potato chips. Gluten-Free AND Condensed-Soup Free!



Serves 2 (3 as a side dish)
40 minutes
Pre-heat oven to 425 F.
-large saucepan
-9" cake pan (-or- favorite casserole dish; no need for a lid)
Easy

INGREDIENTS
2 cups fresh green beans, ends removed
1 medium white onion, halved then thinly sliced
3 Tbsp. butter or non-dairy alternative (I used Galaxy Nutritional Foods buttery spread)
1.5 Tbsp. GF flour (I used Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour-- I think it's mainly sorghum)
6 slices of honey ham, cut into bits/squares (I'm a cheap grad student and used Oscar Mayer cold cut slices, cut into squares
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, or non-dairy alternative (GNFoods soy Parmesan)
1/4 cup. grated cheddar cheese, or non-dairy alternative (GNFoods rice slices)
1 cup Swanson Natural Goodness chicken broth (one half of a 14 oz can)
3/4 cup smashed Original Wavy Lays potato chips

DIRECTIONS
0. Pre-heat oven to 425 F. Set out your casserole dish... I used a 9" non-stick cake pan because they're way easy to clean.
1. Wash the fresh green beans. Remove the ends and cut the longer beans in half (so none are over 2 inches long). Place cut beans in the large saucepan and cover with water.
2. Bring the beans to a rolling boil over high heat. Boil the green beans in for 5 minutes; don't overcook, you want them to be crisp-tender. Drain the beans (discard the water) and set beans aside in the waiting casserole dish. Now on to the sauce...
3. Peel and wash the onion. Slice into thin O's. Half the onion rings so you have half-circles. Set aside.
4. Melt butter in same, emptied, large saucepan over low heat. Stir in GF flour until smooth. Raise temperature to medium-low. Cook flour mixture, barely bubbling, for a minute. Add in cut white onion. Stir to coat (roux should be thick and sticky).
5. Get out your ham slices and tear off small pieces (I used my fingers). Add ham pieces to the saucepan. Mix well to coat. Cook onion and ham for 5 minutes, or until onions begin to turn translucent.
6. Add in parmesean cheese and cheddar cheeese. Stir well . Also add in chicken broth in 1/4 cup increments, stirring between each broth addition. The roux should thin a little, but not clump up. It should be smooth and creamy. Taste; add more cheese if you wish.
7. Combine onion/cheese sauce with cooked green beans-- I spooned the waiting beans from the casserole dish back into the saucepan, but if you have a large casserole dish, mix everything together in there instead. Mixture should be thick, coating the beans.
8. Spoon beans/sauce into waiting casserole dish (cake pan). Crumble smashed Wavy Lay's Original potato chips over the top.
9. Cook, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes in preheated 425 F degree oven; or until the top browns and the sauce is bubbly. Let cool 2-3 minutes before serving.

Roasted Rosemary Turkey Legs

Problem:
A single college student living alone wants turkey for thanksgiving, but a whole turkey is many lbs too big. Consider a celiac student meeting up with his or her family who cooks bread-stuffing inside the big bird. They can't just mooch off the gluten-tainted turkey. Find a solution that reasonably satisfies both conditions.
Answer:
Turkey legs!!
Roast your own! Right at home in your own small pan, then take with you!
Easy easy easy! Two ingredients!

(Sorry my picture sucks.. I'm in a hurry)


Serves 2
1.5 to 2 hours
Preheat oven: 375 F
-cookie sheet, or other flat metal pan
-disposable Aluminum pan (I used a pie pan, but a square one would be better, I think)
-Aluminum foil sheet for baking
Easy

INGREDIENTS
4 turkey drumsticks -or- 2 large turkey legs (the whole leg, like I have pictured above); fully defrosted
bundle of freshly cut rosemary-- about 8 to 10 'clippings'; each 5 " long

DIRECTIONS
1. Place the flimsy, disposable Al baking tin on the sturdy cookie sheet. Always use the cookie sheet to move the baking tin, or else you will potentially have major problems.
2. Rinse off the freshly cut rosemary clippings. Lay a third of the twigs down on the bottom of the Al baking pan.
3. Rinse off the thawed turkey legs and arrange them inside the disposable Aluminum baking tin over the top of the rosemary.
4. Place remaining rosemary around and on top of the legs.
5. Cover pan with a sheet of aluminum foil, then slide the legs (via the cookie sheet) into the pre-heated 375 F degree oven.
6. Cook covered for an hour.
7. Remove the aluminum foil sheet after the first hour and pour out most of the grease into a scrap container. Continue cooking, uncovered, (still at 375 F) for another half hour to an hour. Watch the bird and take out when the skin is golden brown. When fully cooked, the turkey meat pulls easily away from the bone-- internal temperature of 180 F.
8. Turn off the oven and pour the rest of the drippings into a waiting saucepan and use to make gravy**. Crumble a bit of the roasted rosemary into the oil for extra gravy flavor.
9. Wrap turkey legs up and refrigerate or freeze for later, or serve hot with Spinach-Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Discard the disposable pan.

**I forgot this step and don't have any gravy to show. You can find gravy recipes online elsewhere, such as gluten-free girl. (Use drippings instead of the chicken broth in her recipe).
(*Note* Rice flour is actually better than wheat flour for gravy making.. gluten flours clump too much. My non-celiac mother now makes all gravy with rice flour!)

Baked Chicken with Veggies

Sometimes I just want some spiced spuds baked golden-brown from the oven (think Lipton onion potato mix, but with 75% less oil). Every once in awhile, I throw in some broccoli. Today I had both chicken and onion on hand, so in it went. Very good, little cleanup, and of course quick. To feed 2 people, this needs to be served with a side dish (bread? rice? steamed veggies?).



Serves 1.5
50 minutes
Preheat oven to 475 F
-large cookie sheet with sides -or- a 9x12 inch glass pan
-Al foil to line pan for easy easy cleanup
Quick and simple

INGREDIENTS
2-3 medium red potatoes
1/2 of a large onion (white, yellow, red.. they'll all work)
1 large head of broccoli
2-3 chicken tenders -OR- 1 large chicken breast
2-3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS
1. Clean the veggies. Cut potatoes into small-ish 1/2 inch cubes. Cubes over an inch thick might not bake all the way through. Slice the onion into large, 1/2 inch thick rounds, then slice each circle in quarters (you want large wedges). Cut up the broccoli into bite-sized pieces.
2. Cover your pan/cookie sheet with a large piece of Aluminum foil. Arrange the veggies on the sheet, one layer thick.
3. Tear chicken into bite sized pieces (not too large, but not too small, either). Place the chicken among the veggies on the Al-covered pan.
4. Carefully drizzle olive oil evenly over the chicken and veggies-- it's easy to pour to much in one spot. Sprinkle liberally with garlic powder, salt and pepper.
5. Gently toss the veggies and chicken pieces around on the pan. Make sure the veggie/chicken pieces are semi-coated in oil, or else they won't brown nicely.
6. Slip into a 475 F pre-heated oven. Cook uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes, checking that the edge pieces aren't getting too singed. Eat right out of the oven (it cools fast) with GF bread slices or a side dish.

Honey Garlic Chicken Drumsticks

This makes incredibly juicy and tender chicken legs smothered in a sweet-garlicky glaze. Make the simple sauce up while the legs are baking in the oven, then drizzle over the chicken for the last 15 minutes, letting the sauce caramelize over the meat. Easily doubled to feed a crowd of people.



Makes enough to cover ~18 chicken legs. Feeds 4 people.
1 hour baking time
Preheat oven: 375 F
-9 x 12 inch baking dish
-medium pot
Easy

INGREDIENTS
18 or so chicken legs (preferred skinless)
Sauce:
4+ garlic cloves
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
3 tbsp. soy sauce*
1 tbsp. honey
3/4 c. water
*Argo cornstarch is GF; La Choy soy sauce and Eden Organic Tamari soy sauce in GF (purple-red wrapper)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Wash off the chicken legs. Lay the legs out in a single layer on your baking dish. Place chicken into the preheated oven and bake covered for 45 minutes.
Sauce:
--This doesn't take long at all, start making the sauce once 30 minutes has gone by.--
2. While the chicken legs are baking, wash and peel the garlic cloves. Either finely dice the garlic, or crush it into small pieces (I place the chopped cloves into doubled-up sandwich baggies, then whack with a hammer until they are crushed into pulp). Place garlic aside.
3. In a medium pot, without heat, add in the 1/2 c. pressed brown sugar and mix lightly with the cornstarch. Pour in the soy sauce and honey, stirring the slightly damp mixture until well combined and smooth.
4. Pour in the water and mix well. Also add in the diced/crushed garlic.
5. Begin cooking the sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly. It will take less than two
minutes for the concoction to start boiling (small, rapid bubbles); keep stirring.
6. Turn the heat down to medium-low and let the sauce mildly bubble for 2 to 3 minutes. It's done when slightly thickened and a darker brown.
--At this point the chicken should have cooked for 45 minutes.--
7. Pull the covered chicken legs out of the oven and pour out the drippings; discard grease. Spoon the sauce over the top (may reserve some for dipping). Return the chicken to the oven and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, uncovered. The chicken is done when fully cooked and the glaze clings to the meat. Eat warm, right out of the oven-- these don't taste very good cold.

Cottage Pie

Kind of like chicken-pot-pie, but beef instead of chicken and mashed potatoes for the topping. I loaded this down with lots of veggies, since meat is more expensive. Moist rosemary/thyme meat filling topped with cheesy, garlic mashed potatoes. Not bad for a casserole.



Serves 3

25 + 15 + 30 minutes (meat, potatoes, baking; total: 1 hour 10 minutes)
-large saucepan
-9" round cake pan
Easy


INGREDIENTS
Filling:
1 medium white onion
3 carrots, peeled (~1/2 cup, chopped)
2 celery stalks
¼ c. frozen peas, defrosted
¼ lb to ½ lb ground beef
½ tsp. dried rosemary leaves
½ tsp. dried thyme leaves
Salt and black pepper
½ of a (14 oz.) can Swanson Beef Broth – about 1 cup broth
3 heaping tbsp. of GF flour— I used white sorghum
Spud Topping:
4 medium red potatoes (-OR- 2 large russets)
4 garlic cloves
¼ to ½ c. cheddar cheese
3 to 4 heaping tbsp. sour cream—I used Tofutti Better Than Sour Cream (try a bit of vegan butter if both soy and dairy intolerant)
[2 tsp. chopped fresh chives- optional]


DIRECTIONS
Filling:
1. Chop up the white onion into small-ish pieces (1/4th inch; not too coarse). Peel and cut the carrots into small-ish pieces. Slice and chop up the celery into likewise small pieces. Defrost and drain the 1/2 c. frozen peas. Place veggies near the stove.
2. Rinse off ground beef and place in large saucepan. Start cooking the beef over medium heat, breaking the meat into small pieces (don't pulverize it). Cook beef for 5 minutes, until it's fully grey on the outside. At this point, drain out all but 1 to 2 tbsp. meat grease. Discard excess grease.
3. Add in all of the chopped veggies (onion, carrots, celery, peas). Also add in the rosemary and thyme, salt and pepper. Stir to combine, then continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Pour in half the can of beef broth to the saucepan. Stir. Boil/cook for another 5 minutes. At this point the meat should be fully cooked and the onions transparent. There will still be some broth pooled at the bottom of the saucepan.
5. Turn off the heat, and tilt the pan to one side to separate the broth and the solid beef/veggies. Sprinkle the GF flour over the MEAT portion (it will clump if you add it directly to the liquid). Stir carefully to coat the beef/veggies, then slowly in with the liquid to thicken the broth. You should now have a gravy covering you meat mixture. Add in a little more GF flour if need be-- you don't want it too runny, more like a sauce.
6. Spoon meat mixture into the 9" cake pan (baking dish); make sure to evenly distribute. Leave on the stove, or place temporarily into the fridge why you boil up the potatoes.
Spud Topping:
-Preheat oven to 400 F-
7. Scrub the red potatoes-- don't bother peeling them, unless you have russets and don't care for the thicker skins. Cut potatoes up into 2 inch cubes; these don't have to be pretty, since they are about to get mashed. Wash and peel the 4 garlic cloves. Leave the garlic whole.
8. Quickly wash out the saucepan you used for the meat and return it to the range. Throw the potato pieces and garlic cloves into the saucepan. Add enough water to the pan to mostly cover the potatoes.
9. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat. Make sure to stir the spuds a little to evenly cook. Once the potato water is boiling, turn heat down to medium-high and boil for 10 minutes.
10. Remove potatoes promptly from the heat and carefully drain the hot water. I was able to mash the potatoes in my non-stick saucepan without scraping it, but I had to be very careful. However you do it, mash the potatoes and garlic until they are as creamy as you want (they will be soft and kinda dry).
11. Once they are mashed, fold in the cheddar cheese; spuds should be cool enough now to not totally melt the cheese on first contact. Stir in the sour cream [and chives] . The potatoes should be creamy.. add in a bit more sour cream if still too dry/starchy.
12. Spoon the spuds evenly over the meat layer. Use a fork to 'rough up' the top a little, if you wish. Place the pie into the 400 F preheated oven. Bake uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove when the potatoes develop a nice crispy top.
13. Let the pie sit for 10 minutes.. it tastes way better slightly cooled. Eat warm.

Chicken and Egg Pie

Okay, I admit this isn't the most health-friendly dish I've made, but it sure tastes good. Moist chicken casserole topped with crisp, salty potato chips. Simple to assemble and bake-- however, it was sort of a hassle to cook up 3 of the main ingredients beforehand. I'd suggest cooking up the chicken, rice and eggs the day before, or using 'leftover' rice and chicken. Serve hot or cold, it's still yummy.
Adapted from a "Gooseberry Patch" Summer? Cookbook.

Serves 3
45 + 40 minutes
Preheat oven: 375 F
-large pot for chicken/egg/rice
-9" round cake pan -OR- 8 x 8 square pan
-large-holed grater
-peeler
Easy

INGREDIENTS
2 large hardboiled eggs
1/2 c. cooked long grain white rice
1 to 2 large pre-cooked chicken breast (-OR- chicken thighs)

1 medium red potato, grated
2 celery stalks
2 carrots, peeled
1 medium white onion

1/2 of a (14 oz) can Swanson Natural Goodness chicken broth (-OR- reserve 1 cup of the liquid used to cook up the chicken; seasoned with onion, garlic and parsley)
1/2 c. GF mayonnaise*
[Juice of 1 small lemon-- optional]
1 c. crushed potato chips*
*Both Kraft and Hellman's mayo is GF; wavy Lays potato chips are GF

DIRECTIONS
Precooking (day before?-- I used the same large pot for each item to cut down on dirty dishes):
1. Place whole raw eggs carefully into the large pot. Submerge eggs totally in cold water. Add a bit of salt (amount doesn't really matter).
2. Bring the eggs to a rolling boil over high heat. Immediately turn down the heat to medium and continue simmering eggs for 10 minutes. Carefully pour out hot water, and replace with cold tap water. Keep rinsing (soaking?) hard-boiled eggs in cold water until they are cool enough to touch, bag, and place in the fridge.
3. Cook up enough rice to yield 1/2 cup cooked rice in same, rinsed out, pot. Just follow the directions and water amount directly from the package (should be something like 1/2 c. uncooked rice and 1/3 c. water). Stir cooked rice and store in the fridge.
4. Rinse out your handy pot. Place washed raw chicken breasts into the pot and cover with water. Bring water to a rolling boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and continue boiling chicken for 15 minutes, or until no longer pink in the middle.
5. Pour out water **you MAY WANT TO KEEP 1 cup of this broth for the dish instead of using the canned broth. If that's the case, season broth with onion powder, garlic powder and parsley,
then refrigerate**. Cut boiled chicken into bite-sized pieces; store in the fridge.
To assemble and cook:
-Preheat oven to 375 F-
6. Scrub red potato; don't bother peeling it. Coarsely grate potato over a bowl of cold water; let it soak. Slice washed celery stalks into smallish 1/4th inch pieces. Peel carrots and likewise slice into smallish pieces. Chop up white onion. Set all aside.
7. Take out round or square baking pan. Pour 1/2 of the canned chicken broth into the pan (-OR- 1 cup 'homemade' broth). Measure out 1/2 cup of GF mayonnaise and drop into the broth; stir well till lumps disappear.
8. Drain grated red potato and place all veggies (potato, chopped celery, carrot and onion) into the 9" cake pan along with the chicken broth/mayo. Add in lemon juice if you desire. Mix well.
9. Remove the cooked eggs, chicken pieces and rice from the fridge. Peel the hardboiled eggs and cut into small pieces (yolk and all). Place chopped egg, chicken pieces and rice into the baking pan-- mix well.
10. Crush up several , ~1 cup crushed, handfuls of potato chips (I used thicker Wavy Lays). Top chicken-egg mixture with crushed chip pieces. Place casserole into the pre-heated oven. Bake for 40 minutes-- the chips should be golden-brown and sauce bubbling when done. Serve hot or chill in the fridge (flavor is enhanced after chilling, but chips loose all of their 'crunch'). Enjoy for lunch.

Tex-Mex Lasagna

This was GREAT! One of those dishes where you can add and subtract ingredients. I went 'all out' (extra 5 minutes) and made up my own refried beans, but if you were in a hurry, go ahead and use the canned version. Could use a square 9 x 9 pan and extra layers of tortillas, but I opted for a 9" pie pan (since the tortillas were round). Any tortillas would do, rice, corn.. I tried 'new' dark teff tortillas and liked them. Be sure to keep the first step, with the tortillas in the oil.
Adapted from "Simply Recipes".



Serves 4
10 + 30 + 5 + 15 minutes (1 hour total)
preheat 400 F
-large saucepan
-9 inch round pie/cake pan
-small pot
Easy

INGREDIENTS
Tortillas
4 large corn or rice or teff tortillas
2 tbsp. peanut oil (or olive oil)

Meat
1 medium white onion
½ of a red bell pepper
½ of a green bell pepper
1 fresh tomato
[Handful of fresh cilantro; optional]
¼ lb. ground beef
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. ground cumin

Refried Beans
**skip this if using a can of pre-made refried beans
1 can drained Bush pinto beans
1 tsp. peanut oil
1 tsp. water
Garlic and onion powder

½ c. cheddar cheese
½ c. mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS
Tortillas
1. Defrost your tortillas and place your pie/square baking pan besides the range. Heat up 2 tbsp. of oil, over medium heat, in the large saucepan. Drop one tortilla at a time into the hot oil. Allow the tortilla to soak up a little oil on both sides (flip; no more than a minute on each side). Remove softened tortilla and place in the baking dish. Repeat for remaining 3 tortillas. Let them all sit in the baking dish.
Meat
--At this time, be sure to pre-heat your oven.--
2. Cut up vegetables: Coarsely chop the white onion. Wash and core both the red and green bell peppers. Coarsely chop up the bell peppers and set aside with onion. Coarsely dice up the tomato (don't bother to peel it). Wash and cut the fresh cilantro, if you have it on hand. Keep the tomatoes and cilantro separate from the onion/bell peppers.
3. Rinse off the ground beef. Place beef into the empty large saucepan used previously for the tortillas. Cook beef over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the outside of the meat is no longer pink.
4. Add in the onions and bell peppers. Cook the meat and veggies for another 10 minutes. Add in a generous amount of chili powder and cumin. When the beef is cooked and the onion pieces are translucent, stir in the tomatoes and cilantro. Cook tomatoes for an additional 3 minutes-- don't let them break apart. Remove pan from heat when tomatoes are heated through.
Refried Beans
5. Open and drain can of pinto beans. Place beans into the small pot and mash with the back of a large spoon as best you can (mine still had bits of pinto beans). If you want totally creamy refried beans, use a potato masher. Begin heating beans over medium-low heat. Stir in the oil and the little bit of water. Season with whatever you want-- I used garlic and onion powder, but feel free to add chilies or cilantro. Heat through until beans are nice and spreadable ~5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Assemble
6. Remove top two tortillas from the baking dish (I used 2 tortillas per layer). Spread half of the refried beans evenly over the bottom layer of tortillas. Spoon half the meat/veggie mixture over the beans. Sprinkle generously with half of the cheddar and mozzarella cheese.
7. Place the last two tortillas on top of the cheese. Spread with beans, meat and top with a bunch of cheese.
8. Slide the dish into the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes-- just want the cheese layer to melt and flavors to blend. Remove from the oven, serve hot; top with sour cream or avocado and serve alongside Spanish rice.