S'mores Cookies

This is one of my prior non-gluten-free recipes that I adapted. They turned out beautifully! I bought those super-size marshmallows and made the cookies extra big to accommodate the large marshmallow size. They were a HUGE hit. And these are perfect for summertime picnics and outings.

S'mores Cookies
INGREDIENTS:
¾ cup softened butter
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 ¼ cup gluten free graham cracker crumbs (I bought Kinnikinnick brand)

1 1/4 cup gluten free flour (with xanthan gum included)
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 cup mini chocolate chips
24 large marshmallows (I used the gigantic ones!)

HOW TO PREPARE:
Cream butter & sugars. Beat in egg, milk, & vanilla. Combine flour, crumbs, soda, salt, & cinnamon; mix. Stir in chips. Use parchment paper to line baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until done. Let cool on racks. Place ½ of cookies on a plate and place 1 marshmallow on each cookie. Cook in microwave for 15 seconds until puffed. Immediately place other cookie on top & press down to make a sandwich.

Classic Chocolate Mousse

Right after I decided to embrace the switch to eating gluten free, I came across this recipe and I remember reading over and over the ingredients to MAKE SURE it was gluten free. (Am I alone in this action?!) I am glad I hung onto the recipe and made it last week. It is rich and velvety and delicious.

Classic Chocolate Mousse
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup chilled heavy cream, divided
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup strong Choffy, room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar, divided
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
6 ounces semisweet chocolate (60-72% cacao), chopped
2 large egg whites

HOW TO PREPARE:
Beat 1/2 cup cream in medium bowl until stiff peaks form; cover and chill.

Combine egg yolks, Choffy, salt, and 2 Tbsp. sugar in a large metal bowl. Set over a saucepan of gently simmering water (do not allow bowl to touch water). Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is lighter in color and almost doubled in volume and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the mixture registers 160 degrees, about 1 minute.

Remove bowl from pan. Add chocolate; whisk until melted and smooth. Let stand, whisking occasionally, until room temperature.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg white in another medium bowl on medium speed until foamy. With mixer running, gradually beat in remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar. Increase speed to high and beat until firm peaks form. Fold egg whites into chocolate in 2 additions; fold whipped cream into mixture just to blend.

Divide mousse among six teacups or 4-oz. ramekins. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Mousse can be made 1 day ahead; cover and keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

Before serving, whisk remaining 1/4 cup cream in a small bowl until soft peaks form; dollop over mousse.

Corn Casserole

I made this last week for some company and this it the item everyone went back to for seconds. It also reheats well.




Corn Casserole
INGREDIENTS:
1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) gluten-free corn muffin mix*
1 cup sour cream
1/2 stick butter, melted
1 to 1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar

HOW TO PREPARE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and top with Cheddar. Return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

*Homemade GF corn muffin mix:
1½ cups (188 grams) GF flour, such as Manini's (contains xanthan gum)
1½ cups (240 grams) yellow cornmeal
½ cup (100 grams) sugar
2 tablespoons (29 grams) baking powder
½ teaspoon (3 grams) baking soda
½ teaspoon (3 grams) salt
1 tablespoon plus ½ teaspoon (18 ml) sunflower oil

Crepes

Crepes have been a family birthday tradition since I was a child. When my son, Keith, requested crepes for his birthday this past week, I wasn't surprised, but I was a bit worried how my old recipe would fare with a switch to gluten free. The results were delicious! They actually taste more like Blini - the Russian version of crepes. They are a bit thicker and have a more egg-flavor. I loved eating them plain. But they are also delicious with blended strawberries and whip cream. Yum!

These are more difficult to make large, so I made them smaller. So good.

Crepes

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup GF Manini's flour (contains xanthan gum)

1/2 cup GF rice-based flour, such as Cup 4 Cup (contains xanthan gum)
½ tsp salt
Powdered sugar
3 eggs
1 cup milk
5 tbsp melted butter
Strawberries, blended with water and a little sugar
Whip cream, sweetened

HOW TO PREPARE:
Sift flour, salt & 2 tbsp powdered sugar together. Beat eggs until light. Add milk, mixing well. Add butter. If batter is too thick, add more milk until it is pourable. 

Pour in enough batter to cover bottom of 8 inch hot greased frying pan or a griddle. Brown crepes to color desired. Repeat until all batter is used. Let cool. Spoon blended strawberries in middle of crepes and roll up. Top with whip cream or powdered sugar.

Are you still doing that gluten-free diet?

I get asked that a lot. And YES, I am. And today was the first week where I saw the scale go down. I lost one whole pound and that's exciting! But even more exciting is that I have had a menstrual cycle right on cue for the past 3 months. They have only been 1-3 days long - but they are consistent! Progress.

I am gearing up for a road trip to Oklahoma to see family. I am a bit worried about preparing food for myself that is gluten-free in someone else's home. I have even thought about taking my rice cooker with me! I imagine it will work out, but even the thought of being on the road and trying to find snacks and foods that will work is a bit stressful. I am seriously thinking to order a couple of GF pizzas from Dominos to take in the car!

My next goal is to cut back on sugar. I admit that I don't want to do this - but I feel that I should. So, I am making plans to do so.

I am exercising 4x a week for 20 minutes and I can feel myself getting stronger from it. Onward and upward!

Baked French Toast

This is one of my pre-GF recipes that I have adapted with my delicious breadmaker bread. So good you don't even know it's GF. I promise.

My photo

Baked French Toast
INGREDIENTS:

1 loaf GF breadmaker bread, recipe found here
8 whole Eggs
2 cups Whole Milk
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract
Topping
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces
Powdered Sugar
Maple Flavoring
Vanilla Flavoring
Milk

HOW TO PREPARE:
For the French toast: Grease the 13x9 inch baking pan. Tear the bread into chunks, or cut into cubes, and evenly distribute in the pan. Crack the eggs in a big bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, cream, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Pour evenly over the bread. Cover the pan tightly and store in the fridge until needed (overnight preferably). Or you can make it and bake it right away---delicious no matter what!

For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl. Stir together using a fork. Add the butter and with a pastry cutter, and mix it all together until the mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a plastic bag in the fridge. *Sometimes I alter this step and just spread it out over the casserole before putting in the fridge. It has worked well both ways.

When you're ready to bake the casserole, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the casserole from the fridge and sprinkle the topping over the top. Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture or for 1 hour-plus or more for a firmer, crisper texture.

In a small bowl, add some powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp maple flavoring. Stir in a little milk until you reach a glaze consistency. Pour over Baked French Toast once it comes out of the oven.

3 months and counting

Everything is going much more smoothly with the gluten free diet. I have my regular recipes that I enjoy and try to make news ones each week. I made a bread-maker bread recipe last week that was really good. I used the leftovers to make a breakfast casserole and I seriously didn't know that I was eating gluten free! This one things will allow me to make some recipes that I have been missing, such as my cheese souffle! And things like that are so encouraging.

This past week, there was a luau at my church. It was a date night for couples to raise money for girls camp. We signed up to go and they were serving Hawaiian haystacks. I knew I couldn't eat the chicken gravy on the top so I brought some leftover white bean chicken chili to use instead. It worked beautifully! Plus, my friend who is also gluten-free came and had forgotten to bring a gravy replacement, so I was able to share my chili with her. I felt so good being prepared and being able to still participate in the date night without feeling left out. And I brought some of my homemade GF bread with me. Yummy!

My weight has been the same throughout these 3 months. Sometimes I am frustrated with that and other times I am so grateful that it hasn't gone up! I feel encouraged through prayer that in time weight loss will come.