Pumpkin Bars

While they are called "Pumpkin Bars", it's really more like a cake. The finished product is about 2-3" tall - not flat like a brownie.

They guys are an annual fave around our house and with family & friends. In almost all cases, Peg makes these [the GF version] since they are indistinguishable from the gluten bars.

Ingredients:

4 eggs beaten
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp Penzey's cinnamon
1 tsp Arm & Hammer baking soda
1 tsp Calumet baking powder
1 cup of Jules Gluten Free Flour (GFCO Certified Product)
1 cup of Sorghum Flour (Bob's Redmill)
1 tsp Xanthan gum

Combine all ingredients & mix well. Pour in to greased 11x15 pan.
Bake @ 350 for 25-30 min. 8 x 11.5 pan will work for 1/2 recipe


Frosting:
4-5 oz cream cheese (softened)
3 tbsp softened butter
3/4 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp milk

Mix & beat until fluffy. Spread on warm pumpkin bars.

These will freeze quite well.


Until the next good eats...

Al n Peg

Tags: Eggs, Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Canned Pumpkin, Salt, Cinnamon, Gluten-Free Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Jules GF Flour Mix, Gluten-Free Sorghum Flour, Xanthan Gum, Cream Cheese, Butter, Powdered Sugar, Gluten-Free Vanilla, Milk

Granola with Certified Gluten-Free Oats

Peg converted this non-gluten-free granola recipe. She mixes this into her yogurt in the morning for breakfast.

Note: Oats have been controversial for over 20 years. Are they acceptable on a GF diet or not? Some celiacs will react to the protein found in oats [avenin], just as they react to the proteins in wheat, barely, rye and oats.

Most medical professionals say gluten-free oats can be tolerated in limited amounts [1/2 to 3/4 cup per day for adults]. They also suggest restricting oats for one year for those newly diagnosed.

Should you decide to add GF oats to your diet, please consult your medical professional.

For a general overview on oats see: http://celiacdisease.about.com/od/theglutenfreediet/a/OatsForCeliacs.htm


Ingredients:

5 cups certified gluten-free oats (GF Harvest Oats used here)
2 cups chopped pecans or 1 cup chopped pecans and 1 cup almonds & sunflower seeds
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup ground flax seed
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon (Penzey's)
1/2 teaspoon salt (use less if desired)
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses or sorghum syrup

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
Combine the remaining ingredients in a sauce pan
Place over medium heat and cook - stirring often - until the sugar dissolves.
Pour hot mixture over the dry mixture. Stir until thoroughly blended. Mixture will appear wet.
Spread evenly in a large jelly roll pan or a shallow pan with sides.
Bake at 300 for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Cool and store in an air tight container

Yield: 9 1/2 cups

Tags: Gluten-Free Oats, Chopped Pecans, Shredded Coconut, Ground Flax, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Salt, Water, Vegetable Oil, Honey, Molasses, Sorghum Syrup, Gluten-Free Vanilla

During one of our trips to the Appleton Penzey's store, we ran across a new spice mixture called Tuscan Sunset.

It's a great mix of basil, oregano, red bell pepper, garlic, thyme, fennel, black pepper and anise.

We only purchased a small .5 oz bottle that day, but we will getting a larger bag of it. Sadly, I used it all tonight.

At the checkout, we found a recipe for Tuscan Veggie & Chicken Pasta Salad. I decided tweak how the ingredients were put together. This is my version...


Tuscan Chicken with Veggies

Ingredients:

1 Package boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in thin strips.
1 package gluten-free pasta (shown here: Jovial GF Brown Rice Penne Rigate)
1 Red bell pepper, thinly julienned
1 Green pepper, thinly julienned
1 Medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (half a lemon)
1 - 2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Teaspoons Penzey's Tuscan Sunset
Salt & Pepper


Dressing:

2 Tablespoons Penzey's Tuscan Sunset
2 Tablespoons water
3 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar


In a bowl large enough to hold all the pasta, mix Tuscan Sunset and water, let stand 1 minute, then whisk in oil and red wine vinegar.

Prepare GF pasta per directions on package. Leave it slightly al dente because it will be returned to the pan at the end. Place cooked pasta in to bowl with dressing and gently mix until pasta is coated. Let stand.

Using medium heat and large deep pan saute' peppers and onion with small amount of olive oil for several minutes or until peppers have softened. Sprinkle in 1 tsp Tuscan Sunset. Salt and Pepper to taste. Remove from pan.

Return pan to stove, increase heat to medium-high and allow pan to heat up without smoking. Add small amount of olive oil to pan and add chicken strips. Allow chicken to turn golden brown. Reduce heat to simmer. Sprinkle in 1 tsp Tuscan Sunset. Salt & Pepper to taste. Add lemon juice.

Add in saute'ed veggies and dressed pasta. Make sure to get all the pasta dressing into the pan.

Gently stir a few times until all ingredients are fully heated - about 2 - 3 minutes. Be careful not to damage the pasta.


Notes:

The original recipe called for asparagus tips. This is a great addition, unfortunately I did not have any handy this time. Options I want to try in the future: mushrooms and/or artichoke hearts.

If you like more tanginess, add more red wine vinegar or lemon juice.


Until next time...

Al

Tags: Chicken Breasts, Gluten-Free Pasta, Red Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, Red Onion, Lemon Juice, Penzey's Tuscan Sunset, Vegetable Oil, Water, Red Wine Vinegar, Salt, Pepper

Cold Veggie Medley - Kimberly

Ingredients:

Any veggies you have on hand, today's mix included:

1 large onion
3 stalks of celery
1 pound each of corn, peas, green beans [all cooked, if frozen; otherwise 15oz can each is fine...especially if you're not cooking for an army!]
1 Green Pepper
1 Red Pepper
1 Yellow Sweet Pepper
1 pound of your favorite beans [today's were garbanzo, but kidney or black beans add nice color]


Dressing:

1 cup oil
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon ground pepper
Dash of ground mustard

Put dressing ingredients in an a small-medium bowl and whisk together.

Put all veggies in a large bowl, pour on dressing and carefully mix ingredients together. Chill in the fridge.

Tags: Onion, Celery, Corn, Peas, Green Beans, Green Pepper, Red Bell Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Garbonzo Beans, Vegetable Oil, Apple Cider Vinegar, Sugar, Pepper, Ground Mustard, Cookout 2011 Recipe

A friend of ours was throwing a large 3 day birthday-bash. They had a large sheet cake lined up for all the gluten-eating guests, but nothing for herself (the birthday girl).

Our friend asked Peg if she could make a gluten-free German Chocolate Cake.

Instead of standard sized cake, Peg decided to make a doz. cupcakes and this mini-cake.

The cake was a hit! Our friend was so excited she dug into it immediately and shared it with a few other gluten-free guests.

Another gluten-free guest headed directly for the cupcake container after seeing the mini-cake.

Peg is becoming quite the Google Master. She found the recipe in a cake baking forum - without any help from me.



After reading through the forums posts, it appears this recipe is from The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free book by Anne Bryn. The premise of the book is to take ordinary [gluten-free] cake mixes, "doctor them up" and make them better! This is one cookbook we don't have.

Here is the cake recipe and frosting recipe

This mini-cake was made in 4 1/2" tart pans. We sliced the top off of the bottom layer to make it flat.

The rest of the batter went to make cupcakes.

Tags: Rice Flour, German Sweet Chocolate, Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix, Gluten-Free Vanilla Instant Pudding, Milk, Vegetable Oil, Eggs, Vanilla Extract, Evaportated Milk, Sugar, Unsalted Butter, Egg Yolk, Sweeted Flaked Coconut, Pecans