Friday, August 31, 2012

First Ever How To;

Today I am coming to you stripped. Look, I do not like being in front of a camera. It makes me nervous. I am good at cooking. I do not proclaim to be a movie star or a tv personality. The bottom line is, I have been asked several times to do a how to video. I finally caved. This is my daughter and my very first attempt at a how to. We don't have a fancy camera or fancy equipment. Bottom line is; my daughter is getting older and needs to learn how to cook. So I have been asked to document the process of teaching her. Laugh, Cry, Criticize. This is us.... raw. 
Christi




The recipe is shown below:

Gluten Free Grain Free Cloud Bread



Gluten Free Grain Free Cloud Bread
adapted from Food.com

3 eggs, separated
3 tablespoons cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 packet of stevia



Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Separate the eggs.
In one bowl, mix together the egg yolks, the 3 Tablespoon Cream Cheese and the one packet of Sweetener until smooth.
In the other bowl add 1/4 teaspoon of Cream of Tartar to the whites and beat the whites on high speed until they are fluffy and form nice peaks.
Very carefully fold the egg yolk mixture into the egg whites until mixed, but try and not break down the fluffiness of the egg whites too much.

Prepare two baking stones or sheets with parchment paper. 
With a large spoon, "scoop" the mixture into 8 rounds on the sheets. Bake on the middle rack. Bake them for 30 minutes. They are ready when they are golden brown. 
Remove from the stones or sheets and cool.
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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

So many people with Celiac disease and Gluten-intolerance think their days of eating oreos, or any cookies and cream dish, are over. That couldn't be farther from the truth. I have posted my recipe for Gluten-Free Homemade Oreo's on here before. If you missed that post you can view it here. If you are not in the mood to cook, Schar makes a tasty gluten-free cookie that is similar to oreo's. This is what I am using today. This dessert is very easy to make, and uses very few ingredients. It is also a crowd pleaser.
Gluten-Free Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes
Adapted from Angel Feathers

1/2 cup cream, lightly whipped
1 TBSP vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon gelatine
TBSP boiling water
TBSP sugar
1 package Philadelphia cream cheese
1 package Schar gluten-free O cookie

Start by taking the sandwich cookies apart and discarding the creamy center.
Place 15 sandwich wafers on a freezer safe platter and put in the freezer. You do this so that they won't get soggy when you place the filling on top. Crush up the rest of cookies and set aside.
Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in the gelatine mixture, vanilla extract, cream and 1 cup of crushed gluten free sandwich cookies.


I used a ring mold to fill the cookies with the cheesecake filling. Fill each cookie one by one and place another wafer on top. Repeat one at a time until it is finished.  

Place in the freezer for at least 1 hour before serving. 
Enjoy!
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Spinach-Cheese Balls

Tonight we had a crowd for dinner. Our Pseudo daughter Doris was back for a visit with her boyfriend. My daughter and her band mate were here for a night session of music practice. My son and his girlfriend were here. Also my husband and I were here. So that is 8 for dinner. No problem.
As I was busy slaving away in the kitchen, I could tell everyone was hungry. How to feed a crowd quickly? Spinach-Cheese Balls. Everyone enjoyed them and I was lucky to end up with one. This recipe is fast and easy. I hope you enjoy it!

gluten-free Spinach-Cheese Balls

adapted from betty crocker
1 cup fresh spinach, washed, drained, and chopped
1 cup better batter baking mix
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
1 egg
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup tomato pasta sauce, if desired

Heat oven to 400°F. Spray baking sheet or stone with cooking spray or olive oil. 


In large bowl, mix all ingredients, except pasta sauce. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls; place on cookie sheet.
Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove from sheet. 
Serve with pasta sauce.
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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Brownie Waffles



Taylor has been really sticking to exercising and watching what she eats. I know you are probably wondering why I would start this high calorie post with that sentence? Well, she goes hard for 6 days, and on the 7th, she has a high calorie day. It is working really well. It tricks her body. I got that tip from biggest loser and have used it for years. It gives you something to look forward to, and also makes your body metabolism speed up. I don't know about you, but I can stick to eating right as long as I know at some point I get to enjoy the food I love. Well this morning was Taylor's High Calorie day. Knowing this, I thought I would make something extra yummy. So I decided on dessert for breakfast!  These were a huge hit, and so easy to make! With just 4 ingredients, they are yours. 

Gluten Free Brownie Waffles
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water
3 eggs

Preheat your waffle maker.Prepare your waffle maker by spraying with non-stick cooking spray -or- rub it down with canola oil.
Mix all ingredients together. I beat mine on high speed for 1 minute. 

Pour 1 cup of the batter into your hot, prepared waffle maker and close the lid. 
Cook for 5 minutes.
Place cooked waffle on a plate.

Garnish with whipped cream and your favorite berries. You can also use syrup to drizzle on top.. 
Enjoy dessert for breakfast! =)
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Monday, August 27, 2012

Mojito Shrimp Bites


This weekend I had the opportunity to go to the San Diego Spirits Festival. Oh my goodness. What fun! If you are looking for a time of drinking and eating gourmet food, then this is the event for you. Going into this event with my eyes wide open, I knew it would not be good for me to carry around my good camera. So you are going to have to humor me with my cell phone shots. 

Throughout the day, they do cocktail wars where bar tenders are not given their ingredients until they start, and they also do food demonstrations all day with celebrity chefs and high end gourmet restaurants. There were several celebrities there. Some were more infamous than others. I am going to keep this post limited to when I met Keegan Gherard He served a chocolate caramel torte topped with a whipped creme fraiche that will keep me drooling for years to come. He was so nice and didn't mind snapping a picture with me at all. 
I love meeting celebrity chefs! First Hubert Keller... Then Keegan... Hopefully Bobby Flay will be next! Hey a girl can dream! 

All in all I behaved myself. Let me tell you... there were so many opportunities to mis-behave. I made my rounds... asked questions, drank, then ate a lot of food, had a lot of water, and watched a few competitions. I found a lot of Gluten-Free Alcohol companies... so lookout for a post later this week of up and coming yummy yummy adult beverage companies. Here I am at one booth pointing to their tiny "Gluten-Free" advertisement on their sign. People are starting to understand! This is for a cider company. Their pear cider is yummy! More on that another post...
One of the food presentations they made yummy mojito shrimp that was so fresh and scrumptious. I thought; "this is the perfect thing to share with my readers!" So below you will find the recipe. I just want to let all of you know I was safe. When you aren't sure, always hire a designated driver!
My son and his beautiful girlfriend escorting us home. =)
Gluten-Free Mojito Shrimp Bites
adapted from San Diego Spirits Festival
For the shrimp:
20 shrimp
1 TBSP canola oil
1 TBSP diced butter
1 TBSP brown sugar
1 TBSP rum
1 TBSP lime juice
1 tsp chopped shallots
1 TBSP vegetable stock
1 tsp chopped garlic

For the avocado pineapple salsa
1/2 of a pineapple
1 tsp red pepper
1 tsp yellow pepper
1 tsp green pepper
1 tsp sliced green onion
1 tsp sliced cilantro
1 avocado
juice of 1/2 lime
salt and pepper to taste.
4 leaves chopped mint
2 cucumbers sliced 1/2 inch thick.

Start by making your avocado pineapple salsa.
peel, core and trill the pineapple
once it is cooked, dice it.
dice up all peppers, onion and cilantro and add them to the pineapple.
Mix in the avocado gently and garnish with chopped mint leaves.
Set in fridge while you finish the shrimp.

Heat oil in the frying pan.
Saute and season the shrimp.
add a pinch of shallots and garlic.
Deglaze the pan with the lime juice.
Remove the pan from the flame and add rum.
Cook until alcohol evaporates.
Add brown sugar, vegetable stock, mint and butter.
Reduce liquid to a caramel.

Set out your sliced cucumbers and make a cup out of them by scooping out a small portion of the seed area.
Top your sliced cucumber cups with the salsa.
Next add glazed shrimp.
Garnish with mint and cilantro and serve!
This dish can be served hot or cold. Perfect for a party!


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