Heatlhy, Old Fashioned "Bread Stuffing"

I was so excited when I discovered this by accident, so I wanted to share. Boiled, over-absorbed millet looks and acts just like Thanksgiving stuffing. If seasoned the right way, it will be a perfect replacement for the real thing this Fall. And the best part is that it's actually really good for you!

SUGGESTED INGREDIENTS:
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup butter
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
3 cups millet
5 cups chicken broth


DIRECTIONS:
Bring broth and millet to a boil. Cook, covered, until fluffy and fully absorbed. Add more liquid if desired. Mix in the other ingredients, cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 F. for 30 minutes.

Gluten-Free Fried Chicken

Sad because you can't order chicken nuggets, chicken strips or fried chicken at restaurants anymore? Well, buck up; because you CAN still enjoy savory fried chicken--gluten free! ...IF you're willing to get to work in the kitchen.
* See note at bottom for an easier method.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup corn flour*
1/4 cup tapioca flour*
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 egg
1 pound chicken breasts
Oil for frying

DIRECTIONS:

Pour an inch of oil into a large frying pan and heat to medium high.
Mix flours, salt and seasonings. Feel free to experiment with your own. Prepare chicken breast to suit your tastes: nuggets, strips, whatever you like. Crack your egg into a small bowl and stir it up. Dip each piece of chicken into the egg then the flour mixture to coat it evenly. Gently lay the breaded chicken in the hot oil and cook on both sides for a few minutes until done.

I find that the more crumbly the flour mixture becomes, the more crunch you get on your chicken. So each time your fingers become caked with the egg/flour combination, just crumble it off into the flour and work it into the mixture.

* Don't have these? Experiment with what you DO have. Just keep the same proportions.


* If you don't have all of these flours, you can try just rice flour in place of all the others. The texture and outcome will be different, but to a Celiac, it's better than no fried chicken at all. When cooking regular fried chicken and gluten free fried chicken for the same meal, be sure to cook the gluten free chicken first to avoid cross contamination for them.

Raspberry Jam-Print Cookies

These are awesome! If you don't have these exact flours, experiment (that's what I did)! But be sure it totals the same amount of flour in the end: 1 1/4 CUPS.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup Glutinous rice flour
1/4 cup Tapioca flour
1/4 cup White rice flour
1/4 cup corn masa flour
1/4 cup soy flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup raspberry jam (other flavors work too)
1/4 cup pecans (finely chopped)optional

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix flours and sugar together. Work the butter in until dough forms. Make balls and press your thumb down into the center of each to form a cup impression. Press the bottom of each cookie into the finely chopped pecans, if desired. Place the cookies on a baking sheet.
Put the jam into a small ziploc bag and snip off a small piece from one corner. Squeeze the jam into each 'cup' but be sure not to over-fill or they will boil over.
Bake for 15 minutes or until set and slightly golden.

Goes great with coffee

Gluten Free Lasagna

The lasagna was a BIG hit. A bit labor intensive, but totally worth it! It's not often that I cook a meal that all three of my kids want to eat seconds of. My oldest child won't stop talking about how much he loved it. My husband said I should post the recipe so here it is.  This is an adaptation from the original recipe by Jodie Buck who's Italian grandfather taught her.

INGREDIENTS:

Lasagna Noodles:
1 1/4 c. rice flour
1/2 c. potato starch
1/4 c. tapioca flour
3 eggs
1/4 c. water

Sauce:
2 cans tomato paste
1 can stewed tomatoes (I prefer italian seasoned)
4 cloves garlic
2 T basil
2 T parsley
1 T oregano
2 T Romano cheese--shredded (optional)

Cheese filling:
12oz ricotta
16oz cottage cheese
5 oz. parmesan cheese--grated (more if desired)

Additional ingredient:
1 lbd Mozzarella Cheese Shredded

INSTRUCTIONS:

For noodles:
Mix dry ingredients, then add the eggs and stir. Add the water as needed. Add more water or flour as needed to form a stiff, not sticky yet soft dough.
I recommend rolling it very thin with a rolling pin on plastic wrap and just laying a large piece down for each layer. I did use my pasta machine, but next time I think I'll just roll it out. One helpful tip: I found that it sticks to everything but plastic wrap. I layed the pieces on plastic wrap then transferred them by laying the pieces on the lasagna, plastic-wrap-side up and peeling the plastic wrap off carefully.

Sauce:
Puree all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Microwave the sauce in a glass dish for 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool a bit.

For cheese:
Mix all of ricotta and cottage cheese. Stir in 2/3 of the parmesean and reserve 1/3 for topping the lasagna. I found that my ricotta was very unflavorful and seemed low quality, so I added 1 Tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup of skim milk to the mixture.

Assembling the Lasagna:
Preheat oven to 375 F.
I used a large glass pyrex casserole dish. Start with a generous layer of sauce on the bottom then a layer of noodles. Next add a generous layer of the cheese mixture, followed by a layer of mozzarella, then a generous amount of sauce. Lay down the next layer of noodles, cheese mixture and mozzarella then top with the parmesean cheese. Cover with aluminum and bake for 30 minutes. Remove aluminum foil and bake 15 - 30 minutes longer. Cheese should be bubbly and toasted.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes or so to allow the juices time to reabsorb and solidify.
Like I said, this is totally worth it!

Delightful MOCHACHIP Cookies

This was my first gluten free experiment. I wanted to make chocolate chip cookies, but I had just run out of vanilla. I improvised and this is what I came up with. These Mochachip cookies have been deemed "Better than chocolate chip cookies" by my seven year old son. They have a hint of coffee and plenty of good chocolaty goodness.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 cups rice flour
2 cups sorghum flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp coffee beans - finely ground
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp pure stevia powder (or one cup sugar)
8 oz chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 F. Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs. Combine dry ingredients and stir into the sugar mixture. Add chocolate chips and stir.
Make small balls and flatten them with your palm. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Yields: 4 - 5 dozen cookies.

We made ours tiny just like the super expensive Gluten-Free cookies at Whole Foods. Then to prevent over-eating them and promote making them last, we packaged them with squares of corrugated cardboard and ribbon. The 'window' is made with clear packing tape on both sides of a cut out shape. Seal them first in small ziploc bags and they should stay fresh for a week or so.