gluten free sticky licky cinnamon buns

• In a medium sized bowl mix:
• 2 1/4 tsp yeast
• 1 T. sugar
• 3/4c. warm milk
• 1/2 c. warm(not hot) water
• mix well with a fork and set aside

• In another medium sized mixing bowl mix:
• 4 T melted butter
• 1 egg beaten
• 1 tsp  vinegar
• 2 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla

• In a large bowl whisk together:
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour (see note)
• 1/2 cup potato starch (not flour)
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2.5 tsp xanthan gum
• 1/4 c dry milk powder
• 1 tsp baking powder

After yeast is foamy, add all wet ingredients (both medium sized bowls)  to the dry ingredients,

blend using your hands for three minutes (or a fancy stand mixer...sigh..I don't have one...YES it is totally sticky..make it fun ;)

Spray a round 9" pyrex baking dish or square 9x11 pan with Pam

In a medium sized saucepan mix:

4T. butter

1/2 c. well packed brown sugar

2T corn syrup (I used white either is fine)

1 tsp vanilla

after sugar melts...add 2 T milk or cream

Pour into pyrex bowl or pan

1. Take a piece of plastic wrap about 2' long and lay it out on a slightly damp counter top, 
2. Lay the dough on top of the wrap.  Lay another piece of plastic wrap over the top of the dough.
3.  Roll the dough out (with the plastic wrap on top) to a square approximately 8″ x 16″.
4. Remove top plastic wrap. 
5. 
   
6. Filling:
7. mix 2 T. softened butter (not melted) with 2 T cinnamon and 1/2 c. tightly packed brown sugar and 1/2 c. rehydrated (soak in hot water until plump) raisins.
8. 
   
9. Spread filling mixture evenly across dough’s surface. Leave 1 1/2″ along one long side without any filling,
10. so you can seal your roll.
11. Starting along the long end, use the bottom sheet of plastic wrap to lift the edge of the dough and roll it up, forming a long cylinder. Start with the edge that has filling on it, that will be the centre of your finished rolls.
12. Using a long piece of dark thread (light colours can be lost in the dough), cut the long “cinnamon bun log” into 8 pieces, about 1 1/2″ wide. You can do this by placing the thread underneath the roll, crossing it at the top, and pulling the threads so they cross each other, pulling it through the dough.

Place slices into the pyrex dish/pan and allow to rise for 30 mins

Bake in a 350 degree F /177 degrees Celsius until brown on the top and firm to the touch..about 30 to 35 mins.  Place a cookie sheet under in case it drips and lights the oven on fire like mine did :P  when the buns are done..place a cookie sheet on top and flip the whole dish/pan over so the sauce oozes all over, making sticky licky buns.  NOTE: if they are still a bit soggy on the bottom (rawish) then pop them in the oven (still upside down ) for a few mins longer :)  Enjoy!!!

The BEST fluffy chocolate chip cookie/muffin bars :)

As you can see from the picture, I barely had time to go and get my camera before these fluffy, muffin-like cookie bars were devoured!  I adapted this recipe fro the gluten free goddess (I love her) and it is SO easy and gluten free...

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit /177degrees Celsius

In a large mixing bowl, combine:

3 large  eggs

1/2 cup sunflower oil

2 tsp real vanilla extract

1 cup firmly packed  light brown sugar

2 cups Bob's Red Mill gluten free biscuit and baking mix

1 c. Chipits brand semi-sweet chocolate chips (add to batter)

1/2 c. Chipits brand semi-sweet chocolate chips (sprinkle on and press into top before baking)

Mix all ingredients, in this order and spoon into a 10x13 baking pan sprayed with Pam cooking spray...it is thick and sticky.  Be sure to spread it evenly.  Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes...or until it is brown on top and firm but springy when you touch it.  

Cool and DEVOUR!!!   I secretly froze half of the cookie bars that remained for lunches the next little while :)

Adaptation, spoon bits of dough into mini muffin tins for bite sized muffin/cookies :)

SCONE HEAVEN!!! Sorghum flour, your NEW BEST friend!!!

Success Success Success!!!  Thanks SO much to the gluten free goddess I have discovered the most AMAZING pumpkin Scone recipe..soft fluffy moist and lighter than your average scone...I substituted oat flour (that I ground in a spice mill from gf oats) for the millet flour and use potato starch (NOT FLOUR) WOW!  it was even VERY yummy the next day...it went FAST!

Pumpkin Scones Recipe:
1 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup organic millet flour/oat flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch or potato starch (not potato flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon  salt
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves 
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons organic light brown sugar
7 tablespoons cold shortening 
1/2 cup mashed cooked pumpkin or canned pumpkin
1 large egg
3 tablespoons real maple syrup
3 tablespoons milk whisked with 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice 


Instructions:


Preheat the oven to 350º F. Lightly grease a 9-inch Pyrex pie dish.


In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours and dry ingredients. Add in the shortening by pieces and cut in the shortening (with a fork or a pastry cutter) and mix until the mixture looks sandy.


Add in the pumpkin,  egg, maple syrup and  milk. Beat the batter briefly until the dough forms a smooth mass. You do not need to beat the dough very long, just until it is mixed.


Scrape the dough into the prepared pie plate. Using lightly oiled hands pat and shape the dough into a smooth flat round. Press the dough all the way to the edges of the pie plate.


Use a thin sharp knife to score the dough into 6-8 wedges.


Bake the scones together in the pie dish.


Place the pie dish - or the baking sheet- in the oven. Bake until the scones are firm and slightly golden- roughly 20 minutes.


Cool the scones on a wire rack and make the maple nutmeg icing.

 Icing:

Use only a little liquid at a time as you beat the frosting. If it gets too thin, add more confectioner's (powdered) sugar. 


Ingredients:


1 cup confectioner's or powdered sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk
Pinch of nutmeg, to taste (start tiny, you can add more) 


Instructions:


Beat until smooth and add more milk a tablespoon at a time until the icing is creamy- but not too thin. Taste test and add more nutmeg if it needs it.


Beat the icing for three to four minutes (this improves the texture).


Spoon the icing into a pastry bag fitted with a simple tip (or use a plastic sandwich bag with a tiny hole cut in one bottom corner). Chill the icing while the scones are cooling a bit.


Squiggle the icing on top of the scones, or spread on the frosting with an icing knife, if you like a lot of sweetness adorning your scone.




Makes 6-8 scones.


SOOOOOOOO GOOOOODDD!!!!!

Daddy's special Spaghetti sauce

Ingredients:
1 to 1.5lbs/ .5 to .75 kg of ground beef, chicken or sausage
(for vegetarian substitute 1 c. grated zucchini or 2c. fresh spinach)
1 c. chopped bell pepper
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 stalks of celery
1 can of mushrooms (sliced pieces drain off water and discard)
1 large jar Prego spaghetti sauce with mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped or one tsp. of pre-chopped garlic from a jar


Brown 1.5 pounds of ground beef or ground chicken or sausage meat (breakfast sausage squeezed out of the casing is our fave) in a large pot or electric frying pan set at medium heat.
Chop: onions, bell peppers, celery into bite sized chunks and add along with garlic to browned meat and continue frying for 5 to ten minutes. Cover the pot/pan and stir regularly
Add 1 jar or Prego spaghetti sauce with mushrooms and also the can of mushrooms with the water drained off.
Replace lid and cook at med/low heat until veggies are soft, stirring occasionally.

Serve over brown rice or corn spaghetti cooked as per package directions and RINSED WITH COLD WATER.
Use this sauce in our Gluten free lasagne recipe :)

Day 9: Fajitas

     For chicken fajitas:  the salsa, sour cream, cheese, lettuce and chicken are gluten free naturally and I found some AMAZING but expensive, brown rice tortillas in the freezer section of the gluten free area...However, the SEASONING MIX is NOT gluten free...what to do ???  My hubby was on shift for dinner tonight so he Googled  a recipe for gluten free chicken fajitas and mixed up his own batch of seasoning.  The dinner was SO good everyone wanted more and we still had seasoning left for tacos / fajitas another night.
     Lunch was to be a little tricky for tomorrow because we were out of most things..this gluten free stuff is really expensive...all of the girls had cereal (with the milk on the side of course) BREAKFAST for LUNCH!  they LOVED it.  I started to worry about the dog food...and the cat food...was it gluten free...I figured that it was mostly corn based (we buy the cheap kind) and it is not like she is ever going to eat from THEIR bowls...the cats mostly avoid the young children (wonder why) and the dogs are not allowed to lick us :P  I may have to revisit this after more research...For now she will not be feeding these animals..she can help with the fish, guinea pig and turtles :)

Day 7: HOT DOGS!!!!!!

One of the moms at our daycare surprised me today by bringing me a LARGE amout of gluten free cookies pasta and pretzels...must have cost about $50 NICE!!!  We shared GF pretzels for my daughter's school birthday celebration (oddly enough two of the kids at my daycare can't eat wheat so they try to be gluten free and offer GREAT advice :)   )  I was so grateful...After a long day at work we headed out to buy my middle daughter a new bathing suit at Winners and found GLUTEN FREE GRANOLA!!!!  woot woot!!  They have a whole little gluten free section ...Homesense does too..after that we hit Safeway in search of the rumoured "gluten free pieroghy (perogy)"  and found...you guessed it HOTDOGS!!! on SALE even!!! I am going to attempt homeade buns tonight :P and will let you know how it goes...tonight dinner was yummy pancakes :)  The Kinnikinick mix was BETTER than gluten mix...the pancakes didn't leave the full heavy feeling in my tummy like regular pancakes.  The last few even had fresh blueberries..ANOTHER real TREAT!!  For dessert we had yoghurt and I had the yummy new granola in mine.  I also found that Bob's Red Mill rolled oats were gluten free <3    NOW what to do for the buns???!!!

Day 8: the $45 hotdog buns :(

     I decided to make the gluten free hot dog buns with my little preschool class today...the BUNS turned out to be a little weird looking because the batter was like toothpaste at first and when i placed them on the baking sheet, each little bun had spikes sticking out where the dough had stuck to my fingers..like a porcupine..lol.  The instructions said to mix the dough in a bread machine...sadly I had to give mine away :'(  ...  )or to use a free-standing mixer with a dough paddle.  I figured WHY NOT USE my regular MIXER??!!   Sigh...after the smoke cleared I realized that my mixer couldn't handle this tough glob of dough and was actually on fire ...sigh again ...add a new mixer to the list of appliances..I am starting to feel Amish...
     After all of that...the buns actually baked up and tasted like regular dinner rolls..a titch heavy but YUMMY!!  We had all missed bread SO much they were a  REAL treat.  My youngest didn't even eat a hot dog...she just wanted a bun :P
     I am going to try my hand at bread baking this weekend...the bread we bought pre-made in the frozen section did not impress anyone, the DOG would NOT even eat it...My hubby found a pretty good rice bread that was not frozen but very dry and you sort of have to choke it down.  Hopefully I can find a puffy bread recipe :)
     This week is my hubby's turn to make lunches for the girls...he was a bit overwhelmed at first but I helped and he is getting the hang of it.  I thawed some of the chocolate chip cookie bars I had baked the week before (I always save a bit and freeze some of whatever I bake or make so we have a quick dinner on a night when we are rushed..not like we can just go grab a pizza or McDonald's any more :(  He really appreciated that..
    One of the other parents at our little school was so kind and brought us two BIG boxes of Chex cereal.  Rice and honey nut...Chex has ALWAYS been gluten free :) YUM!!  We have been eating them as night-time snacks :)

Day 5: Brown Rice Spaghetti ???

Since Prego spaghetti sauce was gluten free...my hubby could still make his AMAZING sauce and we could have rice spaghetti.  It would be a trial run for my youngest's birthday party on Sunday...did I mention it would be my daughters birthday AND we were having COMPANY FOR DINNER???!!!!  I found gluten free pizza mix and shells at Superstore as well as number and letter shaped "fries" and BREADING FOR CHICKEN!!!!!  We also found a few more brands of cereal and some animal cookies.  I had the cake mix but could use butter and icing sugar and oil to make the icing on the gluten free cake mix...I figured I would make that the morning of the party so it wouldn't have the consistency of a gummy  rock :P  We had a first aid class all day so we left eggs for our sitter and reminded her to wash her hands when she entered our home...you even have to clean your face and mouth before kissing our daughter....sigh....The 8 hour class took our minds off of our tummies and we are slowly starting to adapt..my husband is even losing weight...he has not been tested yet...my guess is that his "wheat belly" is going down and HE is the carrier...Celiac is genetically passed down but because our daughter has Down syndrome she may just get it naturally...not genetically...I could also have had a false positive blood test...Myself and two of my other daughters tested negative and our two sons have not been tested...My youngest is starting to be really aware..She says things like ".I don't want that chicken cause I don't want my tummy to get sick !!!"   She tested negative but if she is living in a healthier way...good!

Day 4: meatloaf

I WAS able to make my meatloaf recipe with Heinz catsup (instead of tomato paste...most of which have gluten), eggs, and gluten free crushed cornflakes because unprocessed meats, fruits, and veggies and most dairy (almost all unflavoured) is gluten free :)   Fresh potatoes were always gluten free and then I was stumped with what else to add...SO I cooked a HUGE amount of frozen peas and frozen corn...Hubby announced that HE was NOT a RABBIT and would need MORE meatloaf than that...sigh...it was really good I just didn't make enough..the kids loved it, but also baulked at the peas and corn...I almost giggled when serving it because they all got about 2 cups each :P   I did take the criticism personally after the meal was over...it DID take me a few hours to plan and prepare that meal :'( and NO ONE gave me good compliments only complaints about the veggies...I decided to get out and get some air and cry on a long drive by myself...also ...and probably not the wisest idea... I posted about my hurt feelings on my Facebook status and got SO MANY words of encouragement and support...and then, of course, I apologized to my hubby there too..he did learn Anne Murray's ..."Even though we ain't got money...I am so in love with you honey"  song on the guitar and sing it to me earlier in the day...Awwwww     <3       I know :')

Day 3: rice noodles...hmmmm

I found out that OLD EL PASO taco shells are GLUTEN FREE!!!!  SALSA too!! not the mix though....so we can have tacos and add our own seasonings!!!!   I also bought some rice pasta and figured I'd add chicken and Braggs soya sauce (all of the others I know of have GLUTEN!!!) and make chowmein since Chinese delivery is now out of the question...sob..NOTE to SELF... Celiac RULE NUMBER TWO:  READ the DIRECTIONS  CAREFULLY!!!  the rice noodles are cooked the same amount of time as wheat but MUST be rinsed with cold water before serving or stir frying..we ended up with a tasty...although VERY gelatinous mass of glop I called it...the girls loved the lunch meat (Freyes gluten free) and cheese as well as fruit and applesauce for lunches...plus chips...I think we are starting to adjust but my hubby says he feels like there is a CAP on all of the food and he is restricted from the amount he can eat...the kids say they are hungry...I am getting psyched up to try baking :
p.s. Cyclone potato chips from Save on Foods are safe too :)