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Strawberry Cream Cheese

By Christy on May 13, 2012 in Appetizers & Snacks, Breakfast, Desserts, Gluten-free, Recipes

Yummy, luscious, oh-so-sweet local strawberries! I ordered a pound of these beauties and savored a few every morning with breakfast for a week. When I reached the bottom of the container, I had a few mushy berries left. Too scrumptious to just throw away or turn into compost, I used the Full Quiver cream cheese I had in the fridge to make a strawberry cream cheese spread. A touch of cinnamon adds an interesting taste but feel free to omit or substitute vanilla if you prefer. I used brown sugar to sweeten but of course, you can use honey, agave, or plain sugar.

3-4 strawberries

8 ounces cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1-2 Tablespoons brown sugar

Rough chop berries and sprinkle with 1 Tablespoon sugar. Allow berries to sit for at least 1/2 hour to macerate, which means the sugar will draw moisture and flavor out of the berries. Add berries, cream cheese, and cinnamon to a mixing bowl and mix for 2-3 minutes on high speed. Taste and add more sugar if desired.

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Roast Chicken

By Christy on May 4, 2012 in Gluten-free, Main Dishes, Recipes

As the Texas summer starts creeping up on us, my thoughts turn to ways to avoid the heat of the oven. I have long been a fan of the crock pot to stew a chicken in for soups but did you know you could roast a chicken in the crock pot? OK, technically it is probably a braise but by just leaving the lid off for the last 30 minutes of cooking time, the skin gets closer to a crispy roast than a flabby stew. By placing the chicken on top of a bed of vegetables, the juices are used to add flavor to the veggies without submerging the bird in too much liquid. It is ok if it comes part way up the bird but you want it mostly out of the broth for the crispiest skin.

3-4 potatoes cut into bite size pieces

4-5 carrots cut into bite size pieces

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

olive oil

3-4 pound whole chicken

Combine the spices to make a dry rub for the chicken. Rub the chicken inside and out with the olive oil and thoroughly sprinkle with the rub. You can let this rest covered in the refrigerator for an hour up to overnight if you have time. Layer the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot and position the bird on top. You should still be able to close the lid on the crock pot. Cook on high for 30 minutes, then switch to low for 6-7 hours. For the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid.

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Kale Chips

By Christy on May 3, 2012 in Appetizers & Snacks, Gluten-free, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegan

My poor kale was starting to yellow. One too many days in the fridge. I needed to cook it right away but was not in the mood for cooked greens. A quick toss with some oil, salt, and sesame seeds and I had a delicious crunchy snack of kale chips. Even the kiddos will like this one.

1 tablespoon sesame oil or chili oil if you like it spicy

1 head kale, thoroughly washed and dried

salt to taste

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Remove tough stems from kale. Toss with oil. Sprinkle with salt and sesame seeds. Bake for 40-50 minutes, stirring after about 20 minutes.

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Mushroom Soup

By Christy on April 23, 2012 in Gluten-free, Recipes, Soups

This recipe can be used with any kind of mushroom you have on hand. I had some fresh button mushrooms and an assortment of dried ones. Rehydrate the dried ones by bringing 2 cups of water to a boil, pour it over the dried mushrooms and let them steep for 20-30 minutes. Do not throw the steeping water away! Strain out any sand or dirt particles and use the broth in the soup. The fish sauce is optional in this but I really like the umami flavor it adds, not fishy at all.

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 ounces dried mushrooms, rehydrated with boiling water and roughly chopped

8 ounces fresh mushrooms, like button or crimini, roughly chopped

2 shallots, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

2 sprigs of thyme

6 cups broth, veggie or chicken

1/2 cup milk or cream

2 tablespoons fish sauce (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add mushrooms and saute until browned, about 6 minutes. Add shallots and garlic and saute until translucent. Add the thyme and broth to the pot and simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove thyme stems and whisk in cream, fish sauce, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture into a blender, never filling more than half full and pulse till smooth. If you overfill a blender with hot liquid, it can blow the lid off the blender and send hot soup flying everywhere, so be very careful and work in batches or use an immersion blender right in the pot if you have one.

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Gluten Free Browned Butter Salted Caramel Brownies

By Christy on April 8, 2012 in Desserts, Gluten-free, Recipes

Browned butter adds a wonderful depth of flavor to your baked goods. The trick is to brown the milk solids in the butter to get a rich nutty flavor without burning it. Use medium to low heat and keep a close eye on it. It will bubble, hiss, and turn brown but you know it is ready when it quits hissing and turns eerily quiet.

3 ounces butter (6 tablespoons), unsalted

8 ounces good quality chocolate (the Sunspire chocolate chips come in a 9 ounce package, add remaining ounce into batter before spreading in pan)

3/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon cocoa

2 tablespoons corn starch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup salted caramel sauce, recipe to follow

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 inch square pan with foil or parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Brown butter over low to medium heat. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Retained heat should melt the chips, stir until smooth. Stir in sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Sift together cocoa powder, corn starch, and salt. Add to chocolate mixture and beat vigorously for at least one minute. Mixture should turn paler and be smooth looking. If you do not beat batter long enough, it may break and become crumbly when you bake it. Since there is no gluten from flour, better to err on the side of over-beating. Fold in any remaining chocolate chips if desired. Spread into prepared pan. Pour caramel sauce in parallel lines on top batter. Draw a knife through the batter and caramel sauce in perpendicular lines to get a marbled effect. Bake for 30 minutes until brownies are set.

Salted Caramel Sauce

This makes extra sauce, it makes a delicious ice cream topping or dip for fresh fruit.

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

3 ounces butter (6 tablespoons)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Use a large saucepan to make the caramel, it will bubble up and sputter when you add the butter and whipping cream and if your pan is too small, it may spill over or worse, burn you. Mix sugar and water together and cook over medium heat. You can stir it until it starts to boil, but once it does, do use a spoon to stir it any longer, only lightly swirl the pan if you have to distribute the heat. The art in a caramel sauce comes from finding that fine line between deep caramel flavor and burned. Once it starts to brown, it quickly goes from brown to burned, so watch it close and the second it gets dark enough, remove it from the heat and add the butter. Stir to melt the butter and smooth the caramel. Place it back on the heat and bring it to a boil again, then add the cream and salt. Mixture may seize up but will smooth out again as it heats.