Texas Caviar

This recipe came from one of my sisters...I don't remember which one. The name kind-of cracks me up, but it makes some tasty stuff!

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white corn, rinsed and drained
1 green onion, chopped
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 large handful of cilantro, chopped
1 ripe tomato, diced

Dressing:
2 cloves fresh minced garlic
1/4 to 1/2 c olive oil
1/4 to 1/2 c red wine vinegar
Fresh ground salt and pepper

Directions:
Combine all of the above to taste and serve with tortilla chips.

Crepes (Gluten Free)

Baking without gluten is something I've done very little of. When I have tried, more often then not I've been disappointed. It's just never the same. And I find hard to spend time and money trying things that in the end leave a lot to be desired. I know I just need to bite the bullet and start experimenting if I'm ever going to find any gf baking recipes I really like.

Last night I decided I wanted to find a good gf crepe recipe. I searched online and settled on trying this one from thebakingbeauties.com. I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out really well!


Ingredients:
1/2 c rice flour
1/2 c tapioca starch
1/2 c cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp potato flour
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 c milk
2 eggs
2 T vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
butter

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
2. In a larger bowl, combine all wet ingredients.
3. Combine the wet & dry ingredients, whisking until nearly smooth (a few lumps are alright).
4. In a hot frying pan (about medium heat) pour approximately 3/4 cup of batter in the middle of the pan. Lift the pan & turn it to distribute the batter over the entire pan. You want your batter to cover the entire bottom of the frying pan when you are done.
5. Once there are little holes and air bubbles forming in the top of your pancake, using a spatula, carefully flip the crepe to brown the other side. This does not take long to cook, because they are so thin.

 Allison's Additional Notes:

1. My husband cooked these, as he's the crepe cooking pro. He puts a little butter on the pan before pouring each crepe. We found that towards the end of cooking, the batter was much thicker, and the last crepe was a little rubbery. I think the cornstarch started settling to the bottom of the bowl as he cooked the other crepes. Next time he'll whisk the batter in between cooking each crepe to prevent settling.
2. We like our crepes with a few different topping combos: cinnamon and sugar, powdered sugar and lemon juice, Nutella and raspberries, or jam and sour cream.

Key Lime Pie

I made this from a recipe found allrecipes.com...one where everyone gave it 4-5 stars, and then explained all the changes they made. I made one of the modified versions. It was delicious, and made me wish I had ripe key limes all year round.

Ingredients:

Crust
1 package Pamela's Pecan Shortbread Cookies (gf)
1/4 c sugar

Filling
4 egg yolks, beaten
2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk
1 c key lime juice

Directions:

1. Crush the cookies to crumbs by either pulsing in a food processor or placing the cookies in a ziploc bag and crushing them with a rolling pin. They crumble easily.
2. Combine the crumbs with sugar, then press into a pie pan and bake at 350 for 5 minutes. Allow to cool.
3. Thoroughly mix the filling ingredients, pour into pie crust, and bake at 375 for 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving, topped with whipped cream.

Baked Potato Soup

This is actually Sarah's recipe. It is fantastic, and was easy to adapt to be gluten free.

Ingredients:
6 large baking potatoes
9 T. thinly sliced green onion
9 T. butter
9 T. cornstarch
3/4 t. dried dill weed
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. black pepper
12 c. milk
3 c. shredded cheddar cheese
4 gluten free bouillon cubes (I use Better than Bouillon)

Topping for table:
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
9 T. sliced green onions
12 slices bacon, crisp cooked, drained and crumbled

Directions:

1. Scrub potatoes thoroughly, prick with fork and bake in a 425 oven for 40-60 minutes or until tender. Let cool. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise; gently scoop out potato pulp. Break up any large pieces of potato. Discard potato skins.
2. In a large saucepan cook 9 T. green onions in hot butter over medium heat until tender. Stir in cornstarch, dill, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once. Add bouillon cubes. Cook and stir for 12-15 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Add the potato pulp and 3 cups of the cheese; stir until cheese melts.
3. To serve, ladle into bowls and serve with extra cheese, green onions and bacon.

Allison's additional notes:
This makes a LOT, so I typically scale down the recipe.

Granola

I've been needing to make granola for a while now...Chex nearly every morning is starting to get old. I finally made a batch today.

Ingredients:
4-5 c gluten free oats (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/4 c canola oil
1/4 c honey
1/2 c shredded coconut
1/4-1/2 c slivered almonds

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to coat evenly.
2. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 for 25-30 minutes, taking out to stir every 10 minutes.
3. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

Allison's Notes:
I like to add craisins once the granola has cooled.

Apple Crisp

This dessert has always been one of my favorites. I only had to substitute gluten free flour and oats to make it GF. This was my first time trying gluten free oats (and I realized my first time eating oats in 5 months...weird). It turned out wonderfully!

Ingredients:

6-10 apples, depending on size and preference (I use Granny Smith)

Topping:
1 c gluten free flour (I used Shar's GF Baking Master Mix, but you could also try an all-purpose gluten free flour)
1 c gluten free oats (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c butter or margarine, softened
1 t cinnamon.

Directions:

1. Core, peel, and slice apples, then place slices in a 9 x 13 inch pan
2. Mix topping ingredients (I cut them together with a pastry blender). Sprinkle topping over apples. 
3. Bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes. Serve topped with vanilla ice cream.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

This is one of our family favorites from Family Fun.

Marinade:

1/4 c ketchup

1/4 c hoisin sauce (I haven't found a GF hoisin sauce yet, so I used San-J's teriyaki marinade as a substitute)

2 T GF soy sauce

2 T rice vinegar

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp minced fresh ginger

2 tsp dark sesame oil

Chicken:

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 oz each)

Sesame seeds, toasted in a skillet

Scallion tops, cute into 2-inch long strips (optional)

Directions:

1. Marinate chicken (at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight) in a gallon-size ziplock bag.

2. Remove meat 20 minutes before grilling. Grill thighs for about 5 minutes per side, transfer to a cutting board, and let rest for about 5 minutes.

3. Slice each piece at a diagonal, and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. Serve over rice, garnished with scallion strips. Serves 6-8.

Sarah's Notes: You can use boneless chicken breasts if you prefer, but thighs stay much more moist during grilling.