Home Made Gluten Free Pop Tarts

It is no secret that I do not like my children having processed foods.  My husband does not want them to have HFCS.  My son loves pop tarts though.  He has been asking for them allot lately.  I thought to myself, "I'll go to the whole foods store and look for a healthier option".  No such option could be found.  All of them had HFCS or some strange ingredient.  Then I found a blog.  THIS blog.  She made her own pop tarts.  I had to try making them.

2 cups Flour (I used GF Tom Sawyer but regular is the same measurement)

1 cup butter

1 oz Milk

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum

Add flour, salt, sugar and butter into food processor.  Pulse until butter is incorporated into flour and forms small beads the size of peas.  Add milk and egg.  Mix until just incorporated.  Dough should hold together when squeezed in your fist.

Divide dough into 10 ounces each (approximately).  Chill one while you roll out the other into a 3 x 5 rectangle.  

Please note, Gluten Free flour is very difficult to deal with.  It will crack, OFTEN.  It mends nicely together though.  Just take a piece from the ends and pinch it onto crack to mend.  Rolling will hide the mend entirely.  Go gently.  Perseverance is the key here.  Roll, turn, roll turn, roll turn. I use a very large outdoor quality spatula to move the dough around without breaking. Use rice flour for the roller and spatula.

I cut the dough to a rectangle and then 7 x 12 centimeter squares.  Each section made 4 pop tart tops and bottoms.  Please note: you will need a separate top and a separate bottom.  Gluten dough will fold nicely so you wont need to make that middle cut.  Gluten Free dough will NOT fold.  You have to lift each piece gently off the counter with a spatula.

Brown Sugar Filling

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

2 Tablespoons Flour

Chocolate Filling

6 squares Semi Sweet Chocolate

2 tablespoons Milk

(I bet a tablespoon of Peanut Butter would be good too)

Microwave for 30 seconds.

I spooned 2 teaspoons of filling in the middle of one side.

Beat an egg with a bit of water.  Cover tops and area surrounding filling with egg wash.  Use that long spatula again to lift the top off the counter.  You could try to flip that egg wash side down onto the filling.  I did not take any chances.  I placed the top gently on my hand and flipped it over by hand.  Brush egg wash on tops of pop tarts.

 Use spatula again to lift pop tart onto baking pan lined with greased parchment paper.  Press to seal edges.  Edge with a fork

Do you see how ugly this top was.  I flipped it over on the pan.  The underside was still lovely.  

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

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Shepherd's Pie

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 clove garlic, minced
1 lb ground Beef
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon black Pepper
1 cup Broth
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon Mrs. Dash
1/2 cup Peas
1/2 cup Corn
2 pounds Potatoes, peeled and diced
4 Tablespoons Butter
1 Egg Yolk

Boil potatoes in water until for tender.  Drain potatoes.  Mix potatoes, butter and egg yolks until smooth. Add milk if necessary to achieve proper texture.

While potatoes are boiling, add oil and onion to sauté pan.  Cook onions over medium high heat.  Once onions are translucent, add beef and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Brown and crumble until the meat is no longer pink.  Mix broth and corn starch until combined.  Stir into beef mixture along with Worcestershire and seasoning and vegetables.

Layer meat in a casserole dish.  Spoon potatoes over meat and cover it entirely.  Cook at 350 for 30 minutes.

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Menu Plan Monday: Week of May 3rd, 2010

Monday:
Pork Chop Suey

Rice

Tuesday:
Chicken Enchiladas

Home Made Spanish Rice

Home Made Refried beans

Wednesday:

Church

Thursday:

Shepherds Pie

Green Salad

Friday:

Baked Chicken

Mashed Potatoes

Green Beans

Fresh Rolls

Saturday:

Pepper Steak

Rice

Salad

Sunday:

Spaghetti

Meatballs

Salad

Fresh Bread

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Apple Pie in a Jar

I really like this recipe for camping.  I first came across the idea at Recipelion and crossed it with my old favorite apple pie recipe.  Just bring your cast iron skillet camping and either a pre made pie crust of some granola crumbles.  The skillet idea could even work at home for a quick and easy dessert.

4 cups white sugar (a combo of white and brown would be good too)
1 cup corn starch or tapioca
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg (optional)
4 teaspoons Lemon Juice
10 cups Water
28 cups sliced Granny Smith apples
(2 small apples per cup or 1 pound per cup, I used 2 bags of small apples)

Place a rack in the bottom of a large stock pot. Fill pot with hot water. Sterilize 7 1 quart canning jars, 7 lids and 7 rings by placing on rack, jars upright. Bring water to a boil. Boil 10 minutes. Remove with a holder and allow jars to air-dry. Save water for

Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and water in a large saucepan. Place over high heat and cook until thick and bubbly, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. Make sure you cook out all of the corn starch taste.

Tightly pack apples into sterilized jars. Make sure you leave a space at the top of the jar. Slowly pour syrup over apples, covering them completely. This step is a slow process as it takes time for the thick syrup to seep into the packed jars. Gently tap jars on countertop to allow air bubbles to rise. Screw lids on jars.

Carefully lower jars into pot using a holder. Leave a 2 inch space between jars. Add more boiling water if necessary, until tops of jars are covered by 2 inches of water. Bring water to a full boil, then cover and process for 30 minutes (cold packed apples should be done for no less than this).

Remove jars from pot and place cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. Once cook, press top of each lid with finger, ensuring that seal is tight (lid doesn't move up or down at all). Sealed jars can be stored for up to a year.

*Working note: Very tart apples may require a larger amount of sugar and very juicy ones may call for a larger amount of tapioca or cornstarch.

**Apples are not cooked though this process. Final product still needs full cooking to soften apples.

***Add jar's contents to your favorite fresh or frozen 9" pie crust recipe. Bake 425 for 15 minutes. Lower temp to 375 and bake for 35 more minutes.

****To make Foil Apple Cobbler take a sheet of foil and spray with nonstick spray. Place several spoon fulls of apple filling. Add granola. Toss in some carmel for fun. Close and roast for 20-30 minutes.





This post has been linked to:

• Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life as Mom

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Black Bean and Corn Salad

2 cups dried or 4 cups reconstituted Black Beans
4 cups Tomatoes (Plum, diced)
1 small Red Onion (diced small)
2 cups Corn (frozen is OK)
1 Jalapeno (seeds removed, finely diced)
1 clove Garlic (finely diced)
1-1/2 teaspoons Cumin
2 teaspoons Hot Sauce
1/2 cup fresh Cilantro
1 Tablespoons fresh Parsley
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
6 Tablespoons Lime Juice

Soak dried beans overnight.  Next day rinse beans and refill pot of water with 2 inches of water above beans.  Simmer slow until beans are soft.

Mix cooled black beans with all ingredients and mix well.  Chill to blend flavors.

I will be sharing this recipe at Gluten Free Wednesdays over at Gluten Free Homemaker's Blog.

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Menu Plan Monday: Week of April 26th, 2010

We have all be suffering with allergies this season pretty badly.  My goal is to seek out local honey and incorporate it into each meal some way.  In yogurt, on fresh bread, in marinade.

Monday:

Taco's

Home Made Tortilla's

Served with Lettuce, Tomato, Cheese & Sour Cream

Spanish Rice

Home Made Refried Beans

Tuesday:

Marinaded Grilled Steak

Black Bean Salad

Steamed Broccoli

Fresh Baked Bread

Wednesday:

Church

Thursday:

Baked Chicken

Home Made Rice-a-Roni

Cole Slaw

Corn

Friday:

Sausage and Bean Stew

Carrots

Cornbread

Saturday:

Grilled Pork Loin

Mashed Potatoes

Green Beans

Garden Salad with Home Made Ranch

Sunday:

Spaghetti with Meat sauce

Fresh Rolls

Caesar salad

Have you watched Jamie Oliver's food revolution?  He is challenging America to eat meals that start with fresh whole foods.  Foods that do not have long ingredient labels full of junk.  Ever since my illness that is exactly my mission for my house so I was excited to view his mission.  I strongly felt that the junk we eat was killing us.  I think fresh whole foods are healing in nature and was provided to us by god for that purpose.  That is why i prepare my own fresh ingredient convenience foods.  Why I quick prep and freeze some items like mashed potatoes.  My children do not get offered convenience junk snack foods.  They get offered almonds, fruit, veggies and dairy snacks.  Soda's are not purchased here.  Tea, water, milk and whole sugar free juice only.

Jamie is starting in the schools which I happen to think is a brilliant idea.  You should see the disgusting food they serve my child at school.  He eats breakfast AND lunch there.  He insists on eating breakfast there as it is a social time for him to chat freely with his friends.  Slowly but surely he started to gain weight.  He is up 20 pounds since we moved here and I had no clue what changed.  After a few visits to lunch, I made a quick observation. Our old school district (before this last move) had better food choices and I was very disappointed to see how much the quality had dropped in moving.  I could fully pack for him, I'm considering that option.  He really likes getting the tray like everybody else.  So I sought out to educate my child on "healthy" food options.  He no longer chooses the chocolate milk.  Only 1% white for him.  I actually walked him though the line and pointed out his "good" choices.  He is a kid, I know he is not necessarily going to listen to all of my instructions.  But I am proud to say that he at least still chooses the proper milk.

Did you see Jamie ask the children the names of the various veggies?  I am also proud to boast that my child knew the answers to the vegetable questions he proposed.  He knows beets start off with that red stalk and would have been able to identify those.  He would even get the veggies he hates correct (eggplant, cauliflower).  Does that mean he eats his veggies without issue?  Absolutely NOT!  In fact, I have to SNEAK his cauliflower into his mashed potatoes :-D. I'm working on it.  This year we started our own organic vegetable garden.  We started the seeds ourself and the children had the chance to watch the whole process.  I hope with the children's involvement they will learn to eat their vegetables easier.

The food plan I follow for my own children at home is based on the food pyramid guidelines which includes 2 milks a day, 2 servings of meat, 3 or more veggies, 2 ore more fruits, and 6 grains.  They are offered a Milk, Fruit and Grain for breakfast (for example: Fruit and Yogurt Parfait with Granola). For snack they are offered another fruit or vegetable and grain (Whole grain bread or bagels, Nuts, granola, pretzels, tortilla chips with dip or spread).  Main meals are meat, vegetable, milk and grain.

You should seriously head on over to Jamie's web page and sign his petition.

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Make your own Barbie Birthday Cake

My daughter was turning 5 this month.  She never had a "real" birthday party.  You know like the HUGE 1st birthday parties most kids receive.  Our lives were in turmoil from the moment I found out we were pregnant.  Relocations (twice), my illness and a complete and total loss of income for our household for a few months all weighed on our ability to celebrate her life.  This year was the year I was going to finally give her the "big" party she deserved.  

She and I are both Gluten Free.  And I did not want to make it obvious at her party that she needed a "special" cake ~ translation "odd".  My crazy mind I know.  So I set out to figure out how to make her a very special cake.  You know the cake that was in front of her made the cake the guests were going to eat look lesser in comparison.

First I had to tackle making a good cake.  I used Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow cake mix.  Now I happen to think this cake mix is awful!  Awful was not going to do for my special girls birthday.  But if my failure to make good Gluten Free bread was any indicator, I was in big trouble.  But then I found a recipe that enhanced the boxed mix and made it more palatable.  The blog is called "A Gluten Free Guide" and here is the link to the recipe. I first baked a regular cake to try it out.  You know what, it IS GOOD! Moist, not crumbly, the Jello pudding definitely adds a nice texture.  Sorta smooths over the grittiness I noticed upon first trying BC cake mixes.  I have included the recipe below for your convenience (and mine).  I plan on making this recipe for the devils food mix too using chocolate pudding and maybe sour cream instead of OJ.  

Second, how in the world do you do it anyway?  I found this link with great step by step instruction.

Finally, following the directions I viewed, I baked THREE (3) 8" round cakes and 1 rounded bottom pyrex bowl about 2/3's full of batter.  Now note the instructions on the video say TWO (2) 8" round cakes.  Only 2 cakes for today's super tall barbies and princesses is not enough hight. You will find yourself in a state of panic with not enough cake.  You will need 3 round cakes.

Once cakes are baked and cooled, take a small juice glass and cut a circle out of the middle of all cakes. 

Stack your cakes in this order (round, round, round, circle ~ smaller circumference up) and Crumb coat your cake with frosting. Chill.

Wrap Barbie's legs in Plastic wrap up to her waste (in our case Aurora from Disney Princess line).

Insert Barbie into the cake.

Apply final Frosting and smooth out with cut out strips of paper.  

I used the canned frosting with the piping tips to decorate the waste and bottom of the dress with the star tip.

Enhanced Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cake Mix Recipe

1 Box of yellow Cake Mix

1  3.8 ounce box of Jello Pudding (vanilla)

1/3 cup Sugar

4 eggs

1/2 cup Oil

3/4 cup Orange Juice

1 T Vanilla Extract

Combine ingredients. 

Pour in equal amounts into greased 8" cake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 41 to 46 minutes.

I had to make two boxes for this Barbie Cake.  

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