Gluten Free Swig Sugar Cookie CopyCat

There is a wonderful place down in St. George and Provo, Utah that is called Swig. It offers different flavored sodas, i.e. Mango Mt. Dew or "Dirty" Dr. Pepper (with coconut).  They are also known for their sugar cookies. I have always wanted to take my wife there, but since she can't have gluten, that option really wasn't an option. I started looking online for copycat recipes, that I could base my recipe off and I found one. Tonight for an after dinner dessert, I decided to give it a shot and it turned out well!

Ingredients:
Sugar Cookie:
1 C Butter (Room Temperature)
3/4 C Vegetable Oil
1 1/4 C Sugar
3/4 C Powdered Sugar
2 T Water
2 Eggs
1/2 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Cream of Tarter
1 t Salt
5 1/2 C Gluten Free Flour
2 t Xanthan Gum

Sour Cream Icing:
1/2 C Butter (Room Temperature)
3/4 C Sour Cream
1 2 lb Bag of Powdered Sugar
1 t Salt
1/4 C Milk
Red Food Coloring (3 Drops)

Misc. Ingredients:
1/4 C Sugar
Pinch of Salt

Directions for Sugar Cookie:
Cream Butter, Vegetable Oil, Sugar, Powdered Sugar, water, and eggs together for 2 minutes. Combine Dry ingredients together and slowly added into the butter mixture. Mix until everything is combined. The Dough should be a little crumbly and not sticky at all. Roll the dough into golf size balls and place onto cookie sheet.
The signature look of these cookies is a broken outside edge. This is done by mixing the misc. ingredients together. Then the next step is to take a round cup and place the base into the mixture of sugar and salt and then press down firmly into the middle of the dough ball. The outside edge will split some like what is shown in the picture above. If there is a lip formed, even better. You don't want the cookie to get too thin.
Once this is done, place in oven at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes.
Once they are done cooking, allow to cool and then place in the fridge in a sealed container to make them cold until you are ready to serve them.

Directions for the Icing:
Cream together Sour Cream, Butter, and Salt. Slowly add Powdered Sugar. When the mixture is thicker than icing, add the milk slowly. Continue mixing until the right consistency. I used a brand new bag of Powdered Sugar prior to starting, removed the 3/4 C for the cookies, and the rest of the powdered sugar for the icing. After it is done, add about 3 drops of Red Food Coloring to the mixture.
When you are ready to serve them, pull the cookies from the fridge and ice them. The icing should be room temperature and the cookies should be cold. ENJOY!

Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Dessert

Great ice cream dessert for a family get together or even for a stressful day! :)

Ingredients:
2 Cups Gluten Free Flour
1/2 Cups Gluten Free Oatmeal
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Butter, melted
1/2 Gallon Vanilla Ice Cream
1 (12 oz) jar caramel ice cream topping

Directions:
CRUST:
Mix Flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, butter together. Spread on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool Crust completely, then crumble.
ASSEMBLE:
Spread half of the crumbled crust in a 9x13 pan. Spread softened ice cream over crust. Pour half of the caramel topping over ice cream. Sprinkle the rest of the crust over the ice cream and then add the rest of the caramel topping. Store, covered, in freezer.

Chicken Parmesan

This is a great recipe to make. First thing you need to keep in mind is that you need to have Gluten Free Bread Crumbs. You can buy Gluten Free Bread Crumbs at special stores, but if you have left over bread that has dried out or you don't want, you can use that. I use a recipe from the cookbook called Irresistibly Gluten Free for pizza dough and mix in Italian Seasoning. I spread them thin on a cookie sheet and bake them until it is nice and crispy. I then throw them into a blender and blend them up. I will store them in some Tupperware until I need them.

Ingredients:
28-30 oz Spaghetti Sauce
6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 Cup Gluten Free Bread Crumbs
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Hot Cooked Gluten Free Penne Pasta

Directions:
Pour Spaghetti Sauce into 9x13 Pan. Place Chicken Breasts on sauce. Mix Bread Crumbs, parmesan, mozzarella, and olive oil together and sprinkle on top. Bake at 375 degrees F uncovered for 30-35 minutes. Serve over hot pasta.

Zupa Toscano CopyCat

This recipe I heard about from a friend. This is one of my favorite soups from Olive Garden. It is another Crock Pot Recipe, which makes it easier to cook.

Ingredients:
1 lb. sausage
2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half, and then  in 1/4 in slices
1 Large Onion, chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 C. Kale, chopped
16 oz. Chicken Broth
1 quart water
1 c. Heavy Whipping Cream

Directions:
Brown The sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Place cooked sausage, chicken broth, water, garlic, potatoes and onion in the slow cooker. Cover and cook in the crock pot on high for 3-4 hours until potatoes are cooked and soft. Turn the slow cooker off and add the kale.
Return the lid and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir in whipping cream and serve.

Easy Crock Pot Chicken Chili Soup

This is a recipe my wonderful wife made. She hates to admit that she is actually a really good cook, but she can't deny it with this one, considering I request it on a regular basis.



The other great thing about this recipe it that it is in the crock pot which makes it even easier.

Ingredients:
2 Cans Black Beans
2 Cans Kidney Beans
2 Cans Diced Green Chili
2 Cans Diced Tomatoes with Green Chili
2 Cans Corn
1/2 Onion Diced
6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Chili Powder
2 Cloves Minced Garlic
Salt
Black Pepper
Parsley

Directions:
Open up all the canned ingredients. Drain 1 can of each, and then add each can of Black Beans, Kidney Beans, Diced Green Chili, Diced Tomatoes with Green Chili, and Corn into the crock pot. I use a 6 Qt. Crock Pot. Add the Onions, Chicken, and the Garlic. As for the Spices, add each to taste. You will be able to add more at the end and mix it in. I usually add around 2 Tablespoons of Chili Powder, Salt, Black Pepper, and Parsley. I would however recommend adding about 1 Tablespoon of each at the beginning and then mix in more to taste at the end of cooking. The cooking time will be 4 to 5 hours on High. About 3 hours into the cooking, pull out the chicken and dice or shred the chicken then return to the crock pot. At this point, you will be able to taste test the recipe and add more spices as you would like.

This makes a lot of soup, but we usually freeze half of it for another day!

Teriyaki Chicken!

This is a great homemade recipe for Teriyaki Chicken. I have to give a shout out to my friend David Fiso who gave me the original marinade recipe that I converted to Gluten Free. This is a recipe that has to marinate overnight, so plan ahead. Depending on how much marinade you make will determine how much chicken to use. Just last week, I made up about 15 pounds of Teriyaki Chicken for a family event. I used 3 cups of Soy Sauce, 6 cups water, 3 cups brown sugar and the rest of the recipe have sufficient marinade. It was the perfect amount for 15 pounds of chicken.

Ingredients:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
Gluten Free Soy Sauce (I Use La Choy Soy Sauce, naturally gluten free brand)
Brown Sugar
Water
2 Tbsp Honey
Garlic Powder
Ground Ginger
Bushel of Green Onions (Minced)

Directions:
For the marinade, mix 1 part soy sauce, 2 parts water, 1 part brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons Honey. Stir these together until the sugar is dissolved. Mix in Ground Ginger and Garlic Powder to taste. Then mix in minced Green Onions. I usually mince up 6-7 green onions. Place Chicken into a container and pour marinade over chicken. Let the chicken marinade overnight.

Fire up the grill and grill up the chicken until it is fully cooked.

Cook up some rice and eat the chicken over the rice.

This is a really good recipe for a nice day.

Chicken Quesadillas

Looking for another Easy dinner recipe? Check out this recipe.

Ingredients:
Corn Tortillas
1 Jar of Cheese Whiz
1 can of Chopped Green Chilies
1 Pound Shredded Cooked Chicken
Vegetable Oil (For Frying)

Directions:
In a sauce pan, heat cheese whiz until it is smooth. Mix in chopped green chilies and chicken. Once heated through, spoon out mixture into corn tortillas and fry the quesadillas in a fry pan with some vegetable oil. Don't forget to flip the quesadilla over to cook both sides. Once both sides are a nice light brown, remove from fry pan and cut to enjoy.

Looking for a great soup to have these with, check out my Black Bean Soup Recipe.

Black Bean Soup

This is an easy and great recipe for just kicking back and relaxing.

Black Bean Soup:
Ingredients:
3 Cans black beans drained and rinsed
1 Cup Salsa
2 Cups Chicken Broth
Juice from 1 Lime
2 Tbsp. Cilantro

Directions:
Heat Salsa 5 minutes in sauce pan. Stir in beans and chicken broth, and heat for 15 minutes. Continue stirring periodically. Ladle mixture into blender and puree. Return pureed mixture to sauce pan. Add remaining ingredients and heat until warm through.
Top With Sour Cream and/or Avocado slices if desired.

This goes really well with Quesadillas.
 Check out my recipe for Chicken Quesadillas.

COOKING JUST GOT REAL!!!!

Today I bought a great cooking tool for the family. It is called a Traeger Grill. My wife and I have been discussing adding this grill to our cooking tool collection. Which got me thinking about what one might need to get started on a Gluten Free Diet when it comes to instruments. So I thought I might put together a list of items for the kitchen to make sure you have.

First things first, I want to recommend a FANTASTIC cookbook to start with. The woman who wrote this cook book lives in Utah and wrote a cookbook that was a life saver for my wife and I. Here website is Irresistibly Gluten Free has some great starter recipes and some even more recipes. I HIGHLY recommend that you take a look at her website and even look at purchasing her cookbook. I plan on continuing to improve upon her start.

For the Kitchen:
At least 2 Aluminum Cookie Sheets
Nice set of pots and pans: Minimum 8 qt. pot for making soups
Kitchen Aid Mixer
Glass Bakeware: 9x13, 8x8
Bread Pans: at least 3 or 4
Cake Pans: Assorted Size
Mixing Bowls


For the bigger cookers:
6 Qt. Crock Pot
Traeger Smoker
Bread machine

Ingredients to keep on hand all the time.
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Xanthan Gum
Vegetable Oil
Brown Sugar
White Sugar
Salt
Butter (and large amounts)
Crisco
Vanilla Extract
Milk
Eggs
Gluten Free Flour
Gluten Free Pasta

Now that is just the basics, but I highly recommend having all those ingredients, all of the items for the kitchen, and if you want even the items for the bigger cookers.

If you are looking for a great place to purchase all of your ingredients, go to Winco. We buy all of our stuff in bulk and keep it on hand. The other great place is Costco. Between those two, I am able to get all the things I need. Hope this Helps!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread!

I know it is a little late in the season for Pumpkin Bread. But non the less, it is still delicious and easy to make.

Ingredients:

Dry:

2 cup               GF Flour

1.5 tsp             Salt

1 tsp                Cinnamon

1 tsp                Nutmeg

2 tsp                Baking Soda

3 tsp                Xanthum Gum

Wet:

2 cups            Pumpkin

1 cup             Honey (Liquid)

½ cup            Water

4                    Eggs

1 cup             Corn Oil

Directions: (Makes 2 Loaves)

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease two medium loaf pans. In a bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and xanthum gum. Using a wire whisk give the dry ingredients a good stir. In another bowl combine the pumpkin, honey, corn oil and water. Stir together and add one egg at a time, beating well after each egg is added. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add the pumpkin mixture and stir. Pour in the prepared loaf pans. Bake for 60 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. Cool on a wire rack.

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

I had the opportunity to try this recipe tonight when we had some friends come over for dinner. It turned out really well! Keep in mind, this is a very rich desert!

Ingredients:

1.5 C Butter softened

2 C light brown sugar, packed

1 C granulated sugar

5 Large Eggs

3 C  GF Flour
1 tsp. Xanthan Gum

1 tsp. Baking Powder

½ tsp. salt

1 C Whole Milk

1 8 oz bag toffee chips

1 C pecans, chopped

Caramel Drizzle:

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

1 C brown sugar

2 Tbsp. Butter

½ tsp. Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt Pan with cooking spray.

Beat butter until creamy. Add sugars beating until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. In medium bowl combine flour, salt, and baking powder. Add flour mixture to batter alternately with milk. Beat until just combined. Stir in toffee chips and pecans. Spoon batter into pan and bake 85 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. To prevent excess browning, cover cake with foil while baking.

Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack. Spoon Caramel Drizzle over cooled cake.

Directions for Caramel Drizzle:

In a medium saucepan, combine condensed milk and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking frequently. Reduce Heat, and Simmer for 8 minutes, whisking frequently. Remove from heat; whisk in butter and vanilla. Let cool for 5 minutes before using. Note: Make sure you drizzle the caramel while it’s still HOT.

When Cooled, the caramel does somewhat harden.

Chicken Wing Sauces

Chicken Wings are a common super bowl treat, but also just a great dinner anytime!

There are different ways to cook the wings, do which ever way you prefer.

Here is a list of some home made sauces, and some bottled sauces that my family and I enjoy using.

The first homemade sauce is a J-Dawg recipe:

Ingredients:

3/4 C Ketchup
3/4 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C Honey
1 tsp. Cider Vinegar
1 tsp. Soy Sauce (GF soy sauce if you need it to be Gluten Free)
1/2 tsp. Onion Powder

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan and heat until almost boiling. Remove from heat, cool, and mix wings into sauce.

The second homemade sauce is Wingers Sauce:

Ingredients:
6 Tbsp. Frank's Hot Sauce
4 Tbsp. Water
1 1/2 C Brown Sugar

Directions:
Combine ingredients, and heat in a saucepan. Either mix wings in it or just pour the sauce over the wings.

Some of our Favorite Bottled Sauce:
- Franks Hot Wing Sauce
- La Choy Teriyaki Sauce (La Choy Brand is natural Gluten Free)
- Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce