Saturday, February 1, 2014

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

Friday, January 31, 2014

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Here is a delicious treat for those cold days, or big get togethers.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C GF Flour
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C Brown Sugar
1 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 C Butter, softened
1/3 C Shortening
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 bag chocolate chip*

Directions:
Mix all ingredients together in order. Bake at 375 degrees for about 8 minutes. Makes 15 large cookies per batch.

*If you don't want chocolate chips, you can leave them out, or if you would rather use another flavor of chip you can. I always make them with chocolate chips personally.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Sweet BBQ Lil' Smokies

Another great Super Bowl Recipe!


Ingredients:
1 Pkg. Lil Smokies
1 Cup BBQ sauce*
2/3 cup Grape Jelly

Directions:
Place all ingredients in small crock pot. Heat through and make sure the BBQ sauce and Grape Jelly. Then ENJOY!

* Make sure the BBQ sauce is gluten free. I use Sweet Baby Rays.

Baked Triple Veggie Dip!

Another Great Superbowl Recipe!


Ingredients*:
1 (1 lbs 3 oz.) can asparagus spears
1 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen chopped spinach
1 (8.5 oz) can artichoke hearts (non-marinated)
1 (8 oz) pkg. Philly garden veggie light cream cheese spread
1/2 cup Mayonnaise (has to be full fat mayonnaise, low fat or fat free has gluten in it)
1-1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese, divided

Directions:
Drain asparagus and artichoke hearts. Thaw and rinse spinach. Mix all ingredients together except for 1/4 cup of the parmesan cheese. Spoon mixture into 2 qt. oblong baking dish and sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Bake 35 min. at 375 degrees. Serve with crackers, breads or veggies.

*Get some good Gluten Free Crackers!

Hot Wing Dip!

This is great for Super Bowl Sunday! Or anything get together!


Ingredients*:
7-8 Chicken Breast Halves
14-16 oz. Hot Wing Sauce (I use Frank's Hot Wing Sauce)
8 oz. Cream Cheese
14-16 oz. Ranch Dressing (Make sure it is Gluten Free)
2 Cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Directions:
Boil Chicken Breasts, Shred and put in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Pour Hot Wing sauce over chicken. In a pan, warm cream cheese and dressing so that it is smooth, then put over chicken mixture. Top with shredded cheese. Make 350 degrees for 45 Minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

*Keep in mind to check the ingredients to ensure they are gluten free.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

"Best Ever" Banana Bread

This recipe comes from my Mother. I did have to convert it to make it Gluten Free, but it turns out DELICIOUS! This recipe usually takes some planning before hand for the ripe bananas. Keep that in mind.


Ingredients:
1 C Shortening
2 C Sugar
4 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla
6 large or 8 small ripe bananas, mashed*
3 1/3 C GF Flour
1 Tbsp. Xanthan Gum
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 C Buttermilk
Nuts or Chocolate Chips (optional)

Directions:
Cream shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add Bananas. Add dry ingredients, then buttermilk. Add Nuts or Chocolate Chips (1 C chopped nuts or 1/2 bag mini chocolate chips). Pour into Greased Bread Pans. Bake at 325 Degrees F. Makes 2 large (1 hour) or 4 small (bake 45-50 minutes) or 12 mini (bake 27 min.) loaves.**

* I usually will freeze the bananas that are about to go bad and save them to make this recipe. If you need to make it but don't have any ripe bananas, go to the store and buy the ones that are about to go bad.
** As with most things people bake, it is important to understand cooking times may vary from oven to oven. Please check the breads by inserting toothpick into the top middle of the loaf to ensure it is done. If you pull it out too early, the top will collapse during cooling.