Trying a Pinterest Recipe

I tried my hand at homemade "Cheez Its."

They weren't to bad, but in the future I will probably add more cheese.  

The recipe is a simple one, and I'll probably make these again.

Nothing Beats Homemade

In an effort to keep using up items on hand I decided to look for recipes that will use up some of the canned pumpkin I have.  I found this recipe I had saved for a cakelike chocolate pumpkin doughnuts.  I altered mine to make them gluten free and for some reason I only ended up with 6 instead of the 8 the recipe said it would make.  However, they were a hit.  

The original recipe is here.

https://www.dashofsanity.com/chocolate-pumpkin-cake-donuts/

January Challenge — Use it Up

I don’t know why I didn’t photograph it, or if the photo simply didn’t “take”, but Carol (previously of CT on a Budget now on Facebook for those of you missing her blog like I was) has been encouraging us to make sure we don’t let any leftovers go to waste.  Always a good frugal practice!!!!  

After all the holiday indulgences we were craving some simple food and I made a pot of beef stew.  Of course we had leftovers.  I decided to turn the leftovers into a pot pie, which is missing from my saved photos.  Since I was going to dirty the food processor anyway to make pie dough and have the oven going, I thought I may as well have it all do double duty.  I made enough dough for three pie shells — double for the pot pie and single for this peach pie.  I cooked the pot pie at the lower temperature that the peach pie calls for (only about 50 degrees lower than I would normally cook the pot pie anyway) and just increased the time.  

 I used not only the beef stew, but all the ingredients came from items I already had on hand including using canned peaches for the pie. I reduced the sugar content and made both dishes gluten free. The bonus, my husband absolutely loves peach pie, and he was a happy camper!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chunk Oat Bars Recipe (with "regular" flour directions included)

Chocolate Chunk Oat Bars Recipe

1 cup of Better Batter flour (or all purpose flour if not making gluten free)
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups uncooked old fashioned oats certified gluten free (or not gluten free as desired)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks (I like Enjoy Life brand), divided

Preheat oven 375 F.  Grease an 8" square pan and set aside.
In small bowl mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in oats.  Set aside.
In larger bowl, cream sugar and butter.  Add egg, water, and vanilla mixing until well blended.  Stir in flour and oats.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups of chocolates.
Spread dough evenly in the pan.  Sprinkle the last 1/2 cup of chips on top of the bars and press down slightly.  Bake about 30 minutes or until the center feels firm.  Cool on wire rack.

Cut into bars.

Blueberry Muffin Recipes

The Bisquick blueberry muffins are found here:

https://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/blueberry-muffins/ca00251f-d317-4b55-bdce-d32fa7d8c142


I do not thaw my blueberries.  I add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 teaspoon of orange zest.




The Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins:
by Nicole Hunn https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/

This recipe is from Gluten Free on a Shoestring and the following is my pithy directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream together:
1 stick of room temperature butter
2/3 cup of sugar

Add in:
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Beat until fluffy.

Add in:
1/2 cup low fat sour cream
2 medium super ripe bananas, mashed
Mix well.

In separate bowl combine:
1 1/2 cups of gluten free flour
3/4 tsp xanthan gum  (if using Better Batter flour, omit this.)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Mix the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until it becomes thick.  Fold your blueberries in.
Bake at 350F for about 25 minutes or until done.

Grandmama's Jelly Roll (Recipe included)

This is how to make my Grandmama's Jelly Roll.  I use homemade jelly in mine, but you can alter it with any flavor you like.  (The recipe is posted under the video on YouTube. It is pretty simple....and a great use of pantry staples.)

Sometimes You Just Have To

One family tradition that I miss since developing food allergies is having doughnuts on the weekend.

If the crowd was here we would buy a dozen.

If just a few of us were here, we might only buy 2 or 3 doughnuts.

Either way, it was something we did as a family.

For some time now I have sat and watched them eat their doughnuts.  

Not a big deal, but I really wanted one, too.

Today I made these.  

Old fashioned glazed doughnuts

They’re a yeast free, cake type doughnut with just a hint of nutmeg.

Sooooo good!

The recipe is from Nicol Hunn.

It is in the book Gluten Free on a Shoestring Quick and Easy.

She also has it on her site.

I have all of her cookbooks, and can honestly say I’ve never had one of her recipes let me down.

In fact, even those who don’t like/have to eat gluten free seem to like them.

As usual, I did make a few changes to her recipe because for one I am that kind of cook, and for two I am into using what I have on hand.  I did not have plain yogurt, but I did have cottage cheese.  I simply took 3/4 of a cup out and proceeded to mostly mash the lumps out of it.  I also didn’t want mini doughnuts.  I used my regular non stick doughnut pans in a 350F oven.  I started with 12 minutes, but ended up cooking them for 15 total.  The final change I made was to make a simple thin glaze because I really love that Krispy Kreme glazed feel and taste.  

Even my pickiest household member with texture issues really liked these.

Winter Weather

People make plans and the gods laugh.

Today we were supposed to be on our way to take our grandson home.

However, the roads are supposed to icy.

We’ll try again tomorrow.

So today we are baking sugar cookies.

This is our first attempt at gluten free sugar cookies.

Not too bad.

3 of 12 — Pinto Bean Brownies

Recipe 3 of the 12 Days of Pintos came about faster than I had planned.

My grandson was helping me research recipes and saw the brownie recipe.

He had to have them “right now.”

Since I had the foresight to cook extra pinto beans, I decided they were destined to go in this recipe.

Pinto Bean Brownies

The original recipe linked above is vegan.

However, I made changes that made it vegetarian and allergy friendly for me.

I replaced the flax seed with one egg.

I used Sunbutter instead of peanut butter.

I used turbinado sugar and went with the 1/2 cup.

I also used corn oil instead of coconut oil.

Please ignore the flash.

I basically tossed it all in the food processor and let it mix until I had a batter consistency.

This shows the color better.  I divided it into 12 portions and baked it for 23 minutes. 

This is the baked results. 

These are quite good!

They have a nice texture and the flavor is good.

They’re not super sweet, but I did not add any chocolate chips or other add ins.

Cinnamon Chickpea Blondies (Recipe)

Chickpeas are so versatile.

 For dish three from the pound of chickpeas I cooked, I decided to go with something sweet.  The original recipe is from Veggie Inspired and is here — Cinnamon Chickpea Blondies.  

 Of course, I made some changes.   

 This is my version:   

 Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease an 8”x8” pan. 

 In food processor bowl (with blade) combine the following and puree until smooth: 

 1 1/2 cups of cooked chickpeas 

 1/2 cup of sunbutter 

 1/4 cup of old fashioned oats (GF certified if needed) 

 2/3 cup sugar in the raw 

 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 

 1 1/2 tsps. Cinnamon 

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 

 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 

1/4 teaspoon salt   

 Pour into dish and bake for 30 minutes or until pulling away from side and top is firm.  (This took 35 minutes in my oven.)   

 So for my notes —

 1.  I used chickpeas without salt.  I’m not sure how well canned would work.

 2.  Sunbutter (and omitted additional nuts) due to allergies.  I would think any nut butter would work for those who don’t have to be careful. 

 3.  Original recipe calls for coconut sugar.  I’ve tried it and I’m not a fan. 

 4.  I used Aldi brand pure maple syrup.  Still costly, but not as costly as Whole Foods.

 5. I used imitation vanilla extract....sorry, but it is true.  I rarely buy the real deal because of costs. 

  

I tried to capture the texture in this photo.

These are soooo good!

The maple syrup is expensive and I would think you could use honey, agave, or perhaps even a Karo syrup.

However, it uses very little so if you keep some on hand I think it would be worth the splurge.

I have just a little bit of my chickpeas left.

Tomorrow I’ll share what I do with the last of them.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (Recipe Link included)

A week or so ago, Mama brought me two small pumpkins that she was not going to use.  They had been given to her, but she does not eat pumpkin and she thought I might like to have them.  I put them both in the XL presssure cooker — still whole.  I cooked them and then saved the flesh.  I ended up with between 5 and 6 cups of pumpkin from them.  

 I love pumpkin cheesecake and since Thanksgiving was coming up it seemed a good way to use up some of the pumpkin.

 I made this recipe — RECIPE — with a few changes. 

 I wanted a deep dish pie with a gluten free crust, so I started by making 1 1/2 times the filling.  I used reduced fat cream cheese, turbinado sugar, fresh eggs, and my home cooked pumpkin.  I added pumpkin pie spice blend instead of worrying about separates.  For the crust, I used gluten free graham crackers that I pulverized in the food processor along.  (I added a bit of melted butter.). I did not take the crust all the way up the pie because I wasn’t sure how it would handle the baking time.  I ended up baking for 45 minutes, turning the oven off, and then letting sit in a hot oven for about 10 more minutes.

I ordered the “graham” crackers from Vitacost.

While this wasn’t the most beautiful cheesecake in the world, it was delicious.

We served it with whipped cream.

Despite the cost of the crust, which is higher for gluten free products...I consider this to be a pretty frugal make this time.

Cream cheese was on sale for the holidays.

The eggs and pumpkin were free.

The spices were on hand.

If I had gone crustless it would have all but been a free dessert.

Homemade Cheese Crackers — GF (Recipe Linked)

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with lots of fun, family, and food.

We have settled down for the day after in the peace and quiet of home and I’m trying my hand at a new recipe.

This recipe is from Gluten Free on a Shoestring.

I did not roll mine quite as thin as hers, but I wanted more of a Ritz cracker texture.

RECIPE 

My family loved them.

Apple Swirl Cake

No real recipe.  

Preheat oven to 350F.

Grease an 8” cake pan.

Sprinkle a generous amount of brown sugar in the bottom.

Arrange several paper thin slices of butter (or coconut butter substitute) over the brown sugar.

Arrange apple slices in a spiral.

Sprinkle with cinnamon.

Top with a mixed (per directions) cake mix.

(I used a 15 oz gluten free yellow cake mix from Aldi — made per directions except we wanted to omit any butter so I used shortening.)

Bake — my oven took 38 minutes.

Cool about 12 to 15 in pan on a cooling rack, then invert onto platter.

I didn’t get photos of the serving plates.

I simply sliced it into wedges, added a dollop of whipped cream, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

This was a hit with both the family and guests.

Weekend Plans

We have guests coming in next week, and my plan had been to take care of a few details this weekend.

However, you know what they say about best laid plans....lol

The weather is supposed to be beautiful so we will spend our time painting.

No big deal....I’ll do the bulk of the work I wanted to do at the house today and next Monday.

I’m reserving Tuesday for grocery shopping and a final scrub of all the bathrooms.

Wednesday morning I’ll do the last minute fresh linens and some baking.

By Wednesday midday we should have the first arrivals.

So with the change of plans I altered the menu slightly.

Instead of white lasagna, I decided to do a tomato based one.

Tonight’s supper is now lasagna, which is sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be baked.

This is what I refer to as “use it up” lasagna.

My noodles were getting near their experation date.  Food waste is bad on any budget.

Plus, anyone who buys gluten free products knows they aren’t inexpensive — so wasting them hits hard.

 From the fridge I had some items to use up:

3/4 or so of a container of ricotta cheese

2/3 of a bag of shredded mozzarella

A bowl of leftover pizza sauce (homemade)

A bowl of steamed veg (broccoli/cauli/carrot/squash)

From the freezer:

The last pound of my frozen ground turkey from Zaycon

Then from food storage:

An onion lingering on the counter

Some Dollar Tree mushroom slices

1 can of Italian seasoned tomatoes

Two eggs to help the ricotta stretch

I put together a simple lasagna, but I didn’t have quite enough sauce.

The can of Italian seasoned diced tomatoes worked perfectly.

I just dumped them on top and sprinkled with cheese to finish it off.

I have actually stuck to the menu plan all week!

Next week all bets are off though because we will have a lot more input and mouths to feed.

Menu for the Week

Sunday morning started with yummy blueberry muffins.  This recipe is from 150 Best Gluten Free Muffin Recipes by Camilla Saulsbury.  The quality of these is what I would expect from a high quality bakery.

Now for the menu plan:

Sunday — beef roast with gravy, rice (mashed turnips for me), and sauteed green beans

Monday — Tacos

Tuesday — our annual Halloween chili dinner, so chili in the crockpot

Wednesday — BBQ chicken (crockpot), rice, peas

Thursday — Pressure Cooker Mac and Cheese

Friday — White Lasagna (with chicken)

Garbage Pizza and Crust Review

This mix came from Lidl.  

It was by far the least expensive pizza crust mix I have seen, and it was the best I have tried.

It requires the addition of an egg, olive oil, and warm water.

It reminds me a little of a more biscuity type dough, but it was excellent.

Two of us wiped out the entire pizza.

On the grocery front, this was a “garbage” pizz.

I used up the last of a jar of Dollar Tree mushrooms, a lingering onion, some olives from an open jar, the remainder of some pepperoni in the fridge, and a mix of leftover cheddar and mozzarella.

Holiday Baking

With holiday baking around the corner — we are starting early with our celebrations and family visits start the first full week of November — I took full stock of what I had on hand.  I had several items I had depleted and several recipes I have to alter to meet allergen free standards.  I placed a small order with Vitacost.  Sadly the two stores in my town that are the most likely to carry gluten free and nut free items are two of the nicest stores.  Of course, that means they both have open seafood counters and I cannot shop in either of them. 

The vanilla wafers are for making peppermint sandwich cookies.

The animal crackers are for me to share with my grandson when we have tea.

The bread crumbs are for everyday use.

The graham crackers are for both snacking and cheesecake baking.

I’ve used up the last of my home dried fruit.

It is impossible to find any locally that hasn’t been processed around nuts.  

It is mostly for muffins and scones.

I’ve checked every store....sigh.

The pretzels are for a jello dessert.

The ginger snaps are for the pumpkin cheesecake crust.

I’m hoping the crust only takes one bag and I can have the second to hide for myself.

Have you started planning out your holiday baking and other goodies?

I’m hoping by being prepared in advance I can get it all pulled off with minimal effort.

Fall is Here

It is late enough in October I feel like it is safe to say fall is here — even if we are having a high of 78F today.  The chocolate muffins were successful enough that I feel encouraged to try a second recipe from this book.  Since it is officially pumpkin season I decided to go with pumpkin muffins.  We will be traveling by the time you read this — just a few hours away — to do some outdoor painting.  I’m packing our lunch and snacks.  I have leftover chicken to take to go in wraps, and I will grab some fruit cups to go with them.  The plan is to pack some muffins to take along, to toss in some cheese sticks, grab some bottled waters, and anything else the rest of the crowd wants.

 

Muffin Recipe

Brown rice flour, super fine

Tapioca starch

Potato Starch

Xanthan Gum

This is the basic flour blend used in most of the muffins in this book.

Changes I made:

1.  I used home dried cherries.

2.  I used olive oil instead of butter.

3.  I used low fat ricotta.

4.  I used vanilla extract.

5.  I used dark chocolate chunks.

I cooked these for the full 22 minutes, but I did test at 18.

I also ended up with 12 muffins.

As an update, these are the first gluten free thing I have baked that is still just as good at room temperature.

It hasn’t taken us long to go through 12 muffins. 

(My husband was home and took two with him in addition to our snacking.)

Black Forest Muffins (Recipe Review)

I bought this book from Thrift Books.

Finding gluten free items, whose texture isn’t off, is proving elusive.

Even more elusive is finding nut free items because everyone likes to use almond meal as a flour substitute.

While there are some recipes in this book that use almond meal, the bulk do not.

They use a brown rice flour, tapioca starch, and potato starch mixture.

We decided to try the Black Forest Muffins first.

My notes:

1.  I used nut free dark chocolate chunks and home dried tart cherries.

2.  I used vanilla to avoid the nut issue.

3.  I ended up with 12 decent sized muffins.

 4.  They took the full 22 minutes to cook.

The overall verdict is these are FABULOUS!

The texture is perfectly soft and not at all gritty!

I cooked these late in the evening and I apologize for the lighting.

This was the best I could get of the inside.

I’m hoping you can make out the cherries and chocolate chunks.

I want to either try pumpkin or gingerbread next.