Stuffed Summer Squash

This. Is. Amazing. (If you like summer squash.)

Once again, forgive the phone photos, but I had to share this yummy dish - made once as an experiment recently and a couple of times since - before I have a chance to make it again and take "real" photos.

This is the way I intended for the recipe to be made, and it was soooo good, but a little more work. The smaller dishes were the rest of the filling poured into the dishes after I'd filled the squash halves.

The second and third time I made this, I cut the squash into strips and put them flat in the pan and just poured the filling over them, rather than try to fill squash halves.

We were recently blessed with a bounty of squash from someone (our garden hasn't been so great, or big, this year) and I was wondering how in the world to fix SO MUCH before it went bad - and make an entire meal of it. Experiments abound in my mind, so this was one of them and we are all glad it was.

Stuffed Summer Squash

(Printable Recipe)

Total time, start to finish: Under 1 hour

1 large and 3 smaller (or the equivalent in volume) round summer squash (I think this is globe squash?) or the something similar (just make sure you've got the volume - summer squash is all good!)

Water

Butter

1 large white onion, chopped

1 1/2 cups prepared polenta (I used this gluten-free kind from Bob's Red Mill)

1 cup shredded mozzarella, plus more for sprinkling

3 large eggs

Kosher or sea salt to taste

Cayenne pepper, a dash or two

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash squash and grease large 13x9 baking dish. 

Slice off stems and ends of squash, then cut in half. Place squash cut side down onto baking dish and bake about 15 minutes, just until squash insides are getting softer.

Bring water for polenta to a boil and prepare polenta according to package directions, then set aside.

While squash is baking and polenta is cooking, melt a tablespoon or so of butter over low heat in a large pan. Add chopped onion and saute over medium-low heat.

Remove squash from oven and scrape squash with a spoon, leaving a little bit on the skin. (At this point you can either slice the squash skin into thick strips to place back in pan, skin side down, or leave the halves to fill in the pan.) 

Place the squash pieces that were scraped off into pan with onion and raise heat to medium-high, breaking up squash into smaller pieces as it cooks and softens for several minutes.

After squash is cooked down some more and softened, remove from heat. Add polenta and season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper.

Add shredded mozzarella and stir to combine. Whisk eggs and slowly add to filling mixture, stirring quickly to prevent eggs from cooking too fast while incorporating throughout filling.

Pour filling into squash halves (in which case you will need a couple of greased ramekins to use up the rest of the filling), or over squash strips. Sprinkle a little more mozzarella over the top.

Bake at 350 degrees approximately 25-30 minutes or until filling is cooked throughout and squash halves or strips are completely softened.

I hope you enjoy! (And I hope this recipe is more clear than mud!)

Zucchini "Panini"

If you ignore the homework mess in the upper left of this photo and forgive the lighting, you'll discover a delicious, quick and super-simple meal to serve on these oh-so-busy school nights. I call it zucchini "panini."

Corn tortillas, zucchini, white onions, mozzarella, salt and pepper and about 20 minutes from start to finish for five of these yummies.

My husband and daughters got me this Cuisinart Griddler for Mother's Day this last year. While I'd been eyeing the appliance for a few years, I had hesitations about it being just that: Another appliance that gets pulled out for use a few times a year and takes up space the rest of the time. Boy, was I wrong. With the exception of my mixer, the coffee maker and my blender, it probably gets used more any other small appliance in my kitchen. We even make our fresh eggs on it in the morning, sandwiching them together between the flat side of the plates for about a minute or two, and we have "fried" eggs without frying them. This griddler is what I make the zucchini paninis on.

Projected prep time, start to finish, for 5: About 20 minutes

(Printable Recipe)

10 gluten-free corn tortillas

2 or 3 zucchini, cut in half, then slice each in four slices lengthwise

Half of a medium white onion, or a whole small one, sliced

Shredded mozzarella

Sea salt

Italian pepper

Place panini grill plates into griddler and heat on grill setting at medium/high. If when you begin to cook, the grill marks don't start to brown the vegetables within a couple of minutes, turn the heat to high.

Cut onion in half and slice it. Place slices onto grill, close and cook for a couple of minutes.

While onion is cooking, cut up zucchini. Remove onions and place on a plate, then put the zucchini slices onto grill, close and cook for two or three minutes. Remove and place on plate.

On one corn tortilla, sprinkle a small handful of mozzarella onto surface, then top with three or four zucchini slices. Top with several onion slices, then grind some sea salt over the vegetables and follow with a dash or two of Italian pepper. Sprinkle more mozzarella over vegetables and top with another corn tortilla. Repeat. Place the two "sandwiches" on the grill and close the plates, cooking for a few minutes until the tortilla surface has crisped up and cheese is melting well.

Continue repeating until you have enough. Slice panini in half, or quarters.This recipe will make five "paninis."

Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Ratio Rally Does Tortillas and Wraps

Logo designed by Anile Prakash

So ... Fall has begun, school has started and I missed the Gluten-Free Ratio Rally's tortillas and wraps. Actually, I didn't completely miss it. I made some flour tortillas that turned out hard (as has been the problem with nearly every other time I've attempted flour tortillas gluten-free!) and decided not to share that recipe with you. They made tasty crackers, but we were going for pliable, right? I didn't want you to miss out on the other participants' recipes, though, because there are some great ones this month (yes, I'm a little late - sorry!) ... I also plan to keep at the whole flour tortilla thing. I got a tortilla press for my birthday last year and am determined to get good use out of it!

(And how have you all been, by the way? Are you as crazy busy as I am with school, sports and everything in between? I've been incredibly busy with work these days, which is a good thing, but now that it's been a few months since I started up my new business, things are slowly, slowly settling down and I'm getting my work schedule smoothed out. More recipes coming soon, I'm trying to promise without crossing my fingers!)

Now on to the tortillas and wraps. Many thanks to the lovely Brooke - a genuinely nice person - for hosting the rally this month! Check out her tortillas on the host post at http://bellwookie.blogspot.com/2012/09/ratio-rally-tortillas.html

And here is the list of the other participants, which can also be found on Brooke's post:

Jenn | Jenn Cuisine Corn Tortillas
Jonathan | The Canary Files Vegan Curried Flour Tortillas
Meg | Gluten-Free Boulangerie Lefse (Norwegian Potato Flatbread)
Pete and Kelli | No Gluten, No Problem Flour Tortillas
TR | No One Likes Crumbley Cookies Gluten Free Flour Tortillas - Quesadilla
Heather | Discovering the Extraordinary Sundried Tomato & Basil Tortillas
Charissa | Zest Bakery Paleo Grain-Free and Gluten-Free Tortillas
Karen | Cooking Gluten Free! Gluten Free Healthy Flours Tortillas

And if you are curious about the Ratio Rally and what it's all about, you can check out my rally page here where I have links to other rally posts.

Have an amazing weekend, everyone!

Easy Eggplant Cacciatore

It's a great feeling when you come up with an experimental recipe AND it doesn't take too long. Many times the experimental recipes I'm happy with are delicious, but they take longer than I anticipated or have several steps to get them "just right." This is one of those recipes that is fairly quick and you can't get much simpler as far as how to prepare it. It was a winner in our home, and will be made time and time again.

I was thinking the other day of how easy my chicken cacciatore recipe is and how much I love that it lasts for more than one meal. I wanted to do something different, though, and make it even healthier. I can do without meat for most of meals and wanted something that was very filling and would last for leftovers. I switched out the chicken for eggplant in this recipe and wasn't disappointed. It uses only three ingredients!

In the photo above, I just spread a little spinach to the side of the cacciatore. To eat it, I served over a bed of fresh spinach. The spinach wilted a little from the heat and they taste great together.

Projected time, start to finish: Under 1 hour (note if you use brown rice, this will take a little longer unless you cook it in advance)
(Printable Recipe)

2 medium eggplant
Kosher salt
3 cups cooked rice
23 ounces marinara sauce of your choice (I used a jar of Prego marinara)

Start rice to cook, unless you cooked it ahead of time. (When it's finished, let it sit.)

Wash eggplant and chop off ends. No need to peel. Slice eggplant into 1/2-inch (approximately - you don't want them too thin) rounds and then cube the rounds by slicing vertically and then horizontally. You want good-sized chunks of eggplant.

Place eggplant in large bowl and generously sprinkle with kosher salt, tossing to combine. Let sit for about 15 minutes to draw out some of the moisture.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Place eggplant in a colander and rinse off the salt, shake to remove excess water then pat eggplant with paper towels to remove more moisture.

Turn eggplant onto parchment paper in a single layer on baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

Pour marinara sauce into large pan or skillet, then add eggplant and stir to coat. Heat on medium heat until bubbling, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Fluff rice while eggplant simmers.

Add rice to eggplant, stir to combine and simmer for five more minutes.

Serve with salad or over a bed of fresh spinach (heat will wilt spinach a little bit).

Enjoy!

My photo of beauty today isn't the best quality, but it was the best I could get of this mockingbird. Because I wasn't trying to sleep, the chatter didn't bother me. It was running all around in the front yard making all sorts of racket and looking quite cute.

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Wicked Good Mac and Cheese

Happy Leap Day! Do I have any Mitford fans among my readers? (I know at least one is in my sweet friend Ginny.) I could get lost in Mitford any time, day or night. And have ... many times over. I'm a huge Jan Karon fan and have read every single "Father Tim" book available and some of her children's books, too.

So it comes as no surprise that I also have her Mitford Cookbook & Kitchen Reader and flip through the pages often - if for no other reason than to relish a bite of Mitford in my mind for a quick pick-me-up to my mood.

If you are familiar with Mitford, then you also know what a very good cook Puny is. This macaroni and cheese is adapted from Puny's recipe found in the above-mentioned cookbook. I've altered it to fit the needs and tastes of my family. I named it "wicked good" because it's quite wicked with its richness and unbelievably good in its taste. It's not healthy by an stretch of the imagination, but I like to think it's better for you than the old baked mac and cheese version I used to make with Velveeta and other cheeses. Maybe.

The girls had been asking for macaroni and cheese for a while recently - it had been quite a spell since I'd last made any form of it - so I decided to make it for our Valentine's Day entree. Obviously I didn't take the time to make great photos out of this dish - but I wanted you to see the new casserole dish my sister gave me for Christmas. Isn't it sweet?

Projected time, start to finish, a little over an hour
(Printable Recipe)

1/3 cup unsalted butter, plus a little extra
1/3 cup brown rice flour
3 cups milk
1/2 cup sour cream
4 ounces cream cheese, cut into pieces
2 tsp. kosher salt
Pinch ground nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
Pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 cups shredded Colby jack cheese
1 pound gluten-free elbow macaroni or shells, cooked al dente according to package (I used Tinkyada, and always use the energy-saving method. It works best)
2 slices fresh bread (I used Udi's multi-grain), broken into small pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3-quart baking dish and set aside.

Cook pasta according to package, drain and set aside when finished (you might want to lightly toss in a little olive oil). You'll want to keep the pasta a little al dente, so check it several minutes earlier than the package says to cook it for.

While pasta is cooking, combine 1/3 cup of butter and brown rice flour in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk until smooth, then slowly add milk. Continue to stir with whisk until mixture is smooth and thickened.

Add sour cream and cream cheese, whisking in until combined and smooth again.

Add salt, nutmeg, mustard, cayenne and black pepper. Whisk lightly until mixed well. Stir in shredded cheese.  Season more to taste if necessary.

Add macaroni to cheese mixture and gently mix together. Pour into baking dish.

In a small bowl, melt a tablespoon or two of butter and toss with bread pieces. Sprinkle over top of macaroni.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until bubbling nicely.

Enjoy!

On another note, today's photo of beauty is actually from last night. Yesterday's post mentioned how terrible the dust and wind were yesterday. That is true, but sometimes dusty days bring beautiful evenings with the sun. It covers the sun just enough to give the sky an incredible hue.

Go find beauty today!

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

Cheese Baked Eggplant with Warm Red Quinoa (and a sunset)

Yesterday was an incredibly busy and hard day with one thing after another. After another. After another. And a disaster caught before it did too much damage. (Thankfully, but still a headache!) I hadn't thought at all about dinner and didn't want it to be another breakfast-for-supper night because that would mean I was eating more acidic than I wanted to for another meal in a row more than I wanted to.

I scanned the pantry and refrigerator and came up with this incredibly easy meal. It was so easy and quick I didn't even jot down ingredients, and don't have much in the way of measurements for you. I didn't even spend time setting up a photo. What I can tell you is that it was good. The whole family liked it. And I felt good about eating it. Easily make it vegan and dairy-free by switching out the mozzarella with vegan cheese.

And after I got it all prepped and cooking, I ran outside a few times to catch yet another gorgeous sunset in our sky. I'm so thankful to live in a place with beautiful sunsets! If you enjoyed yesterday's post sharing my daughter's sunset photos as well as my own, I don't think the volume of sunset photos in this post will disappoint you. Enjoy the beauty, and find some in your day today!

Projected time start to finish: About 1 hour

(Printable recipe)

Eggplant:

2 small to medium eggplant

Kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

Approximately 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella (use vegan for vegan or dairy-free)

Italian seasoning

Quinoa:

Scant 2 cups uncooked red quinoa, rinsed thoroughly

Water

Pinch of kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

Half a lemon

Garlic granules or powder

Wash eggplant and chop off ends. Slice lengthwise in 1/4-inch pieces. Place on two baking sheets and sprinkle salt over top of slices. Let sit about 15-20 minutes to draw out some of the moisture.

While eggplant is sitting, rinse red quinoa thoroughly a few times in cold water. In a medium to large saucepan, add quinoa and about 2 1/2 cups water. Add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until almost all the water is absorbed. Turn off heat.

While quinoa is cooking, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Rinse eggplant and firmly pat dry with paper towels or clean lint-free dish towels to remove excess moisture. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Brush each side of eggplant with olive oil and place on parchment paper. Bake (top rack for gas oven) for about 15-20 minutes.

While eggplant is baking, toss shredded cheese together with a few dashes of Italian seasoning. Don't overdo it - you want just enough to give a light taste but not overwhelm.

Remove eggplant from oven and turn each slice to the other side. Sprinkle seasoned cheese over each slice and return to oven for about 10-15 minutes.

While eggplant is cooking, return to quinoa and toss with a tablespoon or two of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon. Add a dash or two of garlic granules or powder to taste (start with a small amount). There should already be enough salt in it, but add more if you need to.

Serve eggplant together with quinoa.

Enjoy!

Here are some more of the sunset photos from last night, in order of the sunset progression. When I first saw the sun setting last night, I thought it was a beautiful sky but it didn't really indicate that it was going to be a spectacular sky later. Sometimes you can tell, sometimes you can't. I was in awe more and more each time I looked out the window and stepped outside. It was just the kind of beautiful ending I needed to such a crazy day. Thankful!

It was one of those sunsets that just filled the sky, even from the side there were beautiful aqua and pink colors.

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

(Potato) Kale Soup and Cookbook Review

If you're looking for a comforting soup that you can feel good about eating, you're in for a treat. This soup is not only healthy, it's really quite delicious - and my entire family agrees even with the green color. Both children have asked for seconds when we've eaten it.

(2/28/2012: As a side note, I'm linking this post up to the very cool #Soupapalooza event hosted by Dine and Dish and TidyMom. See the bottom of this post for details and how you can join in, too. There are some really awesome prizes!)

The recipe is just very slightly adapted from the "Kale Soup" recipe in Barbara Kafka's new cookbook "The Intolerant Gourmet: Glorious Food without Gluten and Lactose." Barbara Kafka not only has celiac disease herself, but she is the author of several other cookbooks and is the recipient of the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award.

I was contacted with a request to review this book and I'm pleased to say that I've so far tried two recipes from it and the whole family has loved each one. I love that all the recipes are free of both gluten and dairy. While I am lactose-intolerant myself in the form of milk, cream and ice cream in their pure forms (I can cook/bake with them and I can eat a little with a Lactaid), I am able to eat cheese, a little yogurt and butter without problems. However, I know several people who aren't able to eat gluten or dairy, or have children who aren't. This would be a great cookbook for them.

Recipes in this book are broken into the following categories: Breakfast; Hors D'oevuvre & First Courses; Pasta & Risotto; Glorious Soup; The Wide World of Salads; Fish & Seafood; Chicken & Other Birds; Beef; Perfect Pig; Lamb; Other Meats; Vegetable Main Courses; Sides; Desserts; Sauces; Basic Recipes (seasonings, stocks, etc.); as well as a pretty comprehensive section covering starches and information on the different types available in this diet.

While the dessert section doesn't include much in the way of baked goods, the recipes look delicious and I look forward to trying them. I especially loved the soup section, which includes a large variety of different kinds of soups. There are a total of 300 recipes in the book, and I think there are plenty to suit any individual's tastes. I don't eat pork because I believe I've developed an allergy to it (didn't really like it before, anyway), or even fix it for my family (my husband cooks up some bacon for himself and the girls on occasion), but I'm sure the rest of my family would like several of the pork recipes offered in this book.

Projected start to finish time: 45 minutes to 1 hour
(Printable Recipe)

1 1/2 pounds kale, washed, stemmed and roughly chopped (about 6 cups)
Approximately 3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
*4 1/2 cups gluten-free chicken stock
*4 1/2 cups gluten-free vegetable broth (*use all vegetable broth to make vegan)
4-5 good sized red potatoes, scrubbed with peel on and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
Kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste, if desired

Place chopped kale into food processor (work in batches if you have one with 7-cup or smaller capacity) and process until almost pureed. (I probably got it really close to pureed when I made this.)

Move to large saucepan, add oil (she recommends 1/3 cup in original recipe but I found it worked fine to use less - add more if needed) and cook over medium heat for about 25-30 minutes or until the kale has become soft and dark.

While kale is cooking, pour chicken stock into another large saucepan and add potatoes. Bring to boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes can be easily pierced, about 10 to 12 minutes. (She uses peeled Idaho potatoes in original recipe, but I prefer to use red with the peel on when I'm able.)

If you have an immersion blender, you may want to use it for this next step. I have one, but it's not the greatest so I didn't use it for this recipe. If not, I recommend the blender. I tried this in the food processor first in about 1/4 of the processor bowl (and I have a large processor) and it splattered everywhere and was hot. So, work in batches and add the stock and potatoes to the blender (don't fill too high with hot liquid!) and blend until mixture is smooth and uniform.

Add blended stock and potatoes to to cooked kale and whisk together. Salt to taste, and add just a little black pepper if desired.

Serve with gluten-free crackers if desired.

This recipe made enough for our family of four to make two meals out of it.

Enjoy!

Note about book review: I was given a free copy of this cookbook for review. The opinion of this book, however, is entirely mine.

I'll also share today's photo of beauty in this post:

One of our little male house finches, enjoying a meal in our dining room window feeder.

Find beauty in your day today!

Why I'm sharing this: http://mamameglutenfree.blogspot.com/2012/02/beauty-in-eye-of-beholder.html

**More #Soupapalooza information (see second paragraph above): Come join SoupaPalooza at TidyMom and Dine and Dish sponsored by KitchenAid, Red Star Yeast and Le Creuset

Chicken and Mushroom Penne with Sundried Tomato Pesto Feta Cream Sauce

If you're wanting to cook for Valentine's Day this year and are still trying to decide what to make, this just might be your dish. It's delicious!

My baby sister graduated from Texas A&M a couple of years ago and her graduation dinner was held at her favorite restaurant nearby, Caffe Capri in Bryan, TX. We talked to them ahead of time about gluten-free needs for several family members and they assured us it would be no problem and they regularly fixed gluten-free versions of a few dishes for patrons who needed them. I am happy to say that we had no problems, and the meal was so delicious that I needed to try to recreate the dish we ate, as living about 12 hours away made it impossible to dine there very often.

The dish they served us was a version of their "bowtie affair" which is described as "bowtie pasta with a sundried tomato pesto, mushrooms & chicken in a feta cheese cream sauce." They served it to us with gluten-free penne. I successfully recreated this dish to the best of my ability last year and don't know why I'm only now sharing it with you. (My cousin has been holding her famous carrot cake recipe ransom for this recipe, so I'm looking forward to now trying to make her cake gluten-free!) I made it again the other night and was once again struck by how delicious the flavor combination is. The whole family loves this dish.

In my version, I make feta cream sauce an all-in-one with homemade sundried tomato pesto (you can buy ready-made sundried tomato pesto but 1. Not all versions are gluten-free and 2. Homemade tastes much better), then serve the sauce over a bed of penne topped with chicken and mushrooms. You could certainly try tossing the pasta with the pesto (say that 10 times fast!) first, then combining the chicken and mushrooms with the feta cream sauce and serving over the pesto pasta.

To save time in preparing all of it, you could make the sauce ahead of time and reheat it. I find it stores pretty well in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple of days. The sauce is worth making alone just serve over some type of pasta, even if you don't want the chicken etc.

Projected start to finish: 45 minutes-1 hour (unless you make sauce ahead of time, see above)
(Printable recipe)

Sundried tomato pesto:
1/2 tsp. dried basil (or about a small handful if you have fresh)
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 5.8 oz. jar sundried tomatoes in olive oil (if you can only find 8 oz. jar, estimate about 6 oz.)

Feta cream sauce:
1 pint heavy whipping cream (or you could use 1/2 pint cream and a cup of milk to make it less heavy)
1 4 oz. container crumbled feta cheese

Chicken & mushrooms:
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins, cut into small pieces
1 small onion, diced
1 small package (about 8 oz.) fresh mushrooms, rinsed and sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper

1 package gluten-free penne (I use Tinkyada in these photos. Schar also makes a good one), prepared according to directions until al dente

Cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente. (I like the energy-saving method on Tinkyada's noodles.) When it's finished, rinse with cool water, drain and toss with olive oil. Set aside.

Blend tomatoes (with olive oil they were packed in), garlic and basil in food processor until pesto consistency.

Dice onion and saute in olive oil in large pan while cutting chicken into small (1/2 inch to 1 inch) pieces. Add chicken to onions and cook through. Salt to taste, and add a little pepper at the end.

In a smaller pan, heat sliced mushrooms over medium-low heat and sprinkle just a bit of kosher salt over them. Toss occasionally, and cook only until softened a little from their fresh state.

Heat cream over low-medium heat in a small or medium saucepan and add crumbled feta. Stir often and continue heating until feta is melted and blended with cream. Whisk pesto into cream until blended well. Salt to taste if necessary.

To serve, place penne on plate, top with chicken and mushrooms, then spoon sauce on top.

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal

If you've been reading very much of my blog, you know that baked oatmeal is one of my favorite breakfasts to fix - especially on cold mornings. It was one of my first recipes to share with you - and for good reason. I've probably made baked oatmeal more than any other recipe in my life. We have a history, baked oatmeal and I.

So when I saw some people talking about baked pumpkin oatmeal on my twitter feed the other day, you can imagine my excitement. Why hadn't I ever thought of this, what with my love for pumpkin and baked oatmeal and all ... why hadn't I ever combined them? I've put apples and raisins in it on many occasions, but never pumpkin. I must confess I didn't click on any of the links in that feed - a combination of being in a hurry and also wanting to come up with my version based purely from my original baked oatmeal recipe.

I woke up to freezing temperatures this morning and just happened to have some leftover pumpkin in the refrigerator from some pumpkin muffins the other day (which I forgot to photograph for you!), so I threw this and that into the bowl and we had pumpkin baked oatmeal this morning.

And it is good ... and perfect for this time of the year.

By the way, did you realize that Thanksgiving is only 15 days away? I had a mini panic attack when I realized that, but I'm starting on the prep early next week so I should have plenty of time. Tomorrow, I plan on posting my Thanksgiving menu for you. I don't have all of the recipes from my menu on this blog, but I hope to have a few more of them for you before the big day, and will create links within my menu as I get them posted.

For now, go make some of this oatmeal if you can tolerate gluten-free oats.

Projected prep time: 5 minutes; Projected bake time: 35-40 minutes
(Printable Recipe)


2 cups certified gluten-free rolled oats
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
Dash of ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all ingredients and pour into an 8x8 baking dish. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until baked all the way through and feels somewhat firm to the touch.

Enjoy!

Pizza By Ratio

Pizza with bell peppers (under cheese), artichoke hearts and caramelized onions

I guess I'm in a pizza kind of mood lately. I just realized my last post was a pizza post, making two pizza posts in September. You can't ever get enough pizza, right?

When I found out we were doing pizza crust for our Gluten-Free Ratio Rally this month, I was tempted to try and figure out the ratio for my go-to pizza crust. It's tried and true (and edited many times over!!), and I love it because it reminds me of family nights growing up. I decided against it, however, and pushed myself again. (But I did use some of the same flours.) If you're looking for a great-tasting, whole-grain gluten-free pizza crust to top however you wish, this pizza will deliver.

I love these rally challenges. They make me a better gluten-free cook/baker and prove nearly anything is possible in a gluten-free kitchen.

Logo designed by Anile Prakash

A big thank-you goes to Karen over at Cooking Gluten-Free!, our host for this month's rally challenge, for hosting us this month. Be sure to check out Karen's crust ratio recipe for garlic, artichoke, sun-dried tomato, pesto pizza (Oh. Yum.) and all the other delicious ratio pizza recipes from the participants this month. She has the links on her post, and there is something for every taste there.

If you're unfamiliar with the ratio rally, check out my rally page, where I have all my other rally posts which link to each monthly host, as well as Shauna's post on Gluten-Free Girl and The Chef, which was the very first rally post.

I decided to keep it simple this time around and let you choose your own toppings. I'll list some of my favorites to get you started, but this post is about the crust. It's filled with healthy whole-grain goodness and taste, and both daughters and my husband loved it. This crust has the right amount of crunch on the edges and bottom, and the right amount of soft, chewy bread for the rest. It doesn't fall apart when you pick it up, so you can eat the entire thing with your hands. It also still tastes great reheated in the oven or microwave.

I used Ruhlman's ratio for basic bread dough for this pizza crust: 5 parts flour: 3 parts water (plus yeast and salt), or 5 oz. flour: 3 oz. water. His basic recipe makes two crusts (20 oz. flour, 12 oz. water), but this particular recipe will make one pizza at least 12 inches across. I halved the recipe while I was experimenting with the ratio, so I wouldn't waste too many ingredients if things didn't turn out right, and thought it might be a good idea to keep it that way for those of you who aren't feeding a crowd. If you want more pizza crust, simply double, triple etc. to your heart's desire.

Projected prep time: 15 minutes; Rise time: 1 hour; Projected bake time: Total of 25-30 minutes
(Printable Recipe)

3 oz. (83 grams) tapioca starch (flour)
1 oz. (28 grams) potato starch (not potato flour)
*2 oz. (56 grams) sorghum flour (*see note below)
2 oz. (56 grams) amaranth flour
2 oz. (56 grams) teff flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
5 oz. very warm water (a tad less than 2/3 cup)
1/4 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 oz. water (2 tbsp.)
1 tbsp. milled flax seed
1 tbsp. (1/2 oz.) extra virgin olive oil
Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing
Cornmeal (optional)
*OR replace the 2 oz. sorghum with 2 oz. (56 grams) millet flour (I preferred the crust with sorghum, husband liked the millet better. Both tasted great and not much difference.)
Toppings

Combine flours with salt.

In a small bowl, combine 2 tbsp. of water with the milled flax seed to create a slurry, then let it sit.

Mix sugar into warm water, then sprinkle yeast into water. (This isn't necessary, but I like to see that the yeast is doing its job before adding it to the flour.) Let sit for 10 minutes.

Pour olive oil into flour. Stir flax slurry (it should be much thicker at this point), pour into flour. Pour yeast and water into flour.

Mix with dough hook at low-medium speed until flours begin to combine, then scrape the bowl to make sure all the flours are incorporated (you may have to do this a few times - or you can start with the paddle, then scrape and switch to the dough hook.) If you don't have a stand mixer, you do all of this with a wooden spoon. Continue to mix ingredients until dough forms a ball. If you mix past this, it's okay - and may even be a little better, but the dough won't be a ball anymore. That window is very small, and I miss it many times when I'm not paying attention. It just makes it a little easier to get out of the bowl when it's still in a ball.

Transfer dough to a ceramic or glass bowl (not necessary, but I do this because I let it rise in my oven and my mixer bowl doesn't fit very well in there on the racks) and cover bowl with a damp clean cloth or dish towel. Move to a warm, draft-free spot and let it rise for an hour. (As I said above, I use my oven. I warm my oven to about 100 degrees about 10 minutes before I start the dough, then turn it off. By the time it's ready to rise, the oven is warm but not too warm. And as long as I don't need it for something else, it makes a great place to let the dough rise.)

After an hour, your dough should be about doubled in size. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (Remove your dough first if you're using this spot to let it rise!)

Unless you're using a pizza stone (I don't use mine in any of these photos), rub a little olive oil onto the pan surface. If desired, sprinkle a tiny amount of cornmeal on top. (I usually do this.)

Roll or pat your dough out evenly onto the pan.

Brush with a light coating of olive oil, prick with a fork a few times. Bake for 10 minutes.

Top with desired sauce(s) and toppings (see some of my favorites below if you need ideas), then return to oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until cheese (if you're using it) is melted and beginning to bubble.

Artichoke & caramelized onion

Turkey pepperoni & fresh onion

 Let sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting.

You can see that the crust holds up, even hot out of the oven, to bending and being held by hand:

*Just a sampling of some of my favorite toppings, in no particular order:
Pizza sauce, ricotta cheese, garlic, mozzarella, feta, spinach, artichoke, white onions, red onions, caramelized Vidalia onions (in butter & Tony Chachere's), green bell pepper, red bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, turkey pepperoni, pineapple, chicken and apple sausage, turkey sweet Italian sausage, mushrooms, olives, fresh tomatoes

Some of my favorite topping combinations:
-Tomato pizza sauce, diced green bell peppers directly on top of sauce, mozzarella cheese, turkey pepperoni, pineapple, fresh red onion
-Ricotta mixed with fresh garlic, topped with mozzarella, then topped with sauteed zucchini sticks, salt and pepper OR fresh spinach instead of zucchini, directly on top of ricotta and then mozzarella on top of spinach
-Tomato pizza sauce, jalapeno slices, caramelized onions and sweet turkey Italian sausage with mozzarella
-Tomato pizza sauce, feta cheese crumbles, mozzarella cheese, chicken and apple sausage and caramelized onions (my brother got me onto that one)
-Tomato pizza sauce, red or green bell pepper, artichoke hearts and (or not) caramelized onions

Enjoy with the toppings of your choice!

Don't forget to head on over to Karen's host post to see her amazing pizza and all the other fantastic recipes brought to you by rally participants this month! Thanks again, Karen!