Layered Cherry 'Pie'

I was skeptical when my boyfriend handed me this recipe and told me to make it, but apparently he had many fond memories of a family friend making it when he was younger (and by fond memories he said he remembered it being really really good) so I said yes. Plus we had a Christmas party to go to where I said I'd bring dessert and this looked easy.

It was a hit, which he mentioned more than once afterwards.

But apparently I make it 'wrong' he's used to having everything folded together instead of layered so if you're really feeling lazy that's always another option. I doubled the recipe to fit my throw away pan but here's the original version for you.

1 cup gluten free graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
20-30 small marshmallows
1 can cherry pie filling
chocolate for shaving

Combine graham crackers, butter and brown sugar. Press into 8x8 pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for ten minutes and allow to cool to room temp.

Whip cream and sugar until peaks form, fold in marshmallows.
Spread half of whipped cream mixture over crust. Follow with cherry pie filling and top with remaining whipped cream. Shave chocolate over everything to make it look pretty.

Store in the fridge until serving.

Merry Christmas

                             From my family to yours have a merry Christmas and a happy holidays

25th Birthday Weekend

Cinnamon Popcorn

I almost feel silly sharing this recipe, but I also feel it's something everyone out there needs to know, because it's dead easy, and more importantly crazy delicious. It's impressive enough to serve at a party but fast enough to make for a movie night on your couch with you dogs and tasty enough to eat every day.

I made a batch for our Christmas party over the weekend and we ended up having freezing rain the same night so everyone was late, I actually considered eating the whole bowl before anyone showed up. So take a break from everything and have some popcorn. 

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn

5 tablespoons butter

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt        

1/4 teaspoon vanilla 

preheat oven to 250 degrees F, line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

pop popcorn using preferred method and divide onto the two baking sheets, try not to get any unpopped kernels onto the trays. 

combine all remaining ingredients in a microwave safe bowl, microwave on high for thirty seconds, stir. repeat until sugar has dissolved. 

Pour sugar mixture over popcorn, tossing gently with a spatula to coat. Bake for 10-15 minutes until coating starts to bubble slightly. Allow to cool, toss into a bowl and eat, way too much. 

Tis the season for Christmas parties

Chewy Caramels

The first time I remember Christmas baking was probably around the time I was in grade three, I made fudge with my mom and we did something wrong since, while it tasted good, it was not how you want your fudge to be. But even though it was grainy and hard my grandparents ate it, because I was cute or something. 

I'd like to say my candy making has improved since then but I still can't make fudge to save my life, I do however make an excellent caramel that people eat because they actually want to. 

I'm not really sure where this recipe comes from, I found it in one of my grandmothers books one year and have been making it ever since. It might not be 'traditional' with the addition of condensed milk, but it's pretty full-proof and stress free, which really, that's what counts this time of year if you ask me.

1 cup salted butter

2 1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup golden corn syrup

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

1/8 cup cream 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Prepare a glass 8x8 inch baking dish with greased parchment paper. 

In a thick bottomed sauce pan melt butter over low heat. Add sugar and corn syrup, mixing until sugar is almost all combined.
Pour condensed milk and cream into sugar mixture, stirring constantly over medium heat until your caramel reaches a temperature of 240 degrees. 

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. 

Pour into prepared dish and allow to set overnight. Once cool slice into bit sized pieces using a rocking motion with your knife. Wrap individually and store in an airtight container. 

New York, New York

Mexico

Cheese Bread

I am off to Mexico for a week.
But for everyone still stuck in the Edmonton winter (or other cold places) here's some cheese bread to keep you warm.

Cheese Bread
Adapted from Gems of Gluten Free baking

1 cup brown rice flour
3/4 cups gluten free flour blend*
1 Tbs plus 1 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp guar gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 cups parmesan cheese
1 1/3 cups lukewarm water
2 tbs tomato paste (for colour)

Preheat oven to 375, lightly grease an 8x4 inch loaf pan

In a mixing bowl blend brown rice flour, gluten free flour blend, yeast, guar gum, salt, and both cheeses (reserving a small handful of the cheddar for topping). Mix water and tomato paste together in a small bowl, combine with flour mixture using a hand mixer until you get a creamy consistency.
Spoon batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top with moistened fingers, Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft free place till 1/4 inch from the top of pan. About 30-40 minutes.

Bake 30-35 minutes, turn bread out of pan and cool right side up on a cooling rack.


*The flour blend I used for this was
2 3/4 cups brown rice flour
2/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup teff flour
3 tbs millet flour

Fifteen Minute Pasta Sauce

1 can tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 Teaspoon roasted garlic and bell pepper seasoning*

1/2 Teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 clove of garlic, diced 

Place tomato sauce as well as seasonings in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Once sauce comes to a slight boil reduce heat to low, add balsamic and garlic, allow to simmer for ten to fiveteen minutes. 

Serve over pasta of choice.

*I've contacted McCormick and this seasoning blend is gluten free 

Dutch Baby

Breakfast is the thing of memories. As a kid it was my mom making mickey mouse shaped pancakes on the weekend or my dad making bacon and eggs on ski trips, then as I got older it turned into 3am french toast and way too many egg mcmuffins in an attempt to function as a normal human being. Now it's all about lazy mornings at home with my boyfriend and dogs.

Obviously bacon and eggs are still a go to and if I could still eat egg mcmuffins I'd probably still eat a few too many of those, but for morning when I want to be a little fancy this is my go to recipe. I don't think I ever had a dutch baby before I went gluten free, but I love them now. I always have all the ingredients on hand, you can top them with just about anything you can think of and they feel more impressive than a pancake even though they're dead simple to make.


Dutch Baby
Serves 1-2

2 Tablespoons butter

4 eggs (room temperature)

1/2 cup rice flour 

1 Teaspoon sugar
1/2 Teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 cup milk

 Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 425. Put butter in a round cake pan and place in the oven till batter is ready. 

With an immersion blender combine eggs, rice flour, salt, sugar, lemon zest, milk and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Or place all ingredients into a blender and pulse for about thirty seconds. 

Remove hot cake pan from oven and carefully pour batter over the melted butter. Return pan to oven and bake for twenty minutes, keeping the oven door shut.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar or toppings of your choice and serve. 

Happy Thanksgiving

      

Spicy Sausage Soup with Bacon and Potatoes

I woke up the other morning to go to work only to be greeted by -3 degree weather. Admittedly I leave for work at five am. But it still stands as a fairly strong indication the summer has left my little part of our great white north.
But as much as this foreshadows towards the upcoming months of freezing cold northern Alberta weather, I always wait for it. September was unusually warm this year and it was driving me crazy 'I want my soup!' was one of the things going through my head for weeks. That and not so patiently waiting for my pumpkin spice lattes.
So here it is, My first blog post, Soup.


Spicy sausage soup
Serves 4-6

1 pound gluten free spicy Italian sausage (removed from casings)
3 strips bacon, thinly sliced
Half a large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3 medium russet potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
6 cups chicken stock/
1/2 cup heavy cream

Heat a large, heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat.
Add bacon to the pot and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, transfer bacon to a plate or bowl. Place sausage in pot, using a wooden spoon begin breaking up the sausage, stirring occasionally until fully browned. Remove to the bacon plate.

Reduce heat to medium. Removing all but 2 tablespoons of bacon/sausage fat from the bottom of the pan. Add in chopped onions and garlic, stirring until translucent. Season with salt, pepper and paprika, Continue cooking until onions have started to slightly brown.

Add chicken stock to onion and garlic mixture, bring to a boil. Once the broth has started boiling reduce heat and let simmer, adding potatoes, cooked sausage and bacon to the pot. cover until potatoes are cooked through. about 15-20 minutes.

Once potatoes are cooked remove from heat and stir in half a cup of cream.
Serve and enjoy, pairs well with a nice red wine.