Gluten-Free Banana Coconut Flour Muffins

As I mentioned before, I've not ventured into the land of "gluten-free" very often.
Particularly in baking.

Enter my mom.
She recently confessed that some time ago, she heard/read about the benefits of coconut flour and proceeded to order a 25 lb (!!!) bag of it.  Organic and all.  And it had been sitting unopened in her laundry room ever since.  She didn't really know what to do with it.

I graciously told her that I would be more than happy to take some of it off of her hands and play around with it.  After all, I do a lot more baking than she does these days, with a family of 7 and all.  She's just cooking for herself and Dad most of the time.  She was delighted to share her abundance with me and gave me at least 12 lbs of it a couple of days ago.

As I was deliberating what to make for breakfast this morning, I remembered the bananas languishing on the counter top and decided banana coconut muffins would be just the ticket.

I looked through a few recipes before deciding on one from Tropical Traditions, which is my favorite company from which to purchase coconut oil.

Having never baked with or even tasted coconut flour, I wasn't sure what to expect.

I read that coconut flour is high in fiber and protein, is of course gluten-free, and can be added to standard wheat recipes in small amounts to add extra protein.  Some recipes of muffins and quick breads can be accomplished with 100% coconut flour.  Since coconut flour contains natural sugar from the coconut meat, baked goods need less sugar added. The coconut flavor is fairly mild.

You need much less flour than in regular recipes - but that is countered by needing a lot of eggs, since it's a very dry and thickening flour. So these muffins end up with lots of protein from all those eggs and the flour -  and that's not a bad thing.  

I thought they were delicious.  The texture and flavor is a bit different from traditional wheat muffins, but I enjoyed them a lot.  The kids commented that they seemed not as sweet as our normal muffins, probably because I didn't sprinkle chocolate chips on top (don't know where they get the idea they need chocolate for breakfast.  I mean, really.)  I found them to be just sweet enough.  Grant thought they were really good, too.  

I will definitely make them again - variety is great - plus I still have 12 lbs of coconut flour to use!

Banana Coconut Flour Muffins
adapted slightly from Tropical Traditions
Yield: 16 regular muffins

1 cup coconut flour (organic is best)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
6 eggs
4 Tbsp. melted coconut oil (OR 2 Tbsp. melted butter + 2 Tbsp. oil)
3/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350°.
Sift the coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together into a small bowl.  Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, beat eggs together.  Add oil, milk, honey, sugar, and vanilla.  Whisk together to blend.
Stir in coconut flour mixture and bananas until well blended.  Batter will be thick.  Divide batter among greased or paper-lined muffin tins.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Perfect Chocolate Party Cake

If you've been around here for awhile, you know that I am a dedicated baker of the Hershey's Especially Dark Chocolate Cake - it is truly my favorite chocolate cake just for eating.  That being said, I don't make it for cakes that I intend to stack and frost for a birthday for a couple of reasons - first, it's a very moist cake that could crumble easily and not be the most sturdy; second, it can be pretty crumby - which makes frosting it with a white or light frosting very difficult.

I have tried several different chocolate cake recipes in search of a favorite for decorated cakes -
and this is the winner. Not only is it nice and sturdy, not super crumby, and easy to bake, it's still moist and absolutely delicious.

I've made it twice now - the first time was for the rather large cake seen above, made for my niece Christine's 14th birthday.  Since I was expecting about 22 people at the party and certainly did not want to run out of cake, I made a double batch of this recipe - for a grand total of 18 cups of batter - to fill two 12" round pans.  (I actually made an additional chocolate cake mix for the heart on top and some cupcakes - another niece can't eat dairy and I wanted her to have cake too.  She ate unfrosted cupcakes)   That cake ended up stretching further than I thought - it provided dessert for at least 16 people twice and there was still a huge hunk left over.

The second time I made it was for my nephew Jonathan's birthday, seen below - this time I made two 13 x 9" layers, so I made 1-1/3 this recipe, to make 12 cups of batter.  It was filled and frosted with chocolate buttercream and was wonderfully scrumptious.  He was absolutely delighted with it, and again, it really did feed a lot of people.

I'm so happy to have found this recipe - it's just perfect for party cakes. If you have a chance to make it, let me know how it turns out for you!

Chocolate Party Cake

from Kitchen Simplicity

Makes Three 8-inch cakes (9 cups of batter)

For 6-inch cakes fill each cake tin with 1.5-2 cups batter and check for doneness earlier then the suggested time.  For 10-inch cakes fill with 5-3/4 to 6 cups batter and bake for longer than the suggested time.

3 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

4 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla

2-2/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 Tbsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1-1/3 cups sour cream

1-1/3 cups boiling water

Cream together brown sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add vanilla; turn beaters to medium-high; beat until light and fluffy.  Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add in three additions, alternating with sour cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.  Stir in water until evenly blended.  Pour into three 8-inch round cake pans buttered and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° F. for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool 10 minutes before removing from pans and peeling off the parchment paper.  Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Teriyaki Chicken (Gluten Free/Dairy Free)

I am extremely thankful that we don't have any food allergies or sensitivities in my family (other than me with avocados...so weird....and unfortunate).  

However, I know there are so many families that have to deal with various issues with food and it can get so complicated.  I recently had the pleasure of making a meal for a friend from church who had just given birth to her 5th boy...and was told by the meal coordinator that they needed a dinner that was wheat-free and dairy free.

Wow.  That ruled out nearly every recipe I normally make.  I am a big believer in the value of butter....and cheese....and I love pasta, biscuits, breads.....oh, you know.  And the desserts.  Eliminating dairy and wheat leaves the options pretty sparse, unless you go to a specialty store to buy some unusual ingredients like xanthum gum or sorghum flour.  Sure can't find those at Walmart.

Anyways, I ended up making BBQ meatballs (with water instead of milk), Confetti Rice and Bean Salad, roasted green beans, and a fruit salad with strawberries, grapes, and blueberries.

Brainstorming what to make for them helped me realize that it's a really good idea to have a running list of gluten and/or dairy-free recipes from which to choose, should the need arise.

This meal definitely makes the list for me.
 
It's a really simple dinner, just requires some time chopping and cutting veggies and meat and a little time stir-frying it all.  But it comes together beautifully and was a hit with everyone in my family, including Grant's parents.  It's flavorful and slightly sweet - and the best part - all of the ingredients are nearly always in my kitchen.  So it's an easy go-to meal when plans go awry and I need a back-up, stat.

What are some of your gluten or dairy free favorite recipes?

Teriyaki Chicken (Gluten and Dairy Free)
from Angela's Kitchen

1-1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cubed
oil for cooking (I use expeller pressed coconut oil)
4 carrots, sliced thinly
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
2 cups broccoli, chopped
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce (reduced sodium)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 T. cornstarch or arrowroot
salt and pepper, to taste
Cooked rice, for serving

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Season chicken with salt and pepper, then saute it until browned and cooked through. Remove from skillet and set aside.  In the hot skillet (add a little more oil if necessary) stir fry the carrots and onions for several minutes. Once they're crisp/tender, add the broccoli and garlic and cook a couple of minutes longer.
Add the chicken to the skillet with the vegetables.  In a medium bowl, combine the water, soy sauce, and brown sugar.  Add 2/3 of the mixture to the skillet.  Bring to a boil.  To the remaining liquid, add the cornstarch and whisk until smooth. Add to the boiling mixture in the skillet and stir constantly until thickened.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over rice.

Quick Lemon Cake - SRC

Welcome to summer!

We finished up school a couple of weeks ago, just in time for our visit from Grant's parents (all the way from California).  This was their first visit to my home state of Arkansas and we had a great time exploring around, boating on a couple of area lakes, touring museums, and even taking a short vacation to Branson.  It was a terrific way to kick-start our summer break.

For my Secret Recipe Club assignment this month, I had the pleasure of perusing Jane's Adventures in Dinner, where Jane, who was trained as a chef and is now a teacher, has an amazing collection of scrumptious sounding recipes......like Smoked Chicken and Cheese Popovers, Slow cooker Chicken Parmesan, and  Oven Fried Onion Rings among many others.

But I just couldn't resist the appeal of this quick and easy Lemon Cake.  One of the flavors that just screams "Summer!" to me is lemon.  Creamy lemon bars, ice-cold glasses of lemonade, lemon cookies.....everything bright and fresh. Well, if you can stand heating up the oven to bake, a lemon cake is a wonderful treat to enjoy.....pretty much any time.

Jane calls  it a "Two Minute" cake.....not because it is fast to whip up, but because it disappears in about two minutes.  I enforced portion control and managed to make it last over two meals - but I'm sure my kiddos would  have devoured the whole thing in a single sitting if I had let them.

It's a dense cake - with the surprising addition of cornmeal.  It has no oil or butter - but is made moist by lots of yogurt.  I just used plain, but I'm sure you could use vanilla or even lemon yogurt with great results.
My favorite part was the glaze - bursting with flavor from the lemon zest and juice....it just complements the cake perfectly.

Quick Lemon Cake
adapted slightly from Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Cake:
2 cups plain yogurt
Zest and juice from 1 large lemon
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup cornmeal
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze:
Zest and juice from 1 large lemon
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

Preheat oven to 350°.
Butter and flour a bundt pan - set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine yogurt, lemon zest and juice, eggs, and sugar.  Stir well.  Add in the baking powder, baking soda, cornmeal, and flour.  Fold gently until combined.  Don't overstir.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes in the pan, then loosen edges and remove from pan to a platter.
Use a toothpick to poke little holes all over the top of the cake.
In a small bowl, combine lemon juice and zest with powdered sugar.  Pour slowly over warm cake.  The glaze will sink in and basically disappear....but don't worry, you'll still taste it!

Oreo Rice Crispy Treats

We had a church fellowship meal recently and I decided to make two desserts.
I had noticed a "trend" the past two fellowship meals of there being plenty of main dishes, but very few desserts.....and.....well......that just wasn't acceptable to me.
I think there ought to be enough for each person in attendance to have at least one of some sweet treat.

I had already made a batch of these bars...(which turned out just as good as I remembered them) and was considering what to make for the second dessert.....when I suddenly realized that I had marshmallows and crispy rice cereal in my pantry (which doesn't always happen) and half a bag of Oreos left over from the other dessert.

Um, yeah....that sounded good.
And easy.
Since I was also making 6 pizzas and hosting a birthday party for my mom that night, I needed something easy.

Most people like rice crispy treats, plain or otherwise.  Adding Oreos in there makes them extra fun and delicious.

Note: I like the treats to be a little thicker than the standard recipe  - so I use more than one package of marshmallows and more cereal.  If you only have one 10 oz bag of marshmallows, use 3 Tbsp. butter and 5-1/2 cups cereal.

Oreo Rice Crispy Treats

15 oz. marshmallows (1-1/2 bags)
5 Tbsp. butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
8 cups crispy rice cereal
~15 chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreos), roughly chopped

Spread a light layer of butter over the bottom and edges of a 13 x 9" pan.  Set aside
In a large saucepan or dutch oven, melt the marshmallows and butter over low heat, stirring constantly.  As soon as it is smooth, remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.
Immediately pour in crispy rice cereal and cookies, stirring to coat evenly.
Press into the 13 x 9" pan.  If mixture is too sticky to press well, get a little water on your hands and it should be much easier.
Let set at room temperature until cool.  Cut into squares and serve.

Enchilada Meatballs - SRC

Happy Belated Mothers Day to all of you dedicated, terrific moms.  I hope your day was full of blessings with your family.  

We have a Mother's Day tradition of going out for Mexican food around dinner time. It all started the first year we were in Virginia, which was my first Mother's Day as a mom.  We were originally going to the Outback for dinner, but upon discovering the wait was 2 hours, we changed our mind real quick on that one.  

A quick drive around that part of town revealed that all the restaurants were packed to the gills.  

We had a 6 month old with us....and waiting super long was not an option.  We ended up deciding to try this small Mexican restaurant in another part of town and were delighted to get seated right away, served quickly, had a delicious meal, and even got 1/2 price for my meal.  Oh, and a free dessert for me.  :)  And I just remembered - Corban drank from a straw for the first time at the restaurant that night.  We were so impressed at such a young baby doing that.  

We were out of there and home watching the season finale of Survivor (yes, I'm an addict) before we even would have been seated at the Outback.  

So our tradition has continued to this day.  And I love it! 

This year we got the pleasure of being with my parents and younger sister also, which made it even better.  

Tex-Mex cuisine has always been a favorite of mine, and fortunately Grant and the kids agree.  So it wasn't hard to pick something fun like Enchilada Meatballs for my Secret Recipe Club feature this month.

  

My assigned blog was Angela's Kitchen, which is an amazing resource for anyone looking for gluten-free or dairy-free recipes.  Angela is quite the expert in gluten and dairy free recipe development and living and teaches classes, consults, and speaks in various outlets.  

She has lots of recipes that interest me......such as Sundried Tomato Stuffed Chicken,  Teriyaki Chicken,

and Better Than Nutrigrain Bars...and even plenty of baked goods, although most of those required specialty ingredients that I don't have on hand.  

I did not make these meatballs gluten free or dairy free - I had my regular cornbread leftover from dinner the night before and I used real cheddar cheese on top, but Angela's recipe will tell you how to do it if you desire. 

We loved the meatballs - they are moist and just a little spicy - which can be altered depending on what kind of enchilada sauce you use. They make a great dinner served with Mexican rice and a salad, or they would be a fun appetizer or hor d'oeurve for a party as well.  

Enchilada Meatballs

adapted from Angela's Kitchen

2 pounds ground turkey or beef

2 cups crumbled corn bread (I used leftovers of this recipe)

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro (I omitted - hubby doesn't like it)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

2 cups enchilada sauce, divided (I used homemade from this recipe)

Shredded sharp cheddar cheese - optional

Preheat oven to 350°F.  

In a large bowl, mix together, ground turkey, corn bread, cilantro (if using), salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup enchilada sauce. Form into 1-inch meatballs with your hands, or use a medium cookie scoop, which I prefer.   Put meatballs on a rack on a rimmed baking sheet, or just line the sheet with foil and place the meatballs on that.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until cooked through.  Put in a serving dish.

Heat remaining enchilada sauce and pour over meatballs.  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese and snipped cilantro if desired.  

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To freeze: After cooking, allow meatballs to cool completely.  Place in a large freezer bag, remove as much air as possible, seal, label, and freeze. Put remaining enchilada sauce in a smaller freezer bag, removing as much air as possible, seal, and freeze. Package both bags together.

To serve: Thaw.  Pour sauce over meatballs in a baking dish or sauce pan. Heat through.

Turtle Brownies

I had a busy day on Saturday.

We hosted a birthday party for my mom in the evening, which involved making 6 homemade pizzas, plus some chocolate syrup to serve with the ice cream and these brownies, which I had made on Friday.  My Aunt Bonnie brought an amazing salad with spinach, strawberries, candied pecans, feta cheese, and a fabulous dressing.....and Anna pitched in with a fruit platter of orange slices and grapes.

We dined well.

It was nice to end the day with such a lovely time...since the morning was......well, challenging.

A couple of months ago, I got the urge to sign up for a 5K.  I have never been a runner or even enjoyed running remotely.  I played basketball and volleyball in high school and tolerated the running those required because I loved the sports, but I truly always hated running.
However.
The realization hit me a few years ago that people who are really runners are never overweight.  They always look great - and they usually are just super healthy people.  I figured that if I started running occasionally, it would be a good variation from the exercise DVDs I was accustomed to doing. We bought a used treadmill from Grant's brother and I used that exclusively.  Very convenient in any weather and I could pop in a video for the kids to keep them busy.  I still disliked running but I did like making progress.
Pregnancies took a big toll on me and I ended up with some recurring knee issues, so my running was never as consistent or my achievements as quick as I wanted.

Then we moved and my exercise routine went out the window for a few months while we were settling in and dealing with various illnesses.  Finally, I started back up my twice a week runs on the treadmill and worked up to running 3 miles in 30 minutes.  I decided that I would be much more motivated to keep running if I signed up for a real race.  I thought that early May would be perfect timing - not too cold, not too hot...you know, because I wasn't used to running outside and didn't want to deal with any extreme elements.
My sister Anna signed up with me - so we could race together.

I started training outside about 4 weeks ago, running on a paved trail near our house.  I quickly discovered that running outside is significantly harder than the treadmill.....wind resistance and hills and all that.  But race day was soon approaching and I had to get those runs in - at least three a week.

Last Wednesday, we had 80° weather.  Friday, there was an inch of snow on the ground when we got up.

Saturday, the big race day, we had a lovely 35° morning, with a wind chill a few degrees colder.  Oh, and we can't forget the snow.  The constant, light drizzle we had on the drive over there turned to huge snowflakes that soaked into our clothes and pelted us in the eyes while we ran.  Seriously.  This is Arkansas on May 4th, not North Dakota.

My face nearly froze off.  I couldn't even talk for minutes after the race because my lips were so numb.  But we finished, with a grand time of 30:37.  Anna could have finished faster.....she stuck with me as I walked up part of the looooonnnngggg hill near the end of the route.  I actually ran the route a minute and a half faster a few days earlier (you know, back in normal spring weather), but running in winter conditions was entirely new to me.  I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold.

     Pre-Race - in the car staying dry!     Almost to the finish line.                   We did it.  I was so relieved to
                                                                                                                    be done.

So on to the brownies.  Mom didn't want the usual cake for her birthday - she requested this specific recipe, which she got from a friend years ago.  I have no idea where the original is from.

They're rich, chewy, and super easy to make, and a great ending to a 5K day....or pretty much any day.

Oh yeah, and they're killer with some vanilla ice cream and homemade chocolate syrup.


Turtle Brownies

1 German Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Duncan Hines)
2/3 cup butter, melted
1 (5 oz ) can evaporated milk, divided use
14 oz bag caramels
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 2 cups)
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350°.
Unwrap caramels, place in a medium sauce pan and add 1/4 cup evaporated milk.  Set aside.
Mix cake mix, melted butter, and remaining milk (by hand, using a fork) in a bowl.
Spread 1/2 of dough mixture in a lightly greased 13 x 9" pan.  It will look like you won't be able to cover the bottom of the pan, but just press it in thinly.
Bake 10-12 minutes and remove from oven.  Let cool a little - slightly warm to touch.
While dough is baking, melt caramels and 1/4 cup evaporated milk on the stovetop. (Alternately, you can melt them in a bowl in the microwave on low for 2-3 min - stir and check consistency - repeat for 2-3 minutes on low until smooth).  
Pour melted caramel sauce on top of baked dough.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips and pecans.
Drop remaining dough by teaspoons full on top.  It probably won't completely cover the top.
Bake until the cake portion is dry (15-20 minutes).
Cool and serve.