Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

These are the easiest cookies ever.

Beware, they are extremely Peanut Butter-y.

You can make them even more fancy by sticking a Kiss in the middle after pulling the hot cookies out of the oven.

These cookies call for no flour, so they are perfect for GF guests or if you need a treat for a GF friend.

These are also called E.S.P. cookies.

You will see why in a minute.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 cup peanut butter

(Get it, e, s, p)

Blend together

Make into balls, flatten with a fork and bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until done.

Cool on the pan for 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

Also try:

Gluten Free Coconut Macaroons

or

Gluten Free No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies

Gluten Free Banana Bread

Remember this picture:

If not, let me remind you, 

Gluten Free Coconut Lime Banana Bread

Delish.

Now, I have been doing some experimenting with coconut flour and made some modifications to this recipe.  If you haven't used coconut flour before you are in for a treat.  It's a new little gem I've started to use and it's great.  There is a slight coconut flavor when using it, but I really like it.  There are many health benefits to using coconut flour and I believe variety is the spice of life, so why not mix things up!  You can find coconut flour where you buy your other GF flours.   

I wanted the bread to be more flavored with lime and coconut, so I experimented with adding the flavors to the bread instead of just the glaze on top.

The results were fab-ul-ous!

Paul went on and on about how great this banana bread/cake was, asking why I haven't made it before (ok, I've make it twice before this...), banana bread is my favorite,

you get it right.

To agree with him, yes, it was great and really flavorful and really banana-y.

So if you want the recipe that I modified first, here it is, if not read (or should I say, bake) on!

Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Gluten Free Banana Bread

1 1/2 cups GF mix

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 rounded t. xanthan gum

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup softened butter

4 eggs

2 cups mashed bananas (4-5 bananas)

1/3 cup vanilla yogurt

1/4 cup applesauce

1 t. vanilla

1 t. lime juice

1/2 cup coconut flakes

1/4 cup coconut, to sprinkle on the top, divided

Sift the flours into a small bowl.  Yes, sift.  I never was a big believer until now.  Just trust me and do it.  I don't have a sifter, so I put the flour through a fine-mesh sieve.  You must get all the clumps out of the coconut flour.

When flours have been sifted, add the xanthan gum, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs.

Then add in the mashed bananas, yogurt, applesauce, vanilla, lime juice and coconut.

Mix until just blended.  

Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just moist.

Now, I like to use a bunt pan only because it's fun, pretty, and cooks faster.  You can use any size pan you want: bread pan, 8x8, or a 9-inch circle pan. You might have to adjust your cooking times.

Grease your chosen pan.  Sprinkle in 2 T. flaked coconut.

Pour in the batter.

Then sprinkle on the last 2 T. flake coconut.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes or until done. 

(A bread pan will take 60 minutes)

When bread is done, allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Turn out on a plate and pour over the lime glaze.

Lime Glaze:

2 T. lime juice

1/2 cup powdered sugar

You might have to add more or less.  Make the consistency be runny and easy to pour.

Let the glaze soak into your banana bread and enjoy!

Gluten Free Marshmallow Popcorn

When I was in college, many years ago I had a roommate.

This roommate was a culinary arts major.

She did not cook at home.

Bummer right.

But I did like to pick her brain for some good recipes.

Marshmallow popcorn was one of those.

We made this and watched "Singing in the Rain" with another apt. of girls.

So fun.

I make this sweet, sticky popcorn for my family now.  We usually aren't watching "Singing in the Rain", it's "How to Train Your Dragon", "Tangled" or "Toy Story" but the popcorn is still as good as ever.

Gluten Free Marshmallow Popcorn

4 qts. popcorn (this is about 3/4 to 1 cup of unpopped kernels)

3 cups mini marshmallows (or tear the big ones in half)

1 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 t. salt

1/2 cup corn syrup

Stir together the popped popcorn and marshmallows.  

In a saucepan melt butter, add sugar, salt and corn syrup.  Bring to a boil for 2.5  minutes and pour over popcorn/marshmallows until evenly coated.

Let cool for a few minutes and enjoy.

The marshmallows will melt and become really sticky and sweet.  Watch out for burned tongues and fingers.

Also try:

Gluten Free Caramel Popcorn

Gluten Free Orange Sesame Pork

I love the flavor of Asian food.

But I don't like that it's usually heavily battered in a gluten containing recipe, deep-fried with other gluten  ingredients then smothered in gluten-full soy sauce.

So the solution?

Find a GF chinese place, which there are some

or the easier and cheaper route

make it at home!

This orange chicken is not very sweet but really really tasty and easy.

Next time I make this, for presentation and for ease of eating, I'm going to cut the orange wedges into chunks.

Gluten Free Orange Sesame Pork

1 orange

1/2 lb pork roast or pork tenderloin

2 T. soy sauce

1 T. sugar

2 T. orange juice

1/4 t. pepper 

1/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot flour

Canola oil

2 T. soy sauce

1/2 c. orange juice

2 T. marmalade jam

1 T. sesame seeds

Cooked brown rice

Peel and slice orange.  Set aside.

Slice pork into bite size pieces.  

In a dish combine 2 T. soy sauce, sugar, 2 T. orange juice and pepper.  Add pork and coat.  Allow to marinate for 15 minutes.  

Put cornstarch in a small bowl.  Drain marinade and coat pork with cornstarch.

Heat oil in a pan.  If you are deep frying pork you will need 2 C of oil.  I just drizzled some oil into the pan. 

Cook pork until cooked and golden.  Remove most of the oil from the pan.  Add 2 T. soy sauce, 1/2 cup orange juice, and marmalade.  Heat and stir until bubbly.  Stir in pork.  Stir to coat.  Serve over brown rice and oranges.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Also try:
Gluten Free Kung Pao Chicken

3 on 3

Wow, it's already September 3rd?  

Where did summer go?

I thought that it might be fun to have a little game.

A little 3 on 3, 

or should I say, 3 on the 3rd.

Here are 3 things about me, and I would love to hear what your answers are as well.  

Happy 3rd!

1. Favorite Food:

Hands down, PIZZA!

Am I too old to say that?  I've always loved pizza and I think that it will be my favorite food until I die!

2. First thing I would eat if I suddenly woke up able to eat gluten (hey, a girl can dream right!?!)

Of course you guessed it- pizza. 

The gluten-full kind.

Probably a Hawaiian pizza from Pizza Hut or a Special from Barros.

Yum.

3. Random food fact:

I am afraid of mold or food-borne illness.

Like, irrationally afraid.

My poor husband, I'm constantly asking him, "does this look moldy", "do you think this is safe", "is that meat done"?  

I know super weird, but if it has one speck of even looking like it might be bad, (mold, old, bacteria) I can't eat any of it.

Also, I can't stand hot dogs.

What about you??