New GFCF Chicken Nuggets!

Coming home and finding boxes on our doorstep is no big deal in our household. UPS brings me packages for work almost daily. But whenever there is one that doesn't have my company's return address on it, Andy gets excited and wants to know right away what is in it. Yesterday we got just such a box and he was right to be excited!

When we opened it, we found treasures inside:
It was from Applegate Farms. Not only did it contain 2 boxes of their new gluten free (and casein free) chicken nuggets, it also had DRY ICE! I really should have taken a picture of Andy playing with the dry ice - that provided over an hour of fun. I should mention that you should never let small children play with dry ice and even with older kids like Andy, you need to supervise them and make sure they know the dangers of dry ice.

We have been struggling to find a great tasting chicken nugget. We used to buy the Wellshire Kids/Garrett County Farms (Wellshire Kids brand is now used only at Whole Foods and Garrett County elsewhere). We used to buy a lot of their products. But ever since the Chicago Tribune exposed that their dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets tested high for gluten, we have crossed them off our list.

We love Ian's products. Andy especially loves their allergen free fish sticks. But he isn't a fan of their chicken nuggets. He reluctantly accepts them in his thermos in his lunch box and eats them, but he doesn't love them like he did the dinosaur ones.

So, I was excited to learn that Applegate Farms had come out with a gluten free chicken nugget. We LOVE Applegate Farm's products. Their chicken hot dogs are what I use to make my wonderful mini corn dogs. Applegate Farms is really a great all around company. I'm not going to bore you with all the details, you can go to their website and read all about it http://www.applegatefarms.com/ (and while you are there, read all about the future of our school lunches).

What I am going to tell you about is how great tasting these new nuggets were. I made one box of them for dinner last night and Andy was begging for more. Even Dan and I enjoyed the taste. They have a wonderful taste and texture. Andy likes that they are soft. Try them. They get two thumbs up from all 3 of us.

Purity Farms Ghee

I have been using ghee in more and more of my recipes. The lemon curd I made recently tasted so good because I used ghee in it.

Ghee is butter so it tastes wonderful in all of your gfcf recipes - like real butter - because it is. I know what some of you are thinking - but butter isn't casein free. Ah, but ghee is. Ghee is butter with the casein removed.

It is fairly expensive but it tastes so good. To cut down on the expense you can either make your own or you can mix it with a healthy shortening like palm oil or coconut oil. I have been using it 50/50 with coconut oil in a lot of my recipes.

I was a little reluctant to try ghee at first because I didn't understand how it could be casein free. But after using it for a few weeks with no reactions I became hooked.

I recently contacted Purity Farms via their website and complimented them on their product and asked to be put on any mailing list they have for coupons. They responded that they are just a small company with no mailing lists or coupons but they would be glad to send me a free product. A few days later, just as promised, a free jar was in my mailbox along with a handwritten letter, a nice pen and some recipes. How nice is that? Gotta love customer service like that.

So, if you haven't tried ghee yet and you want that buttery taste in your food - try ghee. You won't be disappointed.

GFCF Lemon Bars

Since I had lots of lemon curd left over from the lemon bites I made recently, I made these bars over the weekend.

They did not last long! They were so yummy.

You could probably add flaked coconut to the topping if you wanted - I don't personally like coconut so I don't add it to any of my recipes, but I could see it going well in this one - if you liked that sort of thing!

GFCF Lemon Bars

1 cup gfcf margarine (I used earth balance buttery spread)

2 cups gf flour blend (I used authentic foods blend which has xanthan gum in it – so if you use a blend without xanthan gum, you may need to add it)

1 cup raw sugar

2 cups lemon curd (recipe follows)

½ cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
In a large mixing bowl cream margarine.
Add flour and sugar. Mix until coarse crumbs form.
Pat 2/3 of mixture in the bottom of an ungreased 9 by 13 inch baking pan.
Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
Cool slightly
Spread lemon curd over baked layer.
Add chopped nuts to remaining crumb mixture and sprinkle over the top of the lemon curd.
Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Bake for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.
Cool thoroughly, cut into squares and enjoy!

Lemon Curd

I like this method of making lemon curd because you don’t have to strain it and it always turns out nice and smooth.

6 tablespoons butter substitute (I use ghee)

1 cup sugar (I use organic raw sugar so mine isn’t as refined looking)

2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks

2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy
Gradually add eggs and egg yolks (1 at a time)
Beat in lemon juice – mixture will appear curdled.
Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat until it thickens and reaches a temperature of 170 degrees – do not let it boil.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and press plastic wrap on top so it doesn’t form a skin – cool in fridge.

Store for up to 2 weeks in fridge or 2 months in freezer

GFCF Pizza

Since the lasagna I made a couple of weeks ago was such a success, I decided to tackle pizza. I made two of these babies for dinner last night and between the 3 of us, there were no leftovers - so I would say it was a success. It is so good to be adding old favorites back into our diet - and for Andy to be able to enjoy things he never has.

GFCF Pizza Recipe

Crust -
3 packets gluten free yeast (I used Red Star)
1 1/3 cup brown rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
4 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. salt
1 packet unflavored gelatin (I used Knox)
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1 1/3 cup warm water
1 tsp. raw sugar
2 tsp. olive oil
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Mix yeast, flours, xanthan gum, salt, gelatin, oregano and basil
In separate bowl mix warm water, sugar, oil and vinegar
Add liquids to dry ingredients and beat with a mixer on high for three minutesSpray two 12" pizza pan with cooking spraySpoon half of dough onto each pan
Grease your fingers with shortening or cooking spray and use them to spread dough out on pans.
Bake for 10 minutes in preheated oven.
Then either add toppings or freeze crust for future use.
Bake the topped crust for 20 to 25 more minutes.

Toppings:
15 oz can Muir Glen Tomato Sauce (1/2 of can for each pizza)Jennie-O Turkey Italian Sausage, cooked – half for each pizza¼ cup chopped onions for each pizza¼ cup chopped red bell peppers for each pizza
1 small can pineapple – ½ for each pizza1 small can mushrooms – half for each pizzaFollow your heart mozzarella cheese, shredded – half for each pizza

Lundberg Rice Chips

If you haven't tried these, you really should. Dan and Andy fight over them when I bring them home. They are super tasty and gluten free.

GFCF Lemon Bites

I have been craving a shortbread type cookie so I got in the kitchen and tinkered today and came up with this delectable bite size cookie!



GFCF Lemon Bites

¾ cup gfcf margarine (I used Earth Balance Buttery Sticks)
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup sugar (I used raw organic sugar)
1 large egg1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups gfcf flour blend (I used Authentic Foods multi blend flour which has xanthan gum in it – if you use another flour blend, you may need to add xanthan gum)
Lemon curd – maybe ½ cup – recipe follows

Beat margarine and sugars until fluffy.
Beat in egg, lemon juice and vanilla.
Beat in flour and baking powder
Chill 1 hour
Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on greased baking sheet – using your finger, make an indent in the middle.
Fill indent with lemon curd
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
If desired, drizzle icing over cookies

Makes 4 to 5 dozen

Lemon Curd

I like this method of making lemon curd because you don’t have to strain it and it always turns out nice and smooth.

6 tablespoons butter substitute (I use ghee)1 cup sugar (I use organic raw sugar so mine isn’t as refined looking)2 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks2/3 cup fresh lemon juice

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy
Gradually add eggs and egg yolks (1 at a time)
Beat in lemon juice – mixture will appear curdled.
Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over medium heat until it thickens and reaches a temperature of 170 degrees – do not let it boil.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and press plastic wrap on top so it doesn’t form a skin – cool in fridge.

Store for up to 2 weeks in fridge or 2 months in freezer

I really outdid myself tonight!

In the 5 years we have been gluten free I have never attempted to make a GFCF lasagna before. And if I do say so myself, I made a pretty mean lasagna in the past. I think it was the idea of the cheese that intimidated me the most. After all it is hard to find a GFCF cheese that is decent.

So, what led me to try making it today? A friend recently decided that gluten free was not something for her and she gave me a ton of gluten free items that she wasn't going to use and a package of lasagna noodles were included. Well, I'm not one to let anything go to waste and my dear husband was salivating at the idea of lasagna. Andy, has never had lasagna but he sure wanted to try it - after all he knew that Garfield loves it!

And I must say - it turned out wonderful! Really really yummy. It got 3 thumbs up from the three of us! My biggest challenge was figuring out what to replace the ricotta cheese with - I searched the internet (google is my friend) and found several recipes, but none that really seemed to fit what I wanted - most had too much salt or used ingredients I don't have on hand so using them as a guide, I made up my own and I think it turned out wonderful.

Here are the pics of the finished product:

And here is the recipe:

GFCF Lasagna

Step One – make GFCF Ricotta

1 box extra firm tofu (14 oz)
¼ cup olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
¼ cup lemon juice
Mash with potato masher to mix – you want it to have the same texture as ricotta so you don’t want to over mix.

Step Two – Prepare meat sauce

1 lb mild Italian sausage (I used turkey)
1 lb ground meat (I used ground bison – manager’s special at $1.99 – normally I probably would have used turkey)
1 yellow onion, chopped (about ¾ cup)
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 - 15 oz cans diced tomatoes (I used Muir Glen, one with tomato and basil and one with tomato and onion)
2 – 8 oz cans tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
2 Tablespoons sugar (I used rapadura)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon oregano
Cook sausage and ground meat with onion and garlic until meat is done and onion is translucent. Drain off all fat.
Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about an hour or until the consistency of runny spaghetti sauce – I wanted it runny since I was using no boil lasagna noodles and wanted the extra liquid for the noodles to absorb.

Step Three – Shred fake mozzarella cheese
I used Follow your Heart brand since it actually melts.

Step Four – assemble the lasagna

I used DeBoles’ Rice Lasagna Noodles

Put a thin layer of meat sauce in the bottom of your dish.
Put a layer of noodles – I used 3 across and then one broken into thirds along the bottom.
Layer 1/3 of the remaining meat sauce
Layer 1/3 of the mozzarella
Layer 1/3 of the ricotta
A second layer of noodles
1/3 of meat sauce
1/3 of the mozzarella
1/3 of the ricotta

Third layer of noodles
1/3 of meat sauce (reserving just a bit for the top)
1/3 of the mozzarella
1/3 of the ricotta
top with reserved sauce – make sure lasagna noodles are totally covered.

Cover pan with foil and bake for one hour at 350 degrees.
Let set for 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

And because I like playing with my software, here are the nutrition facts: