Category Archives: Recipes

Gluten-Free Valentines Day Dinner

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You can be Gluten-Free and have food allergies and still have a magnificent meal!  Many people go out for dinner on Valentine’s Day.  I actually prefer to eat at home where I can make a fabulous meal that is safe for me to eat at a fraction of the price we would pay at a restaurant.

We had a scrumptious Valentine’s Day Dinner last night.  We had Cornish Game Hens, Asparagus and Brown Rice.  Here is the recipe for anyone who is interested.

Cornish Game Hens

I prefer to buy fresh cornish game hens.  I had to ask the meat department of our grocery store for them as they were not out on the shelves, and I did not want to buy frozen hens.

  • Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and put the hens in the dish on their breasts, with backs facing up.
  • Rub the hens with olive oil
  • Place hens on breasts and season with your favorite herbs.
  • Turn hens onto their backs and do the same.  Make sure you spread the seasoning onto the sides of the bird’s so that you cover their wings and legs with seasoning.
  • For seasoning I used: a little seasoned salt, a little paprika and herbes de provence (which is a mixture of herbs that includes rosemary, oregano, basil and thyme).
  • Cut up an onion and fill the cavities of the birds with the onion
  • Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes depending on your oven and the size of the hens.

Brown Rice – When the hens have approximately 45 minutes to go, start on the brown rice.

  • Put a cup of rice into a pot
  • Add in water to cover the rice approximately 1/2 inch.
  • Boil the water, then set the stovetop to simmer.
  • Cover the rice and simmer for about 40 minutes.
  • Check frequently and add enough water if needed to prevent burning.

Asparagus

Start the asparagus approximately 10 minutes before the meal is ready.

  • Wash and cut off ends of the asparagus.
  • Fill a pan with enough water to cover the asparagus.
  • Bring water to a boil and put the asparagus into the water.
  • Cover the pan and cook on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes.  Cook less for a more crunchy asparagus.
  • Drain and serve plain or with a little butter or margarine to taste.

You can spoon the drippings from the juice of the hens and the olive oil onto the birds, the rice and the asparagus.  So so delicious! I never eat the whole bird, so I am having the rest of it for lunch today.  Can’t wait!

Valentine's Day Dinner

DELICIOUS HOMEMADE VALENTINE’S DAY COOKIES – GLUTEN-FREE, PEANUT-FREE, ALLERGY-SENSITIVE

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Here’s my very simple recipe for making your own Valentine’s Day cookies using my Sensational Sugar Cookie Dough.  Our cookie dough is mixed and ready to go.  You don’t have to measure anything out – no mixing, no mess, just great cookies!

What you’ll need:  Sensational Sugar Cookie Dough, gluten-free flour (I use rice flour), rolling pin, heart shaped cookie cutters, parchment paper, baking pan.

Step 1 – Thaw the cookie dough by taking it out of the freezer and putting it in the refrigerator for several hours, or putting it on the counter until soft enough to handle (generally about an hour).

Step 2 – Spread some rice flour onto a flat surface and roll the cookie dough in the flour.  I use a large cutting board.  Add a little more flour at a time as needed to prevent sticking. Don’t overdo the flour or the cookie dough will become too dry and hard to handle.

Step 3 – Roll out the cookie dough to your desired thickness.  I usually make it about 1/4 or 1/2 inch thick.

Step 4 – Take your cookie cutters and cut out your favorite shapes.

Step 5 – Place the cut out cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking pan.

Step 6 – Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the cookies and how soft or crispy you would like them to be.  Less cooking time will result in softer cookies.

Step 7 – Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack.  Eat them plain for a delicious shortbread taste or decorate with your favorite (homemade) frosting and other edible decorations.

Notes:  There are so many creative ways to make your own cookies.  Here are a few ideas:

  • add food coloring to the dough itself before baking or to the frosting.
  • frost and decorate with sprinkles, colored sugar, etc.
  • melt chocolate and dip the cookies in chocolate.  refrigerate and eat.
  • make sandwich cookies – just put frosting on one cookie and top it with another cookie.  refrigerate and eat.
  • make ice cream sandwich cookies – scoop ice cream on one cookie and top it with another cookie. freeze and eat.

Create your own special cookies and send us your recipes so that we can share them with others!

Sensational Sugar Cookie Dough

 

Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter Cookies Ready Bake

Baked Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies

Gluten-Free, Allergy-Sensitive Pizza Recipe

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I make my own pizza because of all of my food allergies.  I can’t buy ready made GF pizzas at pizza places (using pizza crusts that they have purchased) or frozen pizzas at natural foods and grocery stores.  I can’t eat “regular” cheese so none of them work for me.

Yesterday I made this pizza using a brown rice pizza crust made by Nature’s Highlights.  I like that there are only 2 ingredients in their crust: “whole grain brown rice and potato”!  It’s a thin crust, which I like, but it’s more like a very large cracker vs a pizza crust.  I put a lot of ingredients onto my pizzas and this crust doesn’t hold up as well as Sami’s Bakery crust.  Both crusts are purchased frozen.  Nature’s Highlights gives directions on cooking the crust; Sami’s does not.  I have tried Glutino’s crusts too, but they have soy in them, which I am allergic to, and they don’t taste good to me.  Sami’s crusts are very large so I usually cut them in half and bake a half at a time.

My recipe for pizza is:

  • pure tomato paste
  • spreadable goat cheese
  • onions
  • broccoli
  • oregano

I start by baking the crust for approximately  3-5 minutes at 400 degrees.  Then I take it out and spread a thin layer of tomato paste on the crust.  I scoop out a couple tablespoons of soft goat cheese and mix it into the tomato paste.  In the meantime I lightly steam the broccoli and cut up a red onion.  I spread the onion onto the tomato/goat cheese mixture and then put the broccoli on top of the onion.  I finish it by sprinkling oregano on the pizza.  I bake it for 8-10 minutes and it’s ready to eat.

I love eating a pizza that has veggies on it and like all of my recipes this one is very flexible.  You can substitute the broccoli, leave it off, whatever you like.  My family is not gluten-free, however whenever I make myself one of these pizzas they always help themselves to it too. They still like their regular pizzas, but they see mine as healthier, less oily and good tasting.

I’d love to hear your pizza experiences and suggestions too!

GF Goat Cheese Broccoli Pizza