Rachel’s Recipe Box

This is based on an Italian peasant dish. It’s made with a little of this and a little of that - leftovers that have been turned into a delicious meal. The original has plenty of milk and cheese, but our version is dairy-free. We needed to keep the eggs, though - so this won’t work for folks with egg allergies.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, and corn free recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb pasta (we like the Tinkyada Brown Rice pasta)
• 3 eggs
• several pieces of bacon or ham, cut into small pieces (double check ham/bacon for allergens!)
• olive oil, flax oil, or margarine

Method:
Prepare pasta according to package directions

Lightly whisk the 3 eggs together.  Add a bit of milk substitute if desired.

Drain pasta, immediately dump into a serving dish, and drizzle with olive oil, flax oil, or margarine.  Stir until combined.

Drizzle the egg mixture over the pasta, and toss - the hot pasta will cook the egg.

Add the bacon or ham, and mix until well combined.

Serve for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or a light dinner.  Yummy, easy, quick, and inexpensive - what’s not to like?

These are vegan & vegetarian, as well as gfcf, egg, dairy, gluten, nut, and corn free. They are also yummy and amazingly easy. They make a great banana bread, too - just cook it longer.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup banana – mashed (about medium 2 bananas)

• 1/3 cup maple syrup (or brown sugar)
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 1/3 cup cooking oil
• 2 cups gf flour mix - 1 1/3 c flour, 2/3 c starch (if not gluten-free, use 2 cups “regular” flour and omit the xanthan gum)
• 1 tsp xanthan or guar gum
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 12 cup muffin pan, or use muffin cups. Keep a 6-cup muffin tin ready, sometimes this works out to be 18 muffins. Mini-muffins work great with this recipe, too.

In a blender, combine banana, juice, syrup, oil.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until combined. Add banana mixture and combine, using as few strokes as possible so that you do not overmix the batter.

Spoon batter into muffin tins, filling each one 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 - 25 minutes.

Let muffins cool 5 minutes before removing from pan.

If you are OK with nuts, you can replace some of the flour with a nut meal/nut flour. Or add 1/2 cup chopped nuts to the batter at the end.

This has been a staple weekend lunch/light dinner for us since we started eating meat

Ingredients:

a little olive oil
about 1 1/3 lb sweet italian turkey sausage (the kind that isn’t already cooked)
1 medium onion, chopped
2+ cloves garlic, minced/pressed
half a bell pepper, if available, chopped
1 pkg sliced mushrooms (we like baby bellas especially)
1 14oz can beans
baby spinach
pinch salt
oregano, basil, etc as desired

Method

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil and start the onion, garlic, mushrooms & bell pepper. start sauteing them.

Squeeze the sausages out of their casings and start mushing them up and cooking them with the veggies. Add salt and spices.

When the sausage is no longer pink, add the beans to heat, and right before serving add the spinach and cook until wilted.

Serve all mixed together. yum!

Adapted from The 125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes

Preheat oven to 350

Ingredients:

1 cup sorghum
1 1/4 cup bean flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch (or starch mix)
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup coconut milk with a little lemon juice/vinegar to sour
3/4 cup applesauce or crushed pineapple with juice
2 cups shredded carrots (I suggest a food processor for this)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts or dried coconut

Method:

Whisk or sift together flours, spices, and other dry ingredients.

Use an electric mixer in another bowl to beat eggs, brown sugar, coconut milk, and applesauce/pineapple until well blended. Slowly add dry ingredients. Stir in carrots and coconut/walnuts.

Spoon into greased & floured pan (bundt, 2 layer cakes, or 13×9? pan or cupcakes).

Bake for 40-60 min until cake tester comes out clean. Time will depend on what cake pan you use. Let cool in pan for 10 min, and then remove from pan and let cool. I don’t suggest using a rack, as GF cakes tend to stick to the rack. I put foil or wax paper on top of a platter or cardboard and turn the cake onto that.

Frost with a buttercream frosting or faux-cream cheese frosting.

This has been adapted without eggs here

This is a recipe I came up with when a friend dropped off a bunch of mixes she can’t use any more (her son developed more allergies). She included several muffin mixes, including the Namaste Muffin Mix. I usually make muffins and cakes from scratch (when I have the energy), but I was happy to have the mixes, as I haven’t had a lot of energy! Included in her bags were 3 mixes my kids made with very little supervision, and they were delicious! Cherrybrook Kitchen Wheat Free/Gluten Free Sugar Cookie Mix, Cherrybrook Kitchen Wheat Free/Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, and Cherrybrook Kitchen Wheat Free/Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix. A big thumbs up on all of those. Yummy AND Easy, plus free of the major allergens!

I was craving a muffin with a bit of sugary, nutty topping, and this is what I came up with. It would be easy to swap diced apples for the peaches, or use fresh peaches (to eliminate the corn in the canned ones), and the nuts could be eliminated if necessary. I’d keep the topping, though! These went over well with the whole family - my husband (who can eat gluten) loved them - a great test of deliciousness! Another good test is they were eaten (2 dozen) before I could think to take a picture!

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, peanut free, fish free, and shellfish free recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 package muffin mix (we love the Namaste Muffin Mix or Miss Robens muffin mix from AllergyGrocer.com for allergy-free mixes). Or 1 batch homemade versatile muffin mix
• 1 14 oz can sliced peaches in light syrup or juice
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2-3 TBS vegetable oil or margarine
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method
Rinse the sliced peaches and dice small.

Prepare the muffin mix as directed, including greasing/lining the muffin tin & preheating the oven. Add the spices, diced peaches, and walnuts to the mix. Scoop into muffin tins, filling each muffin about 2/3 full. The walnuts and peaches add quite a bit of bulk - it is likely that you will end up with more muffins than what the mix indicates (I got 2 dozen). Set aside.

Mix together the topping ingredients. It will look like a wet, coarse brown coating on walnuts. Sprinkle topping on each muffin. Pat the topping so it doesn’t fall off the muffins.

Bake per package directions, and check with a toothpick to make sure they are done.

Let cool if you can wait that long (I made mine the night before so we could have them for breakfast. Yum!

adapted from an adaptation by a friend from a recipe in Roben Ryberg’s GF Kitchen book

Very light. A bit crispy on the outside, light and chewy on the inside. These donuts would please a newly-GF donut lover.

1/4 cup oil
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup potato or arrowroot starch
1/2 cup millet flour
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
4 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsps baking powder
2 tsps vanilla
3/4 cup coconut milk or other milk substitute

Combine all ingredients except milk. Slowly add milk while stirring and breaking up any lumps. Batter wil be relatively thin. Scoop out with cookie scoop and drop into hot oil. Flip after a minute or so. Remove from oil and place on paper towels.

in another bowl mix melted butter substitute, a little milk substitute, and some powdered sugar (i used corn-free). mix and dip donuts inside. yum.

When I make Carrot Cake or Eggless Carrot Cake, it deserves a cream cheese frosting. This is close, and doesn’t have the aftertaste I get with commercial dairy-free cream cheese. It can also be soy free.

• 1 stick margarine, softened (or 1/2 cup Spectrum shortening)
• 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• 3-4 TBS milk sub (or water)
• 1 TBS lemon juice

Beat margarine in stand mixer. Add lemon juice.

Alternate 1c powdered sugar with 1 TBS milk sub until the desired taste/consistency is reached.

Frost like any buttercream-ish frosting

I’ve always loved these, but they never turn out quite right. Then I saw a recipe on another website and played around with it until it worked well. This was a huge hit for brunch - there were no leftovers, and the children AND adults were wishing I had made more! The partial frying, partial baking kept it easier and less messy.

These are gfcf, wheat, dairy, gluten, soy, nut, peanut, fish, shellfish, and corn free. They could easily be egg free by leaving out the egg. I have better results with the egg as a binder, though. These are vegetarian and could easily be vegan.

Ingredients:

• cooking oil - canola, olive oil, or whatever you prefer

• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and shredded on a wide grater
• 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
• 8-10 green onions/scallions, finely sliced in rings (all of the white, plus the light green)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup starch (corn, tapioca, potato, or arrowroot)
• a couple pinches kosher salt and a couple grinds black pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 425°. Put a cookie sheet in the oven to preheat, too.

Peel the potatoes, then shred them on a grater or in the food processer into medium-sized shreds. Put all the potatoes in a few paper towels, and wring out the moisture a couple times. When they are dry, put them in a large bowl. You can also use a sieve and press out the moisture.

Place a nonstick skillet on the stove with about 1/2″ of the cooking oil, and bring up to medium-high heat.

Put all the ingredients (except the oil) in the large bowl. Combine well.

Use a soup spoon to form the mixture into little cakes. Drop cakes into the oil. Cook for about 2 minutes on each side.

Put the first batch of potato pancakes in the oven on the cookie sheet. Repeat with more batches until all the mixture is finished. Cook for about 10 more minutes, then serve and eat. Yum!

This made 12 pancakes, which served 5 people as part of a brunch. they would also be great with sour cream if you are OK with dairy, or applesauce.

This is a great quick breakfast/brunch protein food for people who don’t like eggs. Served with a lovely fruit salad (or even just some apple slices in cinnamon sugar), it’s a full weekend brunch.

This is a delicious gfcf, gluten free, family-friendly recipe! It is also (if you double check ingredients!) a wheat free, dairy free, soy free, egg free, tree nut free, peanut free, fish free, shellfish free, corn free, top 8 allergen free, and South Beach phase 2 safe recipe.

Ingredients

• 3/4 to 1 lb boneless ham steak, diced

• 4 medium potatoes
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced (optional)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
• splash olive or canola oil
• pinch kosher salt
• Shakes of Tony Chacher’s Cajun Seasoning to taste (start with a little - you can always add more)

Method

Wash the potatoes. Use a knife or fork to make a few air holes. Microwave them all together for 5-8 minutes until somewhat tender (should feel a little harder than a “done” baked potato).

Heat a largish skillet over medium heat. Add the oil. Add garlic and onion (and pepper if using). Stir and cook until they begin to get tender. Add the diced ham, and keep cooking, stirring frequently so nothing burns.

When the potatoes are cooked, cut into 1/2 to 1″ chunks. Add to pan, and keep stirring. Season with salt & Tony Chachere’s (I keep the main dish mild, then let people who like their food spicier add more at the table). When the ham & potatoes starts to brown and crisp, bring to the table and serve.

This serves about 4-6 people, but could easily be halved or doubled.

An egg-free adaptation of a Pineapple Carrot cake recipe I adapted from The 125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes

Ingredients

• 1 cup sorghum or millet
• 1 1/4 cup bean flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch (or starch mix)
• 1 tsp xanthan gum
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup applesauce (if mixture looks too thick, add up to 1/4 cup more applesauce)
• 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup coconut milk with a little lemon juice/vinegar to sour
• 3/4 cup crushed pineapple (one of the small cans), drained
• 2 cups shredded carrots (I suggest a food processor for this)
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts or dried coconut

Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare cupcake pan with liners.

In a medium bowl, wisk together flours, spices, and other dry ingredients.

Use an electric mixer in another bowl to beat applesauce, brown sugar, coconut milk, and pineapple until well blended. Slowly add dry ingredients. Stir in carrots and coconut/walnuts.

Spoon into cupcake liners, fill about 2/3 full.

Bake for 20-30 min until cake tester comes out clean. Let sit in pan for 5-10 min, then let cool on a rack.

Serve as is or frosted with <a href=”http://ourgaggleofgirls.com/recipes/2007/12/06/faux-cream-cheese-frosting/” title=”creamy and tangy and dairy free!”>faux-cream cheese frosting</a>.