Gluten Free Smores Brownies

One thing I've been meaning to do is create video posts for some recipes and tips. This past week, I created the recipe and video for a competition, but due to complications was not able to enter it. Plus side though is that all of you get to enjoy it! 

I'd like to note that if the video seems a bit choppy, its because the entire video had to be 4 minutes. However, I really hope you enjoy this playful take on a campfire classic!

Ingredients:

-1.5 cups gluten-free graham cracker crumbs

-.25 cups sugar

-6 tbsp melted butter

-8oz bittersweet chocolate

-12 tbsp butter

-1 cup white rice flour

-1/3 cup potato starch

-1 tsp baking powder

-.5 tsp salt

- 

2 cups sugar

- 4 large eggs, room temperature

- 1 tbsp vanilla

- a bag of mini marshmallows

- a package of milk chocolate mousse mix

- 1 cup milk

Steps:

1. Preheat an oven to 350F, and line a 9x9 square baking pan with aluminum foil.

2. Create a double boiler with a small pot of shallow boiling water and a glass bowl. Fill the glass bowl with the 12 tbsp butter and the chocolate to begin melting.

3. In a bowl, mix the 1/4 c sugar, 6 tbsp butter, and graham cracker crumbs. Spread out the mixture in the pan, and place in the oven while making the brownie batter.

4. Mix the flours, salt, and powder in a medium bowl.

5. In another bowl, cream the eggs, vanilla and 2 cups sugar.

6. Once the chocolate mixture has melted completely, slowly add a small amount to the eggs. Mix until incorporated in order to temper the eggs to the same temperature as the chocolate. Fully combine the chocolate and egg mixture until well blended.

7. By about half cups, add the flour to the chocolate until well blended.

8. Pull the pan out of the oven, and pour the batter into the pan, and spread evenly. Place back in the oven for about 30 minutes. Use a toothpick to check when done; when inserted toothpick comes out clean, the brownies are ready.

9. When brownies come out clean, remove from oven and turn the oven to broil. Place a single layer of marshmallows over top the brownies, and place back in the oven. Keep a close eye, and remove when marshmallows start to brown. This will take about 1 minute.

10. While the brownies cool, combine the mousse mix and milk. Whisk for 5 minutes.

11. Once the brownies completely cool, put the mousse into a bag, snip off a corner, and squeeze the mousse on top of the brownies.

12. Enjoy!

Coconut Cranberry Granola Bars

One of my friends earlier this week asked if I could post a recipe for granola bars, so here we go!

Ingredients
-3 cups oats
-1 can condensed milk
-1 cup coconut
-1/2 cup chopped almonds, salted
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts
-1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
-3/4 cup dried cranberries
-3 tbsp melted butter


Steps
0. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking pan with parchment paper or grease it.

1. In a bowl, mix all ingredients until well blended.
2. Using a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap, spread the mix out over the pan until an even layer of granola is laid out.

3. Place the granola in the oven, and bake for about 15 minutes for a chewy granola bar texture, 20 for a crisper. Enjoy, and as always, let me know if there are any recipes you would be interested in seeing!

Citrus Chicken with Rice

I personally will take steak or pork over chicken any day, but there's no denying the health benefits of eating white chicken meat over something like beef. However, most people I know who make chicken are scared of under-cooking it (and for good reason), and therefore cook it to a point where its tough and chewy. I like this recipe because of the flavor that the citrus adds to the chicken, but the acids in the juice help to keep the chicken tender. Along with this, I have my recipe for some hearty-flavored rice. Enjoy!

Citrus Chicken

Ingredients:
-2 lbs chicken breast
-1 orange
-2 lemons
-1 or 2 small limes
-1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tsp onion powder
-1 tsp oregano
-1 tsp rosemary leaves
-salt and pepper






Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a deep baking pan with parchment paper (this helps keep the juices close to the chicken).

2. Place the chicken in the pan, and add salt and pepper, garlic, onion, and rosemary.

3. Slice the orange, lemons and limes into circular, thin slices. Place the slices on top of the chicken, and throw the extra ends of the fruit around the chicken.
4. Place in the oven, and put a timer on for about 15-20 minutes depending on the thickness. At the 15 minute mark, using a fork, place some pressure onto the chicken, and if the chicken feels soft like raw chicken, then place back in the oven and cook for another 5-10 minutes, and use this method to check the chicken again. If you're nervous about raw chicken, cut it open and take a peek to see if there is any pink. Remove the chicken and let it sit for about 5 minutes when done.

Beef Broth Rice

Ingredients: 
-1 part Brown Rice to 1.5 parts broth (I used beef broth, but you can substitute with any other type of broth)
-2 cloves garlic, diced
-1 tsp onion powder
-1 tbsp butter







Steps: 
1. Add all the ingredients into a rice cooker, and cook until done. If doing on a stove top, cook on medium heat until all the liquid has evaporated or been absorbed.

Spicy Lemon-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin Recipe

Image property of Food & Wine

Below is a link to a really delicious looking pork recipe that I had to share. Enjoy!

Spicy Lemon-Rosemary Pork Tenderloin Recipe - Jimmy Bradley | Food & Wine

Gluten Free Seven Layer Cookies

Last week one of my friends brought some of this type of cookie to a group lunch, but I couldn't have any since they made them with wheat graham crackers. So, I decided to make them with gluten-free graham cracker crumbs. Best part of this recipe is its really quick and easy to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients
-1.5 cups gluten free graham cracker crumbs
-.5 cup butter
-1 can of sweetened condensed milk
-1.5 cups semisweet chocolate chips
-.5 cup butterscotch chips
-1.25 cups shredded coconut
-.5 cup chopped walnuts


Steps
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. In a medium bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Mix in the crumbs until well mixed, and spread out over a baking sheet.

3. Spread the condensed milk over top of the crust.

4. Distribute the coconut, chips, and walnuts over top the milk and crust. Press the ingredients into the crust.

5. Bake for about 15 minutes or until slightly golden. Let cool and cut into squares.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie!

Yesterday I posted instructions for how to make your own pumpkin puree, and today I decided to post the recipe for the pumpkin pie with a gluten free crust that I made. The gluten-free crust I made is an adaptation from here, and the pumpkin pie filling is an adaptation of this recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Pie Crust


Ingredients:
-1 cup and 3 tbsp white rice flour
-1/2 cup sorghum flour
-1/2 cup potato starch
-1 tbsp sugar
-pinch salt
-1 tsp cinnamon
-3/4 cup butter
-1 egg
-1/4 cup ice cold water

Steps:
1. Mix together all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

2. Cut the butter in to small cubes, and add to the flour mix. Use a ricer or a fork to blend the butter with the flour.

3. Add the egg to the mixture, until mixed well.

4. Slowly add water to the mixture, and mix just until the dough forms a ball. Divide into two balls, and place the dough in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 350F.
6. Put one of the balls in between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll out until a relatively thin (1/8th-1/4th inch) circle. Place a pie pan, upside down, on top of the dough.
7. Flip over, and gently guide the dough into the pan. Trim off excess dough and use your fingers to crimp the edges.
8. Place the pie crust in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Filling

Ingredients:
-2 cups pumpkin puree
-2/3 cup sugar
-1 tsp cinnamon
-2/3 tsp allspice
-1/4 tsp ground ginger
-1/4 tsp ground cloves
-1/4 tsp nutmeg
-1/4 tsp salt
-2 eggs
-1 egg yolk
-A little less than 1 can condensed milk
-1/4 cup cream
-1 tsp vanilla

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 340F.
2. In a medium pot over low medium heat, warm the pumpkin, sugar, spices, cream, milk, salt, and vanilla.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs. Pour a few spoons of the pumpkin mixture into the eggs and mix well. This technique tempers the eggs to the same temperature as the pumpkin mix; the purpose of this is to prevent scrambling of the eggs and ensure a creamy texture in the pie. Pour the eggs mix into the rest of the pumpkin, and blend throughly.
4. Pour the pie filling into the crust, and place in the oven.
5. Cook for approximately 40 minutes until the edges are done, and the center jiggles just barely. Remove from the oven and cool completely.
6. Whip some fresh cream with some powdered sugar, and top pie slices with the whipped cream. Enjoy!

Fall is here: Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Pumpkin is the ultimate autumn food. It not only represents the produce of a season, but it also represents both Halloween and Thanksgiving dessert. I also have a handful of friends that love pumpkin, so making or eating any kind of pumpkin pie, cookie, or bread makes me think of them.

Below is the base to any pumpkin recipes (such as the gluten-free pumpkin pie I plan on posting later this week), a pumpkin puree. Now, if you're in a rush or don't want to make this from scratch, its easy to find pumpkin-in-a-can. However, I love the taste and texture of fresh pumpkin (and toasted pumpkin seeds!) so I really recommend making your own, I'll show you how super easy it is.

1. The key to any homemade pumpkin puree is to use a type of pumpkin called pie pumpkins. They're the smaller variety that's about 6-7 inches wide. Pie pumpkins are better for this than the traditional, jack-o-lantern pumpkins because of their texture (pie pumpkins don't have the stringy texture that larger pumpkins do)

2. Use a serrated blade in order to slice the pumpkin open. For the initial cut you'll want to use a sawing motion just to the side of the pumpkin stem.

3. Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to scoop our the seeds and guts of the pumpkin. You'll want to scrap the scoop on the insides of the pumpkin to remove all of the stringy pieces from the inside.

4. Using either a vegetable steamer, steamer basket, or a shallow dish filled with some water, steam the pumpkin pieces until done. This should take approximately 10-15 minutes. To verify when the pumpkin is ready, use a fork to test if the pumpkin flesh is tender.

5. Peel the pumpkin skin off of the flesh with either your hands or a fork (this should be a fairly easy task once the pumpkin is cooked). Drain off any left over water.

6. Use an immersion blender, or a regular blender to blend the pumpkin into a puree. Use in you favorite pumpkin recipes!

Blog Layout Update

Hi everyone,

I've made a few layout changes to the blog, 2 biggest being:

1. The addition of the Title Banner
2. The addition of Pages, most notably the Gluten Free Recipe Index. Since I now have enough gluten free recipes posted, I felt like this would be a welcome addition to searching through all recipes.

Please, post comments below on the blog changes, let me know if you like them or hate them, and if there is anything additional you feel would be a useful addition.

Update 10/9: After testing a few other looks out, I've once again changed the banner at the top of the blog. I have three main looks that I narrowed my choices down to. After the page break, I've included the three screenshots and a poll for which you guys think is best. I'd love this opinion in addition to any comments you have!

Thanks,
TR

Quick and Easy: Apple Walnut Salad

Below is a recipe of another salad that I like to make, which is relatively easy and quick to do. I think the walnuts and apple add a much needed texture to the salad. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1/2 apple, thinly sliced
• Mixed salad greens
• Handful walnuts
• Some grated Parrano cheese (aged Gouda or Parmesan are fine substitutes)
• 3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, 1/2 lime
• 6 tbsp Olive Oil
• Salt and pepper

Steps

1. Rinse and dry the salad greens. Mix in the apple.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the vinegar and juices til combined. Whisk in the oil until the dressing is emulsified (well blended)
3. Drip a ring of the dressing around the outside of the salad green bowl. Gently toss the salad to coat the greens in the dressing. (Purpose of this is to not overdress the salad, or else it becomes soggy. By slowly adding a little dressing and tossing the greens into the dressing, you can easily avoid overdressing the salad.)
4. Mix in the walnuts, plate the salad, and grate the fresh Parrano on top. Enjoy!

The Messie Kitchen: Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cake

Image owned by The Messie Kitchen

So I just recently stumbled upon a food blog called "The Messie Kitchen," and it has such awesome looking recipes. Here's a cake recipe that any chocolate-peanut butter fan would love.


The Messie Kitchen: Peanut Butter & Chocolate Cake Recipe

Quick Guide of Perfectly Cooked Hard Boiled Eggs

In my Guide to Beef Cuts, I asked readers to ask for more topics about food they would like to know. Well, one of my friends Mary asked me about how to know when a hard-boiled egg is done. Through personal experience and googling the Internet, I've come up with some quick and easy pointers to perfectly cook hard boiled eggs. Tips below:

• Fill the pot with cold water, about an inch above the tops of the eggs.
• Boil the eggs for about a minute, and then cover and remove from heat.
• Let the eggs cook for 8-12 minutes. 8 minutes for soft, cooked yolks, and 12 minutes for more well done yolks.
• When cooking multiple eggs in one pan (6 or more) expect to add about 2-3 minutes to cooking time

Let me know if there are any other cooking tips you would like to hear!

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

Breakfast has probably always been my favorite meal of the day. Not only does a good breakfast create a strong beginning to a day, but to me its a very social, friend and family oriented meal. As a kid my favorite breakfast meal was probably pancakes and cinnamon rolls at my grandparents' house on a Sunday morning.

I took the recipe from here, and made a few changes to it. I used a gluten free flour blend, and topped it with a citrus icing. My real secret to making uniform, even rolls easily and with minimal clean up is parchment paper. More detail on that below.

Ingredients:
Pastry

1 cup warm milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup melted butter

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp yeast

3 1/8 cups white rice flour

.2 cup tapioca flour

1 1/8 cups potato starch

1.6 tsp xantham gum
Filling
1/3 cup room temperature butter
1 cup brown sugar packed
2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
Icing
3oz whipped cream cheese
1/3 cup room temperature butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange

Steps
0. Preheat the oven to 400F.
1. Add the yeast to the milk, and let sit for a few minutes.
2. Add the melted butter, eggs, salt, and sugar to the milk-yeast measure.
3. Mix together all other pastry ingredients til blended. Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet, whisking until a dough forms.
4. Form the dough into a bowl, and cover the bowl with a damp paper towel and saran wrap. Place the bowl in a warm place for an 1 hour to let dough rise.

Before

After

5. Roll out a large piece of parchment paper. I prefer this to a cutting board because the paper can be used to assist in rolling the pasty. Punch down the dough ball, and place on the paper.
6. Roll out the dough until approximately a quarter inch thick. Slice off the edges to make a well formed rectangle.
7. Spread softened butter over the dough.
8. Mix the sugar and cinnamon. Spread over the butter on the pastry. Leave about half an inch to an inch one the end bare. This makes the rolls close and stick together. The pastry should look like below.

9. Using a technique similar to sushi rolling, grab the bottom end of the dough, and try to roll tightly. As you're rolling, pause to tuck the dough in, using the paper to compress and roll evenly.

10. Line baking pans with parchment paper (easy removal and clean-up). Slice each roll about 1/4 inch thick, and place on the pans.

11. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes.

12. While the rolls are baking, whip the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and citrus. Whisk the sugar 1/2 cup by 1/2 cup to the cream cheese mix until well blended.
13. Right after pulling out of the oven, spread the frosting over the rolls. Enjoy!

Fall has Come! Pork with Apples and Onion

Ingredients
-1/2 onion
-4 pork chops
-2 tablespoons brown sugar
-1 tsp dry mustard
-1/4 tsp ground cloves
-1 tsp cinnamon
-3/4 cups water

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Sauté the onions for about 1-2 minutes, and set aside.
3. Brown the pork chops on both sides, spending about 3-4 minutes per side.
4. While the chops are browning, peel and slice the apples.
5. In a lined baking pan, add the pork chops, and layer with the onions and apples.

6. In a bowl, mix the brown sugar, water, cloves, and mustard. Pour over the apples and pork.

7. Put in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Nintendo 3DS Japan Price and Date

Despite rumors that the Nintendo 3DS was being released before Christmas, Nintendo revealed in a conference this week that the 3DS will be released in North America March 2011. No pricing has been released for America, but the Japan pricing comes to 300 US Dollars. Rumor is that the American pricing will be closer to $250, so here's to hoping!

Below is a video containing the release games for the 3DS, along with a flash Mario game (in celebration of his 25th birthday!). What are your thoughts of the system?

More Kid Icarus Uprising Videos

Japanese Nintendo 3DS Concept Video after the jump!