#SundaySupper: Gluten Free Pepper Steak

Recently I had the opportunity to participate in the #SundaySupper blog group. For those who are not familiar, it is a weekly themed event where food bloggers share their recipes and discuss the theme on Twitter than Sunday evening. This Sunday, the theme is Back to School Meals. These are recipes that are easy to make for a family and are easy to scale.

My choice for the event is pepper steak. Its a dinner that is affordable and quick to make. It's something that my mom would prepare for my family and me when I was in school, and is the first dinner recipe I think of for this topic.

The main items to be concerned about when making this gluten free are the soy sauce and the corn starch.  Be sure to purchase gluten free soy sauce and corn starch. Also, feel free to omit the corn starch if you have a sensitivity towards it. The purpose of the corn starch is to thicken the sauce, and tastes just as great without it.

Thank you to Nicole of the daily dish recipes for hosting, please check her site out here. Also, be sure to check everyone else's recipes:

Greek Dogs by Supper For a Steal
Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad by Magnolia Days
Double Duty Fajita Chicken: Nachos Supreme and Enchiladas by Doggie at the Dinner Table 
Zucchini, Corn and Bacon Crepes by Vintage Kitchen
Oregon Shrimp Quesadillas by Pescetarian Journal 
Korean omelet rice by Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
Lemon Dillled Salmon Croquette Burgers by Granny’s Down Home Southern Cooking
Gluten Free Pepper Steak with Rice by  No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
Crispy Ravioli in Cherry Tomato Sauce by Shockingly Delicious
BLT Soup by Meal Planning Magic
Korean Pan-Fried Fish by Kimchi Mom
Stove top mac ‘n cheese by Gotta Get Baked
Deconstructed Enchiladas by In the Kitchen with KP
Croque Monsieurs  by Juanita’s Cocina
Summer Squash and Mushroom Quesadillas by Chocolate Moosey
Seared Lamb on a bed of Mashed potatoes with Artichoke Hearts by Cooking Underwriter 
Pasta with Creamy Kale Pesto by Webicurean 
Baked Spanish Tortilla by Happy Baking Days
Grilled Chicken Caesar Pizza by In the Kitchen with Audrey
Whole Wheat Pasta with Swiss Chard and White Beans by The Lemon Bowl
Tomato Pie by My Catholic Kitchen
Shredded Chicken in Peanut Sauce Tacos w/ Corn & Zucchini Sauté by GirliChef
Tomatillo Chicken Stew by Small Wallet, Big Appetite
Pollo a la Crema by La Cocina de Leslie
Baked Tilapia Fish Tacos by Home Cooking Memories
Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken with a Yogurt Dill sauce and a Greek Salad by Noshing with the Nolands
Wagon Wheel Pasta with Pancetta & Peas by Chelsea’s Culinary Indulgence
Lemon & Dill Shrimp Pasta w/ Oven Roast Corn by Mama, Mommy, Mom
Ricotta – Tofu Tomato Toasts by Yummy Smells
One Pot Spicy Asian Chicken and Rice by Hezzi D
Turkey Italian Brown Rice Casserole by Momma’s Meals
Flatbread Pizza with Cilantro Garlic Sauce by Mom’s Test Kitchen
Kung Pao Shrimp by Mangoes and Chutney
Cashew Chicken Stir-fry by Diabetic Foodie
Chicken Bacon Avocado Quesadillas by Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
Roasted Butternut Lo Mein by The Meltaways
Potluck Casserole with Cornbread Stuffing by Cindy’s Recipes & Writings
Jerk Chicken Chili by Mrs. Mama Hen
Loaded Chicken and Steak Stuffed Potatoes by Big Bears Wife
Steamed Tofu Serve with Fried Mix Vegetables by My Trials in the Kitchen
Pasta with sausage and cherry tomatoes by Tora’s Real Food
Chicken Ravioli with Peas and Bacon by Daddy Knows Less
Chorizo Tomato Pasta with a Creamy Sauce by Avocado Pesto
Quick N Easy Thai Coconut Shrimp Stir Fry by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
Whole Wheat Pizza with Hummus & Fresh Greens by Family Spice
Speedy ‘n Spicy Shrimp Pasta by The Weekend Gourmet
End of Summer Grilled Peach and Chicken Salad by Sustainable Dad
Teriyaki Tuna Bowl by Family Foodie
Weeknight Stir Fry by From Fast Food to Fresh Food
Baked Egg with Mushrooms and Bacon by Pippi’s in the Kitchen Again
Taco Bake by Daily Dish Recipes
Fried Rice and Black Beans by Mama’s Blissful Bites
Chicken with Broccoli, Sun-dried Tomatoes and Bow Ties by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
Pasta in Tomato sauce and turkey meatballs by Basic & Delicious
Pasta Primavera by Midlife Road Trip
Tots Your Tots Will Love by The Hand that Rocks the Ladle


Here's my recipe:

30 minute Gluten Free Pepper Steak

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients
2 cups water
1 tbsp butter
1 cup white rice
half of 1 yellow onion, diced
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper
1 lb top sirloin, sliced into strips
3/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
1 tbsp gluten free corn starch
1/8 cup sugar
1 bell pepper sliced into strips

Steps
In a medium saucepan with a lid, boil the 2 cups water and butter. Once boiling, stir in the rice and cover with the lid. Reduce to a medium low heat  and cook for about 17 minutes.

In a large skillet, add a tablespoon of olive oil and cook the diced onion until it is lightly translucent. Add the garlic powder, salt, pepper, and beef. Cook until the beef is no longer red, stirring occasionally. 

While the beef cooks, stir the sauce, starch and sugar together until there are no more clumps of starch. Pour the sauce into the pan, and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. 

Fluff the rice before serving, and enjoy!

Devilish Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

This past weekend I decided to make a dense, rich chocolate cake inspired by Devil's Food Cake. It's made with a blend of flours and cocoa powder, then topped with a simple whipped chocolate cream. Please enjoy!

This recipe will make a standard single layer 9" cake, or 4 smaller 3" cakes. I prefer making smaller cakes because not only is it easier to control proportions that you eat, but gluten free tends to bake better in smaller containers.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 1 hour
Bake Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
112g sweet rice flour
56g tapioca flour
56g potato starch
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/8 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp butter
240g white sugar
87g cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
5/8 c water
1/8 c milk

2 cups whipping cream
4 oz 70% dark chocolate
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Steps
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a springform pan on the sides and bottom.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, starch, soda, and powder. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whip the butter until creamy. Add the sugar and mix until blended, about a minute or two. Mix in the cocoa and vanilla until combined, and then whip in the two eggs. Slowly blend the flour into the wet mix, scraping the bowl about half way through.

Add the water and milk to the mix, and stir until well combined. Pour the batter into the pans, and bake in the oven for about 35 minutes. The cake will be ready to remove once a toothpick comes out clean. Invert the cakes and let them cool completely.

While the cakes cool, melt the chocolate with the cream and sugar over medium low heat, stirring constantly. Once the chocolate is completely melted, remove from the heat, and transfer to a medium bowl. Place it in the refrigerator for an hour to cool.

Once the chocolate cream is cooled, using a motorized whisk to whip the cream until soft peaks are formed.

Transfer the cakes to a plate, and frost with the whipped cream. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Friday Recipe Link Up #1

Hey everyone, I hope that you've had a good weekend thus far! Cindy at Vegetarian Mamma,  Lacy at Gluten Free R.D. and Meg at Eat.Live.Make have started up a new event called Gluten Free Fridays to bring people together to share gluten free recipes. Please visit them at this link to check it out and participate!

Back to School when your child is gluten-free

When August 1st comes around most of us are thinking about getting our kids ready to go back to school.  I am located in the Northeast and we do not start school until September 4th! For you southerners "back to school" is literally around the corner.
So what do you do when your child or children have a dietary restriction such as Celiac Disease(CD)?  My immediate answer is to be very prepared and organized.  As a mother of 2 children with CD I want to share with you what I have learned over the last 10 years.

Organization:

• Set up an appointment with your child's classroom teacher, nurse and principal before school starts. Exchange cell phone #'s and email addresses with the teacher and nurse ahead of time.
• Provide school personnel with  a brief synopsis of CD and what foods contain the gluten protein.
• Ask questions such as how do they celebrate holidays and birthdays.  What food related events will your child participate in?  You will be surprised to find out that food is a major part of your child's school functions especially in the preschool and elementary school years.
• Ask your child's teacher if you could send home a letter to all of the parents, in your child's class, requesting that they contact you when they are bringing in a food treat for a birthday party.  Do not hesitate to ask  what the item is.  This way you are able to duplicate the treat so your child does not feel left out.
• Keep a detailed calendar of events so you are prepared for your child. 
• Ask your child's teacher if it is possible to keep cupcakes, cookies, brownies...etc in the freezer in the "Teachers Lounge".  This is a very convenient alternative especially for the working parent who is unable to swing by school to drop of a GF treat for their child.

Be Prepared:

• Talk to your child ahead of time about situations that might arise in school. If they are unsure if a candy or other food item contains gluten  they should ask an adult.  If the adult is unsure then it is best to just stay away from that item. 
• Teach your child about CD early on when they are 1st diagnosed.  Eventually they will be on their own. Early education will lead to an independent, confident child.
• Always have the GF ingredients or GF mixes on hand just in case a last minute party arises. I highly recommend freezing extra cookies, brownies, cupcakes for these spontaneous parties.
• 504 Plan for Celiac Disease:  In schools, a 504 plan is a way of making sure that the teachers and other staff understand the ramifications of a child’s medical condition or disability and the need to help the child with special challenges and protect the child from risks.  Go to http://celiacdisease.about.com for more information on 504 plans.

Most of all relax, have fun and enjoy watching your child grow and learn!

New Blog Author: Julie

Hi everyone!

I hope everyone has been having a good week thus far. I'd like to announce a new collaboration on No One Likes Crumbley Cookies with Juile of Just Ask Josh. Check out her website, and her twitter profile at  @glutenfreejosh.

I'm super excited for this collaboration. Every 3rd Wednesday of the month, look for a new post from Julie here. Her first post tomorrow is going to be on the topic of the beginning of the school year with gluten free children. I'm excited for some of the ideas and topics we're collaborating on, so look forward to more posts coming!

Recipe Adaptation: Gluten Free Gooey Chocolate Cake

Hey everyone, recently I tried adapting a recipe on the back of a Ghiradelli baking bar. I didn't have to change much to make the recipe gluten free, as it only has 1 tablespoon of flour in the recipe! I recommend you try this out by substituting the 1 tbsp flour with 1 tbsp sweet rice flour or potato starch.

Original Recipe:
Ghiradelli Soft Center Cakes
Substitute the flour with 1 tbsp sweet rice flour or potato starch

Enjoy!

Peachlove: Gluten Free Peach Angel Food Cake

Hey everyone, its time for the foodlove bloghop again! This month the theme is peaches, and I'm definitely excited to make peach recipes this month. Yesterday I posted a recipe for Gluten Free Peach Angel Food Cake, and I'm excited to add it as my first peach recipe of the month. Thank you to all the other co-hosts for your work this month:

Blog	Host	Twitter Handle
Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves	Becky Higgins	N/A
Elephant Eats	Amy	@elephanteats
Java Cupcake	Betsy Eves	@javacupcake
No One Likes Crumbley Cookies	T.R.	@TRCrumbley
Oh Cake	Jessica	@jesshose
Pippi's in the Kitchen Again	Sheila	@shlylais
Rico sin Azúcar	Helena	@ricosinazucar
Savoring Every Bite	Linda	@spicegirlfla
That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!	Liz	@thatskinnychick
The Spicy RD	EA Stewart	@thespicyrd
The Wimpy Vegetarian	Susan Pridmore	@wimpyvegetarian
Teaspoon of Spice	Serena	@tspcurry

Here's the link to my recipe this month, Gluten Free Peach Angel Food Cake!

Please join in on the #peachlove fun by linking up any peach recipe from the month of August 2012. Don't forget to link back to this post, so that your readers know to come stop by the #peachlove event! The twitter hashtag is #peachlove

Ratio Rally: Peach Angel Food Cake

Hi everyone, its time for the Gluten Free Ratio Rally! This month our recipe is angel food cake! I've had a relatively busy 2 weeks with work, so this post will probably be a little short today. Angel food cake is a spectacular baked good that has a comparable ingredient list to meringue. The biggest difference between the two is angel food cake has flour, hence producing a more-cake like texture. Angel food cake has a wonderful, airy texture and is the perfect vehicle for baked or poached fruit with a little whipped cream. The ratio for Angel Food Cake is:

3 : 3 : 1

egg white : sugar : flour

Caleigh is the host for this month, thank you to her for all her hard work this month! Please visit her post for all of the co-hosts and their recipes this month. http://www.glutenfreekblog.co.uk/2012/08/angel-food-cake.html

Tip: Be sure to prepare all of your ingredients before whisking the eggs. This will ensure ultimate volume in the cake, and will be less stressful to prepare.

Serves: 1 Bundt cake or 6 4" springform pans
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 2 hours


Ingredients:
12oz egg white (about 9-10 eggs)
12 oz sugar
2 oz sweet rice flour
2 oz tapioca flour
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2 peaches, pitted
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup sugar

Steps
Prep: Preheat the oven to 350F. Measure the egg whites into a medium mixing bowl. In a food processor, add 6oz of sugar and all the flour, and then blend it together. Measure out remaining ingredients.

Active Steps: Beat  the whites for 1 minute, until the begin to foam. Stir in cream of tartar, juice, vanilla and zest. Beat for another 2 minutes or until the mix is very foamy. Add the sugar gradually and whip until soft peaks form. Soft peaks are when the peaks are not well defined, but do not melt away back into the eggs for about 5-10 seconds. Fold the sugar flour in, and distribute the batter into ungreased pans. Bake for about 40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Invert the cakes to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Topping: Slice the peaches up, about 1/4 inch thickness. Place them in bowl and stir with sugar and wine. Transfer them to a warm pan, and cook over medium heat or until the wine has reduced into a sauce. Top the fresh cakes with the peaches and whipped cream.

Enjoy!