Valentine Waffles!!!!!

It is Valentine's day and dh and I have no money. I woke up and found these in the kitchen.

DH clipped them from the bush out front, they are lovely and smell nice.

We decided to make waffles for breakfast. I love waffles!! I am always in search of the perfect waffle. Well after the gluten free switch, waffles are out of the question. But now I have put together a decent gluten free waffle recipe. Makes six 4inch square waffles
Ingredients:
11/2 cup Gluten Free flour mix (Bob's Red Mill All Purpose)
1 T sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 T cinnamon
1 large egg
1 t vanilla
3/4 cup milk(cow, rice or soy)
1 T oil
spray oil for waffle grill
Method:
Mix together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Mix together all the wet ingredients.

Mix the wet stuff into the dry stuff and blend well.

Now let the batter sit for 5 minutes. During that time, heat up the waffle grill. Give the grill a quick spray with spray oil. Pour ~1/4 cup of batter on each side of the waffle grill.

Close and wait 4 to 5 minutes, or until the waffles are just a little crispy in the edges. I like them extra crispy so I wait 5 to 6 minutes. Pull off and serve.

I like mine with cinnamon sugar butter(1T soft butter, 1t sugar, 1t cinnamon mixed together), DH likes his with regular syrup. To complete our breakfast we had his and hers Organ Chai 

Enjoy!!

My version of Baingan Bharta

Baingan bharta is a traditional North Indian dish of spiced, roasted and mashed eggplant. Awhile back, I was working at a bank with some really great ladies. They ordered some Indian food, naan, grill fired chicken, and baingan bharta. It all was fabulous. I can make naan and grill a mean chicken but I was nervous to try to make the baingan bharta. Here is my attempt.

Ingredients:
2 eggplants, roughly a pound
4 Roma tomatoes
1/2 Yellow onion, diced
4 T Olive oil
4 Whole garlic cloves
4 minced garlic cloves
2 t Cumin
1 t Chili powder, add more for spicier
2 t Paprika
2 t Coriander seeds, roughly crushed
Salt and Pepper to taste
You will also need a large sauce pan, a 9x13" baking dish and a stick blender
Method:
Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Peel and rough chop the eggplant, place in the baking dish with the whole peeled garlic cloves. Add 3 T of olive oil and toss to coat. Add all of the spices, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

Place into the oven for 15 minutes. Flip the pieces and back into the oven for 15 more minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Mean while, take the tomatoes and over high heat of a gas stove (or grill) char the skins then plunge into cold water to remove the skins.

Chop the skinned tomatoes. In the sauce pan, add the last tablespoon of olive oil, diced onion and minced garlic, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until onions are soft, then add the chopped tomatoes.

 After the eggplant come out of the oven, add it to the sauce pan of onion and tomato.

 With the stick blender (or potato masher) mash the mix to a chunky salsa texture, finer if you wish.

Continue to simmer over medium/low heat till flavors are well blender, about 15-20 minutes. Serve with naan or pita bread.

I was trying to make gluten free flat bread to serve with it but the recipe failed miserably, I need to do some more research.

Product Review: Pamela's Products Gluten Free Break Mix

I have been missing pizza since I switched to a gluten free diet. I went out looking for a gluten free frozen pizza and found nothing. I figured out that I will have to make my own. After a trip to Whole Foods, I came home with a 19oz pack of Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix. I checked out their website and found the recipe for pizza dough. I followed the one for a crunchy crust. I also added corn meal to the baking sheet to help my the crust even more crunchy. The recipe made 3 large pizzas. On one we put Trader Joe's Pesto Sauce and cheese, the other was tomato mushroom sauce with cheese and pepperoni and the last was tomato mushroom sauce with cheese. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the finished product because my honey and his friends jumped on them as soon as they came out of the oven. If  a group of men who avoid eating healthy food at all costs  will eat it and enjoy something like this, that is saying something in my book. I give this mix 4 Stars, something I will definitely buy again.

Product Review: Oregon Chai Original

First off, I have never had a chai latte. I was looking for a morning warm drink that was not coffee. Lately, coffee has been upsetting my tummy. So on a whim at Wally World I picked up a box of Oregon Chai Original. It is gluten free. I followed the directions on the package. Boil water, mix in cup and I added a splash of cold milk to cool it enough to drink. It was lovely. Slightly spicy, lightly sweet, a lovely everyday delight. I am not sure what chai latte is soposed to taste like, but this product is super tasty and worth the $4. I give this mix 4 Stars.

Gluten Free Taco Bake

So recently, in an effort to solve my tummy problems, my doctor recommended that I try a gluten free diet. Today is day 3 and everything is going good. I love all-in-one pan dinner, taco bake is a popular dish in my house. I made some changes to my regular recipe to make it gluten free. The recipe is heavy on the garlic, if you don't like garlic as much as I do you can use less.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 medium bell pepper

1/2 cup frozen corn

4 cloves garlic, smashed/minced

4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 T chili powder

1/2 t cumin

1 T paprika
Red pepper flake to taste

1 cup water

Salt and pepper to taste

1 packet of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix

1 1/2 cup milk

2 eggs

1/3 cup veggie oil

Tools:

Cast iron skillet

9"x9" pyrex baking dish

muffet tin, greased

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Brown the turkey in a medium heat skillet with just a touch of oil. Mix together the dry ingredients(chili pepper, cumin, paprika, red pepper flake) and set aside. Drain grease and remove from pan, set aside. Turn the heat to low.

In the same skillet, cook onion, bell pepper and garlic till the onion and bell pepper are soft, salt and pepper to taste.

Add the turkey back to skillet. Add corn and tomatoes. Add the dry mix and the water to the skillet. Simmer untill most of the water is gone, about 10 to 15 minutes.

With a strainer spoon, move the mixture to the 9"x9" pyrex baking dish.

Dump the cornbread mix into a bowl (I use my kitchenaid mixer). Add milk, eggs and oil. Blend on medium until no more dry is visable. Blend on high for 30 seconds.
Pour about half of the bread batter on top of the meat mixture.

 pour the remaining batter into prepared muffin tin 1/2 the way full. I got about 8 muffins.

Bake on the middle rack for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

I like to serve with sour cream and shredded cheese.

For an awesome variation: add 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese to the bread batter.