Gluten Free Chicken Cheesy Broccoli Cups

 

2 cups of Cheddar cheese (separate ½ cup and set aside)

1 ½ cup of Cooked Chicken cut into bite size pieces

1 package of Gillian’s frozen pizza dough (defrosted)

1 ¼ cup of Progresso’s cream of mushroom soup

1 cup of chopped frozen broccoli, cooked and drained

¼ tsp of pepper

Spectrum Cooking Spray

Directions:  Spray muffin tin with Spectrum Spray. Place rolled out pizza crust (about 1/8 inch thick) cut with a large round 3 ½ inch cookie cutter into greased muffin tins. Press dough into the muffin tin slots.

In a large bowl combine chicken, 1 ½ cups of cheese, broccoli, mushroom soup and pepper. Spoon mixture onto the dough in the muffin tin slots. Top with remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes.

Getting you prepared for a Safe, Gluten-Free Halloween

                        Gluten Free Halloween Candy Lists For 2012

 

This is the time of year where parents with kids that are gluten intolerant, due to Celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, gluten allergies and those that have children with Autism are particularly stringent about the kinds of candies their kids are eating. 

Fortunately, there are a few websites that have a list of mainstream candies that are gluten free. There are many things to consider, even though a candy does not contain gluten ingredients, sometimes we need to pay special attention to how the candies are manufactured. Are they manufactured on lines that also manufacture products that contain wheat or gluten? Reading labels may not be an option though, when you get candies in your child’s treat bag that are individually wrapped and non descrip…..here’s my motto, “when in doubt, throw it out!” Remember your child’s health is a priority. Always be sure to check the packaging and ingredients.

When you are not sure about a specific ingredient(s) and how something is prepared or manufactured,  cross contamination issues can still be a problem. Calling a manufacturer directly is still a good practice and reading labels and packaging is a must. Large candy manufacturers have websites where ingredient lists can be viewed online. Please note that manufacturing practices and ingredient lists can change periodically.  

 

Candy brands made in the U.S. that may be gluten free here may not be gluten free in another country.

 

Vendor Blog #3 in a series of 5

The ABC's of Gluten Free Foods all under One Roof

Gluten Free Living Now Expo coming October 13-14, 2012

 

For additional information regarding any of these great companies, please click on their logo. 

Their gluten free baking mixes are blended, packaged and warehoused in a gluten free, peanut free, kosher facility. Mixes range from all purpose baking mix, cake mix, cookie mix, cornbread and muffin mix, loaf bread mix, muffin mix, pancake and waffle mix, pizza mix, and a seasoned flour mix. We can personally vouch that their pancake and waffle mix makes awesome gluten free pancakes!!.

  

This magazine is a bi-monthly publication dedicated to people living with food allergies and sensitivities. Their magazine includes topics on gluten free recipes, travel tips, healthy living and living gluten free. Read about personal stories, international and national foods and the gluten free lifestyle. They have an app that includes digital issues. Podcasts and videos are included on their website. Don’t forget to sign up for their e-newsletter.

Glutino and Gluten Free Pantry is a manufacturer and distributor of gluten free food products. They offer more than 80 gluten free products that include baking mixes, breads, cereal, cookies, crackers, frozen baked goods, frozen entrees, frozen pizza, pretzels, and snack bars. They strive for the best quality and taste in gluten free products. I have been a fan of Gluten Free Pantry’s Chocolate Truffle Brownie mix for a long time!! Glutino’s new bread line is simply amazing!!

Simple Taste is a local based company. They specialize in gluten free, dairy free and yeast free products that range from brownies, blondies, muffins, cookies, carrot cake, chocolate cake, cake pops, pizza crust, and bread sticks. Jenny Cleave who is the owner of Simple Taste is always looking to accommodate those with additional food allergies and sensitivities. She will be demoing her gluten free, allergy free ravioli and calzones at the expo…..so don’t miss her presentation on our demo stage!!

Kefir is a cultured dairy milk that has been popular in Europe for centuries. Not only is Lifeway Kefir delicious but it provides healthful benefits because it’s packed full of probiotic cultures. They have a huge range of Kefir products that include original, non-fat, low-fat, organic, greek style, frozen products, pro-bugs for kids, Biokefir(super power kefir shots), green kefir, greek style fro-yo, low carb kefir, cheese, organic cheese, traditional kefir, sweet kiss-dessert cheese spread, and Lassi which is inspired by India’s Ayurvedic origins. With flavors that range from pomegranate, chocolate truffle and coconut chia in their low-fat line, how can you go wrong?

We have blogged about their products before. Their granola bars are made from natural ingredients and sweetened with honey and maple syrup……absolutely no high fructose corn syrup or artificial preservatives. Only certified gluten free oats are used in their products. Their granola bars come in Cranberry Maple Almond, Peanut Chocolate Chip, and Banana Chocolate Chip. The bars are made with ingredients like nuts, flax seeds, flax cereal, and puffed amaranth. They have extended their line to include cookies……Oatmeal Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip, and Oatmeal Raisin.

Glutenfreeda Foods Inc. is dedicated to producing gourmet gluten free food products. Their products are made in a dedicated gluten free facility. Products included in their line are, burritos, cheesecakes, Ice cream sandwiches, granola, oatmeal and pizza wraps. We will be sampling their burritos and pizza wraps at the expo. 

The Center is dedicated to providing the highest quality ABA and Verbal Behavior therapy and consulting services to children and their families affected by Autism Spectrum Disorders. Their programs focus on increasing language skills, social skills, daily living skills and reducing problematic behavior. Programs are based on proven researched ABA methodologies. If you have a child with Autism please come out and talk to The Applied Behavior Center For Autism at the expo.

Gluten Free Pad Thai

 

Gluten Free Pad Thai    Want to make a gluten free pad thai that rivals that of your favorite Thai restaurant? Here's a recipe that I tried and it was fabulous!! Interesting fact about palm sugar, it is apparently lower on the glycemic index than regular sugar.  GF Pad Thai Recipe Ingredients:     1/2 cup of palm sugar 1/3 cup of Fish sauce (I used Thai Kitchen brand) 1/2 cup of Tamarind Soup Base Concentrate (I found this at the Asian Mart on 86th) Thai Bird Eye Chillies (found this at Whole Foods Market/Clay Terrace) or you can use red pepper chili flakes 3 cloves of garlic finely minced 1 whole chicken breast thinly sliced 1/2 lb of shrimp de-veined Approx 4-5 oz. of Rice Stick Noodles 2 eggs 1 cup of matchstick carrots (I bought mine already shredded....this will save you time) 1 1/2 cups of mung bean sprouts 1 cup of asian chives (I found these at the Asian Mart in the produce section) cut into 1 1/2 inch segments    1 cup of cilantro 1 cup of coarsely chopped salted, roasted peanuts 1 lime for lime wedges Tips:   If you don't like spicy, adding the chili is completely optional. The tamarind sauce will thicken up in the fridge, heating the sauce up in the microwave for a few seconds will thin it out again. Chopping the palm sugar cake rounds with a sharp knife works well.   Let's start by making our pad thai sauce. Combine fish sauce , chopped palm sugar, and tamarind concentrate in a small sauce pan. Cook sauce until the palm sugar completely dissolves, making sure you taste it. You may need to add another 1/2 cake of the palm sugar as the tamarind concentrate is really tart. To make the sauce a little spicy add some finely chopped Thai Bird Eye Chillies chopped finely...add these to taste. A little bit goes along way. After palm sugar is dissolved remove from heat and let sauce cool. Boil noodles for about 4-5 minutes, drain immediately and rinse with cold water. Noodles should be Al dente. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok on high (or you can use a deep frying pan), cook raw thin sliced)chicken and the cleaned shrimp for about 4-5 minutes. Remove meat from the wok and set aside in a bowl.    Add the rest of the oil into the pan, add garlic stirring frequently so the garlic does not burn. Add noodles and stir for about 1 minute.....you can then add 3-4 tablespoons of your tamarind sauce. You may save left over tamarind sauce in a sealed glass jar, it will keep up to a month in the fridge. Continue to stir until noodles are well coated. Add cooked meat to the noodles and continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes. Push the noodles and meat mixture and noodles to one side of the wok and crack your egg one at a time into this space. Scramble eggs with your wooden spoon letting them cook for about 30 sec. Add carrots, washed sprouts and the asian chives. Cook for one more minute, stir frying everything together, you may add an additional tablespoon of sauce if you feel like it needs it at this time. Garnish with cilantro, lime, some remaining chives and peanuts.....and enjoy!!

 

Diary of a Gluten Free Wedding Cake

                    
By Shelia Cafferty

 I love making and decorating gluten free cakes so when I was asked to decorate a cake for someone with multiple allergies I thought why not!  In retrospect, I am not sure it was the smartest thing to take on another project being that I have been working on the  Gluten Free Living Now Expo that’s coming up in October but sigh……….I am a pushover for wedding cakes. The actual cake pieces, part of the frosting and filling was provided by Pam and Chris from the Measuring Cup.

 There’s something about a wedding cake that makes you think about love and all the romanticism that goes along with a wedding cake…….and next to the bride and her dress one of the most important elements is the cake.

I knew I would have to start working on the cake flowers at least 3 weeks prior to the actual wedding, that’s how long it takes to make the gumpaste flowers.  Gumpaste is a sugar like dough or clay that you can mold into shapes. The rose is one of the favorite flowers for weddings and can be made in any color.   Roses as you can see from my pics start off looking like little pointed eggs on a wire.  Each petal must be rolled out individually and then placed on the rose base.  The petals are attached with glue made out of water and gumpaste. Then the roses are left to dry for about 24 hours before they can be brushed or painted with edible luster dust and before they are stable enough to move.  

The bride chose teal blue and bright green as her colors, mimicking the beautiful colors you would see in a peacock feather.

 

The other flower she chose was the Calla lily. The Calla Lilly is one of the easier gumpaste flowers to make, but they take some time because this is another flower that needs to be made in pieces. You will notice my pics of the yellow flower stamens, these are inserted on a covered wire allowed to dry, then brushed with piping gel and rolled in colored granulated sugar to give the stamen a pollen effect.

The calla lilly petal is made separately and allowed to dry completely before being placed with the stamen. These beautiful white petals are assembled and dried for 24 hours over cones; I used the tips of birthday party hats to dry the calla lily flower petals.

 After the petals are dried you can then shade and color them with edible luster dust. Once roses, lilies and other flowers are assembled they are then steamed to give them a shinier more realistic look.

 

Assembling a stacked wedding cake is quite another task. The bride requested a 3 tier square cake….square cakes are harder to put together than round cakes. They take longer to frost because if you want perfectly square corners it’s important that you have good icing skills. This is why most cake shops will charge more for a stacked square cake.

When icing a cake it’s so important to have plenty of icing on hand. The cake must first be crumb coated, each layer must be iced and stacked neatly and evenly……each layer must be even, if it’s not you will spend some time trimming down uneven layers which can be time consuming. All my cake was uneven, every piece I had, had to be cut down and squared off. Many gluten free cakes crumble and fall apart after 2-3 days, even if guar gum and xanthan gum are used. So trimming the domes on gluten free cakes to even them out for stacking can be a big challenge.

I did have some other challenges with this cake, the bride had multiple allergies, I was unable to come up with a corn free, soy free fondant recipe that worked well for covering the cake tiers and with the wedding only a day away……and with all the extra icing I had to make, that left little time for fondant experimenting.

I used organic shortening made by Spectrum. This shortening is white, soy free and made of palm kernel oil. You can find this product at Nature’s Pharm/Castleton and Kroger.  

 For confectioner’s sugar, since the bride also had a corn allergy I used organic powdered sugar which I found at Whole Foods Market. This sugar is made from cane sugar and tapioca starch. It has a tendency to clump up and needs to be sifted before using. It also mixes up with a slight off white color, almost like a beige.

Since this was a 3 tier stacked cake, there were a lot of things to think about. Filling or no filling? Many cakes can be layered with wonderful fruit or cream fillings. I decided not to chance the filling part, if not done properly icing can melt, especially if a cake is left out for awhile or under lights. Buttercream and shortening (shortening holds up better than buttercream) just doesn’t hold up well under heat or humidity. Even if you have a stiff well, it’s possible for the filling to ooze out. That would be a cake-disaster at a wedding!! And because the bulk of the weight from the cake falls on the bottom tier even though your cake is doweled, filling can still ooze out between the layers.

The filling I had was more like a very thin jelly…….so this was not something I was willing to risk.

If you use a filling it’s best to use filling on the top tiers where less weight in a stacked cake is distributed.

After crumb coating the cake tiers and letting them set up in the fridge, you can then frost the cake one more time to give it a perfectly smooth texture which is what you would do before placing fondant on.  

 Here is a pic of the finished product, I hope you like it.  

 Happy Gluten Free Baking!!