How To Make Love...Recipes

Chocolate Desserts For Those Going Gluten-Free

2011-10-21T17:09:00.004-06:00

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

YIELD: 3 dozen cookies

1 cup coconut oil
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, applesauce, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, flax meal, baking soda and xanthan gum. Using a rubber spatula, carefully push the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and combine until dough is formed. With the same spatula, gently fold in the chocolate chips just until they are evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Using a melon-baller, measure out the dough and place on the prepared baking sheets. Space the portions 1-inch apart. Gently press each with the heel of your hand to help them spread. Bake the cookies on the center rack for 14 minutes, rotating the trays 180 degrees after 9 minutes. The cookies will be crispy on the edges and soft in the center. Remove from the oven.

Let cookies stand 10 minutes. They’re best served warm, but to save them use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool completely before covering. Place in an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Lemon Poppy Teacake

YIELD: about 10 slices

2/3 cup rice milk
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1â„4 cup poppy seeds
3/4 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, plus more for pan
3/4 cups agave nectar
1/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons pure lemon extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 7 × 4 × 3-inch loaf pan with oil.

Pour the rice milk, apple cider vinegar, and poppy seeds into a small bowl – but do not stir – and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the oil, agave nectar, applesauce, vanilla, and lemon to the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is smooth. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the poppy seed mixture into the batter, and combine just until all ingredients are blended. The batter will expand slightly.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake on the center rack for 35 minutes, rotating the pan 180 degrees after 18 minutes. The teacake will be golden brown and springy, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Let the teacake stand in the pan for 20 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edge of the bread. Cover the top of the pan with a cutting board, and invert onto the board. Carefully lift the pan away and re-invert the teacake onto another cutting board. Either cut and serve warm, or wait until it is completely cool before storing. Cover the uncut teacake with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Chocolate Cupcakes

YIELD: 1 dozen

1 cup garbanzo and fava bean flour
1/4 cup potato starch
2 tablespoons arrowroot
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
2/3 cup agave nectar
6 tablespoons applesauce
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup hot water or hot coffee
Frosting for serving (see recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line one, standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, potato starch, cocoa powder, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Add the oil, agave nectar, applesauce, vanilla, and hot water directly to the dry ingredients. Stir until the batter is smooth.

Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into each prepared cup. This portion will almost fill the cup up entirely. Bake the cupcakes on the center rack for 22 minutes, rotating the tray 180 degrees after 15 minutes. The cupcakes will bounce back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean. Remove from the oven.

Let the cupcakes stand for 20 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack right side up and cool completely. Using a frosting knife, gently spread 1 tablespoon of Frosting over each cupcake. Place the cupcakes in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Vanilla Frosting

YIELD: enough for 1 dozen cupcakes

1 1/2 cups soy milk
3/4 cup soy “Better Than Milk” powder
1 tablespoons coconut flour
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup coconut oil
2 tablespoon lemon juice

In a blender or food processor, combine the soy milk, “Better Than Milk” powder, coconut flour, agave nectar, and vanilla. Mix the ingredients for 2 minutes. As the machine blends, slowly add the oil and lemon juice, alternating between the two until all parts are incorporated. Pour the mixture into an airtight container. Place the container in the refrigerator for 6 hours, or for up to 1 month, before using.

All the recipes listed here were created by Babycakes NYC Vegan Bakery and were posted online by GOOP.com. Additional Babycakes recipes can also be found on their blog. ;-)

Cake Balls

2011-08-09T14:58:00.003-06:00

My new favorite treat...

Ingredients

1 box cake mix (chocolate of course)
1 16 oz tub frosting (again, chocolate)
Dipping chocolate (I use 2 pkgs of Bakers semi-sweet baking chocolate)

Make cake according to package directions for 9x13 pan. Immediately after removing from oven, use spatula to remove cake from pan and put in large mixing bowl. Crumble with spatula or your fingers (it's hot remember) until no large pieces remain. Mix in all of the frosting until dough forms. Use melon baller or cookie baller to form balls of dough about 1-2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic or place in freezer bags before freezing for about 1-2 hours. Melt dipping chocolate on stove or in the microwave. We added a little bit (1/2 tbsp) of canola oil to each 4 squares of chocolate to make it smoother. Dip each dough ball until well coated and place on cookie sheets lined with waxed paper. After chocolate is set, you can serve. We keep ours in the freezer and thaw a small plate of them by leaving them out on the counter until they come to room temperature before serving, although they are good frozen too!!

Simple Sour Cream Enchiladas

2011-02-13T13:32:00.001-07:00

Okay, I’ll admit it. I haven’t “actually” tried this recipe (it’s on my ever-growing list of recipes to try). BUT, the list of ingredients is similar to that of the Chicken & Cream Cheese Casserole Adrie & Josh love so much (except it uses sour cream instead of cream cheese). It looks DELISH! Centsational Girl provides a fully illustrated how-to on her blog. Check it out here!

Also, if you haven’t tried the aforementioned Chicken & Cream Cheese Casserole, feel free to email me & I’ll send it to you (I can’t post it here unfortunately because it’s copywrited, sorry).

Mandy

Photo belongs to Kate at Centsationalgirl.com

**UPDATE**

So, I tried the recipe tonight. In a word, yum! This made enough to fill an entire 9x13'” pan as well as an 8x8” pan, so keep that in mind when you make it…you may need to half the recipe. Also, next time I make this, I’ll probably just dice the chicken because, let’s face it, shredding chicken sucks.bigtime. And canned chicken…also.sucks.bigtime. ;)

If you wanted to give this recipe a little extra “something,” I think a little lime and cilantro would be fantastic. Just fyi.

Creamy Baked Ziti

2011-02-13T00:14:00.001-07:00

Here’s another gem I found at KraftFoods.com! It’s super-easy and the kids LOVED it! I used penne pasta instead of ziti pasta since a) our local grocery store doesn’t carry ziti pasta and b) I have more recipes that call for penne anyway. Next time, I’ll probably cut back the sour cream to about a half cup since the flavor was a tad overpowering, but if that sour cream zing is what you’re after then more power to ya. ;)

This is a nice meatless dish to add to your repertoire of regular meals. (I know it sounds like we’re going all “vegan”…I promise we’re not. We’re just trying to add one or two meatless dishes per week in an effort to eat a little healthier.) I love that this comes out looking all fancy without costing a lot. And you can half this recipe to an 8x8” glass dish and still feed a family of four (well, two adults and two small children), which is also important budget-wise. Here’s the link:

Creamy Baked Ziti recipe

“Try it, Edward…you’ll like it!” No, really…you will! :D

Mandy

Turtle Cake

2011-02-05T11:00:00.002-07:00

We tried a new cake recipe from the ever-wonderful Kraft Foods website. It’s a turtle cake that was surprisingly easy to make. And let me tell you, It.Was.Amazing! I snapped a shot so I could show y’all…

Yum!!

The cheesecake & caramel filling was absolutely to die for! Honestly, I was a little sad I had to put it on the cake…I was sorely tempted to just eat it all out of the mixing bowl! But I didn’t…much. ;)

Check out the link below & give her a whirl sometime. You won’t be disappointed!

Turtle Cake recipe

Mandy

Super Sneaky Stir Fry

2011-01-28T05:01:00.005-07:00

I'm always looking for ways to help my family eat a little more health...ily...health...ified? A little healthier. *ahem*

Believe it or not, it isn't my munchkins who give me grief over greens. It's my hubby. He and the Green Giant have been makin' war for years. So I'm perpetually on the hunt for ways to sneak a little vegginess into his diet. A while ago, I came up with this oriental inspired beauty. I think we had it three times (not in a row, mind you!) before Jon exclaimed, "Hey! There's no MEAT in this!" Heh, that's right, Deary. Bwah-ha-ha!

1 pkg stir fry vegetables with noodles
2-3 tbsp A1 Steak Sauce
steak seasoning, to taste
cooked white or brown rice

Prepare stir fry according to package directions. Toss with steak sauce and add steak seasoning to taste. Serve over cooked rice. Serves 4.

Lookin' Good

2011-01-28T04:57:00.002-07:00

It's a new year, so why not a fresh new look? Come check it out and post a comment about what you think! Hopefully this year we can add even more fantastic recipes to share.

*Mandy*

Child-Friendly Leftovers

2010-06-05T12:41:00.002-06:00

"Beggar's Purses" are a great way to get your kids to eat leftovers through simple repackaging. They are finger food and relatively bite-sized which automatically makes them more fun to eat.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1-2 packages of Pillsbury crescent rolls
or
12 pre-thawed Rhoades Rolls
2-3 cups of your leftovers
butter

Preheat oven to 375.
Stretch one roll (1 roll = 2 crescent rolls) into hand-sized round. Fill with 2-3 Tbsp of cold leftover mixture (honey mustard chicken, fajitas, meatloaf, spagetti sauce, etc). Fold dough around mixture and pinch together at the top. It should look similar to a teardrop. Place "purses" onto greased baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Once cooked, brush with butter and serve warm.

Best Queso Dip EVER

2010-06-05T12:24:00.003-06:00

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 lb package Velveeta, cubed
1 lb Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage
1 8-oz. package of cream cheese, cubed
1 can of Ro-Tel (either regular or extra hot)

Brown sausage, drain any excess fat and reduce to medium-low heat. Add velveeta cubes to skillet. When cheese is almost melted, add cream cheese cubes. Once cheeses are thoroughly melted, add Ro-Tel and stir together over low heat until mixture is creamy. Remove from heat and serve with tortilla chips.

*Keep queso warm during serving (crock pot or fondue pot works well).

German Pancakes

2010-06-05T12:02:00.004-06:00

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp butter
*optional - 1/4 tsp nutmeg (or cinnamon/allspice)

Preheat oven to 400.
Whisk eggs. Add flour and whisk again.
Place butter in a round cake pan and allow to melt in the oven.
Add milk, salt, vanilla and nutmeg.
Once butter is melted, pour batter over butter and bake for 15-17 minutes.

Serve with powdered sugar, fresh berries, jam, or syrup.

Sausage-Stuffed Mushroom Caps

2010-02-07T12:17:00.002-07:00

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes

1 package Jimmy Dean Sage or Hot Sausage
8 oz. package cream cheese
20-30 small white or brown mushrooms
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs and/or parmesan cheese

Start by washing and de-stemming mushrooms. Keep 1/2 the stems. Set caps and stems aside to dry. Cook sausage over medium heat until cooked. Drain sausage well. Preheat oven to 350.

In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese into sausage. Mince mushroom stems and mix into sausage/cheese mixture. Place bread crumbs or parmesan in a small bowl. Fill each mushroom cap with the sausage mixture and then dip mushroom upside-down into bread crumbs.

Bake on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes at 350.

Cranberry Sauce

2009-11-02T13:55:00.003-07:00

Hate cranberry jelly? Yeah, we all do. I never tried cranberry sauce till my sister-in-law made this for Thanksgiving when we were in Logan a few years ago. It's absolutely wonderful and really brings out the great flavors in the turkey, and nothing makes leftover turkey taste better than this cranberry sauce!

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
2 cups cranberries
1 cup water

In medium saucepan, mix sugar and water. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add berries then return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes or until berries pop. Serve warm or chilled. Refrigerate leftovers in tightly sealed container.

Dad's Stuffing

2009-11-02T13:43:00.003-07:00

I watched a cooking show this morning on PBS devoted to turkeys and stuffing for Thanksgiving. She did a stuffing with bread crumbs and wild rice, and while it looked fine, I was positive it couldn't be as good as Dad's! So, getting into the Turkey Day spirit, I thought I'd post Dad's recipe here (and, Dad, if you notice anything off or missing, let me know so we can fix it...this is how I always make it). Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 bags seasoned stuffing mix
turkey drippings or chicken bouillon (1 per cup of water)
apples, chopped (to taste)
1 cup chopped celery
onions to taste (fresh or dried minced)
raisins or dried cranberries

Following recipe on stuffing box, replace water with drippings or bouillon. Microwave celery with 2 tbsp water for 2 minutes. Add apples, celery, onions & raisins & toss.

Cover and bake according to time and temperature on box instructions, removing lid for the last 5 minutes.

Homemade refried beans

2009-04-27T12:15:00.004-06:00

A super cheap way to make great beans. This recipe makes about 2 1/2 store bought cans worth and costs a lot less.

Takes 24 hours to make so plan ahead.

1 bag of pinto beans
salt
cilantro (optional)
mexican spices (optional- there is bulk Mexican spice at Winco)
garlic salt (optional)
1/2 onion (optional)
bacon grease or vegetable oil

1. Sort through beans carefully and throw out any bad looking ones or rocks.

2. Put beans in crock pot and cover with water. There should be at least an inch of water over the beans. You won't be using this water for cooking so it doesn't really matter. Just make sure there is enough water for the beans to soak up. If there isn't enough water, the beans will stay hard. Let soak overnight with the lid on. (I like to check before bed and make sure there is enough water. Often I add a little more to be safe.)

3. In the morning, drain the beans and refill with clean water. Again, about an inch over beans.

4. Add spices. I just guess here and add whatever sounds good at the moment. If you need specific amounts, there are some good recipes online.

5. Cook on high until the beans are soft (usually all day).

6.** Use bacon grease (adds a ton of flavor but if you don't have it, vegetable oil is an acceptable alternative) to frying pan and heat. Scoop out beans and water a cup at a time and mash with a potato masher. When pan is too full, spoon out mashed beans into container and continue the process.

7. Serve with sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, salsa, guacamole in tortillas. They are also really good for nachos.

*You can freeze what you will not eat in a week.

**I have a friend who skips this step. She just mashes them in the crockpot. I've never tried this because I love the way the bacon adds flavor.

Guacamole

2009-04-27T12:02:00.002-06:00

The number of avacados that you use depends on how much you like to eat and how many people you are feeding.

Make right before eating.

Avocados- 1 large or 2 small for every two-three people
Fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
Garlic Salt
1/2 Lime

1. Cut avocados, scoop out pit and reserve. Scoop out flesh and put into bowl.
2. With fork, mash the avocado.
3. Add cilantro and garlic salt to taste.
4. Squeeze lime and add juice to guac.
5. Add pits back in to help delay the browning process. (I'm not convinced this works but my Mexican friend swears by it.)

Weeknight Lasagna Toss

2009-03-21T11:27:00.004-06:00

I found a fantastic new recipe in my food & family magazine that came in the mail today. It's a lasagna recipe that you make in the skillet and it only takes 40 minutes! You can find the recipe for Weeknight Lasagna Toss here or you can look it up, along with tons of other recipes, at www.kraftfoods.com (I can't post it because it doesn't belong to me).

This recipe is amazing. It's pretty versatile. I substituted frozen chopped spinach for half of the green peppers they called for. The thing I loved best was that my kids actually ate it. Alex asked for seconds and thirds!

You don't have to sign up (it's free) to look at recipes, but I would recommend it. By joining you can create your own recipe box to store the cool recipes you want to try.

Anyway, I thought I would share since I loved this recipe so much. Hope you like it too!

Buttermilk Pancakes (you don't have to use "actual" buttermilk for these!)

2009-03-05T11:04:00.002-07:00

I got this amazing recipe from my friend in our last ward. These are seriously the best pancakes I've ever had! Restaurant quality from home. ;) They make lots, though, so be prepared!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 cup flour
2 cup buttermilk (or 2 cups milk soured with 4 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar)
¼ cup oil
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp soda

Mix together wet ingredients. Sift dry ingredients together and add gradually to wet mixture to form batter. Let stand a couple of minutes. Cook on hot griddle and serve with Buttermilk Syrup (below).

Buttermilk Syrup
Ingredients:
½ cup butter
1 tbsp karo
½ cup buttermilk (or ½ cup milk soured with 1 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar)
½ tsp soda
3/4 cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Boil all ingredients EXCEPT vanilla for 1 minute. Then add vanilla. Can store leftover syrup in refrigerator.

Moon Cake

2009-03-04T19:58:00.003-07:00

So I got this recipe from a friend, and it's just so good!!

In a small saucepan, bring to a boil:

1 c. water

1 cube butter

Remove from heat and add:

1 cup flour

Stir until it forms a ball. Then let it cool for 10 minutes. Put dough ball in mixer and add:

4 eggs (mixing in one at a time)

Spread batter on large greased cookie sheet (I use a jelly roll pan) and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. I took mine out after about 28 minutes because I thought it was getting too brown - so watch for that in your oven.

Let the pastry shell cool in the pan.

Make 2 small packages of vanilla pudding according to package directions -including the 5 minute set up time. Then add one 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened to room temperature. Mix with hand mixer until pretty smooth - I wasn't able to get mine totally smooth - I don't think I let it warm up enough. Spread the mixture over the pastry shell.

Spread 1 small container of cool whip over the top of the pudding mix and then drizzle chocolate syrup over the top. Top with slivered almonds if desired.