GF Oreos & A Shimmy Easy Fix

GF Gobsmacked recipe for oreo cookies is delicious! I can attest! And Kitchen Aid's customer service isn't so bad either.

Hey FYI, if your KitchenAid has taken to wobbling for the last couple of months and you have to mix everything with the motor tucked under your arm in a death grip while it shimmies and jiggles under your armpit... if you have tussled with it like that, trying to hold it still while it beats up both the dough and you... if you have to continually shove the pin back in place, and you forget to do that just one time...

then you can call Kitchen Aid, who will tell you to turn the whole thing upside down and tighten one itty bitty screw that holds the pin in.

thereby alleviating the problem before it jiggles the pin loose and bounces the machine right off your cupboard, onto the tile floor, chipping it and spewing oreo cookie dough throughout the kitchen.

Just FYI.

P.S. 

Green Smoothie Momma

Testing. Testing. Okay, a friend is trying to get me to try the smoothie version of vegetables. My adventuresome personality is willing to try anything. Here is the link to the professional (ms green smoothie girl) who really knows what she's doing, but I figure, how can I mess this up? It requires no baking!

Just stick leftover stuff in the blender, (must be of the plant derivation) and blend it and drink it.

I don't know what it is about these concoctions, but they make me immediately satiated and full and like I ate a fifteen course meal. Of course that could be because I'm adding this to my daily intake, instead of replacing my meals with it.

Gotta work on that.

Meanwhile, here are photos of the beet, spinach, red pepper, agave, banana smoothie, and the spinach, apple, peach, sweet red pepper, lemon smoothie.

One thing that I can't recommend. When the husband brings home mustard greens instead of spinach, DON'T MAKE A SMOOTHIE WITH IT. Burns, burns, burns, the ring of fire on your tongue.

It appears that this too can be Messed Up!

Other than that one, they have all been tasty and even the boys will act as taste testers.

Ah HA! Perfect GF Pizza

I've struggled and fought to achieve a perfect GF pizza crust and this time Hazel, I think I've finally done it! (Or come as close as I remember it to be.)

I have wanted to bake the crusts on a pizza stone, but our GF dough is too thin to transfer crusts to the stone, so now I've hit on something so simple that I musta been an idiot to have missed it.

When the crust is half done, slide it off onto the stone! It was delicious, delightful, crusty on the bottom, crusty on the top. Perfect!!!

Remember to bake the crust before adding the toppings and heat up the oven to 500.

The boys sleep-over party couldn't leave it alone! It was fabulous and NOBODY KNEW IT WAS GF!

Here is the original recipe: PIZZA

Crackers #1

This is the standard cracker recipe, but I today kneaded in 1/2 cup grated asiago cheese into the dough before rolling it out.

2 1/2 cups brown rice flour

2 tsp. xanthan gum

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. egg replacer

1 T. granulated sugar

1/3 cup almond meal (ground from almonds in the blender)

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) margarine/butter or shortening

1 cup milk (soy, almond, goat, whatever)

1 Tbs. dry yeast granules

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray two 11/17 jelly roll pans

Combine all ingredients in mixing bowl, mix well. Divide dough, cover with plastic wrap and roll dough with a pastry roller or the side of a glass until thin and even. Score and prick with a fork, bake 20-30 minutes depending on thickness--longer because of cheese.

Cool in pan, break apart, store in airtight container.

First, Favorite Recipe

Okay, remember back to your first, favorite GF or CF or staple recipe. The first one that was successful, or the first staple that got you going on your new and exciting GF life. What was it and can you recommend it to a newbie?

I've given it some thought and recall this quick and easy recipe for crackers. If I could snack on a cracker, I was good. When I was given this recipe for crackers that had all recognizable ingredients (except xanthun gum) I was so happy! Rice flour and I had that, or could grind my own!

The recipe was manageable and could easily be made dairy free.

_________________

What next? Bread, nope, not yet. Much more urgent was COOKIES! My favorite cookie recipe made with added xanthun gum and sorghum flour. The dough was delicious and the cookie was too.

Success early on kept me persevering.

Olive Garden's GF Menu

The Olive Garden’s Gluten Free menu.

I usually go there, eat the salad and drool over whatever everyone else orders.

But now, they have a GF pasta on their Garden Fare options menu. Pennine Rigate with Marinara is a hearty marinara sauce made from tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and herbs served over gluten free penne pasta.

Gluten sensitive diners can also try their Steak Toscano (grilled 14 oz. steak served with grilled veggies) or the Herb-Grilled Salmon (salmon filet brushed with herbs and olive oil, served with broccoli and red bell peppers.

Their Mixed Grill, which comes with broccoli and grilled veggies, can be made with skewers of grilled steak and chicken, marinated in Italian herbs and olive oil, or with all chicken.

There is even a children’s GF menu item: Grilled Chicken Breast served with broccoli and grilled veggies.

http://blog. glutenfreeworks. com/2009/ 09/22/the- olive-garden- offers-gluten- free-options/