Strawberry Pretzel Jello (Gluten Free)

I have heard about and seen this dessert for a while now......Every time I saw it I wondered if I could conform it to be gluten free and with less sugar. I finally decided to give it a try and I am happy to say it was a big hit!!....The first time I made this I used coconut sugar mixed with the pretzels and it was fine...but the second time I made it I used brown sugar and needless to say we liked that a little better, after I mixed the  crushed pretzels with the melted butter and brown sugar and baked it for 10 minutes that alone was good enough to eat by itself!...It may be a future recipe with some nuts added to it for a pretzel toffee!....Well back to this recipe....I also used a pint of fresh strawberries that I had cleaned, sliced and froze...but you could buy frozen strawberries.....This may be a little time consuming to put together, but it is well worth it!....The flavors of the salty, sweet crust with the cream cheesy filling topped with the sweet and tart Jello is just heavenly!.....Here is what I did....Enjoy!!

 

 

INGREDIENTS

 

CRUST

4 Cups Pretzel Sticks (Crushed) I used Gluten Free and

 I added pretzels to a gallon Ziploc and rolled with a rolling pin

1 Stick Butter (melted)

3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

 

FILLING

8 ounces Cream Cheese

2 Cups Whipped Topping (cool whip)

1/2 Cup Natural Cane Sugar (or sugar of your choice)

 

TOPPING

2- 3 ounce boxes of Strawberry Jello

2 Cups Boiling Water

Frozen Strawberries (2 bags or your own frozen)

 

 

DIRECTIONS

 

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Melt butter in a glass bowl add brown sugar and stir well..add over crushed pretzels and mix

3. Pour pretzel mixture into a sprayed 9 x 13 dish and press evenly into pan with a glass

4. Bake for 11 minutes until lightly toasted and set aside to cool

5. In a bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar until combined

6. Fold in the whipped topping

7. Spread filling evenly over cooled pretzel crust, covering to the edges

8. Refrigerate while you prepare Jello

9. Add Jello to a bowl and add boiling water, stir until dissolved and mix in frozen strawberries and stir to dissolve and then add that bowl to the fridge for 20 minutes

10. After 20 minutes remove both dishes and add the Jello and strawberries over the cream cheese

11. Refrigerate until set about 1 to 2 hours

When you are ready to slice you can top servings with whipped topping

 

I filled a 2 cup liquid measuring cup twice  with the pretzels for the amount needed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old Fashioned Cake Doughnuts

I have been on the hunt for the perfect doughnut recipe that I could tweak and conform to be gluten free and still taste good and have a normal texture.....Well after a lot of trial and error, I think I finally came up with it!.....I do not use white sugar so finding a replacement for that can be difficult....I opted to use Natural cane sugar and Coconut sugar combined and it wasn't even noticeable.....I also used Bob's Red Mill baking flour that I added some xanthan gum to, which I always add to my gluten free flours to keep things together....I also made these cinnamon~sugar doughnuts (my favorite!)...Also buttermilk is called for in the recipe , which I didn't have, so I added a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to 2% milk, but you can use the milk of your choice (even almond milk  with the vinegar added would be fine). You will also need a donut pan for this recipe.....Here is what I did...Enjoy!

 

 

INGREDIENTS

 

2 Cups Flour (gluten free)

1/2 teaspoon Xanthun Gum

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

3/4 Cups sugar (I used 1/2 cup pure cane sugar 1/4 cup coconut sugar)

1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk (I used 2% + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar)

2 eggs

2 Tablespoons oil ( I used olive oil)

+ more sugar and cinnamon for coating

 

*NOTE*

If you do not need these to be gluten free just use regular flour, omitting the xanthan gum

You could also use regular sugar

 

 

here is the flour I used

here are the sugars I used

 

 

 

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 425

 

Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl stir together to combine and set aside

In another bowl add the eggs milk and oil and whisk

With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients into the dry and gently mix to combine until flour disappears (do not overmix)

Add the batter to a gallon Ziploc bag (I add the bag to a large cup for easier filling)

 

Meanwhile spray your donut pan with non stick spray

Snip the corner of the bag and pipe into donut pan in a circle motion filling almost to top of pan

 

 

 

Smooth batter out and place pan in oven and bake for 10 minutes, don't overbake

by touching with your finger it should spring back

You should get 10~12 donuts out of this recipe

When done I add hot donuts to a bowl that I put cane sugar and cinnamon mixed together to coat

 

You can store in Tupperware or a large Ziploc bag

 

 

Eggplant Parmesan(gluten free)

One of my husbands most favorite things I ever have made has to be Eggplant Parmesan!...Well since cooking mostly gluten free I have not made it in a long time...I just haven't found the right bread crumb to mimic the Italian seasoned bread crumbs I had always used in my original recipe.....Well I found one and decided to see if it would work, and it did.....I am so happy and can't wait to try other recipes that I haven't been able to make...I really don't have measurements for this recipe but I can give you all of the instructions and details on how to put this together....Here is what I did....Enjoy!

 

INGREDIENTS

 

list of everything needed

 

Eggplant

Tomato sauce

Eggs (about 3)

Breadcrumbs

Mozzarella cheese

Parmesan Cheese

Salt

Oil (for frying)

 

EGGPLANT

 ( I used 1 large Italian round one)

 

TOMATO SAUCE

(I used 1 jar of my favorite that happens to have my parents picture on it!.. but you could use home made also)

 

 

ITALIAN SEASONED BREADCRUMBS

I found this gluten free version, you could use regular also)

 

MOZZARELLA CHEESE

(2 cups or 1 bag shredded)

 

PARMESAN CHEESE

(for sprinkling between layers)

 

EGGS

(about 3 beaten)

 

DIRECTIONS

Have a fry pan ready with olive oil in it and prepare a casserole dish with cooking spray

 

Begin by peeling and slicing your eggplant (about 1/2 inch slices) they were big so I sliced in 1/2

 

Sprinkle salt on all of the slices

 

In 2 shallow bowls add beaten eggs to one and the breadcrumbs (with parmesan) to the other

 

Dip the eggplant in the egg and then dredge in breadcrumbs (I added some parmesan to my breadcrumbs)

 

Heat your pan with the oil and add the breaded eggplant

Turn when golden...when done place an a plate with paper towel top with another paper towel...you will

want to soak up as much oil as possible

 

In the casserole dish add Tomato sauce on the bottom before your first layer of eggplant

Sprinkle eggplant with parmesan cheese then add some sauce then add Mozzarella

Top with a little more sauce and then continue this until you have used up the eggplant

 

You will end with the Mozzarella then drizzle with more sauce and a sprinkle of Parmesan

I covered with a glass lid but you can cover with foil also

Bake in a 350 oven check it after 45 minutes to see how it is doing uncover at that time and continue baking ( you want the eggplant to be soft)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chicken Tortilla Soup (slow cooker)

I have been wanting to try making Tortilla Soup for a while now, so I figured I would give it a try......I thought it would be a nice edition for our weekly Taco nights and I made it in the slow cooker but you could just make this in a pot also.....It is so easy to put everything together and I used a Rotisserie chicken so its super simple!.....Also I added a Tablespoon or 2 of diced green chilies to this, you can add as many as you like depending on how much spice you would like, you could also add more to each serving as a garnish if someone would like more...I also topped with Tortilla strips that I bought prepared....they added a nice touch!...Here is what I did....Enjoy!!

 

INGREDIENTS

 

1 Medium Onion (diced)

1 Clove garlic (minced)

4 Cups Chicken Broth

1 Can Tomato sauce

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

Green Chilies

1 Tablespoon Dry Cilantro

1 Can Corn (drained)

1 Can Black Beans (rinsed and drained)

1 Package Taco seasoning (I used Mild)

Meat from 1 Rotisserie Chicken

 

Tortilla Strips (for garnish)

 

 

 

 

 

DIRECTIONS

preheat your crock pot

 

In a frying pan add diced onion and cook until translucent

then add the minced garlic

Add that to your preheated crock pot

 

then add all of the rest of the ingredients

Cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-5 hours

 

Garnish each serving with Tortilla strips

or even sour cream and cheddar cheese!

Fudge Brownies (gluten free)

So I have an older recipe on here of Gluten free Brownies that I previously came up with,,,This recipe is new and improved since trying to cut more sugar out of my diet.....This new recipe has much less sugar, I used honey instead and the chocolate chips I used have minimal sugar and are also gluten, soy and dairy free they melt great for this recipe... and I also use real butter to melt with the chocolate...but you could use coconut oil if you prefer....These brownies are almost cake like so you could even frost these.....I have made them numerous times now and they gotten rave reviews from everyone....sometimes you just need a little chocolate and these did the trick!.....You could also add some chopped walnuts if you like....Here is what I did....Enjoy!

 

INGREDIENTS

 

1 Cup Almond Flour

3 Tablespoons Coconut Flour

1/4 teaspoon Salt

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 teaspoon Xanthan gum

1/2 Cup Honey

2 Eggs (beaten)

 

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

4 Tablespoons cubed Butter

 

These are the chips I use

 

Preheat oven to 350

 

 

In a bowl combine the flours, salt, baking soda and xanthan gum, give it a mix and then add the honey and beaten eggs...stir well and set aside

 

 

Begin preparing the chocolate by adding water to a saucepan...find a glass bowl that will fit over it and add the chocolate and butter.. once water comes to boil lower heat stirring the chocolate with a rubber spatula

 

Once it is all melted and creamy, let cool for 5 minutes before adding to flour mixture (so you don't cook the eggs!)

Add the melted chocolate to the flour and mix well (it will be thick)

Prepare a 8 x 8 pan with parchment placed each way like this

Add the batter and smooth it out

Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes...check it after 35 (all ovens are a little different)

Let cool and slice into small squares