Gluten free baking

I recently had a great plan to eat more fruit so I bought some strawberries and bananas. And as the week went on, I forgot about them or I took them to work and chose to eat something else instead (this is typical for my relationship with bananas!). I was then faced with brown bananas and almost mushy strawberries. What do to with that combination? So I started to search for a recipe using strawberries and bananas...and then it dawned on me...banana bread! I found this yummy recipe for No-Brainer Strawberry Banana Bread (don't you just love the name!) and got baking! As you may notice from the recipe, it is not gluten free. I used my gf flour blend, which can be substituted one for one, in the recipe to make it gluten free.

It is very difficult to cut semi-mushy strawberries!

I loved that the recipe called for the use of a blender! So easy!

Even the dough was pretty :)

Yummy!

Although next time I think I will add walnuts... I really missed that part!

I also decided to try another mix that I picked up during my ski trip to Vermont. This time it was pizza crust!

not so sure about the quick and easy part Arthur...

Rising dough

Finished!

One thing I learned from this dinner is to read through the instructions COMPLETELY before beginning! I started making the pizza crust around 7:00 and did not sit down to eat until around 9:00. The crust set for an hour, plus bake and prep time.... needless to say we were starving by the time the pizza was ready so by default it tasted good! But if I make this mix again I will definitely add some herbs to the crust, which was a little bland. This mix makes enough for two pizzas or one really big pizza. The crust was very thick, as we chose the really big pizza version, and didn't crisp up very well. Although that maybe because of the time crunch and grumbling stomachs that were ready to eat! I will probably try a different mix next time but would certainly give this one another chance in the future!

This last picture is a sneak peek to my next project, which I am gifting soon!

Isn't it so fun!

BFD and a gluten free product review!

I bet you are trying to figure out what BFD stands for.... It is one of my favorite things and since I have minimal groceries, it just seemed perfect for tonight! So I enjoyed a little breakfast for dinner (BFD) and made some gluten free muffins.

This muffin mix is one that I got at the King Arthur Flour store in Vermont but I have seen it in my local Whole Foods as well. It is a bit spendy, (what gluten free food isn't?!) but it was quick and easy. In less than 30 minutes with prep and baking, I was enjoying a hot muffin! I was a little concerned because I didn't have any eggs and ended up using egg beaters. Luckily, I also had some frozen blackberries that I threw into the batter and covered the muffins with cinnamon and sugar. Mmmm...let me tell you, they are delicious! I scrambled up some egg beaters with cheddar cheese and spinach to complete my BFD experience.

Muffins for days! It's times like this I am glad I don't have to share :)

Look at that blackberry peeking out of the side...yum!

I am full and happy listening to the thunderstorm while waiting for the basketball game (GO BUTLER!!!) to start. I hope you found a delicious dinner too!

Gluten free yummy!

Tonight I have been very productive! I continue my quest to make homemade gifts. One of the most precious people I know is having a birthday on Sunday. I have warned her that her present may be slightly late...but tonight I had a chance to do some work on it. Part of it has been finished, while the other part is become more and more questionable... let's just say, it's hard to explain but I will be able to share the whole story next week. I also have a baby shower gift to finish, which is so close to being done that I kind of want to stay home from work to get it finished, but I won't. And my third project, my mother's day gift, is also on the verge of completion. I hope Saturday will be very productive.... especially since it's time to bring out my summer/ spring wardrobe!

Ok, back to tonight... in the midst of my crafting, I also decided I needed to make some banana bread. I had two bananas that were well beyond consumption (in my opinion) and needed to be baked with or tossed. Over the weekend, I found a new recipe for banana bread from the blog Bicycle Built for Two. Tonight... I tried it out. Caitlin from Bicycle Built for Two does a great job explaining the recipe so I am not going to repeat it, but of course I took some pictures to amuse you...

This is my kitchen (quite amusing and messy)... the other half not in the picture is my washer/dryer. The washer/dryer very often becomes part of my counter space when cooking.

Looks yummy....

The other downside of my kitchen... no dishwasher. It makes cooking and baking less fun when you have to HAND WASH everything! Sigh...oh how I miss a normal kitchen...

TaDa.... I can't wait to cut it!

That will unfortunately have to wait until morning.... but it smells delightful and I am excited about my breakfast treat!

Sweet dreams friends!

Gluten Free Comfort Food

Just a quick Valentine's update... these are the beautiful Valentine's flowers I got today! Receiving flowers is one of my favorite things so even though fed ex (grrr....) delivered them a day late and with a broken vase (!!!!), they have happily found a home on my desk. It's days like this that I need flowers to make me smile! Plus, my valentine got their money back because of the hassle, so bonus for them too!! :)

After an extremely long day and missing my voice, which was suddenly gone when I woke up, I decided that I needed some comfort food!

My go to is always peanut butter and honey (duh!). Unfortunately, I am out of bread and didn't want

to wait the 5 hours for it to bake. So I searched around and found some Gluten Free Bisquick mix in my kitchen. On the back of the box was a recipe for gf biscuits so I thought I would give it a try. I did have to make one substitution of using butter because I am out of shortening.

They were extremely easy to make with very few ingredients, and in only 15 minutes, they were ready! The taste was a little bland but I wonder if the shortening would have made them a little tastier. Certainly something to pick up for next time. I will definitely try them again because

of the ease and quickness of enjoy time. Maybe next time I will try the pancake recipe!

Of course, half the deliciousness of a biscuit is what you put on it!

mmmm...... yummy!