Super Fluffy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had a major sweet tooth today and was feeling adventurous, so I whipped these together out of my head. As you can see, I was going for insanely sweet, and I would say that this did it. An unexpected benefit was that these turned out absolutely deliciously FLUFFY... which is kind of a rare thing for gluten-free cookies. My husband agreed they were phenomenal.

Super Fluffy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 c creamy peanut butterr
1 c sugar
1 c flour (I used Pamela's GF all-purpose flour, but regular flour will work too.)
1/2 c oats
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. vanilla
1/4 c melted butter
2 eggs
1/2 c choc. chips (or desired amount)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together all the dry ingredients. Add the peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and two eggs and vigorously fold in the wet ingredients until the dough is blended and slightly sticky, but moldable. Form small balls of dough and space evenly on a foiled cookie sheet. DO NOT flatten the cookie balls, this is part of what makes them fluffy. I put the first dozen in the oven as dough balls and they turned out super fluffy. I made the mistake of flattening the second sheet of cookies and they turned out ok, but not nearly as light and fluffy. They don't spread much, so don't get panicky watching them bake. Bake them for 13-16 minutes watching closely so they don't crisp too much. Serve warm. Yields about 24 cookies.

Ratings from the Experts*: 10, 10, 10... for sure. Will definitely make these again!

Glazed Pumpkin Pecan Muffins

I've had a sweet tooth all week and yogurt doesn't seem to be cutting it, so I went on search of a decent looking recipe. This is actually a hybrid of many recipes, but all in all it turned out really good even though I didn't know exactly what I was going to do when I started.

Glazed Pumpkin Pecan Muffins
1- 15 oz. can pumpkin
1 box yellow or spiced cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow cake)
1 T cinnamon
2 t. cloves
2 t. nutmeg
3 T chopped pecans

For glaze:
1 1/4 c powdered sugar
3 T milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients: cake mix, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, pecans. Once well-mixed, start folding in the entire can of pumpkin until all of the pumpkin is mixed in and the whole mixture is entirely moist.  Spoon by heaping tablespoonfuls into the muffin cups until they are about 2/3 full. Bake in oven for 20-25 min.
Once muffins are done, allow them to cool completely before beginning glaze.

Easiest thing to do is use a measuring cup to measure out the powdered sugar, keep it in the measuring cup, then add a T of milk at a time, mixing well with a fork until the sugar mixture has become a thick, creamy glaze. Drizzle generously over the muffins and then all all the muffins to sit in the fridge for about 20 mins to allow the glaze to set. Devour.

Ratings from the Expert*: 8.75? I couldn't quite give it a 9 since I didn't exactly whip my glaze thick enough. It didn't set quite as well, but I think I really just didn't whisk enough. 2 muffins are already gone. They are delicious. And gorgeous to boot.

Antipasto Penne and Italian Sausage with Tomato Cream Sauce

I thought this up earlier today and fell in love with the idea. I had a light antipasto salad of peppers, artichokes and olives leftover that my husband had picked up from the store on a whim and I wanted to make an Italian dish with some different flavors. It turned out FANTASTIC. Will definitely make this one again.

Antipasto Penne and Italian Sausage with Tomato Cream Sauce
4 Mild Italian Sausage links
1/2 c antipasto of your choice
1/4 medium onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, julienned
1 can mushroom stems and pieces
4 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, melted
1 c. Tomato soup
3 T corn starch
1 pkg. Penne Pasta (I used Tinkyada Gluten Free Penne)
1 T Italian seasoning
1 T minced garlic
Pepper to taste

In a large skillet, brown the sausage, then slice thinly. Throw in diced up antipasto salad, onion, bell pepper, and mushrooms and toss in olive oil, then saute for several minutes until veggies are tender. (I also threw in a tiny bit -maybe a teaspoon- of balsalmic vinegar at this point).

In a separate saucepan, combine cream cheese and Tomato soup, stirring until well blended, then add corn starch to thicken. Sauce should be the consistency of a thick spaghetti sauce when done. Add in garlic, Italian seasoning, and pepper and mix well.

Cook pasta per package directions. Drain. Then add sauce and Italian sausage mix and stir until blended. Top with cheese of your choice (I used an Italian blend of Cheddar, Asiago, and Mozzarella.)

Ratings from the Experts*: 10 from BOTH of us! Yes... I know. Rare that I get a 10 out of the Hubby, but it happened! That's why I felt I had to post this even though I've fallen well behind on blogging duties.

Peanut Chicken Pad Thai

This Thai dish is one of our favorite dishes. We can stand to eat it as leftovers several days in a row and it tastes great every time. It is so so yummy and it was very easy to make it gluten free with Tinkyada's pad thai noodles.


Peanut Chicken Pad Thai
1 lb cooked chicken chunks or shredded chicken
1 pkg pad thai noodles
1 small onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced or Julienned
1 4 oz. can mushroom pieces
1 c chicken broth
3 T ginger
6 T soy sauce
1/2 c peanut butter (I recommend crunchy- the peanut bits add some texture)
3 T honey
1 t. red pepper (optional: but recommended to use at least a sprinkle for a bit of spice)
1 T garlic powder

Cook noodles per directions. In a small saucepan, or cast iron skillet saute diced onion and bell pepper until tender. In a medium saucepan mix together chicken broth, ginger, soy sauce, peanut butter, honey, red pepper, and garlic. Heat on medium low until peanut butter is melted and stir the sauce until well blended.

When noodles are done, drain and return to pot. Add in cooked chicken, bell pepper, onion, and mushrooms. Stir well, then add in sauce mixture and stir. Serve while it's hot.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Ratings from the Experts*: 9/10. I had shredded chicken to use in this recipe, but I prefer chicken chunks and so does my hubby. Otherwise, it was the perfection we remember fondly.

Note: You can also switch this recipe up by using pork instead of chicken!

My 'Sort-of' Ziti al Forno

I kind of threw this dish together in a last ditch attempt to make something that actually sounded good to my stuffy-headed half-dead taste buds. It started looking better and better the more I put it together. "That looks reeeaaaallly good." Purred my husband as he peeked over my shoulder while I was taking this picture. I looked at him half-surprised because everything has kind of tasted like cardboard to me today and I couldn't smell what I was cooking at all, so it was at least encouraging to have someone say it looked good.

I've had this particular dish at Olive Garden before my gluten-free days and it was easily one of my favorites. Certainly not having all of the necessary ingredients for a copycat recipe made this a little bit more interesting to put together, but in the end, I'd say it came out ok.

My 'Sort-of' Ziti al Forno
Penne pasta (I used Tinkyada's Gluten Free Penne)
1 lb ground beef
1/2  medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced or minced
4 T cream cheese or neufchatel cheese
1/2 c milk
2 T flour (I used a gluten-free flour of course)
1/4 c shredded cheddar
1/4 c taco blend shredded cheese
1/4 c shredded mozzarella
1/4 c Parmesan
Basil/ Italian Seasoning/Pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the pasta according to directions on the package. Drain the pasta and place in a large 9x13 casserole dish. Brown the ground beef in a skillet along with diced onion and garlic. Drain it well and set aside for later in a bowl. In a small saucepan, warm the cream cheese and milk together until blended, stirring often so there aren't any chunks of cream cheese left. Add the flour and continue to stir until it has a yogurt-like consistency. Add in desired seasonings to the sauce.

Pour the meat mixture over the pasta and mix together, then mix in the cream cheese sauce until thoroughly blended. Top with cheddar, taco blend, and mozzarella and mix well again. You can top it with more of the shredded cheeses if you like and then top with Parmesan.

Place in the preheated oven and let it bake long enough to let all the cheeses melt. Serve while it's hot.


Ratings from the Experts*: I thought it was a wee bit dry. I'd probably milky-up the sauce so it wasn't so sticky and make more of it, otherwise, the blend of flavors was good. 7/10 for me. Hubby agreed with my rating.

Tandoori Fish

I've been sick the past couple of days, and I'm currently in that "I-don't-feel-great-but-I'm-better-and-I-feel-like-my-brain-is-going-to-shrink-into-nothingness-if-I-sit-still-anymore" mode. I felt good enough to stand up for short periods of time, so I've been in the kitchen not one, but three times today. Once for the banana bread (posted already) and twice for this fantastically delicious-looking dish.

I only discovered my love for Indian food in the past couple of years, and I have not even attempted to duplicate it in my kitchen until now. Having had several Tandoori Chicken dishes at various restaurants, I was really curious to see how the Tandoori sauce would pair with fish. Let's just say that I was pleasantly surprised.

Tandoori Fish
1/3 c vinegar
4 cloves garlic
1 T ground ginger
1/2 t. salt
1 T cayenne pepper
1 T ground coriander
1 T ground cumin
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/3 c milk
2 lbs thick fish fillets, cut into large chunks (I used whiting)
1/2 medium onion
1 green bell pepper

Blend the vinegar, garlic, ginger, salt, cayenne, coriander, cumin, milk and oil in a blender until you have a thick paste. Brush the fish chunks with the mixture to coat evenly and place in a shallow dish; pour the remaining marinade over the fish. Allow to marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours.  

Preheat the oven's broiler. Arrange the marinated fish in a broiler-safe dish, reserving the marinade. Broil the fish under the preheated broiler on the oven's center rack for 10 minutes; turn the fish and brush with reserved marinade. Continue cooking until the fish flakes easily with a fork, about 7 minutes more. 

While leaving the fish to broil, saute julienned onion and sliced bell pepper in in olive oil until cooked through and tender.


I served with white rice, sprinkled the bell pepper and onion over the rice, then topped off with fish and a healthy dose of the sauce.

Ratings from the Experts*: From me (the apparently dead-tasted critic) based on my taste... I give it 9/10. I would order it at a restaurant. It was that good. Then again, apparently having strep throat and a stuffy head kind of dulls the senses, so maybe you would agree more with the lightweight... my hubby.

John thought it had too much spicy bite to it and gave it 7/10. Lightweight!!!! I mean yeah it made my nose run a little more than it already was, but to downgrade the rating of the dish by two whole points?! Bah. I'll have to see how it fares for me with a clear head.

Nonetheless, if you want to dial down the spice, cut the pepper in half... or quarter it.

Low Fat Banana Bread

 

I've been craving something sweet and bread-y for the past week and finally realized when I saw that my most recent batch of bananas was nearing the great bright light that now would be the perfect time to try gluten-free low fat banana bread. I subbed applesauce for the margarine my usual recipe calls for, used brown sugar, and for the flour I used one of the varieties of flour I had pre-mixed. I used Bette Hagman's Four Flour Bean Blend, but you can sub any of your favorite gluten-free flour blends 1:1 in place of regular flour. I also added just a tablespoon of chopped pecans to give the bread a little more texture and flavor, but this is optional.

Low Fat Banana Bread

2/3 c brown sugar

1/4 c applesauce

2 eggs, or 4 whites

1 c mashed overripe bananas

1/4 water or skim milk

1 2/3 c all-purpose flour or the gluten free flour of your choice (I used Bette Hagman's Four Flour Bean mix)

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray one loaf pan with a non-stick cooking spray. Then, in a medium bowl, beat the brown sugar and applesauce until smooth and creamy. Beat in the eggs, water and bananas with the sugar and applesauce mixture until it is well blended. Next, mix in the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder just until the mixture is moistened. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Be prepared break up clumps of flour if you're using a finer blend of gluten free flour. 

Bake at 350 degrees for about 50-60 minutes. The bread is done when the top is firm to the touch and a golden brown color. When the bread is removed from oven, allow it to cool on its side for a few minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and let it finish cooling on a plate. 

Ratings from the Experts*: Jen (me) 9/10 as a gluten-free dessert bread. I could hardly tell it was gluten-free except for a slight aftertaste from the bean flour that most people probably wouldn't even pick up on.

John: 9/10. He said it has a different taste than other banana bread, but not unpleasant and said he would gladly gobble it up when I make it again.