Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls

EXTRA POST!       

I couldn’t wait to post these. These are by far my greatest gluten free creation so far! Cinnamon rolls are one of those painful but delicious things to make. We love them but they are typically so much work! I will admit, I am a terrible cinnamon roll maker. I get impatient because typically we eat as soon as we get up. Who has time in the mornings for the dough to rise, then bake – not to mention rolling them out? However – these are worth it. I’ve become more patient as I’ve had to transition into this cleaner, gluten free way of eating. These are pretty simple and taste great. I’ll be experimenting with different flavors now that I’ve found a good base dough. These would be great on Christmas morning! Enjoy!

 

Dough

1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup tapioca starch
½ cup white sorghum flour
¼ cup coconut flour
1 Tbsp xanthan gum
1 Tbsp active yeast (1 packet)
½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
¼ cup stevia
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 egg
¼ cup applesauce
¾ cup almond milk
½ cup water
1 tsp vanilla
Filling
¼ cup coconut oil
½ cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
2 tsp cinnamon
Icing (if desired)
1-2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp butter (I used dairy free, but regular is fine)
2 Tbsp almond milk

• Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• In a small bowl, mix together water, almond milk and yeast for dough and let set for a few minutes.
• Add in applesauce, coconut oil, egg and vanilla to dry mix and blend well.
• Pour in milk mixture and blend on medium speed for 2 minutes.
• This part is key. Put a large rectangle piece of plastic wrap onto your counter or tabletop to roll the dough on. Pour dough onto plastic wrap and spread into a rectangle. Place another sheet of plastic wrap onto dough. Roll out into a thin rectangle.
• Spread the coconut oil for filling over the dough. Sprinkle on coconut sugar and cinnamon. Take the long side of the dough and roll over the rest.
• A trick here is to roll the dough using the edges of the plastic wrap. The dough is sticky and hard to roll if you use your hands.
• Cut dough log into 1” pieces. In a greased 9x13 pan, place rolls cut side down. Cover and let rise for about 20 minutes.
• Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until browned on top.
• For icing – melt butter and mix with milk. Gradually add in powdered sugar and stir with whisk until well blended. Add in extra sugar to get desired consistency. Pour icing over warm rolls and serve.

Strawberry Filled Cupcakes

STRAWBERRY FILLED VANILLA CUPCAKES

When I was little, I loved those little “Hostess Strawberry Rolls”. These cupcakes are not strawberry rolls, but better! Strawberry filled cupcakes. Light and perfect for summer. They are pretty easy to make too. Not to mention they are MUCH healthier than your typical strawberry rolls and gluten free! I mean, just look at them – delicious!

Cupcake

½ cup coconut flour
2 whole eggs
¾ cup egg white
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
½ cup stevia (or sugar)
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 cup almond milk
Filling
4 whole strawberries
¼ cup honey
1 Tbsp cornstarch (or tapioca starch)

• In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Mix in eggs and egg whites, vanilla and almond milk.
• Blend together on medium speed for about a minute. Don’t worry if the batter looks runny – coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid and batter should get thicker as you mix.
• Spoon batter into muffin pan with cupcake liners. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until cupcakes are lightly brown and cooked through. Let cool for about 10 minutes.
• While cupcakes are baking, make strawberry filling. In a small blender (Magic Bullet), blend together honey, strawberries and cornstarch.
• In a small sauce pan, cook strawberry mixture until boiling. Remove from heat. Hollow out the center of the cupcake leaving just a small layer of cake on the bottom. I used a strawberry huller to remove the centers of my cupcakes and it worked great.
• Spoon in about a tsp or so of the filling into the cupcake. This recipe makes 12 filled cupcakes. If desired, top with whipped cream or your favorite frosting.

Avocado Quesadillas

Quesadillas are a quick and easy solution for dinner, lunch or even breakfast. Some nights we are just too busy to have a fancy dinner but I won’t sacrifice nutritious foods for junk. Quesadillas can be easily modified for whatever you have on hand or whatever you want to eat. These are super easy to make and are on the table in less than 30 minutes. It goes even faster if you have some leftover chicken or meat that is already cooked. We typically grill or bake an extra chicken breast or two on the weekends so we have a quick fix meat to add with our dinners during the week. Saves lots of time and reduces stress!

8 6” corn tortillas

1 chicken breast, cooked & shredded
1 avocado, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cilantro
¼ cup onion, diced
¼ cup sour cream
¼ cup shredded cheese
Toppings if desired – tomatoes, salsa, ranch dressing, etc

• In a large skillet, sauté onion and garlic until tender. Add in chicken breast and cilantro.
• On a griddle (or another skillet), warm corn tortillas on each side for about 2 minutes per side.
• Spread  a little sour cream over each tortilla to help ingredients stick to tortillas.
• On four of the tortilla shells, sprinkle shredded cheese. Then over the cheese, sprinkle chicken breast mixture. Sprinkle avocados on top of the chicken.
• Top each with another tortilla shell.
• Remove quesadillas from heat and cut into four quarters.
• Serve with whatever toppings or sauces you’d like. Makes 4 quesadillas.

Zucchini Relish

I cannot take any credit for this lovely condiment. This creation was done by my mother. She is a wonderful cook. Due to my new diet and lifestyle changes, I am unable to eat a lot of what she makes. I really do miss her cooking! This is something that she created with her typical ingredients but helped me modify it to fit my dietary needs. We removed the refined sugar and replaced with natural honey to fix it up a bit. However you make it, this is one relish you will always want to have on hand. I could eat it on anything – chicken, fish, sandwiches, dips, etc. Plus it’s a great way to use up all of that extra garden zucchini you have around!

8 cups of zucchini, seeded and grated

1 cup of bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp of ground cloves
½ tsp of ground allspice
1 ½ cups of honey (or3- 4 cups of refined sugar)
¼ cup apple cider vinegar

• In a food processor, shred zucchini and peppers.
• In a large stockpot, combine zucchini, cloves, garlic, allspice, honey and vinegar.
• Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Ladle relish into prepared jars and finish preparing as desired.

Cucumber Spring Rolls

These cute little guys are perfect for lunch or a snack. I get tired of eating salads for lunch at work so one day I decided to throw these rolls together. They turned out great. My son also enjoyed eating them as they were more “fun” than most of the things we have for lunch. Serve these with some ranch dressing or try my Asian Sesame dressing (found with this salad). They are also just fine by themselves. Depending on how thick you slice your cucumber, this makes about 6 rolls.

1 large cucumber

2 radishes
4 baby carrots
1/4 cup cabbage

• Using a mandolin, slice the cucumbers lengthwise (about 1/8” thick). Discard the slices with a lot of seeds, if desired.
• Chop radishes, carrots and cabbage into thin strips.
• Place a slice of cucumber on a cutting board and sprinkle on radishes, carrots and cabbage.
• Carefully roll up cucumber slice and secure with a toothpick.
• Don’t fill the slices too thick or they won’t roll very well.

Fried Rice with Veggies

There once was a time when my husband and I were poor college kids just trying to prove our parents wrong and make it. I’m pretty sure during that time we had stir fry of some kind at least twice a week. Every time I make stir-fry or fried rice I have to reminisce about those days. Anyway – I’ve progressed from plain white rice, frozen veggies and jarred sauces. I have now upgraded to brown rice, fresh veggies and homemade sauces. Oh how I’ve grown.. ha..

1 cup of cooked brown rice

½ cup broccoli, chopped
½ cup cauliflower, chopped
¼ cup onion, diced
½ cup yellow squash, chopped
¼ cup mushrooms, chopped
¼ cup water chestnuts, chopped
½ tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup water
Sauce
¼ cup GF soy sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
1 garlic clove, minced
½ tsp fresh ginger, minced

• In a large skillet, sauté broccoli, cauliflower, onion, squash, mushrooms and water chestnuts in olive oil. Pour sesame oil into veggies while they are cooking.
• After the veggies have cooked for a few minutes, add in the water to get a little steam to help soften them. Continue cooking the veggies until they are crisp tender, about 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine sauce ingredients until well blended. Once veggies are cooked, add in rice.
• Pour sauce over rice and veggies and cook for an additional 5 minutes for the flavors to mix.
• NOTE: You can really cook whatever vegetables you want in this- add in some zucchini, kale, bean sprouts, corn, etc.
• Also, a sprinkle of some peanuts on top gives it a little extra tasty crunch!

Mango Jam

I love fresh mangos but they are sometimes hard to find where I live. At our local store, they were selling a lot one day – like more than I have ever seen in that store. I knew they wouldn’t sell them all during the week so on the weekend I went back to see what was left. Just as I had expected, there was plenty of mangos left at a super-low price. So I went a little crazy and bought way too many. I knew they would go bad quickly so I had to do something with them. Since I was on this canning kick, they turned into jam. Perfect solution!

 6 cups mangos, peeled, cored and diced

½ cup water
½ cup orange juice
1 tsp lemon juice
1 cup honey (or 2.5 cups of white sugar)
1 tsp no sugar pectin (if desired to help it “gel” up)

• In a food processor or blender, blend mangos until desired consistency. Pour mangos into a large stock pot or sauce pan over medium heat.
• Add in water and orange juice and bring to a slow boil. Stir in lemon juice and honey. Return to boiling and add in pectin.
• Cook at a slow boil for about 5 more minutes, stirring constantly.
•  Ladle jam into prepared glass jars and finish preparing jars as desired. This recipe made about 6 half pint jars.