French Breakfast Puffs: A Sugary Mess

You know the feeling when you just want to eat straight sugar for breakfast but you know it's going to be bad for you? I found a way to do just that but in a sneaky way.

Meet the French Breakfast Puff.

Two parts muffin, one part sugar.

Totally awesome.

These are the ingredients you need to make the puffs. Flour, milk, salt, butter (preferably sticks but I didn't have any at the time), baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, one egg, shortening, and sugar.

Set your oven to 350 to make these little muffins and let it preheat so it's nice and hot when you get finished making the batter.

Measure out 1/3 cup of shortening. You can use a regular measuring cup but we have this contraption for measuring sticky substances like peanut butter and shortening so I used it.

Throw it into a medium or large sized bowl.

It's going to look pretty awkward all by itself but we'll add more.

Next, pour in 1/2 cup of granulated white sugar. We use generic brand white sugar, even if it's not the best quality. It's sugar. It tastes sweet and I like it.



Pour it in slowly for dramatic effect.

Crack one large egg, yolk and all, into the bowl with the sugar and shortening.

Mix it all up and try to smash some of the big shortening chunks if you can. If it gets difficult, just leave them be. They'll mix in better once the rest of the ingredients are added in.

Now might be a good time to mention my baking savior, Namaste Foods. They make the best gluten-free flour mixture I've tasted yet and I use it for all of my recipes that require normal flour. There isn't a considerable difference between this flour and wheat flour when generally compared. The "Perfect Flour Blend," has a nuttier scent to it and creates slightly denser products but the texture is fairly unchanged and the taste is delicious. I would recommend this to anyone who still enjoys baking and doesn't want to be stuck making baked goods out of a box like most gluten-free options.

Add 1 1/2 cups of gluten-free flour to the egg mixture. I like to go 1/2 cup at a time to avoid making a mess when measuring. I can also stir in between intervals to avoid major clumping.

Next, add 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder to the bowl. Any brand is fine. We use generic brand baking powder. It's all the same to me at this point. Kroger does just fine for me.

After adding the baking powder, toss in 1/2 of salt. Don't use a grinder. Let's not be silly. You need normal salt for this.

Last but not least of the dry ingredients, add 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. Nutmeg enhances the flavors of the muffin since it doesn't have any special additions like fruit or nuts like a normal muffin. Nutmeg gives it just enough spice to have a hint of warm flavor.

Add 1/2 milk or a milk alternative like soy milk to the mixture and stir while pouring it in.

When you're done mixing, it should look similar to this. This isn't a large amount of batter, so if you are making these for a large group of people, you might want to double the recipe.

Spray muffin tins with non-stick spray or line the trays with muffin baking cups.

I like to use some butter spray to keep the muffins from sticking.

Another thing I like to do is cook the batter in mini muffin tins instead of regular sized tins because there are more and they are portable and easier to eat if they are small.

Once you've placed dollops of batter in each of the muffin cups, place the trays in the oven.

They should take about 15-20 minutes because they are smaller than normal muffins.

Just keep an eye on them.

While the muffins are cooking, mix sugar and cinnamon to make a sugar topping for the muffins. I like to make a personal mixture of the two and just taste for the right amount of cinnamon. It's up to you. You should probably avoid making too much at one time, as the sugar will clump with the butter when the muffins are being dipped in.

Also, melt a stick of butter to dip the muffins in.

When the muffins are done, they should be relatively the same size. They don't really rise, no matter what type of flour is used. Set up the trays and bowls in an assembly line fashion in order to avoid cross contamination of sugar and muffins.

Dip one muffin the butter.

Roll in cinnamon sugar.

Place, and repeat.

When you're done, they should look like this or similar. This was about half a batch because I kept the remainder of them sugar free until I was ready to eat them. Only coat the ones you want to eat on the spot because they can get soggy or stale if left for too long.

Grab something to drink, a serving of fruit or protein, and enjoy some old-fashioned sugary madness.

Keep in mind, these shouldn't be eaten on a regular basis but they are a nice treat on a Sunday morning or on a holiday.

People tend to enjoy these little treats no matter what age.

Who complains about a sugary muffin though?

Hopefully you'll get some morning motivation and try out these messy mini muffins some day soon.

Who thought being gluten-free could taste so sweet?



Cross your fingers for another healthy day,
Kiki

Partially Asian, Partially American: Bacon Fried Rice

What if I told you that you could satisfy a Chinese food craving and not have it covered in greasy oil? And...it has bacon in it?

Anything with bacon in it is automatically ten times better. Let's be real.

Now, this is one of my mother's favorite dishes to throw together when nobody can decide on what to have for dinner, because when in doubt, make bacon fried rice. I don't really know the origin of this recipe or if other people eat it too, but I love it and thought I would share our recipe because it's so easy to make.

First, grab some rice, doesn't matter what kind. Rice doesn't have gluten in general so there's no need to worry about it. We like to use Lundberg California Brown Basmati Rice for our cooking because it has a nice flavor and is good for making this recipe or a pilaf.

Plus, it's organic, which is always a plus in my book.

Prepare as much as you need to feed the amount of people in your household. Maybe make a little extra because my mother made the 4-6 serving amount and our family of 3 ate it all.

Beware, this bacon fried rice is going to make you want seconds.

It usually takes 30-45 minutes to cook the rice, so make it ahead of time so when you're ready to mix it in with the other ingredients, it'll be done.

Next, fry up some bacon. Use a big skillet when cooking it so that you only dirty one pan when you stir-fry the whole mix of goodness.

If you like your bacon chewy, you're going to have to go past your boundaries and cook it a little longer because you want crispy and crumbly bacon. It needs to be broken up in pieces later to go in the stir-fry so you don't want any fat still hanging around.

Either way, it's bacon and it's amazing. Don't be afraid of a few burnt pieces.

Once you've drained the grease from the bacon pan, pull out some eggs. We get ours from our neighbor's group of chickens so they're really fresh but store bought eggs are fine too.

One benefit to living in the country, fresh food.

Use as many eggs as the amount of rice you made. So if you made a 4-6 person serving of rice, scramble 4-6 eggs. My mother likes less yolk in her eggs so she used 2 normal eggs and 4 egg whites.

Scramble those eggs!

One tip I have for cooking with non-stick pans is to always use a non-metal "spatula" (or whatever you call it in your home, my home economics teacher called it a "turner") when you cook so that you don't scratch off the non-stick coating. Also, try and avoid leaving the spatula sitting in the pan or resting near a hot surface. It might seem like common sense but when there are multiple things cooking at the same time, it's easy to forget and then you have a melted dent in your utensil. Melting plastic never smells good so don't let it happen to you.

Hopefully, if you planned it right, your rice should be done cooking.

Now, it's time for the stir-frying part.

Fluff the rice a couple times before dumping it in the pan so that there aren't as many clumps. Even distribution is key because no one wants to feel like they don't have as much bacon or eggs as the person next to them.

Pour the rice into the pan. Simple.

Crumble up the bacon and sprinkle it on top of the other ingredients.

Next, add some soy sauce.

We use generic brand soy sauce, but we choose the "lite" version because it has less sodium.

It's still salty though, which is the flavor that makes this dish taste good.

Be careful that you taste the food when adding in the soy sauce because it can get really salty if you don't know what your preference is.

Pour it on, well shake it to be exact. It doesn't come out very quickly.

Turn up the heat to high, if you haven't already. Things are about to get serious.

Stir-fry the mixture for a minute or so, just enough to distribute the soy sauce but not long enough to burn anything.

Make sure to get everything well mixed.

When you're done, plate it and serve it hot! My mom likes to serve oranges with it to balance the saltiness of the bacon fried rice. I agree with her. It's a nice pop of color and it's got a tangy kick. Grab something to drink and enjoy!

It's fairly simple and believe me, it's yummy. Plus, it's not greasy and you knew where all of the ingredients came from. Hope you'll try it out some time and see if you like it.

Cross your fingers for another healthy day,
Kiki

Frozen Dinner Options Can Be Good?

It's about that time for a pre-made meal, right? It's a common practice in my house to throw some frozen food in the oven and cut the actual effort of cooking pretty much out of the equation. That doesn't mean your meal has to suck, right?

Try a pot pie. Seriously. It has a little bit of everything in it. Veggies to make you feel healthy, tender pieces of chicken, and some gravy to make it all taste delicious.

Plus, Blake's Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie is pretty darned good for not having a traditional pie crust on top. It might not be exactly the same taste as one made with wheat, it still works and doesn't take away from the flavor. I look forward to eating if that gives you any confidence to try it. It really does look like the picture on the box too. Well, not the crust but the inside looks fresh and yummy. The crust...well you'll see how that went down below.

Don't be fooled by the mess. They turned out just fine. It's just that pot pies like to explode in our oven. The crust is still cooked and it tasted good. The gravy just felt a little left out and tried to join the party.

Not to mention that random pea. I don't know what happened there.

The pies cook for about an hour. That's pretty standard for a pie but a little longer than average for a frozen meal, but I think it's worth the wait because it's different but still a comfort food.

As a meal, my mother decided to add some asparagus for extra vegetable power. Not my first pick, but I don't have a choice. Nutritious though, if nothing else. I'm more of a sauteed green beans person.

I had a glass of rice milk to drink because it's a nice change from water every once in a while. It has a closer resemblance to normal milk than soy or almond, so I like it in that respect. It's a tad sweeter though, but I don't have a problem with that. Other people who have tried it haven't been as keen on it as I have. Maybe in cereal if you're not a sweet drink person?

The pot pie was delicious and I ate every bite of it. I've had this type one other time and it was just as good. One of my new favorites, for sure.


Don't forget to search for those gluten free alternatives to comfort food, because they're out there. I've found one of my favorites, and hopefully you'll like it too.

I found these pies next to the Amy's brand organic food in the organic frozen section at Kroger just in case you want to know where they're hiding.

Cross your fingers for another healthy day and no more renegade peas,
Kiki

Brownie Time: A Baking Day

Time to test out a boxed brownie mix! I always get excited when I get to make brownies in general, but now that everything is gluten-free, I don't know what's good and what isn't, so come along with me and I guess we'll see what happens!

This is Cherrybrook Kitchen's Gluten Free Dreams Fudge Brownie Mix. From the outside, it looks kind of childish, but I guess they want to appeal to children as well as adults so I don't mind. I didn't know when I picked it out, but the mix actually has chocolate chips in it, so you won't need any extra if you're the kind of person who likes double chocolate.

The directions say to pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and to use a 9x9 pan, but we only have 8x8's here so the brownie batter is just going to have to deal with it.

First off, I measured out two tablespoons of vegetable oil. It was the closest thing to me so I poured that in first.

I usually use a large mixing bowl for this whole situation because I tend to make a mess, but I try to contain it by using a massive bowl.

Next, add 2/3 cup of water

Make the awkward cut and slice 5 1/3 tablespoons of butter and melt it. Then pour it in the mixing bowl.

Pour in the brownie mix without spilling it all over the place.

Mix it up! It's a bit doughy, but don't worry. Things made of chocolate can't really turn out too bad, can they?

Pour to dough/batter into a pan using whatever mixing utensil you chose. My weapon of choice is a wooden spoon.

Leveled out in the pan and ready to bake!

It took about a half hour for them to finish. I threw away the box before looking at how long they were supposed to bake. (oops) Just keep an eye on them. Brownies don't really burn...

The finished brownies look like this. They look a little weird in the lighting but they're normal colored, don't worry. They have a little bit of a grainy texture as batter and you can see it when it's baked, but I couldn't really tell when I was eating it. I was distracted by the awesome taste. They are very rich but not too the point of sickness. It's good chocolate. I would recommend putting icing on them if you're one of those people. My family likes icing on our brownies. I know it's different for some people. If you would like to see my recipe for buttercream icing, let me know. I'd be happy to make a post about it. It is one of my favorite things to make, besides brownies.

They cut well, they don't stick to the pan, they taste delicious, and they are just filling enough for a perfect dessert.

I give this brownie mix a double thumbs up! Gluten free baked goods can be tasty. I promise.

By the way, I found this mix at Kroger but I'm sure you can find it in other grocery stores if they have a gluten-free section.

I hope you enjoyed reading this brownie review and feel compelled to bake something yourself.

Cross your fingers for another healthy day,
Kiki

Pasta Problems

After a successful day of grocery shopping, my mother decided to try out a new recipe for a pasta salad. It was on the back of a package of Hodgson Mill Gluten Free Angel Hair Pasta. The recipe called for tomatoes, basil, olive oil, some seasoning, capers (we skipped that) and this pasta. Sadly, this product is awful and after cooking it, it was immediately tossed. Sometimes flax seed and rice flour just don't work out. This was one of those times.

Luckily, we happened to pick up some Sam Mills Pasta d'oro made with corn instead of rice flour. The results from this pasta were much better than the former. As far as gluten-free pasta goes in general, Sam Mills is best at replicating a true wheat flour pasta consistency and it tastes good as well. You can't really go wrong with it unless you forget to put oil in the water when you cook it. Corn pasta tends to stick together if it isn't separated as it cooks. I mean, all pasta does that but it's worse with corn in comparison to wheat.

Finding a nice substitute in areas like bread and pasta can be difficult when trying to live a gluten-free life, but there is a way. Don't compromise on consistency or taste because there is a growing variety of products in most stores, so don't lose hope.

The best advice I can give is to try new things. It's better to think about all the possibilities instead of what you're missing because you can't eat wheat. It might be hard when there's a plate of spaghetti in front of you that you can't have, but trust me, there are plenty of other delicious things to eat that won't cause problems.

Cross your fingers for another healthy day,
Kiki