The Perfect Dinner Roll

I liked my original roll recipe okay, but it was not perfect.  When I first made them I thought the problem was that I didn't let them rise enough, they were just kind of heavy, especially when they cooled down.  They still tasted great, and didn't turn into rocks, like some of my other experiments.  So, I figured that they were the closest thing I had to a success...that is until I had my duh moment.  I have a fantastic bread recipe, why am I trying to reinvent the wheel, when I already have something that works...duh!!! So here are the results of my duh moment, and they were delicious, the perfect consistency and not too filling...I ate two after dinner...so yes, they are perfect, or as perfect as I have been able to achieve so far with my baking. :)

Perfect Dinner Rolls

Use my bread recipe, except grease muffin tins instead of a bread loaf pan.  Scoop dough into muffin tins by using a spring release cookie dough scoop (1 1/2"- 2" size).

Cover and allow to rise for 20 minutes.  Then bake at 400F for 20-25 minutes.  After 15 minutes, top with soy-free margarine to help with browning.

These would also make great slider buns...maybe we'll have to have those tomorrow. :)

Mashed Potato Cakes and Sweet Potato Biscuits

So, I'm still on my kick for using up my Thanksgiving leftovers and today is all about the sides.  I have tons of mashed potatoes and sweet potato casserole, so here is what I did to deplete those....The mashed potato cakes are scrumptious, just like anything fried.  It's crispy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside.  And the sweet potato biscuits, are sweet of course, but have enough salt to balance it out and so you can still call it a biscuit.  They didn't rise much, so I was worried, but they were moist and light, and I couldn't stop eating them, mainly I was trying to get my tastbuds a chance to understand what it was eating (Sweet Potato Fries do that to me, too, something about the sweet but savory combo).  I think these biscuits would be great for a turkey sandwich...hmm maybe I should try that tomorrow. ;)

Mashed Potato Cakes (adapted from here)
2 cups left over mashed potatoes, chilled
1 egg
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
~1/4 cup gluten-free flour
~1/3 cup gluten free corn flake crumbs
canola oil

Directions

1. Mix potatoes, egg, parsley, and onion powder.
2. If mashed potatoes are too moist, add flour, until you can easily for patties, I needed 1/4 cup
3. Form into 6 patties about 1/2" thick.
4. Dip in crumbs.
5. Saute in canola oil over medium heat, adding more as needed, until crispy and golden brown on both sides.

We ate ours with leftover gravy, and my husband (who doesn't eat leftovers) ate two. :)

Sweet Potato Biscuits (adapted from here)
1 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons palm oil shortening
3/4 cup mashed sweet potatoes (I used our leftovers from our sweet potato casserole, minus the topping)
1/4 cup So Delicious Original Coconut Milk or rice milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.  Cut in the shortening.  Mix in the sweet potatoes, and enough milk to make a soft dough (I needed 1/4 cup).
3. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and roll or pat out to 1/2" thickness.  Cut into circles using a biscuit cutter.  Place biscuits onto a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

These are sweet, and I think they were extra sweet because I used the casserole leftovers...but they are like most sweet potato recipes...they are sweet, yet not sweet.  And you keep eating them because your tastebuds don't understand what's just hit them. :)

Turkey and Green Chili Gorditas

Once again, I'm using up my leftover turkey and trying to change the flavors enough that my family will not think they are eating leftovers...and this was beyond a success, if stuffing yourself until you're ready to pop, counts as a success.

My boys actually loved the gorditas dipped in ranch...simple, yet they actually tried something new. :)

We'll start with the gorditas, I've never had gorditas before, let alone made them, but they sounded good, so I gave them a shot.  I modified the recipe on the back of my masa flour package and this is what it is:

Gorditas

2 cups Masa flour
1/4 cup gluten-free all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons palm oil shortening
1 1/2 cups warm water
canola oil for frying

Directions
1. Heat griddle to medium heat

2. Combine masa, flour, baking powder and salt.  Add shortening and water.  Knead until all ingredients are well blended and you are able to form a ball.  Divide dough into 14 balls.  Keep dough cover.  Using a rolling pin or your hands, press each ball out to form a circle that has about a 5-inch diameter (don't worry if they are smaller) and is 1/4" thick.

3. To form and cook the gorditas, lay gordita on preheated griddle.  Cook each side for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned.  While still wearm, pinch edge to form a 1-inch rim.  It should look like a small saucer.

4. Preheat over to 170F. Line a cookie sheet or baking pan with paper towels. Set aside.

5. To fry gorditas, use a large frying pan.  Add enough oil to cover bottom and fry 2 to 3 gorditas at a time for 1 to 2 minutes, turning frequently, until both sides are golden brown and crisp. Place fried gorditas in the baking pan and set in oven to keep warm.

6. Top with whatever toppings you like...shredded beef, pork, or my turkey and green chilies below, along with lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

Turkey and Green Chili Filling


1/2 C turkey gravy (if you don't have any add ~1/4 cup chicken stock)
3 C chopped turkey
7 oz can chopped green chili peppers
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together in saucepan, until warm and bubbly. Serve over gorditas, or for enchiladas, burritos, on top of rice, etc. :)

This post is featured on The Whole Gang's Real Food Weekly.

Barbecue Turkey Pizza

Well, I'm sure you can guess from the title...I'm trying to use up my leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.  Honestly, I love just eating leftovers, having my Thanksgiving meal over and over...but my family doesn't.  My husband refuses to eat anything that's classified as a leftover, so I have to get creative, so it doesn't appear to be leftovers.  This first recipe, really isn't a recipe, just what I did to use up some of the turkey, mainly because my favorite type of pizza before this new diet was Pier 49's Lombard Street--which is a barbecue chicken pizza...this worked to fill my craving. :)

Barbecue Turkey Pizza

barbecue sauce
cooked turkey, chopped
cooked pizza crust
cheese or dairy-free alternative (optional)
olive oil

Directions
Toss turkey with 1-2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce, set aside.  Brush Pizza Crust with Olive Oil. Spread the rest of the barbecue sauce onto the pizza crust and top with turkey and cheese.

Bake on a pizza stone at 450F for 6-8 minutes

Caramel Chex Mix

In my Thanksgiving menu, I mentioned that I was going to make this to snack on, and of course, I did.  But when I made it, I was reminded how little I like measuring out 9 cups of cereal...in fact, I refuse to do that.  Why does Chex make recipes that don't just allow us to dump the box of Chex (which contains about 13 cups), instead of measuring it out?  So, I've posted their recipe modified, so I can use the whole box, well, both boxes actually, and use a saucepan and oven instead of the microwave.  Warning, this makes a ton, and you will eat it all! Oh, and of course, it's gluten-free, dairy-free and soy-free!

Caramel Chex Mix

1 box (~13 cups) Rice Chex cereal
1 box (~13 cups) Corn Chex cereal
3 cups packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups Earth Balance soy-free margarine
3/4 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

Directions
1. Heat oven to 250F.  Spray a couple of large cookie sheets and/or roasting pans with cooking spray. Dump cereal into pans.
2. In a large saucepan, stir together brown sugar, margarine, and corn syrup.  Cook and stir 8-9 minutes over medium-high heat until mixture starts to boil.  Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat.  Stir in baking soda. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until evenly coated.
4. Bake 40-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until coating is set.
5. Spread on waxed paper to cool, about 10 minutes.  Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.