Simple Delights.

Homemade Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Ok I decided to try a recipe I found online that had a lot of great reviews. 

And I'm so happy that I did because this pizza crust turned out to be really awesome.

 The thing I love is that you get a pretty good sized pizza from this and it makes a great crunchy flavorful crust. 

mmmmmm

GOSH do I love PIZZA!

There is something so comforting about a piping hot slice of this wonderful dish to make the corners of your mouth just turn up and smile!

Who can turn down an awesome slice of pizza???
Is there really anyone out there that can?

NOT ME!

And I think the main reason it's so loved is because it's so versatile.
Literally what ever you want ...
WHAT EVER YOU WANT
 you can pile it on!
 

Which brings me to my question.

You know. 

What do you love the most on your pizza?

Is it BBQ sauce? - Fresh Basil? - Alfredo Sauce? - Fresh Tomatoes?

Tell me!

I really want to know.

So post a comment and tell me your favs

and Ill pick one to try

:)

 

Ok enough lolly-gagging
 ~~~~ on to the recipe ~~~~

Here is what you'll need:

• 1 tablespoon dry yeast
• ²⁄₃; cup brown rice flour
• ½ cup tapioca flour
• 2 tablespoons powdered milk (Dairy alternative, 2 T tapioca flour or sweet rice flour in place of 2 T dry milk powder or non-dairy) or 2 tablespoons non-dairy powdered coffee creamer (Dairy alternative, 2 T tapioca flour or sweet rice flour in place of 2 T dry milk powder or non-dairy)
• 2 teaspoons xanthan gum
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• ²⁄₃; cup water (110 degrees F)
• ½ teaspoon sugar or ½ teaspoon honey or ½ teaspoon agave syrup
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. In medium bowl using regular beaters (not dough hooks), blend all ingredients on low speed.
3. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes.
4. (If mixer bounces around bowl, dough is too stiff. Add water if necessary, one tablespoon at a time, until dough does not resist beaters.) Dough will resemble soft bread dough.
5. Put mixture on lightly greased 12-inch pizza pan or 11 x 7-inch pan (for deep dish version).
6. Liberally drizzle olive oil onto dough, then press dough into pan, continuing to drizzle with oil to prevent sticking to hands (you can use rice flour for this instead of oil if you wish)
7. Make edges slightly thicker to hold toppings.
8. Bake pizza crust for 10 minutes.
9. Remove from oven.
10. Spread pizza crust with your favorite sauce and toppings.
11. Bake another 15 to 20 minutes or until top is nicely browned. For a crispier crust place directly onto oven rack. You can cook longer depending on how crispy you like your crust. :)
    

    

    
    

    
    

    

    I got this recipe from Food.com so if you would like to see the reviews or photos of other pizzas just click the link below.
    
    

    Read more: on Food.com

 Crunchy Crust is what our kids love! So this recipe is a hit at our house.

I have a lot of ideas on what I would like to do with this dough too.

Say...
Like those
Lunchable Pizza's 
that the kids love to take to school for lunch.

I whipped up a batch of dough and got 4 nice sized pizzas out of it.
{Next time I will make them a tad thinner and will probably be able to get 5 mini pizza's out of it}

Any how I was super excited about how they turned out!!!
Can't use them all right away?
No problem!
Freeze them for a quick snack or lunch.

I have to tell you I am really loving this idea!

Check out baby-cakes below making her own pizza.

 Anna loved them and is super excited about taking these cute little mini pizzas in her lunch.
Kids love making things on their own,
especially their own food.
 Which is why
this type of lunch is always a big hit!

She had a blast whipping up her very own mini pizza and gobbled it down while watching cartoons
and took just enough time to glance away from the TV and give me a
big Ole Thumbs Up!

{PS I have more ideas on ways to work this dough.}
Stay tuned as I bring your more doughy goodness in the weeks to come.

Bon Appetit!
 

GF Chocolate-Chocolate Valentine Cupcakes

Tomorrow is the first birthday party Anna will attended since going Gluten Free.

I wanted my little princess to have yummy cupcakes just like the other kids, 

not feel slighted 

and join in the festivities just like all the rest.

SO

I whipped up a batch of

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Cupcakes

and added a pretty pink

Valentine Twist 

to it. 

Let's Take A Look At How I Got This 

Pretty Little Project Rolling

Shall we?

First I got all my cooking supplies out 

and got busy.

I must mention you will need 

1 Cup of Water

1 Stick of Butter

&

3 Eggs

This was my first time making these and the box says it makes 12 cupcakes.

So I used every drop of the batter and it filled the cups pretty full.

For those of you who are new to this like myself a non-gluten free recipe filled this much would have had huge cupcakes spilling over onto the top of the pan. 

So I followed the directions assuming these wouldn't rise as much as I am accustomed to 

and I was right.

 

 Pink Chocolate Heart Toppers

These were super easy to make. 

I used half a bag of 

GhirardelliWhite Chocolate Chips

and followed the directions on the back of the bag for melting.

Added a little 

Wilton Pink Food Coloring

then spooned into my

handy squeeze bottle

and 

started drawing hearts

onto a wax papered cookie sheet.

I placed mine into a cool place to firm up while I got the icing going.

Now Onto the Icing!

I just used 

The Betty Crocker Milk Chocolate Icing

being all new to this I wanted a quick and easy icing and 

this just worked.

To get the look 

all you need is a 

Wilton Icing Bag

and an

icing tip of your choice!

Easy enough.

For those of you out there who always find yourself alone in the kitchen

well here's a great,

NO FUMBLE

way to get the icing in the bag.

First - Drop the coupling into the bag.

Second - Place the tip into a cup and fold the edges over.

Third - Spoon in your icing.

Lastly - Clip the tip of the bag and place your icing tip onto the bag.

That's it!

{Pretty easy, hu?}

 Squeeze the icing to the end of the bag and get busy dressing up your little cupcake masterpieces!

 

The pretty paisley skirts I found at Walmart. Made by Reynolds and they are no fade.

Before you know it

You'll have a crowd

working their way into the kitchen for a 

one of your

Decadent Chocolate Cupcakes!

 

The Teen Sensation wasted no time downing her cupcake and proceeded to tell me...

MOMMY IT WAS AWESOME!!

{The smile says it all}

Everyone gave these yummy little chocolate

pretty's a big

THUMBS UP!

Best of Luck and Hope you Enjoyed!

Kimmy :)

I got this postcard in an order I received from Columbia University the other day and wanted to share it with you.

I haven't checked out her cookbook yet but the cupcake recipe on the back of the card sounds yummy. :)

Broccoli Cornbread

 This recipe is a classic in my family. We love it. So much in fact that when it comes out of the oven
we begin devouring it.

Chunk by Chunk

So when I was diagnosed and was told Gluten had to be removed from my diet one of the dishes I wondered if I would ever be able to eat again was my
Mom's Broccoli Cornbread.

Oh yum.
It's just so darn delicious.
I mean, I have even turned people who won't touch cornbread
onto this dish!
My husband was the first.
Then I got his Mom and Dad too!

Watch out you might be next!
{I snicker}

So I knew I had to find a way to make this again. So here I was on another mission.
And as it turns out, this mission wasn't impossible or even hard for that matter.

Let's take a look...

So I did a tad bit of research and found Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix and after talking to my cousin was told it's very similar to Jiffy Cornbread Mix, which is an ingredient in my Mom's version of Broccoli Cornbread.

I noticed that Jiffy Cornbread Mix comes in an 8.5 oz box. 

So I knew I would need to use that much plus my Mom's recipe calls for an additional 3/4 cup of regular cornmeal per the recipe.
But I didn't have that so I made modifications.
I've rewritten the recipe below so you don't have to think about it. :)

so....

I decided after opening the cornmeal mix that I needed to add some sugar to it because Jiffy is rather sweet and this really didn't have the same sweetness to it. 

So I added 2 Tablespoons of sugar the get the sweet Jiffy taste.

So here is what you will need

1 Box of Broccoli

12 oz Cottage Cheese - I used Breakstones

1 Small Onion - Finely Chopped

3 Large Eggs

1/2 Stick of Butter

1-3/4 cups of Bob's Cornbread Mix

2 Tablespoons Sugar
9x13 pan

Preparing Your Pan
Put butter in the pan and place in the oven while it preheats to 425.
{You will put your batter into this once the butter is melted and crackling.}

Mixing the Cornbread Mix
Thaw the broccoli and drain place in bowl. Add cottage cheese, 3 eggs, minced onion, cornbread mix and sugar. Stir by hand until well incorporated. 

The mixture will be thick.

So don't think you've done something wrong, you're right on track!

See below how thick my mixture was.

Spread into pan and bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Spread it out in the pan.

When you pull it from the oven it should be a nice golden brown.

Cut, serve and enjoy!

My husband doesn't like cornbread but he has always loved this recipe.
He tasted this modified recipe and gave it a big thumbs up!

I'm so happy over how this turned out.
_________________________________________________________

This recipe is for my Mom.

Mommy

I

 YOU!

Peanut Butter Cookies

These cookies are just delicious.

The kids loved them and so did the Hubs and I.

They are great in lunch boxes. Make fantastic after dinner desserts or 

simply

satisfy that sweet tooth.

Just ask my kids.

We definitely give this 5 STARS!!!

I found this recipe on 

Whole Foods 

website and it came with a lot of 

and the greatest thing is...

This gluten-free version of a classic does not require a special flour blend; it can be assembled with Basic Pantry Staples
{and a sprinkle of love}

OH JOY!!!!

Ingredients

1 large egg
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup creamy unsweetened peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat together egg, sugar, baking soda and vanilla in a standing mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand-held mixer. Beat in the peanut butter. Stir in chocolate chips if using
or sprinkle with a little sugar like I did.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, pressing lightly with the back of a fork.
Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly set. Transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Nutrition

Per serving (3 cookies): 200 calories (110 from fat), 12g total fat, 3g saturated fat, 6g protein, 19g total carbohydrate (2g dietary fiber, 16g sugar), 20mg cholesterol, 210mg sodium

Want to check out the recipe online at Whole Foods?

visit

Whole Foods GF Peanut Butter Cookies

Hope you enjoy! :)

Gluten Free Lip Balms

As winter presses on, even though we are in the deep south and we aren't having horrible cold weather, our lips are getting that nice winter chap. 

UG!

So before I put my old lip balm on my lips or even offered some to my kiddos I wanted to do some research and see what's out there

for those of us who are 

Gluten Free

and

what I found out was pretty interesting.

First thing I learned is leave the Blog photos to the kids.

LOL

Need I say more. 

Oh I kill myself!

Can't help but laugh at these.  

But scroll on down and let's take a look at the findings...

Shall we???

 

So here you have it. 

My compilation of a few lip balms that will help your lips stay soft, supple and totally kissable during the harsh winter months while also protecting you well into the summer with sunscreen!

And since most of us are visual folks

I created some lovely little visuals for you guys 

to show you just what's out there! 

{From a Gluten Free perspective of course. :)}

First up is Softlips. Gosh do I love their lip balm. They smell great and are free of a lot of the nasty stuff we should never put on or in our bodies.

Not to mention they are nice and small which makes it easy for me to take them with me on my runs. 

Bonus!

http://www.softlips.com/naturals.php

Second up is

EOS

in case you are wondering that stands for

{Evolution of Smooth}

anyhow...

I've seen these in the stores and never picked one up but I can tell you that I am so gonna get one of these now. They have wonderful flavors, you get a lot of balm in a container and 

who wouldn't love the packaging.

Yeah! Yeah! I admit it I'm a sucker for some good packaging.

But this brand goes way beyond great packaging. 

They have a high quality product and getting super reviews online!

http://evolutionofsmooth.com/products_lip_sphere.html

Carmex

You just have to love a brand that comes out and says

Nope, Not even a speck of Gluten is in their products!

You go 

CARMEX!!!!

I got the clear Moisture Plus for my teen

and she

LOVES IT!

This is a great product and keeps those lips pretty and

kissable all year round.

http://www.carmex.com

Vaseline Lip Therapy

How can you go wrong here.

Great little container, same great product they have made for years

&

and with a

No Gluten 

guarantee.

Can you say

P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

NIVEA

responded super quick with the below email

but couldn't confirm any of their lip products were free of gluten.

What about the ever popular

ChapStick

ChapStick answers The Following Questions

on their site

But for some reason I feel they are dancing around 

the
Wheat 
subject.

You decide.

They answer a lot of allergen questions related to the ingredients in their products however as you can see..

I appears they don't want to touch 

the 

Wheat.

You can read more at 

www.ChapStick.com 

by clicking on the

Product FAQ's

found at the bottom of the page.

______________________________________________________________________________

As always...

Do your 

HOMEWORK 

&

DOUBLE CHECK

company websites,
write or even call,

as you never know when they may

change their product ingredients.

Hope this post has been helpful.

If it was

drop me a line or comment.

I love to hear from my readers.

Now get some balm on those pretty little lips!

Kimmy :)

The Gluten Free Booty