Semi-Homemade Gluten-Free Cupcakes

I like to focus on what I can do well...and do it really well.  What I can't be an expert in, I like to minimize. So, when it came time for me to whip up some desserts for Kalli's baby shower this past weekend, I took to the shelves in the g-free aisle at HyVee for some help.  I made two dozen vanilla cupcakes using Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake Mix.  When they were done baking, I let them cool.  Then, I cut out the center of the cupcakes and filled them with a raspberry filling using some frozen strawberries from my mother-in-law's garden last year.  (Side note:  the filling recipe could have been reduced to make only 1/4 of the recipe and I still would have excess.)  To make them look fancy, I piped some lovely store-bought Vanilla Pillsbury Frosting.  Then, I sprinkled them with some Wilton pink sparkles.  Basically, it was a Sandra-Lee-style g-free baking experience.  But, the cupcakes turned out perfectly and they were tasty.  So, win-win!

Thanksgiving Extravaganza

Last week, we celebrated Thanksgiving three times.  It was a Thanksgiving Extravaganza, and it was wonderful and exhausting.  I made lots of delicious goodies I was able to share at all the events (I planned out my recipes earlier last week here).  Thursday was the Haugo Family Thanksgiving in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.  After making all my goodies, Josh and I were an hour late.  We missed eating a warm dinner, but the cold leftovers were delicious!

I'm a stickler for fresh pumpkin pies.  As in, I only make pumpkin pies with fresh roasted pumpkin.  So, the first thing I did when I got off work on Wednesday was roast a pumpkin.

While the pumpkin was baking, I put together the ingredients for the fresh apple pie, mini pecan pies, mini salted caramel apple pies, and chocolate peanut butter pie.  It was a little hectic.  I baked for about 12 hours.  I finished baking everything and still had some extra pumpkin leftover so I made mini pumpkin whoopee pies.  These desserts were certainly a labor of love, and I was so happy to share the with our families.

Haugo Family Grandkids

The "older" Haugos

Friday, we headed up to Maplewood, Minnesota, for the Huntley Family Thanksgiving with Josh's mom's side of the family.  There were almost 30 family members in attendance, and it was great seeing them all.  Josh and I accidentally wore matching shirts.  It makes us easy to spot in the family photo.

Huntley Family Photo

Saturday, I hosted Thanksgiving dinner with my mom, sister, four kids, and Josh and Sophie. On Wednesday, I made the brine for the turkey.  It was my first time making a brine, and I feel very sophisticated for making a "fancy" turkey this year.  I also tried making mashed potatoes in a slow cooker.  The convenience of letting the potatoes cook for hours on their own seemed lovely, but I don't think I'll ever make them like that again.  They ended up being kind of hard (not like my normal fluffy version); I think they were overcooked and I wasn't impressed.  My sister took photos on her camera; the only one I took was of my delicious peanut butter chocolate pie.  I doubled the peanut butter filling...and I don't think I'll ever go back to the original recipe.  More peanut butter is always better.

Gluten-Free Thanksgiving Menu

Thanksgiving is this week, and we have three wonderful family-packed celebrations coming up.  I like to bring desserts to two of our family events).  Since no one else in our families eats g-free, I do my best to make sure what I bring is delicious and doesn't taste weird (I don't want to be "that" family member who brings the food everyone else avoids).  Here's what I have on my menu.

For Thursday and Friday's Thanksgiving celebrations, I'm bringing Salted Caramel Apple Bites, Mini Pecan Pies (it's a family recipe; I'll show pictures once I make them), an apple pie (with this awesome crust mix from the Gluten Free Pantry), and Pumpkin Whoopie Pies.

(source)

For Saturday, I'm hosting the dinner, so I'll be making more than just dessert.  Here's what's on the menu: a lovely roasted turkey (and thanks to The Pioneer Woman's show yesterday, I know how I'll be making it), whipped potatoes (I make them a little different every time I make them), cornbread stuffing (from a Whole Foods recipe), gravy (made with cornstarch like this recipe), roasted acorn squash, and a peanut butter chocolate pie for dessert (from Simply Gluten-Free).  Since I'm the difficult one to cook for, I like to make the tricky menu items and ask my guests to bring the easy stuff (like cranberries, veggies, and beverages).  After church this morning, we purchased all the ingredients, so I'm ready to rock for this food-packed week!
 

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Mash

I've wanted to make cauliflower mash for a while, but finally got around to making it tonight. Minna made it for my birthday dinner last month, and I've been dreaming of it ever since! It was surprisingly easy to make. Here's how I did it.

Sweet Potato Cauliflower Mash
1 head cauliflower
1 sweet potato
4 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Dash seasoned salt

Boil chicken stock, and add chopped sweet potato and cauliflower. When fully cooked, remove from heat and drain. Use a potato masher to mash ingredients. Add parmesan cheese and season with garlic and seasoned salt.

Tasty (and fast) Gluten-free Dinner

Tonight I made an amazing dinner: baked salmon with balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts. It was delicious and easy. I cleaned the Brussels sprouts like I did yesterday, then made the same olive oil, salt and pepper mixture, but added a little bit of balsamic (probably a tablespoon). They baked for the same length of time. For the salmon, I sprinkled on some Magic Salmon Seasoning (it's g-free) and baked the filets for about six minutes at 450. Easy and tasty - it really doesn't get much better than that!

Gluten-Free Halloween Candy

I bought the biggest bag of Halloween candy yesterday at Costco.  Of course, I opted for the good stuff - chocolate.  Thank goodness I only had a few kids come over to trick-or-treat (we have beggar's night the day before Halloween in my 'hood), so I have a lot of leftovers.  Then, today, I found a great website (myglutenfacts.com) that shows a listing of g-free Halloween candy.  Below are my favorites (and almost all of them are in my bag of chocolate candy leftovers!).

Fab Finds: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I love Brussels sprouts. Ever since I can remember, I've obsessed over them. I always wanted them for my birthday dinner growing up. My mom used to have to plate them one by one so my sister and I wouldn't fight over who had more (because we both wanted to have the most). Now, as a mature adult, I still obsess. Today, while at Costco, I thought I'd try out the packaged raw Brussels sprouts. I've only cooked them when purchased frozen, and I always steam them. However, I try to experience new things periodically, so I made the recipe below.

Roasted Brussels sprouts
1 pound of Brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Mix olive oil, salt and pepper in a quart ziplock bag. Wash produce thoroughly and trim any excess stems from the Brussels sprouts. Cut in half and toss in bag, allowing mixture to cover well. Spread on a baking sheet and bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Gluten-free Pantry Staples

I love my pantry. I love to keep staples in it, so I'm not running to the grocery store on a regular basis (or even weekly). Even though I follow a pretty strict g-free diet, I still manage to find things that can last for a little bit on my pantry shelves.

I also find solace in having an organized pantry. I organize it like a grocery store - I make departments for all my "like" items. For instance, the top shelf has cereals, chips, popcorn (and the popcorn maker), and coffee goods. The second shelf has canned veggies, soups and broths, snacks (at eye level), root vegetables, rice, quinoa, and dried beans. The next shelf has ingredients for Italian, Asian, and Mexican meals next to sweets (peanut butter, Nutella, dried fruit, and coconut), and then drink mixtures (tea, hot chocolate, emergen-c, etc.). The shelf below that has baking supplies and Sophie's treats. The floor (that you can't really see) is where I store large carrying cases (for my Pyrex and cupcakes), sun tea jar, grilling utensils, wine, and my crock pot.

I have my pantry down to a science. It works for me and I love it being organized (without the hassle of having everything in coordinating containers).

Slow Down

Every year, I get at least one sinus infection. I haven't had one since January, but this week I felt one coming on. They always start out as "allergy" problems that quickly escalade to major congestion, sinus pressure, sore ears, coughing, sneezing, and a fever. I felt it coming on last week, but it hit me hard on Monday night.

I took today to slow down and go to the doctor. Then, when my mom got off work, she stopped over with soup and a pumpkin spice latte from Panera. She's amazing. Sophie loved mom playing with her, and I loved the menthol face massage and her help cleaning up the kitchen. It's pretty wonderful to have such a thoughtful mom. I'm a lucky girl.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

The holidays are right around the corner (it's October 2 already!)...and that means lots of family get-togethers...with lots of food.  I typically struggle at any pot-luck as not many people bring gluten-free options.  I'm pretty sure this spinach artichoke dip recipe I found on the Undressed Skeleton blog (below) is going to make the cut this year.  Paired with some Food Should Taste Good chips, I'm pretty sure no one will notice it's gluten-free!  However, if they do, there will be more for me to eat...

Healthy Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Fab Finds: Undressed Skeleton Blog

I was pinning some lovely g-free recipes on Pinterest tonight, when I stumbled upon a new blog:  Undressed Skeleton.  She's a cute girl (from Ottumwa, Iowa) who lives in Chicago and lives a healthy lifestyle (read about her amazing weight-loss story here).  Her recipes aren't all g-free, but she has some really delicious-looking (and low-calorie) recipes I'm dying to try.  Below are some recipes I plan to make this week.

Creamy Garlic Butternut Squash Soup

Cauliflower Mash

Creamy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal

Quick and Easy Dinner

I didn't feel like making anything for dinner tonight. After coming to grips with the fact that I have very few options, and I'm not ok with starving, I whipped up this crazy concoction: Quinoa with shredded chicken, chickpeas, and dried cranberries. The shredded chicken was in the freezer; I made it on Sunday for occasions such as this! Everything else was in my pantry. Overall, I like the meal. It turned out a little salty, but I can deal with it. Here's the recipe.

Quinoa Fall Medley
1 cup quinoa
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
Dash of salt
1/4 cup shredded chicken
1/2 can chickpeas
2 tablespoons dried cranberries

Boil water and broth with dash of salt. Add quinoa and reduce heat to low; cover and let simmer for 15 minutes. Add shredded chicken, chickpeas and cranberries. Mix together and serve.

I'm contemplating adding feta crumbles tomorrow. We'll see how wild I get!

Fab Finds: Gluten-Free Cupcakes in Des Moines

It's one of my co-worker's birthdays today.  He brought in some beautiful cupcakes from Creme, a cupcake bakery right here in Des Moines.  They were out of gluten-free cupcakes when he was there yesterday, but I think I should probably make a journey to the bakery (it's a five-minute drive from the office; 20-minutes from home).  Check out some of their cupcake images below (or read their menu here).  If your mouth isn't watering now, it will be in approximately .0482729 seconds...

(source)

(source)

On Weekends, they're open until midnight, and serve adult beverages with the cupcakes.  I think this might just be a perfect date night with the hubs.

(source)

Gluten-Free Italian Medley Lasagna

I like to use recipes as a guide, but I don't like to follow them exactly.  When I started making lasagna tonight, I looked at the recipe on the side of the box of noodles, but knew I wasn't going to make it like that (however, I did appreciate the layering and baking instructions).  I've had canned mushrooms, artichokes, spinach, and black olives in my pantry for a while now that I'd been waiting to use, but hadn't been brave enough to use them yet.  So, tonight was the night.  Below is the recipe I made up.  It's delicious, and I hope you love it, too.  Actually, I hope you don't, because then there will be more for me to eat.

  
Gluten-Free Italian Medley Lasagna
(Serves 12)
1 box of De Boles Gluten-Free Rice Lasagna
1 pound Graziano sausage (you can use spicy Italian sausage or any other ground up meat)
2 tablespoons frozen basil (I use Dorot)
2 small cans of sliced mushrooms (could use fresh)
1 small can of sliced black olives
1 can of artichokes
1 can of spinach (could substitute fresh or frozen)
1 egg
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large can of spaghetti sauce (I used a four cheese plus two jelly jars of my mother-in-law's homemade spaghetti sauce)

Brown sausage in a skillet. When the meat is almost browned, mix in the basil, mushrooms, black olives, artichokes and spinach.  Continue cooking for approximately five minutes.  In a small bowl, mix the egg with half of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. 

In a 9x13 pan, layer as follows:  spaghetti sauce, noodles, meat and vegetable medley mixture, cheese mixture, then repeat (I had two sets of layers). Tip: make sure your noodles are coated with the spaghetti sauce for every layer (otherwise they won't cook all the way through).  Drizzle one more layer of spaghetti sauce.  Then, mix together remaining cheese and sprinkle on top of lasagna.  Before you put it in the oven, cover with tin foil.  Tip:  If you spray your tin foil with Pam, the cheese won't stick to the tin foil.  Bake for one hour.  Then, remove tin foil and broil for five minutes (to brown the cheese). 

2012 Iowa Celiac Conference

I just saw this on Facebook, and now I really want to go.  The 2012 Iowa Celiac Conference is in Ames on September 22 (that's this Saturday).  Josh is going on some all-day golf tournament/day-drinking event, so I'm free to go...if I can find someone to go with me.  Any takers?  I'm a really fun person and promise to have really stimulating conversation!

(source)

Fab Finds: Forkly

On Sunday, I had brunch with Jaime - a good friend from high school - at Blackbird Cafe in Minneapolis.  We both ordered The Colleen Obrien [rancheros plus house made chorizo & avocado].  It was delicious.  Pretty much every time I'm up in Minneapolis, Jaime and I have the opportunity to catch up and it's really wonderful (typically, we reconnect over a lovely meal).  We learn a lot from one another, and now that Jaime is working full-time on her MBA, I know she'll have even more wonderful things to share with me.  This week, she introduced me to a new iPhone app:  Forkly.  If you like food, you should probably download it.  It's kind of like FourSquare and Twitter had a baby.  You take pictures of food (from restaurants), rate it, and then share it.  The goal is to become a Tastemaker, which means the foods you photographed (and likely ate) was loved by your followers...basically, it means you're respected in the food world.  I think this may become a new addiction of mine as it could open up a door to the eating-out g-free world...

forkly

The Great Minnesota Get-Together

This past Saturday, I attended the Minnesota State Fair.  It was pretty similar to the Iowa State Fair, except I think there were more people there.  I met up with Gena and Luke (who had just moved in to his freshman dorm at the University of Minnesota), and we spent the evening together walking around the fair, eating food, and people-watching.  Iowa has some great people-watching, but I think Minnesota's people-watching is far better.  I saw a tattoo that was written on a lady's back...but the font was reversed (I'm guessing so they lady could read it when she stands in front of the mirror and looks at herself with a hand-held mirror?).  I saw a completely unhappy couple taking a self-portrait (the woman was about 8 months preggers, and the man was disinterested in her and the terrible photo they took together).  It was an awesome people-watching evening.  Plus, the weather was fabulous - high 80s with a light breeze (just like it was for Cassie's wedding the day before).  I didn't get a chance to enjoy Sweet Martha's Cookies, but the French fries I had were heavenly (and gluten-free).  Also, we ran into Cassie's mom and sister, and Josh's cousins, Natalie and Derek.  I'd say it was a great get-together.

Making spin art for $4

Can't wait to frame this masterpiece!

Delicious French Fries

Gena's deep-fried pickles

Luke's Dippin Dots (they don't have these in Alaska)

Natalie and Derek working hard at the cheese curd stand

 After we had our fill of the fair, Gena drove us over to the U of M so Luke could give us a tour of his dorm room.  I can't believe Luke is old enough to go to college.  I remember his first (and second) year of kindergarten like it was just yesterday...where did the time go!

He's a college guy now!

Fab Finds: Protein Shakes

I've been drinking this smoothie for a couple of years, but I thought I'd share it anyway.  I'm purchasing another giant container of it this week, so I figured it was worthy fab find.

It's the Amplify smoothie, and I purchase it at GNC.  I get the chocolate flavor in a 2-pound container (it contains 30 servings/scoops).  Blended together with 8 oz. of skim milk, 3 ice cubes, and 1/2 a banana is my favorite way to drink it.  Also, having the Magic Bullet to blend it allows me to literally grab and go in the morning...or when I want it for dinner (like I did tonight).  I don't think I get enough protein in my regular diet, so ingesting 20 grams in a protein shake is really the easiest way for me to get it.  If you're in the market for a tasty low-calorie, high-protein smoothie, check it out.

Wellness

I had my wellness assessment at work this morning.  We get a discount on our health insurance if we complete it, and I actually look forward to it every year.  This has been the first full year I've been gluten-free, and I think it's been a good thing for me.  I didn't eliminate gluten to lose weight; I eliminated it to feel human and rid myself of years of tummy troubles (that's the nice way of saying it).  Anyway, this year's wellness assessment was actually nice.  I wasn't told I was at risk for being obese (maybe that's in the digital version I'll receive later).  I didn't get shuffled around between stations (they now have one person check your weight, height, body fat, measure your waist, and perform the blood test).  I had a lovely conversation with my wellness assessor (I made up her title; I'm pretty sure that's not her official title).  Her husband is a farmer in Bondurant and will get a 50% discount if he takes his corn to get dried at the grain elevator if he drops it off by Friday.  We bonded.  Anyway, so the really great part of my wellness assessment was this: I lost five pounds and three inches from my waist this past year.  Maybe it's from working out more intentionally (as in actually trying when I'm there and not pouting like a moody teenager about having to be there), but I guess my mom was right when she said I look "less bloated" now that I'm not eating gluten.  Oh, mom...gotta love the pure honesty.

And speaking of honesty, a friend of mine shared this hilarious blog with me.  It's written from the perspective of a toddler.  You will laugh, I promise.

Feels Good to be Home

Josh came home this weekend.  It felt right.  Sophie and I were pumped to see him.  Anytime Sophie saw his hand dangling off the bed or the sofa, she decided it was time to wrestle.  She loves to wrestle with Josh.  She and I don't wrestle.  We tried last week, but gave up because we both realized it's unnatural for us to wrestle; we cuddle. 

Sophie is happy to have her wrestling buddy home.

Yesterday it rained all day, which made it seem like an even better, relaxing Saturday.  We had three things on our agenda this weekend:  do Josh's laundry (check), schedule a haircut for Josh (check), and take advantage of Des Moines' Restaurant Week (check).  When Josh only has two weeks worth of laundry to do, it gets done really quickly!  I think it only took four loads.  That's a record.  Also, after months of asking if I could schedule a haircut, magically he obliged on Saturday.  Within ten minutes of his request, I had one scheduled.  Then, we made a reservation at Alba, one of our favorite restaurants in Des Moines.  They had a fixed menu for Restaurant Week, and it had the largest selection of options of the few restaurants we were interested in.  I called at 11 AM to make a reservation; the earliest available was 8:30 PM.  I took it since we didn't have anything else going on yesterday.  Any other day, I would have had to had an early dinner before the 8:30 dinner. 

Our meals were amazing!  For starters, Josh had the Iowa Sweet Corn Soup - Puffed Bacon / Chive Oil / Tomato Jam; I had the Chameleon Farms Heirloom Tomato Salad - Basil Caramel / House Made Ricotta / Zucchini Crouton.  For the main course, Josh had the Hanger Steak - Crushed Yukon Potatoes / Crispy Onion Rings / Blue Collar Sauce and I had the Pork Loin Duo - Mexican Chorizo /Yukon Potatoes /Sweet Corn / Scallion.  For dessert, Josh had the Sticky Roll Bread Pudding - Vanilla Bean Ice Cream / Pecan Pralines; I had the Salted Caramel Crème Brule - Espresso Brittle.  Josh and I both enjoyed our starters.  We favored my pork dish over his steak.  His bread pudding was amazing; my crème brule was very sweet and I couldn't finish it.  First time ever not finishing a crème brule.  Finding g-free food in Des Moines is actually pretty easy...even during Restaurant Week!

It's Sunday, and I have a million things to do - print Cassie's wedding invitations, workout, do a little laundry, do some mending and ironing...  I wish it could stay the weekend forever...