Better Than A Ride In Santa's Sleigh Christmas Poke Cake

Better Than A Ride In Santa's Sleigh Christmas Poke Cake

1 Betty Crocker Devil's Food GF chocolate cake mix, baked according to the directions on the box. (except, bake in a 9x13 pan. Cake will be thinner, but better for the  recipe)

1 cup peppermint dairy creamer (Coffeemate is gluten free)

14.5 oz sweetened condensed milk

1 jar hot fudge sundae sauce

1/4 cup peppermint dairy creamer

1 cup crushed Gluten Free Oreo type cookie  

8 oz Cool Whip

Andes Peppermint Chips for topping (approximately 1 1/2 cups) (yep they are gluten free)

Crushed gluten free Oreos for topping (approximately 1 cup)

Instructions

1. Once the cake has cool, use the bottom of a wooden spoon to poke LOTS of holes in the cake.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and 1 cup of the peppermint Coffeemate. Pour over the cake, trying to fill in the holes.
3. In the same bowl, whisk together the hot fudge sundae sauce and 1/4 cup peppermint Coffeemate. Mix in 1 cup crushed GF chocolate sandwich cookies .
4. Pour and spread the fudge mixture over the cake as evenly as possible.
5. Spread the cool whip over the fudge. Sprinkle on the Andes candy bits and crushed cookies  (as much or as little as you want).
6. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours, until the sweetened condensed mixture has soaked into the cake and it's thoroughly chilled. Cut and serve.

This is SO yummy!!! Enjoy!

Almond Coffee Cake

I came to make a blog post today but had to clean the cobwebs & dust off the blog first. It has been a while since I have posted! Goodness!
     I tried this new coffee cake recipe today, so I thought I would share. I hope you like it.

Almond Coffee Cake

Cake Batter
1 stick butter, softened
½ sugar
3 large eggs
 1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. almond extract
 2 cups Gluten Free flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. xanatham gum
 2/3 cup orange juice
1. In a bowl, beat together butter and sugar until well blended. Add egg, beat well after each egg. Add vanilla and almond extract .
2. In a separate bowl, Mix together Flour, baking powder, baking soda and xanthan gum.
3. Add flour to egg mixture a little at a time alternating with orange juice.
4. Prepare Streusel topping now.
Streusel Topping1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup sliced almonds
¼ cup gf flour
3 TBL. Butter melted
1. Mix brown sugar, almonds and Flour with a fork. Add butter
2. Spoon half of batter into prepared tube pan.
3. Sprinkle streusel topping generously over batter.
4. Spoon remaining batter over topping. Do not stir. This will give a nice layered effect.
5. Sprinkle the rest of the topping on top.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 45-50 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack. Cool completely.
7. Turn Cake onto cake plate when completely cool.
8. Make Glaze and drizzle over cake.
Glaze
½ cup confectioners sugar
 1tbsp. orange juice
Mix with wire whisk.

Better Than Sex Chex Mix.....heaven in snack form!

Better Than Sex Chex Mix

8  cups Chocolate Chex® cereal (1 box)

3/4  cup packed brown sugar

6  tablespoons butter or margarine

3  tablespoons light corn syrup

1/4  teaspoon baking soda

1  cup Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, MINI size

1 cup mini Hershey Kisses

1 cup Snickers Bites

1 cup MINIATURE marshmallows

1/2  cup caramel bits

1 Tbsp heavy cream

1/2  cup MILK chocolate baking chips (or more if you wish)

1/2  cup vanilla (white) chocolate baking chips

 

Into large microwavable bowl, measure cereal; set aside. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper or foil.

 

In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave brown sugar, butter and corn syrup uncovered on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until melted and smooth. Stir in baking soda until dissolved. Pour caramel mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Microwave on High 3 minutes, stirring every minute. Spread on cookie sheet. Cool 10 minutes. Break into bite-sized pieces.

 

Make sure Chex mixture is cool to the touch (so candy doesn't melt.) Evenly sprinkle mini peanut butter cups, Snickers, Kisses and miniature marshmallows over Chex mixture.

 

In small microwavable bowl, microwave caramel baking bits and cream uncovered on High about 1 minute or until chips can be stirred smooth. Use a spoon or fork to drizzle over snack. Microwave the milk chocolate baking chips next, starting with 20-seconds and stirring, then at 20 second intervals until the mixture is completely smooth (microwave temps vary, so watch the chocolate and stir frequently until it's of drizzling consistency). Drizzle over the snack mixture. Then microwave the vanilla (white) baking chips in 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth, and drizzle that over the snack mixture. (Note: The vanilla and milk chocolate chips should not need cream added.)

 

Refrigerate until set. Break apart and store in tightly covered container.

 

Enjoy!!

-Jessica

Gluten Free Cake Mix Sugar Cookies

Gluten Free Cake Mix Sugar Cookies

1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free yellow cake mix                        

1/2 cup butter, softened                        

1/2 teaspoon vanilla     

   

1/2 teaspoon almond extract                 

1 egg

Pre-Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir all ingredients with spoon until dough forms. Shape dough by teaspoonfuls into balls. On cookie sheets sprayed with Pam, place balls 2 inches apart. Flatten with bottom of glass or palm of your hand. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until set. Cool 2 minutes; carefully remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Dream sickle
add 1/2 tsp. orange extract to dough & frost with Dream sickle flavored frosting (Pillsbury)

Colored sugar
Flatten dough balls with bottom of glass dipped in colored sugar.                 

Almond or Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Gluten Free of course

So I have been CRAVING poppy seed muffins. I couldn't decide between lemon or almond so I just made both. I made this recipe and split the batter in half then added the extracts and so I have 1/2 lemon and 1/2 almond. They are SO good. Total fix for my craving! They remind me of my gluten filled days and being able to eat those huge gluten filled Otis Spunkmeyer muffins from the grocery store. This recipe is a pretty darn close gluten free replacement for those........I hope you enjoy them too! 

Almond or Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Gluten Free of course

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1/3 C. Milk or Almond Milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons almond extract or Lemon if you are making Lemon Poppy seed                                   

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/3 cups gluten free flour

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

 

Mix flour, salt, baking soda, xanthan gum and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.

 

In mixing bowl beat softened butter, oil and sugar until blended. Add eggs, vanilla, almond extract (or lemon extract), milk and sour cream to butter and oil. Blend until mixture is smooth, all moist ingredients should be blended well. Start adding the flour mixture to batter a little at a time until thoroughly blended but do not over mix.

 

When mixed, remove from mixer and add poppy seeds. Stir with a spoon until completely mixed through. Place in muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray, filling to 3/4 full. Bake in preheated 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Check muffins with a toothpick. Do not over bake. 

-Jessica

Strawberry Cheesecake Salad

I'm a sucker for all things strawberry!! I couldn't pass up giving this a try. It is SO good. I hope you enjoy it too!

 

Strawberry Cheesecake Salad

 

2 -8 ounce containers cool whip, thawed

2 (3 1/2 ounce) packages cheesecake flavor instant Jell-O pudding mix

1 (24 ounce) container strawberry yogurt

2 lbs. fresh strawberries, sliced

1-2 Cups mini marshmallows

 

Ina large bowl stir together cool whip, yogurt, and pudding powder. Let this set up in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. Wash and slice the strawberries. Add strawberries and marshmallows stir well and serve cold.

 

 

This recipe could be cut in half as well.

Cookbook Review: Pampered Chef Favorites Made Gluten Free

  
    I am super excited to have the opportunity to bring you a review of a new cookbook. I'm a huge Pampered Chef fan to begin with. I have tons of their products and love them. However, I always hate going to the parties people throw because the food made is NEVER gluten free. So you just have to sit there drooling and wishing you could have some. Until now.....Pampered Chef has finally come out with a gluten free cookbook!! YEAH THEM!!
     To say I was excited about this book was an understatement. I couldn't wait to get my copy to see what they had come up with for us. They did not disappoint!! The book itself is smaller than expected, which initially shocked me, but now I love it's size. It's the perfect size to sit on the counter while you cook and it doesn't take up ALL the space. It is 8 in. by 6 in. and is spiral bound. I love the binding because you can lay it out flat and not have to sit a sugar bag or rolling pin on it to keep it open.
     Each recipe has a picture of what you are making. The food photography is amazing. Each picture makes your stomach growl and your mouth drool. I love a cookbook with pictures!
     Oh, and let's talk price. According to the pampered chef website this book is only $8!! It is well worth $8. I have spent far more on lesser cookbooks in my gluten free time.
      I decided that I of course had to TEST a recipe to see if there was any merit beyond pretty pictures and yummy titles. I tested Jalapeno Popper Pizzas and Taffy Apple Pizza. I tried to stick as closely as I could to the instructions. However, I don't own every pampered chef accoutrement that is mentioned to use in the recipes so I had to improvise some. No big deal though.
     The recipes use mostly Bob's Red Mill and Betty Crocker's gluten free line of mixes. So it is nice that the ingredients are easy to find, and use some short cuts. We all need short cuts once in a while!
     The Jalapeno Popper Pizzas were a hit. They were easy to make and turned out great. The only difference from my recipe to theirs was that mine made 15 pizzas and theirs said it would make 24. I guess I made mine bigger. OOPS! The flavor was good and they were loved even by non gluten free folks. I would call them a success.

Jalapeno Popper Pizzas

     I also made Taffy Apple Pizza which is a dessert pizza. It was easy to put together. It used a Betty Crocker gluten free yellow cake mix for the base (not mixed according to the box). The taste of this recipe was good, but the base was very crumbly and didn't hold together as much as I would have liked it to. This recipe doesn't really make great leftovers, so it would have to be made for an occasion where you knew it would all be eaten. That all being said, it tasted good, looked pretty, and was enjoyed. I would make it again, but with a few tweaks.

Taffy Apple Pizza

     There are several other recipes that I can't wait to try out in this new book. One that I see being used for multiple uses is a recipe for Crescent dough (crescent rolls) that is used in their recipe for Chicken and Broccoli Braid. I can't wait to try that out! Their picture looks amazing for that. The book has recipes for Appetizers, Main Dishes and Desserts. Lots of yummy ideas.
      So if you are looking for a new gluten free cookbook, or maybe even a gift for a gluten free loved one, this cookbook is well worth your $8. I hope this is just the first of many gluten free cookbooks put out by Pampered Chef.
     If you are interested in getting your gluten free hands on this book you will either need to order it through a Pampered Chef consultant, or you can order it online at PamperedChef.com . Just FYI.... I have not been compensated for my review, other than receiving the book to review. So this is just my opinion on the book. I hope my review was informative for you and maybe even helped you to decide if you need a new cookbook in your kitchen.

-Jessica
    

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes-gluten free style

    I am, as you know, addicted to Pinterest. This recipe has circulated Pinterest and facebook. Today I am snowed in.....so I decided it would be a great day to try these Cinnamon Roll Pancakes and turn them gluten free.
    They are very easy to make and maybe take an extra 10-15 minutes more than regular pancakes. They are very yummy. However, they are super sweet so you will want to serve some fruit on the side to balance the super sweet.
    Oh......and unlike the recipe circulating the Internet, I used a pancake mix. If you want to make yours from scratch then by all means do that and you will get a gold star for the extra effort. Otherwise...just use your favorite pancake mix and mix it according to the directions on the box. Drizzle the cinnamon filling on and finish it off with the drizzle when done and enjoy!!

Cinnamon Filling
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
11/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Combine the above ingredients and drizzle (in a circular swirl) over the pancake batter on the griddle. (approximately 3/4 T per pancake, depending on pancake size)

Cream Cheese Glaze
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2-ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the above ingredients and drizzle over warm cinnamon roll pancakes.

I hope you enjoy these!!

-Jessica

Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting

    
     In complete honesty, this is all about the icing. The cake it just something to put this peanut butter icing on....because it's just not socially acceptable to sit and eat icing by the spoonful. At least not out in public! :) There is nothing that goes better with peanut butter than chocolate...so I made chocolate cake.....from a box.....that I amped up a little.  Chocolate Cake 1 Betty Crocker Devil's food Gluten Free Cake Mix1 C. Buttermilk2 Eggs 1/2 C. Margarine, melted1/2 C. Applesauce1/2 C. Milk Chocolate Chips Combine the above ingredients and bake according to the instructions on the box (350 deg. for 30-40min). Frost a cooled cake with the peanut butter frosting.

 

Amazing Peanut Butter Frosting
 
1/4 c. butter, softened
1/4 c. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. peanut butter
3 tbsp milk
2 c. confectioner’s sugar

Cream together the first three ingredients and then gradually add sugar and milk until you reach desired consistency, The milk can be left out for a stiffer icing, or if the milk makes the icing too thin, additional sugar can be added. Spread on cooled cake.

I hope you enjoy this cake. I can see this frosting recipe going on some brownies, cuppeycakes, and maybe even cookies in the future. YUMMERS!

-Jessica

xoxo Valentine Chex Mix xoxo

  
Valentines Day is almost here! I'm sure I will make my world famous Chocolate Covered Strawberries (because they have already been requested, who knew you could put in requests for Valentines gifts?), but I thought I would try something new this year as well. I ran across this cute idea on Pinterest and had to give it a try for myself.
     It is pretty darn yummy so I'm not completely sure there will be any left for gift giving. Oops! Don't tell my friends and family you saw this post, just incase there isn't any left for them. Ummmk??


Valentine Chex Mix

6 cups Rice Chex cereal
1 bag of white chocolate baking chips (12 oz)
4 T powder pudding mix from a box of Strawberry Creme Jell-O Pudding** (make sure you use pudding)
1 T Shortening
Valentine M &M's, sprinkles, food coloring

Dump the chex cereal into a large bowl. In a microwave safe container, dump the white chips and shortening in and microwave for 1 min. Stir and then microwave in 30 second intervals stirring each time until all the chips are melted. Just be careful not to scorch your chocolate.

Stir the 4 T strawberry pudding powder into the white chocolate. Add food coloring if you wish.

Dump the chocolate mixture over the cereal and toss to coat. Spread out on waxed paper. Sprinkle M & M's and sprinkles over the cereal mixture. Allow to cool and dry, then store in an air tight container.

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup
1 Tbsp butter
1/4c onion, chopped
1 32 oz Box chicken broth
1 pound broccoli florets
1 tsp Pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 C Milk
2 T. Corn Starch (thickener)
8oz. Velveeta cheese

In 3 qt sauce pan, saute onion in butter over low heat until softened but
not brown, about 3 minutes.
Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add broccoli, pepper, garlic powder and
reduce heat to low and cook covered til soft, about 15 minutes.
Add milk and Velveeta and heat through; do not boil. Slowly sprinkle in corn starch (or mix with a small amount of water and pour in to lessen your chance of getting lumps and bumps in your soup)
and stir until thick. Serve hot!


I know, I know.....I haven't posted in FOREVER. Well it turns out that you are only allowed so many pictures on your blog. I had reached my limit, so I had to go back and remove some pics before I could post anything. UGH!! So I guess I will cut my pictures per post to one or none.....sadness!! So here is a little soup recipe to warm you up in this chilly weather!! Enjoy.

-Jessica

Ten Years have flown by

    
     Ten years ago yesterday I sat in a doctor's office and was told I had Celiac. So New Years Eve the world always helps me celebrate my gluten free anniversary. Pretty cool eh?
     It really doesn't seem like it has been that long. I guess that is because we are forever learning and reading labels. We will never really be "pro" at this! ha Companies are constantly changing things on us. Though I don't feel as lost today as I did that very first day.
     I do feel like things have really changed in those ten years. When I was first diagnosed gluten free was not as mainstream as it is today. There were very few restaurants that had gluten free menu items. I had to mail order or order online my cake mixes and pastas. To see "gluten free" on a label was few and far between. Now we are able to walk into many restaurants with gluten free menus. Regular grocery stores are carrying gluten free items. Big companies are finally "getting it" and labeling their brands as gluten free when they are. I'm thankful for these changes!
     In June of 2004 I started the USASillyYaks yahoo support group. I did this because there were no people near me who were gluten free. I went online to find support and get ideas. That group has grown and has people from all over the world.
     October 20,2011 I decided to give blogging a try. I wanted a permanent place to share my recipes, information, and product reviews. I have really enjoying blogging. It is fun to see what recipes people LOVE and what recipes people could have done without! ha I haven't had as much time lately to post to my blog and I have really been missing it.
     In November of 2011 I was featured in an article in the magazine All You about autoimmune disorders. That was pretty exciting for me. I was excited to get to share my story to a larger group of people. I know that I made an impact because I had people contacting me via facebook and email who felt lost and alone before they read the article. I'm glad I did that article.
     December 2011 I decided to take USASillyYaks to Facebook. I feel like I have been able to share more and help others through expanding to Facebook. We have a great group of followers there.
     I have had some great opportunities to help others in the last 10 years. I hope to continue helping others and staying healthy. I can't wait to see what the next 10 years brings. Thank you for being a part of my journey.

-Jessica