Pound Cake (gluten free)

Ingredients
2 cups sugar

1 cup Butter, melted

4 Eggs

4 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups Gluten-Free Flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup milk

Directions

Pre-Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 12-cup Bundt or 10-inch angel food cake (tube) pan; sprinkle with gluten-free flour. Set aside.

Combine sugar and melted butter in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until well mixed.

Stir together gluten-free flour and baking powder in bowl. Gradually add flour mixture alternately with milk to butter mixture, beating at low speed until well mixed.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan.


Serve with strawberries & whipped cream

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!

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
    

Sinfully Easy Caramel Nut Brownies

 

    I made these brownies for work this week and they were a HIT! I had one co-worker (who is not gf) ask for the recipe and tell me these brownies were "better than sex". I'd call that a successful recipe!! I hope you enjoy them too!

 

Sinfully Easy Caramel Nut Brownies

1 box of your favorite gf brownie mix (follow the directions on how to mix it up)

1 2oz package of chopped pecans

1 11oz Bag of Kraft Caramel Bits (or you can buy the caramels you have to unwrap as well, these are just faster!)

1 to 1 ½ C. Milk Chocolate Chips

Pour 2/3 of brownie batter into your 9x13 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Spread the caramel bits evenly over the batter, then the nuts, and chocolate chips. Top with the remaining 1/3 of the batter. Bake according to the package instructions. You can top with a little melted frosting or melted chocolate chips or melted caramel to make them look nice.

 

Your favorite gf brownie mix and a few simple ingredients make this amazing!!

Mix your favorite gf mix according to the directions on the box. I used a Heartland Gourmet Brownie Mix.

Place 2/3 of the batter into the pan, top with caramel, nuts, and chocolate chips. Top with remaining batter and bake according to box directions.

Look at that ooey gooey amazingness!! SO GOOD!

 Top with melted chocolate or melted frosting and/or caramel to finish off the sinfulness! Enjoy!!

 

-Jessica

 

 

 

Country Manor Mixes: Product Review

     I was recently introduced to Country Manor Mixes. A friend had brought three packages of dip mix back from her vacation in Minnesota. I was excited that they were gluten free. I decided to contact Country Manor and see if they would like to send out some product for me to review. They were more than happy to do that.
     Country Manor carries a variety of Dippin' products. They have dessert mixes, spreads for bagels or dessert, dipping oil mixes, fruit dips, and veggie/chip dip mixes. They have a great variety. I would say that just about everybody could find a flavor that they would like to try.
     I have chosen two of the products that I was sent to talk about today. I have chosen the BLT Mix and the English Toffee Cheesecake Mix. The BLT retails for $4 and the English Toffee for $6 on their website.

BLT Dip Mix from Country Manor Mixes

     Alright, let's talk BLT Dip Mix.....

     The BLT Dip Mix required 1 C. Sour Cream and 1 C. Mayo added to the package of Dip Mix. All I had to do was stir that all together and chill for a few hours or over night. I loved that the dip was simple to make. I was a little leery of how the mayo would taste in the dip, but it was great. I would definitely make this dip again. I dipped gluten free bagel chips into it, tortilla chips, and even pieces of lettuce. It was very yummy.



     The second mix was the English Toffee Cheesecake Mix. The package says that the mix can be made into a cheesecake, cheese ball, or dip. I decided to make mine into a cheese ball. However, after mixing the ingredients, it was far too soft and fluffy to form into a cheese ball....soooo it ended up being a dip. I had no problem with it just being a dip.

To make this mix it required a package of cream cheese and a container of cool whip. Easy Peasy.

I mixed the cream cheese with the dip mix first. Then I folded in the cool-whip.

My dip is a little too fluffy to make a cheese ball....oh well :) Still tastes yummy!

I dished up a little of the English Toffee Cheesecake Dip and topped it with some crushed English Toffee Candy Bar pieces. I used Mi-Del Arrowroot Animal Cookies for my dippers.

The result was YUMMYNESS!

I would love to make this again sometime. It was very good. I would love to try it in a pie shell next time. I would also like to figure out how to make it thick enough for the cheese ball, because that would be AMAZING rolled in the English Toffee Candy Bar pieces (my original plan for using the mix ha).

     Country Manor sells their mixes online and they can also be found in some stores. Look for them and check them out. They are yummy!!

-Jessica



Creamy Jello Pudding Dessert and Happy Mommies Day!

    Happy Mother's Day!! This has been a SUPER crazy week for me. My Mom had surgery on Monday. I have either been at the hospital or at my parents house all week. I come home to sleep and shower and that's it. So needless to say blogging hasn't been a top priority this week!
     The good news is that Mom is doing well and making progress each day. She had to have hernia surgery (three hernias!!!) They were just another "lovely" side effect from her cancer surgery last summer. However, she can heal now and get back to being on the road to feeling great!
     Mom requested that I make this amazing pudding dessert that we love. So of course she has had a rough week AND it is Mother's Day so I made it (and also gf mac N cheese that she loves)!! Who is going to tell their Mama no on Mother's Day?? Ummmm, not THIS girl!

Creamy Jello Pudding Dessert

1 C. Gluten Free Flour Mix
1/4 tsp. Xanthan Gum
1/2 C. Butter (melted)
2 T. Granulated Sugar
1 (8oz) Package Cream Cheese (softened)
1 C. Powdered Sugar
1 C. Cool Whip
2 (3oz) Packages of Milk Chocolate Instant Pudding
3 C. Milk

First Layer: Mix flour, xanthan gum, granulated sugar, and butter. Spread in a 9x13 in pan. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow to fully cool after baking.

Second Layer: Mix together the softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. Fold in the one cup of Cool Whip. Spread this over the cooled crust.

Third Layer: Mix the 2 packages of pudding together with the 3 cups of milk. Spread this evenly over the 2nd layer.

Fourth layer: Cover with the remaining Cool Whip from the package.

Optional: Sprinkle chocolate shavings or chopped nuts over the last layer.

Refrigerate.

First Layer: The Crust, don't worry if it cracks like mine did. You are covering it up with yummy other layers and nobody will see the cracks!!

Second Layer: Cream cheesy goodness

When you go to spread the layers on put small globs of the filling on, and then smooth it out. The crust won't be as likely to break if you do it this way.

Connect the globs together to make your layers :)

Third Layer: The chocolate pudding yummyness

Fourth Layer: Cool Whip

I decorated with chocolate shavings. Extra chocolate is always good!

Look at all those creamy layers...yum!

Four layers of amazing creamy chocolaty goodness.

This dessert is pretty easy to make and sooooo yummy and rich. It is a favorite of my family. I hope you enjoy it!!

-Jessica

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

    I think that by now you know that I have a love of all things peanut butter and chocolate. That's why when I saw the recipe for these "brownies" as they called them I knew I was going to have to convert them to gluten free. (To me, they are a blondie because they don't have chocolate in the actual batter, so I'm calling mine blondies!) Sooooo I amped up the peanut butter and chocolate levels in these (the original recipe had nowhere near enough) and I happen to think the end result is yummy. I hope you agree!

Peanut Butter Cup Blondies

1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
6 T butter, melted
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups Gluten Free Flour Mix
1/2 tsp Xanthan Gum
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
36 mini peanut butter cups (Reese’s are the best!) or 35 if you eat one, not that I did that
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Pre-heat the oven to 350 deg. Spray a 9x13 in. pan with cooking spray.

In a bowl, beat together sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and eggs until well blended. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and xanthan gum.

Cut 12 peanut butter cups into quarters and gently stir into blondie batter along with the chocolate chips. Spread into baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out fairly clean

Remove from oven and immediately press remaining peanut butter cups into the top of the blondies in even rows. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

Yummy chunks of pb cup

Look at those chunks of pb cup going into the batter...mmmmm

Sorry bad picture, I forgot to snap a pic of them BEFORE they went into the oven! oopsie!

Smoosh the whole PB cups into the warm blondies and let them cool (if you can)

These are so good. They need a tall glass of cold cold milk to go with them. Mmmmm

-Jessica

Sinful Peanut Butter Pie Bars

    
Did you hear that today is a national holiday? It is Peanut Butter Lovers Day!! If you said no, then you weren't the only person in the world who didn't know. I wasn't aware of this amazing holiday until this morning.
     I am a huge fan of peanut butter so I thought it was only fitting that I celebrated by making something peanut buttery. I hope you enjoy my creation.

Sinful Peanut Butter Pie Bars

1 C. Creamy Peanut Butter
1 pkg. (8oz) Cream Cheese
1 C. Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
1 (14oz) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 (8oz) container of whipped topping

1 1/2 C. Crushed gluten free cookie or cereal crumbs
6 T. Butter or Margarine, melted
1/3 C. Sugar

To make the crust, combine the crushed cookies, margarine, and sugar. Mix well. Smoosh into a pie plate or a 9x9 or 7x11 baking dish. Bake at 375 deg. for 15 minutes. Allow to cool before filling. While the crust cools, prepare the peanut butter filling.  (you wouldn't HAVE to bake the crust, I just like it better baked a little)

In a bowl combine the peanut butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. Add in powdered sugar and mix until combined. Add sweetened condensed milk and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy. Using a spatula fold the whipped topping into the peanut butter mixture. Fold until combined but be careful not to loose the fluffyness of the whipped topping.

Spread the peanut butter topping over the crust. Garnish with chocolate shavings if you wish.  Cut and serve. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

I didn't have enough cookies, so I used some peanut butter and chocolate cereal as well for the crust.

Oh I'm so sorry bunnies.......you are going to a good cause though.

Combine the crust ingredients and smoosh into a pan.

While the crust is cooling, prepare the filling.

Mix the cream cheese and Peanut Butter, followed by the powdered sugar.

Next add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.

Fold the whipped topping into the creamy peanut butter mixture.

Spread the creamy filling over the cooled crust.

Garnish with some chocolate shavings to make it look pretty.

Cut into squares and serve.

These can also be made in small glass cups or mini mason jars.

     I hope you enjoyed my recipe to celebrate Peanut Butter Lovers Day. This dessert is so yummy, but is also SO rich, so be sure to share with your loved ones. Happy Peanut Butter Lovers Day to you and yours! ha

-Jessica