Honey Dill Salad Dressing

This is my "go to" recipe for salad dressing.  Can be used on all kinds of salads.  We like it with lettuce, celery, radishes, bacon bits and feta cheese.


Honey Dill Salad Dressing - Makes 180 ml about 396 calories/100mls.
1/2 cup oil (I use either olive oil or canola oil. Olive oil gets more solid in the fridge and needs to be warmed before using the dressing)
1/8 cup prepared mustard
1 tablespoon dill seed
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon honey ( I use whatever I have - syrup, corn syrup, honey etc.)
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Mix together and store in fridge.

Gluten Free Biscuits - easy to make!

We like baking powder biscuits with our turkey pie.  Before our gluten free days I would place the biscuit top over the filling and bake it all in the oven.  It has taken years to find a good gluten free biscuit recipe and I think I may finally have tweaked a recipe enough to make it close.....I baked these on a baking sheet this time but next time I will try baking the biscuit on top of the turkey pie filling.  This recipe is extremely soft.  You can make drop biscuits or for cut biscuits place a generous amount of sweet rice flour on counter and place biscuit dough on flour.  Dust both sides with flour and lightly pat to 1/2" thick. Cut with biscuit cutter and place on greased sheet.


Gluten Free Biscuits
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vinegar
6 tablespoons shortening (could substitute butter or lard)
1 1/3 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoon guar gum or xanthan gum
Mix dry ingredients together. Using a fork or pastry blender cut the shortening into the dry mixture until crumbly
Add the vinegar to the milk and stir into the dry mixture.  Stir lightly with a fork.  Place some gluten free flour ( I used sweet rice flour) onto counter. Lightly dust the ball of dough with flour and knead it 6 - 8 times until it is smooth.  Flatten with hands to about 1/2" thick.  Cut into 6 circles with biscuit cutter or glass cup. Preheat oven to 425. Place biscuits on lightly greased baking sheet. Brush a little melted butter or oil on top of each biscuit.  Place baking tray in oven and reduce heat to 375 . Bake for 20 minutes.

Biscuits ready to be brushed with melted butter - optional

You can see how nicely they have risen

Thin and Crisp Pizza Crust -gluten free

This crust holds together well, tastes great!

Thin and Crispy Pizza Crust
2 cups fine rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp guar gum or xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
Method
In mixing bowl combine rice flour, tapioca starch/flour, salt, guar gum, baking powder, and sugar.  Mix together.
In a two cup measure add the warm water, yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar.  Let sit 5-10 minutes. Stir.
Add to the dry mixture along with the oil and mix with wooden spoon or your hands. Divide in two and flatten each ball of dough onto an oiled 12" pizza pan. It is easy to spread out the dough if you make your hands really wet and smooth out the dough.  Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 20 minutes.  Bottom will turn golden but top should still be light.  Cool.  Add your pizza toppings and bake in a 400* oven for 10-12 minutes until done.

Yeast growing in the warm water and sugar

I use tapioca starch and rice flour purchased in the Asian section of the grocery store

Dough after being mixed by hand

Divide dough in half and put on well oiled 12" pizza pans

Make your hands really wet and spread the dough out

the dough may get some cracks but do not worry about that

this is the bottom - golden brown while the top is light coloured

Tomato Lentil Soup

I have some dark lentils in my pantry that no one seems to like so I figured I'd use them up in a soup - I think it tastes quite good!
Tomato Lentil Soup
1 ham bone
10- 12 cups water
28 oz crushed canned tomatoes
2 cups dried lentils
1/4 cup  onion, diced
1 carrot, diced or shredded
2 celery stalks sliced
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon thyme

Place all the ingredients in a large soup pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer one to two hours.  Remove ham bone and adjust seasonings if necessary.
I measured the thyme generously so start with 1/2 teaspoon and after tasting soup you can add up to 1/4 teaspoon more.

Low carb gluten free flax bun

Putting this recipe on my blog so I don't lose it as like this toasted with egg and bacon.
Low Carb Flax Bread- Bun
1 1/2 cups flax meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, large
1/2 cup water
4 teaspoons canola oil
Mix the above altogether.  Let sit for 15 minutes.  Lightly grease a 6 "cup" muffin top pan and divide mixture into 10 portions.  Put 6 portions into greased pan and wet fingers or spoon to spread out. Bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Cool and remove and then do the other 4. I freeze these and toast when needed.  About 122 calories per bun.

really like using the muffin top pan - makes nice thin bread 

Gluten Free Four Layer Lemon Slice

Had this after church today.  The base was a little thick so I have reduced it to half in the recipe.  If you want the crust/base to stick together a bit you can substitute the 3 tablespoons sugar for corn syrup or Rogers golden syrup.
Because I wanted to make it the day before serving (Saturday) I made the recipe up to the spreading on the lemon pie filling - covered it and placed in fridge. I saved part of the whipping cream for the top portion and whipped it the next morning -  Sunday morning and spread over the lemon filling, sprinkled with almonds and then lightly covered it again with plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge.  That kept very well for later that day.

Gluten Free Four Layer Lemon Slice
1 cup rice flour
1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup almond flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened.
Mix together the above ingredients and press into parchment lined 9"x13" baking pan.  Bake @350 for 20 minutes.  Let cool completely.
1 box lemon pie filling 425 grams
Make pie filling according to box directions , let cool.
8 oz/250 ml cream cheese
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup slivered almonds lightly toasted in oven.
Method:
Mix cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract together.  In separate bowl whip whipping cream until fairly stiff, add 1 tablespoon sugar.  Add about 1/3 cup of whipped cream to cream cheese mixture and spread on base in pan.  Spread the lemon filling on top.  Spread whipped cream on top and sprinkle with toasted .

Gluten Free Meat & Potato Pie - Delicious!

I like one dish suppers and this has become one of our favourites.

Gluten Free Meat & Potato Pie
1 -2 potatoes diced - cooked until almost tender (or 1 -2 cups frozen hash browns - depends how deep your pie pan is)
2 tablespoons bacon bits or cooked diced bacon
2 mushrooms, minced or sliced
1/4 lb ground pork sausage (recipe for gf version follows) or cut up pork sausage from the store.
2 green onions, sliced (or one very small onion diced)
3 eggs
3/4 - 1 cup milk
little salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup - 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 deep pie crust
Method:
Line deep 9" or 10" pie pan with homemade  or store bought pie crust (gluten free crust here).
Spread hash browns or cooked diced potatoes on bottom of crust.
Sprinkle on the bacon, green onion, bacon bits, mushrooms, and cooked ground pork sausage (or cooked pork sausage links cut into 1" slices).
Wisk eggs in bowl.  Add milk, salt and pepper.  Wisk well.  Pour over pie.  Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.  Bake on lowest rack in preheated 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes or until set.  This freezes and reheats well so I usually make more than one at a time.  Great served with garden salad.