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.

Easiest Gluten Free Perogies Ever!

For years we made a great perogy but it had too many ingredients so I did not like to make them very often.  I had a recipe in a binder for a few years that was for steamed dumplings that I thought would work  for perogies and today I finally tried that recipe using a few different ingredients.  Their method was to cook the water and flour first - something I may try one day ....I just used their ingredients and combined it with another recipe I had (not sure whose this one is - sorry) and these ended up turning out fantastic!
 Easiest Gluten Free Perogies Ever!  - Makes 36
3 cup sweet rice flour
1 1/3  cups tapioca starch
6 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water - or slightly more
3 eggs
2 tablespoons oil

Filling:
4 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cut in 4's
1 cup shredded cheddar (I use old)
one small onion, finely diced
salt and pepper

Method:
First cook potatoes and onion in water until tender.  Drain and mash with the cheddar cheese.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Place in fridge to get good and cold.

Perogy Dough: Place all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl.  In a 2 cup measure or bowl  place the water, eggs, and oil and with fork mix together.  Add to the dry mixture and with wooden spoon mix well. If very dry add a little more water.  Dough will be just slightly sticky.  Lightly dust the counter with rice flour and knead the ball of dough until smooth.  Divide into 36 balls.  Using  your Birds Hill perogy press flatten the dough ball and place a marble sized ball of filling onto one side.  Fold the die and crimp perogy.  Place on well oiled baking sheet until ready to boil.  (or roll out dough and cut into 3 or 4" circles.  Place ball of filling on one side and fold and crimp).
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add a little shake of salt to the water.  Once the water is boiling add about 8- 10 perogies (do not overcrowd).  The perogies will rise and let boil for 30 seconds.  Remove with slotted spoon onto another greased sheet while you boil the rest.  Do not over cook in the water.  To fry add some oil or butter to a frying pan and fry on each side until golden.  Serve with fried onions, bacon, sour cream, chives etc.

Pretty thrilled that after cooking 38 perogy none broke!

Perogy Press for gluten free perogies - works great - from Birds Hill Enterprises

Gluten Free Pita Bread

Just out of the oven!

I've been using coconut flour a lot in my baking trying to eat more fibre and less carbs.  I like the way it works and thought I could probably make pita bread with it.  I was pretty pleased with my first attempt - they puffed nicely but were a bit wet inside.  I had put in some sweet rice flour thinking it would give stretch but also kept them too wet. Second time around I used regular rice flour and they worked well.

Gluten Free Pita Bread. - with coconut flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
6 tablespoons coconut flour
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons oil
1 egg, large
In mixing bowl place water, yeast and sugar. Measure and mix together the flours, salt and xanthan gum. Add to water and yeast. Add oil and egg and mix well with wooden spoon. Dough will be
sticky but not wet.  Dust counter with rice flour.  Divide dough into 8 balls and flatten out on floured surface until less than 1/4" thick . Dust your hands with flour so the dough will not stick to you.  Cover with dish towel.  Preheat oven to 425 and place lightly greased baking sheet on lowest rack.  Leave in hot oven for 10- 15 minutes.  Open oven and place pitas on baking sheet.  Using a spray bottle mist pitas  and baking sheet quickly with water.  Bake @ 425 for 8 - 10 minutes. They will puff in the first few minutes.  Remove and place on a rack to cool.  Cover with clean dish towel.  When cool slit with a sharp knife.  I use a serrated knife.

Pat out to a little less than 1/4" thick into an oval.

puffed up nicely in the oven

Gluten Free Flour Tortillas

Roll while still warm- then let cool and store in zip lock bag

These wraps are much like store bought flour wraps- sturdy enough to hold a filling.  They are quite a bit stronger than my gluten free low carb tortillas made with pysillium husk.  If making extra store in zip lock bag in fridge.  I roll them in a paper towel to absorb moisture before putting in bag.  Warm slightly in micro wave  to make them roll easier.

Gluten Free Flour Tortillas
1/2 cup chick pea flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons guar gum or xanthams gum
2 tablespoons lard (butter, shortening or coconut oil)
1 cup water
Mix dry ingredients together. Using a fork work the lard into the flour mixture.  Add water a little at a time while mixing with wooden spoon or hands - add enough water until dough is soft but not sticky. Roll out on floured surface into 9" or 10" circles about 1/8" thick or use a tortilla press.  Fry in ungreased cast iron skillet over medium high heat for 1- 2 minutes until bubbles form - flip and do other side.  Do not fry too long or they will not be soft. Remove and roll up - let cool.

Low Carb Gluten Free Soft Tortillas

I wanted a low carb wrap and tested many recipes.  Most are like a crepe or so fragile that they break.  I also didn't want one that was 100% flax meal - even though I like the taste.  I just didn't want to be eating that much flax.  This recipe came about by combining recipes and using my knowledge of gluten free baking.  I wanted the wrap to be soft and bendable with a bit of stretch but also strong enough to wrap around a filling.  I have used pysillium husk and xanthan and guar gums quite a bit over the last number of years in gluten free baking so I added them to my low carb recipes and - success! They are really good - just what I was looking for.
Low Carb Gluten Free Soft Tortillas
1/2 cup coconut flour
3 tablespoons pysillium husks
2 teaspoon xanthan or guar gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/ 4 cup butter ( you may substitute with shortening, lard or coconut oil)
1 1/2 cup boiling water
Method
Place the dry ingredients into mixing bowl.  Stir with fork until combined.  Place butter on top of dry mixture.  Pour boiling water over butter and mix it all together until a dough is formed.  Cover and let cool.  Divide into 6. Balls and roll out each one on parchment paper until they are thin and about 10" wide.  You may place the parchment and tortilla on a baking sheet and bake at 350  for about 10 minutes.  They will stay light coloured.  Remove from oven and roll up.  I roll. One into a paper towel and lent cool.  I store them rolled in the paper towel and placed in a zip lock bag.  You may also fry them in a greased skillet or crepe pan for about one or two minutes per side until there are a few golden spots.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies - no guar or xanthan gums

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies - old family favorite - converted to GF.
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, large
1/2 cup peanut butter - gluten free
1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream butter and sugar together.  Stir in vanilla extract, egg and peanut butter.  Mix the flours and soda together and mix into the butter, sugar, egg, peanut butter mixture.  Form into 1" balls and place on
 baking sheet.  Bake at 350* for 10 - 12 minutes - until light brown.
Optional - add chocolate chips or M & M's.

Mock Oatmeal Cookies - Gluten Free, Oat Free, Gum Free

This recipe has been a favourite for over 30  years.  When we went gluten free I hardly ever made them.  Today I was inspired to try them out again altering the ingredients to make them gluten free but to still have the same texture and taste.





Mock Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup margarine or butter softened
1/2 cup cooking oil (or use another 1/2 cup butter or margarine)
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
3 rice cakes (plain, Quaker brand style) - crumbled up by hand
1/2 cup flax meal (ground flax seed)
1/4 cup hot tap water
11/2  cup tapioca flour
1 cup brown rice flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix flax and crumbled rice cakes into a bowl.  Add the hot water and mix together.  Set aside.
Cream margarine, oil and sugars.  Add egg, mix until combined.  Mix the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Add flour mixture, vanilla extract and flax mixture to the margarine, sugar and egg - mix until combined.  Chill in fridge 1 hour.  Shape into 1" balls and place on parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake at 350 until edges turn light brown about 10 - 12 minutes.  Cool 5-8 minutes remove and place on cooling rack.