Gluten-Free | The Wannabe Chef

Tag Archive: Gluten-Free

Low-Fat Cinnamon Brown Sugar Granola

Written on July 4, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Breakfast

Brown sugar is an ingredient I don’t use enough. When I find it in the pantry, I could eat it by the spoonful. It reminds me of cinnamon rolls and apple crumbles, and so does this simple granola recipe.

I usually like to add some sort of healthy fat like almonds or peanut butter to my granola but wanted to try something different. There’s only 2 Tablespoons of oil in the entire batch and no nuts. If you’re looking for a leaner breakfast, this will definitely fit the bill.

You can add more spices to suit your favorite flavors. Swapping in pumpkin pie spice or adding your own nutmeg and allspice will give it a slightly nuttier flavor. Make sure to use gluten-free oats if dealing with a gluten allergy.

Low-Fat Cinnamon Brown Sugar Granola

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
3 Tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup raisins

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, sugar, oil, water, cinnamon, and salt until the sugar dissolves and the ingredients are evenly mixed.
Pour the oats out onto a non-stick baking surface and spread them out into a thin layer.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the oats are crisp and turn golden.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
Add the raisins into the granola and mix well.
Store in a sealed container at room temperature when not enjoying.

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Gluten-Free Pineapple Rum Bread

Written on June 25, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Breakfast, Dessert

I’ve been on a sweetbread kick lately. They’re a lot more appetizing in the morning than a bowl of hot oatmeal, especially with some cool Greek yogurt on the side. At first I had the idea to make a pineapple loaf but quickly realized it needed a little something extra. And what goes better in the Summer with pineapple juice than rum?

Make sure you buy crushed pineapple and not diced or rings. You can buy canned pineapple that’s exactly 1 cup; just reserve 1 Tablespoon of juice for the glaze. It’s better to add the glaze while it’s still in the loaf pan so that all of it gets absorbed.

Gluten-Free Pineapple Rum Bread

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 50 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 loaf):

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
6 Tablespoons coconut flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup pineapple chunks with juice, 1 Tablespoon of juice reserved
1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon rum
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the chickpea flour, coconut flour, baking soda, sugar, and brown sugar.
Beat in the eggs, vegetable oil, pineapple chunks, and 1/4 cup of rum until the batter comes together.
Grease an 8-inch loaf pan. Pour the batter in and gently shake it to level out.
Bake for 50 minutes or until the center has set.
Remove the loaf from the oven and let it rest.
In a small bowl, beat together the powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon of rum and 1 Tablespoon of pineapple juice until the sugar dissolves.
Poke the top of the loaf multiple times with a toothpick and pour the glaze on top. Let the loaf set for another 2 hours until the glaze has been absorbed.
Slice and serve at room temperature. Keep refrigerated when not enjoying.

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Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt + Giveaway

Written on June 20, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert, Giveaway

There are some foods that just taste better in the Summer: Trifles, anything with fresh berries, and—of course—ice cream. Stonyfield recently asked their Clean Plate Club bloggers to come up with recipes to kick off Summer. What’s a better way to kick off Summer with Greek yogurt than to make frozen yogurt?

This quickly became one of my favorite frozen yogurts I’ve had. It’s smooth, creamy, and refreshing. I’m sure the block of cream cheese took away some of the health benefits of frozen yogurt, but there’s still a good cup of protein-packed Greek yogurt in there to encourage you to have another scoop.

Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt Stack

The ice cream maker I use is a 1 1/2-quart Cuisinart. I got it a few years ago and have used it every Summer, so I highly recommend adding one to your kitchen collection. Make sure to read the manual for whatever ice cream maker you have and follow their instructions for freezing it correctly.

Strawberry Cheesecake Frozen Yogurt

Prep time: 15 minutes

Freeze time: 2 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

1 cup Stonyfield plain Greek yogurt*
1 8oz block Neufchatel cream cheese*
3/4 cup strawberry jam*
1 1/2 cup 0% or 1% milk
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

*These ingredients will be easiest to mix if they’re at room temperature.

Method:

In a large bowl, beat together the yogurt, cream cheese, and jam until there are no clumps in the mix.
Add in the milk, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and beat until fully mixed.
Pour the base into an ice cream maker and freeze using the manufacturer’s directions.
Let the frozen ice cream sit out for 5 minutes before scooping and serving to soften.

Giveaway

Stonyfield wants to give away coupons equal to a free case of Stonyfield Greek and a Stonyfield cookbook to help kick off the Summer for a reader. There are 5 ways to enter the giveaway; I’ll keep it open through next Thursday, June 27th.

Leave a comment with your favorite frozen yogurt flavor.
Follow @Stonyfield on Twitter and comment saying that you did.
Follow @WannabeChefEvan on Twitter and comment saying that you did.
Like Stonyfield Organic on Facebook and comment saying that you did.
Like The Wannabe Chef on Facebook and comment saying that you did.

Good luck!

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Gluten-Free Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Written on June 17, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

While cookies aren’t my favorite dessert, there are a few that I have a soft spot for. Soft, delicate lemon cookies covered in a powdered sugar glaze are definitely one of those few.

Even though there’s no chocolate in these, I find them just as addicting as if there were. The outside is sweet and glazed while the inside is chewy and slightly tart from the lemon. They’re perfect in the morning or after dinner with a cup of tea. And while fresh lemon juice surely would make these cookies taste amazing, using the plastic lemon juice is just as good, too.

The hardest part of making these cookies(which aren’t really hard at all) is getting the consistency of the dough right to shape them. When they’re too dry, the dough crumbles; adding a little bit of lemon juice to get them to the texture of Play-Doh makes them just right for shaping into cookies.

Gluten-Free Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 18 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 16 cookies):

1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 Tablespoon lemon juice + extra
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and baking powder until evenly mixed.
Add in the oil, egg, extracts and lemon juice and mix the dough together by hand.
Mold the dough into 1-inch balls and then flatten them gently into a cookie shape in your hands. If the dough is too dry and crumbles, add a little more lemon juice to wet it and bring it to the right consistency.
With clean hands, pour the powdered sugar into a shallow bowl or dish.
Drop the cookies on both sides onto the powdered sugar to coat the outside.
Put the sugar-covered cookies onto a non-stick baking tray and repeat until all of the dough is used up.
Bake for 18 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool completely before moving them.
Store in an air-tight container at room temperature when not enjoying.

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Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Written on June 11, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Peanut butter cookies are one of my favorite desserts to keep around the house. That’s probably because I don’t just eat them for dessert; they’re also great as an afternoon snack, crumbled on top of yogurt, right before dinner when you’re feeling snackish—whenever. They’re just the right amount of sweet and nutty to satisfy.

I’m always trying different peanut butter cookies recipes to see how the texture and flavor compares. These are one of my new favorites. Once these cookies cool, they’re the thick and chewy kind. They’re perfect for filling with ice cream and making a cookie sandwich, covering in melted chocolate or filling with a little raspberry jam.

I used gluten-free all-purpose flour for these cookies and they came out perfectly. If you use a gluten-free flour I’d recommend a pre-mixed blend for the best consistency. Your cookies should be rollable when all the ingredients are mixed but if the batter is still too thick you can add milk by the Tablespoon until it softens up.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 18 cookies):

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour OR 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour
3/4 cup cane sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the oats, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon well.
In a separate bowl, beat the remaining ingredients until they make a homogenous liquid.
Mix the wet ingredients in with the dry until it forms a uniform dough.
Roll the dough into 1-inch balls and place them on a lined baking tray.
Press down on each ball lightly with the tongs of a fork in a criss-cross pattern on top.
Bake for 18 minutes until the center of the cookies are firm and the outsides are golden.
Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before moving.
Store in a sealed container at room temperature.

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Vegetarian Grilling

Written on June 2, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Italian Tofu & Bell Pepper Skewers

Prep time: 2 hours

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Serves 3-4):

1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed
4 bell peppers, seeded
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
Grilling skewers

Method:

Dice the tofu and peppers into 1-inch squares.
In a Ziploc bag, mix together the rest of the ingredients.
Toss the tofu and bell peppers with the marinade in the bag and let it rest for 2-4 hours.
Preheat your grill to around 400 degrees.
Put the ingredients on the grilling skewers.
Grill for 10-15 minutes, turning the skewer sticks every few minutes to a different side.
Remove from the grill. Serve hot.

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Spiked Thai Iced Tea

Written on May 30, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Drink

This food blogger has unfortunately not done much cooking lately; I’ve been busy. I’m starting to get back into the swing of things after a lot of moving and unpacking and can finally get back into the kitchen.

A friend of mine has been looking for Summer drink recipes and it didn’t take much convincing for me to try something new. My last night in Providence we ate at a Thai restaurant and one of my friends took home a Thai iced tea. It was sweet, creamy and a little spicy—perfectly suited for a little bit of rum and something fairly easy to make at home.

Like any drink recipe you should taste as you go along and add less or more to suit your palate. The amounts listed below are more or less suggestions. I tried this with Bacardi but I think it would be terrific with a coconut or similarly flavored rum.

Spiked Thai Iced Tea

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

5 black tea bags*
3 1/2 cups water, divided
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup rum or coconut rum
Ice
Mint to garnish

*For a more authentic flavor used spiced Thai tea bags, which are black tea with anise, vanilla, and cardamom. They are available online and at some specialty stores.

Method:

Bring 2 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a small pot.
Remove the boiling water from the heat and add in the tea bags. Let the tea rest for 30 minute to an hour to cool down to room temperature.
Remove the tea bags and add the remaining water.
Fill 4 glasses 3/4 of the way up with ice.
Pour a shot of rum into each of the glasses.
Fill the glasses 3/4 of the way up with the tea.
Add 1/4 cup of sweetened condensed milk to each glass and stir well.
Garnish with mint if desired.

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Red, White and Blue Stuffed Strawberries

Written on May 24, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

When you’re a food blogger, you constantly have to choose between making and blogging a holiday recipe a week in advanced and looking crazy celebrating all by yourself or making a recipe for the actual holiday and posting it a few days later late to the game. Usually I choose the latter but this time I happen to be early to the party; here’s a red, white, and blue recipe a month and a half before July 4th for you.

The Nutella cheesecake strawberries I made last month were a huge hit with my friends. I got asked to make them again but I always like trying something new. Instead of Nutella, these strawberries are filled with white chocolate cream cheese. At times I think I like white chocolate more than dark, and this is one of those times. It goes perfectly with the sweet berries.

Every time I make these stuffed strawberries, the first half come out looking sloppy and the second half look fine. You just have to get into a rhythm and figure out how to do it best. Getting the filling to the right consistency will also make it easier.

Red, White and Blue Stuffed Strawberries

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

1lb fresh strawberries
3/4 cup(6oz) white chocolate chips
5 Tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tablespoons milk, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup blueberries

Method:

In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the white chocolate.
Beat together the melted white chocolate, milk, and cream cheese until smooth.
Beat in the powdered sugar until it’s fully incorporated.
Move the cream cheese mixture into a pastry bag or Ziploc bag with a corner cut off. If the mixture is still runny, put it in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
Cut the strawberries twice perpendicularly almost all the way through.
Squeeze the filling into the strawberries starting from the bottom and moving the tip up.
Garnish with a blueberry on top.
Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. These won’t last long even in a refrigerator so eat relatively quickly.

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Oat Flour Brownies

Written on May 21, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

If there’s one thing I could make with my eyes closed, it’s brownies. I think my 6th sense is knowing when brownies are done in the oven without a timer. I can tell this is another brownie recipe I’ll come back to time and time again.

One commenter mentioned that she uses oat flour in recipes that call for almond flour regularly and I wanted to try that for myself with my almond flour brownies recipe. Almond flour is a great gluten and grain-free baking flour but I don’t always keep it handy.

This recipe is basically the same as for almond flour brownies except with a little bit of water added to account for the grains. The brownies came out perfectly moist and chewy. I think the grains made them taste a little bit more like regular brownies than their almond counterpart. They were also slightly cakier than the almond flour brownies but still completely enjoyable for fudgy brownie lovers. Overall these were definitely a winner.

You don’t need to go out and buy a bag of oat flour for this recipe; you can make 3/4 cup oat flour by grinding 1 cup of rolled oats in a food processor or high-speed blender until it’s finely ground. If it’s big enough, you can even use the processor as a mixing bowl and blend the ingredients right in there instead of dirtying more dishes.

Oat Flour Brownies

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 8 x 8 pan):

3/4 cup oat flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules(optional)
1/2 cup butter
7oz semisweet or bittersweet baking chocolate, divided OR 3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup water

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the oat flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder and set aside.
In a separate bowl, melt together 4 ounces of chocolate or a scant 1/2 cup chocolate chips with the butter.
While the chocolate is melting, beat together the eggs, sugar, vanilla, water, and coffee granules if using.
Slowly pour the melted chocolate and butter into the egg/sugar mixture while whisking until fully incorporated. Don’t go too fast so that the raw eggs don’t cook upon contact.
Add the chocolate mixture in with the dry ingredients and mix completely.
Pour the batter in a greased 8 x 8 pan.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining chocolate and gently press it into the batter.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean. Let these cool completely before cutting in.

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Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Written on May 16, 2013 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

At some point recently I could feel myself becoming one of those vegetarians who doesn’t actually eat enough vegetables. Its not that I don’t like them—I love them. I’ll order them off of a menu any chance I get. But more often than not I cook for myself, and by cook I mean make oatmeal, open a yogurt container, scramble eggs or microwave a potato.

That’s definitely a habit I need to change. I never regret buying and cooking vegetables when I do, especially not these sprouts. Anything is delicious with some good olive oil and vinegar. I thought I was making a lot at the time but this hardly lasted me two meals.

If you want to make this fancy, you can add some other roasting vegetables into the mix with the brussels sprouts. These would especially be good with some julienned onions and diced potatoes(the kind not made in a microwave).

Roasted Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1lb brussels sprouts, washed and cut
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Method:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Make sure all of your brussels sprouts are clean and trimmed.
In a large bowl, toss together all of the ingredients.
Spread the sprouts out on a roasting pan.
Roast for 20-30 minutes until the sprouts are cooked and the edges begin to crisp.
Remove from the oven and serve hot.

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