Carrot Cake gluten-free & dairy free

I'm always on the lookout for a delicious gluten-free and dairy-free dessert. When we get together with my family for Sunday dinner it's nice to have something for dessert that everyone can enjoy. Lately we made Golden Garbanzo Goodies on Sundays, but I have a feeling that this Carrot Cake will be making it into our regular rotation. You can make this dessert with traditional cream cheese icing, or keep it dairy free by using tofutti cream cheese to make the icing.

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3 tsp Saigon cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups freshly grated carrots

Optional Cream Cheese Icing:
4 Tbsp butter softened
4 oz. cream cheese room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Optional Dairy free Icing:
1 pkg. tofutti cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups chopped walnuts

Directions:
 Use two round 9-inch cake pans, one 9x13 pan or 36 muffin cups for this recipe. If using round cake pans, lightly grease and place a circle of parchment in the bottom of the pan for easy removal. Use paper lining cups if making cupcakes.

1. Cream sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl with an electric beater or stand mixer. Add oil and vanilla and beat just until smooth.
2. In a separate bowl combine gluten-free flour mix, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until blended.
3. Stir in grated carrots. Pour the batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. For muffins, reduce baking time to 30-35 minutes or until they pass the toothpick test. Cool on a wire rack.
5. While cake or muffins are cooling place butter, cream cheese and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat on high until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. If making dairy free frosting, beat together the tofutti cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.
6. When cake is cool frost. Press chopped nuts into the frosting around the sides of the cake

Enjoy!

Cherry Almond Bake

Warm sweet fruit topped with ice cream. Need I say more? We enjoyed this recently while my in-laws were in town and everyone loved it! Lately I've been loving all things cherry, it probably started with the Cherry Limeade. This is a delicious dessert that is easy enough to make any day, but special enough that you can have it for company too. I must confess I keep a large batch of the crumble topping pre-made in my freezer so that I can make a delicious bake with any fruit that I might have on hand.

Ingredients:
For the cherry mixture:
4 cups frozen sweet cherries
2 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp almond extract
For the crumble topping:
1/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup slivered almonds
vanilla ice cream

Directions:
In a mixing bowl combine all ingredients for the cherry mixture. Stir to combine.
In a separate bowl combine all ingredients for the crumble topping, except for the ice cream of course! Use a knife to cut the butter into the rest of the ingredients. The mixture can still be chunky. Divide the cherry mixture among 4 oven safe individual ramekins. Top each dish with the crumble. Place small ramekins on a large baking sheet to catch anything that might bubble over, and to make it easy to get the small dishes in and out of the oven. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from the oven and let cool until ready to eat. Top with ice cream while the dishes are still warm and enjoy!!

Egg Salad

Need an easy and delicious egg salad recipe? Look no further. If you have leftover hard boiled eggs from Easter hanging out in your fridge, then this is the perfect solution.

Ingredients:
1 dozen eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp mustard
2 tsp sweet relish
salt & pepper to taste
chopped roasted red pepper for garnish

Directions:
Place the eggs in a large pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Remove eggs from pot and cool completely. Peel and chop the eggs.
In a mixing bowl combine chopped eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, sweet relish, salt, and pepper. Mix to combine. Garnish with roasted red peppers and serve over green salad.

Barbeque Beef Sandwich

Summer is coming. Which means messy food being eaten outdoors. And this sandwich fits the bill. A simple tasty dinner you can make in no time!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups ketchup
4 Tb brown sugar
2 tsp. Mexican style chili powder
1 Tb mustard
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
2 Tb tomato paste
salt & pepper
gluten free sandwich rolls - I used Scharr brand

In a deep skillet cook and crumble ground beef until done. Remove from pan and drain excess oil. In the same pan saute diced onions and minced garlic over medium heat. Meanwhile in a mixing bowl combine the rest of the ingredients to make the sauce. When onion and garlic are translucent add the sauce mixture to the pan. Mix in ground beef. Cook until hot and serve on the gluten-free rolls of your choice.

Enjoy!

Fruit & Mint Ice Tea

Thirsty? Looking for a delicious summer refreshment everyone will enjoy? Well, look no further. Tea lends itself to all sorts of summer flavors. In this version I used freshly brewed iced tea with a mix of fruit and mint.

Ingredients:
5 tea bags
1 quart water
slices of:
  pineapple
  strawberries
  tangerines
a couple sprigs of mint
liquid stevia 

Directions:
Pour boiling water over the tea bags in a tea pot, and let them brew for 4 minutes. Remove tea bags and pour tea into a pitcher, add cold water and ice. In individual glasses place ice, fruit, and a few tea leaves. Muddle these together. Pour the tea over the fruit, mint, and ice. Sweeten with liquid stevia to your taste and enjoy!!

Chipotle Lime Viniagrette

A delicious salad dressing you can use on your Mexican salads, or on any salad for a spicy zip. Because a salad is only as good as its dressing!!

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup honey
2 tsp Grey Poupon Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp ground chipotle powder
1 Tb lime juice
3/4 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp adobo seasoning
1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Combine all of the ingredients into a jar with a lid, and mix together until well combined. I like to put the lid on the jar and then shake for 1 minute so that all ingredients are well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. 

Chocolate Crispy Bars

Like the Trail Mix Bars I posted yesterday, these are super easy to make. These take the basic snack recipe into the realm of dessert. The three basic ingredients are the same: puffed rice, honey, and almond butter. The addition of chocolate makes them a special treat.

Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1 cup almond butter
8 cups puffed rice
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
In a saucepan melt together the almond butter and honey until warm and combined. In a mixing bowl pour honey mixture over the puffed rice and mix thoroughly. In a microwave safe bowl melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour melted chocolate over puffed rice mixture and mix. Press the puffed rice into a 9x13 baking dish and press chocolate chips onto the top of the bars. Refrigerate until cold. When the bars are cold cut into squares and enjoy!

Trail Mix Bars

These are sort of like rice krispies...except far fewer ingredients. For this recipe I use puffed rice. Puffed rice is not the same as rice krispie cereal, it is larger, softer and the only ingredients should be "puffed whole grain
rice". With just three basic ingredients - puffed rice, honey, and almond butter - you have a basic recipe you can customize to your liking. You can mix in your families favorite dried fruits, nuts, and seeds.

 Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1 cup almond butter
8 cups puffed rice
1 1/2 cups of mix-ins
 for this recipe I used a combination of almonds, dried cherries, and dried cranberries.

 Directions: In a sauce pan melt together the honey and almond butter until warm and combined. In a large mixing bowl pour the mixture over the puffed rice. Mix together so everything is coated. Add fruit and nuts and mix in. Press the mixture into a 9x13 baking dish and refrigerate. When the bars are completely cold cut them into squares and enjoy!