Stacked Tortilla Enchilada Made Gluten Free

Five Layer Enchilada with Salad and Orange Slices

I went looking for a recipe to make for Meatless Monday and stumbled upon a layered enchilada recipe I adapted for our Gluten Free Family.  It turned out beautifully and the kids loved it.

Ingredients:

• 5 Brown Rice Tortillas from Food For Life
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 T. cumin
• 1 can bean dip from Frito Lay (or you could use pinto beans and smash them and add garlic powder and onions)
• 1 large onion (our family loves onions)
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1/2 c. salsa plus 1/4 c. for the top after cooking
• 1 can green mild chilies

Chop the onion and saute in olive oil. Add the two cans beans, drained and rinsed. Add the cumin. cook until beans are well coated with onion and cumin.
You can now start to layer your dinner. I used a pizza pan as my goal was to make this dish look different then an ordinary enchilada.
Lay down a tortilla, spread with bean dip, a scattering of cheese and bean and onion mixture. You can add a couple of T. of salsa, also. Repeat until your fifth layer. Add the mild green chilies to the top and bake at 325 for 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted. Take out and top with salsa.

We then made a quick green salad of lettuce, radishes, green onions, cucumbers and carrots. Sliced a couple of oranges and viola...Meatless Monday dinner, made gluten free.

Tillamook Yogurt expands its Flavors and Distribution

Pictures from Tillamook.com

 

 Growing up near Tillamook I have been able to tour the Tillamook Cheese Factory several times. Their cheese and other products are still amongst our family's favorites.
Tillamook Yogurt has three new flavors to brag about. Tillamook’s popular line of 6-oz.yogurts is expanding with three new flavors, all made with no artificial flavors, no artificial colors, no artificial sweeteners and no
high fructose corn syrup, and like all of its products, Tillamook Lowfat Yogurt is made with the highest
quality milk from cows not treated with artificial growth hormones. Additionally, the company is launching Vanilla Bean and Naturally Plain yogurts in new 32-oz. cartons and expanding distribution of
six of its popular 6-oz. flavors in the West.

The latest additions to the lowfat yogurt line include creamy
Banana Vanilla, tart Pomegranate Blackberry and antioxidant-rich
Blueberry Acai. These flavors join other inventive Tillamook
flavors in the 6-oz. size, including Baked Apple Pie, Watermelon
and Strawberry Lemonade, which have a suggested retail price of $0.89.
For More Check Out Their Press Release

Boutique Bakery Love At First Bite Offers A Twist On The Wedding Cake - Wedding Cupcake Towers

PRLog (Press Release) – Feb 08, 2011 – Cutting the wedding cake together by the bride and groom is a predominant ritual at western weddings. The wedding cake not only symbolises good fortune and fertility, it is also an icon of the couple’s unity, their life together and their shared future. Because wedding cakes are an important element of a wedding, it has taken many different shapes, sizes and presentation and continues to do so even today.

Love at First Bite offers something more than the traditional cake. This boutique cupcakes bakery in Melbourne specialists in handmade cupcakes. The bakery also designs fancy cupcake towers so that your wedding cake stands out at the wedding.

Love at First Bite is known for baking fresh cupcakes using the finest and natural ingredients. Their wedding cakes are guaranteed to be fresh and the best quality. In fact, the bakery prides itself on making the best cupcakes in Melbourne. Their quest for perfection ensures that you enjoy the best and the most delicious cupcakes that you would you will ever taste.

Every cupcake by Love at First Bite is handmade and beautifully finished with decorations so that your celebration is as dazzling as the cupcakes themselves.

According to Love at First Bite, “wedding cakes deliver a statement about your sense of style and personality. A wedding cake should be a reflection of what you are and it should definitely cater a good taste.” Love at First Bite is based in Melbourne and it specialists in stylish wedding designs. Their cupcake tower is one of their newest inventions and it can add uniqueness to any wedding.

What makes their cupcakes so special and inviting is the taste, alluring look, freshness and finest quality ingredients. Cupcakes created by Love at First Bite are perfectly piped frosted and are adorned with handmade decorations. It is made sure that the cupcakes are baked using only natural and best quality ingredients so that it offers a tempting treat. Love at First Bite has made every attempt to perfect their recipes so that the cupcakes remain packed with flavour and moisture. Moreover, a unique butter cream frosting method is used to make the cake even more luscious.

Love at First Bite offers free consultations, anywhere in Melbourne. To create an ideal design, they will work with you and make sure that the wedding cakes tower makes your wedding beautiful and memorable. The bakery will also deliver cake at the venue and set it up on the day of the wedding in order to make sure that the wedding cupcakes tower is perfectly presented.

Marshmallow Chocolate Cake

Making Marshmallow Cakes have become our traditions for birthdays this year. We adjusted this recipe to be Gluten Free. ADAPTED  from Baking and Desserts The Essential Recipe Collection

Enjoy!

Recipe:

Ingredients:
6 T. Unsalted Butter
1 C. Superfine Sugar
1/2 t. Vanilla
2 eggs, beaten slightly
3 oz semisweet chocolate, broken into pieces
2/3 C. Buttermilk
1 1/4 C Flour (we use Gluten Free flour)
1/2 t. baking soda
pinch of salt


FROSTING:
6 oz white marshmallows (we use gluten free ones)
1 T. Milk
2 egg whites
2 T. Superfine sugar
Grated Milk Chocolate to decorate the cake. We like to use a Symphony Bar


Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325. Grease a bundt pan with butter.
CREAM the butter, sugar and vanilla together in a dish until Pale and Fluffy, then gradually beat in the sugar.

MELT the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water or double boiler. When the Chocolate has melted, stir in buttermilk and remove the pan from the heat and let cool slightly.

SIFT the flour, baking soda and salt into a separate bowl. Add the chocolate mixture and the flour mixture alternately to the creamed mixture, a little at a time. Spoon the mixture into the bundt pan. Bake for 50 Minutes.

FROSTING
Put marshmallows and milk in a small saucepan and heat very gently until marshmallows have melted.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.  Whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, add sugar and continue whisking until stiff peaks form.  Fold in the egg white and set aside for 10 minutes. Cover the top and sides of the cake with frosting and top with grated chocolate.

Sweet Potato Delight Casserole

Sweet Potato Delight from The Taste Of Oregon Cookbook, a staple in our home.

Our favorite fall side dish is actually used as a dessert in our house. This casserole has delighted many people who believed they did not like Sweet Potatoes.

• 3 C. Cooked mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 cup granulated sugar (this year I will substitute Agave Nectar)
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/2 c. butter

Topping:

• 1 C. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. flour
• 1 C. chopped pecans
• 1/3 c. butter

Mix all ingredients together except the topping and pour into a buttered casserole dish or stoneware.

Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle over the casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

A Gift From My Niece

I love Subway sandwiches. I mean I really love Subway sandwiches. Most days for the past seven years you will find me eating at the local sub shop. And not just any sandwich will do. It needs to be a Veggie on wheat with everything on it except the jalapenos. Hold the dressing please. That’s my sandwich.

This year for Christmas, my niece wanted to do something special for me. She makes holiday gift baskets. She usually chooses a theme and of course my theme had to be sub sandwiches.

She got a beautiful red basket and put several different types of bread in it. Rye, whole grain, French, and of course wheat because she knew it was favorite. Then she added cheese; Swiss, American, provolone, and you can’t forget spicy jack. The meat combos were next and she out did herself? Ham and roast beef and at least three others swarmed my bread. Next came the condiments and she spared no expense. She wrapped it all in a large piece of cellophane with a beautiful bow on top. In it she added a note about how she hoped I would enjoy this holiday gift basket and how she made it just for me with all her love.

Christmas morning my son and daughter in law and three children came over for Christmas brunch. My niece has never married and joined us too. We would enjoy some of our family favorite recipes and traditional foods and then it would be time to open presents.

When I looked over at the tree, my eyes went right to the beautiful big red basket. It doesn’t matter how old we get, we still love to receive beautifully wrapped packages. Maybe that is more fun than the gift, but let’s talk about that some other time.

My niece had a big smile on her face as I opened it. She was picturing all those sandwiches my husband and I were going to enjoy over the next few weeks.

Well, make sandwiches we did. And they were good too. Ham on rye was my favorite. We even tried grilling it. My husband was enjoying my gift as much as I was.

Now I wish I could tell you that I was a convert and never went back to Subway. I tried. I really tried, but after a few weeks there I was at the local Subway shop asking for my 6 inch veggie on wheat. I sat down with my diet cola and took a bit. I was hooked and happy to be. I love my niece and loved the gift basket but I guess I am just a subway girl

What is an easy candy recipe to give out during the holidays?

I knew it was our last thanksgiving together. It was our first and our last all in one. Now that seems strange, but for this year we were celebrating with our exchange student from England. We wanted to share all our traditions with her. We played mud football Thanksgiving morning with some of our cousins. I sprained my ankle, but nothing was going to stop us from enjoying this holiday. My Grandparents came from California and brought up two pecan pies. Auntie Sue made her famous Southern sweet potato pie and I even tried my hand in making the cranberry sauce.

Our exchange student seemed over whelmed, but we didn’t care, we were determined to share our Holiday with her. And share we did. By the end of the year, she was a true family member. I loved her like a real sister.

But sometimes things have to end. Jana had to go home in June and back to her family and to her own wonderful traditions. We cried and hugged at the airport and I felt like I lost my best friend. We vowed to stay in touch and over the years we have. Of course it is not the same, but it is still very sweet.

At Thanksgiving I start thinking about what holiday gifts I want to send to Jana and her family. Sending holiday gifts over the ocean can be very expensive, but it is something I love to do.

I usually try to make some kind of candy, because it is easy to send and can stay fresh for a longer time. I add a note and talk about some of the wonderful things we shared that year. Jana even tried to fix Thanksgiving dinner for her family. She had lots of funny stories about trying to cook a duck, because she could not find a turkey. I know it is not the same, but somehow I know when she gets my package of homemade goodies, she is smiling and remembering. I will always miss her, but a part of her is in my heart.

My favorite candy to send is Tiger butter. Not sure where it got its name, but it is easy and oh so good. It is the perfect holiday gift to send and it mails easily too. So if you need an inexpensive holiday gift to send to someone who is special to you. Try this. It is good for the heart and don’t forget to add a note.

TIGER BUTTER

16 ounces white chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions

Butter a 10x15 pan. Set aside.

Place white chocolate in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high until melted, stirring frequently. Stir in peanut butter.

Spread into prepared pan. Drizzle with melted milk chocolate chips, stirring through mixture to create a marbled effect. Let stand until set. Break into bite-sized pieces. Enjoy!