Gluten Free, Dairy Free "Clean" Granola Bars

This recipe is an amendment to my original Fat Free Granola bars. It is Gluten Free, Dairy Free and Egg Free. And I am just starting on my clean eating journey so I believe it can be considered clean with a few adjustments.

So here's the recipe, enjoy!

Gluten, Dairy and Egg Free Granola Bars

3 cups of rolled oats*
1/2 cup gluten free flour
1 cup ground flax seed
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup of honey (may need 1/4 cup more if it does not blend evenly)
3 to 6 tbsp of almond milk

Here you can add nuts, coconut, sesame or sunflower seeds and dark chocolate chips.

Spread onto a greased or parchment covered cookies sheet and pressed down into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 mins until the edges start to get brown. Let cool completely and cut into long rectangles or squares.

*make sure they are certified gluten free

Cheesecake!

(Anything this good deserves an exclamation point)





I made a batch of gluten free mini cheesecakes for Christmas. It all started with the graham crackers. I had to make gluten free graham crackers, which didn't turn out too bad but sadly I did not get a picture of them. I borrowed a food processor from a friend (yay for communal sharing) and made the crackers into crumbs. I will post the graham cracker recipe after this post.

Cheesecake


3 cups of graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp of soft butter

Mix in a large bowl. Line mini cupcake pans with paper liners, not using the liners will result in the cakes sticking to the sides. Spoon a bit of graham crumbs into the bottoms and press down to make it flat.



In a mixing bowl, soften;

two 250gr packages of plain cream cheese

Add:

1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix and then add:

2 eggs

Mix until smooth. This is when I divided the mixture into three separate bowls and added food colouring. Spoon into lined cupcake pan. These do not expand much so no need to worry about them overflowing while baking.

Bake in a 350F oven for 20 minutes, for mini cakes, 40 minutes for a whole pie-sized cheesecake.



Refrigerated for minimum 3 hours before serving. You can add a berry sauce on top before serving or keep them plain like I do for easy entertaining.

Snowballs- Gluten Free Naturally

Snowballs

2.5 cups white chocolate chips
2/3 cups of whipping cream

Place in a bowl over boiling water (or double boiler) and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and add 1 cup of almond pieces. Stir until combined.

Pour in a greased 8x8 pan and place in the fridge for an hour.


Here's a homemade Christmas chocolate recipe that is always a hit.


Once cooled, and somewhat solid, scoop out with a spoon and roll into a ball with your hands. Roll the ball in coconut and set on wax paper. Once all the balls are completed place in fridge or freezer. These chocolates are so good when frozen but you could leave them on a tray for guests and they will be a hit.

Apple Chips

Slice two Granny Smith apples with a mandoline or other tool that will provide consistent thickness.

Spread out on parchment paper on cookies sheets in a single layer. Set oven to the lowest temperature. 115 degrees F is ideal but mine only goes down to 170, so I do that.



Flip the slices once after an hour or so and replace in the oven. Should be done within 4 to 6 hours depending on thickness.

Ultimately a raw food is any food not cooked above 115 degrees F, this includes dehydrated food. A commercially bought or home built solar dehydrator is best for these types of recipes. I plan to continue experimenting before plunking down $130 bucks for one.



They taste like sweet apple-ly chips... how else can I describe them? My daughter and I devoured them in 5 minutes so now I have to make some more!

Smoothies

I bought a blender recently and have been making smoothies non-stop. This recipe is my favourite.

2 cups frozen strawberries
2 cups of orange juice
2 bananas
1/2 cup of yogurt (if desired)

Blend.

This makes enough for my two kids and I. I usually take my portion out before adding the yogurt, since I am avoiding diary products. The orange juice I have been using is calcium fortified so it make up for the loss in calcium. This is the perfect, most complete breakfast I have ever had!

Essentially you can use whatever fruits you like, and the juice can be milk or another type. Get creative.

Chocolate Spring Nests

These are yummy with or without the chocolate eggs on top. You can make them year round or as a special Easter/spring treat.



Chocolate Nests (aka haystacks)

3 cups of rolled oats
3/4 cups of shredded coconut
6 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

Mix in a large bowl and set aside.

In a sauce pan, over medium heat combine:

2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
2/3 cup of butter

Bring to a boil slowly. Once large bubbles form, pour over oats mixture and mix well. Let stand for a minute to cool.

Place wax paper over flat cookie sheet or pan.

Using a spoon, drop enough to form a small nest and place a chocolate egg inside (Hershey's Eggies or Cadbury Mini Eggs work great). Continue until all dough is gone. Place cookie sheets in fridge or freezer to let them set. After an hour or so, Enjoy!

Pasta Sausage Casserole

This is a nice, quick, healthy casserole that uses fresh veggies, pasta and sausage.

300 grams cooked macaroni noodles

2lbs of cooked and sliced sausage
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 bell pepper chopped
6 tomatoes chopped or 1 can of tomato sauce (or both)
1 medium onion chopped
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

Cook sausage in a skillet and slice. Add garlic with a splash of olive oil and simmer a bit. Add 1/2 cup of water and toss in pepper and onion. Add tomatoes last.

Let simmer. Add some chopped fresh parsely (or dried), salt and pepper.

Place macaroni in a 9 x 13 baking pan. Pour sausage and tomato sauce mixture over top and stir. Top with Parmesan and bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve with a side salad. De-lish!

imPRESSive Chocolate Christmas Cookies

Do you have a cookie press? Up until a few years ago I had no idea such a thing even existed. I volunteered with the local resource centre to create and promote a fundraising Craft Show which ended up raising about $3,000 a year for the centre's programs. The show featured over 80 local craft vendors but the Centre also ran a table of our own creations. One of the recipes we used that first year was for Whipped Shortbread. Those cookies were divine. They practically melted in our mouths.

While volunteering I met a dear friend, who remains so today, and bless her she was the one with the Whipped Shortbread recipe. That Christmas she gifted me with a cookie press, the same kind we used for the craft show. Many Christmases have passed and each year I try to replicate her recipe but always fall short. I suppose I could just call her up and ask, but really, what's the fun in that?

In my search for the perfect pressed cookie recipe I created this one. They are not as divine as the whipped shortbread but they are pretty dang awesome if I do say so myself.



Pressed Chocolate Cookies

3/4 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp milk
2 cup flour
6 tbsp cocoa
1/2 tsp salt

Add one ingredient at a time and keep mixing. The just fill your cookie press and go to town. Bake at 350F for 8 to 10 minutes. They freeze well too. Enjoy!

Pizza Purses

Pizza is quick, easy and usually a family favourite. About a year ago I wanted to find a way to make those frozen pizza foods found in the grocer's freezer. I wanted to make them ahead of time and freeze them so my husband could take them to work for lunches or the kids and I could have a quick but home cooked midday meal.

Pizza Dough

1 cup of warm water
3 tsp of yeast
2 tbsp of olive or vegetable oil

Set aside.

In a bowl add 1 3/4 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tbsp of sugar.

Add water/yeast to flour and mix until it forms a dough like bread dough. It will be slightly more wet than bread dough. Place in a warm draft free place (off oven with light on works wonders) and let rise for 1 hour 30 minutes.



Assemble ingredients, tomato sauce, cheese, meats (if using) and lots of veggies. Cut dough into fist sized portions and roll out into circles. Fill one side of dough with toppings and then fold over the other side. Pinch the edges together to form a purse or pocket shape.



Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown, about 20 minutes. If you plan to freeze them, bake until just turning brown (10 to 15 mins), remove from oven, let cool and freeze. When you want to cook the frozen pizza purses, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or use a microwave.

For a large batch, you may want to double the above recipe. When I make these I usually plan to have them for dinner and make sure there are about 6 or more left over for freezing.

Chocolate Skeleton Cookies

These were a hit last week at our homeschool Halloween Party, although I think a few people shied away from them because they look like gingerbread. Let's face it, most kids don't like gingerbread when there's chocolate to be had. That just means more for me! These cookies, that I found at Taste of Home, are easy-peasy and oh-so-good!




Chocolate Skeleton Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup of cocoa
1 tsp baking soda


Cream Butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl combine flour, cocoa and baking soda. Add to butter mixture.

Refrigerate for about an hour (or more) to make it easier to work with.

Roll out and use a gingerbread boy cookie cutter to cut out shapes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Once completely cooled, use icing sugar and a piping bag to pipe on skeleton bones.

If you can draw a stick person, you can make these cookies!

This recipe was found at the Taste Of Home website.

Raspberry Muffins

So just what do I do with all the fruit I freeze in summer? Well, aside from making smoothies and frozen popsicle treats, I make muffins. This morning I whipped up a batch of raspberry muffins and they are Mmmm-Mmmm good!




Raspberry Muffins


1 cup of butter or margarine
1 1/4 cup of sugar

Cream together in large bowl.

2 eggs

Add one at a time and mix well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, mix:

2 cups of flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt

Add flour mix to large bowl of butter, sugar and egg mixture. Add:

1/4 cup of milk
2 1/2 cups of raspberries

Fold



Spoon into greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 18 muffins or 24 small muffins.

Yogurt Pops

At the beginning of summer I ordered two sets of BPA free popsicle molds from Amazon.com, made by Tovolo. I love, love, love these molds. I bought the star molds and the space ship molds. When they arrived, the kids and I never looked at summer treats the same way.




Aside from juice, we experimented all summer seeing what concoction we could dream up. I had a batch of ice cream that wouldn't set and we needed to leave. I couldn't just keep the ice cream maker going so I poured the semi-ice cream into the molds and shoved them in the freezer. It was great! The handles did slide off and we needed to eat them with a spoon but I figured out they just needed more time to de-thaw and pull away from the sides of the mold.

I also developed this recipe, a simple but very healthy popsicle. Yogurt pops.

You will need:

1 cup of frozen or fresh strawberries,
1 to 1 1/2 cups of yogurt (any flavour)
Popsicle mold

Place your strawberries in a food processor or blender and puree. Add your yogurt and mix. You can sweeten with honey but we don't bother. Pour your yogurt fruit into the molds and place in freezer to set. Remember to leave a bit of head space because they will expand when frozen.



Easy, healthy and oh-so-good!



Since buying my popsicle molds I have not bought popsicles, freezes or any treat this summer. We simply just make our own. I am so glad I found an alternative to all those freezie wrappers, or plastic wrap on store bought treats. These molds are easy to clean, easy to make and better for the environment. Love it!

Kaiser Buns

These buns are great for burgers, sandwiches or just warm with butter.


In a small bowl or glass measuring cup stir together;

1 cup of warm water
2 1/2 tsp of yeast


Set aside.

In a large bowl mix;

1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 tsp salt
2 cups of flour
2 tbsp of sugar

Add the yeast mixture to flour and beat until smooth. Stir in 2 more cups of flour to form a soft dough. Let rise in oven with the light on, or in a warm place for 1 hour.

Punch down. Form buns (8 to 12) and make cuts in the top like an X, and let rise again for 20 to 30 minutes.

Bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Homemade Yogurt

This summer, I have been trying to concoct my own yogurt without a lot of success. Apparently, the process is tricky and takes some practice. My first batch was laughable, and resembled only slightly thick milk. After some online digging, I found out I was heating my milk too hot and then killing my starter. The next batch, which I only heated to 120 degrees F (instead of 180F like I previously was told), had all the yogurt on the bottom and a thin layer of whey and milk on top. But at least I was seeing progress.

Third times the charm in this case. After two botched batches I finally got it right, even if it is a bit runnier than store bought. Now I feel confident posting it here.

Plain Homemade Yogurt

Wash out two 500 ml glass canning jars. Set aside. Place a full kettle of water on the boil. Doesn't need to be boiling, but near boiling.

You will need:

1 liter (4 cups) of milk
1/4 to 1/2 cup of plain yogurt

Yogurt makes more yogurt, who knew? Make sure you buy yogurt with *live bacterial cultures*. Any milk will do, from skim milk to whole milk or even raw milk.



In a saucepan warm up milk to 120 degrees F. Use a cooking thermometer and keep any eye on the temperature. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Take about 1/2 cup of warm milk from pan and mix with your yogurt starter. Then add it back to the sauce pan.

Pour the milk/yogurt into the two jars. Place on the lids and put them both into a insulated cooler.



Take your kettle of near-boiling water and pour the water into the cooler, all around the jars. Close lid. This will need to stay for about 8 to 10 hours. You can do more. I was pushing 12 hours incubating before I found success. When time is up place both jars in the fridge. The mixture will thicken as it cools so you won't know if it worked until a few hours later.

Depending how my next few batches go, I may cave and buy a yogurt maker. Yogurt makers regulate the incubating temperature and provides more consistent batches. I wanted to try this version with the mason jars and cooler, using materials I had on hand before I dole out money on yet another kitchen appliance.

Raspberry Tarts

These tarts are super easy. I went out and picked some wild raspberries yesterday in the woods behind our house. I already picked raspberries at a local berry farm and have 8 jars of jam and 2 very large bags of frozen raspberries in the freezer so I wanted to make something different. Raspberry tarts it was.



I couldn't find a recipe that I like so I just winged it.

2 cups of raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup of sugar.

I started by mashing up my raspberries in a sauce pan. I added the sugar and brought the mixture to a slow boil. The heat does not need to be very high. Simmer for about 10 minutes and remove from heat. Set aside to cool. This is very similar to jam so I imagine ready made jam can be used as well.




I made a traditional Pastry Crust.

1 cup of cold shortening
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 tsp of vinegar
dash of salt

Cut shortening and flour together with pastry fork until the mixture resembles small peas. Add vinegar and salt and mix together. You may need a bit of cold water to pull it together. Form into a ball and place in fridge to cool.

When ready, form dough into small balls and place in mini-muffin tray. I use this neat tool that presses the balls into tart cups. It makes the job super easy and great for kids.



Bake for 10 minutes at 375F, until slightly brown. Let cool slightly. Remove from pan and cool on a baking rack. Spoon in some of the Raspberry mixture and let set.

And your done! Enjoy!

Strawberry-Kiwi Juice Concentrate

Homemade juice is both cost effective and better for your overall health.

I can control how much sugar gets used in the juice. I can control whether or not the juice is organic. And I can support the local economy by going straight to the farmer. Plus, it's just one more step to self-sufficiency.

From a pure cost perspective, it's a pretty good deal. Let me give you a break down. Each basket of strawberries costs me approximately $8. One basket made about 18 jars (125 ml) of juice concentrate. That works out to 44 cents a jar. Once prepared (diluted) each jar creates slightly less juice than 1L. 44 cents is a great deal for healthy and often organic treat.

I am not a big fan of juice from a nutritional standpoint. Let's face it, we are much better off eating the actual fruit then resorting to a fruit extract laden with sugar. Fruit has more fiber in the actual pulp than in the juice. Water is a much better beverage by a long shot. But, local strawberries in January are hard to come by, sometimes you want a little treat and hey, why not give it a try? So I did.


This recipe can be used for any type of juice actually. I just happened to try strawberries first because they are ready the soonest in the season.


I made two recipes, and finished with 22 jars of homemade juice concentrate. It was so easy I see myself trying my hand at some blueberry concoctions once they are ripe. We tried the recipe below using Strawberries and Kiwi. I also tried this recipe for Strawberry Lemonade at Homemade Serenity and it tastes so good.

Straight-Up Any Old Fruit Juice Concentrate

Select your fruit or combination of fruits. Wash, peel, hull, whatever just get them ready.

Place in a sauce pan with just enough water to separate the fruit, so it can somewhat bob. Do not add too much water though.

Start a slow boil. Once boiling remove from heat. Mash with potato masher and return to heat until slowly boiled again.

Line colander with several layers of cheesecloth. Place a large bowl beneath to catch juice.

Pour liquid into colander. And let the liquid seep out of the cheesecloth. Once most liquid has run through, twist cheese cloth and gently squeeze out any last bit in the pulp. Compost pulp.

Add sugar to the juice while it is still warm. You choose as much or as little sugar as you want. You can always add more sugar later when you dilute it so it is best to underestimate than over estimate.

Now your juice is ready to can in a waterbath canner (10 minutes), or to freeze in mason jars.



I like to can my juice so it doesn't take up room in my freezer. Canning also uses less overall energy compared to frozen food that needs near constant cold to stay fresh. If canning, please be sure to add 1 tsp of lemon juice to the bottom of your jar before placing juice in. This raises the acidity level to can it properly and safely.

See that's not so hard!

More Cakes

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a fairly creative person. I try my hand at everything. I often look at things in stores and say to myself "I can make that!" and away I go. Cakes are one of those things in which I decided long ago that I would not buy.

Both my kiddos are born in March and each year they give me a theme and I challenge myself to come up with something new.

My son wanted a pirate cake so I made this deserted island. The cake is actually a bunt cake pan with an small glass dish inverted in the centre and covered in icing. Simple yet intriguing.



My daughter was taking some friends to see Alice in Wonderland at the movie theater so she wanted an Alice cake. We made the traditional "Barbie" cake (for our family celebration) and added 6 jumbo cupcakes to hand out after the movie.



You can check out some of my other creations in a post I did previously.

Make Ahead Lasagna

I like preparing meals two or three at a time, eating one the day I make it and freezing the other two for meals later in the month. The meal I make most regularly this way is Lasagna.




Making three at once helps save money as well, this is how...

When I make 3 lasagnas I purchase two boxes of noodles, two cans of sauce, one 500 ml tub of cottage cheese, 1 package of frozen chopped spinach (I use half) and 2 cups of mozzarella.

Already it is obvious I only buy two or less of each item, however if I was making just one I would still need to buy at least one of each. Buying multiples and dividing it up among 3 pans maximizes materials and time.

Here's my recipe:

While noodles are boiling, mix together 500 ml of cottage cheese and 1/2 package of frozen chopped spinach (about one cup). Add salt and pepper. You can also add some mozzarella to this filling, but I do not to save money.



Once noodles are boiled, drain. Open two cans of pasta sauce. Start layering, noodles, sauce, noodles sauce. Some where in the middle pour 1/3 of the filling and spread out evenly.

Finish with a layer of sauce, and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake one at 350F for 30 minutes. Wrap other two pans in tin foil** and freeze. Lasagna can keep in the freezer for about a month and a half.

When ready to cook, de-thaw in fridge overnight the day before then when ready, place in oven bake at 350F for 30 to 40 minutes. I have also de-thawed at room temperature for 8 or so hours if I forgot the night before.

** the tinfoil can be folded gently and used again, or in my area tin foil is recyclable.

Whole Wheat Raisin Bread

Oh so good and good for you too! Molasses gives it the rich brown colour and adds a taste of downhome cooking.


In a large 4 cup liquid measuring place:

2 1/2 cups of warm water
4 1/2 tsp of yeast

Mix together set aside.

In a large bowl, place:

6 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
4 tbsp of margarine or butter
1/2 cup of sugar
3 tsp of salt
3 tbsp of molasses
3 tsp of cinnamon (or more if desired!)

Mix together and slowly add water/yeast mixture. Mix in mixer or with hands until dough pulls away from side and forms a round dough in centre of bowl.

Add 1 cup of raisins.



Knead by folding dough and pressing with your palm. Knead until dough is uniform.

Place tea towel over bowl and place in Off Oven with oven light on. Let rise 40 minutes. Knead once again, and rise 30 minutes. Form into loaves and place in greased loaf pan. Allow to rise again. Bake at 350F for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown, and pulls away from the edge of the loaf pan.

Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!

Making Butter

It's really quite simple and oh so satisfying. Nothing tastes better than homemade butter on homemade bread. Simply divine! Yet another thing to check off my self-sufficiency list!



Start off with heavy cream, the heaviest you can get a hold of. In my neck of the woods, the heaviest available is 35%, commonly known as Whipping cream. A lower cream content can also be made into butter but it takes longer.

Whipping Cream recently went on sale in my area so I pick up some. I am using 500 ml of 35% cream and two 500 ml mason jars.

Fill jars half full and place on the lids. And now shake! You don't have to shake vigorously, just keep the liquid moving.




After about 10 minutes the cream gets thicker.




And then it will almost solidify. At this stage it becomes hard to shake and it really feels like you aren't doing anything because the cream is stuck to the outer edge of the jar and then...puff! The whey separates and you have a big lump of butter in the middle splashing around.



We kept shaking for a few more minutes before emptying the whey (cloudy milk) and adding ice cold water. Shake around again. Pour out, add more ice water. Keep going until the liquid is pretty clear. Pour out remaining water.



Then put your butter on top of a cloth. I used a cheesecloth in this picture but the fibers were too far apart. A linen cloth would be best. Squeeze the cloth around the butter and let the remaining whey drip out.



It's important to get the whey out or else the butter will expire pretty quickly. Then remove cloth, and place butter in your desired container and refrigerate!

Since I was doing two jars my daughter volunteered to help with one. We had a shake off, to see who's would turn into butter first. She won by the way but only because I was stopping to take pictures.

You can also make butter using a blender or food processor or a mixer. To get directions for this method check out Down to Earth

My 500 ml ( 1 pint) yielded almost two cups or one pound of butter. Let's forget about self-sufficiency for a moment and look at the numbers. At the regular price of $3.59for whipping cream, this process hardly makes it worth it when pre-made butter costs $2.99 but when whipping cream is on sale for $1.99 it makes financial sense. It certainly can provide a nice treat at a Thanksgiving or Christmas feast!