5 Gluten Free Quarantine Baking Recipes I Love

During my state's "stay at home" time (which is now being phased out) I have been baking more.

 

Rather than a giving detailed recipes, this is a round-up of foods I've made and links to the original recipe.
Note: I eat gf to keep my belly happy. All 5 recipes are gluten free. Some of these recipes are also paleo, dairy free, nut free or refined sugar free. That's just an added bonus.

How to Cook Gluten Free Pasta Like a Pro

You’re gonna need a bigger pot

Have you ever tried to cook gluten free pasta, only to have it turn out starchy and globby? Did the noodles stick to the bottom of the pan and burn? Was the starch so thick that it would not drain off, even when you rinsed the pasta with water?

Bad news: you’re doing it wrong.

Good news: you can cook better pasta in the future.

Look Ma, no starch!

Regular readers will know that my mom does not believe in following recipes to the letter.

Turns out, to cook pasta properly you’re supposed to

Gluten Free Ham and Broccoli Quiche

With sweet potato crust.

This summer, my Nana made a quiche with “surprise” crust. She wouldn’t tell us what it was until we ate it, since some members of my extended family are afraid to eat things that are gluten free! I know the label can be scary, but rest assured, gluten free does not mean tasteless, as this savory, cheesy fare proves.

My mom does not usually make quiche because some of her children do not enjoy egg-y dishes, but when Nana’s quiche was so well-received, she was inspired to re-create the dish at home.

More Gluten Free Pasta and Product Reviews

Part four in an ongoing series—catch part one: bread, part two, and part three here.

We’re always trying new pasta around here, and today I’m going to tell you about spaghetti squash.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries Restaurant Review

I’ve eaten at Five Guys multiple times, and in multiple different locations and I can confidently say the food is great, and so is the service. (Sadly, I have not had their milkshakes since they are only available at select locations.)

Basically, everything but the bun is gluten free.

More Gluten Free Products I've Tried

A while back, I shared Some of My Favorite Gluten Free Breads, and now I'd like to share some more gluten-free products I've tried.

I had way too much fun making this on PicMonkey!

We (my mom, my gf brother, and myself) had a really hard time finding decent gluten free tortillas. Some were brittle and cracked instead of rolling up nicely. Others were tough and chewy. For a bit, we even used our gf crepe recipe, minus the vanilla, as a tortilla recipe. Those tortillas had the opposite problem: they were too soft and fell apart. Finally, we discovered

Some of My Favorite Gluten Free Breads

I've tried a lot of gluten free breads, some of which crumbled and others of which resembled cardboard, but found a few I like. My favorite store-bought bread is Canyon Bakehouse's Cinnamon Raisin bread, followed by their other flavors like seven grain, which you can sometimes find at Meijer. 2021 UPDATE: several years later and I'm still loving Canyon Bakehouse! (Udi's is OK. Past non-favorites include Rudi's and Food for Life brand bread... if you need a way to use up some dry, unappetizing bread, check out this recipe for French Toast Strata, aka Breakfast Casserole or this recipe for speedy stuffing.)

The Simplest Recipe Ever {Gluten Free, Allergy Friendly}

I wish I could say I came up with this, or even tell you who did. I have heard of this recipe both by word of mouth and on the internet, but never with a source. (Darn Pinterest! After some digging, I think this is from Oh Snap! Let's Eat!)

This recipe is the simplest ever because it has only two ingredients, and no measuring.  The only other thing I can think of with few ingredients and minimal measuring might be a frozen banana smoothie. The consistency of a blended frozen banana is like soft-serve ice cream, by the way. If you like recipes that don't require measuring things, these DIY 3 Ingredient Mint Chocolate Covered Pretzels are for you. But back to the simplest recipe ever. Here are the ingredients:

Image likely from Oh Snap! Let's Eat!, via Pinterest

Oat Baguette Bread {Gluten Free, Allergy Friendly}

I found this recipe for soft and chewy oat baguette bread on Stephanie's Hope For Healing blog. My mom modified it (surprise, surprise) but this time it was not to reduce the sugar, or make it gluten-free because all of Stephanie's recipes are gf, dairy free, soy free, and refined sugar free "as much as possible" according to her bio. Instead, we had to change the recipe because we could not find psyllium husk powder. What is psyllium husk powder? It is the husk of the psyllium ground into powder, silly. Actually, it makes a great thickener. My mom decided to try chia seeds instead.
We had never used chia seeds before, but we had heard them compared to flax seeds, and even used in the place of pectin in refrigerator jam! Generally, we use xanthan gum or potato starch for thickening.

chia seeds

Anyway, I'm sure you all want to know how to make this quick, non-rising, gluten free, dairy free, sugar free bread which does not have eggs, soy, nuts, or yeast either!

Chili and Cornbread {Gluten Free}

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... everywhere is snow! When it's chilly outside, our family loves to eat chili. We recently served chili at our church, and there were no complaints. This chili appeals to the masses with its milder flavor.

Chili Ingredients:

plain chili, before anything else is added

1 pound ground beef
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 (14 ounces) cans of diced tomatoes-- if, early in fall, we have any garden tomatoes on hand, we peel 'em and cut 'em and throw 'em in the pot.
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon coriander
1 cup tomato juice
1 Tablespoon honey
1 (16 ounces) can of navy or Great Northern Beans

Carrot Cake {Gluten Free}

September is always busy, but every year I seem to forget that fact, and am surprised how quickly it passes. The 15th was my grandpa’s 80^th birthday, but it’s the first day of October as I am finally posting about it! We celebrated with extended family and gluten-free cakes.

I was surprised the carrot cake was more of a hit than the chocolate cake.

We found the recipe on Elana’s Pantry, a paleo blog. (For some of you who don’t know what the paleo diet is, it excludes all grains, so it is even more restrictive than eating gluten-free. Many of Elana’s recipes are almond-flour or coconut-flour based, rather than using rice flour.)

We followed the carrot cake recipe to the letter. Not. I’m always giving my mom a hard time for modifying recipes before she even tries them.

Blueberry Muffins {Gluten Free}

In case you hadn’t noticed, I have a thing for muffins. They are less messy because they are conveniently wrapped in their own personal muffin cup. I can grab one to go faster than, say, banana bread, because I don’t have to slice it, or get a napkin. Plus, I just feel that they are healthier.  This particular recipe is sugar-free, dairy-free, and packs some protein from almond flour, coconut flour, and eggs. (See the more detailed breakdown below) Here’s the blueberry muffin recipe:

Combine Dry Ingredients:

1 cup Pamela’s Artesian Flour Blend

1 cup almond four

½ cup coconut flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 Tablespoon baking soda

Mix wet ingredients:

6 eggs

½ cup honey

¾ teaspoons vanilla

1 ripe banana 

Red, White, and Berry Gluten Free Muffins

These patriotic muffins have red raspberries, “white” bananas, and “blue” black raspberries. The batter has an almost biscuit-like consistency, light and fluffy, unlike any other dense gluten free muffin you’ve ever tasted! They are also sugar free, sweetened with bananas and honey.

Yield 2 dozen

Ingredients; Dry:

1 cup Pamela’s Baking and Pancake Mix, (which is add-an-egg-and-oil-easy. It has flours, starches, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum)

1 ¾ cup Pamela’s Artisan Flour Blend (flours, starches and guar gum)

1 cup almond flour

¼ cup coconut flour

2 Tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt