Coffee Cake Banana Bread (Gluten Free)

I tried baking last night and it was terrible. I burned it. I will blame it on getting carried away with the Walking Dead finale on TV. Anyway, I decided to try again tonight. Tonight's attempt came out MUCH better. I adapted this recipe from one I found in my husbands family cook book, and added the filling based on one I found online.

You will need:

Batter:
*1 stick of butter, softened
*1/2 cup splenda
*1/2 cup sugar (you can skip the splenda and do 1 cup sugar if you wish)
*1/2 cup honey flavored greek yogurt (I'm sure plain or vanilla would suffice, this is what I had)
*2 eggs
*2 medium over-ripe bananas, mashed
*2 cups Bobs Red Mills all purpose gluten free baking flour mix
*3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
*3 Tablespoons flaxseed meal
*2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder

Filling:
*1 Tablespoon butter, melted
*1/2 cup packed brown sugar
*1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Topping (optional):
*walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan. In electric blender, mix butter, sugar, and yogurt until creamed together. Add eggs and bananas and mix well. In separate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to bowl and mix well. Mix filling ingredients together separately. Poor half of the batter into the loaf pan. Spread filling evenly over batter. Top with remaining batter. Add walnuts if desired. Bake for 40-45 minutes (until toothpick comes out clean).

I am not a baker, and frequently mess up my attempts, however I think this turned out good! Enjoy it, this may be the only baked good that makes the blog!

Veggie and Coconut Quinoa

This recipe was inspired by a conversation with my friend Kim. We both love coconut. She was telling me about something she makes with coconut, and I couldn't remember if it was rice or quinoa. Since quinoa takes on 20 minutes to prepare and gluten free brown rice takes 45 minutes, I went with the quinoa. I suspect either option would taste great.


What you will need:

1 cup coconut milk
1 cup water
1 cup quinoa
carrots, finely diced (I used about 5 or 6 baby carrots)
Frozen peas (I did not measure, but I would guess about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 tablespoon butter
dash of red pepper flakes

In a medium sauce pan, mix coconut milk, water, and quinoa. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. While quinoa is simmering, begin to melt butter in a small frying pan. Add carrots and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes. Add red pepper flakes. Add frozen peas and sauté for about a minute. Finally, add the shredded coconut and cook until just toasted. When both things are done, serve veggie mixture over top of quinoa.

This tasted great. The sweet flavor of the coconut and the slight hint of spice from the red pepper flakes went well together. I made this a vegetarian dish tonight, but next time I think I'll try adding shrimp.

Mexi Pizza

Friday night in our house is Pizza and a movie night. Because of Layna's allergy, we do not order pizza, but rather make our own. This recipe was thrown together when we had a busy Friday and no time for the traditional pizza crust. This is quick and easy and you can switch up the toppings pretty easy!


You will need:

*Small corn tortillas (Make SURE they say gluten free if you are Gfree)
*Philadelphia Cooking Creme, Santa Fe flavor
*Gluten free refried beans
*Small roma tomato, chopped
*Small can roasted and diced green chilies
*Mexi blend shredded cheese


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Begin topping pizza, beginning with the Santa Fe cooking cream as your sauce, followed by refried beans, tomatoes, shredded cheese, and finally the green chilies. Bake for 10 minutes (or until cheese is melted) and serve! This would also be good with a bit of sour cream on top.