Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

Michael and I are enjoying the first real vacation we've had in several years. We're spending time with Michael's sister Lisa and her family in beautiful Fleming Island, Florida. 

It's gorgeous here. Comfortably warm, breezy days, and cool, crisp evenings have just been one of the wonderful things about this trip. Lisa's husband Todd has spent his entire career working in the grocery business and helps stores know the best foods to buy, the best organic items available, the best produce... and BONUS: he loves to cook. Todd gets gluten-free. The first morning we were here Todd decided to make pancakes and from the kitchen I heard, "Carrie, would you like some gluten-free pancakes?" 

Do you know you how rare it is to hear something like that when you're visiting friends or family? Even awesome friends & family? 

And not only did Todd have a gluten-free mix... Todd used a clean mixing bowl and utensils. Todd cleaned and scrubbed the griddle and spatula before he made my pancakes. I think I was seriously speechless for the first time in a LONG time. 

Then that evening Todd made a naturally gluten-free dinner of barbecued ribs (making sure the sauce was gluten-free), twice baked potatoes, coleslaw, and black-eyed peas. Talk about thinking things through and making sure your guests could eat well. I don't know if he and his wife will ever really understand what that means to me. 

So today I decided to make cupcakes. I needed to make dinner and cupcakes for my family. We may be world's apart in our politics, but when people care enough to feed you well, that's truly something special. 

Please keep in mind these delicious little cupcakes are still kind of a work in progress. I made them with the only gluten-free ingredients I had on hand, a boxed mix of Sof'ella Gluten-Free All Purpose Baking Mix that I brought on vacation. This mix contains: white rice flour, navy bean flour (and amazingly has nearly NO beany aftertaste!), cornstarch, tapioca starch, natural flavor (no idea), baking powder, sea salt, baking soda. and xanthan gum. I think because the spices in the cupcake are so strong it masked any aftertaste from the bean flour in the mix. 

Because this mix is primarily for pancakes and waffles I decided to add a tiny bit more baking powder and baking soda to make sure the cupcakes rose as much as they should. 

If you try them with your own gluten-free flour mix, or your favorite gluten-free flours, please let me know what you think! 

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

free of gluten, casein/dairy, and soy

created by Carrie of Gingerlemongirl.com

makes 18 cupcakes

printer-friendly recipe

Dry Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups Sof'ella gluten-free all purpose baking mix 

1 cup sugar (actually used 3/4 cup splenda sugar blend for baking -- due to BIL Todd's dietary restrictions)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I LOVE pumpkin pie spice, cut back if you'd like!)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 (15 oz.) can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)

3 eggs

3/4 cup extra-light olive oil (best kind for baking)

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with cupcake papers. Spritz cupcake papers with nonstick cooking spray to prevent cupcakes from sticking
• In a large bowl whisk together all dry ingredients. 
• In a smaller bowl whisk together all wet ingredients. 
• Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients thoroughly until you have a thick batter. 
• Scoop about 1/4 cup of thick batter into each cupcake paper. 
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean. 
• Allow cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting. 

Directions for Homemade Spiced Frosting: 

• Add 1 cup coconut oil or spectrum palm shortening to a bowl and slowly mix in 1 pound of powdered sugar. Mixture will be very crumbly. Add 1-2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice + 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg to the powdered sugar mixture and stir together well. 
• Slowly add water or milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until frosting is the consistency you desire. 
• Frost cupcakes and serve. 

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Having trouble seeing GLG on your Facebook Wall?

Love it or hate it... social media is one of the most popular tools of communication in this day and age. facebook is the way I communicate most effectively with my readers of Ginger Lemon Girl. While I also use twitter, facebook opens the doorway to ongoing communication in somewhat more organized manner (in my opinion) so therefore, it's what I tend to use most actively.

In the past year facebook has made major changes to "pages" for businesses, blogs, churches, etc... Any type of facebook page, no matter what the subject matter or whether it's for-profit or non-profit, or generally just sharing information like I do (other than promoting the book) -- is now required to PAY for their posts to be seen by all of their followers. Otherwise, only 10% of the people who "like" the page will actually see the postings shared. Facebook did this to find a really easy way to increase their revenue.

So basically if I want you to see really important information on my page, I have to pay facebook to make sure they show it to you on your wall or in your newsfeed. And unfortunately I don't have the funds to constantly promote my posts.

There is a way around this, but it will take a little effort on your part, here's basically what you will need to do: 

To keep RECEIVING ALL FACEBOOK POSTS, TIPS, and RECIPES FROM GLG, you have to open our page, hover the mouse on the "Like" button near the gear symbol. In the pop-up select "ADD TO INTEREST LISTS".

Then create an interest list - gluten-free, baking, etc on your personal facebook page. Then when you select that interest list you will see ALL of our posts. Here's a great post explaining how to create an interest list: http://sproutsocial.com/insights/2012/03/how-to-facebook-interest-list/

Have questions or want to share a thought? Leave me a comment below! 

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Baked Sour Cream Parmesan Chicken

soup-er easy, soup-er yummy chicken

Served over wild rice blend with oven roasted 

asparagus and sauteed mushrooms.

 Lay the chicken breasts in a sprayed casserole and 

season with onion and garlic powders, s&p.

Cut large breasts in half for easier serving.

Combine the soup and sour cream.

 Spread the mixture over the chicken.

Sprinkle the top with shredded Parmesan

and bake @375 for 40-45 minutes.

Toss fresh asparagus with a little olive oil

 in a small baking pan and sprinkle with salt&pepper. 

Add to the oven the last 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile saute the sliced mushrooms in butter 

and sprinkle with salt&pepper. 

To plate: serve with wild rice blend, chicken, 

sauce and top each serving

with mushrooms and asparagus spears 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Baked Sour Cream Parmesan Chicken

4 boneless chicken breasts

   Onion powder, about 1/2t

   Garlic powder, about 1/2t

   Salt & Pepper

   1 can Cream of Chicken soup

   1 C sour cream

 1 C (4 oz) shredded Parmesan cheese

  1 C (4 oz) mushrooms, sliced, 

          seasoned and sauteed in butter

 8-12 asparagus spears, oven roasted

          the last 20 minutes
Uncle Ben's Wild Rice Mix                                         

 Cut chicken breasts in half if large and arrange in

 a greased 9x13 casserole. Sprinkle with seasonings.

 In a bowl, combine the soup and sour cream. 

Spread over the chicken,. Sprinkle with the cheese.

 Bake 375 for 40 minutes, until cheese is golden.

 Remove and garnish each serving with 

mushrooms and asparagus spears.

4-6 servings

Enjoy!

Links: My Romantic Home,
Designs By Gollum, Common Ground,

The Charm Of Home

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It's Here!! "The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook" RELEASE DAY!

It's the OFFICIAL release date for 

"The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook." 

Which means you should now be able to find this book not only on all your favorite online bookstores like Amazon... but you'll also be able to find it in physical Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and your favorite independent bookstores!

When you purchase a copy and if you enjoy the book, I hope you will think about leaving a review on my Amazon listing! (Insert begging! Please! Pretty Please!!) This will really help me to promote the book, help people find the book faster when searching on Amazon, and also help me to establish my presence as a credible author for future gluten-free cookbooks!

And just so you know... You all ROCK! All of you! Thank you for reading my blog and helping me create this amazing cookbook! I could not have done it without your readership!

Please stay tuned for another Big Giveaway later this week!

Current Giveaways on other websites: 

• Win a brand new signed copy from Tasty Eats at Home
• Win a brand new signed copy from Gluten Freely Frugal
• Win one of TWO copies from Gluten Free Goodness

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Banana Loaf Cake

Banana Loaf Cake

A delicious and moist banana loaf cake with a wonderful banana frosting topping! This is a perfect cake for afternoon tea.

Serves 8-12

Prep time:  15-20 minutes

Cooking time:  35-40 minutes

Ingredients

For the cake

100g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing

200g light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 medium eggs

300g over-ripe bananas

60g plain chocolate, chopped or in buttons

80g walnuts, toasted & roughly chopped

180g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

For the frosting

100g full-fat cream cheese

100g unsalted butter, softened

250g icing sugar, sifted

30g banana, mashed

Preparation method

1.  Preheat the oven to 175°C/Gas mark 4 and grease a 23cm x 13cm loaf tin with butter.

2.  Place the butter, light brown sugar and cinnamon in a mixing bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy.  Beat the eggs lightly and slowly add to the mixture while mixing on high speed.

3.  Mash the bananas and add to the cake mix, followed by the chocolate and the walnuts.  Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda together and add to the cake mix on a low speed until combined.  Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 35-40 minutes.  Take out and leave to cool.

4.  For the frosting, place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy.  Place the butter and icing sugar in a separate mixing bowl and cream together until pale and fluffy.  Add the cream cheese, a little at a time to the butter mixture and mix at a high speed until the frosting is combined.  Add the mashed banana.  Once cool, cover the top of the cake with frosting and chill for 30 minutes to set the frosting.  Serve at room temperature and enjoy!

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Easy Fried Rice

Better than take-out!
This is not an exact recipe, but it will give you 

the technique to turn a few leftovers into

 a new and tasty dish.  

This is a great way to up-cycle leftover rice.

 We brought home the white rice and the 

 stir fry entree leftover from dinner out. 

With a little of this and a little of that

I can have fried rice in 10 minutes.

You can also use your own planned leftovers:

 rice, beef, chicken, pork or shrimp. 

Chop an onion, carrot, and celery. Saute in hot oil

 and butter in a large skillet. Add the peas. Push

the cooked vegetables to one side of the skillet

 and on the empty side scramble the eggs. 

Break them up into small pieces

 and then combine with the vegetables. 

Season with salt or garlic salt and pepper.

Add the cooked rice and saute, stirring often.

Add the leftover entre' or whatever you have 

leftover: cooked chicken, shrimp or pork along with 

any vegetables that came with it. 

Give it a good douse of soy sauce. 

Continue sauteing until steamy hot.

This is more of a guide to a very flexible

use-what-you-have-on-hand recipe. 

Try it once and you'll have great take-in! 

Easy Fried Rice

3C leftover cooked rice

2T oil + 2T butter

1 onion, chopped
(2t minced garlic, optional)

1-2 celery stalks, chopped

1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2C-1C frozen peas or
peas and carrots

(1/2C-1C any other vegetables 

you want to use up like: mushrooms, 

broccoli, zucchini, asparagus, etc)

2 eggs, lightly beaten

salt/garlic salt & pepper

1/4C-1/2C soy sauce + more to taste

In a large 12" skillet heat the oil and butter.

Saute the chopped vegetables until tender,

about 5 minutes. Add the peas; stir and saute 

another minute. Push the vegetables to one side

 of the pan and add the beaten eggs to the empty

 side and scramble breaking up into small pieces.

Combine everything and season with the s&p.

Add the rice and stir to combine well. Douse with

soy sauce to taste. Start with about 1/4 C. 

Saute until steaming hot.

 Mix in any leftover cooked entree 

you have on hand (chicken or pork or shrimp).

Stir until heated through. Taste for seasoning.

Add more soy sauce to taste. Serves 4

Enjoy!

Links: Stone Gable,
My Romantic Home,
Rattlebridge Farm

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes Recipe

Yesterday was our 8th wedding anniversary!! It's hard to believe that 8 years ago we were walking out on a sandy beach with about 10 of our closest family members and getting married on a beautiful October day. Every year we do something special for our anniversary. Some years it will be a little vacation or an overnight trip to the beach... but other years (especially if we're into super budgeting mode) we just spend the day together. No major plans. Nothing set in stone... just a day together...

This year we took the day off of work. Went out for a leisurely breakfast. (My favorite meal out is breakfast!) And I spend the afternoon cooking and baking. We had homemade beef tacos for dinner but I wanted something super special for dessert.

Michael's favorite dessert is chocolate chip cookies. (This recipe in particular!) My favorite dessert is cupcakes. I wondered if I could merge the two into one diabetic-coma-inducing sugary treat. (Okay, not really... lol) I read lots of different recipes on the interwebs and finally went with an idea from Kevin & Amanda  that seemed much less complicated than other recipes: basically just plopping good 'ol chocolate chip cookie dough right into the cake batter.

And it worked. It worked really well. The cake rose up beautifully, even with the cookie dough being in the middle. In Amanda's cookies, the cookie dough sank to the bottom of the cupcakes and she topped them with a homemade cookie-dough flavored frosting. In my cupcakes, the cookie dough just sat on top and baked sort of in the middle, so you get a surprise bite of cookie inside the cupcake!

Want to make these cupcakes? 
Follow Amanda's directions for making and assembling the cupcakes. 

• For the cupcakes I used my basic homemade yellow gluten-free cake mix recipe. 
• For the chocolate chip cookie dough: Michael's favorite chocolate chip cookies -- chilled for about 30 minutes, I plopped about a tablespoon of dough into each cupcake. 
• For the frosting, I followed Amanda's recipe (scroll to the bottom of the recipe ingredients!)
• For the cookie toppers: using the remaining cookie dough, make a batch of really small (using about a teaspoon of dough or less per cookie) cookies. Once they are baked and cooled, cut them in half and stick a half cookie in each cupcake!

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