SKILLET MUFFINS (gluten free, dairy free and vegan)

I LOVE biscuits! After learning I have allergies to gluten, egg, soy and dairy, finding this recipe was a life-saver.  The recipe is from www.forkandbeans.com. The pictures are mine and as you can see, they are substantial muffins :) the recipe says it makes 5 muffins but I was able to get 7 of these beauties. They are delicious toasted with vegan butter (like Earth Balance) and homemade chia jam.

I hope you try these as they are my new fav!!!!

INGREDIENTS

For the yeast mixture:
¾ c. warm water
¾ c. unsweetened non-dairy milk
2¼ tsp. dry active yeast
½ tsp. granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. ground chia seeds (I used white, you can use black too)
2 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar


Dry ingredients:
2¼ c. Cara's All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt



INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the non-dairy milk, water, yeast and granulated sugar (yeast food!) and let it froth up for 10 minutes. 

Once it has foamed up, mix in the chia, oil and vinegar.

In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Dump the yeast mix into the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well-combined. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes until doubled in size. Your batter will not be doughy but more like a very, very thick pancake batter. 

Heat up a cast iron skillet (if you don't have, use a regular skillet). Once it is heated up, add 1 tsp. olive oil and place a 4" (you can use a smaller size too) metal round cookie cutter in the middle. With a pourable measuring cup, place the batter into the middle of the cutter, filling about ¾ of the way. It will take about 5 minutes or longer on each side. 

You will know when it's ready to flip when you place a spatula underneath and it easily lifts up. Flip over and cook another 5-7 minutes. You want that nice brown hue on each side. Once ready, use a knife to cut along the edges to remove the muffin with ease. Please be careful! The metal cutter will be hot so use mittens when dealing with this part. That is, unless you have thick skin. 

Repeat for each muffin.
You want to toast these before eating or you can slice them and place them in an oven preheated to 375 degrees and bake for 5-10 minutes until nicely browned. Slather with non-dairy butter and jam.

NOTES
Add ½ c. dried cranberries and 3 Tbsp. brown sugar (packed) if you want a sweeter Skillet Muffin


NUTRITION INFORMATION (based on 5 muffins)

SERVING SIZE: 1 Muffin CALORIES: 260 FAT: 8g CARBOHYDRATES: 39g SUGAR: 2gSODIUM: 378mg FIBER: 5g PROTEIN: 5.4g CHOLESTEROL: 0mg

SKILLET MUFFINS (gluten free, dairy free and vegan)

Yeasted skillet muffins (xanthan gum free)

i love biscuits! This recipe is from www.forkandbeans.com. The pictures are mine and as you can see, they are substantial muffins :) the recipe says it makes 5 muffins but I was able to get 7 muffins. They are delicious toasted with vegan butter (like Earth Balance) and homemade chia jam.

I hope you try these as they are my new fav!!!!

INGREDIENTS

For the yeast mixture:
¾ c. warm water
¾ c. unsweetened non-dairy milk
2¼ tsp. dry active yeast
½ tsp. granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. ground chia seeds (I used white, you can use black too)
2 Tbsp. oil
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar


Dry ingredients:
2¼ c. Cara's All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt



INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the non-dairy milk, water, yeast and granulated sugar (yeast food!) and let it froth up for 10 minutes. 

Once it has foamed up, mix in the chia, oil and vinegar.

In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Dump the yeast mix into the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well-combined. Cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes until doubled in size. Your batter will not be doughy but more like a very, very thick pancake batter. 

Heat up a cast iron skillet (if you don't have, use a regular skillet). Once it is heated up, add 1 tsp. olive oil and place a 4" (you can use a smaller size too) metal round cookie cutter in the middle. With a pourable measuring cup, place the batter into the middle of the cutter, filling about ¾ of the way. It will take about 5 minutes or longer on each side. 

You will know when it's ready to flip when you place a spatula underneath and it easily lifts up. Flip over and cook another 5-7 minutes. You want that nice brown hue on each side. Once ready, use a knife to cut along the edges to remove the muffin with ease. Please be careful! The metal cutter will be hot so use mittens when dealing with this part. That is, unless you have thick skin. 

Repeat for each muffin.
You want to toast these before eating or you can slice them and place them in an oven preheated to 375 degrees and bake for 5-10 minutes until nicely browned. Slather with non-dairy butter and jam.

NOTES
Add ½ c. dried cranberries and 3 Tbsp. brown sugar (packed) if you want a sweeter Skillet Muffin


NUTRITION INFORMATION (based on 5 muffins)

SERVING SIZE: 1 Muffin CALORIES: 260 FAT: 8g CARBOHYDRATES: 39g SUGAR: 2gSODIUM: 378mg FIBER: 5g PROTEIN: 5.4g CHOLESTEROL: 0mg

One Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Found this by accident so decided to make it ! was very happy I did, it was soooooo good and hit the spot for the chocolate craving. My husband wanted one after he saw mine :) here is the link to the original recipe and a photo from the site.   
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/11/06/one-minute-chocolate-cake/

I changed it a little to suit my gluten free, dairy free, egg free and soy free intolerances. 

I could not even wait to take a picture before eating it ! because I count calories, all measurements in weight are mine so i could put it in my fitness pal.

• 1 tbsp plus 2 tsp cocoa powder (11 g)
• 3 tbsp spelt flour (or white, or Arrowhead Mills gf) I used 2 tbsp sorghum flour (14 g) and 1 tbsp (7 g) of chickpea flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp plus 2 tsp organic cane sugar   (24 g)
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2-3 tsp coconut oil or vegetable oil (Many commenters have said it still tastes good if you sub applesauce or mashed banana. I can't personally vouch for that substitution.) (I used about 3 tsp mashed banana)
• 3 tablespoons milk of choice (I used coconut milk from container)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Total Time: 5m

Yield: Serves 1

Mug cake recipe: Combine dry ingredients and mix very, very well. Add liquid, stir, then transfer to a little dish, ramekin, or even a coffee mug. Either microwave 30-40 seconds OR cook in a 350F oven for about 14 minutes. If you don’t want to eat it straight out of the dish, be sure to spray your dish first (and then wait for it to cool before trying to remove it). I had to microwave mine about 1min 20 to 1 min 30 in a small glass ramekin - it came out slightly gooey but I LOVE gooey!

For nutrition info, my serving came to about 210 calories. Next time I plan to top it with a frosting. i have two that I like; one includes ripe mashed avocado, cocoa powder and honey - the other is using sunbutter (or peanut butter if you have no allergies), with cocoa powder, milk and vanilla

Chocolate Tahini Brownie Cake (egg free - and single serving size)

This was sooooo good and hit the spot when I had a craving. Here is the link to the original recipe:

http://purelytwins.com/2013/07/12/single-serving-eggfree-chocolate-tahini-brownie-cake/

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp cacao (or carob powder for those cannot do chocolate)
• 1 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 2 tbsp banana puree
• 2 tbsp tahini

Directions

1. Place all ingredients into a bowl and stir together. Place in a lightly oiled ramekin or muffin pan (I flattened mine out as above). Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes.

Notes

For the banana puree - you can use avocado puree, pumpkin, or sweet potato.

Overnight Chocolate Coffee Chia Breakfast Pudding

This pudding is NOT just for breakfast! I have it when I'm craving a treat and just need that chocolate/coffee fix. Here is the link to the original recipe:  http://paleomg.com/overnight-chocolate-coffee-chia-breakfast-pudding/

The first pic is from the Paleomg website and the second is mine, in my individual serving containers. I know it doesn't look very pretty but the taste makes up for the look! hope you enjoy!

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• ½ cup brewed coffee (chilled)
• ½ cup full fat canned coconut milk
• 1 heaping tablespoon almond butter (or other nut or seed butter)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• ¼ cup chia seeds

Instructions

1. Blend brewed coffee, coconut milk, almond butter, vanilla extract, maple syrup, and cocoa powder in a blender.
2. Place the blended mixture into a resealable large jar (or 2 smaller jars) then add chia seeds. Seal jar and shake.
3. Place in refrigerator overnight or for at least 3+ hours.
4. Eat up. Breakfast is served.

Pesto - Dairy Free

I love pesto and have never made it until now. I purchased some basil plants at my local grocer and had to try this recipe.  Here is the link to the original recipe. 

http://againstallgrain.com/2013/04/05/dairy-free-pesto-sauce/

This was very tasty!! went beautifully on my zucchini pasta. Enjoy!!

Makes 1/2 cup

Ingredients:

·         ¾ cup packed basil leaves

·         3 tablespoons pine nuts (I used sunflower seeds and apparently you can also use hemp - or  probably any other nut)

·         1 garlic clove (i used 1 large and 1 small clove)

·         ¾ teaspoon lemon juice

·         ¼ teaspoon sea salt

·         3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

*** I also added about a Tbsp of nutritional yeast******

Instructions:

1.       Lightly toast the nuts in a skillet over medium heat for 5 minutes.

2.       Place all ingredients except for oil in a small food processor.

3.       Slowly incorporate the oil while the machine is running, until a smooth paste has formed.               Continue blending for 15 seconds to thin the sauce out.

4.       Alternatively, crush all of the ingredients in a mortar and pestle and blend until smooth.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Again, another delicious recipe! Tastes like take-out!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Here is the link to the original recipe:  http://www.agirlworthsaving.net/2013/08/paleo-sweet-and-sour-pork.html

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Battered Chicken

• 1 lb of chicken, cut into roughly ½” x ½” pieces
• ¼ cup of tapioca flour
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1 egg white
• coconut oil for frying

Sauce

• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 3 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 2 tbsp of apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp of coconut aminos
• 1 cup of broth (i used the pineapple juice drained from the chunks)
• ½ tsp sea salt
• ¼ tsp of black pepper
• ½ green bell pepper, diced (i used a whole pepper, red, yellow and green)
• 2 medium roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup of diced pineapple (I used an entire small clan)
• *** i also added mushrooms

Instructions

In a medium bowl add the diced chicken, egg white, tapioca flour and sea salt and mix until well combined.

Place the coconut oil in medium size pan and heat the oil to 350 degrees; drop the batter in and fry until golden brown – roughly 5 – 8 minutes.

TIP – When you drop the chicken into the oil, it will stick to your pan. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a fork to loosen it after a minute.

Remove from the pan and set on a paper towel to drain the oil. Repeat until all the chicken is done. Set aside.

Basically I mixed all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside. then i cooked my veggies separately. I like them crispy so I don't overcook them. Next when the veggies are done, I added my sauce ingredients which were already mixed. NOTE: I added about another tbsp or more of he coconut aminos and about a Tbsp of tapico starch to the sauce so it would thicken more.

Bring to a boil. Add in the pineapple, tomatoes and bell pepper.  Mix to cover all the ingredients with the sauce, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.  At he last minute, add the chicken, that's if you like your batter crispy. Or you can add the chicken while the sauce is boiling. Serve over cauliflower rice and enjoy!