Allergen Free Pumpkin French Toast Bake

Here is a little something to bring the pumpkin spice flavor to breakfast. Yesterday, we got home from vacation at Litchfield beach. We celebrated the autumn equinox by watching, "You've Got Mail" together last night and I tried this recipe for breakfast this morning. I am including the link to the original recipe from a blog I found on Pinterest. Usually the recipes I post are from index cards in  my recipe file and I no longer remember where they came from, but, I want to give credit where credit is due, so I will try to include the link if I post something from another internet source. We all had a fantastic week at the beach. Reentry to everyday life can be a bit hard after a week off, so I hope the yummy breakfast treat and the movie night helped!

 

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 – 7 1/2 cups 1-inch gluten free bread cubes (I used the ends of several loaves of Udi bread, plus some slices)
• 7 large eggs
• 2 cups milk (any kind)* I used coconut milk so Daddy could safely enjoy this treat.
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree doctored up with a pinch of pumpkin pie spice and a spoonful or so of brown sugar - mix it together, then add in to the mix  (OR 1/4 c. pumpkin butter in place of the puree)
• 3-4 tablespoons brown sugar for topping

 

Instructions

1. Cut any kind of bread into 1-inch cubes and put in a greased 9x13 pan - should cover the bottom plus about an inch or so
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, pumpkin puree (with the added spice and brown sugar) and pie spice until well combined. Pour over bread and push down with a spoon or your hands until it’s all soaked and mostly covered. Cover with saran wrap or lid and refrigerate overnight.
3. In the morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees, uncover and top with brown sugar and a little pumpkin pie spice. Bake for 35-45 minutes or golden brown and no longer wet.
4. Serve immediately with maple syrup, honey or agave nectar. Store leftovers in the refrigerator covered for up to a couple days.

Notes

* For the bread cubes, just use as much bread as it takes to fill the bottom of your dish generously, plus up about 1 to 1.5 inches. If you’ve added too much to soak up the liquid, just remove some. And if it looks too wet, add some more bread.

 

I am including a photo taken from our vacation week. This is one of my favorite shots - because you both asked me to take one in your "bear hug" pose. I am so thrilled that my 10 and 14 year old children want a photo of themselves in a bear hug together! You guys are the best. I hope you enjoy breakfast this morning. I know Addie is more of a pumpkin fan than Whit, so I have a back up plan of "eggs in a hole" for you, Whit, if the French toast should prove too pumpkinish for you. Hugs to you both.

Love,

Mom

 

Perfect Popovers (Easy and Gluten Free)

These are just as easy as pancakes and do not require someone standing in the kitchen to flip them. Perfect for holidays, they are yummy, easy, and pretty. Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 400*
Grease muffin tins.

1 c. milk
6 eggs
1 c. gluten free flour
1/2 t. salt
1 t. gluten free vanilla
1/4 c. melted butter

Blend the milk, eggs, salt, vanilla, and gf flour in the blender till any lumps are out. Add the melted butter and continue to blend.
Fill muffin tins slightly less than half full.
Bake 15 min.

Blueberry Topping:
fresh or frozen blueberries
pure maple syrup or honey

Place blueberries in a sauce pan and heat on low. Add drizzles of honey or syrup over the blueberries as they cook down a bit.
Simmer slowly on low.

You could also make any other topping of choice using fruit, honey, syrup, etc.

1 Cup Cobbler - Easy Peasy

This recipe is super simple and a favorite of mine from childhood.

1 stick of real butter
1 cup of gluten free self-rising
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of milk
1 cup of fruit (fresh, canned, or frozen)

Put the stick of butter in a baking dish and put it in the oven on 375*.

While the butter melts, mix the sugar, flour, and milk together in a bowl. I use a whisk for best results.

Take the baking dish out of the oven and pour the flour mixture into the middle of the melted butter.  Then pour the fruit on top. Do not mix.

Bake on 375* for an hour.

Cheeseburger Pie AKA Cheeseburger Quiche

The Whole Foods brand gluten free pie crust has opened up a new world of baking. The flaky, incredible tasting crust is perfect for pie, quiche, or anything else you can put in a pie shell.
This is one of your favorites.

Cheeseburger Quiche (Pie)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound ground beef
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 3 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1 unbaked gluten free (Whole Foods brand is great) pie shell (9 inches)

Directions

• In a skillet, brown ground beef and onion; drain and set aside. In a bowl, combine mayonnaise, milk, oregano, salt and pepper; beat in eggs. Stir in beef mixture and 1 cup cheese. Pour into pie shell.
• Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until set. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Allow to stand 5 minutes before cutting. Yield: 6 servings.

Originally published as Cheeseburger Quiche in Country Ground Beef , p65

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

There isn't a PF Chang's in Columbia yet, that remains a treat for trips to Greenville. In the meantime, maybe you guys can keep making this slow cooker favorite. You made this for me on Mother's Day 2013. Now it is a household favorite.

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

1-1 1/2 lbs. Beef chuck roast in strips, beef tips, beef stew chunks (some kind of chunks/strips of beef)
1 c. of beef broth (GF, of course)
1/2 c. Braggs Liquid Amino
1/3 - 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 T. olive oil
3 garlic cloves (chopped/minced/put through the Pampered Chef garlic press - whatever)

2 T cornstarch
broccoli florets (a bunch or two, or 1 - 2 bags of fresh broccoli florets)
rice and the remaining beef broth if you used a larger container of broth

Put the beef in the crockpot on high.
Then mix the broth, liquid amino, brown sugar, olive oil, and garlic together with a whisk or fork.
Pour the sauce over the beef and let cook for several hours (4-6 is a guesstimate, depending on how you like your beef and what your schedule is ;)
About an hour before you plan to eat, remove a couple of T. of the sauce from the crockpot and let sit till room temperature. When the broth is cool, add the 2 T. of cornstarch and whisk till dissolved. Pour the sauce back into the crockpot and stir lightly to cover. Then add the fresh broccoli florets and cover to simmer. In about 30 minutes, things should be ready to go. The broccoli can be cooked a bit longer or shorter depending on taste, but 30 min. seems to give it a crunchy flavor that we love.
I use the carton of beef broth to measure out my one cup for the sauce. The rest of the broth I use to cook the rice in. (Remember you can add a little water to the broth to make enough liquid to cook your rice.)
It is easy to get the timing right on this if you put your broccoli in and then start your rice. By the time your rice is ready, your beef and broccoli should be about done.
Then you can serve it over the rice - yummmmmm... good eats! This is a great recipe that is seed/nut/gluten/dairy free.
Perfection.

Two Favorite Winter Meals

Here are two meals that we seem to enjoy more in the fall and winter. They are both tasty, cozy, and delicious.

Brunswick Stew

This is a recipe that came from my childhood when my family lived in Toccoa, GA. We lived there while my Dad (your Papa) was in Bible school at Toccoa Falls. We moved there when I was in second grade and we moved to North Carolina the summer before I started sixth grade.
Just two weeks ago on our Disney trip, we stopped at a rest area in Brunswick, Georgia. Whit was taken with the big black kettle monument that was there. It had a historic sign that reminded travelers that Brunswick, GA, is the home of Brunswick stew. There were some big black birds that were hanging out - sitting and flying around the kettle. It looked like a scene from Harry Potter. Whit and I enjoyed seeing this monument to one of his favorite foods.

Here is the official Georgia recipe from my childhood for Brunswick Stew:

30 oz. bottle of GF ketchup
3-4 chicken breasts boiled and cut into small pieces (retain broth)
2-3 pounds of browned ground beef (brown with chopped onion)
48 oz can of tomato juice
2 cans of GF creamed corn
1 can of whole kernel corn
4 large potatoes boiled and cubed (boil in retained chicken broth)
2-3 T. GF Worcester sauce

*All measurements are somewhat approximate and based on how those products were packaged and sold when I was little girl. You can alter amounts slightly as you may purchase things in a slightly different size when it comes to ounces of ketchup, tomato juice, etc.

Brown your ground beef with chopped onion. Boil your chicken and shred or chop it into bite size pieces. Retain the broth/water and boil your potatoes in the same water.

Combine chicken and beef with onion in a big pot. Add tomato juice, corn, Worcester sauce, and ketchup. Pour in potatoes and broth (*IF the broth from the chicken breasts and potatoes doesn't have much flavor, feel free to add a packet of chicken broth powder or substitute some liquid chicken broth. I have used half water/half broth to boil the chicken in when using boneless/skinless breasts.).
Stew on stove for 30-40 minutes till heated through. This tastes great with your favorite bread or cornbread.
This one is favorite!

Sausage and Rice Casserole

1 cup or rice
4 1/2 cups of boiling water
1 large onion chopped
1 c. chopped celery
1 large bell pepper chopped
1 lb. of browned GF sausage (Crumbled not links)
1 can of water chestnuts
1 can of GF chicken noodle soup or 2 packages of GF chicken broth (Herb Ox brand is what I have used)

Brown sausage. Put all ingredients in a pan and bake at 350* for one hour or more (until water is mostly absorbed). Let sit for a few moments and then serve.

Another household favorite!

Gluten Free Bisquick Fruit Swirl Coffee Cake

Merry Christmas!
It is Christmas evening and we are settling down after a very special Christmas day. This is the third year that we have made the Gluten Free Bisquick Fruit Swirl Coffee Cake for breakfast. Nana and Papa made the traditional coffee cake that I have eaten every Christmas since I was a little girl. It is full of gluten and nuts and not something that I have been successful in creating in a gluten/nut/dairy free form. This Bisquick "breakfast/brunch cake", (Whit doesn't like it when we call things "coffee cake" because there is no coffee in it. ;), is yummy, easy, and can be made without dairy, gluten, or nuts.
So, this Christmas morning, we had both coffee cakes. Nana made the traditional one, and I made this recipe for you guys and Daddy.

Here is the recipe in the gluten/nut/dairy free form:

4 eggs
1/2 cup Earth Balance Dairy Free Spread melted
3/4 cup rice milk
2 t. vanilla
1 box of gluten free Bisquick
2/3 cup of sugar
1 can of pie filling or canned fruit in light syrup

Stir and beat the ingredients together except for the pie filling.
Spread 2/3 of the mixture in a greased/sprayed pan. Spread pie filling over batter. Drop the remaining batter on top by spoonfuls.
I have been using canned blueberries in light syrup for this recipe. I drain the can of berries and hold back the syrup. Then I can use it for the glaze in place of the milk. The pie filling would make a slightly sweeter cake. You could also use fresh fruit. I would imagine any berry would work well. We have done cherries and blueberries.

Bake the cake at 375* for 20-25 minutes. Prepare the glaze below and drizzle over warm cake.

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 T. rice milk OR light syrup from canned fruit

If I was making this just for you kids, I would use real butter and regular milk. Since Daddy can't have dairy, I make it this way.
Enjoy!