Pancake mix = Fried fish

I had heard from a GF friends of mine that Bob's red mill GF Pancake mix makes a good base for battering fish.So i gave it a try.

And it turned out pretty good. Hubby liked it.

It's VERY important that you dry the pieces of fish off BEFORE you batter them.

And don't put salt in the batter or it will not stick to the fish.

1 cup Bob's red mill GF Pancake mix

1 teaspoon GF baking powder

3 eggs.

Seasonings. (i use lemon peal and pepper)

Not as crispy as I would have liked, but I think that is because I did not have the oil hot enough, since I don't have a deep fat fryer.

Overall another versatile option to a cupboard standard.

YAH BOB!

Arrowhead Mills "GF all purpose Baking mix" Biscuits

In the small GF section of the baking isle of the grocery store there was a sale. Arrowhead Mills "GF all purpose Baking mix" The box boasted "improved texture"

The back of the box has a recipe for rolled Biscuits. As I had recently has a craving for rolled biscuits, I decided to make a batch.

Disappointed.

The instructions are to let the cut Biscuits sit on the warm stove for 5 min to raise, but it admitted that they "do not rise much" but mine did not rise at all.

I made a second batch, and let them sit for 10 min, but no luck there either. They turned out every thin, and hard. More like a cracker then Biscuits.

The picture on the box clearly displays a tall beautifully Biscuit.

So what gives?

My sister in-law and mother had a few, and liked them alright, as crackers, and remarked that a little jam would go a long way to improving there appeal.

There is plenty of the mix lift, so I'll need to do something with it...

Brownie recipe

Brownie recipe
These turn out more cake like.
1 Cup Brown Rice flour
.5 cup Tapioca flour
1.5 Cup sugar
.5 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon Baking powder
.5 teaspoon Slat
.5 cup canola oil
4 eggs
4tsp chocolate (or Carmel) extract

Spray a 9x9 pan with oil. Preheat oven to 350.
Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined.
Pour into the pan, spread evenly.
Bake for 13-19 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
I frost in the Pan, and serve from the pan.
Not fancy but good!

Gluten Free Pantry Chocolate Truffle Brownie Mix.

Gluten free pantry has changed there packaging, while the new boxes fit better in the cupboard, the old style was more recognizable. I liked the awning motif.
Anyway;I had a chocolate craving.
Gluten Free Pantry Chocolate Truffle Brownie Mix.
I did not have the time to beat the eggs for 3 minutes like it asks, so I beat them by had for about 50 seconds. And it seamed to work anyways.
The box only makes a 8x8 pan.
But I think the brownies were good.
The two non GF people that partook of them also had very positive things to say.
Very fudge, gooey and yummy right out of the oven.
The box recommends refrigerating the brownies. But only about a third of the brownies made it to the fridge. And after the fridge they were more fuggy, and less gooey. So I could have passed the fridge step.
Over all a very good fudge brownie.
If you can get the box of less then $4, GO FOR IT!
But if you paying upwards of $5 make it form scratch.

Since I have mentioned Brownies form scratch before, I had better give you that recipes then.
Tomorrow OK?

Ancient Harvest, Quinoa Pasta

Our local grocer had a sale on Ancient Harvest Brand Quinoa Pasta
I'm normally not a big pasta eater.
Non GF pasta is like a dollar for 2 servings. Comparatively GF pasta is about four dollars per serving. And since I can get protean for that price, I usually just cook rice, or bake a potato.
But since they were on sale I picked up a few boxes to add to the week's menu.

First up: Quinoa Pasta-Elbows
Cooked the whole box.
It made about three main dish sized servings.
They held there shape well. Cooked evenly. Good texture, good flavor.
I covered it in melted Colby cheese and added cooked sausage.

Hubby did not even know they were GF*

Second Contestant: Quinoa Pasta-Shells
Cooked the whole box.
It made 4 side-dish sized servings.
The shells lost some of there shape once cooked. Cooked evenly. Flavor was good.
Texture was a little dry,( if you can imagine how that works.)

Had them with Alfredo sauce and shrimp.

Third Contestant: Quinoa-Corn Pagodas

Cooked the whole box.

It made three main dish sized servings.

The Pagodas lost some of there shape once cooked.

Cooked evenly. Flavor was very good.

I made them into Pasta salad. But the leftovers did not keep very well. (got mussy in the dressing)

Betty Crocker Yellow Cake

SO My sister decided that Pineapple upside-down cake sounded good.
I pulled from my cupboard the Betty Crocker Yellow Cake mix I had on hand.
She is not GF but is willing to cook special food, so I sent her home with the mix.
The box only makes a 8X8, but she felt like the more pineapple the better, so he made it in a 9x13.
And she used the juice from the caned pineapple rings as substitutes for some of the water required for the mix.
The extra moisture required about 10 more minuted for cookies, at about 50 degrees lower.

The cake turned out moist, and flavorful.
Although very crumbly, and a little grainy. As you can kind-of see in the photo, it was rather fragile.
Over all A success.

Glutenfreeda's REAL Cookies "chipchip"

Glutenfreeda's REAL Cookies "chip chip Hooray"
So I noticed this box on sale in My CoOp's GF frozen food section.
They had many flavors. I picked up the Chocolate chip with walnuts variety.
It's not a tub has 12 individually frozen preformed pieces of dough.
And the tub is resealable.
SO the idea is that you don't have to thaw all the dough to be able to scoop out a cookie.
I liked that idea.
I always feel guilty making a dozen cookies just for myself. They can go bad before I eat them all, and that is a waste. And if I do eat a dozen cookies before they go bad, well that is just my Waist.
The instructions are to just place them on the sheet and bake from frozen.
So I preheated the toaster oven, popped open the tub, and placed TWO preformed frozen cookie lumps on the uncreased sheet.

I was surprised how very round they turned out.
The cooking time on the box was 20min, I cooked mine for 18 and that was plenty.
I think I will grease the sheet next time as the cookies were a little hard to remove.
I could have done without the walnuts.
The over all taste was Just so so.
They reminded me of the chocolate chip cookies I would get in the blue package, with the little red triangle. SO if that is the chocolate chip style you like, this is the dough for you.

Personally I prefer my chocolate chip in the soft baked style, so I go for the "WOW" frozen cookie dough. That review to come soon.

Thai Kitchen Stir-Fry Noodles

Gluten free, rice noodles, in a tasty sauce.

Sais "gluten free" right on the box.

NOT ALL flavors are GF. http://www.thaikitchen.com/allergyinfo.html

Most flavors take less then 15 min.

Yummy!

The Cravings Place Pancake & Waffle mix

So for breakfast I made pancakes. I used The Cravings Place Pancake & Waffle mix.
They were good. The instruction's were funny.
It says "add water" but it does not say how much water. Anywhere. So it was hard to make.
I started with one cup of mix, and a half cup of watter.
That was too stiff.
I added another half cup of water.
That was too runny.
When I finally got a good batter consistency, I ended up with about twice as much as I originally wanted.
Then the batter thickened as I went, so I had to add a little more water.
The leftovers went into the freezer.
The pancakes were good. Not wonderful, but good.

Gillians

About two years ago I was in SLC Utah visiting my family. We planed on having a BBQ and I needed buns. They took me to a store called "wiled oats" and I bought some rolls from the freezer section. They were the BEST GF Rolls I have tasted!!!
They were Gillians foods French Rolls. http://www.gilliansfoods.com/index.html
I went back the next day and got the Cinnamon raisin rolls. Toasted and smeared with cream cheese they reminded me of the Cinnamon rolls I was missing.
I have petitioned every GF food provider in the area and none of them will carry it.
For my birthday I went to the web and ordered a shipment. You have to order a large quantity. I paid extra for three day shipping. A week later I called Gillians to ask where my bread was, and was told it had not shipped yet because they had not made the bread yet. About 5 days later the bread arrived. And 48hrs later it was covered in mold. I guess they day it arrived I should have called in sick to work and packed each bun individually into the freezer.
SOOOO week before last, I went to Utah again. The Wild Oats is not a Whole foods, but they did carry Gillians. SO i picked up a bag of the french rolls. I was a little hard to get over the MOLD And maybe since Whole foods in Utah carried them, I can get my whole food to carry them too.

Orgran Rice and Corn Pasta tortelli

My hubby picked these up for me.
Normally I go for the elbow shaped pasta, so I think he thought this shapes would add variety.
The little tortellis uncurled when they cooked, into big, flat "C" shapes.
But the water they cooked in did not get as cloudy as some other pasta's do.
I cooked it as per the instructions, but some of the noodles were more firm then others.
The taste was average.
If this brand cost less then my regular brand, I would consider switching.

Rant 2-GF terms

There are multiple kinds of GF foods.

1. The GF specialty foods. Food that is MADE Special to be gluten free. Things like cake and bread and pasta.
   
2. The Adaptively GF. Foods that by making simple brand choices can be gluten free. Things like seasoning salt, or Barbecue sauce. Some are some are not, you have to check the label.
   
3. The Coincidental GF. For the most part these food will be gluten free, or should be gluten free. Things like Thai food, which is traditional rice based noodles. Or a flowerless torte.
   
4. The Normally GF. Food that you would have to DO something to, to make it no longer gluten free. Things like fruit, vegetable, meat. Unseasoned, unaltered.

Annie's GF Bunny cookies, Cocoa & Vanilla

My hubby picked me up a box of Annie's GF Bunny cookies, Cocoa & Vanilla. I had not see them before.
They were $5 a box.
The cookies are mostly corn and rice.
Each bunny is about the size of a thumb print.
The vanilla cookies were good. Very crumbly. Similar to the arrowroot cookies I have had.
But the cocoa bunnies left something to be desired...like frosting.
They were very subtle.
I think these would be great for kids.
Or nice to decorate a cake with...Oh I think I just had a good idea for next years Easter dinner desert!