Happy Pieday! (Ok, Thursday)

Hello and happy Pie-day!

Bought a bunch of in-season apples and had some leftover pumpkin puree left, so I found a neat recipe for Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie!

I had leftovers from making my apples into cider, so I took the pulp and cooked it into a plain apple butter. I followed the recipe below, except I omitted milk. Everything turned out super fluffy and yummy! I also substituted the crust with a premade gluten free crust, and omitted the topping to make it more "pumpkin pie" like. Have fun trying it out and adding your own style to it!

Here's the recipe I used!: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/apple-butter-pumpkin-pie/

And the results!

 

Enjoy your pie-days!

Super Easy Pineapple Upsidedown Cake!

Hello! Just a quick post today, I made a yummy, super easy "pineapple upsidedown" cake!

Pineapple Upsidedown Cake!

Ingredients:

1 can sliced pineapple

1 box Betty Crocker Yellow cake mix (I used the GF version)

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2/3 cup water

1 stick butter

(Note: This can easily be made vegan substituting egg for applesauce, using less water, and using margarine instead of butter!)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F

Prepare cake mix according to package instructions

Line a cake pan with parchment paper

Place pineapple slices in any pattern you'd like at bottom of pan

Pour in cake batter

Bake 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Place a plate or tray over the top, and "flip" your cake, and remove parchment paper

There you go! Easy to make, easy to clean up with the parchment paper, and super yummy as a sweet treat!

Have a great weekend!

Mmm, Donut!

Hello everyone! Hope all my US readers have a great Superbowl Sunday, and everyone else who may not watch (including myself) a great day!


I got lucky and got a set of 8 Chebe gluten-free mixes for half off last week, so I decided that instead of just making the plain thing that is on the box, I'd "mix it up" a little! Chebe has found this is a great way to use the mixes too, and so if you check out their website, http://www.chebe.com you can find many ways to make their stuff! The mixes are super tweakable for multiple allergies, and can easily be made vegan if an egg-substitute is used in the recipe.

So here it is! My Gluten-Free (almost Vegan) Cinnamon-Sugar Donut Holes, made with Chebe's Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Mix

Mmm Donut Holes!

Freshly dusted and still wet with butter!

Ingredients:

1 Box Chebe Gluten Free Cinnamon Roll Mix

1tsp baking powder

2 eggs (or egg substitute)

3 tbs oil

2 tbs milk or milk substitute (I used rice milk)

Butter or margarine for rolling dough balls in

Cinnamon/Sugar mix to your liking for dipping balls in

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375, and get a pot of plain water boiling on the stove

Add box of mix and baking powder together and stir

Add in eggs, oil and milk and combine until a dough ball forms (may need to add in extra milk)

Knead and mix dough with hands until a smooth ball is formed.

Pinch off and roll small pieces of dough into small balls, then add to boiling water (makes about 20 small balls that WILL increase in size)

Boil 2-3 minutes or until balls expand in size and rise to surface

Transfer dough balls to cookie sheet (or I used a mini muffin pan to hold each ball so they kept their shape well)

Bake in oven for 10ish minutes, or until balls no longer look wet, and obtain a golden-brown color

Let cool 10 minutes, then roll in butter and cinnamon sugar!

Enjoy!!

These came out very doughy and chewy (Chebe uses tapioca starch as their "flour", and doughs made with that tend to have a stickier, chewier texture), but the flavor was EXCELLENT! It was super easy to make, and I give this mix 5 stars!

Happy Sunday!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I hope 2012 is a great and wonderful year! I have a lot of goals this year for myself, getting healthy, getting a house, gardening, cooking and canning more, and getting back into the veterinary world! I hope you all have a safe year and your new year's resolutions hold true!

Here is a cute picture to bring in the new year with: My spoiled boyfriend and dog enjoying an afternoon snooze together :)

Happy Birthday, Libby!

Our little puppy is one year old today! She was spoiled with a ton of new toys, a brand new fluffy dog bed and bright red collar! I also baked her a peanut butter dog bone cake for her to enjoy later tonight- and remember not to cook dog treats in the microwave any more, the smell, YUCK- (when dog-dad gets home!). She's a little spoiled, but the last 5 months with her have been a blast! Here's to many more years to come, Libby-dog!

The first day we got her!

Cake! (Peanut butter, a tiny bit of sugar, rice flour, water and dog treats!)

My entire house smells like a burnt jerky treat- gross! At least Libby was interested.

Looking stylish!

I'm all grown up!

Pllllease can I have that ball you're dangling, now?

Finally in the New Place!

Hello! I figured I'd do this as a blog post so I don't have to upload pictures to everyone! Here is the new place! While I don't have all the pictures up yet (or even everything moved in), here's an idea of where we are.

The Office

The Office

Bedroom

Bedroom

Jessica's Super Secret Bathroom - AKA Master bath

Hallway

Hall Bath

Entry Hall and W/D closet

Living Room (We get the TV and entertainment center tonight! It'll go on that blank wall)

Fireplace in the living room

Kitchen/Dining/Living Area

Kitchen! (So much counterspace!)

Dining Room (Full of Boxes), Bert is being stared at by Libby

View from our back balcony. There is a storage unit to the right, and Libby likes to sit out here. (205 is RIGHT behind the trees which stinks, but at least it's hard to see!)

Amazing Sponge Cake

Whoa, I haven't been around much to blog this month. I've been working on some health issues that will hopefully get resolved soon, and if they are, it means I can go back to eating way more wonderful foods! (Including tons more of this cake to follow! :D)

Just wanted to mention an awesome, AWESOME product before I share my delicious cake recipe, and that is baguette from Against the Grain (http://www.againstthegraingourmet.com/ ). I came across it at the co-op and it is the BEST gluten-free baguette I have ever had. It made me feel like I was eating real bread again! Super crispy and crusty on the outside, and soft and doughy on the inside. It made the perfect sandwich, definitely give them a try if you are gluten-free and missing bread! (It's yeast free too, but not vegan, sorry!)

Oh, right, you're here for the cake!!! Enjoy!

Super Easy Hot Milk Sponge Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour

1/2 TBS xantham gum

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup rice or other dairy free milk

2 eggs (or you can try egg substitute but it might drastically change the recipe)

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 TBS margarine

Powdered sugar for topping

1 banana, sliced thinly

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease a cake round

Mix together eggs with an electric mixer until soft and creamy

Add in sugar and continue mixing until mixture is light and fluffy

Add in flour, baking powder and xantham gum and mix until combined

Heat milk and margarine in a sauce pan or in microwave until margarine is mixed in

Combine with mixture and blend until combined

Pour mixture into cake pan and cook 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean

Cake will be yellow with slightly browned edges

While still hot, sprinkle on powdered sugar until desired amount achieved, then line top with sliced bananas

Let cool 15 minutes, and enjoy!

(If you care about the bananas not getting brown, mix slices with some lemon juice prior to topping on cake to prevent browning)

Enjoy your cake!