Chicken Quesadillas (GF)

TORTILLAS

These are larger tortillas than suggested in volume 1 – specifically for the Chicken Quesadillas, page___.  Double the recipe, if desired to make the same meal the next day or another wrap meal.  These are very much like whole wheat tortillas.

1¹/₄  cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (300 mL)

  page___

1 tsp SPLENDA^® Granular, (5 mL)

  optional

¹/₂  tsp xanthan gum (2 mL)

¹/₂  tsp onion salt, OR salt (2 mL)

5 to 7 tbsp warm water (75 to 105 mL)

 (I usually need the former amount)

2 tbsp olive oil (30 mL)

In medium bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, SPLENDA^® Granular if using, xanthan gum and onion salt, OR salt.  In food processor, combine dry ingredients with 5 tbsp (75 mL) warm water.  Process until a large, sticky dough ball forms.  Form 4 dough balls weighing approximately the same – around 70 grams (electronic scale is helpful).

Between two pieces of parchment paper (this is not optional), roll dough out to a tortilla shape (doesn’t have to be perfect).  Remove top sheet of parchment paper and using a thin plastic spatula (thinner the better), pry the tortilla loose and place in nonstick frying pan that has been brushed with a small amount of olive oil.  Cook over medium-low heat briefly, flip and cook very briefly on the other side.  Repeat. 

Helpful Hints:  If you have a very powerful food processor, then you may need less water – either way begin with the smaller amount and add water by the tablespoon (15 mL) after that.  The extra moisture helps the tortillas to remain flexible.  These tortillas are still fairly small; so don’t roll them out too thin, but you also don’t want them too thick or they will crack after cooking.  Also, do not overcook them as they will become brittle and lose their flexibility.  Tricky, but after a bit of practice, these are quite easy to make and really tasty!  Double the recipe, if desired.

I find that using a small rolling pin designed for rolling crusts in a pan, gives one a lot more control to get that lovely, round shape for the tortilla as one can see better too.  I roll the dough out (start from center, roll upwards and then downwards) and keep turning the parchment paper and rolling it out.  Store the tortillas in a sealed plastic bag, either at room temperature or in the refrigerator for longer storage.

Yield:   4 wraps

1 wrap

158.4 calories

5.6 g protein

11.1 g fat

7.2 g net carbs

CHICKEN QUESADILLAS

These are made with the wraps on page___.  Very tasty and filling. One of these with a simple salad makes a good lunch and two of these will make it so that you won’t be hungry for hours and hours!  These are very similar in taste and texture to whole wheat tortillas.

2 cups cooked, diced chicken (500 mL)

¹/₃  cup salsa (75 mL)

2 tbsp mayonnaise (30 mL)

1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese (250 mL)

Larger Flexible Wraps, page___

  

In medium bowl, combine chicken, salsa and mayonnaise; stir to combine.  Stir in Monterey Jack Cheese. 

Follow directions for Larger Flexible Wraps, page___.   In lightly-oiled, nonstick frying pan, place wrap.  Cook very briefly (about 45 seconds), flip and place filling in the center.  Fold over from both sides to the center to cover filling.  Continue to cook briefly, add a bit more oil if necessary to the pan, and carefully flip again using 2 spatulas; cook until browned and crispy on the other side as well.  Serve immediately while warm or keep them warm in a low oven until all the wraps are made.

Yield:   4 servings

1 wrap plus filling

507.2 calories

50.9 g protein

28.0 g fat

8.9 g net carbs

Irish Soda Bread (GF) - Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

IRISH SODA BREAD

A rather simple bread, big on taste, which surprised me. It is to me somewhere between a bread and a loaf.  I’m not sure with the bake mix whether this closely resembles Irish Soda Bread or not, although I followed a pretty standard recipe, increasing the bake mix by ¹/₄  cup (60 mL) and I added an extra egg.  I also reduced the raisins and snipped them in half to distribute them more evenly. Perfect!

  When it comes out of the oven, it is quite crusty, but in our humid climate, that didn’t last too long.  I preferred this bread at room temperature.  Did you know that Ireland has one of the highest rates of Celiac disease in the entire world?

 Remember, I use ground almonds in my bake mix, so I know almond flour will yield a finer crumb and a lighter-colored result.  The bake mix yield is also greater with almond flour vs almond meal - so the carbs are lower and the bake mix is probably a little less dense or robust as well.  It doesn't seem to make a huge difference in baking, but it is interesting all the same.

2¹/₄  cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (560 mL)

  Page___

2 tsp baking powder (10 mL)

¹/₂  tsp baking soda (2 mL)
¹/₄   tsp salt (1 mL) 

2 eggs

2 tbsp butter, softened (30 mL)
1 cup buttermilk* (250 mL)
Liquid sucralose to equal ¹/₂  cup (125 mL)
  SPLENDA^® Granular  

1 tbsp butter (15 mL)

¹/₄  cup raisins, snipped in half (60 mL)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). In medium bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, baking powder , baking soda and salt.

In food processor, process eggs and 2 tbsp (30 mL) butter.  Add buttermilk and liquid sucralose, OR  SPLENDA^® Granular; process.  Add dry ingredients and process at least 1 minute.  Add 1 tbsp (15 mL) butter and process briefly until combined.  Stir in raisins (snipped in half).

Scoop into greased, nonstick 8 x 4 x 3-inch (1.5 L) loaf pan (smaller than a standard size pan).  Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until a dinner knife comes out mostly clean.  The crust will be medium brown and quite crispy.  Turn out onto wire rack and allow to cool.  Cut with a sharp bread knife when at room temperature.  When cool, it is very easy to cut really thin slices, which, of course, would cut the carbs even more compared to the above analysis.  Lovely with a cup of tea or coffee.

Helpful Hint:  My gluten-free, low-carb loaves perform better in my slightly smaller loaf pans than the standard 9 x 5 x 3-inch (2 L) loaf pan.  I have a couple of fantastic, special nonstick pans.  I love them – the loaves just slide right out of the pan – perfect every time!

To make your own buttermilk:  1 tbsp (15 mL) Lemon juice in measuring cup and the rest low-carb milk.  I’m sure a mixture of half heavy cream, half water and lemon juice would work as well.

Yield:  16/18 servings

1 slice

113.8/101.2 calories

4.0/3.5 g protein

8.0/7.1 g fat

5.5/4.8 g carbs

Roasted Seasoned Eggplant (GF)

ROASTED SEASONED EGGPLANT

Such an easy recipe and quick to get this in the oven while preparing other food to go along with a barbecue, for instance.  Very tasty!  Great to nibble on too, while the meat is grilling.

3 Chinese eggplants

¹/₄ cup light-tasting olive oil (60 mL)

¹/₂  tsp seasoning salt (2 mL)

¹/₄ tsp paprika (1 mL)

  

Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Slice eggplants thinly, lengthwise and then cut those slices in half horizontally.  In medium bowl, combine olive oil, seasoning salt and paprika.  Add eggplant slices and toss to coat really well.  Place on a broiler pan, skin side down (when there is skin).

Bake 15 minutes, flip and bake another 20 minutes, or until tender.  It’s actually a combination of soft, crispy and chewy for some of the pieces.

Yield:  2 big servings

1 serving

276.8 calories

1.9 g protein

27.0 g fat

5.7 g carbs

Old-Fashioned Blueberry Muffins (GF)

OLD-FASHIONED BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

These are wonderful blueberry muffins – quite substantial!  Blueberries are high in anti-oxidants.

2¹/₄  cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (560 mL)

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1 tbsp baking powder (15 mL)

¹/₂  tsp nutmeg (2 mL)

¹/₂  tsp cinnamon (2 mL)

¹/₄  tsp salt (1 mL)

3 eggs

Liquid sucralose to equal 1 cup (250 mL)

  SPLENDA^® Granular

2 tbsp granulated erythritol (30 mL)

¹/₂  cup Low-Carb Milk, page___, (125 mL)

  OR equivalent

¹/₄  cup butter, melted (60 mL)

¹/₄  cup light-tasting olive oil (60 mL)

1 cup frozen, unsweetened blueberries (250 mL)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).  Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

In medium bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. 

In food processor, process eggs, liquid sucralose, OR  SPLENDA^® Granular, erythritol, Low-Carb Milk, page___, OR equivalent, butter and olive oil; process well.  Add dry ingredients and process about 1 minute.   Scoop batter into muffin cups and push about 4 frozen blueberries into the tops of the muffins.  Bake about 20 minutes, or until turning light brown in places and when a knife inserted in a muffin comes out clean.

Yield:  12 muffins

1 serving

198.6 calories

5.4 g protein

16.6 g fat

6.1 g net carbs

Mock Sweet Potato Pie (GF)

MOCK SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

  I really like this.  I’m not sure how closely it mimics sweet potato casserole, but my husband said this is a keeper!

2 eggs

2 tbsp melted butter (30 mL)

Liquid sucralose to equal 1 cup (250 mL)

  SPLENDA^® Granular

2 tbsp powdered erythritol (30 mL)

¹/₂  tsp salt (2 mL)

1 tsp vanilla extract (5 mL)

2 cups any cooked yellow squash (500 mL)

  (not spaghetti squash though)

1 cup canned pumpkin (250 mL)

¹/₂  cup heavy cream (125 mL)

¹/₂  tsp glucomannan powder, OR xanthan gum (2 mL)

Ground nutmeg sprinkle

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).  In food processor, process eggs, butter, liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular, erythritol, salt and vanilla extract.  Add squash, pumpkin, heavy cream and glucomannan powder, OR xanthan gum; process until smooth.  Pour into 9-inch glass pie dish. Sprinkle with ground nutmeg. Bake about 40 minutes or until set.

Helpful Hints:  Whenever I want to reduce the sodium in a dish, I use half regular salt and half No Salt^®.  The latter does not taste great on its own, but mixed with regular salt, it tastes great in most dishes and even baking.

Yield:  8 servings

1 serving

113.3 calories

2.7 g protein

9.1 g fat

4.8 g carbs

Pumpkin Bread Pudding (GF)

PUMPKIN BREAD PUDDING

This bread pudding tastes best the next day.  I was planning on making a Pumpkin Cake Roll, but it totally cracked on me - in fact, a piece broke right off as I rolled it in the clean towel.  Waah - so what to do?  I decided to break up the cake and make Pumpkin Bread Pudding!  It was rather nice and a good save of the expensive ingredients.  Bread Pudding is not everyone's cup of tea, but it is definitely comfort food for those who do like it.  Most of the new recipes that I try, I manage to get right the first time around (mainly due to my bake mix making it easier, I think), however, every now and then something like this happens or I have to test a recipe one more time to perfect it. If I have to fight too much with a recipe, I usually give up - isn't that awful? I have been very blessed to be able to get things right the first time (usually but that was not the case when I was trying to find a nice bake mix - that was not easy!  I knew I had to persist though and Donna Hodach-Price really spurred me on.) - besides it would totally drive my husband crazy if I had even more baked goodies lying around from testing and re-testing. What made me mention this is someone else blogged about how much she tests and retests her recipes.  I got tired just reading the blog post.  Eeek!  That is not easy and I have to say she is amazingly patient that way and probably way more of a perfectionist than what I am.  Lately, I've been freezing baked goodies and taking them to my sons in the city.  This one didn't make it there.  It got eaten too quickly.  Besides, I don't think it would freeze well.  The custard part is my friend, Barbara Goldstein's recipe.  I'll share another bread pudding shortly that she made. :)

4 eggs

Liquid sucralose to equal 1 cup (250 mL)

  SPLENDA^® Granular

²/₃ cup canned pumpkin (150 mL)

1¹/₄  cups Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (300 mL)

  page___

1¹/₂ tsp pumpkin pie spice (7 mL)

1 tsp baking powder (5 mL)

¹/₄ tsp salt (1 mL)

Bread Pudding Custard:

5 large eggs

1 cup Low-Carb Milk, page___ (250 mL)

1 cup heavy cream (250 mL)

Liquid sucralose to equal ¹/₂ cup (125 mL)

  SPLENDA^® Granular

¹/₄ cup powdered erythritol (60 mL)

2 tsp vanilla extract (10 mL)

¹/₄ tsp cinnamon for top (1 mL)

Line 15 x 10-inch (38 x 25 cm) jelly roll pan with wax paper.  Spray liberally with nonstick cooking spray and sprinkle with a tiny amount of bake mix.

In food processor, or in bowl with electric mixer, process eggs 4 minutes on medium high speed.  While processing, gradually add liquid sucralose, OR SPLENDA^® Granular.  Add pumpkin; process on lower speed.

In medium bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and salt.  Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and process well. Pour over prepared pan and spread out evenly.  Bake in 375°F (190°C) oven 15 minutes.  Invert cake onto clean tea towel.  Carefully remove wax paper. Cut cake into cubes as soon as cool enough to handle.

Bread Pudding Custard:  In medium bowl, beat eggs with fork.  Add Low-Carb Milk, page___, heavy cream, sucralose, erythritol and vanilla extract and whisk with fork.  Pour over pumpkin bread cubes.  Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Let mixture soak 1 hour.  Bake in oven 25 minutes.  If desired, serve with Delicious Pouring Custard, page___.

Yield:  18 servings

1 serving

122.6 calories

5.2 g protein

9.6 g fat

3.2 g carbs

Frozen Caramel Peanut Butter Banana Pie (GF)

FROZEN CARAMEL PEANUT BUTTER BANANA PIE

The frozen texture will remind you bit of pecan pie and that sort of sweetness level and texture, depending on how solid it freezes.  It is sort of a weird pie as it was something I just made up as I went along.  Certainly different.  I think I would have preferred the crust to be a lot sweeter, so if you can manage that, I think this pie would be even better.  The erythritol does not crystallize out. 

³/₄  cup Gluten-Free Bake Mix, (175 mL)

  page___

¹/₂  cup almond meal (125 mL)

2 SPLENDA^® packets

¹/₄  cup butter, melted (60 mL)

1 egg yolk

Caramel Sauce:

¹/₂  cup granulated erythritol (125 mL)

1 tsp molasses (5 mL)

2 tbsp unsalted butter (30 mL)

¹/₂  cup heavy cream (125 mL)

¹/₄  cup creamy natural peanut butter (60 mL)

1 banana, mashed

1 cup vanilla whey protein (250 mL)

¹/₄  tsp xanthan gum (1 mL)

In medium bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix, page___, almond meal, SPLENDA^® , butter and egg yolk.  Using plastic wrap press into 9-inch (23 cm) shallow glass pie dish and a little way up the circumference of the dish.

Caramel Sauce:  In saucepan, over medium heat, melt erythritol and molasses.  Remove from heat. Stir in butter until melted and then stir in heavy cream. Return to heat until the sauce is bubbling up.

Next stir in peanut butter until it melts and is incorporated.  Lastly, add mashed banana, vanilla whey protein and xanthan gum; stir very well to combine and thicken the filling.  Pour over crust.  As soon as pie dish is cool enough to handle, place in freezer.  When pie is very cold, cover with a dinner plate or plastic wrap and return to the freezer.  Serve straight from the freezer when required.

Yield:  10 servings

1 serving

248.7 calories

10.8 g protein

19.9 g fat

7.0 g net carbs