Monday, December 14, 2020

Gluten-FREE SNICKERDOODLE Cookies



Alright.  ALL  Y'ALL  NEED  TO  TAKE  NOTE:

If I have something here 
("here" meaning ANY recipe I have on this blog) 
that you think you can skip...

You CAN'T.

Don't SKIP.

(I'm mostly talking to the Handsome Bret Sr. who thinks my micro-managing is crap.  It's not.  ...and sometimes I cannot explain my "WHY" when I tell you to do something that may seem weird - you do it ANYWAY.)   

:0)   LOVE  YOU!


HAVE  FAITH!!!   These recipes have been tried and re-tried - notes have been taken until the paper form of the original has to be translated to anyone reading it that isn't ME!  Hence - this food blog, ie: Recipe Book online.  The interpretations are laid out for all to see.  You're welcome.




(A recipe for your recipe:)

GLUTEN-FREE  FLOUR  MIX:


3 cups Bob's Red Mill -  RICE FLOUR
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill -  TAPIOCA FLOUR
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill -  POTATO STARCH  (OR SUBSTITUE WITH CORN STARCH)

1 heaping Tablespoon Bob's Red Mill -  XANTHAN GUM

1/2 Tablespoon sea salt 


Mix throughly - keep in an air tight container or fridge.
(Note: When using in a recipe as a wheat flour substitute - OMIT up to 1 teaspoon salt.)






Gluten-FREE    SNICKERDOODLES



Mix thoroughly:

1 cup LouAnn Coconut oil (refined coconut oil - which means no coconut flavor)

1 1/2 cups sugar


2 eggs



Mix and then add to the above:

3 and 1/2  AND  UP  TO  4  cups flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda



In a stand mixer - beat your sugar and coconut oil on HIGH for 8 minutes.


ADD your 2 eggs to the sugar and coconut oil mixture.


ADD your dry ingredient mixture - 1/2 of it at a time and combining well.


Once dough is mixed evenly with all the dry ingredients - let stand for 10 minutes.


(When baking with anything with a Gluten-FREE flour - let your mixture rest for 10 minutes before deciding to add any additional flour.)


Mix in a small or medium bowl 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.  


Using a large cookie scoop - make cookie dough balls slightly larger than a walnut and roll in your sugar and cinnamon mixture.


Place 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  


Bake at 375 for 11-14 minutes or until BARELY golden brown.
































SNICKERDOODLES

(USING  AN   ALL-Pourpose  FLOUR)



Mix thoroughly:


1 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs


Mix and then add to the above:


3 cups flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt



Once dough is mixed evenly with all the dry ingredients combined and added, roll dough into balls the size of a large walnuts.  


Mix in 1/2 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.  


Place 2 inches apart.  


Bake on an un-greased cookie sheet at 375 for 8 minutes or until BARELY golden brown.















Sunday, December 13, 2020

“Freezer Bank” SOUP and CHILI Storage





One of my favorite and most useful items in my home is an extra freezer.  I can store ready to eat food items for when I head out of town - or for when I get myself into a schedule crisis and don't have time to make a dinner.  ...It helps me keep my family eating healthy in a pinch!  

My mom always refers to it as  "freezer bank" storage.  This blog post will address SOUP and CHILI to make your "freezer bank" deposits -  BONUS  FOR  Y'ALL  AT  THE  END  OF  THIS  BLOG  POST:  there are links to recipes!   


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How do you get started???   

- YOU  MAKE  DINNER!  

Any time you make a soup or a chili - and after you've had your dinner - use the leftover remainder NOT as leftovers, but as a "freezer bank" deposit.

Purchase and have at the ready FREEZER quart or gallon ziplock bags.

Make sure the soup or chili has cooled completely.

Keep a small box that can fit in your freezer easily and can shape your soup or chili into a stackable, easily storable shape 

Fill up your FREEZER quart or gallon ziplock - leaving enough space (2-3 inches) for the food to expand with the freezing process.   (...otherwise you may have an exploding freezer bag!)

Get your bags squished and shaped into the box you've saved and shove into your freezer.

AND  THAT  IS  IT!   

Then use when needed.  


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NOTES:  

Typically with chili  -  I add an extra can of chili beans to a chili I am reheating after being frozen.

Typically with soup  -  I need to add 1 or 2 cups of water and a slight addition of original seasonings - especially salt and pepper.

The bonus of having these "freezer bank" deposits is that they can be easily shared with individuals or families when there's a need in your community and social sphere.  

Also, as my kids have gotten older (and began to consume ridiculous amounts of food!) I started to noticed a huge lack in my freezer bank since I didn't end up having ANY leftovers to freeze!!!  I find myself doubling the recipes that I know I want to have in my "freezer bank".  It's the easiest way to have a pre-made healthy dinner to share.




Be sure to label what you are freezing
along with a date!



Keep a small box that can fit in your freezer 
easily and can shape your soup or chili into 
a stackable, easily storable shape 

Fill up your FREEZER quart or gallon ziplock 
- leaving enough space (2-3 inches) 
for the food to expand with the freezing process.   
(...otherwise you may have an exploding freezer bag!)



Get your bags squished and shaped into 
the box you've saved and shove into your freezer.

I love this box!!!  It perfectly fits 4 quart size bags 
(or 2 and a space-cheating yogurt container...)
or 2 gallon size ziplocks!  So awesome.




Once completely frozen, transfer to a freezer
drawer or space where you can keep track
of what you've got... and notice when you
might be running low on your
"freezer bank" deposits!



Keep your oldest items towards the front
of your freezer drawer and the newest items
towards the back.

- that way you're using the oldest soup/chili first 
and keeping things rotated and accounted for!







CLICK  LINK  FOR:   Creamy White Bean and Potato SOUP


CLICK  LINK  FOR:   Split Pea Soup - TRIED AND TRUE!


CLICK  LINK  FOR:   12 Bean and Sausage SOUP


CLICK  LINK  FOR:   Ham and Lentil SOUP



CLICK  LINK  FOR:   Red Chili


CLICK  LINK  FOR:   Dave's Camping Chili


CLICK  LINK  FOR:   BBQ Chicken Chili


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Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Chicken Noodle SOUP - with Homemade Gluten-FREE EGG NOODLES!!!



Homemade noodles...
Quick, FUN and EASY!
(Thank you Tasha for the
original recipe!)  






It took me a few years of living in Texas to realize that keeping ALL of the 9 months of winter clothing that I had moved here with from Idaho was not going to be a long-term good idea...

The same can be said of my previous habit of happily making soups and chilis 9 months of the year without anyone complaining. (NOTE TO THE DAVIS HOUSEHOLDplease remember that all complaining about food will only be tolerated if done IN SONG!  ie:  in a movie / broadway musical fashion)  

The clothing collection has been rounded out with 9 months of skirts (NOT SHORTS!) and a lovely collection of sun hats.  I pray for cold weather so that I can wear my boots without getting sweaty!

...And the happy habit of making soups and chili 9 months out of the year?

I just crank the AC and make sure everyone is singing about it if there's a complaint they want heard.   :0) 





CHICKEN  NOODLE  SOUP

 


Begin with a big soup pot.  


Heat oil and add onion; cook until translucent. 

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, minced



Add each item in the following order, stirring frequently until carrots are softened and garlic starts to caramelize at the end of sautéing when all veggies are combined together.

10-12  big carrots, peeled and sliced into circles

6-8  stalks of celery, sliced

8 garlic cloves (one bundle), minced



Then ADD to cooked veggies:

10  cups cold water 

2  large bay leaves

2  teaspoons Kosher salt

1  teaspoon pepper

2 Tablespoons Better-Than-Bullion with 2 chicken bouillon cubes

OR 1/4 cup Better-Than-Bullion

OR 4 chicken bullion cubes

1/3  cup dry parsley flakes

1  teaspoon Tom Chancery’s Original Creole Seasoning

left-over chicken pieced into small pieces 



A note on the chicken:

Use a small amount or large… whatever you have  

OR  use left-over turkey

OR  what I usually do - buy a grocery store or Costco rotisserie chicken and pick it apart

OR  2-3 pounds chicken breast cooked in crockpot on high for 3-4 hours before adding to your soup



Bring everything to a boil, turn down to low and simmer for 30 minutes. 



A note on the simmering:

Adding more water while cooking will be necessary to maintain a “soup” consistency. Plan on it - Adding only 1 up at a time.






GLUTEN-FREE  VERSION OF:

Tasha’s Homemade Egg Noodles



(A recipe for your recipe:)

GLUTEN-FREE  FLOUR  MIX:


3 cups Bob's Red Mill -  RICE FLOUR
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill -  TAPIOCA FLOUR
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill -  POTATO STARCH  (OR SUBSTITUE WITH CORN STARCH)

1 heaping Tablespoon Bob's Red Mill -  XANTHAN GUM

1/2 Tablespoon sea salt 


Mix throughly - keep in an air tight container or fridge.
(Note: When using in a recipe as a wheat flour substitute - OMIT up to 1 teaspoon salt.)




For the Gluten-FREE noodles:


Combine well in a medium bowl:

4  eggs

3  Tablespoons water


When combined well, ADD and combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon:

2  1/3 cups gluten-free flour mixture


Knead egg noodle dough on a floured surface 10-20 times.  

Pound out into a large circle.  

Push out to a  1/4 - 1/8 thickness with a rolling pin.  .

With a pizza cutter, cut dough into noodles - any shape, width and length you’d like.  




BACK  TO  THE  SOUP!!!:


Drop one noodle at a time into your simmering soup pot.  

Stir.  

Cook COVERED for 45-60 minutes at a simmer.  

Add water as needed.  

Taste.  

Add pepper and Kosher salt, if needed.


Serve with plenty of your egg noodles in each bowl!









HOMEMADE  CHICKEN  BROTH:


(When I am feeling fancy and
get an early start on this soup.)
 
Glean all the chicken meat off your
Costco rotisserie chicken. 
Place the chicken carcass in another
cooking pot filled with filtered water.  
(Literally everything but the string
used to hold the legs in place.)

Bring to a boil and then turn
down to a simmer for 2-3 hours.

You should lose 2-3 inches of the
water level through this process.

Once your carrots, celery, onion,
and garlic are cooked and fragrant,
pour your homemade chicken broth 
into your large soup pot 
using a strainer to catch any bones or skin.

Let the carcass remnants cool and then discard.







The secret to this recipe???
A spicy creole seasoning.
Goes from simple to AMAZING!


Knead egg noodle dough on 

a floured surface 10-20 times.  


Pound out into a large circle.  

 



Push out to a  1/4 - 1/8 thickness 

with a rolling pin.


With a pizza cutter, cut dough into noodles 

- any shape, width and length you’d like.



Clean up is done in a flash if you
put plastic wrap
down before you start your
kneading of the dough.


Half way through your cooking process - 
remove the soup pot lid and
gently stir the noodles
to get the ones on the top
circulated to the bottom.
  
Cover again and finish the total
cook time on your egg noodles.


Fully cooked noodles!

These noodles are from the
lovely Tasha Schroeder
- one of my favorite foodies/inspiration. 
Miss and love you friend!


Jane Austen

It does not look like it... 
But this is how she helps me in the kitchen.
I get stared at from the back of the couch.





Click Link FOR:    Mama Jo's Recipe Blog TABLE OF CONTENTS  






For  the  Original  Homemade  Egg  Noodles:




Tasha’s Homemade Egg Noodles


Combine well in a medium bowl:

2 eggs

3 Tablespoons water

1 teaspoon sea salt


When combined well, ADD and combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon:

2 cups flour



Knead egg noodle dough on a floured surface 10-20 times.  

Pound out into a large circle.  

Push out to a 1/4 - 1/8 thickness with a rolling pin.  .

With a pizza cutter, cut dough into noodles - any shape, width and length you’d like.  

Drop one at a time into your simmering soup.  Stir.  

Cook for 45-60 minutes at a simmer and COVER.  

Add water as needed.  Taste.  Add pepper and Kosher salt, if needed.