Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Easy Gluten Free Breakfast

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Eating Gluten Free and Dairy Free can be a big chore most of the time, it involves a lot of baking and cooking from scratch so it's nice to be able to have short cuts once in a while!  That's why I love the GF DF pancakes at Trader Joes!  They are inexpensive and you just pop them in the toaster and you've got pancakes!  I do have a great pancake recipe that I make often as well that is great but for those mornings I don't feel like making pancakes all morning or before bed and I need a little sweet snack...this is a good fix!

The frozen Trader Joes gluten free pancakes come in packages of 3 so what I like to do is just pop all 3 in the toaster and when they pop up, I spread the first one with peanut butter and sprinkle on some mini chocolate chips, add the 2nd pancake and add another layer of peanut butter and chocolate chips and then add the 3rd pancake with a little more peanut butter and real maple syrup.  It is soooooo yummy!

The mini chocolate chips melt between the pancake layers and mix with the peanut butter and syrup in the best possible way!

Yes.....I have an obsession with chocolate and peanut butter.......

I LIKE Green Eggs and Ham!

Green Eggs and Ham 

or in this case bacon

What you'll need

Eggs
Ham/bacon
Blue food coloring
Bowl
Fork
Frying pan
Non-stick spray/vegetable oil
Spatula

Depending on your child's capabilities, you can let them help a lot or a little but this is a fun one for them to make

Place a frying pan on the skillet over high heat, once it gets real hot, reduce to medium heat (I do this so the eggs don't stick to the stainless steel...we don't use non-stick frying pans, they are a no no but you can read more about that at end of post).

Let your child help you crack the eggs on the edge of counter or side of bowl and carefully break the eggs into the bowl.

Let them put a few drops of blue food coloring into the bowl with the eggs.  If you have the wilton food coloring in the little jars, dip the tip of your fork in the food coloring to get just a tiny amount.  Use your fork and stir the eggs up in the bowl, mixing in the food coloring.  (if kids are going to stir the eggs, use a bigger sized bowl so prevent them from spilling over the edge)

Lightly coat the frying pan with oil or cooking spray to prevent sticking.

Pour green eggs into skillet and cook, folding and chopping with the spatula to make scrambled eggs.

When green eggs are cooked, remove from skillet and serve warm.

As for the ham part, you can either take some deli ham and cut into small pieces and stir into the eggs before cooking or you can make a side a bacon like we did.

And DON'T FORGET to read them the book Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

We got our 4.5 year old Green Eggs and Ham for Christmas and I'll never forget the first time I read it to her that night.  She had no idea what she was in for when it started, and as we got into the book, her eyes widened, filled with delight and she rose up higher and higher on her knees 'till she was no longer laying down but bouncing in her bed as the story went on.  We have to read the book at LEAST two times in a row, then we have to act it out 2 times, taking turns being Sam I Am and the guy who doesn't want the Green Eggs and Ham.  Dr. Seuss has just acquired a new fan...and today she requested Green Eggs and Ham for lunch...and of course I had to be Sam I Am when serving it to her...."You do not like them so you say. Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may, I say."  

I know we are not the first to do this fun activity by any means, but it was our first time and it was fun!!!  I was also thinking after the fact, that you could make this healthier by using spinach puree to color the eggs, I'll have to try that next time and see if they still like Green Eggs and Ham!

 *We have thrown out most of our non-stick cookware.  It has been banned in other countries because it is toxic and carcinogenic. When Mary Anne bought a gerbal for one of her kids, the pet store warned them not to keep the cage near the kitchen when cooking because the fumes from non-stick cookware can kill the animal.  We stick to using stainless steel and cast iron for cooking. For more about that, read my Nutrition and Healthy Cooking posts.  

Eeny Meeny Miny Mo Game

Eeny Meeny Miny Mo Game

Walnut game for kids

I don't know what this game is called or should be called.  My mother-in-law made it for J and today she was teaching it to her 18 month old brother.  They were having fun, it was nice having them play so nicely while I made Gluten Free Cinnamon Banana Pancakes from the Cooking For Isaiah cookbook.  

Gram painted the walnut shells each a different color and then put ladybug stickers on top.  There are 7 shells and she put 7 little surprises to go under each one, like little jewels, a character noodle, a bean, a button, etc.  So here is how to play....it's so easy, there's really nothing to it but the kids like it.

Eeny meeny miny mo, catch a piggy by the toe, if he hollars let him go, eeny meeny miny mo!  

Gluten Free Coffee Cake with Maple Frosting

Gluten Free Coffee Cake with Maple Frosting

So what do you get when you take the Gluten Free Homemakers Basic Muffin Recipe and combine it with Silvana's sticky cinnamon pancake recipe and put it in a 9x9 inch square cake pan?  A wonderful coffee cake that is almost identical to my favorite coffee cake I can't have anymore, the Krusteaz coffee cake mix from the box.

The kids and I had decided to make muffins and we normally use the gluten free homemaker's basic muffin recipe and make chocolate chip muffins but this day I was craving a Cinnabon or something like that.  On thanksgiving we had really enjoyed the gluten free sticky cinnamon swirl pancakes with maple frosting shared by Silvana Nardone... So... I decided to put those recipes together and we got this yummy scrumptious coffee cake!  So now I'm calling it....

Candace's Gluten Free Dairy Free Coffee Cake with Maple Frosting

2 cups gluten free flour (I use Silvana's Blend from her book, it already has the xanthan gum added)

if you are using a different gluten free baking mix just add 1 tsp xanthan gum

1 Tablespoon baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cups milk

8 tablespoons softened(1 stick) butter (I use best life or vegan buttery sticks to make it dairy free)

1 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Line a 9x9 in cake pan with parchment paper (or you can lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray) and preheat the oven to 375.

In a medium size bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  In a seperate bowk, mix the wet ingredients and then add to the flour mixture and stir til combined.

In a small mixing bowl, combine 8 tablespoons of butter softened to room temp, sugar and cinnamon and mix together. (if butter is out of fridge just nuke it for a several seconds to slightly soften but do not melt).

Pour half of your coffee cake batter into you cake pan and spread around.

Drop spoonfuls of the brown sugar mixture over the top and spread around, reserving some for the topping.

Plop the remaining cake batter over the cinnamon sugar and spread around.  Take a knife and swirl it through the entire thing a few times and the smooth out the batter so it is evenly distributed in the cake pan.  

Top with the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

For the Maple Frosting combine 1 cup confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons maple syrup and 1 tablespoon water and mix together.  Drizzle over the top of your coffee cake and you would never know you were eating something gluten and dairy free!

Thanksgiving Recap

Hello out there....if anyone is still there!  We are alive over here, however we had family come visit, then went and visited family...pretty much the time between Halloween and Thanksgiving just happened at warp speed.  But we are back and Scrappy Saturdays will be back on this weekend too.
After not posting in so long it's almost hard to know where to start so I thought I'd start with a recap of our Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving day started with these

Gluten-Free Sticky Cinnamon Swirl Pancakes with Maple Frosting

 by Silvana Nardone

 For her other great thanksgiving breakfast menu recipes including this one, visit Silvana's Kitchen!


And our Day Ended with this

Toasted Marshmallow topped Pumpkin Ice Cream Pie with Ginger Snap Cookie Crust from 

 from Silvana's Book Cooking for Isaiah 

(I LOVE LOVE LOVE this gluten free dairy free cookbook!)

Both were super yummy and delicious, along with everything else we had in-between.  My husband cooked the actual meal and did a great job on everything.  I sure am Thankful for such an awesome hubby!!!  And I'm thankful for all the great resources, including Silvana's recipes that make eating gluten and dairy free easy and delicious!  We had company over for Thanksgiving and they said they would have never guessed everything was gluten and dairy free.

I did make ONE thing for the actual meal from a recipe my sister gave me. I made this the night before and I  want to make this everyday, just to make my house smell like this.  Now I'm desperate to find the perfect candle that smells like this...cranberries, apples, vanilla, cinnamon and clove! *I left out the raisins.

homemade cranberry relish

2 cups fresh apple juice

1/2 cup sugar

24 ounces cranberries

2 slightly sweet apples, peeled and diced

1/2 vanilla bean, slit open

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 -2 cloves depending on preference

1/4 cup golden raisins

Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, on medium-high heat until the cranberries have popped and everything has begun to gel. Spoon into a casserole dish. Let cool.

This is beautiful and super Yummy!!

Gluten Free Corn Bread Stuffing (also got this recipe from my sister)

Use your favorite GF cornbread mix - (Bobs Red Mill is awesome) or substitute gluten free all purpose baking mix for the flour in any basic corn bread recipe. Mix dough then stir in 1/2 Tbs of dried thyme. Bake according to recipe directions.

Once the cornbread has cooled, cut into cubes and arrange on a baking sheet. Let this sit overnight to dry out and create cornbread crumbs.

Stuffing ingredients:

2 Tbs Olive oil

1/2 onion - chopped

4 cloves garlic - finely chopped or pressed

1-2 stalks celery - chopped

1 apple - peeled and chopped

.75 oz of fresh Rosemary, Thyme and Sage

Vegetable or Chicken stock as needed

Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute onion, garlic and celery. Add apple, salt and pepper and herbs, cook stirring frequently over medium heat for 3-4 mins. Lower to med/low heat and add cornbread crumbs, toss to coat with herb mixture. Add vegetable stock to moisten cornbread to desired consistency/texture. Serve warm.

Gluten Free Cinnamon Belgian Waffles

Cinnamon-Toasted Belgian Waffles

Gluten free and Dairy Free

From Cooking For Isaiah

This past weekend we had another great success from our Cooking For Isaiah cookbook.  We made the Cinnamon Toasted Belgian Waffle and it was SO delicious, the cinnamon in the waffles with classic waffle texture, crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, it was hard to remember I wasn't actually eating cinnamon toast.  These gluten free cinnamon waffles topped with real maple syrup was the best saturday morning breakfast we've had in a long time.  So far, Silvana Nardone's Cooking For Isaiah Cookbook of gluten free, dairy free recipes has yet to dissapoint...everything we have tried has been awesome and I've even used her flour blend in other recipes like the gluten free blueberry muffins with coconut struesel, chocolate chip muffins and strawberry muffins and I love it.  This is my favorite cookbook, the only other cookbook I have used so much (and not even as much as Silvana's is the big BHG cookbook.

If you are not feeling brave enough to make you own flour blend and get cooking from this awesome book, well, first of all, there's nothing to be afraid of, it's super easy although I was intimidated about the different flours and everything at first...I don't know why it's really not a big deal...ANYWAYS, if you'd rather stick with the gluten free bisquik mix, or if you not gluten free and making normal waffles, make according to package directions and add 1-2 tsp cinnamon to the batter and a bit of brown sugar.  

I'm not working for Silvana or her book, but I just can't help but rave about it every time I make something out of it!  I think she is a genius.

Morning Mocha!

Morning Mocha...

I don't know about you guys, but when I wake up in the morning I want/need 3 things...A big glass of RO water (with my Swansons MultiOmega EFA's, New Chapter Organics Prenatal Vitamin (still nursing) and Swansons methylcobalamin B Vitamin), coffee and something to eat.  I have to eat breakfast.  I love my morning mocha because it is so good, easy, fast and saves me a bunch of money since starbucks is extra expensive for me since I always ask for soy milk.  I may never sleep through the night again (kids to blame), plus with having Hashimotos I really need something to pick me up in the morning to get going or I'm sluggish all day.

This Deliciously easy mocha only requires 3 things

Ghirardelli Premium Hot Cacoa-Double Chocolate (it's dairy free)

Instant Coffee 

Vanilla Coconut Milk

Put the kettle on the stove with water. While heating water, put 2 Tablespoons of cocoa and 1 tsp (or however much  you want) of instant coffee granules in coffee mug.  Add boiling water.  Top off with Coconut Milk for a creamy, tempting mocha!  

And my favorite breakfast to go with my dairy free mocha is a chunk of my homemade Granola Bars that we keep stocked with.  I don't have to bother with reading labels on energy bars and protein bars to see if they are gluten and dairy free...I just always have a batch of these made and ready to go!  And they taste better than any packaged granola bar, protein bar or energy bar that I've had.  My BIL (Bro in law) said they reminded him of chex muddy buddies...which I've never had but I'm sure they are good...although I think these are a bit healthier :)  They are definitely filling and keep my hunger at bay, think of it as eating a big bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, but it tastes better and you are getting healthy almonds, flax seed, brown rice and protein from the peanut butter.

Chocolate Chip and Roasted Almond Granola Bars (modified to be GF and Dairy Free)
1 to 1 1/3 cup peanut butter (I just eyeball it..I probably do a bit more..so decide if you like your granola bars more moist and chewy or more dry and crumbly when adding PB)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup Honey (or corn syrup if you don't have honey)
2 tsp vanilla

3 cups old fashioned oats (Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats)
2 cups puffed brown rice

1 cup cereal (rice chex)
3/4 cup cold milled ground flax seed (I order mine from Swansons)
3/4 cup toasted whole almonds
1 cup chocolate chips (ghirardelli semi-sweet or 60% both are dairy free but always check)

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 inch baking pan.  (i line mine with foil because it's easier to take the bars out and cut them up.)

Mix first 5 ingredients together.  Then add the oats, wheat germ and ground flax (optional).  Stir in chocolate chips, almonds and cereal.

Spread mixture into baking pan and bake for 20 minutes.  the let cool.