Panera Mac-n-Cheese (Copycat)

I came across this recipe on Pinterest several weeks ago and have made it for the family a few times and my kids love it!!

Panera Mac-n-Cheese

1 (16-oz.) package GF pasta (we like the Penne noodles from Trader Joe’s)
¼ cup butter 
1/3 cup all-purpose GF flour 
2½ cups 2% reduced-fat milk 
6 slices white American cheese, chopped 
1 cup (8 oz.) shredded extra-sharp white cheddar cheese 
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard 
1 tsp. kosher salt 
¼ tsp. hot sauce 
Paprika (optional) 

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions. 
2. Melt butter in a sauce pan over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. 
3. Gradually whisk in milk; cook over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and is bubbly. Remove from heat. 
4. Add cheeses, mustard, salt and hot sauce, stirring until cheese melts and sauce is smooth. 
5. Stir in pasta and cook over medium heat, 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle with paprika if desired. Serve immediately. 

Avocado Banana Smoothie

I found this recipe in a magazine a few weeks back.  I was a little hesitant to try it, but  there was something about it that was intriguing  too!  I was pleasantly surprised at how yummy it was.  Truth be told, it tastes just an orange julius.

1 avocado
1 banana
1/2 C Greek yogurt (I just used plain nonfat yogurt)
1/4 C honey
1 1/2 C orange juice
1 1/2 C ice cubes

Place everything in blender and blend until smooth.  Add ice and pulse a few times.  Serve immediately and enjoy!!

Reindeer Food

Seriously addictive and extremely easy!!

Rice Chex cereal

White baking chocolate

Crushed candy canes

There really isn't a measured amount for this recipe, but this is what I used... 1 1/2 boxes of Rice Chex, one 24 ounce package of baking chocolate blocks and 10 candy canes.  That gave me 125 mini muffin cups of reindeer food.

All you have to do is melt down the white chocolate (in a double broiler), pour over Rice Chex cereal and stir until all the cereal is completely covered. Then sprinkle your crushed candy canes over the top.  Spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper until cooled.  I made mine for my kids' school class parties so I spooned a little into mini muffin liners to make it easy for the kids to handle.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Sheet Cake

One of the food blogs I like to follow is Picky Palate.  It is not a GF food blog, but many of her recipes have been very easy to convert.  This is one of the latest of her recipes that I tried and they are delicious!!  Happy Halloween everyone.

1 box  Betty Crocker GF Yellow cake mix
4 eggs
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
3.4 ounce box Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix
1/2 cup sour cream
15 ounce can pumpkin
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream (start w 1/4 cup and add a little more cream if needed

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a jelly roll pan with non stick cooking spray.
2. Place cake mix, eggs, oil, milk, pudding, sour cream and pumpkin into a stand or electric mixer, beating until well combined, about 1 1/2 minutes. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly.
3. Place butter into a microwave safe bowl and melt, about 30-40 seconds. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to bowl, mixing until combined. Drizzle mixture evenly over cake then take a knife and run it through to swirl.
4. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes, until cooked through and remove. Place powdered sugar and cream into a large bowl and mix until creamy and smooth. Drizzle over warm cake then let cool for 20 minutes before cutting into squares. Refrigerate if not serving same day.  Enjoy with milk!

Makes 16 to 20 squares

Chocolate Pumpkin Wafers

These were so easy!  I just took some baking chocolate and melted it down in a double broiler, filled the bottom of the silicone pumpkin mold with about a teaspoon of melted chocolate, sprinkled some sprinkles on top and let them chill for about 15 minutes.  Remove from mold and voila, you have cute little pumpkin wafers!  These are for the kids to pass out to their classmates. 

Never on Sunday, Sundae

My sister spent a few weeks with us this summer.  She whipped up this very tasty ice cream cookie sundae.  She just used the cookie recipe from here.  For the sundae recipe, instead of making lots of individual cookies, you just need one or two 8-9 inch round cake pans.  Line them with parchment paper, divide the cookie dough in half and spread evenly into both pans.  Bake as directed in cookie recipe or until cookie is golden brown and done looking.  Let cool slightly and then top with favorite sundae toppings...ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauce, whipped topping and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

**You only to make half a batch of cookie dough to get two 8-9 inch round cookies.

Never on Sunday, Sundae
1/2 batch of cookie dough recipe (here)
Chocolate sauce
Caramel sauce
Whipped topping
Cinnamon and sugar

Salsa Chicken

 My sister called me the other day and mentioned that she was trying this new recipe.  I told her to let me know how it turned out.  Yep, good enough that I got a phone call saying I had better try it!  So here it is. Thanks for sharing Cozy!!  The recipe came from here, and I switched out the creamed soup for a GF version.

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts 
1/3 C  creamed soup mix (found here)
1  1/4 C water
1-2 tsp GF chicken bullion or chicken paste
1 cup salsa
1 TB taco seasoning
1/2 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 cup sour cream 
optional: grated cheddar cheese to sprinkle on top when serving

Directions: 
Add dry soup mix, water and chicken bullion on stove top and cook until blended and thickened slightly.  Place chicken, soup, and salsa in slow cooker. Sprinkle taco seasoning over everything. Cook on low for 6 hours. If shredding the chicken, pull the breasts out and shred; return back to slow cooker. Stir in sour cream and continue cooking until everything is heated through.  Serve over rice.

Texas Sheet Cake

This is like eating a little piece of heaven!! I won't publicly admit how often we have been eating this at our house lately!! It is that good.

Texas Sheet Cake
2 C GF flour (I use featherlite)
2 C sugar
1 ¾ tsp xanthan gum
1 C butter
½ C cocoa
1 C water
½ C buttermilk
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together sugar and GF flour and xanthan gum and set aside. On the stove top, combine butter, cocoa and water and bring to a boil. Pour over flour mixture, mix together and cool slightly. Stir in buttermilk and add eggs, baking soda and vanilla. Pour into a greased baking pan (18 x 13 x 1). Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Frosting
½ C butter
¼ C cocoa
1 tsp vanilla
1 TB milk
16 oz. powdered sugar

Melt butter and add remaining ingredients. I only add enough powdered sugar until I reach the desired consistency of frosting that I am after. If you want a very moist and gooey cake, then spread the frosting on the cake right out of the oven so that it melts into the cake. If you want more of a brownie effect, let the cake cool and then spread frosting on top. (Don’t make the frosting to thick for this option as it will tear up the top of the cake.)

Optional ingredients to add as toppings…
Strawberries
Chocolate Syrup
Powdered sugar

Chicken and Crackers

I was cruising through Costco the other day and they were sampling these little snacks.  I got really excited when I realized how easy these would be to pack up for school lunches!!

1 13 oz.can of Chicken Breast (I used Costco's brand)

Mayonnaise (I like to use the one with olive oil in it)

Garlic powder

Ground black pepper

Crunch Master multi-grain Gluten Free crackers (can be bought at Sam's or Costco)

Drain water from chicken.  Add enough mayonnaise to moisten chicken.  Add garlic powder and pepper to taste.

Spoon onto crackers and enjoy.  Refrigerate any leftover chicken mixture.

**The following day we added some dill relish to the leftover chicken and it was awesome!!

Key Lime Cupcakes

I had a friend call me and ask me if I thought she could makes these cupckaes GF?  I am always nervous to give my opinion on a recipe if I have never tried it or had a chance to experiment with it.  I went ahead and gave her some GF flour and some xanthan gum and wished her luck!!  She sent some finished cupcakes over to the house later that night and they were so moist and yummy.  The original recipe comes from Bon Appetit  (which is not GF).  The recipe listed below is the changes made to make it GF.  The recipe yields about 15-18 cupcakes.

Key Lime Cupcakes

1 3/4 C Featherlite Flour mix

1 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel

1/4 teaspoon neon-green food coloring

3/4 cup buttermilk

FROSTING

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tablespoon finely grated lime peel

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with 12 paper liners. Whisk flour, soda and xanthan gum in medium bowl. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat to blend. Beat in eggs 1 at a time and then add the next 3 ingredients (batter may look curdled). Add in flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk until well mixed. Spoon about ¼ C batter into each liner.

Bake cupcakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool.

For the frosting, beat all ingredients in medium bowl until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.

**I just used Betty Crocker’s already made Cream Cheese flavored frosting and added the grated lime peel.

Chocolate Covered Marshmallows

Sometimes things happen at just the right moment.  I got my weekly email from KRAFT with this recipe and I was in desperate need of a quick treat for a piano recital tonight... viola!! I had everything on hand so we were good to go!  These are way easy and a GREAT treat for the kids to do mostly by themselves, maybe just a little help from mom or dad with the stove top for melting the chocolate.  I altered the recipe just a little bit, so if you want to see the original, click here.  I had found chocolate marshmallows at Walmart the other day so we dipped both the white and the chocolate marshmallows.

7 squares of baking chocolate (I used Kroger Brand from Smith's)
35-40   JET-PUFFED Marshmallows
Multi-colored sprinkles

Melt chocolate on the stove top in a double broiler.
Dip marshmallows, 1 at a time, in chocolate, turning to evenly coat each marshmallow. Gently shake off excess chocolate ( I used two toothpicks for this process).
Place in single layer on sheet of waxed paper; top with sprinkles Refrigerate 20 min. or until chocolate is firm.

Brazilian Cheese Rolls - Pao de Queijo

I can't remember how I came across this recipe, but I am so glad I did!!  It comes from Our Best Bites.  I have made two batches in two days and my sister has made 4 batches just today they are that yummy.  It takes a little less than 30 minutes to make a batch and the finished product is so light and fluffy that it will be hard to eat just one, or two or maybe even three!

Quick Brazilian Cheese Rolls {Pao de Queijo} 
Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light olive oil/avocado oil
1 cup tapioca flour (sometimes labeled tapioca starch) no substitutions
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 C grated cheddar cheese (preferably medium or sharp)

** I also add 1/4 C parmesan cheese, a heaping TBSP of garlic and diced green chiles...

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place egg, milk, oil, tapioca flour, and salt in blender and blend until smooth. Add cheeses and pulse 2 times. Immediately pour batter into a mini muffin tin (if your muffin tin isn’t non-stick, spray lightly with non-stick spray first), filling each well about 3/4 full, or just slightly less.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove from oven and cool for a few minutes before removing rolls from pan. Serve warm.  These actually don’t re-heat well so I recommend making and eating fresh.

Yield: anywhere from 16-24 rolls, depending on how full you fill your muffin pan. I fill mine pretty full (a good 3/4 full) and I generally get about 16-18.

Chocolate Ice Cream Bowls

This was such a fun idea my sister shared with me (which she found here).  My daughter is having a birthday party tonight and instead of doing cake or cupcakes, we are serving these chocolate bowls.  How fun is that to have an edible ice cream bowl!!

Chocolate Ice Cream Bowls

24 oz. Milk Chocolate (I used Smith's brand Bark Coating)
Small package of water balloons
Parchment paper
***You will get about 7-10 chocolate bowls with this amount of chocolate

Wash balloons with soap and water before using.  Blow up balloons to desired bowl size.  On stove top, melt chocolate down in a double broiler (I just put water in a saucepan and placed a bowl that fit in the saucepan on top allowing the bowl to sit right above the hot water).  Melt chocolate all the way until nice and creamy.  Allow chocolate to cool as much as possible before dipping balloons otherwise when you dip the balloon in it, it will pop and explode sending chocolate everywhere!! I just left the chocolate in the bowl allowing for a deep reservoir of chocolate.  Hold balloon by the knot at the top and slowly roll the bottom around in the chocolate.  You will want to roll it enough times that you have a fairly thick coating of chocolate so that when it is time to remove the balloon, your shell won't collapse.  Place balloons on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  I place a little pile of chocolate on the parchment paper for each balloon that will help keep the balloons from falling over and it makes a nice little 'plate like' bottom to the bowl.  You can either let them set up in the fridge or place them in the freezer to speed things up.  Once bowls are set up, take a pin or a pair of scissors and carefully puncture the balloon allowing the air to come out.  Carefully remove balloon and you have a fancy little chocolate bowl!!  Fill with your favorite flavor of ice cream and top with all your favorite toppings...have fun with it!!

Strawberry Slush

Summer is right around the corner and this smoothie/slushy is the perfect drink to have around.  It is SO easy to make.  My daughter is having a birthday party tonight and we will be serving it.

Strawberry Slush

32 oz. frozen strawberries
32 oz. strawberry yogurt
2 TB sugar
1-2 2 liters Strawberry soda.

Blend first three ingredients in blender. Freeze overnight (I use an empty 5 quart ice cream bucket). When ready to serve, break up slush in a punch bowl. Add enough strawberry soda until you have reached desired slush consistency. You can refreeze any leftovers.

Mini Sweet Peppers

This is a new found favorite snack!!  Even my three year old likes them.  They are way easy to prepare.

Sweet Mini Peppers (I get mine at Costco)
Cream Cheese
Pampered Chef Southwest Seasoning

Slice and clean out seeds from pepper. In a bowl soften cream cheese and add seasoning to taste.
Fill each pepper with cream cheese.  Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.