Pumpkin Pie

This was my first time making a pumpkin pie, and it was suprisingly simple. The recipe is from the back of the can and it comes out perfect. I had it for a midnight snack last night, and breakfast this morning. It's just soooo good.

As far as pies go, it's one of the better ones for you. Pumpkin by itself is low in calories, high in fiber, and high in Vitamin A. I used evaporated filled milk, which adds a little extra vitamins. If you used a sugar substitute, it would make it even better for you. Oh, the possibilities.

If it would only stay cold here, I would be totally into the fall experience. Seriously, it needs to get cold.

I used Libby's canned pumpkin, and like I said the pie recipe is from the can.

Preheat your oven to 425.

The crust:
1/2 c. brown rice flour
1/2 c. sorghum flour
1/4 c. tapioca starch
1/8 t. xanthan gum
1/4 c. dark brown sugar
1/8 t. salt
1/4 c. melted butter (I used smart balance)

Mix everything up and press it into a 9-inch pie pan. I don't have one so I used an 8-inch round cake pan with great results. Stick it in the preheating oven while you mix up the filling; about 5 minutes.

The filling:
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. cloves (I used 1/8)
2 eggs
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk (NOT sweetened condensed!)

Beat the eggs. Stir in the sugars, spices, and the pumpkin. Gradually stir in the evaporated milk.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust, and bake it at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 and bake it for 40-50 minutes or until a kife inserted near center is clean. Cool to room temperature and then stick it in the fridge.

Waiting for this to cool down was torture, but I did it. When I served a bite to The Man, he said, "Oh, you're taking this to Thanksgiving." Was I beaming? You bet I was. So anyway, here's a classic pumpkin pie recipe, made gluten free and good enough to serve to gluten-eating guests.

Cozy Potato Soup

We have had some beautiful weather here lately. I'm digging the hoodie weather in the morning, and the AC in my car hasn't been run in a while. Windows down, baby. This week schoolwork is not piled up, so I get to cook and eat real food!

In anticipation of the cool air coming tonight, I decided to make something cozy. A quick trip to the pantry revealed some garlic cloves and a lonely potato. 30 minutes later, potato soup was simmering on the stove and smelling very, very good. And cozy.

It's quick, cheap, and it's a one-pot meal so that means less dishes for me. Yay!

Potato Soup

1 potato, cut into cubes. Peeled or not is your choice. I go 50/50.

1 T. butter
1 c. milk (cream works too if you like it extra rich)
1/2 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 t. ground pepper
1/4 t. salt
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 t. chicken bouillon (gluten free)
1 T. parsley
1/2 T. potato flour (not starch)

Boil the potato pieces in water until they're soft but not quite falling apart. Pour as much water off as you can. Place the pot back on the burner to boil the rest of the water off.

Turn the heat to low-med. Stir in the butter until it's melted, mashing the potatoes a little bit. Leave them as chunky as you like.

Stir in the milk, cheese, pepper, garlic, bouillon, and parsley. Once it's heated, stir in the potato flour bit-by-bit to thicken it up. Don't stir it in too fast or it will clump. Just sprinkle the top, stir it in, and repeat.

Serve it with cheese, parsley, chives, and sour cream.

Serves 2.

Halloween sugar cookies

It's been a long, tiring... month. I needed to bake something, STAT. I thought sugar cookies would be a great thing to make for the pumpkin carving party I'm throwing tomorrow.

I borrowed this recipe from my man Alton Brown, sort of.

These cookies are not too sweet. They're made to be paired with icing to get that right amount of sweetness. Everyone said these tasted like the soft iced sugar cookies you get at Walmart, if that means anything to you. Bottom line, they're pretty good.

Sugar Cookies

1 c. white rice flour
1 c. millet flour (or more white rice flour, sorghum, etc.)
1/2 c. corn starch
3/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. xanthan gum
1/2 c. butter, softened (I used Smart Balance 50/50)
1/3 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 egg
1 t. vanilla

Mix the flours, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum in a bowl. In a separate bowl cream the butter, shortening, and sugar. It should be creamy and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add in the dry ingredients until it forms a soft dough. If you want to roll these out, you will need to refrigerate the dough for a few hours. It rolls out well on a powdered sugar surface to keep it from sticking.

I didn't have cookie cutters and it got really old trying to carve pumpkins freehand with a knife, so I rolled them into balls and made them old school. If they're chilled, they won't spread much at all, and if they're room temp they only spread a little.

Bake them at 375 for about 5 minutes, or until the middles look set.

I'm thinking the rest of the snack-y menu will include spiced (and spiked!) apple cider, a ham & cheese tray with crackers (and bread for everyone else), and chex mix. And as soon as we have carved pumpkins, I'm thinking toasted pumpkin seeds. Mmm.

Happy Halloween!

"puppy chow"

Everyone loves puppy chow, aka: the Chex Muddy Buddies. Seriously, I've never had anyone turn it down.

It's fast and easy. The hard part is not eating the entire batch all at once. Around the holidays, package some up real cute and it makes a great little gift or party favor.

The link above is to the recipe, and you can find it on the box of Rice Chex, but I'll re-post it here:

Chex Muddy Buddies

9 c. rice chex
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. butter
1 t. vanilla
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

	Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside.
	In 1-quart microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
	Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

That's all it takes!

Fruit snacks winner

This is a little late, but we have a winner! Cindy from Gluten Free in Montana, your name was picked out of the coffee cup. I loved hearing what makes ya'll happy.

Thanks to my "little" brother Luke for picking the name. I say "little" because even though he's 8 years younger than me, he's much, much taller than me. And you can see he's eating some gluten free Fritos as a snack. :o)


I had hoped to include a new recipe with this post, but I am feeling a tad under the weather today. Gluten? Probably, but I'm not 100% sure.

All I know is, I'm glad white rice, applesauce, and rice cakes are GF.
What else do ya'll eat when you're feeling icky?

Simple Joys: Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks Giveaway!

I was kinda tired and grouchy this morning, but then I was pretty darn excited to receive this Simple Joys prizepack from MyBlogSpark. (Seriously, go join!)

The first thing I noticed was the packages of fruit snacks had 'Gluten Free' right on the package. Horray for no guesswork! The treats included Gushers, Fruit by the Foot, Fruit Roll Ups, and these neat "Build a Bug" fruit snacks. TOO cute.

I loved the gushers. They remind me of when I was a kid and mom would bring them home as a special treat. Of course we'd gobble them up in 5 minutes.

I remember everyone would also have a fruit roll up packed in their lunches at the lunch table, and we'd always wrap them around our fingers and suck on them until they were just slobbery disgusting messes. But when you're a kid, that doesn't matter.
So yeah, these packages totally brought me back.

It also came with some toys: a yo yo, a pickup stick game, and a frisbee. I immediately tried the yo yo, and to my surprise I didn't suck too bad- I could actually bring it all the way back up!
I've never tried pick up stick; thank goodness that comes with instructions. And right now I'm wishing I had someone around to play frisbee with.
This package was too much fun.

Also, one person will get a prize pack!! Yay!
It includes 2 packages of Betty Crocker fruit-flavored snacks, a retro Pick 'em up Sticks game, a light up yo yo, and a classic frisbee. This fall weather is perfect for tossing a frisbee around. When's the last time you played with a yo-yo? I'm telling you, it just takes a few minutes and you're instantly in a better mood.

To enter to win, just leave a comment with your favorite Simple Joys. I really want to hear them! You have until Friday to enter. Good luck!

Study Break Tapioca Pudding

I haven't been posting much lately. To quote my friend and classmate, the CLS program is "mental boot camp." I've been getting used to a new schedule, and I've been studying constantly. It's utterly exhausting, but I'm loving it. It seems like a lot of the regular blogs I read have been posting less often, too. I guess it's a busy time!

I have been feeding myself, but it's been super-quick standbys and I haven't created anything new.

Tonight, I don't really have a breather, but I decided to make one. With that, came tapioca pudding. This is the recipe on the box, but modified a bit. I like that you don't have to temper the egg, and it gives me a reason to stand still without doing anything. Did I pull up a stool to the stove and zone out for a few minutes while stirring? Yes. :o) Then I enjoyed some pudding.

Tapioca Pudding

3 1/2 T. Minute Tapioca (I used Kraft)
1/4 c. sugar (The recipe called for 1/3, but I'm slowly trying to cut sugar and get used to eating less-sweet treats.)
dash of salt
2 1/2 c. milk (I used regular milk, because I'm out of dairy-free stuff. If you try it dairy free, let me know how it works out.)
1 egg, beaten well.
1 t. vanilla

Combine the milk, tapioca, sugar, salt, and egg in a pan. Let it sit for 5 minutes on low heat. Then, heat it up on medium heat, STIRRING CONSTANTLY, until it boils steadily. Take it off of the heat, stir in the vanilla, and let it cool. Stir in a dash of cinnamon. It will thicken as it cools, and you can eat it warm or cold.

Back to the books. Enjoy!