Gluten Free Apple Crisp in the Slow Cooker

I think the last time I posted I mentioned this recipe be up within the week. Yeah right!!! And that last post was Thanksgiving. It is almost the end of December and just a few days till Christmas. I hope everyone been enjoying their holiday. Spending as much time with family and being around your favorite friends. In Las Vegas, November and December are pretty slow months when your job revolves around travel (IE. I work for a rental car company). Let me tell you, December has been so busy preparing for what is coming in 2013. I can’t wait for 2013 to get here because it is going to be a good year for Las Vegas! I can see it now.

In the meantime, I made the following apple crisp twice. I’ll probably make it again for Christmas. It makes your entire house smell like cinnamon apples and it is so delicious cold with plain Greek yogurt on top. The best thing about making your apple crisp in the slow cooker, no messes and you just dump everything in all at once and cook on high for 3-4 hours. I’d recommend cutting your apples into thick slices, that way they soften up and don’t fall apart easily. The first time around I went with thinly sliced apples and it was more like a chunky applesauce. If you need to make a larger batch, just double this recipe.

Gluten Free Slow Cooker Apple Crisp
By Fallon

Ingredients
3 large apples (granny, fiji, pink lady, honeycrisp etc)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons stevia
2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons blanched almond flour
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1/4 cup gluten free rolled oats
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled

Directions
Peel and slice apples into thick slices, then place into the slow cooker. If you’d prefer a more chunky applesauce texture, slice thinner.

Combine lemon juice,corn starch, pumpkin spice and stevia and mix into apples. In a small bowl combine walnuts, almond/coconut flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and cubed butter. With hands or fork, mush everything together until you get a course sandy texture. Place crisp on top of apples in the slow cooker. If you’d like, add some more walnuts to the top.

Place lid on top of slow cooker, set on high and cook 3-4 hours. It may cook faster so I’d recommend checking it out after 2 hours. Serve up with vanilla bean ice cream and call it a night!

I will try to check back in around Christmas, if not.. maybe before 2013.

Happy Holiday’s from Fallon’s Cucina!
Fallon

Wheat Free Brownies with Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

I couldn’t wait to share this recipe with you guys. I’ve been eating these brownies all week. At first I didn’t really like them but after 24 hours of cooling off they were super rich in chocolate flavor and were more dense/firm in texture. Kind of like a cake brownie but with the chocolate chips mixed into the batter they also had a fudgy texture. For gluten free I’d say these taste pretty darn good! I love baking with coconut flour. A little goes a long way and really absorbs all the moisture from the wetness. I couldn’t believe that these brownies called for 6 large eggs but in most gluten free baking, eggs are used as the leavening.

I’ve been enjoying these brownies with coffee.

I love my coffee cup, too cute!

I’ve been enjoying these brownies with red wine.

 
One of my favorite red wines right now, blended with zinfandel, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Picked it up at Wholefoods!

I’ve been enjoying these brownies with sunflower seed butter spread on top like frosting.

No one else has been eating my brownies so I’ve been slowly working my way through them. My dad doesn’t like “healthy” things and chocolate gives my mom headaches. I guess I win! I need to find gluten free friends to share all my creations with ;).

The original recipe for Wheat Free Brownies is at this link. They are made by a girl named Alison, I wonder who that is? I made a few tweaks to the original recipe and I love how they turned out. Coconut oil makes everything SO moist in baking. You can’t even taste coconut when using it, which is great. The pictures make the brownies look dry but I can assure you that they are very dense and tasty. A little goes a long way, even though I can have more then 1. ;)

    

Wheat Free Brownies with Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Adapted from Let’s Do…Organic (Edward & Sons)

Ingredients:
1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 large eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup Stevia
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 cup semi- sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan over low heat, blend coconut oil and cocoa powder. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs till they turn a pale yellow. Add the sugar and vanilla. Blend about 1/2 the egg mixture into the cocoa mixture quickly so eggs don’t curdle. Add the rest to the mixture and blend till combined. Stir in the coconut flour until the batter is no longer lumpy. Add the chocolate chips, if desired. Bake in a pre-greased 8x8 baking pan for 30-35 minutes.

Cool completely. If you do eat these warm, they will taste a bit off but still tasty.They were enjoyed with smears of sunflower butter as the frosting.

Enjoy,
Fallon

Gluten Free Cowgirl Cookies

I’ve had a real sweet tooth lately and cookies was something at the top of my list. When I bake for myself, if it is often I try to make the recipe a bit more healthier. I want my sweet tooth satisfied, which usually means chocolate better be involved. I found this recipe for Cowgirl Cookies from The Bikini Baker. She has already healthified the recipe by using applesauce, stevia, ground oats and egg whites. Instead of using butter, coconut oil was substituted. I was going to make my own oat flour but saw I had brown rice flour in the cabinet instead. I decided to swap that and see how the cookies would turn out. They definitely have a different texture, softer and more fragile. I’d probably experiment more with the brown rice flour and add a teaspoon of xanthan gum to make them fluffier.

These look like healthy cookies but they taste really good. It is important to use really good chocolate chips, to satisfy that sweet tooth! This batch ended up making 32 cookies (instead of 24 cookies) for me. I’ll eat them before a workout or have them as dessert!

To make these cookies 100% gluten free make sure the oats you are using are labeled as being gluten free.

Gluten Free Cowgirl Cookies
Adapted from The Bikini Baker

Ingredients
1 cup organic brown rice flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil, melted
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup Stevia in the Raw
1 large egg + 2 egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips
2 cups gluten free rolled oats
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In another bowl beat the eggs and the coconut oil till pale yellow. Add the applesauce, stevia and vanilla; beat until smooth.

Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture. Mix well and then add in the oats, chocolate chips and pecans until incorporated.

Drop by tablespoon full (or a cookie scoop) onto a prepared cookie sheet. Do not flatten.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit on pan for a few minutes to set, then transfer to wire rack to full cool.

I store mine in the fridge and in the freezer. These are really good right out of the freezer! Usually the stevia can add a bit of a bite but with the addition of the applesauce and chocolate chips, you can’t tell.

Enjoy,
Fallon

   

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Quinoa and Grass-Fed Beef

 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium sweet onion
2 yellow or green zucchini
1 large garlic clove
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1lb 100% ground grass fed beef (10% fat)
2 tablespoons red wine or tomato paste
Sea salt
Ground pepper
3 whole bell peppers, cut in half and seeded
2 cups of marinara sauce
Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Prepare quinoa ahead of time by rinsing 1/4 cup in cold water. Place in a medium saucepan with water just covering the quinoa. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered until liquid is absorbed. In about 20-30 minutes quinoa will be cooked, allow to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a cast iron pan, sautéed the onion and zucchini in olive oil over medium-high heat. Season with 1/2 teaspoon oregano,1/4 teaspoon thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until onion is translucent, then add in the garlic and cooked quinoa. Mix together and remove from heat. Place the quinoa mixture into a separate bowl. In the same pan add the ground beef and the remaining oregano and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Add in 2 tablespoons of red wine. Cook until the beef is no longer pink and then add in 3/4 of the quinoa mixture. Mix well and remove from heat.

In a medium baking dish, place the 6 bell pepper halves and stuff each with the beef mixture. You will have leftovers of the beef, you can either stuff additional peppers or save for a different meal.

Cover the peppers with your favorite marinara sauce and place in the preheated oven covered for an hour. Once the peppers are soft, they are done. Top with your favorite cheese and serve.

  

I’m use to having stuffed peppers prepared with the meat raw and then baked. That is the mistake I made but in the end it still tasted delicious.The extra sauce help keep the meat moist.

I also forgot to buy tomato paste and saw an open bottle of red wine, I figured it won’t make the beef tomato-y but it will have a delicious wine flavor. It worked out perfectly. This is the perfect comfort meal if you are looking for something a bit healthier and gluten free!

Enjoy,
Fallon

Happy Monday + Gluten Free Scones

Exactly 5 days from today will be my 25th birthday! I can’t wait because my boyfriend and I planned a really fun trip together for that weekend. I know Friday is a pamper day for me with a manicure and pedicure. Then I’m picking up some amazing cupcakes to enjoy for my birthday week! I can’t wait to show you guys how delicious they are. Although it will be a fun weekend, turning 25 hasn’t exactly hit me yet. I guess you could say it’s a big deal because it is your quarter century birthday. But I just don’t feel it yet!! I’ll probably feel like, “Gosh I am getting old!” But in reality I know I’m still young. ;)

I made these delicious scones over the weekend. I’ve been meaning to make them for over a month now and finally decided to get to business. These scones are very nutty and slightly sweet. I had one with an afternoon iced coffee and it kept me fueled up for grocery shopping during the afternoon. I didn’t have any dried apricots, so I subbed in dried mango instead. These will help me get through the work week during my afternoon break. I found the recipe from Elana’s Pantry for Gluten Free Muesli Scones.

Gluten Free Muesli Scones
Adapted from Elana’s Pantry

Ingredients
2 cups almond meal (a bit heavier than blanched almond flour)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried mangoes, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
1/4 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
1 large egg
2 tablespoons agave nectar

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a skillet on medium heat, toast the sunflower and sesame seeds. Every few minutes mix and shake the pan so the seeds get toasted evenly. Once you start to smell them, remove from heat and pour into a medium bowl to cool off.

To the bowl of seeds, combine the almond flour, salt and baking soda. Stir in the dried fruit and nuts. In a small bowl combine the egg and agave nectar.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Wet hands with water and form the dough into 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 square that is about 3/4” thick. Cut the dough into 16 pieces place on a baking sheet. Transfer to oven and bake for 10 minutes and remove. Cool on baking sheet and then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. (Some pieces were just too small, so I ended up combining them so they all be about the same size. I ended up with 13 scones, rather then 16.)

     

Enjoy,

Fallon