Gluten Free Banana Bread

I teach an early morning religion class we, in the LDS church, call Early Morning Seminary. I love to bake and take treats for my students, but one of my students has Celiac disease so I've had to expand my horizons a bit and have been toying around with gluten free recipes. The first attempt at muffins turned out okay. This student and my kids thought that they were good, but I used an All Purpose gluten free baking mix for those muffins and I thought that they were AWFUL! As I looked more closely at the ingredients in the mix one of the ingredients was garbanzo bean flour. That was what tasted so nasty to me. I strongly dislike garbanzo beans! So, I did some further hunting and have made this particular recipe a few times. We ALL like these. Although I make this recipe as muffins and not a loaf of bread. Just keep in mind that gluten free baking definitely has a taste to it that most of us are not used to. These are definitely worth a try, though, if you need a gluten free banana bread/muffin recipe!

Gluten Free Banana Bread
from Hodgson Mill

1/3 c Hodgson Mill Soy Flour (I use 'Sweet' White Sorghum Flour, not soy)
1/3 c Hodgson Mill Milled Flax Seed
1 1/3 c Hodgson Mill Brown Rice Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
2/3 c granulated sugar
1/3 c butter
2 eggs
1 c mashed ripe bananas
1/4 c buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine sugar and butter in large bowl until creamy.

Add eggs one at a time; mix well.

Stir in mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract.

Combine rice flour, soy flour, flax seed, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Stir dry ingredients into banana mixture and mix well.

Pour into greased loaf pan 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 -inch.

Bake for 55 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool for 5 minutes and then remove from pan onto cooling rack.


Makes 1 loaf or about 10-1 oz. servings. (Or about 16-18 muffins, I usually half the recipe and it makes nine muffins.)

1/12 of recipe:
Makes 1 loaf. Each loaf: 180 calories; 1.78 g. dietary fiber; 28g. carbohydrates; 5 g. protein; 6 g. fat; 2 g. saturated fat; 44 mg. cholesterol; 213 mg. sodium.

Buttery Cooked Carrots

Boy 1 and the girl LOVE these cooked carrots. They are really easy and quite good.

Buttery Cooked Carrots
by Beckie (Allrecipes.com)

1 Pound baby carrots
1/4 Cup margarine (softened)
1/3 Cup brown sugar

Cook carrots in a large pot of boiling water until tender. Drain off most of the liquid, leaving bottom of pan covered with water. (Some reviews say this isn't necessary, but it really is! Not a lot of water, but just enough to help dissolve the sugar better.) Set the carrots aside.

Stir margarine and brown sugar into the water. Simmer and stir until the margarine melts. Return carrots to the pot, and toss to coat. Cover, and let sit for a few minutes to allow flavors to mingle.

Simply Marinated Mushrooms

These are oh so GOOD! They are also highly addictive. It's really easy to eat half of them before they even make it to the fridge to marinate. The kids can't stand mushrooms so they don't eat them, but that's okay. It just means all the more for me! And of course my husband.

Simply Marinated Mushrooms
by Sal (Allrecipes.com)

1 Cup water
1 1/2 Pounds fresh mushrooms, stems removed (I don't remove the stems)
1/4 Cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons dried parsley
1/8 teaspoon onion powder

In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, thyme, salt, lemon juice, garlic, pepper, parsley and onion powder. Add mushrooms and toss until coated. Chill in marinade overnight, and reheat to serve.

(These are also good cold from the fridge, but I prefer them warmed. So, I usually saute them in a pan to warm them up before we eat them.)

Easy Roasted New Potatoes

This is a potato recipe I don't get any complaints about at our house. The two oldest children LOVE them and the youngest one just doesn't eat. I'm sure if he'd actually TRY them he'd love them, too. Not exactly the healthiest potatoes considering the amount of olive oil, but they're still better than being deep fried, right? I usually double this recipe for our family of five. They're not that great reheated, still thoroughly edible, just not great. We rarely have leftovers, though, so reheating is generally not an issue at our house with this recipe.

Easy Roasted New Potatoes
Better Homes and Gardens website

1 lb red or white potatoes, cut in 1/8ths (or smaller)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper (black)
1/8 teaspoon paprika (you can use even less if you want, it adds a little quick, though)
1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)

Preheat oven to 325 - 350 degrees. Place potatoes in a greased 9x9 baking pan (I use an 8x11 pan when I double it or you can also use a 9x13 pan). In a small bowl combine the other ingredients. Drizzle this mixture over the potatoes and toss to coat. Roast, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Stir the potatoes; bake for another 10-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and brown on the edges. Makes 4 servings.

Whole Wheat Bread

I got this recipe from a friend. She gave me a loaf of the BEST wheat bread one day and I begged her for the recipe. I've never been that great at bread baking, or doing anything with yeast really, but this recipe works for me every time. The kids love it, too!


Whole Wheat Bread
By Rebecca


2 ¾ cup of hot water
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
1 Tablespoon salt
½ Tablespoon vinegar
2 cup whole wheat flour

Combine ingredients and mix for one minute.

Add:
1 ½ Tablespoons dry yeast

Mix for one minute.

Add:
1/8 cup gluten flour w/ vitamin C
Mix for one minute.

Gradually add 4 or more cups of whole wheat flour.
Knead for 10 minutes.
Let rise until doubled, in oiled bowl.
Punch down and form into 2 loaves. Loosely cover with plastic.
Rise for 30 or more minutes.
Bake at 350º for 35 minutes (or less).


From Rebecca:
"When I make it I often do about half of the flour white. Also I only add gluten flour not the vitamin C. I have been told the gluten is added because it helps hold the bread together."

** I learned a trick to help bread raise faster. Our house does not get hot, especially in the winter and with the AC in the summer, and we don't have one place where I can put the bread to make it raise. So, I learned a trick that works for me. Turn your oven on to bake and set it at the lowest setting. That's "warm" for my oven. Let the oven heat up to that point and then turn it off. I put my metal mixing bowl in there with a damp dish towel over it and let it raise that way. Then I do the same when it's time to let the bread raise in the bread pans, except take the towel off before the bread gets to the top of the pan or else the towel will stick to the dough. It raises much faster using this method. I do the same when I make rolls, too.

Chocolate Crinkles II

The kids love these cookies and they always get good reviews from wherever we take them. Enjoy!


Chocolate Crinkles II
by Ingrid (allrecipes.com)

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours. (In the winter I cover these well and stick them outside for a while. I don't always let these sit for four hours or more since they warm up quickly anyway and still get sticky.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. (If you grease the pan, the cookies will still work but they get more crunchy on the bottom.) Roll dough into one inch balls. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Sour Cream Lasagna

This is a recipe that my grandma used to make. When she passed away my aunt gathered a bunch of her regular recipes and put together a cookbook for all the children and grandchildren. I use it fairly often, but mostly for two or three of our favorites. This one doesn't really appeal to the kids too much because it has hamburger in it. Hamburger to my kids is akin to liver and onions for most everyone else. I have yet to figure out why.

Sour Cream Lasagna
by Grandma W

8-oz uncooked egg noodles
1 lb ground beef
16-oz tomato sauce (or 2 8-oz cans)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
(or season to your tastes)
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup green onions, chopped (about six onions)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook noodles and drain. While noodles are cooking, brown the meat. Stir tomato sauce, salt, pepper and garlic salt into cooked meat. Simmer 5 minutes. While meat mixture is simmering, combine the noodles, sour cream, cottage cheese and green onions. In a 2-quart casserole, alternate layers of noodle mixture and meat mixture, starting with noodles. (Or you can simply mix it all together but that's not as "pretty".) Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.