w/g free brownie

I decided that since I was taking the strawberry-rhubarb pie to the wiebe's Easter dinner I should also take something sweeter for the choc-o-holics that live there (one BIG kid, one small one).

I happened to have a w/g free brownie mix in my cupboard so I thought why not? I added almost a whole bag of chocolate chips to the mix (if you're going to do it do it right!).

This was the best brownie I've ever had, so soft, so moist, so rich and chocolaty...it even made my brother in law go back for seconds (amazing since he was on a health food only kick).

W/G free pecan pie

So for my families Easter dinner I was going to bring a dessert that I could eat...for some reason it bugs me (I think it had to do with the fact that for my birthday my mom made a birthday cake I couldn't eat...I usually don't care and will often skip dessert, but it was a birthday cake...for me...that I couldn't eat...I dunno I guess I'm overly sensitive).

So I decided to make a pecan pie...I'd never had it, but for some reason I thought it would be fun. I think it also had something to do with the fact that my sister was making apple pie and I didn't want to bring another fruit pie (which I ended up doing anyways).

The filling was melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla, eggs, evaporated milk and chopped pecans. I then baked it for half an hour. I chose this recipe because it was one of the few that didn't have corn syrup...I thought that would make the pie too sweet.

The end result was really yummy and I think I now have a new favourite pie! I will say though I wasn't a huge fan of the pecans. After the first few bites I ended up scraping them off and enjoying the custardy like filling with yummy pastry.

It was just too good for words!

W/G free Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

So with Easter dinners galore to attend I decided this year that I would not be the person who could not eat dessert. That and I had to prove that I could indeed make a w/g free pie pastry after the less than stellar corn flour based peach pie pie I made last year.

I felt that this would not be an issue after discovering the pastry blend mix at Lorenzo's that makes pastry dough seem like the easiest thing in the world to make. So I thought what kind of pie to make first.

Well my dad's a big fan of rhubarb (as am I), but how could I find it at this time of year? I found my answer at Safeway in the frozen food section. Like the dunce I am I had no idea you could buy it frozen. Well the rhubarb pieces were huge! I kid you not they were the size of a child's fist, so I thawed them enough to cut them smaller and cut up some fresh strawberries and mixed the two with some w/g free flour and some sugar, all spice and cinnamon.

The end result was something I was proud of. I found out later that it was not as flaky as regular pie pastry from the pie connoisseurs in my family, but my sister in law (I made a pie for each dinner) thought there was no difference.

The pie wasn't overly sweet, it actually had a tart taste to it which for me and many other was a refreshing after the heavy dinners we'd had.

A success!

Easter Dinner

So my in laws were out of town for Easter (they go south for the winter...lucky bums), so my sister in law decided that it would still be fun if we did a dinner with just the kids. I made meatballs in mushrooms sauce, rolls, and dessert and she made the ham, potatoes and salad.

It was a fun fabulous stress free time (it always seems that family dinners turn into more drama then need be). We split the work and I'm really thinking that's the way to go!

My brother in law decorated the ham with orange slices which somehow made the whole thing seem so much happier. A simple, easy yummy dinner...all family gathering should be this much fun! We ended the night by watching team canada curl their way to yet another win!

All in all a great Easter!

W/G free pizza

So after the cinnamon bun disaster I decided not to be deterred by w/g free dough. So what else could I make? Hmm... well I've been craving pizza like mad so why not?

I made the dough the same way you make any dough...mix..rise...kneed...rise...roll it out. I then decided to add mushrooms, pineapple, onion and shredded pepperoni (I'm not a big fan of chunks of meat).

I used two different kinds of cheese a partly stretched/skimmed mozzarella and a jalapeno cheddar. I must say the end result was super yummy! The base of the pizza was crumbly and it again was kinda crunchy but with pizza it worked.

Still not as good as boston pizza though...I really wish that I could create a bread dough that wasn't so heavy and crunchy...the quest continues...

Wheat and Gluten Free Cinnamon Buns

I must say that after the 5 hours it took me to make these things I was bitterly disappointed when I tasted them and found the texture to be slightly crunchy and chewy. Not how I'd envisioned them to be at all...all of that work for nothing...I'm not afraid to say I wept.

After all of that anticipation I couldn't believe that they didn't really turn out. My hubbie loved them and told me I was nuts...but I guess my standard for cinnamon buns is to high...