Secret Recipe Club

Secret Recipe Club – Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

May 11, 2014 by angelaskitchen 6 Comments

It is time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal day! Woo-hoo! What is the Secret Recipe Club? It’s a lot like Secret Santa, but with recipes. Each month you are assigned a blog. After selecting a recipe from that bloggers repertoire, you make and post it on reveal day. It is a great way to find fun recipes and blogs. I like how it gets me to actually sit down and go through another person’s blog. Blogs are a lot of work and take time to put together. Instead of skimming through just the new stuff (as is usually easier when we see a new blog) it is fun to really sit down and go through what else the blog has to offer. Fun stuff!

My assignment this month was Cindy’s blog, Hon… What’s for Dinner? Along with delicious recipes, she also has cookbook reviews (a weakness of mine!) Yay! We found a recipe to try right away, Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars. Super simple to make (and with very little converting to be gluten free, just use gluten free ingredients) AND they looked mighty tasty, too! I used plum preserves for the filling, but feel free to use any jam you like. These bars make a great after school snack and we’ll be making them to take on picnics this summer. I am excited to try other nut and seed butters in the recipe (such as almond butter and apricot jam). Yum!

I apologize for the photo. This was the lone bar I was able to hide until my family went to bed (after they snarfed down the rest of the pan). Of course that meant taking a pic in bad lighting, but sometimes a sacrifice must be made when treats are this tasty! I’ll add a better photo when I make these again (preferably when my family is out of the house- LOL!)

Secret Recipe Club – Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

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Prep Time 8 mins

Cook Time 22 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Course bar, Dessert

Servings 16

Ingredients

1 cup gluten free certified rolled oats
1 cup smooth peanut butter
2/3 cup sugar (or 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
1/2 cup jam or jelly of your choice fruit juice sweetened, preferred

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x9 baking dish with parchment paper leaving the ends to overhang. You will use the overhang as handles to remove the bars from the pan after baking.
Pulse oats in a blender or food processor until oats are in smaller pieces, about the size of quick oats. Be sure not to blend into flour, but leave larger apices for texture. Set aside.
In a large bowl mix together the peanut butter and sugar. Cream together until fluffy and well blended. Add eggs. Mix well, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add oats and baking powder mixing until a crumbly dough is formed.
Press 2/3 of the dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Spread the jam/jelly evenly over the dough, in the baking pan. Crumble remaining dough over jelly, evenly distributing over the jelly.
Bake for 20-22 minutes; until the top begins to brown slightly. Cool completely. Remove from baking dish using the parchment paper as handles. Cut into bars.
Store covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days (if they last that long!).

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Secret Recipe Club – Zucchini Bread Pancakes

March 16, 2014 by angelaskitchen 6 Comments

Makin' Zucchini Bread Pancakes with my little helper!

My assignment this month was Andrea’s blog, Adventures In All Things Food. On her site she has all sorts of lovely cooking (like Homemade Pumpkin Syrup, Apple Walnut Waffles, Corn Tortillas, Tzitziki Sauce, and Creamy Sweet Potato Hummus), crafting (check out this unbelievably cute Easter Bunny Onesie and these awesome Felted Pumpkins), and peeks into their life on a farm (including their chickens, so you KNOW I love that). I checked with my littlest helper who wanted to help with my challenge this month and her choice was Zucchini Cake Pancakes. YUM!

My big changes were to make the recipe gluten and dairy free (of course) and increasing the vanilla a touch. The biggest issue I faced was that zucchini is not in season, so wasn’t as juicy as peek season zucchini AND I needed to have more liquid for the batter as I was working with a gluten free flour blend. The big thing to watch for is to make the batter thin enough for pancakes so that it cooks all the way through and doesn’t stay doughy in the center.

My recommendation is to make a single pancake to see if it cooks though and if you need to adjust the liquid balance of the batter. Gluten free flour blends can be weird like that… 🙂 We loved the flavor of these and will make them again using other gluten free flour blends until we find the one that works the best. I’ll update this post when that happens, because I think this recipe is a keeper!

Secret Recipe Club – Zucchini Bread Pancakes

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Course breakfast & brunch, dairy free, gluten free, pancakes

Servings 4

Ingredients

3 cups packed zucchini shredded & drained
1 1/2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum I used Better Batter Flour
1 1/2 tablespoons ground golden flax seed optional
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground or grated nutmeg
3 large eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup plain dairy free yogurt I used coconut yogurt
1/4 to 1/2 cup plain unsweetened milk substitute I used almond milk, more as needed
Zest from half a lemon finely minced, optional
2 teaspoons gluten free vanilla extract

Instructions

Make sure your zucchini has drained a bit before using it in this recipe. If your squash is fresh, it will give off a lot of excess water as it sits. Grate zucchini first, then set aside in a colander while assembling the other ingredients.
In a small bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: gluten free flour blend, ground golden flax, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add remaining ingredients, except the zucchini. Mix everything together. We used an immersion blender to mix this part of the recipe. The batter will be thick. Add zucchini and stir into batter. If batter seems too thick, add more milk substitute until batter is the correct thickness for pancake batter.
Pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter in an oiled or well seasoned pre-heated skillet. Cook till golden on one side and steam bubbles start to form on the top. Flip and wait till the other side turns golden brown. Continue with remaining batter until all pancakes are cooked. Serve with maple syrup and enjoy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Secret Recipe Club – Chocolate Coconut Sugar Scrub

February 9, 2014 by angelaskitchen 7 Comments

My assignment this month was Ellie’s blog, The Bitchin’ Kitchin’. Have you seen her blog? No? Well, go on over… I’ll wait…

See? Beautiful! Love her pics and the recipes are WAAAAAAAY to fun to try to pick just one. We’re talking Chicken Enchilada Cups, Sriracha Hummus, Chai-Spiced Scones, Brownie Batter Pancakes, Carrot Ginger Soup, Prosciutto Wrapped Apples, Kale Frittata, Baked Sweet Potato Chips and Pumpkin Pecan Cranberry Muffins, and that is just the tip of the deliciousness you will find on Ellie’s blog. Swoon!

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, however, and having to lovely daughters who have a deep passion for all things chocolate, I thought homemade Chocolate Coconut Sugar Scrub was the perfect recipe to try. We like to try different homemade lotions, scrubs and masks made from natural ingredients. A scrub made with things I already have at home, has natural ingredients in it AND smells like chocolate? Yes, please! So, girls, try to look surprised on Valentine’s Day. M’kay?

Secret Recipe Club – Chocolate Coconut Sugar Scrub

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Course DIY, Sugar Scrub

Ingredients

1 cup loosely packed brown sugar I used dark
1/2 cup coconut oil in solid form, yet still soft
1/3 cup almond oil
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
a few drops coconut extract or essential oil
a few drops vanilla extract
a few drops almond extract

Instructions

Place all ingredients into a bowl and mix until smooth. Place into an air tight container, such as a canning jar. Seal.
To use: Once or twice a week, being careful not to slip, rub scrub all over skin in shower, especially rough areas. Wash scrub off afterwards. Avoid face, however a small amount can be used on dry lips to moisturize and exfoliate. Can be stored at room temperature .

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Secret Recipe Club – Cranberry Pomegranate Vanilla Popcorn

December 15, 2013 by angelaskitchen 6 Comments

This month my assignment was Heather’s blog, Join Us, Pull Up a Chair. I love the yummy variety of things on her blog. SO many yummy, yummy things, like Crunchy Quinoa Salad, Cranberry Chutney, Garlic Scape Pesto, Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting, Quinoa Pizza Bites, German Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars and Italian Chard Soup. Swoon! I wanted to pick something I could bring to the holiday celebrations that are happening now. As my kiddos love popcorn, we made a Christmas variation of Heather’s Valentine’s Day Popcorn. Because of our allergies and how we roll, I don’t use microwave popcorn, so adapted the recipe to cook in our Whirley Pop popcorn popper. I also wanted to avoid food dye so we could share this with friends who can’t eat food dyes, so replaced the color with 100% pomegranate juice. It worked like a charm! And the very subtle pom flavor mixed nicely with the vanilla. To make everything a bit more seasonal, I tossed in dried cranberries. Thanks for the inspiration, Heather! I can’t wait to try more recipes from your blog.

Secret Recipe Club – Cranberry Pomegranate Vanilla Popcorn

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Course dairy free, gfcf, gluten free, popcorn, Snack

Ingredients

3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon pomegranate juice
2 teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract clear for brightest color, but I only had brown on hand
1/2 cup popcorn kernels
salt to taste
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Instructions

Stir together sugar, pomegranate juice and vanilla. Set aside. Measure popcorn and set aside.
Put coconut oil three popcorn kernels to the whirly pop. Snap down the lid. Put pan over medium-high heat and start cranking the handle on the pan to stir. When the there kernels have popped, add sugar mixture and popcorn to pan. Close pan cover. Continue to crank handle on whirly pop until popcorn finished popping.
When all popcorn has popped, remove from heat. Pour popcorn into a bowl or pan and salt to taste. Toss with dried cranberries.
Any left over popcorn can be cooled completely before storing in an air-tight container.

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Dosas – Secret Recipe Club

October 13, 2013 by angelaskitchen 11 Comments

My assigned blog this month was Sid’s Sea Palm Cooking. It was so fun exploring this blog! So many fun taste-treats like Nanaimo Bars, Roasted Garlic and Mushroom Hummus, Lime Curd, and a bunch of lovely Danish recipes. I ended up making Dosas. When my older kids were young, I made them dosas all the time and they gobbled them down. These brought back wonderful memories for us. I am not sure why I stopped making them, but they are now back on the menu! I like this version so much. I increased the fresh cilantro in the batter. Dosa makes a lovely savory fritter to use as an appetizer, side dish for dinner, or a main dish for lunch. Thank you, Sid!

My biggest tip for making dosa is to let it cook in the oil until golden brown before trying to flip. If the dosa seems to be holding to hard to the pan when you try to flip it, it isn’t ready. Other tips are to use plenty of oil for cooking and use a thin metal spatula for flipping the dosa. Enjoy!

Dosas – Secret Recipe Club

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Course Appetizer, dairy free, gluten free, side, vegetarian

Servings 6

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour or garb-fava flour that is what I used
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 large red onion finely minced or small sweet yellow onion
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 1/2 finely chopped Jalapeno Chilies optional
1/4 teaspoon grated ginger Tip from Sid: keep ginger root in freezer and use microplane to get fresh grated ginger when a recipe calls for it
1/2 cup plain unsweetened diary free yogurt I used coconut yogurt
2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
2 cups + of water enough to make a thin batter
oil for frying

Instructions

Mix everything together, except the frying oil. Allow batter to sit for at least one hour, then
Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is heated, carefully pour dosa into pan using a 3 tablespoon scoop. Allow to cook until a deep golden brown, then flip over. Cook on the second side until browned.
Serve hot or at room temperature.

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Secret Recipe Club – Watermelon Limeade

August 11, 2013 by angelaskitchen 7 Comments

My assigned blog this month was from Lynne at Cafe Lynnylu. I was so exciting to get her blog this monthA I have been enjoying her blog for quite awhile now. Her photos are amazing and I love living vicariously through her photos and stories (and recipes, can’t forget those) from her travels. I had the hardest time deciding what to make. She participates in Thirsty Thursday if you need a libation, and has WAAAAAAYYYYY too many delicious things to pick from (Roasted Lemon Sorbet, Two Steps From Hell Chile Verde, Quick Plum Jam were all top contenders for my attention). But with being on our own this past week with just the girls, I let them help pick and they were fascinated by her Watermelon Ginger Limeade. It was just the thing, with its pretty ruby pink color to grace our all girl week. But because my littlest girlie is a picky bug, I didn’t use ginger and upped the lime to compensate. I know, I know, the whole point is the ginger, and while I will make it that way sometime, sometimes you have to bend with the flavor likes of who is home that day. 🙂

This was a really refreshing drink and perfect for relaxing on the porch after a day of gardening. After crushing the watermelon for juice, I gave the pulp to my chickens and let them have a feast, too. Treats for everyone! Thanks for the wonderful recipe, Lynne!

Secret Recipe Club – Watermelon Limeade

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Course beverage, dairy free, gfcf, gluten free

Servings 4

Ingredients

8 cups chopped fresh watermelon
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon lime zest no white pith
3/4 cup fresh lime juice

Instructions

In a small saucepan, bring sugar and water to a simmer. Remove from heat and add lime zest. Cool to room temperature, then cover and place in refrigerator to chill.
Place watermelon in a colander and mash with a potato masher or very clean hands. Allow juice to drain. You should have about 4 cups juice. Cover and chill.
When both items are cold, mix lime juice with sugar syrup. Strain the mixture through a fine meshed sieve while pouring into a pitcher. Pour watermelon juice into pitcher, also through the fine meshed sieve. Stir to combine. Pour over ice and garnish with watermelon wedges.

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Secret Recipe Club – Sweet Bell Pepper Salad

July 14, 2013 by angelaskitchen 12 Comments

My assigned blog this month was …

Secret Recipe Club – Oven Baked Avocado Fries with Creamy Horseradish Sauce

June 9, 2013 by angelaskitchen 9 Comments

My assigned blog this month was from CJ Huang at Morsels of Life. She likes using everyday materials and easy to prepare/efficient methods. Gotta love that! She has a ton of fun flavor combos I was wanting to try, such as Vanilla Carrot Soup, Chinese Coconut Buns, Asian Ginger Carrot Dressing, Honey Mustard Shrimp, Seaweed Cucumber Salad, Pecan Pralines, Roasted Butternut Squash and and Spinach Gnocchi, Balsamic Garlic Mushrooms, Pink Peppercorn Hot Chocolate, Caramelized Onion Squash Galette, Chili Lime Kale Chips, Moroccan Eggplant, Nutella Coconut Popsicles, Balsamic Strawberry Galette, Bacon Beer Pancakes, Creamy Avocado Pasta, Sesame Cucumber Salad, Cassava Patties, Roasted Beets and Carrots with Dill, Tamarind Sauce, Lemon Basil Monkey Bread, Cha Shao Bao (BBQ pork buns), Apple Chutney, Roasted Garlic Turnip Greens, FOUR versions of Guacamole and THREE versions of Chai. Can you see why I had trouble picking a recipe to try? Oof! But I finally narrowed it down to a recipe my family just kept asking about – tt was such an intriguing idea. I decided to make Avocado Fries. Sounds crazy, right? Avocados are usually served fresh and raw, not cooked, so the idea of baking them was interesting. And, with avocados being a big favorite around our house, it seemed like the way to go. 🙂 Baking makes the avocado fries crispy on the outside and warm and creamy on the inside. The flavor was very mild, so I changed up the recipe to season the avocado before breading. For breading I used crushed gluten free fruit juice sweetened crispy brown rice cereal (my standard gluten free replacement for panko crumbs) for an extra crisp and light coating. Also, the really mild flavor seemed to want a spicy dip to compliment it, so I went with a creamy horseradish. You can use one you purchase for steak or roast beef or use the simple recipe below. We loved the combo and will be baking these up again. Thanks for the recipe, CJ!

Secret Recipe Club - Oven Baked Avocado Fries with Creamy Horseradish Sauce

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Course Appetizer, dairy free, gfcf, gluten free, sides

Servings 6

Ingredients

Sauce:

1 to 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish depends on how strong you like it!
6 tablespoons gluten free dairy free mayonnaise or 4 tablespoons dairy free sour cream replacement and 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Fries:

3 avocados
9 tablespoons crushed gluten free crispy rice cereal I used fruit juice sweetened
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Slice avocados in half, removing pit. Slice each half the long way in half again (you have now cut the avocado in quarters). Using a spoon, gently remove peel from avocado fruit. Cut the peeled avocado wedges into 1/2" thick wedges (the long way). Season wedges with salt and pepper.
Place crushed cereal crumbs into a bowl. Coat avocado wedges with the crumbs on all sides, carefully pressing as needed for crumbs to stick. Place coated avocado slices onto a baking sheet.
Bake in a preheated 450 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Crumbs will just be golden on the edges. Serve with horseradish sauce.

Secret Recipe Club

Secret Recipe Club – Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

Ingredients

Instructions

Secret Recipe Club – Zucchini Bread Pancakes

Ingredients

Instructions

Secret Recipe Club – Chocolate Coconut Sugar Scrub

Ingredients

Instructions

Secret Recipe Club – Cranberry Pomegranate Vanilla Popcorn

Ingredients

Instructions

Dosas – Secret Recipe Club

Ingredients

Instructions

Secret Recipe Club – Watermelon Limeade

Ingredients

Instructions

Secret Recipe Club - Oven Baked Avocado Fries with Creamy Horseradish Sauce

Ingredients

Sauce:

Fries:

Instructions

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