Products & Reviews

Review of new products from Udi’s

March 28, 2014 by angelaskitchen Leave a Comment

It’s no secret that I like to bake for my family. However, I am also a busy working mom, and who can do all that baking all the time? I am grateful that in the 13 years since we found out my daughter had celiac that the market has so many more great gluten free products available. One of the most widely available in our area (and one of our favs) is Udi’s Gluten Free. You can always find Udi’s Bagels in our freezer, and on busy weeks when I just can’t bake bread (more and more weeks than I like to admit) we can always pick up Udi’s Multi Grain Gluten Free Bread for lunches. For last minute birthday parties or sleepovers we have even used the moist and delicious Double Chocolate Muffins and Double Vanilla Muffins as a last minute cupcake (just toss on a bit of frosting and you are good to go). Thank you, Udi’s! You have saved my bacon more than once! When asked to review some new gluten free product from Udi’s I jumped at the chance.

I was sent a HUGE assortment of Udi’s products, many of which we have not seen or tried yet. Because my family wanted to simple tear into everything and chomp it down, I decided on a taste test (hey, a momma’s got to figure out a way to get a taste, too, right?). Here is the result of our favorites from our big pile of tastiness in our completely unscientific, completely biased (because we already like their products) taste test. 🙂 Fancy!

The first item we tried were the muffins. We knew the Double Vanilla were delish (we use them as a quick cupcake stand in, if you remember…) but we all were intrigued by the Harvest Crunch Muffins. This muffin boasted of cranberries, sweet potato, quinoa flour and pepitas. I gotta tell ya, this is one tasty muffins. Tender, with a really nice texture. It is perfect to use a simple muffin to go with tea. I REALLY liked the flavor balance of this one.

My kids LOVED the Soft n’Chewy Granola Bars. Dude, they have chocolate chips. Enough said, right? Best part as a mom is that they are not as high in sugars as many soft gluten free granola bars I have seen, and are individually wrapped, making them easily portable in a backpack. Love that.

We tossed the Blueberry Cashew Granola on coconut yogurt for a fun crunch. This granola includes a bit of millet and amaranth (yay!) My youngest, who has always been anti-blueberry but very pro-cashew, declared the granola “Totally tasty!” Thank you, Udi’s for converting her into a blueberry lover. 🙂 My older daughter brought some as an after track practice snack. It really satisfied her snack craving.

Everyone loved the Udi’s Omega Flax & Fiber Bread. I like the extra fiber (so much gluten free product is remarkably fiber free) and lovely flax, my kids loved that the bread was soft for sandwiches right out of the package. My mom, who has diabetes loves that she could actually have two pieces of bread for a sandwich and make it a meal, when a lot of gluten free breads she is can only have one piece due to the carb count. Win-win! We all enjoyed the nutty flavor and whole grain taste. We will be getting this again!

We enjoyed everything we tried. The only sad bit for my girls were that the Brownie Bites and Snickerdoodles (which they REALLY wanted to try) contain dairy. As we are gluten and dairy free, those didn’t work for us. 🙁 However, my son and husband who can have dairy seemed to enjoy them… Often purchased cookies and brownies that are gluten free also contain dairy. It would be nice to have some that were both gluten and dairy free sometime. (Pretty please?)

All in all, we enjoyed everything. I am so pleased to see more alternative grains, such as quinoa and amaranth, increased fiber (while still maintaining great texture) in their new products. Udi’s has done it again! Thank you!

I participated in this program on behalf of Udi’s and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.

Gluten & Dairy Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Refrigerator Pie {FREE Attune Foods Dessert E-Book!}

November 19, 2013 by angelaskitchen 1 Comment

If you have been following along my blog for awhile, you know I love the line of gluten free cereals from Attune Foods. Non-GMO, whole grain, gluten free and delicious? Yep, sign me up! And while the cereals are wonderful in the standard cereal bowl for my morning starter, but they are so versatile in cooking savory things, too. I use Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal as a panko bread crumb replacement on Chicken Confetti Bites and Erewhon Cornflakes add the perfect crunch to Dairy Free Buffalo Chicken Bites. When Attune came out with a line of cereals using some of my favorite gluten free super grains, I just had to try them.

Toss a handful of Buckwheat and Hemp Cereal on dairy free coconut yogurt, add a few blackberries, and you have an amazing breakfast. My kids like adding dried fruit and almond milk to the Quinoa and Chia Cereal to start their day. Though, honestly, I have to say I often just eat it straight from the box by the handful for a quick snack. The whole grains keep me full and my tummy satisfied, and while the toasted crunch satisfies my tastebuds. Yum!

I was thrilled to be asked to contribute a recipe using Attune’s Supergrain Cereals for their Supergrain Dessert E-Book from Attune Foods. I use the delicious crunch of Quinoa and Chia Cereal to make the crust of this Gluten Free Dairy Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Refrigerator Pie. If you don’t eat nuts, their are instructions in the recipe for replacing the peanut butter, and the recipe does not contain eggs.

Visit Attune Foods to download your FREE copy of the Supergrain Dessert e-book.

In addition to my Gluten & Dairy Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Refrigerator Pie, you’ll have access to four other amazing dessert recipes by some very talented bloggers with beautiful photos of each recipe, too! There is pumpkin, coconut, cranberries, apples, and ginger. Yep, pretty much everything you’ll want on your holiday table, all without gluten and other allergens. Download the FREE e-book and get baking! Save me a slice, please. 🙂

Taco Cups made with Pillsbury’s Gluten Free Pie and Pastry Dough

August 24, 2013 by angelaskitchen 1 Comment

After the fun of making the easiest (yet ever so tasty) Gluten & Dairy Free Pizza Twists thanks to Pillsbury’s Gluten Free Thin Crust Pizza Dough and sweet little Gluten & Dairy Free Apple Hand Pies from Pilsbury’s Gluten Free Pie and Pastry Dough, I wanted to try something else fun and kid friendly that could go in the lunch box or be had as a snack. My kids were in the mood for tacos, so Gluten Free Dairy Free Taco Cups are what we came up with.

These tasty bites were so fun to make! I used my regular taco meat seasoning, but use what your family likes. We tried two different styles for the cups. After kneading Gluten Free Pie and Pastry Dough, we rolled out half of the dough and cut it into 6 squares about 4 1/2 inches. I tucked the dough into a muffin cups leaving the tips of the squares out to make a petal-style or star-style cup.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Taco Cups4 The other half of the dough I rolled into a rope and cut into 8 sections. After putting the one of the sections into each muffin tin, I pressed the dough evenly around the muffin tin. Either way you make them, they turn out delicious! We served the taco cups for lunch with Tex-Mex Salad. I am making some for the school lunch boxes and think these would be a great game day snack. What would you serve taco cups for?

What do you think of Pillsbury’s new gluten free products.? Have you tried the Chocolate Chip Cookie (however, this contains milk for those cow milk allergic, like myself), Thin Crust Pizza Dough or the Pie and Pastry Dough? Thank you so much for the three gluten free products, Pillsbury! They are so fun to use!

Taco Cups made with Pillsbury’s Gluten Free Pie and Pastry Dough

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Course beef, dairy free, gfcf, gluten free, kid friendly, lunch, snacks

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef
4 teaspoons instant minced onion
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon instant minced garlic
1 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
one container of Pilsbury Gluten Free Pie Crust 2 pie crusts worth of dough
Taco toppings of choice. We used guacamole salsa and fresh cilantro.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Cook ground beef, breaking it apart while cooking. Drain grease from meat when beef is browned. Add onion, salt, chili powder, cumin, garlic, red pepper, and oregano and stir well. Remove from heat.
For flower/star cups: Knead pie dough until no longer crumbly. Roll out on plastic wrap and cut into 12 squares approximately 4 1/2 inches. Tuck squares into every other muffin tin allowing points to stick out on tin. Press any dough flaps in muffin tin to create more room for filling and to make a neater appearance (see photo).
For plain taco cups: Knead pie dough until no longer crumbly. Roll dough into a snake or rope. Cut into 16 equal pieces. Place a piece of dough into a muffin tin, pressing into an even layer on bottom and sides of muffin tin.
Divide meat between pastry cups. Bake in preheated 425 degree F oven 15 to 18 minutes or until pie crust is golden brown and cooked through.
Remove taco cups from pie tin and top with your favorite taco fixings, like guacamole, salsa, olives or fresh cilantro.

This article is sponsored by Pillsbury®. All opinions are my own. Thank you, Pillsbury®, for sponsoring today’s discussion!

Coconut Whoopie Pies – WonderMill Challenge

February 27, 2013 by angelaskitchen 1 Comment

For my last week of the WonderMill Challenge, I made Gluten Free Dairy Free Coconut Whoopie Pies. Mmmm…. Stop by and say “Hi!”

I enjoyed playing with my nifty WonderMill and can’t wait to experiment more. I have plans to pre sprout, then dry and then ground some gluten free grains and see how the resulting flour works and tastes. I can’t wait! My only sad discovery was not being able to grind almonds or coconuts in it, but considering I could grind everything else I threw at it from garbonzo beans and teff (not to mention all the other legume flours that you simply can’t buy), I feel it was worth it. And grinding corn that I dried last summer made the most amazing corn bread imaginable, with an intensely fresh corn flavor. Simply amazing, and wonderful to be able to adjust the setting from pastry to regular to coarse ground. Almonds and coconut can be ground in a good quality blender, but I have never seen garbonzos ground so well in anything else home ground. Thank you, WonderMill!

* * * * *

During this time of year, with winter holding on and spring still just a bit too out of reach, I dream of comfort food. Something homey and fun. Gluten Free Dairy Free Coconut Whoopie Pies fit that description around here. They can be carried around in one hand while searching for crocus sprouts in the garden, nibbled on while curled up reading a book, or used in a doll picnic set up on the living room floor. They are just sweet enough to feel like a treat (Hello, frosting!) yet contain three types of gluten free whole grains, applesauce and shredded coconut, so they aren’t going to have your kiddos (or yourself!) bouncing off the walls. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!

In the instructions, I wrote to let the batter sit for 30 minutes. You could bake them off right away, but you will notice that the whoopie pies are lighter, fluffier and rise higher given that bit of time to rehydrate the gluten free flours and get the leavening agents a bit of time to get moving. Try this technique the next time you make a gluten free cake, cupcake, or muffins. I love how high everything rises and the great texture given by this simple trick. 🙂

Gluten Free Dairy Free Coconut Whoopie Pies

Author: Angela Litzinger from angelaskitchen.com
Recipe type: gluten free, dairy free, gfcf, desserts & treats, whoopie pie
Serves: makes 7 whoopie pies

¼ cup sorghum flour (ground on pastry setting)
¼ cup tapioca starch/flour (ground on pastry setting)
3 tablespoons brown rice flour (ground on pastry setting)
2 tablespoons coconut flour flour
1 tablespoon sweet rice flour (ground on pastry setting from sushi rice)
1 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum
¼ cup sugar or evaporated cane crystals
1 large egg
½ cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons applesauce
1½ tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon gluten-free vanilla extract
½ teaspoon gluten-free coconut extract
½ cup shredded coconut
For filling:
¼ cup gluten and dairy free margarine, shortening or 3 tablespoons coconut oil
2 cups powdered sugar
2 to 2½ tablespoons coconut milk, as needed
¼ to ½ teaspoon gluten free coconut extract, as needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking pan with parchment.
Whisk together sorghum flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, coconut flour, sweet rice flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and xanthan or guar gum. Set aside.

In mixing bowl cream together the oil and sugar. Add egg and blend for one minute. Add coconut milk, oil, applesauce and flavoring extract next, mixing well. Add flour blend to wet mixing just until combined. Stir in shredded coconut. Allow batter to sit for 30 minutes for lighter, higher whoopie pies.

Using a scoop, place 2 tablespoons of batter per whoopie pie half on lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each scoop. Bake for 10 minutes until cooked through. Place on a cooling rack.

After whoopie pie halves are cooled make the filling. Cream together margarine and half of the powdered sugar. Add remainder of sugar, coconut extract and as much coconut milk as needed for a nice filling consistency. Place filling in a piping bag or use a knife to spread filling onto the flat side (bottoms) of half of the whoopie pie cakes. Top frosting with another cake. Enjoy!

Whole Grain Apple Cardamom Biscotti, Gluten Free/Dairy Free – WonderMill Challenge

February 20, 2013 by angelaskitchen 1 Comment

For my forth recipe for the WonderMill Challenge I made Gluten Free Dairy Free Apple Cardamom Biscotti. This is a biscotti made with all gluten free whole grains and no extra starches. Woo-hoo!

* * * * *

I am an equal opportunity tea, herbal tea and coffee drinker. Mmm-mmmm…. There is just something about that warm comforting cup. What better thing to have with it than biscotti? Biscotti are to have on hand as they are easy to make while appearing fancy, keep well and are nice to have on hand for a unexpected visit with a friend or a late night warm cup of chamomile and chat with your teen.

I have a couple of different gluten and dairy free biscotti recipes over at Angela’s Kitchen, but for this biscotti I wanted to see if I could make them entirely out of gluten free whole grains. I used the flavors of cinnamon paired with cardamom and a bit of apple sauce and kept them lightly sweetened (I want a treat, not a sugar rush). Because of my the WonderMill’s pastry setting, I was able to create a biscotti that uses all gluten free whole grains without any additional starch that did not feel grainy at all. Woo-hoo!

These turned out so nicely. I like that I was able to change out the bit of whole grain flour depending on what I have on hand. It is so exciting to make something that is gluten free

Gluten Free Dairy Free Apple Cardamom Biscotti

Author: Angela Litzinger from angelaskitchen.com

Recipe type: gluten free, dairy free, gfcf, whole grain, biscotti

Serves: makes 18 biscotti

1½ cup millet flour (ground on pastry setting)
½ cup brown rice flour (ground on pastry setting)
½ cup sourgum, quinoa or teff flour (ground on pastry setting)
1½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan or guar gum
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
⅓ cup shortening (I use organic palm shortening)
⅔ cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup unsweetened applesauce
½ tablespoon gluten free vanilla extract
1 teaspoon gluten free almond extract
Glaze:
½ cup gluten free powdered sugar
1 to 1½ tablespoons gluten & dairy free unsweetened milk substitute
⅛ teaspoon ground cardamon

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a Silpat. Set aside.
Whisk millet flour, brown rice flour, sourgum flour, baking soda, xanthan or guar gum, salt, cinnamon and cardamon together in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, cream together shortening and brown sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, mixing thoroughly. Whisk in applesauce and extracts.
Add dry ingredients to the mixing bowl with the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
Scoop dough onto the lined baking sheet. Using wet hands form the dough into a log approximately 1 inches in height and about 6 inches wide. Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes (or until middle is dry when you insert a toothpick). Remove from oven and allow to cool (approximately 30 minutes). Lower oven to 300°F. Using a serrated knife, cut biscotti cross-wise, making ½ to ¾ inch wide pieces. Put slices back onto the baking sheet leaving a bit of space between slices.
Bake at 300°F for 10 minutes, then flip over and bake 10 more minute. Watch closely to avoid burning biscotti. Cool biscotti on a cooling rack.
When cooled, mix powdered sugar and milk substitute a bit at a time until you reach desired consistency. Mix in cardamon. Drizzle on cooled biscotti and let dry until glaze is firm.

Buffalo Chicken Bites with Dairy Free Blue “Cheese” Dip, Gluten Free & Dairy Free

January 31, 2013 by angelaskitchen 5 Comments

This? Is awesome. Yep. You need to make Gluten Free Dairy Free Buffalo Chicken Bites for game day. Or right now. Or to serve as lunch or dinner with a big salad. Or to sneak out of the fridge when no one is looking – not that I would know anything about that sort of thing. Anyway…

These Buffalo Chicken Bites are …

Anti-Wheat Thin Cracker, Gluten Free/Dairy Free – WonderMill Challenge

January 30, 2013 by angelaskitchen Leave a Comment

For week three of ”So, what’s a girl to do when she finally gets her hands on a WonderMill?” WonderMill Challenge, I baked up these lovely Gluten Free Dairy Free Crackers we call the Anti-Wheat Thin. Oh, yes, I did! And these, my dears, are awesome. You need to make them now. They are easy-peasy (even when grinding your own grain), pull together fast (mix it up in FIVE minutes – even when grinding your own grain), and are delicious. And did I mention easy? Yeah – they are. Head on over to GrainMillWagon.com and say “Hi!”

Then bake up a batch to nibble on during that big game this weekend everyone is talking about.

* * * * *

I had all the intention to make a completely different cracker for the WonderMill Challenge. But, as you all know can happen, life sometimes changes the best laid plans. In this case I am so glad it did!

A few weeks ago my son came down with a cold. Not just any cold. A nasty, yucky head cold that we dubbed the “Bubonic Plague for Modern Times.” He even missed a couple days of school. He is 17 now and I don’t think that has happened since he was nine years-old. When he finally pulled himself together enough to stagger to the store, he craved a little comfort nibbles and picked up Wheat Thins.

My son (unlike most of the family) doesn’t have celiac, so yeah, he could indulge. However, I am still a bit of a whole food mamma and wanted him to have a different option for his snack cravings. Honestly, I also didn’t want gluten crumbs all over my couch. That meant blending up a gluten free dairy free cracker to replace his boxed up snack. Fortunately, these crackers are so easy, even a 17 year-old boy can whip them up in no time even with a sniffle. The dough takes all of 5 minutes to make, even while grinding up your own flour, and 15 more minutes to bake. That is less time than it takes to get to the store and back, and you can stay in your jammies. Take that, prepackaged crackers! My son LOVED these and calls them the Anti-Wheat Thin. That, my dears, is a win.

These are wonderful on their own, but would pair really well with a dip this coming weekend if you are watching the big game. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Dairy Free Crackers – The Anti-Wheat Thin

Author: Angela Litzinger @ angelaskitchen.com
Recipe type: gluten free, dairy free, gfcf, cracker, vegan
Serves: makes about 4 dozen 1½” crackers

If you want to keep these all whole grain, skip the additional starches and decrease water slightly. I was trying to make these as similar to my son’s cracker without compromising the whole food recipe I was going for.

⅓ cup freshly ground sorghum flour (pastry setting)
⅓ cup brown rice flour (pastry setting)
1½ tablespoon potato starch (optional)
1½ tablespoon corn starch or arrowroot powder (optional)
2 tablespoons freshly ground flaxseed
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling
2 tablespoons solid coconut oil
4 to 5 tablespoons cold water
1 teaspoon crushed dried rosemary

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine sorghum flour, rice flour, starches (if using), flaxseed, brown sugar, and the ½ teaspoon salt. Whisk well. Using a pastry cutter, two forks or the whisk, cut the coconut oil into the dry ingredients until evenly distributed and it looks like wet sand, with no large pieces of coconut oil remaining.

Add 3 tablespoons of the cold water and mix. While still mixing, add as much of the remaining water needed one tablespoon at a time just until the dough pulls together and is workable. Roll the dough into a smooth ball.
On a silpat or parchment, roll out dough very thinly. I had a one inch boarder around the dough to the edge of the pan, so the dough was very thin. Sprinkle dough with rosemary and desired amount of salt.

Using a pizza cutter, cut desired shape into dough. Transfer the silpat or parchment paper to baking sheet.

Bake at 400 degrees F 13 to 15 minutes (depending on thickness) or until browned along the edges and crisp. Transfer crackers to a cooling rack.

Lemon OR Almond Poppy Seed Muffins, Gluten & Dairy Free – WonderMill Challenge

January 23, 2013 by angelaskitchen Leave a Comment

Like muffins? So do I! For week two of “So, what’s a girl to do when she finally gets her hands on a WonderMill?” WonderMill Challenge, I baked up Gluten Free Dairy Free Lemon OR Almond Poppy Seed Muffins. Because sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don’t! 🙂 Head on over to GrainMillWagon.com and say “Hi!”

I wanted to make a gluten free dairy free muffin filled with poppy seeds, using whole grains and not too sweet. I, of course, also wanted a muffin that actually tasted like a treat and was light and fluffy, with a delicate crumb. Could I do that while grinding my own flour? The answer is YES!

I like my muffins to be seasonal, but in the cold winter of Minnesota where I am, there are not a lot of seasonal fruits or add, so I stuck with a poppy seed muffin. Because I am an equal opportunity muffin baker, I made these with almond or lemon optional flavors. I have really been loving how the WonderMill grinds the gluten free flours. I have not detected any grittiness in anything I have made with the home ground gluten free flours I have made so far. Thank you, WonderMill!

If you like a sweeter muffin, feel free to add the optional lemon or almond glaze on top, but we liked these muffins equally well without it. The glaze is lovely for dressing them up a bit for a brunch and increases the lemon or almond flavor. But, as an everyday muffin, I skipped the glaze as it was a nice start to the day without a sugar rush. 🙂 I enjoyed a lemon poppy seed muffin with a cup of tea in the afternoon. It was a wonderful break and pick-me-up. I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Gluten & Dairy Free Lemon or Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

Author: Angela Litzinger of angelaskitchen.com
Recipe type: gluten free, dairy free, gfcf, breakfast, quick bread, muffin
Serves:1 2

⅔ cup granulated sugar
1 cup freshly ground sorghum flour
½ cup freshly ground brown rice flour
¼ cup tapioca starch (I ground cracked tapioca beads)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 teaspoons gluten free baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum or guar gum
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsweetened milk substitute of choice (I like almond or coconut milk)
¼ cup lemon juice
2 large eggs (or 2 T ground golden flax mixed with 6 T HOT water, set aside until thickened.)
⅓ cup mild tasting olive oil
1½ teaspoon gluten free vanilla extract

For lemon: Add 2 tablespoons fresh, finely minced lemon zest and ½ teaspoon gluten free lemon extract with wet ingredients.

For almond: Add 1½ teaspoon gluten free almond extract with wet ingredients. Add a sprinkling of slivered almond on top of muffin batter before baking, if desired.

Optional glaze for lemon: Cook 2 tablespoons lemon juice and ¼ cup sugar together until sugar is dissolved. When muffins come out of oven and on cooling rack, brush with hot glaze.

Optional glaze for almond: Cook 2 tablespoons water and ¼ cup sugar together until sugar is dissolved. Stir in ½ teaspoon almond extract. When muffins come out of oven and on cooling rack, brush with hot glaze.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
In your mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, sorghum flour, brown rice flour, tapioca starch, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, baking soda, xanthan or guar gum, and salt.

In another bowl blend milk substitute, lemon juice, eggs (or flax mixture), olive oil and vanilla. Add lemon zest and lemon extract at this time if making lemon muffins or almond extract if making almond muffins.

Mix wet with the dry ingredients until just blended. Divide batter into 12 lined muffin tins. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool muffins on cooling rack.

If adding the optional glaze, brush hot glaze onto the hot muffins before cooling.

Products & Reviews

Taco Cups made with Pillsbury’s Gluten Free Pie and Pastry Dough

Ingredients

Instructions

Footer