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GF Cornbread Muffins
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
Blast this like-winter weather. It’s no fun unless you like to slog through cold rain or sloppy snow. Soup is often my remedy for winter chillies. This is a simple soup made of roasted produce thinned with chicken broth and a touch of milk. It will warm your tummy and fill you up without too many calories. The leek adds a slightly different flavor and the apple a touch of sweetness which I find refreshing. This mellow winter treat is great with a salad for lunch or a sandwich. No fuss, very little muss. Just a short list of ingredients and a fairly simple recipe. Enjoy!
Roasted Butternut squash Soup
1 decent sized butternut squash
1 medium onion
1 leek
2 fat carrots
1 Rome or Gala apple (any baking apple except Granny Smith will do)
1 garlic clove, unpeeled
3-4 cups of chicken broth, preferably homemade
½-3/4 cup of half and half or whole milk, even 1 percent will work!
Directions:
First, cut the butternut squash down the length and scoop out the seeds. No need to peel. Place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cut the onion in half and likewise the apple, the leek and carrots; cut off the leek above the light green portion and core the apple halves. Put apples cut side up. Roast them all in a 375 degree oven until the squash is tender when poked with a fork. About 35 to 45 minutes depending on the size of your squash. If the other fruits and veggies are browned and done early slide them off to a plate to cool. Caramelized is fantastic but no burnt leeks in my soup thank you!
When the squash is cool enough to handle, use a big spoon to scoop out all the meat of it into your blender. Add the scooped out contents of the apple halves, the garlic you have squeezed out of its skin, the carrots and leek halves. Pour in 2-3 cups of chicken broth, blend until smooth, and add more broth until you reach a consistency you like. Mine was kinda thick and porridgey. If you prefer to use a food processor that will work or put the scooped out veggies into a large sauce pan and blend with your immersion (boat motor) blender. This will not be as smooth as the blender makes it but it is more fun and less cleaning as no blender container to wash!
After the blending is done pour it into a large sauce pan and add up to ¾ of a cup of half and half or whole milk. I used a half cup but you may like it creamier.
Originally posted in 2014, no recipe changes made to this version.
Italian Sausage and Butternut Squash Stew
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Chili Con Carne with a Twist
Our PA weather is chilling down. Need something to warm up your tummy? Try some homemade chili. So easy; one pot, if you like beans in it this is your recipe. And a little something different; cubes of butternut squash or yam. Yeap yam, it picks up all those spicy flavors, as does butternut squash. Really great with cornbread, I made some fresh southern style using both cornmeal and gf flour, baked them in an 8 ear cast iron corn cub mold and 6 muffins. I used ground beef, but you can use turkey, venison, or use a plant-based ground meat substitute. This is somewhat spicy but not too much, my tummy can no longer handle the really spicy stuff. You can up the spice or tone it down a bit. Your chili, your choice.
I make a cornbread by Mama Gourmand which is a basic but tasty recipe. Enjoy!
Angie’s Sort of Spicy Chili Con Carne
Ingredients
1 to 1 1/3 lb. ground beef, 90 percent is what I used
Cooking spray
1 medium onion; chopped into ½ cup dice
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium poblano pepper diced (I used half a good sized one as I can’t do spicy so good anymore)
2/3 cup diced green or red bell pepper
3 tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. cumin
½ tsp. smoked paprika
½ tsp. coriander
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
¼ cup red or white wine (one you would willingly drink!)
roughly 1 and 1/3 cups peeled and cubed yam or butternut squash;
1-2 cups water
1 tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper (more if you want it)
1 14 oz can large kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz can small red beans, rinsed and drained
Directions:
Spray la arge wide 4 qt. pot with cooking spray, heat and add ground meat. Let brown as you break it up and spread out the meat. After turning it once add the onions. Cook, stirring a lot, until meat isn’t pink. Add minced garlic; stir in, cook 30 seconds. Add all spices, stir well; cook a minute. Add wine, stir, Add crushed tomatoes. Use cup of water to rinse tomato can and add all to pot. Add diced yams and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer on low at least 30 minutes; I cooked mine for more like an hour. I stirred it a lot, at least every 10 minutes taking care to scrape the bottom, so nothing is sticking. I had to go out so I shut it off, put the lid on and restarted it when I returned. It’s flexible that way. Then add kosher salt to taste; I put in 1 tsp. Add the beans. Stir in carefully and cook 15-25 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt, add more ground black pepper if wanted. Honestly it is even better after a good rest in the fridge; the flavors will blend further. So good with corn bread. I didn’t add any toppings; it was just right without any additions, but you can go to town with scallions, grated cheese, or whatever you like. Enjoy!
I strongly suggest you visit her website but here are the ingredients for her delicious Cornbread, ingredients:
1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup Cup4Cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 lg eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup melted butter
Be sure to let your batter rest 5-10 minutes before pouring into a hot baking dish; I have a cast iron 7 ears of corn one and I do 6 muffin tins too; liberally buttered right before you dump in the liquid mix.Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.
Perfect Pear Crumb Pie
Fresh tasting, locally sourced fruits are a major reason for success in fruit pie baking. I usually get mine from the local orchard where they were grown; about 2 miles from my house. This past Saturday I got some Bosc pears, they are a bit firmer and not as juicy as Bartletts but are renown for baking.
This recipe is a blending of my own pie filling and the pie crust and crumb recipes from Annalise Robert’s cookbook, Gluten-Free Baking Classics. I used slightly less sugar, more fruit, and made a few other changes to create my own special pie using pears instead of apples. Her cookbook is a fabulous resource, and I can’t recommend it enough to anyone trying to bake gluten free for a family member. This pie is like apple pie’s little sister; delicate, tender and so pretty. I promise even pear haters will enjoy a slice of this and we who love pears are just in heaven when we bite into a generous slice of this juicy sweet pie. My guy always claimed to hate pears; so fickle; unripe and then suddenly mushy overripe – I can relate to that happening occasionally, but I persisted and now he enjoyed this pie quite a lot; took home a huge slice of it last night. Go on; make it; you might change someone’s mind too!
Angie’s GF Pear Crumb Pie
Crust:
1 c plus 2 Tbsp. brown rice flour mix (at bottom of recipe)
2 Tbsp. sweet rice flour
1 Tbsp.. granulated sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
¼ tsp salt
6 Tbsp.. cold butter cut into 6 chunks
1 large egg
2 tsp fresh orange or lemon juice
Spray 9 1/2 metal pie pan with cooking spray, dust with white rice flour.
Mix dry ingredients in bowl of stand electric mixer. Add butter and mix until crumbly and resembling coarse meal. Add egg and juice. Mix until it comes together into big chunks. Shape into a ball with your hands. Put it on a crust sized piece of wax paper (14 x 14 inches more or less), flatten the crust ball some; put on top of it another piece of wax paper and chill it all in your fridge 15-20 minutes while you chop the peeled and cored fruit into ¼ to 1/3 inch slices. I use my plastic pie bag; sturdy and helps me roll the crust thin in the middle.
Filling:
6 cups barely ripe Bartlett or Bosc pears; peeled, cored, and sliced thin – place in medium bowl, pour over it 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
Mix the following dry ingredients in a small bowl and pour over the sliced pears:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp. quick cooking instant tapioca
1/4 rounded tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Stir gently with a big spoon to blend well. Let stand while you roll out the crust; this time will allow the tapioca to soak up the fruit juice and become that lovely goop my family yearns for!
Crumb topping
Put all four ingredients in the same mixing bowl you made the bottom crust in and mix well with mixer paddle until crumbs form.
¾ c brown rice flour mix
½ c granulated sugar
½ tsp xanthan gum
1/3 c cold butter cut into six chunks
Directions: Roll out pie crust in a pie bag or between the two sheets of wax paper; try to get the thickness even, no thick middle! Peel off one side of paper and place in pie pan, centered. Remove other slice of wax paper. Crimp edges all around. Fill with sweetened fruit mix. Pour the crumb topping (1 to 1½ cup) evenly over this mixture. The more crumbs the thicker the crust they will form; for a really thick crust use all the crumbs from the recipe below.
If you love your pie really sweet add another ¼ cup granulated sugar to the dry mix part of the filling. I found the pie to be plenty sweet but everyone has their own sweetness level.
Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 30 minutes with a piece of aluminum foil on top of the pie, then lower the temperature to 375 and bake 20 more minutes uncovered until bubbly and the crust is light brown. I put a pie guard underneath my pie while it bakes to catch any drips. Cool at least 2 hours before serving at room temperature.
Note: I bake pies on the lowest shelf of my oven and that gives me a great browned crust. If your oven doesn’t give a strong bottom heat you might want to pre-bake the crust 10 minutes before filling and topping the fruit.
Brown Rice Flour Mix (same as King Arthur’s Basic gf Flour mix)
2 c brown rice flour
2/3 c potato starch
1/3 c tapioca flour
My World Without Wheat 