Gluten Free Pizza Crust

In a moment of weakness I bought a package of gluten free pizza crust mix to the tune of $6.99. Ugh. It was good, but I just kept thinking, "I could have made this myself." So after several attempts, I've come up with a winning combination. I plan to make the prebaked crusts in bulk for the freezer so that pizza can be at our fingertips.
(As you can see we are still dairy free at this point. But, believe it or not, we're enjoying pizza just the same.)


Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yields: 3 large round crusts
Costs: Approx. $3.00

3 Tbsp dry yeast
2 cups brown rice flour ($.75)
1 1/2 cups tapioca flour ($.75)
3 tsp xantham gum
2 tsp salt
3 tsp unflavored gelatin ($.25)
3 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups warm water (approx. 11o degrees)
2 tsp agave nectar
3 tsp olive oil
3 tsp vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Blend all ingredients in an electric mixer for 3 minutes with regular beater attachments. Dough should be soft and sticky.


Divide dough into three parts. Place dough in the middle of a pizza stone. (I found that the stone worked best in cooking the dough all the way through and alleviating some of the heaviness that comes with gluten free grains.) Using parchment paper sprayed with cooking oil roll dough to fit the stone. (This will save you a lot of frustration and time in trying to get this sticky dough to conform.)

Bake crust for 10 minutes. Remove and top as desired. Return to oven and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

Roasted Banana Coconut Milk Ice Cream

We normally have a freezer stocked up with ice cream. It's our go-to dessert and we love it in all flavors! Since the elimination diet began we quickly discovered that all natural, dairy free ice cream does exist, but it is WAY expensive. The kind that we are allowed is actually $6.00 per pint. That's crazy! So you can imagine my delight when Saralyn pointed me to the Nourishing Gourmet and the many recipes there for coconut milk ice cream. Here's my adaptation of one of her recipes:

Roasted Banana Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Churning Time: 20-30 minutes
Cost: approx. $5.00
Yields: 1 quart


4 bananas cut into chunks ($.50)
2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
6 Tbsp pure maple syrup ($.50)
3 cans of coconut milk (full fat) ($4.00)
2 tsp pure vanilla
1/3 cup water
1 package of gelatin ($.25)
cinnamon

Toss cut bananas in oil and syrup. Place in greased glass dish and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until bananas begin to turn golden in color.

Blend bananas/syrup, coconut milk, vanilla and cinnamon (to taste) in a blender until smooth. Meanwhile boil 1/3 cup of water. Remove from heat and add gelatin. Stir until dissolved. Add gelatin mixture to blender and incorporate well.

Place ice cream mixture to cool in fridge. When cooled process in ice cream maker.

Eat immediately for soft serve or freeze and enjoy later.

**Be warned that the coconut flavor is prominent. The bananas are helpful to bring this into balance, but I think that chocolate would do this even better. To accommodate for the taste, we topped our ice cream with just a tiny bit of maple syrup before serving.**

This recipe and many others are featured in The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap!

Gluten Free Muffin Mix

Entering the world of gluten free baking is honestly quite frustrating. The grains are expensive and the results unpredictable. There's nothing worse than spending a half and hour and $5 to make a loaf of bread that comes out of the oven like a door stop. Through trial and error and the adaptations of several recipes I've come up with an allergy free muffin recipe that works every time. The best part is that you can store it as a dry mix and make as many or as few as you wish at a time. Enjoy!!

Gluten Free Muffin Mix

1 1/4 cup oat flour
1 cup rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp xantham gum

Mix well and store in an air tight container.

To make muffins 12 muffins:

To 2 cups of mix add 1/2 cup applesauce or pumpkin puree, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 cup rice milk, 4 Tbps oil, 1/4-1/2 cup agave nectar, 1 tsp cinnamon. Mix well until all ingredients are well incorporated. Add additional milk as needed (the flour will soak up moisture quickly) and more agave nectar to taste.

Place in greased muffin tins. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.


Tips:

-I trippled the mix recipe and was able to make over 5 dozen muffins.
-If adding fruit, place on top of muffin before baking instead of mixing it in. Mixing it in seems to affect how well the muffins rise.
-Brush the tops of muffin with maple syrup after baking for added flavor and sweetness.