Gluten Free Scalloped Potatoes | An Allergy Friendly Recipe

I love potatoes -- all types. And, I sorta miss having scalloped potatoes since we've become mostly a GFCF household. Being soy-free also doesn't make subbing dairy any easier. I've tried to develop a recipe for gluten free scalloped potatoes a few times but failed. Getting them to be gluten free was one piece of the puzzle - the other was also making this a dairy free scalloped potatoes recipe.

Getting the right flavor and texture was vital to this recipe. At the urging of my potato-loving kids, I came up with a recipe that's simple and pretty darn good. Most important, my kids really liked this as they were growing up. I made this in the crock pot, but I'm sure you can adapt for the oven.

Ingredients

• Potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 
• Dairy free margarine or ghee -- I used Spectrum shortening
• Sea salt 
• Black pepper 
• Gluten free tapioca flour (I think potato starch, corn starch would work too) 
• Gluten free chickpea flour (I think potato flour, rice flour, etc. would work too -- anything that's a fine flour and not grainy) 
• Garlic powder 
• Dairy free milk - I used rice milk
• Water 
• Corn starch (I think tapioca or potato starch would work too) 

I use a big crock pot, so adapt if yours is smaller. Start by peeling and slicing the potatoes. I peeled two average sized potatoes at a time. Then, layer the slices of those two potatoes on the bottom of the crock pot. Sprinkle a dash of salt and a pinch of pepper over top of the layer. Then, sprinkle 1 tbsp of the tapioca flour over the layer and then 1 tbsp of the chickpea flour over the layer. Then, drop about 4 small dabs of the shortening (or margarine) in various places over the layer --  1/2 tsp each. 

Then, repeat this process by adding another layer of potatoes over top -- about two potatoes. Then, the seasoning, flours and shortening. Do this with about 4-5 layers of potatoes. Using this mix of flours is what makes this a gluten free scalloped potatoes recipe.

When done, pour 1 cup of dairy free milk over top and then 1 cup of water. Turn the crock pot setting to high and let it go for four hours. After 2 hours, spoon over the top layer of potatoes to ensure they don't dry out. Do this again after the 3rd hour. 

After the 3rd hour, test taste. When I first made these, I found that the milk alternative taste was coming thru too much and not enough of the seasoning. So, I added another dose of salt and pepper and a couple dashes of garlic powder. You can skip this if you don't like garlic. It was enough to flavor but not overwhelm. You also can experiment with different milk substitutes. Your choice of margarine/ghee and dairy-free milk is the key to keeping this a dairy free scalloped potatoes recipe.

Of course, you can play with the seasoning - add any other spice that you like.

That's it. Enjoy your gluten free scalloped potatoes.

Another Gluten Free Pizza Sauce Recipe

I found this simple pizza sauce recipe on the web many years ago and I've been using it ever since on my homemade gluten free pizza  - and if you've not seen my homemade gluten free pizza crust recipe, check it out here. This is my go-to gluten free pizza sauce recipe.

Of course, I tinkered with the recipe a bit to get the right taste, texture and "spreadability." But, what I really love about this recipe is that it's so quick, so easy to make and works. I've not found another gluten free pizza sauce recipe that I like better.

And, I can make it quickly while my crust is baking in the oven. It literally takes about five minutes to make. Finally, and as you'll see, it's easily adaptable. Don't like garlic, skip it and use onion powder instead. Prefer basil or rosemary, add it. You decide!

Ingredients:

6-ounce can tomato paste (I use Hunt's)

2 tbsps oil (I use olive oil)
½ cup water
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp sugar (you could sub any sweetener)
1 tspn sea salt
¼ tspn pepper
½ tspn vinegar (I use Heinz)

Directions:

In a stove top pot, add the tomato paste, olive oil and water over a low heat. Stir slowly to combine the ingredients and until the paste liquifies and blends into the mix. 

Add the remaining ingredients and stir until combined.

Continue on the stove until thoroughly heated, but not boiling.

Let sit for a few minutes while your crust is baking. Spoon or ladle onto your crust and enjoy this wonderful gluten free pizza sauce recipe.

GF/CF/SF chili-cheese fries

Bet you didn't think this was possible on a gluten-free, casein-free diet. Well, it is possible, and even without soy too. For my money, the soy-based cheeses are really bad. So, how do you do this? You can grab everything in one trip to Whole Foods. -- French fries: either Whole Foods' 365 brand or Cascadian Farms brand. -- Chili: Amy's brand chili is OK. -- Cheese: Galaxy brand rice cheese (yes, the slices are casein-free, not just lactose free -- be careful because the bricks are not casein-free). 

They sell sliced pepper-jack, american and cheddar. The pepper jack adds some zip to this. So, toss the fries in the oven for 10 mins, then turn them over. Bake another 5 mins. Spread the chili over top and bake another 3 mins. Add the cheese with about 1 minute left. I cut this up into smaller pieces and toss over top. There you go. You could also add some salsa to this if your kids like it -- plain Tostitos brand salsas are OK and so is Muir Glen brand, among others.

Spicy rice - a GFCF dish

Don't think I'm weird for posting this recipe. It's super easy, but if you read this blog, you know that I like super easy recipes. I've dubbed this "spicy rice" because that's what got my oldest to eat rice. My youngest can't eat rice -- food intolerance. But, I really wanted my oldest to try something other than her favorite potato dish -- Dutch Potatoes (really just steamed potatoes). But, she wouldn't eat the rice I'd make her. No brown rice. No white rice. I figured it was a no go.

One day about two weeks ago, I was in a bind. I was running late, didn't have time to cook, but had a bowl of leftover brown rice in the fridge. I made the following recipe in 5 mins and she ate it. What was missing (to her) -- the spice. She likes her foods spicy, both in appearance and taste. So, now we have "spicy rice."

Ingredients
------------
Brown or white rice, cooked
Oil -- I use canola. Olive would be fine.
Sea salt.
Black pepper
Or any other favorite spice -- paprika, chili powder, cumin, ground red pepper, oregano, etc.

In a stove top pan, heat oil for a minute, about 1 tbsp. Scoop out 2-3 cups of the pre-cooked rice and place in the pan. Use a utensil to separate the rice and mix it well with the oil. Add 1 tsp sea salt and a few dashes of the pepper or any other spice you think might work. My kids like all of them, so I'll mix it up day to day on their foods. Just heat this up, tossing it around a few times to make sure it's coated and the spice is mixed well.

You only have to heat this a few minutes. Then serve.

I buy long grain brown or white rice, the kids like white best and I know Lundberg sells this, because it's healthier. It's just raw. I make big batches in a rice cooker each week and the put it in the fridge. I use it all week long. We found an affordable rice cooker at a local store. Very handy. If you buy rice in bulk, like 10 lb., 25 lb. or 50 lb. bags, you save a ton of money.

I know rice is going up in price right now, and I'm watching those prices carefully. If it comes to the point that it's too expensive, I'll post some options that I've researched.

For now, enjoy this recipe.

GFCF mashed potatoes with a hidden surprise

OK -- no new recipe here, but another win (for the parents) on sticking some veggies in everyday food. This one -- mashed potatoes. Again, inspired and based on a recipe in the Deceptively Delicious cookbook. Just modified for GFCF -- and soy free. The added veggie is cauliflower.

Add a 1/4 cup of pureed cauliflower to my mashed potato recipe.

It worked here without a hitch. The only difference in my original recipe, other than the cauliflower, was using some veggie broth and Darifree for liquid.

Again, a great idea, which I modified for the GFCF diet, from Jessica Seinfeld's Deceptively Delicious cookbook.

I'll try not to bore you with this cookbook, but it's turning into a great help in our home right now.

Gluten free stuffing ... just in time for Thanksgiving

You'll find this recipe for a basic, Thanksgiving gfcf stuffing at the GFCF Recipes site at Recipe Circus. I tried this the other day. Pretty good.

Garlic, Onion and Sage Stuffing
Source of Recipe: Angela Lowry

List of Ingredients
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted GFCF margarine (I just used canola oil in a pan)
2 small onions, finely chopped (I used 1 medium onion)
2 celery stalks, diced (I used 1 stalk)
5 garlic cloves, chopped (I used 3)
6 cups GFCF bread cubes (I used 1 recipe of Noah's Bread)
1 1/2 tablespoons rubbed or ground dried sage
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning (I skipped this and added a pinch of cayenne pepper)
2 eggs, beaten to blend (I used flax eggs)
1 cup chicken stock or canned broth (I used homemade)

Recipe
Melt margarine/oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add
onions, celery and garlic and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes.

Combine bread, sage, salt, oregano, thyme, pepper and other spices in large bowl. Stir in onion mixture and eggs. Add stock and mix well.

Use to stuff goose, turkey, duck or chicken, or prepare as a side dish by baking in a casserole dish covered with oiled foil. I baked 20 mins at 350.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Fried potatoes

This is another one of those recipes that's really not a recipe. So, forgive me. It's fried potatoes. We really don't fry much anymore. When the kids were first diagnosed and I didn't know how to cook very much gfcf, we ate fried potatoes a few times a week. Now, it's really just a weekend treat. Now, through the week, my oldest -- the potato lover -- eats Dutch potatoes. Much healthier. But, they eat so little that's not healthy for them that I don't mind treats like this every so often. So, I simply peel, wash and cut up 3-4 medium potatoes -- diced fine so cooking doesn't take so long. I use canola oil (Tuscan Sun), just enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Heat on medium high. Cook until golden, tossing every so often. You may toss in some chopped onion if you wish, or even chopped bacon (or fake bacon, i.e. - cut up hot dog). You'll find preservative free bacon and hot dogs out there -- Applegate Farms is one brand, Wellshire Farms is another.

Mashed potatoes minus the milk and butter

How can mashed potatoes still be good without milk and butter? Well, I'm not sure you could possibly duplicate the original, but this version does a good job. This is a mini-recipe. If you're feeding more than a few, you should double it.

-- 5-6 medium potatoes
-- 1/2 tbsp organic shortening (or CF margarine if you can eat it)
-- 2 cubes chicken broth (these are ice cubes -- each cube is about 2 tbsp.)
-- 1 tsp sea salt
-- Darifree or other dairy sub

Boil the potatoes. Drain, and toss back into the pot. Add the 2 cubes of chicken broth (I make my own broth and freeze it in ice cube trays. Each cube is about 2 tbsp of broth.) And, add the 1/2 tbsp of shortening - I use the Spectrum organic shortening. Use what you like. Add the salt. Start mashing to get the lumps out. Then, I 'whip' with an electric beater. I add 1 tbsp of Darifree at a time to reach my desired whipped potato appearance and texture. Plus, the Darifree adds a creamy flavor.

Of course, after all that, my kids force me to make ketchup faces on their mashed potatoes. :)

Easy pizza sauce gfcf

I found this on the web somewhere and used it. It's very simple. And it works. It's the first of two pizza sauces I'll post this week. Both are good. And, both can be used in other dishes, which I'll get into later.

- 6 oz. can tomato paste (I use Hunt's)
- 8 oz. tomato sauce (any gfcf like Muir Glen)
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- dash pepper
- dash oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil or other oil
- optional: dash cayenne pepper

Mix in a sauce pan and heat on low until blended.

Gluten-casein-egg-soy free onion rings

I debated adding this recipe because it's so easy. But, I decided to offer it anyway, mostly because even the simplest foods often seem difficult to make without gluten and casein. Making fried onion rings is even more difficult without the help of eggs or soy. So, here's a really good alternative.

Ingredients:
- Onions, cut into rings or half rings.
- 1 cup gluten-free flour mix (I use 1/3 cup sorghum, 1/3 cup corn flour, 1/3 cup tapioca)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or paprika
- 2 egg subs (I use Ener-G)
- oil

So, heat a shallow amount of oil in a frying pan. Cut the onions. Make 2 egg subs in a bowl (I use 2 tbsp powder and 4 tbsp water). Mix the dry ingredients in another bowl.

When oil is hot, dip a few onion rings in the flour mix, then dip in the egg sub, then dredge back into the flour until well coated. Fry in oil until golden and down -- just a few minutes.

Pretty good stuff. I make a batch of these after making french fries on special nights.

Carrot fluff

Easy dish and a different side to get away from potatoes and rice.

• 8 carrots


• 1/2 cup apple flesh


• 1/2 tsp sea salt


• 2 squirts honey/syrup/agave


• 2 tablespoons tapioca starch, or potato or corn


• 2 tsp baking powder

Boil chopped carrots and apple in water.

Drain. Mix in other ingredients. Mash. Puree with a hand mixer. Add water if too stiff. Reheat 1 minute. That's it.

Very tasty.

Untomato sauce

This actually isn't as bad as you might expect. In fact, I eat it with the kids just because it causes less acid reflux after a plate of spaghetti. The only downside to this is it takes a little work. I make big batches and freeze in portions.

Ingredients:
23 oz. carrots washed and peeled
15 oz. beets, washed and/or peeled
1 small onion, chopped
2 cups water
2.5 cups chicken broth
1 tsp minced garlic or two cloves crushed
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp parsley
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp vinegar
2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tbsp. paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper (or more if preferred)
1/2 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

I start by prepping the vegetables and garlic and cutting into pieces. Then boil until cooked through and soft. Let cool.

Put veggies into blender by the handful along with some of the water and broth. Blend smooth. Continue until all veggies are blended. Put into large bowl. Mix in remaining liquid. Put through blender again to get smooth texture. Pour into stove pot. Add remaining ingredients and stir. Heat to serve.

Try. You can adjust color by tinkering with the ratio of beets and carrots, or by adding others such as yams, zucchini flesh or squash. You can adjust the spice factor by adjusting the cayenne. You can turn this into chili sauce by upping the cumin and chili powder. You could turn this into a tomato paste by cutting back some water and cooking it down.

Sweet & sour sauce

Here's a good sauce to use with beef or poultry. It's very easy and made with stuff you probably already have on hand. Feel free to tinker with it too.

1/2 cup Heinz ketchup
1/2 cup Heinz vinegar (gf)
1/2 cup sugar or sweetener
1/2 cup water (more or less to adjust how thick or thin you want the sauce)

Mix in a bowl. That's it.

Dutch potatoes

This is a staple in our home since rice and corn are not allowed. The recipe is quick and easy. It's also healthier than fried potatoes.

Ingredients
5-6 potatoes
sea salt
paprika
water

Peel potatoes and wash. Cube the potatoes or cut into any desired form - strips, wedges, big chunks, small pieces, diced, etc.

Put into large pan. Sprinkle 1 tsp sea salt over potatoes. Pour 1 cup water over potatoes. Cover with lid. Cook on medium high for 20 minutes or until tender. When water's nearly gone, sprinkle 1-2 tsp paprika over potatoes and then stir for 1 minute to mix paprika in and "dry up" some of the potato juice.

Eat.

Silly fries

Here's a neat treat. It's easy. The kids will love it. And, it's a starch that isn't potato or rice.

Find a nearby (or online) ethnic grocery that sells Fufu -- usually at an Asian or African grocery. It costs up to $3.50 for a box. Fufu is cassava flour and is a staple in some countries, much like our American mashed potatoes. Check out my earlier post on Fufu to catch up.

Anyway, make some Fufu. Follow the box directions for one recipe, usually 1 cup water, 1/2 cup Fufu and add some sea salt into the water.

When this is done, if it's too mashy, like mashed potatoes, add some more Fufu to make it thicker and more like a dough. During this process, you can add some favorite herb if you like -- such as thyme, 1 tbsp oil, and 1 tsp baking powder. Mix by hand or spoon until a firm but flexible lump of dough.

Heat some oil in a fry pan. When hot, pull off pieces of the Fufu dough and mold either into flat circles or rub between your hands to make long ropes. Fry on both sides until golden brown.

The circles turn out like fried pancakes and the ropes like fries -- just irregular shaped. I call them silly fries.

Enjoy.

Eggless noodles

This is exciting, for me. These are noodles without egg, rice, corn, margarine or butter. And, they taste great! All store noodles either have rice or corn in them -- neither of which my kids can have right now. So, here's how:

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour/starch
1/4 cup potato starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 egg sub (Ener-G egg replacer: 1 tbsp powder, 2 tbsp water)
2 tsp canola oil
10-15 tsp water

Sift dry ingredients into bowl. Important to get clumps out.

Mix egg and let sit 1 minute. Add oil. Then add to the flour mix.

Add water tsp at a time until dough is firm enough to roll without crumbling. It still will appear on the dry side. Let sit for 30 minutes under wax paper.

Lightly flour a board or table, roll dough out (you can do 2 pieces) as thin as possible. Let rest and dry, turning once, until dough feels like soft leather.

Trim uneven edges (I save trimmings to cook into other recipes).

You can cut this any way you want. I use a long flat knife to cut very thin slices about 4-6" long.

You can let these dry even more, freeze, or boil. I boil in salted water with 1-2 tsp canola oil.

After 8-10 minutes (depending on thickness), I drain, lightly salt and add seasoning, like Thyme. Or mix with a red sauce. I'll soon be posting a tomato-less spaghetti sauce that I promise is great.

Now, I won't try to fool you. These will not look like store noodles and that was a problem with my kids at first. It's been many months since they last had a noodle and this time, they polished off the plate. They had forgotten what store noodles looked like. Big hit!

French Fries

Here's another basic recipe. But, just to get it on record...

5-6 potatoes
Canola oil
Sea salt

heat oil in a deep frying dish. Either cut potatoes to desired size or shape, or buy a inexpensive french fry cutter. When you hear the oil start to "pop," carefully put in a layer of potatoes. Heat to golden coloring, turning every so often. Drain. Sprinkle salt over top.

Fridge pickles

This is my kosher dill pickle recipe, called Fridge Pickles.

• 
  I grow my own pickles -- very easy. You can do the full recipe or cut it in half or down to a quarter. And, you can find pickling cukes in the grocery too. I'm sure you can even use regular cucumbers, just cut into spears or slices. Anyway ...
  
  77 oz. water
  38 oz distilled vinegar
  8 oz pickling salt (1/2 lb.)
  74 oz cucumbers (~4.5 lbs.)
  handfull of fresh dill heads (I grow, but can be bought)
  peeled garlic cloves
  whole peppercorns
  
  Put water, vinegar and salt into a large pot and boil.
  Remove from heat and pour into glass (mason) jars overnight to cool. (Wash the jars first)
  Next day, scrub the cukes and remove the blossom ends by making a thin slice.
  Either keep cukes whole, or cut into spears or slice crosswise.
  Pull out the jars you wish to use -- not the jars with the brine.
  Add some dill to the jars, a few garlic cloves and about 1 tsp peppercorns.
  Add cukes and cover with cold brine.
  Keep in fridge for 3 days before eating.
  
  These will keep nicely for months. I've had mine in there for 3-4 months with no problem. Just keep lids on tight. There's no need to process these in a canning pot. The vinegar solution preserves the cucumbers. If you can them, the cukes get soggy. So, I do it this way in mid-summer and have cucumbers through Thanksgiving. Then, I try to buy some more in the fall at the store, and make another batch to get through to spring.
  
  You can adjust the flavor of this by adding more/less garlic, mustard seed, celery seed, hot pepper, onion, etc. By the way, the photo is from the Seeds of Change website -- a good supplier of organic seeds.
  
  They are fun to grow if you have space. They grow like a vine. So, dig a 8-10' row, put two 6' stakes on either end, and tie netting to the stakes to make a "fence." The cukes will vine up the fence. Pick regularly to keep the vines producing.
  
  Good luck!
  

Fufu fantastic

Sorry I haven't posted for a while. Been out of circulation here between illness and work. Anyway, we finally got around to making some Fufu (see my earlier post called Fufu 4 u). It was as easy to make as instant mashed potatoes. But's it's just cassava. It's somewhat firmer, so you can take a chunk and roll it into a ball with your hands just like you would do with a dough. That's how I gave it to my daughter -- in little balls. She loved it. I salted the mix a little with sea salt, but that's it. My older daughter has not wanted to try it yet, but clearly is interested. I like the taste, too, and am trying to think of other ways to use this unique mix. Try some.

Finally -- rice!

Sometimes, solutions fall from the sky. Or, so it seems. My kids cannot eat rice and I've tried over and over to find a good substitute. No, quinoa and amaranth didn't go over so well. And, sorghum tore up their stomach's just like corn. I still have to try millet, but fear the same reaction as sorghum. Anyway, to my point.

A couple of nights ago, I made some tapioca noodles for my youngest daughter, who loves noodles. I drained them and placed them in a bowl, which I put in the fridge.

Last night, I pulled them out. The noodles looked like a round blob, or even a weird UFO. They had stuck together to the point they gelled, making it impossible to pull the noodles apart. It was just one big blob of tapioca pasta.

So, I heated a pan, sprayed it, poured a tbsp of canola oil in, a little diced onion and sea salt, and the blob. I began chopping it apart with a spatula. I did this for maybe 10 minutes. The noodles never did come apart, but I managed to chop the blob into edible, bite-sized pieces.

I made myself a bowl. It was good. My youngest daughter walked past, looked at the bowl, and said, "I try some rice?" Stunned, I said, "Sure."

Then, my oldest daughter walked in, saw what the youngest was eating, and said, "I want some rice, too." More stunned, I said, "Sure."

We all had two helpings of "rice."

The end result of all the chopping and cooking was that the tapioca blob looked like rice pieces all stuck together. The kids didn't care. It looked like rice and was flavored like I'd make rice, so they ate it.

One problem solved. A million more to go.