General Tso's Tofu

A long time blogging friend, Shelby of Grumpy's Honey Bunch recently posted some of her faves on facebook and this recipe for General Tso's Tofu showed up. I haven't had tofu is a long while so I thought I'd give this a try. I'm always up for Asian foods anyway. I served it up with some gluten free asian rice noodles and veggies. It was delicious and I even saved some to take to work the next day where coworkers were jealous of my lunch. haha. Head over to Shelby's blog and check out all her yummy recipes!

General Tso's Tofu
from Grumpy's Honey Bunch 

1 brick extra firm tofu
4 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon olive oil

Sauce:
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
3 tbsps Hoisin (I used a GF homemade recipe)
3 Tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
3 Tablespoons Ketchup
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce (GF Tamari)
1/2 Cup water
1 Tablespoon Sesame oil
4 green onions, sliced
3 Tbsps fresh ginger, grated
Red pepper flakes, desired amount

Squeeze tofu of excess water by placing between a thickness (I use about 3-4 thick paper towels folded about 3-4 times) of paper towels and sitting a heavy pan on top. Let sit 20-30 minutes. While waiting for tofu to be squeezed dry, mix together the first 6 ingredients and set aside.
To prepare tofu for frying, slice into 1/2" slices, then cut each slice into thirds. Coat lightly with cornstarch and fry in a shallow frying pan with olive oil until browned and crispy. Remove from frying pan and set aside. Wipe pan clean with paper towel and add sesame oil with onions and chopped ginger. Fry about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add sauce mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer about 2 minutes. Add red pepper flakes and tofu back to mixture, toss to coat. Serve garnished with green onions.

enjoy,

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies, again

Just because you're gluten free doesn't mean you have to go without your favorite sweet treats! Nor do you have to go out and buy them paying a ridiculous amount of money for something that might taste decent or not. If you've been a long time follower of my blog you'll know that I enjoy baking/cooking from scratch and sharing the delicious recipes with you. 

I was craving a simple sugar cookie and found these ones that seemed easy enough and I had all the ingredients on hand. 

These reminded me so much of a glutened sugar cookie I used to make at Christmas time years ago (I think it was a Betty Crocker recipe), then I realized I made this recipe last Christmas, geeze my mind is starting to go! So here they are in day to day form. 

Gluten Free Sugar Cookies
slightly adapted from Serious Eats/Elizabeth Barbone

Dry Ingredients
2 cups white rice flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 cup sweet rice flour (aka Mochiko)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Coarse sanding sugar, about 1/2 cup (I used a blend of regular and turbinado sugar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together sugar, butter, and vanilla, about 1 minute.
Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until well combined.
Reduce speed to low and add the dry ingredients. Mix for 45 seconds.
Chill dough for 15-20 minutes.
Roll dough, about 2 tablespoons each, into a ball. Roll dough ball into the sanding sugar. (To make this step go faster, I use a small cookie scoop.)
Place coated dough ball onto prepared baking sheet. Be sure to space cookies about 2 inches apart. Flatten cookies very slightly with the bottom of a glass.
Bake cookies, about 12-15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.
Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet. After 3 minutes, transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.
Store cookies in an airtight container. I keep mine in the freezer so they last longer.

 enjoy,

None of This or None of That Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

That's right! No oil, no flour, no eggs, and no added sugar in these cookies! I have been eyeing these cookies for a short time now, but always forgot to get an ingredient so I kept putting them off. Well no more! I finally had everything on hand and whipped these up. My kids loved them! They smell wonderful baking too.

You can also make them gluten free using gluten free oats. Also you could probably use another nut butter if you're allergic to peanuts.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
from The Skinny Fork, gave me about 28 cookies

2 Ripe Bananas, mashed
1/3 C. Creamy Peanut Butter
2/3 C. Unsweetened Applesauce
1 Tsp. Vanilla
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
Dash of Ground Cloves
Dash of Ground Nutmeg
1 1/2 C. Quick or Old Fashioned Oats
1/4 C. Nuts, chopped
1/4 C. Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips
1/4 C. Unsweetened Shredded Coconut

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Mix together the bananas, peanut butter, applesauce, vanilla, and spices. Add in the oats, nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut; stir until well combined. Spoon a rounded 2 tbsp. ( I just use my small scooper = 1TBL per cookie) of the cookie mixture onto the lined baking sheet, leaving an inch or two between each and flatten slightly. Bake for 20-30 minutes and allow to cool slightly.

 enjoy,