Homemade Guacamole

Here's a simple recipe I came across for a simple homemade guacamole that can be used in the taco dip recipe, as a dip by itself, or in any number of other dishes that call for guacamole.

Guacamole Dip Recipe

Ingredients:

2 medium Ripe Avocados, halved, pitted, and removed from peel 1- 2 tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice 1/2 cup Chunky Medium or Hot Salsa (Pace is gluten-free) 1/8 teaspoon Sea Salt

Directions:

1. Sprinkle avocado with lemon juice. 2. Mash avocado with fork. 3. Fold in chunky salsa and sea salt. 4. Refrigerate until serving.

Here are a couple more baked goods to try!

Bob's Red Mill has a couple of recipes you can try using their gluten-free oats, if you don't have a sensitivity to pure oats (grown and harvested separately from wheat). I have not personally tried these recipes, so I can't weigh in on how they turn out, or taste, but they are on my list of items I would like to try relatively soon. Although, I don't know that I'll get to them before Christmas. They have a recipe for Oatmeal Banana Bread and a recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies.

Christmas Goodies

My daughter LOVES to bake treats, especially at Christmas time. Since I'm not great in the baking department, most of our treats come from pre-mixed packages of gluten-free treats. You still get to bake, but someone else has figured out the proper ratios of flours and whatnot.

We love making the sugar cookie mix from Cherrybrook Kitchen. The only word of warning is that unlike gluten-filled sugar cookies, these ones don't roll out nicely on your counter to use cookie cutters and then lift them onto the cookie sheet. BUT, fear not, you CAN still make cookie cut-outs with this mix. Just place a bit of the dough directly onto your cookie sheet, flatten the dough with your hand, use the cookie cutter, and while the cookie cutter is still in place, clear the extra dough away from the cutter. Lift the cookie cutter and voila! you have a cookie in whatever shape you want it! Repeat with the remaining dough. Bake, and then frost or add sprinkles. And speaking of sprinkles, my grocery store just started carrying this brand of gluten-free sprinkles! We haven't tried them yet, but I was oh, so excited about them! How awesomely wonderful!

I've also used this cake recipe to make a birthday cake for Jesus...and you can just make your own frosting, or Cherrybrook Kitchen makes a frosting mix (which I've used and found to be pretty much the same thing as making my own, it just costs more because someone else has done the measuring and packaging). You can also make cupcakes from this recipe and just serve those at a Christmas party.

I plan on making some Christmas wreath cookies as well (see recipe below). They were always a favorite when I was growing up and I knew I had to make sure I figured out a way to make them gluten-free.

Christmas Wreath Cookies

Ingredients:
6 cups Nature's Path Honey'd Corn flakes
1 pkg. (approx 40) large Kraft marshmallows
1/3 cup stick margarine or butter
1 tsp. green food coloring (Both Wilton and McCormick have said their colorings are gluten free)
Red colored sugar crystals (again, Wilton and McCormick are fine)

Directions:

1. In large saucepan/pot, melt margarine or butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in food coloring.

2. Add corn flakes. Stir until well coated.

3. Using a 1/4 cup dry measure coated with cooking spray or butter/margarine, evenly portion warm cereal mixture. Using buttered fingers, quickly shape into individual wreaths. Sprinkle red sugar crystals on to resemble holly berries.

***This can also be formed into one large wreath and then served on a plate for people to cut portions from.

Gluten free baking!

Wow! It's been over a month since I last posted something here! It's been busy getting ready for the holidays. I'm hoping that I can offer some great cooking and baking ideas for the upcoming holidays.

For now, here are some baking supplies that are gluten free. As always, be sure to read labels to be sure that nothing has changed in the ingredient list, but this list is from the Celiac Forum. Hopefully it will give you a good idea of what is gluten-free in the mainstream baking aisle at your grocery store!