Amy's Mac and Cheese.....The review

Mac and cheese is the one thing I have yet to master when it comes to making it safe for one of my kids.  Sure, I could just throw on some of the cheese that I have for him, we always use Daiya cheese however, I never can get it creamy enough to have it taste like the traditional stuff.  So, when I was out getting groceries the other night, you can only imagine how excited I was to find Amy's Gluten free, Dairy free, Soy free-Rice Macaroni in the freezer section at the store!  Not ONLY did I find that, but I also realized they are now carrying Daiya cheese as well! 
I bought two boxes of the Rice Macaroni, came home, put them in the freezer and decided if my child loved it, I'd go back and stock up.

I made this for dinner (along with some salad, and lets just say that he MUCH preferred the mac and cheese to the salad, but I guess that's what kids will do!) and was surprised that there were actually a few cooking options to choose from.  Oven, microwave or toaster oven.  Seeing as I was cooking something else for the rest of the family, we chose to use the oven.  It took a total of 30 minutes from freezer to the table, and I was shocked at how creamy it was!  My boy ate it right out of the little container it was in, and to tell you how much he enjoyed it, he didn't even ask for ketchup on it! 

Thank you Amy's and Daiya for making yet, another quick meal that meets the dietary needs of my family! 

We will definitely be buying this again!

Banana & Coconut muffins (using coconut yogurt)

I had some So Delicious Coconut Milk yogurt in the fridge to use up, so thought I'd whip up a batch of muffins with it.  They are delicious! 

1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup shredded coconut (all I had was sweetened, but I'm sure unsweetened would be great too)
2 mashed bananas
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup melted butter (we use Earth Balance Vegan Soy Free)
1 large egg (we use 1/2 tsp baking powder plus 2 tbsp water for each egg called for)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup So delicious coconut milk yogurt (all I had was strawberry and it worked well!)

In a large bowl, mix together the first 5 ingredients. 
In a separate bowl, mix together remaining ingredients. 

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing just until moist.  Do not overmix the batter. 
Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease well.

Bake at 375F for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 
Makes 10 large, or 12 medium size muffins.

These are definitely delicious and would work with any type of fruit flavored yogurt!  Milk or coconut based!

Cranberry Oatmeal Squares

1&1/2 cups rolled oats
1&1/2 cups flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup margarine (we use Earth Balance Vegan Soy free)
1/4 tsp baking soda
341 ml (14 oz) can of whole cranberry, cranberry sauce

Mix together flour, sugar, oats, margarine and baking soda until crumbly.  Spread a bit more than 1/2 of the mixture into a greased, 8X8 inch baking pan.  Pat it down firmly. 

Mix cranberry sauce in a bowl, so it's nice and smooth.  Spread it on top of the crumble that is in the pan.  Sprinkle the remaining crumble on top, pressing down slightly with a spatula or your hand. 

Bake at 350F for 35 to 40 minutes.

Bread from scratch (taken from my allergen free cookbook)

(NOT FOR BREAD MACHINE)

2 tbsp yeast
2 Cups water
1 tbsp sugar
8 cups flour
3 Tbsp sugar
2 rounded Tbsp shortening (I know that tenderflake brand is dairy and soy free)
3 cups water
2&1/2 tsp salt

mix first amount of water with sugar.  Sprinkle yeast on top and let stand for 10 minutes.  In the meantime, mix flour, sugar, shortening and salt together.  Add yeast mixture and water.  Knead until smooth and elastic.  Let dough rise for ½ to ¾ hour.  Punch dough down.  Let rest for 10 minutes.  Shape dough into 4 loaves.  Let rise for 1 hour.  Bake at 375F for ½ hour or until golden brown.

OPTIONAL
Bread bowls may be made using this dough.  Instead of making loaves, form dough into large buns.  Let rise until double.  Bake at 350F for 25 minutes.  Cool.  Cut ¼ inch off top of each “bowl” and carefully hollow out leaving about ½ inch shell.  Fill these bowls with a thick soup. 

NOTE
The bread that is hollowed out can be saved to make bread crumbs.

Strawberry & Banana Muffins

I know it's a bit out of season, but we made a batch of these and they were fantastic! 

1/2 cup of margarine, melted (we use Earth Balance vegan soy free)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs (we use 1/2 tsp and 2 tbsp water for each egg called for)
1 tsp vanilla
2 mashed bananas
2 1/4 cups white flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup strawberries (I diced mine up nice and small)

Mix all ingredients together, carefully folding the strawberries in last.  Pour into greased (or use muffin papers) muffin tins and bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until done.

Let cool on cutting board, and enjoy!

Brownies.....Delicious!

I had to try a few different recipes, which included some tweaking, to finally come across one that worked out perfectly!  They didn't last long in our house, try them......you'll see!


1/2 cup milk free margerine (I used canola oil and it worked fine)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg replacements (I use half a teaspoon baking powder and 2 tablespoons water for each egg called for)
1 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Mix together the first three ingredients, and add in egg replacements.  Mix together the dry ingredients and mix together.  Stir, and pour into a greased 8 or 9 inch square pan.  Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until done.  Allow brownies to cool.  Cut into squares and enjoy!

One ingredient ice cream!

Yes!!!  It's possible!

I had some almost too ripe banana's that I had frozen awhile back.  I often throw bananas in the freezer as they're getting past the eating point, to use in baking etc, so I always have a bit of a stash ready for me.

This is so easy, and so tasty, and according to both my 3 and 5 year old, tasted pretty close to the real thing! 

Peel your frozen banana (I will admit, my hands hurt terribly after holding a frozen banana for the amount of time it took to peel it)-I used a butter knife to sort of slice the peel off.

Cut your frozen banana into pieces

Throw your banana pieces into a food processer (magic bullet, chopper etc)

And blend until smooth and creamy.

Yep, that's it! 

Serve and enjoy!