The Versatile Bagel (Gluten Free)

Who doesn't love a soft and chewy bagel?  Or a warm toasted one slathered with butter?  It is hard to resist, isn't it?  What if you just realized you couldn't have that anymore because of Celiac Disease or a gluten intolerance?  Hmmm.....that would make for a serious let down, huh? Well, that is where Udi's Gluten Free bagels come to the rescue!

Not only are Udi's gluten free bagels gluten free, they are also dairy, soy, and nut free as well. That is a blessing for so many people out there with food allergies.  And the best part is that Udi's offers a pretty tasty selection of bagels. There are plain, whole grain, cinnamon raisin, everything inside, and the mighty bagel.  With so many choices, it makes their bagels very versatile. 

The Everything Inside bagel is made with onion and garlic. This would be a great bagel toasted, buttered, or topped with cheese and served along side a big dish of spaghetti, gluten free of course.  The Mighty bagel is filled with dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, and other delicious ingredients. This is the ultimate breakfast bagel!

We love the whole grain bagels at our house.  Toasted in the morning (or even for an afternoon snack), slathered with Greek yogurt cream cheese and topped with homemade blueberry jam is a favorite.

Want something different for your cheeseburger?  Try a bagel!  While Udi's offers gluten free hamburger buns, I prefer to use a whole grain bagel.  It is just the right amount of bread for me.  Even for my burgers, I'll toast the bagel in a bit of butter so it is nice and crispy. YUM!  How is that for versatile?! 

Oh, and it doesn't hurt to "put an egg on it" ;-). 

So go out this week and grab some Udi's gluten free bagels and experiment for yourself. You won't be disappointed!

*I am not affiliated with Udi's gluten free. I just love their products.*

Fresh Blueberry Pie {Gluten Free}

My family and I picked 14 pints of blueberries the other day. That was a lot of berries! Muffins, pies, smoothies, and jam were spinning around in my head as we picked.  I made 15 jars of jam, froze several cups of berries, we ate on them, and then for the finale I made a fresh blueberry pie. My husband and I are the only ones that will eat the pie. We may or may not have eaten the entire pie in less than 24 hours.

I've tried a few different gluten free pie crusts. Some have been premade and some I made from scratch. Let me tell you.... Gluten free pie crusts are HARD to work with. I've had them crumble, fall completely apart, slide right out of my hands from too much fat. We all want a flakey, buttery crust, right?  And really....when eating a homemade pie, isn't it all about the crust anyway?   For this pie I tried a recipe from America's Test Kitchen.  If you don't have their gluten free cookbook then I recommend you get it as soon as you can.  (I am not affiliated with America's Test Kitchen in any way, but I do think highly of them) We have tried many recipes in the book and so far none have disappointed us.  While they do have a blueberry pie recipe in their cookbook, I only used their crust recipe. 

Fresh Blueberry Pie --- Gluten Free

One Double Crust pie crust recipe

4 full cups of fresh blueberries, rinsed and stems removed

1/2 cup of sugar

2 Tbsp corn starch

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Place oven rack on lowest position. Preheat oven to 375°.  Line a cookie sheet with foil and place on lowest rack. 

Fill a deep dish pie plate with one crust.

Pour blueberries into a medium saucepan.  Add the sugar and gently toss the berries with the sugar.  In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and lemon juice.  On medium heat, add the cornstarch mixture to berries and gently stir until combined and the sugar has begun to dissolve.  The berries shouldn't really lose their shape. Once heated through (2-3 minutes), pour filling into pie crust.  Top filling with second crust. You may want to make it a lattice top or keep it plain. Either way is OK. I do recommend, if you keep it plain, to cut a few tiny slices throughout the top of crust though. 

Brush pie crust with an egg white, if desired.

Place pie plate onto the foil lined cookie sheet and bake for 45 minutes to one hour...until crust is golden and filling is bubbling.

The most difficult part is waiting for the pie to cool enough to slice. We didn't as you can tell in the following picture. That vanilla ice cream just couldn't wait any longer ;).

Happy Baking!

Unstuffed Peppers

Who  is enjoying their summer garden? Are you getting lots of yummy veggies? Our garden has done fairly well this summer. We have had so much squash and zucchini.  My girls are now fans of zucchini bread.  We have had several cucumbers, many radishes and banana peppers, some potatoes, and a few green peppers. If you are harvesting loads of green peppers, how do you like to eat them? I love stuffed peppers! The girls do not love to eat the actual pepper though. They like the "stuff". So...I came up with this recipe because they kept asking me to cook the "stuff". Now, I've seen a similar recipe and it is called Spanish rice. I wasn't sure what to call it because I did not go by a stuffed pepper recipe and it was a bit different from Spanish rice.  My husband called it good! (points!)  So I posted a picture on Instagram and threw out a couple ideas for a name... Unstuffed Peppers won. It is a fitting name and the girls loved it...a lot!

Unstuffed Peppers

1 1/2- 2 pounds ground beef

1 medium sweet onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 1/2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 15oz. cans tomato sauce

Cooked rice (cook enough for 4 servings) 

(I don't use minute rice. I use the rice that cooks a little longer...it tastes better!)

Shredded cheddar cheese

• Brown the ground beef, cook the onions with it in a large frying pan or cast iron pan.  Add the green pepper when the beef is almost done. ( l like my peppers a little crunchy) Continue cooking until beef is done and onions are tender.
• Drain the beef mixture if needed
• Return to pan and add salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauce. Stir until combined over med-low heat. 
• Add the cooked rice and stir well. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• When done, top with the shredded cheese. You can add cheese to the mixture if you like it really cheesy!

Enjoy!!!