Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

I've been  making these since before I was eating Gluten Free. That should tell you how awesome they are! They're moist, and delicious. The peanut butter flavor is subtle and tasty. The chocolate chips add just the right sweetness to it.

Also, let me qualify the "gluten free" of this. Those that have a highly adverse reaction to gluten (like those with Celiac Disease) are usually encouraged to remove oats from their diet because of cross contamination from the wheat fields that are grown in. So if you are highly adverse, make sure you are using oats that are certified gluten free.

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

1/4 c butter
1 1/4 t baking soda
3/4 c sugar
3 c rolled oats*
3/4 c brown sugar
6 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1 t vanilla
1 c creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar and butter and beat until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and baking soda and mix well.  Add peanut butter and until well incorporated.Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts. Place teaspoon full of dough onto a lightly greased (or parchment paper lined) cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. 


Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly brown around the edges. (makes approximately 40 to 48 cookies depending on size).


You can substitute any nut butter in this recipe. Like Nutella, or almond butter, or sunflower butter... what ever makes you happy!


* If highly adverse to gluten, make sure your oats are certified gluten free. Trader Joe's has a store brand that are.

Steak Gorgonzola

This was one of my favorite recipes before I went gluten free. It's my favorite thing to order at Olive Garden, so I couldn't help but make an easy make at home version. Similarly, I couldn't help but this be one of my first to convert to gluten free. 

Fortunately the sauce is already gluten free, I just had to find a good gluten free noodle recipe. Yes, you can just use a store bought fettucini, but they're expensive and not as good as a home made noodle.

Steak Gorgonzola

2 Small Steaks

1 jar alfredo sauce*

1/2 c gorgonzola cheese (crumbled)

1 c packed full of spinach (cubed)

1 T sun dried tomatoes

Balsamic Vinegar

Fehttuchini (4 servings)

Combine alfredo sauce, spinach, tomatoes, and cheese in a small sauce pan. Heat on low and stir periodically until everything else is done. Cook the fehttuchini noodles according to directions, while cooking the steak to your desired color (we do medium rare).

When everything is done, combine sauce and drain noodles. Serve noodles top with steak, and drizzle with balsamic vinegar (more or less depending on your preference).

* Make sure your sauce is gluten free. Walmart's store brand is.

Home Made Pasta

Making home made gluten free pasta is actually easier than making pasta with wheat. I purchased the Kitchen Aid Pasta Roller Attachment to make it easier, but you can do this by rolling the dough out and cutting with a sharp knife too. 

I would recommend trying the recipe out, and if you love it enough to make this regularly, then buy a pasta maker. Amazon sells quite a few that are cheaper than the one I splurged on and it makes the process go a lot faster and the pasta turn out more uniform.

This recipe is so good fresh, and even can be dried out and used later. I make a double batch when I want some, cook one batch for that day and dry a second batch for next time. You can use this recipe to make fettucini, lasagna noodles, or even cut out shapes (hearts, stars, etc).

Home Made Pasta

1 c brown rice flour mixture

2 t xanthan gum

4 large egg yolks

1 large egg

3 T water

In an electric mixer, blend flour and xanthan gum. Add the eggs and water and knead until a smooth dough is formed. Lay a silicon baking mat (or wax paper) on the counter and roll the dough into a 1 inch thick rectangle. Cover all exposed edges with Saran wrap and let set for 30 - 60 minutes.

On a large cutting board, flour both sides of the dough and roll out pretty thin. Make sure the shape of your dough stays rectangular. At this point if you're cutting out your dough with a pizza cutter or a knife, do so. 

If you're using a pasta maker, cut the dough to the size you'll need to fit in the machine. Run it through the machine with the appropriate attachment on. First I run it through the flattener with the thickness I want, then I run it through the fettucini attachment.

Add a little salt to a large pot of water. Add pasta and cook about 2 - 4 minutes (depending on the thickness of your pasta). The pasta will be a little firm. Make sure not to over cook it, because fresh pasta cooks faster than dried pasta.

To dry, hang your pasta up on a pasta rack, clothes drying rack (like I used above), a broom balanced on two chairs, or even on clothing hangers. Make sure when you lay it out, the ends are strait and not curled, This will make removal from the rack and storage easier.

Make sure the pasta is completely dry before storing (if it's still moist when put away it will grow mold). Store in an air tight container and eat within a few months. The finished pasta will be delicate, which is why I store mine in a rubbermaid tub.

Banana Bread

When I was 24 I went on a few dates the sweetest guy. We were great friends. My family just loved him. I'm sure it had nothing to do with his bringing over warm loaves of banana bread to entice them. I would beg him for his recipe, but he never gave it to me until years later when I was married to my sweet heart and he was seriously dating his own sweet heart.

This is a recipe I knew I had to convert to gluten free. It is moist, heavenly out of the oven, delicious toasted with butter, and even freezes well after being baked. It's so good, my husband didn't know it was gluten free. He thought I had just made the regular loaf of banana bread I usually make!

Banana Bread

1/2 c butter (softened)
1 c sugar
3 large eggs
1 t cinnamon
2 t baking soda
2 c brown rice flour mixture
4 bananas (over ripe and smashed)*
3/4 t xanthan gum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients together in a small bowl. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together. Add dry ingredients and mix together. Add eggs and bananas and bead until fully mixed. Spray down and lightly flour a bread pan. Pour mixture into the prepared pan.

Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, or until your tester comes out clean.


* You can smash up a over ripe banana in a ziplock bag and freeze it for later use. I do this whenever we have just one left that's too ripe, and as soon as I have 4 in the freezer, I make the bread. To use just thaw the banana before adding it to the mix.