Easy Gluten Free Boston Baked Beans Recipe

Does anything scream of a summer barbecue more than homemade baked beans? I LOVE baked beans. This obsession happened later in my life... apparently after becoming gluten free -- baked beans became a favorite food. They are incredibly easy to make. You really can't mess them up... and I think just about everybody likes them!

What's not to like? A sweet & sour combo of healthy northern and/or white beans with the additional of bacon (mmm Bacon!), onions, molasses, and spices. Super easy and naturally gluten free.

I love this recipe because it starts with plain 'ol cooked white beans. If you use a can of "already-seasoned" baked beans you cannot control exactly how they they are flavored. I also like the simplicity of just using a can of northern beans from the pantry and turning them into a beautiful dish.

Easy Gluten Free Boston Baked Beans
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, and eggs
Adapted from an assortment of baked bean recipes found in old church cookbooks & at allrecipes.com
Printer-friendly recipe 

This makes a large batch of beans which freeze beautifully if you happen to have any leftovers!

Bean Ingredients:
3 (15 oz.) cans white beans -or- northern beans, drained & rinsed
1/2 pound bacon
1 onion, finely diced

Sauce Ingredients:
3 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 cup gluten free ketchup
1 tablespoon gluten free Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar

Directions:
These beans can be made in an oven or in a slow cooker. I've made them both ways basically following the same instructions: If using an oven set to 250 degrees. In a large casserole dish (or your slow cooker) layer beans with the onions and uncooked bacon. In a small saucepan whisk together the sauce ingredients over low heat until they are warmed through and mixed together. Pour the sauce over the baked beans. Add just enough water to cover the beans -- don't overdo the water! Cover the casserole dish with foil or a lid. If using the oven: cook beans for 3-4 hours at 250 degrees. Check periodically to see if you need add a little water if the beans get too dry. If using the slow cooker, cook on low heat for 4-6 hours. Again check it periodically to make sure the beans are not getting too dry. (They shouldn't in the slow cooker.) Makes a heck of a whole lot! We often make this recipe and freeze in portion sizes for lunches during the week! Baked beans are also delicious served hot or cold!

Other Gluten Free Summer Side Dishes From Gingerlemongirl.com:

Sweet & Sassy Red Potato Salad

Apple Mint Salad

Strata Salad

Sarah's Bruchetta Pasta Toss

Claire's Asparagus Salad with Strawberries

Sweet Tomato & Feta Tart

Fresh Strawberry Pie

{Gluten Free One Pot Meals} Clara's White Bean Florentine Pasta Recipe

Photo courtesy of Sisters Running the Kitchen

It's time for another one pot meal! For my husband and I, one pot meals often save the day! Crockpot meals, casseroles, skillet dinners -- one pot meals can be not only a time-saver, but a money-saver as well!

My friend Clara (of Six Food Intolerance Living fame) is ALWAYS coming up with amazing one pot meals she creates for dinner. I love how she can take simple pantry staples and create a classic and beautiful Italian inspired meal.

A few weeks ago Clara shared this recipe with me. She needed to come up with a last minute meal one night so she decided to throw together some of her favorite white beans/cannellini beans with spinach and pasta. She told me that even her incredibly picky husband loved the flavors & textures of this meal and had seconds!

For an incredible roundup of super easy, all gluten free, mostly one-pot meals, please check out this series, "30 Days: Gluten Free Quick & Easy Meals" that I featured on GingerLemonGirl last summer!


Clara’s White Bean Florentine Pasta
Free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, and corn (if using corn-free pasta)
Created by Clara Ogren-Rubalcaba, shared with permission
Printer friendly recipe.

2 cups (16 oz.) dry gluten free pasta (penne, linguini, spiral, etc..)
2 tbsp. olive oil, halved
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 cups baby bella (or button) mushrooms, sliced
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon - 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 (15 oz.) can of cannellini/northern beans (drained & rinsed)
1 (15 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes (drained)
1 (7 oz.) bag of fresh baby spinach
Toasted pine nuts, for garnish

Directions:
Cook gluten free pasta according to package directions until “al dente.” Drain pasta, rinse with cold water & stir 1 tbsp. of olive oil over pasta. Set pasta aside.
Add remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed or cast iron skillet. Saute chopped onion in hot oil until translucent & soft. Add minced garlic, sliced mushrooms, and seasonings and continue to saute for an additional 2-3 minutes until mushrooms are soft. Add diced tomatoes and fresh baby spinach. Continue to stir & saute for 3-4 minutes until vegetables are heated through. Lastly, add in cannellini beans & cooked gluten free pasta and cook an additional 3-5 minutes until pasta is heated through. Serve immediately. Makes 4-5 servings.

This Week's Menu - Crockpot Posole

This weekend was very busy! We ran errands on Saturday, my husband got a new lawn mower (aka... a new TOY), and I made an impromptu dinner & dessert for my in-laws. Sunday we spent the entire day in the yard planting our first small garden of: tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, zucchini, and pie pumpkins. We also planted some herbs alongside the veggies: oregano, thyme, basil, lemon balm, stevia, and lavendar.

Because I was outside all day on Sunday I wasn't able to prepare foods ahead of time this week. I'll be doing some additional prep work on Monday & Wednesday nights if I can... but the crock pot will hopefully save me a lot of time this week. I'm using the crock pot on Sunday night to prepare "Posole" -- a mexican hominy, green chilies, and pork stew. On Wednesday morning I'll set up the crock pot with ingredients to make black bean soup so it's ready by the time I get home. Black beans are great in the crock pot because they can stand up to being cooked for long periods of time.

I want to shout-out a HUGE thanks to my friends on the Gingerlemongirl facebook page who helped me come up with last-minute, quick, easy homemade meals for this week!

The theme of the gluten free menu swap this week is "corn" which we'll be having in Posole -- which contains hominy -- corn/maize that has been cooked in a special way to have a unique taste and texture!

Breakfasts/Snacks This Week: Berry Hemp Shakes, Boiled Eggs (make on Monday night), Udi's Granola + almond milk, raw almonds and/or mixed nuts, Chocolate Almond flour muffins (Make on Monday or Wednesday night), baby carrots and/or apple slices with natural peanut butter

Lunches This Week: leftovers -- hopefully there will be plenty!!

Dinners this Week:

• Monday: Crockpot Posole (made overnight on Sunday -- to reheat Monday night)
• Tuesday: Angel Food Gluten Free "Chicken Tenders" with steamed broccoli & carrots
• Wednesday: Stephanie's Crockpot Black Bean Soup (put in the crock before work!) 
• Thursday: Scrambled Eggs, Baked Oatmeal (make on Wednesday night), Fruit Salad (make Wednesday night)
• Friday: Traveling -- hubs will make dinner to take on the road with us: Turkey & Avocado sandwiches on Rudi's Whole Grain Bread, bananas, mixed nuts, chocolate almond flour muffins (make on Wednesday night -- will hopefully post recipe soon!) 
• Saturday & Sunday: Staying with extended family, but will bring GF Master Baking Mix, a loaf of Rudi's Whole Grain Bread, raw almonds, bananas, chocolate almond muffins (will post recipe soon!) 

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For more gluten free meal plans please visit Heather at Celiac Family. 

For hundreds of meal plans of all types, please visit Laura's "I'm an Organizing Junkie." 

Gluten Free Chocolate Cobbler/ Hot Fudge Sauce Cake Recipe

My mom-in-law and dad-in-law came over this afternoon, they helped deliver a new lawn mower for hubs. He's been wanting one for a while and the state income tax refund came back just in time, since our yard looks more like a jungle than the suburbs. 

The house is a mess, but I managed to wipe down the bathroom counters before they arrived! I made a super easy ground beef stew and pondered what to make for dessert. 

You see, I ALWAYS serve dessert to my inlaws. I know we don't need dessert, but dessert is special. I like dessert. It makes a meal for company seem complete! 

I only had a small amount of ice-cream in the freezer, as hubs supply was dwindling... but I did have some coconut ice-cream as well... and father-in-law loves coconut. What could I serve with it? 

I remember several times my great-grandma making what she called a "puddin' cake." A very easy cake that created it's own sauce/pudding on the bottom and I LOVED that cake! I browsed the web, looked through a few of my favorite church cookbooks, and finally settled on a tweaked version of this Chocolate Cobbler recipe. 

The best part of this dessert is how insanely EASY it is to throw together. It's a bit unconventional and I have no idea exactly how it works chemically to create that amazing sauce... but it works! No, it isn't the prettiest dessert you could make, but it sure is tasty! I used my homemade gluten free master baking mix as the base and I am SO pleased at how delicious it turned out. 

Please make this dessert... it's a hit when your in-laws come over and watch movies with you after having a very humble meal of ground beef stew. How I love cozy Saturday afternoons with family. Especially when they end with a chocolate dessert! 

Gluten Free Chocolate Cobbler/ Hot Fudge Sauce Cake Recipe

Adapted from this recipe by dylansmom on Allrecipes.com

Free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, and eggs

Printer-friendly recipe

Cobber/Cake Ingredients: 

4 tablespoons coconut oil 

1 cup gluten free homemade master baking mix

1/2 cup sugar

2 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder

3/4 cup almond milk -or- your favorite nondairy milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cobbler/Cake Topping: 

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups boiling water

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon coconut oil into a casserole dish or large pie pan. Place the pan in the oven to melt the coconut oil. In a medium sized bowl mix together the homemade master baking mix, sugar, cocoa powder, almond milk, and vanilla. The batter should be have the texture/thickness of a muffin batter, if necessary, add additional almond milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you have a thick, but pour-able batter. Using a potholder, remove the baking dish with the melted coconut oil from the oven. Pour the cake/cobbler batter into the dish and spread it evenly. The melted coconut oil will probably come up over the batter, that is okay! In a small bowl mix together the sugar & cocoa powder for the topping and sprinkle evenly over the cake/cobbler batter. Lastly pour the boiling hot water over the whole cake. It will look like a hot crazy mess, but trust me it will work! Place the cobbler/cake in the oven and bake for 35 minutes until the top is crusty & dark brown. If it seems to be browning too much mid-way through baking simply place a sheet of foil over the the baking dish. VERY IMPORTANT: After 35 minutes remove the cobbler from the oven and allow it to cool for about 35-40 minutes before serving. This will allow the fudge sauce to "set" beneath the chocolate cake crust.  Serve warm (it will still be warm after 35-40 minutes!!) with ice-cream, whipped cream, or just by itself! It's delicious! Enjoy!

Gluten Free Baked Pineapple Casserole Recipe

This recipe is my entry into the 2011 Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery Recipe Contest on Facebook. It would mean SO much to me if you could vote for my recipe on their website! I would TRULY love to win this contest! You can vote once a day through June 6, 2011. Thank you so much for your support!

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This gluten free dessert recipe is a hybrid of sorts. One of my favorite fruit desserts of all time is Edna Lewis'  Apple Brown Betty, which strangely enough I have never posted on Gingerlemongirl (hmmm... sounds like that needs to be remedied.) I love making it for Thanksgiving dessert or Christmas...but I also love to use other fruits such as pineapple. Another favorite fruity dessert is my friend Betty's Baked Pineapple. Betty's recipe is basically a cobbler, but instead of using flour, it uses day old bread crumbs as sort of the starch/base of the recipe. Well I just happened to have about 4 slices of both Rudi's gluten free bread that I needed to use for something.

The only fault of Apple Brown Betty is that it kind of falls apart when you serve it. Which is just perfect with ice-cream... but otherwise looks well... a bit messy. So I decided that I would sort of combine the two recipes using less sugar (as always) and just one egg to barely hold together the wonderful combination of toasted gluten free sugary bread & cubed pineapple!

It's an old-fashioned leftover dessert that I just love. If you have a few slices of leftover gluten free bread, please give this pretty little casserole a try! Serve it with ice-cream or whipped cream, or maybe even a drizzle of caramel sauce!

(Oh how I wish you could smell the aroma of this right out of the oven! Heavenly!)

Gluten Free Baked Pineapple Casserole
Free of gluten, dairy/casien, and soy
Created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-friendly recipe

3-4 slices gluten free bread, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup sugar, reserve half
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg (really makes this recipe!)
3 tablespoons melted butter, ghee, or margarine, reserve half
1 1/2 cups canned pineapple tidbits (drained of liquid), or chopped fresh pineapple
1 egg
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a small casserole dish with butter, ghee, or non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl mix together the bread cubes, half of the sugar, the freshly grated nutmeg, and half the melted butter. Layer half of the bread crumb mixture in the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Spoon all of the pineapple tidbits or fresh pineapple over the bread crumbs. Top with remaining breadcrumbs. In a small bowl mix together the egg and the milk. Pour egg mixture evenly over the casserole. Lastly drizzle remaining butter & sprinkle remaining sugar over the top of the casserole. Bake for 25-30 minutes until casserole is golden brown and bubbling. Allow to cool for several minutes before serving.

Enjoy!