{recipe review} heather's oaties

One of my favorite food/healthy living bloggers is Heather of Heather Eats Almond Butter. She likes healthy foods, she thinks butter is a good thing (oh thank you Heather), and she loves her oatbran & oats... just like me!

It's her constant journaling of healthy dinners made of greens, grass-fed beef, and fresh vegetables that inspires me on nights when I can't think of anything to make.

Another thing I love about Heather is her sweet tooth... and how she somehow manages to make dessert recipes with healthy things like rolled oats... and they are AMAZING. These little cookies are a variation of Heather's Butterfied Oaties ( for those who are wondering about the dairy thing -- while I cannot digest most types of dairy -- milk, yogurt, ice-cream, sour cream, etc... I can handle small amounts of buttah and I feel like it's a much better alternative than margarine).

I LOVE these little cookies. I've kept them at work as a snack throughout the day. They are crunchy, buttery, just sweet & salty enough! IT's a great combination and such an awesome way to make a healthy snack. Sure, as all snacks they need to be eaten in moderation... but they are really easy, egg-free, delicious chocolate-y snacks!!

Check out Heather's other varieties of Oaties and let me know what you think! Please make them!

yes, I'll have some chocolate with my breakfast...

One of my favorite breakfasts lately is baked oatmeal made in the slow cooker and then topped with a square of 85% dark chocolate and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter or almond butter.

To make baked oatmeal in the slow cooker simply mix it up as directed in the recipe. Then place the batter in a greased slow cooker insert, I use my 2.5 quart slow cooker. Cook on high for 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hours OR cook on low for 4-6 hours -- until the edges of the crust are golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

I cut the baked oatmeal into about 5 equal servings and refrigerate them. Then I can take an individual serving to work each day, heat it for a minute or two in the microwave and add the toppings. Easy, delicious, with some healthy protein & chocolate. Because chocolate is healthy you know. It is!

wordless wednesday - missing fall in the mountains

Gluten Free Baking *101* E-Cookbook

 

This little book has been a long time in the making!  Several years ago I started teaching a basic gluten free baking class out of my home and I created this instructional cookbook as the teaching material. 

It's been through quite a few revisions now and instead of only having about 6 basic recipes, it's been revised to contain 24 recipes. Many of these recipes are my favorites here on the blog, but quite a few are brand new recipes that I've both created & adapted to the gluten free/casein free/soy free diet. While this book does not contain hundreds of recipes, I believe the selections here will be some of the most useful recipes for everyday gluten free baking in your kitchen. 

I told my husband a few months ago, that out of all the gluten free cookbooks I had in my kitchen, my printed copy of Gluten Free Baking *101* was the cookbook I used most often for my own baking. That was surprising to me and I wondered if a simple gluten free recipe book with basic, reliable recipes would be just as useful to others. I feel confident that you too will come to rely on this small collection of exceptional gluten free recipes!

A few highlights from the book: 

• Most of the recipes contained in this book rely on my favorite gluten free flours: brown rice flour, sorghum flour, and arrowroot starch. 
• The recipes are easy to follow and budget-friendly.  
• The  beginning chapter gives you background information on ingredients, teaches you how to prevent cross-contamination in your kitchen, and how to create your own gluten free flour mixes. 
• Includes recipes for our favorite chocolate chip cookies, my Dad's best pancakes, the Gluten Free Master Baking Mix -- along with 6 additional Master Mix recipes, a brand NEW and EASY recipe for gluten free sandwich bread,  and many others!

I'm proud of this little book, I've worked hard on it and I'm now happy that I can share it with you. I hope these recipes are as helpful to you as they have been to my family.

You can find this e-book in my "store" located at the top of my page -- http://gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com/p/store.html, along with ordering it from clicking on the pictures above and below.

 Ginger Lemon Girl's Gluten Free Baking *101* E-book

By: Carrie S. Forbes

A basic gluten free instructional cookbook including 24 of Carrie's favorite gluten free recipes.

This cookbook contains many of the best & most used recipes from here on GingerLemonGirl.com, along with additional brand new recipes that are not available on the website. 

$12.00 USD
NOW only $4.99 USD

Click here to purchase! 

E-book will be sent as a PDF file to your email within 24 hours of ordering.

gluten free blueberry cobbler recipe

Keeping a big batch of gluten free master baking mix in the cabinet is really helpful. On Saturday, I had a partial container of blueberries that were way past their prime, along with a bag of frozen blueberries that I really needed to use up.

My friend Heather A. came to me a few months ago with an old recipe for blueberry cobbler she had when she was growing up. She wanted to make it gluten free. I don't remember ever really talking about what she should use to make it... so she figured out how to make it gluten free all on her own. Several days later she & her husband met us for dinner at a local restaurant and she brought along her homemade blueberry cobbler. I hadn't had a cobbler like this in ages... with a crusty, cinnamon-y biscuit crust and a wonderfully rich, purple, and just-sweet-enough, blueberry filling. It was delicious.  Between the four of us we completely devoured that cobbler and probably could have eaten another one! Soon after I tried to make the cobbler at home... I added more ingredients, changed things a bit... and it just wasn't as good. Heather was right... keeping it simple was the key to this awesome cobbler.

Saturday when I decided to make the cobbler again I wanted to use my Master Baking Mix. I realized this made making a gluten free version even easier... and it made a darn good casserole. I think even Heather would approve!

Heather's Gluten Free Blueberry Cobbler
adapted by Carrie at gingerlemongirl.com
free of gluten, dairy/casein, eggs, and soy
printer-friendly recipe

Batter Ingredients:
1 cup Gluten Free Master Baking Mix (or gluten free Bisquick)
1/3 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling Ingredients:
3/4 cup water
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch -or- arrowroot starch
3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Topping:
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tbsp. butter -or- coconut oil -or- non-stick cooking spray

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a small casserole dish and set aside. In a small bowl mix together the gluten free master baking mix, almond milk and 2 tablespoons of sugar until you have a thick batter. Set aside. In a small saucepan add water, 2/3 cup sugar, and cornstarch. Mix or whisk together and cook over high heat, stirring constantly until boiling. Allow to boil for 1 minute. The cornstarch/water mixture will turn translucent and thicken. Remove from heat and add blueberries.  Pour blueberry filling into the greased baking dish. Drop the master mix batter by tablespoons on top of the blueberry filling and use a fork to spread evenly over the casserole. It doesn't have to be perfectly covered. Mix cinnamon and 2 teaspoons sugar in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Dot with butter, coconut oil, or spritz the top of the casserole with non-stick cooking spray (this will help the casserole to brown). Bake for 25-30 minutes until the top of the casserole is golden brown and the blueberry filling is bubbling around the edges. If your casserole dish is too small, you may want to place a cookie sheet underneath the dish to keep it from spilling over in your oven. Allow to cool for about 30 minutes before serving. Serve as is or at room temperature... serve with ice-cream, whipped cream... or my favorite -- just plain the way it is! Enjoy!