Pumpkin Oatmeal Squares (Gluten-free)

It's that time of year when it starts to cool down and the rain is falling, and harvests are plenty. Time to break out the pumpkin recipes!

This recipe does not have any flour, so for those who are gluten free, this makes things so much easier. One word of caution: While oatmeal is gluten free of itself (correct me if I'm wrong), your bag of oatmeal might not be due to the contaminants where it gets packaged. Also, some people who are intolerant to gluten cannot eat oats either.

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 cup applesauce
1 banana
2 cups pumpkin puree
2 cups rolled oats
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
2 tsp allspice
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp ground flax
1/8 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Directions:

• Mix all ingredients with a blender
• Pour into 9x12" pan
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. It is okay if it appears to be sightly underdone, the square if very moist.
• Cool before cutting and serving

Review:
This recipe works well, and isn't very fussy. It's not a real decadent dessert, although, paired with some vanilla ice cream and a cup of coffee it's pretty good. I also noticed that the flavors come out more if you let it sit in the fridge for a couple days before you eat it, but who can wait that long!

Make your own Mayo, whipped dressing, or spread in a few simple steps!

You might wonder why you would want to spend the time to make your own mayo/whipped dressing/spread when you can simply pick one up off the shelf at the grocery store. If you look at the ingredients list on the jar you'll find all these chemicals and preservatives. These are things that I don't want to put into my body, and maybe, now that you think about it, you don't really want to either. This is a recipe that is simple to make, and easy to alter to suit your favorite flavors and spices. And here's one more secret, this spread works really well as a marinade, instead of margarine/butter on a hearty sandwich, and even mixed into pasta or layered into lasagna.

Ingredients: This will make a basic mayo

1 egg
1/2 lemon (juice only)
1 tsp honey or sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup oil (different oils give different flavors, so choose your favorite, or mix it up)

Directions:

Using an immersion blender mix egg, lemon juice, honey, and sea salt.
Very very slowly add in a little bit of oil at a time, and mix until blended before adding more oil. The key is to be patient, and keep blending. If you add too much oil too fast, the oil will separate from the egg. Once you have a nice Mayo, then whip in add-ins of your choice.The flavor will settle after several hours in the fridge, so do not fret too much if you feel the flavor is too strong initially. 

Add ins: This will make your result go from plain old mayo to fantastically tasty! The options are pretty endless, but here are a few suggestions to get you started.

Option 1)

1 TBSP parsley
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp basil

Option 2)

1 TBSP green onion
1/2 clove garlic
1 tsp oregano

Option 3)

3-4 cherry tomatoes
1/2 TBSP parsley
1 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp cumin

Store this in the refrigerator. So far, I've used it all up at the end of a week, so I don't know exactly how long it stays good. IF you find out, let me know... but I can't imagine that happening knowing how good it tastes... unless of course the jar happens to get hidden behind everything after grocery day.

Did you try this and came up with your own add-in combination that is super flavorful? Leave a comment and let me know!

Gluten Free Cranberry Apple Muffins

** updated January 2, 2014**

A hearty and tasty muffin, good for a snack, or as an on-the-go breakfast bite.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
**1/4 cup honey
**1 TBSP cider vinegar
1/2 cup oil
1 TBSP lemon juice (fresh squeezed, not from a bottle)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 TBSP ground flax seed (optional, but definitely adds a healthy punch!)
1 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond flour
**1 TBSP tapioca flour
**2 tsp baking soda
1 apple, peeled and chopped
1 cup cranberries
**1 banana 

Instructions:

Blend wet ingredients together well, then slowly fold in dry ingredients. When a smooth batter is formed, add in the apple and cranberries and give it a quick mix. Pour batter evenly into muffin tray. Makes 12 muffins. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Be careful to not over bake! My limited experience with a rice and almond flour mix is that it can dry out or burn easily. Because of this I check the muffins after 15 minutes and then add a couple minutes at a time. Err on the side of sightly under baking, when a toothpick comes out not perfectly clean remove them from the oven.

This recipe might undergo some changes yet as I am still trialing them with a few variations. This is my favorite so far. Enjoy, and if you try it out and find something that works better, let me know!