A delicious GF banana bread - and low to no refined sugar, which is great!  You can mash the bananas by hand to get a more chunky look to your bread, or literally throw all the wet ingredients into a blender (or use a stick blender) to mix together. Delicious with and without the addition of mini-chocolate chips.  Enjoy!

Delicious banana-date bread!  This was mixed by hand, but I often will use the blender for a less chunky version of this banana-date bread. Either way is great!

Banana-Date Bread

Makes 4 mini loaves

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 4 mini loaf pans with parchment paper. 

Heat 1 1/2 minutes in the microwave:

1/2 cup milk

5 oz dates

Let rest 5-10 minutes.  Then puree with a stick blender.  (If you don't have a stick blender, there are a couple of other options: 1. Finely dice your dates before heating them with the milk OR 2. After 5-10 minutes of resting - just so your milk/date mixture isn't quite so hot, blend in a blender all the wet ingredients.

In a bowl, mix together: 

2 cups Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

1 tsp xanthan gum

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

In a large bowl mix together: (If you're using a blender, you can put all of these plus the date/milk mixture (unblended) in and then mix, then stir into the flour mixture, above)

4 overripe bananas

4 Tbsp oil 

1/4 cup sugar OR 1/4 cup agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

Date/milk puree, from above

Mix together dry and wet ingredients.  If desired, you can add: 

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (optional)

Spread batter between the four mini loaf pans lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes, until nicely browned.  Let rest a few minutes in the pan, then remove from pans & parchment paper onto wire racks to full cool. Leftover bread can be sliced and frozen in ziploc bags.  Enjoy!

Fresh from the oven, just cooling a bit before removing to fully cool on a wire rack.

Banana-date bread recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Crispy Lemon Cookies!

 These yummy crispy lemon cookies are a request from my dad - and what a perfect summertime request they are! They're lovely and light. And leftovers freeze perfectly, for little treats anytime! 

Enjoy! 

Delicious crispy lemon cookies - cook to a slightly darker brown for a crispier cookie. These had a slight softness to the center. 

I recommend at least this brown, but add an extra minute or two for a fully crispy cookie. 

Crispy Gluten-Free Lemon Cookies!

Makes ~36-45 (depends on size of your scoops)

Preheat oven to 375 F. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (it's important to do this in GF baking to avoid clumping):

1 cup white rice flour

1/4 - 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

In a mixer, beat until light and fluffy:

1/2 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup white sugar

Add and mix in until thoroughly combined and still light and fluffy: 

2 egg whites

zest 2 lemons

1 tsp milk (you may need a little extra if you find your cookies don't spread as much as you like)

3-6 drops lemon essential oil

Light and fluffy wet ingredients, ready to mix in the dry ingredients.

Add and mix in dry ingredients, just until combined.  Scoop small Tbsp size scoops onto the pan. You can flatten a bit, if desired, for a slightly wider cookie.  

Small scoops - these do spread when baking - and you can flatten a bit before baking for thinner & wider cookies. 

Bake at 375 F for ~10 minutes, or until a nice light golden brown.  For less crispy cookies, they can be a bit pale on top and browned on the edges, and for a crispier cookie, cook an extra couple minutes until nicely light browned on top. 

Fresh from the oven - these are a lighter brown, so end up with a slight softness left in the center, but are wonderfully crispy around all the edges. Cook til fully light browned on top for a crispier overall lemon cookie. 

Cooling on the cooling rack - with one flipped over to show the light browned bottom. I recommend at least this brown, if not a bit darker for a crispier cookie. 

Let rest a minute or two before removing to cooling racks to fully cool.  Leftovers store perfectly in the freezer!  These lemon cookies are great on their own, or served with homemade lemon curd or ice cream. Enjoy!

Crispy Lemon Cookies Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

 A perfect summer recipe! This delicious cobbler is so easy to whip together. It's a nice addition to that many blueberry recipes I've shared.  This recipe can be combined with my peach cobbler or tart cherry cobbler recipes, if desired.  I find if you'd like a thicker topping, you can just make the single 8 x 8 pan of blueberry cobbler, or if you like less topping overall, you can divide the topping between two 8 x 8 pans of fruit. Either way, it disappears within a day around here. Enjoy! 

A pan of blueberry cobbler and peach cobbler, with the lighter topping option. 

Blueberry Cobbler!

In an 8" x 8" glass pan, fill halfway with:

frozen wild blueberries  (I'd estimate 4-6 cups blueberries are needed, but it's always tricky to gauge measuring, so I just go by filling the 8 x 8 pan halfway. You can also make this recipe with fresh blueberries.)

If you want to make a pan of peach (or tart cherry) at the same time you can put the sliced peaches in an 8 x 8 pan, and add the following to the peaches, same as the blueberries.

Add and mix in: 

2 - 4 Tbsp sugar
2 - 4 Tbsp Kristin's Gluten-free Flour Mix
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix together in a large bowl (if you want a lighter topping, make half the amount listed here - it'll work perfectly well, too!  Or, make the full amount and split it between the blueberry pan and make the peach cobbler, too! That's usually what I do since there's more to go around.):
1 cup Kristin's Gluten-free Flour Mix
3/4 - 1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Add, chopping in with a pastry cutter until you have a crumbly topping:
3 Tbsp butter, chilled
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Sprinkle the crumb topping over the prepared blueberries.  Bake at 350 F for ~50 minutes, until topping is nicely browned.  Great served hot or warm.  The cobbler can be served alone - but we love it with a tiny dollop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream needed! We enjoy leftovers chilled or reheated. Enjoy!

A pan of peach and blueberry cobbler with the lighter cobbler topping option. Gone within a day!

Blueberry Cobbler Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Pan-grilled Tuna Onigiri (Stuffed Rice Balls)

 This has become an absolute favorite around here - usually coupled with homemade kimbap. My understanding is that the traditional way to have Yaki Onigiri (grilled rice balls) includes a brushing of soy sauce glaze, but we prefer without. My kids love helping to make these onigiri - and they love when we (hopefully) have leftovers so they can take one to school for lunch the next day.  Do you have to pan-fry these? No! You can leave them as-is, and wrap them in nori (seaweed paper), and they're delicious as well. Sometimes we add the nori to the cooked ones, too. Enjoy!

Grilling the tuna onigiri - yum!

A yummy pan-grilled tuna onigiri plus homemade kimbap meal with friends.

I find 1 cup sushi rice to 1 can of tuna is a good ratio. You can make more as desired!

To prepare rice: 

In a medium pot or rice cooker, combine and cook as directed: 

2 cups sushi rice (japonica or similar type), well rinsed

4 cups (1 liter) chicken stock/broth

1 Tbsp olive oil or butter

1/2 - 1 tsp salt (lower end with the salt if the broth includes salt)

1/2 - 1 tsp pepper

1/2 - 1 tsp garlic powder

1 - 2 tsp dried onion flakes

1/2 - 1 tsp dried cilantro flakes (optional)

1 - 2 tsp freeze-dried or fresh chives (optional)

1/4 - 1/2 tsp red chili flakes (optional)

For making the rice in a pot, I typically bring to a boil over high heat, stirring a few times. Cover with the lid and lower heat to low/medium-low and simmer 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let rest/steam for an additional 10 minutes.  Stir to fluff/mix.  

To prepare tuna:

In a large bowl, mix together: 

2 cans tuna, drained

3-4 Tbsp mayonnaise (to desired consistency)

1-2 Tbsp dill pickle relish

1-2 tsp fresh or freeze-dried dill optional

salt & pepper, to taste (I tend to use very little additional salt)

Tuna salad, ready to go!

To prepare cheese: (Optional, but we enjoy it)

Slice and chop into ~1" squares:

cheddar or marble cheese, as desired

To assemble & pan-grill the rice balls: By all means make these in those cool triangular onigiri molds, if you have them. But this method works perfectly, is easy, and the kids love it.  You can make them as large or small as you prefer. It takes a little trial and error to figure out the size you enjoy. 

On a square of plastic wrap, flatten a spoonful of rice.  Place a spoonful of ~1 Tbsp or so of tuna on the flattened rice. Add a couple piece of cheese.  Using the plastic wrap, pull up all the sides and squeeze together to form a nice circle.  You can leave them round, or use your hands to shape them into the more traditional triangle shapes.  

I use a rice spatula to flatten, ready for fillings.

Rice flattened and toppings added. Ready to bring it all together into a ball.

Fillings added, my daughter is working on wrapping it up.

Rolling it and pressing to compact it a bit.

Shaping it into a triangle. Yes, there are these neat presses people can use, but this works easily when you don't have the tools. 

Heat a pan to medium to medium-high heat.  Brush the top side of your rice ball with avocado oil.  Place down on the pan, flatten slightly, and then brush the other side with additional avocado oil. 

Brushed with avocado oil and heating until crisped!

I actually like the look of round stuffed rice balls. We left some rounded for the ones we needed to make without cheese.  

Let cook until lightly browned on each side, so you have a nice crispy outside edge.  Remove from the pan and enjoy!  Leftovers heat nicely, too! We've even frozen them and my kids can pop them into their lunch boxes for a yummy lunch.  They just reheat them a bit once they've defrosted. Enjoy!

Pan-grilled until crispy and ready to eat!

Our friends joined us for yummy pan-fried/grilled tuna onigiri and some homemade kimbap. Yum!

Pan-grilled Tuna Onigiri (Stuffed Rice Balls) Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

 I love to whip together risotto quite regularly. The great thing is it's so versatile - you can adjust the vegetables and spices to your preference of the day! Here's a nice light risotto recipe that works well as an accompaniment - or can work as an all-in-one meal! A variety of options are provided below. You can adjust the risotto ingredients depending on what vegetables you have on-hand. Enjoy!

Delicious risotto served with a side of roasted asparagus and salmon. 

Easy Veggie-filled Risotto

Over medium heat in a large wide saucepan, cook 5 - 7 minutes: 

2 - 3 Tbsp olive oil (you can add a bit of additional oil as needed throughout cooking)

1/2 - 1 onion OR 3-4 shallots, diced or sliced

1 leek, sliced & well rinsed optional

1/2 fennel, diced optional

1 - 3 carrots, diced or sliced

1 - 2 cups mushrooms, sliced optional

1 - 2 zucchini, diced and/or sliced optional - I will sometimes add the zucchini earlier, or will wait and add it a bit later if I'm using things like bell pepper, so it doesn't soften too much during cooking.

Add and cook 1-2 minutes: 

1 Tbsp minced garlic (Yes, you can use more garlic than this - I often do!)

Pan roasted the vegetables until crisp-tender, then added in the minced garlic.

Add and cook an additional 3-4 minutes (optional): 

1 - 2 zucchini, diced and/or sliced (if you didn't add it above)

1 - 3 stalks celery, diced optional

1 bell pepper, diced optional

Move vegetables to the side and add and cook ~2 minutes: 

1 Tbsp olive oil 

2 cups Arborio risotto rice, rinsed

Add and cook with the risotto for ~2 minutes. 

After the 2 minutes, it'll look like this and be ready to add the broth/liquid

Add, and let come to a boil over the same medium heat (feel free to play around with the spices used in this recipe - I tend to adjust them depending on my mood and what else we're having for dinner): 

6 cups chicken broth

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 - 2 tsp oregano

1 - 2 tsp basil 

1 tsp parsley optional

1 - 2 tsp fresh thyme optional

1 - 2 tsp fresh oregano optional 

Once simmering, stir every few minutes. You can keep it over medium heat, and after ~10 minutes, add to the simmering pot: 

~2 cups water

I usually add this as the liquid cooks off. I like to leave it simmering over medium heat vs lowering the heat to low/medium-low, so I add more water to compensate. 

Let simmer a total of ~20 minutes, stirring regularly.  Taste-test toward the end until you have the desired softness of your risotto.  I sometimes end up letting it simmer closer to 25 - 30 minutes, depending on how the risotto rice is tasting.  

Optional: For more of an all-in-one meal, during the last 2 - 3 minutes of cooking, you can add the following: 

1 cup baby tomatoes, sliced in half

1 cup cooked, diced chicken

While many cook risotto by cooking and slowly adding liquid over time, I prefer to keep it simmering and stir regularly, but not constantly, so I can multi-task in the kitchen. This means, it tends to look like this initially. 

It will look like this as the risotto absorbs the liquid.  I find I play around with the amount of water added depending on how soft/hard the risotto rice is, and what I'm in the mood for on that particular day. 

The final risotto, I like where there's still a bit of wetness to it, since I find once you add cheese, it thickens. 

The risotto is great as a side-dish, or if you added the chicken and tomatoes, like in the photo below, it's lovely served with some grated parmesan cheese on top! We enjoyed it for dinner with some friends recently alongside some yummy homemade rosemary focaccia bread. Enjoy! 

Veggie-packed risotto served with some Parmesan on top alongside fresh focaccia bread! Yum!

Easy Veggie-filled Risotto Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

My mom is heading on a trip and needed something with extra protein and low sugar that doesn't need refrigeration. I present to you - my high protein, refined sugar free blueberry muffins! For a more bread-like muffin, you can leave out the oil or butter, or you can add some in if you prefer. Both ways work great! Enjoy!

Yummy healthy blueberry muffins! These ones were a bit more chunky since I didn't blend the cottage cheese - both methods work! These were made without oil or butter added. The recipe is flexible!

High Protein, Refined Sugar-free Blueberry Muffins!

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Makes between 10-12 muffins. Line muffin tins with 12 muffin liners. 

Mix or stick-blend (to smooth cottage cheese) together: 

3 eggs

1 cup cottage cheese (lactose-free, if needed)

1/4 cup honey or agave (I usually use some of each to add up to 1/4 cup)

4 drops stevia extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 - 1/3 cup oil or melted butter (optional - you'll end up with a fluffy, more bread-like texture if you leave out)

Add and mix in: 

1 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour Mix

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Fold in: 

3/4 cup blueberries, rinsed

Batter when the wet ingredients were blended so the cottage cheese isn't as chunky.

Ready to bake!

Divide into muffin tins. I find it makes more like 10 - 11 muffins without oil/butter and closer to 12 with oil/butter added. Bake at 350 F for ~20 minutes, until nicely browned.  Remove from pans and let cool on a wire cooling rack.  Enjoy! 

These were made with melted butter - as you see, the final texture is different than the oil/butter free ones at the top. 

High Protein, Refined Sugar-free Blueberry Muffins!

When I sent my brother a photo of this dessert, he told me the fried egg looked delicious on top of the cake.  Okay, yes, with the runny, not quite chilled lemon curd it does look like this if you're too impatient to wait for it to chill - but it was delicious! A lovely light sponge topped with whipped cream and homemade lemon curd. And served with strawberries. Enjoy!

A yummy serving of Lemon Sponge cake!

Light Lemon Sponge with Lemon Curd

I recommend making the lemon curd filling first, since it seems to take the longest time to chill.  However, you can speed up the chilling of the curd.  I'll explain how after the recipe.  You also can serve the lemon curd warm, which is tasty, too! 

Lemon Curd:

In a medium saucepan, whisk together:
zest from 2 lemons
juice from 2 lemons (~1/2 cup, make sure to strain for seeds)
2/3 cup water
3/4 cup white sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch

Heat over medium heat, stirring regularly with a whisk.  Once mixture comes to a boil and has thickened a bit, let boil 1 minute.  Then add and boil 1 additional minute:
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 Tbsp salted butter

Pour the curd into a large bowl.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap.  You can chill in the refrigerator OR, place your bowl into a bowl of ice.  You can fill a freezer ziploc with ice to place on top of the plastic wrap, too, to speed up the chilling.  I use this method when I'm short on time.

Lemon Sponge Cake

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 2 quarter size baking pans (these are ~9" x 13" metal baking pans) with parchment paper.  If you don't have this size baking pan, you can use one large baking pan. I just find that if they aren't perfectly flat, they will result in uneven baking. 

Divide 6 eggs. 

Beat until stiff peaks: 

6 egg whites

3 Tbsp sugar

Egg whites & sugar, whisked until stiff peaks. 

In a large bowl, whisk together: 

3 egg yolks

1 cup milk

1/2 cup oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract or bean paste

zest 2 lemons

10 drops lemon essential oil

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup white rice flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

Lemon batter mixture, ready to fold in the egg whites from above.

The next part needs to be done gently, so you don't lost the height from your egg whites. Fold 1/3 of your egg white mixture into the lemon batter.  Then fold the remaining egg white mixture, trying not to loose much height. 

Gently divide into your prepared pans.  Bake at 350 F for 15 - 18 minutes, until a light golden brown.  Rest a few minutes then flip onto cooling rack.  

Lemon sponges, ready for baking!

Fresh from the oven.

Since these get topped, I didn't worry about just flipping them facedown on the cooling rack. 

Whipping Cream

Whisk together until thick: 

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 - 3 Tbsp powdered sugar

To serve, you can cut squares of cake and top with a dollop of whipped cream, a spoonful of lemon curd, and repeat - if you'd like a second layer.  Lovely served with sliced strawberries alongside. 

Enjoy! 

My youngest loves assembling and plating food. She was so excited to put these together. 

My girls loved serving these up. 

Yum!

Light Lemon Sponge with Lemon Curd Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!