Easy Kid-Approved Twice-Baked Potatoes

 I whipped these together on a cold (very very cold) day and they were inhaled.  There were hysterical 'mmhmm...' sounds coming from the 11 month old, and the 4 year old was chattering about how these were her favorite. My almost 9 year old was asking how many potatoes he could eat for his dinner, 3 or 4?  These are a great and easy meal to whip together - not much different than putting together baked potatoes for dinner, but they just have that extra something to them that really takes it to a new level of tastiness. Enjoy!

A great all-in-one meal, ready to eat!

A full pan of delicious stuffed potatoes - made to help us all weather a blizzard.

Easy Kid-Approved Twice-Baked Potatoes
Based on a recipe idea from Southern Living Magazine
Makes 8 open-faced potatoes

Scrub, poke several times with a fork and then cook 4 large russet potatoes either by baking in the oven until soft or microwaving.  (Oven takes ~40 minutes at 400F, microwave takes ~ 10-15 minutes to give you a guideline - I prefer oven cooking)

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

Slice potatoes in half and carefully scoop out the insides, placing potato flesh into a large mixing bowl.  Place the potato shells on your foil-lined baking pan.

Mix into potato in large bowl: (I chop/mix using a pastry cutter)
2-3 oz regular or light cream cheese
3 Tbsp butter
1/3 - 1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper, if desired (you'll season the topping, so this doesn't really need salt/pepper, I find)

Mix in:

1 cup cheddar cheese, chopped into small pieces

1 - 1/4 cup frozen peas

4-5 slices turkey breast, chopped

Add extra salt/pepper, to taste.  If you want a lighter/fluffier filling, mix in a bit more milk.

Fill potato shells evenly.  Bake at 400F for 15-20 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

We really do like blueberry muffins around here.  And one can never have too many variations on a theme if it involves blueberries, at least in my house.  I've posted blueberry muffins with streusel topping and blueberry-lemon muffins, so here's one more delicious recipe to add! We love to go blueberry picking in the late summer and we freeze them to eat throughout the winter months. Yum!  This recipe has a bit of depth to it thanks to the addition of corn flour in the recipe.  They have been particularly enjoyable to eat while snowed in during a blizzard. Yum!  Enjoy!

Ready to eat! 

Blueberry Muffins

Makes 12 Muffins

Set oven to 400F. Line 12 muffins cups with paper liners.

Mix together in a large bowl:

½ cup corn flour (not cornstarch, not cornmeal - it's sold as corn flour and is a more fine version of cornmeal)

½ cup white OR brown rice flour (or half brown/half white flours)

½ cup tapioca starch

½ tsp xantham gum

½ cup sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. cinnamon (optional, but recommended)

Add and mix in just until combined (don't overmix, it's okay if there are a few lumps):

¾ cup milk (lactose-free or other milk substitutes work as well)

¼ cup butter, melted

1 egg

Add & fold in:

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Divide evenly between 12 muffin cups, lined with paper baking cups.

Bake at 400F for 15-22 minutes until nicely browned on top (cooking time varies depending on whether you use frozen or fresh blueberries).
Remove to cooling rack to cool.  Great warm or cooled.  Enjoy!

Fresh from the oven - a little oddly divided size-wise due to little kids helping - but still delicious!

Mushroom-Gruyere Polenta Bake

Amidst the myriad of wedding dessert posts, I think it's important to throw in regular dishes as well.  I had just been chatting with my sister about polenta, so it seemed appropriate to write this recipe up since it was a hit with everyhone (even if the kids didn't love the mushrooms). If you like mushrooms, you'll love this dish.  This is one of my favorite cold-weather dishes since it's so rich and flavorful, and yet so easy to whip together!  You can easily make your own polenta, but I tend to use ready-made since then I know the consistency of the polenta will be correct.  The sharp gruyere cheese adds a complimentary flavor to the mushrooms and polenta.  It's a great dish to throw together!  We eat this dish as a main course, but you could easily have it as a side dish.  Just keep in mind that it's quite filling.  Enjoy!

Fresh from the oven and ready to eat!

Mushroom Gruyere Polenta Bake
Makes 8" x 8" pan (~4-6 servings)

Preheat oven to 375F.

Chop coarsely and put into 8" x 8" pan:
1 package pre-cooked polenta (18oz/510g) I used Trader Joe's organic

Coarsely chopped polenta - mine was from an oblong polenta roll. Some pre-cooked polenta comes in blocks, some in rectangles, some in cylinders. 

Prepare the following veggies, then set aside:

Remove stems, wash and slice:
8 oz white button mushrooms
8 oz mini portabella mushrooms

Mince:
4-5 cloves garlic

Heat over medium to medium-high heat:
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp oil

Saute until softened:
pre-sliced mushrooms 

Drain off most of the liquid.  Move mushrooms to the sides of the pan.  In the center of the pan saute 1-2 minutes, until aromatic:
minced garlic cloves

Mix together mushrooms and garlic and then spread over polenta.

Mushrooms and garlic spread over polenta

Sprinkle the top with:
1-2 cups freshly grated gruyere cheese

I used a handheld grater, which grates finely and makes it look like there's more cheese there than there really is. 

Cook 17-20 minutes at 375F until nicely melted, and cheese just starts browning.

Great served with salad as a main dish, or it could serve as a hearty side dish. Enjoy!

Mushroom-Gruyere Polenta served up with a romaine, cucumber and pear salad

My four year old was a big fan of the polenta - she thought the yellow pieces were big pieces of cheese.  One of those times correcting her got me a "no, mom, this is good cheese" reply.

Strawberry Frosting!!!

Thank you, Debbie, for pointing out I needed to post this! :)
I really love using marshmallow fluff in my frostings - I find it adds a lightness and delicious taste to them, including this strawberry frosting.  I used a high quality jam with lovely chunks of strawberry in it, so there were bits of strawberry throughout the frosting.  I found it created a fresh strawberry taste that wasn't overwhelming.  I even filled some lemon cupcakes with strawberry frosting, then froze them for a week before removing and topping with fresh strawberry frosting, and the center filling held up perfectly! Still absolutely delicious.  Those were my Strawberry-Lemon Cupcakes. Enjoy!

Strawberry frosting topped cupcakes, dipped in coarse sugar just after being frosted for a fancy, finished look. Yum!

Strawberry Frosting!!!
Makes enough to frost ~12 cupcakes.  You can easily double, triple, quadruple this recipe.

Beat the following in a mixer for ~2 minutes, until light and fluffy and evenly whipped (start slowly and build up speed to avoid powdered sugar exploding):
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp milk (lactose-free works great)
3 Tbsp good quality strawberry jam (not jelly)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup marshmallow fluff

Spread with a knife, pipe onto cupcakes, or use to fill cupcakes/cake.  Enjoy!

Strawberry-Lemon Cupcakes!

These are a delicious strawberry-lemon cupcake - really perfect for any time of year.  Add in the fact that they're also filled with a light strawberry frosting, then topped with strawberry frosting and you have a show-stopper!  These were beautiful and a perfect addition to the gluten-free wedding reception I put together for my awesome brother Mike and his lovely wife Amanda.   I even pre-filled and froze the cupcakes, then removed them the day before the wedding to add the frosting, and they were perfectly tasty, moist, and fabulous. Enjoy!

Strawberry-Lemon cupcakes, ready for the wedding!  The tops were dipped in coarse sugar to add a finished look.

Strawberry-filled Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting

Makes 18 cupcakes

Set oven at 350F.  Line 18 muffin cups with paper liners.

Mix the following in a bowl:
1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup white rice flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar

Add and whisk until smooth:

1 cup milk (lactose-free works great)

1/2 cup oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 Tbsp orange zest (make sure to only use the outer edge of the orange, so you don’t get the white rind, which is bitter)

2 tsp lemon zest

9-18 drops lemon essential oil (depending on how strong you like the lemon) (I love DoTerra Essential Oils* b/c many of their oils are good for ingesting. The lemon and peppermint are wonderful for cooking!)

Add and whisk in:
6 eggs

This batter will seem very runny, but that’s okay!  Coconut flour absorbs a lot of liquid during cooking.

Pour into 18 muffin cups. Fill ~ ¾  full.   Bake at 350F for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden browned. 

These rise SO well. The coconut flour absorbs a remarkable amount of liquid, leaving you with a moist, delicious cake!

Remove from pan and let cool on wire rack.  

Cut out cone-shaped piece from the center of each cupcake.  Then slice off excess middle, saving the top of the cupcake.  Pipe strawberry frosting into the center of each cupcake, replacing the top of the cupcake. Don't worry if they don't look perfect, because you'll pipe frosting on to cover any imperfections.  

A dollop of strawberry frosting in the center of a lemon cupcake. We enjoyed taste-testing by eating the insides (saved in the bowl at the back).

Strawberry-filled Lemon Cupcakes! Yum!

Now, you can either:
1. Frost as desired with additional strawberry frosting
OR
2. Freeze cupcakes in single layer in freezer ziploc bags.  Then you can frost at a later time (best within a few weeks, though I've never tried much beyond that). Remove cupcakes from freezer, let sit in bag 5 minutes before removing from the bag.  Then remove from bags and let sit on counter 10-15 minutes.  Then frost as normal.

Enjoy!

Strawberry-Lemon cupcakes alternated with Chocolate-Caramel Cupcakes on tiers looked (and tasted) great!

I think it's important to intersperse some practical recipes amongst the plethora of dessert recipes I've been (and will continue) posting from my brother's wedding reception.  Chicken Parmesan is one of my favorite meals of all-time.  But I like the chicken in thin or small pieces, lightly breaded, and lightly fried prior to baking.  One of the worst things is a highly greasy piece of Chicken Parmesan. A travesty!  This recipe requires the use of several bowls and pans, but the result is most definitely worth the effort.  If you're not familiar with Chicken Parmesan - it's one of those odd recipes that has no Parmesan cheese in it, despite the name.  It's sometimes called Chicken Parmigiana, or Chicken Parm.  There's a variety of dishes that may be the official origin of this dish - but I love this version with chicken.  Another favorite, if you're not wanting meat is my Eggplant Parmesan.  Yum! Enjoy!

Lightly fried chicken strips with sauce and fresh mozzarella on top. Oven-ready!

These are one of my family's favorite dinners.  It takes a bit of extra prep and clean-up, but it's well worth the effort! Yum!  If you don't want the cheese to melt so much, you can add it the last five minutes of baking. 

Chicken Parmesan

Serves 4

Slice into strips*:
2-3 chicken breasts
*You can also cut the chicken breasts so you have larger, thin pieces. Or you can hammer your chicken so it's nice and thin, but I just can't bring myself to go through the effort when I can slice it easily.

In three low bowls, prepare the following to dip the chicken:
Bowl 1:
brown rice flour
Bowl 2: 
2 eggs, beaten
Bowl 3:
3/4 cup GF rice breadcrumbs or panko

1/2 - 3/4 cup Kristin's Gluten-Free Flour mix OR brown or white rice flour (optional, since you can do all breadcrumbs/panko, but it makes for a slightly lighter coating, which is nice)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 - 1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a cookie sheet with foil.
In a frying pan, cover the bottom of the pan with oil (avocado oil, olive oil, etc) and heat over medium-high heat.  (I also start boiling water at this point to cook some gluten-free pasta to accompany the meal)

While the oil is heating, dip the chicken strips bowls 1, 2 and 3, in that order. Be sure to cover the meat thoroughly in each bowl.   You can set dipped strips on a plate until the oil is hot.

Fry each chicken piece for 2-3 minutes per side, until nicely golden.   Place cooked pieces onto prepare foil-lined sheet.  Continue until all pieces have been browned.

On top of each piece of chicken place:
high-quality spaghetti sauce (homemade is great)
fresh mozzarella, sliced

Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and cheese is nicely melted and bubbly.

Chicken Parmesan is great served with gluten-free pasta and a side salad.  Enjoy!

Chicken Parmesan is great served with a side of pasta (gluten-free here) and salad. 

Chicken Parmesan Recipe by Successfully Gluten Free!

Candied Orange or Lemon Peel

These are one of my favorite treats.  They require some planning ahead, as they need to boil for an hour and then dry for 4-5 hours, but if you're able to do this, you'll be in for a real treat!  I made these for my brother's big gluten-free wedding reception and they were an absolute hit!  Once one person tasted them, the word spread and they were gone before I knew it!  I left some plain candied orange peel in a bowl, and dipped some in dark chocolate.  Smaller orange and lemon pieces were used to top chocolate cupcakes and lemon cupcakes, respectively.  Candied orange peel are popular in Europe, enrobed in dark chocolate.  When I last went to Belgium, I think I bought these from three or four different chocolate shops, just to compare. (they were all delicious).  But it's wonderful to be able to make them at home!

Small pieces of candied lemon peel topping lemon cupcakes. 

A bowl of candied orange peel was placed between the waters at the wedding reception - it was overflowing initially, and down to this by the 'start' of the reception! They were a hit!

Candied Orange or Lemon Peel
Makes ~2-3 cups candied peel
Based off a Food Network Kitchen recipe

Wash and scrub very well and then cut the tops & bottoms off:
6-7 Cara Cara Orange
2 Lemons

Score the fruit (cut thin stripes down the sides with a sharp knife) and carefully peel the skin from the fleshly fruit.  (The fruit can be eaten or juiced - I used the tops/bottoms to zest and and made lemon cupcakes/muffins).

Cut the peel into thing strips, about 1/4" - 1/2" thick.  You can then cut the strips into smaller 1" segments, if you would like smaller pieces of candied peel (like for topping cupcakes, or just for snacking).

Put the peels in a metal pot and cover with cold water.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Drain.  This blanches the peel to help remove bitterness.  Repeat this two times (i.e. cover again with cold water, boil, drain, cover with cold water, boil, drain).

Set drained peels aside.

Whisk together, then bring to a boil over medium heat:
1 1/2 cups water
4 1/2 cups sugar

Using a candy thermometer, let the mixture cook over medium heat until it reaches ~220F.  (You want it to simmer ~10-15 minutes).  You can remove the candy thermometer at this time.

Add the drained orange and lemon peels to the sugar mixture.  Once the mixture is simmering again, you can reduce the heat to low.  Let the peels simmer in the sugar mixture for 45 minutes - 1 hour, until the peels get translucent in appearance.  Using a clean spoon, you can press the top peels down in order to gently "mix" the peels - but don't stir them. (I only pressed the top peels down twice during the entire cooking process).

Drain the peels.  You can save the syrup to use elsewhere, if desired, since it's quite tasty.

Roll drained peels in white granulated sugar.  Place them on a cooling rack to allow them to dry.  They will need to dry about 4-5 hours.

Once they've dried, you can store them with a bit of extra sugar in a tupperware.

They're wonderful dipped in dark chocolate, but equally great all on their own. Enjoy!

Candied orange peel dipped in chocolate on a platter with milk chocolate dipped homemade caramels (topped with transfer sheets).  Mmm..

Small piece of candied orange were used to top mini chocolate cupcakes.