Mocha Chocolate Mousse Cake

I found this recipe at vegetariantimes.com while searching for a "healthy" dessert for Mother's Day. Needless to say, it was a big hit and will probably become a staple for future get togethers. I am going to play with the recipe more and try to reduce the calories and sugar levels, but it is really excellent and mostly healthy as it is. There were some additions to the instructions to make it easier to prepare.

This dessert puffs like a soufflé when baked, then settles to become a rich, mousse-like cake. When slicing, use a knife dipped in hot water and then wiped dry. The heated blade will glide smoothly through the cake without sticking.

Serves 12 (or less depending on how much you like chocolate) :-)

9 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup light coconut milk (I used regular milk)
1 Tbs. instant espresso powder
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
5 room temperature eggs
6 Tbs. organic cane sugar
1/4 cup almond flour
1 Tbs. confectioners’ sugar, for sprinkling

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat/spray the inside of a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Make a foil bowl to set the pan into as this is going to be cooked in a water bath. Make sure the bottom and sides are completely covered (the original recipe stated to line the springform pan and it took me a while to figure out that they meant the OUTSIDE of the pan because it was going to be cooked in a water bath).
2. Place the chocolate in the food processor and grind to a coarse meal.
3. Bring coconut milk (reg. milk) almost to a boil in saucepan. Remove from heat, and stir in espresso powder. Pour over chocolate in food processor, and pulse until smooth (didn't have to pulse more than once as the chocolate melted right away and blended very quickly). Add vanilla, and pulse until combined. Put chocolate mixture in a bowl separate from the eggs.
4. Beat eggs and sugar with electric mixer on high speed 5 minutes, or until doubled in volume. Fold eggs, then almond flour into chocolate mixture.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan. Set foil covered (wrapped) pan in a roasting pan and *after setting on the oven shelf* fill roasting pan with at least 1 inch of hot water. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until dry crust forms on top but center is still slightly wobbly. Remove foil covered pan from water, and cool on wire rack. After cooled, remove foil and refrigerate at least 2 hours, or overnight, to set.
6. Unmold, and sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.


This is very YUMMY!!

Totally Excellent Grain Free Pizza Crust

Since I am allergic to every grain in the US, pizza is something that I miss (not that we ate it often, but a nice treat once in a while). So when I was looking for grain free flours, I came across this recipe on the Bob's Red Mill Garbanzo & Fava Flour bag. We tried it and WOW! it is really good! Made right, it actually has the consistency of regular pizza crust. We doubled the recipe last time so each of us would have our own pizza - for leftovers, of course!

The toppings are up to you, but I also made my own pizza sauce (recipe follows) and used veggies and "healthy" canadian style bacon and pineapple. Ric had pepperoni & olives.

One word of caution: if beans tend to, well you know, affect your intestines, be sure not to eat too much in one sitting. :-P

Bob's Red Mill Grain Free Pizza Crust

1 Tbsp. Gluten Free Dry Yeast (one packet)
2/3 Cup Garbanzo & Fava Flour
1/2 Cup Tapioca Flour
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Dry Milk Powder (we don't use this, just add milk to the water and reduce water by 2 Tbsp)
2 tsp. Xanthan Gum (a thickener that makes it taste like real crust)
1 tsp. unflavored gelatin powder
1 tsp. dried italian herbs
2/3 cup warm water(105)
1/2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. cider vinegar
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425. In medium bowl blend well yeast, flours, xanthan gum, salt gelatin powder and herbs. Add water with milk, sugar, olive oil and vinegar. With hand mixer beat on high for 3 minutes. Add water if dough too stiff. Dough should resemble soft bread dough. Put dough into 12 inch pizza pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Sprinkle extra garbanzo flour onto the dough, then press dough into pan. Bake dough for 10 minutes, remove from oven, top with favorite sauce and toppings. Put back into oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes. YUM!!

Pizza Sauce (ultra easy):
1 can tomato sauce
1 can tomato paste
salt to taste
italian herbs to taste

Mix above 4 ingredients together; spread on pizza crust.

Excellent BBQ Chicken and Coleslaw

My husband loves to watch cooking shows. So one Saturday I was home early and he said "This is a really great show, they do fun stuff". So I watched. What an amazing recipe for Chicken! This quickly became a favorite and is really easy, too!!

So, thank you to "Cook's Country Test Kitchen" for creating this amazing recipe. Oh, and the coleslaw that goes with the chicken is pretty good, too. One of the things the tester kept saying was that if you make the sauce and coleslaw the day before, the flavors meld and taste even better - it's true!!

This is going to be cooked using the indirect method on the BBQ: briquets on either side of a foil pan in the bottom of the BBQ. Soak 2 cups hickory chips in water for 30 minutes prior to placing directly on hot coals. If using a Weber, open bottom vents fully; open top one, 1/2 way only to allow the smoke to lightly escape.

Chicken:
1 whole chicken, cut in 1/2 with backbone removed
2 tsp. each Salt & pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

After cutting the chicken in 1/2, mix salt, pepper & cayenne together; sprinkle, then rub into the chicken. Refrigerate until ready to put on BBQ. When briquets are hot, and after putting soaked hickory chips on coals, place chicken on the BBQ, on the top rack, centered between the briquets. Close the lid and cook for 35 minutes. After the 35 minutes, flip over and cook until thigh reaches at least 165 degrees.
If you like, you may brush with BBQ sauce 10 minutes before removing from BBQ.

Definitely brush with sauce after removing from BBQ. I will make more sauce next time to dip the pieces in!

White BBQ Sauce:
3/4 cup mayo
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. horseradish
1/2 tsp. each salt & pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne (I only used 1/8)

Mix together and set aside.(can even be made the day or a few hours before for best flavor)

Apple/Cabbage Coleslaw:
1 head green cabbage, chopped
1 med/large granny smith apple, cut into matchsticks
2 small green onions or 2 Tbsp. chives, chopped

After cabbage is chopped, place in a colander either over a bowl or sink and sprinkle with salt. Allow to sit at least 1 hour to remove as much water as possible. Rinse, dry and place in bowl to mix with apple and onions.

Dressing:
6 Tbsp. Vegetable oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. dried red pepper flakes

Wisk together and bring to boil (yes, boil). While hot, pour over cabbage mixture and stir. Place in refrigerator until chilled and serve. Serve with chicken! YUM!

Experiment - but most of all - HAVE FUN!

Mom's Applesauce Meatballs

Let me start by saying I have THE Best Mother-In-Law in the World! She has loved me unconditionally since we first met, always encouraged and supported me and I know she is a most awesome Prayer Warrior! God knew the right M-I-L to give to me - She is my Hero!!

Ok, now on to this recipe. When we were first married, Mom gave us several of her favorite recipes, this one included. I never made it because the thought of applesauce in meatballs was kind of gross. Well we were on a family vacation in Michigan and needed something for the family picnic. Mom insisted we make these and assured me they tasted better than they sounded. THEY DID!! They are now some of our favorite meatballs. I did make changes to the recipe for my diet, but put them between **
Really, these are wonderful and can be made ahead and frozen for later.

Meatballs:
2 lbs. ground beef
1 C. applesauce (unsweetened)
1 C. bread crumbs or crackers *I use finely shredded potato/press btwn papertowels*
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 eggs
1 C. flour *I use potato flour*
2 Tbsp. oil

Sauce:
1 stalk celery, sliced thin
1 green pepper, sliced thin
1 onion, sliced thin
2 C. tomato juice *I use a tomato/vegetable juice* OR
1 can stewed tomatoes & 1 C. tomato juice
Salt & pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Mix beef, applesauce, crackers *potatoes*, salt, pepper and eggs. Form into small balls; roll in flour and brown in oil in frying pan over medium heat. After browned, remove from oil and place in 9x12 casserole dish.
To drippings left in pan add celery, bell pepper and onion and saute until onion is translucent. Then add tomato juice and mix well. Add more salt & pepper, if needed.
Pour sauce over meatballs and bake for 40 minutes.
Serve over buttered noodles or rice. YUM!

Experiment - but most of all - HAVE FUN!

Grain Free (good) Gravy

I LOVE biscuits and gravy. Can't have the bisquits anymore, but can have the gravy. I have tried many different ways to make it, and it either came out slimy (using tapioca starch-gross) or lumpy. So I experimented with a roux (melting butter or fat drippings with flour) using my potato flour. It worked great! No more lumps, it tastes great and, most importantly, it actually looks like gravy!

Since each serving will vary, I am estimating here...

1/4 cup. butter or other fat drippings
2-3 Tbsp. potato flour (or until fat is all absorbed)
1-2 cups liquid (milk, chicken/turkey/mushroom/beef stock)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Stir with whip over medium/high until all is blended together and starts to boil. Only cook until the gravy should starts to thicken. If it boils too long it will separate and not be good.
If there is too much liquid, LIGHTLY sprinkle more potato flour over it and whip into gravy. If too thick, just add more liquid. Season with salt & pepper.

If you have lots of people, you will probably have to adjust the quantity. Just have leftovers!

Experiment - but most of all - HAVE FUN!!