Gluten Free Strawberry Scones

I am not much of a baker mostly because I don’t like to measure when I am cooking. Baking itself isn’t that easy. Gluten-free baking is often mission impossible. For a variety of reason that Alton Brown could probably explain much better than me gluten-free flours don’t behave the same way as traditional flours. Gluten-free baking can easily turn into a science project as you mix different flours and starches to get the perfect blend. For those of us who are less inclined to be scientists in the kitchen Bob’s Redmill and King Arthur now have gluten-free flour blends that can be more easily substituted in “normal” recipes. I have used both and feel that each work best in different recipes, so trial and error is the best approach when choosing between them.

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Last summer my fiance and I went on an amazing trip to Ireland {I’m very behind on that travel blog}. While were there I was pleasantly surprised by how aware the country was of food allergies in general; not even just gluten. We ate so many scones in Ireland. Yes, gluten-free scones! While we were there we talked about how once we were settled in our new house I would make us scones and we could reminisce about our trip. Last week I decided it was time to give it a try.

On the weekends I love watching Food Network and The Cooking Channel in the morning. It’s really the only time that “real” cooking shows are on. I love watching Ina Garten {anyone else excited about her new series?!} so I decided to go with her Strawberry Scone recipe. I used King Arthur’s Measure for Measure flour and reduced the recipe to 1 stick of butter.

If you have been following my wedding blogs or Instagram you may know that I am a soon-to-be-bride and a new homeowner! We have been in our house for a few months, but I have resisted buying any major kitchen items because I will be having a bridal shower. That being said I do not have the standard kitchen equipment normally required to make scones. To my surprise the scones turned out pretty good even though I don’t have an electric mixer, measuring spoons, egg wash brush or a rolling pin. But I must admit, I am really looking forward to my bridal shower and filling my kitchen with all of the awesome things I picked out!

Using my mini-food processor I cut the butter into the flour in batches and mixed all of the ingredients by hand. I combined the dough into a ball and on a floured cookie sheet lined with parchment paper I worked the dough into a disk. I picked up a trick from a Martha Stewart show that helps keep your parchment paper in place. You can use small binder clips to secure it to the cookie sheet.

Overall I would consider this recipe a success, but it could use a few tweaks. The scones were a bit bland, so next time I may add more sugar or powdered sugar after they’re baked. They were also a bit dense which is most likely due to the gluten-free flour. Next time I would try another brand and also bump up the amount of strawberries.

Smokey Spinach & Artichoke Dip

One of my favorite appetizers to make is this Smokey Spinach & Artichoke Dip  from Food Network. It is pretty easy and so delicious. I most recently made it for Christmas Eve and Christmas. It was a huge hit with my guests!  You seriously can’t go wrong with this dish. Be sure to buy gluten-free brands for your ingredients.

I made a few tweaks to the recipe by leaving out the mayo and coriander seeds. I didn’t find the mayo to be necessary since the recipe also calls for sour cream and cream cheese. In the past I have also replaced the sour cream with plain Greek yogurt. Coriander seeds aren’t an ingredient I keep in my pantry, so I left them out.

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The toughest part about this recipe is squeezing the water our of the spinach. I suggest letting the spinach thaw out over night by leaving the spinach in a colander. Sit the colander in a larger bowl to catch the dripping water. You will then need to really squeeze out the remaining water. If your spinach is still a bit frozen, you can microwave it for a few minutes. Using a thin dish towel roll up your spinach and twist the ends like a Tootsie-Roll. This usually easier (and faster) with two people. I am always amazed how much water comes out of spinach. If you don’t squeeze out as much water as possible your dip will be soggy.

Now this next tip is the real winner. I like to serve this dip with fresh corn tortillas. Look for 100% corn tortillas which should be gluten-free. They come in a big bag and are usually only 50 calories each. Using a pizza cutter, cut each tortilla into 8 triangles. Scatter the slices on a baking sheet then drizzle with olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes. These are my absolute favorite chips! They have the best crunch and stand up well to this hardy dip. You should probably make at least half a bag because your guests will gobble them up.

xo Miss Alyss

Quick Healthy Snack Ideas

The holiday season is over and it’s back to work this week! I generally eat very healthy all year round, but even I can’t avoid the temptations of sweets between Thanksgiving and New Years. Christmas week was especially hard because I took the week off. I definitely got off my schedules. Yes, schedules. My sleeping, eating and exercising habits are very methodical. I can tell my body is a little out of whack, so I am looking forward to getting back on track. I always eat two snacks a day. One between breakfast and lunch then one between lunch and dinner.  Here are some of my favorite snacks to pack for work.

-Celery and 1-2 TBSP almond butter (MaraNatha No Stir Almond Butter is my favorite brand)

-Small apple and 1-2 TSP almond or peanut butter

-1/2 cup cottage cheese and fruit (I buy full fat cottage cheese because it usually has less ingredients. The Breakstone brand has been my favorite with fresh pineapple).

-1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese with a dash of vanilla extract and cinnamon (I LOVE this snack. It’s so creamy and delicious; almost like a dessert. Ricotta cheese is a great source of whey protein – from what I’ve read. It is also much, much lower in sodium than cottage cheese. I like Sorrento full fat ricotta cheese; I think this brand has a good texture)

-A handful of walnuts with about 3 prunes

-Mini carrots with Holy Guacamole or Hannah’s Organic Hummus (both come in snack size and are available at Costco)

SoDelicious Greek Style  Coconut Milk (dairy free) Yogurt

Boom Chicka Pop or Skinny Pop Popcorn

What you your favorite healthy snacks?

xo Miss Alyss