Feingold Family Favorites

The Feingold Organization has been a huge blessing to my family.  It has helped us keep artificial colors, flavors and preservatives out of our family's diet since 2005.  This is when we learned that Yellow 5 gave our youngest severe migraines.

This week hearings were held regarding dyes and ADHD.  Here's an ABC News clip of the hearings. This mom is a Feingold mom.

Here's a link to The Chart on CNN regarding the vote.  It was wonderful to see Dr. Feingold's name in print.

So there will be more research and more studies and I'm glad for that, I just wish it wasn't necessary and that action was taken here like it was so very many months ago in England.  It makes me more than a little crazy that our kids get petroleum based dyes in their candy from the very same manufacturers that supply the very same candies in England made with safe food based dyes.

I have a copy of the Feingold Family Favorites cookbook that needs a loving home.  It is unused and full of recipes submitted by Feingold members - about 140 pages worth.   Sunday afternoon we'll choose a random winner and I'll mail to the winner as soon as I can get to the post office!  Just leave a message about what Feingold has done for you you or your family or something healthy for yourself or your family.

Easy Gluten Free Homemade Veggie Burgers

Remember Monday’s post when I said I’d doubled the rice and lentils to make veggie burgers? Well, here they are. I love Sunshine Burgers* and usually have a box in the freezer for an almost instant lunch or dinner.  But when I’m out, I make my own.  This is one of the fastest and least expensive recipes you can make and its a great vegetarian protein combination, too.

For this recipe I had set aside approximately three cups each of the lentils and the rice. I added the chopped veggies and seasonings and used an immersion blender to get the texture I wanted. Pushing the blender down through the mixture several times the mixture was mostly pureed but still had some whole rice grains and lentils for texture. This is a really basic recipe you can change with your favorite herbs and spices.

Veggie Burgers

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line baking sheet with parchment paper

3 cups cooked brown rice

3 cups cooked lentils

2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided

½ cup grated carrots

¼  cup minced onion

1 clove minced garlic

Dash of salt, pepper and cayenne

Place everything but 1 Tablespoon of olive oil together and 1) blend with immersion blender or 2) blend with food processor or 3) mash with a manual potato masher.  Do not over blend or process as you want some texture.

Shape one cup spoonfuls of mixture into patties on the parchment paper. Drizzle about ½ teaspoon of olive oil on top of each patty and brush over top.  Bake until browned – about 25 minutes in my oven.

The sandwich rolls were made with a one loaf-sized package Pamela’s Bread mix.  I used the standard bread recipe and shaped it into six rolls. The dough is very sticky, so smooth it over with very wet hands to get a nice, smooth bun shape.  They also took about 25 minutes to bake.

Joe is a purist and had a plain cheese veggie burger.

Mine was topped with a roasted red pepper and eggplant spread and I added a handful of fresh baby spinach. So yummy!

*Why Sunshine Burgers?  Because they are not only gluten free but soy free and non-GMO. They're the only brand I've found that meets our needs and they just taste great, too.

Like Sunshine Burgers homemade veggie burgers can crumble easily so transfer them from baking sheet to bun with a spatula. You can purposefully crumble them when making wraps or adding them to nachos. 

Meatless Monday & The More-with-Less Cookbook

Kusherie

Happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays!

If you are not familiar with the More-with-Less Cookbook, I highly recommend that you check it out.  My 25^th anniversary edition was published in 2000 so there’s nothing new or cutting edge about it.

What More-with-Less is all about is eating simply, with joy and helping others. On a nutritional level the three ways it makes sense to me are 1) the focus on eating more whole grains, legumes, fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds, 2) the use of meat and dairy products sparingly which is a healthy and lower cost way of eating and 3) the avoidance of processed foods. I’m all over #3.  Not only are packaged and convenience foods more expensive and less nutritious but they often contain artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.   

More-with-Less is not a gluten free or vegetarian cookbook but there are lots of recipes that work well for both.  What is really inspiring to me about this Mennonite cookbook is the premise that if you lower the cost of your own food you’ll have more money to share with those in need. Missionaries and home cooks from all over the world have submitted recipes so they are varied but very accessible. There are not a lot of hard to find ingredients or spices you’ll use only once - just new ways of combining lots of favorite foods.

The recipe for Kusherie is a great example. Kusherie is a type of Egyptian fast food.  Rice, lentils, a tomato based sauce and browned onions on top. Homey and satisfying. Because I was sure I had celery and peppers in my fridge and didn’t my sauce was very basic but still really good. As much as I enjoy the browned onions, they just aren’t a big seller here so I just took one leek and lightly browned it. The variation suggested in the book omits the sauce and uses plain yogurt between the lentils and onions which is how I'll enjoy my leftovers at lunch.

Speaking of leftovers, I doubled the rice and lentils last night so that I'd have enough of each to make veggie patties.  They'll be mashed with garlic, carrots, onions and spices for inexpensive and quick veggie burgers later.

The preparation is very simple and straight-forward and most of the ingredients are pantry staples here.  Don’t let the four steps throw you, no step takes more than a few minutes to prepare and just need some simmer time.  As you start one pot, move on to the next and the next. My prep time was under twenty minutes and I wrote most of this post while things simmered.

Kusherie – adapted from More-with-Less

Serves 6 – 8

In your first pan start the rice:

1 ½ cups rice rinsed and cooked according to package directions.  I used brown basmati but any rice is good.  Keep warm

Next, start the lentils:

1 ¼ cups brown lentils.  Wash and drain.  Place in pan with 1 Tablespoon Olive oil and sauté lightly.  Add 3 cups of boiling water with a dash of salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Simmer until done, approximately 30 minutes.  Keep warm.

Note: you can save a pot by using white rice which will cook faster and cooking the rice and lentils in the same pot – same taste, different presentation.  I would rinse both the rice and lentils in the same large pot and sauté them before adding the boiling water.

While they are simmering, start your sauce on the third burner:

2 cans organic diced tomatoes (approximately 15 ounces)

1 chopped green pepper

1 handful chopped celery leaves

½ teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon crushed chili flakes

Simmer about 30 minutes and keep warm.

Note: omit the sauce if you’re in a hurry and use a large spoonful of plain yogurt instead. 

Lastly, sauté a leek on the fourth burner.  Stir occasionally and add a dash of garlic powder as they are done.  Keep warm.  Alternatively, slice three large onions and sauté with four cloves of garlic over medium heat until brown.  Keep warm.

Serve the rice and lentils in a bowl, top with sauce or yogurt and leeks or onions.

For more about More-with-Less, click here.

Enjoy!

Thumbprint Muffins

Baking something is a nearly daily event in my kitchen and has really become pretty automatic.  It makes life so much easier to have grab and go muffins for breakfasts and snacks.  Baking with almond meal makes for substantial, nutritious muffins that we all love.  As I quickly gather my ingredients, made easier because most of my ingredients are near my Kitchenaid Mixer and the oven, I start deciding which variation to make.  

On Friday I thought of thumbprint cookies and decided to put a dollop of jam or preserves in the center of each muffin.  Ev came over and helped and Gabby and I chatted as we finished making them.  The resulting muffins were easy, messy and yummy.

Thumbprint Muffins

Makes 24 messy muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line muffin tins with 24 paper liners

1 lb.      Pkg  Almond Meal

6           Eggs

3/4 cup  Grapeseed Oil

1 T         Vanilla (I make my own so I know it’s gluten free)

½ cup    Sugar

½ t        Himalayan Salt

1 T        Baking Soda

1 cup    Your favorite low or no sugar, natural preserves

As always double check your ingredients and make sure they're all gluten free.

Mix all ingredients except your preserves until thoroughly blended.  Fill the muffin liners a scant half full and put one teaspoon of preserves in the center of each one.  I used raspberry for one dozen and apricot for the other.  Bake approximately 15 minutes or until just done.  

While baking take time to enjoy some music and play with your pup.  It makes time fly!  

Allow to cool as the preserves will retain heat for several minutes.  Play a game of Memory and they should be just about ready.

Enjoy!

Meatless Monday - Spicy Thai Noodles

This recipe happily shared on Gluten Free Wednesdays 3/19/14.

Going gluten free may mean giving up some old favorites but it can also be a great time to find new favorites.  Mexican, Indian, Asian cuisines have many naturally gluten free options. These Thai style noodles are a great starting point. They're spicy but not over the top hot with a creamy coconut peanut sauce and topped with cilantro, green onions and crunchy peanuts. Comfort food with a zing.

When we met Marie’s parents, they brought over the most beautiful bowl full of gluten free ingredients and some recipes Terri had written up - it was a beautiful hostess gift. One recipe was a Spicy Peanut Noodle recipe that is so good I must have made it a dozen times over the first few weeks I had the recipe. Instead of coconut and peanut butter Terri’s lighter recipe uses sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds and uses the cilantro, green onions and peanuts as a topping. I love that topping so much I now use it with these noodles.

Asian rice stick noodles work well for this sauce but you can substitute gluten free spaghetti if you have some on hand. Some brands of gluten free pastas can be a little tricky to work with. Have plenty of water at a full boil and stir the pasta occasionally. It doesn’t take as long to cook as wheat based pasta. Take it off the stove and drain it as it’s just done or you’ll have a sticky, gooey mess on your hands.

Gluten Free Soy Sauce is an important ingredient in your gluten free kitchen.  San-J makes soy sauce and a line of gluten free sauces that seems to be expanding all the time – here’s a link to their own gluten free recipes.   I can find it everywhere from Whole Foods to Target.

Spicy Thai Noodles

Serves four

Put water on to boil in large pot.

Have ready

13.2 ounce package Asian Rice Stick Noodles

 

Prepare Sauce:

1 can Coconut Milk

½ cup Peanut Butter, no sugar added

¼ cup chopped red onion

2 T Gluten Free Soy Sauce

2 T Honey

1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

You can blend all ingredients in a blender or in a large jar with an immersion (stick) blender.  I used the stick blender in a jar method today.

Prepare Toppings:

½ cup Cilantro, chopped

1 bunch Green Onions, thinly sliced

½ cup Salted Peanuts.

Lime wedges are great to squeeze over the cilantro.  Serving a natural kimchee with the noodles gives a spicy and crunchy kick and gives you a great probiotic boost.

Cook and drain the rice pasta. Pour about ½ of the Thai Peanut sauce over the top.  Stir gently and serve.

You'll have more Spicy Peanut sauce left to enjoy later in the week. It's so good over rice with veggies and/or chicken.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Grilled Cilantro Chicken Burgers on GF Jalapeño Cheese Rolls

While today ended up being several degrees cooler than the last few gorgeous sunny days; it was still a nice enough evening to fire up the grill.  This is a recipe I created a few years ago and posted on a health board I used to frequent. I had long forgotten about it.  Happily I came across some old recipe notes recently and recreated the recipe.  Adding a shredded carrot to the original recipe gave the patties a bit more color and flavor.

If my Whole Foods carried raw ground chicken on a regular basis I would make these much more often.  As it is I find it every few visits.  I don't buy ground chicken anywhere else because every other store's ground chicken has something added to it.  Added flavors can mean gluten or artificial flavors or preservatives and are best avoided.  Ground chicken is great to cook with. It's lean and light I prefer it to ground turkey hands down.  When made into burgers there is  no need for any fillers to hold them together.  This recipe is full of veggies and flavor and is really great on freshly baked Jalapeño Cheese Rolls.

I topped mine with homemade salsa and avocado slices and loved every bite.  Other toppings available were sliced red onions, tomatoes and ketchup.  Every one of us dressed ours up slightly different and we were all quite happy.

Grilled Cilantro Chicken Burgers on GF Jalapeño Rolls

Makes 8 large chicken burgers

2 lbs Raw Ground Chicken Breast

1/2 cup Cilantro, finely chopped

1 large Jalapeño, finely chopped

1 medium Carrot, finely shredded

1/4 cup Red Onion, finely chopped

dash if Garlic Powder

dash of Black Pepper, freshly ground

1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt

Mix the raw chicken with all the rest of the ingredients.  Very clean hands are the fastest way to mix everything thoroughly. 

Shape into eight burgers and grill on medium heat until cooked through and lightly browned. These are just as easy and just as flavorful when cooked on my cast iron frying pan.  When I cook them this way I use a little bit of coconut oil on the pan because the chicken is so lean.

The best part of tonight's dinner are the leftovers for the week.  There are still four burgers and half a dozen rolls for fast meals when time is short - all I'll have to do is make a quick salad. Cooking in quantity is such a time saver.  It takes only moments longer to double most recipes and in doing so you can literally save hours per week. 

Hope you have a great week.

Banana Coconut Bread with Chocolate Chips

Here’s an easy high protein, high fiber yummy banana bread recipe. Coconut and Almond flours are both grain free for those who have trouble digesting grains.  Adding the large quantity of eggs boosts the protein even higher and keeps my local farmer happy because I buy so many each week!  The sugar is kept to a minimum because of the sweet bananas and chocolate chips.  My family prefers banana bread without chopped nuts but if your family enjoys them feel free to throw in your favorite.

I love having things like our breakfast cake, chocolate coconut bars or this banana bread around for quick breakfasts.  A slice is so much more satisfying than a processed gluten free piece of toast or waffle and the protein will hold you over much longer.  They are perfect for an afternoon treat after running through the sprinklers, too.  Just ask my favorite neighbors!

Banana Coconut Bread with Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Makes 2 loaves.

Prepare pans by lightly greasing.

4 Bananas, very ripe and mashed

6  Eggs

3/4 cup Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil

1/2 cup  Tropical Traditions Coconut Flour

1 lb. Almond Meal – Trader Joe’s

1/4 Cup Organic Cane Sugar

1 t Baking Powder

2 cups Chocolate Chips

 Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips until very well incorporated; stir in chocolate chips.

Spread batter into two greased standard loaf pans and bake for 50 minutes.  Alternatively you can spread the batter into into an ungreased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 375 for 40 minutes.   The crust will be brown and the bread will feel a bit soft but a toothpick inserted in the center will be clean.

Leah's GF/CF Sandwich Rolls

Leah, this is as close as I can come to home delivery.  These rolls are an adaptation of this cheese roll recipe. The cannellini beans add bulk to the batter and lots of fiber and protein, too.  They help replace the large amount of cheese in the original.   I upped the oil a bit because cheese adds a lot of fat and in my first attempt I found the rolls dried out almost immediately. These are much softer and have a nice texture.  They took just about ten minutes to prepare and less than thirty to bake. 

I think the Daiya Mozzarella style would work well in this recipe using olive oil and a tablespoon of oregano.   Hope your family enjoys them.

Leah’s GF/CF Sandwich Rolls

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Line baking sheet with parchment paper

Make 9 rolls

In Vitamix or blender combine:

1 15.5 ounce can cannellini beans, drained

2 large eggs

½ cup grapeseed oil (use any approved mild oil)

Scrape with spatula into a mixing bowl containing:

2 cups Tapioca starch

4 Tablespoons finely milled golden flax seed

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup Daiya Cheddar Style Shred cheese substitute.

Mix thoroughly to blend.  Let batter sit for 10 minutes to allow flax to absorb and thicken batter.

Spoon batter into nine rolls on parchment and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden. 

Note:  The rolls in the photo were made immediately upon mixing and are flatter than the rolls that were made when the batter was allowed to thicken.  Time was short and I was losing light for photos. =D  

March 14 is Pi Day!

If you have a math/science person in your home you probably already know that today is Pi Day! So that means it's Pie Day here. It was late in the afternoon yesterday when we realized that today was 3/14 so I pulled together a quick Pi Day Eve dessert.  This is a coconut pie crust filled with ice cream.  Easy as pie!  =D The crust took about three minutes to prepare.  After baking and cooling the crust I just scooped the ice cream into the crust and swirled some chocolate syrup on top. I popped it back into the freezer until we were ready to enjoy it.  Actual hands on preparation took less than ten minutes.  

Nourishing Traditions is an amazing cookbook.  It's really more of a history of food and nutrition with whole food, traditional recipes.  This book really changed the way I cook - soaking grains and legumes for better digestion, using good quality fats to nourish our brains and skin and learning more about coconut - to name a few.  Between coconut oil, coconut milk and other coconut products there are so many ways to use this healthy ingredient in your cooking.  I've got lots of wonderful, nourishing recipes I love and will eventually get to here, but for now, it's the coconut pie crust.

The Nourishing Traditions Coconut Pie Crust is an easy peasy recipe. You want to use shredded or flaked coconut with no sweeteners.  I added cocoa but no sugar because the ice cream and syrup are soooo sweet.  We chose Coconut and Chocolate for our flavors and just scooped them into the crust.  Softening the ice cream and layering it would be really pretty and give you much prettier slices than this one!  Either way, it tastes awesome.  The crust has a crunchy, almost salty flavor that contrasts with the sweet creamy ice cream beautifully.

Cocoa Coconut Pie Crust
Makes one 9 inch crust
Preheat oven to 300 degrees

In a medium saucepan melt:

1 stick of Butter

When melted add:

1 T. Cocoa
2 Cups Shredded unsweetened Coconut

Mix together, press evenly into an ungreased pie pan and bake thirty minutes.

Cool completely and fill with your favorite ice cream.  We used two pints.

Drizzle a little chocolate sauce on top if you like.

Serve immediately or freeze to serve later.

Enjoy!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream Icing

Last night we were invited to the Hamm’s for dinner.  We had the best time seeing their new place and spending time togther.  They spoiled us rotten with a huge spread of gluten free Chinese food from Pei Wei - so yummy.  We were stuffed to the brim but still made room for cupcakes.   

Here’s a recipe for the vanilla cupcakes and creamy chocolate buttercream icing.

These are the opposite of Ev’s birthday cupcakes and just as easy to make.  The cupcakes are a slight adaptation of Elana's vanilla cupcake and even though I love the chocolate version, these remain my favorite. Elana has a new cupcake cookbook coming out soon and I'm looking forward to adding it to my collection. She has several different and delicious looking variations on her site - check them out!   These cupcakes do use more sugar than I usually like to bake with but all the protein from the eggs and coconut flour seem to balance the sweet out.  We don’t get sugar highs and lows with this combination but they are still a once in a while treat.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Creamy Chocolate Buttercream Icing

For the cupcakes:

Heat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare 2 cupcake pans with 24 paper liners 

1 cup Coconut Flour

½ teaspoon Sea Salt

1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

12 Eggs

1 cup Butter (or grapeseed oil if cs)

1 cup Sugar

1 Tablespoon Vanilla

Combine all ingredients in bowl of Kitchenaid mixer on low speed to combine.  Increase speed to medium high for two minutes.  Pour nearly to the brim into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for a approximately 20 minutes.

Creamy Chocolate Buttercream Icing

While your cupcakes are baking start your icing.  In saucepan over very low heat melt:

1 cup Butter

1 11 ounce package Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate chips

In Kitchenaid mixer bowl measure:

2 cups powdered sugar

½ cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Milk

When the chocolate butter mixture is just melted pour it over sugar mixture and mix on low speed to combine.  I let it sit and cool while the cupcakes baked and cooled.  The mixture was very dark and glossy. At this point I turned the mixer on to medium speed and let the icing blend until it became fluffy and lighter in color as in the photo.  Three minutes was all it took for me. Once it holds a peak you are ready to ice.

The icings have basically the same ingredients but since this one has been beaten the volume increases and will generously ice the 24 cupcakes with extra icing for gf graham crackers during the week.

Gluten Free Naturally - Easy Weeknight Meal

Black Beans & Brown Rice

Gluten free meals can be healthy, inexpensive and easy. You don't need a lot of special ingredients.  Take last night's meal - a pot of black beans, a pot of brown basmati rice, simmered peppers and onions with a sprinkle of cilantro.  This meal is so easy you really don't need a recipe.

Beans are nutritionally amazing - protein, fiber, antioxidants and minerals.  If you sort and soak a bag of dried beans the night before they can just simmer on the stove during the day without any extra care.  I added a clove of garlic, a spoonful of cumin and pepper in the morning and salt just before serving.  If you're really short on time you can always open a can of beans but they may not be as easy to digest.

The brown rice took less than five minutes to prepare and cooked the last hour of the bean's cooking time.

Thirty minutes before dinner I chopped one large sweet onion, two large organic red bell peppers, and minced a clove of garlic.  Because our dinner guest doesn't use oil I just simmered  them in a bit of water instead of oil this time.  Salt, pepper and a dash of oregano is all it needed.  Peppers are a stage 2 item on the Feingold program so if you're new to it just omit them.

I love to garnish all kinds of meals with cilantro.  Not only does it add a fresh kick to Mexican, Asian and Indian cooking it's a natural detoxifier, is great for digestion and is reported to be a good source of iron and magnesium.

As is this is a quick vegan meal.  You could add shredded cheese, avocado, hot sauce - anything you like.  Dress it up for company, keep it simple for weekdays. 

Gluten Free Pizza and a Bake Fest with Marie!

Today’s post was going to be on pizza – only pizza – but then Marie came over to bake!  Marc and Marie are driving up to Ohio to see her family so I offered to bake some goodies for their road trip.  Marie being awesome offered to help.  We went just a little crazy and baked all of this and then some!

We made two batches of jalapeño jack cheese rolls per the recipe here.  Then we made another batch with sharp cheddar cheese and a touch of garlic – think Texas toast.  There were plenty for our dinner, sandwiches for them to take and some for our freezer. A batch of pizza dough was next – recipe below.  Marc and Marie can take the pre-baked crusts and make pizza easily and quickly with her sister later.   Check out the fun shape!

Marie took over the Kitchenaid and made two batches of muffins.  The first batch was her very own signature version of the Breakfast Cake recipe.  Like Joe’s version, Marie opted for white chocolate chips and crystallized ginger but she had brought over a bag of dried cranberries and added all of them. She then added coarse sea salt instead of the finely ground I usually use.  They baked up so moist and tender.  The sea salt crystals accented the white chocolate in the most amazing way!

Next up was a batch of these muffins.  Only while Marie mixed them up per the recipe I chopped salty peanuts to mix in and she added dark chocolate chips.  Yum!

And now to pizza….

Pizza was something I missed when I gave up gluten.  At that time there were gluten free pizzas in the freezer section but they tasted like cardboard and were completely overpriced.  They just weren’t interesting enough to bother with.  Later as my sons became gluten free there were more options and they were a bit better but still not very exciting or even close to what we used to order.  Now there are much better brands in the freezer case and at a few restaurants, too.  We're fortunate to have a couple of restaurants close by that have good gluten free pizza now.

But it’s really easy to make your own crusts and you’ll save a small fortune by doing so. This recipe simply uses the cheese bread recipe (again) with mozzarella cheese and a good flavorful olive oil.  It's a thick, chewy and cheesy crust which my sons and I love.

Does it seem everything I bake is just a variation of that first recipe?  Well, when you have a recipe that is simple, that consistently works and that you are comfortable with it just makes sense to play with it as a starting point.  Especially when you’re re-learning to bake and getting a grasp on the chemistry of gluten free baking.

I buy bags of tapioca flour an armload at a time so I always have some on hand for a quick roll, bread, pizza, etc.  Using the entire one pound bag makes for large quantities and for us that works well.  If you don’t have the large people with large appetites at your house that I have here, freeze part of what you bake.  Having a few pizza crusts, rolls or muffins in the freezer makes life so much easier.  These crusts are especially easy to freeze.  When you need a fast meal you can pull out one out, top and bake for a fresh, hot pizza in no time.  If you’re going to a party and everyone else is having pizza, make and bake your own to take.  You won’t feel deprived a bit.  Planning ahead makes gluten free living so much easier.

This is a really satisfying pizza.  The crust has a ton of cheese and eggs so it’s full of protein.  A couple of slices and a salad will be a filling, stick with you meal.

Gluten Free Pizza – Thick Crust

Makes 2 12 inch pizzas or more individual sized pizzas as you choose.

.

1 lb.    Tapioca Starch

1 lb.    Mozzarella Cheese, grated

1 T.     Baking Powder

6         Eggs  (allow to come to room temperature)

3/4 C  Olive Oil

2 T      Finely Milled Golden Flax 

2 T      Dried Oregano - optional

Dash  Garlic Powder - optional

Directions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone sheets or use 12.5 inch baking stones.

I did one 12 inch pizza on the stone and made three large individual pizzas on the sheet this time.

Place all ingredients in mixing bowl in order given.  Putting the Tapioca Starch in the bottom helps keep it from forming a cloud when you start the mixer. I use my Kitchenaid stand mixer on medium for about 2 minutes. 

Divide the dough in half and pat into circles if making two large pizzas.  Be creative and make them any size you like.  You can even try heart shaped pizzas for Valentine’s Day or anytime you want to show a little love. 

Bake until lightly browned.  At this point you can either top your pizzas and pop them back into the oven to brown or let them cool before freezing.

If topping a fresh from the oven pizza another ten minutes in the oven is usually plenty of time for golden brown cheese.  If baking a frozen shell you’ll probably need closer to twenty.  

Marie and Marc, be safe and have fun!

xoxoxox