I knew I’d have to modify my mom’s recipe because I didn’t want a whole punch bowl filled with enough to serve a large party. (Without the champagne, this recipe makes a tropical juice punch that fills a 2-quart pitcher.) And while I was changing the recipe, I decided to change up some of the flavors, too. I think I’ll serve these Tropical Mimosas with my Banana Coffee Cake (regular and dairy-free) and Berry Fruit Salad. What an exquisite way to start the morning on Mother’s Day!

Tropical Mimosas

Ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas
24 oz. (3 Cups) pineapple juice
16 oz. (2 Cups) orange juice
12 oz. (1-1/2 Cups) mango nectar/juice
2 bottles of champagne or sparkling wine, chilled

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients, except the champagne, to a 2-quart pitcher. Using an immersible blender, thoroughly blend the bananas and juice until frothy. (If you don’t have an immersible blender, just pour it all into a regular blender to mix it.)
2. Fill a champagne flute half-way with champagne, then top with the juice.
3. To garnish, try a fresh pineapple or mango slice. Enjoy!

Additional Notes:

• For a non-alcoholic version, add the punch to Ginger Ale instead of champagne.
• Or, for a smoothie, add a cup of yogurt to the juice and give it a whirl in the blender.

Notable Links:

• The call for submissions to this month’s Go Ahead Honey It’s Gluten Free! – Breakfast in Bed
• Celiac Family’s recipe for Banana Coffee Cake – Gluten-Free
• Celiac Family’s recipe for Banana Coffee Cake – Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free
• Celiac Family’s recipe for Berry Fruit Salad
• Celiac Family’s recipe for Eggs and Hash Browns Casserole

I am so excited to share this recipe with you. I’ve never actually eaten a lot of beignets – only when I’ve been at the French Quarter in New Orleans. They really are a delicious treat. If you’re not familiar with them, I would describe them as a square doughnut, or bread dough deep fried into little square pillows, and topped with powdered sugar. They are so yummy! If you aren’t celebrating Mardi Gras with a Gluten-Free King Cake this year, then you should definitely indulge in these little gems.

Gluten-Free Beignet Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup warm water
1/4 Cup sugar
2 tsp yeast
3/4 Cup almond milk (Regular milk should work, too.)
1/2 Cup butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Cups brown rice flour (I use Authentic Foods finely ground.)
1 Cup potato starch
1/2 Cup sweet rice flour
1 Tbsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1 liter vegetable oil for frying beignets
powdered sugar for dusting the beignets after cooking

Directions:

1. You’ll need a large pot of vegetable oil to fry the beignets. Electric deep fryers are great for keeping the temperature consistent. However, you can use a pot of oil on the stove top, but you’ll need to watch the temperature closely. You should fry the beignets between 360° - 380° F.
2. Start by combining the yeast with the sugar and the warm water (110° - 115° F is recommended but I don’t usually check the temperature.) in a small bowl. Set it aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the brown rice flour, potato starch, sweet rice flour, xanthan gum, and salt. Add in the melted butter, milk, and eggs and mix thoroughly.
4. Now stir the yeast mixture into the flour mixture. The dough should start to pull together into a soft ball.
5. Turn the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper and top with plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it’s about 1/8″ thick.
6. Using a pizza cutter, cut the beignets into 2-1/2″ squares. You should be able to make 24 – 30 beignets.
7. Fry the dough in the heated oil 1 – 3 beignets at a time. Don’t fry too many at once, as it can lower the temperature of the oil too fast. Thus, inhibiting the beignets to puff up like they should. Once the beignets start to brown, flip them over using a slotted spoon or tongs. Once the beignets have been lightly browned on both sides, carefully remove them from the oil and place on paper towels to absorb extra oil. The beignets should only take one or two minutes to brown on each side.
8. Generously top each beignet with powdered sugar and serve while warm.

Additional Notes:

• These aren’t terribly sweet. Most of the sweetness comes from the powdered sugar, so you can easily adjust it to your liking. You can even drizzle a little honey on it, like my husband did,  if you have a sweet tooth.
• In case you’re wondering: I didn’t find it necessary to wait and allow the dough to rise. I simply cut them out and fried them up.
• This dough wasn’t very sticky, so you might be able to roll out the dough without using the parchment paper and plastic wrap, but I find it convenient. A little dusting of potato starch on the counter and rolling pin should work fine.
• Just roll out the dough once. I tried to re-roll the dough (balled it up and rolled it out again) to cut perfect squares. As a result, the dough fried up flat and a little tougher.
• Watch the temperature of the oil while frying. If it’s too low, the beignets won’t puff up. If it’s too high, the center won’t cook through and will be a little gummy. If you’re having trouble, try putting two pieces of dough into the oil at a time when it’s at 380° F.
• Although I don’t believe it’s traditional, I think these would be nice with a little cinnamon mixed into the dough. I might try that next time.
• In order to save time for breakfast, the traditional meal time to eat these, make up the dough the night before and keep the dough in the refrigerator. In the morning, roll it out, cut it and fry.

Notable Links

• I did eventually find another recipe for gluten-free beignets. This one by Teri Gruss at About.com uses a cake mix for the flour.
• There are more tips for cooking beignets at Cafe Du Monde .
• I’m linking this to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays because I only used 1/4 Cup sugar in the dough and I reduced the lactose content by using almond milk.
• For more gluten-free recipes, visit The Gluten-Free Homemaker at this week’s edition of “What Can I Eat That’s Gluten Free?“
• Know a fan of Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog”? Here are some coloring/activity pages my daughter has enjoyed.

Eggs & Hash Browns Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients:

3 Cups Hash Browns (I used Wegmans frozen diced potatoes.)
1/4 Cup (4 or 5 onions) green onions, sliced
2 Tbsp butter
8 large eggs
1 (4 oz.) can of diced green chiles
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 slices cooked bacon, chopped or crumbled
1- 1/2 Cups (about 3 oz.) cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease an 8×8 square Pyrex baking dish with an oil spray.
2. In a medium skillet over low heat, melt 1 Tbsp of butter. Then increase the heat and add in the hash browns. Stir to coat the potatoes and heat up for about 5 minutes. Transfer the potatoes to the baking dish.
3. Place the remaining Tbsp of butter in the skillet. Add the sliced green onions and saute until tender – 4 or 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
4. Beat eggs together. Stir in green chiles, sliced green onions, salt and pepper. Pour mixture over the hash browns.
5. Sprinkle the bacon pieces over the egg and hash browns.
6. Top with the shredded cheese and bake at 350° F for 35 – 40 minutes.

Additional Notes:

• Makes 6 servings.
• You can also double the recipe and use a 9×13 baking dish. I bake it at 350° F for 45-50 minutes, or until the center raises to the same level as the sides.
• Keep leftovers refrigerated. Then, heat up individual portions in the microwave for about 60 seconds.
• As you can see from the picture above, I served with sliced avocado and a little salsa.
• To make this recipe even faster and easier, skip steps 1 and 2. Simply put the frozen hash browns in the baking pan, and add the sliced green onions raw to the egg mixture. It slightly changes the taste and texture, but still tastes good.

Related Links:

• For more gluten-free casseroles, check out this week’s edition of What Can I Eat That’s Gluten Free?.
• For a similar recipe that uses shredded hash browns, check out Brian’s Gluten Free Breakfast Casserole at Fire and Salt.
• For more ideas for School Breakfast and Lunches, visit Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.

Every year, my mom makes Poppy Seed Bread to give to friends and co-workers for the holidays. I, too, have continued this tradition. This year, rather than making it from scratch, I decided to take the easy way and use Betty Crocker’s Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix. I was a little concerned about the amounts, but was pleasantly surprised at how well it turned out. I added some flavorings and poppy seeds to the mix, as well as eggs, milk and oil. It made a very nice poppy seed cake that I then covered with a thin, sweet glaze.

These cakes can be made up in advance and frozen until time to give them away for the holidays. Once I’ve made the cakes and let them cool completely, I wrap each one individually with plastic wrap. Then, I place them in a zip-style plastic bag. Sealed like this, you can keep them in the refrigerator for at least a week, or in the freezer for several weeks. They will defrost quite quickly at room temperature. Or, defrost them in the refrigerator overnight.

Poppy Seed Bread Made With Betty Crocker’s Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix

Ingredients:

For the Cake:
1 box Betty Crocker Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix
3 eggs
2/3 Cup milk
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
1 TBSP poppy seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp butter flavoring
1 tsp almond flavoring

For the Glaze:
1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1/4 Cup granulated sugar
1/4 Cup orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp butter flavoring
1 tsp almond flavoring

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Then add in the remaining cake ingredients (cake mix, milk, oil, poppy seeds, vanilla extract, butter flavoring and almond flavoring). Mix until thoroughly blended.
2. Pour into greased, small/mini loaf pans. (I use an oil spray, but you can use butter or shortening.)
3. Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350° F.
4. Once baked, remove from the oven and cool in the pans on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.
5. While the cakes are cooling, make the glaze. Combine all the glaze ingredients and mix well.
6. Pour the glaze over each cake (still warm in the pan). Let it sit for 5 minutes, then remove and let it cool completely on racks.

Additional Notes:

• I made three small loaves with this recipe, but probably could’ve made two slightly larger loaves. This recipe will also make one full-size loaf.
• I used the small, or sometimes called mini, aluminum foil loaf pans (about 3.5″ x 6″ x 2″h) you find in the grocery stores. I’ve used them over and over, washing each time in the dishwasher. If you’re wanting a more permanent solution, try these Mini Loaf Pans.
• For presenting these as gifts, I usually keep the bread wrapped in plastic wrap and then tie it with a nice festive ribbon. For more color, you can use colored plastic wrap that is easy to find during the holidays. Sometimes I will also put the bread in a clear plastic gift bag, or treat bag and then tie with a nice ribbon. You can also use colored cellophane to wrap it, and tie with ribbon at both ends. It all just depends on how and when you want to present it.
• If not giving these away as gifts, put them in the freezer. Then the night before Thanksgiving or Christmas, put them into the refrigerator to defrost overnight. By morning it will be a nice treat to eat for breakfast, or maybe a snack while opening stockings, with a cup of tea.

For more edible gift ideas, be sure to visit Cents To Get Debt Free. I’m a little late to the blog carnival, so there are already plenty of other great ideas for edible gifts. Please be aware that some of the contributions at the carnival may not be gluten-free, but there are still plenty that are GF and other good ideas that could be modified to be GF.

For starters, I reduced the sugar in the cake by a 1/4 cup. I didn’t even miss it. Next, I removed the dairy from the recipe. Although I’m lactose intolerant, I usually cook with whole milk. I take any opportunity to get more calories into my son. Since my son doesn’t eat the coffee cake (don’t ask me why), I figured I’d try replacing the cow’s milk with almond milk. I also replaced the butter in the recipe, but I didn’t have a good, low-fat alternative. I used shortening with butter flavor. I’m not sure that’s a healthier option. However, I did meet my goal of reducing sugar and eliminating the lactose.

The results: it was even better. The texture was perfect — moist and soft, but not gummy. And I was pleasantly surprised that I didn’t miss the sugar. I loved the coffee cake. Just like the original cake, it lasted on the counter for a few days without drying out or getting crumbly. Here’s the revised recipe:

Banana Coffee Cake – Revised Recipe

Ingredients:

Filling Layer:
1/2 Cup brown sugar, packed
1 TBSP shortening, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cake Batter:
1/2 Cup shortening, softened
3/4 Cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 Cup brown rice flour
1/2 Cup cornstarch
1/4 Cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 or 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 2/3 Cup)
1/3 Cup almond milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare  a 9″ cake pan or 8 x 8 baking pan by spraying with oil.
2. Mix together the filling ingredients and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg and beat well.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (brown rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt) and then mix into the shortening/sugar/egg mixture.
5. Add bananas and almond milk. Stir well.
6. Pour all but about a cup of the batter into the cake pan.
7. Spoon in the filling and gently spread it over the top. It doesn’t need to be smooth and even.
8. Pour or spoon on the remaining batter over the filling. It doesn’t need to cover the filling completely.
9. Bake at 350° F for 40-45 minutes.

Additional Notes:

• You can also add chopped nuts to the filling.
• This cake also freezes well. I have wrapped and frozen individual portions, so that we can take out one at a time and heat it in the microwave. Great morning treat to grab-and-go on the way to the office.

This is not your typical coffee cake. Thanks to the banana in the recipe, it is very moist and stays that way even after a couple days. Great for breakfast, brunch, and snacking. I’m submitting it to The Gluten-Free Homemaker for a blog carnival of gluten-free breakfast foods. So, if you’re looking for more gluten-free breakfast ideas, check out this week’s edition of “What Can I Eat That’s Gluten-Free?”

Banana Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

Filling Layer:
1/2 Cup brown sugar, packed
1 TBSP butter, melted
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Cake Batter:
1/2 Cup butter, softened
1 Cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 Cup brown rice flour
1/2 Cup cornstarch
1/4 Cup tapioca starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 or 2 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 Cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare  a 9″ cake pan by spraying with oil.
2. Mix together the filling ingredients and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and beat well.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (brown rice flour, cornstarch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt) and then mix into the butter/sugar/egg mixture.
5. Add bananas and milk. Stir well.
6. Pour about 3/4 of the batter into the cake pan.
7. Spoon in the filling and gently spread it over the top. It doesn’t need to be smooth and even.
8. Pour the remaining batter over the filling. It doesn’t need to cover the filling completely.
9. Bake at 350° F for 40-45 minutes.

Additional Notes:

• This also works in a 8×8 baking pan.
• You can also add chopped nuts to the filling.
• This cake also freezes well. I have wrapped and frozen individual portions, so that we can take out one at a time and heat it in the microwave. Great morning treat to grab-and-go on the way to the office.
• You may also want to consider this gluten-free recipe for breakfast meetings, tea parties, baby showers, bridal showers, etc.
  

Fruit kabobs are a great activity for kids. You can use almost any fruit, they are in bite-size pieces, and the kids can put it together themselves (or with minimal help, depending on their ages). Melon is a perfect fruit to use on the kabobs because it is so easy to cut. I did the big cuts, and removed the rind from the fruit with the big, sharp knife. But then the kids could use a butter knife to easily cut the melon into bite-size pieces. They thought it was great. We had a cantaloupe, but watermelon and honey dew would be good additions. You can see from the picture that we used strawberries and grapes, too. Go ahead and use up whatever you have in the house. Of course, some fruit turns brown quickly, so if you’re making them in advance you’d probably want to avoid those.

Cutting the fruit. If your kids are older, consider letting them cut the fruit themselves with Rachael Ray’s Young Cooks Cutting Set. If they’re younger you could cut the fruit yourself, and just let the kids put the pieces on the sticks. If your kids are somewhere in between, consider letting them use butter knives or plastic knives.

The Sticks. You can use a variety of sticks for skewering the fruit: toothpicks, bamboo skewers, coffee stirs, small skinny straws, or even chopsticks. But my favorite is plastic swizzle sticks, or Drink Stirrers. They are just the right size, not too sharp, and colorful.

Good for kids and the family. This activity encourages kids to help out in the kitchen. Kids feel good about what they created. They get to pick the fruit they want, and then eat it! With the kids going back to school soon, I’m also thinking this activity is great for helping kids build fine motor skills.

Now that I got the kids back in the kitchen, I’m hoping to continue it more often. So, when I sit down to plan our meals for next week, I’m going to include one or two items that the kids can help prepare. Planning in advance will allow me to schedule around after-school activities and give us plenty of time to get it done. If you’re looking for some kid-friendly recipes, or maybe a little more inspiration, check out these online posts and articles:

Gluten-Free Kids in the Kitchen

Getting Your Children to Cook

Happy Kitchen Jam Tarts (gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free)

Kids in the Kitchen: Spaghetti and (Gluten-Free) Meatballs

Stir Fry Kid Style

Other Online articles about Kids in the Kitchen:

Benefits of Cooking with Kids

Cooking with Kids Teaches About Simple Snacks

Dads and Kids Cooking Together

Why Invite Your Kids Into The Kitchen?

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Cantaloupe is the theme ingredient this week for Friday Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang. So check it out for more gluten-free recipes with cantaloupe.

Other than the zucchini, I had most of the ingredients in the kitchen. However, I did have to add millet flour and agave nectar to my supplies. I thought about substituting with other ingredients in my pantry, because I already have so many different gluten-free flours. But, I decided to make the recipe as written and added yet another flour (millet) to my already full pantry.

The recipe came together as expected. After shredding the zucchini, I thought I would only need two of the green squash to make three cups. However, after wringing out the excess moisture, it compacted down. So, I shredded a third zucchini to get three cups as needed for the recipe. I used disposable mini loaf pans, and sprayed them with oil before pouring in the batter. I baked them all together for 35 minutes and they turned out perfect.

Now for the taste test: The texture is soft and airy, and a little crumbly — just as you would hope for it to be! While making the batter, I was afraid it wasn’t going to have enough chocolate chips for my liking, but I was wrong. It has just enough chocolate chips to make this bread fabulous. I really enjoyed it. I probably sliced it a little too soon. The bread was a little soft for slicing, but the chocolate chips were warm and gooey, and I couldn’t resist. My kids were anxious to try it, too. Unfortunately, they were a little thrown off by the green bits in the bread. “Did you put spices in here?” is what they said and gave it one tiny bite. I personally like the green bits, and the color it adds to the bread. The zucchini pieces are soft and do not add any tough or gritty bits to the bread. Instead it just blends into the bread. Perfect.

The recipe does make four small loaves, so I’m going to put some in the freezer to have in another month or two. I’ll try to remember to update next month to let you know how it does defrosted.

Be sure to check out other recipes tried out this month for Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger. There’s still time to sign up and try something new for yourself, too.

And, if you’re looking for more zucchini recipes, go over to The W.H.O.L.E. Gang where it’s the secret ingredient for this week’s Friday Foodie Fix.

And because it’s naturally gluten-free, it makes a great dish to have at parties with Celiacs and non-Celiacs. (No special gluten-free flours or ingredients needed. Just double check that the vinegar is gluten-free. I’ve never found a balsamic vinegar that has gluten, but it’s always good to check.)

Berry Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

1 pint strawberries, hulled and cut into bite-size pieces
1 pint blueberries
1 pint raspberries
1 pint blackberries
1 TBSP balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP sugar

Directions:

1. Clean and dry all the berries and put into a medium bowl.
2. In a small bowl, mix the vinegar and sugar. Then pour over the berries and gently toss to coat.
3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

Addtional Notes:

• Use any berries that are fresh and in season. You can see in the picture above, I didn’t have raspberries to add in, but it was still delicious.
• If you’re taking this to a party where you probably won’t eat right away, consider taking the vinegar/sugar mix in a separate container. Then pour it over the fruit and toss to coat when you get to the party. Put it into the refrigerator until time to eat.
• This also works great for a gluten-free dessert. Add fresh whipped cream or pour over vanilla ice cream.

For more recipes with blueberries, check out Friday’s Foodie Fix at The W.H.O.L.E. Gang.

Creamed Eggs

Ingredients:

1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP rice flour (or other gluten-free flour)
salt & pepper to season
3/4 Cup milk
2 hard-boiled eggs, cut into small cubes
2 slices toast or English muffin (gluten-free variety, of course)
paprika

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add in rice flour and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Pour milk into saucepan. Increase heat and stir frequently until the sauce thickens.
3. Stir the eggs into the sauce.
4. Pour the creamed eggs over toast or an English muffin. Sprinkle a dash of paprika on top.

Additional Note:

• For cheesy creamed eggs, stir in 1/3 cup shredded or processed cheese to the thickened sauce and let it melt before adding the eggs.
• Consider adding a minced clove of garlic to the melted butter and saute before adding the flour.

Notable Links:

• For more recipes with eggs check out Friday Foodie Fix.
• Need tips on cooking hard-boiled eggs? Check out Kalyn’s Kitchen.
• How to make “perfect easy-to-peel hard-cooked eggs”at Anastasia’s Table.
• I’ve also linked this recipe to The W.H.O.L.E. Gang’s collection of Father’s Day Favorites.