This is a nice, simple recipe that goes great as a main course or a side dish.  This makes enough for 2 moderate servings.

• 1/2 cup quinoa (thoroughly rinsed in cold water)
• 1/2 cup rice (I like to use jasmine rice)
• 2 cups water + bullion cube OR broth/vegetable stock (we use gluten-free vegetable bullion cubes)
• 1 small onion (or half of a regular sized one)
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

Bring the water to a boil and add the bullion cube.

At the same time:
Dice up the onion and cook it in the oil on medium heat until they begin to soften.
Add the rice to the oil and onion and stir it around.  Let it cook for a minute or two.
Add the quinoa to the onion and rice and stir it up.  Only let it cook for a few seconds (just long enough to stir it all up).

Add the water/broth and lower the heat.
Let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes (long enough for the liquid to evaporate and be absorbed).

Then it’s done!  Enjoy!

 So here’s a recipe I found for home-made taco seasoning that I’ve modified a bit.  It’s gluten free, and flavor-full!  

• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• dash of cayenne pepper powder
• ¼ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

You can replace the cayenne pepper with ¼ tsp of crushed red pepper flakes, and add 1 tbsp of chili powder to give it some more kick and flavor, but we prefer a milder spiciness.

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl until they are well blended.  Then add to your meat after it is fully cooked, but still in the pan, with 1 cup of water and simmer until the liquid is gone.  I’ve also added the juice of ½ lime, and just under a cup of water, and it worked very well!

Enjoy!

Here is the final recipe I used for our wedding cakes:

10-inch round pan
(Make 2 cakes, as you will need to stack them)
Ingredients:

• 1¼ cup All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
• ½ cup Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp Xantham Gum
• 1¼ tsp Baking Soda
• 1¾ tsp Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Allspice
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• ½ tsp Nutmeg
• A pinch of Cloves
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 cup White Sugar
• 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 tbsp Non-Dairy Creamer (Flavored: Vanilla Caramel)
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Cortland Apples – cored, skinned, and finely chopped
• 1 Jar of Apricot Preserves (Unsweetened)

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease your pan. Dust the pan with Rice flour (I used Sorghum because we had a lot of it)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, xantham gum, baking soda, baking powder, spices)
Set aside

In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter for about 1 minute or until softened.
Add both sugars and beat for about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated.
Blend in the creamer and vanilla extract.
Turn mixer on low and add the dry ingredients, half at a time, beating after each addition until they are well absorbed.
(You want a smooth, even consistency)

At this point, the mix will be very thick and sticky.  Don’t worry.  The apples will loosen the mixture, and as they cook, they will release more moisture.  It will be difficult to pour into the pan, but not impossible.  I considered trying adding an additional egg, or some additional milk/creamer/fruit juice, but haven’t tried it yet.

Remove the bowl from the stand and gently fold in the apples.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the tester comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the edges of the pan.

Once the cake has cooled, use a cake leveler to remove the rounded top portion of the cakes.  Spoon the apricot preserves onto the top of one of the cakes.  Flip the other cake on top of the first, so that the cut sections of each cake are touching, with the layer of apricot preserves in between.  

Then apply your chosen frosting (I cheated and used boxed buttercream frosting.  I believe the brand was Wilton’s.  It’s not bad for coming out of a box).

This cake was modified from a cookbook that I have, so I cannot take full credit.  I received many compliments on this cake (for which I am humbly grateful), so eat, and enjoy!

 So I tried out a Peanut Sauce recipe that I came across online so I could have something to flavor my spring rolls with.  It’s surprisingly simple, and it worked really great.  I made a few minor modifications so far, and plan on playing with the recipe.  Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp Unsweatened Natural Peanut Butter
• 2 tbsp Wheat-Free Soy Sauce (IMO – better than wheat based)
• 1 clove Garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ cup Water
• 1 tbsp Brown Sugar
• Lemon Juice (roughly equivalent to the juice of half a lemon.  I just shot from the hip on this one using straight lemon juice – I’d say roughly 1-2 tbsp)

To make, just mix all of the ingredients together in a non-stick pan over medium heat and stir constantly until the peanut butter melts, and everything stirs together.  As the mixture cools, it will thicken, but not solidify.  Use hot or cool, makes little difference (just don’t burn yourself!) so long as you enjoy it!

This is a recipe I used as a trial run for a wedding cake, and it came out very good.

10-inch round pan
Ingredients:

• 1¼ cup All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour
• ½ cup Coconut Flour
• 1 tsp Xantham Gum
• 1¼ tsp Baking Soda
• 1¾ tsp Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Ground Cloves
• ½ tsp Cinnamon
• ½ tsp Nutmeg
• (Or replace the above for 1½ tsp Apple Pie Spice)
• 1 stick Butter
• 1 cup White Sugar
• 3 tbsp Brown Sugar
• 2¼ tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 tbsp Non-Dairy Creamer (Flavored: Vanilla Caramel)
• 3 Eggs
• 1¾ cups Apple – cored, skinned, and finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease your pan. Dust the pan with Rice flour (I used Sorghum because we had a lot of it)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, xantham gum, baking soda, baking powder, spices)
Set aside

In the bowl of your mixer, cream the butter for about 1 minute or until softened.
Add both sugars and beat for about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated.
Blend in the creamer.
Turn mixer on low and add the dry ingredients, half at a time, beating after each addition until they are well absorbed.
(You want a smooth, even consistency)

Remove the bowl from the stand and gently fold in the apples.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the tester comes out clean and the cake pulls away from the edges of the pan.

Once it is finished, you may dust with confectioners sugar, or drizzle with a glaze made from a blend of fruit juice and confectioners sugar. I used a glaze made from Apricot jelly by first boiling the jelly, then straining it. The resulting glaze was spooned (you can use a pastry brush if you have one) onto the cake.

This would work well as a breakfast cake. The spices were a bit potent, so I would suggest less cloves, and possibly more cinnamon. You want about 1½ tsp of apple pie spice. I made my own mix.