Gluten Free Corn Dogs (Wheat and Nut Free)

I love corn dogs. They've always been one of my favorites and I feel like a kid each time I get to enjoy one. Unfortunately, going gluten free put a serious kink in my ability to eat them. Over the past year, I've tried a variety of gluten free cornbread recipes and have yet to come across any that I really love like I loved my Jiffy Corn Bread Mix. This was a major obstacle in my ability to turn a simple cornbread recipe (I also happen to love just cornbread) that we might enjoy on any weeknight into a special treat.


Today though, I needed to come up with something quick and yummy for lunch. Since it's a holiday weekend and the kick off to summer, I also wanted something fun and a bit festive. I added a pin to one of my Pinterest boards a few weeks ago that featured a picture of mini-muffin corn dogs and that picture has been floating around in my head ever since. 


The mini muffin version of this classic appealed to me for a few of reasons. One, the fact that I could bake the corn dogs, rather than deep fry them is so much easier (I love to cook, but admit that frying is beyond my culinary abilities for some unknown reason). Two, baking them is so much healthier, so this once or twice a summer treat can be enjoyed a few times a year. Three, mini muffins are ready made for portion control for adults and are just the right size for little hands. Finally, making these at home is so much more cost effective. I've priced the box of GF corn dogs many times in the GF freezer case and just cannot bring myself to pay what I think of as "the State/County Fair price" per corn dog. 


Well, today was the day. So, I set out to find a cornbread recipe. This time, however, rather than search for a gluten free version, I started with a simple Google search for cornbread that included a reference to my beloved Jiffy Cornbread mix. 


Viola! Success. I quickly came across the Hillbilly Housewife's blog. She had an entire page dedicated to corn and cornmeal recipes, including a terrific recipe for homemade corn dogs that looked like it would be the perfect starter recipe for my gluten free mini muffins. And, I was so right. I tweaked the recipe for my own preferences and pantry ingredients (e.g., I don't keep self-rising corn meal on hand) and to make it gluten free. 


The results were delish. My darling hubby and I loved them and it made me feel like summer is truly here. My GF recipe is below. The only thing I've changed from the way I made them is the placement of the hot dog in the muffin tin. Placing the hot dog on its side, rather than up and down in the middle as I saw on Pinterest, allows you get a better balance of cornbread and hot dog in each bite. Thanks to my darling hubby for recommending this easy change that I think will elevate this old fashioned treat just a few steps higher in your (cook)book!


~Enjoy


Gluten Free Corn Dog Mini Muffins

• 1/2 cup of egg substitute or 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1/3 cup Turbinado sugar
• 2 tbsp GF baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt (fine grind)
• 5 good quality hot dogs (I used Vienna Beef)
• 1/2 cup course corn grits or polenta
• 1 cup finely ground corn meal
• 1 cup gluten free flour blend (rice, tapicoa, potato flour and xanthan gum)
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place rack in the middle of the oven. Place the mini muffin tin on a baking sheet and place it on the middle rack. Allow oven to come to full temperature while you mix the ingredients. 


Combine wet ingredients in a small bowl until well mixed. Add corn kernels and stir well. Set wet ingredients aside. 


Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl whisking to ensure baking powder and salt are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.


Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir with the whisk until the batter is uniform. Set the batter aside while you prepare the hot dogs.


Cut hot dogs in 1 to 1.5 inch segments. Once you cut the first, use it as a guide to make cutting the rest much faster. This will also ensure that all of your muffins cook at the same rate and that you get a consistent product.


Remove the hot muffin tin and baking sheet from the oven. Using two spoons from your silverware drawer (I used a tablespoon and a teaspoon), scoop a enough batter on the tablespoon to cover the bottom third of the well. Add the batter to the first well of the mini muffin tin, using the smaller spoon to push the batter off the tablespoon into the well. Lay 1 hot dog segment sideways across the muffin tin. Top with enough cornbread batter to finish filling the well. The hot dog should be fully encased in the cornbread. Repeat to fill the rest of the wells in the tin.


Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve with traditional yellow mustard, or if you must, ketchup. 


1 Serving = 3 mini muffins

Crock Pot Pork Carnitas (Naturally Gluten, Dairy and Nut Free)

Since we purchased our new home in January, I've been trying to find even more ways to save money. Because we eat most of our meals at home, the grocery store is the place where I can try to make the biggest gains in money saved. This focus has inspired me to try to be even more flexible in what I purchase and when. Meat is one way that I've found I can save a lot of money, buy it when it's marked down and freeze it for another day. This approach has also required me to become even more creative in the kitchen. 


My latest challenge comes from country style pork spareribs. The naming of this cut of pork is truly a misnomer as it truly looks like the butcher took a piece of fairly lean pork and cut it into long slim chunks. There is no "rib" bone, these do not look anything like your traditional baby back pork ribs that you think of when you hear that little jingle from Chili's restaurant chain. These are quite simply hunks of meat that are just waiting for divine inspiration. 


My first attempt for these is going to be carnitas. My thought is that I can serve these lots of ways:  as tacos with the traditional fixings, as burritos with the shell made from a gluten free crepe, over rice or even along side morning eggs or with a little BBQ sauce added to make pork sammies (served on a gluten free bun, of course). I see endless possibilities. 


As usual, I did a general recipe search, found one I liked and used it as a basis for my own spin. Here's the recipe I started with, my rif on this crock pot dish is below. 


~Enjoy




Crock Pot Carnitas

• 1 large carrot, cut into large chunks
• 2 stalks celery
• 1/2 medium to large onion, cut into chunks
• 2 tbsp onion powder
• 2 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp chicken soup base
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1 tsp agave syrup
• 2 tbsp lime juice

Combine all dried and ground spices in a small jar. Crush the dried herbs as best you can to release some of their flavor. Place veggies on the bottom of the crock to create a layer of aromatics. Top the vegetables with water and then add the pork pieces in a single layer. Sprinkle with the spice mixture and add the garlic  spreading it evenly over the layer. If you have too much pork to make one layer, do one layer at a time adding spices to each layer as you go. When you have all of the pork spiced. Add agave and chicken soup base. Plug in crock pot and allow to cook undisturbed for 8 hours.

DIY Hot Chocolate (Naturally Gluten and Nut Free)

A long, long time ago, before darling hubby and I were married, we bought a large supply of gourmet hot chocolate packets and enjoyed them on a regular basis. Now that we're older and wiser (not to mention married with a child), we realize what a nutritional and financial waste those little packets were. 


Today, we still love hot cocoa, as does our daughter. The difference is that we try to make this a healthier treat and one that allows us to gain both nutritional advantages as well as satisfies our taste buds, not to mention a treat that doesn't break the bank! The recipe below also meets our needs from an allergy perspective. Make this cocoa dairy free by substituting your favorite type of milk - almond, coconut, soy, etc. Change your cocoa up by adding peppermint syrup/extract, coconut, orange or other flavorings you like.


~Enjoy

Homemade Cocoa

• 1/2 teaspoon Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder (unsweetened, the type made for baking)
• pinch of salt
• pinch ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp agave syrup or other natural sweetener to taste (e.g., stevia)
• 1/4 cup hot tap water
• hot milk
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Mix first 4 ingredients in the bottom of a coffee cup. Add hot tap water and stir well to combine water with other ingredients. Add vanilla and hot milk. Stir until the mixture is well combined and homogenous. Serve with cinnamon stick, marshmallows or whatever way your heart desires.