Mixes From The Heartland Corn-N-Cranberry Muffins

I like to eat muffins for breakfast. I used to buy those pouch type muffin mixes with the imitation fruit bits in them because they were so easy and quick to make. My family ate lots of those muffins for breakfast over the years. But since we started eating gluten free, I have not been able to just grab a quick mix and whip up a batch of muffins. Until now.

In the box of goodies I received from Mixes From The Heartland, there was a package of Corn-N-Cranberry Muffin mix.  We had them for breakfast this morning. They are very easy to mix up, and bake up golden brown in about 20 minutes.

They have a lot more eggs than I am used to using in a quick mix, but I followed the directions on the back of the package for this trial: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add 5 eggs, 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk and the bag of dry mix. Mix well.  Place in greased or paper lined muffin pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Adding a cup of creamed corn is listed as an option, but I did not add it. I used corn oil and buttermilk in mine.

The muffins baked up beautifully. They have tart dried cranberries in them, that add a nice flavor to the finished product. They were not crumbly or dry, and tasted very good. The only thing I would add in the future would be a little sugar, as I like my muffins sweet. If I were to make this as a dinner cornbread, then it has just the right sweetness.  The package makes about 18 medium sized muffins.

Ingredients: Cornmeal (Non GMO), white and brown organic rice flour, freeze dried cranberries, sugar, cornstarch (Non GMO), tapioca flour, xanthan gum, non aluminum baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

A 13.6 oz package costs $6.99 and can be ordered online at Mixes From The Heartland.

Mixes From The Heartland Sweet Potato Brownies

 

When I got this mix in the mail, I was thinking, ewwwwwhhh! Sweet potatoes in brownies? But now, I am convinced this is one of mankind's better discoveries, right up there with fire and electricity.

I followed package directions, which were to put the mix, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup butter in a bowl, blend well, pour into a greased 9 X 9 pan, and bake at 325 degrees for 35-30 minutes.  

  The batter is very thick, so be sure to spread it evenly in the pan. 

The brownies come out moist and slightly chewy, and taste more like the blonde brownies I used to make when I still ate the evil wheat than sweet potatoes. They have a sort of butterscotchy flavor, which I love! It was very hard not to eat the whole pan in one day. But I did not, I made them last for 4 days. FabGrandpa liked them, too. His only negative comment was "I thought brownies were supposed to be chocolate."

 

I took the photo above on day two--the brownies were still moist, did not crumble, or fall apart. I could actually eat it with that fork you see there. And the one I had tonight, the last one, was still pretty good after four days. If you want to try them for yourself, a package of the mix costs  $6.99 and can be ordered at Mixes From The Heartland.

Ingredients: Brown and white rice flour (organic), (Non GMO) corn starch, tapioca flour, sugar, xanthan gum, cinnamon, freeze dried sweet potato, natural vanilla powder (Non GMO corn starch, vanilla beans).

Mixes From The Heartland Texas Sausage-N-Bean Soup

Tonight we made the Texas Sausage-N-Bean Gluten Free Soup Mix from Mixes From The Heartland. Talk about easy to fix and yummy to eat! This soup was really easy to make. I really like that I can make this soup, with onions, potatoes, garlic and peppers already in it, and I don't have to do any of the chopping. I also like that it is ready to eat in less than an hour, and that people who are not gluten intolerant will like it for sure .

The directions on the back of the package say to brown 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef or sausage in a skillet, drain off the grease, add 8 cups beef stock, 2 cups crushed tomatoes, and dry mix. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat. cook 30-35 minutes until beans are tender.

 

I used a package of smoked sausage because 1. we like smoked sausage, and 2. I had some in the freezer.  I browned half of it, then added the tomatoes, 8 cups of water because I did not have beef stock, and the mix. Half an hour later, we had a spicey, thick soup.  The package made enough for two adults to eat for dinner for two nights. It would easily feed a family of four a filling meal.

 

The soup had just enough spice and heat to it to make it good, but not so much that it made my lips burn. It would be great with crackers or cornbread, although I just served it by itself.

 

And yes, that IS Fabgrandpa going back for seconds! Although he doesn't have to eat gluten free, he does because I am the cook. He really liked this soup, and told me to be sure and order some more from Teri at Mixes From The Heartland. She sent us this mix free for me to review. 

The ingredients: Freeze dried pinto, navy, kidney, and black beans; potatoes, carrots, red and green bell peppers, onions, parsley, tomatoes, garlic powder.

A 9.8 oz bag mix costs $7.99. You can order their many products from Mixes From The Heartland.

Mixes From The Heartland Gluten Free Country Dumpling Mix

Last week I received a package of products from Mixes From The Heartland. When they emailed a while back and asked me if I would like to try some of their stuff, I immediately emailed them back and told them I would love to try their Country Dumpling Mix and their Cornbread Mix.  Imagine my surprise to receive those two, plus about 12 other mixes. I will be writing reviews of all of the items they sent as I use them. Guess which one we tried first?

When I ate a gluten filled diet, I loved me some good old southern style chicken and dumplings.  My daughter, Becca, always asked me to make them when she came home from college. To us, they are comfort food, something we both love and shared so often. So, when we had to start eating a gluten free diet, Chicken and Dumplings are one of the things we mourned the most.

 

Last week I made the first batch of chicken and dumplings we have had since I started eating gluten free. I followed the directions on the back of the package, except that I only made half of the bag. The whole bag would have been too much for me and FabGrandpa.  The result was less than satisfying--although they tasted good, the dumplings were hard little balls of dough that were difficult to eat. They were too chewy and just awful.  I was disappointed. But instead of tossing out the rest of the package, I thought about what I did when I made them over and over, and came to the conclusion that it was ME, not the dumplings. I had done a couple of things wrong that caused what FabGrandpa called the "golfball dumplings".

What I thought I did wrong was that I did not use enough liquid in the mix. I was distracted while I was making them, so the resulting dumplings were not wet enough to hold together. Then, because they wouldn't hold together I squeezed them into a ball. That was the problem.

  

This is one of the dumplings from last week--hard and gooey, not much good. It was MY fault, not the mix.

Today, I set about making another batch of chicken and dumplings. I added the correct amount of liquid. But, instead of adding 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil, I added 1 1/2 tablespoons of Crisco and cut it into the flours like I used to do with my wheat dumplings. 

This was the dumpling dough from last week. Too Dry.

I dropped the resulting dumpling dough into the chicken broth, covered and cooked for 12 minutes per the directions,and WOW! they were good. FabGrandpa even said they were good.

 

And this is the dough from this week. Enough liquid and wet enough.

 The dough looked wet enough, and the spoonfuls of dough held together in the spoon, which did not happen last week.  

 

These dumplings were fluffy and light. While they were cooking they made a creamy gravy characteristic of the chicken and dumplings I am used to eating. They had a very good flavor. We both had seconds, and wished there was more.

 

 A 12.2 oz package of Mixes From The Heartland Country Dumpling Mix costs $6.99. The package will make a huge pot of dumplings, enough for a family of four to have a very filling meal, or a family of two to have at least two, maybe three, meals. 

The ingredients listed on the package: White and brown rice flour (organic), (Non GMO) corn starch, tapioca starch, xanthan gum, non aluminum baking powder, and parsley.  

I added a little salt, some Crisco, and buttermilk to make my dumplings. I will be buying some more of these, soon.

The Essential Gluten Free Grocery Guide Contest

Back on August 31, I wrote a review of The Essential Gluten Free Grocery Guide, and said I would draw a name to win the book on September 15. Well, I just plain forgot to do the drawing. Shame on me! 

Today, I wrote the names of the three commenters on that post on little scraps of paper, folded the papers into tiny little wads, then drew one of them out of bag.   And, ta da! Walt of  From Out Of Left Field was the name I drew out.  So, Walt, send me an email at fabgrandma @ gmail dot com, with your mailing address, so I can send this book to you. I hope it helps your family find good stuff to eat in the grocery stores! I am so sorry it took me a month longer to draw the winner.

Mi-Del Gluten Free Ginger Snaps

 

These gluten free ginger snaps by Mi-Del have been one of my favorite cookies since I started eating gluten free two and a half years ago. They are hard like regular ginger snaps, and have just the right amount of sweetness, too. I like them plain, or with some cream cheese or peanut butter on them. 

Yesterday, I had a pot-luck dinner to attend, and I wanted to make a home made pumpkin pie to take to it. As I was trying to figure out what to do for the crust, I remembered that I had a bag of Mi-Del Gluten Free Ginger Snaps in the cupboard. So, I made a crumb crust using them. Everyone, even the wheat eaters at the party, raved about the pie. As a matter of fact, they ate it all  up. See:

 

I used this recipe to make my crust, but because gluten free flours don't absorb butter like wheat flour does, next time I would use half as much butter to make the crust.

Mi-Del Gluten Free Ginger Snaps come in an 8 oz. bag. The ingredients from the side of the bag:

Gluten free flour (corn flour, soy flour, potato flour, rice flour, corn starch, potato starch, xanthan gum); organic dehydrated cane juice; canola oil; unsulphered molasses; ginger; soy lecithin (used as an emulsifier); eggs; baking soda; sea salt; natural flavor.  

There is also an allergy warning on the bag: Produced in a facility that also processes or handles wheat, milk, peanuts, and tree nuts. Mi-Del gluten free products are routinely tested using the ELISA method to ensure gluten free status as determined by the World Health Organization.

Mi-Del also makes Cinnamon Snaps, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pecan Cookies, Arrowroot Cookies, Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, and Royal Vanilla Sandwich Cookies.

Pamela's Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix

 

The front of the bag says "Fast, Easy, Delicious", and I found that to be true.  To make these cookies, just add 1 stick of butter or margarine, 1 egg, and 1 tablespoon of water. Beat the butter or margarine, then add the egg, water and contents of the bag. Mix one minute. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake @ 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. 

When you take them out of the oven, let them cool for a couple of minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove to a paper towel lined plate. 

 

The cookies have big chunks of chocolate in them, and cook up just right with a little crunch, a little chewiness. They taste AWESOME!  Some of the best gluten free chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. 

Suggestions on the side of the bag are for Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies--add 1/2 cup peanut butter and 1/4 cup water, mix as above, and bake.  They also suggest making crumbs out of the Chocolate Chunk Cookies to use as a crust for a chocolate cream pie or a cheesecake. Mmmm, sounds very good to me!

 

Ingredients: Organic chocolate chunks (organic natural evaporated cane sugar, organic chocolate liquor, organic cocoa butter, non-GMO soy lecithin/emulsifier, organic vanilla.  Chunks may contain traces of milk protein due to manufacturing equipment.); Organic natural cane sugar, brown rice flour, brown sugar, white rice flour, tapioca starch, sweet rice flour, grainless and aluminum-free baking powder (sodium bicarbonate, sodium acid pyrophosphate, potato starch), sea salt, organic cocoa power (processed with alkali), gluten-free natural flavor (contains corn derivative), xanthan gum, baking soda. 

Fabgrandpa, who does not have to eat gluten free, LOVED these cookies. I will be buying more--I'm gonna make a pie crust next time!.