Sunday, June 10, 2012

Gluten free pizza crust made with Cauliflower :0)



Cauliflower Pizza Crust
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Ingredients
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1 Head of cauliflower (mine was a smallish head)
2 C shredded cheese divided (I used mozzarella, but any medium/hard cheese will work)
Italian seasonings (I used oregano, parsley, fresh garlic and some onion)
Pizza sauce or marinara sauce of your choosing
Toppings (we used crab, black olives and manwaring cheese)
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Instructions
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Grate your cauliflower or I used a vita mix and used setting one, use masher to get all flowered heads blended, Do NOT add water or anything to the cauliflower.
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 preheat the oven to 450* and prepare a cookie sheet or pizza pan by spraying it with cooking spray. This is also a good time to prepare your toppings – cook your sausage, cut up your pineapple, whatever…
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To the cauliflower mash add 1 C shredded cheese and spices and combine. Add egg and mix well with your hands. Press the crust onto a pan and shape into a 9-12″ pizza (depending on how thin you want the crust). I did mine closer to a 11x 12″ and it worked great! I put it in my pampered chef stoneware, Spray the top of the crust with cooking spray (to help brown) or brush with oil.
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Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes (or until golden brown). When you pull out the pizza, turn your oven to broil. It even smelled like pizza crust!
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Add your toppings  including 1-2 Cups more cheese and put pizza under the broiler for 3-5 minutes. Just broil it long enough to melt the cheese and caramelize the toppings a bit.
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Seriously delicious! Gluten free, and  We ALL loved it!! I made this Sunday and they are already asking for it again!! Cauliflower! Who knew?? The crust is soft but came out in tact and fine with a spatula, it is very filling, 2 pieces was tons! You can not pick it up but a fork works great or add 2 egg's. I may even try mini crusts next time. Way fun!!

Homemade Wholesome Granola( i found this in Pathways!, it is great)

Ingredients

  • 8 C rolled oats
  • 3/4 C melted coconut oil
  • 1/2 C melted butter
  • 1 1/2 C kefir (or cultured buttermilk)
  • 1C water (if you need more add a bit more, just to make it moist enough to soak, if it is moist without it, just skip)
  • 1/2 C raw honey
  • 3/4 C maple syrup
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 4 tsp cinnamon
  • 4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 C dried coconut, shredded
  • 1 C dried fruit, chopped (I usually use apricots or mango)
  • 1/2 C pumpkin seeds, chopped
  • 1 C nuts (optional) – chopped almonds is wonderful
  • 1 C dried apples (this is from the originally recipe and I have yet to add it, but I keep it here in case I do have dried apples on hand at some point)
Instructions

  1. Start your soaking in the morning because you will want to soak it for 24 hours, and the bake time is long. Starting your soak after breakfast will allow you to bake during the morning and afternoon and be done with it before dinner next day.
  2. Combine your oats with the melted oil, melted butter and kefir (or buttermilk) in a very large bowl, add water last because you may not need much. Mix well. Cover with a cloth and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours (keep it cooler, rather than warmer). After the soaking, preheat the oven to 200° F.
  3. Combine the honey, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon and vanilla in a small pot on the stove. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring the mixture, until honey becomes thin.
  4. Combine honey and oat mixtures, mix well.
  5. Spread mixture out over parchment paper on cookie sheets, or just spray the pans lightly with cooking spray.
  6. Bake for 4 hours, until granola is crunchy. It will seem slightly soft, but it crisps up as it cools. Turn the oven off and cool in the oven. Do not turn the oven up because you will burn your granola, and burnt granola is not tasty (again, ask me how I know). Just cook it low and slow. Your patience will be rewarded for a good month or longer. I stir my granola every 30 minutes.
  7. Mix in the coconut, seeds, dried fruit and nuts. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. On the counter for a few days or in cool weather is fine, but I have heard many people talk about their soaked granola molding in just a few weeks. Mine has never molded, but I have never kept it on the counter for more than a day - we always put it back in to chill.
This granola is more nutritious and less expensive than any granola you can find commercially. It is delicious with fresh raw milk as cereal. My kids like it best with fresh fruit and yogurt, and my favorite is with plain kefir and blueberries.  Enjoy!