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Recipe: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Pie

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 3 Comments

This dessert is an old favorite in our house. I remember making this for the first time when I was 13 years old after finding the recipe on a bag of Nestle Chocolate Chips.

Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Pie

  • 1 unbaked pie shell (I used Wh0le Foods Bakehouse GF Pie Crust)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup Gluten-free Flour (I used Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix)
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup (1.5 sticks) butter, softened
  • 1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 cup chopped nuts (I omitted this)
  • Sweetened whipped cream or ice cream for topping (I used Cool Whip in a can)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. Beat eggs in large mixing bowl on high speed until foamy.  Beat in flour, sugar & brown sugar.  Beat in butter.  Stir in chocolate chips & nuts.  Spoon into pie shell.
  3. Bake for 55 to 6o minutes or until knife inserted halfway between the center & the edge comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack.  Serve warm w/ whipped cream or ice cream.

**I baked for about 50 minutes.  Keep a close eye on this.  Mine almost looked overdone on the top, but was perfect.

**If you don’t want all the chips to sink to the bottom, either use mini chocolate chips or dust with GF flour or cocoa.

This was a huge hit.  I forget how easy this is to make.  To add some variation you could use different flavor chips – peanut butter, butterscotch or mint.  Just make sure to check the gluten-free status of the chips.

Mellow Mushroom Gluten-Free Pizza Menu

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 18 Comments

The news about the Atlanta-based pizza joint chain, Mellow Mushroom, possibly offering gluten-free pizza has floated around online for well over a year. When I was finally able to get some details about this new venture, I was thrilled to find out they were going to use a proprietary recipe made with the mix from Domata Living Flour. The ready-made gluten-free crusts from that company are quite tasty, but the crusts my own pizza joint made from flour (when he ran out of crusts) were extraordinarily exceptional tasting. Therefore, I figured Mellow Mushroom’s version would take the gluten-free pizza wars to a whole new level.

Official Website Menu Information: Mellow Mushroom Gluten-Free Menu
Location Finder: Find a Mellow Mushroom Location Near You

Skip to earlier this year, when Mellow Mushroom announced that they were now going to use a crust from Still Riding Pizza, of Pizza Fusion fame.  Taste is relative and people tend to love that crust or not like it at all. I’m in the latter group, but most people do like the crust. I had only that crust at the now-closed Atlanta location of Pizza Fusion. The good news is that the pizza crust we had in Conyers, GA was better than any we’d previously had at Pizza Fusion. The bad news was that the pizza wasn’t good enough for us to go back – to any location. It’s likely that most gluten-free diners will enjoy the Mellow Mushroom crust, especially those who like what Pizza Fusion serves. Zack over at gluten-free Raleigh has not had the gluten-free crust at Pizza Fusion yet but gave the gluten-free crust at his Mellow Mushroom location a rave review.

Many people have contacted me complaining about the locations chosen for the Mellow Mushroom gluten-free pizza test market. I certainly had nothing to do with the locations chosen, but think the locations chosen are understandable. Gluten-free service is something that some large national chains have not been able to get a handle on, including some that have offered gluten-free menus for over five years. Mellow Mushroom has no interest in having this project fail and likely chose locations where there might not be that many gluten-free patrons. This allows them some room for growing pains.

We arrived during a very busy time and could barely find a place to sit at the  Conyers, GA location of Mellow Mushroom. It was a quirky, fun place – just like all the locations we’ve been to before have been. There is a gluten-free menu of sorts. It’s actually a guide to what is gluten-free. You still have to look at a regular menu for menu choices and pricing. This is the same annoying situation we run into at almost every place we visit with a gluten-free menu so we don’t count that against them.

When we finally decided which salad and pizza to order, we were taken aback when our enthusiastic server told us that the feta cheese on both the salad and pizza we’d chosen was in fact, not gluten-free. That was certainly a new one for me. I assumed she was mistaken and asked her to double-check that. She went to speak to the manager and reported back that the feta cheese is not gluten-free. So we choose another salad but stuck with the gourmet white pizza – sans the feta cheese. There were to be many other kinds of cheese on it, after all.

Our small Chef Salad was a good value at $3.95 and was large enough to share.   I’d ordered no croutons or bread because this location had started gluten-free service only a week ago. I did not think to ask for no crackers so they came on the plate. Luckily, they were wrapped in cellophane so they did not have to throw out the salad and start over. The salad was fresh and the house dressing was very good – just like I remember from my gluten-eating days.

The pizza arrived quite a while after we’d finished our salad,  but Mellow  Mushroom is known for taking its sweet time to make its gluten pizzas. I’d rather them take the extra time that might be needed to make gluten-free pizza safely than have them mess it up. The crust looked like the crust we’d had at Pizza Fusion, but was definitely better tasting. Both my husband and I agreed on that. He thought the toppings were good, and I did not. I think we should have ordered a different pizza because the feta cheese really makes the gourmet white pizza there. So, I take responsibility for ordering the wrong pizza, but would not have been in love with the crust regardless.

Without question, the 14″ gluten-free pie Mellow Mushroom offers are the best value for gluten-free pizza in the Metro Atlanta area. We paid only $16.25 for the gourmet white pizza even though we added grilled chicken. We didn’t want onions (and could not have the feta cheese) so the server didn’t seem to upcharge us for the chicken. They were out of Redbridge but had Amber Woodchuck Cider on Tap. It was wonderful and only $2.95. When in stock, Redbridge is only $3.25 at the Conyers Mellow Mushroom location. There was not an upcharge for the gluten-free crust either, which was not an oversight.

The same amount of food and drinks at other places that serve gluten-free pizza here would run us $10-$15 more – easily. I hope the test market program is successful, even though I won’t be a regular customer unless they change the crust – again. The staff at the Conyers location of Mellow Mushroom knew more about gluten than 90% of the servers that work at national chains that offer gluten-free menus in this area.

Check out the Mellow Mushroom gluten-free menu.

All of our pizzas may be ordered on our 10” Signature Gluten-Free crust. Four of our Specialty Pies can be made using our Certified Gluten-Free Safe Procedures: Kosmic Karma, Veg Out, Mighty Meaty, and House Special.

Additional Certified GF ingredients vary by location. Ask your server for details.

Made with our signature 10″ gluten-free crust. Build your own by choosing from our curated selection of ingredients that can be prepared with allergy-safe procedures

Mellow takes veggies to the max. This pie starts Gluten-free crust (available only in size small) and Mellow red sauce layered with mozzarella, spinach, green peppers, sliced mushrooms, sweet onions, black olives and Roma tomatoes.

A carnivorous mix, this pie starts with Gluten-free crust (available only in size small) and Mellow Red Sauce covered with mozzarella, pepperoni, Italian sausage,
ground beef, honey ham and applewood-smoked bacon.

Filled with goodness, this pie starts with Gluten-free (available only in size small) and Mellow red sauce covered with spinach, roasted tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh Roma tomatoes and authentic sheep’s milk feta cheese. A hypnotic pesto swirl adds the finishing touch.

The Ultimate Mellow: this pie starts with Gluten-free crust (available only in size small) and Mellow red sauce, mozzarella, topped with pepperoni, Italian sausage, ground beef, honey ham, applewood-smoked bacon, black olives, sliced mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, green peppers, sweet onions and the finishing touch…more mozzarella.

Individually wrapped brownie, baked with cage-free eggs, a blend of gluten-free flour, sustainable chocolate and ingredients free of GMOs and artificial additives. (cal 360)

As always, when dining out gluten-free, do your due diligence and make sure the staff understands your needs. There are very few restaurants that are 100% gluten-free, so cross-contamination is always a risk. If you don’t feel comfortable with what you are hearing from the staff, perhaps it is best to dine elsewhere.

For information about other gluten-free restaurants menus, check out our gluten-free restaurants page.

Review: King Arthur Gluten-Free Pancake Mix

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 5 Comments

When someone representing King Arthur Flour contacted me via e-mail about the new gluten-free mixes from the company, I could hardly believe the words I was reading. King Arthur Flour has long been a premier gluten product manufacturer so finding out that they decided to get into the gluten-free market was pretty exciting news. More products in any given industry usually bring more competitive prices which is something we are all looking for these days.

The gluten-free mixes from King Arthur Flour include pizza crust, cookies, bread, brownie, muffins, cake, pancakes, and a flour blend. The boxes for the mixes indicate that the products are gluten, wheat, soy, and nut free. However, as noted on side of the boxes, the gluten-free products are produced in a gluten-free, allergen-free (8 most common food allergens) manufacturing facility. The mixes are also Kosher and have GIG’s esteemed GFCO stamp of approval.

When asked what items I’d be interested in reviewing, I told the representative that anything except the bread mix would be welcome. The company sent me the flour blend and the pancake mix to review. The ingredients in the pancake mix are brown rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, more rice flour, sugar, cornstarch, salt, xanthan gum, natural flavors, and some stabilizers. The instructions call for whisking 2 eggs, butter (or oil), and milk together and then stirring the mixture into the pancake mix. We opted for the oil recipe version and used skim milk.

Right away I noticed that the pancake batter was much thinner than I was used to. I could not add more mix since all of it was already in the bowl. The box said the yield was 16 4” pancakes. I got 24 (some larger than 4”) out of it, making it clear that using skim milk might have affected the thickness of the batter quite a bit. We’re not going to buy regular or even 2% milk to make pancakes but would cut back on the amount of milk to thicken the batter up in the future. If you added a little more milk than called for, the batter should make perfect gluten-free crepes.

Since the batter was thin, the pancakes were also. However, the taste of the pancakes was absolutely delicious. You could serve them to the pickiest gluten eater and they’d never know they were gluten-free. In fact, my husband ate 11 of them at one sitting. We had to freeze a lot of pancakes to thaw, reheat and enjoy at a later date. With limited freezer space, this is not an optimal pancake mix for the two of us to use. If the company offered alternative instructions – for instance, to make a half batch – that would be excellent. I can figure out how to half two eggs, two cups of milk, and four T. of oil, but don’t know exactly how many cups of the mix are in the bag. For a family of four or more, using the whole mix at once would work fine, of course. For two people (at our house anyway) exactly half a batch of pancakes is perfect.

After reading a rave review of someone who found the mixes outside my area and these reviews for the chocolate cake mix, now I’m anxious to try that – and other – gluten-free mixes from the line soon! I’ve not been able to find the new King Arthur Flour gluten-free mixes in my area yet. The products can be purchased online, but I hope that at least Whole Foods locations here will soon have them. They carry several gluten products from King Arthur Flour so hopefully, they can make room for the new gluten-free mixes on store shelves. After all, the 365 gluten-free Bakehouse mixes were discontinued a couple of months ago.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 2 Comments

Pancakes have always been a tradition in our house on the weekends and I worked for years to perfect my favorite pancakes before being diagnosed with celiac disease. Being gluten-free doesn’t mean you have to give up on delicious, fluffy pancakes.  I have lots of versions I use, such as corn cakes, buckwheat pancakes, blueberry pancakes, buttermilk pancakes and even eggnog pancakes, but the top-rated pancakes in our house are oatmeal buttermilk pancakes.  I make these pancakes for overnight (and gluten eating) guests and get nothing, but compliments and empty plates.

Most people with celiac are able to handle pure gluten-free oats, and they are a great source of fiber to replace the whole grains we have to omit from our  gluten-free diets.

Thanks to Bob’s Red Mill, gluten-free oats they are now widely available at many grocery stores, when previously they were more difficult to find, not to mention more expensive.

The secret to this recipe is soaking the oats for at least an hour.  Sometimes I will soak them the night before, so when I wake in the morning, I am ready to go.  Any gluten-free flour blend can be used, lately I have been using Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix for incredibly tasty results. Do not use Pamela’s if you are nut- or dairy-free.

This recipe makes about a dozen pancakes, so I will double if feeding more than our 3-person family.

  • 1 cup gluten-free oats
  • 1 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (I use grapeseed oil)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup gluten-free flour (I used Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix)
  • 2 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions:

  1. Combine the oats with the buttermilk and let sit for at least an hour or overnight.
  2. After sitting, blend in the vanilla, oil and eggs.
  3. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Mix until combined.
  4. Let batter sit for 15 minutes.

Heat a lightly buttered or oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat. I like to use coconut oil. Ladle the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Lightly brown on both sides, keep warm in the oven at low temperature until finished with all pancakes, serve warm.

I usually like to add a 1/2 cup of fresh of frozen blueberries right before putting on the griddle. Only stir them in lightly so not to break up the blueberries and turn the batter blue.

During the holidays, I will replace half of the buttermilk with eggnog, add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and serve with a side of fresh, homemade cranberry sauce.  This is an easy and impressive breakfast for holiday guests.

I can eat these plain, but I usually serve with fresh fruit and optional maple syrup.

Recipe: Simple Chicken Soup with Rice

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

Sunday night in our house is usually rotisserie chicken night. It is a good, wholesome dinner that is easily prepared. I usually pick up the chicken while grocery shopping during the day on Sunday. Meijer (Lemon Herb), Costco & Whole Foods all have gluten-free rotisserie chicken. We usually have baked potatoes or rice and steamed veggies alongside the chicken.

After dinner, my husband takes the remaining chicken & bones & makes chicken soup. For a while, he was making it for him to take to work and was adding regular, non-gluten-free noodles. Recently he has started to use brown rice so that it is now gluten-free. What a treat this soup is!

Chicken Soup with Rice

 

  • Leftover chicken & bones
  • Broth from chicken
  • Water
  • Thyme
  • Celery seed
  • Poultry seasoning
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Carrots
  • Celery
  • Onion (optional)
  • Cooked brown rice*

*Gluten-free noodles/pasta can be used in place of cooked rice if preferred.

Directions:

  1. Strip the remaining chicken meat off of the bones/carcass. Place carcass, meat & reserved broth (make sure to reserve from the container or from when you roast) in a soup pot.
  2. Add water. Season the soup with thyme, celery seed, poultry seasoning, salt & pepper to taste. You can always add more towards the end, so take care to not over-season.
  3. Heat on stove over medium – medium-high heat for 20 minutes & then turn down to medium-low and allow soup to simmer.
  4. Add cut-up veggies & cooked rice. Now is the time to taste & adjust seasonings, if need be.
  5. Enjoy!

This is the perfect soup to have on hand for those chilly spring days or cold winter nights. I happened to have a nasty cold last week and this soup really hit the spot. There is just something about chicken soup when you are sick that makes it all better.