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Soft Homemade Flour Tortillas; Picture Recipe

Have you noticed the soft and tasty flour tortillas at nice restaurants? When compared to the mass-produced packaged ones from the supermarket, there’s a huge difference! Here’s how you can make tender, flavorful, soft flour tortillas right at home! Using butter rather than flavorless oil plus enough salt to bring out flavors, these tortillas are silky and absolutely delicious! This recipe is not hard to make, it just takes a little bit of time. It can be nice to grab a bag at the store for convenience at times, but once you’ve tasted your own homemade tortillas you know what you’re missing when you go back to store brands! If you decide to try this recipe, I would love it if you leave me a star rating and a comment at the bottom of this post as it really helps me out. Thanks in advance! Note that in the following pictures I have doubled the recipe, so it looks like a lot more than you’ll get by following the recipe as is. To Make the Dough: Start out by cutting cold butter or lard (pork fat) into flour, salt, and baking powder until only small lumps of butter remain. Butter adds a lot of flavor! I use a pastry cutter to get the job done easily. Add hot water or milk. Stir until completely combined and a dough has formed. Adjust the flour or liquid if needed. You want a […] Read more »

Deluxe Scalloped Potatoes; Recipe & Pictures

Written by Terese · 16 Comments

Today I will post a fantastic recipe for the ultimate of scalloped potatoes! This dish was a huge hit when I served it as a side during our large family Christmas celebration. I am tempted to call it Grown-Up Scalloped Potatoes because the flavors are more complex than some of the other, more standard recipes. I love scalloped potatoes, but this recipe has definitely been kicked up a notch and is a must-keep for my recipe box. And they also just happen to be gluten free! How awesome is that? With the upcoming holidays in mind, I originally found it at Great Party Recipes .com, (Easy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes) while searching for a recipe that would work for a large group of people. After making a couple of changes and trying it on small-scale first, I decided there was no reason to look further! This was it! And it was a success! Below, I have posted a lot of pictures along with the directions and recipes, and I hope it will be helpful to you. If you decide to try these scalloped potatoes, I would love it if you came back to comment and add a star rating as it really helps me out! Thanks in advance! How Much Will You Need if Serving a Crowd? On the bottom of this post you will find a smaller and a larger size recipe for your convenience; the smaller one for 6 servings […] Read more »

Grandma’s Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe, Gluten Free Option

Written by Terese · 10 Comments

This recipe is for a very special sweet potato casserole, one that was served to us by my husband’s late step-grandmother; our beloved Grandma Fountain! It was made and served with love! Although originally not gluten free until I altered it, this casserole is amazing both ways; so creamy and delicious, and a must on our holiday dinner table whether it is Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter. The whole family looks forward to this luscious side dish to go with our turkey or ham, and other sides such as green bean casserole! Two new versions of green bean casserole, served for the first time this past Thanksgiving, are likely to become standard dishes for our holiday family dinners from now on, as we really enjoyed them. Here are the links to my posts on those: Creamy Green Bean Casserole and Cheesy Green Bean Casserole, and also the fabulous Gluten Free Crisp French Fried Onion topping! Both casseroles were made gluten free, as this sweet potato casserole easily can be as well by simply substituting the flour for gluten free flour. We tried it and did not notice any difference. Even though my immediate family does not need to be gluten free, we have other family members who do. You can also make this casserole low fat or low sugar. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps […] Read more »

Gluten Free Cheesy Green Bean Casserole Recipe

Written by Terese · Leave a Comment

This green bean casserole, which can be made with regular all purpose flour or gluten free flour, is a cheesy and creamy side dish that can pass for comfort food any day. When I made it for the first time for Thanksgiving this year, using gluten free bread mix in place for wheat flour, my husband’s family absolutely loved it! Even one of my brothers-in-law, who considers himself extremely picky, raved about this green bean casserole! I will definitely be making it again, this recipe is a keeper! If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! As this side dish is different from Campbell’s green bean casserole, you really need to keep that in mind when trying it, and not expect it to taste like Campbell’s. The only thing it has in common with the ol’ cream of mushroom casserole, is that both of them contain green beans. I found the original version of this recipe on Pinterest via allrecipes.com, but I made a lot of changes to reflect reviewers’ likes and dislikes. It was my impression from the original recipe that people either loved it or hated it, but with the changes added, everyone at our Thanksgiving table raved about this casserole! In addition to this Cheesy Green Bean Casserole, I also tried a […] Read more »

Gluten Free Crisp French Fried Onion Topping, Recipe

Written by Terese · 46 Comments

I never even considered that I could make my own French fried crisp onion topping, until I needed some that were gluten free for a green bean casserole. Now I know that these are really easy to make (though somewhat time consuming, but not bad…), and a lot of fun! I was so proud of myself when I tasted them! “Wow, I MADE those!!” A ton of other people were impressed too, and it was so simple! Just like myself, I think people just don’t realize it can be done at home. It’s just not something you think about until there is a need for it. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! I sliced a large red onion into thin slices, and chopped them just a little bit to be more fitting as a casserole topping. Next, I put them all in a bowl, poured on enough milk to cover, and let them soak for a few minutes. If you need to watch out for dairy in addition to gluten, you could probably use broth instead, or even gluten free beer, as a couple of my readers have since suggested. This recipe shows you how to make the onions gluten free. If you don’t need to be gluten free, you can use regular white […] Read more »

Gluten Free Creamy Green Bean Casserole Recipe w/ Topping

Written by Terese · Leave a Comment

Gluten Free Creamy Green Bean Casserole Being gluten free during the holidays can be tricky. So many yummy foods to eat, and yet so much that cannot be enjoyed just because of a few tablespoons of wheat here and there, or something as simple as a teaspoon of soy sauce added to a casserole… YES, soy sauce, just like so many foods, has gluten in it! Gluten seems to be everywhere! Personally I do not have to be gluten free, even though I was for a period of time, but I have family members who really do need to stay away from it. I truly feel for them! Making all kinds of changes at home is hard enough, but being served outside of home is just plain sad. Sometimes there is no other choice but to bring your own food from home. It must be so hard to not be able to join in the food experience together with others! That’s why, for Thanksgiving this year, I decided to search for gluten free alternatives to my standard two casseroles: green bean casserole, and my much loved sweet potato casserole. It was my hope that this year, everyone, going gluten free or not, would be able to enjoy these wonderful dishes. And they did! Going into it, I wasn’t sure how the casserole recipes I settled for would turn out, and whether I would make them again for future […] Read more »

Creamy, Tangy Potato Salad with Eggs, Recipe

Written by Terese · 2 Comments

Potato salad is a great addition to almost any lunch or dinner meal. Purchasing potato salad from the deli can be very convenient, but making it at home can be oh, so worth it! The main problem I have with potato salad purchased at the grocery store is that the potato cubes usually are far too firm. Sometimes they are downright crunchy! Who enjoys eating crunchy potato salad? Well, not I, I can tell you that much! Perhaps the potatoes are kept firm to keep them from losing their shape and turn to mush rather than salad, which I can understand and appreciate. Personally, I still think that flavor and tender potatoes is more important than shape, though I too, try to avoid making mush out of my salads. My potatoes do loose their shape a little bit when stirred, but not enough to cause a problem. Instead, we often find ourselves taking second helpings of this potato salad, because it tastes so good and the texture is right. It is creamy and moist, a great addition to the meal served. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! I adapted this potato salad recipe from the recipe that my mother-in-law used for her family during my husband’s childhood, and still uses today. I have made […] Read more »

Romaine Cashew Cranberry Salad, Recipe

Written by Terese · 4 Comments

This is a salad recipe that I adapted from a salad served at a function where the catering company Urban Mill Cafe was used. Everyone seemed to love this salad (and the rest of their food, too!), and I thought I might be able to recreate it fairly easily. So, while eating, I made a mental note of the ingredients I saw, then later wrote it down. The ingredients were: Romaine lettuce, cashews, cheese, dried cranberries, and green apple, with a poppy seed dressing on the side. Kraft’s Raspberry Vinaigrette is a good substitute, though it is a different flavor from poppy seed dressing. Until I got a hold of their website information, I wasn’t sure which cheese they had used in their salad; it was a shredded, white cheese, more flavorful than mozzarella. I tried Monterey Jack, and loved it. It turns out they used Swiss cheese, but I think any of these are good. I’m sure provolone would also work well. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! Making the salad is really quite straight forward. Just a couple of things to point out: For cashews, choose raw, unsalted cashews, then roast them. It is very easy to do. I’ve seen roasting recipes that say to roast at 350°, but I roasted […] Read more »

Dulce de Leche: Easy, Delicious Caramel Cake Filling Recipe

Written by Terese · 6 Comments

And now, presenting a delicious, creamy food that I discovered a while back; you could say a year ago or so, or you could say several decades ago, depending on how you see it. I found this recipe for cake filling not too long ago. People were talking about how easy it was to make, and how different and delightful it tasted. I decided to give it a try. When it was done, I tasted it and discovered that I had made a product I remember from my childhood, a caramel flavored sandwich spread: HAPÅ! It was quite a revelation, the least I expected, and there was no doubt about it! It was exactly like Hapå both with regard to flavor, texture, and color. It never would have occurred to me to use this product as cake filling, however, but why not? It is smooth, sweet, looks and tastes a bit like caramel, glossy and pretty and very easy to prepare. Since then I have discovered the same product at supermarkets, in the Mexican area of the international section labeled “Dulce de Leche”. So obviously it is not really a Norwegian food, but can be found in various countries of the world under different names. But for me it will always be Hapå! It will take 2 hours of your time to prepare although you mostly leave it alone during that time. So if you are going to be at […] Read more »