Homemade Chicken soup (gluten free)

Chicken Noodle soup for your soul

Who it's made for:

Normally I'd make something sweet that pleases the palate but today my post is about making something that soothes the delicate body and soul. This is made for our grandpa Dal-Gallo whose body and soul is very delicate at this moment.

How it's made:

*1 (approx three pound) whole chicken (left over)

* Two large carrots halved and cut in chunks

* Four stalks of celery sliced about an inch or so thick (chunkier)

*One onion sliced into chunks

* approx.1 Cup (or a little less) of rice elbow noodles (I like the purple package)

*Salt and pepper to taste

1. I put my left over whole chicken in a dutch oven and add just enough water to cover.

I add a bit of salt and all the veggies.

I place a lid over and bring to a boil.

I then turn it to a simmer for a few hours (about 3).  

2. I taste the broth to see if it has the strong enough flavour I'm looking for. 

If not you can continue to cook or just add two tablespoons of Better Then Broth: Chicken Broth.

In a separate pot I start boiling the noodles. 

I then carefully take the chicken out of the pot with a large slotted spoon and onto a Pyrex (careful its very hot).

I take all of the chicken off of the bone making sure it's somewhat shredded and none of the bone gets into the soup.

I drain and rinse the noodles (otherwise rice noodles have too much starch) then add to soup.

Mix all together.

Give it the ole taste test (enough salt, right flavours) and if all is well  I serve.

Information about chicken noodle soup:

They say chicken noodle soup is not only good for comforting the soul but a great soup for colds and flu's. First, it acts as an anti-inflammatory by inhibiting the movement of neutrophils — immune system cells that participate in the body's inflammatory response. Second, it temporarily speeds up the movement of mucus through the nose, helping relieve congestion and limiting the amount of time viruses are in contact with the nose lining.

As Ella would say:

Moustacherifics (Mustash-er-ifics)

Ahh the ever loved Charlie Chaplin and his famed Stache!

Happy New Year

Who they were made for:

These Moustacherifics were made for me! I have always wanted to have a moustache party and with the help of my friend Charlene (Candybarcupcakes.blogspot.com) we made it happen. We all added a fun stache to our dillied up hairdos and laughed the night away into the new year. Sick and all.

The cake was made:

 By Charlene -yeah she did all the actual hard work :-). She used the boxed white cake mix (followed instructions) then topped it off with a white whipped frosting. These are actually not gluten free but can easily be made Gluten free with just a regular cake of your favourite flavour. I would recommend a white frosting to make the moustaches stand out.

The topping:

Then I got to do the fun part and add the moustaches with black glitter gel that we picked up at our local Safeway. I tried my best to make them look like all sorts of cartoon moustaches.

Supplies needed for a moustache party:

*Black plates and napkins

*Moustache decorated cupcakes

*Fake stick on Mustaches (got ours at Urban outfitters)

*you can make paper staches tape or glue them to a stick and hold it up.

*We decorated white cups with a black felt tip marker

and drew on a few staches

*Any decor in black and white

To help give it a vintage feel:

you can dress as an old barber

dress as a vintage carnie

Add red stripes to your black and white decor

make sure your mustaches are vintage in shape (handle bar, Chaplin, etc.)

Chocolate Pumpkin Munchkins

The sun falls early all around. Warm coloured leaves fall to the ground. 

 Rain falls everywhere I look. Bookmarks falling into my books. Pumpkin flavoured everything.

Welcome fall, winters spring.

                                **********************************************
Made for:
These Chocolate Pumpkin Munchkins were made for my little munchkin! We made these and had them for breakfast. They taste even better left over.

How they were made:
I used gluten free Bisquick. I followed the pancake recipe (made it a little bit thicker). I added pureed pumpkin (yep from a can ;-) I also added pumpkin spice. You have to add more then you think you need in order to be able to really taste it. I like mine with a little more flavour. I then spooned the batter into a small plastic bag with a tiny piece cut off of a corner. I pipped the batter into the cute little donut maker molds.
Topping: I melted unsweetened dark chocolate morsels (double broiler) and dipped the tops of the wee little munchkins.

Taste:  When you bite into it you first get the bitter dark chocolate flavour then its soothed by the flavour of the pumpkin and pumpkin spice.  It's has the perfect amount of bitter and sweet. They are a great combination. The texture is a little softer then a donut with gluten. All in all I think these are great to have a round for holiday snacks or to bring to a party.  I give these a 7 out of 10.

Baby cake testers say: "Didn't make enough to keep the good flavours coming"

Bitsi Cherry Pies

Good Bye Summer, Hello Pie's! I love these bitsi pie pieces. First pie of the season! I was inspired to make these for everyone. To celebrate the opening of fall. The time of year when the cooler it is outside the cozier it is inside. Fall = me in the kitchen baking and some great Charlie Brown movies as the cherry on top.

How it was made:
These were made just like a regular pie but in a cupcake pan. I used Gluten Free Pantry pie dough mix. This seems to be my favorite pie crust of the gluten free so far. I like to make my own pie crusts too but sometimes you just gotta put on a fun apron and skip a few steps.

What it tastes like:
  This tastes like a buttery, flakey, sweet crust with a sweet and ever so slightly tart cherry middle.

Rating:
I give these a 9 out of 10.

Baby Cake Testers say: Fun to eat, Yummy to the tummy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites (cookie dough center)

Got Cookies? These are little Cookie Dough Bites. My mom used to make cake and cookies all of the time. She would just wake up and decided that day was going to be a cookie or a cake day. On the cookie days she used to take little bits of cookie dough and pop it in her mouth. So I thought what a better combo then to add the cookie dough to the cake. These are inspired by my mom the sweet tooth queen.

How it was made:

I made a regular yellow cake with chocolate chips added, baked as usual. Then I made chocolate chip cookie dough and baked a few cookies. I cut out the middle of the bites and added cookie dough then put the top back on. I added fluffy white frosting and pieces of chocolate chip cookie to the top.

Taste:

I was worried how the raw cookie dough would taste gluten free. As all of us gluten free victims know allot of the batter taste like bean flour. But these were so good. The taste wasn't anything close to bean flour. When biting into it you taste the vanilla and the lightness of the cake, you get the slightly heavier, sugary, chocolate chip cookie dough in the center, You taste the light fluffy frosting but it doesn't over take the taste of the dough. Then you taste the fresh baked, delicious chocolate chip cookie sitting on top that's waiting for you!

Rating:

I give this a 9 out of 10. It wasn't over powering you with sugar. All of the textures where great together. The fact that they were bite sized was perfect for the sugar content. made them just right.

Baby cake testers say: They loved it. Want me to make them again.

Big daddy Coco Choco

Happy Birthday Gabriel! This cake is for My brother Gabriel. His birthday is March 10th. Turning 18 deserves a gourmet cupcake.

This cake is made as a regular chocolate cupcake. Except in the huge version :-). The topping is made with a smooth dark chocolate frosting, a light white frosting mixed with coco., german frosting coconut topping. To make it even more gourmet. accessories were added; a pecan, shredded chocolate pieces, and two chocolate sticks.

Hello delicious! This was VERY sweet. I am not much of a frosting fan but if you are this cake may be for you. I am in love with coconut though.

I give this a 8 out of ten.

babycake Testers Say: YUM. The taste was chocolaty and sweet. They would eat it again.

My brother Gabe thinking of how he is going to Eat such a big cupcake.

Hazelnut Coffee Littles

What better way to have coffee hour then with a cup of jo and hazelnut coffee littles. These were made for my friend Charlene. She has doesn't have coffee hour she sometimes has coffee day! Who doesn't love coffee?

These were made half the size of a regular cupcake. I took a Gluten free chocolate brownie mix and mixed it as usual. I added a tiny bit more water then asked, fresh brewed  hazelnut coffee and coffee grounds, and hazelnut syrup. All of the extra liquids made the brownie batter into a moist cake mix. I filled the cups half full before baking. For the topping I added hazelnut syrup to whipped white frosting. Then topped with bits of hazelnuts.

These littles were pretty good. Though the hazelnut flavour was prominent I feel the brew should have been allot stronger. I should have gone lighter with the frosting. It felt like there was a bit to much sweetness for me but that is a difference in opinion I guess. It would have been nice to add a light coat of chocolate powder to the top. I would add these to the baby cake menu with these changes. As they were I give these littles a seven out of ten.

Baby cake Testers Say: Brew could have been stronger, could still taste the coffee though. they gave a seven out of ten also.