I LOVE red velvet cake.  But I only found out this year because I’d never had red velvet cake before.  Until I came across this gluten-free red velvet cake recipe.  I have celiac disease, which prevents me from eating anything made with wheat gluten (like flour, for example).  Thankfully I have found terrific recipes that work for my lifestyle.

Here is the recipe for Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake, which you can also use to make cupcakes!

Ingredients:

• 1 and 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 and 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs (beaten)
• 2 1/2 cups gluten free flour blend (if not gluten free, just use regular flour)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp xantham gum (if not gluten free, no need to add)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 bottle (oz) red food coloring
• 1 tbsp cocoa

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix oil & sugar in a mixer , then add eggs one at a time after first beating them. Sift all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl . Add flour to the mixer in parts, alternating the flour with the buttermilk. She did this about 4 times but you could probably get away with 3 since you need to begin and end with the flour. In a seperate bowl, mix the vanilla, food coloring and cocoa then add to the mixer. After mixing well, pour the mix into two round 8 inch cake pans (lightly spray with oil first).  If you are making cupcakes instead, simply use muffin tins.   Bake 25-30 minutes (a little less for the cupcakes) or until a toothpick comes out pretty clean.

Wait until cooled to frost. You can make your own cream cheese frosting, but I use Duncan Hines frosting and it’s delicious and super easy.   I dare you not to eat too much!

If you are looking for a pasta dish that is not made with traditional white flour, I think you’ll really like this Potato Gnocchi recipe.  I am gluten free, and I love that I am able to eat this pasta because the flour is Bob’s Red Mill Potato Flour , which is completely gluten free.

Ingredients

• 2-3 Large Yukon Gold or Red Skin Potatoes
• 3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill potato flour
• 3/4 cup Arrowhead Mills white rice flour
• 1 teaspoon Bob’s Red Mill xantham gum
• 1 large egg
• 1 large pinch of salt

Preparation Wash and peel potatoes. Cook in boiling water until soft but not falling apart. Put through potato ricer or use KitchenAid stand mixer with dough hook to mash potatoes to a smooth consistency. Add egg, salt, xantham gum and half of both flours. Continue adding additional flour until dough forms and holds together. On lightly floured surface roll dough out into long half inch ropes. Cut ropes into halt to three quarter inch pieces. With back of fork gently roll gnocchi with tines of fork leaving slight impressions in gnocchi. Cook gnocchi in boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes or until gnocchi rise to surface of water. Top with your favorite sauce and enjoy.

My husband is such an amazing cook that I never order things at restaurants that I know he can make better at home.  But I have never even seen a dish at a restaurant like his Pork Chops with Apples and Raisin Compote.

This dish is a nice combination of the sweet and the savory, with the tender pork absorbing the juices from the apple to really give it an incredible flavor.   Please note that if you have a gluten , soy or egg allergy this dish is safe for you to eat!

Ingredients:

• 4 center cut 3/4″-1″ thick pork chops
• 3 apples (Fuji, Gala, golden delicious) peeled and cubed
• 1 large onion diced
• 2 cups apple cider
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
• 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a medium size oven proof pan that has a tight fitting lid. Add 1 tablespoon of butter, salt and pepper pork chops and start to brown in pan. Turn once browning other side of pork chops, then remove from pan and set aside. Add additional tablespoon of butter to pan and begin to saute onions. Once onions have begun to soften add apples to pan and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes. Add raisins, apple cider, wine, rosemary and sage and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes allowing alcohol from wine to dissipate. Return pork chops to pan covering them with liquid and apple mixture, cover pan with lid and place in oven. Bake in oven for 45 minutes to an hour. As long as the pork chops remain submerged in liquid the longer this cooks the more flavorful and tender the pork chops become.