eeeeeats – I Don't Eat No Wheat

Desserts, Sweets & Treats, Uncategorized

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Featuredby Christina DorizasLeave a Comment

I don’t care how basic it is. I love pumpkin everything. There, I said it and there’s no shame in my game. Lattes, bread, cookies, pasta, you name it and chances are I’ve made it and devoured it. But of all of the pumpkin treats I’ve made, these mini pumpkin cheesecakes are by far my favorite.

Unlike traditional cheesecake that is labor intensive, requires a water bath and takes forever to bake, these mini cheesecakes take 30 minutes in the oven, have a super simple ingredient list and bake in cupcake tins. So easy!

We were having friends over for the Steeler’s game on Sunday so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a batch.

I’ve been making these for years with all sorts of flavor combinations using different fillings and cookies as the crust. For this batch, I used Goodie Girl’s seasonal Caramel Apple flavored cookies with pumpkin spice filling and whipped topping. They were to die for and the Goodie Girl cookies worked wonderfully. They had great crunch, and the caramel apple flavor added a really nice tart kick.

If your store doesn’t carry the caramel apple flavor, I think their toffee crunch or even chocolate chip cookies would work well also.

If you are looking for an easy fall treat that is perfect for parties, give these a try!

Ingredients (Prep Time: 15 min. TotalTime: 50 min. Serves: 15):

For the Crust:

1 box Goodie Girl Caramel Apple Cookies (about 2 cups of crumbs)
4 tbsp butter (melted)

For the Filling:

12 oz. reduced fat cream cheese
2 Tbsp. Greek yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
1/4 cup pumpkin puree

For the Whipped Topping:

1 cup heavy whipping cream
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. pumpkin spice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners (you will need 15).
In a food processor, pulse cookies until they are fine crumbs. Add in melted butter and pulse until well incorporated.
Distribute cookie mixture among cupcake tins (about 2 tablespoons per tin) and press into the bottom. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes until they just start to brown.
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, greek yogurt, sugar, egg, vanilla and pumpkin puree until smooth.
Distribute cheesecake mixture evenly among cupcake tins. Bake for 25 minutes until the middle isn’t jiggly and the top has browned a tiny bit. Once removed from oven, let them cool completely.
In a medium mixing bowl, whip heavy cream until peaks just start to form. Then, mix in cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and pumpkin spice until they are well incorporated and smooth.
Serve cheesecakes with a generous dollop of whipped topping and enjoy this delicious, seasonal treat!

Appetizers, Light Meals, Recipes, Uncategorized

Chēbē Feta, Olive & Rosemary Focaccia

Featuredby Christina DorizasLeave a Comment

Several years ago, I tried Chēbē’s products at an expo and fell in love. The mix itself is free from pretty much every allergen, is vegan, and tastes wonderful. It is incredibly versatile and can be used in both sweet and savory recipes. I have recently partnered up with Chēbē and will be developing a few recipes with their products over the next couple of months.

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The first recipe I came up with is this Feta, Olive and Rosemary Focaccia. Since the dough is made with tapioca and there is cheese added to it, the bread is perfectly crispy on the outside while keeping a chewy texture inside.

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If you wanted to use this for sandwiches, I could see it being delicious with Italian meats, vinegar and spices. That being said, it’s packed with flavor on its own and I enjoyed it dipped in a bit of olive oil with a glass of red wine. I will warn you, it is incredibly addictive and it didn’t last 24 hours in our apartment before we finished the whole loaf (there are only 2 of us).

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If you are interested in trying out this recipe, I have seen Chēbē products in Whole Food’s or you can order boxes through their website.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

Ingredients (Prep Time: 15 min. Total Time: 60 min. Serves: 8):

1 package Chēbē Focaccia Bread mix
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup crumbled feta
2 eggs
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, diced
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, minced
4 Tbsp. milk

Optional Garnishes:

Thinly sliced lemon rounds
A few extra olives
Rosemary
A sprinkle of flaky sea salt and black pepper
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with parchment paper and lightly grease with 1 tsp. of olive oil.
In a medium mixing bowl combine Chebe Focaccia bread mix, mozzarella, feta, eggs, olive oil, kalamata olives, rosemary and milk.
Knead with your hands until everything is well incorporated and the mix is smooth, springy and dough like.
Place dough on baking tray and press out into an oval shape, about 10 inches across at its widest point.
Using your finger or the back of a spoon, poke 10 or 15 dents in the top of the dough.
Brush the top of the focaccia with a bit of olive oil and top with lemon rounds, olives, feta, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Bake for 40 – 45 minutes, let cool slightly and enjoy!

Breakfast, Entrées, Light Meals, Recipes

Sweet Potato Crust Veggie Quiche

Featuredby Christina DorizasLeave a Comment

There is nothing quite like a piece of buttery, delicious quiche. However, it’s generally a more heavy dish and I’ve found making a gluten-free pie crust to be fairly difficult. I fixed that by making a naturally gluten-free crust made of sweet potatoes.

It turned out wonderfully and the sweet potatoes were a great substitute for a regular pie-crust. I am sure that you could experiment with this and try using potatoes as a crust instead of sweet potatoes. You can also be flexible as far as what you want to add to the egg mixture. Just try to keep the veggie ratios somewhat similar. I hope you like this recipe as much as I did!

Ingredients: (Prep Time: 30 min. Total time: 90 Min. Serves: 8):

1.5 medium sweet potatoes
1 tbsp. olive oi
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 cloves diced garlic
½ cup chopped red pepper
1/3 cup chopped zucchini
½ cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups chopped kale (remove stems)
4 whole eggs
4 egg whites
¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
½ cup shredded cheddar (I used reduced fat)
3 tbsp skim milk
¼ tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a pie dish with ½ tbsp olive oil.

2. Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Then cut them into very thin slices, around 1/8 in. thick and layer them in the pie dish so that the bottom and the sides are covered. Place in the oven for 15 min until the sweet potatoes have softened slightly.

3. While the sweet potatoes are in the oven, in a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic and red pepper until slightly softened (about 3 minutes).

4. Then add the kale, mushrooms and zucchini to the pan. Sauté them very briefly (about 1 min), remove the pan from the heat and allow the vegetables to cool to about room temperature.

5. Whisk together eggs, milk, cheese, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

6. Add cooled vegetables to the egg mixture and stir until combined. Pour the mixture into the pie dish with sweet potatoes.

7. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and bake the quiche for 45 minutes or until the middle of the quiche does not jiggle.

8. Remove from oven, allow it to cool slightly before serving (about 15 min). Enjoy!