Casein Free Pumpkin Pie Filling

This took some researching to figure out, but I honestly cannot tell the difference between this filling what I remember allergen loaded pumpkin pie tasting like. My boyfriend (who does not have allergies) agreed that it tasted very normal as well. The recipe is very similar to that on can of pumpkin mix you get from the store.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup egg substitute or egg whites
1 15 oz. can 100% pumpkin puree (not the kind with spices in it - check the label it should say it only contains pumpkin)
1 13 oz. can coconut milk
pie crust (see recipe here)

Preheat the oven to 425º. Mix up all the ingredients until its a smooth mixture - may be a bit runnier than normal pie mix but it'll turn out quite tasty. Bake pie for 15 min at 425º, then reduce the temperature to 350º and back for another 40-50 min.

I actually way overcooked my pie the first time I made it and the crust burned - but it still tasted just fine. I would suggest testing the middle of the pie with a toothpick though before taking it out.

Cupcake Pie Crust

I was very excited when I found this recipe, I had made a cake using the Betty Crocker Yellow Cake mix but it came out very dry and I did not want to eat it; but being that allergen free food is so expensive and I don't like being wasteful this recipe was the prefect solution. However, this recipe is not my own creation, I have to thank the "Babycakes" cookbook (which I highly recommend) but please note that even though all of their recipes are vegan, some do use spelt (distant cousin of wheat and not considered to be gluten free).

Ingredients:
6 unfrosted vanilla cupcakes
2 Tbps coconut oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/2 tsp salt


First use your hands to crumble the cupcakes into fine bits. Then add the coconut oil, agave nectar, and salt. Mix everything together and press it into your pie dish making it about a 1/4" thick. I have not tried cooking this crust prior to putting in the pie contents but I do not think it is necessary to pre-bake it. 


If you do experiment with this recipe please let me know!
Will post a picture next time I make a pie.

Gluten/Casein Free Pizza

Due to my intolerance to tapioca, I cannot eat any of the pre-made pizza crust mixes (that I've found). However, I have found Bisquick's gluten free mix to be very versatile, and through numerous attempts, the following pizza recipe is the best one that I have made with it.


Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups gluten free bisquick
1 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 cup water
1/6 cup of olive oil
1/3 cup egg substitute or egg whites
Toppings of your choice


Mix everything together and it should look like thick sticky cookie dough. Pre-heat the oven to 425º and grease a cookie sheet or pizza pan. Spread the dough out to about a 1/8" to 1/4"- I find it helps if I spray my hands with cooking spray (make sure the spray does not contain milk if you are dairy free), pinch up the sides to give it a crust, or just spread it out flat if you want just a thin crust type pizza. 

 Bake just the crust for about 15 min, the crust make come out looking cracked, as shown on the left.










Once it has finished baking, take it out and decorate it as you wish. I like to put the toppings under the cheese. 










The cheese in the picture below is "Tofutti" Mozzarella (it is very smelly when it cooks). I have found that Follow Your Heart Natural Foods - "Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella" is quite good although it can get kind of soupy when it's hot out of the oven, but it does melt and is not smelly.

Chex Mix

While I was at Wal-Mart a few weeks ago they had Chex Mix seasoning packets, however, I have been unable to actually make it due to finals (I am currently studying for my Masters). Having the day off from work today, I decided today would be as good as any. 

Using the recipe on the back of the packet as a guide, I made some alterations. 

The packet recipe is as follows:

6 Tbps of butter

1 packet of seasoning mix

3 cups corn chex

3 cups rice chex

3 cups wheat chex

1 cup mixed nuts

1 cup pretzels

1 cup bagel bites broken into 1" pieces

My version (pictured on left):

2/3 cup of butter

2 packets of seasoning mix

3 cups corn chex

3 cups rice chex

2 cups honey nut chex

2 cups gf cheerios

2 cups gf pretzels

First, I mixed up all the chex, cheerios, and pretzels in a large separate mixing bowl. Then in a second, microwave safe bowl, melted the butter and mixed in the packets of seasoning mix. The original recipe says to melt the butter, in a roasting pan, in the oven first, and then mix in the seasoning, however, I just melted it in the butter in a bowl in the microwave then mixed in the seasoning packets. I then poured in half of the mixture into a large glass pyrex dish and added several cups of my cereal mix and used a spatula to start covering everything, slowly adding more cereal. After all the seasoning mixture seemed to be all mixed in I poured the rest on top of the cereal and then mixed it up again adding in the rest of the cereal. Then I baked it for 1 hour at 250º, taking it out every 15 minutes to stir it. Once it's all done, scoop it out onto paper towels and let cool, then store in an air tight container. The final product should look something like this: