GF Dream Oatmeal Cookies

I'm back!  Well, kinda.  I'm done with my National Board portfolio which I sent in last Thursday.  I have to say the whole process was a bit unnerving.  It is not like writing essays for graduate school.  There you know the professor, how they grade, what they want, etc.  Here they gave you rubrics but I have heard that the grading process is very arbitrary and people pass or fail randomly.  Then there is the whole packing the essays process which is much more an exercise on if you can follow directions than anything else.  There is even an envelope where you put the checklist that you filled out all of the checklists.  I was literally shaking packing it up because I was so worried that I'd make a mistake and then have to pay $300 to take the essay over just because I didn't paperclip the right way.  I heard that if you take the class (apparently I am "hardcore" because I didn't) they don't let you pack it up yourself.  You have to go in and 3 supervisors have to watch and sign off that you did it correctly.

So the National Board portfolio is done but now I have the test on the 4th which I supposedly should study for... however I know special education like the back of my hand so will take a quick look at the examples and go from there.  If this whole National Board process wasn't enough I have/had three full IEPs this week and it takes me 3 - 4 hours to finish each (depending on whether or not I am sitting in front of the TV while doing it).  Plus this weekend I have to input grades for 60 report cards which I haven't done in a month and have to do IEP report cards.  I don't know why I am writing more after doing all of this but I feel like my life has to get back to normal.  I have not cooked a real dish in three weeks, have gorged myself on bottles of Mountain Dew and bags of Carmel Bugles (oh man, sooooo good!  Found at Walgreens and now can't go into Walgreens because I don't have the self control to resist), and have eaten salads, eggs, and rice in different combinations for weeks.  I just want to be back to normal but I am super, super, super stressed and burnt out.

What is the best way to deal with such stress?  Eating gluten free cookies!  These are the absolutely best oatmeal cookies ever, that is why I call them my dream oatmeal cookies.  However, they aren't mine... they are actually my mom's.  She made these cookies for me (3 doz worth) during this crazy time.  I took some to work with me and everyone raved about them (4 people at my school are gluten free).   My mom even made me an "instant mix" bag with all of the ingredients mixed together so I can add the liquids and cook and be done with it.  Since then my dad has been sending loaves of GF challah bread which is insanely good so my parents are keeping me stocked in baked goods.  THANK YOU!

GF Dream Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients


2 cups of flour mix (2 parts brown rice flour, 2/3 part potato starch, 1/3 part tapioca flour)
2 cups GF rolled oats
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 large eggs
1 Tbs vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup raisins

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Place foil on cookie sheet and lightly grease.  Mix together butter and sugars in a large bowl until light and creamy with a electric mixer.  Then add the eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger and beat until a smooth dough forms.  Then mix in oats and raisins.

Drop in large tsp of  dough onto cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.   This recipe makes 60 cookies!  You can freeze unbaked dough.

GF Veggie Burgers

So, as I said in my last post I had friends over for the Silva UFC fight the day before the Super Bowl. When I was putting everything together I thought briefly of a post that I saw on Photograzing a few days earlier. It was an Oreo cooked inside a chocolate chip cookie. Even though I couldn't eat it (yes, I cheated by trying one...and paid for it) and didn't actually read the recipe, I called up my husband who was in the grocery store and asked him to bring home a bag of Oreos (please someone, take them from my house! They are torturing me in the cabinet) and two rolls of chocolate chip cookies. Here are the results:

Moral of the story is, read the recipe first. However, one of my friends did call me a day or two later and said that I ruined his life, because these cookies were so wonderful and he was trying to not to eat sweets! I wasn't going to post this, but I saw the cookies on SeriousEats today and laughed when I actually read the recipe and found out why my short cut didn't work.

I wish I could say this next recipe was a total hit. I have been looking for a gluten free veggie burger recipe for summer and this was my first attempt. The burger itself tastes good. However, they fall apart easily. I do not know where this recipe is from, I have had it on my to do list for a while-sorry!

Do you have a good gluten free recipe for veggie burgers? Please, let me know. (Oh, by the way the bun is not gluten free... this was my husband's burger)

GF Veggie Burgers

Ingredients

2 Tbs olive oil

1 cup of thinly chopped onions

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup of grated carrots

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp of ground smoked cumin

2 15oz cans of kidney beans

2 Tbs of Dijon mustard

2 Tbs of soy sauce

2 Tbs of ketchup

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

salt and ground pepper

Saute the onions and garlic in oil until soft. Add the carrots, chili powder, and cumin and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, mash the beans with a potato masher. Add mustard, soy sauce, ketchup and onion-carrot mixture. Mix in the oats and add salt and pepper to taste.

Moisten your hands and mold the mixture into 3 -4 inch patties. Use a non-stick skillet or lightly oil one and cookie the patties on medium-low heat for 5 to 8 minutes on each side.