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| Barb's Dessert Quesadillas with So Delicious Dairy Free Coconut Milk |
It's been nearly four years since I began the gluten and dairy-free adventure, with the elimination of eggs about a year later. The transition has had its ups and downs for me, but the rewards of greatly improved health and state of mind have been well worth the hassles. (i.e. the gut is healthy!)
While avoiding gluten started out as a bother and getting used to fake cheeses took some, well, getting used to, the avoidance of eggs has been the hardest adjustment of all.
But even that is improving, although I have to say that the product I use to replace eggs in meatloaf just isn't doin' it (just sayin!).
Anyway, here is a product that has opened up more fun culinary possibilities for me:
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| gluten free rice flour tortillas |
Corn tortillas and I have been bumping along but frankly, I don't care for the way they smell (am I strange to say that?). Earlier this year Beloved came across these Mission Gluten Free tortillas and things got better for me. I use them for sandwich wraps, pizza crust, as thinly sliced tortilla strips in salads, for quesadillas, and now, for making dessert! I find them at Publix and Walmart on the same shelf with the regular tortillas.
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| quesadilla maker appliance from Kohl's |
To make quesadillas, we've been using this cute lil' red appliance for about six years. However, you can make them easily with a skillet on top of the stove. You choose. I'm not selling an appliance with this blog post.
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| assembling my dessert quesadilla |
To make this new recipe of mine, I placed the smallest size of marshmallows, almond slices, and chocolate chips in one half of a gluten-free tortilla.
Oh by the way, for those who need to avoid dairy, there are dairy-free chocolate chips:
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| Enjoy Life (brand name) dark chocolate morsels |
Now admittedly, these chips don't melt as readily as milk chocolate but for me, it's these or nothing at all. They will do. Find them at health food stores (including Whole Foods, or if you're in my former home state of Colorado, go to Sprouts). I have also bought them at Hy-Vee grocery stores in Iowa, and Publix here in Florida.
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| ready to cook in the quesadilla maker |
Fold the tortilla over carefully and transfer to the appliance or skillet where you will cook it.
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| set a timer and also keep watch on the cooking process |
I set my kitchen timer for 2 minutes. The point is to get the marshmallows and chocolate melted enough to hold the whole thing together, just like cheese does with the savory quesadillas. You also want the tortilla to crisp up a bit.
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| cooked! The quesadilla maker makes indentations so cutting is not always necessary |
Yes, you could use two tortillas to make six wedges of quesadillas, but that was going to be more than I could eat. Remove the quesadilla to a cutting board and use a sharp knife or a rolling pizza cutter to slice it into individual wedges for serving.
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| a serving suggestion |
I tucked the wedges into a bowl of dairy free ice cream.
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| Internet photo |
This is the brand of dairy free, egg free and gluten free ice cream that I love. It comes in more flavors than just Vanilla Bean, but this one goes with any dessert I pair it with.
Of course you can make these dessert quesadillas with milk chocolate chips and regular flour tortillas, and serve them with your favorite Blue Bell ice cream. Beloved made his and I made mine. Then we snuggled on the love seat with our desserts to watch a Hallmark movies and mysteries show.
It was an allergy-free dessert with clean entertainment -- that's the way I like it!
