Rarely did I ever eat pizza to begin with but it is one of those comfort foods that I tend to crave more on cold winter days.

I decided to stay in last night and make some gluten free pizza. The gluten free pizza was actually amazingly good. Hot, saucy and cheesy, just what I wanted! Andrew, who is not gluten free, enjoyed it as well! He was really excited for me and I thought that was kind of him to consider my plight.

Here is the dough. I should have taken out the stand mixer, but at least I got a good workout out of it.

Here is the recipe:

crust:
1 packet yeast
3/4 cup milk, room temperature
1/2 cup potato starch
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter

Toppings:
your favorite pasta sauce
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
your favorite pizza toppings (I used red bell peppers and pepperoni)

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, combine yeast and milk. Stir to dissolve yeast. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine all dry ingredients and shortening. Mix well.
3. To dry ingredients, slowly add milk/yeast mixture. Mix well. Dough will look wet, thick, and pasty but is quite workable if you spray your hands with nonstick spray or keep your hands damps with water. This is a soft dough.
4. Roll or pat out dough onto a lightly greased baking tin or pizza pan. For a thin crust, pat out dough to 1/8 inch thickness. A 12-inch circle will make a thicker crust.
5. Bake until the top is lightly browned.
6. Top with the sauce, cheese and the toppings you chose.
7. Return pizza to oven to warm the toppings and melt the cheese (about 5-7 minutes)

I just used pasta sauce as pizza sauce, it worked out fine.

This is before it was baked. I forgot to take a picture of it finished! I was so eager to begin eating!

So that was my pizza night. I had not had one of those in a long time. This version of pizza dough is a little bit of a splurge interms of calories. You can replace the butter with olive oil and the milk can be any unsweetened variety, almond milk hemp milk etc.

Let me know what you think or send me some sugestions for gluten free pizza toppings in the comments section.

-Chelsea

Most sweet potato fries sold in the freezer bags are not gluten free. Making your own is the best option.

I was in the grocery store freezer section the other day looking for ice cream for my younger brother who needed a sweet little snack to brighten his day. I am rarely in this section so when I saw the sweet potato fries, I thought I would try them, unfortunately they are not gluten free.

So naturally, I decided to make my own. I also decided they needed a good garlic aioli. Hope you like them…

ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes (2 large ones)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1/2 tsp. paprika

for aioli:
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 turns freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup olive oil

directions:
1. preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. spray a large baking sheet with olive oil
3. peel and cut potatoes into 1/2 inch wide slices
4. in a large bowl combine spices and olive oil. toss potatoes in oil until they are evenly coated
5. spread on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown

for aioli:
1. add garlic, egg, lemon juice, parsley, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender and puree until white
2. with the processor or blender on slowly add the oil until it begins to thicken, the longer you blend the ticker it will be.

these were a big hit at my house, so i hope you like them.

Enjoy, Chelsea