Spicy Black Bean and Chicken Soup

I am so glad to be back to my blog!  My laptop has been acting up and wouldn't connect to our WIFI for more than 5 minutes. I finally found time to take it in and got it fixed, or so they said.  One day back with my computer and I am already having connection issues.  So this sucker will probably be back to be repaired this weekend.  Everyone keep your fingers crossed that they will finally just replace the dang thing and Steve can help me pick out a computer that actually works!

I am very excited for this recipe!  It was easy and one of my new favorites!

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup salsa (we used medium salsa)
• 1 package taco seasoning (we used a chipotle taco seasoning)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (optional)
• Tortilla chips (optional)

1. Place chicken in crock pot. Pour broth, beans, corn, salsa, and taco seasoning over chicken. 
2. Cook on low for 6 hours (or high for 3 hours). 
3. Remove chicken and shred. Re-add chicken.
4. Add almond milk to crock pot and stir (if you are not dairy free, add sour cream and cheese)
5. Serve with tortilla chips (we had rice and tortillas with our soup)

We had left overs of this which I ate for lunch the next day.  It thickened up over night and made a wonderful rice bowl.

Because we used medium salsa and chipotle taco seasoning it was extremely spicy!  I had to eat every bite with rice.  Steve loved it, but he loves spicy!

Enjoy!
Bry

Gluten Free CHINESE!!

Since we have both gone gluten free Steve has complained over and over again that he misses Chinese food.  And by Chinese food he didn't mean soy sauce and rice and veggies, he meant noodles and breaded chicken orange chicken.  I was waiting at the doctors office a couple weeks ago and was looking through a health magazine when I found a Vegetable Lo Mein recipe!

Gluten-Free Vegetable Lo Mein

8 ounces gluten free spaghetti
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons soy free soy sauce (I use San-J Tamari)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon oil
16 ounces mix stir fry veggies (I bought fresh peppers and broccoli and onions and sliced them up)
2 cups mung sprouts (optional)
3 scallions, chopped (I left these out)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
Pinch of salt

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook pasta.  Drain and set aside.  In a bowl combine broth, soy sauce, and honey, whisking to dissolve.  Add cornstarch and whisk well.  Stir in red pepper flakes and set aside. (I made extra sauce since we like our pasta saucy)
2. Heat a nonstick wok over high heat and add oil, heating until almost smoking.  Add veggies, sprouts, and scallions and cook 2 minutes.  Add garlic and ginger and saute for 2 minutes.  Toss in pasta, then sprinkle with salt and cook until heated through. 
3. Add broth mixture and simmer, stirring often, for 4 minutes until sauce has thickened.

I also made gluten free orange chicken.  I do not have a good recipe for this yet, still in the trial and error phase.  I used Applegate gluten free chicken nuggets and San-J gluten free orange sauce.  I precooked the nuggets and then added both the nuggets and sauce, with a couple small cloves of minced garlic, in the crock pot but the sauce became to thick and started to burn so we had to add water.  It turned out fine, but not great! 

 Enjoy!
Bry

Onion Rings!

Steve and I made a really yummy recipe last night!  I found a recipe for a onion ring batter in my gluten free cookbook.  We both love onion rings and haven't had them in over a year.  I did cheat last summer and get an order of Walla Walla onion rings from Burgerville.  Wel used two large Walla Walla onions at the store for our onion rings.  We made them at Steve's parents house and they enjoyed them too.

Steve hard at work frying the onion rings! All those years making elephant ears at the zoo has finally paid off ;)

Ingredients:

2 large onions (sliced into 1 inch thick rounds)

Batter:

1 cup potato starch (we used Bob's Red Mill)

3/4 cup sorghum flour (Bob's Red Mill)

1 tsp sea salt 

1 tsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp turmeric

1 1/4 cup milk

Directions:

Mix all the batter ingredients in a big bowl and whisk until smooth.  Let sit for 5 minutes to allow thickening.

In a deep skillet or sauce pan heat enough oil to cover at least half of the onion rings to 350 degrees.  Be careful not to let the oil get to hot or the batter will burn.

Dip onion slices in the batter and coat thoroughly.  Add battered onion rings to the oil.

Watch carefully and when golden brown flip to the other side.  And finish cooking.

When once cooked place on paper towel to drain.

We saved some of the batter and dips slices of chicken breast in it and fried it up as well.

Enjoy!

Bry

A New Start!

Wow!  It has been a year since my last post.  So much has happened this past year.  First I finished school and am now working.  I am working in childcare at a few different places.  I work in a church nursery, as a part time nanny and over see a childcare at a wonderful dance studio called Diva Den Studio.  I am also in the process of planning a wedding.  Meaning right now my life includes working, wedding planning, and keeping my fiance happy with delicious gluten free meals. 

 

Steve and I have been working to be healthy.  Especially with our diets.  I am extremely proud of Steve, who has been gluten free for 11 months and is currently at his lowest weight in years!  These two recipes are a couple of our favorites. 

I heard about wedge salads a few months ago and I have loved making them.  They are gorgeous and add a new flare to a regular salad!  What is great about salads is there is no real "recipe".  Be creative!

 What you need:

• a head of ice berg lettuce (cut into fourths)
• salad toppings
• favorite dressing

Pull the core out of the lettuce and wash it.  Cut into fourths and pull out a little bit of the middle pieces and cover with toppings.  This was Steve's salad so it has cheese, bacon, hard boiled eggs.  I usually add shredded chicken.  You can also add veggies and seeds.  Then add some of your favorite dressing.  A fork and knife is definitely needed to eat this delicious meal.  

Yes those are cookies in the background!  On rare occasions I will buy a package of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free chocolate chip cookies!  YUMMY!


This next meal is definitely not one you would consider "healthy", but it is a treat in our house.  Like many Americans I enjoy a nice bowl of mac and cheese.  Unfortunately when you are gluten free mac and cheese is way to expensive!  No way I am spending $5 for a small box of macaroni.  I found this very gluten full recipe of macaroni and cheese on The Pioneer Woman.  With a few wonderful modifications I have made this a wonderful gluten free meal!

*This recipe makes a lot of macaroni!  I usually only make half the recipe or we eat left overs for a few days!

Ingredients

• 4 cups Dried Gluten Free Macaroni (I buy white rice elbow pasta in bulk at WINCO)
• 1 whole Egg Beaten
• 1/4 cup (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
• 1/4 cup All-purpose Gluten Free Flour (Bob's Red Mill or Pamela's both work wonderfully)
• 2-1/2 cups Milk
• 2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
• 1 pound Cheese, Grated
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Preparation Instructions

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.
In a small bowl, beat egg.
In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.
Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.
Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.
Add in cheese and stir to melt.
Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDER SALT.
Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.


Enjoy!

Bry

Lemon Garlic Chicken and Veggies

I always swear I am going to keep up with this blog, and then bang life gets busy.  Life has been pretty hectic here.   However, since this is not a blog about my life I am going to share some recipes!

I liked this recipe.  I doubled the amount of veggies I used and used just under 2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast.  Next time I would cut back on the amount of lemons I use on the bottom of the pan as the veggies soak in the lemon juice to cook, which made the green beans unbearably lemony.  I covered the bottom of the pan with lemon slices, next time I will space them out around the pan, if you aren't a huge fan of lemon cut the slices out completely.  I also used more garlic and olive oil sauce and coated the veggies and chicken very well.

Lemon Garlic Chicken and Veggies

Ingredients

• 6  tablespoons olive oil
• 2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 pounds trimmed green beans (I used frozen ones, however if available use fresh!)
• 1/2 pound of broccoli (I used frozen broccoli as well)
• 8 small red potatoes, quartered
• 4 chicken breasts 

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large baking dish or cast-iron skillet with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the lemon slices in a single layer in the bottom of the dish or skillet.
2. In a large bowl, combine the remaining oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and pepper; add the green beans and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, remove the green beans and arrange them on top of the lemon slices. Add the potatoes to the same olive-oil mixture and toss to coat. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, arrange the potatoes along the inside edge of the dish or skillet on top of the green beans. Place the chicken in the same bowl with the olive-oil mixture and coat thoroughly. Place the chicken, skin-side up, in the dish or skillet. Pour any of the remaining olive-oil mixture over the chicken.
3. Roast for 50 minutes. Remove the chicken from the dish or skillet. Place the beans and potatoes back in oven for 10 minutes more or until the potatoes are tender. Place a chicken breast on each of 4 serving plates; divide the green beans and potatoes equally. Serve warm.          

                 

Enjoy!

Bry

Quinoa Chicken and Sweet Potatoes

I consider myself a vegetarian.  I have been one for 9 years or something crazy like that!  I avoid meat and only really eat cheese and eggs.  You will occasionally see me eat a small piece of local hormone free chicken for dinner.  This is a new thing that started after I cut gluten out of my diet.  So you will occasionally find a chicken recipe on here and even meat recipes that I make for people who are not vegetarian and are yummy enough to share :)

I was excited to find this recipe online.  Being gluten free means NO breaded chicken.  and all though this isn't breaded it has a nice crunchiness to it and plenty of flavor.

Quinoa Crusted Chicken

 Ingredients:

• 4 breasts of Organic Chicken
• 3 cups cooked quinoa (which is about 1 cup uncooked)
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 egg
• 1tsp sea salt (or more to taste)
• 1tsp pepper (or more to taste)
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

 Optional:

• 1-2 tsp garlic powder
• 1-2 tsp of any other spices
• I used red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, garlic powder

(Recipe Yields 4 servings)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Rinse quinoa first. Add a small amount of olive oil to pot and saute the garlic and onions until transparent.  Add quinoa and toast for a couple minutes.  Add water and bring to a boil.  Then set temperature to medium and cover for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally so the quinoa does not burn.  When most of the water is absorbed turn off heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork when finished (1 cup dry quinoa yields 3 cups cooked)
3. In a separate dish, combine quinoa with salt and pepper (and the other spices that you choose)
4. Scramble raw egg into another dish.
5. Dip chicken into egg, coat well. Then put chicken into quinoa mixture, coat well. Place chicken onto baking sheet.
6. Lightly brush oil over each piece of chicken to help it brown.
7. Bake for 30-45 minutes depending on thickness of chicken.

I adore sweet potatoes and yams.  One of my favorite ways to eat them is to roast them in the oven.  It is easy and they taste great!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:

•  Sweet Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Seasoning

 Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Peel and cut your sweet potatoes into chunks.  I usually make them about 1/4-1/2 inch thick.  Coat potatoes with olive oil and place on a cookie sheet.  Place in oven for 10 minutes.
2. After 10 minutes take the potatoes out and flip them.  I also sprinkle some salt, garlic or garlic powder and red pepper at this point.  Place back in over for another 8 minutes.
3. Take potatoes out, if they are the desired softness take them out, otherwise continue to check them every few minutes until thoroughly cooked.  Depending on how thick I cut them they usually take 20-30 minutes to cook all the way.

 Enjoy!

Bry

Roasted Kale Chips

I will be the first to admit kale is disgusting on its own!  Roasted however I can eat a whole bundle of it in minutes.  Roasting kale is so easy.  I have never tried kale chips from the store but I don't think I would like them after having the home made ones.

Ingredients:

Kale
Olive Oil
Salt
Garlic Powder
Red Pepper Flakes (optional)

Directions:

Wash the kale and dry throughly.  Cut the leaves from the steam and cut into large pieces (the will shirnk when you roast them so don't make them to small)  Toss with a light coat of olive oil and seasonings.  Put on a cookie tray, turn on oven to 400 degrees and place the tray in the oven.  I found that putting the tray of kale in the oven while it preheats helps it crisp more evenly.  Let it cook for about 10 minutes and take it out and stir it up.  Place back in the oven for about 3 minutes and check on it again after that,  cook until crispy, it will turn fast so check every couple of minutes.

Bry