Chicken Stew

I made this on Christmas Eve for a nice comfort-food meal before our Christmas Eve church events. It was also a way to make an Americanized version of a Ghanaian Christmas tradition (my daughter researched Ghana's Christmas traditions because friends of hers just had their new brother and sister adopted from Ghana arrive home on the morning of Christmas Eve this year and my daughter wanted to make something that was a Ghana tradition). I looked up a traditional Ghana Chicken Stew recipe and it did not look appetizing. So, I looked for an American chicken stew instead. Here's an adaptation of what I found.

• 3 cups red potatoes, cubed
• 3 cups carrots, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
• 4 celery stalks, washed and cut into bite-sized pieces.
• 1 cup freshly chopped onion
• 1 tsp. fresh minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme  
•  4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 recipe of condensed cream soup
• salt & pepper to taste 

Directions:

1. Place all items into crockpot, stir until everything is coated with the cream soup. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

**It will seem very thick initially, but as the chicken cooks, its juices will render out and create a little bit of liquid. This creates about 6 servings.

Adapted from: http://www.food.com/recipe/crockpot-chicken-stew-422135#ixzz1hUibHMGC

Mint Squares

This can be made either with chocolate or with carob.

Mint Squares

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

4 eggs

1 cup Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix

1 can sweetened condensed milk

3-4 TBSP carob powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder) - I used Chatfield's carob powder

1 tsp. vanilla

***

3 cups confectioner's sugar

3/4 cup melted butter or margarine

4 TBSP peppermint extract (I used Simply Organic)

3-4 drops green food coloring

***

2 -12oz. bags GF chocolate chips (or white chocolate chips if doing cocoa/chocolate-free)

7 TBSP butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*.

2. Mix sweetened condensed milk and carob/cocoa powder in a small bowl.

3. Mix sugar, butter, eggs, baking mix, carob/cocoa mixture, and vanilla with an electric hand mixer until mixed well.

4. Bake for 33-35 minutes.

***

5. Once cake portion has cooled, mix confectioner's sugar, melted butter, peppermint extract, and green food coloring.

6. Spread over cooled cake.

7. Put into freezer for about 15 minutes until layer has firmed up.

***

8. Melt chips and butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat.

9. Spread over mint layer. Chill before cutting and serving.

Tilapia Packets with Garlic Cheese Sauce for Crockpot

3-4 Tilapia fillets or other white fish
1/2 cup mayonnaise (Hellmann's is gluten-free)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 Tbs. of lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Stir the sauce together (all ingredients except the fish).


2. Put a little sauce on the foil, place fillet on top and then top fillet with more sauce. Then wrap into a foil packet. Repeat with remaining tilapia and sauce.

3. Place all the packets in the crockpot, stacking them on top of each other. If using frozen tilapia, heat on high for about 30 minutes before lowering the temperature to your crockpot's low setting. Cook for an additional 4 hours until fish is flaky.

4. Since you are doing this in packets, you can also add small potatoes to your crock pot to cook, if you have room and would like potatoes with your meal. I'm choosing to serve brown rice with our fish.

Crock Pot Lasagna

Crock Pot Lasagna

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 jar (24 oz) of your favorite gluten-free spaghetti sauce
1 cup ricotta cheese (I think most kinds are GF, but this one says so right on their website)
1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
6 Tinkyada lasagna noodle sheets
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (I use Kraft in the canister)

1. Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Add tomatoes and spaghetti sauce. Simmer 5 minutes and allow flavors to mix.

2. Mix ricotta cheese and one cup of mozzarella cheese in a small bowl.

3. Combine remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella with parmesan cheese.

4. Spoon 1/3 of ground beef mixture into a 5 Qt. crock pot. Break 3 dry lasagna noodles in half (or into smaller pieces if necessary) and arrange them over the beef mixture. Top with half of the ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer of beef, noodles, and ricotta. Finish with the remaining 1/3 of beef mixture and top with the mozzarella/parmesan mixture.

5. Cover crock pot and cook on low for about 4-5 hours.

**I have found that if I cook it longer than 4-5 hours, the noodles get kind of mushy, but 4 hours is usually perfect and 5 hours is still OK; 6 hours is really kind of pushing it, though.

Corn bread

Ingredients:

1/4 cup stick butter or margarine, softened
3 TBSP sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup Pamela's Pancake & Baking Mix
2/3 cup GF yellow cornmeal - Hodgson Mills is one brand
2 tsp GF Baking Powder (I use Clabber Girl)
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425-degrees. Combine butter and sugar in a bowl. Mix with an electric mixer on medium speed until creamy. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in sour cream and milk.

2. On low speed, beat in all remaining ingredients, just until mixed.

3. Pour batter into a greased 8-inch square baking dish. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm.

Homemade GF Chili

Ingredients:

1TBSP vegetable oil
3lbs. ground beef
salt
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4TBSP San-J wheat-free Tamari
2TBSP chili powder (more if you like more heat)
2tsp ground cumin
2tsp oregano
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 bottle (12 oz) Chili Sauce
1 1/2  cups beef stock (I use 1 1/2 cups of warm water and mix in 1 1/2 tsp. of Herb-Ox bouillon)

Directions:

1. Heat vegetable oil on medium-high. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Season to taste with salt.
2. Add chopped onion, peppers, and garlic. Stir for 3-5 minutes. Add tamari. Cook an additional 3 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Cook for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low; add corn, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, chili sauce and stock.
4. Simmer for 30+ minutes, stirring occasionally.

Rice Krispies

Did you know??? Have you seen??? Rice Krispies are now Gluten-free! I was just in my grocery store this week and was wandering in the regular cereal aisle because part of my family really loves Cinnamon Chex. I'm not entirely sure how it caught my eye, but those GF-labeled Rice Krispies caught my eye! We had to buy a box. My daughter was so over-the-moon excited. She had them plain yesterday morning and then added fresh blueberries to them this morning. So very exciting!

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:
*3-4 medium sized red potatoes, cleaned and thinly sliced.
*2TBSP butter
*2TBSP corn starch
*2/3 tsp salt
*Pepper to taste
*1 cup milk
* 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1. Cook potatoes in large saucepan until tender. Drain.

2. Melt butter in small saucepan. Add corn starch, salt and pepper. Stir until well blended. Add milk and 1 cup cheese. Stir continuously over medium-low heat until sauce thickens.

3. Pour cheese mixture over potatoes and stir to coat potatoes.

4. Pour into greased casserole dish or 11x7 baking pan.

5. Bake in oven at 350-degrees for 20-25 minutes.

**Makes about 4 servings.

Quinoa & Chicken

*Serves 4*

1 cup quinoa

2 cups chicken broth

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips.

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tsp. fresh minced garlic

4 TBSP olive oil

1 zucchini, diced

1 tomato, diced (I used a can of diced tomatoes, rinsed and drained, since I didn't have any fresh tomatoes)

4 oz. feta cheese

1-2 tsp. basil

1. Rinse quinoa and place in small saucepan with chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then simmer until all liquid has been absorbed.

2. On med-high, saute onion and garlic in 2TBSP olive oil until onion is translucent. Add chicken and cook most of the way through.

3. Remove chicken from pan, add 2TBSP olive oil, tomatoes, and zucchini. Cook until zucchini is tender. Add chicken back to pan. Add feta cheese and basil. Let flavors mix for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Serve over quinoa.

This is very yummy, very flavorful, and isn't heavy at all.

Quinoa Stuffed Pork Tenderloin

1 cup quinoa, rinsed well
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup raisins
1 medium apple, cored and finely chopped
1/2 TBSP thyme
1 TBSP parsley
1 pork tenderloin
salt
pepper

1. Put quinoa and broth in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer until all liquid has been absorbed.

2. Mix raisins, apple, thyme, and parsley into the quinoa. Salt and pepper to taste.

3. Cut off silver skin from the pork tenderloin. Butterfly (cut) lengthwise. Pound thin, about 1/2-1/4 inch.

4. Spread about half the quinoa mixture on the pork tenderloin. Roll pork tenderloin and tie with butcher twine in about 3-4 places.

5. Season top of tenderloin with a pinch of kosher salt and pepper. On a baking sheet, cook in the oven at 375-degrees for about 20 minutes or until pork is cooked to an internal temperature of 155-degrees.

6. Slice tenderloin and serve with the extra quinoa mixture as a side and a veggie of choice.

Snickerdoodle cookies

• 1 package (15 ounces) yellow gluten-free cake mix

• 1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), cut into tablespoons

• 1 large egg

• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon sugar (see below)

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375˚F. Set aside 2 ungreased baking sheets.

2. Place the cake mix, brown sugar, and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse once to combine. Add the butter to the processor and pulse until the mixture is crumbly, 15 to 20 pulses. Add the egg and vanilla and pulse until the dough comes together in a large ball, 10 pulses.

3. Scoop the cookie dough into 1-inch balls, roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture, and arrange 12 balls on each baking sheet, 2 to 3 inches apart. If you want crisp 3-inch cookies, press down on the balls with the bottom of a small glass to flatten them. If you prefer chewy 2 1/2-inch cookies, do not flatten the balls of dough.

4. Place the baking sheets in the oven and bake the cookies until golden brown, 8 to 12 minutes. Using a metal spatula, immediately transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely, 15 minutes.

Cinnamon Sugar:

1. To make your own cinnamon sugar, stir 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon into 1/4 cup of granulated sugar.

Creamy Dairy-Free, Gluten-FreeTomato Soup

Ingredients:

1 12oz. can tomato paste
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes
3 slices of your favorite gluten-free bread, cubed with crusts cut off
1 small cooking onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP sugar
2-3 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I made my own stock, but you can use herb-ox bouillon, if necessary)
salt
pepper


Directions:

1. In a large stock pot, mix together tomato paste, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, 1/2 cup broth, bread cubes, and sugar. Bring to a slight bubble.

2. Pour into a blender, add olive oil, and puree. Be sure to hold the lid on tightly and remove lid slowly when finished pureeing, as the heat can cause pressure build-up.

3. Clean out your stock pot and return the puree to the pot. Add more broth slowly to desired consistency. Add less broth for a thicker soup. Add more broth for a thinner soup. Return to a boil.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste. You can garnish with fresh basil or parsley.

Cheesy Chicken and Rice

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole (Serves 6)

Ingredients

nonstick cooking spray
1 ½ cups uncooked white rice
1 16-ounce bag frozen corn (I subbed one can of corn, drained)
2 cups (8 ounces) low-fat shredded cheese blend
2 cups cooked chicken breast, diced
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons paprika
2 cups nonfat milk
½ cup water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

Spray 9 x 13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Put the rice, corn, cheese, chicken, and onion in a large bowl and mix together. Combine
the sugar, salt, and chili powder. Sprinkle the chili powder mixture and paprika on top of chicken mixture.

Pour the milk and water into the baking dish.

Bake, covered with aluminum foil, for 1 ½ hours or until the cheese begins to bubble.

Remove foil and bake 20-30 minutes until all liquid is absorbed and rice is tender.