Sunday, June 28, 2009

Crockpot Chicken with Chickpeas and Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken breast, cut in cubes
1 lg onion, diced
3 cloves garlic
3 tomatoes
2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
grill seasoning
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp powdered coriander
1/2 tsp red pepper
1 T garam masala (or more to taste)

Directions:

In a large skillet sear chunks of chicken that you've sprinkled with grill seasoning. Drain and pour into Crockpot. Saute onion, garlic, and tomatoes until tomatoes release juice. Add chunks of potato and can of drained, rinsed chickpeas. Season with cumin, powdered coriander, red pepper, garam masala. Dump everything in the slow cooker and mix together; cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or until the potatoes are tender and chicken cooked through.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Crockpot Sausage and Potato Dinner

(Recipe has been slightly edited on 6/21/09)

Ingredients:

2 T butter
2 T sweet rice flour
1 1/2 C heavy cream
1 1/2 C chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground dry mustard
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 C grated cheddar
(NOTE: this is to make a thick cheese sauce to replace the canned cheddar cheese soup in the original recipe - canned cheddar cheese soup is not usually gluten free!)

10 medium potatoes, about 3 pounds, sliced
12 to 16 oz gluten free smoked sausage, such as kielbasa, chicken apple sausage or other similar sausage, sliced
1 large onion, diced

3/4 cup evaporated milk
Paprika

Directions:

Make the cheese sauce first by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the rice flour. Cook, stirring (best to use a wire whisk), for about 1 minute. While whisking, slowly pour in the cream a little at a time to keep mixture smooth, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick. Continue cooking, and add the chicken broth a little at time while whisking constantly, until the mixture has the thickness and consistency of paint. You don't want it to be too thick, because it will thicken when you add the cheese. Add more or less chicken broth until you achieve the right consistency.

Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, dry mustard, black pepper, garlic powder, and cheese; continue to stir until cheese is melted. Set the cheese sauce aside.

Toss sliced potatoes, sausages, and onions together in a 5 to 7-quart slow cooker. In the sauce pan, combine cheese sauce and evaporated milk (NOTE: you can use more or less evaporated milk depending on whether you want it to be thicker or more like a potato-cheese-sausage soup). Gently stir the cheese sauce mixture into the potatoes and sausages. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, until potatoes are tender, stirring GENTLY once about halfway through the cooking time.

Chicken Enchiladas Verdes

Ingredients:

For the enchilada sauce:

2 C chicken broth
2 T butter
2-3 T sweet rice flour
1/2 tsp cumin
A good dash of hot pepper, smoky chipotle or cayenne, to taste
1 C diced fire roasted green chiles - mild or hot, to taste

For the enchiladas:

corn tortillas
olive oil
3 cups cooked chicken, cut in bite-sized chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cumin, to taste
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder or Old Bay seasoning
salt and ground pepper, to taste
4 C Cheddar or Jack cheese, shredded

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13" baking pan.

First make the sauce. Melt butter in a saucepan; add the rice flour and whisk smooth. Mix in the spices and diced green chilis, then add the liquid, whisking constantly. Heat just until the sauce begins to simmer. Continue to simmer until it thickens; feel free to taste and adjust seasonings to your own liking! You can also add more broth if it seems too thick. Remove from heat and set aside.

Make the filling by combining the beef, garlic, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Toss well to coat. Add about 3/4 of the shredded cheese to the filling and mix well. Set aside the remaining cheese for the topping.

Pour about 3/4 cup of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

Soften the tortillas by briefly frying them in oil in a small skillet (if the oil is hot, you only need a couple of seconds per side!).

Place a tortilla in the pan, on top of the sauce, spoon in the chicken and cheese filling, and roll the tortilla up. Continue until the pan is full and/or the filling is used up, whichever comes first.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce all over the top. Sprinkle the remaining shredded cheese on top. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 30 minutes, or until the enchiladas are bubbling around the edges and heated all the way through.

Crockpot Garlic Balsamic Chicken

This is a modification of a recipe I saw on Cooks.com:

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 lb mushrooms, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 T balsamic vinegar
3/4 C chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Put chicken in Crockpot; scatter the mushrooms over the top. Combine the vinegar, broth, and seasonings and pour over all. Cover and cook for 4-5 hours on High or 6-8 hours on Low. If you're using frozen chicken it will take a bit longer.

NOTE: Before serving, you may want to thicken the juices with a bit of cornstarch dissolved in white wine or broth, which will give you something nice to pour over gluten free noodles or rice.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Gluten Free Meatball Subs

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1/3 C gluten free bread crumbs
1/3 C grated Parmesan
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs
1/3 C chopped parsley
2 T milk
Olive oil

Your favorite marinara sauce
Sliced mozzerella or provolone cheese
Gluten free sandwich rolls

Directions:

Beat eggs until frothy, add bread crumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper, parsley, and milk and mix well. Add beef, and mix together gently; don't overwork the meat. Roll into bite-sized meatballs. Heat oil in a large skillet; add meatballs in small batches and allow to cook for approximately 3 minutes before moving or turning over. Turn over and cook for another 3 minutes. Continue cooking until all sides are golden brown.

Heat the marinara sauce. Slice and warm the sandwich rolls; fill with meatballs. Spoon an appropriate amount of sauce over the meatballs and cover with a slice of cheese. Enjoy!

Gluten Free Italian Bread

This recipe is from Jill's blog (Chef Silly Cooks Again):

Makes 2 loaves- about 20 servings

2 T active dry yeast
2 T sugar, divided
1 C warm water (about 110 degrees F)
1/2 C egg whites or egg white liquid
1 ½ C potato starch
½ C corn starch
1 cup Chebe Flour Blend or your favorite GF flour blend (preferably on with Tapioca flour in it; if it has xanthan gum, be sure to omit it from the recipe)
½ teaspoon Guar Gum
½ teaspoon Xanthan gum
½ teaspoon Baking Powder
1 ¼ teaspoon Salt
¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons Rice or cider vinegar
Flourless pan spray
Water bottle to mist

Directions:

Dissolve yeast and one teaspoon of sugar in the water, set aside

Spray the bread pan or line with parchment paper

Sift together all of the remaining dry ingredients

Combine egg whites, yeast water, olive oil and sifted dry ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer on low for about 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl, add vinegar and mix for another 30 seconds on medium.

Working with a rubber spatula dipped in a glass of water, divide dough in half onto each side of the bread pan. Shape the loaves into identical “logs” about 8-9 inches long. Keep the spatula wet as you do this. Square off the ends of the loaves. Make three shallow slashes in the top of the loaves, at an angle. Spray the top of the bread with the pan spray.

Place on the center rack of the oven. Turn the oven on to 425 degrees F and set the timer for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off, open the door of the oven slightly, reach in and spray the top of the loaves several times with your water bottle. Close the oven up and set the time for an additional 20 minutes. If you want to repeat the spray 2-3 times, it will make your crust a little crunchier.

After the 20 minutes are up, use an instant read thermometer and check for an internal temperature of 205 degrees. Cool completely before slicing, and wrap tightly once it is cool.

NOTE: If you need sandwich rolls, you can make several smaller loaves instead of 2 large ones; reduce cooking time appropriately.

Creamy Homemade Ricotta

Also from Food and Wine Magazine:

Ingredients:

2 qts whole cow's milk (preferably organic)
1 C heavy cream (preferably organic)
3 T white vinegar
1/2 tsp white vinegar

Directions:

In a medium pot, warm the milk and cream over moderately high heat until foamy and steaming and the temperature reaches 185 degrees. Do not allow the milk to boil. Remove pan from heat. Add vinegar and stir gently for 30 seconds; the mixture will curdle almost immediately. Add the salt and stir for 30 seconds longer. Cover the pot with a clean towel and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours.

Line a large colander with several layers of cheesecloth, allowing several inches of overhang. Set colander in a large bowl. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the curds to the colander. Carefully gather the corners of the cheesecloth and close with a rubber band. Let the ricotta stand for 30 minutes, gently pressing and squeezing the cheesecloth occasionally to drain off the whey. Transfer the ricotta to a bowl and use immediately, or cover and refrigerate up to 4 days.

NOTE: Instead of cheesecloth, you can use a clean cotton t-shirt, or a plain "flour sack" type of dish towel, or even clean pantyhose. Just make sure that any cloth you use doesn't have any textured surface which might leave shreds of fabric in the cheese.

Gluten Free Baked Penne with Sausage and Ricotta

Found in an old Food and Wine magazine; altered slightly to be gluten free:

Ingredients:

3 T olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb gluten free Italian sausage, casings removed
One 28-oz can tomato puree
1 1/2 C water
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp ground fennel
salt and pepper
1 lb gluten free penne
3 C homemade ricotta
1/2 lb fresh mozzerella, cubed
1/4 C freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat 1 T olive oil; add the garlic and cook over medium heat for about 1 minute. Add the sausage and cook, breaking the meat into small chunks, until browned. Add tomato puree, water, sugar, bay leaf, and fennel. Season with salt and pepper to taste and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat until thickened, about 30 minutes or so. Discard bay leaf and set sauce aside.

Cook penne in large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and return to pot. Stir in the remaining 2 T of olive oil. Add about a cup of the tomato sauce-sausage mixture to the pasta and toss to coat.

Spoon 1/2 of the pasta into a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Pour 1/2 of the remaining sauce over the pasta, spoon half of the ricotta in several large dollops over the penne, followed by 1/2 the mozzerella cubes. Top with remaining penne, sauce, ricotta and mozzerella. Sprinkle the Parmagiano-Reggiano over all.

Bake for about 35-45 minutes, until bubbling around the edges and turning golden on top. Allow to rest 20 minutes before serving.

Gluten Free White Birthday Cake

Found this recipe at Amanda's Random Ramblings (cute blog!). I used it to make cupcakes for Emma's third birthday:



Ingredients:


1/2 C white rice flour
1/2 C sorghum flour
2/3 C tapioca starch
1/3 C potato starch
1 C white sugar
2 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks) softened butter or margarine
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C milk (any type, I used rice milk)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pans or line muffin pans with paper cupcake liners - this recipe makes 18-24 cupcakes, 2 6-inch round layers, 1 9-inch square cake, or 1 10-inch round cake.

Thoroughly combine the first 8 dry ingredients in a bowl.

Place softened butter in bowl of stand mixer and beat until fluffy. Add flour mix gradually to butter, blending on lowest setting until combined, then changing to setting "2" on the mixer until mixture is crumbly, about 1 minute.

In small bowl, lightly whisk eggs and vanilla together. Add eggs to mixer and mix until smooth and thick, about 1 minute. Add milk and mix for 1 more minute. Batter will be light and fluffy.

Spoon into prepared pan(s) and bake until toothpick is clean. Time will depend on the shape of your pan, but should be about 20-22 minutes for cupcakes, up to 45 minutes for a loaf pan.

Allow to cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack. Frost when cool. Very good but, like most gluten free baked goods, best when eaten right away. Should be eaten within 24 hours of baking, otherwise it becomes too dry and crumbly.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Crockpot Chicken and Rice

Inspired by one of Stephanie's Crockpot recipes:

Ingredients:


1 1/2 C brown rice

1 1/2 C chicken broth
1 1/2 C milk, divided (any type)
3/4 C gluten-free all purpose flour mix (your choice)
1 onion, diced
8 oz sliced mushrooms
3-4 chicken breast halves or equivalent parts
1 pkg Lipton Onion Soup Mix (it's gluten free!)

Directions:

Use a 4-quart or larger Crockpot for this recipe.

Combine all of the chicken broth (1 1/2 cups) and 1/2 cup of milk in a sauce pan and heat over medium heat on the stove. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining 1 cup of milk with 3/4 cup flour.

When the broth and milk have begun to boil, reduce heat, and slowly stir in the milk and flour mixture. When everything is fully incorporated, set the pot aside to cool.

Spray the inside of the Crockpot with cooking spray.

Add the rice to the Crockpot. Chop up the onion, and add it with the mushrooms. Lay the chicken pieces on top. Sprinkle the Lipton Onion Soup Mix over the chicken pieces, then pour your broth, flour, and milk mixture over all. (Actually, I was thinking about this....I did it this way when I used to make this recipe in the oven, but for a crockpot, you might want to pour the liquid on first, then sprinkle the dry onion soup mix over.)

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for about 8.

When you take the lid off of the Crockpot, stir the rice. If the rice is fully cooked and you have extra liquid, turn to high and keep the lid off for about 15 minutes. The liquid should absorb quickly. This recipe is casein free if you use rice or soy or almond milk instead of regular cow's milk.