Leftovers: Chicken tacos

The other night, I "roasted" chicken in the slow cooker for dinner (supper?). The next night, I shredded the leftover meat, tossed it with Trader Joe's Green Salsa, warmed a can of TJs black beans (BPA-free can!), and whipped up a side of hold-the-mayo slaw with red cabbage, carrots, and cilantro, and served it with all the fixings (grated cheese, plain yogurt, salsa). Such an easy, quick, and delicious meal. I took a photo of the slaw on the side, but I ate it on the taco. Yum!

Hold-the-mayo Slaw (serves 4)*

1/2 red cabbage, sliced thinly

2 small carrots, grated

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Extra virgin olive oil

Juice of one small lime

Splash of apple cider vinegar

Black pepper, to taste

Mix veggies and cilantro in a bowl. Add as much cilantro as you like (we love it around here, so I always add extra). Drizzle olive oil over mixture, add lime juice, vinegar, and freshly ground black pepper. Toss and serve. 

If you don't like cilantro, dill or other fresh herbs can be used in it's place. If you prefer a creamy slaw, add a couple of tablespoons of organic yogurt.

The salad can be made a day before and left to marinate in the fridge. I ate leftover slaw today with the "super cow" beef stew I set up this morning in the slow cooker to cook while we were off getting a Christmas tree. 

*Disclaimer: I don't measure when I cook, so everything is a guesstimate.

Quick and Easy Pan Chili

Sunday is when I make lunches for the week, typically something I can portion into individual glass containers, refrigerate, and grab on my way out the door in the morning. A few weeks ago when I was using my stock pot for one thing, my slow cooker for another, I came up with this easy, quick way to make chili in a covered sauté pan.

Quick and Easy Pan Chili
(All organic ingredients were used in the making of this recipe)

One medium onion, diced
Two large carrots, diced
One pound ground turkey, buffalo, or grass-fed beef (optional)
Two 15 oz cans of beans, drained & rinsed, any variety (Eden Farms makes BPA-free cans)
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Cumin, approximately 1/2 teaspoon, or to taste
Jar of marinara sauce
Olive oil
Garnishes (grated cheese, plain yogurt, diced onion)

• Cook onions and carrots in small amount of olive oil, in a deep sauté pan with a lid, over low to medium heat until soft.
• Turn up the heat, add ground meat and brown, turning often.
• Season with spices.
• Stir in beans, then add marinara sauce.
• Cover and simmer until heated thoroughly and meat is cooked.
• Garnish and serve over brown rice, polenta, and kale or other hearty greens.

I don't add a lot of seasoning because the marinara sauce has plenty of flavor. I just "de-Italian" the chili by adding the cumin and cayenne. Sometimes, I add frozen mixed veggies for more "greens." Clean up is super quick, just the skillet, cutting board, and any utensils used for stirring (or sampling).

The chili can be made without ground meat, just add more beans or even more veggies (peppers, celery, sweet potatoes, or squash). The beans don't have to be canned; if there is time, rehydrate dried beans. It's less expensive and there is less risk of BPA or other contaminants from cans.

Related Information
BPA in Cans | Organic Grace
Two Cents for Safer Cans

Comfort food: Roasted chicken

Gluten-free comfort food is easy, and the perfect thing on a cold, blustery winter's eve. Here's my take on this classic entree:

Stuff a chicken with carrots, sage, thyme, and apple slices. Massage the outside with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. Place in dutch oven on top of chunks of carrots and red potatoes that have been tossed in olive oil. Roast at 425° for 30 minutes, cover with foil and reduce to 350° until done (internal temperature of 160°). Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve with Brussels sprouts and homemade applesauce.

Zucchini ribbons with white beans and tomatoes

My favorite new show is The Fabulous Beekman Boys on Planet Green. Sure, I've only seen one episode, but I watch clips on the website (including the goat cam) and I follow them on Twitter. I just love the idea of The Boys moving to the country and starting a farm, because after all, that's my dream.

Live TV : UstreaI wasn't able to have a garden this year, way too busy. Not sure if I will be able to have one at the house next year anyway, it's very shady, not enough light for growing veggies. Lucky for me, one of my colleagues brought in a care package of giant zucchini and heirloom tomatoes. Ever since I went all gluten-free/all-the-time, I just stopped baking, so zucchini bread wasn't an option for the monster zukenites. I scoured the 'net and found websites for carving zucchini or drying them out to build a shed. I did find one site where shredded zucchini was a substitute for pasta (how gluten-free can you get?), and my soon-to-be gentlewoman farmer, Copeland, sent me a link to her "recipe" for zucchini and lavender soup.

But then I saw the Tweet: "A recipe that will make you happy you have all of that excess zucchini." I was sold on zucchini pasta. Of course, I had to make it my way (read: with ingredients found around the house). Again, no measurements, but if you've been reading my blog for a while, you should expect that from me by now. I shredded two giant zucchini, but only used enough to make myself lunch. I have enough to make a couple of more meals, with variations on toppings. You can adjust your own amounts according to how many you are cooking for, or if this is a main meal or side dish.

Zucchini ribbons with white beans and tomatoes
Monster zucchini
Olive oilGarlic
Dried (or fresh) Italian herbs
Several whole tomatoes, choppedCanned white beans, rinsed and drained
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, as needed

Wash, then peel the zucchini into long strips until you reach the core with seeds. At the Beekman farm, they feed the leftovers to the pigs. My chickens back in Oregon would have gone nuts over the cores. These are going in the composter*.
Add olive oil to a large, heated pan, then add dried herbs and garlic. Stir in zucchini strips, and keep stirring until almost cooked (more translucent than raw), then add the chopped tomatoes and white beans. Cook a few more minutes and you're done. Serve topped with freshly grated parmesan and more herbs. I didn't add salt, as the parmesan is salty enough for me.
You can see how the sky's the limit with how you garnish the strips, adding tomato sauce or even pesto. I wish I had some fresh basil—how yum would that be with the heirloom tomatoes? Super yum. I just ate a heaping helping for lunch and don't have that post-pasta coma feeling. I'm going to be a little sad when monster zucchinis are no longer available!

ORIGINAL RECIPES:
What to do with a Giant Zucchini from Pixel remix: the Ann-alog
Zucchini Ribbons by Angela Rae Berg, from Beekman1802.com
More zucchini fun, via http://bigzucchini.com/

* Yes, I have a composter without a garden. What else does one do with kitchen scraps?

Lentils in korma simmer sauce

In case, you haven't noticed my total crush on Seeds of Change organic Indian simmer sauces, I've decided to post another quick and easy dinner idea. I cooked a half cup of lentils until almost done, then added a jar of korma simmer sauce. If you're not familiar with korma, it's a super creamy, super mild, totally decadent curry made with coconut milk. I made the lentils for lunch tomorrow, will serve it on a bed of greens, maybe kale or spinach.

Cheesy beefy mac

I needed to go to the store after work and pick up some groceries. Instead, I scoured the pantry and 'fridge and threw together this "everything but the kitchen sink" dinner.

Ingredients:
• One bag of rice elbow macaroni
• Half a bag frozen, chopped onions
• One pound of grass-fed ground beef (hidden in the back of the freezer, behind the frozen onions)
• Homemade cheese, with Italian spices and pepper-crusted (grass-fed, organic milk)
• Fresly grated Parmesan
• One cup of spaghetti sauce (Newman's Own Sockerooni)

Sauté beef and onions. Cook noodles until al dente. Splash and smear oil into casserole dish so nothing sticks. Drain meat/onions, add to casserole dish. Drain pasta, add to casserole dish, stir. Stir in crumbled cheese, sauce, top with Parmesan, put in pre-heated oven (350°) until heated all the way through and cheese melts.

Sure, I probably needed to make a bechamel to add to the mix, but this was improv. You don't think I would plan a meal like this on a hot, humid, summer night, do you?

Serve with green salad, have leftovers for lunch. And dinner. And maybe lunch again. Yum.

Chickpeas in Jalfrezi simmer sauce

Posted this yesterday while cooking dinner. Whole thing was made in the time it to cook the rice, which is perfect for those of us just who work long days and need a healthy dinner FAST. The Seeds of Change simmer sauce is organic and so delicious; I can't wait to go back and try more flavors. Garbanzo beans are full of soluble and insoluble fiber, which helps lower cholesterol and blood sugar. They have a nice amount of protein when served with brown rice and a decent amount of molybdenum, a trace mineral that helps your body process nasty sulfites that are found in processed foods and wine. Garbanzo beans, or chick peas, are also a good source non-animal source of iron.

So tired and hungry when I got home from work. Reached into pantry and grabbed brown rice, a can of garbanzo beans, a jar of Seeds of Change simmer sauce, an onion. In the fridge I found some organic mushrooms and fresh baby spinach. Prepared one cup of brown rice. While rice cooked, chopped 1/2 onion, sliced mushrooms, and sauteed them in large pan with olive oil. Rinsed can of beans, added to pan with several handfuls of spinach. Simmered some more. Added jalfrezi curry sauce (with red peppers and coconut).

So, now all of that is simmering while the rice finishes cooking. Smells amazing and looks like I'll even have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Okay, just tasted it and dang, that's good stuff.


Quick, easy, healthy. Thank you. Time to eat. Good night.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Slow Cooking: Lentil Soup

A few weeks ago, I picked up some beef bones at the Farmer's Market (grass-fed from a local Amish farm). I was hoping to give one or two to the dog as treats, but they were way too small with sharp edges. I piled them into my slow cooker and made some mineral-rich bone broth. When talking to my mother the other day, she suggested I make lentil soup, so I scoured the internet looking for a slow cooker recipe. Not only was this recipe super easy, I had all of the ingredients in my kitchen. Super convenient.

Lentil Soup
Adapted from ABC's Slow-Cooker Recipe Finalist, Mary Sperling of Newberg, Ore.

Ingredients:

• 3 carrots, chopped
• 4 ribs of celery, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 6 cups beef broth, 2 cups water (you can do all water, all broth, veggie broth, etc.)
• 2 cups lentils, rinsed
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf (because I love bay leaves in lentil soup!)

Directions Put all of these ingredients in the slow cooker. Set it on low if you are leaving it all day, high if you are starting it around lunchtime. I started around 2pm so I set it on high figuring I'd eat around 8pm.

10 minutes before you are ready to serve the soup, add:
• 1 ½ tsp. balsamic vinegar
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground pepper
• 1 bunch of kale, washed and chopped

Variations to add:
• cubed potatoes at the beginning of cooking.
• one 14 ½ ounce can of diced tomatoes at the beginning of cooking.

I forgot to add the balsamic vinegar and the kale, so each morning when I prepared my lunch for the day I drizzled a bit of vinegar and added a frozen veggie. One day it was broccoli, the next it was spinach; I tried to mix it up, keep it interesting and nutritious.

I also discovered crockpot365's Stephanie O'Dea on Good Morning America! Click here for her recipes featured on GMA.

Slow cookerama

I'm trying to plan ahead and make lunch/dinner for the upcoming week. Working long days doesn't leave much energy to come home and prepare a healthy meal and, although it is very affordable, the cafeteria at work doesn't offer much when it comes to gluten-free.

I checked in with one of my favorite blogs, crockpot365.blogspot.com, and learned how to cook up some beans in my slow cooker. I took half a bag of dried pinto and half a bag of black beans, rinsed them in a colander, drained them, then poured them into the slow cooker. I then added one large, crushed clove of garlic and covered the beans with filtered water (plus two inches, as instructed). I added the garlic because I remember my mom telling me that garlic reduces the gas from the beans. I crushed it because crushing, chopping, or mincing actually activates the properties of the garlic. They soaked overnight, this morning I rinsed them and returned them to the slow cooker to cook on low for about 6 hours. I had a small helping for lunch, with some salsa, grated cheese and cilantro. Will need to make some rice tonight so I can have bean and rice bowls for lunch this week.

When the beans were almost done, I referred to crockpot365 for a chicken and dumplings recipe. The best (and only) chicken and dumplings I've ever had were at Tad's in Troutdale, Oregon. Those dumplings were so huge...they were painfully delicious. Literally. Glutaginous balls of death. I will be using Bob's Red Mill gluten-free biscuit mix, so my version should be a bit more intestine friendly.

My favorite part of using a slow cooker is throwing frozen ingredients into the crock, no thawing necessary, step away, and let it do it's thing. I inherited another, larger slow cooker (I actually think this one is an official crockpot), so I took it off the shelf, grabbed some open packages of frozen peas and green beans, chopped an onion, and added boneless chicken breasts all into the crock. Covered with two cans of gluten-free, organic cream of chicken soup, turned the slow cooker on high and in four hours will drop in globs of gluten-free biscuit dough. One more hour of cooking and, fingers crossed, I hope to have a scrumptious, stick-to-your-ribs dinner of comfort food! Perfect for a snowy, 4° winter day (and lunch this week!).

(I just added some rosemary to the crockpot, along with the biscuit dough. Felt like it was missing something. Almost done, picture to come!)

Classic Summertime Gazpacho

Gazpacho is super easy, all it takes is some veggies and a blender, so no heating up the kitchen with a hot stove. August is the best month for finding super ripe tomatoes, another reason gazpacho is the perfect summertime meal. The original recipe calls for bits of bread to be added to the soup, I have stopped using it as I try to maintain my wheat-free lifestyle, although I'm sure a nice gluten-free loaf from New Cascadia Traditional Bakery would do quite nicely. Experiment with different types of tomatoes; I sometimes use red peppers instead of green to intensify the color of the soup.

Classic Gazpacho
3 medium tomatoes, skins removed and cut into wedges
2 green peppers, seeded and sliced
1/2 cucumber
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion
2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
2 TBSP tomato paste
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
4 cups water

Add all ingredients except 3 cups of water to blender. Blend, slowly adding the rest of the water. If you like thicker soup use less water or add pieces of Italian bread to the mixture and blend some more.

Serve chilled. Garnish with diced cucumber, green pepper, tomato, and bread.

Oven-fried chicken

This blog is turning into the Gluten-Free Food Network, I swear.

This is what I made for dinner tonight. Gillian's Italian Bread crumbs rock, they are made from rice (and what I use to top my baked mac & cheese). Haven't eaten dinner yet, but the chicken looks and smells gooooood! Made a side of roasted potatoes, broccoli, onions & garlic. Next time I'll make some mashed potatoes, I think. Mmm, potatoes...

Also found this awesome looking G-F bread online. They don't deliver, but are available on the east coast, but not as far south as Virginia (not yet). Here's the link. The bread looks so yum and crusty!

1 cup buttermilk (or 1c milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar)
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Frank's Hot Sauce
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 teaspoon crushed garlic)
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)

8-10 chicken pieces (breasts, thighs and drumsticks) with skin and bones
1 cup Gillian's Gluten-free Italian Breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup millet flour
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons melted butter mixed with 2 tablespoons olive oil

Whisk buttermilk, oil, hot pepper sauce, mustard, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in large bowl to blend well. Add onion, then chicken and turn to coat. Cover; chill at least 3 hours or up to 1 day, turning chicken occasionally.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Place racks on a large rimmed baking sheet or two. Mix breadcrumbs, parmesan, flour, paprika and cayenne in large baking dish to blend. Remove chicken from marinade, drip excess off and dredge chicken in bread crumb mixture, coating both sides. Arrange chicken, skin side up, on racks on baking sheets. Let stand 30 minutes or until room temperature.

Drizzle butter/oil mixture over chicken. Bake until crisp, golden and cooked through, about 40-50 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

UPDATE:
To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute a milk alternative to make the marinade, or just use an oil and vinegar based recipe. Also, delete the parmesan cheese from the bread crumbs.