Green Chili Chicken Enchilada Soup

2 Boneless Chicken Breasts

1 can Green Enchilada Sauce (10 oz) mild, or medium

1 can Pinto Beans, drained

1 can Green Chilies (4 oz.) mild, medium, or hot

4 cups water

1 cup Salsa, mild or medium

1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn

1/2 cup white rice

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

2 tsp chicken better than bouillon

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 lime, juiced or 2 TBS lime juice (optional) 

4 oz. Cream Cheese (optional)

Salt & Pepper

Place everything in the Instant pot, except the lime juice and cream cheese. Stir and place lid on pot. Set timer for 25 minutes and let pressure release on its own. Remove lid and remove chicken. Let set a few minutes before shredding it and adding it back to pot. If desired, add cream cheese to make it a more creamy soup and can add in the lime juice. Add salt and pepper to your preference. 

Serve with chips, cheese, or any toppings of your choice. 

For crockpot, add all ingredients and cook on high 4 hours or low for 6-8.

Italian Sheet Pan Chicken w/brussel sprouts

 

6-8 bone in, skin on, chicken thighs

3 gf hot dog buns, or about 4 cups cubed gf bread

3 cups of brussel sprouts halved if small, quartered of large

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3/4 cup oil

1 tsp. dried parsley flakes

1 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper

5 minced garlic cloves

2 cups grape tomatoes, whole

3 TBS olive oil

fresh parsley and fresh basil, optional

In a small bowl, add vinegar, parsley, basil, salt, pepper, minced garlic and about 3/4 cups oil. Mix well. Place chicken in gallon size ziploc bag. Add dressing. Mix marinate into chicken. Halve brussel sprouts, quarter if larger than a ping pong ball. Add brussel sprouts and tomatoes to bag with chicken. Mix well so flavors have a chance to mix.

Set the chicken on a baking sheet. Drain marinade and add veggies to the pan in between the chicken. Roast in oven for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. 

While chicken cooks, cube bread/hot dog buns. I chopped and added some fresh basil and 3 TBS of oil and mixed them together.

After 20 minutes, add bread cubes to pan and bake another 10 minutes. When chicken looks nicely browned add fresh chopped parsley and serve!

Jambalaya for Fat Tuesday

The first time I had Jambalaya was at my son and daughter-in-laws home in New Orleans. I fell in love. Trying to duplicate the recipe in Colorado is somewhat of a disappointment. Nobody but nobody can duplicate New Orleans, but this comes close. It is Emerill's recipe for Jambalaya. I have made a few minor adjustments.

1/4 cup olive oil

24 medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped
1/2 lb. chicken, diced
1 TBS Creole seasoning-Bayou Blast
10 oz. Andouille sausage, sliced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 cup chopped tomatoes
3 bay leaves
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp hot sauce, I used Louisana Hot sauce, but Tabasco will work
1 1/2 cups rice
3 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/4 cup chopped parsley or chopped green onion for garnish (optional)

2 chopped green onions (optional)
Salt and pepper 

In a bowl combine shrimp, chicken. Mix in the Bayou Blast seasoning till all of the meat is coated. Let set while you get everything ready or put in refrigerator until ready to cook. 

In a large saucepan or pot, heat oil over high heat. Stir-fry onion, pepper and celery about 3 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves, Worcestershire and hot sauces.

Stir in rice and slowly add chicken stock. Reduce heat to medium and cook until rice absorbs liquid and becomes tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. 

When rice is just tender add shrimp and chicken mixture and sausage. Cook until meat is done, about 10 minutes more. Season to taste with salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. 

This is delicious the next day for lunch with a little cheese melted on top.

Cuban Sandwich

Saturday night, Michael and I watched the movie "Chef." One of the stars of the film, IMO, is the Cuban Sandwich.  I had no idea what this was, but after witnessing the creative process of constructing this sandwich, I wanted to try one.

Naturally, it had to be gluten free. Since I don't live in Miami, Florida, I figured it would be futile to find a restaurant that makes gluten free Cubanos.  I found a recipe posted in the Denver Post from the movie. I wanted to make these for lunch, but this recipe required 24 hour marinating of the pork and 2 1/2 hours to cook. I found a very similar one that used a pressure cooker to speed the process. I thought I could recreate it using gluten free french bread.

If you've seen the movie, you'll notice right away, that my sandwich does not live up to the standard of NEVER letting the outside of this grilled sandwich become over toasted, not even a little bit. Mine burned before the inside cheese was good and melted. Today is National Sandwich Day, so I am sharing the recipe anyway.

Loaf of GF french bread

6-8 slices Swiss Cheese

6-8 Ham, thinly sliced
sliced, marinated pork

Dill Pickles sliced length-wise

Butter

Slice bread in half. Butter each half, and warm in skillet over medium high heat. Remove from pan when lightly browned. Spread mustard generously over one side. Place 3 slices onto mustard, pork, pickles, ham, and top with cheese and other half of bread.

To cook, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Brush outside of sandwich generously with butter and place in the skillet. Place another heavy skillet on top and press down. I placed some large sweet potatoes inside to weigh it down. Cook until lightly browned (not burned, if cooking too quickly and the cheese is not melting, turn heat down.) Before flipping over, brush the other side of the bread with melted butter. Heat until this side is also lightly browned and cheese is nice and gooey. (Don't forget to press down with heavy skillet.) Remove from pan, slice and serve.

To make marinated pork:

2-3 lbs Boneless Pork Shoulder 

1 Onion, sliced

1 cup fresh Orange Juice
1 cup Chicken Broth

1 Lime, juiced

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

2 Bay Leaves

1 TBS ground Cumin
1 TBS dried Oregano
1 TBS olive oil

Salt and fresh ground Pepper
 Brown pork in olive oil in pressure cooker pan. Add garlic and onions and saute for a minute or two. Add broth, orange juice, lime juice, bay leaves, cumin, oregano. Salt and pepper meat and place top on pressure cooker. Cook until rocker pressure is reached and turn down heat to medium. Cook 25 minutes. Let cool before slicing.

If you have time to marinate meat overnight and roast it, you might want to try the Chef recipe for Cubanos.

Bruschetta Fail

(Before putting them in the oven.)

I have never made bruschetta before, most likely because I had never heard of it until we went gluten free. Having an abundance of homegrown tomatoes caused me to remember the Bruschetta Lauren made this summer for Eisabeth's bachelorette party. She found some amazing bread at a local GF Bakery. I bought 3 GF baguettes and immediately texted Lauren to find out the recipe. Tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella were the main ingredients.  Perfect!

1 GF Baguette
Tomatoes, chopped (I used a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes but equaled about 2 cups)
1 Garlic Clove, minced
Fresh Mozzarella Ball
1 TBS Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp. Apple Cider Balsamic Vinegar (I didn't have plain balsamic vinegar)

Chop tomatoes.  Add remaining ingredients, except mozzarella, and let sit about an hour. Slice baguette. Top with a slice of mozzarella (this will keep the bread from becoming soggy.) Add tomato mixture.  Broil for a few minutes until edges of bread crisp and cheese is soft/melts.

Everything went beautifully, until I had this idea. To toast the bread nicely, I decided to place the bread atop a rack. Just when it looked perfectly done, I pulled the rack out and all of the bread tipped and dropped off the back of my oven, toppling off and dropping to the bottom of my oven.  Wish I could say the bottom of my oven was sparkling clean.  It wasn't. I couldn't bear to get a picture of the mess I made.

Michael suggested I just scoop the mess up and the bread and plop it back on the bread and serve it.  Thankfully, I wasn't having company and it was just the two of us.  We were able to ignore the black flecks that stuck to the mozzarella from the bottom of the oven and ate it anyway.  He declared it one of his top 5 (well, that and I served it with steak.)

Maple Dijon Chicken

This recipe has been floating around the internet for some time.  I first made it with honey instead of maple syrup.  I like it both ways and honey is usually less expensive.  Give it a try. For those who love rosemary, add it fresh.  Rosemary is one of those herbs that you either love or hate.  I used to hate it, but after 20 years or more, I tried it again in this dish. I have a new fondness for rosemary, especially when I have it growing fresh in my garden!

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1/4-1/3 cup maple syrup or honey (based on your preference)
1 TBS rice vinegar (I use garlic rice wine vinegar)
 Salt & pepper
2 tsp. Fresh chopped rosemary (optional)

Line a baking dish with foil, preferably nonstick, or use disposable foil pan. (I have cooked this in a glass dish with no foil and the maple syrup burns on the glass and is extremely difficult to clean.) Salt and pepper both sides of chicken and place in dish. Whisk together mustard, syrup, and vinegar. Pour over chicken.

Bake at 425 degrees for 40 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary, if desired. Serve over rice, pasta, mashed potatoes or as is. (Serves 4)
Can be cooked in crockpot for 3-4 hours, depending on how hot your slow cooker cooks.

Spring Is Here

I miss summer! Fresh vegetables from the local farmers and herbs from the garden. Chargrilled steaks or marinated salmon smoked on wood planks. Colorado Sweet Corn slathered in butter.

GF Teriyaki Chicken Salad

 I finally came up with a decent gluten free substitute for my family's favorite main dish salad:  Teryiaki Chicken Salad

Chicken Marinade:
3/4 cup Tamari or GF soy sauce 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 TBS red wine vinegar
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 minced garlic clove
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger (or 3/4 tsp ground ginger)
1-2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

Mix all ingredients together and marinate chicken for several hours, overnight, or freeze all in a Ziploc bag until ready to use. Drain marinade and grill chicken about 4 minutes each side. Slice thin or cut into bite-size pieces.


For Salad Topping:
1 pkg. Maifun Rice Noodles
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1TBS butter
oil

Salad:
1 head napa cabbage, shredded
1 bunch green onions, sliced

Dressing:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce*

In a medium skillet melt butter over medium heat, add almonds, and sesame seeds and stir-fry until light brown.  Remove from heat and cool.  Heat oil (or use a deep fryer) and drop half a package of noodles into it.  Cook about one minute until noodles begin to brown and float.  Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.  Sprinkle with a bit of seasoned salt.

In a small saucepan bring vegetable oil, sugar, and vinegar to boil for 1 minute, stirring until sugar is completely dissolved.   Add soy sauce. Cool.   I store it in a glass jar with a tight lid so I can shake to completely mix before pouring over salad.

In a large bowl, combine shredded napa cabbage and sliced green onions. Add Teriyaki Chicken, the noodles and soy sauce dressing. Toss to coat. Serve.

Olive Chicken & Pepperoncini

4-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts and/or Chicken Thighs
1 14 oz. Can Crushed Tomatoes
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced or quartered
1/2 of a 16 oz. jar of pepperoncini peppers or pepper rings
2-3 garlic cloves
1 TBS olive oil
1/4-1/2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Paprika
Feta Cheese (optional)
4 TBS wine
2 TBS lemon juice

This recipe can be cooked in the crockpot or in a skillet, whichever works best for you.
If chicken pieces are large or very thick, slice lenthwise or into 3 smaller pieces.  Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, & paprika. 

For pan cooking: Brown chicken in skillet with oil and garlic.  Pour crushed tomatoes over chicken.  Add in wine, lemon juice, and a half cup of water or chicken broth.  Top with pepperoncini's and olives.  Simmer covered 30-45 minutes.  Check occassionally and add a bit of water if sauce becomes too thick.  Serve over rice.


For crockpot:  Place chicken in bottom of pot.  Pour tomatoes, wine, and lemon juice over the chicken.  Top with pepperoncini rings & olives.  Bake on low 6 hours.  Serve over rice. Can also be mixed or served over pasta instead of rice.

Spicy BBQ Chicken with/Baked Vegetables

Korean BBQ Chicken

Roasted Vegetables

Ginger Steak Salad

I didn't take a pic of this meal. I figured the creator of the recipe had plenty of her own good photos. But I had to give a shout out to Pioneer Woman for this excellent salad. Everyone here loved it. And I followed the recipe EXACTLY, which is foreign to me. The only difference was the gluten free soy/tamari sauce. Otherwise the same.

This is a link to Pioneer Woman's Ginger Steak Salad.    This post is for Michael, my husband, when he is browsing my blog for dinner ideas.

Chicken over Maifun Noodles & Peanut Sauce

4-6 Boneless Chicken Breasts
1 Pkg. Maifun Noodles (rice noodles 8 oz.)
2 TBS GF Tamari Sauce
2 TBS Oil
1 TBS Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/3 cup Peanuts, chopped

Spicy Relish:
2 Small Cucumbers, or 1 English Cucumber, seeded & diced
4-6 Green Onions, chopped
1/2 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
1 Jalapeno Pepper, finely diced (optional)
3 TBS Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1 TBS Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper, (more or less,according to how hot you want it)

Peanut Sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2-3/4 cup Chicken Broth
Juice from 1 lime, about 2 TBS
1 Garlic Clove, minced
1-2 inch piece Fresh Ginger, peeled & grated
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley or Cilantro, chopped
2 TBS Brown Sugar
2 TBS Seasoned Rice Vinegar
1 TBS Chili Garlic Sauce (GF)
1 TBS GF Tamari Sauce

1.  Mix Tamari, brown sugar, salt & oil together and add chicken to marinate.  (Refrigerate if not cooking right away.)

2.  Place Maifun or rice noodles in pan of hot water, for at least 10 minutes until ready to use.  Don't worry if they soak longer.

3. Chop Relish ingredients, and mix in bowl with seasonings.  Refrigerate or set aside until ready to serve.

4. Place Peanut Sauce ingredients, except parsley, into a pot. Heat over medium until all ingredients are blended well.  Simmer for another 1-2 minutes.  (I usually don't heat sauce until after I've cooked the chicken.)

 5.  Grill Chicken over medium high heat 3-4 minutes a side until done.  Let set 5 minutes before slicing.

6.  Drain noodles.  I like to place them on a large cutting board and cut across about every 2 inches so noodles are in manageable pieces.  Mix with peanut sauce and add in parsley/cilantro.

7.  On individual plates, place one thin-sliced breast chicken over noodles.  Top with cucumber relish, garnish with chopped peanuts.

Spicy Fruited Chicken Salad

Couldn't figure out what to make for dinner tonight. I saw 2 avocados sitting on the counter and some fresh peaches...thus a salad was born.
2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
2 TBS Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce, chopped finely
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 TBS Oil
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Mix peppers, garlic, dash of salt & pepper, and oil with chicken. Grill 3-4 minute each side, or until no longer pink inside. Cool 2-3 minutes, then chop or slice.


For Salad:
2 avocados, chopped (avocados should be firm, not soft and mushy, but not hard)
1 large ripe peach, chopped (remove skin if desired)
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/3 cup chopped red pepper
1 TBS fresh parsley, chopped
juice from 1 lime
Salt & Pepper, to taste


Chop vegetables and place in bowl, mixing gently. Squeeze lime juice over all. Fold in chicken & garnish with parsley. Enjoy. I served this with Black Beans and Chips & Salsa.

Spicy Chipotle Chicken

This recipe comes from Des at Life's Ambrosia. I recently found her blog via Tasty Kitchen. Her recipe uses bone-in chicken and marinating. I have found I usually burn anything but boneless chicken, so prefer boneless. It isn't entirely my fault. It is difficult to watch chicken on the outdoor grill when I'm running back indoors to finish up the side dishes. And true to form, when I tried this recipe with chicken legs, they did indeed come out burned.

1 1/2-2 lbs. Boneless Chicken Thighs or Breasts

1 7 oz. can Chipotle Peppers In Adobo Sauce (La Costena brand is gluten free)

Juice from 1 Lime
1/4 cup Honey

2 tsp. White or Rice Wine Vinegar

1-2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1/2 tsp. Salt

Combine chipotle peppers, honey, vinegar, garlic, juice from lime, and salt in a food processor. Process until it becomes a paste. Place chicken in dish and coat chicken with Sauce. Cook over hot grill 3-4 minutes each side. You can reserve 1/4 cup of marinade for serving, but I found it was plenty hot and spicy enough to not need any extra.

Spinach Salad

I bought a huge container of spinach this week. I thought I'd make a salad one day, then maybe some creamed spinach. But after making this, Michael declared it his new favorite salad, you'd think I could remember to take a picture. We've eaten this 3 times this week. I still have fresh spinach leftover. Guess I'll have to eat the rest of it cooked.

A bunch of spinach, however much fills your salad bowl
2-8 slices crisp cooked bacon (this week I had precooked, shredded bacon I wanted to use up, but it would be even tastier with fresh cooked)
1/4 of a sweet onion, cut in slivers
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1 can mandarin oranges, drained

Mix salad ingredients in a bowl. Add dressing to coat spinach, as desired. Mix gently.

Red Dressing:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (I like the garlic flavor)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 TBS Worcestershire sauce
2 TBS ketchup
Mix ingredients together in a container that can be shaken. Shake vigorously until well blended. Store in refrigerator. Recipe can be doubled.

Not-so-blackened Tilapia

6-8 Tilapia Filets
2 TBS olive oil
1 lemon, cut in wedges

Blackened Seasoning:
1 TBS garlic powder
1 1/2 TBS onion powder
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. lemon pepper
1 tsp. crushed parsley
1 tsp. crushed oregano
1 tsp. red pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Mix seasonings together. Sprinkle liberally on both sides of fish fillets. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Fry fish a couple of minutes each side, turning only once. Fish will flake easily when cooked. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over the top. This is a quick meal, especially if you have the seasoning mixed ahead of time. I served this with Mushrooms & Asparagus, Quick Potatoes, and pineapple chunks and Michael loved it.

Simply Mushrooms & Asparagus

1/2 bunch of asparagus
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 TBS butter
garlic salt

I microwave the asparagus (after breaking off tough ends, and slicing into 1 inch pieces) on auto-cook until slightly tender. Heat butter in skillet. Saute mushrooms for a minute, then add asparagus. Sprinkle with a bit of garlic salt and continue to stir fry until desired doneness. Serve immediately.

Turkey Meatloaf

With the addition of fresh ginger, topped with brown sugar & made with ground turkey, this is a nice change from the usual meatloaf. (I have to note, most of my kids do NOT like any kind of meatloaf. I make this one for Michael, as he loves anything with ginger.)





INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. ground turkey
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers
1 small onion, chopped
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
1 1/2 tsp. salt
fresh ground pepper


Topping:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup ketchup

Mix turkey with the rest of the ingredients (except topping.) I use a 2 prong fork or my hands. If you don't have a very large loaf pan, use 2 smaller ones. You don't want to overfill the pan. Spray pans with non-stick spray. Add meat and shape. Spread ketchup over meat and top with the brown sugar. Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until juice is clear.

Teriyaki Chicken Salad

For Salad:
2 (3 ounce) packages ramen noodles, crushed (You can use 1-3 packages depending personal preference.)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2-4 TBS butter (Depending on how many noodles you cook.)

1 head napa cabbage, shredded
1 bunch green onions, sliced

Dressing:
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce*

In a medium skillet over low-medium heat, brown ramen noodles, almonds, and sesame seeds with melted butter. Once browned, take off heat and cool. (Opt. I sprinkle a bit of one of the seasoning packets on the mixture after removing from heat.)

In a small saucepan bring vegetable oil, sugar, and vinegar to boil for 1 minute. Add soy sauce. Cool. (I don't boil it, just heat until sugar is dissolved.)
In a large bowl , combine shredded napa cabbage and sliced green onions. Add Teriyaki Chicken, the noodles and soy sauce dressing. Toss to coat. Serve.


Teriyaki Chicken
(Here is the recipe for the chicken:)
Teriyaki Chicken Salad

Chicken Marinade:
3/4 cup soy sauce*
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 TBS red wine vinegar
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 minced garlic clove
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger (or 3/4 tsp ground ginger)
1-2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast

Mix all ingredients together and marinate chicken for several hours, overnight, or freeze all in a Ziploc bag until ready to use. Drain marinade and grill chicken about 4 minutes each side. Slice thin or cut into bite-size pieces.

*See Information On Ingredients & Methods in sidebar.