Chicken & Dumplings

With fall on the way, it's nice to have a bowl of steaming love to comfort you on a cold day. I happened to make this recipe today, not because it was cold, lord, it's definitely not cold here!! But, because my little guy Ethan is home sick today.

I made some chicken stock last night since we had bone in chicken parmesan breasts. Since we didn't finish the breast meat, I shredded it and put it in the fridge. Chicken & Dumplings taste heavenly with homemade stock, as well as anything else made with homemade stock! It's much easier to prepare than you think!

The day before you make your chicken & dumplings....

Using your left over chicken & chicken carcass from roasted chicken, fried chicken, or any old bone in chicken you have prepared that yields at least 2 cups of leftover shredded chicken. Shred chicken and refrigerate. I say use left over chicken because I think it tastes better leftover and it really stretches your food $$$ ;)

STOCK
Chicken Carcass
1-2 carrots, roughly chopped
1-2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1/2 to 1 onion (depending on the size), peeled and quartered
2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and smashed
1 sprig of rosemary, (optional to use dried, on average it's usually 1/4 tsp to one sprig)
2 dried bay leaves,
2 sprigs of thyme, (optional to use dried, on average it's usually 1/4 tsp to one sprig)
1 Tbsp Whole Pepper Corns
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Put in your chicken carcass after you have taken all the spare meat off the bones in to a large stock pot. Fill a stock pot with 2.5-5 quarts of cold water. It should cover the carcass, but not over flow the pot when you add your veg. Add each of the ingredients to the pot as they are chopped & measured. Bring water to a boil for approx 15 min, then simmer on low for about 30-60 min. The stock should have a golden to light brown color when finished. Strain stock with a fine wire mesh strainer in to a large bowl and cool. When liquid cools, store in an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 10 days or freeze in a freezer safe container for up to 4 months.

**Rinse & Reserve your veggies and store in the fridge (gets all the woody bits off the veg).

There is no exact science to stock making and don't be afraid to experiment. Don't be afraid to use other spices or veggies. Each will add it's own unique flavor. Of course, aromatics work best, leeks, scallions, pearl onions, shallots, etc. AND savory, oregano, marjoram, sage etc. spices are nice too. Use whatever is on hand.



CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS
Chicken
2 cups shredded chicken
4 cups of stock (you can optionally use store bought broth or stock, but the veggies will have to be sautéed to soften them up before adding them to the stock)
Reserved Veggies

Dumplings
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup coarsely ground cornmeal
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 3/4 cups heavy cream

In a stock pot, heat stock & shredded chicken and reserved veggies on medium while you prepare your dumplings.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine first five ingredients, mix with a fork. Slowly add heavy cream and just mix until well combined (using you hand it best). Dough will look a little rough. Using a sm cookie scoop, scoop the dough into the pot, making sure not to overcrowd the dumplings, as they will spread a bit as they cook. Just enough to sparsely fill the pot. Turn heat to simmer (med-low). Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, then cover for 10 minutes. I like to sprinkle some dried thyme on top of each before covering.

Serve piping hot with love to anyone you want to comfort on a cold day :)

GFCF Mac & Cheese

It's simple, and uses simple ingredients you probably have, well, if you are on a GFCF diet that is!

1 tbsp GFCF butter substitute (I use Earth Balance)
2 tbsp of White Rice Flour
1 tbsp finely minced onion
1/8 tsp dry yellow mustard powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 c unsweetened GFCF milk substitute (I like unsweetened rice milk)
1/3 c shredded soy cheese (mixed variety)
salt & pepper to taste

2 c cooked GFCF pasta shells (I like the Quinoa brand)
1/4 c shredded soy cheese (mixed flavor of cheddar, 

mozzarella & jack)
2 tbsp GFCF Italian breadcrumbs 
Olive Oil cooking spray

In a small sauce pan, over medium heat, make a roux with first five ingredients. Slowly add in the milk and shredded soy cheese, stirring constantly with a whisk. Salt and pepper to taste.

Pour cooked pasta shells in to a lightly olive spray coated baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over noodles and mix. Sprinkle soy cheese and breadcrumbs on top of mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Enjoy!!

Easy GFCF Spicy Meatball Soup

This one was a fav of Javi's.  He ate three bowls for dinner the other night and had two bowls after school yesterday.  He's a growing boy!

1 jar Organic Basil Marinara (We use Muir Glen)

2 jars Organic Chunky Salsa (We used 1 jar of homemade and one Muir Glen Med, woo, spicy)

1lb Turkey meat browned and seasoned with garlic and salt

32oz of water (Hint: two empty jars of salsa is about 32oz)

Brown turkey and add to simmering wet ingredients.  Simmer on med-low for 20 minutes and serve.

Easy week night meal, since there is next to no prep and leftovers freeze well.  You can add more marinara and less salsa if you like the spice on the lighter side.  You can also add veggies like zucchini,  carrots, peas, even add a puree of veggies for those kiddos that are picky eaters.  The taste of the soup would cover up the puree.  You can also make it fun with a "topping bar" like chili.  GFCF sour cream, green onions, shredded rice cheese. Yum!

10 days to go!!

We baked some cookies for today's 12 days activity.  We made Gingerbread, GFCF Sugar Cookies (click for link to that recipe, in my opinion, they could have used some Xanthan Gum and I put about 1/4cup more sugar)  and these yummies, that were Mark's fav, Toffee Oatmeal Chocolate Chip!  Sounds weird, but they were delish!  I found the recipe in Cooking Light in their 12 Christmas cookie recipes section of this month's mag.  I altered it, of course.  Me being me!!  I hate to follow recipes, they are merely a suggestion to me ;)  So here's what I changed:

I used butter flavored Crisco instead of margarine and I added an extra tsp, Almond Extract instead of Vanilla, Added refined baker's sugar about 1/4 c  and just a handful more golden brown sugar (the recipe wasn't sweet enough for my tastes) and semi-sweet chocolate chips.  

Ok, so they probably aren't very light any more, but what the heck, it's Christmas!!  

Here are the pics.  Our friend Audrey came over to bake with us.  She brought an apron for Ethan, so we all had them on.  Ethan was asleep for most of the baking, but we did get a few pics while he was awake and he of course got to be the official taste tester!

Easy GFCF Chicken Soup

1 Celery Stalk, finely chopped

1/2 Carrot, finely chopped

1 Container of Pacific Natural Free Range Organic Chicken Broth

1/2 Package of Hormel Natural Choice Precooked Grilled Chicken Breast Strips

1 pinch of powdered garlic (check packaging to ensure contents are GF)

1 pinch of onion powder (check packaging to ensure contents are GF)

1 pinch of pepper

1 pinch of thyme

Cook in a pressure cooker for 20 minutes, then add GF noodles or instant rice and cook to desired tenderness.

Chia Smoothie

Kaylee and I are enjoying our healthy lunch.  Kaylee enjoyed some organic lentil and brown rice baby food, while I enjoyed humus and pita, chia smoothie, and some apple cinnamon granola.

I am posting my smoothie recipe here:

Strawberry-Banana Chia Smoothie

3 fresh strawberries, washed and hulled

1 ripe banana, peeled

1/3 cup vanilla frozen yogurt

1 cup apple juice (I like simply apple, no preservatives or added sugar or water)

1 cup crushed ice

1 scoop of Chia

Salvia hispanica, also known as Chia (pronounced chee’ah), is the richest and only unprocessed, whole food source of pure Omega3. A member of the mint family, Chia is native to Central America and has been used traditionally for over 3000 years.

Ancient Aztec warriors prized Chia as an endurance promoting Superfood, eating it in bread just before battle, and drinking it in water before running long distances on foot. Mixed in lemonade or fruit juice (known as chia fresca) Omega3 Chia seed quickly becomes a refreshing, performance-enhancing energy drink. more...

© Orange Peel Enterprises

Oooo...spicy!

Making Fire-Roasted Salsa...
Since Mark is really cutting down on his sodium intake, I am trying to get more into making things from scratch. Most jarred and canned items have a lot of sodium since it acts as a preservative. Mark loves my fresh pico, so I thought I would try making some roasted salsa with some of our really ripe produce. The roasted variety tends to last a bit longer in the fridge than the chunky pico. You can also freeze it, although I think it looses a little fire when you freeze.

Here is the recipe:

Fire-Roasted Salsa
1 large onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 tbsp minced garlic
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced (I like to use rubber gloves when handling hot peppers.)
2 serrano chilies, seeded and diced
5 vine ripe tomatoes, cored and cut in half
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red pepper, seeded and cut in half
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 small bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 cup water (I like to add water as needed, so be sure to check consistency and add the water a little at a time.)
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste. (Of course, I used the 1/2 sodium salt, but you can use regular.)

In a large, heavy heatproof pan, spread the onion, garlic, peppers, and tomatoes. Drizzle olive oil over all. Put a little salt on all the vegies, as this will help to draw out some of the water and add flavor. Place pan under the broiler and cook until tomatoes are charred, about 8-10 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature.
Place mixture in a blender or food processor. Add lime juice, cilantro and water. Process until well combined and slightly chunky, but not completely liquified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.