Tortilla soup

I uploaded this picture months ago and forgot to finish the post. And I can't believe I forgot it because it's one of my favorite meals! Borrowed from a friend, this recipe is great because it is really easy to leave out the dairy until the end, and let my hubby enjoy it as is, then add some cheese for the little ones who really enjoy the stringy yumminess of melted cheese. We sometimes leave out the chicken for a meatless meal.















Chicken Tortilla Soup
½ c chopped onion

2 C. cooked chicken, torn or cut into small pieces (I use canned chicken)

1 pressed garlic clove

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies, undrained

1 c frozen corn

1 c zucchini, thinly sliced

4 tsp snipped fresh cilantro

½ c (2 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

¼ tsp each: chili powder, ground cumin

2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth

1 (5.5oz) can of Spicy Hot V8 juice

4 thick slices each: fresh lime, avocado

Cook chicken, onion, garlic, chili powder, and cumin for 2 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, chilies, corn, zucchini and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.

In individual soup bowls, add cilantro, tortilla strips, ladle full of soup,  top with cheese and garnish with lime & avocado. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Skillet enchiladas

Tonight was one of those "the kids are starving now and I don't know what we're having for dinner" kind of nights. And I was supposed to go grocery shopping this morning, but didn't, so our choices were rather limited, so I improvised, and it turned out surprisingly tasty. It only took about 5 minutes which was a bonus. We are totally having this meal again.

I didn't measure anything, just scooped/poured until it looked good. 

Skillet Enchiladas

Canned chicken (large can)

mayonnaise-probably a cup-ish--several large spoonfuls

salsa

green chilies (small can)

cumin-a couple shakes sprinkled on

I just put everything in the skillet and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Serve on tortilla chips and enjoy!

Or add some cheese if you're not my husband (who is doing the dairy-free thing now), and enjoy!

Santa Fe Chicken

Santa Fe Chicken is one of my all time favorite meals because 1. it's so easy, and 2. it's SO delicious.

In a crockpot combine:
2ish pounds of chicken (cut into bite-size pieces or not)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
a 16 oz can of salsa (Herdez is our favorite)
1 or 2 cups of frozen corn

Cook on low 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. The longer you cook, the less you need bite-size pieces to begin with. I like to just let it cook until the chicken is so tender you can shred it real easy with a fork.

Add 1 cup shredded cheese and half up to a whole package of cream cheese depending on taste. Cook for another 1/2 hour up to an hour, then serve over rice, or in a tortilla.

 

Super nachos

Super nachos are, well, super! I guess some people call them loaded nachos, but we like the Super term. This is one of our go-to meals when I don't feel like cooking, or when we're hungry right now.

It's so flexible, you just use whatever you have on hand. Usually we use:
green onions

green or red (or both) bell peppers

black beans

canned chicken

Spread tortilla chips on a cookie sheet, sprinkle a little bit of shredded cheese over them, then layer whatever toppings you want to include. If you add tomatoes, probably wait until the last minute or so of cooking time. After all your toppings are on, sprinkle more cheese over top generously. Stick it in the oven on broil for about 5 minutes, then enjoy! Great for a regular dinner, or whip some up to snack on during a football game.

GF on a Shoestring (and Fried Rice)

I recently purchased a great cookbook: Gluten-free on a Shoestring. She also has a blog. I've only tried a few recipes, but so far I LOVE them all.

Last week I was on a baking kick and actually baked 2 things. In one day. I know. Crazy. My 10-month-old was only holding on to my legs crying for 20 minutes or so, since I mostly planned around her nap. :) 

The first tasty treat was this homemade apple pie-type pastry. Soooo good. And there was extra filling left over, which we all really enjoyed alone, too.

 

The other was pretzels. They were pretty good warm out of the oven, but I messed up on the directions for letting it rise, and going back and trying to do it later didn't quite work out, so I'll try these again soon. They ended up a bit dense and hard once they cooled off, but I am pretty sure following the directions next time will fix that.

 

One last TASTY recipe I really enjoyed was the Lemon Chicken. Since these recipes aren't mine and are copyrighted, I probably shouldn't share them, but I can share how I made some tasty fried rice to go with the lemon chicken. I may try this in the future with orange juice and orange zest, and see if I can somewhat replicate good ol' Panda Express' Orange Chicken.

 

The fried rice is very easy. First, cook some scrambled eggs (1-3 depending on your taste and how much rice you're using), and when the eggs are just starting to solidify, add about a cup of already cooked rice. Once the eggs are fully cooked add another cup or two of cooked rice and some mixed veggies. I just had frozen corn and peas, so that's all I threw in, and it worked great. Stir occasionally until the veggies are cooked/warm, add a splash or two of soy sauce (La Choy is gluten-free), and enjoy! This is so quick and easy. You can leave out the eggs if you want, but they're a nice extra splash of protein.

Pesto chicken

This delicious meal is a holdover from a few years ago when my husband was put on the Southbeach Diet to fix his blood chemistry. Not surprisingly, since the Southbeach Diet is based on less carbs, completely eliminating carbs for the first two weeks, a lot of those meals work just fine for gluten-free folks.

One of the best parts is that there are only 3 ingredients. You can't get much easier than that! Without further ado, here's the tasty Pesto Chicken:

Chicken
Pesto
Mozzarella cheese

Spread a few tablespoons of pesto on the bottom of the pan, then add chicken and spread more pesto on top of the chicken. For about a pound or a pound and a half of chicken I usually use about half a jar of pesto. It doesn't take much. Cover with tin foil and cook at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Add mozzarella cheese and cook uncovered until cheese melts, another 5-10 minutes. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Linking up with Gluten-free Wednesdays.

Italian Crockpot Chicken

 

potatoes, cubed or in wedges
baby carrots
chicken
1/2 C. Italian dressing
2 T. Italian seasoning
1/2 C. Parmesan or romano cheese

Throw everything into the crock pot (potatoes and carrots on the bottom), and cook on low for about 6-8 hours. And enjoy. I love how fast and easy this is to prepare.

Salsa chicken

This is one of my favorite easy meals. With only 5 or 6 ingredients, you can't go wrong.

Salsa chicken

red bell pepper

onion

salsa

chicken

cheese

First, chop the onion and bell pepper, then saute in oil for a few minutes.

Add the chicken and cook until mostly done, then add the salsa and let it simmer for a little while (10 minutes, maybe?). Add cheese and let it melt.

Serve it over rice for a tasty meal.

Buen provecho!

Chicken enchiladas

In the past I've used Cream of-- soups a lot in my cooking. When Jake had to go lactose free before being diagnosed as they tried to figure out what was wrong, that threw out all those soups and I had to figure out new ways to work those recipes. We found this enchilada recipe that was pretty good, but not quite as quick and easy as my enchiladas using Cream of Chicken. Of course once he was okayed for lactose we still had the gluten keeping us away from those soups. Until, joy of joys, I found Cream of Chicken, Cream of Mushroom, and Cream of Celery soup that was gluten-free at Sunflower Market. Yahoo!

I could once again make so many of my favorite, EASY, recipes.

Including enchiladas:

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can diced green chilies

canned chicken (or cooked and shredded chicken)

sour cream

corn tortillas
shredded cheese

Mix in a skillet the soup, chilies, chicken, and a few dollops of sour cream. Simmer. While simmering dip about 10-12 tortillas in the mixture to warm and soften.

Spoon some of the mixture (maybe 1/4 cup?) into a tortilla, add a small handful of cheese, then wrap it and place in a pan seam-side down.

Once the pan is full pour the rest of the mixture over the top of the tortillas. I actually had enough of the filling left that I could have made another small 8x8 pan of maybe 5 more, but I was feeling lazy, so I just poured it all over the top.

Sprinkle cheese all over the top and cover with tinfoil. At this point you can either stick it in the oven to cook, or stick it in the freezer for another day. When I am feeling particularly motivated I'll make two pans full, freeze one and cook one. Or if a friend just had a baby or surgery or something, I usually make two pans, one for them, one for us. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes, or however long it takes for the cheese to melt. If frozen it usually takes about 40 minutes for all the cheese to melt.

Serve with lettuce, sour cream and salsa.

This is my dad's signature recipe and is SOOOO tasty. Nowadays he sometimes just layers the tortillas, filling mixture and cheese like a casserole instead of taking the time to make individual enchiladas, and actually it works great and tastes just the same, just saves you a few extra minutes. Enjoy!

Shishkabobs

Because nothing says summer like standing in 110 degree heat next to a 400 degree grill, we included shishkabobs on our menu this past 4th of July weekend. I guess it's better than heating up the kitchen by turning on the oven.

Last summer I got my hubby a grill for Father's Day. We don't use it a ton, but good enough. And we can justify it as an emergency preparedness purchase, right? If the gas and electricity go out, at least we have our grill to cook on. :) Anyway, shishkabobs are one of our favorite meals for the grill. And they're relatively easy, except for the skewering part which can get tedious if you have a lot of people to cook for.

We did chicken and shrimp kabobs. I threw the meat in a marinade for about half an hour, which was not enough time to soak up the flavor as well as it should, but I was short on time--4+ hours would have been better. For our marinade I just used the Kraft Red Roasted Pepper something-or-other Dressing (I don't exactly remember the name). We like Kraft dressings because Kraft will always spell out gluten ingredients, and not hide them in "natural flavors" or "spices" or anything like that. We've also used some Lawry's marinades, which have all been really tasty (but be sure to check, because not all Lawry's is GF). While the meat was marinating, I cut up an onion and various colors of bell peppers. Some people like cherry tomatoes and pineapple and mushrooms, and probably some other wierd stuff on their kabobs. More power to them. We're plain folk. Not that cherry tomatoes are wierd. We may have had some if we had had some. (Does that sentence even make sense?) Really, I just went with what I could find in the fridge and garden.

Make sure you soak the skewers in water for a good hour or more--it's supposed to keep them from turning into charcoal (but mine always do anyway). We eat the kabobs over rice, sometimes adding some dressing to the rice for a little kick. 

Hope everyone had a fun, safe 4th of July! We got rain!!! So the fireworks didn't burn down the town. :)

Santa Fe Chicken

One of my go-to meals for company, or just when I want something quick and easy and delicious is Santa Fe Chicken.

chicken (2ish pounds)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1-2 cups corn
1 16 oz. jar of salsa
half a package of cream cheese
a cup or two of shredded cheese

Throw the chicken, beans, corn, and salsa in the crock pot and cook for at least 5-6 hours on low (or about 2 1/2 or 3 hours on high). Add in the cream cheese and shredded cheese a half hour to an hour before you're ready to eat. If you want to eat it with rice, throw the rice on about now, too.

The original recipe I got from a friend said to cut the chicken before you threw it in the crock pot, but I've learned it's easier to just throw in whole chicken breasts or chicken tenders and if they cook long enough they get really tender and easy to tear apart with a fork when it's all done. I usually serve it over rice, but it's also good as a burrito if you have tortillas on hand, too.

And a side note about the rice: when we started this GF thing I read all about this quinoa stuff (pronounced keen-wa). We tried it and I guess since it looks kind of like rice I was expecting it to taste kind of like rice. It doesn't. I have one recipe that I really love that uses quinoa straight, but other than that I usually just throw half a cup, or a whole cup in with the rice along with the same amount of water, and it adds the nutritional value (which people on a GF diet often need a boost in since they generally eat less whole grains), but doesn't really affect the taste. So, for instance, here I put 1 1/2 cups of brown rice and 3 cups of water in my rice cooker (the normal ratio), then added a 1/2 cup of quinoa and 1/2 cup of water. Quinoa really expands a lot, so 1/2 a cup goes a long way.

Taco Salad

On Fridays I usually do somthing that involves minimal effort. 50% of the time that means Super Nachos. This time it meant Taco Salad. I have 2 different ways to do it, but the ground beef way is not minimal effort (I have to turn on the stove for that one), so we went with the chicken.

I take canned chicken, frozen corn and some taco seasoning (not the whole package), mix together, and microwave until the corn is cooked.

And then you're done. Almost. You have to open a can or two and mix it all together, or let your family assemble their own.

For salad, of course, you need lettuce. Top that with the meat and corn, cheese, tomatoes, and some black beans (drainied and rinsed), then add your dressing and you're set. For a tasty "chipotle ranch" type dressing just mix some ranch and salsa together, and viola! Tasty food.

Of course when I went to get out the lettuce we were almost out, so the taco salad turned into tacos. My daughter and I use regular flour shells, and my husband was going to use the tortillas I'd made for him a while back, but apparently it was a long while back and they were beginning to grow stuff. So he went with corn tortillas and was happy as a clam.