Cranberry Roast with roasted potatoes and salad

I made cranberry sauce in a crock pot:

1 bag cranberries, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 cup O.J., 1/2 cup water, cook for a couple of hours until cranberries are all squishy and soft.

To that I added chuck roast, 1 onion and 2 Tbsp Bragg's (the recipe called for soy sauce but I used this instead)

The potatoes I sliced up in my brand new handy dandy slicer on my stand mixer I got for Christmas and stuck them in the oven with some olive oil, salt and pepper.

Salad, I just always love the combo of mixed greens and baby spinach, so we have that with some edamame and tomatoes!

Chicken Pesto Pasta

Easy! Saute the ckicken, cook the pasta and then mix it all together with pesto sauce (jar from HEB) and parmesan cheese.
You could also saute with garlic or onions or add veggies and pine nuts.

Lentil Stew, cornbread

1 T olive oil
1 1/4 c chopped onion
1 c chopped celery
3/4 c chopped carrot
1 garlic clove, sliced
4 c chicken broth
1 c water
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 c dried lentils
3/4 c instant brown rice
1/2 t crushed red pepper
1/4 t salt
1/4 t black pepper

Heat oil in a small Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic to pan; saute 8 min. or unitl tender. Add broth, water, and tomatoes, bring to a boil. Stir in lentils; simmer 25 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in rice; simmer 20 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in red pepper, salt, and black pepper.

Cornbread:

Ingredients:
1 cup milk (or non-dairy alternative)
1 egg
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (dairy or soy)
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 -- 3/4 cup sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix the liquid ingredients then stir in the other ingredients, mixing until the lumps are removed. The batter will be thin, but not watery.

Pour the batter into an oiled 8 x 8 baking pan, and iron skillet, or into oiled or lined muffin pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes for the cornbread, less for the muffins, according to your oven.

The bread will be done when the top is lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick in the center of the bread is clean; do not over cook!

From www.easilyglutenfree.wordpress.com (my sister's blog)

Mediterranean Meatballs, Baba Ganoush, and Fake Tabouli

Baba Ganoush
4 large eggplant
5-6 small cloves garlic
1/8-1/4 cup tahini (to taste)
little fresh lemon juice (if you have it)
salt
1/8 cup olive oil

Rinse eggplant, pierce skin a few times to release steam, place on foil-lined cookie sheet. Roast Eggplant at 450 for 40 minutes or so. Remove from oven, let cool a bit, slice open, and put all the soupy innards into a bowl or directly into your food processor. add other ingredients and blend well. Modify amounts of everything to taste.

Fake Tabouli (Quinoa replaces gluten-full couscous.)
3 cups Quinoa cooked, salted
1 small red onion, diced
3 tomatoes diced
1 bunch flat leaf parsley finely chopped
1 cucumber diced
add to taste:
salt
olive oil
white wine vinegar
fresh lemon would be nice here also
optional: fresh peppermint, green onions, green bell pepper, cook quinoa with some broth as part of the liquid

after Quinoa has cooled down, dump in other ingredients, stir, taste

Mediterranean Meatballs
makes 25-30 balls, 3-4 balls per serving
3 lbs ground beef of choice
1 medium onion (i used some white and some purple) - diced
1 large clove garlic -chopped
handful of chopped flat leave parsley and mint
1 cup gluten free bread crumbs (I used pecan rice crackers and oats)
3-4 tsp salt
tsp black pepper
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp cumin
1-2 tsp cilantro (or fresh!)
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp tarragon
1 tsp allspice or clove

cook onion and garlic in a pan with a touch of olive oil until translucent. Mix meat and all spices and crumbs together in large bowl. (not all spices are required. I recommended at least having cinnamon, cloves, allspice, or tarragon to create a unique flavor.) Add onions. Mix, press into golf-sized balls. You can also roll them flatter into tubes. cook on high heat rotating 1/4 turn when each side is browned.

Shepherds Pie and steamed veggies with cheese

• (Although I read that it is only really a shepherd's pie if you use lamb meat... since I am using beef I guess it is really a cottage pie!)
• 
  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
• 1 pound ground lamb (or substitute half with another ground meat)
• 1 cup beef or chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh or dry rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup milk (any fat content)
• Kosher salt to taste

print a shopping list for this recipe

preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil, then add the onion, carrot, and meat. Cook until browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

3. Drain the fat and add the broth, tomato paste, and herbs. Simmer until the juices thicken, about 10 minutes, then add the peas.

4. Pour the mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish; set aside.

5. Meanwhile, bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes; drain.

6. Mash the potatoes with the butter, milk, and salt.

7. Spread them over the meat mixture, then crosshatch the top with a fork.

8. Bake until golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Chicken and Peaches

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, about 1 1/4 pounds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 large firm-ripe peaches, cut into 1/4-inch slices, or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen peaches, (about 4 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons sliced almonds

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Meanwhile combine the brown sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar and orange juice in a small bowl and set aside. When the chicken is browned, transfer to a plate and set aside.

Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the chicken broth, the soy sauce mixture, and the peaches to the pan. Turn the heat up to high and cook, uncovered, for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce is nicely thickened and the peaches soften. Add the chicken back to the pan with the sauce, turn the heat down to moderate-low, cover and cook for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.

In the meantime, toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium-high heat stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Serve the chicken topped with the sauce and sprinkled with the toasted almonds.

Tex Mex Chicken and Dumplings

Tex-Mex chicken and dumplings
For the chicken:
1 four-pound chicken
16 cups of water (1 gallon)
1 onion
9 cloves of garlic, divided
2 carrots, peeled and cut into quarters
4 celery stalks, cut into quarters
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried or 1 stalk fresh epazote (optional)
1 leafy stem of cilantro (optional) plus 1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped
1 can of Ro-Tel
2 jalapenos, sliced
1/4 cup cilantro
Juice of one lime
1/2 cup of cream
Salt, black pepper, cayenne and cumin to taste

For the cornmeal dumplings:
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 jalapeno, finely diced
2 tablespoons of minced cilantro

Method:
Clean and rinse your chicken and place in a large stock pot. Add water, onion, 8 cloves of garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaves, epazote and whole cilantro stem. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then simmer for an hour and a half, occasionally skimming the foamy scum off the surface.

Remove chicken from pot and turn off the heat. After it’s cooled, remove fat and pick the meat off the bones and either shred or cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper to taste.

Take cooled broth and strain and throw out the vegetables as they’ve done their duty. Now you need to remove the fat from the broth. If you don’t have a preferred way of getting rid of the fat or lack a gravy separator, you can try the plastic bag method. Take a quart-sized plastic storage bag, pour some broth into it. You will see the fat rise to the top. Snip a bottom corner of the bag and drain the broth, stopping when you get to the fat layer. (You will probably have to do this in batches).

Place the broth back into the pot and add the shredded chicken and lime juice. In a blender, add the can of Ro-Tel, sliced jalapenos, chopped cilantro and garlic and blend. Add puree to the pot. Now add the cream. Add salt, black pepper, cayenne and cumin to taste. Bring to a boil. And while the soup is coming to a boil, make the cornmeal dumplings.

Sift together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt. Beat the milk with the eggs and add to the dry ingredients. Stir in the melted butter, cilantro and jalapenos.

When soup is boiling, turn heat down to low and gently drop the dumpling batter into the pot, one tablespoon or so at a time. Do not stir. Place lid on top and steam dumplings for 20 minutes.

Ladle the chicken and dumplings into bowls and sprinkle cilantro on top. Serves six to eight.

Notes: If you want a thicker broth, feel free to add some flour. I'd add it slowly, a quarter cup at a time

Taco Soup, Cornbread

1 pound ground beef, cooked
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 1/2 cups water
1 (15 ounce) can mild chili beans
1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes
1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies
1 (1 ounce) package ranch salad dressing mix
Mix all ingredients in a crock-pot. Cook on low for 4 hours, or however long you need to. Or cook on stove until heated through.

Southern Cornbread (this is the BEST CORNBREAD I have ever had -- gluten-free or not!!)

It's from julesglutenfree.com

Ingredients:
1 cup milk (or non-dairy alternative)
1 egg
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt (dairy or soy)
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbs. baking powder
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 -- 3/4 cup sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 F. Mix the liquid ingredients then stir in the other ingredients, mixing until the lumps are removed. The batter will be thin, but not watery.

Pour the batter into an oiled 8 x 8 baking pan, and iron skillet, or into oiled or lined muffin pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes for the cornbread, less for the muffins, according to your oven.

The bread will be done when the top is lightly browned and a cake tester or toothpick in the center of the bread is clean; do not over cook!

From www.easilyglutenfree.wordpress.com (my sister's blog)

Spaghetti, Salad

I hope this is self-explanatory! Instead of using ground beef, I like to use sausage to add more flavor. I used original Jimmy Dean sausage.

Broccoli Rice Chicken Casserole

From www.cooks.com

1 med. onion, chopped
1/2 stick butter
1 (3 lb.) chicken, stewed and cut up
1 (10 oz.) pkg. chopped broccoli or chopped spinach, cooked and drained
1 c. quick cooking rice, uncooked
1 can cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1/4 c. water
2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 c. water

Saute onion in butter until transparent. Add chicken, broccoli or spinach, rice, soup, water, milk, and cheese. Mix well. Pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart casserole and bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

Served with fruit

Veggie chili and brown rice

egetable Chili
2 onions
4 hatch chilies
3 poblano chilies
4 bell peppers
6 corn on the cob
3 cans kidney beans
3 cans black beans
chili powder
cumin
oregano
garlic
paprika
cayenne
salt pepper
2 cans tomatoe sauce
4 cans water
masa (for thickening)

No-Cook Noodles Lasagna

This recipe is from www.cooks.com

1 lb. ground beef
1 (15 1/2 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
6 oz. (1 1/2 c. shredded) Mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1 1/2 c. cream-style cottage cheese
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried oregano
9 lasagna noodles
3/4 c. hot water

Brown and drain ground beef. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Mix 2 eggs in a bowl. Add cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese and 1 cup Mozzarella cheese and oregano. Mix egg-cheese mixture well.

Place 3 uncooked lasagna noodles in 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Spread 1 1/3 cups of meat mixture over noodles. Spread about 1/2 of egg-cheese mixture over meat. Continue with layers, ending with remaining meat mixture. Pour 3/4 cup hot water over all areas of dish. Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/4 hours. Remove from oven and sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded cheese on top. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Served with green beans and Chebe garlic breadsticks

Sweet and Sour Chicken, Steamed Veggies with roasted Chickpeas

Season chicken with salt and pepper, dust with flour. Heat olive oil in an oven proof skillet, add chicken skin side down and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Turn over and pour off fat. Tuck shallots around chicken and cook until golden, about 2 more minutes. Push chicken aside and stir in 1 Tbsp tomato paste and 1 Tbsp fresh thyme and cook about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/2 cup unfiltered apple cider and 1/3 cup golden raisins, bring to a boil and simmer one minute. Transfer to the oven and roast 10-12 minutes at 450 degrees. Remove chicken from pan, bring sauce back to a boil then reduce by half (about 3-4 minutes). Lower the heat and whisk in the 2 Tbsp butter.

Veggies:

Place squash, califlower and ginger in a large steamer basket over boiling salted water, cover and steam about 25 minutes. Add snow peas, remove the pan from heat and keep covered until the peas are crisp-tender, about 5 mintues. Toast crushed corriander seeds (1/2 tsp) in a skillet over medium low heat about 1 minute. Add seseme oil and increase heat to medium high. Add 1 can chickpeas and cook until crisp, about 5 minutes. Add butter and scallions, remove from heat. Serve over rice

Potato Soup, Salad, Fruit

Ingredients:

-10 large potatoes, diced and peeled
-2 onions, chopped
-4 stalks celery, diced
-4 broccoli crowns, chopped up very finely
-10 cloves of garlic, chopped
-6 T. butter
-2 can chicken broth + 2 cans water
-salt and pepper
-8 T. Hidden Valley Ranch powder
-16 oz. Velveeta

Turn crock pot(s) on high. Melt butter in bottom, and add all veggies except potatoes. Let them soften and cook as you dice the potatoes. Add potatoes. Mix in broth and water and salt and pepper. Let cook on high for 4 hours or low 8 hours, or until potatoes are nice and soft. Add Ranch powder and Velveeta. Stir until melted.

Served with green salad and fruit.

This recipe is doubled. It filled one crock pot to the top. I think it would've been enough for all of us, but I actually ended up almost quadrupling this recipe! I now have plenty of soup in my freezer!

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna and Chicken with Balsamic Peppers

The last two weeks I have been going to this website for recipes: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/

I am really enjoying the site. I plan to stick with it until I take time off to have my baby. I can't believe I'm only going to cook one more dinner after today.

I overcooked the lasagna last week. Today I'll try to be more careful with the chicken. The co-op is giving me the opportunity to make recipes more challenging than what I had been used to doing, so I'm still on a bit of learning curve.

Thai-spiced Pumpkin Soup Recipe

2 acorn squash, pumpkins, or other smallish winter squash
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1 teaspoon (or more) red Thai curry pastewater
2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt (or to taste)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place the oven racks in the middle.
Carefully cut each squash/pumpkin into halves (or quarters). Slather each piece of squash with butter, sprinkle generously with salt, place on a baking sheet skin sides down, and place in the oven. Roast for about an hour or until the squash is tender throughout.
When the pumpkin/squash are cool enough to handle scoop it into a large pot over medium high heat. Add the coconut milk and curry paste and bring to a simmer. Remove from the heat and puree with a hand blender, you should have a very thick base at this point. Now add water a cup at a time pureeing between additions until the soup is the consistency you prefer - a light vegetable stock would work here as well. Bring up to a simmer again and add the salt (and more curry paste if you like, I used just shy of 6 teaspoons but the curry paste I use is not over-the-top spicy).

I ended up serving with brown rice, grilled chicken with Thyme and cornbread!

All-Day Spicy Stew and twice baked potatoes

All Day Spicy Stew
3 lbs beef
juice of two lemons
4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 onions
3 cups beef stock
1/4 tsp ground corriander
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp crushed pepper
1/2 tsp allspice
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Peel tomatoes, marinate beef overnight in lemon juice. Place all ingredients except salt in crock pot and cook at medium for 12 hours

Twice baked potatoes

Bake potatoes until soft, scoop out middles, mix with butter, cheese, salt and pepper and add back into shells. Top with more cheese and back until melty.

Chicken Enchiladas, Cheesy Chili Rice, Black Beans, Green Salad

Enchiladas:
You'll need corn tortillas, pork or chicken, 3 onions, chopped, cheddar cheese, and about 4 cans of red enchilada sauce (Hill Country Fair from HEB is GF). Spray a baking pan with Pam. Cover the bottom of the pan with a layer of tortillas, then add some meat, onion, a small amount of sauce, then start again with tortillas, meat, onion, sauce (not too much- save most of it to pour on top). End it all with a final layer of tortillas, then pour the rest of the sauce over it all. Add a little more onion and lots of cheese to the top, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Cheesy Chili Rice:
1 T butter
1 C chopped onion
1 C rice
2 C chicken broth
1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies
1 C grated cheddar cheese
1 tomato, chopped
chopped cilantro (optional)
Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until tender. Add rice, broth, green chilies. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 min. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and tomato. Garnish with cilantro. I doubled this recipe and had plenty for 4 families.

Served with black beans and a green salad.

Meatballs, Asparagus, Buttery Pasta

Meatballs:
You can season ground beef however you're used to doing it for meatballs. For the filler, instead of bread crumbs, you can use cooked brown rice or brown rice flour. I like cooked brown rice because it's cheap, healthy, and it stretches the meat farther. You can season it with Italian herbs, salt, pepper, and garlic, then add 2 eggs to hold things together. I put the meatballs into a baking dish and pour a can of Spicy V-8 Vegetable Juice over them. Then I bake them at 400 for about 20-25 minutes until they are done.

Pasta:
I just used gluten free pasta shells (Tinkyada brand) and added butter, salt, pepper, and poppy seeds. I wanted to add fresh parsley, but I didn't have any.

Asparagus:
Sauteed in some olive oil with salt and pepper for about 4 minutes. Easy, healthy and yummy! Although, I think they might have gotten soggy by the time they were delivered. It's probably best hot off the skillet.

Festive Black Bean Chili

Chili :
black beans
corn
green and red peppers
salsa

With guacamole topping and GF cornbread

airy Hollow House Skillet-Sizzled Buttermilk Cornbread
from: Passionate Vegetarian by Crescent Dragonwagon (I'm not kidding, that's her name.)

I cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup (this is where I substituted for white flour) garbanzo bean flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1-3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1/4 cup mild vegetable oil, such as corn, canola, or peanut
2-4 tablespoons butter

1 Preheat oven to 375 F.
2 In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and sugar. Stir well to combine.
3 In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, egg, and oil.
4 Place a 9 to 10 1/4 inch skillet over medium heat, add teh butter, and heat until the butter melts and is sizzling seriously. Tilt the skillet to coat the sides.
5 As the butter's melting, quickly pour the wet ingredients into the dry and, using a wooden spoon, stir the wet and dry together with as few strokes as possible--only as many as are needed to combine the two. Don't beat it; don't smooth it out. Scrape the batter into the hot, buttery skillet--if you've gotten it hot enough it will sizzle as it goes in--and pop it in the oven immediately.
6 Bake until golden brown on top. 25-30 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve hot.

Chicken Gumbo, Brown Rice, Spinach Salad

Gumbo:

meat from 2 chickens
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp EVOO
2 large onions
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1/2 cup tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp green peppercorns
2 tomatoes
1 Tbsp file powder

Saute onion and peppers in butter and EVOO. Add tomato paste and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and add chicken and seasonings. Simmer 1 hour uncovered, stirring occasionally. Before serving add tomatoes and season to taste. Remove from heat and stir in file powder.

Basic brown rice

3 cups brown rice

6 cups water

I soaked the rice overnight in the water, with 6 Tbsp whey and salt. When time to cook, I bring it to a boil with the top on, then without removing the top reduce to as low a heat as possible and cook at least 45 minutes to an hour. Then I mix in some butter and some more salt to taste.

Salad:

Spinach, walnuts, craisins, feta cheese

Dressing:

Basic dressing:
1 tsp dijion mustard
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp wine vinegar
1/2 cup EVOO
1 Tbsp lemon juice

10/18 Meal: BBQ Ribs, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Fruit

Ingredients:
-boneless ribs (I got 2 packages, 23 ribs)
-green beans (I just steamed these and added butter and garlic)
-potatoes (boil then mash and add milk and butter)
-cantaloupe, grapes
I ended up spending $30, which included all the ribs. If I hadn't burned the first round of ribs, I would've only spent $17.

Spray oven pan with cooking spray. Put ribs in pan and season both sides with McCormick Grill Mates Steak Rub. I like boneless ribs because it's more meat and less mess. Pour GF Barbecue Sauce on top to coat. Kraft Original is GF. Bake at 225 for 8-10 hours, uncovered. That's it!

Sounds easy, right? Well, this one took two tries for me. The first round of ribs was burned to a crisp! I put the ribs into the oven before I went to bed to bake them for 8 hours like the directions said. I realized in the morning that my oven only goes to 250, not 225, so I guess that's what made them burn. I decided to go get more ribs and try again. I found a recipe online that said to cook them for 4 hours at 350, two covered, two uncovered. Luckily I checked them after 45 minutes because when I checked them, they were done. Maybe my oven is hotter than most, I don't know. Anyway, the ribs turned out fine. If you want to try to make these, just keep checking them to make sure they don't burn! Otherwise, you may get this... Looks yummy, huh?

Chicken Enchilladas with Black Bean and Corn Salad by Jennifer

Ok, this meal has turned out to be waaaayyyy more time consuming and expensive than I planned it to be! It is fun though to experiment and get creative sometimes, so I think I might start doing a fancy week and then alternate in a simple meal week. After all that went into this one, we might be having spaghetti from a jar next week! : )

Ok, Chicken Enchiladas:

meat from 2 whole chickens

2 onions

4 green peppers

2 carrots, peeled and grated

1 cup sprouted seeds (onion or sesame) (I had to leave these out because I couldn't find them anywhere)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp oregano

1 Tbsp cumin

18 corn tortillas

2 cups Colby Jack cheese

8 cups enchilada sauce

avocados for garnish

Dice chicken and mix with onion, pepper, carrot, sprouts and spices. Stir in one cup enchilada sauce. (It then says to fry the tortillas until soft, but I left this part out. I've done it before and it just takes way too long. It is extra delicious though...) place small amount of chicken mixture in tortilla and roll up, place in dish. (Can be made ahead and frozen at this point.) Bake at 325 degrees until steaming.

Red Enchilada sauce: ( I made this times 10)

4 oz whole dried Ancho chilies

1/4 cup olive oil

1 med onion

1 tsp cumin

2 cups stock

2 cloves garlic

2 small cans tomato paste

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

Saute onion in oil, add cumin and cook until well combined. Add stock and chilies (cleaned of stems and seeds) and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, add garlic, tomato paste and vinegar. Simmer covered for about 45 mintues, then pass through a food mill (I used a hand mixer instead)

Corn and Black bean salad:

2 cups black beans

2 cups fresh corn

2 jalapeno peppers

1 red onion ( I used yellow)

1 cup basic dressing

Mix all ingredients, chill before serving

Basic dressing:

1 tsp dijion mustard

2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp red wine vinegar

1/2 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp flax oil (I left this out because we didn't have any)

Mix all together!

Whew, this was an undertaking. I love the idea of cooking by "Nourishing Traditions" all of the time, but I would spend every waking minute in the kitchen! I think a small amount of opening cans and dumping in is quite alright... : )

10/11 Meal: Chicken Parmesan, Sauteed Zucchini, and Corn

Ingredients: flattened chicken breasts, ground flax seed or GF bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, dried oregano, garlic powder, Italian dressing, pasta sauce, and mozzarella cheese.

For the coating, mix about 1/4 C. ground flax seed meal, 1/4 C. Parmesan cheese, 1/2 t. oregano, and 1/2 t. garlic. Dredge the chicken into the Italian Dressing, then the coating, making sure it's all covered. Place into a greased baking pan, and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes or until chicken is almost done. Take it out of the oven and top with pasta sauce and mozzarella cheese. Put it back into the oven for about 5minutes more until chicken is done and cheese is melted.

Sauteed Zucchini

Slice 2 zucchini and 1 red or orange bell pepper. Chop up 4 cloves of garlic. Add 2 or 3T. of olive oil to a skillet and saute the garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add the veggies and saute until soft. Served sprinkled with Parmesan cheese.

I got this recipe from my sister's gluten free blog: www.easilyglutenfree.wordpress.com

I baked the chicken in two 9X13 dishes instead of our shared Pyrex so that when I delivered, the dishes wouldn't be too hot. The zucchini took no time at all to chop since it's softer. I used kitchen shears to cut up the bell peppers, which saved time and seemed easier than chopping. I used 9 medium sized zucchini, 2 red and 2 orange bell peppers, and 11 chicken breasts. I thought I was getting 12 chicken breasts, but the package had one less. It was still plenty for everyone. I need to pay more attention to how much I spend on these meals so I can report it here. I'll try to remember next week.

Preparing and cooking this was easier than I was expecting and very good! I wish my sister would have shared this recipe with me sooner!

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole for 10/13

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Roasted Red Potatoes

Salad

I'm going to make the Creamed Chicken the night before. My recipe calls for 1/2 cup of flour, but I'm going to try using 1/4 cup of cornstarch instead. (A blurb on the side of my cornstarch box says this will be an acceptable substitution.)

Creamed Chicken

3 lb skinless chicken breast
4 c. chicken stock
stick of butter (!-I might use less.)
1/4 c. corn starch
3 c. of milk (the recipe calls for whole milk, but I'll try 1%)
lemon juice
pepper
nutmeg

Put the chicken in a dutch oven with chicken stock. (This will be the first time I've ever used my dutch oven.) Pour in just enough water to cover the pieces. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce the heat so the liquid barely bubbles. Cook 8 to 12 minutes (until the chicken releases clear juices.) Cut or shred the meat into bite-sized pieces.

Melt butter in a sauce pan. Whisk in corn starch. Then add chicken stock, then milk. Whisk constantly. Remove pan from heat, scrape inside of the sauce pan with wooden spoon. Return to heat and cook one minute. Stir in chicken with several drops of lemon juice, pepper, and nutmeg.

I think I should probably also roast the potatoes the night before. I might do this in what would have normally been my dinner preparation time on Monday evening.

On Tuesday, I'll prepare the casserole and make a salad. I'll probably try to chop the broccoli in the morning or the night before if I have time.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Creamed Chicken
6 c. chopped broccoli
1 c. Parmesan Cheese

Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter 2 13 X 9 baking dishes.

Steam broccoli for 5 minutes. Then rinse it in cold water. Spread the broccoli in the buttered dishes and top with the creamed chicken. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 25 to 35 minutes.

The cost, not including items I had around the house (Parmesan cheese, butter) was $26.

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas

Chicken Tagine with Chickpeas with Brown Rice, Baked Sweet Potatoes and Salad

3 lbs. chicken (I used breast and thigh meat)
6 tbsp. unsalted butter
6 c. chopped onions
3/4 c. scallions
7 cups of cooked chickpeas (1 bag of dry chickpeas)
3 c. of water
3 tbsp. minced garlic
3 tsp. ground ginger
1.5 tsp black pepper
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon

Baked Sweet Potatoes

1 dozen sweet potatoes

Brown Rice

Salad

lettuce
tomato
cucumber
carrots

The night before, I soaked the chickpeas. In the morning, I cooked the chickpeas and chopped the onions and scallions. Around 3:30, I began cooking in earnest by browning the chicken parts. Then I cooked the onions and scallions until they were tender. I stirred in the chickpeas, water, garlic, and spices, and chicken. Once this came to a boil, I turned the heat down to simmer and let it cook for about 45 minutes.

In the meantime, I cooked the brown rice. Scrubbed the sweet potatoes and put them into a pre-heated oven. At about 4:30, I prepared the salad.

The sweet potatoes took a lot longer to bake than I anticipated. I wonder if they cook slower when there are so many of them in the oven.

By 5 PM, I was able to start packing everything in containers, and I was out the door by 5:20.

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Tacos

Ingredients:
-black beans
-sweet potatoes
-garlic
-salt and pepper

All you do for this is chop up the sweet potatoes, saute them with the garlic until soft, add the beans, and you're done! After I dice the potatoes, I microwave them for about five minutes to soften them up and cut down on the cook time.

Put the bean and potato mixture in some corn tortillas with some salsa and sour cream and enjoy!

- served with fruit or green salad

by Darby

Double Brocolli Quinoa Salad and Grilled Chicken

3 cups cooked quinoa* ($9 for 4 lb bag, used approx half)
5 cups raw broccoli, cut into small florets and stems ($7.00)

3 medium garlic cloves
2/3 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 big pinches salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup heavy cream ( I had the rest of these ingredients, so cost was minimal)

Optional toppings: slivered basil, fire oil (optional)**, sliced avocado ($3.75)crumbled feta or goat cheese

Cost: $14.75, plus around $10 for the chicken, a couple dollars for some salad, so about $27 total for 4 families.

Heat the quinoa and set aside.

Now barely cook the broccoli by pouring 3/4 cup water into a large pot and bringing it to a simmer. Add a big pinch of salt and stir in the broccoli. Cover and cook for a minute, just long enough to take the raw edge off. Transfer the broccoli to a strainer and run under cold water until it stops cooking. Set aside.

To make the broccoli pesto puree two cups of the cooked broccoli, the garlic, 1/2 cup of the almonds, Parmesan, salt, and lemon juice in a food processor. Drizzle in the olive oil and cream and pulse until smooth.

Just before serving, toss the quinoa and remaining broccoli florets with about 1/2 of the broccoli pesto. Taste and adjust if needed, you might want to add more of the pest a bit at a time, or you might want a bit more salt or an added squeeze of lemon juice. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with the remaining almonds, a drizzle of the chile oil, and some sliced avocado or any of the other optional toppings.

Serves 4 - 6.

*To cook quinoa: rinse one cup of quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium saucepan heat the quinoa, two cups of water (or broth if you like), and a few big pinches of salt until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.

**To make the red chile oil: You'll need 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes. If you can, make the chile oil a day or so ahead of time by heating the olive oil in a small saucepan for a couple minutes - until it is about as hot as you would need it to saute some onions, but not so hot that it smokes or smells acrid or burned. Turn off the heat and stir in the crushed red pepper flakes. Set aside and let cool, then store in refrigerator. Bring to room temp again before using.

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/double-broccoli-quinoa-recipe.html

Autumn Sausage Casserole

Autumn Sausage Casserole
Ingredients:
--1 pound sausage
--1 large, or 2 small apples, chopped (no need to peel)
--1 yellow onion, chopped
--1/2 cup chopped carrots
--3 cups already cooked long-grain rice
--1/2 cup raisins
--1 T dried parsley flakes
--1 T brown sugar
--1/2 tsp allspice
--1/2 tsp cinnamon
--1/4 tsp black pepper (start with 1/8 if y... more »

Autumn Sausage Casserole
Ingredients:
--1 pound sausage
--1 large, or 2 small apples, chopped (no need to peel)
--1 yellow onion, chopped
--1/2 cup chopped carrots
--3 cups already cooked long-grain rice
--1/2 cup raisins
--1 T dried parsley flakes
--1 T brown sugar
--1/2 tsp allspice
--1/2 tsp cinnamon
--1/4 tsp black pepper (start with 1/8 if your kids don't tolerate a touch of spice)
--1/3 cup chicken broth or water (I used water)

New Dinner Share Blog!

I've started this new blog to keep up with our dinner share recipes... I'm probably going to just be copying and pasting the recipes from the other ladies onto here, but I wanted them to be in a search able place so I can go back and make things again, or my readers can find yummy cheap recipes that can easily be made in bulk. Even before starting this co-op I was pretty big into cooking in bulk and freezing, so now instead we cook in bulk and share with our friends! For anyone who hasn't heard of how this works, here goes:

Sunday: Darby makes dinner for her family and 3 others, puts the dinners in matching sets of Pyrex that we all went in and bought together, and delivers the dinners to the three other families around dinnertime. The three of us who are getting dinner delivered just sit back and wait for our yummy food to arrive!

Monday: Gray does the same thing as Darby

Tuesday: Emily's turn

Wednesday: My turn

So all in all, you spend time cooking one day a week and have a hot fresh homemade (in our case gluten free) dinner delivered to your door 3 more days a week! So that is 4 meals for the effort of 1. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

In case folks aren't home, we have agreed to leave coolers outside the door for dinner to be left in until we return, and if there is some kind of emergency and we can't make dinner on our night, we all swapped our family's pizza preference and can order pizza and have it delivered to each person's house.

So, I'll probably update this once a week or so (hopefully I'll be better at updating this than I am about my personal blog) so check back for yummy weekly dinner ideas!