Yummy Chili

4 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 peppers, diced
1 celery stalk, chopped finely
1 c chopped, sweet onions
1 1/2 pound ground meat (beef, chicken or turkey)
1 T all purpose flour * GF Note below
4 T tomato paste or catsup (if using, catsup omit brown sugar)
1T chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
2 tsp brown sugar (see note above)
1 t oregano
1/2 t cinnamon
3 - 4 c. broth, depending on how "soupy" prefer (beef or chicken)
1 can of drained, rinsed white cannellini beans

Heat oil in Dutch oven.  Add garlic, peppers, celery and onions.  Saute until soft.  About 5 minutes.  Add meat and saute until "just" done.  Sprinkle with flour.  Stir to coat meat.  Add remaining ingredients and cook at least 30 minutes until done.

Note:  any kind of pepper will work in this chili.  I have used poblano and bell peppers as well as any combination of them.

GF note:  If making this gluten free, used some potato starch instead of all purpose flour.  Cook for 2 minutes until meat is a little brown.

Stuffed Peppers

heat oven to 450 degrees

Cut 6 bell pepper in half.  Clean out the insides leaving the stem on the pepper.  Use olive oil and lightly oil the peppers.  Sprinkle with a little salt.  Place cut side down in a 13 x 9 pan.  Roast for 20 minutes until tender.

Filling:

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 poblano pepper, finely chopped
1 cup of finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped Cremini mushrooms

Sautee the above ingredients in about a hot cast iron skillet.  Once the vegetables begin to soften and sweat

Add:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Continue to saute

Add:

5 small cloves of garlic, minced

Cook until the garlic begins to let out its oil.

Add:

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, chopped

Cook until the mixture is all combined.

Add:

Tomato basil spaghetti sauce just until the mixture comes together.
Salt and pepper to taste.

Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.

Spoon filling into the pepper halves.  Place in the 13 x 9 pan used for roasting the bell peppers.  Top peppers with some grated Monterrey Jack cheese and some grated Pecorino Romano cheese.  Bake until heated thoroughly which was about 15 to 20 minutes.

Braised Cabbage

1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced
1 small to medium head of cabbage, sliced or shredded but not too finely
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water or broth
1-2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 medium apple, cored, peeled and sliced thinly
salt to taste
4 teaspoons sugar or sugar substitute equivalent

Heat oil.  Add onions and brown.  Add cabbage and brown.  Add apple cider vinegar, water, caraway seeds.  Heat for about 10 minutes.  Add apple slices.  Cook until tender.  Salt to taste.  Cook an additional 15 minutes.  Add sugar and serve.

Notes:

You can use green or red cabbage for this.

Tuscan White Bean and Southern Greens Chicken Soup

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery with leaves on, diced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt, freshly ground
• 2 15.5-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups gluten free chicken broth
• 1 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained and coarsely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced or chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro(optional)
• 10 ounces of southern greens, thoroughly rinsed and roughly chopped
• 2 cups chicken or turkey pieces, precooked

Directions

Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add drained beans, broth and chicken.  Bring to a simmer and cook 15 minutes.

In saute pan heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the roasted peppers, minced garlic and cilantro.  Cook until the garlic is soft, about 2 minutes. Stir in the southern greens , cover and cook until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape the contents of the skillet into the pot and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.desired.

NOTES:

(1)  This can be made in the crock pot IF you leave the addition of the roasted peppers and the southern greens until right before you serve the soup.

(2) Southern greens:  I purchase mine from Trader Joe's.  The package includes, spinach, collard greens, kale and turnip greens.  However, you can pick up what you would like at any grocery store.  I started using these because Trader Joe's was out of kale one day.

(3)  This is a great soup for leftovers but only if you add the greens prior to serving them.  When I am going to do this I do not saute the southern greens.  I just throw them into the soup and cook for a few minutes.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Radishes and Cauliflower

1 pound Brussels sprouts
1 bunch radishes
1/2 head cauliflower
1 onion, cut into eighths
2 tablespoons, olive oil or coconut oil
2 teaspoons sea salt

Trim Brussels sprouts of woody stem as well as any yellow leaves.  Cut in half.  Clean and trim radishes.  Wash and cut cauliflower into similar sized pieces as the Brussels sprouts.  In a gallon Ziploc bag or a large Tupperware container, place 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1/2 of the veggies.  Toss to coat completely.  Place in a oiled shallow roasting pan.  Repeat with remaining olive oil and sea salt.  Top veggies with a few more sprinkles of  sea salt.  Roast at 425 between 30 and 40 minutes depending on the doneness.  Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Notes:

Can serve with freshly grated Pecorino Romano OR with English walnuts or toasted almonds or pine nuts.  Pecorino Romano cheese is made from sheep's milk and for my family this is considered dairy free.

Roasted Apple Chicken

1 whole chicken (5 to 7 pounds), cleaned inside and out, patted dry inside and out
6 stalks of celery, cleaned and trimmed
1 sweet apple, sliced
1 semi sweet apple, quartered
1/2 an onion, cut into chunks
4 - 5 garlic cloves, skins on
1 - 2 tsp freshly ground salt
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp ground pepper

Combine salt, thyme and pepper.  Rub the inside cavity of chicken with this mixture.  Loosen the skin from the breast of the chicken, lay the sliced apple between the skin and the breast meat.  Fasten the skin to the breast of the chicken with toothpicks so that the skin does not recede back during the breast meat as this will dry the chicken out during the roasting process. Stuff the cavity with the remaining ingredients:  celery, quartered apple, chunked onions, garlic cloves.

Roast at 425 for approximately 90 minutes.  An instant read thermometer should read 170 when checking the thigh.  Juices should run clear.

Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Truffle Risotto

Ever buy an ingredient for some dish only to store it in the pantry for weeks waiting for that moment when the fear of cooking that one dish is gone?  Been there.  Yep, I have!

Arborio rice meant for risotto has graced my pantry shelves......well, let's just say a long time.  Finally last week, I took the dive.

OH MY!  Yes, it was labor intensive but so worth it.  Coupled with a roasted chicken and roasted veggies it was not too labor intensive for the meal.  By pairing it with "easy" dishes that require little labor at the time meal prep, risotto can be quite calming to make.

Basic Risotto
compliments of Giada deLaurentiis

• 4 cups of gf chickenbroth
• 2 tablespoons of butter or dairy free butter
• ¾ cup of finely chopped sweet onion (about 1 small onion)
• 1½ cups of Arborio rice
• ½ cup of dry white wine
• ½ cup of freshly grated Pecarion Romano cheese
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• In a Medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Cover the broth and keep hot over low heat.
• In a large heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaporated, about 3 minutes.
• Add ½ cup of simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice adding the broth ½ cup at a time, stirring constantly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rise is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total.
• Remove from the heat. Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and the salt and pepper. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and serve immediately.
  

My notes:

(1) I used my cast iron dutch oven.

(2) Per Giada's notes in her Everyday Italian Cookbook, I decided to saute my portabello mushrooms in the Dutch oven before beginning the basic risotto.  I sauteed them in about 2 -3 teaspoons of Truffle Oil.  Oh my was that good!  After sauteing the mushrooms, I removed them from the pan and set them aside for later.  Cooking veggies for 30 minutes in the risotto will result in overcooked, limp and flavorless veggies.  By cooking them prior to the risotto, you maintain the flavor and the texture of the veggies.  This is also true if you are planning on adding any type of seafood, prosciutto or already cooked chicken.

(3) Due to the dairy allergies that exist in our family, I substituted Earth Balance Buttery Spread for the butter and Pecorino Romano cheese for the Parmesan cheese.  I also only used a small about of the Earth Balance, substituting some Truffle oil to enhance and deepen the flavor of the risotto.

(4) I ended up using closer to 5 cups of chicken broth before the risotto was done.
 
(5) Once the risotto was done, I added the previously sauteed mushrooms with a small amount of truffle oil.

Chicken Adobo

While living in the Philippines in 1990 I fell in love with Filipino food!  Here is one of my favorites which we have not been able to use for sometime because of the soy sauce.  BUT since finding out that our precious girl is not allergic to non-GMO soy that is found in Bragg's Amino Acids, we can make this and many other things again.

(Please note:  I  am not in anyway supporting the health claims espoused on this website.  I just know that for us this is a good alternative to the regular soy sauce found in American grocery and specialty food stores.) 

Chicken Adobo

(Dairy, Egg, Gluten and Soy Free)

(Note:  Only gluten free if GF Soy sauce is used)

2 lbs of chicken legs with skin on
2 T oil - peanut or sesame is traditionally used although I use olive oil
2 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 c soy sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 small onion, sliced - we use a sweet onion
1/2 c rice vinegar - occasionally I will use cider vinegar
2 T brown sugar

Heat pan and add oil.  Add chicken, bay leaves and garlic.  Saute chicken for approximately 5 minutes or until lightly browned on all sides.  Remove any excess oil.  Add all remaining ingredients, cover and bring to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir chicken occasionally to cook evenly.  Serve over hot rice.

Other options:

- Boneless, skinless chicken pieces cut into 2 inch pieces and also be used BUT do NOT overcook.  This will cook much faster.


- Chicken thighs can also be used following the above directions.

-Pork chops or pork loin can also be used.  I use the pork chops without making them smaller.  I cut the pork loin into 2 inch pieces.

-Adding additional vegetables works GREAT although traditionally adobo is served without vegetables in the mix!  Add them toward the end of the cooking time.  Broccoli, celery and carrots are good options as well as green and red bell peppers.  They take about 10 minutes to cook in the pan OR steam them separately and add them before serving.

- Can also add some julienne ginger with the garlic for additional flavor

Cranberry Cornbread Stuffing

1 c cranberries
1/2 c water
1/4 c sugar
4 c corn bread stuffing or dried corn bread crumbs, gluten free
1/4 c finely chopped celery
1/4 c finely chopped sweet onion
2 T dried parsley
1 t dried thyme
1 t dried marjoram OR rubbed sage
1/4 t salt
Dash of pepper

Combine cranberries, water and sugar.  Boil for 10 minutes.  Add to the other ingredients.  Mixture will be just slightly wet.  Stuff up to a 15 pound turkey.

If you want to bake the stuff separate from the turkey, you will need to add enough chicken broth to make it quite moist.  Otherwise it will be very, very dry.

Garlic Chicken Stir Fry with Quinoa

This recipe can be found on the back of the Trader Joe`s Organic Quinoa box.  It is quite delicious and an easy introduction to quinoa if you have never tried it before now.

1 cup organic quinoa
2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
4 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 yellow pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
20 leaves fresh sweet basil, julienne
Pecarino romano cheese, grated
Salt and pepper

Rinse quinoa in cold water and drain, repeat.  In 2 quart saucepan, add 2 cups chicken broth and 1 cup quinoa.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.  Quinoa will appear translucent and will be soft.  The germ ring will be visible along the outside edge of the grain.

While quinoa is cooking, cut chicken into 1 inch pieces.  Heat large skillet over high heat and add oil.  Add chicken and saute for 5 minute until golden brown.  Add onions and bell peppers, saute for 1 to 2 minutes until peppers become slightly limp but still bright in color.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat; add basil and quinoa.  Toss until basil wilts.  Sprinkle with Pecarino romano cheese.  Serve hot.  Will serve approximately four.

Note:  I also added some toasted pine nuts to what I served at home.  For those of you unfamiliar with Pecarino romano cheese it is made from sheep's milk (Pecarino) and is a great substitute for romano.  It is somewhat more salty so I typically do not add salt to the recipe.  We are able to use it in place of a cow's romano due to a dairy allergy in the family.