A Welcome Back Recipe for YOU!

I've been on a self imposed hiatus.  Life is busy.  My kids are growing like weeds. I've had some personal things to work through and just felt like I needed to sit in time-out for a bit.

But now time-out is over and I've brought my toys back out to play.  I'm even willing to SHARE!!!

Here is my new favorite meal.  My kids eat it (but then again, they eat Tuna and won't eat candy so go figure on that one), The Husband likes it, and it's super quick and easy.

Please excuse the crappy iPhone picture and dirty oven.  

Quick Quiche

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded Cheddar (or your favorite - I use whatever is on hand) cheese, divided
• 1 (9 inch) unbaked pastry shell
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken (Thank you Costco for inexpensive, yummy rotisserie chicken!)
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I substitute 1/4 TBS dried, minced onion
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup regular mayonnaise (lite, olive oil, etc. won't work... trust me!)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions

1. Sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese into the pastry shell. In a bowl, combine the chicken, 1/2 cup spinach, onion and remaining cheese (save remaining spinach for another use). Spoon into pastry shell. in a bowl, whisk the eggs, milk, mayonnaise, salt and pepper; pour over the chicken mixture.
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting.

Love, hugs, and blessings,

The Mama

Happy Saturday and Yummy Goodness

Today was a great day.  I was lucky enough to get to spend some one-on-one time with my oldest.  My med-school-bound-brother came in town for a few hours.  And last, but certainly not least, my hubby made delicious Tam-Tam's Texas White Chili for me for dinner.

I don't have a picture of the chili, and I'm going to give you the recipe with the modifications WE use.  There are a few items on the original recipe that we can't always get at our local Publix; as such, we've improvised and come up with something equally as delicious and satisfying.

I Highly recommend serving this with corn bread or corn muffins.  It is amazing.

Tam-Tam's Texas White Chili
2 TBS Olive Oil
1 Med onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans roasted tomatoes (you can also use 2.5 cups fresh chopped tomatoes if you prefer... I really like the flavor of the roasted tomatoes though!)
2 cans Salsa Verde (this is in place of 6 fresh diced tomatillos which we can't always find
2.5 cups chicken stock
8 oz chopped green chilies
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (we cheat here and use the rotisserie chicken from our grocery - Mojo from Publix just can't be beat!!)
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
4 heaping TBS fresh chopped cilantro
2 (19 oz) cans cannellini beans with liquid
1 TBS fresh lime juice

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion and cook until onion softens.  Add garlic and cook 1 to 2 minutes longer.  Do not brown onion and garlic!Add tomatoes, salsa verde (or tomatillos).  Cook for about five to six minutes.  Add chicken stock, green chilies, chicken, oregano, cumin, cilantro, beans, and lime juice.
Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes for flavors to combine.  Makes 8 to 10 generous servings.

As I mentioned, this is a modified recipe based on what we like in our house.  The chili has a little kick to it, and our kids won't eat it.  I absolutely love this dish though and we eat it at least twice a month since discovering the recipe.

Enjoy!!

Love, hugs, and blessings,
The Mama

Monday Meal Magic

Okay, so maybe I need to get away from the alliteration in my post titles.

That being said, Monday's meal WAS magic! I was so incredibly proud of myself for making dinner and two bread products from scratch that N could eat.

We have a favorite soup around here that I've dubbed Tortilla Soup. It's actually a black bean and chicken soup recipe, but I've made a few alterations and generally serve it with crushed organic tortilla chips on top. YUMMY! That was our dinner, and I also made zucchini bread and cornbread that I knew N would be able to eat.

The tortilla soup has a few adaptations that I make to suit my own personal texture and taste preferences. For example, I don't like chunks of onion or tomato, so I puree both of these before adding them to the pot. I also added an extra step with the chicken that I will DEFINITELY do again. It was so amazingly flavorful. By pureeing the stewed tomatoes and onions, I am also getting my kids to taste different things that they otherwise wouldn't eat.

There is a gluten free baking mix called Pamela's Baking and Pancake Mix. You can find out information about it HERE. It is amazing. Now, more seasoned GF chefs may have different ideas, especially since the product is kind of expensive, but for a newbie like me who struggles to cook regular food, this mix is a Godsend.

The zucchini bread was awesome. It looked a little funny, and I probably should have divided the batter into two pans, but it tasted great. And the cornbread... oh the cornbread! I don't like cornbread, but even I couldn't get enough of this! The 8x8 pan didn't even last past the first day!

First of all, here's the tortilla soup recipe.

1 TB Olive Oil
1 chopped onion (I put mine in the food processor)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 cups cooked chicken (see below - or you can use rotisserie chicken, but the recipe below is much more yummy - and easy!)
1 can corn
3 cups chicken broth (Again, I use the Pacific brand b/c it's gluten freee!)
1 can stewed tomatoes (I used Mexican style and pureed it)
2 cans black beans
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 tbs cumin
1 tsp Worcester sauce
1 tsp chili powder (optional)

Heat oil. Add onion and garlic. Saute. Stir in chicken. Add remaining ingredients, stirring between each addition. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Top with tortilla chips and serve.

Cooked Chicken:
1 pkg boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 carton veggie broth
Generous shake of Adobo brand seasoning. I just eyeball it until I feel like it's enough.

Throw everything into a crock pot. Cook on low for 4 or 5 hours. Turn to high for last hour until chicken easily falls apart.

The zucchini bread recipe and the cornbread recipe can both be found on the Pamela's Products website. Just a hint, I use parchment paper instead of spraying the pans with non-stick spray. It makes cleanup that much easier - and I'm all about easy!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, some pictures! This is from the zucchini bread cooking process. This was my FAVORITE result! You can find the recipe for Zucchini Bread Here!



And one very, very satisfied customer!


Love, hugs, and blessings,
The Mama

Operation: Dinner

Tonight's menu item was Gluten-free Sesame Chicken with baby green salad and ginger dressing.

First of all, I recommend using a wok to prepare this meal. However, if you don't have one, you can use a large skillet, as I did. Be forewarned, however, that you may have some "stickage" as I like to call it, and the "breading" on the chicken won't come out the same as if you did use a wok.

My family LOVED this meal. And despite the consistency differences due to the lack of wok, the taste was just as good as - if not better than - take out sesame chicken from an authentic Chinese restaurant.

This is a gluten free recipe I found on http://www.glutenfreemommy.com.

I used brown rice instead of Jasmine to increase the health factor and went a little heavy on the sesame seeds (thanks to my three year old pulling on my leg at the time of pouring!). Also, Kroger was having a sale on chicken breast, so I used that and cut it into bite-sized pieces instead of using chicken tenders.

Here are a few pictures of my progress.



And the finished product:



And now, for the recipe:

SESAME CHICKEN

1 1/2 lbs of chicken tenders (cut into thirds/bite size pieces)

1/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon of San-J’s Wheat-Free Tamari Sauce (I found it at Whole Foods)

2 1/2 Tablespoons of rice vinegar plus 1 teaspoon (you can substitute another if you don’t have it)

1 cup gluten-free chicken broth (I used Pacific something-or-other)

1/2 cup sugar (don’t faint; I am trying to mimic the take-out sesame chicken, so reduce if you feel you must)

1/4 cup cornstarch plus 2 teaspoons

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

3-6 dried hot pepper pods

1/4 cup sesame seeds

green onions, chopped

cooked jasmine rice or rice of your choice

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium bowl, combine sugar, 1/4 cup of the tamari sauce, vinegar, and chicken broth. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine chicken pieces, remaining 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of vinegar. Marinate chicken for at least 30 minutes. Once the chicken has marinated, add egg whites and cornstarch and stir until well-blended.

In your wok, heat oil over med-high heat. Cook chicken (in about 3 batches) until golden on both sides- this will take 3-5 minutes. Remove chicken from wok with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Cover with foil to keep the chicken warm. If you have more than a couple tablespoons of oil left in the wok, discard the remaining oil( leave just a few tablespoons in the wok). Reduce the heat to med. Cook the garlic and pepper pods for about a minute. Then add soy sauce mixture. Increase heat to med-high and cook sauce for about 15 minutes. Stir two teaspoonfuls of cornstarch into a little water and whisk it into the sauce. Once the sauce is thickened and bubbly, add the chicken and sesame seeds. Top with green onions and serve over jasmine rice.

Serves 4-6

Notes: Don’t faint when you read the amount of sugar! I tried to make this recipe with less, but it just didn’t feel as much like the take-out version. If you do decide to reduce the sugar or use agave syrup, you may need to use more cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I suggest just thinking of it as dessert!

You could also try adding a tablespoon of dry white wine to the sauce.

Note: Tamari Sauce is well worth the money and completely delicious. If you use soy sauce consider backing off the amount as it has a stronger flavor.

Bon-Appetit!

Love, hugs, and blessings,
The Mama