Mimi's chicken soup

Chicken, any cut will do. Bone in is best since it gives the most flavor. I usually use 2 bone in chicken breasts, or a combo of one bone in breast and a thigh or leg(s).

Use as much as you like, you can add more or less water if you like it extra soup-y or more stew-y.
My kids love the broth so I add a good amount of water.

2 or 3 carrots, peeled and sliced.
1/4 onion finely diced
1 celery stick washed
a sprig (?) of cilantro
1 or two potatoes peeled and quartered
olive oil
salt
garlic powder
onion powder


Heat about 1 tsp of OO in a large soup pot. Add onion, saute until soft. Add chicken. Cover with water. Allow to simmer until chicken is cooked through. Take chicken out and place on cutting board and let it cool a bit so you can debone it without melting the skin off your fingers. :)
While the chicken is chillin, add your carrots, celery and cilantro to the broth.
One your chicken is deboned, carefully place the pieces back in to pot. Add your salt , and season to taste. Allow to simmer for a while. i usually let it go for about 30 minutes, then add my potato chunks. Simmer until potato is cooked through then give it a taste. Add more seasonings if you so desire.
I fish out the celery stick and cilantro, as my kids dont like too many float-y bits in their soup.
I shred the chicken a bit more, while its still in the pot.
I serve with some white rice.

The twins love dipping spoonfuls of rice in the broth and eventually they end up dumping their bowl of rice in to the soup and eating it that way.
The kid size spoons dont have enough "scoop" so i ended giving them each a TBSP measuring spoon, and that works well.
Its a messy dish, for toddlers anyway...so be prepared for some spills. We usually do bathtime right after this dish which i serve for dinner only. Using a regular sized old towel or a couple of dish towels under their plates and on their laps helps to catch some of the spills too. MoeJoe and Woodrow take care of the rest until I can get to it. :)
Daisy loves the little carrots and potatoes and Sam is a big time broth and rice guy.
Sam says- Sou Sou! When he sees me scooping it intot eh bowls and Diasy chimes in with MMMMmmm! YUMMMmmy!
I wish Liam would get in to the soup too but its just not his thing right now. Hes more of a turkey bacon and veggie muffin for dinner kind of guy, which is just fine with us. :)

Love and light,

A

Pumpkin Zucchini Carrot Chocolate Chip Muffins.Yeah I went there. SO. GOOD. (gfcfsf!)

This is on of my favorite recipes for gluten free pumpkin carrot zucchini muffins (or bread)
I got the original recipe here, and then tweaked it to fit my needs.


3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup apple sauce
 1/2 cup simple syrup (melt sugar in hot water. you can also use honey or pure maple syrup but note that these two have very distinct flavors so it will change the taste of the recipe)
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup Earth Balance Coconut Spread
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup peeled, shredded zucchini
1/2 cup peeled, shredded carrots
1/2 cup raisins

(i put the zucchini, carrots and raisins in the food processor and shred everything super fine so the kids can even detect the veggies, also for Liams food/texture sensitivities)

1/2 cup Enjoy Life Gluten/Dairy free chocolate chips (toss these in a bowl with about 1 tablespoon of your flour before adding to batter, keeps them from sinking when baking)

Preheat the oven to 350° F.
In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, apple sauce and simple sugar syrup. Add pumpkin, melted Earth Balance coconut spread, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients, sifting flour.
Gradually add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture and stir gently until just blended. (Some dry ingredients will still be visible – over stirring gives you dense muffins)
Gently stir in the zucchini, carrots ,raisins and chocolate chips (again, be easy)
Pour into muffin tins.I like to line mine with liners. Makes about 24 muffins. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans.

SO. GOOD.

-A

Banana Berry Quick Bread Deliciousness (gfcf! or not!)

 There's something about fall that makes me want to bake all the time. We love quick breads in this family. I am a fan of any food i can sneak veggies in to so my kids will eat some and quick breads are good for that. like the chocolate zucchini bread i posted a while back. I also make pumpkin carrot zucchini muffins to die for, will be posting that one soon. Anyways, this one doesnt have any veggies in it (lol) but i had some bananas that were getting pretty brown and i didnt want to throw them away, so when you let your bananas get too ripe, make bread!

3 ripe bananas mashed
⅓ cup melted butter (i used earth balance coconut spread, so yum)
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1½ cup flour (i used Bobs Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour)
2 cups berries, I  always have frozen berries in my freezer it seems. Not a bad thing! I like to use them in smoothies or for pancakes. For this recipe I did a mix of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.

I was unsure as to how to proceed with my frozen berries ....should i defrost.....can i leave frozen....so i put the question out over FB -land and a few of my lovely lady friends responded, unanimously advising to defrost. Too much moisture otherwise while baking. Makes sense! I defrosted my berries in the micro then softly patted them with a paper towel to drain any excess liquid (thanks for the tip Colie!)

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.
Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla.
Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.
Add the flour, mix.
Add berries, mix.
Pour mixture into a greased and floured regular sized loaf pan.
Bake for about 1 hour.
Cool on a rack.
Remove from pan, slice and serve!

You know, i remembered just now that right before i put the pan in the oven i had sprinkled some sugar on top. My goal was to get a nice crust but it didnt quite turn out how i planned so dont try it. In the pic youll see the very top sort of raised up and this is why. Still tasted good though! 

Also, i was surprised it turned out so dark looking,but then i remembered when i mixed the berries in the batter i noticed it turning purple from the juices. I am sure if you used fresh berries and stirred gently that you would achieve a more golden color to your bread. Either way, it was yum. Super moist, and perfect with a cup of coffee. or if you're one of my birds...with a sippy of coconut/almond milk. :)

Nom!

A

Mommy stayed out too late last night Stir Fry (gfcf! or not!)

A few weekends ago i got to enjoy a ladies night out,
We drank too much, laughed a lot and stayed up way too late.
I had a blast!

The next day......not so much of a blast.

I was riding on about 2 1/2 hours of sleep and by the time i needed to start making dinner i had already used up my 2nd wind...3rd wind...4th wind.....you get the picture.

I needed to make something simple, and something that i could make utilizing what i had already in my fridge and pantry. Oh, and it needed to be gluten and dairy free of course, so the kiddos could nosh.

I had some chicken breasts that needed to be used. That along with fresh veggies, and some gluten free noodles, I managed to piece together a yummy stir fry.
After reading the label on the back of a packet of stir fry seasoning that i had in the pantry, I decided to season it myself.  (ingredients contained wheat, milk, soy , gluten and a list of other chemical craziness and non-food bad stuff)

I cooked my chicken separate from the veggies so as to get a proper saute on both and then mixed everything together with the cooked noodles.

1 package chicken breasts cut up into chunks
1/2 large onion diced
a couple cloves of garlic finely diced or smashed
salt
pepper
olive oil

1 large bunch of broccoli, cleaned and cut
a couple of carrots, sliced into thin little sticks
one large zucchini, chopped
More onion, about a 1/4 cup chopped.

1 box gluten/dairy and soy free noodles

Heat oil in a large pan. Cook up your chicken, 1/2 onion chopped and garlic making sure to season with salt and pepper to your liking until chicken is coked through and everything is nice and golden.

While the chicken is going, go ahead and saute your veggies and season to taste.

Boil your noodles to al dente.

When everything is done, combine in a big bowl and toss well.
Taste to make sure it doesnt need more salt, etc.

Pair with a side! I had a bunch of asparagus that i needed to use so i drizzled a little olive oil, sprinkled a little bit of kosher salt and some diced up garlic (one or two cloves, to your taste) threw it in the oven at about 375 degrees and roasted them up in about 10/15 minutes or so. Made a perfect side! I love asparagus and could totally have eaten the whole thing all by myself.

Daisy approved  :)

It was easy and delicious!
Plus I used up a bunch of stuff i had in the fridge that might have gotten thrown away anyways. Waste not! :)

Nom,

A

Chocolate cupcakes with coconutty vanilla frosting (gfcfsf!)

Ok I am gonna keep it really real. When it comes to Gluten free baking....I use box cake mix, most of the time. Its a beeotch gathering alllll the different flours you need to make a proper Gluten free cake or cupcakes. Any baking in general really. lol
One day i will master the art. And have the money to buy a million zillion different expensive flours to have on hand for any baking whimsy. But for now, I am content with all things boxed and ready to mix. Easy peasy fo sheasy.
My neasy.

We have found that our local walmart super center is now beginning to carry more and more gluten free options. Ad of course they are much cheaper than the norm!

I used Hodgson Mill Chocolate Cake mix, bought some cupcake liners and whipped these puppies up in about an hour.
I replaced regular dairy butter with coconut butter. Also i just used vanilla since i didnt have any almond extract handy. To make the dairy free buttermilk I followed this recipe, using white vinegar and coconut/almond milk.

For the frosting:
1 box Domino powdered sugar
1/2 cup Coconut Butter
3-4 TBS almond/coconut milk
1 tsp McCormick vanilla

Add the milk in slowly. Add more or less depending on your desired consistency.

Beat with a mixer.
Frost your cooled cupcakes.
Add sprinkles or fun topping.
Done. :)

Nomnomnom,

A

Jason's baked chicken wings

This is a a favorite around here for jason and I (and Clayton. And Jenny. And Chris. Ok,pretty much anyone who tries them loves them.)

I usually buy 4 small packs of wings or one of the big packs. (Kosher wings are the absolute yummiest wings to use but if you dont have a large Jewish community nearby, most likely your grocer wont carry them, so no worries)
You'll need one to two bottles of your fav wing sauce. ( emerils or texas pete are our favs ), some hot sauce for a little kick....and if you fancy a little MORE kick, some crushed red pepper.
Oh and don't forget 2 disposable aluminum pans.
Its real easy- distribute the wings evenly between the two pans. we usually make one a mild and one a hot. for the mild just douse the wings with the wing sauce, saving some sauce to add during the last 10-20 minutes of cooking (you dont need a whole lot). shake some hot sauce over them as well , to taste. for the hot, its best to mix the wing sauce, hot sauce and then sprinkle some crushed red pepper flakes (to taste) in a bowl and mix it all up before pouring over the chicken (save some to add during the last 10-20 minutes of cooking as well). then just make sure the chicken wings are nice and saucy all over.
Stick both pans in a preheated 375 degree oven for approx 1 to 1.5 hours. you'll want to pull them out anywhere from 10-20 minutes before done to add a little more sauce, kicking up the temp to 400 for that last 10 or 15 minutes. Depends how your oven cooks and how crispy you like them.
That's it!
Deeeelicious!

Pair with some, celery and carrot sticks and your fav dipping sauce. We also like pairing ours with some mozzarella sticks or jalapeno poppers. Oh yeah.

Buen provecho!

A

Comfort food- Meatloaf and homemade mashed potatoes (gfcf)

I am always looking for ways to make yummy Gluten free recipes that our entire family can enjoy.
Liam is the only true blue GFCFSF guy but Sam and Daisy are pretty much almost there and jason and I are gfcfsf "light" just by default. My goal is always to make meals that we will alllll eat, instead of having to make 2 or 3 or even four meals because that gets annoying real quick (true story). :)

I came across a Gluten free recipe data base recently that i had sort of passed over before....and in it i found a ton of really awesome gfcf recipes!

Meatloaf is one of those tricky foods that is either delicious or its just turns out bleh. No in between really.
I had yet to find a meatloaf recipe that was both great tasting and GFCFSF.
A few things i have figured out with meatloaf: Dont make it too fancy. A TON OF INGREDIENTS DOES NOT EQUAL A GOOD LOAF. Keep it simple.
Its meat. Its a loaf.
Also, i have tried making it with different types of ground meats. Ground beef with a little ground pork seems to be the only way it turns out edible. Or just ground beef.  Ground chicken? Gag. Ground turkey? Bleh. No bueno.

Since we dont eat much beef or pork 'round these parts, this meal is like a little treat.
Buy organic and hormone free meat if you can. Free range. Hand fed. Deep tissue massaged. Facials and mud baths. Sung lullabies to sleep. All that. (lol)

I chose Meatloaf #2 .
I made my homemade mashed potatoes (gfcf version) to go with, and side of mixed veggies (from frozen, cooked on stove with some olive oil, salt and pepper).

Here is the recipe with my variations (you know how i roll)

2 lbs ground hamburger and ground pork, (I did 1lb of each)
3 eggs
1/2 cup ketchup (high fructose corn syrup free, preferably. We use Heinz/Simply Heinz.)
1 medium onion finely chopped (I mince mine super fine)
1/2 green bell pepper chopped (^same and i actually used zucchini because i had 3 and needed to use them)
1/2 cup GF bread crumbs (All i had in the moment, was some Rudi's Gluten Free sandwich bread in the freezer. I toasted it lightly and then put it through the food processor. Voia! Instant gfcfsf bread crumbs. You can buy some premade though, if you so like.)
2 teaspoon Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce (I did not have any gfcf worschester sauce so i omitted this. You would be surprised at whats in your "normal" store bought marinades and sauces. Almost ALL contain soy, and wheat! Why? I don know.)
Salt and pepper
Garlic powder ( I was actually out of garlic powder so i used a couple of cloves of fresh garlic minced finely)
6 slices bacon (Although I had some Applegate Bacon in the freezer, i chose to omit it simply because i dont like defrosting my meats in the microwave. gross. next time though i will be sure to include the bacon. i mean, who doesn't like bacon?)
Another 1/4 cup ketchup

Mix meat, eggs, ketchup, onion, pepper, bread crumbs, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt and pepper by hand. Place it in a pan (preferably on a rack so the grease will drain down) and shape it like a loaf.

(I greased a regular loaf pan and molded it in there, then turned the pan over and worked the meat out on to a rack which i placed on top of a lined cookie sheet) Spread more ketchup on top and lay bacon slices across covering the top. Bake at 375 degrees for an hour or until done.

This is how mine turned out (keep in mind i did not use the bacon):

I went ahead and helped myself to a little slice if you cant tell.....

Not too shabby, eh? :)

It actually turned out reallllly good. I can say this with certainty because:

1. The kids ate it

2. The husband ate it, AND asked for seconds.

Boom. 

Ok, now on to my favorite part of this meal, the mashed potatoes. Oh yeah.

Some people have a sweet tooth.
I have a mashed potato tooth.
Actually, I am a lover of all things potato.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner, if there is a potato involved, all the better.
Carb free diet? Not for this girl.

I have never really followed a set recipe for my mashed potatoes, i have always just sort of mashed and mixed everything together until it tasted just right. This time however, I made it GFCF. And it was delish!
Seriously...#coconutbutterforpresident #coconutoilforpresident.

6-8 yellow gold potatoes (that's what i had lying around, by all means use whatyagot. Russets are just as acceptable) peeled and quartered then cooked to tender in some salty water ( always add your potatoes to cold water and heat to boiling from there. Otherwise you get soggy potatoes and they can cook unevenly too.)
Once they are nice and tender (you dont want them over cooked because they can get sticky once mashed) throw them in to a big mixing bowl.
Add:
1/2 cup to 1 cup Earths Best Coconut Butter (Feel free to go all, Paula Deen up in this piece if you so desire!)
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup (more or less depending how creamy you like them) unsweetened almond or coconut milk (not the vanilla flavored stuff!!)
salt and pepper to taste (potatoes take a lot of salt but take care not to over salt, its always best to have it a little bland than too salty. You can always add salt to individual portions later)
Sugar- yes sugar, DO IT. It gives the MP's a yummy flavor TRUST ME. (about  1/4 cup) add it slowly and taste as you mix.
Always taste as you cook/mix. (Unless its chicken. Please dont try taste testing chicken until its fully cooked. I dont know why felt the need to clarify that but i can only imagine....lol)
Mix and mash until its to a consitency you like. I like mine nice and whipped...Jason like some chunks of potato.....we meet somewhere in the middle.

Oh, yeahhhhhhhhh baby....this is total food porn for me (lol)

Last but not least we added another side of mixed veggies, no pic (my bad) but you can make any veggie you like! Eat your veggies! ;)

All in all i was really pleased and will definitely be making this again, and will be sure to include the bacon and Worcestershire sauce for the meatloaf next time around.

Oh and please keep in mind that you can totally make this with all gluten and dairy you want. Real breadcrumbs, dairy milk and butter...its your world!

Buen provecho!

Love and light, 

A

Oh, yeah...I had some extra meat mixture left over and decided to make some meatballs with it. YUM.

A bowl of mashed potatoes with a few meatballs on top and a sprinkle of diced onions, and shredded cheddar cheese.

 .....Waaaaaaaaaa?! Oh i said it. And ate it. 

;)