Thankfully Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is Jeremy’s favorite holiday. I have always liked Thanksgiving, but not really as much as Christmas. Over the last few years we’ve been married, though, his enthusiasm has rubbed off on me and I’ve come to love Thanksgiving as well.

One of the things I love about Thanksgiving is every year my dad makes us write a list of five things we are thankful for from the past year. This tradition didn’t start until I was in college and for the first few (okay, several) years my mom, brother, and I complained about it pretty loudly. Now that it’s been going on for closing in on a decade I am so glad Dad forced us to start that first year. Looking back, some really neat things have happened in all of our lives.

For instance, I have moved three times in three states since this tradition began. Also, both my brother and I met and married really wonderful people. And my brother has a two year old son! (Craziness.) I have received both my bachelors and my masters degrees. My parents moved houses and towns. They married off two kids and now have a grandson. My mom found out she has celiacs. As you can see, things have really changed for our family. We’ve added a few people and gotten further apart location-wise. But through it all my dad keeps our thankful lists and reminds us to make them every year.

I bet he goes back and rereads some of them each year.

Some of the things I’m thankful for now are definitely different than the things I was thankful for in college, but some of them I’m sure are the same. I am always thankful for my family and friends. I am always thankful for having a relationship with Jesus. And (since I got married) I will always be thankful for Jeremy.

As we rush into Thanksgiving this week and fight the crowds for deals on Friday (or Thursday night) reflect on what you are thankful for this year. Don’t let Thanksgiving pass as just a day to eat turkey and watch parades.

Lazy Hazey Crazy Days

Being an adult really stinks.

Not only are there infinitely more responsibilities (paying bills, cooking food, buying clothing, setting up your own doctors appointments) we adults also get no summer vacation. Some fortunates do have a two-week summer get away with their families, but that is thin compared to the months of bliss experienced in childhood.

I have never really enjoyed summer as a season. It is far too hot to do anything out doors and enjoy it. (Did I mention it is 99 degrees here today and it feels like a cool front?) The only redeeming quality summer ever had was the extended vacation aspect. And this year any remnant of that joy has been lost for me.

Although I worked during high school and college breaks there was still a care-freeness to the non-working days: spending money on whatever I wished, doing whatever I wanted. My job immediately after college completely spoiled me by giving me two weeks off at the beginning of summer and two weeks off towards the end of it as well. (I worked for a collegiate ministry that was very busy during the rest of the year.) My grad school summers were spent taking summer classes, but again breaks at the beginning and end of the summer were inevitable.

This year, however, instead of getting more time off, I took on a second job and doubled my work load from the spring. I had a one week break during the fourth of July and I spent three of those days being sick. Now, I find that the summer is waning and I am quite cheerful to see it go. I far prefer the temperatures of the fall to those of summer, so at least if autumn is no fun I will not be sweaty while I am working.

Pesto Chicken and Veggies

Happy May!

I’m finally trying to pick this back up after a much needed sabbatical during the final month or so of the semester. College students think they have it rough, try being a professor.

Anyway, moving into the summer months should be fun for eating, but not for living because it is already getting to 90 (degrees F) here in the Dallas area. Darn the hot south! If I didn’t love the south so much I’d move north where it snows and doesn’t get so freakin hot!

But I digress.

Today I have a delicious light and summery dish for all of you using one of my all time favorite ingredients, pesto! This is also a fairly easy and quick meal to prepare, so that’s a bonus. I got the original recipe for this off the back of a shredded mozzarella cheese bag, but of course I couldn’t leave it alone.

Here’s what you need:

1 lb. (ish) chicken breast, cut into strips or cubed (your choice! yay!)
1 Tb. olive oil
1 clove minced garlic
1 large, red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1 medium to large zucchini, sliced
2 small carrots, peeled and sliced
1/4 c. pesto
1 lemon, cut in 1/2
1 cup shredded Italian cheese (optional)
g-f pasta of your choice (cooked)

Here’s what you do:

First, cook your pasta. While the pasta is cooking heat oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken and garlic; cook until chicken is about half cooked (white on the outside, still pink on the inside). Stir in veggies and continue to cook until the chicken is cooked through. Add pesto and juice from the lemon halves and stir until the vegetables and chicken are coated. Serve over g-f pasta (we had rice pasta) and top with cheese if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste. It should look something like this:

Hints:

Most pesto is gluten free (but always check the package), but you can also make or buy dairy free pesto if you have a dairy intolerance. You can also omit the cheese for less calories or to make it dairy free.

Enjoy this deliciously light summer meal!

Happy eating!

Shrimp-O!

Happy Spring, everyone!

I have been wildly remiss in blogging as of late, and I greatly apologize for my absence. Spring always seems to jump out suddenly at me with all its extra things to do and a great desire on my part to not do them.

So here I am, penitently hoping you will forgive me and enjoy this delicious shrimp recipe I have for you!

Shrimp is by far one of my favorite meats; it is light and generally healthy, it cooks quickly, and you can cook almost anything with it! The shrimp recipe I have for you today I believe I took out of a magazine I picked up at a grocery store. It was a free magazine, one that give recipes and such telling you which specific items you need to buy from that store (because why would you get it somewhere else?) in order to make the recipes.

So, if you are in the mood for an easy, light, and spring-like meal, this is one for you!

Sauteed Shrimp

1 lb. peeled, deveined raw shrimp (if you are an expert shrimper, you can get unpeeled shrimp, but I refuse to peel and devein them – it’s really gross)
1 lime, squeezed for juice
2 Tb. olive oil
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. minced garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin

Toss the shrimp and 2 tsp. lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, garlic, and cumin in a medium bowl. Heat a large skillet over medium-high for about 3 minutes. Add shrimp and saute for 3 minutes or until cooked through (when shrimpy’s are opaque, they are done, if they’re clear, they need some more cookin’!). Scoop and turn shrimp continuously while cooking. Shrimp should curl up and be opaque when cooked through. After you’re done you will end up with something similar to this:

 

We ate ours with a side of green beans, but you can use these in shrimp tacos, eat them over Mexican rice (or normal rice) or your favorite g-f pasta, or really pretty much anything.

Again, so sorry for being such a spring slacker. I will try to do better by you.

Until then, happy eating!

Almost Ratatouille

Happy Thursday!

The delightful cooler weather has definitely brightened my mood! (I am NOT a summer person. I tolerate spring.) It seems so much easier to cook tasty things when it is chilly outside.

So for your dining pleasure I have a new recipe, Vegetable Tian. I found it here. This person served it as a side dish, but since the Jeremy and I are trying to eat healthier we had it as a main dish and really, it was perfect for the two of us.

Now you may be thinking about how much you love ratatouille and how you can’t wait to make it, but let me warn you this isn’t actually ratatouille. Ratatouille has sauce, this does not. As far as I can tell that is the major distinction. But I’m fairly sure if you are a ratatouille fan, you will like this.

Here’s what you’ll need:

2 Tb. olive oil (split)
1 large sweet yellow onion, cut in half and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 russet potatoes, unpeeled (if they are smaller, use 2, if larger 1)
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
3 large Roma tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
dried thyme or Italian seasoning, to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Here’s what you do:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a round baking dish with nonstick spray (olive oil spray would probably be good, but I just had regular and it turned out fine). Heat 1 Tb. olive over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onions once the oil is hot and saute them until they are see through. Add the garlic and cook everything for one more minute (don’t overcook the garlic or it will become bitter). Spread the mixture on the bottom of your baking dish.

Next, slice the potatoes, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes (about 1/4 in. thick). Layer them over the onions, alternating between veggies to your hearts fancy. You can make a fun spiral type pattern because your dish is round. Here is what mine looks like:

Make sure that you only do one layer. Season with salt and pepper and thyme (you can really add ANY seasoning you want – Jeremy likes spicy things so we often use red pepper, also I really used Italian seasoning because I love it). Drizzle the other Tb. of olive oil over the top.

COVER WITH FOIL (this is important and I forgot to do it*) and bake for 35 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. UNCOVER and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, then bake (still uncovered) for 25-30 more minutes or until the cheese is browned.

Serve and enjoy!

*Note: It is still good if you forget to cover it, it’s just a bit drier. When I took it out the first time it didn’t seem right, so I added more olive oil for moisture, then I cooked it covered for like 15 of the remaining 25 minutes, which turned out fine, just the cheese didn’t really brown as well as it was supposed to. Oh well, I’ll know for next time and you, dear reader, can learn from my mistakes! Yay for you!

I hope you enjoy this delicious vegetable dish, either as a side or a main, it is a great way to get some greens (and reds, and yellows, and browns)!

Happy Eating!

Creamy Mexican Soup

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I don’t have anything clever and Irish to share with you, but I do have a delicious and easy soup for this incredibly mild winter/spring we are having all over the nation. I found this soup on pinterest, but there was no original website. If you want to you can see the pin by clicking here. (Side note: feel free to follow me on pinterest! I often pin the things I post on my blog if I have a photo of it.)

Ingredients:
1 can of rotel
1 can of corn
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 frozen chicken breasts
8 oz. cream cheese (one block)
1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix (McCormick’s or Simply Organic for g-f)
1 Tb. cumin
1 tsp. onion powder (or garlic powder, which is what I used because I didn’t have any onion powder, and it tasted great)
1 tsp. chili powder

Directions:
Place all ingredients in your slow cooker. Make sure you cut your cream cheese block into smaller bits so they will melt more easily. (Note: for a creamier soup melt your cream cheese in a small saucepan on the stove before adding to the slow cooker.) Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring once or twice to ensure ingredients are well mixed. Tear chicken breasts apart just before serving (this should be very easy). Eat with corn chips if desired.

I hope you enjoy this twist on traditional Mexican soup!

Happy Eating

Zucchini Nachos (and Salsa)

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

For some reason the warmer it gets the busier things seem to become. I don’t know why that is, or if that’s just me, but it seems I’m in a bigger hurry to get food quickly during the spring. Finding quick, gluten-free options can be difficult. Fortunately, for years one of my go-to quick meals has been nachos; but my version of nachos is usually just cheese and chips. This is definitely not the healthiest go-to meal, but it works to stave off my hunger, at least for a little while.

Recently, I was discussing this very issue with my mom, and she told me something she had done to liven up her nachos. Put zucchini and salsa on them.

This may sound strange, but trust me, it is delicious! So, in the spirit of brevity, I will tell you how to assemble these delicious, inexpensive, and slightly healthier nachos.

Ingredients:
Corn chips
Zucchini, sliced and quartered
Cheddar cheese, shredded (Surprisingly, Wal-Mart brand pre-shredded cheese is gluten-free, other brands use gluten products to keep the cheese from clumping)
Salsa of choice (See extremely easey recipe below for the salsa I use)

Directions:
Arrange corn chips on a plate. Evenly distribute zucchini and cheese across the chips. Heat in the microwave until about half the cheese is melted (about 30 seconds). Remove from microwave and evenly distribute salsa across nachos. Heat again in microwave until cheese is completely melted (about 30 more seconds).

Viola! Delicious nachos for one!

If you want to make more than one serving, you can either make two separate plates, or you can bake the nachos in the oven. If going the oven route, simply place the oven on broil, cover a lipped baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil (for easier cleanup), assemble nachos on the baking sheet, and pop in the oven for 5 minutes or less. You don’t need to wait to add the salsa if you are using the oven method.

Copycat Chili’s Salsa

If you are like myself and my husband, you and whoever you eat with most often cannot agree on one kind of salsa.

Jeremy (my husband), is from Louisiana and spice runs through his veins, so he likes his salsa to burn him (he really likes habanero salsas, he even tried some ghost pepper salsa and liked it). I like spice, but Jeremy’s level of spice tends to hurt me more than provide me with appreciation for the flavor. As a result, we’ve always had to buy two different kinds of salsa. The only salsa we both really liked was served at Chili’s, but that didn’t really help us at home.

Until recently, that is.

I was perusing Pinterest and came across a recipe for copycat chili’s salsa (click here to see original recipe). It seemed easy, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try it out.

IT WORKED.

In my humble, but accurate, opinion this salsa is better than Chili’s, and it is cheaper to make than most salsas are to buy. The best news? BOTH Jeremy and I love it! So, without further ado, here it is:

2, 14.5 oz. cans whole tomatoes, drained (I usually just get one, 28 oz. can, it’s cheaper)
1, 4 oz. can diced or whole jalapenos (NOT PICKLED – this is very important because the pickling changes the taste. I found these in the Hispanic Food section at Kroger.)
1/4 cup yellow onion, quartered (I don’t usually measure this, I just cut off a chunk of onion and throw it in the blender)
1 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. lime juice
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. sugar

Blend all of the of the ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. The End.

Super easy and tasty! You should know, however, that the longer the salsa sits, the spicier it gets. So if it’s not spicy enough for you right after you make it, try it again the next day, it will probably be more to your standards.

Hint: for more spice, use a bit more onion, for less, use a little less onion.

I hope you enjoy your delicious new nacho option!

Let me know if you have any comments and, as always,

Happy Eating!!

Angel(ic) Chicken

Happy March, everyone!

You know how some people feel renewed at the beginning of the year? I feel that way at the beginning of most months. Especially months in the spring and fall. I don’t know why, but I love it! So as a result of my crazy pleasure in the new month, I wanted to do something special for you, and I have found a real treat for this week!

I don’t know if you have every had Angel Chicken, but if you haven’t here’s a hint at it’s awesomeness – it has cream cheese in it. I ADORE cream cheese. So, Angel Chicken is one of my favorite ways to make chicken.

Now, those of you who have heard of Angel Chicken also know that it involves an ingredient that is dreaded by the person living gluten-free. In fact, it is really difficult to find this ingredient in the store in a gluten-free format. This heinous, but delicious, ingredient is cream of mushroom soup. Most cream soups that come in cans have some form of flour in them for thickness. This makes it incredibly difficult to make some of our favorite recipes, such as Angel Chicken. In fact, you may have resigned yourself to not eating a delicious cream soup every again.

Take heart, my friend.

I have for you today a gluten free cream of mushroom soup recipe that is AWESOME and probably better for you than a canned cream soup would be anyway.

My mom got this recipe from her nutritionist after discovering she has celiacs, so thanks to the Momma and her nutritionist! Also, thanks to my momma-in-law for the cookbook with the Angel Chicken recipe! Angel Chicken is another treasure from my Calvary Shreveport Cookbook. Mmmm…

Okay, first we’re going to make the soup. You can make this the day you are making the other dish, or you can make it ahead and freeze it. This recipe makes about the same amount you would have in a normal can of condensed cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz.) so it subs for one can nicely. You can also make this in large batches and freeze until it’s needed.

Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (G-F!)

3/4 cup chicken broth (remember to buy g-f!)
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used yellow)
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (about two largish mushrooms)
1 Tb. dried Parsley
2 Tb. butter or margarine (unsalted)
2 Tb. Cornstarch
Pepper
1/2 cup low fat milk

In a saucepan combine the chicken broth, onion, mushrooms, and parsley. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. It looks like this.

(Pretty, right?)

Place the broth mixture in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside.

In the same saucepan, melt the butter. Blend in corn starch and pepper. Add milk all at once and stir mixture until it is thick and bubbly.

Add the broth mixture back in and cook until everything is heated through.

Now you have your own cream of mushroom soup!

Okay, let’s set that aside for a minute and talk about the Angel Chicken.

Here’s what you’ll need:

8 oz. cream cheese (one rectangle)
1 can cream of mushroom soup (which you have already)
1 pkg mushrooms (optional)
1/2 cup chicken broth
4 Tb. butter/margarine
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

If your using mushrooms saute the mushrooms in butter in a small pan.

Warm cream cheese, soup, butter (if not using mushrooms), and broth until they are melted and combined. (If you just made your soup you can just put these other ingredients in the same saucepan you have the soup in.) If using mushrooms place them into the melted mixture.

Place raw (thawed) chicken breasts in the bottom of a slow cooker. Pour the mixture over the chicken and cook on low for 5-6 hours. The chicken should fall apart. Serve over rice or your favorite g-f pasta (mine is quinoa).

As a side you can have any number of delightful vegetables. We had small salads with it last night and it was quite good. Just don’t forget your veggies!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do. It is so delicious and the chicken is so tender. Mmm… I think I need to eat something.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments!

Happy Eating!

Emily

Pesto Veggie Soup

Since it is sunny and almost 80 degrees here in Texas, I thought I’d better share this winter gem before winter evades us in the southern states completely.

I am generally a hater of vegetable soups, or really soups that are brothy at all. I like my soups thick and cheesy (like I like my men? wait, no, not like that). This soup, however, uses pesto, something I really enjoy, and is slightly spicy (definitely how I like my men) which makes it better than your run of the mill vegetable soup in my opinion.

I got the recipe for this soup from the back of a box of Swanson’s Vegetable Broth, so thanks, Swanson’s, but if you are trying to be gluten-free, Swanson’s broth IS NOT, so don’t use it. (I found most Kroger brand broths to be g-f, and cheaper, so that’s a plus.) This recipe makes a pretty hefty pot of soup, so if you are only serving one or two, I’d recommend either halving the recipe or freezing half of it after you’ve prepared it.

Okay, on with the show!

4 3/4 cups vegetable broth
2 medium carrots, diced
3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (I think I just used russet, but use whatever kind suits your fancy)
1 medium turnip (*See note at the bottom for how to pick out a turnip.)
2 large leeks, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 can (19 oz.) white kidney (cannellini) beans rinsed and drained
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp. red pepper

Place 1 3/4 c. broth, carrots, potatoes, turnip, leeks, and celery in a large pot. Cover and cook over low heat for 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender crisp.

Add the remaining broth (3 cups), beans, bay leaf, and red pepper. Heat to a boil then reduce and simmer on low for 15 more minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf and serve topped with pesto.

So here’s the thing about pesto. Usually it is made with some sort of cheese, but if you are dairy-free or vegan here is a recipe for vegan pesto. I have not tried this recipe, but it is exactly the same as other pesto recipes I’ve seen except it omits the cheese, so it should be good. If you don’t want to make it, I’m sure that you can buy it somewhere, I’m just not sure where because I haven’t looked for it anywhere. If you want a fancier dairy-free pesto recipe, my friend Jenna has one on her blog (post entitled Turnips, Leeks, and Pesto!). It does have soy in it, though. So, there’s that.

Anyhoo, this soup is great for a chilly night, and is definitely better than any vegetable soup I have every had!

I hope you all enjoy this soup! Let me know if you have any suggestions, comments, or other similar recipes! Some people have sent me other recipes and they have been wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing! I love hearing from you all!

Happy Eating!

* How to pick out a turnip: Look for a turnip that is no taller than 3 inches and is creamy in color on the bottom and purple at the top (the purple is where it was exposed above the dirt). If you get a turnip any bigger it is more likely to be bitter.

Chicken Chili Verde

Good afternoon!

In light of my recent participation paucity, I have decided to do TWO posts this week. Hopefully that will help make up for the week I missed.

Texas has the weirdest (and by weirdest, I mean warmest) winter weather ever. But because I know somewhere in the U.S. it probably does feel like winter I want to offer this gluten-free Chicken Chili Verde recipe. I found this recipe on my favorite gluten-free website (so far) Gluten Freely. Click here to view the original recipe.

This recipe is SUPER EASY, so it is good for a busy night when you don’t have a lot of time.

Okay, here we go:

2 Tb. Vegetable Oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped (use whatever color onion you want, I used a yellow one because that’s what I had)
2 cloves garlic, minced (hint: you can buy jars of minced garlic if you don’t want to constantly have to chop up garlic; one tsp = about one clove)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1/2 inch pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 can (18.5 oz.) Progresso creamy chicken soup with corn (I imagine there is dairy in this because it’s creamy, so you can omit it if you are wary of dairy 🙂 and sub in just a can of corn if you want.)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tb. lime juice
2 Tb. chopped cilantro (optional, also use fresh or dried)
1/4 -1/2 cup green salsa of your choice (optional, I like to add this to spice the soup up)

In a large saucepan heat oil over medium-high heat until hot. Cook the onion and garlic in the oil for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onion begins to turn translucent. Add the chicken pieces and salt and pepper (I often add other seasonings, too, like Tony Chachere’s for extra spice). Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink in the center.

Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the soup, beans, and salsa (if using). Simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from hear and stir in the lime juice and cilantro.

And you’re done! I usually serve it with corn chips and possibly grated cheese if I have any.

I hope this recipe warms your stomachs and hearts.

Happy Eating!

P.S. Mine is usually more of a brownish color than a true green. Perhaps I should spend more time rinsing my beans. Hmm…