Gluten Free Chicken Soup... for those days when you're less than healthy

This week I have been sick with strep throat, which is only weird because I'm a grown up and you're supposed to outgrow it, but since I got my tonsils out 10 years ago I hadn't had it once until November, and since then I've had it three times! Whatever. Stupid body. Nonetheless I've had my fair share of sick days this year, and the rumors are true: Chicken soup really DOES help your body feel better when you're sick.

My chicken soup is so simple and easy. I've made it before with Tinkyada noodles, which I love, but for some reason I really savor the soup more when I make it with potatoes as the starchy ingredient instead of noodles. And, when you don't feel good but you're still the woman of the house, it's nice to have an easy recipe that you can just dump in a pot and have something delicious and comforting to get you through the day. Here it is, in all it's canned glory:

Gluten Free Chicken Soup

2 14.5 oz cans Swanson Chicken broth

1 can drained cooked, canned chicken

1/2 onion, minced

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

1 potato, peeled and diced small

1 pinch of salt (optional)

1 pinch of pepper

1/4 cup frozen peas

Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot except peas. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer, with lid on pot, for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Add peas, remove from heat, and stir until peas are defrosted. Makes 4 1 cup servings.

My 11 year old is quite the chicken soup connoisseur, and she ate the whole bowl I gave her as a taste test. The potatoes make the soup feel hearty and filling, while the broth really makes you feel like Mom's there taking care of you. Even when you have to do your own dishes.

Happy eating!

And the Duh Award Goes To Me...Missing out on White Bean Chicken Chili

Oh good heavenly days. Do you ever have those moments about two days after you do something dumb where you go, "Oh, duh. I totally spaced it." I had one of those yesterday. Not that it's anything new, mind you. With five kids and an employed husband, I'm always forgetting stuff. Sometimes it's small stuff like brushing my teeth or putting gas in my car. Other times it's getting kids registered on time for sports or forgetting to take pictures of food with my limping camera. What?!? Did I just type that I forgot to take a picture of my food with my camera? Yes. Yes I did.

It's true. I spent the better part of an afternoon making this delicious recipe for Chicken and White Bean Chili from Giada deLaurentiis, which if you haven't noticed, is my favorite chef ever, and it was sooooo good and yummy. My family and I ate up about half of it and I sent the other half over to my neighbor's house because she just had a baby and seemed like she needed some chicken chili that night. That night while I was doing my dishes and washing out my favorite LeCreuset pan, I realized that I hadn't even taken ONE photo to show you all. Not one! Sigh. I really have issues with not having an original photo of the food that I am touting to y'all out there. So I truly do apologize. But I can't wait any longer for you to be in the know about this dish. It's so good for late winter dinners, and everyone but my two little people ate it, which is a miracle around here. Anyway, I'll send you the link to the recipe and you can all give it a try because it's easy and delicious and the only subsitution I made was to add cornstarch instead of flour. Not bad for a Food Network recipe, eh? Seriously, try this recipe. You will love it and, apparently, your family will, too!

Happy eating!

Surviving the Super Bowl...Part 3: A Big Fat Pot of Gluten Free Chili

What is it with football and chili? Almost all of the Super Bowl Sunday menus I've seen involve some incarnation of chili. Maybe it's the meat. Maybe it's the beans, or the spices. Or maybe it's that chili is comfort food to soothe you when your team isn't doing so well. When I spotted the mix for Darn Good Chili by Bear Creek Mixes, I knew this was going to be my star entree for Sunday. The best thing about those Bear Creek people is that they've actually created a few good mixes that are gluten free, so way to go Bear Creek! If you haven't discovered this about me by now, I am the kind of girl that likes to take a mix for something and jazz it up a bit to make it more homemade. Kind of like Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade on Food Network. By the way, who doesn't covet her dish collection that changes in the background for every show? Am I right? It's amazing. Anyway, there are some dishes that when you find a mix that is easy and you like the taste and, good heavens, is gluten free, you tend to want to stick with the formula. This is one of those dishes.

Super Bowl Sunday's forecast is for snow here in Utah, so I'm looking forward to staying home, making a big pot of chili, and snuggling up in front of the TV with a bowlful and about nine hundred more calories from other treats, but that's beside the point. This is an easy chili recipe that just about anyone can do, so if someone's coming to your house to watch the game or if you are in charge of feeding people at your house, this could be the recipe for you.

Super Bowl Chili

1 pound ground beef

1/2 diced onion

1 can pinto beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can (6 oz. tomato paste)

1 package Bear Creek Darn Good Chili (gluten free, my gift to you)

salt and pepper to taste

7 cups water

In a large dutch oven, brown the meat and onion over medium heat until onion is soft and no pink remains. Add beans, tomato paste, and water and bring to a boil. Add soup mix and simmer with the lid off for 25-30 minutes or on low with the lid on for 2 hours, depending on serving time, stirring often. When liquid has boiled down and chili is thick, add salt and pepper to taste. serve over baked potatoes or in a bowl with cheese and avocado garnishes.

My family tells me this tastes a lot like Wendy's Chili, and since I love Wendy's Chili, it makes me happy that something similar can come out of my kitchen. Give this one a try and leave me a comment...do you think it tastes like Wendy's Chili, too?

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Chili, Sweet Style

Everyone I have ever made this chili for has loved it and wanted the recipe, except for my husband. Strange. It's from my friend Celia years ago, and I think she got it from some lady who got it from some lady who made it up. That's the thing about recipes, isn't it? We wouldn't know how to make anything unless someone showed us how. So thank you to whoever made up this recipe, because it's great for a crowd and it's a nice change from spicy hot chili. This chili is hearty and sweet, almost like baked beans. It has a creamy orange color and tastes like the chili they eat in heaven. Seriously. The original recipe calls for Nalley chili, but since that isn't gluten free I substitute with either Dennison's or Hormel. Both taste great in this recipe. And I would use your large 6 quart crock pot for this recipe. It barely fits in the 5 quart. Give this one a try next time you do a potato bar: it's great over baked potatoes.

Celia's Chili

4 cans gluten free chili, Dennison's or Hormel

3 pounds hamburger

1 onion, diced

3 cups brown sugar

1 1/2 cups ketchup

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream to taste

Place hamburger and onion in a large frypan and brown until all pink is gone from the meat and the onions are soft. If you don't have a large frypan, brown it in batches or else it boils in it's fat and doesn't taste right. Drain. Add cans of chili, hamburger, onion, sugar, and ketchup to crock pot and stir well. Cook on low 4-5 hours until flavors have melded together. Add cheese and sour cream just before serving, stir well.

I would love to know if your husband hates this chili, too, or if it's just mine. Leave me a comment after you make it and let me know!

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Minestrone

Remember Gary? My awesome brother in law who used to work at an Italian restaurant and now has the best recipes? About four years ago we decided to start a Christmas tradition of an in-law dinner serving only soups. We wanted to make it easy on ourselves at this busy time of year, and our families all brought their favorite soups to the dinner. Gary, of course, brought his minestrone and I was hooked from the first bite. I love this soup. It feeds an army, it's full of vegetables, and I can easily make it gluten free by using my Tinkyada noodles. If you are having company over and need a great soup to feed a bunch of people, try this one. You can vary it by using whatever vegetables suit your fancy, but the ones in the recipe really are a great combination.

Gary's Gluten Free Minestrone

1 1/2 lbs hamburger or italian sausage OR 1 pkg kielbasa, cut to medallions

4 cups water

2 stalks diced celery

2 sliced carrots

1 diced onion

1 can beef broth (I use Better than Boullion Beef flavor and make my own.)

1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning

2 8 oz cans tomato sauce

1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes

1-2 cloves of minced garlic

1 T parsley

If using hamburger or sausage, brown in a skillet and drain fat. Add all ingredients to 6 quart crock pot and cook for 5 hours on low. Hour 4 add:

1 can white beans or cannellini beans, undrained

1 can green beans, undrained

1 cup gluten free pasta of your choice (I recommend Tinkyada shells, rotini, or elbows)

1 t sugar

salt and pepper to taste

When fifth hour is done and pasta is tender, serve in bowls with fresh parmesan grated over the top.

I have added zucchini to this, I have also added fresh green beans when I had them. I put these in at the beginning to make sure they are soft and tender by the time cooking is through.

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Soup

When I took my kids to school this morning, my trusty car thermometer read 3 degrees. 3. Now it's up to a toasty 17 degrees outside and it's making me think there might be soup on the horizon for dinner tonight. One of my favorite December soups is one my friend Anna came up with for a great crock pot soup. You've seen those soup mixes in the soup aisle and sadly walked by them knowing they are full of wheat flour and other additives that are no good for a gluten free diet. Well Happy Holidays because my Christmas/Hannukah gift to you is this: Bear Creek Soup has several mixes that are gluten free, including Cheddar Broccoli. We had this soup for our Christmas Eve luncheon with my parents last year, and it was such a great and easy main dish. I got regular bread bowls for everyone else, and I had some Gluten Free 1-2-3 biscuits. Super delish. And let me introduce you to the newest member of my kitchen family: I went to Target to buy the $15 stainless crock pot on sale and OF COURSE they were all gone so I got the $20 red one instead. It's quite festive and cute for the holidays. I even leave this one out on the counter sometimes. It blends right in with all the Christmas decor. Anyway, try this soup and enjoy your gift of Bear Creek happiness.

Cheesy Broccoli and Ham Soup

4 packages Lipton Cup a Soup Creamy Chicken soup mix

1 1/2 cups water

1 package Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli soup mix

4 peeled and diced potatoes

3 pieces diced cooked ham

1 package frozen broccoli, or 2 fresh broccoli crowns, cut into florets

3-4 slices American Cheese

3 tsp Better than Boullion Chicken flavor

1 clove minced garlic

1 tsp pepper

8 cups milk or water

Whisk together the packages of Creamy Chicken soup mix and water. Microwave for 2 minutes 15 seconds. Dump into a greased Crock Pot. Add Bear Creek Cheddar Broccoli soup mix, potatoes, ham, broccoli (if you are using fresh broccoli, add last hour of cooking), American cheese slices, boullion, garlic, pepper, and milk or water. Cook on low for 4-5 hours.

I use milk in this recipe because I like it to be really creamy, but the packaging for the soup mix says you can use water too. I've never tried it that way, but I would love for someone to give it a shot and let me know how it works. Super runny? Thick and creamy like this one? Leave a comment if you 've tried it and let us know!

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Portuguese Bean Stew and Corny Cornbread

It's snowing here in Utah, and you know what that means. Well, maybe you don't. It means I start making soup and stew almost every night of the week. There's something about pulling out the LeCreuset and simmering something in it all day that makes me happy. It seems like every event I go to in the winter is a dinner where soups are served. We have a neighborhood Christmas party on Saturday. The menu? Chili and Cheesy Broccoli Soup. When my parents come over for Christmas Eve? Minestrone and Potato Soups. When my inlaws come to town, we all bring a crock pot of soup and some unlucky soul has to buy the drinks and soup bowls. They are definitely a holiday menu staple. And recipes for soups and stews seem to abound, but GOOD recipes are hard to come by. The first time I saw this recipe was on the show, "Ask Aida" on the Food Network. She did this whole show on stews and soups. I was keeping a running tally in my head, looking for things that were inevitably needing substitutions to make the dish gluten free. Guess what? The tally was a big fat zero. A fully gluten free dish, Merry Christmas to me. I love naturally occurring gluten free recipes. It's like a smiley face on the cable bill, isn't it? So, I think that Aida should get the credit and the internet traffic for this beautiful stew that she created, so check it out here. And by check it out, I mean get all the ingredients at the store and make it tonight. I used tomato sauce instead of tomato paste because I was out of it, and it still turns out beautifully. You won't be sorry.

I do, however have a little variation on the classic cornbread recipe for you to try. I love the sweet cornbread flavor with this stew, which is slightly spicy-sweet itself. The honey in the stew complements the flavor of the cornbread nicely. And the whole corn kernels give it a little more texture and gusto than regular cornbread. So yummy. We've had it five times this month since I tried these variations. I hope you like it, too.

Gluten Free Corny Cornbread

1 1/4 cups Grandpa's Kitchen flour

3/4 cup Quaker Cornmeal

1/2 cup sugar

2 T baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup oil

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup drained whole kernel sweet corn

Mix dry ingredients together. Make a well. Mix wet ingredients together. Add to dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Fold in corn. Pour into an 8x8 pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes. Freezes well.

Happy eating!

Potato Soup

I'm sure you've gathered this by now: I am not a food snob. Anyone with a food allergy will tell you that there comes a time in which you give away just a little dignity in exchange for sustenance. I will pretty much eat anything that is safe that fills me up. That being said, I still love good food. But some comfort foods are so simple and easy that they seem unbelievably embarrassing in their preparation. People, I give you Potato Soup. This is one of my go-to meals when I don't have a lot of ingredients and I don't have the brain power to conjure up a fancy dinner. Everyone is full after this meal, and we never have leftovers, which I think is the mark of true success in the kitchen. By the way, thank you Wyler's for having gluten-free boullion. I have to say, someone taught me this recipe a long time ago and I can't remember who it was. So if you are that person, let me know and I will give you credit! It's a good one!

Potato Soup

7-8 peeled, cubed potatoes

enough water to just cover potatoes in the pan

5 cubes Wyler's chicken boullion2 T minced onion

1 T chili powder

1 T minced garlic

8 ounces sour cream

2 cups shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese

Place potatoes and water in a large metal soup pan, or a pan you feel comfortable using beaters in.

Add boullion, onion, chili powder, and garlic (if desired). Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium-high and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat. DO NOT DRAIN! Add sour cream and cheese.

Beat with a hand mixer or hand-held blender until a soupy consistency. Serve with a little extra grated cheese on top.

Happy eating!