Creamy Chicken Soup

I know! No picture! I suck! But I forgot and just ate my meal. I always hate when people post recipes and neglect to post a picture. But, sigh, it happens occasionally. 

Instead of chicken soup, you get a picture of kitties in a bowl:

I recently discovered how wonderful corn flour can be as a thickener. I prefer the texture to dishes thickened with corn starch. I'm also a big fan of using milk in place of cream, mostly because I just don't buy cream. This works great and keeps the dish lighter.

Creamy Chicken Soup

2 large stalks of celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1/4 c. chopped bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
2 T. fresh oregano, finely chopped
large chicken breast, cut into pieces

3 c. chicken broth (make sure it's gf)
1/4 t. thyme
1 t. pepper
1 T. corn flour (NOT corn meal or corn starch)
salt to taste
1/4 c. milk
2 T. sour cream

Toss your veggies in a pan over medium-high heat and cook them for a few minutes to soften. Add in the chicken and garlic and cook for another minute to get a sear on the chicken. Pour in the chicken broth, herbs, and spices and bring to a boil, cooking the chicken through. Sprinkle the corn flour over the top and stir it in, boiling until it starts to thicken. Turn the heat off and let it stop boiling for a few minutes before stirring in the milk and sour cream. Salt to taste (will vary depending on how salty the broth is).

Serve it with some corn bread muffins, crank down the ac, and pretend it's cold outside.

Ruggles Green

Last night I FINALLY tried Ruggles Green, who I've heard for years has had a gluten free menu, or at least gluten free menu items.

I hit the location at City Centre and happened to choose an incredibly busy time. I ordered the gluten free fish tacos, and was slightly worried that because they were so busy that the gluten-free-ness might be overlooked.

When the server brought the tacos, I asked him if they were gluten free and he said yes. I was skeptical, but then, when he set the plate down, I was surprise to see this:

Tucked under my tacos were little notes stating that they were prepared gluten free! Way to give me peace of mind, Ruggles Green. I dug in and they were delicious.

I will definitely go back, to try the rest of their gluten free fare; some of it looks really good.

Jason's Deli NOM

Just finished eating a fantastic sandwich- from Jason's Deli.

I'm a fan of this place. Huge baked potatoes and a new gluten free menu. Although the cross-contamination issue has been sketchy (I found a noodle in my baked potato once. No idea how it got there), I generally don't feel icky after my meal and I'm confident that I'm not being glutened.

The parentals were ordering dinner and I declined because I wasn't really hungry. Then mom mentioned the gluten free menu. Wellllll I guess it couldn't hurt to check it out...

It was actually really really cool. You order it online, specify gluten free (they use Udi's bread), and then all of these special instructions pop up that tell the server to change gloves, etc.

The next thing I knew, the delivery guy was at the door and I was holding this glorious sandwich in my hands.

Crappy phone pictures were all I had time for. It was SO GOOD.

I also ordered the red pepper hummus and blue corn chips. HEAVEN.

Bonus: I didn't have to cook, or put on clothes appropriate for venturing out in public.

Bread pudding

To be honest, the first time I'd heard of bread pudding wasn't until after I was diagnosed with Celiac, so I've never tried it. I've also never been a huge fan of bread, so the idea of bread pudding never really struck me as something delicious. But, everyone I know raves about it.

Well, today I had stale bread. I bought some Udi's hamburger buns on clearance and haven't been able to use them for actual hamburgers yet. They were getting pretty old, so I wanted to use them up quickly. I get the idea- kind of like a custard but with bread in it.

So I tried it out.

Bread Pudding

1 1/2 c. milk
1 T. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
1 t. vanilla
3 1/2 c. stale gluten free bread, torn up into pieces
1/2 c. pecans

Preheat oven to 350. Place the bread and pecans into a 1 qt casserole dish, mixing them up. (I placed them in the dish, put the lid on, and shake it around.) Beat the eggs in a bowl.

Heat the other ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat,stirring frequently until the butter has melted. Turn off the heat. Mix a spoonful of the warm mixture into the eggs- mixing quickly and using a spoonful at a time so that the eggs don't scramble.

When half of the warm mixture has been added to the eggs, stir the warmed egg mixture back into the saucepan. Pour the entire mixture over the bread, soaking each piece, and bake covered for 40-45 minutes. I removed the lid for the last 10 minutes of baking to get kind of a crusty top.

Rather than fiddling with a sauce, I poured a smidgen of straight brandy over the warm bread pudding.

It tasted kinda like a glorified alcoholic french toast. Definitely not bad.

Now, I can't compare it to normal bread puddings, but I wont have a problem finishing the rest of the batch. Second breakfasts are going to be good this week!

**I suppose that heating up the milk and tempering the eggs wasn't necessary; you could probably just mix it all up cold and pour it over the bread with the same results.

*** Update: Maybe not. Check out the comment regarding cooking time/ texture changes.

GF Bisquick SnickerDOODLES

Old box of gluten free bisquick in the pantry. Decided that today was the day it was going to be used up.

After a quick google search, I suddenly HAD to have snickerdoodles.

photo snagged here

Oh yes.

I halved the recipe, used less sugar, added some vanilla, and used brown sugar for the cinnamon/sugar mixture.

GF Bisquick Snickerdoodles

3/4 c. GF bisquick
1/4 c. rice flour ( I ran out of Bisquick)
1 egg
2 T each softened butter & shortening
1/2 t. vanilla
1/4 c. sugar

Cinnamon/sugar mixture:
3 T. brown sugar
2 t. cinnamon


Cream the butter, shortening, and sugar. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Add the flour and bisquick and mix up into a dough. Roll the dough into balls and coat in the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. (I used my Xpress Redi Set Go again, baking them in the mini muffin insert for 5 minutes. That thing is AMAZING in this summer heat)

Made about 12 little cookies.

They come out like a cross between a muffin, coffee cake, and a cookie; definitely a cake-like cookie rather than a crispy cokie. I can't wait to eat them with coffee during my break tomorrow.

cherry coconut muffins

Perfect for an afternoon off work when there's no food in the cupboards.

Found cherries and coconut in the freezer, and it seemed too easy.

And in case you're wondering, heck no my oven did not turn on. I used the Xpress Redi Set Go I got last Christmas, and I wanted it for this very reason.

Cherry Coconut Muffins (mini!)

1/3 c. each sorghum, brown rice flour, and corn starch
1 t. baking powder
1/8 t. baking soda
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 c. milk
1 T. light olive oil
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c. each chopped cherries and shredded coconut

Mix it all in a bowl.
I spooned the batter into the mini muffin insert, topped with some more coconut, and cooked for 5 minutes.

For conventional ovens, preheat to 350 and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. For regular muffins, 10-15 minutes.

The cherries give the batter a funny color, but they taste great, with a hint of every flavor.

Tonight's dinner

Dinner:

Chicken, white beans
white wine, balsamic vinegar
spinach, carrots
seasoned with thyme, bay leaf, garlic.

(with brown rice)