Gumbo Inspired Stew Over Rice (Vegan/Gluten Free Options)

28. April 2012 · 2 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

 

This recipe is actually really sweet (minus the jalapeño pepper) because I used sweet vegetables (no need to Hide Vegetables here!).  My children love it and I do too.  It is full of fresh veggies, antioxidants, fiber, vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium and calcium!  This is a typical recipe that would be great to help prevent chronic disease because of the nutrient content.  If you are interested in learning more about eating to prevent cancer, please follow Jeanette’s Healthy Living on Facebook.  Her vegetable Magic Mineral Vegetable Broth recipe is linked below.  You will find her posts are vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of bone broth or Magic Mineral Vegetable Broth
  • 5 large carrots diced
  • 4 celery stalks diced
  • 1 red pepper diced
  • 1 yellow or orange pepper diced
  • 1 large sweet onion diced
  • 2 cups fresh okra coined
  • 2 cups tomato diced or crushed (I used home canned crushed)
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 jalapeño pepper diced (optional)
  • 1 cup chopped parsley
  • 1/2 cup fresh thyme
  • 2 tsp kelp
  • 1 tsp all spice
  • 1 tbsp oil or butter
  • salt to taste
  • sliced avocado

Roux:

  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/3 cup flour (click here for a gluten free flour blend)
Directions for Roux:
  • Cook roux while your veggies are cooking.
  • Heat oil in cast iron skillet.
  • Add flour and constantly stir until you get a nutty brown color and odor.
  • Remove from heat.

Stew Directions:

  • Heat butter or oil in large soup pot.
  • Add onion and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Add onion and all spice.  Cook until translucent.
  • Add peppers and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
  • Add bone broth, carrots, okra, garlic and tomato.
  • Cook for 10 minutes.  Add fresh herbs, kelp and salt.
  • Slow stir in roux.
  • At this point, I remove a portions for my children and then add diced jalapeño pepper.
  • Remove thyme stems, if you added entire stems.
  • Serve over rice with avocado slices.

Cream of Chicken Soup- Gluten Free!

22. April 2012 · 8 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

It is all about the Roux!

Really, I have been challenged to learn to cook Gluten Free (GF) and most of my homemade recipes start with a great roux of wheat flour and pastured butter!  Cream of chicken soup is another ingredient that is typically laden with gluten and is in a couple of my staple recipes. So agin, it is all about the roux!

Today, I set out to make a gluten free cream of chicken soup.  It is my first scratch GF experiment and came out wonderful.  This recipe is labor intensive but can be made in advance and frozen for future cooking ingredients.  I was able to make 6 batches of cream of chicken soup for future meals.

There are a couple steps:  Chicken Broth, Roux and then Cream of Chicken Soup.

Chicken Bone Broth

Ingredients:

  •  3.5 pounds of pastured free range chicken thighs with skin
  • 4 large carrots (cut in half)
  • 1 large sweet onion (quarter)
  • 4 large celery sticks and leaves (cut in half)
  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning
  • 1 tsp rosemary leaves (dried)
  • 1 tsp chopped dried bay leaves
  • 1 tsp celery seed
  • 1 tsp peppercorn seeds
  • 1 tsp distilled vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste
  • 12 cups of water
  • 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 2 sprigs of fresh sage
  • 2 sprigs of fresh thyme

Directions:

  • In a large stainless steel pot add water, carrots, onion, celery dry seasonings and chicken.
  • Cover and cook on a low simmer until meat falls off the bone.
  • Remove chicken from broth.
  • Remove meat from chicken and add the skin, joints and bones back to broth.
  • Cool chicken and refrigerate.
  • Cook broth for 3 more hours with vinegar.
  • Towards the end of cooking add the fresh herbs.
  • When done cooking, drain liquid into pot.  I had about 2 cups of concentrated broth.

The extra cooking of the bones with vinegar is going to help pull important nutrients from the bone (iron, calcium, chondroitin, phosphorus, magnesium, gelatin).  For more information and recipes for bone broth, please visit the Nourished Kitchen.


Cream of Chicken Soup:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups of concentrated chicken broth
  • 2 cups of whole milk
  • 1/2 cup pastured butter
  • 1/2 cup gluten free flour blend or regular white flour for non-GF
  • Use all the carrots from the broth
  • 1 cup chicken meat
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  • Make roux (see below)
  • Slowly (over 20-30 minutes) whisk in concentrated broth and whole milk until thick and bubbly.
  • Remove from heat.
  • In a blender, add a cup of soup mixture, carrots and chicken. Blend until smooth.
  • Add blended chicken mixture to soup and stir.
  • Add more milk for a thinner soup.  For a thicker mixture, whisk GF flour blend with cold milk and add to soup.
  • I froze 6 individual cups in ziplock bags for future recipes!

Roux:

My first flour blend was adapted from Elizabeth M. Ward, MS, RD’s article, Guide to Gluten Free Flours.

Ingredients/Directions:

  • 1 part of GF flour blend and 1 part pastured butter.  In this case, I used 1/2 cup of each.
  • Heat sauce pan over low heat until butter melts.
  • Whisk in GF flour blend until the flour has dissolved into the butter and is smooth.

Curry Chicken Corn Chowder Soup with a Gluten Free Option!

11. February 2012 · 3 comments · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags:

 

This soup has a perfect blend of spice and sweetness.  It is an easy recipe and a great way to involve your children in the kitchen!

Ingredients:

  • 4 free range chicken thighs with skin
  • 6 cups of chicken broth
  • 2.5 cups of frozen corn or fresh
  • 3 diced potatoes with skin (not too small or they will become mushy.  If you like smaller potatoes add them later in the cooking process)
  • 2 cups of onion
  • 4 slices of nitrite free bacon
  • 2 oven roasted red peppers
  • 1 diced and seeded Jalapeno pepper
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
  • 2 tbsp pastured butter
  • 1/2 cup flour or potato flour (Gluten Free)
  • 1/2 cup whole fat pastured milk
  • Salt (1 tsp) and pepper to taste

 

 

Directions:

  • Boil chicken until the meat is falling off the bone. Separate chicken from stock.  Set stock aside and add water to make 6 cups.  Debone, remove skin and shred chicken.  Set aside.
  • Roast red peppers in oven.  Remove, cool, peel and dice.
  • Heat butter in pot over medium heat.  If you do not use bacon, I would add a tsp of oil to prevent the butter from browning.
  • Add onion, bacon and jalapeno pepper.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions are translucent.
  • Add corn, curry, broth and potatoes.  Cook for about 10 minutes and remove bacon.
  • Put flour into a bowl and slowly add milk to it while mixing with a whisk to form a slurry.
  • Add slurry to soup pot slowly and constantly stirring.
  • Cook until the soup starts to thicken.
  • Add roasted red pepper and cilantro.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Enjoy!

Don’t forget to garnish this wonderful soup with tortilla chips, extra sharp cheddar cheese, diced avocados and tomatoes!