Crockpot Whole Chicken

Normally, when we want a whole chicken we pick up a rotisserie one from the store, however, we had some time on our hands and decided to crockpot one; and it was probably one of our best ideas all week! The meat is super tender and falls off the bone, we very highly recommend crockpotting all your chickens (when you want fall off the bone meat) if you have the time. The blog that we based our recipe off of, 100 days of Real Food, calls this "The Best Whole Chicken in a Crockpot"... and we definitely agree!

Ingredients
2 tsp. paprika
1-2 tsp. salt (depending on preference)
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. thyme
½ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ tsp. black pepper
1 onion, chopped
1 large chicken (3-5 lbs.), thawed

Directions
Mix together all spices - paprika, salt, onion powder, thyme, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and black pepper - in a small bowl and set aside.

Place chopped onions in the bottom of the crockpot.
 
Make sure you've removed all the guts any straggler feathers from the chicken, and place on top of onions in the crockpot.

Rub the outside of the chicken with seasoning mix (top and bottom), and sprinkle any remaining mixture inside the bird. Set the bird with breast up in the crockpot when finished seasoning.

Cook on high for 4-5 hours on high. The bird temperature should be at least 180°F.

Pull off meat (careful, it will be very hot!), tongs and/or a fork are useful.

ENJOY!

---

NOTE: This chicken is wonderful in Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup, and you could also replace the turkey in Turkey Tortilla Soup. If you are especially crafty, this also makes wonderful homemade chicken broth.

Snow Ice Cream

Wisconsin winter is in full swing right now, meaning we have plenty of snow, and this sweet treat, although not warm and cozy, is super tasty and easy to make. It has been a long time since I've had real ice cream, but this definitely hits the spot.

Ingredients
5-6 cups clean snow
1 c. almond milk
1/2 c. Splenda or sugar alternative (or sugar)
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Directions

In a medium-large mixing bowl (we used a popcorn bowl), mix together almond milk, sugar, and vanilla until well combined.

Add snow. Stir and fold together.

If it seems like there is a lot of milk in the bottom, add a little more snow, and then put in the freezer for an hour or two.

ENJOY!

Peanut Noodle Stir Fry

This is probably one of my favorite Asian/Thai inspired dishes that we make. It's creamy, loaded with veggies and chicken, and super delicious. Even though it's best served warm, it can very easily be eaten cold right out of the fridge. This recipe is adapted to be allergy friendly from Epicurious.

Ingredients
Sauce
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce
1/3 cup warm water
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic (1 clove)
2 Tbps. rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbps. sesame oil
2 tsp. honey
1 tsp. dried hot red pepper flakes

Stir Fry
1 lb medium width rice noodles
2 Tbps. sesame oil
3-4 (aprox. 1 lb) chicken breasts, thawed and cubed
4 scallions/green onions, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped

Directions
Place all sauce ingredients in a blender and liquify until well blended.

In a medium-large pot, cook noodles according to package. Drain, rinse, and return to pot.

In a wok or large skillet, add sesame oil and brown chicken until cooked through. Add red and green bell peppers, and scallions/green onions. Cook until veggies are soft.

Once veggies are cooked, add peanut sauce mixture to wok. Cook until heated through.

Add to stir fry mixture to noodles and fold together until well combined.

Best served hot.

ENJOY!

Turkey Tortilla Soup

This a great soup to make if you have any leftover turkey from the holidays... or in our case a reason to make a whole turkey just for this soup. It is super delicious, and super easy to make after the turkey is cooked. My family also makes this, and we almost always make a double recipe, however, the recipe below is for a single batch.

Ingredients
1 medium onion, diced
2 cups turkey, in bite size pieces
1 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can black beans
1 packet taco seasoning*
2 boxes (32 oz.) chicken broth**
1/2 lb. corn
tortilla chips

Directions

Click image to enlarge

In a large pot, add all ingredients except the corn and tortilla chips.

Cook on medium until onions are soft. Add corn, and continue cooking until hot.

Serve with tortilla chips.

ENJOY!

---

NOTE:
*Be sure to check the ingredients on the taco seasoning, as many prepackaged ones contain wheat. We have found Meijer and Trader Joe's brands to be safe.

**If you make a turkey especially for this soup like we did, you can substitute some of the chicken broth for turkey broth. We think it adds to the flavor and makes it even tastier.

Beef Stroganoff

I only had beef stroganoff a couple of times before going gluten free, but the few times I did, it was absolutely delicious. After doing some research, Jeremy and I adapted a recipe from Betty Crocker, and it turned out pretty well. We will definitely be making it again!

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin steak
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced (2 1/2 cups)
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp. minced garlic (1 clove)
1/4 c. margarine*
1 1/2 cups beef flavored broth*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce*
1/4 c. gluten free flour blend
1/8 tsp. xanthan gum
2 recipes of dairy free sour cream
1 lb. pasta, cooked

Directions
Cut beef into 1/2 inch cubes. Thinly slice onions lengthwise, and then in half, and slice mushrooms with button down (to make slices as shown in the picture).

Click to view larger

Melt margarine in large skillet. Add mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Cook until onions are tender, then remove from skillet and set aside.

Cook beef in same skillet until brown. Stir in 1 cup of the broth, salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Heat to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.

In a small separate bowl, mix together remaining 1/2 cup of broth, flour, and xanthan gum. Once well mixed add to beef mixture in skilled. Add onion mixture; heat until boiling, stir constantly. Boil and stir for 1 minute.

Stir in 1 cup of sour cream. Add remaining half cup as needed, to desired creaminess and flavor. Heat until hot, but do not boil.

Serve over noodles.

ENJOY!

---

*NOTE: Be sure to check to make sure your margarine is dairy free. The only one that we have found is Blue Bonnet Light.

Beef broth also tends to have caramel color, and less frequently, wheat. So be sure to check the ingredients. We have found that Swanson's tends to be a safe brand.

For Worcestershire sauce, Lea & Perrin's is the only safe brand that we have found to date. It is a top quality brand, so it does tend to cost a little more, but it lasts forever. We have it in our store if you cannot find it at your local supermarket. It is also very tasty in meatloaf.

Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup

As most of the US sees the coldest temperatures it has seen in a century, this soup is an easy soup to warm up with. We have used a number of different types of noodles, but this batch was by far my favorite; we use Barilla gluten free noodles, which are available in our store.

Ingredients
1 rotisserie chicken*
6-8 oz. corn elbow noodles
2 32 oz. boxes/cans of chicken broth
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
4 large carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a large pot, add broth, celery, carrots, and onion. Cook until celery and carrots are mostly tender.

While veggies are cooking, remove skin and pull meat off chicken. After chicken is all in, add basil, oregano, salt, and pepper.

When veggies are tender, add noodles.

Cook until noodles are soft. Our noodles soaked up more broth than we expected (as shown in the picture below), so we had to add some extra broth.

ENJOY!

---

*NOTE: If you have some extra time, try making your own rotisserie-like chicken in the crockpot. Check out our recipe here: Crockpot Whole Chicken.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Whenever I make these cookies, they rarely last a few days. Additionally, they are incredibly easy to make, and only have 3 ingredients. The following recipe is for a single batch (12-18 cookies), but the pictures are of a double batch (24-30 cookies). Also please note my guesstimates of the cookie yields may be a little off as Jeremy, my husband, tends to eat the dough as I'm making them.

Ingredients
1 c. creamy peanut butter*
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. egg substitute (1 egg)
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions
Preheat oven to 350ºF.

Mix all ingredients in a mixer until well combined.

Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll dough into 1" to 1 1/2" balls. Press down with a fork to make cross pattern. I added mini chocolate chips to the top of some of mine, after the fork press, and then pushed them in with the second press.

ENJOY!

---

*NOTE: You could also use chunky peanut butter, but we have not tried it yet.