Category Archives: Dinner

Cheesy Mex Chicken with Fritos (Slow Cooker) (Naturally Gluten Free)

Posted in Dinner, One-Pot Dinner, Slow Cooker by

Cheesy Mex Chicken

I hopped on my bike and headed down the country road with the white bridge in site. The creek was just a short ride and I leaned my bike against the rail and jumped over it into the tall grass. I shimmy-ed down the steep bank and found a foothold on one of the large stones my sister and I placed there. It was hot and I was eagerly seeking the cool, bubbly, water in the shade under the road. I carefully made my way across by jumping stone-to-stone and landed on the large flat one that served as my shoe stool. If I ruined another pair, I knew my days at the creek were numbered.

My bare feet sunk into the wet, sandy dirt and my body instantly felt the relief. This summer was boiling and the creek was lower than usual. I patted some water on my face and started turning rocks. Crawdads, minnows and tadpoles scurried along as I inspected the creek bed.

This last week I took my daughter ‘creeking’ for the first time. While it was not at ‘my’ creek, it certainly brought back many faded memories.

Photo Credit: My friend Liz over at http://superveggiemom.com/

Photo Credit: My friend Liz over at http://www.superveggiemom.com

The summer heat is upon us, the kids have activities all over the place, and getting dinner on the table is getting harder and harder. This recipe has many perks – quick to put together, leave in it in the crock pot, no ovens to heat up the kitchen, and utterly cheesy and kid-pleasing. Add fresh cilantro, a squeeze of lime and avocado, because it’s summer, and you can.

Cheesy Mex Chicken with Fritos

Ingredients

2 (10 ounce) cans Ro-tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies (Original), drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (check ingredient label for gluten)
2 tablespoons instant tapioca (found in the baking isle of most grocers)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs*, trimmed
salt and pepper
1 cup Fritos corn chips, slightly crushed, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 cup Mexican cheese blend (grated)
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed (or one package freezer sweet corn)
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Garnish
extra Fritos
diced avocado
1/2 lime, cut into wedges

*my grocer did not have these, so I de-skinned and de-boned two packs of regular chicken thighs

Preparation

Drain tomatoes. Add to crock pot. Drain and rinse beans. Add to crock pot. Stir in tapioca and cumin. Nestle chicken into crock pot and salt and pepper.

Set crock pot on low for 4-5 hours.

Remove chicken and place on cutting board. Shred into large bite size pieces.

Stir one cup Fritos, 1 cup Mexican cheese blend, corn and cilantro into slow cooker. Gently stir in chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook on high for about 10 minutes until cheese is melted in.

Portion into bowls and top with Fritos, cheese, avocado and a small wedge of lime.

Notes: If left in crock pot, it may thicken too much. Add very hot water, one half cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

Stealhead Trout with Rosemary (Naturally Gluten Free)

Posted in Dinner by

trout3

We live in a neighborhood. I did not want to live in a neighborhood. I came from open green spaces. Corn, bean, and wheat fields surrounded our farm house and an old red barn sat next door where our Black Labrador gave birth to puppies in the abandoned horse stalls.  I could see the spring storms roll in from miles away and the walls of rain approach across the newly plowed fields, turning them a darker shade of brown one row at a time. For me, the thought of living in a place where houses sat close together and nature was reduced to manicured lawns was less than inspiring.

My husband, on the other hand, grew up in a neighborhood. He rode his bikes on sidewalks (I only did that when we visited Grandma ‘in town’), walked to friend’s houses, and ordered pizza to be delivered to their doorstep.

So, when we started looking for a new home for our new married life, the search was far and wide to find just the right combination. Fortunately I worked for a new home builder and I stumbled upon a section of new lots. And one of them had a view of nature out the back, and a neighborhood out the front. Perfect. SOLD.

ZC Back Yard 22 Dec 05ZJ Back Yard 10 Apr 06Pond

The other day I was in the side yard working on a couple of raised garden beds, and two teenage boys walked by with fishing poles and gear. I struck up a conversation with them about their luck down at the pond and the size of fish they were getting. They told me they were getting large enough fish for dinner.

As I continued to work, my mind drifted to fish recipes. It wasn’t long before I had a plan in place for a family gathering, a large trout, and mushroom risotto. The messages went out, invitations accepted, and I headed off to the fish market*.

*Our area has a lovely fish market, and it seems to be a well-kept secret. Foremost Seafood Ltd. is located in Kettering, Ohio and has high quality fish. I love the way their system works, too. When you walk in, you are handed a freshly printed sheet of their current inventory, complete with prices. On this particular day, Stealhead Trout was listed as fillets. I asked if I could have one half of a whole fish. The employee went to the back, had it cut, and came out with it on a tray. At this point I could decline the fish because of quality or size, or accept the fish. I gave her the nod and she disappeared again to wrap it up and put it on ice. I rang out at the counter and off I went. (This is in no way an advertisement for Foremost Seafood and I am receiving no payment or benefit from them – I just really want the local folks to know about this awesome place.)

A few notes about stealhead trout. Most fish lovers are big fans of salmon. I am too, but I can really get into trout as well. It is a tad milder than salmon, and a tad less dense, which are two qualities I like. The third advantage to trout is it can be much less expensive. I paid two dollars less per pound for mine, so that was a savings of seven bucks. Feel free to use this same method for salmon. It will be just as delicious.

Stealhead Trout with Rosemary

(adapted from the Little City Cooking School)

1 half of a whole trout (or 4-6 large fillets)

1 clove garlic, minced or grated over a microplane

1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped

1 whole lemon (Zest of whole lemon, juice of 1/2 lemon. Thinly slice the remaining 1/2 for garnish)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Adjust oven racks – the first rack, on the second notch from the top. The second rack, on the second notch from the bottom. Pre heat oven on high broil (or 500 degrees).

Lay a Silpat baking liner, or aluminum foil in a rimmed baking sheet.

Thoughts on brushing your pan with olive oil: If you like to eat the skin, or serve with the skin on, you will want to oil your baking surface. If you do not want the skin, skip the oil and the skin will stick to the surface making it easier to remove the skin. Do not use parchment paper, as it will catch fire under the broiler.

In a 1-2 cup bowl, combine all the ingredients (except the fish) and blend well with a fork or small whisk. (I do this ahead of time and let the flavors mingle in the fridge for up to a day).

Unwrap the fish and lay skin side down on the prepared baking sheet. If the fish is damp, blot it gently with paper towels.

Using a small rubber spatula, spread the rosemary blend evenly over the top of the fish.

Place on the top rack of the oven and broil for 3-5 minutes, careful not to burn the rosemary topping.

Lower the fish to the bottom rack and lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for about 10 minutes per inch of fish thickness. Check the internal temperature with an instant read thermometer. It should read 140 degrees. If not, bake at three minute intervals until internal temperature is reached.

Serve hot, or cold.

Salmon with Cucumber Dill Sauce (Gluten Free)

Posted in Dinner by

Salmon4

1990

I was thirteen and we were taking our first real family vacation. As I sat in the car driving through northern Michigan the roads became surrounded by water on both sides. I had never seen such a thing and it freaked me out a little. We arrived at our cabin skirting Lake Lelanau and the breeze from the water made the hot summer somewhat bearable as I steadied my jello-like legs from the long ride.

Salmon5

Settling in, my sister and I made quick friends with a couple of older boys a few cabins down. Their dad owned a speed boat and they invited us out on a ride. Having never been on a boat before, it was exhilarating. The sun was shining, the radio was blaring “Straight Up” by Paula Abdul, and the wind whipped through my long pony tail.

That week Dad went out on a charter fishing trip and returned with several King Salmon. He took me to the fish cleaning station at the back of the cabin and taught me how to fillet fish. Mom prepped the grill and cucumber dill sauce and soon we sat at the porch table and took in the sunset over dinner.

We returned to that cabin the next year. I begged Dad to take me on the charter with him. He promised once I turned sixteen he would make it happen. Time passed by too quickly and even though we talked about it and dreamed about it, that trip never happened for us.

In 2009, ten years to the day after Dad died, I found myself on a small fishing boat in Michigan. Vintage Thread took me up for a weekend – John, a close family friend of hers was an avid fisherman and we made our way out to deeper waters.

Not one hour into our trolling I saw a line pull, yelled ‘FISH ON’ and grabbed the pole from its holder. I immediately felt the weight of something big and heavy. John stood alongside me and coached me with the line. “Ok, pull. Ok, now reel. Stop. Pull, reel. Step forward. Back up. Reel more.” He barked a few directions to Vintage Thread who was at the wheel, but they did not compute with me. I had the pole anchored into my hip, painfully digging into my muscles and was struggling to hold the line. I turned to John, “It’s too heavy. You need to help me!”

“No way, you’ve got this. Just do what I tell you.”

A few minutes later a thirty pound King Salmon flopped into the boat.

We continued to fish for the rest of the day, pulling in nine more salmon, but none the size of the King. With the afternoon behind us and our bellies grumbling for dinner we pulled the lines and sped toward our slip. The wind was in my hair and the sun on my face, and I was transported back to those Michiagn family vacations and wished Dad had seen me reel in the big one.

30lb King

Salmon with Cucumber Dill Sauce

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs fresh salmon, cut into 4-5 ounce fillets
1 medium cucumber, or 1/2 English cucumber
2 tablespoons fresh dill, minced
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable cooking spray

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and set the rack on the lower third position.
Lightly spray a 9×13 inch glass baking dish with vegetable oil and set aside.

Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off of the cucumber. Trim cucumber as needed, then slice down the middle and remove the large seeds with a spoon. If you are using an English cucumber you can skip removing the seeds.

Using a box greater on the largest holes, grate the cucumber into a colander and nest the colander in a bowl. Lightly salt the shredded cucumber and let stand for five to ten minutes. Press the cucumber into the colander with a rubber spatula or the back of a spoon to release as mush liquid as you can. Transfer to a clean, dry bowl.

Add dill, mayo and sour cream and a little black pepper to the cucumber and combine. Taste the sauce and adjust with salt and pepper.

Place the fish fillets, skin side down, in the baking dish leaving one inch between each. Dollop a spoon of cucumber dill sauce on top of each fillet and using a separate utensil (as to not contaminate the sauce) spread evenly over the top. Place remaining sauce in refrigerator.

Bake the salmon for approximately 20-35 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fillets) until the internal temperature reaches 130 to 135 degrees or until the fish is translucent and flakes easily.

Serve with reserved sauce and sides of your choice. Our family favorite is pasta, polenta or risotto with asparagus.

Baked Potato Soup (Naturally Gluten Free)

Posted in Soup by

Baked Potato Soup

This week little furry things came out of hibernation for a test of the weather. What was the verdict? Punxsutawney Phil ‘declared’ six more weeks of winter, however, Jimmy the Groundhog in Wisconsin predicted an early spring after taking a little taste test of the Mayor’s ear.

While I have never made life plans around a marmot’s shadow, there is always a glimmer of hope when the second of February rolls around. It is the same anticipation I feel when our local baseball team starts up their spring training. A smile washes over my face when I walk into stores and suddenly the clothing is bright and fun, and tulips are arriving in the floral shops.

Then I walk to my car and freeze my buns off. It’s still February, after all, and whether it is six weeks away or not, spring can not arrive soon enough. So in the interim I’ll embrace the frigid temperatures, because five months from now we are going to be cursing the heat and there is no way I will be putting soup on the table.

Baked Potato Soup
Ingredients:
8 Ounces bacon, chopped
3 Pounds russet potatoes, washed (Idaho works, too. Do not use Yellow or Red)
1 Large Onion, chopped (about 1 1/2 cup)
2 Garlic cloves, pressed or grated over a micro plane
4 Cups chicken stock (Or one 32 ounce carton)
1 Cup heavy cream
1 Cup chopped ham
4 Cups, (plus 1 cup for garnish) sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1-2 Cups instant mashed potato flakes
1 Cup sour cream (for garnish)
1 bundle green onions (chives) chopped (for garnish)

Preparation:

The faster way…
• Bake the potatoes in the microwave until soft all the way through.

The tastier way…
• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle to low position. Nest a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and place the potatoes on the rack. Spear each potato with a fork (about 1/8″ deep) once on two sides. Brush olive oil all over each potato and sprinkle salt on all sides. Bake for about one hour, depending on the size of the potatoes, checking them with a fork after 45 minutes. Let cool completely.
• In a large dutch oven or heavy pot over Medium-High heat, cook bacon until crispy.
• Meanwhile, use a vegetable peeler or sharp kitchen knife to remove the skins from the (cooled) baked potatoes, removing wide strips. Reserve the skins. Chop potatoes into bite sized pieces and set aside. (Keep a close eye on the bacon, as to not allow it to burn).
• With a slotted spoon remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate leaving the grease in the pot.
• Add potato skins to hot bacon grease and fry until crispy, about 5-8 minutes.
• With a slotted spoon remove potato skins to the bacon plate to drain. (These will be used for garnish later)
• Add onion to remaining fat and cook until soft and golden brown, stir in Garlic and continue
to cook for 1 minute. If the bottom of the pot begins to brown too much during the potato frying or onion cooking, turn down your burner and add olive oil one tablespoon at a time until it is resolved – no more then four tablespoons)
• After the onions have softened, gradually stir in chicken stock, cream and potatoes and bring to a boil.
• Turn heat down to simmer (very low!) and cook for thirty minutes stirring occasionally.
• Remove two cups of soup and blend in food processor or blender. Return to pot.
• Add 4 cups shredded cheese and melt into soup. Add ham.
• Adjust thickness of soup with desired amount of instant mashed potatoes.
• Adjust seasonings to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with reserved bacon and potato skin garnishes, and any other desired garnish.
Suggested Garnishes: Shredded Cheese, Sour Cream, Chives, Bacon, Potato Skins

Corn Chowder

Posted in Soup by

Corn Chowder

I stomped up the three concrete steps and swung the screen door open to the covered stoop, stopping just shy of the threshold to kick the snow off my little boots. My sister pushes me from behind, in a hurry to escape the cold. We bust through the back door and stumble into the kitchen. The warmth of my grandparent’s house overwhelms by face and the smell of pork and sour kraut on this New Year’s Day makes my nose tingle with delight.

I shed my winter clothes and pass through the kitchen and stop at the bottom of the stairs. Aunts, uncles and a few cousins lay in various states of nap across the couches and in recliners as a football game plays out on the television. Some ‘Happy New Year’ mumbles are audible as I rush up the stairs to see my favorite cousins and their new Christmas toys.

Now that I am grown, New Year’s Day traditions have developed, and yet some have stayed the same. There are still football games. Naps on the couch. Christmas toys getting a good breaking in.

The pork no longer simmers on the stove – there is a restaurant that does a better job than I ever could. And there is soup. Not just any soup. Corn chowder with Christmas ham trimmings and bursts of corn from this fall’s harvest. Simultaneously fresh and hardy, it is a terrific way to ring in the new year.

Vintage Thread and Mr. Zoot Suit shared this recipe with us and it quickly became a must-have, not only on New Year’s Day, but any wintery cold day here in the Midwest.

Ham and Corn Chowder
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 onion (large) finely chopped
1 red bell pepper finely chopped
1 green bell pepper finely chopped
2 tablespoons flour (Gluten free option: 1 T. corn starch, 1 T. gluten free flour blend)
2 lbs potatoes pealed a diced (I use three pounds)
4 cups chicken stock (32 oz box)
4 cups water (I use six cups)
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste (about ½ t each)
11 ounce can yellow corn, drained.
¼ lb diced ham (1 ½ c.)
½ c heavy cream (1/2 &1/2)
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1-2 cups instant mashed potatoes
Paprika for garish
Preparation:
• In a heavy dutch oven melt the butter with the oil over medium heat.
• Add onion and both peppers. Cook about 5 minutes until onions are translucent.
• Add flour, stir occasionally and cook 2 minutes.
• Add potatoes. Turn heat up to high and add stock. Bring to a boil.
• Add bay leaf, salt and pepper. Turn down to a simmer, cover and leave it there for 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• Add corn and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
• Remove two cups of the soup and blend in food processor, then add it back into the pot.(or, use an immersion blender for 30 seconds in dutch oven.)
• Add ham and a touch of liquid smoke. Heat through about 5 minutes.
• Remove the bay leaf and stir in cream. Adjust thickness with instant mashed potatoes and seasonings to taste. Serve hot, sprinkled with paprika.

Rosemary Citrus Turkey

Posted in Dinner by

Miso Turkey

When Mystery Man and I built a house an acquaintance of ours warned us it could be the beginning of the end of our marriage. What she didn’t know was how like-minded the two of us are. I think we are the only people on the planet that actually enjoyed the process. Choosing the structural plan, flooring, cabinets, fix­tures, and brick color were all a breeze. Visiting the job site every day, we were excited to see even the smallest progress. It was a fantastic time.

The most fun was moving in, especially the kitchen. I could actually stretch out my arms in every direction and touch nothing but air. A far cry from the tiny apart­ment kitchens I had endured for the last seven years. It even had a pantry. A pantry!

I looked forward to messing it up, cleaning it up, and preparing exquisite meals for our friends and family. I especially could not wait to break in the new shiny double oven with a convection fan and a control panel that looked like the Star Ship Enter­prise.

For two years I baked and baked. Cookies, breads, cakes, potatoes, and casseroles. The only thing I did not make well was meat. Any kind of meat. When I did, it was tough. Over­cooked. Chewy.

I blame my father.

I know that sounds unfair. Just throwing blame on him because that is what people do to their parents when they fail. But seriously, it’s HIS fault.

You see, my father liked his meat very, very well done. If there was a tint of pink left he was unhappy. Many of waiters grimaced, eye-rolled and sighed as they walked from the table with a rejected steak. At home he would fire up the grill and cook the meat his way, there was never a question of how you liked yours. So this is how I learned, by watching him. Like I said it’s my father’s fault, God love ‘em.

Then one day everything changed. Mystery Man and I were preparing for a holiday dinner party and I wanted to make a turkey. Deciding that a good quality digital meat thermometer was my ticket to a perfectly cooked bird I started researching the best brands. Deciding on one, I presented Mystery Man with my choice and told him of my intentions of a trip to Williams Somoma the next day.

That is when he said to me “Don’t we have one of those in the drawer? It came with the oven.”

“Uh, what?!” I walked over to the oven and stared at the Star Ship Enterprise panel. There, under the timer button was the word ‘Probe’. That November I perfected turkey with the help of hours of internet searches, a good brine, and a meat thermometer that had been there all along.

Rosemary Citrus Turkey

Ingredients:
One 12-15 pound turkey (Remove stray quills, neck and giblets. Set aside for another use if desired.)

Brine
1 gallon water
3/4 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons dried rosemary
1 tablespoon caraway seed
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons black pepper

Roasted Turkey
1 Large Onion. (peeled and sliced 1 inch thick, separated into rings)
2 Tablespoons fresh Rosemary (or 1 Tablespoon Dried Rosemary)
1 Garlic Clove (through a garlic press, or grated on a micro-plain.)
1 Teaspoon Black Pepper
1 Teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
1/2 Cup Miso Paste* (this can be found in a plastic squeeze bottle in the Asian food isle)
*to make this gluten free, substitute plan hummus
1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter
2 Lemons (1 sliced 1/4 inch thick into rings. 1 quartered.)
1 Red Bell Pepper (Seeded and sliced into 1/4 inch thick rings)
1/2 Teaspoon Seasoned Salt
1 Orange (Quartered)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Flour
3 Celery Stalks (including leaves, chopped into 1 inch pieces.)

Equipment:
1 Large Poultry Bag (Reynold’s oven roasting bag)
Large roasting pan with rack insert
Kitchen twine
Turkey lacers
Large soup kettle for brining

Preparation:

Brining the turkey

•    When to start. Twelve hours + the recommended roasting time + thirty minutes rest time.  Please be aware that this is really a ‘stuffed’ turkey, so allow for the recommended time for a stuffed bird on cooking charts. (Meat thermometer temperature should register 180 degrees at the thickest area of the thigh.)

12-16 lbs = 2 to 2 1/2 hours

16-20 lbs = 2 1/2 to 3 hours

20-24 lbs = 3 to 3 1/2 hours

•    In a large pot mix together water, salt, sugar, rosemary, caraway, garlic and pepper. Stir well to dissolve all sugar and salt.
•    Add the turkey, breast side down (if possible). Add water to cover entire bird, if necessary. Refrigerate for 12 hours. (In a pinch for refrigerator space? In Ohio, the weather normally permits leaving the turkey in the cold garage.  If need be, a large cooler and a plastic water-tight bag can be used to brine the turkey if you are not in a cold climate. Pack ice around the bagged turkey and secure the lid.)

Roasting the turkey

The following can be completed one day in advance:
•    Prepare the Onion as described. Put about 1/4 of the Onion in a food processor.  Place the remaining in a gallon zipper-sealed bag and refrigerate.
•    To the food processor add the rosemary and garlic. Pulse until finely chopped, just short of becoming a paste.
•    Add black pepper, poultry seasoning and miso paste (or hummus) to the food processor mixture and pulse until smooth. Add melted butter and blend well. This mixture will appear curdled, and that’s ok. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, and up to a day in advance.
•    Prepare the 2 Lemons, Red Bell Pepper, Orange and Celery as described. Add to the  gallon zipper-sealed bag (with onion) and refrigerate for later use.

When you are ready to roast:
•    Place oven rack in lowest position and preheat to 350 degrees.
•    Rinse turkey and place on a large cutting board, or clean work surface. Pat dry with paper towels.
•    Working from the large cavity, run fingers under the skin to loosen. Try to loosen the skin from the meat in the breast, thigh and drumstick areas without tearing the skin.
•    Once all the skin is loosened, push the miso (or hummus) butter into these areas using a spoon, your fingers, or any combination of the two. This is a messy task, but the more chilled the butter mixture is, the easier it will be to deal with.
•    Take the bag of produce your prepared earlier out of the refrigerator.
•    Place a lemon slice inside a pepper ring and slide it under the skin with the butter mixture. Repeat, one on each breast, and one on each drumstick. Use remaining lemon and pepper slices to fill in any empty gaps.
•    Sprinkle turkey cavity with seasoned salt and stuff with lemon and orange quarters, squeezing juice into the cavity as you go.
•    Fold the neck skin up over the cavity and secure in place with turkey lacers or long toothpicks. Tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string and tuck the wings under the body, using  turkey lacers if needed.
•    Rub the turkey skin with olive oil.
•    Place flour in oven roasting bag and shake it around.
•    Place bag on roasting rack (which is nested in the roasting pan) and layer the bottom of the bag with onion and celery slices (and any other produce left over).
•    Place turkey in oven roasting bag and close it with the tie provided.
•    Roast until a meat thermometer temperature should register 180 degrees at the thickest area of the thigh. Remove from oven and let the bird rest for thirty minutes.
•    Carve the turkey and enjoy!

Meaty Minestrone Soup (Gluten Free)

Posted in Dinner, Soup by

Minestrone

1993

I laid there in my bed listening to the rain drum down on the farmhouse metal roof. The noise a constant low vibration with water dribbles making their way down the gutters. My room sat above the family room and every night I could here Dad thunk his recliner foot-rest into the chair and walk to the kitchen for his ice cream bed-time snack.

The savory air from dinner still hung in the air. It was full-on Autumn and the temperatures where plummeting. They were even calling for snow on Halloween this year. 

2014

The pond beyond my backyard is rippling with rain drops and the leaves are disappearing from the trees with help of the stiff breeze. My baby girl is singing in her bed, determined out out-wit nap time. My son is crunching away on his after school popcorn snack. I wonder if his second loose tooth will make it through the day or if a Golden Dollar will make it’s way under his pillow tonight. It is full-on Autumn and the temperatures are plummeting. They are even calling for snow. It’s Halloween. Time for some warm soup.

Meaty Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:
1 pound hot sausage, removed from casings
1 1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 can green beans (reserve liquid)
1 can hot and spicy chili beans (check label for gluten)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups beef stock
2 cups water
2 cups gluten free pasta or prepared rice, cooked per package directions.

Preparation:
• In a large dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat, brown spicy sausage until no longer pink, drain if needed, add onions and cook until softened.
• Add carrots, zucchini and celery. Stir to combine.
• Add (including all liquid) green beans, chili beans, diced tomatoes, beef stock and water.
• Stir and bring to a boil over high heat.
• Turn heat down to simmer and cook for three hours, stirring occasionally.
• Serve in individual bowls topped with cooked pasta or rice. (Do not add pasta to soup until serving.)

• Notes:
This soup is spicy, but for an extra kick use spicy or Italian green beans and/or spicy tomatoes.

Perfect for the slow cooker! Brown sausage and soften the onions. Add to crock pot with all other ingredients. Set crock pot on High for 4-6 hours.

Meaty Marinara Sauce (Gluten Free) (Slow Cooker)

Posted in Dinner by

It’s so good I missed the photo op…

_DSC0498

There are several things that makes this Meaty Marinara Sauce one of my go-to meals. First off, it uses one of my favorite things – a slow cooker. Second, my other business is on full throttle, and that means I have little to no time to put a meal on the table every night. But since I have expensive taste, going out to dinner regularly is not healthy for the wallet, let alone my waist line. The third and final reason? I think I was Italian in another life.

My friend Vintage Thread gave me the original recipe and, me being me, couldn’t leave well enough alone. So I tweaked it here and there, and now I make it in large quantities and freeze it in four-person portions. It’s quick, easy, and hearty. Just what we need right now in the Midwest where the weather seemed to take summer, pole vault right over fall, and land us firmly in winter.

_DSC0497

Meaty Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 lb spicy sausage
1/2 lb ground turkey
1 onion, diced
2 – 15 ounce cans tomato sauce (Hunt’s brand or better)
2 – 12 ounce cans tomato paste (Hunt’s brand or better)
2 envelopes (approximately 1.5 ounces each)Italian spaghetti sauce seasoning mix (McCormicks or Lawry’s brand)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon oregano (freshly minces, or dried)
1 clove garlic (pushed through a press, or minced very fine)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Lawry’s Seasoned Salt
4 cups water

Preparation:
•    In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the meat until no longer pink. Cook the onions until soft and translucent. Drain well and transfer to slow cooker.
•    Stir in all remaining ingredients and set slow cooker on Low for 8 hours.
•    Serve with pasta and top with Romano or Parmesan cheese.

NOTES:
Freeze left overs in one cup servings for later use. To thaw, place in refrigerator overnight or microwave for 2 minutes at 50% power. Transfer to sauce pan to heat on stove top until pasta is ready and sauce is hot.

Italian Meatballs (Gluten Free)

Posted in Dinner by

Meatballs1

My 16th birthday was just one week away. The big day included an appointment at the local BMV for my driver’s test, an appointment at the orthodontist to remove my three-year-old braces, and most importantly, I planned to go job hunting.

You see, a few weeks prior, I attended a meeting at my school for the foreign language club and learned of a twenty-one-day European tour offered to their members. I had the itinerary memorized.

(…and I still do…Land in Madrid, via New York City. Take a night train to Paris. Ride a tour bus and stop in Lucerne, Switzerland, head south into Italy and stop in Florence, Sienna, and Rome. Make our way back north to Venice, then skip over to Austria and see Innsbruck. Germany is next with a stop in Munich and Frankfurt. Skip up to the Netherlands and say hello to Amsterdam then hop on the ferry over to England and spend a day in London. Pack our bags for good and head home.)

That evening I took all the brochures home to my parents to plead my case. In my mind, the fact that I would be the first to have this awesome opportunity to travel parts of the world only my Grandfather had seen during the war was a no brainer. They should say “yes”, sign up for the payment plan, and in nine months I would be on my way.

Instead, they said nothing. They looked at one another. My Dad looked at Mom, then mumbled to me “No way we can pay for this. Get a job and pay for it yourself.” That was the end of the discussion*.

So, I needed a job.

First stop. Bob Evans restaurant. I had on my Sunday best, I couldn’t stop smiling from the new feeling of smooth teeth, and I marched on in there and handed the manager my application. He hired me on the spot. Just three shifts a week, but it was a start.

I trained, learned, became a shift leader, and everyone knew I would pick up any hours available. Six months later, all the installment payments were made and the remaining three months I worked for spending money.

The summer between my Sophomore and Junior year of high school became a journey of a lifetime, and this is precisely when I fell in love with anything and everything Italian. Especially the food.

It was seven years before I found a meatball in my hometown that rivaled those in my fond memories. Mystery Man and I stumbled upon a hole-in-the-wall Italian place named “Armando’s Italian Market”. We became so well known in the joint that Lady Linda at the front counter covertly shared his Italian Meatball secrets with us. After Armando retired and closed the place down, we set our minds to making them ourselves.

*One week before jetting off to Europe at the age of sixteen, Dad approached Mom and told her they could not possibly let me go – I was too young, naive, and had never traveled more than one state from my hometown. He was not serious when he told me to get a job. That was his way of saying “no”.  While Mom agreed, she would not let my hard work go without reward and she

Here they are!

*While Armando’s were not Gluten Free, I have adapted this recipe to meet my dietary needs.

 

Meatballs4

 

Spicy Italian Meatballs
Makes approximately 72 (2 ounce) meatballs

 

Ingredients:
3 lbs ground beef
3 lbs spicy Italian sausage (casings removed)
3 c. Romano Cheese (grated)
3 c. Dry Italian Bread Crumbs (One whole loaf of Udi’s white sandwich bread, and various spices. See instructions below.)
6 eggs
6 cloves garlic

Canola Oil for Deep Fryer

 

Preparation:
•    Pour canola oil into deep fryer to the ‘fill’ line. Heat to 300 degrees.
•    Working in small batches at a time, place 1/2 pound ground beef, 1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage, 1 cup Romano cheese, 1 cup bread crumbs, 1 egg and 1 clove of grated garlic in a large food processor. Combine for approximately 15 seconds (or mix by hand in a large bowl).
•    Roll into 2” balls. (I weigh them into 2 ounce portions)
•    Place on a rimmed baking sheet.
•    Using tongs, place meatballs into fryer basket, being careful not to overcrowd.
•    Fry for five minutes.
•    Remove from the fryer and place on cooling rack nested in a rimmed baking sheet.
•    Repeat with remaining meatballs.
•    Place number of desired meatballs into saucepan with marinara sauce, heat through and serve.

 

NOTES:
Use only Romano cheese.

To freeze meatballs, let them cool completely and portion desired amount in quart size freezer bags. Thaw directly in warm marinara sauce.

Make your own bread crumbs:
Place 1/4 Udi’s bread loaf in food processor. Pulse until all bits and pieces are smaller than a pea. Add Italian seasonings, such as Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Garlic Powder, etc. Toss crumbs with olive oil and spread out over two rimmed baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees until brown. Cool completely before using. (Freeze any leftover crumbs for other recipes.)

One-Pot Mexican Chicken & Rice (Gluten Free)

Posted in Dinner, One-Pot Dinner, Uncategorized by

Nappy's Chicken Shit

I was on a school bus,  for the first time in more than a decade, and much earlier than ever in my life. Still dark, we couldn’t see the landscape. It was quite chilly, there was no sound except the motor. All the passengers where silent with their thoughts and the bus rocked us gently back and forth. I can pretty much fall asleep anywhere, but right then my nerves where taking over and keeping my stomach uncomfortable and fluttery. ‘How long is twenty six miles, anyway?’ It seemed like an eternity getting to the marathon start line and every second I sat there I pictured my legs having to carry me all the way back.

Yes, I had put skates on again, even after my disastrous start in the sport.  Mystery Man and I put the inline skates on every weekend and racked up the miles on the local trails. My miles were much different than his. As I pushed, sweated, and worked for every stride, most of his time was spent skating backwards in front of me, coaching me along, and on occasion would break away to ‘stretch his legs’, then wait patiently for me to catch up.

I reminded myself that we were here for fun. After all, we had met up at this race in Duluth Minnesota for more than the skating. Friends came from several states away. Ones we hadn’t seen in far too long. The skating, to them, was only secondary.

Stepping off the bus, I was astounded. Three thousand five hundred people where here to skate this race and yet everyone was calm, collected, and making their way to the appropriate fitness stage for start times. We found ours, but not our friends. The crowd was too thick. Bang! Here we go!

I have seen wonderful sites in my life. The Sistine Chapel. The Rome Colosseum, Big Ben, the canals of Amsterdam. But, that finish line is one of the most memorable and beautiful things. Bleachers full of people flanked each side of the the road. Flags, banners and festive music filled our senses and took the pain from our legs. Mystery Man stayed with me all the way to the end and we crossed the finish line together.

We found our friends and hugs lasted minutes as we soaked everyone in. It had, indeed, been way too long.  We had two days and we planned to make the most of it. Lunches lasted through dinner. Toasts where made with silly sayings and laughter, and solemn memories and wet eyes. Laughter rang in our ears long after retiring for the evening, and as I lay there and took stock of my body that I had pushed to the limit, the parts that hurt most were not my legs, but my cheeks and abdomen from smiling and laughing. Suddenly the skating, for me, was secondary.

________________________________

 

This is a recipe from a friend in the skating community.  We (lovingly) call it Chicken Shit in our house, but I have renamed it for you. Your welcome.

 

One-Pot Mexican Chicken & Rice

Ingredients:
1 Pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized pieces)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 – 13 Ounce can chicken broth
1 – 8 Ounce can tomato sauce
1 Package taco seasoning (check for gluten in the ingredients)
1 can corn, drained
1 green pepper (diced)
1 1/2 Cup minute rice
1/2 Teaspoon hot sauce (optional)
Corn chips

Toppings:
All Toppings are Optional
1 – 2 Ounce can Sliced Olives
Shredded Mexican/Spicy Cheese
Sour Cream
Lettuce
Tomatoes (diced)

Preparation:
• Heat olive oil in 4” deep heavy pan over medium heat until shimmering
• Add chicken and cook (stirring) until no loner pink
• Add broth, tomato sauce and seasoning packet. Stir and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for minutes.
• Add corn and pepper, stir and bring to a boil.
• Stir in rice, cover the pan and remove from heat.
• Fluff with fork and adjust spice with hot sauce if desired.
• Serve with toppings and corn chips.

Notes:
For a crowd – Do not drain corn. Add one cup of water and one additional cup of rice. Transfer to crock pot on low. Serve directly out of crock pot. Check periodically to make sure it does not dry out. Add water as needed. This dish is just as good, or better the next day.

Options:
Vegetarian –  Add one can of thoroughly rinsed black beans, omit the chicken, use vegetable broth.