Chicken Sausage Jambalaya

On my last trip to Trader Joe's, I made an impulse purchase....Tomato Basil Chicken Sausage. I wasn't sure what I would end up doing with it, so I mashed a few recipes with my own instincts, and came up with this...just in time for Mardi Gras!!!!!

Chicken Sausage (our package had 5 good-sized links), cut diagonally into 1/2 inch chunks
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 green pepper, sliced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 russet potatoes, diced
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 can (14 oz.) crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup or so of water (for thinning)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp (or so) Frank's hot sauce
some basil
some oregano
salt
pepper

2 cups Brown Jasmine rice
4 cups chicken broth

Cook your rice with the broth.
Add some oil and 1/2 your garlic to a pan and heat.
Add your chicken sausage to brown.
Remove the chicken.
To the remaining oil, add the remaining garlic, onion, potatoes, pepper, celery, and tomatoes.
Saute until soft.
Add your wine and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add crushed tomatoes, hot sauce, and spices.
Simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
Serve over rice.

Lunch: Fish Tacos...super easy!!!!!

I threw this together after being on Pinterest and seeing lots of yummy fish taco recipes.  Make it with what you have.....it literally came together in less than 10 minutes...and was DELISH!!!!

1 filet of tilapia
1/3 cup of corn/canola oil
1 lime
1 TBSP creole seasoning
2 TBSP plain greek yogurt
2 TBSP black bean and roasted corn salsa (Trader Joe's ...is awesome!!!)
1/2 avocado, sliced
2 white corn tortillas

Heat oil in a pan.
Sprinkle creole seasoning on both sides of fish.
Fry/saute your fish for about 3 minutes (or so) on each side.
Remove from pan and squeeze the lime over the fish.
Layer your tortillas with yogurt, fish, salsa, and avocado.
Serve with some corn chips...OLE!!!!!

Kyle's Famous Buffalo Chicken Wings

You are in for a treat. No one makes wings like my hubby.

2 parts Frank's hot sauce
1 part melted butter

Let your wings marinate in the sauce for a few hours.
Grill. Devour. YUMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hamburger Soup

Well, Old Man Winter is not showing any signs of packing up any time soon. This soup is yummy, vitamin-packed, and G FREE, baby!!!!!

To your slow cooker, add:

One small onion, chopped
3-4 carrots, sliced
2 small sweet potatoes, diced
3-4 stalks of celery, sliced
One 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes, with juice
28 oz. of beef broth
some salt and pepper
2 bay leaves

Let it simmer low n' slow for 6-8 hours.

About one hour before you eat, brown 1 lb. of lean ground beef, and add to the pot.

Stuffed Peppers and Oven Fries....a new" meat and potatoes!!!!"

Another modified version of an Italian dish from Elizabeth Hasselbeck.....it was delicious. The pork chop adds such depth of savory flavor to the whole dish...and it provides you lunch the next day!!!!

Stuffed Peppers(for two; double recipe as needed)
One pork chop, bone-in
Olive oil
One clove garlic, sliced
One 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 tsp basil
2 large peppers
one small onion, diced
4-5 oz. button mushrooms, chopped
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground turkey or pork sausage

Brown the pork chop with the olive oil and garlic.
Mix the beef and turkey with the onion and mushrooms.
Cut the tops off of the peppers and peel out any seeds/veins.
Stuff the peppers with the meat.
To the pork chop, add the tomatoes and basil.
Set the stuffed peppers in the pot; cover and simmer at medium heat for about 45 minutes.
We topped the peppers with the extra tomato sauce.

Oven Fries
4 Russet potatoes
Olive oil
garlic salt
ground black pepper
Oklahoma Joe's Fry Seasoning

Cut the potatoes in half, then into 1/3 sections for nice, big fries.
Place the fries in a bowl.
Drizzle with olive oil, then add spices to your liking...you really can't go wrong.
Give a good toss with your hands.
Bake on a sheet at 425 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.

***BONUS***  Lunch Leftovers: Pork Chop with Tomato Sauce
If you boil some g-free pasta, you can add the left over tomato sauce and the pork chop for a great lunch the next day!!!!!

Chicken and Kale Soup

My favorite guru through the Celiac/Gluten Free realm is Gwyneth Paltrow. Her book It's All Good is beautiful...her opening anecdote truly mirrored my own, so I immediately felt like I was no longer alone. Her recipes just beckon you to eat cleaner, and they are delicious. She refers to her chicken and kale soup as "Jewish penicillan..." and we have modified it to be  a staple in our house. Trust me...you won't miss the noodles in this comforting dish!!!!

The stock....

One whole roasting chicken, or one breast and two leg quarters
 (bone-in)
One onion, quartered
3-4 carrots, chopped
3-4 celery stalks, chopped (I also use the celery heart with the leaves..they have so much flavor)
2-3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
a nice bunch of fresh thyme
 a handful of peppercorns
some sea salt

Let this concoction simmer away for about 2-3 hours...I have even let it simmer for 6 or 7 hours.
Drain the stock.
Shred the chicken.
Add them back in an empty stock pot.

To the stock and chicken, add:
2-3 freshly peeled and chopped carrots
2 chopped  celery stalks
One bunch of kale, removed from the stem
salt and pepper to taste
Simmer for about 20-30 minutes.

We love to eat this with some clementines...something about that combination is just yummy!!!!

A Special Meal...Beef Stew w/Mashed Potatoes and Flourless Chocolate Cake

Papa Ron is in town for our "Christmas.."  I consulted one of my go-to cookbooks...Deliciously G-Free by Elizabeth Hassllebeck; she doesn't know it, but she has been one of my gurus in this process. If you are gluten free, read her book...she has GREAT recipes AND tips on organizing your kitchen.  We made a delicious meal, modified from her "Beef Stew" recipe....
Beef and Sweet Potato Stew w/Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs stew meat, diced/chopped (Angus is best)
1/4 cup brown rice flour
 salt and pepper
1 TBSP canola oil
2 TBSP tomato paste or ketchup
2 slices of g-free bacon, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups g-free beef broth
1/2 cup red wine (dry)
 1 large onion, sliced
One large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
4-5 carrots, peeled and cubed
parsley for presentation

Salt the stew meat.
Mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Coat the stew meat in the mixture.
Brown the stew meat in hot oil, about 5-8 minutes.
Remove the meat and put on a plate.
To the oil, add onion, garlic, and bacon. Let it soften and simmer.
Scrape the beef bits, and then add the wine.
Let simmer for 5 mins. or so. It is the best smell !!!!!
Add the stew meat back in, then add beef broth...simmer at med/high heat for about 30-45 minutes.
Add your carrots and sweet pots.
Simmer for an additional 30 minutes, until everything is fork-tender.

G-Free Mashed Pots
I winged this....
4 russet potatoes
4-5 TBSP Greek yogurt
3 TBSP butter
Oklahoma Joe's fry seasoning....oh yeah, baby
garlic salt
salt
pepper

Peel and chop your potatoes.
Boil in salted water for about 15-20 minutes.
 Drain the water and blend, with a mixer, with the yogurt and butter.
Add garlic salt, OK Joe's seasoning, salt, and pepper to taste.

Top the mashed pots with your stew, then sprinkle with parsley to look all official-like.

Flourless Chocolate Cake 

Ummmmm...delicious.  That's all I can say.
4 oz. baking chocolate (we used Ghiarrdeli...yummy)
8 TBSP butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. sea salt
3 eggs
2 TBSP cooled, strong coffee
1/4 cup baking cocoa

Follow package directions to melt the chocolate.
Add butter and whisk until smooth.
 Whisk in eggs, then cooled coffee.
Mix and whisk the cocoa.

Butter a spring-form pan. Pour the mixture in.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until the top looks dry.





Strawberry Topping
We cut strawberries and tossed with 4-5 TBSP of sugar. Then we let it "marinate" for about 2 hours. Uh, yum.

Top the cake with powdered sugar and strawberry topping.
Whisk sugar and salt