Because I must be high...
My girlfriend, Cris, challenged me to join her in the Warrior Dash (http://www.warriordash.com/) in July, so I've been working out and cutting back on some of the more fattening foods (that could be why I haven't posted in awhile...) The last two weeks I've made some even crackier changes (for me.) I took on a 21 day challenge the day after Easter to go "junk food free." That means no chocolate, no refined sugar, no fast food, no white bread and no junk. I've already cut a lot of that out, but this meant James and I could no longer have a bowl of ice cream in bed or munch on chocolate chips after Max went to bed.
Then, last weekend, James cousin and her husband (she also happens to be one of my nearest and dearest friends) relocated up here from California, and since she's gluten free and they're staying with us right now, we're ALL gluten free. At least mostly. CRACK HEAD. Believe it or not, I'm actually pretty excited about it! I'm learning all sorts of new tricks and yummy recipes. I've been so bad at capturing the food porn lately, but I will give you some of the husband and child approved recipes we recently tried and I promise to post more frequently! :)
Crockpot Chicken and Gluten Free Dumplings
Let's talk about how I get the broth and meat for this. I roast a whole chicken for dinner one night (super easy... clean the chicken, place in a roasting pan, sprinkle with salt, pepper and seasonings of your choice on the inside and outside, add cold pats of butter [I usually use about 6-8 tbsp] on the inside and outside, stuff a chopped celery stalk in the cavity and put in a preheated 350 degree oven for an hour and 15 minutes, uncovered, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees. Make sure you baste it with the drippings every 15 minutes. Cover with foil if it starts to get too dark for your liking. Be sure to let rest about a half hour before serving. YUM.) Whatever meat doesn't get eaten, I reserve and freeze until I'm ready to make this soup. I also freeze the chicken carcass. For the broth, set the carcass and 6-7 cups of water on the low setting of your crockpot overnight. Strain and reserve broth. Don't forget to get all the extra meat off those bones!! I have a family of three and this usually makes enough to fill all our bellies AND for me to freeze up enough for another meal on a lazy night. So, if you've got a larger family than I do, you may want to roast up some chicken breasts to add... or just roast the whole chicken specifically for this reason. :)
-7 cups homemade chicken broth
-sliced carrots or baby carrots (I use 3 large carrots or half a bag of the babies)
-sliced celery stalks (3-4... depending on your preference)
-one medium onion, diced
-two diced garlic cloves
Dumplings:
1 cup gluten free pancake mix (yes, I was anxious about using this, but it worked like a charm!)
4 tbsp cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup milk
Add the butter to the mix and mash with your fingers until you have a cornmeal like texture. This step is imperative. Slowly add milk until the dough comes together. You want it to be sticky, but not too wet and not too dry.
When you're ready, add the dumpling mixture to your soup by heaping spoonfuls, cover and cook for 15 minutes. These dumplings are much more crumbly than regular flour dumplings, but they really make the soup nice and creamy. Everyone in the house (and there were six of us,) raved about it! :)
And we made an AWESOME Shepherd's Pie that was meat free and mostly gluten free.... I had a lot of requests for that recipe, so here it is http://www.food.com/recipe/meat-eating-husbands-love-this-shepherds-pie-249049 ! I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did! Another delicious dinner for my Meat Free Monday's! :)
*sorry for the lack of photos this week... I'll be better! ;)
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