Recipe: Gluten Free Chicken and Dumplings

Many of you will remember the GF Dumpling episode back in March (http://crystalstair.wordpress.com/2008/03/10/review-arrowhead-mills-gluten-free-all-purpose-baking-mix/).  Well, I’ve been inspired by Gluten Free Cooking School to take one of their biscuit recipes and make it in to dumplings.  These dumplings are SO MUCH BETTER than the ones from Arrowhead Mills.  (Sorry AHM).

Yeild: 5 qts

Ingredients:
Approx 1 lb bite sized chicken bits of your choosing
9 cups water
3 tblsp chicken flavored bullion
1 tblsp. black pepper
1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 c. + 2 tblsp white rice flour
1/2 c. coconut flour
1/2 c. + 6 tblsp sorghum flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 stick of butter (melted)
1 1/4 c. buttermilk
1 1/4 c. water
1 egg, beaten
1 tblsp. black pepper
1 tblsp. poppy seeds
2 tsp. dried sage

Directions>>
1.  In a 5 qt (or larger!!) stock pot, dump in raw chicken chunks, water, 1 tblsp. pepper, 1 tsp. cayenne, 3 tblsp. chicken bullion and bring to a boil. (NOTE:  This can be done with almost any combination of spices, we like pepper, cayenne, sometimes garlic and ginger… but about anything will work, whatever floats your boat, just don’t forget the bullion)

2.  Mix up the dumplings in the meantime in the following order: all dry ingredients in to your workbowl (this is easier with a mixer), stir to combine and work in some air.  Then add melted butter, stir.  Next, milk, water, egg (previously beaten, please).  Stir until dough comes together.  Then add pepper and sage and poppy seeds (or whatever seasonings float your boat).

3.  Once the pot of chicken bits and water has come to a boil, drop by rounded teaspoons (one from your kichen drawer is fine) into the boiling liquid, making sure to keep newly dropped dumplings seperated from older ones to prevent stickage and fusion.  This gets a bit tricky as the pot gets full.  When the pot fills, walk away for 15 minutes and come back and drop dumplings again until you run out of room (I had to do this three times).  Simmer for 45 minutes or until the dumplings are done all the way through.  The stock should be opaque now instead of clear.

4.  Garnish and serve.  YUM!

Anne Lamott and Gluten in Heaven

So, I was watching the Colbert Report (I get all my fake news from Comedy Central) and the guest was Anne Lamott, author of the book “Grace (Eventually).”  This is a book I’ve not read and probably won’t, since I normally only read books about history, gardening or cooking… but I digress.  She said that Sunday School teachers get the best spots in Heaven, next to the dessert table.

So, I wondered… does that mean that Heaven isn’t gluten-free either?!?  That’s got to be the sickest joke in the universe.  “Welcome to Heaven!!”  “No, there’s no wheat on the dessert table, just cookies and cakes and cheesecake with graham cracker crusts… but no wheat…”  Please. 

That’s my luck: The Afterlife is gluteny and ignorant of it!

Bread of Life: Bread with an Agenda!

http://www.gflife.com/

Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a thing against any particular religious group… but when my Bread of Life loaf said “A miracle happens when you toast it!” I expected magic, not a religious message.  I’ve been eating a lot of their products lately, and I’m not going to stop just because they have bible verses all over their website, but I thought you might want to know.  I don’t want to ever lead anyone astray in their socio-polical beliefs.

Review: Ian’s Gluten Free Fish Sticks

Apparently I’m having some sort of deep dish craving for junk food.  On my spree at the health food store, I discovered Ian’s Fish Sticks (later discovered them at the grocery, too… oh well!).  On the box there’s a huge list of things that aren’t in these guys… no wheat, gluten, casein, milk, eggs, nuts or soy.

I gotta say, for having so little in them, they are pretty tasty.  My box says that 1 serving = 4 fish sticks and that there are 2 servings per container.  I GOT 14 sticks in my box.  WOO WOO!!

Eat these!  Eat them!!  They are great with tartar sauce.

Review: Tinkyada Pasta Joy: Spinach Spaghetti Style

Mmmmm… noodles….

These noodles are great!  They are possibly the best GF noodles I’ve had so far.  They have a great consistancy, they cook up well, they reheat well, they are sexy… what more can you ask for from a noodle?

Try them in this!

GF Spaghetti and Veggie Bake

Ingredients:
1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped small
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped small
1 lb mushroom, cleaned and sliced
1/2 large onion, diced
3 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons oil
3 cups spaghetti sauce
12 ounces rice noodles, cooked about 2/3 of the way, drained and cooled
1/2 cup swiss cheese, grated
1/2 cup colby cheese, grated
1/2 cup colby-monterey jack cheese, grated
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (or to taste)
1 bunch green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon salt

In medium frying pan, heat oil over medium heat.

Put garlic and onions in pan, add a pinch or two of salt and cook on medium-low for approx 3 minutes (they should sweat, not saute), add peppers, mushrooms and spices and cook until liquid is largely gone and everything smells a little like bacon.

Mix spaghetti sauce in to veggie mixture and sprinkle with parmesean cheese (just enough to make it a little stiff, skip this if you’re using a thick sauce — I don’t, I used this one: http://www.recipezaar.com/300648).

Spray a 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray and spread about 4 tblsp of the veggie/sauce mixture in the bottom.

Cover veggie/sauce mixture with a sprinkling of parmesean cheese and a handful of green onions.

Mix remaining sauce mixture with noodles in a seperate bowl for good coverage. Dump in to pan and spread out to an even depth.

Cover with another sprinkling of parmesan cheese and green onions.

Mix swiss, colby and cojack together off-site and cover top of spaghetti with said mixture.

Sprinkle with remaining green onions.

Slip in to a preheated 350 degree oven for 35 minutes.

Cool 10 minutes and cut.

Review: Nature’s Hilights — Rice Crust Pizza (Soy Cheese Style)

I went skipping down the aisles of my two favorite local health food stores, admiring the new GF wares, when I came across this sweet little innocent looking pizza.  Thin crust style, soy cheese, gluten free… WOO WOO!  I brought home said innocent looking pizza and waited for it to finish in the oven… 10-12 minutes, per the box.

After 10, I pulled it out, sliced it and started feeding it in to my face.  The outside was crispy and airy (though by no means pizza-y), the cheese was dry and limp… the sauce looked like someone had dripped wax on the crust.  The middle was gooey like pudding.  This was not a good thing.

I put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes, but the middle is still not cooked.  I don’t know what to do with it because it’s getting really brown already… more time will burn it.  I think this is going down as another GF disaster.    The crust would be really, really good if only it were done in the middle… I wonder if they make mini-pizzas in this brand…

Taco Bell, Take 2!!

I keep an eye on my blog stats and what sorts of keywords get the most hits.  Many of you are landing here because you want to know what’s GF at the Taco Bell.  Well, you’ll be happy to know that they have an allergen guide availible online!!  http://www.yum.com/nutrition/allergen/allergen_tb.asp & http://www.yum.com/nutrition/allergen/allergen_tb_fresco.asp AND AN INGREDIENTS STATEMENT –>  http://www.yum.com/nutrition/documents/tb_ingredient_statement.pdf

As for what actually gets et from that menu, I am told that the beef is unsafe for us, but the chicken is ok.

A short list of things I order at the TB:

- Fiesta Chicken Taco Salad, MINUS Bowl and Red Strips (most locations will give you free tostada shells to use in place of the bowl if you’re in to scooping)
- Zesty Chicken Bowl, MINUS Red Strips and Zesty Sauce
- Tostada (as is)
- Mexican Rice (as is, usually order with Taco Salad and dump in)
- Fresco Zesty Chicken Border Bowl (they’ve started putting red strips on about 25% of the time, so be sure to order WITHOUT)

Feel free to add your favorite GF Taco Bell items to this list, as we’ve got a lot of people looking for that kind of information here.