Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Chowder--Dairy Free and Gluten Free

Today I made another batch of Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Chowder, just because it was so good that basically the whole pot of soup got eaten the other night when we had it!  I'm not sure how it happened since I dished out a bowl for each person and then went to the family room for a few moments of relative quiet. I didn't think it would be so liked that the kids would eat the rest of the pot when left on their own for a few moments.  ("Mom!  I ate 4 or 5 bowls all myself!!")  I guess that's a good thing, though, considering how my boys have been so picky with the dairy free attempts I have made in the past.  If they loved it enough to inhale it, they deserve to have as much as they want this one time after being dairy free and feeling deprived for so long.  Another good test is that my husband and brother-in-law couldn't tell the soup was dairy free, and they loved it, too.  I served the soup with cornbread muffins made using Bob's Red Mill GF Cornbread Mix.

I decided to put my soup to another test tonight before posting the recipe.  I took some to our friends' house for them to try.  Everyone loved it and couldn't tell it was dairy free until I told them.  Everyone who tried it said I should share the recipe, so I decided it was time to share:

Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Chowder
4 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. dry white wine*
5 russet potatoes, cubed
3 lbs. frozen or fresh california blend veggies, cut in bite-sized pieces
     (carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower)
1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 c. chopped, cooked chicken
4 c. almond milk + 1 c. for making slurry
1 pkg. original unsweetened MimicCreme
6 Tbs. GF nutritional yeast (nooch)
3 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. dried parsley
2 t. salt
2 t. herbamare
1/2 t. black pepper
1/4 t. ground celery seed
1/4 t. ground mustard
1/4 c. sweet rice flour

Pour the chicken stock and wine in a large pot.  Add the potato cubes and simmer.  As the potatoes are simmering, cut your other vegetables into bite-sized pieces, and chop your onion and garlic.  Add the veggies, onion, and garlic to the soup pot when the potatoes are almost tender.  If your vegetables are fresh (raw), then you will want to add the carrots at the same time as you add the potatoes, or perhaps even a minute or two before the potatoes, depending on how big your pieces are cut.  You will want to add fresh cauliflower and broccoli after the fresh carrots and potatoes have cooked for a little while, but before they are fully tender.  I used 1 lb. frozen carrots and 2 lbs. frozen California Blend veggies for convenience sake.  Add the 4 c. almond milk and the package of Mimiccreme.  Bring your soup to a simmer, cooking on medium heat and stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick.  Add the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and all the herbs and spices.  Add the chopped chicken.  Allow your soup to simmer until the potatoes and vegetables are tender.

While your soup simmers, make a slurry by thoroughly whisking the sweet rice flour with additional almond milk (or a little water if you don't have more almond milk).  I used about 3/4 c. almond milk to the 1/4 c. flour, though you could use a little more or less.  When the veggies are about tender, stir the slurry into the soup.  Continue stirring the soup until it has thickened and the rice flour has "cooked" into the soup--you don't want a rice flour taste or texture in your soup.  Remove from heat and enjoy!

*I used a dry honey wine from Montezuma Winery, though it appears that may not be available at this time.  Next time I make this, I will try a dry American Sauvignon Blanc as suggested here.  If you don't want to use wine, you might try a white wine vinegar, though I don't know how much you would use, and I believe the results would taste different than if you used actual wine. 



1/26/12--Update:  I just made this soup using the American Sauvignon Blanc, and it was just as delicious as with the honey wine.

Dairy Free Recipes to Come and Bob's Red Mill Cornbread Mix Review

Today was a great day.  I took Cassie and Nathan to History class this morning to hand in their term papers (we were too late to actually attend the class).  Then we went to Davis College.  All the kids enjoy going on Fridays to the school.  They did their school work in the campus library while we waited to meet Chuck for lunch in the cafeteria.  We really can't eat any of the food the cafeteria serves with the exception of the salad bar.  The prices are great--$2 per person for all you can eat salad bar.  It's a good thing we like salad!  :-)  We all love getting to see Chuck for lunch during the school day, and it breaks up his day, which he really enjoys, too.  Some of the students come to our table and say hi.

Then the kids and I went to the Oakdale Mall.  I had to go to the Girl Scout store to pick up a Brownie Try-It Book for Moriah.  We decided to look around the different stores because the kids all had money burnin' holes in their pockets!  We found some great deals, though.  Elijah found a nice hoodie at Aeropostale that was marked down from over $50 to $12!  The boys also found some jeans at JC Penney's that were marked down to $5!

After we got home, Elijah and I made some awesome Creamy Chicken Chowder, a recipe I will share very soon.  Last night I made an updated and even better version of my Chicken and Broccoli Casserole, another one I will share/update soon, as well.  Of course these recipes are gluten-free, as well, and they taste oh-so-yummy, and even cheezy! 

To go with our Creamy Chicken Chowder tonight, Elijah made up a batch of Bob's Red Mill Cornbread.  Instead of making it in a 9" pan, he made 12 muffins.  We haven't had cornbread in ages!  My absolute favorite cornbread used to be the Jiffy mixes.  Now, of course, that is off limits.  I have made several from-scratch cornbread recipes from various cookbooks, but I have to say that we really enjoyed the BRM Cornbread Mix better than any of the recipes I have tried.  It was so very easy, and the muffins were delicious.  Everyone wanted seconds, but I told them we're gonna take the rest with us tomorrow to a special Family Day at Davis College tomorrow.  The school is providing lunch and dinner for all the families, and I want to take some yummy GF food to add to the salad bar.  I will definitely pick up a few more packages of the cornbread mix for busy days when I want to make a little something extra to go with dinner that is delicious, fast, and easy. 

Lastly, I wanted to say that it is so great that awareness about gluten intolerance is spreading so well.  Our local Wal Mart Superstore has recently added a small Gluten Free section to the grocery side.  It is at the end of the baking aisle.  That's where we got the cornbread mix.  It was $2.88, which is the best price I have seen.  Also, the Christmas Tree Store in Johnson City has some gluten free goodies at decent prices.  (I say decent because I am talking about comparing gluten free foods with gluten free foods.  We all know that gluten free foods are more expensive than gluten-laden foods.)  I have noticed that Big Lots also frequently carries various gluten free cereals at very good prices.  Although I have been really into making things from scratch due to the huge amount of starch in the mixes, as well as the sky-high prices, gluten-free foods are becoming a little more available and are so much easier for me to make when we go through periods of extreme busy-ness with sports, school, etc.  It also makes it easier for friends and family to make gluten free foods that we can eat when we go to visit them for dinner.  I believe that as long as we keep moderation in mind when we make and eat these starchy foods, we can still be healthy.

I will try to share my new recipes soon...just as soon as I can take a couple of good pictures!  Have a blessed weekend.  :-)

I'll Be Back Soon

     I can't believe how much time has gone by since my last post!  Although, in a way, I can.  I have been so extremely busy with my children's schedules, as well as my husband's and my own.  I am rarely home long enough to cook, so I haven't been coming up with any new recipes.  "What have you been eating?" you may ask!  Well, we haven't been eating very healthy, that's for sure!
     Our staple stand by foods over the past few months have largely been rice cakes with peanut butter and bananas, Food For Life Brown Rice Tortillas with various fillings, fresh fruit, baby carrots, rice with veggies, beans, and meats.  We have also been eating a lot of Bob's Red Mill's new GF Quick Oats with brown sugar and cinnamon, as well as GF Chex cereals with Silk Vanilla Almond Milk.  I have also been making my own trail mix with varieties of raw nuts, dried fruits, and GF/DF chocolate chips.  On the down side, we have been eating a lot of tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips, GF packaged cookies, GF packaged doughnuts, GF packaged rice bars, etc.--in other words, lots of processed, packaged junk foods that have little nutritional value!  That just goes to show you that we are human and revert back to what is easiest in times of great busy-ness.
     During this time, my husband and I have been trying to carve out special "together moments."  It is so important to make time for your spouse, even if it's just an hour or two per week during the busiest months.  Since he has many physical limitations, we have a harder time figuring out what to do together and usually end up going to a local restaurant for lunch (it's so much cheaper going then).  Because of my dietary restrictions, restaurants are difficult for me, even those that try to offer gluten free meals.  I have found that over the last four months, my health has suffered.  I have had a return of symptoms that had completely gone, leaving me feeling "down in the dumps."  Since we are eating completely gluten free at home, the only explanation I have for the return of symptoms is that there is cross contamination at the restaurants I am eating at, which makes me frustrated because it is about the only thing hubby and I can think of to do together that gives us an opportunity to talk about the things that are important for us to talk about and give each other our undivided attention.  What to do in this situation?  I honestly don't have a solution, yet, but I'm trying.  So far, I am continuing to go out with my husband because that is so important to our relationship right now.  I have purchased some digestive enzymes specifically geared to digesting gluten, so I am just starting to try those out, not for the purpose of eating gluten, but to try to avoid symptoms in situations of cross-contamination.  I'll let you know if they help.
     On top of everything else, I am starting an entertainment business.  Cassie and I paint faces, Chuck makes balloon animals and sculptures and is teaching our kids to do the same, and Elijah is learning to juggle and do magic tricks.  I have been very busy with all of that, but I am starting to have a little more time to think about cooking again, now that the slower months are upon us.
     So, I should be back very soon.  Be watching for new recipes that I will be sharing in the next month.  I will also start doing book, food, restaurant, and equipment reviews as I have been trying new things.  I will try to post something more by next week.  We have a big party to do tonight, and Elijah's birthday tomorrow, which will keep us busy all weekend since we usually have more than one celebration with various grandparents when it is someone's birthday.
     I hope you all have a great weekend, and God bless you!
 

Cashew Coconut Fruit Dip

In the last couple of weeks I have had several parties--a Pampered Chef party, a graduation party for my dear husband, and a Memorial Day picnic.  I have been trying a ton of new recipes, including this one of a Raw Vegan Ranch Dressing Dip that my friends have all loved.  I tweaked it, of course, and am not completely ready to share it, yet, but the recipe is very good just as it is from Sunny Raw Kitchen.  If any of you would like to try it before I blog my own version, please click on the link and give it a try.

Between testing new recipes, cooking for parties, and getting my garden ready to plant, I haven't had any time for blogging.  My garden is still not done (Is it ever?!?), but I figured I would take a little break to blog about a new recipe I have developed.  I made this dip for all of the recent parties I have been at, and it has been a consistent favorite, with many asking for my recipe.  With all of the busyness, I haven't gotten a picture taken, yet, however I will try to get one soon and will post it when I do.

Cashew Coconut Fruit Dip
1/2 c. cashews, soaked and rinsed
1 can Thai Kitchens coconut milk (regular, not light)
2 Tbs. honey
1 Tbs. lemon juice
20 drops NuNaturals Alcohol-Free Vanilla Stevia
1 1/2 Tbs. chia seeds*

Blend the cashews, coconut milk, honey, lemon juice, and stevia until smooth.  Keep the blender running, and add the chia seeds.  Continue to blend until the chia seeds are blended up and the mixture is thickened.  If you don't have vanilla stevia, you could add some vanilla extract and may want to add an extra tablespoon or so of honey.  If you add vanilla and more honey, you may decide that you need to add a touch more chia seeds if your mixture doesn't thicken as much as desired.  I try to keep this dip as thick as I possibly can and still be able to blend up the chia seeds.  If it's too thick to blend up the chia seeds, you can add just a little touch of water, just enough to blend the chia seeds.  I'm sure that a VitaMix blender would be able to make it a little thicker, but my blender is not quite as powerful as that.

This dip will thicken more in the fridge as it chills.  It's a good idea to make it the day before your party, or at least several hours before.  After taking it out of the fridge, it will thin out a little as it gets to room temperature, so if it seems too thick to you (I like it really thick), let it sit out for a little while before serving.  I like to eat this with fruit for breakfast sometimes since I can't have yogurt.  It's healthy and delicious.

*You can also grind your chia seeds in a coffee grinder and then add the chia flour instead of the whole seeds.