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.

Sarah's GF Whole-Grain Sandwich Rounds

This week starts the big cram for the kids' homeschool co-op history play.  Cassie and Nathan are participating in the grand event this year, so I have been busy with a lot of sewing (history costumes and also 12 dance skirts for Moriah's dance team) over the last couple of months.  I only have 2 costumes left to make, and then I have all the little stuff to do (button holes, buttons, trims, etc.).  I am so glad it's almost done.  The play is in 3 weeks, so the kids will be having practices a lot more than usual.  This week they'll practice 2 days, 4 hrs. each practice.  Next week they'll practice 3 days, 4 hrs. each practice, and the following week they'll practice every day, 5 hrs. each day, culminating with the play Friday night and Saturday afternoon.  Then they'll have a showing the following Saturday, as well.


Also, with Elijah's baseball practices starting up this week, things are going to be very hectic.  That being said, I will have little time to do a lot of cooking.  To start things off well, I decided to make some sandwich rounds.  I have a dozen hard boiled eggs just waiting to be turned into egg salad, and I have canned tuna for those who prefer that.  This sandwich round recipe comes from my sister, Sarah.  These are whole-grain, so they are heavier than white bread.  They kind of remind me of some of the whole-grain breads I used to eat that I really loved.  They weren't light and airy.  They were substantial and filling, as well as delicious.  I shaped these buns into flat (maybe 1/2" thick), round discs.  They turn out similar to the sandwich rounds that you see in the stores now.  These make delicious and filling sandwiches, and my sister says she likes to toast them like English muffins, as well.  I haven't tried them that way, yet.  I can't stop eating them as sandwiches!  I make 22 sandwich rounds with this recipe because I make them fairly small (they are filling), but you can make them a little bigger if you like.  I will be making more either tomorrow or Friday, so I can freeze a bunch.  Sarah freezes them whole and thaws them in her wide-slot toaster before slicing them.  I will probably slice them before freezing since I don't have a toaster and don't like to use the microwave too much. These sandwich rounds are not all crumbly like some other gluten-free breads I have tried.

                                          (Please excuse the fine china!--Look at the texture!)

Sarah's GF Whole-Grain Sandwich Rounds
6 1/3 c. Sarah's GF Whole-Grain All-Purpose Flour Mix
6 Tbs. evaporated cane juice
5 t. xanthan gum 
2 Tbs. instant yeast
3 t. salt
1/3 c. + 3 Tbs. egg whites (OR 2 eggs + 2 egg whites)
2 1/4 c. club soda or water, warmed (or seltzer water)
2 t. raw apple cider vinegar, warmed with the club soda
1/2 c. light-tasting olive oil (I used regular pure olive oil)

Turn your oven on warm and turn it off just before putting the rounds in to rise.

Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  In your mixer bowl lightly beat the eggs.  Add the warmed club soda mixture, vinegar, and oil, beating until mixed.  Slowly pour in the dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until it forms a smooth dough, then beat on high for 2 minutes.  Dip a spatula in water and scrape 1/2 of the dough onto a counter that has been dusted with brown rice flour.  The dough will be sticky, so you should flip it over a couple of times on the floured counter, lightly covering the surface of your dough with rice flour.  Pull off a piece of dough maybe a little larger than a golf ball and a little smaller than a tennis ball (bigger if you want large sandwich rounds).  Pat it into a round, flat disc about 1/2" thick, or thicker if you want your rounds to be thicker.

                                          (Before rising)


Place the disc on a parchment-lined cookie sheet (or greased cookie sheet) and put in your warmed oven to rise for 45 minutes.  Pull out the rounds and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

                                             (After rising)

While your oven is preheating, brush the tops of your rounds with olive oil, or spray with olive oil.  Bake for around 20 minutes, until internal temperature is 205 degrees.  My sister checks hers with a meat thermometer.  I don't bother checking.  Mine still turn out fine.  Cool on wire racks.  

Dinner tonight was egg salad sandwiches (a real treat since I rarely bake bread), DF Nacho Cheeze Dip with organic yellow tortilla chips, and fresh fruit.  Yum!

Black Bean and Lentil Soup (Taco Soup)

My family loves this soup.  It tastes kind of like tacos.  You can add ground beef if you like, but it tastes great without it, too.  I serve this soup with tortilla chips that we like to break up and sprinkle on top of the soup in our bowls.  You could also serve it with corn bread and/or some shredded cheddar cheese and sliced jalapenos.


Black Bean and Lentil Soup
2 c. dry black beans
splash apple cider vinegar
6 c. cold water
1 Tbs. olive oil
6+c. additional water
2 bay leaves
1 c. dry French green lentils
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapenos, chopped OR a can or 2 of chopped green chilies
6 carrots, sliced
1 (28 oz.) diced tomatoes in juice
2 c. GF vegetable broth (we like Wegmans brand)
1/4 c. + 2 Tbs. Mexican Seasoning
3 Tbs. raw Apple Cider Vinegar (plus a splash in the bean soaking water)
1/4 c. Frank's Red Hot
1 lb. frozen corn
juice of 1 lime (about 3-4 Tbs.)
additional water as needed (I added about 4 c.)
2 c. raw rice, cooked separately
     (will yield about 5 1/2 - 6 cups cooked rice)

Sort and rinse dry black beans.  Soak in 6 c. cold water with a splash of raw apple cider vinegar overnight.  When ready to make soup the next day, drain and rinse the soaked beans.  Cook them in enough fresh water to cover the beans 4" deep with the 2 bay leaves (in a large stock pot with a heavy bottom to help prevent sticking and burning--and add the olive oil to cut down on foaming and boil-overs).  After about 45 minutes, add lentils.  Also add garlic, onion, bell pepper, jalapenos, carrots, tomatoes and juice, vegetable broth, Mexican Seasoning, lime juice, vinegar, hot sauce, and frozen corn.  Add additional water as needed.  Cook the soup until vegetables and beans are tender.  Add the cooked rice at the end.  You don't need to add all the rice, it's up to your individual preference.  Some may decide to put the rice in each person's bowl and ladle the soup over it.  I sometimes like to do the latter since it seems like the rice soaks up a lot of the broth as it sits in the pot.  Remember to remove the bay leaves before eating, storing, and/or freezing the soup.  If freezing the soup, I recommend freezing the rice separately or making the rice fresh on the day you will be serving the soup.

Cook the rice according to package directions.  I usually use long grain brown rice.  If making 2 c. brown rice, I add 3 1/2 c. water and cook it in my rice cooker.

Allergy-Free Eating on a Budget: Tip 3 and Quick and Easy Buffalo Chicken Wraps/Quesadillas

     Tip #3 is to know your prices. I frequent my local health food stores and the Nature's Marketplace section of Wegman's often enough to know where to buy different things. I pay attention to the prices in the co-op catalog each month. I occasionally check my local WalMart Superstore to see if they have added any GF or DF (dairy-free) products. I know that the Rice Dream rice milk is cheapest at WalMart. I have searched and cannot find it cheaper anywhere else. (I know Rice Dream says it's GF, and other people say it's not. Nathan doesn't seem to react to it, so I use it when I'm not making my own rice milk or nut milks, though I feel a little nauseous if I drink too much (usually just have it on cereal a couple times a week). I know that it's cheapest to make my own rice milk and nut milks, so I try to do that when I'm not too rushed for time. Our favorite DF milk is cashew milk, and it's the easiest to make. Raw nuts and seeds are definitely cheapest through the co-op for me, but some of you might have a Trader Joe's nearby where you may find it cheaper.  Homemade nut milk is more nutritious than homemade rice milk, too.
     Keep a record in your planner, purse, or wallet of prices from different stores and mail order companies (or co-ops) where you buy things.  Compare prices.  After awhile you will have a pretty good idea where you want to purchase which foods.  Some places might be kind of out of the way for me to go to in order to get the best price.  I might handle that by going there once in awhile and buying the 1 or 2 things I get from that store in bulk, decreasing the amount of times I will have to go there.  Or, I might take a loss and purchase what I need at whatever store I am at if I really need to and don't have time to go to the other store.  In that situation, I have to weigh which is more important to me, time or money, and whether or not the price of the extra gas to get there would make up for the savings I would be getting.  For instance, we buy a large amount of sweet rice flour from an Asian store that is about 1/2 hour away from us, in an area where we rarely ever go.  It's not worth going there if it's just for 1 small bag, so we buy at least 5-10 lbs. at a time which lasts me quite awhile.
     One thing I noticed is that Betty Crocker has come out with a line of cake, brownie, and cookie mixes that are GF.  Our local grocery stores have finally started carrying this line of boxed mixes, which excited me tremendously when they first brought them out.  However, I started comparing prices as I noticed all the stores starting to carry them.  I found