GFDF Chicken and Wild Rice “Chowder”

03 Thursday Feb 2022

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This has been a favorite for my family since 2008. It’s a great mild meal to serve on a cold day, especially if you have freshly baked warm bread to go with it.

My children HATE peas and rebel if I add them to the recipe, but I enjoy them. Either way, it’s a great meal.

a close up of the chicken, carrots, celery, onions, wild rice, and thickened broth in the cooked dish

Chicken and Wild Rice Chowder

2 tablespoon organic canola or olive oil
1/4 cup organic cornstarch
1-32 oz. box low sodium organic chicken broth
1 lb cooked cubed organic chicken breasts (or thighs if you prefer)
1/2 cup dry wild rice (about 1 cup cooked
4 medium very thinly sliced fresh carrots (about 2 cups)
1 small onion, thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)
1 stalk celery, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 teaspoon organic black pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 cup frozen peas (optional)

Start wild rice cooking according to directions on package in a small pot. This often takes longer than the rest of the prep, so starting it 15-30 minutes in advance isn’t a bad idea.

If you need to cook the chicken, also do that now. I bake my chicken breasts at 400 degrees for 25 minutes in a glass pan.

Prep the carrots, onion, and celery. I slice the carrots in the food processor with a 4 mm blade. The celery can also go through the food processor, but the onion must be diced by hand. Saute the veggies on medium heat in a large soup pot on the stove using the oil to prevent sticking. Stir periodically to prevent over-browning. While veggies are cooking, cube the chicken. Once the onions are clear and the celery and carrots are almost completely cooked, add the chicken, the cooked wild rice, salt, pepper, and all but 1/2 cup of the broth to the pot. Simmer until everything is warmed through and vegetables are all soft.

In a small bowl or cup, mix the 1/2 cup of broth and 1/4 cup cornstarch. Slowly stir into the chicken mixture. Stir frequently while cooking for a few minutes until the mixture has thickened sufficiently. Remove from heat. If you are using frozen peas, stir in now. Serve.

©2022 NaturallyElizabeth.com

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Grandma’s Green Beans

22 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Side Dishes, Soy Free

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Growing up, my paternal grandmother often made a particular green bean recipe for dinners at her house, usually served with meatloaf or roast beef. I always loved them and couldn’t get enough of them. When I was old enough to be out on my own, I asked her for the recipe. She told me it was just hot German potato salad made with green beans instead of potatoes. She often would use artificial sweetener for the sugar which doesn’t happen at my house, and she always used canned green beans whereas I use fresh or frozen. Still, they are called Grandma’s Green Beans at my house and are a favorite. Anything with bacon and onions has to be good! I will often make a double batch using a whole package of bacon just so that I can have leftovers.

Grandma's Green Beans by Naturally Elizabeth

Grandma’s Green Beans

Grandma’s Green Beans

5 slices nitrate-free bacon
1 medium white or yellow onion, diced (1/2-3/4 cup)
1 pound fresh or frozen organic green beans (or 2 cans of drained green beans)
1 tablespoon organic cornstarch
1 tablespoon organic sugar or 2-3 drops of stevia extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon organic celery seed
1/8 teaspoon organic black pepper
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup organic white vinegar

In a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together the cornstarch, sugar/stevia, salt, celery seed, black pepper, water and vinegar. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, cook the bacon and set aside. (Keeping household members from eating the cooked bacon is always a challenge for me at this point.)

Remove half of the bacon grease from the pan and dispose of in a responsible manner.

In the remaining bacon grease, saute the diced onions until almost cooked over medium heat. Add in the green beans. Cook until green beans are done. Add in the liquid mixture and cook for a minute or two longer, allowing it to form a thicker sauce that coats everything in the pan.

Remove from heat. Crumble the bacon on top. Serve warm, but leftovers taste great cold or warm.

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

Roasted Squash Seeds

16 Thursday Apr 2020

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Other, Soy Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

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raw organic butternut squash seeds

raw organic butternut squash seeds

Credit for this recipe goes to Kim Lane of Austinmamas fame. I’ve adapted it a bit to meet allergy needs, but the heart of it is the same. The most important thing she taught me was that you don’t wash the seeds. You leave the goop on them. It makes them much more flavorful and is a lot less of a pain!

This recipe works with seeds of any kind from the squash family which includes melons. You can use butternut, acorn, pumpkin, honeydew or cantaloupe. I generally stick to the more vegetable seeds.

Roasted Squash Seeds

Ingredients

Seeds from one or more squash (do not clean!)
A few teaspoons of oil that is safe for you or melted butter
A few shakes of salt of your choice (flavored salts work, too)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 250F.

Take the seeds out of the squash. Remove any huge chunks of squash strings from the seeds, but do not wash or remove little bits. They add flavor! Place the seeds in a pan that will hold them all in a single layer, and lightly coat the seeds with the oil or butter of your choice. Shake a bit of salt over them. Stir until all are relatively coated.

Bake the seeds for one hour, pulling them out every 15 minutes and stirring, pushing them back into a flat layer every time.

Allow to cool and then eat. They can be stored in a sealed bag or container on the counter for a short amount of time, but I rarely have any left since we tend to eat them all while they are warm!

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

roasted and salted organic butternut squash seeds

roasted and salted organic butternut squash seeds

Apple Raspberry Crisp

15 Wednesday Apr 2020

Posted by in Egg Free, Nut Free, Other, Soy Free, Vegetarian

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organic apple raspberry crisp

organic apple raspberry crisp

A lot of people are very picky about which apples they bake with. I am not. I use whatever is on the counter which is a variety of what my kids like and what is on sale. I will vary what I put into apple recipes based on what’s in the house.

Adapted from here.

Apple Raspberry Crisp

Ingredients

Filling

  • 1/2 cup packed organic light brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons organic cornstarch
  • 5 medium organic apples (about 6 cups), peeled, cored and thinly sliced ( I used 2 Granny Smith, 2 Honeycrisp, and 1 Gala for the pictured crisp)
  • 6 oz fresh organic raspberries

Topping

  • 1/2 cup packed organic light brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup organic old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup organic all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons organic ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 6 tablespoons organic unsalted butter, softened

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9×9 inch or 8×8 inch square baking dish with the oil of your choice. (I use organic canola or organic sunflower oil.)
  2. In a large bowl, mix sliced apples and raspberries with 1/2 a cup of brown sugar and cornstarch. It will not be completely evenly coated, and that’s ok. Spoon into the prepared baking dish. In the bowl, now mix together the other 1/2 cup of brown sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon and salt. Stir in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over apple mixture.
  3. Put the baking dish on a cookie sheet in case it bubbles over. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until topping is lightly browned and apples are soft. Serve warm.

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

 

Carne Guisada (Mexican Beef Stew)

10 Friday Apr 2020

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Carne Guisada

Carne Guisada with white rice

Ingredients

1 pound organic or grass-fed beef stew meat in bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons organic cornstarch
2 tablespoons organic olive oil or oil of your choice
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves organic garlic, minced
2 organic jalapeno peppers, minced (or only 1 if you are a Yankee who doesn’t like it hot!)
1.5 cups organic beef broth (I use Pacific or Imagine brand)
1/2 cup organic enchilada sauce or salsa
1 teaspoon organic chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Coat meat pieces with cornstarch, then brown in olive oil in an ovenproof Dutch oven. You’re not fully cooking the meat but are just putting a little color on it.
  3. Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, beef stock, enchilada sauce, salt and chili powder; warm on the stove just until you can see steam coming off of the top of it.
  4. Cover the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven, baking for about 2 hours, until meat is extremely tender. The sauce will thicken quite a bit as it cooks, too.
  5. Serve with rice, veggies, or with gluten-free tortillas.

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

Mardi Gras Muffins

18 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Cakes, Dairy Free, Nut Free, Soy Free, Sweet Breads, Vegetarian

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Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins on a blue Fiestaware plate

Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins

At one point, my daughter sent me a recipe, swearing they were the best pancakes ever. I had every intention of making them for Mardi Gras this year, but bronchitis has me worn down. It’s far easier to make muffins than pancakes because I don’t have to stand over the stove, so I converted the recipe to muffins for my son to enjoy.

Of course, after doing this, I figured out that Mardi Gras isn’t until next week. Doh!

Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 cup organic light brown sugar
2 cups organic white or whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 teaspoons baking powder
4 teaspoons organic cinnamon

1 cup organic vanilla coconut milk (or milk substitute of your choice)*
2 large organic eggs
1 Tablespoon organic vanilla extract

1.5 cups organic white chocolate chips (contain dairy)**
2 large or 3 small ripe organic bananas, mashed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line about 21 muffin tins with liners or grease.

Mix together the sugar, flour, sea salt, baking powder, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, mix “milk”, eggs, and vanilla. In a third bowl, mash bananas and mix chocolate chips. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix. Stir in banana and chocolate chip mixture.

Scoop muffin mix 2/3 full into tins. Bake at 350 for 20-24 minutes. Cool and eat.

*To make this recipe nut free, use rice milk, oat milk, or soy milk.

**To make this recipe dairy free, use dairy free dark chocolate chips.

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Banana White Chocolate Chip Muffins

Chicken with Pesto Parmesan Cream Sauce

14 Friday Feb 2020

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organic chicken with pesto parmesan cream sauce

organic chicken with pesto parmesan cream sauce served on a bed of spiralized zucchini noodles

Chicken with Pesto Parmesan Cream Sauce

4 slices nitrate free bacon

2 large organic chicken breasts (about 1.5 lbs)

Sauce
1 cup organic cream
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup organic grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon organic corn starch
4 tablespoons organic pesto

salt to taste

In a small mixing bowl, mix all of the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Trim chicken breasts and split in half length-wise to make them thinner and resulting in four pieces of chicken.

In a 12″ frying pan, cook the bacon and set aside on a paper towel to absorb extra grease. Leave a bit of the grease in the bottom of the pan. Crumble the bacon once cool.

Once the bacon is cooling, put the chicken breasts in the frying pan and cook over medium heat, about 5 minutes on each side until done.

Remove the chicken breasts from heat and set on a paper towel on a plate.

In the same frying pan, add in the mixed sauce ingredients. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat until the sauce has thickened. Add additional salt to taste. Remove from heat.

On individual plates, place the chicken breast over a bed of vegetables or (gluten free) pasta of your choice. Add the chicken breast, top with sauce, and sprinkle with bacon bits. Serve warm.

Serves 4.

©2020 NaturallyElizabeth.com

Ham, Bean and Chard Soup

22 Friday Nov 2019

Posted by in Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soups, Soy Free

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I’m currently eating a very low nightshade diet to help reduce inflammation. Fortunately or unfortunately, it seems to be helping a lot. When I try to eat peppers, my pain levels go up rapidly. Tomatoes don’t seem to bother me as much, and eggplant is easy to avoid. So I’m having to redo a lot of my recipes to try to reduce nightshades and still retain taste because I generally depend highly on peppers for flavor. This is tonight’s successful and delicious effort.

**

Ham, Bean and Chard Soup Recipe GFDF

Ham, Bean and Chard Soup

Ham, Bean and Chard Soup

2 cups diced all-natural ham
2 cans (14 ounce) Great Northern organic beans (or other beans of your choice), drained
1 medium yellow or white organic onion, diced
2 medium organic carrots, sliced very thin
4 cloves organic garlic, minced
1 bunch organic chard, stems sliced thinly and leaves shredded in bite size pieces
4 cups (1 box) organic low sodium chicken broth (I used Pacific brand)
3 teaspoons organic dried thyme
2 teaspoons organic dried mustard (not prepared mustard)
2 teaspoons organic ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sea salt
several tablespoons organic olive oil (or other cooking oil of your choice)

In a soup pot, pour in a few tablespoons of olive oil. Saute onion, chard stems, and carrots over medium heat until onions are almost fully translucent. Add garlic. Saute for another few minutes. Add broth, ham, beans, thyme, mustard, black pepper, and sea salt. Cook until all has warmed through, broth is bubbling and carrots are fully cooked. Add chard leaves to the pot and stir until they have wilted. Remove from heat and serve.

©2019 NaturallyElizabeth.com

Crockpot Italian Meatloaf

17 Friday May 2019

Posted by in Crockpot, Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Main Dishes, Nut Free, Soy Free

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photo of crockpot Italian meatloaf

crockpot Italian meatloaf

This recipe is very forgiving in terms of allergens. You can omit or substitute several things and still have it come out incredibly well. Possible adaptions are listed below in the ingredients list.

Please note that my crockpot is from 1994, so it doesn’t cook as fast as more modern ones. You may need to shorten the cooking times to work with your crockpot.

Crockpot Italian Meatloaf

  • 2 pounds extra lean organic or grass-fed beef
  • 1.5 cups bread or cracker crumbs (use gluten free crumbs for a GF recipe)
  • 1 organic egg (omit for egg free option)
  • 3/4 cup organic pasta sauce of your choice
  • 2 tablespoons organic minced dried onion
  • 1 teaspoon organic garlic powder
  • 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon organic ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon organic Italian seasoning
  • another 3/4 cup organic pasta sauce
  • 3 slices or 3 ounces (give or take) organic mozzarella or 3/4 cup organic parmesan cheese (omit for dairy free option)

In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except the last two. Using your hands is easiest. Form the mixture into a large ball and then place in the bottom of the crockpot. Gently flatten the ball to the bottom of the crockpot though not all the way to the edges of the pot; do not tightly compact the loaf. Spread the remaining 3/4 cup organic pasta over the top. Put the lid on the crockpot.

Plug in and turn on. Cook for 2.5-3 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.

About 15 minutes (high) or 30 minute (low) before being done, sprinkle the cheese (if using) across the top of the meatloaf. Cover again and let finish cooking.

To serve, cut into wedges. Tastes great when served with leafy greens, a salad, or steamed broccoli.

©2019 NaturallyElizabeth.com

GFDF Peach Cupcakes

11 Saturday May 2019

Posted by in Cakes, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Sweet Breads, Vegetarian

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These are somewhere in between a cupcake and a muffin. The original recipe had a frosting on them, but they really don’t need it. Pictures of the gluten version are found here.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Peach Cupcakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

  • 2/3 c organic tapioca starch
  • 2/3 c sorghum flour
  • 2/3 c almond flour
  • ½ c organic white rice flour
  • 1 t xanthan gum
  • 2 t baking powder
  • ½ t sea salt
  • 1/2 c organic rice milk
  • 1 T organic pure vanilla extract
  • ¾ c organic palm shortening
  • 1.5 c organic evaporated cane juice (sugar)
  • 4 large organic eggs
  • 4 medium-large organic peaches, peeled, pitted, and finely chopped (~2 cups) (nectarines, plums, apricots, or any stone fruit will work)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix together all of the dry ingredients (tapioca starch, sorghum flour, almond flour, white rice flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, sea salt).  Set aside.
  2. Stir vanilla extract into the rice milk in a liquid measuring cup.
  3. In another bowl, beat palm shortening and evaporated cane juice with a mixer on medium speed.  Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating twice with milk mixture.
  4. Line a standard muffin tin with baking cups. This recipe will not work right without the baking cups! Fill each with 3 layers: 1 tablespoon batter, 1 tablespoon chopped peaches, and an additional 1 tablespoon batter. Bake until edges begin to turn golden, about 25 minutes. Let cool in tin.

Makes about 18-20 cupcakes.