gluten free cooking

Chicken Stir Fry With Rice Noodles

When time is short, the weather is hot and you are hungry for a real meal I find a stir fry can be a lifesaver of an entree.  It allows me to use whatever is in the fridge and pantry to create a fresh wholesome meal very quickly, less then 30 minutes including prep.

For a starch my go to choice is often rice noodles, they come in skinny to very wide size and are so easy to prepare.  They take on the flavor of the rest of the dish which can be handy; no flavor conflicts here.

This version I am sharing today is a chicken stir fry made with those delightful wide rice noodles you can get these days in most grocery stores.  I soak them in very hot water for ten minutes and drain well before stirring them into the completed dish.  Easy for sure!  This batch was marked as extra wide and they were just that.

Notes: the veggie amounts are very fluid; use more if you like a lot of something or skip if you hate.  Best made in a wok; I have a small one I use all the time.  I guess you can use a fry pan; keep it hot and stir constantly.

I actually ate the leftovers the day after for my supper: served it cold as a salad; added a touch more soy sauce and a swig of sesame oil and it was just delightful: refreshingly different.

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Chicken Stir Fry with Rice Noodles

Ingredients:

Wide rice noodles; enough for 2 people

½ lb of chicken breast cut into bite sized bits

1-2 tbsp. cooking oil (I like mild olive oil)

1 medium onion cut down from the top and then into slices top to bottom

1 big carrot; sliced on the diagonal

1 celery stalk sliced on diagonal

1 cup broccoli chunks

1 baby bok choy; about 1 cup of cut up chunks (2 big stalks works too)

2/3 cup pea pods; either snap or sugar peas

1 big garlic clove minced

About ½ a tsp of grated fresh ginger

1 tsp. corn starch dissolved in 1/3 cup water

1-2 tsp. soy sauce (be sure it is gf)

Directions:

Put the noodles in a bowl half full of very hot water; I heat it in the microwave until almost boiling. I break them in half before putting in water; up to you if you like long strands. Let stand ten minutes.  Meanwhile, cut the chicken up into thin slices or chunks; nothing that can’t fit easily into someone’s mouth.  Heat mini wok, add oil.  Add chicken and stir it after a minute; flipping over; brown all over lightly; 3-4 minutes.  Remove to a plate.  Add onion, celery and carrot, stir a minute or two then add broccoli and bok choy, stir 1-2 minutes.  Add the pea pods and garlic.  Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.  You want the veggies to be a touch crisp but mostly cooked.

Add back the chicken and the ginger, stir well for 30 seconds to a minute.  Pour in the cornstarch water slurry and 1 tsp. soy sauce.  Stir as it cooks for one minute; add more water if not enough sauce to your liking. This last minute is critical to make the sauce clear; cooks the cornstarch. Taste and add more soy sauce if you want, also, season with salt and fresh black pepper to your liking.

I often use fruit juice for some or all of the water.  Pineapple is my favorite but orange juice or even lemon juice works well for some of the fluid; adds a lot of flavor. Add the noodles and stir well before serving.  Should serve 2 people easily, maybe 3 if one isn’t too hungry!

This is a naturally gluten free dish.  If you dislike rice noodles serve it over rice. Enjoy!

Refreshing Dinner Salad with Tuna and Fresh Dill

Tuna salad, that kinda conjures up images of mayonnaise drenched tuna on bread.  Nope, not what we are talking about today. I am thinking something more like a supper plate salad but using canned olive oil packed tuna.  There are a couple of good brands of olive oil packed light tuna, I use them in Italian recipes all the time, the flavor is superior to any water or other oil packed tuna.

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You can put this together with stuff in the fridge and pantry and have a healthy, tasty cold salad that needs no cooking meaning no hot stove.  I will share what I put in mine and you can modify it to use what you have available, exact amounts are flexible.  I am sure you could use canned salmon instead of tuna or cooked chicken might work great too.  The key to success is lots of fresh veggies, high quality tuna and a good vinaigrette dressing.

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Angie’s Tuna Supper Plate Salad

1 can oil packed light tuna (I used half a can: rest will keep a day in the fridge for another salad)

2 cups greens, best is garden lettuce, if none; get something like a spring mix or another tender leaf lettuce

½ cup sliced cucumber: I prefer an European cucumber for this recipe

1/3 cup sliced yellow squash (raw)

1 tomato cut into large chunks

¼ cup chopped celery

1-2 tbsp. feta cheese crumbled

1-2 scallions or spring onions diced up

2 tbsp. chopped fresh dill

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Directions: Put the greens on a full sized plate and arrange the veggies, top with cheese, then tuna and on the very top goes the spring onion and fresh dill.

Vinaigrette Dressing:

Here is my basic vinaigrette recipe.  I use one of those Good Seasoning’s jars to mix it in but add my own ingredients instead of their powder which is not gluten free. You can use any jar with a tight lid and measure in the ingredients.

Fill it to the vinegar line with red wine vinegar, (approx. 1/4 cup)

Add some filtered water to the water line (about 2 tbsp)

½ tsp Dijon mustard or whole grain mustard

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp dried thyme or oregano

one garlic clove (peeled and mashed down a bit to release flavor)

1 tsp mayonnaise

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp sugar

Top off with some extra virgin olive oil, stop halfway before the oil line and finish it with lighter olive oil (total of ½ cup plus 1 tbsp. of oil)

Shake it up really well.  It tastes best at room temperature. Try to remember to make it early so you can let it marinate for an hour before you use it.  Refrigerate leftover dressing. The mustard adds snap and the bit of mayonnaise helps the dressing stay emulsified (fully blended) longer than it would without the mayo so you can pour it easier with out it separating.

Notes: Use the veggies you have and don’t sweat the proportions but don’t put too much of any one vegetable in; so no one veggie flavor predominates; it should be about the tuna and the dill.  If you are a dill hater, try another fresh herb, parsley or basil come to mind.

Have fun making this quick, healthy, and yummy dinner salad that will satisfy your appetite and keep you feeling full for a long while!

Baked Potato Salad with Vinaigrette Dressing

Summer meals are all about easy, casual and tasty.  Not about hot kitchens and elaborate preparations.  I don’t know about your family and friends but mine seem to crave things like potato salad, grilled proteins and baked fixed up beans.  I make a lot of that all summer long.  Personally, my standard potato salad is tasty but I get tired of it, all that mayo…. It is not as good either after a day or two. Plus I have a few friends who dislike mayonnaise so this is a great alternate salad to the standard version.

So when I was trying to plan a tasty meal to take to the beach the standard potato salad just didn’t appeal.  I thought of a few past potato salads that were made with a simple vinaigrette and decided to go that route. This recipe is a riff on one I found on foodnetwork.com; by Alex Guarnaschelli, I made it a bit simpler as I was going to feed people who I thought wouldn’t want the gherkins and shallots. Plus I was out of fresh parsley; oh the shame of that!  I think you could add or subtract the fresh herbs you have on hand to make it as you like.  I used champagne vinegar as I was out of red wine vinegar; gave a nice pale color with no pink as the red wine is apt to do.

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This is made with baked potatoes.  Alex uses golden Yukon. I used some russets – both are great choices.  I baked them while making some oven fried chicken so the oven was already going full steam. Therefore I was not heating up the stove top with a big pot of potatoes boiling.  The baked potatoes are also a tad drier which is nice texturally.  I recommend them especially if you can combine with baking something else!

If you never had a vinaigrette potato salad you are in for a revelation of how different it will be.  All the herbs make it so fresh tasting and light compared to mayo based salad. Here’s hoping you enjoy some soon for your next picnic or barbecue.

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Baked potato salad served with an oven fried chicken thigh

Vinaigrette Herbed Baked Potato Salad

6 russet potatoes or 12 golden Yukon potatoes (roughly 2 to 2.5 lbs)

1 tbsp. capers

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 -3 sprigs fresh oregano

2-3 stalks garlic or regular chives

3-4 stalks fresh dill

Dressing:

5 to 6 tbsp. white or red wine or champagne vinegar, divided

1 tbsp. whole grain mustard or  Dijon mustard

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, can use part lighter olive oil

Set aside 2 tbsp of vinegar to put right on the hot potatoes.  Mix the rest and shake it up really well.

Directions:

Bake potatoes at 375 or 400 degrees until a fork pieces them; 45 minutes to an hour.  Let them cool a few minutes before peeling.  Peel and slice while still warm into a bowl.  Sprinkle with the 2 tbsp. vinegar and then the fresh herbs which you have minced. I have this cool herb scissors I got for Christmas that does the job fast and easy.  If preferred, you could sub in some fresh basil and or parsley for some of those fresh herbs I used.

herb scissors Sprinkle on the capers. Use the small kind, not those big over-sized critters!  You can add the gherkins and shallots Alex likes if you want; see her recipe if you want that extra zing. Pour the dressing over; like two thirds of it; stir it gently and add more until it is as moist as you want.  Add salt and black pepper to taste; maybe ½ to 1 tsp. salt and a good sprinkle of pepper.

It was still wonderful the next day for lunch; not much leftover though. Great with grilled or fried chicken.

Summer Dinner Salad with Chicken and Green Beans

So there is a dish of leftover rotisserie chicken in my fridge.  Hot days mean I prefer no cooking whenever possible.  Something cool and refreshing like a salad would be nice; top with some chicken and you have a delightful meal.

Let me share a salad I made with the veggies in my fridge and some of that tender tasty chicken, my easy recipe is at https://myworldwithoutwheat.wordpress.com/2015/06/13/hot-day-slow-cooker-rotisserie-chicken-revolution/ or buy one if you prefer.  Use a salad dressing you enjoy but I want to give you my favorite recipe for vinaigrette; I keep a jar of it in the fridge and generally my company requests it for salad hands down over any bottled store gf dressing.

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Chunks of plump rotisserie breast meat ready to cut up into smaller pieces for salad.

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Angie’s Supper Salad (for one; double for two)

A big handful of fresh garden greens: I used loose leaf ones from the garden.  Use what you prefer but please, no ice burg!

2-4 radishes, cut into thin slices

Half an avocado, cut into it to create cubes and scoop out with a spoon

¼-1/2 cup slices of European cucumber; I like to cut them into half moons

1 stalk celery cut into thin half moons.

1/3 cup chick peas

½ cup diced rotisserie chicken

½ cup fresh green beans, steamed for 3-4 minutes until tender crisp; cooled

Directions:

I arrange the lettuce on a dinner plate.  Top with the radishes, cucumber, celery and then the avocado and chick peas.

Put the diced chicken on top and then the green beans; see picture!  Pour dressing lightly over the salad. Enjoy!

Notes: don’t cut the chicken into tiny or huge pieces; make them bite sized.  Don’t overcook the green beans. Swap out anything you despise for a veggie you prefer.   This is a good flavor combination though so if you like these vegetables you should adore this salad.

Vinaigrette Dressing:

Here is my basic vinaigrette recipe.  You can alter it to your tastes and leftovers keep for several weeks in the fridge.  I use one of those Good Seasoning’s jars but add my own ingredients. You can use any jar with a tight lid and measure in the ingredients.

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Fill it to the vinegar line with red wine vinegar, not cheap stuff (1/4 cup)

Add some filtered water to the water line (about 1/3 inch more or 2 tbsp)

½ tsp Dijon mustard or whole grain mustard

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp dried thyme or oregano

one garlic clove (peeled and mashed down a bit to release flavor)

1 tsp mayonnaise

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp sugar or 1 tsp. honey

Top off with some extra virgin olive oil, stop a bit before the oil line and finish it with lighter olive oil (total of ½ cup plus 1 tbsp.)

Shake it up really well.  It tastes best at room temperature. Try to remember to make it early so you can let it marinate for at least an hour before you use it.  Keep leftover dressing in the refrigerator. The mustard adds snap and the bit of mayonnaise helps the dressing stay emulsified (fully blended) longer than it would without the mayo.

Use the veggies you have and don’t sweat the proportions but don’t put too much of any one veggie in; you want them to be like treasures to be discovered in the nest of fresh greens all lightly coated with your tasty vinaigrette.  If you prefer another dressing choice I recommend trying to make your own green goddess dressing; lots of versions on various cooking websites like foodnetwork.com.  Make yours full of fresh herbs and it will be delightful with this salad.

Be creative and have fun making healthy and yummy dinner salads that will satisfy your appetite and keep you feeling great!

Pulled Chicken Barbeque: Tender, Easy and Tasty!

My kingdom for a simple but tasty gluten free pulled chicken barbeque recipe!  Well, maybe just a hearty thanks: to my friend Niki for her recipe inspiration.  This is so easy, only a few ingredients and fantastic results; it is a slow cooker recipe; the perfect method for effortless, falling apart and  mouth watering barbeque.

Mix it all in the slow cooker and four hours later it is ready, no sweat, no mess and the kitchen isn’t much warmer despite making this great dish.

If you hate dark meat; make it with chicken breast; will be done in less time of course; maybe 2-3 hours?

For a change I bought some gluten free roll made by Schar; their classic white rolls.  The package says new recipe and they are much better than I thought they would be.  Each held their shape, decent flavor: fantastic full of barbequed chicken thighs.  I also had a burger in one of the four buns and it held together nicely.  Schar has occasional coupons; I used one I got on line when I bought them for this meal and ended up paying $.50 a roll which is really cheap for gf rolls.

One third to half a bottle of gluten free barbeque sauce; Sweet Baby Ray’s is the barbeque sauce I use these days, nice smoky tang to it.  I think you could easily double this to 5 lbs of chicken.  I am planning to make it for my next summer gathering; just so easy and the no grill, no oven, no fry is awesome for summer meal planning.

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Niki’s BBQ Pulled Chicken Thighs

2 ½ lbs boneless chicken thighs

1/3 to half a small bottle of barbeque sauce

2 tbsp. cider vinegar

1 medium onion, diced

1 tsp. Dijon or whole grain mustard

2 tbsp. water

Directions:

Dump all but chicken in the slow cooker, stir, add chicken thighs; skinless is my preference.  Cover and cook on high for 3.5 to 4 hours. If you are around stir it once half way though and flip the chicken over. When done, turn off the slow cooker and break up the meat while still in it: I used a wooden spoon. Serve in a bun: mine was Schar’s classic white.  Use what ever bun you like! And of course, I used gf barbeque sauce.  Be sure it is a quality sauce you are fond of or the results will not be happy! Just like cooking with wine; use ingredients you would enjoy all on their own.  This recipe is a home run on a busy summer day.  Pair it with a salad or two and you have a great meal for four; double it to serve eight.