chicken

Slow Perfection: Peruvian Chicken with Red Potatoes

When you work long hours, have two jobs: making a real supper becomes problematic.  I have tried lots of ideas and recipes but I really like making one dish early in the week which provides several meals all week long. Step one: I bought a new slow cooker.  My old crock pot was absolutely ancient, I don’t care to disclose how old.  This one does some basic programming and keeps food warm once it stops a cooking cycle.  I love that it is oval so I will be able to put a whole chicken or a long pot roast in it. Step two; I bought a new cookbook just for slow cooking; The Everything Slow Cooker Cookbook by Carrie Forbes.  Step three: testing lots of recipes!

I pick and choose carefully from my new cookbook; I hate overcooked or mushy food.  The recipe has to be quick to assemble into the pot so I can head off to my second job while it slowly turns my ingredients into a marvelous flavor combination.

There is a Peruvian restaurant in South Bethlehem but they told me that most of their menu is unsafe; could only guarantee one thing and that made me too nervous to try their food.  I had heard that Peruvian food was excellent and it is! This is my version of Peruvian chicken with red potatoes.  It is a slight variant on a recipe in my slow cooker cookbook.  I use chicken thighs, bone in rather than a whole chicken and added extra potatoes and fresh garlic.  If you are diet conscious you could leave off the skin.  I know, it has a lot of spices but they blend and are not overwhelming, don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients.  It dumps together in 5 minutes.

I really enjoy it after a long work day; a salad goes well and gives the greens I crave most suppers.  In the past I have hesitated to post slow cooker recipes as the final results can be a tad drab for photographing. But this spicy flavor party of a dish is a must try even if it is a bit plain in the looks department. I took a pix, sorry if it is rather blah looking but trust me the flavor is outstanding..

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Peruvian Chicken with Red Potatoes

4 good sized chicken thighs, bone in

5 tsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. paprika

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp black pepper

½ tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp. oregano, heaping

2 garlic cloves cut in half

½ large lemon quartered or one small one halved

1.5-2 lbs red potatoes; I used 5 – not too big but not small, quartered

3 tbs. white vinegar

2 tbsp. white wine or vermouth

1 tbsp evol

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients;put in a big baggie, add chicken pieces and mix well.

Place the potato chunks in the bottom of the slow cooker, Put the chicken on top. Add two garlic cloves which you halved and the lemon chunks.  Drizzle the last three ingredients over top and add ½ cup water.  Cover, cook on high 4 hours. Stir it well before serving and make sure everyone gets some of the thin sauce; ridiculously good on the potatoes you have mashed up with your fork.

Some people like a sauce; ½ cup mayo mixed with 2 tbsp. mustard and 3 tbsp. lime juice as a dipping sauce.  I tried it; okay but I am not a huge mayonnaise fan….

Dig out that old crock pot or better yet get a new one and enjoy something totally different and totally yummy.

Chicken Paprikash, Its For Supper!

Burrrr it is cold, too cold for anything but comfort food.  If you have ever had chicken paprikash at Elizabeth’s Diner here in Hellertown, you know it is really tasty.  I was very sad when I had to give up their mouthwatering paprikash for my new gluten free life.  Thinking back, I liked the dark meat version but their white meat was also yummy.  Still, what was important was the little dumplings and sauce: Best. Ever. tiny dumplings and great sauce, rich and flavorful.  Gosh I miss it.

So…no more eensy weensy dumplings but maybe some day I can have the chicken paprikash? A few months ago I got this new cookbook; “The Everything Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Cookbook” by Carrie S. Forbes.  Everything I make is delicious.  This chicken paprikash recipe I am sharing, I have made it both in a slow cooker and on the stove top.  So I added directions for both versions.

You can use full fat sour cream but it works fine with a name brand light sour cream. Do not use non fat; it won’t taste like it should. I like both Daisy and Breakstone brands of light sour cream.

I have had it with white rice, brown rice and with gf noodles.  All yummy.  All easy.  Just add a vegetable or salad and you have a well balanced, tasty gf meal.

This picture, was taken the meal I enjoyed it with some brussels sprouts sauteed with shallots, garlic and some olive oil.  Great combo.

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Chicken Paprikash

Ingredients

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. EVOL

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken thighs

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp. fresh ground black pepper

2 tbsp. paprika

½ cup gf chicken broth

¼ dry white wine or vermouth

1 pint light sour cream

4 cups cooked rice or pasta

In a large sturdy sauce pan add the butter and EVOL, heat, add onion and cook 3-4minutes, add garlic and cook 1 more minute.  Put in slow cooker or leave in sauce pan if you are doing it stove top.

Cut the raw chicken thighs into bite sized pieces; ½-1 inch chunks.  Add to slow cooker or sauce pan.  Stir and add the salt, pepper, paprika, chicken broth and wine, cover and cook on high 3 hours, or low 6 hours.  Or 45 minutes on low in covered saucepan.  For the stove top version stir it every 10 minutes and add more broth if it gets dryish.

Stir in the sour cream, cover and cook 15 minutes on low on stove top or 30 min more in slow cooker.  Serve over your choice of starch.  The sauce is divine; can sprinkle extra paprika on it when you plate each serving but I never need to do that.  The chicken comes out so tender; great both done in slow cooker or on stove top.  Do use a thick bottomed sauce pan; I have a double bottom one I like for such things.

Great winter fare and fairly healthy. Enjoy!

Turkey Avocado Salad: Terrific

The turkey is coming, juicy and succulent.  And it is logically followed by a mountain of leftover meat.  Once you have enjoyed a hot gravy covered sandwich the big question is what to make out of the rest of the bird.  The other day I made oven roasted chicken pieces and found myself with one last leftover piece.  I decided to make a salad out of it.  What I created was so tasty I instantly knew what I was going to make using some of my turkey, a fruity crunchy salad that is a meal in a bowl.  It is a riff on that classic chicken salad with grapes which was popular for many years; I updated it with a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds and slices of creamy avocado. Both add color and great flavor.

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If you don’t like avocado; just leave it out although I think you should try it at least once: avocado is really good for you and you may suddenly decide you like its smooth contrast to the rest of the salad. I much prefer the Hass avocado; smaller with pebbly skin.  Pick one with a slight give, not hard as a rock nor mushy or about to cave in.

hass avocado

The pomegranate seeds are mostly there for the color burst they give and there is some crunch and flavor I enjoy too.  To get at the seeds I usually cut carefully into the skin and peel it back in two places to make a wedge of exposed interior.   Then i break it open and pick out the seeds.  I only pick out what I am going to use and put the rest of the pomegranate in a plastic bag and store it in the fridge.  There are U-tube videos on how to easily get at the seeds if you want to check them out; might be easier. When choosing a pomegranate pick one that feels heavy for its size, the skin should not be dull or damaged, no soft spots and the color is a vibrant red.  Fall is the season for pomegranates; don’t look for them in June.  I have and they are very hard to find after winter ends.

pomegranate

But do leave in the grapes and nuts and the celery.  They are essential to the flavor and crunch of it. I used Light Hellman’s mayo, less calories and I like its texture and flavor.

This is a sort of approximate recipe; everyone has their own idea on how much mayo, how many grapes, and how much mustard. I am giving a middle ground amount in a recipe for one dinner sized salad.  Adjust to your tastes and feel free to double it or triple.

Roasted Chicken/Turkey Salad

Ingredients:

Roasted turkey/chicken; whatever part you like

Dijon mustard

Light mayonnaise

Red wine vinegar

Celery

Pomegranate seeds

Lettuce

Avocado

Directions: Cut up roasted turkey or chicken to make ½ to 2/3 cup of small pieces, half inch to inch sized.  Put them in a mixing bowl.  Add ½ a tsp of Dijon or whole grain mustard, 2-3 tbsp. good quality mayonnaise, ½ to 1 tsp red wine vinegar, one stalk celery cut into small slices, a dozen grapes cut in half, a ¼ cup of pomegranate seeds, 2 tsp. of walnut chunks.  Stir it to blend and meld it.  Tear up 3-5 leaves of romaine or loose leaf lettuce and lay in your shallow big salad bowl.  Top with the chicken/turkey salad and then a few thin slices of avocado and the sprinkle of ruby pomegranate seeds.

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I used some red leaf romaine I got at Valley Farm Markets, great crunch and color. Use whatever kind of lettuce you like although iceberg would be my dead last choice; less flavor and nutrition in iceberg.

This makes a great lunch full of protein and healthy veggies. It is simple to make, elegant looking and very yummy.  Now you have one more turkey option for all those leftovers next week!  Actually this salad is great anytime, not just after the Thanksgiving feast.  Enjoy.

Sunday Supper: Chicken Fricassee with Herb Dumplings

Chicken fricassee is a long time family favorite. No one ever passes up seconds of it and my mom is particularly fond of the dumplings that are steamed on top of the chicken. I had no clue how to make it gluten free and hence didn’t serve this at any family Sunday night suppers for the past 21 months.  I couldn’t find any savory dumpling recipes that were safe for me as a celiac. Finally, my longing for those homey flavors overcame my fear of extreme experimentation and this recipe was born the other weekend and much enjoyed by all.  The dumplings are not quite as tender as the original ones but are a more than reasonable facsimile!

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Yes, we ate this yummy meal on paper plates…less clean up.

It is a combination of two recipes with a number of additions modifications by me; the dumplings are somewhat based on a recipe from Bette Hagman’s book, More from the Gluten-Free Gourmet and the chicken fricassee recipe is mostly Betty Crocker.

Yes, there are a lot of ingredients in this recipe, don’t let that keep you from trying it; there is a lot of dumping together and slow simmering, no fancy cooking tricks or mad kitchen skills are required.

If you don’t want so much flavor in your dumplings cut back on the spices/herbs.  They do need some herbs so don’t go less than half the listed amounts.  If you don’t like all three of those veggies leave out as you wish but each adds seriously great flavor and helps to make this a satisfying one dish meal.

Be sure to check the chicken after 30 minutes and add some water if it is low; mine came perilously close to burning the last time I made it.  The chicken coating helps to form savory gravy with that water. No gravy is not good either so add water so you end up with at least a cup of gravy.

Chicken

4-5 pounds cut up mixed chicken parts, bone in.

I cut the breasts in half for manageable serving sizes. You could buy a couple packages of chicken parts – what your family likes.  I had trouble finding the cut up whole chicken that used to be common at meat counters.  I bought a whole chicken and spent a grisly 15 minutes hacking up the beast into serving pieces.  Not fun, next time I will get a whole breast and cut it up and use a package of chicken thighs/legs.  If you only use breasts cut the cooking time to 30 minutes.

Coating mix:

2 tsp. paprika

½ cup white rice flour

¼ cup tapioca flour

2 tbsp. millet flour

1 tsp sea salt

¼ tsp. pepper

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2 tbsp. canola oil or mild olive oil

4-5 carrots

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2-3 celery stalks

1 large onion

1 large sprig fresh thyme or ½ tsp. dried thyme

1 large sprig fresh rosemary or ½ tsp. dried rosemary.

1 cup water, maybe more

Dumplings

Dry part:

2 ¼ cups white rice flour

½ cup potato starch

½ cup tapioca flour

1 tsp. baking soda

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp. xanthan gum

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. poppy seeds

½ tsp. celery seeds

1-2 tsp. dried or fresh chopped chives

2 tsp. dried parsley

Wet stuff:

3 eggs, lightly beaten

3 tbsp melted butter or canola oil

1/3 cup milk/buttermilk

Directions:

Mix the dry ingredients in a shallow bowl. I take off the chicken skin; up to your preference.  Roll the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour.  Heat the oil in a thick bottomed large dutch oven.  Brown the chicken pieces on all sides; this could take from 8 to 12 minutes.  Cut the carrots into 1 inch lengths, same for the celery.  Chop the onion.  Remove the browned chicken to a large plate, add the veggies and stir for a minute or two.  Add back the chicken on top. Top with herbs.  Pour in cup of water. Cover, cook on low for 45 minutes.  Check after 30 minutes and add another ½ cup water if needed; you want there to be liquid on the bottom or the veggies could burn.

Make the dumplings.  Mix the wet ingredients and then add to the dry mix in a big bowl.   Stir briefly. It will be very wet looking.  2024-11-05 apple muffins 001

Use a large serving spoon to put large glops of dumpling around the chicken pieces.  Cover and cook 25 minutes or until dumplings appear firm (no longer gloppy).  The chicken and the veggies should be done by that time. Enjoy!

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This is the leftovers in the pot. Lunch tomorrow!

You could add a salad as a side dish for more veggies. We had a cucumber salad to round out our meal.