gluten free

Chicken Salad, Two Ways…Too Delish!

Chicken salad is a pleasant meal on a hot evening. Cool, easy to construct and it can be varied in many ways.  I made two new versions in the past week or so and wanted to share them.  The chicken was some oven roasted chicken thighs I cut up cold for the salads.  Use whatever kind of cooked chicken you prefer.  If you buy rotisserie chicken be aware that most is not gf; ask or check online.  It can be so convenient on a hot summer day but be sure it is safe for you.  For those of us with celiac disease, spice blends sometimes contain wheat flour and also some rotisserie chicken is coated with spice blends mixed with flour.  I think Costco has gf rotisserie chicken.

I like fruit, particularly grapes, in my chicken salad but I didn’t have much on hand so I went with what produce was in the fridge.  I often have mine with lettuce, I am guessing it would be great on gf toast if sandwiches are your preference. This week I served sauteed spinach with asparagus as my side dish; no starch; makes all my low carbing friends extra happy.

Last November I posted a similar recipe – actually turkey salad but it would be tasty made with chicken.  It was the classic style with grapes and walnuts dressed up with an addition of avocado slices and pomegranate seeds.  Hard to find those ruby seeds right now but blueberries might make a great substitute.

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Chicken Salad: Variation 1 – with avocado

(Makes 2 servings)

1 large chicken thigh, skinned, cut off bone into small chunks

1 small stalk celery cut in small cubes

1-2 tbsp. minced shallots or red onion

2-3 tbsp. light mayonnaise – I prefer Hellman’s

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 small avocado, cut in half, remove seed and cut flesh in cubes

1-2 tbsp. coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions; cut everything up. Place the mayo, vinegar, mustard and salt/pepper to taste in a mixing bowl; mix.  Add the rest of the ingredients, stir gently: you don’t want to mush up the avocado.  Serve with fresh loose leaf lettuce.

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Chicken Salad Variation 2 –   I used cherry radishes and raw zucchini but you could use any veggies you enjoy.

(2 servings)

1 large chicken thigh, skinned, cut off bone into small chunks

1 small stalk celery cut in small cubes

1-2 tbsp. minced shallots or red onion

2-3 tbsp. light mayonnaise – I prefer Hellman’s

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

3 to 5 fresh radishes, cut off ends and cut into thin rounds

1/3 to ½ cup small cubes of raw zucchini

1-2 tbsp. coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions; cut everything up. Place the mayo, vinegar, mustard and salt/pepper to taste in a mixing bowl; mix.  Add the rest of the ingredients, stir to mix.  Serve with fresh loose leaf lettuce.

Notes: you could use 2 smaller thighs if that is what you have and the dressing mixture is fluid; can use more or less mustard, vinegar, and mayo; spicer with more mustard plus some like the mixture almost dry and others want a moist chicken salad.  Enjoy it in an avocado half or in a hollowed out tomato for a fancy luncheon entree!

Spinach Asparagus Garlic Saute

Don’t you just love finding new ways to make fresh, tasty veggie dishes?  I had some fresh spinach but didn’t want a salad.  I have enjoyed something like this in a Boston steak house, cost like $9 for a serving!  And there were a few spears of uncooked asparagus I wanted to use up. What to do….what to do? Wok it!

This is such a simple recipe but a great spring side dish.  I had it with some homemade chicken salad.  Good side dish if you are avoiding carbs like bread or pasta.  I have a few friends who are into low carbing so they should be thrilled.

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Spinach and Asparagus Sauté

Serves 1; double or triple it as needed

Ingredients

1 big handful fresh spinach, rinsed

4 stalks of asparagus, snapped into 1 ½ inch lengths

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp. EVOL

Directions:

Steam asparagus in minimal amount of water, like 3 minutes in a small sauce pan.  Meanwhile, I used my mini wok pan to make the rest of it.  Heat pan, add olive oil.  Let heat, throw in spinach, stir once, add minced garlic clove, and stir a few times until it wilts. Add the asparagus which is barely done.  Stir for a minute and serve.

I made it another day with some kale blossom stems (unopened flowers) and that was yummy too.  You could add broccolini stems or broccoli rabe if you have some. If your asparagus is skinny you can add it with the spinach and only use one pan. This quick side dish is full of vitamins and great to enjoy with any sort of protein.

Aldi’s Has Lots of Gluten Free Foods!

Aldi’s has a lot of gluten free products these days.  I hear they come and go on a monthly basis.  I tried a few about a year ago and when I wrote Aldi’s to say thank you for something gluten free the response said that they couldn’t promise that these products will stick around. Well, they have.  I think this is due to all of us gf types buying them on a consistent basis.

Some of my Aldi favorites are the gluten free frozen sandwich pockets, particularly the pepperoni pizza ones.  Really flavorful and tasty, they are my go to instant work lunch when paired with a dish of fruity yogurt.  I like the southwest veggie ones but not nearly as much.

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Aldi’s makes a tasty multigrain cracker, in several flavors.  My favorite is the sea salt multi-seed snack crackers; great crunch and a good flavor to match with a chunk of sharp cheddar. I had tried them the first time around and was very excited to find them again.

aldi's crackers

I like their big bars of dark chocolate; some are marked GF on the wrapping; made in Germany and good quality for the price. aldi's chocolate

The store brand gf pizza mix is decent, I made it kinda thick.  Thin it is supposed to make two small pizzas.  Worth trying again.  Ditto as to their pasta; worth trying: great prices for both items. Their chocolate snack bars are rather tasty if small; that is a yes vote!aldie's pizza

I was less impressed with the frozen chicken nuggets, gf and fully cooked. I have eaten them 2 or 3 times.  Small, lacking in texture or flavor and rather dry. I have to dip them in spicy bbq sauce to enjoy them.  I would rather make my own from fresh raw chicken and bread crumbs.

The gf vegetable lasagna is edible but not particularly fresh tasting with a bland watery tomato sauce.  Nothing to compare with homemade but if you need a quick meal that you don’t have to make, it will do.

The worst tasting thing was the waffles.  They are corn based and taste strongly of corn, texture is coarse too.  Just not what I want in a waffle, very convenient though if you value that…

I heard they have ravioli; not found any yet.  I found pictures on line.  Now I got to find it in the freezer case. Nor have I eaten any bread from Aldi’s. Heard good and bad about that.  And they have small pizzas in the freezer: three items I must try soon!  I didn’t use to be a fan of Aldi’s but you can’t beat their prices and as I said above, some of their products are pretty tasty. Get thee to Aldi’s if you want gf food at reasonable choices.

Delicious Safe GF Meals for That Special Night Out

When you want to eat out for a special celebration it can be tough to find safe gluten free choices in the Lehigh Valley.  One place I like is Hotel Bethlehem,  I have eaten safely there three times.  I agree it is a tad pricy but if you eat in the Tap Room as opposed to the fancy restaurant on the next level it is a bit more affordable but the atmosphere is still comfortably upscale, the servers are very pleasant and the food is excellent.

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We recently went there for our anniversary.  I was thrilled with every single moment of our visit.  The hostess placed us at a romantic table for two right at the huge windows that look out on Main Street.  It is right there in the picture I added to this post, courtesy of tripadvisor.com.

We were attended to immediately by a young man pouring cold water and our server showed up within a couple minutes.  The menu had several options clearly marked gluten free.  This marking on the menu is reassuring that they know what they are doing and are providing safe food for people like me.  I told our server I had to have only gluten free food, she said they served lots of people who requested gluten free meals and that it was not a problem at all. Sounded reassuring.

I ordered the short ribs with potatoes and kale and we shared an appetizer of mussels in a balsamic and bacon vinaigrette. Joe got to eat the grilled bread that came with that but I did enjoy the tart little mussels. The house salad was pleasant and my white wine was even better.  Then our entrees showed up and I was thrilled with the lovely beefy taste of my tender short ribs in a red wine sauce and how delightfully they went with the nice slab of creamy gratined potatoes and some still bright green sautéed kale.  I was fearful that the potatoes might not be safe – that flour was used to thicken the sauce and we immediately doubled checked with our friendly server.  She assured me that she had alerted the kitchen of my special needs when she placed my order and that my food was indeed gluten free.  Her calming words allowed me to enjoy every mouthful of that meal.  Joe enjoyed his salmon but I could see he was envying me the delightful short ribs and gratin.  I didn’t rub it in and even gave him a bite of my meat.  True love; sharing my short ribs!

We both had dessert.  Mine was a scoop of Penn State Creamery mint ice cream studded with flecks of dark chocolate.  Great flavors and mouth feel and so creamy….ice cream perfection! Joe had a chocolate mini cake with a berry sauce and some whipped cream– nice but I think I came away the winner.

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There was a wedding going on in the ball room but it only occasionally slightly intruded with some boisterous cheering.  The service was excellent; the manager even stopped by to ask what we ordered and how we enjoyed our meals. Tasty and safe (read gluten free for us celiacs) food in a lovely setting.  Keep it in mind next time you need a special place to eat out safely.  I’m still reliving that wonderful combination of short ribs and gratined potatoes.

PS: sorry no pictures of my meal, I was not in writing mode and didn’t think of writing about the restaurant until dinner was long over.

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.