White Chili

This is one of my *favorite* meals.

It makes both a nice white chili that you can “fancy up” with any veggies (I like to mix in yellow tomatoes and yellow peppers) or dairy (sour cream, cheese) you want to add, and I’ll also use it for “instant” taco salad, pouring a cup over a bowl of greens and corn chips.

I swear the kids will learn to eat it someday, just on continual exposure.

I make this “huge” in my 8-quart pot. Starting out you might be more comfortable cutting this in half.

  • 2 lbs chopped chicken (~1-inch chunks)
  • 1 large diced onion
  • 1½ t garlic powder (or diced garlic cloves to taste: 2-3 cloves)

Saute chicken, onion and garlic till chicken is cooked and onion is soft (if using chicken thighs the existing fat is enough, otherwise you’ll need to add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil to saute in).

Add the remaining ingredients:

  • 1 quart chicken broth (the amount is negotiable.  I use 1-qt home canned, which is probably closer to 3½ cups)
  • 4 cans white beans (I use 2 Qt-jar home canned– again, weight will vary, but I’m satisfied with the volume) rinsed and drained
  • 2 7oz cans diced green chilies
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon cayenne (optional, and I reduce or leave out for the kids)

Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat. Mix in 1-2 cups sour cream (or plain yogurt) if desired.

Simple-simple and sooo good.

Potato Bake

An easy gluten free meal.

Potato Bake Ingredients:

  • 3 lbs potatoes
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
  • 2½ teaspoons salt)
  • one can black beans
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 1 lb canned meat (Optional. I home can meat– chicken and moose– for quick meals so I have pint and quart jars of the stuff. I expect most canned meat would make this prohibitively expensive)

Preheat oven to 400°.

Dice potatoes, rinse canned beans, and shred meat, if using.

In a 3+ quart bowl blend oil and spices then add meat and potatoes, tossing to coat with flavor.

Pour into 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with all the black beans, then cover with foil or a silpat.

Cook 30-35 minutes covered, then remove the dish from the oven and the cover from the dish.

Add the cheese and return the dish, uncovered, to the oven at least 3-5 minutes, melting the cheese.

I prefer to leave it 10 minutes. The beans and cheese are toasted and I really enjoy the texture.

For 10 servings (a stripe down the middle, each half into five chunks)  each serving costs 240 calories or 6 Points-Plus points.

With the shredded chicken (or moose, in my case) points go up to 8 per serving or 336 calories.

This pairs very nicely with steamed broccoli and cauliflower, and and the meal sticks with you like, well, meat and potatoes.

I’ve noticed that some people seem afraid of (caloricly) high-cost food (POTATOES! CARBS! Run Away!), but what I’ve learned is whole foods like these provide longer-lasting energy, and since I don’t need snacks between meals, my points/calorie use is no higher: as long as I’m only eating to need.

First-Try Gluten Free Pancakes

(We buy our starches and grind our flours.  I like to imagine it balances out the nutrition: starches=worthless, whole grains=very good).

We choose to grind our grains not b/c of “increased nutritional value” (We’re not that dedicated.  More is required than we do– like soaking and/or using immediately– for those perceived benefits).

We grind our own simply because it is exponentially cheaper to do so.

In the dry bowl I combine:

  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 1 cup millet flour
  • 1½ cups tapioca starch
  • 1/4 cup buttermilk powder
  • 2 t baking powder
  • 1½ tsp gaur gum
  • 1½ tsp baking soda
  • ¾ tsp salt

In the “wet” bowl (I use my 4-cup Pyrex) combine:

  • 2½ cups water
  • 3/4 cup apple sauce
  • 1/4 cup corn oil
  • 1 Tb vanilla

Combine wet and dry bowls and proceed as usual to cook pancakes.

ETA: Grease your pan.  Especially if you substitute another oil for the corn oil, the GF batters always stick more than you expect.

~

When my millet/rice flours get low I sub in another med-weight flour like buckwheat or sorghum.

The main thing to be aware of in substituting is that different flours taste different, and some very strongly. Gluten-free flours can certainly be an acquired taste, which is why these hit pancakes use milder grains.

Gluten-free baking traditionally uses more components than regular baking.  Over the last several months I’ve gotten used to it.  I use some pre-mixed dry goods (like for muffins) but I still prefer this recipe from scratch-scratch.

10/19/11 ETA: I removed the “best” from the title, because we’ve been making new (and better) versions in our kitchen for a while now.  Generally with more eggs, since we have an abundance of those now.

Between school-teaching and life-management I am not in a state to make any ultimatums or outline any principles for success.

What I will continue to offer is specifically what worked for us, and what I’m discovering.  Maybe I’ll even get to adding pretty pictures.

I’m learning so much so quickly I’m beginning to be afraid to assert anything, but as food continues to turn out well, is something I can offer: our successes.

Specializing… soon.

Just now I’m feeling like all I want to do in my free-time is write, but I have to admit that there are are more interactive projects out there, and a lot of them look really cool both to me and my kids.

Here’s what I’m tucking away for later.

And a recipe to file away for when we seriously try for dairy-free: Coconut milk

(Avocado) Chocolate Pudding

K, We’ve got our first “safe” recipe, based off this one.

flesh of 1 avocado
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
3-4 ice cubes

Blend until desired consistency.  This can be challenging if you don’t have a talented blender: everything is already thick, and stays thick. You’ll want a means of pressing stuff back into the blades.

The original recipe is like strong chocolate pudding.  Mixing in ice moves it toward a more frosty-like desert.