Legit crock pot butter chicken.

The other day I decided to conquer my fear of cooking Indian food.  You see, I love Indian food.  A lot.  I could eat it twice a week for the rest of my life (or every day for several months until I moved on to a new obsession).  There is something about the spices and yummy flavors that just makes me feel good.

My husband served a mission for our church in India several years ago and therefore has a fairly good sense of what makes good Indian food.  He likes "Americanized" Indian better, and he said that the curry I made definitely tasted legit (as in, it tasted like it could come from an Indian restaurant).

Don't let the spices intimidate you.   I felt very fancy walking around the Indian grocery store here in San Francisco and didn't spend too much on the supplies I needed.  They also came in big enough bags that I'm pretty sure I'm set on garam masala forever.  Here's what you need:

4-6 boneless chicken thighs cut into bite-size pieces (or get it on the bone, clean it, and use the bones to make chicken stock later.  Homemade is so much more yummy and also has waaaaaay less sodium).
1 diced yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs butter
2 tbs oil

Sautee the garlic, onions, and chicken in oil and butter until the onions are translucent and the chicken is cooked all the way through.  Meanwhile, set up your crock pot with...

15 green cardamom pods  (you can string them together with a needle and thread or put them in cheese cloth--you want their flavor in the finished product, but not the actual pods)
2 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp mild or medium curry paste
1 tsp or less of cayenne pepper (it makes the dish fairly spicy with the whole tsp)
2 tsp tandoori masala
1 tsp garam masala
1 can coconut milk
1 cup plain yogurt
1 5.5 oz can tomato paste
Salt to taste

Mix the crock pot ingredients together.  After your chicken and onions are ready, stir them into the mixture and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.

The salt is essential in this recipe.  It helps enhance all the flavors and helps them meld together.  Time is also very important--even though my curry cooked for 5 or so hours, I found I liked it better the next day when all the flavors had more time to blend.

Serve over Basamati rice.  We only eat brown rice in our house, but I buy Basamati special to eat with Indian leftovers or dishes that I make because it really makes it taste better.

*Make sure your ingredients are all gluten-free!  (Especially the chicken!  No fillers!)
*I stole this recipe from Meal Planning 101.

Ultimate flour blend.

A little while before I found out I had Celiac disease, one of my dearest friends was diagnosed along with two other family members.  Needless to say, there were lots of adjustments that had to be made around their house!  Lucky for me, I was able to benefit from the hours of experiment and research that my "other mother" put into becoming a gluten-free chef.  One of her most amazing concoctions is the amazing gluten-free flour blend.  You can use this blend in pretty much anything and no one will be able to tell it isn't wheat based.  

Flour Blend

This recipe is from Rachel Price's mom.  It can be used for baking and pretty much anything else.  It's wonderful!

9 cups sweet rice flour--(3 lb 6 oz)
9 cups brown rice flour, very finely ground--(3 lbs)
9 cups sorghum flour--(2 lb 14 oz)
9 cups tapioca flour--(2 lb. 11 oz)
3 cups potato starch, NOT flour--(1 lb. 1 oz.)
3 Tbl xanthum
3 Tbl/envelopes gelatin powder (Knox)
2 crushed ascorbic acid tablet (Vitamin C)

Weigh or measure all ingredients.  Sift multiple times until well mixed. Store in air tight
containers.   May store at room temperature.  Makes almost 40 cups flour.

**I buy ingredients by the pound, so I have determined how much each ingredient weighs so I have sufficient ingredients on hand. Also, it is easier to weigh the flours than to continuously be scooping and losing count with the larger amounts.

 

**When cooking very light cookies needing a "white flour blend", use 1 part cornstarch to 7
parts whole grain blend (i.e. 1/4 cup cornstarch plus 1 3/4 cup whole grain to equal 2 cups flour)

Reduced measurement recipe

2 cup sweet rice flour
2 cup brown rice flour
2 cup sorghum flour
2 cup tapioca flour
2/3 cup potato starch
2 teaspoon xanthum
2 tsp gelatin powder
1/2 crushed ascorbic acid tablet

Makes 9 cups flour.

Homemade Oreos.

* I originally posted this recipe several years ago, but I decided to copy and paste it word-for-word anyway because it  brings back happy memories of me and one of my dearest friends who also happens to be gluten-free!

So tonight (4/2/2008) Rachel and I decided that we were going to conquer one of our gluten-free woes. We have a favorite treat that we used to make using chocolate cake mix, and we finally decided that we have had enough homemade oreo deprivation and were going to eat a gluten-free version by the end of the night. We used a gluten-free cake mix and kind of did the rest improv...but it worked! Hizzah! I will now share the successful experiment with you.

Cookies:
1 bag Kinnikinnick chocolate cake mix
2 tbs GF flour
3 eggs
1/2 c vegetable oil
Preaheat the oven to 350*.

Mix the "cookie" ingredients in a bowl.
Round them into little balls (tbs size?) on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Sprinkle them with powder sugar (it makes them pretty) and let them harden and cool off before removing them from the cookie sheet.
Cream:
1 8 oz package cream cheese
1/2 c butter
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powder sugar

The cream cheese and butter MUST be softened to room temperature.
Mash them together.
Add vanilla.
Add about one cup of powder sugar, then slowly add the rest until the frosting is somewhat firm but isn't grainy from too much sugar. You don't want it too soft because it won't stay put between the cookies very well. Honestly, just do it to taste. You'll decide when you like it.
After the cookies are hardened, remove them from the cookie sheet and spoon frosting between two of them. It makes a tasty homemade oreo. And...it's gluten free! Sigh.

Vegetarian Chili.

I have a favorite chili recipe that I like to make early on in the week and snack on until it's gone. This recipe was given to me by a coworker a few years ago and I love that I don't have to tweak it to make it gluten free! Of course I still have to read the labels carefully, but it's a pretty safe recipe that would be hard to contaminate.

VEGETARIAN CHILI

1 can kidney beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can black beans
1 large can stewed chopped tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped or pressed
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. cumin
1 cup water

I don't use sugar in the recipe and I usually add more or less of something depending on how good it looks to me at the moment. Oh and I like lots of cumin...I usually use 3/4 tsp instead of 1/2 tsp.

Enjoy!

Ultra Chocolate Mint Cookies.

I just made these cookies and they are absolutely delicious!  I made them with Guittard mint chips instead of chocolate chips, but they are even better that way!

ULTRA CHOCOLATE CHIP MINT COOKIES

2 1/4 cups GF flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 cups Guittard Mint Chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, and baking soda.

3. In another large bowl. stir together butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla and cocoa.

4. Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture. Mix until combined.

5. Stir in mint chips

6. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheets.

7. Bake about 10 minutes.

8. Cool on a baking rack.

GF pumpkin cheesecake bites.

 

Not kidding. These things are to die for! I adapted this recipe (and stole a picture) from Our Best Bites, so hope on over there and give them a cyber hug for me! Trust me, you'll want to after you eat one of these babies!

Crumb Crust/Topping

2 c. Pamela's gluten free pancake and baking mix

2/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. uncooked gluten-free oats

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 c. finely chopped pecans (or walnuts)

3/4 c. butter, melted

Combine flour, sugar, oats, salt, and nuts in a medium bowl. Add melted butter and combine with hands until mixture is coarse and crumbly.

For mini tarts, drop a generous teaspoon of mixture into each hole; for cupcake-sized tarts, line a tin with foil cupcake liners and drop a generous tablespoon into each liner. Press down.

Use leftover mixture to sprinkle on tarts before baking.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling

1 small can pumpkin

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese (light works great), softened

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Sweetened whipped cream

Combine pumpkin, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and seasoning and mix completely. Spoon into prepared crust (1 Tbsp. for minis, 2 generous Tbsp. for regulars) and sprinkle with reserved topping.

Bake at 350; for mini tarts, bake for about 15 minutes. For the regular tarts, bake closer to 20. If you'd like the crumb topping a little darker, you can turn the broiler on for a few minutes, but you have to keep a close eye on them because they will literally burn in a few seconds.

GLUTEN FREE NOTE: I would suggest preparing the filling before mixing the crust. When I made these, it seemed like the crust dried out a bit while I made the filling. If you make the filling first, you can just remix it when you want to spoon it in.

*Did you know that making your whipped cream with powdered sugar instead of normal sugar makes it softer and sweeter? Try it!

Uten Gluten

GF since 2007.  I don't like to think of it as "living without" anything.  I have gotten to know so many fabulous grains and veggies since my diagnosis that I almost feel bad for people who hang out with wheat all the time...