Chicken Satay Soup

I was looking for a way to use up leftover crudite from a party and thought I would try something new. I found recipes online for peanut butter soup and I thought why not take it to a next level and make a satay inspired soup. I tossed in leftover chicken from the night before and leftover white rice from chinese takeout. Why not use up leftovers, right? This experiment turned out great. I hope you give it a try.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked chicken, in bite size pieces
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons minched garlic
• 1 large potato, diced into bite size pieces
• 3-5 cups cut up veggies of your choice (in the soup I made I used red & green peppers, celery, baby carrots and zucchini)
• 4-6 cups chicken stock or water and bouillon, enough to cover veggies and extra to make it soup consistency
• 3 tablespoons butter or margerine
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, crushed to release their flavor
• 1 lemon, skin grated and the juice
• 1/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:

1. In a soup pot, melt butter/margerine and saute onion, garlic until onion is translucent.
2. Add in remaining ingredients except for peanut butter and red pepper flakes. Let boil until potatoes and all the veggies are tender. (maybe 30 minutes)
3. Add in peanut butter and blend until melted in.
4. Rub red pepper flakes between your hands to release their flavor and stir in.

Soup is on!

Saucy Stuffed Steak Rolls (Braciole)

This dish sounded so appetizing to me that I had to try it. Traditional Braciole (pronounced bra- jol) is an italian dish of stuffed tenderized beef, browned and then braised in tomato sauce. I decided to try to make a gluten free version with a veggie stuffing. Seems like a long list of ingredients, but it is only really about 3 steps.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb bottom or top round steak (you can use chicken breast or boneless pork instead)
• 2 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 stalk celery
• 1 carrot
• 1 package chopped spinach, thawed
• 1/4 c. raisins or currents
• 3 tbsp shredded or grated parmesan
• teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp dry oregano
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch Splenda or Sugar
• tbsp canola oil
• optional: one package thicker rice noodles (like spaghetti or linguini style), to serve as a pasta in the sauce

Prep:

1. In a small bowl, mix garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, nutmeg and oregano. Set aside.
2. Prep onion, carrot, celery, spinach. Thaw and squeeze out the moisture from spinach. Grate carrot. Dice small 1/2 of onion and celery to go in the filling. Chop the remaining onion and celery larger for the chunky tomato sauce. Set aside.
3. Place meat between two sheets of plastic wrap. Pound the meat thin. If the piece of meat will be too large once stuffed, you might want to cut into 2 portions at this point, then prep two rolls.

Cook:

1. Heat up dutch oven and add 1 tbsp oil. Saute small diced veggies, spinach and half of each the raisins and grated carrot til tender but veggies are still intact. Add 1/2 the garlic and large pinch of dry seasoning mix, saute 1 minute more. Do not burn garlic. Turn off heat, remove veggies into a bowl.
2. Add all the parmesan to veggies. Mix together.
3. Lay out the pounded meat flat. Put filling onto half of the meat (towards yourself). Do not worry if you have extra filling, it can be added to the sauce later.
4. Slowly roll up the meat tightly, rolling in the ends a little to keep the filling in. Use butcher string to tie up the roll or use toothpicks to hold together. Season the outside of the roll with another large pinch of dry seasoning mix.
5. Heat up pan, add a little more oil if necessary. Brown beef rolls on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside.
6. Add remaining cut veggies, grated carrot and raisins to pan and saute for a few minutes. Add tomatoes, crushing with your hands the whole tomatoes, leaving them chunky. Add all the liquid too. Also add in any remaining seasonings, splenda/sugar and any leftover stuffing mixture at this time.
7. Put beef rolls into the sauce, push them into the sauce so they are covered. Cover the dutch oven and slow simmer for 30 minutes.
8. At this time, prep noodles til al dente.
9. When sauce is done, turn off heat and remove beef rolls. Let sit for 5 minutes, then slice rolls to about one inch thick.
10. Add pasta to sauce and mix to coat. Let sit a couple minutes for sauce to absorb a bit into noodles.
11. Serve pasta topped with sliced beef roll. Add a little sauce and perhaps a little more parmesan cheese.

Eggplant Parmesan

Italian food is so delicious and easy to make, yet most of it loaded with gluten and salt. Here is a recipe that I made easy ingredient swaps to make it work for us and has the same taste and satisfaction as the original version.

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, large
4 eggs, beaten
3 slices gluten free bread
3 tbsp corn starch
2 cups tomato sauce (recipe for sauce below)
2 cups parmesan cheese, shredded
olive oil
canola oil
1/2 tsp each onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Dice bread up and put in bowl, drizzle a little olive oil on, sprinkle on the garlic powder, onion powder and oregano, then toss. Spread bread out on a cookie sheet, place in oven til brown (about 10 minutes), keep an eye on it, they will burn easily
3. Once cooled, pulse bread in food processor to make crumbs
4. Peel and slice eggplant into 1/2 inch slices
5. Place eggplant in baggie with cornstarch and shake to coat. This will probably have to be done in batches to do it all
6. Prepare casserole dish by spraying with non-stick cooking spray
7. Place 1/2 cup tomato sauce in bottom of casserole dish and spread around to coat the bottom
8. Set up 2 bowls, in one beat your eggs with a tablespoon water. Mix your toasted bread crumbs and 1/4 c parmesan in the other
9. Heat up frying pan (low to medium heat) and add some canola oil when hot. Keep the heat rather low and take your time... the eggplant can easily burn
10. Using a fork or tongs, take eggplant slices and coat with egg, then in bread crumbs..Once coated, place in hot pan. Do no cook all the way through, you only want to brown both sides. Once browned, layer into your prepared casserole dish
11. Add layer sauce and cheese between layers, topping with a layer of cheese and any leftover breadcrumbs
12. Once layers are done and topped with cheese, place casserole dish in oven. Bake for 40 minutes or until top is browned

• This make about 6-8 large servings
• Optional sides: Pasta w/ sauce (for gluten free, use rice noodles/sticks)

Want to make your own sauce?

It is easy to make your own sauce. I like mine chunky, so I saute veggies first, then add the tomatoes. You can add or exclude any of the *extras* in this easy recipe and have it your way


1 onion diced*
1 carrot shredded*
2 stalks celery, sliced thin*
2 can crushed tomato (low sodium)
1 can diced tomato, incl juice (low sodium)
1/2 c red wine*
2 tablespoons garlic*
1 tablespoon dried oregano or basil
1 tablespoon sugar or Splenda
1/4 tsp nutmeg
canola oil
few dashes of balsamic vinegar*

*extras

In sauce pot, saute onion, carrot and celery in about 1 tbsp canola oil until softened and slightly browned (when the oil is gone)
Add in wine, make sure to scrape up the goodies off the bottom
Add in remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes

This will make plenty for the eggplant parm dish with some leftover for your noodles

Crock Pot Morrocan Chicken

The Ultimate Crock-Pot Crock-Star(tm) 1st Prize Winning Recipe.
Savory with a touch of sweetness, this dish has international flair while using ingredients found at your local grocery store. It is crock pot easy to boot. Set it up in the morning and let it cook all day, then come home to the heavenly smell and a warm dinner ready to serve.  


Ingredients:

4 medium carrots, sliced
1 large onion, halved and sliced
8 chicken thighs, skin removed
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 cups white wine or chicken broth
6-8oz tomato paste (1 can)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Place carrots and onions in slow cooker first. Add chicken to slow cooker. Top with apricots and raisins. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, spices, garlic, lemon juice, tomato paste and wine. Whisk to combine. Pour over chicken.

Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours or until chicken is tender. Serve with rice.

Optional: chopped dates or figs would work well with or instead of the raisins and dried apricot.

Homemade BBQ sauce - have it your way!

New England weather in the summer varies quite a bit, but we are known for our oppressive humidity. It is almost intolerable at times. So my tendency is to make dinners on the grill and sides that are easy to prep.

I thought I would share the base recipe for my BBQ sauce so that you can make your own, according to your needs and tastes.

Base ingredients:

• Ketchup. (buy a version that meets your needs, be they gluten free, low sodium, no sugar, etc)
• Vinegar. Any kind you like, cider vinegar is my favorite
• Minced Garlic
• Minced onion (use a food processor, you want these in very tiny pieces)
• Seasonings. Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Pepper.
• Sweetness. Splenda works well. Molasses, honey or brown sugar if sugar is OK

Make it your own, optional ingredients:

• You like those liquor based sauces?.. add a bit of Jack Daniels, rum, or bourbon
• Those fruity sauces have your mouth watering? add diced mango, peach, orange juice, pineapple or just the juice from a can of unsweetened pineapple chunks
• If you want ~HEAT~ add cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes or hot sauce

Putting it together:

• Blend all your ingredients together, tasting and adjusting as you go
• If you do not like the taste of raw onion or garlic, put everything into a sauce pot, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes

Using it:

• Great for shrimp, chicken, pork or beef.
• The more sugar you used, the faster it will caramelize, then burn. Pre-heat your grill to get the nice grillmarks, but cook slowly over indirect heat. (turn on only one side of your grill, place food on other side - not over flame)

Easy Garlic Fish Bake

Quick prep and cook time makes this dish a snap - and a great way to get that healthy serving of fish into your diet. In the picture I have used haddock, which was on sale this week at the local grocery store, but any fish variety you can get in a fillet can be used.

Ingredients:

• fish - calculate about 1/4 to 1/3 lb per person (larger portion for hearty appetites)
• 1/2 stick Promise(or butter) - softened
• zest of 1 lemon, & 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Use wrapper from butter to grease the pan
3. Combine all ingredients except fish into bowl and use fork to blend
4. Place fish in buttered pan
5. Use brush or fork to get compound butter onto fish
6. Place fish in oven. Cooking time will vary depending on the type of fish you used. The haddock I used took about 15 minutes
7. Depending on the fish variety, you may have some liquid in the bottom of the pan. You can use this to make a sauce if you like.
8. Once cooked through, remove from oven and let rest a moment before serving

Suggested sides:
Asparagus or green beans will cook in about the same amount of time in the oven

Optional:
Add fresh or dry dill to your compound butter