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!

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 Chicken Stew (2 for 1 meal)

This meal is easy to prepare, delicious, and leaves enough to make another meal. Even the bones can be used to make chicken stock!

Ingredients:

Whole chicken, 4-5 lbs
water
3 large potatoes, diced large
3-4 carrots, sliced 3/4 inch
1 celery stalk, sliced 1/2 inch
1 large onion, diced large
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons each:
     onoin powder
     Bells Poultry Seasoning (no salt version)

Preparation:

• Wash off chicken and remove the neck and gizzards sometimes found inside. Place chicken in crock pot, breast side down to keep it moist.
• Add potatoes, carrots, celery and onion, placing them around the chicken.
• Mix seasonings and cornstarch together and sprinkle over the chicken and veggies.
• Add enough water to crockpot to cover chicken about 2/3 of the way.
• Cover and set crockpot on high for 4 hours (or low for 6-7 hours)

When chicken is done, turn off the crockpot and gently remove just the chicken and set aside to cool. Removing the chicken must be done gently since it will be ready to fall apart. If bones do fall apart into the stew, try to pick out the bones.

Once cooled, remove skin and discard. (the dog usually gets some of this)
Shred the chicken breast and remove meat from the remainder of the chicken.
Take about 1/2 the shredded meat and put back into the stew, give it a stir.
Ready to eat!

*See tips below for making a stock from the bones.

Meal # 2:
Use remaining shredded chicken for another recipe, here are some suggestions:

• mix shredded chicken with BBQ sauce for BBQ shredded chicken, good on a bun or with a side of mashed sweet potato or fries. Make sure to get gluten free (if you need that) bread if you decide on a sandwich.
• fill a taco or lettuce leaf, add a little cheese and salsa, for a healthy, quick meal.
• great on pizza, in quesadillas, soups or for chicken salad. just keep in mind your health needs in those recipes

Meal # 3!

Keep the neck/gizzards/bones, those make great stock for soups and stews. Even if you do not have enough time today, these can be frozen and used at a later date.

I use my favorite pan to make my broth. It is large, about 8 quart, and has a straining pan inside. Just put the chicken bones, gizzards, neck, and fill with water to cover. Bring to boil and let boil for at least an hour. I also put in scraps such as carrot ends, onion skins that we normally would not put into a recipe, but can add lots of flavor. (I learned this from the Frugal Gourmet, do you all remember him!). In the end I lift out my straining pan, this takes out all the bones and scraps and leaves a flavorful stock.

Once done, let cool.

• Refrigerate for use in the next day or two, or put into plastic container into your freezer, it will keep for at least 3 months this way.
• If you like to use small portions of stock at a time, freeze into ice cube trays. Once frozen, remove from the trays and store in a freezer safe storage bag. You will be able to use just the amount you need for any recipe.

This stock can be used for soups, stews, gravies and anything else you can think of. Boil potatoes or veggies in stock for extra flavor.