BRAISED CHICKEN w/ GREEN SAUCE

Braised Chicken w/ Green Sauce
Ingredients:
4 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs, boneless/skinless
1 Tb. ground coriander
Salt & pepper to taste
2 Tb. coconut oil
1 c. cliantro + 2 Tb. chopped for garnish
1/2 c. mint leaves
1 small onion, quartered
2 poblano peppers, stemmed & seeded
2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed & seeded
1/2 c. coconut milk
1/2 c. water
4 c. cooked rice
1/2 c. toasted pine nuts

Directions:  Make a few deep slashes to the bone in each drumstick.  Combine coriander, salt and pepper and rub into all chicken pieces.  In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil.  Add chicken and cook over high heat, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, about 8 minutes.  In a large food processor, combine cilantro, mint, onion and peppers.  Blend until finely chopped.  Add coconut milk and water.  Puree until smooth.  Pour green sauce over chicken and bring to a boil.  Cover partially with lid and simmer over low-med heat until chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes.  Sprinkle with reserved cilantro and pine nuts and serve over rice.

THANKSGIVING RICE "STUFFING"

Thanksgiving is a really hard holiday to enjoy thoroughly when you have gluten sensitivity.  Since stuffing (or dressing) is a big part of the meal I have experiemented with different recipes over the years to use as a substitute.  My latest creation is this brown rice stuffing.  As an afterthought, I think it would taste even better if you add cooked and crumbled sausage.  Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving celebration!

THANKSGIVING RICE "STUFFING"

Ingredients:

2 c. uncooked brown rice                                  2 1/2 c. chopped baby bella mushrooms

4 c. water                                                       2 green onions, thinly sliced

1 can (15 1/4 oz.) whole corn kernels                10 strips of bacon, chopped

1 pkg. (2.25 oz.) pine nuts                               5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 packet Sazon Goya con Azafran seasoning       salt & pepper to taste

1 white onion, chopped

Directions:  To a large pot or rice cooker, add rice, Sazon Goya seasoning, can of corn, including the liquid, pine nuts and water.  Cook for 50-60 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed.  To a large frying pan over medium heat, add bacon.  Cook until almost done.  Soak up half the grease with some paper towels.  Add onion and garlic to the pan.  Cook until the onion turns translucent, about 4 minutes.  Next, add the mushrooms and cook for 5-6 minutes more, stirring accasionally.  Slowly add the rice mixture to the pan.  Mix to combine and cook about 3 minutes.  Stir in the green onions and serve.

SUSHI TIME!

I love making homemade sushi!  You can make so many flavor combinations.  Here I combined brown rice sprinkled with seasoned rice vinegar, cucumber, avocado, shrimp, cilantro and carrots.  The sauce is a low-sodium, wheat-free tamari with some chili sesame oil.  Beware of pre-made sushi from the grocery store, they usually use imitation shrimp and crab, which contains wheat flour.

THE FLAVORS OF FALL

FALL FRUIT SALAD

INGREDIENTS:
4 Braeburn apples, core removed and chopped
3 Bosc pears, core removed and chopped
2 Navel oranges, peel trimmed off and chopped
Zest of half an orange
Juice from the orange trimmings
1 c. black walnuts, chopped
1 c. dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients and toss gently.  Refrigerate for an hour.  Serve immediately - pears tend to soften from the orange juice after 24 hours or more.

SLOW-COOKER ROOT BEER PORK RIBLETS

Ingredients:

2 lbs. pork riblets, soak in salt water for 15 min. and then pat dry
3 Tb. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 c. brown rice flour or other GF flour
1 yellow onion, halved and sliced
2 sprigs of rosemary
4 large garlic cloves, smashed
2 Tb. butter or butter substitute
1/2 c. water
2/3 can of your favorite root beer

Directions:  Heat oil in a large frying pan over high heat.  Sprinkle both sides of the pork riblets with salt and pepper, rub in.  Dredge in flour, shake off excess and place in pan, cooking 2 minutes per side.  Add onion to the slow cooker.  Place meat on top of onions and add the juice and bits from the pan by deglazing with the water.  Add the rosemary and smashed garlic.  Season with more salt and pepper.  Finally, add the butter and root beer.  Set cooker to HIGH and cook for 6 hours.  (Serving suggestion:  plate up with roasted garlic-rosemary potatoes and grilled asparagus)

TASTE-TESTS & FOCACCIA RECIPE

To my delight, I discovered gluten-free chicken nuggets at my local Smith's grocery store!  They are by Applegate Farms and are really delicious.  Not only are they gluten free but they are casein free, humanely raised, and have no nitrites or nitrates added.  While at Whole Foods I picked up a couple different gluten-free products.  First was go raw's Super Cookies in the chocolate and ginger snap flavors.  They each had only 4 ingredients and no added sugar.  The sweetness comes from organic dates. They are bite-sized and perfect to take on trips, camping, or for an on-the-go snack.  The chocolate ones were a bit chewy but had good flavor and the ginger snaps were crisp, crunchy, and by far my favorite.  I'll have to try the other flavors they had as there were a few others.  Lastly, I picked up a box of Chebe's Gluten Free Focccia Mix.  It was easy to prepare and can be altered by substituting in your favorite ingredients.  It had a light crisp crust and soft  center.  Perfect for dipping into a marinara sauce.  Here is the recipe I created to suit my taste:

DAIRY-FREE FOCACCIA with SUN-DRIED TOMATOES

INGREDIENTS:

1 box of Chebe's Gluten Free Focaccia Mix

2 Tb. olive oil, plus 1 tsp. for later

2 large eggs

1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, chopped

1/4 c. water

1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

DIRECTIONS:  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  To a large mixing bowl add focaccia mix, 2 Tb. olive oil, eggs and sun-dried tomatoes. Combine with a spatula or your hands.  Add the water and knead with hands until well combined and smooth.  Place dough in the center of an ungreased 9" glass pie dish and press outward until it covers the bottom evenly.  Make indentations with your fingertips all over the dough. Press the garlic slices into some of the indents.  Brush with the reserved 1 tsp. olive oil and sprinkle the Italian seasoning all over.  Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Remove from the dish and serve with marinara dipping sauce.  ** Optional:  add 1/2 c. shredded cheese to the dough when mixing if you prefer.

PINEAPPLE FRIED RICE

INGREDIENTS:
1 c. Jasmine rice                                3 Tb. oil
2 c. pineapple, diced                          4 garlic cloves, minced
4 green onions, thinly sliced               2 Tb. Thai Kitchen fish sauce
1 large red chili, finely sliced               1 1/2 Tb. San-J wheat-free tamari
1/2 c. chopped cilantro                      1 tsp. sugar or sugar substitute
2 c. raw shrimp, cleaned & shelled       salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:  Prepare rice according to package.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl combine the pineapple, green onions, chili and cilantro, toss and set aside.  Heat 1 Tb. of oil over medium heat in a skillet or wok.  Add shrimp and saute' until just done.  Remove to a small bowl and set aside.  To the same skillet add the remaining oil.  Saute' garlic until it just turns golden brown.  Add cooked rice and stir well to combine.  Add fish sauce, tamari and sugar.  Stir and heat through.  Add the pineapple mixture and shrimp.  Toss together and heat through.  Season with salt to taste.  Serves 6-8.