Trying something new...

I thought I'd try cooking in my rice cooker tonight.  :)  I put some Quinoa rice in w/some green bell pepper, carrots and potatoes.  Everything came out so tender and yummy!!  This is a perfect side (or main for a veggie family) and it was so quick and easy to throw together!  As I sit here eating this deliciousness, I think it really needs MORE veggies.  Feel free to bump up the amount of carrots, bell pepper (even other colors), and add some of your favorite veggies too!  Asparagus is in season and might be quite tasty in this too.  

2 cups rinsed Quinoa
4 1/2 cups GF chicken broth
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 medium potatoes, diced
about 10 fat large baby carrots(or 3 regular carrots), sliced
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
1 tablespoon dried diced onions

salt to taste

I just tossed all that into the rice cooker, set it to cook and served it up when it was done.  YUM!

Grapefruit Cupcakes GF sugar free

Ok, I must admit, this one isn't a slow cooker recipe - but it sure is tasty!  We have been eating leftovers for a couple days because we need to clean out the fridge - lol! :)  I will have more slow cooker recipes up very soon, as I am now in planning mode for the next two weeks of dinners.

But for now, try this yummy gluten-free sugar-free Grapefruit Cupcake recipe:

2/3 cup almond milk
1 tsp cider vinegar
2/3 cup agave nectar (or honey)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoons GF vanilla extract
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup brown rice flour
1/3 flax seed meal
1 tsp Xanthan gum
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp iodized sea salt
4 drops grapefruit essential oil (food grade)

Preheat oven 325 degrees F

1) In a medium bowl combine the milk and vinegar, mix until bubbly.  Add agave nectar, olive oil, vanilla and stir.  Add 4 drops grapefruit essential oil and stir well.

2) In a separate bowl (I like to use a stand mixer), combine the flours, flax seed meal, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well.

3) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing until no lumps remain.

4) Pour batter into muffin tin and bake for 18-22 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.   Cool the cupcakes and then frost.

For the Frosting:

Cream together 8 oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup softened butter (1 stick), 5 tsp tapioca flour and 3 drops grapefruit essential oil.   Put frosting into a pastry bag and pipe on top of cupcakes (or spread over cupcakes w/a butter knife or cheese spreader).

busy day easy dish...

We had a fun and busy day today.  But I still have a great recipe for you to try out.  This is a super easy but VERY tasty dinner that your family is sure to enjoy! :)

Teriyaki Chicken over rice

1 bag (2.5 lbs) boneless skinless chicken breast

1 bag (2.5 lbs) boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup soy sauce (make sure GF!)

3/4 cup cider vinegar

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons granulated garlic

dash of salt & pepper

1/4 cup corn starch

1/4 cup cold water

Hot cooked rice

Place chicken into 6qt slow cooker/crock pot. In a large bowl mix; sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic, salt & pepper together. Pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours (or until chicken is tender and cooked thoroughly).

Serve over hot cooked rice and enjoy!

Serves about 8-10 people (or family of 6 w/some left overs)

After much prodding...

My wonderful husband has been after me to start up a blog about all my GF slow cooker recipes.  I put up a Facebook group (you can find it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/304138686275124/ ) and started posting the recipes I was using for my busy family.  I was hopeful that many others would also post recipes to share and that the list would grow.  While two others did post a recipe, it was mostly myself posting to the docs (which I don't mind at all).  My husband said that I might be able to reach more people if I started up a blog about the slow cooker dinners that our family enjoys.  So I hemmed and hawed about it, and now I am finally doing it!

With our busy family it is so wonderful to be able to sit down to dinner at a reasonable time.  For us that means a slow cooker meal is in order.  With the gluten free challenge, I couldn't find many cookbooks let alone slow cooker cookbooks.  So here's to a NEW adventure!!

Your first recipe to try:

Italian Chicken Sandwiches

6 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, diced

1/3 cup GF Chili Garlic Sauce

3 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar

3 tablespoons dried oregano (or you can use Italian Seasoning)

5 cubes GF beef bouillon, crushed

GF rolls or hamburger buns (or anything similar in size)

Spray inside of 6qt slow cooker with cooking spray. Place chicken breasts in slow cooker, place chopped onion and diced bell pepper on top of chicken. In a small bowl combine the chili garlic sauce, white vinegar, oregano and beef bouillon - pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until chicken is cooked through and tender.

Remove chicken from slow cooker, leaving juices in the slow cooker, and shred. Place shredded chicken back into slow cooker w/juices. Mix shredded chicken well w/juices, cover and let heat through.

Place about 1/2 cup (more or less depending on how hungry you are or how you like your meat to bread ratio) on open roll. Place top on roll (like a sandwich) and ENJOY!

We added cheese to our sandwiches! :)