Quinoa Veggie Soup

You may or may not have noticed, I changed the name of the blog to Easy Gluten Free Meals & Slow Cooker Dinners.  I have been wanting to post some of the quick and easy ways I feed my family, but some of them are not slow cooker recipes.  So now I am going to be posting more recipes, all of them are quick and easy, but not all of them are for your slow cooker.

Tonight we are having Quinoa and veggie soup.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 carrots, peeled and thin sliced
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped (the food processor makes quick work of this)
4 cloves garlic, minced (food processor makes quick work of this one too)
5 cups gluten-free free-range chicken stock
3 1/2 cups hot water
2 large tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
salt/pepper to taste



In a large pot (stock pot), heat the olive oil on medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.  Stir in carrots, zucchini, celery, onion, and garlic.  Saute for one minute, then reduce heat to low - cover and cook about 20 minutes.

Add the quinoa, chicken stock, water, and tomatoes.  Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer for about 10 minutes, until the quinoa is tender.

Serve in bowls w/spoons.  ;-)   Salt and pepper to taste.

Pink Chicken Dip

We had a major pipe brake in our kitchen awhile back...  so I have not had much of a kitchen the last two months.  I am planning to try and get some more recipes up here, and by the time September gets here, I am hopeful to have a weekly shopping list with the price of the weekly menu posted up here as well.  Prices will vary by area, for sure, but it should give you a rough estimate of what you will need to purchase and how much you might be spending.  :)

One of my family's favorites is today's post.  We call it Pink Chicken Dip, you might call it chicken nachos, or maybe a chicken and bean dip - but no matter what you call it, it is QUICK, EASY, and YUMMY!

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 4 large breasts)
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 4 thighs)
about 32 oz of salsa (4 cups), we use mild salsa
2 cups dried black beans (use over night soak method, or you can use 4 cans of black beans)
1 small onion diced
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 package cream cheese
6 cups cooked white rice
Tortilla chips

Place the chicken in a 6 qt slow cooker.  In a medium bowl combine the salsa, pre-soaked black beans, garlic and onion, pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours (or until chicken is cooked thoroughly and tender).

Remove chicken, cool slightly (just so you don't burn yourself).  Shred with two forks and return to slow cooker, mixing it into the sauces.  Add hot cooked rice to slow cooker and stir in well.  Stir in cream cheese and heat through.  Serve with tortilla chips.  If you like you can add some mexican blend shredded cheese (make sure to read the package and make sure they have not coated your cheese w/any gluten containing products).

ENJOY!!

Garlic & Oregano Chicken

This dish is probably one of my family's favorites!  And don't tell them, but this is so quick and super easy that I don't mind making it. ;)  It tastes FANTASTIC, so don't let the simplicity of it fool you.

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen
4 chicken legs, frozen (if they are not skinless, you will have to remove the skin before serving)
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, frozen
about 6 medium russet potatoes, quartered
2 whole garlic bulbs, separated and peeled
1 medium yellow onion, sliced (I like to slice mine like orange slices, not circles)
3 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon iodized sea salt
1 teaspoon table pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

Wash and cut potatoes and place in bottom of slow cooker.  Add the sliced onions and peeled garlic, then place chicken on top of veggies.  In a small bowl, mix together the chicken broth, oregano, salt and pepper.  Pour over chicken (make sure to use a scraper to get all the spices into the slow cooker), cover and cook on high for 5 hours, or cook on low for 7-8 hours.

DELISH!

Lemon Chicken

Tonight we are dining on a yummy flavorful dish that is refreshing and super easy!  Lemon Chicken over rice.

7 boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen
1 can frozen lemonade concentrate, defrosted
1/4 cup ketchup
5 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar


Put frozen chicken breasts into slow cooker.  In a medium bowl, combine the other ingredients, mixing well.  Pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

If you like, you can thicken the sauce by heating 1/4 cup cornstarch and 1/4 cup water in a sauce pan, add the sauce and heat, stirring constantly until thickened.

Serve over hot white or brown rice - Enjoy!

Sweet & Sour Roast

I do enjoy a cook-all-day slow cooker meal when we are out of the house the whole day.  So here's a nice long cooking dish that you can start in the morning and then not have to worry about until dinner time!

4 pound beef chuck roast
16 oz jar tomato sauce
3 cups carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 cup molasses
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup Agave nectar
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons salt


Cut beef chuck roast into 1 inch cubes, place in slow cooker.  In a medium bowl combine; molasses, vinegar, agave, and spices.  Chop veggies.  Pour liquid mixture over beef then add the chopped veggies.  Allowing the mixture to sit while you chop the veggies helps all the flavors to blend well together.  Cover and cook on high 7-8 hours.   Serve over hot cooked rice.  YUM!

Pot Roast with Potatoes & Carrots in the slow cooker

I have had my fill of chicken for the moment...  so we are having Beef tonight!  In our house beef is a special meal as #1 it isn't cheap and #2 we try VERY hard never to buy it in the grocery store.  We purchase our beef from an uncle who raises them on grass with out any hormones and other harmful to human things.  So we try to stretch our beef out over a full year, otherwise when it's gone... (shudder) it's gone!  ;)  But that is just us, and to each his own (right?!).  I'll try to get more of a variety up on here so that you can eat more than just chicken too!

So, dinner tonight...  Pot Roast with potatoes and carrots.  YUM!!  This is one of my favorite dishes.  Plus it's soooo easy, yet the end result is so good that I will usually eat myself into a stomach ache - lol!

4-6 pound bottom round rump roast, chuck roast, or other TOUGH cut of beef.  (tough meats do best for all day slow cookers, tender meats tend to get more tough the longer they cook)
10 medium size potatoes, cut into approximate 1 1/2 - 2 inch cubes (russet, Yukon gold, red, yellow, it doesn't matter, what ever you like best!)
12 (or so) carrots, cut into larger chunks (I usually buy the larger ones, just add as many as you think you will enjoy)
3 tablespoons Italian seasoning (GF)
2 tablespoons dried diced onion
4 tablespoons granulated garlic
2 tablespoons Oregano
1 tablespoon celery salt
2 cups hot water

Put the frozen beef into slow cooker.  In a medium bowl combing water, seasonings and spices; pour over beef.  Cover and cook on High for 3-4 hours.  Wash and cut up the potatoes (I leave the skins on) and add them into the slow cooker.  Peel carrots and cut up, add into slow cooker.  Cover and continue to cook on high for another 2-4 hours, until meet is cooked through and tender (falling apart when you try to pick it up) and veggies are tender.   You can opt to put the veggies in at the very beginning if you are not going to be home.  I have done that before, but the veggies tend to get mushy (they are still tasty, but my kiddos really don't like them mushy, so I try to put the veggies in later so they are soft and tender).

M & M Chicken with Rice

Another new dish!  Playing with the slow cooker has become something I am really enjoying, and I hope you are too.  So for dinner tonight we are having something new and fun, I'm calling it M & M Chicken. ;-)

6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, frozen
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, frozen
1 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup GF prepared yellow mustard (like what you might put on a sandwich)
1/3 cup quick-cook tapioca
Hot cooked white rice

Place frozen chicken into slow cooker.  In a medium bowl mix together the maple syrup, mustard and tapioca; pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender.  Serve over hot rice - YUM!