Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore



Slow-Cooker Chicken Cacciatore


Slow-cooker to the rescue...again! It's been pretty busy around the Al & Peg House as of late. Weekends are doubly-busy, so in order to make good eats, we need some help. Whilst we're scurrying around the house, the slow-cooker is doing all the hard work.

Peg found this naturally gluten-free recipe:
http://www.recipe.com/slow-cooker-chicken-cacciatore/?esrc=nwrc071212pinc

The original recipe calls for chicken drumsticks, but we used thighs instead - more meat on the thighs.

If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross-Contact.



Ingredients:

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup chopped carrot
2 medium onions, cut into wedges
1 green, yellow, or red sweet pepper, cut into strips
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 chicken thighs, skinned (about 3-1/2 pounds)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 14-1/2-ounce can diced tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste


Directions:


1. Combine mushrooms, celery, carrot, onions, sweet peppers, and garlic in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Place chicken on vegetables. Combine broth, wine, tapioca, sugar, oregano, bay leaves, salt, and pepper; pour over chicken.

2. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 6 to 7 hours or on high-heat setting for 3 to 3-1/2 hours.

3. Remove chicken; cover to keep warm. Remove and discard bay leaves. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. Stir in undrained tomatoes and the tomato paste. Cover and cook for 15 minutes more. Serve vegetable mixture over chicken and cooked pasta or rice.





Until the next good eats...

Al & Peg

Cold Pasta Salad

For some, summer is over - many kids are back at school already. [Man, where did time go?! ]

For those of us without kids, we are going to squeeze every last bit out of summer before it slinks into fall.

Summer time = cookouts and family gatherings
Cookouts and family gatherings = cold pasta salads!

Any cookout worth its salt has a cold pasta salad present. Years ago, a relative of Peg's brought this [non-gluten-free] pasta salad to a summer family event. Peg said that I'd really like it - it was tangy, zesty and a bit spicy. Yup - sounds like right up my alley, but I couldn't touch it.

Until today...we made this salad for our group's annual cookout! Nothing is off-limits at this cookout!

Gluten?!? We don't need no stinkin' gluten!

Jovial Foods was kind enough to send us some samples of their pasta [my sole intent was making a rightous cold pasta salad]. I think we accomplished that mission!

If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross-Contact.



Salad Ingredients:

1 lb Jovial Gluten-Free Penne Rigate Pasta.
1 Small Onion
1 Green Pepper
1 Yellow Pepper
1 Small Zuchinni
½ lb of Mozzerella cheese (cubed)
½ lb of Hormel Pepperoni Slices (chopped)
¼ lb Hillshire Farms Hard Salami Slices – chopped.
3 Stalks Celery (sliced)
3 Fresh tomatoes (sliced or chunked)
1 can pitted black olives (sliced)


Dressing Ingredients:

1 ½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon white pepper
½ cup of canola oil
¼ cup of olive oil
½ cup Heinz White Vinegar
2 ½ teaspoon Penzey's Orgeno
½ teaspoon Penzey's Pizza Seasoning
¼ teaspoon Penzey's Garlic Powder


Mix dressing ingredients, veggies & meat chill for at least 2 hours. Do not mix in cheese.

Make gluten-free pasta several hours before eating. Allow to cool (room temp).
Mix pasta, dressing with veggies and meat, and cheese together. Chill until needed.


Product notes:

Gluten-free pastas have a tendancy to harden when cold. Jovial's Penne has a much better texture [softer] when chilled overnight.

Jovial's GF products are certified by the Gluten-Free Certification Organization.

Minestrone Soup



This recipe is adapted from Living Without Summer 2005 issue.

It's one of our favorites and gets rave reviews from all who've tried - gluten-free or otherwise.

We save it for the fall/winter when it is cold and yucky on the outside and warm and yummy on the inside.

If you are making this recipe for a gluten-free guest, please read our Guide to Gluten Cross-Contact.



Ingredients

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves minced garlic
1 large onion - diced
2 medium carrots - sliced
2 stalks celery - sliced
1 medium potato - diced
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 small zuchinni
1 tspn oregano
2 tspn salt
4 cups GF chicken broth (Kitchen Basics, Swanson’s, Pacific, Imagine)
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
1 cup fresh or frozen green bean (1 1/2" pieces)
1 15oz can kidney beans - drained & rinsed
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (optional) or 2 cubes of frozen homemade basil pesto (See Al Notes)
Parmesan cheese (optional)



Add olive oil, butter & garlic to a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute until onion is transparent and soft.

Add celery, carrots, potato. Sauté for another 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes, oregano, salt and chicken broth.

Bring soup up to a simmer. Cover and cook for 15-30 minutes. Veggies should be tender.

Add the corn, green beans, kidney beans, zucchini and simmer for another 15-30 minutes.

Stir in fresh basil or add frozen pesto cubes and allow to melt.

Serve hot and don't eat too much. You could also top with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.


Al Notes

Since we made a double batch, we use both kidney beans and black beans.

In the summer I will make fresh basil pesto. This is usually a Saturday project for me. We have a little farmers market downtown and I'll get several bunches. I'll whiz up a batch and pour it in ice cube trays and freeze it. After about a month of pesto making, we'll have several freezer bags full of pesto cubes we can use for a whole bunch of things...like this soup!