Chicken Stew & Dumplings - Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, & Dairy-Free

Baby it's cold outside...means its got to be chicken and dumpling time. But hey, how do you make grain-free chicken and dumplings? Or do you call it chicken and pastry?

I have been on a quest to figure this out the past month. I admit my heart sinking a few times as I played with dough and dropped it into the boiling water wondering if I was going to risk ruining a perfectly good pot of chicken stew.

One particular day, I took great care in rolling out the pastry, as I had remembered my grandmother doing this.  For a few brief minutes, I transported back to my childhood to the moment where I watched my grandmother making dumplings. You know those moments that are somehow etched in your memory forever?  It was if time stood still and I remembered the brightness of the daylight streaming in the window shadowing my grandmother as she stood by the stove. All the details magnified.  (Why this particular moment?  I don't know, but it's there in my mind.)  Then I dropped the carefully rolled out dough into the pot of boiling stew and quickly I came back to the real moment when the pastry completely disappeared when it hit the water! Well, needless to say, that was way too much work for the result- a thick chicken stew.  We loved it, but not practical.

I kept trying just because my boys were cheering me on.  As long as they were eating it and happy, I kept working. 

Most of the time I don't measure the ingredients in this recipe, so don't worry about being exact here. It's kind of fun after doing tedious grain-free baking to be able to free style cook once in a while. ;)  This recipe has never failed even when I have made it practically backwards! 

Comfort food at it's best!

Chicken Stew & Dumplings -
   Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free

Chicken Stew Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons organic extra-virgin olive oil
  
• 4-5 stalks of organic celery, chopped roughly
• 1 organic onion, chopped roughly
• 2 teaspoon sea salt
• filtered water
• 3 pounds organic boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon black pepper (depending on your preference)
• 2 teaspoons marjoram
• 1/2 -3/4 cup coconut milk, lite

Chicken Stew Instructions:

Heat approximately 2 tablespoons olive oil In a large soup pot

Add to the pot:
4-5 stalks celery, chopped roughly
1 onion, chopped roughly

1 teaspoon sea salt

Cook vegetables until slightly tender; about 5 minutes.
Remove vegetables from pot and puree in a vita-mix or blender. (This is a great way to hide those veggies!)

Remove the pot from heat and add about 3 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs.
Add just enough filtered water to cover the chicken.
Add the pureed vegetables back to the pot.

Place soup pot back on the stove.
Add seasonings: sea salt, black pepper, and marjoram. Bring to a boil and turn down the heat to low; simmer for at least 30 minutes or until the chicken is done.  (This is a good place to simmer longer if you have the time. The chicken will fall apart the longer it cooks.)
Remove chicken and set aside on a cutting board to cool.

Cut the chicken into small pieces and return to the pot.

Add 1/2-3/4 cup of coconut milk, lite

Stir together.
At this point you can continue cooking stew on low.  Stirring occasionally.
Or proceed to make dumplings.

Dumplings -

   Grain-free, Gluten-free, Dairy-free

Dumpling Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup coconut milk, lite
• 1/2 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup organic quinoa flour
• 1/4 cup tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoons grain-free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2.5 tablespoons organic palm shortening

Dumpling Instructions:

Mix together:

1/2 cup coconut milk, lite

1/2 tablespoon organic apple cider vinegar
Set aside.

In a separate bowl mix with a wire whisk:     

3/4 cup quinoa flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
2 teaspoon grain-free baking powder

1 teaspoon sea salt

Use a fork or pastry cutter add to the flour mixture:

2.5 tablespoons organic palm shortening
until is a coarse crumb

Then add the milk/vinegar and stir well; until smooth.  You may need to add extra coconut milk to make it smooth. 
Bring the stew to a rolling boil.
Using a spoon, add small amounts of dough, one at a time.  Be sure to keep the stew boiling while adding the dough.
When all the dough is added to the stew, cover the pot and simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes.  The time will depend on the size of your dumplings.  I like to make smaller ones, so there are enough to go around.
Test a dumpling to be sure they are cooked through.

Healing Lentil Soup - Bone Broth

I am very much of a meat eater, but sometimes life gets in the way of getting those groceries or the meat has not thawed in time and I am left with a challenge of creating dinner with what's in my pantry. I suppose this never happens to anyone, but me? In this case, I found lentils in my pantry. We haven't had lentil soup in a long time and I thought it would be a nice change. 

This lentil soup made with marrow/bone broth is simple, but wonderfully nutritious. I try to keep marrow/bone broth in my freezer to use in my cooking since my naturopathic physician strongly recommended it for me.  I love the depth of flavor it adds to our food, but even more to love is the nutrition and healing properties.  When you understand why it is important to your health, it is a simple process to include in your meal preparation. For more information about the benefits of bone broth please follow these links. 

Traditional Bone Broth in Modern Health & Disease
Sally Fallon's : Broth is Beautiful 
Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Part 1: Health Benefits of Bone Broth/Homemade Stock
Jenny's Nourished Kitchen: Benefits of Bone Broth
The Jade Institute: Bone Broth for Health Building: Nourishing the Liver & Kidneys 

If you frequently cook meals in a crock pot and If you are seriously considering making broth I've found that an extra crock pot is a great help.  I believe the benefits far outweigh the expense. 

There are many versions of bone broth that may be found in the links I have listed.  I prefer to keep mine simple for now.
 

Simple Bone Broth

 Ingredients:
organic, pasture-raised or at least no antibiotics/carcass of a chicken or turkey, or beef marrow or knuckle bones
organic apple cider vinegar
filtered water

Instructions:

1. Place bones in the crock pot with enough filtered water to cover approximately 2 inches above the bones
2. Add a splash of organic apple cider vinegar to assist in removing minerals from the bones.
3. Turn the crock pot on high and bring to a boil.
4. Turn the crock pot to low and cook for 24 hours for chicken broth or 24-72 hours for beef bone broth.  The bones should be soft; use a slotted spoon to remove the bones.
5. Strain the broth using a fine mesh strainer.
6. Refrigerate in glass for several hours to cool. This also helps with skimming off fat in the last step.
7. Skim the fat off the top and refrigerate the broth for several days or freeze for several months.  I like to use glass storage in sizes that are right for the recipes that I like to make.  Sometimes I have used ice cube trays and then when frozen pop the broth cubes out and store.

Healing Lentil Soup

1 cup dried organic green lentils, washed

2 tablespoons organic extra-virgin olive oil or coconut oil

1 organic onion, chopped

2 organic garlic cloves, chopped

2 organic carrots, chopped

3 ribs of organic celery, chopped

1 teaspoon basil

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon coriander

pinch of cardamom

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

pinch of ground ginger

2 cups of bone broth (recipe above)

4 cups of filtered water

In a large soup pot heat the olive oil or coconut oil over medium heat.  

Add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery and saute for about 5-7 minutes.  

Add the basil, bay leaf, coriander, cardamom, sea salt, ginger and stir for a minute.

Add the dried green lentils (washed several times), stir together, and heat for a minute.

Pour in the bone broth and water and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Remove the bay leaf before serving. 

Enjoy!

What's For Dinner? Turkey with apples in the Crockpot

"What's for dinner?" That's the question that looms over me all day, at least most days. I have found great peace in my life when I know that dinner is cooking in my crock pot. I like the way the house smells and I can anticipate a delicious stress-free dinner.




This is a recipe that everyone in my family enjoys, which is not always the case around here. My boys and husband ooh and aah with meals where the carbs are flowing but, I don't do well eating that way. Therefore, many nights I prepare two meals or someone eats leftovers. Obviously, having a meal that everyone enjoys brings peace to me.

If you would like more gluten-free dinner ideas please see Linda's blog, The Gluten-Free Homemaker and we welcome you to join in the fun!





Turkey with Apples in the Crock Pot

4 organic apples, peeled, cored and sliced
4 natural turkey breasts cutlets
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1-2 cups water

Place apples in the bottom of the crock pot and lay turkey cutlets on top of the apples and season. Pour in the broth. I like to add more broth for a soupy dish.
Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hours or on High for 3-4 hours.
Enjoy your day.

May be served with rice.
I have also made gravy with the broth when it has completed cooking.

Gravy

1 tablespoon Earth Balance margarine
1 tablespoon gluten-free flour
1 cup broth, approximately

In a medium-sized skillet melt the margarine. Whisk in the flour and cook the mixture about 1 minute. Whisk in the broth breaking up any clumps. Bring the mixture to a bubble and season with salt and pepper if you desire. Reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened.

I'm not the expert on gravy, so if you have any suggestions, hints or recipes I would appreciate you sharing them!

Cannellini Soup

I find that having soup for breakfast is a great way for my body to start the day. It's easily digested and requires less energy. This recipe is my favorite comfort soup.

I love using Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth because it makes such a quick dish taste like it has been slow cooked all day.

If you have time to cook your own beans that's even better, but I find that Eden Organic canned beans are delicious and the only brand that I know of that takes special care to have BPA-free cans.

This is from their website:

Eden Organic Beans are packed in lead free tin covered steel cans coated with a baked on oleoresinous c-enamel lining that does not contain bisphenol-A (BPA). (Oleoresin is a natural mixture of an oil and a resin extracted from various plants, such as pine or balsam fir). These cans cost 14 percent more than the industry standard cans that do contain BPA. This costs Eden $300,000 more a year. To our knowledge Eden is the only U.S. company that uses this custom made BPA-free can.

CANNELLINI SOUP

1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped including the leaves
1-2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 (15 ounce) Eden Organic Cannellini Beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon thyme
pepper to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1-1 1/2 cups cooked turkey, cut in cubes Or: 2 slices of uncured turkey ham
1-32 Fl. Oz. (I Quart) box Imagine Organic No-Chicken Broth
1 cup green beans (optional)
1/2 cup frozen spinach, chopped (optional)

In a large soup pot, cook onions and celery in 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil until soft.
Add seasonings: thyme, salt, and pepper and stir 1 minute.
Add broth and undrained cannellini beans and bring to a boil.
Add green beans and turkey/or ham and cook about 20 minutes or until the beans are tender.
If using spinach, add near the end of cooking and heat about 5 minutes until wilted.