Gluten Free Chicken Soup

This was what I needed. It is true that chicken soup heals the spirit. Make this recipe next time you're feeling a little down, a little sick, or a little chilly. I guarantee it will perk you right up.





Gluten Free Chicken Soup


1 box gluten free chicken stock
1 box (from the chicken stock box) of water
4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
1 bag frozen cross-cut carrots
1 celery stalk cut into chunks
1 large potato cut into chunks
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
Salt & White Pepper to taste

Pour everything into the crock pot and turn on high. Let it cook for about 2 hours if you like your veggies crunchy, or longer if you like them mushy. I prefer them crunchy. The chicken cooks fairly quickly, after about 1.5 hours.

My whole family loved this soup. It is so flavorful, and very healthy. You could change it up too and add whatever favorite veggies and spices you can imagine. You could even cook up some gluten free pasta and add it at the last minute.

All in all this is a wonderful, easy, fool-proof and inexpensive way to feed a family, and heal some spirits. Enjoy!

Gluten-Free Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

Mmmmmm. This is a good one! I originally got the recipe from Stephanie's A year of Crockpotting website. I switched it up a bit, and cooked it in the oven rather than the crock. But it turned out FABULOUS, and I'd highly recommend it for a switch-up on your old fashioned lasagna.



Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

1 box of ready to bake lasagna (I used gluten-free rice lasagna)
2 cooked chicken breasts
1 jar of prepared pasta sauce
1 cup of buffalo sauce
15oz of ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella or cheese blend)
1 cup shredded parmesan
1 cup of corn
1/2 cup water

Cut the chicken into chunks and mix together in a bowl with the buffalo sauce, corn and pasta sauce. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 3qt casserole dish with your choice of spray or EVOO or whatever you like to grease pans with.

Building the lasagna:
Start with a ladlefull of sauce/chicken mixture. Spread that across the bottom of the dish then cover with a layer of lasagna. Spread a layer of ricotta cheese over the lasagna, then a layer of cheese blend. Reapeat. Then for the top use the rest of the sauce mixture and cover the top of the lasagna with the parmesan cheese. Pour the water around the edge of the lasagna, (it will be absorbed by the noodles as it cooks). Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Let the lasagna sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

I really, really liked this lasagna. It's even better the next day after all the flavors meld together. It's sort of spicy, perhaps to spicy for kids (depending on their tastes), but it's a great variation from traditional lasagna. Also, it makes a lot and you can eat it all week. So it's really cost concious.

Give it a try! It's easy, cheap, and tasty. Who could ask for more?

Blackberry Chicken

I made crock-pot yumminess today. Now, it may not look yummy as the blackberries turned the chicken purple but I promise it was wonderful. Here's my recipe...

1 6.5 quart crockpot
4 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 bag frozen blackberries
1 cup brown sugar
4 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 tsp rosemary
salt to taste

Put everything into the crockpot on low for 6 hours or until the chicken is fully cooked. It's going to turn purple, but it's going to taste delicious. The chicken is very tender mixed with the sweetness from the berries and brown sugar. The berries also add a wonderful texture. If you'd like it to have a little spicy punch you could add a little ginger, or my friend Jenn said she thought it would be good with a little white wine. I was however working in a house low on groceries and didn't feel like going anywhere. However it was still absolutely wonderful, and I'd make it again in a heartbeat. I put my chicken over brown rice, and it was a delicious, healthy and gluten-free dinner.

Blackberry Chicken!!!