Chicken Enchilada Casserole!

I've always been a fan of breakfast buritos, and having gone gluten free its a challenge. So I started scoping out recipies for gluten free tortillas, since I'm now stocked with GF basics. In the process I found this recipie which has a lot of positive feedback, and is simple which I'm a big fan of.

The biggest issue I ran into was how sticky the dough came out--I couldnt get it off my hands! After a few attempts I managed to flatten them out, but still ran into sticky dough issues. And I dont think I got them as thin as would be ideal. When I pulled them off the gridle they were more like thin pieces of flat bread than flour tortillas. I think its more an issue of tweaking and learning than a fault with the recipie, though. Maybe a tortilla press is in order.

Anyways, haveing achieved a vauge imitation of tortillas I decided to make enchiladas! My husband is half mexican, and never had an appreciation for the food--then again, he is a picky eater. Healthy? Him? Never! Although, that said, he will often eat foods he doesnt like and enjoy them if I've cooked it into a meal. Thus I decided to make him enchiladas he'd enjoy, and that were GF as well.

The great thing about enchiladas, like quiche, is that its a very versatile recipe you can add to and substitute with. This can easily be made with ground beef, but I chose chicken for a few reasons. 1) I like chicken. Yum. 2) Red meat has a tendency of upsetting my stomache. 3) It makes my husband's digestive system less lethal as the evening wears on...haha.

Enchilada Casserole!

2 chicken breasts
1/4c diced or grated onion
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can GF refried beans
5-6 GF tortillas, or corn if you prefer
1 can enchilada sauce(28 oz.)
2 1/2c shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a sauce pan boil the chicken breasts in water until tender and cooked through. Shred into bite sized pieces and place in skillet, on low, with refried beans, onion, garlic, and 1/2c of enchilada sauce. Mix well.

In a 3qt casserole dish pour enough enchilada sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of tortillas, either whole or torn up(I tore up to make it easier to serve) and coat them in the sauce.



Using about half your chicken mix, creat a layer over the tortillas.



Add a thin layer of enchilada sauce, and a layer of cheese(this would be about one cup, or more if you're extra cheesy.)Place another layer of tortillas, and your final layer of chicken. Add a layer of enchilada sauce, and use the remainder of your cheese. Place in oven for 15 minutes. When done let sit 10 minutes, then serve with a side of sauce and sour cream!

Stuffed Eggplant!

Today I found myself grocery shopping...which I enjoy immensly, to my husband's chagrin. While happily browsing along the produce, I stumbled accross an eggplant! I havent had anything with eggplant in years, so I decided to pick one up. My room mate was, as ever, my brave taste tester and she's given me a clear 2 thumbs up. Also I've been following Gluten Free Mama's blog and facebook, to which she posted this wonderful cottage dill bread recipie. I used some left over pieces for my bread crumbs. Hope you enjoy!

For two people:

One eggplant(mine was only about the size of a coconut.)
1/4 cup grated onion(or diced, its a preference.)
3-4 grated cloves of garlic(or more if you're the garlicy type, I wont tell.)
1/2 cup diced ham
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus a little extra for topping
1 cup bread crumbs(gluten free!)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Wash and cut your eggplant in half, then hollow them out(leave about 1/4 inch of flesh along the sides.) Dice up the insides to small pieces, and mix with your other ingredients in a bowl. Make sure your bowl ingredients are evenly coated with the oil. Next you'll want to pack the halves of your eggplant with your stuffing. Put as much on as you can! There may be a little extra stuffing, thats ok. At this point you'll want to put a little extra cheese on top, then pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. At 20 minutes, pull it out, cover with foil, and pop it back in for another 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Well

Attempted a gluten free pizza tonight. I turned out alright! I'll post more about it when I actually pay attention to what I did. I'm thinking artichoke chicken pizza witha cream cheese base. I had something similar once which was wonderful.


Also I made a flourless chocolate cake, which creamcheese frosting. It was a great success in my household! The recipie can be found here and thanks to Heidi for posting it.

Gluten Free Soy Chicken and Rice

Ingredients:
1/2 c. Soy sauce alternative(I used Bragg's Liquid Aminos, gluten free and very good.)
1/4 c. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tbsp. minced ginger
2 chicken breast diced
3 c. cooked brown rice
Garlic and Herb seasoning salt(salt free)

Mix your soy, ACV, and ginger and add chicken, heat on high. Season lightly with garlic and herb, mix, season again. Don't add any more, this should be sufficient. When your chicken has cooked through, add rice and mix it in until heated. Turn off heat and serve!

Brown Rice Pudding, Dairy Free.

Here is a great dairy free pudding, pretty easy to make, and is also gluten free! It's pretty win-win.

Ingredients:

3c. Cooked Brown Rice
1 1/2 c. Almond Milk(I'm sure soy milk would work fine as well)
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon to taste, nuts and fruits to taste.

Mix your ingredients together(I used 1 tsp of vanilla, but I like the strong vanilla flavor) and bring to a boil. Then lower temperature and let simmer for 25-30 minutes, until most of the milk has been absorbed, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and chill, roughly 2 hours. Serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon, and whatever else you'd like to add! I personally used dried cranberries, which were delicious. Enjoy!