~Swahili Chicken~

Yum. My favorite food in the world=Curry dishes of all sorts. I was given a curry cookbook for Christmas from which I made this Swahili Chicken last night.  Every so often, I try to follow a recipe (and not just make it up)...and each time, I am oh-so-impressed with what following a recipe can do! Crazy.  Anyways, this recipe is awesome; it has a really different bite unlike any curry blend I've had before.  It was a super easy, one-bowl recipe.  The variety of Indian spices, lemon juice and yogurt gives the chicken great flavor and requires no added fat. Enjoy!

Swahili Chicken

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces

4 tsp finely grated ginger root (or 1.5 tsp ground ginger)
6 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp ground turmeric

1 T paprika

1 tsp ground cinnamon

8 T lemon juice

2 tsp ground cumin

1 T ground coriander

2 tsp dried red pepper flakes

1/2 cup plain yogurt

(I used soy yogurt for lactose free, optional=more yogurt than called for )

1 T honey

salt and pepper

1/4 bunch fresh parsley

Yogurt Dip

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 tsp cumin

DIRECTIONS

Place the chicken pieces in a large mixing bowl.  Mix together the remaining ingredients, (minus parsley and yogurt dip ingredients) season well, and pour over the chicken.  Mix well to combine, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 6-8 hrs or overnight if time permits.

Place the chicken mixture in a shallow, lightly greased, ovenproof baking dish. Place parsley on top, and cook in a preheated oven at 300 degrees F for 1.5 hrs, covering the dish with foil for the last 30 minutes of cooking. 

Stir yogurt and cumin together to make yogurt dip. Set aside.

Serve with brown rice or flat bread, and yogurt dip on side for chicken.

Lastly, the chip-like food on the plate is made from udad-dal (lentil flour).  I ventured into an Indian food store a few weeks ago looking for spices; definitely a fun store to spend way too much time in-and any store that revolves around cooking is 10 x more exciting than going to a shopping mall to me:-)  These chips are served as an appetizer dipped in a yogurt sauce at my favorite restaurant, (in Boulder) Sherpas.  To prepare, heat in a skillet on both sides, and serve.  They are made up of lentil flour, a little oil and whole cumin. 

Recipes x Three!

Healthy, delicious and low-budget friendly- the recipes below provide all three!  My current rotation is centered around budget-friendly, delicious recipes to meet the population's needs we provide classes for. Working with the underprivileged continues to teach me so much each day...A few facilities we teach at are mental health clinics, inner city schools, a homeless group (my favorite class) and a church food pantry. 
Along with their nutrition lesson, the members learn how to cook new recipes each week with a professional chef; they are then given a grocery bag full of food to take home and make the same recipes that week for their families.  (This is their "homework" each week...not too bad of an assignment, I'd say;-)
Each week they report back to me whether or not their family enjoyed the recipe; they all LOVE these Turkey Tacos and Pineapple Salsa.  I won't bore you with the nutrition portion of the lesson, but will add in a few healthy nutrition facts that make these recipes so wonderful. Enjoy!

Turkey Tacos

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 can pinto beans

1 pound ground turkey

1 cup tomato sauce, no salt added

3 T tomato paste

1 T chili powder

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin

Sprinkle of cayenne (optional)

White Corn Tortillas (Make your own or store bought)

Toppings:

1/4 medium head of lettuce, chopped

2 large tomatoes

1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 cup plain, fat free yogurt

DIRECTIONS:
1. Drain and rinse pinto beans.
2. Coat large frying pan with cooking spray.  Brown turkey over medium high heat.
3. Add pinto beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, garlic,oregano, salt, pepper, cumin and cayenne to the frying pan.  Stir well.
4.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until thickened, approximately 15 mins. (At this step, I added~1/2 cup water to thin/expand the sauce a bit.)
5.  Place portion of meat mixture into each taco shell, and add toppings as desired along with mango salsa on top. Enjoy!!!

(My favorite-Use leftover meat mixture and toppings the next day to make a taco salad!)

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A nutrition bit: Using yogurt as a substitute for sour cream greatly reduces the fat and calories for a creamy topping-Our classes love it!

Using ground turkey in the place of ground beef reduces the amount of saturated fat you're consuming in this recipe as well.

Draining and rinsing the beans reduces the sodium content greatly; This recipe is lower in sodium, saturated fat and calories that your standard, beef tacos.

2 tacos: 300 calories

11 g fat

3.5 g sat fat

Fiber 5 g

Protein 24 g

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This Salsa definitely makes this meal; it has a bite from the jalapeno and is a great, sweet addition to the tacos.  We ate the salsa on top of our tacos; we also served it as a salsa with corn tortillas chips...Make this salsa with mangoes, grapefruit, watermelon, oranges-many fruits can be substituted, but pineapple is my top pick;-)

Pineapple Salsa

INGREDIENTS:

2 large cans pineapple tidbits or chunks

1 large cucumber

2 medium green onions

1 medium jalapeno pepper

2 medium limes (or lime juice)

1/2 tsp salt

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

DIRECTIONS:

1. Drain and rinse pineapples.

2. Dice pineapple and cucumber. Finely chop green onions and place all in a small bowl.

3. Cut jalapeno pepper in half and remove seeds. Dice and add to mixture.

4. Cut lime in half, squeeze juice into mixture.

5. Add salt, cayenne and cilantro.

6. Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.

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 One last fun recipe...3 in one tonight:-) (Way too many recipes to share, and not enough time to blog!) LOVE this salad...

Northwest Apple Salad

INGREDIENTS:

3 apples of choice

2.5 cups plain or vanilla fat free yogurt

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

2 large carrots, shredded

1 tsp cinnamon

1 T honey

DIRECTIONS:

1. Chop apples into bite size chunks. Place in bowl.

2. Add yogurt, walnuts, cinnamon and honey. Mix well.

3. Fold in carrots.

Add currants, craisins or raisins (as pictured) if desired.

Enjoy!

~All 3 recipes are Gluten Free~

To make recipes lactose free, use soy or lactose-free yogurt

A few Spiced Breakfast Muffins

As Julie Powell baked her way through Julia Child's cookbook, I would love to (someday!) bake my way through the Gluten Free Gourmet's Bread cookbook by Bette Hagman. I highly recommend this cookbook; it is by far one of the best GF bread cookbooks I have experimented with yet!  The GF baker I was able to work with at CSU this summer recommended Bette's cookbooks to me.  They are super easy to make ingredient substitutions, and give a good basis to start a recipe.  I have altered these two muffin recipes out of her book, and came up with the following:
I love these two muffin recipes for a few reasons; They both are super moist, gluten & dairy free, and low in fat & sugar.  These both use some of my favorite winter veggies; butternut squash, sweet potatoes and pumpkin.  These ingredients all serve as a fat substitute (for a large part of the fat) and aid in keeping the muffin extra moist and flavorful. 
I may just have a slight obsession with winter squash, thus I always have some on hand, leading me to use it as a substitute in many of my baked recipes.  For the first muffin recipe...

 Date-Walnut Muffins

Serve these healthy muffins for brunches, teas, or as a breakfast muffins.

Yields: 8-10

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup Sorghum flour

1/4 cup Brown or White rice flour

1/4 cup Potato starch

1/4 cup Tapioca starch

1/4 tsp Xanthan gum

1 tsp Baking powder

1/4 tsp Baking soda

1 tsp Allspice

1.5 T Agave Nectar

1/4 tsp Salt

1/3 cup Pitted dates, chopped

1/3 cup Chopped walnuts

4 T applesauce

6 T Butternut squash, cooked and mashed (or canned)

1/4 cup-1 T Rice or almond milk

1 T Lemon juice

1 Egg, slightly beaten

1.5 T Molasses

1/2 tsp Vanilla

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray muffin tins with nonstick cooking spray. 

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flours & starches, xanthan gum, powder, soda, spices and salt.  Add the chopped dates and walnuts, and tumble to cover them with flour.

In a medium bowl, blend together the applesauce, squash, milk + lemon juice, egg, molasses, and vanilla.  Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the liquids, stirring until just combined.  Spoon the batter into prepared cups and bake ~18-20 minutes.  Serve warm, with a cup of Joe:-)

 

Substitution: You may substitute any winter squash, including pumpkin for the butternut squash as you wish.

    Sweet Potato Cranberry Muffins

Yields: 6

These muffins have a tart, sweet taste and a wonderful texture.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup Brown rice flour

1/4 cup White rice flour

1/4 cup Potato Starch

1/2 tsp Xanthan gum

1/4 cup Agave Nectar

1 tsp Flaxseed meal

1 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 Egg

1/4 cup rice or almond milk

1/4 cup cold mashed sweet potatoes (or canned puree)

2 T pumpkin puree (optional, will increase moistness)

2 T canola oil

1/2 cup Cranberries, frozen, chopped

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375.  Spray muffin tins with non stick cooking spray.

In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients.  In a smaller bowl, combine the egg, milk, sweet potato, pumpkin, and canola oil.  Beat with a fork or spoon until well blended and smooth.  Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.  Stir in the cranberries & walnuts.

Fill the muffins cups 2/3 full and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Serve warm
&
Bon Appetit!

 TIP: I have found with all gluten free bread products, it is best to slightly underbake them; If baked to the total time suggested, products will turn out dry and the life of the product is decreased tremendously.

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A nutrition bit...

Using molasses in muffin/bread recipes adds a

great deal of the recommended daily intake of Iron. (Molasses

is a simple sugar (primarily sucrose), so use sparingly) 

With homemade GF products, I try to increase the nutritional

value of the product in every way possible by choosing

nutrient dense ingredients

to ensure the product is not simply a starchy bread with no

nutritional value. (As a large amount of GF

products on the market are-lacking nutritional value)

Warning: All molasses is not equal in value; pay close attention

when choosing which molasses brand to buy.

Molasses is the by-product of the juice of sugar cane or beets.

Based on the type of molasses you use, will determine the nutrition value of the molasses. This is all based on whether the molasses comes from the first, second or third boiling of the molasses.

Depending on the number of times it is boiled, the color of the molasses will vary. Blackstrap molasses provides 20% of the daily value of calcium, 9% DV of potassium, and 25% DV of Iron per 1 Tablespoon.

When purchasing, look for "Blackstrap Molasses" on the label; this

will ensure you are choosing the highest iron-containing type of molasses.

                                                             

Golden Barrel contains 25% DV of Iron, as compared to

Grandma's, which only contains 8% DV of Iron.

To convert the above recipes using regular, all purpose flour:

Substitute all starches and flours (first 3-4 ingredients) with all purpose flour with a  1:1 ratio.  Ex: Subsitute 3/4 cup all-purpose flour for the rice flour and potato starch in the above recipe.  Omit xanthan gum.  That easy. You have a non-gluten free recipe!

And lastly,

GO BRONCOS!!!
Picture from delectablyfree.com

Have a Mexican dinner night with Enchilada Soup!

Tonight I was craving Mexican food...chips, salsa, enchilada sauce and soup.  Those four things.  Soooo I raided my pantry, and found I was missing the key ingredient (enchilada sauce). Bum.mer.

 I looked to foodnetwork.com which had a great enchilada sauce recipe. I realized I have never made homemade enchilada sauce-so easy!  After making this simple (and quite tasty) enchilada sauce, I threw together a soup which turned out to be what I've termed: 

Smoky Chipotle Chicken Enchilada Soup.

This recipe is:

Quick (the quick after you get home from work late, and have no idea what to make for dinner)

Healthy

Mexican food craving satisfier

&

Gluten Free.

Enjoy!

Smoky Chipotle Chicken Enchilada Soup

                          INGREDIENTS

2-3 large chicken breasts, cooked and chunked

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

~2 cups chicken broth
1 c frozen corn

1 can diced green chiles
1/4 cup cilantro. chopped (or 1 T dried)

Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients in large soup pot on stove.  Turn on med-high and let simmer for ~25 minutes.

While the soup is cooking/simmering, make the following enchilada sauce recipe:

Smoky Chipotle Enchilada Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon sorghum flour (or all purpose for non gluten free)
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 10 ounces tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup liquid smoke
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

In a medium saucepan heat oil, add flour, smoothing and stirring with a wooden spoon. Cook for 1 minute. Add chili powder and cook for 30 seconds. Add stock, tomato paste, liquid smoke, oregano, and cumin. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. The sauce will thicken and smooth out. Adjust the seasonings.

Lastly...

Add 3/4 of enchilada sauce mixture to soup pot.  Stir continuously and let simmer.  Will be a thick soup base when done.  Add more or less enchilada sauce & spices as desired. Refrigerate or freeze remaining sauce for an enchilada Mexican night...and your homemade sauce is already complete!

Top soup with crumbled tortilla chips, more cilantro and slices of avocado.

Tips:

• Experiment with enchilada sauce-If you have a favorite canned type you enjoy, use it in the place of the homemade sauce to save time. (will be ~ 2 cups of sauce needed)
• Omit the liquid smoke if you don't prefer a smoky, chipotle taste.