Jalapeno Cheese Sausage with Beans and Rice Royal

This is one of those recipes you throw in the crock pot for 10 hours on low heat and never touch it again.  (You're welcome)   Here is what you are going to need:



• 1 pound of link jalapeno/cheese sausage, cut into small bites
• 1 pound of red beans dry
• 8 cups of water
• 4 celery stalks chopped
• 2 teaspoons of garlic minced
• 1/2 green bell pepper chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons of Creole Seasoning or 3 if you don't use jalapeno sausage
• 3 cups of uncooked Rice Royal, cooked to package specifications right before eating

    This entire recipe with serve 8. The 3 cups of uncooked rice will serve 4.  It is way better the next day, so I will cook 3 additional cups of rice for left overs.

 

Place ALL ingredients, but rice, in the crockpot on a low heat if you cook it for 10 hours, and medium for 8 hours.  If you cannot find the Rice Royal, we prefer Wild Rice with this recipe but cook whatever rice you prefer.  (rice royal is a blend of white, brown, red and wild rice)

 

After cooking is complete, serve over rice and enjoy!

 

 

 

This is such a great winter recipe for your family! 

 And, it is naturally gluten free...

 

(Quick and Easy) Gluten Free Chicken Fried Rice

 

 

A lot of Chinese food can be gluten free, but you have to make it at home!  Sorry, to burst your bubble.  This is a go to recipe for my family because it is quick and easy.  My gluten eating family members will stop and get egg rolls at the drive through for themselves when I make this little gem.  (But I do not partake)

 

Here is what you need:

2 cups of uncooked rice

2 chicken breast uncooked and cubed

2 Tablespoons of Roasted sesame oil + 2 T. of olive oil or butter

2 teaspoons of pepper

2 teaspoons of garlic chopped

3 green onions, sliced  

2 cups frozen peas and carrots (thawed)--- you can do this in the microwave if you are giving me a big "WHAT? It's still frozen?"

2 Tablespoons of Gluten Free Soy Sauce or more if you like  

2-4 eggs slightly beaten (we like 4)  

Salt and pepper to taste

 

 

 

Put your water on to boil for your rice and follow the directions on the package.  Also, heat your sesame oil and add your cubed chicken breast with 2 teaspoons of pepper. 



The toasted sesame oil gives the chicken a nice toasty flavor.  Cook until no pink shows...unlike the above picture! Then set aside until your rice is complete.

I do not know if you have seen these in your frozen food section but they are AMAZING!

They are little cubes of frozen garlic and other herbs like cilantro, basil ect. each little cube

pops out with a teaspoon of perfection and stays fresh.  I mean really?  I sincerely jumped up and down in the frozen food section when I saw these. (cook nerd)



 Add a little oil to your pan on a low to medium low heat, then add rice, peas, carrots, onions, & garlic and cook for a few minutes until warm throughout.

. 

When warm, push the rice to the side of your pan or wok, and put your slightly beaten beside it.  When they begin to cook you can mix them into the rice.  Remember, I said we like 4 eggs?  I put two in the pan and cook two in the microwave and add them later. Yes, the microwave for about 1 minute.  It make beautiful soft eggs. 

Add your chicken to the rice and veggies and then add your gluten free soy sauce. 

Your finished dish should look very similar to what you order in the restaurant.  It is a simple, one dish dinner.  Easy, not a lot of clean up and it's gluten free. 

 

哇靠，这是真棒！

Roast with Beans and Rice

This is another one of those recipes I almost hate to post because it is so simplistic and YOU come out looking like a chef in a superman cape.  I mean, who wouldn't want that? 

 

Here is what you need:  a roast of your choosing, 1 can rotel, 1 can pinto beans, 1 can ranch, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 of an onion chopped,  2 cups uncooked white rice, 4-5 hungry people

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. 
Place your roast in a roasting pan fat side up, make slits in fat and salt and pepper. 

Place onions in bottom of the pan, open all three cans, do NOT drain, dump on top of roast.
Cover, and cook for 6-7 hours. 
 

Cook rice just a few minutes prior to serving as directed on the box.   This recipe will make some of the BEST beans you have ever tasted.  The fat from the roast makes them so yummy! Some people in my family eat the bean and rice together, and my husband puts it all together and goes for it!

 

This is one of those recipes you can put in the oven mid - morning, and not do another thing it until it is time to eat.  I  serve this dish with a salad and it is always a hit!  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does :)

Fire Roasted Tomato & Jalepeno Chicken and Rice

If you follow this blog, you will know this recipe is relatively close to my pollo picante.  The difference is you use picante sauce for the pollo picante and you are making your sauce from scratch with this one.  Trust me, this is not a difficult recipe and the result is worth the time you will put into it. In addition, if you are a gardener, and had a few green tomatoes left (I had 9 gallons) this is a great recipe for utilizing them verses CANNING more.  Goodness knows how much I love to can by the end of the summer...NOT

TIP:  If you are facing a cold front with green tomatoes on the vine, just pick them all and place in a cool dark place with news paper under AND OVER them to catch the gasses they emit.  Check periodically because they will turn quicker than you realize!  Now on to the recipe...

This is what you will need: 

3-4 chicken breasts,  2 cups of fire roasted & peeled (grilled tomatoes), 2 large jalapenos also roasted and seeded, 3 green onions cut into chunks,  1/2 lime, 1 large clove of garlic, sea salt to taste, 2 cups of cheddar or colby-jack cheese and fresh cilantro to taste.  You may complement your dish with sour cream, fresh tomatoes or avocado slices.  Serving suggestion:  1 can of black or pinto beans and 2 cups dry white rice cooked as directed. We also enjoy a nice salad with this particular dish.

Prepare your chicken and place in a greased dish with high sides.

Roast your tomatoes and peppers slowly and on the top shelf of your grill on a low fire.  When you have one side scorched as below then turn and continue until soft and the skins are splitting.  I leave the skins on the jalapenos but remove the skin and stem area from the tomatoes.  While preparing the ingredients, let your tomatoes set and drain them because you want your sauce thick and full and not watery.

Depending on how hot you desire your sauce to be, will determine how many of the seeds you allow in the salsa.  My kids are not fond with anything too hot, so I basically remove all the pepper's seeds.

Add your tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onion, lime juice and seasonings to a blender.

Set on LOW, and pulse.  You want your sauce to be full and chunky. Pour 3/4 of your sauce over the chicken  breasts and cover.  Bake on 350 degrees for 25 minutes,  remove cover, top with cheese and bake until melted.  You may want to pour some of your liquid off of the chicken but because you serve with beans and rice it should be fine and add flavor.

Add the remainder of your sauce to your beans of choice and set on a medium low heat while you are preparing your rice. 

Once rice is completed add to your beans.  When chicken is ready serve with chips or fresh tortillas & salad. 

When my son made his plate, he did not add a great deal of the salsa and apparently did not want salad or anything pretty on his plate!  (Meat and taters man he is) He says he should  not have to eat what his food eats...

I JUST ADORE TEENAGERS...

Broccoli and Almond Chicken

 This recipe is healthy, easy, gluten free and really good.  Promise - no sarcasm with that statement!

Here is what you will need: 

3 chicken breasts, 4-6 cups fresh broccoli florets, 1 small bag of sliced almonds, 3 cups dry white or brown rice, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 cloves garlic chopped, red pepper flakes to taste, 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste.  Feeds 4 people

I cut my chicken breasts into strips to get more char on the pieces. It's good to get this going first because it will take the longest. If you don't want to grill it you can cook it however you choose.

Put your water on to boil while the chicken is grilling and flash cook your broccoli.  You don't want it to be soggy and you will 'cook' it again later.  So, once you drop it in the boiling water,  keep it in there for about 30 seconds. (Drain and set aside) Start your rice using the same pot.

Place your almonds evenly on a baking sheet and place in a cool oven.  Start oven to reach 300 degrees and when it reaches that temperature, remove the almonds.  They will be perfectly toasted.

Get your chicken off the grill when it is done and dice.  It can be a little pink as you are going to cook it a little with the other ingredients. Heat your chopped garlic in a pan with olive oil; and when it is tender, add chopped chicken, broccoli and almonds. Drizzle with sesame oil and toss. Then add your seasonings to taste.  The red pepper really adds a great flavor and you would have to use a lot to make it hot.  Serve over rice when heated thoroughly. 

So quick and easy!  Your family is going to love it so much (and you will too) 

In other news, Jennifer Aniston got a bad haircut today.  I can't image her pain.

Hawaiian Ham Skewers

Oh hey, it's me again with another easy gluten free recipe!  My boys loved this one, but if we are being honest there are not too many things they won't eat. 

I grilled these because we are still having some great nights, even in November, here is Texas; but if you don't want to use the grill you can absolutely broil them in the oven.  Here is what you will need:  skewers, small spiral cut ham, can of pineapples, 3/4 cup brown sugar and brown rice cooked as directed.

(If you follow me at all you know I always say go fresh as often as you can. But in THIS case you CANNOT go with fresh pineapples. Your ham will turn out mushy due to the enzymes in fresh pineapples that break down the meat.) 

Take your brown sugar, spiral  ham and cut it down the middle

Take 3/4 cups of brown sugar and place in a mixing bowl

combine sugar with the pineapple juice from the can

Alternate your ham with pineapples on the skewers and place them on the grill (or under the broiler if you choose)

Baste continually with the brown sugar and juice mixture until the ham is tipped with a brown smoky color

Serve the skewers with brown rice and your choice of veggies or salad.  Baste one more time with sugar and juice before serving to your guests.  This is a great recipe to put together ahead of time if you are in a hurry!

 

Gluten Free Pollo Picante

My husband went to medical school in Galveston Texas at the University of Texas.  We had no money, honestly we had less than no money, we owed everyone!  I was working at 2 hospitals, 3 offices and cleaning a house totally 70 hours a week and still we could only afford one luxury per week.  So, without a doubt it was an all you can eat joint!  Every medical family on the island was at Yaga's on Tuesday nights...it was heaven.  The Strand in Galveston was a great place to be during the week away from the main landers on weekends.  (With the many hurricanes I hope Yaga's remains)

 Yaga's served, at the time, many different types of shrimp and one awesome dish of chicken and a few fish dishes.  The starving medical students went for the all you can eat shrimp, and I had Pollo Picante.  I must add, by the time the boys graduated, Yaga's cut out the all you can eat Tuesday Shrimp Night.  After all those nights, approximately 208, I became friends with the cook and he told me how to make his famous Pollo Picante!  Thank the Lord I got something out of four years of 70 hour weeks, no sleep, and being a test subject for every one of my husband's unmarried friends.  I've slept through many otoscopic, opthalmascopic and reflex exams. Those days are a blur...

But we are still eating pollo picante 'from' YAGAS!  And now you can too

Here is what you need: 

chicken breasts for as many as you are serving, 1/4 cup of hot sauce of your choice per breast, 1/2 cup of cooked rice per chicken breast, 1/2 cup cheese of your choice (I use pepperjack or cheddar), salt and pepper to taste. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Salt and pepper your chicken, top with picante sauce of choice, and bake for 20-30 minutes until cooked throughout

I'm not going to lie...I take the chicken out of that white, cooked, jellied substance surrounding it from cooking and move it into a smaller pan at this point.  Then top with rice and your cheese and pop it back into the oven until the cheese is melted.

Such a great and EASY dish.  This particular meal I served only with a spinach salad; but in the summer I usually grill potatoes like they do at Yaga's.