One Chicken, Four Meals

One chicken, four meals: a post for a friend of mine who was asking about meal planning. Okay, here's an easy one! Makes about four meals. And to make the second one vegetarian you could sub out the chicken and use tofu or squash instead. Sauté it first so it browns then add the onions and the rest of the ingredients.

MEAL ONE - CROCK POT CHICKEN

One whole chicken
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 - 2 lemons
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup italian salad dressing
Sprig of fresh rosemary if you have it
white wine (optional)

Rinse the chicken, take out the little baggy of innards, pat dry and rub the inside cavity with a bit of corse salt.
Corsely chop the onion, carrots, celery and lemon (in quarters).
Put half the lemon in the chicken along with a handful of whatever veggies will fit.
Put the rest of the veggies and garlic on the bottom of the crock pot. Place the chicken breast side down over top.
Drizzle salad dressing over chicken, trying to lightly coat the whole thing. Put rosemary spring on top of chicken.
Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 5-6.

I usually nuke peas with this meal and if you make mashed taters ahead of time they can be frozen and nuked back to life or just reheated depending on if they've been it the fridge or freezer. If you have a little more time roasted veggies are also delish with the chicken.

To make a nice sauce for the chicken defat the broth and add a 1/4 cup of white wine to about 2 cups of broth. Puree the carrots and onions that were cooked with the chicken and whisk with the wine broth mixture. Pour over chicken.

MEAL TWO
This will give you at least another night of left overs.

MEAL THREE - TACO LASAGNA

Precooked chicken meat
1 tbl olive oil
1 onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 pack of taco seasoning (or a mix of your own seasonings like dried cilantro, dried oregano, ground cumin, paprika, chili powder, ground red pepper, salt, black pepper, garlic salt, etc)
2 tbl lime juice
1 small can of tomato paste
1 14 oz can of chopped tomatoes with juice
1 small can of mild roasted green chilis
hot pepper sauce to taste (optional)
1 14 oz can of corn
1 14 oz can of bean (black, pinto, red or any kind of refried)
corn tortillas
cheddar cheese
fresh cilantro
fresh lime wedges
avocado
sour cream
hot sauce

Debone and shred the chicken, you should have about two cups left from prior meal.

In a large sauce pan add chopped onion and saute till soft. Add chicken, garlic, taco seasonings and saute for another two or three minutes. Add lime juice and let cook off. Add tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, roasted green chili's. Add hot sauce here if desired. Let simmer till everything is hot, about 6 minutes.

In a 8"x8" glass baking dish put a large spoonful or two of the chicken mix to the bottom of the pan and spread around. Add a layer of corn tortillas, a thin layer of cheese, a layer of beans and whole corn. Keep layering up till you run out of chicken. (End on the chicken layer - it should be on top)

At this point you could stop and put it covered in the fridge if you need to make it ahead of time. It could easily be baked later in the evening.

Bake on 350* for 1/2 hour (45 minutes if you've had it in the fridge). Last five minutes of cooking add cheddar cheese to top and bake long enough to brown slightly.

Let cool a little bit so it sets up. Cut slices like lasagna and garnish with cream cheese, avocado, lime wedges, cilantro and hot sauce.

MEAL FOUR
Should be at least one night of left overs.

Spicy Cranberry Chutney

There can never be too much cranberry sauce at our table. Our family is split over the light sweet cranberry orange version that my mom makes and this deep spicy rich version that pairs amazingly well with the robust flavors of a sage infused turkey.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups fresh cranberries
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and diced small
1/2 cup celery, diced small
1 cup yellow onion, diced small
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 cup Thompson raisins

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients, except the raisins, into a large (3 quart) sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a boil; reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer for approximately 20-30 minutes or until berries pop.

Simmer for an additional 15-20 minutes to allow mixture to reduce and thicken.

Remove from heat, stir in the raisins and allow raisins to plump. Serve warm or chilled.

PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 45 minutes
SERVES: 12-16

Tiffany's Taco Soup

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbl. olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
3 - 4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 large cloves of garlic, diced
1 1/2 lbs. of the leanest ground beef you can find

4 14 oz. cans of beef broth
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 14 oz. can of whole tomatoes
1 can of corn, drained
1 can of pinto beans with juice
1 can of garbanzo beans with juice
1 can of hominy, drained (optional)
1 package taco seasoning

GARNISH WITH:

Grated cheddar cheese
avocado
lime wedges
sour cream
tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS:

In a large stock pot saute the onion, bell peppers, celery and garlic for five minutes in a little bit of olive oil then stir in the meat and cook over medium hight heat until the meat is cooked (no longer red).
Reduce the heat to medium and add in the broth, tomatoes, corn, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, hominy and taco seasoning.
Simmer the ingredients until all the veggies are tender, about 1 1/2 hours.
Serve the soup with grated cheese, avocado, lime, sour cream and tortilla chips.

Hot Apple Cider with Ginger and Cardamom

A lovely seasonal treat that's delicious with dessert.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lemon
1/4 cup sugar
6 quarter sized pieces of crystallized ginger, coarsely chopped
20 cardamom pods
15 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks, each broken in half
8 cups unfiltered apple cider

DIRECTIONS:

Using vegetable peeler, remove peel (yellow part only) in strips from lemon. Heat heavy large pot over medium heat. Add lemon peel, ginger, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon and stir until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add cider and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer mixture 15 minutes. Strain into mugs and serve.

8 servings / Bon Appetite

Apple Crisp

I like a lot of Streusel Topping on my apple crisp, and this recipe has lots! There’s plenty, even if you use a shallow pan. If you like less topping, halve the streusel recipe. This is also a nice sweet treat for breakfast!



STREUSEL TOPPING
½ cup shortening (or butter at room temp)
¾ cup sugar
½ cup potato starch
¾ cup cornstarch
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1½ tsp xanthan gum
¼ cup milk (or less - add last otherwise it can lose it’s “crumble” and turn to sticky dough)
1 tsp cinnamon

APPLES
5-6 medium apples, peeled, cored, chopped (about five cups)
1½ TBL cornstarch
2 TBL sugar (use a bit more for tart apples)
¼ tsp cinnamon
(I also add a splash of lemon juice and up the spice)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375°. In medium bowl, combine all Streusel Topping ingredients. Mix to form small clumpy pieces. If you overmix, you may simply break off small pieces of the topping to form small pieces. Set aside.

In large bowl, combine apples, cornstarch, sugar and cinnamon. Toss to coat well. Put apple mixture into lightly greased pie plate or 1½ quart casserole. Top with streusel mixture.

Bake 35-40 minutes until apples are tender and streusel is browned.

NOTE TO SELF:
Next time try adding cranberries and walnuts with a little bit of lemon zest to the apple mixture before baking. A teaspoon of tapioca is good too to help keep it thick and not get too watery.

Yields: Serves six

Source: Roben Ryberg's The Gluten Free Kitchen

Blueberry Lime Jam

Yeild: about 6 half-pints

4 1/2 cups blueberries
1 package (1.75oz) powdered pectin
5 cups of sugar
1 tablespoon grated lime peel
1/3 cup lime juice

Crush blueberries one layer at a time. Combine crushed blueberries and powdered pectin in a large sauce-pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Stir in grated lime peel and lime juice. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4" headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 15 minutes in a boiling-water canner.

Source: Ball Blue Book of preserving