1 lb bag dried red beans or 3 cans cooked red beans
2 rolls Gwaltney or other gluten free mild sausage
2 large can diced tomatoes
1 can rotel tomatoes with green chilis
1 large sweet onion
3 green peppers
2 jalapenos or chiles deseeded and diced (optional)
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp black pepper
⅛ tsp smoked paprika
Instructions
Rinse red beans and cover with 2 inches hot water in the bottom of your stock pot. Bring them to a low boil uncovered for 2 minutes.
Remove from heat and cover pot. Leave covered for around an hour. This will quick soak your beans for cooking in the chili.
Fry up the two rolls of sausage.
Open the cans of tomatoes and Rotel.
Roughly chop the onion and green peppers.
Deseed and finely dice the chilis or jalapenos.
Throw everything except the spices in a large stock pot on the stove. (I like to save the spices for the last 15 to 30 minutes of cooking so the flavors don't get lost.)
Bring pot to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Simmer covered for around 2 hours stirring occasionally.
Around the 2 hour mark test the beans for doneness. If they are to your liking go ahead and add the spices. Simmer for an additional 15 to 30 minutes.
I used to LOVE those just add water packages of mashed potatoes. I would add milk instead and feel oh so gourmet. I know that Idahoan brand is still gluten free (as of the writing of this post) but the list of ingredients is staggering and no longer as appealing to me. I am still struggling with finding out what other foods I may have intolerances too. With no insurance that is not an easy task. I have narrowed it down to corn and possibly rice that are the offending stomach ache inducers. My favorite stand by Idahoan potatoes contain corn so I went on a quest to find a good substitute.
I have fallen in love with coconut flour and try to incorporate it into just about everything I make. In an effort to use up the foods that I can no longer eat I made Alan a packet of Idahoan. They smelled incredible. I tried to think of a good substitute for my raging craving and realized I was out of anything even resembling a potato. I knew coconut flour would have a similar consistency from using it in my brownie breakfast cereal. A few big questions remained. Would my Nutiva Organic Coconut Flour be adaptable to a mashed potato flavor? Would coconut flour really make a fitting substitute or just become a gross mess? I think you know the answer since it would be silly for me to write a detailed post about a disaster.
Ok I’ll indulge you… My first attempt at creating coconut flour mashed potatoes smelled terrific. I popped those babies out of the microwave and quickly turned to set the overly hot dish on the counter. Little did I know that at that exact moment my kitchen rug and my little feet would decide to go to war. I tripped on the rug and sent hot potatoes flying all over the floor, my leg, the washing machine, the dryer, the walls, and the refrigerator. I even found some lingering inside a cabinet later that evening. The tiny speck left in the bottom of the bowl was amazing! I promptly cleaned up the mess and tried again. Within minutes I was eating the best mashed potato substitute I could ever dream of.
I wanted ranch flavored chicken. I wanted it so bad I could taste it in my head. I have expiramented with making my own ranch powder mixes before. I have used numerous recipes that claimed to taste like Hidden Valley packets but none even came close. I have tried my own spice combinations and still that amazing ranch flavor eludes me. I am beginning to think that the chemicals and ingredients with long names are what makes it taste so good.
On my latest quest for ranch flavored powder I came up with these yummy chicken tenders. I call them buttermilk dill because they too were just not ranch flavored. They were however amazingly good. I love Saco buttermilk powder. I use it in my coconut flour buttermilk biscuit for one. Now I have a new go to chicken recipe and a new use for my buttermilk powder. Alan says he wants this chicken as often as I am willing to make it. Try it and then tell me about your homemade ranch successes and/or failures in the comments section below.
Dip chicken pieces in powder and press down to get maximum coverage on all sides. (tip: don't get your fingers in the powder too much it will stick to your fingers and make a wet gooey mess)
Bake chicken at 350 for 25 minutes or until cooked through.
I love to take leftovers and transform them into something amazing. thus the leftovers from my fantastic Gluten Free Crock Pot Salsa Chicken morphed into this outrageously good gumbo.
We live in the south. While at the grocery store I came across some frozen okra and asked Alan if he had ever tried it. Surprisingly enough he had never had this southern staple vegetable. I had always had it fried as a child. I was wondering how to make it delicious and gluten free and then it hit me… gumbo. I had picked up some aidells Cajun Style Andouille Sausages on special and could not wait to try it. I was super excited to get home and begin filling up my slow cooker with yum.
This recipe turned out to be so simple and so good I had two bowls. I didn’t even need to chop onions or peppers as I had reserved the leftover salsa chicken liquid and it was plenty flavorful.
Simple Gluten Free Crock Pot Gumbo ~ The Leftovers Version
Now that we live in our RV full time I have begun to cook a bit differently. I use my crock pot now more than ever before. I love the ease of crock pot meals and the variety of flavors I can produce with little effort. I love being able to throw a meal together and set it to cook while I go out and enjoy life. I will be posting many of my favorite easy crock pot recipes over the coming weeks. Continue reading →
I was scrolling through Pinterest one day a few months ago and stumbled upon an amazing looking grain free foccacia bread recipe from Gourmande In The Kitchen. I tried it and it was pretty flippin tasty. Ever since I tasted that bread I wanted to recreate it for use as a gluten free deep dish pizza crust. I tweaked the ingredients, subbed a few out, and added my own spices then doubled the recipe ending up with my own fantastic gluten and grain free pizza crust creation. Continue reading →
Eating healthy does not have to be any more expensive than eating junk. I scored a seven pound spaghetti squash at Fresh to Frozen for 1.98 today.
Often fresh healthy vegetables and meats are way more budget friendly than snack foods, yet many people fill thier carts and cabinets with snack foods and then protest that eating healthy is too expensive. Continue reading →