Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie!

Hey guys! This is "the wife", Brittany! Growing up, my mom made an amazing chicken pot pie. Once I found out I had celiac disease, I was devastated I couldn't have it anymore! So, I put my cooking skills to the test, and this turned out SO good... and I'm not one to brag about my cooking. ;) Hope you enjoy! Start by making the crust, as it will need to chill for a while before it's ready to bake.

GF Pie Crust

1 1/4 C. gluten-free flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C. butter slightly melted
1/4 C. shortening

1 egg
3 Tbsp cold water
1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar

Directions:

1. Mix the first six ingredients in a mixer or large mixing bowl. Once they are well mixed, add in the last three ingredients.

2. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled.

While you are waiting for the dough to chill, you can start the preparations for the filling!

GF Chicken Pot Pie Filling

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1- 10 oz bag frozen vegetables (I like to get the one with corn, carrots and other greens)
28 oz chicken broth
2 Tbsp butter
1/4 C. white rice flour
1/4 tsp rosemary
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Boil chicken until cooked (about 30 mins if frozen).

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

3. In medium sauce pan, melt butter. When melted and starts to bubble, add flour until it forms a paste. Add chicken broth and stir together. Bring to a boil. Add in veggies and cook for 5 mins. Salt and pepper to taste.

4. Chop chicken into cubes and add to mixture. Put all of mix into an 8x8 casserole dish.

5. Take out the GF dough and let sit for 15 mins. To roll out, flour some parchment paper, place dough on the parchment paper. Lightly flour the dough and then place another piece of parchment paper on the dough. Roll out the dough evenly to fit the dish you are using.

6. Gently place the dough on top of the mix and bake for 45 mins. You can put a little butter on top of the crust after it's done cooking for a little extra flavor. Enjoy!!

Eating Out Gluten Free

My wife and I have recently been dealing with some health issues of our son, and have been busy tending to his needs, which usually meant eating out. We also had some close friends who wanted to bring us some food or snacks while we were in the hospital. It often times brought up the question of what to get that is gluten free and where to get it! I'd like to share some restaurants that have some really good gluten free menus and even some stores that have some great gluten free options.

Let's start with restaurants:
PF Chang's Menu (Click on the Gluten Free Section)
- They even have a decent gluten free chocolate cake!

Red Lobster Menu
- The menu isn't the easiest to read, but my wife and I went there and the service was phenomenal! They even have a delicious Gluten Free Cheesecake!

Wingers Menu
- This is a wing joint in Utah, I'm not sure if it is outside of Utah, but their level of detail to ensure that the food is gluten free is great! and they have some really good gluten free options!

Carl's Junior (AKA Hardees)
- This is a fast food option. The burgers that are offered can all be made without buns! Just ask for lettuce instead of a bun.

McDonalds
- There aren't too many options, but the shakes and fries are Gluten Free. My wife really enjoys the Southwest Salad will Grilled Chicken.

The Old Spaghetti Factory
- Nice for a date night!

Five Guys
- Everything is made gluten free except the buns. All you have to do is request no buns.

California Pizza Kitchen

Carrabbas

Olive Garden

Red Robbin
- The menu isn't the easiest to maneuver, but they do have gluten free buns!

Keep in mind, there are many restaurants that offer gluten free options but may not show them on their menu!

As for stores that offer Gluten Free Goodies, there are several. The hard part is depending on your location, the stores that I list may not exist.

Smith's Food and Drug (Known as Kroger back east)
Macey's (really good gluten free selection)
Sprouts
Good Earth
Winco
Whole Foods Market
Harmon's Grocery

I know this list is not complete, but I'd like to hear your comments on your favorite gluten free restaurants or grocery stores. If you would leave a comment with your favorite place and which state it is found it (if a local restaurant) that would be much appreciated! Thank you very much!

Pulled Pork in the Oven/Crock Pot

This is another great recipe! It takes 9.5 hours to make, so keep that in mind! It is very similar to the Ribs.

Ingredients:
1 8-10 lbs. Boston Butt Roast (Bone-in)
Olive Oil
Mustard
Rib Rub
Brown Sugar
Honey
BBQ Sauce

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 225 degrees. Pull the roast out and trim some of the fat, do not remove all of the fat. Use a cookie sheet, and place foil on the cookie sheet. Place the roast on the foil and rub the roast with olive oil, mustard, rib rub. Wrap the roast with the foil and place in the Oven for 2 hours. After 2 hours, pull out of the oven and open the foil and spread brown sugar and honey on the roast. Close the foil and return for 2 hours in the oven. After two hours, pull out and put in the crock pot with all the juices for 5 hours on low. After 5 hours, pull out of crock pot and shred with 2 forks, remove the bone and excess fat. Return to the crock pot and mix in a small bottle of BBQ sauce and let the BBQ sauce warm through, roughly 30 minutes. Place pulled pork on buns and enjoy! You can even add cole slaw on top to create a new taste!

Delicious Ribs in the Ovens!

This is an incredible recipe that my wife and I really enjoy. I have started making these on my Smoker now, but I have made it in the oven before. I will list directions here for the oven, with the option of finishing them on the grill!

Ingredients:
1 Rack of Ribs (Spare or Baby Back)
Olive Oil
Mustard
Famous Dave's Rib Rub
Brown Sugar
Honey
BBQ sauce

Directions:
Preheat Oven to 225 degrees F. You need to remove the membrane on the back of the ribs. Take a butter knife and slide it under the ribs to remove. Check out this video to learn how to remove the membrane! Trim some of the fat that is on the rack, then rub rack of ribs with olive oil, mustard, and rib rub. It doesn't take too much olive oil and mustard. You want an even coating of rub on the ribs, but not too heavy. Place on a cookie sheet and put it on the middle rack of the oven for 3 hours. After 3 hours, pull out and place on aluminum foil. Ensure the foil is long enough to cover the ribs completely. Fold up the edges and place the brown sugar and honey on the ribs. Wrap up the ribs in foil and return to the oven for 2 hours. After 2 hours, remove ribs from oven and remove from the foil and place on cookie sheet. Spread BBQ sauce on ribs and turn oven to broil. Return ribs to oven on the lowest rack for roughly 30 minutes. You want to keep an eye on the ribs and when the BBQ sauce hardens up, they are ready! If you want to, you can fire up the Grill and throw the ribs on instead of using the broiling setting on the oven.

Gluten Free Swig Sugar Cookie CopyCat

There is a wonderful place down in St. George and Provo, Utah that is called Swig. It offers different flavored sodas, i.e. Mango Mt. Dew or "Dirty" Dr. Pepper (with coconut).  They are also known for their sugar cookies. I have always wanted to take my wife there, but since she can't have gluten, that option really wasn't an option. I started looking online for copycat recipes, that I could base my recipe off and I found one. Tonight for an after dinner dessert, I decided to give it a shot and it turned out well!

Ingredients:
Sugar Cookie:
1 C Butter (Room Temperature)
3/4 C Vegetable Oil
1 1/4 C Sugar
3/4 C Powdered Sugar
2 T Water
2 Eggs
1/2 t Baking Soda
1/2 t Cream of Tarter
1 t Salt
5 1/2 C Gluten Free Flour
2 t Xanthan Gum

Sour Cream Icing:
1/2 C Butter (Room Temperature)
3/4 C Sour Cream
1 2 lb Bag of Powdered Sugar
1 t Salt
1/4 C Milk
Red Food Coloring (3 Drops)

Misc. Ingredients:
1/4 C Sugar
Pinch of Salt

Directions for Sugar Cookie:
Cream Butter, Vegetable Oil, Sugar, Powdered Sugar, water, and eggs together for 2 minutes. Combine Dry ingredients together and slowly added into the butter mixture. Mix until everything is combined. The Dough should be a little crumbly and not sticky at all. Roll the dough into golf size balls and place onto cookie sheet.
The signature look of these cookies is a broken outside edge. This is done by mixing the misc. ingredients together. Then the next step is to take a round cup and place the base into the mixture of sugar and salt and then press down firmly into the middle of the dough ball. The outside edge will split some like what is shown in the picture above. If there is a lip formed, even better. You don't want the cookie to get too thin.
Once this is done, place in oven at 350 degrees F for 8 minutes.
Once they are done cooking, allow to cool and then place in the fridge in a sealed container to make them cold until you are ready to serve them.

Directions for the Icing:
Cream together Sour Cream, Butter, and Salt. Slowly add Powdered Sugar. When the mixture is thicker than icing, add the milk slowly. Continue mixing until the right consistency. I used a brand new bag of Powdered Sugar prior to starting, removed the 3/4 C for the cookies, and the rest of the powdered sugar for the icing. After it is done, add about 3 drops of Red Food Coloring to the mixture.
When you are ready to serve them, pull the cookies from the fridge and ice them. The icing should be room temperature and the cookies should be cold. ENJOY!

Caramel Crunch Ice Cream Dessert

Great ice cream dessert for a family get together or even for a stressful day! :)

Ingredients:
2 Cups Gluten Free Flour
1/2 Cups Gluten Free Oatmeal
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Cup Butter, melted
1/2 Gallon Vanilla Ice Cream
1 (12 oz) jar caramel ice cream topping

Directions:
CRUST:
Mix Flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, butter together. Spread on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Cool Crust completely, then crumble.
ASSEMBLE:
Spread half of the crumbled crust in a 9x13 pan. Spread softened ice cream over crust. Pour half of the caramel topping over ice cream. Sprinkle the rest of the crust over the ice cream and then add the rest of the caramel topping. Store, covered, in freezer.

Chicken Parmesan

This is a great recipe to make. First thing you need to keep in mind is that you need to have Gluten Free Bread Crumbs. You can buy Gluten Free Bread Crumbs at special stores, but if you have left over bread that has dried out or you don't want, you can use that. I use a recipe from the cookbook called Irresistibly Gluten Free for pizza dough and mix in Italian Seasoning. I spread them thin on a cookie sheet and bake them until it is nice and crispy. I then throw them into a blender and blend them up. I will store them in some Tupperware until I need them.

Ingredients:
28-30 oz Spaghetti Sauce
6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 Cup Gluten Free Bread Crumbs
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
Hot Cooked Gluten Free Penne Pasta

Directions:
Pour Spaghetti Sauce into 9x13 Pan. Place Chicken Breasts on sauce. Mix Bread Crumbs, parmesan, mozzarella, and olive oil together and sprinkle on top. Bake at 375 degrees F uncovered for 30-35 minutes. Serve over hot pasta.