Cream of Chicken Soup

This pregnancy is making me crave comfort food, like casseroles!  So many casseroles call for cream of chicken soup.  This house needs dairy-free.  Insert the need for this recipe!

It turned out wonderfully, thick and creamy just as it was supposed to be.  Definitely worth recommending!  My one note would be that next time I might adjust the seasonings for whatever recipe it's going into.

- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth

- 1 1/2 cups almond milk

- 3/4 cup flour (gluten free works well if needed)

- 1 tsp salt

- 1/2 tsp pepper

- 1/2 tsp parsley

- 1/2 tsp garlic powder

- 1/2 tsp onion powder

- 1/2 tsp oregano

- 1/4 tsp basil

- 1/4 cup cooked mushroom (optional, to make cream of mushroom)

- 1/4 cup cooked celery (optional, to make cream of celery)

Combine the chicken broth with 1/2 cup of the almond milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a low boil.

Whisk the flour and seasonings into the remaining cup milk until smooth. The mixture will be thick.

Pour the milk/flour/seasoning mixture into the broth mixture in the saucepan and reduce heat to low. Stir/whisk continuously as it simmers to avoid lumps.

Continue whisking 5-10 minutes until the mixture is smooth and thick.

For cream of mushroom, add the cooked mushrooms after the mixture is taken off the stove, before it thickens.

For cream of celery, add 1/4 cup cook diced cooked celery pieces after the mixture is taken off the stove, before it thickens.

The recipe makes about 28 ounces.  I divided mine into three portions, one for the chicken pie that night and two portions for the freezer for later use!   The original I got this from (mywisemom.com) said it is two cans worth.

Blueberry Coconut Muffins

I have been wanting to experiment with some more options for Benjamin.  I have heard so much about coconut oil but not tried it yet.  I have also wanted to finally try dairy-free baking chocolate chips.  This is my first test-run with baking with coconut oil.  It was great!   I asked a friend who does't have dairy-free needs to try them.  She gave them a thumbs up too!  I'll definitely experiment more after this success, and I'll make these again!

I used the below recipe from the blog TwoPeasandTheirPod.com.  They said to use shredded coconut and blueberries as the mix-ins.  I used chocolate chips with the first batch (12 muffins).  Then I used blueberries with the second batch (no shredded coconut for us).  And -I'll admit it- I don't enjoy cleaning the muffin pan so I turned the second batch into "blueberry muffin cake."  

- 1 1/2 cups flour

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled to room temperature

- 1 large egg

- 3/4 cup coconut milk

- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

- Mix-Ins:  1 cup blueberries, OR 1 cup blueberries with 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, OR 1 cup chocolate chips (dairy-free for us in this one)

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease or line muffin pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  In a separate bowl, mix coconut oil, egg, coconut milk, and vanilla together.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula.  Stir until just combined.  The batter will be thick.  Gently fold in the mix-ins. 

Divide batter among prepared muffin cups.  Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Transfer muffins to a cooling rack and cool.

We'll see what coconut oil inspires next!  

Shepherd's Pie

 
I needed a farewell recipe for the man who built our kitchen.  Wiping tears...  I wanted something tasty, kinda meat-and-potatoes, but also something the kids would eat.  This came to mind.  I tried a new mashed potatoes recipe for the sake of my little man and his dairy allergy.  With the help of food network and a little creativity, this is the recipe!  (I never feel like I can take credit for a recipe that is like 3 recipes that I just turned into one, so this is an adapted-by-me recipe.)

- 2 lbs beef or lamb  Once I used a London broil, cubed, that I had found on a great deal.  I browned it, then cook about 2/3 so that it would finish cooking when I added it back into the dish.  The other time I used this roast.  I had 4 pounds, so I divided it between two pies for two different groups of people.  This recipe became a great way to stretch a roast, two pies served 14 people, with leftovers!

- olive oil

- 3 ribs celery, cut into 1/4 inch dice

- 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice

- 2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice OR 8 oz mushrooms, sliced

- 3 cloves garlic, minced

- 1/4 cup tomato paste

- 1 cup red wine

- 3-4 cups beef or chicken stock

- 2 bay leaves

- thyme, salt, and pepper

- 1 cup frozen peas (i leave out because my family is not a big fan of peas)

- 2 lb yukon gold potatoes, chopped

- 1/2 cup chicken stock

- 2 egg yolks

- salt and pepper

In a wide pan over medium heat, coat with olive oil.  Add celery, carrots, and parsnips to the pan.  Season with salt and cook, stirring frequently until vegetables are soft and aromatic, about 8-10 minutes.  Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more.  Add the meat back to the pan, stir to combine.

Add the tomato paste and cook for about 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine and cook until reduces by about half.  Then add enough stock to just cover the mixture.  Taste and salt and pepper as needed.  Add some thyme and the bay leaves.  Bring the stock to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Partially cover and simmer for about an hour.  If the stock level reduces, add enough to keep the mixture just covered.

Use this recipe or just use your favorite mashed potatoes recipe.  Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover by 1 in with water.  Bring to a boil.  Cook until potatoes are fork tender.   Drain them and return them to the pot.  Mash them with the stock, yolks, salt and pepper.  

Remove the lid.  (Add peas here if using.)  Simmer for about 15 minutes, allowing liquid to reduce.  Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.  Remove bay leaves.  When done, the mixture should be stew like.  

Transfer mixture to a wide shallow baking dish.  (or use large cast-iron skillet for the whole process)  Add the potatoes in an even layer.  Place under the broiler.  Broil until the potatoes brown on top.

This recipe was so good!  The adults loved it.  For the kids,  it was easy to spoon their layer of potatoes beside their meat.  This cook loved it because it made beef stretch and it was not a hard casserole to put together.  

Enjoy!

Beef Roast...made easy!

A friend of mine was here the night that I put that last Beef Braised in Red Wine recipe in its overnight marinade.  She is someone who loves to cook. After reading through the recipe, she said, "becca, that is too much!"  Well, yes and no.  If you want the gravy from the cooking liquid, that recipe is not too much at all.  If you want to really impress with how pretty the meat was, or that you conquered one more Julia Child recipe, it truly is not as long a process as the recipe reads!  Try it; it is yummy!  

But, if you want to simplify and still get a really yummy and tender result, try this:

- beef roast of your choice

- 1/2 onion, sliced

- 3-4 garlic cloves

- 1 or 2 each, carrots and celery, cut in big chunks

- salt, pepper, thyme

- about 1 and 1/2 cups red wine  (The secret to my use of red or white wine in recipes is buying those 4-packs of Barefoot small bottles.  Cooking wine is not good, like really not good.  It is so much better to buy a little bit of the real stuff for cooking!)

- about 2-3 cups beef broth (enough to read at least 2/3 high on the roast)

Place roast in the crock pot.  Season with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Add the garlic cloves, carrots, and celery to the crock pot.  Then pour in the liquid.  None of this needs to be precise to what I have, but this is a great place to start!  Add other seasonings or just use salt and pepper.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours, depending on the size of the roast.  

Your house will smell wonderful.  Your roast will taste amazing.  The full Julia Child amazing-ness or this simplified version, both tender and tasty!

Green Bean Casserole (from scratch)

This recipe is one I tried because green bean casserole is a staple holiday recipe, but not at all safe for my son with the severe dairy-allergy.  This green bean casserole is totally dairy-free, totally from scratch, and was really tasty! 

I modified an Alton Brown recipe I found to create this one.  I enjoyed it so much at Thanksgiving that I made it again at Christmas.  I think my only commentary is after adding the broth, make sure to adjust seasonings to taste so that it won't be under-seasoned.  (That was the mistake I made the first time.)

For the topping:

- 2 medium onions, thinly sliced

- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour.

- 2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs

- 1 tsp kosher salt

- non stick cooking spray

For the beans and sauce:

- 2 tbsp plus 1 tsp kosher salt

- 1 pound green beans, rinsed, trimmed and halved

*- 2 tbsp unsalted butter OR, to be dairy free, 2 tbsp non-dairy butter (I use Earth Balance)

- 12 oz mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

- 1/2 tsp black pepper

- 2 cloves garlic, minced

- 1/4 tsp nutmeg

- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour

- 2 cups chicken broth 

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.

Combine the onions, flour, bread crumbs, and salt in a mixing bowl.  Toss to combine.  Coat a cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan.  Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Toss the onions 2 or 3 times during cooking.  Once done, remove from oven and set aside until ready to use.  

Reduce heat on oven to 400 degrees.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans.  Bring a gallon of water and 2 tbsp salt to boil.  Add the beans and blanch for 5 minutes.  Drain in a colander and immediately plunge in ice cold water to stop the cooking.  Drain and set aside.  (Admission, I always just run cold water over them for a minute.)

Melt the butter or non-dairy butter in a 12-in skillet over med-high heat.  Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms start to release some of their liquid, about 4-5 minutes.  Add the garlic and nutmeg, and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes.  Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine.  Cook for one minute.  Add the broth and simmer for one minute.  (Here is a great time to check and adjust seasonings.)  Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, about 6-8 minutes.

Remove from the heat.  Stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans.  Top with the remaining onions.  Place into the oven and bake until bubbly, approx 15 minutes.  Remove and serve!

This was so tasty!  Hope you enjoy!