canela's kitchen

Chicken Pot Pie with Butternut Squash & Bacon

Ingredients

For the gluten-free pie crust dough see Bob's Red Mill website.

for the filling:

• 1 medium whole butternut squash, diced small

• 4 slices bacon, cooked and chopped

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 onions, chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 bunch kale, chopped into bite sizes pieces

• 2 large chicken breasts, roasted &  shredded

• Allspice, nutmeg, cumin, salt & pepper to taste

for the sauce:

• 3 ounces all purpose flour

• 3 ounces unsalted butter

• 3 cups chicken stock (preferably homemade)

• 1 cup heavy cream

• ½ teaspoon salt

Directions

Prepare the dough according to Bob's Red Mill Website.

Prepare the filling:

Clean and rinse 2 large boneless chicken breasts and pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt, pepper & cumin. Roast in oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until done.

While the chicken is roasting, cut ends off the butternut squash, then cut into round slices. Remove seeds and clean. Put on metal roasting pan then sprinkle olive oil, all spice, sea salt and pepper on flesh and roast at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until tender. Remove from the oven, allow it to cool, then remove skin and cut into cubes. Set aside.

Shred chicken and set aside.

In a large pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic until tender and then add kale. Cook until kale is slightly tender but still crunchy. Stir in the butternut squash, chopped bacon and chicken. Set aside.

prepare the sauce:

Make Roux. Stir in the chicken stock, cream and salt. Whisk for several minutes as the sauce thickens similar to a gravy.

Combine the sauce with the filling.  Ladle into 8-10 ramekins for individual pot pies or 1 large, deep pie pan. Fill to the top so dough will sit firmly on top.

Set aside.

Create an egg wash by whisking together the egg with a splash of water and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Using just a bit of gluten free all-purpose flour, roll out the dough but leave it thick. Use the opening of a glass, (similar size of the ramekins,)  to make rounds that are 1 inch wider than the ramekins. You can re-roll the dough as needed. 

Brush the rim of each ramekin with egg wash and place the dough on top. Fold the excess dough under and use fingers to crimp and secure the edges to the ramekin. Use a knife to make 3 small slits in the center of the dough.

Place the ramekins on a baking sheet. Brush the top of the dough with egg wash and bake for 25 minutes or until the tops are golden and firm.

Serve hot!

Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas

1 hour

My older sister Mickey is the reason I fell in love with making enchiladas. This delicious, easy meal is filling and can feed a family on a tight budget. Usually, I make enchiladas with ground turkey because its super fast… But once in a blue moon I decide to do something different.

Chicken enchiladas can be made from leftover roasted chicken, store bought rotisserie chicken or fresh, cooked ones. This recipe calls for chicken thighs as I like the texture, taste & it doesn’t dry out easily in cooking like chicken breasts do. You can use whatever you like best or is more convenient. Modifying this recipe to make it Gluten-Free is a cinch, using corn tortillas instead of flour & GF mayo, flour & balsamic vinegar.

Serve this dish with a simple salad & guacamole on the side for the perfect weekday dinner.

Enjoy!

Sinn

Ingredients

• 6 chicken thighs, skin removed & deboned

• 1/4 sour cream

• 1/2 cup gluten-free mayo

• 1 medium onion, cut into slivers

• 1 fresh lime, juiced

• 1/4 tsp cumin

• Sea salt

• Lemon pepper

• Ground black pepper

• Olive oil, as needed

• 10-12 corn tortillas

• 8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

• Easy Enchilada Sauce

Directions

Lightly oil 13 x 9 baking dish.

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Cut onion in half, then into thin slivers.

Remove skin from chicken thighs when cleaning, then season both sides with salt, black pepper & cumin.

Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil in heavy saucepan.

Brown chicken until done, approximately 10 minutes.

Remove chicken from stove and allow to cool.

Make your enchilada sauce.

When sauce is finished, hand tear the chicken thighs. Using a large mixing bowl, add chicken, sour cream, mayo & lime juice. Season with sea salt, lemon pepper & cumin to taste.

Place a small amount of olive oil in a saucepan just big enough for the corn tortillas. Heat on both sides enough to soften, but not fry or brown them. Set aside.

Save enough sauce & cheese for the topping if the enchiladas.Dip each tortilla into the enchilada sauce, then fill with the sour cream meat mixture, sprinkling with cheese then adding a bit of sauce. Roll tortilla & set in pan.

When all the meat mixture is gone, you should have 12 enchiladas.

Top with remaining sauce & cheese.

Bake for 30-45 minutes.

Chicken Apple Sausage

I’m really weird about sausage. First, I find a lot of links, similar to hot dogs, use grain as fillers. Also, many commercial brands of turkey or chicken sausage links will use pork casings, totally defeating the purpose if you don’t eat pork. Labels reading collagen, are generally made from beef or pork, even if the packaging doesn’t specifically say so. Sometimes they can be made from poultry or fish, but I have yet to find them. My stomach doesn’t seem to like the taste of the cellulose ones, perhaps because often they are treated with caramel coloring, a hidden source of gluten in many of the foods we eat.

Now here’s the thing about me and sausage. I’ve always liked it more than bacon (I know, blasphemous!) I decided I wanted to try my hand at making my own sausage patties so I didn’t have to deny myself any more. ^_^ When traveling, I often find hotels to have chicken apple sausages, my personal favorite. With so many delicious types of apples in season right now, I felt this was the perfect opportunity to try it out. The result is a sausage that is sweet & tasty without the need to purchase something pre-made or pre-packaged.

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 medium sweet apple, such as Gala, peeled and diced

• 1 pound ground chicken

• 1 teaspoon dried sage

• 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 2 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground pepper

Directions

Heat oil in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Add onions and saute’ until translucent, approximately 2 minutes. Stir in apples, cooking another couple of minutes to soften. Remove to a large bowl and let cool. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl with the onions and apples and blend well. Put a large piece of wax paper down so the patties will not stick after being formed. Take a good amount of meat mixture and place it in your hand, forming it into a patty. Set it on the wax paper while you shape the rest.

Mixture should yield 8-10 patties depending on size and thickness.

Cook patties on the stovetop in a small amount of oil, lowering the heat to prevent burning. Approximately 3-4 minutes each side until cooked all the way through.

Store uncooked patties in plastic wrap or a container with lid, putting wax paper in between each. Store cooked patties in an airtight container up to 3 months.

Chicken Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 cup jasmine rice, uncooked

• 3 cups of water

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• 1 – 1 1/2 pounds of leg quarters, legs & thighs separated

• 1/4 pound of fresh green beans, ends removed

• 1/2 package of baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced

• 10-12 ounces of cream of mushroom soup

• 1 cup of mayonnaise

• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

• 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon of paprika

• 1/2 teaspoon of thyme

• 1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic

• Additional salt, pepper, paprika, thyme & garlic to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare cream of mushroom soup then set aside. Season divided leg quarters with salt, white pepper, paprika, thyme & granulated garlic. Saute’ onion, garlic & mushrooms in olive oil until onions are translucent & mushrooms are browned, approximately 5 minutes. Set aside. Take a large rectangular baking dish and put jasmine rice and water in the bottom of the baking dish. Stir in cream of mushroom soup. Add vegetable mixture & season to taste. Stir thoroughly. Add seasoned chicken to the top of the rice, soup, vegetable mixture. Cover baking dish. Bake 45 minutes – 1 hour or  until chicken and rice are thoroughly cooked.

Let stand a few minutes before serving.

Fruity Chicken Salad

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, roasted and shredded

• ⅓ cup red seedless grapes, cut in half

• ¼ cup celery, sliced

• 2 tablespoons onion, diced

• 2 tablespoons dried cranberries

• 2 tablespoons golden raisins

• ⅓ cup GF mayonnaise

• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

• sea salt & pepper to taste

• 3 leaves green leaf or romaine lettuce

Directions

Add chicken breasts, grapes, celery, cranberries & raisins in a large bowl. Mix in mayonnaise until well blended. Stir in cinnamon, salt & pepper. Chill until cold. Serve on sandwich or on lettuce as a salad.