We made some spicy chicken recently, with a recipe based on something Jennie found in the Rachel Ray magazine, which of course we tweaked slightly to be GF.  All we had to do to make the chicken GF was to start with GF chicken and use my McCormick spices from my kitchen.  We use my spices because A) McCormick is lovely and doesn’t put gluten in their single ingredient spices and B) That way, the spices aren’t cross contaminated from happenings in a non-GF kitchen.  Flour is wile and gets into all things.

This seems like the time to tell you that I have an extra set of kitchen utensils and some extra spices and oil that live at Jennie’s house and are for my GF use whilst in her kitchen.  If there is a kitchen you cook in often that isn’t yours and isn’t GF I highly recommend stocking it with GF materials, so you feel comfortable cooking away from home.

I found the chicken recipe to be surprisingly easy and sort of fun.  I’m not the biggest fan of handling raw chicken, but honestly I’m getting used to it and in this recipe you get to use a Ziploc bag, which in my opinion, a sure sign of a great time.

Essentially, all you have to do is to put all of the spices and oil into a large Ziploc bag. Then you add the chicken and smoosh it all together.  We used a freezer Ziploc bag for its thicker nature and double zip closure.

So you add all of your spices and oil to the bag.

Then you add the chicken and squish it all around (the most fun part!) to coat the breasts in the mixture.

Grease a baking pan and after letting the chicken marinade for 15 minutes (we actually let ours sit for a bit longer because we were multitasking) put it in the pan and let it bake for 35 minutes at 375°.

While the chicken was cooking we started the risotto.  We used the prepackaged Lundberg butternut squash risotto mix.  Lundberg is lovely, most if not all of their rice products are GF, but more on that another time.

For the tomatoes we adapted Barefoot Contessa garlic and herb tomato recipe which requires, obviously tomatoes, garlic, and herbs.  We used the herbs we had on hand, namely oregano and rosemary, but Barefoot Contessa’s recipe calls for thyme, parsley, basil.  It’s up to you; with herbs, you can’t go wrong.  We also decided to add an onion because again, nothing is worse off for having onions in it in my opinion.  So essentially you just throw all of this on the stove until the tomatoes start to shrivel, about 5-7 minutes..  Easy peasy.

Since I had Jennie there helping me with this meal all three items finished cooking at the same time, which is basically a miracle when I’m in the kitchen. I’m terrible at timing.

Overall, the chicken turned out to be extremely spicy, both because of the extra marinating and even more so when I ate it as leftovers.  The tomatoes, risotto and chicken made an easy and solid meal that was great for leftovers.  I consider that a success on all fronts. If you like milder flavor, you can simply switch up the spices you use (less chili powder, more cumin!)

How do you marinade your chicken? Do you have a favorite fallback?

It figures that we would kick off this new project with leeks. They are not so different from the ingredients in our chosen monikers, as leeks are in the same family as both garlic and onion.

January’s a cold month, and we decided that something that would help us warm up was an ingredient we know we’d love. We’ve had a little experience with leeks before, when we made Pioneer Woman’s Leek and Potato Pizza. We’ve been flirting with them ever since.

Leeks are a root vegetable, but unlike garlic and onion, whose edible parts are the tight bulb they form in the ground, leeks consist of a long edible stalk. This stalk ranges from white to green, almost like a fat scallion. However, they are much milder than a scallion, especially the white parts. Traditionally, only the white parts are eaten, but the green is perfectly edible, just a bit more bitter. But don’t toss them out – the left over green stalks make great additions to a soup stock, or in a stir fry.

We think of leeks as a winter vegetable, but it turns out they are so hearty they can be harvested almost any time. They generally reach maturity in the autumn months, but many varieties are sturdy enough that they can be left in the ground through winter to be harvested as needed. That’s why they seem so abundant in the colder months when you’re desperately foraging for something green in your local produce aisle!

Since they belong to the same family as garlic and onion, leeks provide many of the same health benefits as our other favorite vegetables. In particular, they provide cardiovascular benefits by being rich in kaempferol which protects our blood vessel linings from damage, as well as the B vitamin (folic acid) which is key to cardiovascular health because it helps manage your levels of homocysteine (elevated homocysteine levels are often found in patients with cardiovascular disease). Not to mention, leeks are rich in antioxidants like their garlic and onion siblings. Check out WHFoods.org for some great information on the health benefits of leeks and other foods, as well as some prep and storage tips!

Leeks have a long history dating back to ancient Central Asia, Greece, Rome, and Egypt. There is actually an Egyptian variety known as a Kurrat that archaeologists believe may have been a part of the Egyptian diet since the 2nd century BCE. It is believe that the Romans introduced leeks to the United Kingdom, at which point they were adopted into the local cuisine, because they turned out to be hearty enough to withstand the cool weather. In Wales, the leek serves as the national emblem, and with their elevated status, leeks have become a staple in the Welsh diet.

Because of their mild flavor, leeks make an excellent substitute for onions when dealing with picky eaters or dishes with more delicate flavor profiles in which you don’t want to overpower any of the other flavors with a strong onion. You can eat them almost any way you like, including raw, boiled, fried, sauteed, or in a salad.

Here are a few recipes that caught our eye. We’d recommend trying one of these sometime!

Check out the NY TImes Leek Recipes for Health
Fish with Creamy Leeks at Epicurious
A Potato, Leek, and Feta Tart from our favorite recipe creators at Real Simple

In our research, we noticed that leeks are most commonly paired with potatoes, fish, bacon, and dishes heavy in cheese and starch. For our purposes, we’ve chosen to try our hand at one recipe that fulfills each of these requirements. This week, we will both be making our own version of a bacon and leek quiche and report back to you. Then, Jennie will investigate this leek and fish recipe trend while I go the more traditional route and make my grand memere’s potato leek soup!

Stay tuned for quiche – here’s a sneak peek at mine!

If you own a crock-pot and it’s collecting dust somewhere in your kitchen (it’s OK you can admit it), break it out and dust it off! Crock-pots are wonderful creations for busy people who love to cook (me in a nutshell). The beauty of a crock-pot is it does all the hard parts of cooking for you. There aren’t tons of dishes and there isn’t any labor over a hot stove. With the push of a button, dinner is on its way. You can prepare everything the night before, mix it all together in the morning, and come home to dinner all ready to eat. This tasty recipe is now a staple of our LA Thanksgiving, and it all started as a way to free up some oven space. Now it’s one of my favorite and simplest meals!

You will need:

One 12oz package uncooked macaroni, or about ½ a pound
4 cups milk
2 eggs
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
½ tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried mustard
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder

This recipe is a combination of a few different recipes I have collected over the years, and a few different modifications made by me. You can find my initial inspiration here.

I wanted a recipe that didn’t call for cooking the pasta first, as many recipes out there (surprisingly) do. I just don’t see the point in pre cooking the noodles when they are just going to cook for hours again in the crock-pot! I have never encountered an issue with the noodles not cooking fully. They are always nice and soft.

Coat your crock-pot with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whip the eggs slightly. Add milk and mix together.

Pour the egg/milk mixture into the crock-pot. Add the cheese and spices.

Finally, add the uncooked pasta and stir to combine. It will be liquidy, and it will look really weird. You will have to trust me on this, it will turn out fine!

If you are in a hurry, put your crock-pot on high for 2.5-3 hours. If you have some time, you can cook it on low for 5-6 hours. Since I’m always in a hurry, I use the high setting.

Although many recipes say not to stir, I found it necessary to stir about half way though. Make sure all the noodles are fully submerged, and watch for too much browning around the edges. Your mac and cheese is ready when it is no longer liquidy and the noodles are soft. MMMM!

Do you have Crock Pot recipes that are your favorite? Share them with the GMS team! We’d love to try out anything that makes our lives easier.

Cucina Fresca was all about highlighting our favorite foods and our favorite ways to cook them. Since next year’s challenge will be about expanding our horizons and getting out of our comfort zone, I jumped at the chance to make one last Cucina Fresca recipe using some of my stand-by ingredients. Celery, potatoes, cumin, garam masala, and onion.

I took my inspiration for this recipe from a few different recipes: A couple for Aloo Gobi, one Jamaican stew, and one vegetarian chick pea stew.

My recipe called for about 4 cups of chopped celery, which translated roughly to “all the celery you have in the house.” I also went with a rough chop and left the leaves on.

Then I took a teaspoon of cumin seeds and heated them in some olive oil.

It only took about 2 minutes for the cumin seeds to go from this….

…to this browned delicious goodness!

Then it was time to add my onions and celery and let them soften.

I really could have just eaten it exactly like this. Olive oil, cumin seed, onion and celery. YUM.

Next, the potatoes and garam masala.

Now would be a good time to add some canned tomatoes, some chopped carrots, or some chick peas. I happened to have some stewed tomatoes leftover in the fridge, so I tossed them in. Stir these ingredients together and let them mingle for 2 or 3 minutes before the next step.

Add enough vegetable broth to cover everything and let simmer. That turned out to be around 3-1/2 cups. I had 2 cups of vegetable broth, so I made up the difference with a mixture of white wine and water. Let it simmer partially covered for 20 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender.

With about 5 or 10 minutes of cooking time left, add some fresh grated ginger if you have it, and a teaspoon of curry powder. Give the whole thing another 5-ish minutes to simmer uncovered and really reduce the liquid.

Garnish with cilantro! (Or flat leaf parsley if you’re like me and that’s all you have handy).

The most incredible thing about this dish (which was accompanied by homemade chicken tikka masala and jasmine rice) is that I had every single ingredient in my kitchen without having to make a special shopping trip. That is the power of a well-stocked kitchen, my friends.

See full recipe here.

Jeff recently reminded me gently (for the millionth time) that he really likes potato soup. And so I set out to make some, from scratch, somewhat healthier than I am sure he likes.

Start with some potatoes. About three cups will do. I used russet. Obviously.

Cube ’em up. You want them to be small enough to be bite size.

Chop up some onion, too. About half a cup or so. More if you like onion. Had I had more, I would have probably used a whole medium onion.

You’re going to use some green onions, too. So cut some of those up. I used three. You could probably use six and still be happy, if you like green onions.

Ok so take some butter. Maybe like two tablespoons. Melt it in your Dutch oven or whatever you’re making your soup in, and then add your onions.

Then, after they soften (I’d say about ten minutes), you can add your broth.

Add some chicken broth. About two cups. I only used one initially, and the soup was VERY thick.

Add your potatoes. You’re going to want the potatoes to simmer for about fifteen to twenty minutes, so they get cooked.

You’re going to add your herbs at this point, too. I used parsley, which I would have used fresh had I had some, and fennel, seasoning salt, salt, pepper, and thyme.

Now you add some milk. And some cream. You can use just milk if you want it to be healthy, but I like a little thickness, so I used some heavy cream.

Now after you let it heat thoroughly, you’re going to puree half of your mixture.

After you puree half, you add it back to the soup, and let it heat thoroughly before serving. And of course, in true GMS fashion, we ate it too fast and didn’t get a final photo. But it was delicious. I promise. And hearty enough for dinner, too!

Here’s the recipe:

3 cups potatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/2 cup onion
3 green onions, whites and greens
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp fennel
1/4 tsp seasoning salt
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 cup fresh parsley