Creamy Mushroom, Chicken and Rice Casserole

Mmmm....remember the days of opening a can of cream of anything soup and adding it to a casserole for creamy easy dinner options. Gone are those days if you are following a diet restricted by multiple food allergies. This recipe though, it will take you back. Back to comfort food and creamy baked casseroles, so good you can serve it to guests with no apologies or even explanations, just pure hostess pleasure.

That being said, this recipe is very out of character for me in that I did not measure even ONE ingredient. Obviously, my husband's cooking style is rubbing off on me. I will do my best to guess-timate how much I poured in, but feel free to alter what you add based on your cook's instincts. The results were even yummy even cold, so I think it is worth trying. And next time, just for you, I will measure.

DOH! I forgot to mention the secret ingredients in this recipe: laziness and chance. I actually decided to make chicken and rice casserole to use up the rest of the chicken I had roasted from the night before. I was too tired to do more than throw saran wrap over the pan I had roasted it in and put it in the fridge the night before. So, as I am removing the remaining meat from the bird, I realize that the bird is in the pan that I want to use. Darn it! In a moment of inspired laziness, I tossed the carcass, mixed the saved meat into my recipe, and decided to cook it IN THE SAME PAN. No need to wash it, it was in the fridge the whole time! So, I scraped the fat off the top of the drippings, and poured my casserole into the pan. I really think that the recipe benefited, and I had to wash the pan only once. Win win I say.

Creamy Mushroom, Chicken and Rice Casserole

3 T olive oil + 3 T olive oil
1/3 c gluten free flour (I used the blend from http://www.eatingwithfoodallergies.com)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp paprika (optional, this is more for color enhancement)
1/4 c hemp milk
2-3 c safe chicken broth (I used Giant Eagle's Market District Natural Chicken Broth)
8-10 sliced mushrooms (more if you like them, I keep it light for the kiddos)
3 Tbsp finely chopped onion
2 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)
8 oz cooked brown rice pasta of your choice, or 3 c cooked rice (I used fusilli.)
2 c diced roasted chicken
pan juices from roasted chicken

Preheat oven to 375. In large skillet heat 3 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add mushroom and onion and saute until reduced and nicely brown, about 10 minutes. Or more. You know when they look yummy to you.

Add spices and stir, saute about 1 minute, just to warm and release fragrance of spices. (If your mix is very dry at this point, add up to 3 Tbsp more olive oil and warm it.) Add flour. Mix well. It should absorb nicely, and be fairly dry but not Sahara like. Add hemp milk slowly, then add chicken broth about 1/4 cup at a time, stirring after each addition until incorporated. This is your sauce, and you want it creamy. More broth means more sauce, you know how sauced you like your noodles. Too much broth will make a thin sauce though, so don't go all crazy on me. When you achieve the desired consistency, sprinkle with nutritional yeast and stir.

Add pasta and chicken, stir to coat. Pour into 8x11 glass pan (and if it is the one you roasted the chicken in last night, even better! Give it an extra stir to incorporate some of those pan juices that have congealed down there.) Bake about 25 minutes, until heated through and bubbly around the edges. Enjoy!

I have been meaning to try this with a mix of white and wild rice, as it seems like it would be divine. Please, let me know if you beat me to this...I'm curious as to the results. (Aim for about 3 cups of cooked rice for this recipe if you decide to use rice.)

Pineapple Coffe Cake

Moist. Tender. Sweet, but not dessert-like. Incredible texture, especially given that it is wheat-free. OH! And don't forget totally stolen. Many thanks to Susan at the FatFree Vegan Kitchen for originating this recipe. I just tweaked it to make it fit our dietary restrictions. (The whole wheat-free part. And I added a bit of fat, for the kiddos. They need a little for those brains to keep developing!) So, without further ado- our version of pineapple coffee cake:


Pineapple Coffee Cake

1 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 cup vegan sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp EnerG egg replacer
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp vinegar
1 cup crushed pineapple in juice
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (or whatever you have on hand) I use a little olive oil and a little applesauce together to measure a total of 1/3 cup.

1/4 cup Sugar in the Raw (for topping)

Preheat oven to 350. Pour oats in blender and grind until fine. Stir to make sure they are uniform. Mix oat flour with other dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl stir together wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until moistened and completely combined. Pour into greased 9x9 glass pan. Sprinkle with Sugar in the Raw for a crunchy topping. Bake 35-40 minutes. Serve warm. Snack some later when its cool. Try not to eat the whole pan in one day.

Guest Baker for the Holidays

I have been notably absent from the world of invented recipes of late, mostly because I have stumbled upon a treasure chest of recipes that I can not resist trying. Karina Allrich, of the Gluten Free Goddess blogspot, has recipes too numerous to count that sound so yummy that I can hardly sleep at night for desire to try another one. So, dear allergy moms out there, please join me in exploring the tasty treats Ms. Karina is creating. I promise you will not be disappointed. (Click on the heading above to be taken directly to her magical site.)

Chili Bake

Cold blustery days of late fall call for a bowl of warm chili and a slice of steaming corn bread. The two go so naturally together that I was inspired to combine them into one scrumptious casserole. Or at least a kid friendly version that would allow my munchkins to ease into mommy's world of comfort food using the one food that is a no fail hit at our house: corn cake. That's right, my girls go nuts over Chi-Chi's Fiesta Corn Cake every time I make it, but are less than lukewarm about chili. Actually soup in general tends to make them nervous, as if having food not only touch but actually merge into a conglomerate of flavors served in one bowl should be approached only with utmost caution. They will come around. In the meantime, I create concoctions that are halfway between their world and mine, where we can meet on common ground and all come away with happy tummies. This recipe is easy to prepare, and even adapts easily with varied spicing. As presented it is a chili casserole. We also like to change it up by omitting the chili spices in favor of adding a packet of our favorite taco seasoning mix, morphing this into a Fiesta Taco Bake. Ole!

Chili Bake

1 lb ground turkey
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 green pepper, chopped
1/4 red pepper, chopped
1 can kidney beans, drained
2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic
dash of salt
1/4 c spectrum shortening, melted
1/4 c warm water
1 can corn
1 pkg Chi-Chi's corn cake mix

Preheat oven to 350. Brown turkey, onion, and peppers in skillet. Add chili seasonings (or taco!) and kidney beans and stir to combine. Transfer meat mixture to the bottom of a greased 2 quart casserole dish or 9x9 cake pan. While meat is browning, pour the can of corn, undrained, into blender and process until it resembles creamed-corn in texture. (About 30 seconds.) Pour into separate bowl. Add melted shortening, warm water, and corn cake packet. Stir until combined. Pour on top of meat mixture and bake 45 minutes until golden brown around edges. Serve warm. Yummy!

Blissful Sunbutter Banana Coffee Cake

This morning I really was lost in wanting a bite of fluffy, moist, baked goodness. Nothing like coffee cake warm from the oven on a chilly morning. Add hot coffee and giggly girls, and the morning is complete! I found a recipe so utterly amazing you won't believe it is allergy free! A hint of sunflower butter mixed in with this banana treat takes you back to childhood's peanut butter and banana sanwiches, but all grown up now. It was approved by two of the three giggly girls, and the third ate every last ounce of crunchy sweet topping off the top. Not too shabby. Try it tomorrow, and enjoy fall's finest moments.

Blissful Sunbutter Banana Coffee Cake

2 medium bananas, very ripe
1/3 c creamy sunbutter (up to 1/2 c, if you want more flavor)
3T spectrum shortening, melted
3/4 c warm water
1 box Gluten Free Cake mix (I used 365 GF White Cake Mix)
1/4 c turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Put bananas in mixing bowl and mix until thoroughly mashed, add sunflower butter and mix until combined. Add melted spectrum and warm water, mix until smooth. Add cake mix and mix well. Pour into greased 9" cake pan. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top. (You can add a dash or cinnamon here if you want!) Bake 40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

Amazing advancements

It is phenomenal the difference in the sheer quantity of information on food allergies that is currently available online compared to what I could find when I started learning 5 years ago. Where I struggled to find recipes and alternative products to use when cooking, now it is a few keystrokes away. I can not imagine what parents did 15 years ago when the information and alternative products were so rarely found. I know how much easier my life has gotten, just in the last few years, largely due to the vast increase in information and products. I love how many people have started a blog to share their own experience and information. It frequently makes me realize how little I really have to contribute when I read the wonderfully expressive thoughts of fellow allergy survivors. The devotion they have put into creating new recipes rather than just giving old recipes a facelift is amazing. And guilt inducing at times. Most of the time I am just grateful they are willing to share with me, and others, the things that make their life easier. The recipes that rock their tables. And I feel the pain of moms that have recently been thrown into camp with us, because it is overwhelming when you are just starting to learn. I am so thankful that they will have so many resources to turn to, so their learning will speed along and life will resemble normal sooner. Someday I will put the effort into making this a spot of inspiration rather than rambling, and focus on my writing skill as a craft as much as sharing thoughts and information. But for now it remains a site of ramblings from a mama that is learning....always learning more about how to feed a family with food allergies.

Meatloaf, revised

So, I looked at the old meatloaf recipe and realized that I don't make it like this anymore. I thought I would put the newly modified recipe up, with the stipulation that you can always omit things your family doesn't like, or substitute the things you can't have.

Allergy-free Meatloaf

1 lb ground turkey (don't use the super lean one)
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground dry mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp parsley flakes
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 c oatmeal
1/2 onion, chpd fine (I give it a whirl in the food processor to chop, about 1/4 c)
1/2 gr pepper, chpd fine (same deal)
1/2 red pepper, chpd fine (whirl it again)
1/4 c spinach, chpd fine (I actually do this with a knife!)
6 baby bella mushrooms (whirl 'em up)
2-4 T water, as needed

Mix all seasonings first. Add veggies. You can substitute what you have on hand. (The baby bella mushrooms really enhance the taste!) Then work in the meat. Add the water a little at a time, you will need the full amount (and sometimes more) for lower fat turkey, and a bit less for higher fat turkey. If you add too much water, the meatloaf will not hold together well when slicing. It should produce a slightly sticky mixture. I usually try to blend it together around lunch time, and stick it in the fridge for the flavors to blend. It can be whipped together and tossed right into the oven, but I think it works better if you let it age in the fridge. Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. Enjoy...