Vegetable Cheese Casserole with Chicken (Grain Free)

Is there a good way to photograph a casserole? I meant to take a photo of an individual portion, but it got gobbled up too quickly. This was a hit for the entire family and we didn't miss the pasta or rice that is traditionally in a chicken & cheese type casserole. By the way, I really didn't measure on this recipe so go with your instinct on this. It is pretty forgiving.
-Amanda

Vegetable Cheese Casserole with Chicken

1 head of cauliflower (or one bag frozen)
2-3 carrots, chopped in circles
1 head of broccoli (or one bag of frozen)
1/2 onion
1 tbsp oil/bacon grease
1.5 cups shredded or diced chicken - I used leftover from my homemade stock
cheese- LOTS of cheese About 3 cups of your favorite types
6-8 oz of cream cheese OR strained yogurt to make it thick
1 tbsp grainy mustard
2 tsp of oregano
2 tsp basil
3/4 cup of heavy cream or raw milk
1 heaping tbsp of arrowroot (I prefer not to use cornstarch, since it is highly processed)
salt & pepper to taste

Dice onion and saute it until it is very caramelized in oil or bacon grease. Cut up one head of cauliflower and one head of broccoli, boil both is a pot of water with the chopped carrots. If you are using any frozen vegetables, add them after the fresh ones start. You want all the vegetables to be about the same amount of "fork tender" in the end.

While the vegetables are cooking, start grating your cheese. I always use block cheese, because chemical additives are added to pre-shredded cheese to make it last longer. (One thing I'm learning about labels, is if it is an industry standard it does NOT have to be put on the label!) Plus, I love using Raw Milk Cheddar and Raw Milk Monterary Jack. You can only get cheese that is aged past 60 days raw in America. So you won't find Raw milk mozzarella or any other softer cheeses. At the most you can look for Whole Milk Mozzarella. (Learning how to make it on my own is one of my future projects!) Anyway, for this recipe I used: Cotija, marble jack, Parmesan & cheddar. Then I grated some mozzarella and more Parmesan for the top. All in all I used about 3 cups (including the cream cheese) for the filling with just a bit on top.

In a bowl, mix your cheeses, cream cheese, cooled onion, spices and mustard in a very large bowl. When vegetables are fork tender, drain them very well and return them to the hot pot. Keeping it on the flame, gently stir them a bit to dry them out some more. Add the vegetables to the cheese mixture. Add 1.5-2 cups of shredded or diced chicken and stir some more. Pour into a casserole dish and pack it down. In a small bowl, mix heavy cream and arrowroot. Pour heavy cream over vegetable cheese mixture and encourage it to seep down into the dish. Top with a bit more cheese and bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes.

Almond Flour Crust Pizza

I guess I've switched from soups to pizza today, since this is my second pizza recipe in a row. I found this Almond Flour Crust Pizza a few days ago and knew I wanted to try it. It passed the test! Everyone in the family ate it up. Be warned though, the pizzas may be small, but they are filling. I got the recipe from ComyBelly and it's a good one.

I made my own Almond Flour by first making "Crispy Almonds." You make crispy nuts by soaking your nut of choice in water and salt for 24 hours to break down the phytic acid, which isn't good for you. Then either on the lowest setting of your oven, or a dehydrator, dry the nuts out for 12 hours until crispy and tasty. They actually taste much better this way! To make almond flour, just process a few almonds at a time in a food processor and sift the "flour" away from the bigger pieces. Don't over process or you will make a nut butter.
-Amanda

Almond Flour Crust

(from ComfyBelly)

1 1/2 cups of almond flour
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese (or another hard cheese, grate finely)
1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of oregano
1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of basil
favorite pizza toppings (cheese, sausage, mushrooms, bell pepper, ect.)

Mix almond flour, parmesan, salt, oregano, garlic powder and basil in a medium size bowl. In a small bowl beat two eggs with olive oil. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Using a 3 tbsp scoop, place six scoops of the dough on either a sil-pat or parchment paper that is on a large cookie sheet. Put a bit of olive oil on your finger tips and flatten dough out into a circle. It won't spread when you cook it so you only need to leave a small space between each crust. Bake at 350 for 10-13 minutes. Top with your favorite pizza toppings and bake until cheese is bubbly.

Chicken Pot Pie Stew

I forgot to take a picture of this before I ate it, so this is a picture of the leftovers! This soup is so warm and cozy. The broth is drinkable, rich and delicious. What gave me the idea for this soup was a chicken pot pie. I'm eating low carb right now so I didn't want to make a real chicken pot pie, but I was wanting those flavors. As I was making the "pot pie insides" I spontaneously decided to make it a soup, by adding a lot more liquid. I'm so glad I did, this was terrific! I used a lot of seasonings, but use any combination of the ones I list according to your preferences. I was going to add fresh parsley at the end, but I forgot to add it! I'll add some in for the leftovers, parsley is full of great vitamins!
-Amanda

Chicken Pot Pie Stew

2 chicken breasts, previously cooked
4 tbsp butter or ghee, split
1.5 cups of chopped mushrooms
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups chicken stock (I use homemade)
salt, pepper
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
pinch of tarragon (this is a strong spice)
pinch of dill

In a large soup pot, melt two tablespoons of ghee or butter. Add diced carrot, onion and celery. Cook on a low heat until carrots begin to get soft. Add in garlic and mushrooms. Continue to cook on med-low until mushrooms are cooked through. Add all the spices. Add two more tablespoons of butter or ghee and stir until melted. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and stir until the flour is wet from the butter and coats the vegetables. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add the heavy cream. Right before serving, add the chicken and peas, cooking long enough to defrost the peas. Enjoy!

Chicken (not) Divan

Yesterday I was browsing the internet for inspiration on "what's for dinner" question that pops up every day. I decided I wanted to attack the week with a PLAN. We'll see how that goes, but I did go to the grocery store with a LIST! and a MENU. For those that know me, they know this never happens. It's amazing I put dinner together at all, really. I'm constantly just throwing things together from the top of my head and from whatever ingredients are in the pantry/fridge. I came across a recipe called Chicken Divan. I am sure I've had this somewhere sometime, but I don't think I've ever made it. It sounded good and like it could be easily adapted to REAL food (the recipe called for canned mushroom soup) and I figured I could do nuts on top instead of breadcrumbs. I even got ambitious enough to double the recipe to make two casseroles so I'd have dinner ready another time. In all my enthusiasm, I forgot half of the seasonings that were listed in the recipe. From my general search on Chicken Divan, a common theme is that they all  have curry powder. Mine doesn't have anything but salt and pepper since I totally forgot to add the other spices, but when you use real ingredients that have so much flavor on their own, it still came out a tasty dish. I think the curry would have been great, but perhaps next time! My girls both really liked this dinner.
-Amanda

My Chicken (not) Divan

(makes 2 casseroles)

6 poached chicken breasts, chopped*
1 recipe of mushroom sauce**
1 cup homemade mayonnaise
14 oz grated cheddar cheese
4 heads of steamed broccoli
1 cup chopped nuts for topping

In a very large bowl, mix the chicken, mushroom sauce, mayo, most of the cheese and the steamed broccoli. Pour it into two casserole dishes. Top with the rest of the cheese and nuts. Bake at 350 until bubbly and cheese is melted.

*You can use any kind of cooked chicken, baked, sauted, etc. I poach my chicken by placing breasts in a pot, cover with water. Add salt, bay leaf, all spice and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes. Do NOT boil or the chicken will be tough. The water can then be used as a chicken broth (stock uses bones, but this is a nice delicate broth.)

**Mushroom Sauce:
a lot of mushrooms- 5 cups or so
1/2 large onion finely diced
1 pint of heavy cream preferably not pasteurized, but I haven't been able to get any of that yet.
1/4 cup flour - I used whole wheat
3 tbsp butter

To make the mushroom sauce, chop onion very small and place it in a large skillet with melted butter. Chop mushrooms as small as you like. Since I was again, mimicking the canned sauce, I chopped them fine since the canned stuff almost doesn't even hint at mushroom.... strange, right? Add the mushrooms to the softened, translucent onions and cook until they have cooked down quite a bit. Add more butter if the skillet is dry. Sprinkle flour across mushrooms and stir until there is no dry flour left. Pour in cream and bring to a boil to thicken.

Homemade Mayonnaise

I finally had a batch of homemade mayonnaise that came out delicious! I was using extra virgin olive oil to make it which made the final product way too strong for my tastes. So tonight I made it with a mixture of safflower oil and coconut oil and it came out great. I started making my own mayo because most store bought mayonnaise (along with most bottled sauces) contain soy oils. Just spend a moment googling "dangers of soy" to see what people are finding out about soy, something alot of Americans think of as a health food. In truth, only fermented soy products (like traditional fermented soy sauce and natto a fermented soy bean) are healthy and good for you. Almost all of America eats a GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) Soy that is a far cry from traditional Asian fare. So, go ahead and eliminate soy products from your diet. Homemade mayonnaise is so tasty you won't miss the store bought at all!
-Amanda

Homemade Mayo

1 egg - from a pasture raised, cage free chicken
1 egg yolk - from a pasture raised, cage free chicken
2 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp mustard (I used a dijon today)
1- 1.5 cups of oil in any combination. Untoasted Sesame Oil, olive oil and coconut oil are good to start with
salt to taste

Make sure your food processor has a place where you can drip in an oil. Otherwise you can do this by hand in a bowl with either a whisk or a hand mixer. In your food processor put the egg and the egg yolk. Process a few times until the egg becomes blended. Add the mustard and process a few more times. Slowly add the lemon juice and salt. Then while the processor is running very, very slowly start pouring in your oil. Keep going until you notice the mayo will suddenly lighten up in color and get thicker (if you are using olive oil, it may not lighten too much and may even have a greenish tint, this is okay.) When you can make peaks out of the mayo with your tasting spoon you are done. Store in an airtight container in the refridgerator.

Pizza Soup

The flavor of pizza without the carbs. This soup was surprisingly really good! And after I took my first bite, I did exclaim, "This DOES taste like pizza!" That was followed by... "hum... although since I can't remember the last time I ate a pizza I could be off, but who cares, it tastes great!" It's basically a parmesan cream tomato soup with pizza toppings stirred in. It was a hit with the husband and both toddlers.
-Amanda

Pizza Soup

• 2 tbsp butter or left over bacon drippings
• 1 onion, diced small
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2 tsp dried italian seasonings
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• sea salt to taste
• 1/2 - 1 lb hamburger meat
• 2, 28 oz cans of tomatoes
• 2 (more) cloves of garlic
• 2 tsp (more) of dried italian seasoning
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 green bell peper
• whole milk mozzarella cheese
• kalmata olives, sliced
• pepperchini sliced

In a large pot, melt butter or bacon drippings. Sauted a diced onion and 3 cloves of garlid chopped fine. Add one sliced bell pepper. When onions are soft, add ground hamburger meat. As meat is cooking add salt, 2 tsp italian seasonings, 1 tsp oregano and fennel seeds. When meat is cooked through, remove it to a bowl and set aside.

Put two cans of tomatoes in the pot. Add roughly chopped garlic, more of the italian seasonings and butter. Bring to a boil. With an immersion blender, puree the tomatoes until they are very smooth. Add heavy cream and blend it in. Pour meat mixture back into the pot and stir in with the tomatoes. Dice the green bell pepper and add it to the soup. Let simmer for at least 20 minutes. Serve with grated mozzarella cheese, kalmata olives and pepperchini on top.