A Happy to Be Gluten Free Recipe: Chicken Taco Soup

This week we discovered that my four year old niece has Celiac Disease and Type I Diabetes. I really can only half way imagine what her parents are feeling right now. I remember when my little four year old was diagnosed with Celiac. It was devastating.

While not immediately life threatening, Celiac can lead to a plethora of problems in the future, including infertility, cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, depression, etc. It was terrifying to hear these things could be in my little daughter's future. Plus, it was just so overwhelming to learn I could no longer feed her gluten. Gluten...which is in...everything.

There definitely was a steep learning curve and mountains to climb as we have learned how to live with Celiac. And that was only one major health issue. My poor little niece has diabetes to contend with on top of all that. We really have had her in her hearts and prayers this week.

I have posted a few gluten free recipes on my blog. I want to help however I can, so I plan to post more in the future...starting now...

Here's what we had for dinner tonight...Chicken Taco Soup!

Delicious, healthy, easy to throw together, and gluten- and dairy-free. There are lots of beans in this soup which makes it a great source of non-animal protein. I'm running a half marathon (plus three miles) tomorrow morning so I'm hoping this will power me through. Even if it's "gas-power". ;)

Love my little helper!

Chicken Taco Soup (adapted from a friend's vegetarian taco soup)

Olive oil
1 or 2 cans chopped green chilies
1 medium onion, chopped
3 TBSPs homemade GF taco seasoning (or 1 pkg taco seasoning)
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can Great Northern white beans, drained and rinsed
2 (14 ounce) cans of peeled, cut tomatoes (or 1 qt canned stewed tomatoes)
1 can yellow hominy (or corn)
1 can white hominy (or corn)
1 pound chicken, shredded (My canned chicken breast works perfectly for this!)
2 TBSP salsa (optional)
2 to 3 cups of water
1 to 2 tsps chicken bouillon, to taste
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté onion and chilies in oil for about 3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips, grated cheddar cheese, and sour cream.

A few notes...This can very easily be a vegetarian meal; just leave out the chicken and bouillon!

If you are using chicken, a rotisserie chicken, such as the ones they sell at Costco, works very well for this recipe. Or you can just prepare some chicken breasts and shred them.

The beans are flexible, in that, you could put in whatever beans you have on hand. Black beans, kidney beans, navy beans, etc.

This recipe was my first encounter with hominy. If you've never had it, you've got to give it a try! Hominy is a form of corn, but it's just not the same. It has a fantastic, almost chewy texture which I love. It can be found near the canned beans in your grocery store or in the ethnic food aisle.

I love this recipe because it is a "dump it all in and simmer for a bit" kind of recipe. Whether you eat gluten free or not...this is a yummy meal. Hope you like it as much as we do.

Hunter. Gatherer. What's for Dinner???

I don't know if it is true, but I feel like I have spent the majority of my Monday with food. Thinking about food. Planning about food. Searching food out. In my house and then again in the store--Make that storeS. Pulling junk food out of my begging children's hands. Loading food into my cart. Unloading food on to the conveyor belt. Loading food again into my cart. Only to unload in my car. Reload. Unload. Dating food (as in writing the date on the package of food and not engaging romantically with my groceries. Although...I nearly fell head over heels for a carton of ice cream back in the freezer section). Storing food. Cramming food into the deep dark recesses of my freezer, fridge, and storage room. Handing food to starving kids. Cramming food into my own mouth...

Two weeks of meal planning, four different grocery stores, and $200 later...

...I was ready to pay a restaraunt to make dinner tonight. Which I did. Shame, shame.

Alright, alright. One last hurrah before two weeks of cooking all that food I so diligently secured in my home.

I am hunter-gatherer. Hear me roar.

This meal planning business burns time like politicans burn money. But man oh man, do preparation and planning ever preserve me from nightly pain. In feeding a child who is allergic to milk and another child with Celiac Disease, weekly meal planning is vital. I have found, through a great deal of trial and an even larger amount of error, that if I am prepared, I shall not fear when dinner time rolls around every night.

Anyone need some ideas? I'm sharing my two-week meal plan and linking up to the wonderful websites that give me new and spectacular ideas when it comes to feeding my family gluten and dairy free. My current favorites are Cooking Gluten (& Dairy Free) and EZ Gluten Free. There are even a few of my own recipes (adapations made where needed to keep my little family safe).

Monday (30): Gluten/Dairy Free Beef Stroganoff Eat Out as a Family Night
Tuesday (1): Gluten/Dairy Free Beef Stroganoff
Wednesday (2): Chicken Noodle Soup (I just use my own homemade recipe. When it comes to the point of adding the frozen egg noodles, I ladle some out into a separate pot and add gluten free noodles for Elle. The rest of us get to slurp down those delicious darn-near-as-good-as-homemade noodles.)
Thursday (3): Chicken Ranch Tacos (Dairy/Gluten Free)
Friday (4): Steak, baked potatoes, roasted asparagus
Saturday (5): Date Night <---A girl can dream...Nachos (Feliz Cinco Day Mayo!)
Sunday (6): Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwiches, homemade potato salad, watermelon

Monday (7): Chicken Chimichangas
Tuesday (8): BLTs, fresh fruits and veggies
Wednesday (9): Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan, green salad
Thursday (10): Beef Stew, homemade cheddar biscuits
Friday (11): BBQ Chicken Pizza
Saturday: Wild Card (leftovers or popcorn)
Sunday: Impossible Mini Bacon Cheeseburger Pies (Dairy/Gluten Free), oven fries, veggies

To all you moms/hunter-gatherers out there...Good luck and may the fork be with you!

A Meal in the Life of a Food Allergy Mom

Saturday was a busy day of  lawn work, paying bills, paper work, traveling to watch my younger brother compete in a college track event, laundry, and a dozen other odds and ends. Before I knew it 7 pm was breathing down my neck, along with a herd of ravenous children wondering if Mom was ever going to feed them.

Dinner???
Oh, right. I'm usually in charge of that.
Umm...Dinner.
Let's see...

As I've whined related before, whipping up dinner at my house isn't the easiest task. With one son allergic to milk in any form and a daughter with Celiac Disease, coming up with a dinner for everyone is...complicated.

Saturday, after a few moments of panicked brainstorming, I alighted upon a dinner solution: The good ol' classic, Mac n' Cheese!

Easy.
Quick.
Crowd pleasing.

Right???


Putting all four burners to work: 1- Gluten-free mac n' cheese, 2- plain elbow noodles, 3- regular Kraft mac n' cheese, and 4- steamed broccoli. Four separate spoons to avoid cross contamination. Two timers and one clock to time each one out. Two parents working together to make sure nothing gets burned or spills over.

Say "CHEESE! and macaroni!"

Well, at least we got "crowd-pleasing" down.

I'm not whining again. I promise. We're getting our system down as we make everyday adjustments to keep everyone safe, healthy, happy, and well-fed.

I just have to laugh and record these moments. Moments where an "easy" dinner like mac n' cheese turns into a carefully choreographed dance around a busy, hot stove and a mountain of dirty dishes afterwards.

All in the life of a food allergy mom.