Chicken Thighs, Portobellos, Wild Rice & Noodle Bake

Maybe it isn't Thursday (or maybe it is by the time you read this), but what we've got here is a throwback. A throwback recipe, that is. Our cold and snowy weather outside had me remembering warm kitchens and tempting aromas of slower times and some old fashioned family recipes. 

Memories of a rice and egg noodle side dish I used to make back in the seventies kept nudging me until I looked up the old recipe. It included a little soy sauce and some water chestnuts along with chicken stock. In fact, it was kind of a made-from-scratch Rice-a-Roni twist...which (sigh) I couldn't have because of the celiac issue. 

You know, I reworked that old recipe into a one dish dinner with chicken thighs and beefy portobello mushrooms and ended up with an entire Sunday dinner that was even better than the original side dish. Instead of egg noodles, fine rice noodles worked perfectly. Instead of Minute rice, I used a box of Near East Wild Rice mix (this brand is gluten free). And, of course, I used wheat free tamari in place of soy sauce. Chicken, portobellos, wine....voila! A throwback recipe that was updated to be gluten free, that was almost a one dish dinner, and was everything I'd remembered. 

All that was needed was a salad or a green vegetable for a Sunday dinner that brought back warm memories with a whole new and easy dinner. They say you can't go back. Maybe, with a good old fashioned recipe in hand, there's a way after all.

Chicken Thighs, Portobellos, Wild Rice 

& Noodle Bake

• 2 T olive oil
• 5-6 skinless chicken thighs (or equivalent chicken breasts, if you wish)
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 large portobello mushroom caps, sliced across in half and then into 1/2" pieces
• 3 T butter
• 4 oz fine rice noodles (half a box of 8.8 oz Thai Kitchen Thin Rice Noodles or same amount of another brand)
• a 6 oz box of Near East Long Grain & Wild Rice mix (original), save the spice packet
• 1/2 C dry white wine
• 20 oz low salt chicken broth
• 1 T wheat free tamari or soy sauce
• 1 can of sliced water chestnuts - do not drain

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On top of the stove, in an ovenproof Dutch oven, heat olive oil. 

Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper, then brown on both sides. Remove from pan. Add mushrooms to the pot and stir a minute or two until just cooked. Remove to same plate as chicken.

Add butter to pot and melt. Add noodles and stir until lightly browned in places; add the wild rice mix - do not add seasoning packet yet. Stir rice and noodles until coated with butter. Now sprinkle the seasoning packet over the mixture in the pot and pour the wine in; stir up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add chicken broth and tamari, stir again. Add water chestnuts, including the liquid, and stir well.

Top rice and noodle mixture with browned chicken and then with the mushrooms. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Serve with a side salad or green veggie.

New Orleans Red Beans, Rice and Greens - The Best of Both Worlds

Red beans and rice OR beans and greens? That was the question. Hmmmm. Why not the best of both?! 

Sunday's dinner was a simple, quick and easy cedar-planked, Cajun-seasoned filet of salmon on the grill with some bright green, thick spears of asparagus grilling right alongside. The side dish of beans, greens AND rice? Definitely simple, too.

A classic Cajun trinity - green pepper, celery and onion - was the base of the dish along with a kick of finely diced Andouille sausage to amp up the bayou flavors. After the veggies were softened and the Andouille had surrendered it's fat and flavor into the mix, I added lots and lots of sweet, green baby kale. 

Once the kale cooked down a bit, rice, chicken broth and, what else(?) Cajun seasonings emphasized the decidedly down home dish. You already know I kept this easy, so I used a bottled Cajun seasoning instead of mixing one up myself. Timesaver!

One thing for sure, this is one delicious, best-of-both-worlds, beans AND greens AND rice dinner decision that will be repeated!

New Orleans Red Beans, Rice & Greens

• 1 T canola oil
• 1 link Andouille sausage, diced small
• 1 small onion, diced small
• 2 ribs celery, diced small
• 1/2 green pepper, seeds removed & diced small
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 5 oz. baby kale left whole or regular sized kale, roughly chopped - feel free to sub-in whatever greens strike your fancy or whatever you have on hand instead of kale
• 2 T tomato paste - I love tomato paste in tubes, don't you?
• 1 T Cajun seasoning - I used Weber's N'Orleans Cajun Seasoning
• 1 can red beans (15 oz) WITH the liquid
• 3/4 C arborio rice or long grain white rice - whatever you have on hand
• 10 oz can chicken broth

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Saute andouille, garlic, onion, celery, green pepper until soft. Add kale and stir until wilted. Add tomato paste and cajun seasoning, beans WITH their liquid, rice and broth. Stir well and bring the mixture to a boil.

When the mixture comes to a boil, immediate reduce heat to low cover and cook until rice is tender, approximately 25 minutes. Fluff with fork and serve!

Not Quite Your "Basic" Stuffed Peppers

There are recipes we make month after month - or at least year after year - we take for granted that absolutely everyone makes the same. We (read "I") also assume that just about everybody knows how to make certain menu basics. Now, we Pittsburghers might consider "basic" what non-Burgers consider exotic...like stuffed cabbage or halushki or chipped ham BBQs. (Chipped ham BBQ sandwiches EXOTIC?! Bwahahahaha...maybe I'm exaggerating a wee bit.) 

Last week I actually saw a Facebook post by a pretty prominent food blogger/caterer/event planner/culinary team builder - and all round good gal - from Florida who said she was making stuffed cabbage, hadn't done so in many years (since she left Michigan), and did anyone have any suggestions for the perfect version? Did I have suggestions? Hey...I'm from Pittsburgh, of COURSE I have stuffed cabbage suggestions! 

Through the thread it became obvious that stuffed cabbage is NOT the same around the country as I had surmised. Some iterations use pork, some answering Facebookers were aghast at the idea of sauerkraut and tomato as a base for the cabbage rolls (something that I think of as standard along with the inclusion of rice), others even make a kind of sweet and sour version with raisins. Bottom line is that what I take for granted is a whole 'nother ball game to someone else. Which brings me to stuffed peppers. 

Basically, I make my stuffed peppers like my mom did except I use a little granulated garlic - something my mom would NEVER do, a packet of (shocked at this one?) Ranch Dressing mix, a touch of Worcestershire (woo-stah-sher) sauce, a touch of white wine and a few other things to give the dish a little more "character." (I have mentioned before that Mum's cooking was pretty bland...sorry Mum.) 

Regardless of the small(ish) differences, my recipe is basically the same as what I enjoyed around the chrome and Formica kitchen table in the 50's. Ground beef, rice, tomato all piled into peppers and baked. Oh, and while I normally use green peppers for stuffing, the abundance of red, ripe peppers in the fall allow me to use those beauties for a sweeter pepper and a prettier presentation. As luck would have it, both Kuhn's AND Giant Eagle had red peppers for $1.99 a pound ON SALE! What an out-of-season stroke of luck! Stuffed RED peppers it was. 

So here's my version. Maybe you make stuffed peppers yourself, maybe you don't...maybe your recipe is similar to mine, maybe it isn't. One thing I've found in life, it's always good to have options! 

(What ever happened to the stuffed cabbage La Diva Cucina made? She declared them glorious. Nothing like good ol' stuffed cabbage whether you're in Pittsburgh or Poland or even Florida! Hits the spot every time.)

Not Quite Your "Basic" Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4     

• 4  green peppers - or RED! (multiple colors look really pretty - orange, yellow, too), tops cut off, seeds & ribs removed
• 1  pound  ground beef, extra lean
• 1/2 cup  instant rice -- uncooked
• 1/2 packet Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix (Secret ingredient! Gives the filling a subtle, smooth flavor that balances the acid of the tomatoes and Worcestershire)
• 1 small  onion -- finely minced
• 1 egg
• 1 can  diced tomatoes, whirred in the food processor until chunks are gone and divided in half
• 1 14.1 oz can Heinz tomato soup FROM ENGLAND  (find this in the imported-from-England/Britain section at Giant Eagle - this is gluten-free) or another equivalent brand if you're not concerned about gluten - divided in half -DO NOT DILUTE THIS, this isn't condensed soup so use it full strength as it comes from the can 
• 1 t granulated garlic
• 1 t salt
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1 T Worcestershire sauce
• 3/4 cup white wine
• Heinz (of course!) ketchup for the tops

Mix all ingredients but peppers (using only 1/2 a can of tomatoes and 1/2 a can of tomato soup). Mix it all up VERY well.

Stuff mixture evenly into peppers and place in deep casserole small enough to hold peppers snugly (so they don't fall over). 


Mix wine with remaining 1/2 can of tomatoes and tomato soup and pour around peppers.  Drizzle ketchup over the tops, almost covering.

Bake uncovered at 375 for an hour and a half or until browned, the filling is cooked through and the peppers are soft - longer if the peppers are large.

Serve with lots of sauce spooned over the stuffed peppers and a couple of good veggies - whole roasted carrots and Brussels sprouts are nice - on the side.

Bonus pic of these GORGEOUS carrots...don't you love the speckled one?

NOTE: The amount of filling (stuffing) you need is relative to the size of the peppers. If the peppers are small, you may have some filling left over. I say PILE THOSE SUCKERS HIGH with stuffing! 

If you don't have enough stuffing because the peppers are really big, make another half recipe of stuffing and that should do it.

NOTE 2: Not sure how many peppers you need to snugly fit into your casserole dish or which dish to use? Before you cut the tops off, do a trial run and see just how many you need or just which casserole dish works best for the number you need to make. Once you have the dish and the number figured out, THEN cut the tops off and proceed. 

If you don't have a taller casserole, instead of standing the peppers on end and stuffing a whole pepper, cut them in half lengthwise, lay them down in a shallower dish and bake stuffed pepper halves just like you would whole ones. Bonus? Stretches the recipe to serve twice as many AND cuts the baking time, too.

 

Black Beans And Rice With Chunky Avocado Salsa And Crispy Plantains

Once in a while a basic, staple recipe gets a little gussying up, a little freshening to make it something altogether new...a makeover per se. Beans and rice certainly qualify as one of those basics. 

Cuban beans and rice, Jamaican beans and rice, New Orleans beans and rice...black beans, red beans, pinto beans...white rice, black rice, brown rice...all the classic ingredients in almost infinite combinations still have the same culinary bones. There's a reason the combination is a favorite in so many cultures - actually, there are a couple of reasons. Beans and rice are easy to make, cost smart and a real comfort food. 

What makes today's recipe different from the tried and true versions? Beans and rice are rich with earthy flavors, deep, creamy and smooth. Why not brighten it up with cool cubes of avocado tossed with citrus-y fresh lime, spicy and crunchy jalapeno, colorful sweet cherry tomatoes and just a teensy bit of cilantro for an extra fresh kick to a chunky counterpoint salsa? And what the heck...as long as we're doing a makeover, might as well gild the lily with  a garnish of plantains fried crisp in coconut oil that really takes the redo over the top!

Presentation? A bowl of beautiful black beans, topped with a healthy scoop of brown rice, then a pile of sassy avocado salsa with a couple of crispy sweet and salty, coconut-y golden plantains for good measure. I'm guessing even Clinton and Stacey would approve of this makeover!

Black Beans and Rice 

With Chunky Avocado Salsa and Crispy Plantains

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, peeled and chopped
• 1 large green pepper, seeds removed, diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
• 3 cans black beans, drained
• 1 cup chicken stock - a good store bought one is just fine
• 1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 ½ t. salt
• pepper to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 cups cooked rice (white, black, red, brown - or whatever cooked rice you have tucked in the back of your fridge) (confession....I used Trader Joe's frozen brown rice - so good, so easy!)

In a large pot, add 2 T. olive oil and heat. Add the chopped onions and green pepper. Saute until soft, add garlic and cook another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the drained black beans and stir into veggies. Cook another 10 minutes to meld flavors.

Add chicken stock, vinegar, bay leaf and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, lower heat immediately. Cover and simmer about half an hour or until it’s not too runny, not too dry. If it’s too runny/soupy, let some of the liquid cook off; if it’s too dry, add more stock. Mash slightly with potato masher to thicken a little. Taste and adjust seasonings.

To serve: Ladle beans into individual bowls, top with a good scoop of  rice and crown with avocado salad and a sprinkling of cilantro. Serve with fried plantains.

Avocado Salad

• 1 avocado, seeded and cut into ½” cubes
• ½ cup quartered yellow grape tomatoes - I bought the heirloom kind with nearly all the colors of the rainbow!
• 1 small garlic clove, finely minced or pressed 
• 1/2 t. finely minced jalapeno
• 3 T freshly squeezed lime juice
• ½ t. salt
• 1 T olive oil or avocado oil
• 1 T finely minced cilantro - or more if you really like cilantro...I do!

Mix lime juice, salt, oil and cilantro well. Set aside. Mix the avocado, tomatoes, garlic and jalapeno well. Pour dressing over, mix and serve.

Fried Plantains

• 2 plantains, cut across into 1 ½” sections
• canola oil

Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Saute plantain sections on each side until browned. Remove from skillet to paper towels. (You can do this earlier in the day.) 

When you’re ready to eat, heat oil in skillet again. Put in each precooked section and smash it down with a spatula to flat disks. Brown and turn over to brown on the other side. Remove to paper towels again and salt immediately. Serve.

Black Rice Blueberry & Jalapeno Salad

Now that grilling season is here, an arsenal of side salad recipes is something we all need. Once we've had potato salad a dozen different ways or pasta salad until we never want to see another dried noodle as long as we live, what's left? Well, there's this little number for starters.

Like a little black dress, this is one is suitable for all events. Dress it up fancy or or dress it down casual - the finest filet or  the most basic burger - Black Rice Blueberry & Jalapeno Salad is just right for any occasion. This lovely little basic black salad might have just a little more elegance than potato salad. Maybe it has just a little more pizzazz.

With blueberries in season and a BIG bag of black rice in my pantry (thank you Costco!), it only seemed natural to devise a way to use them together. Sweet blueberries balanced against tart fresh lime and vinegar and a contrast of chewy, toothsome rice and crisp green onions and red slivers of jalapenos gave nice textural interest as well as some pretty amazing flavor.

The simple, basic black salad is always in good taste...and it tastes good!

Black Rice Blueberry & Jalapeno Salad

• 2 cups cold, cooked black rice - don't substitute white rice (cold, cooked brown rice would work just fine - just wouldn't be nearly as dramatic!)
• 6 green onions, root end removed and sliced thinly well into the green
• 1 red jalapeno - or green if you can't find a red one, stem and seeds removed, sliced very thinly
• 1 cup blueberries, washed and dried
• 1 t. Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• the juice of 1 lime
• 2 T. balsamic vinegar
• 3 T. olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix gently, but well. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Cuban Black Rice & Black Bean Soup with Jamaican Dark Rum

Ponderable question. Is it still technically possible for black bean soup to qualify as Cuban if the sweet, dark rum therein hails from Jamaica? How about if I call it Cuban-style? 

Sure, they make dark rum in Cuba, but unless you ARE or KNOW a rum runner we'll never be able to make this soup with authenticity. Damn Cuban embargo. Enter Appleton Dark Rum...from Jamaica.

How did this dark and rich soup come about? Like most of my soups, there was a bone...in this case, a ham bone...leftover from a Sunday dinner. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it at the time, so I wrapped it well and tucked it into the freezer until there was some inkling of what to do with it. The inkling never came. 

What did come was warmer weather. As the opportunity for hot soup waned, I decided to just wing it, make the stock and see what naturally developed.

Cooked, cold black rice waited in the fridge...what would work with black rice, but black beans. Beans and rice, of course! In soup form. This was made even easier by the cans of black beans I keep in the pantry just for such times. (Because you never know when you need a can for emergency black bean hummus or cowboy caviar!) The soup came together quickly and easily. Classic ingredients - with a twist - simply don't need much fussing.

You might wonder why, at first glance, dark rum was added to soup. It just seemed like a natural pairing. Dark rum is made from molasses so I thought that same dark, slightly smoky sweetness would echo the smoky sweetness of ham stock. That, and it just seemed like a fun addition! Doesn't rum make just about everything better?! 

Cuban Black Rice & Black Bean Soup

 with Jamaican Dark Rum

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, peeled and chopped
• 1 large green pepper, seeds removed, diced
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced

• 3 cans black beans, drained

• 4 cups ham stock (see recipe below)
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• 2 cups cooked black rice (or brown rice - or whatever cooked rice you have tucked in the back of YOUR fridge!)

• 1/4 cup dark rum

• 1/4 cup green onions, sliced well into the green

In a large soup pot, add 2 T. olive oil and heat. Add the chopped onions and green pepper. Saute until soft, add garlic and cook another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
 
Add the drained black beans and stir into veggies. Cook another 10 minutes to meld flavors.
 
Add the ham stock, vinegar, bay leaves and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil, lower heat immediately and add rice. Cover and simmer about half an hour. Add rum and simmer another 15 minutes or until the raw rum taste dissipates.
 
Ladle into bowl, add reserved ham (that you've warmed in the microwave - make it easy!) and garnish with sliced green onions.


 
Ham Stock:  In a soup pot, add a large meaty ham bone. Add several large celery stalks with lots of leaves, 2 large quartered onions, 3 T. dried minced garlic. Bring to boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for several hours until the ham fall easily from the bone.

Cool and remove all the meat from the bone. Reserve meat to add to black bean soup. You should have about 4 cups of ham stock. Proceed with black bean soup recipe.

Spicy Shrimp & Andouille Jambalaya with Beet Greens

 
On opening the fridge, I realized I had some serious cleaning out to do in there. Where did all those fridge-real-estate-hogging bits and pieces come from? Oh everything was good, but wouldn't be for long if I didn't get crackin'. I needed more space!

There was a big bag of beautiful yellow peppers I'd picked up on my last walk through the Strip District.  $2 for a big basket? You know they came home with me. I'd roasted beets last week and saved the tops - you don't throw out beet tops do you? You won't after this recipe.

There was a nice piece of andouille in the meat drawer, 3 jalapenos that were ready to give up the ship, half a bag of shrimp in the freezer, the last few stalks of celery in a bag and a couple of slices of ham left from last Sunday's dinner. With those ingredients on hand and rice in the pantry, dinner was decided. Hello Jambalaya!

There's a lot to be said about a one pot dinner that can clean out your refrigerator and be an authentic Cajun treat. And it feeds (not literally) an army. Leftovers for the week, YES!

Spicy Shrimp & Andouille Jambalaya 

with Beet Greens

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3/4 pound ANDOUILLE, or other smoked sausage, sliced in half lengthwise then across to make half-rounds about 1/4" thick
• 1/2 pound ham, diced small

 

• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
• 2 medium yellow bell peppers (or use red or orange...whatever you have), seeds removed, diced
• 2 large jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, finely minced
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced

 

• 1 can diced tomatoes, fire roasted is my favorite, add all the juices, too
• 3 fresh thyme, sprigs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3 Tablespoons cajun seasoning, I used Slap Ya Mama - nice and spicy!!!! (if you don't like big heat, use less)
• freshly ground black pepper, LOTS - to taste

 

• 4 cups chicken stock, I used a box from the store shelf, feel free to use your own homemade if you have some!
• 2 cups long-grain white rice
• beet greens, the tops from 1 bunch, washed and sliced across into about 1/2" ribbons (if you don't have beet green around, kale works beautifully!)

 

• 12 large shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined, tails left on
• 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other stove to table cookware.  Once the oil is HOT, but not smoking, add andouille and ham and saute until WELL browned. Remove meats with slotted spoon and set aside.
 
Add to the remaining oil in the pot, onion, celery, green and yellow peppers and jalapeno.  Once the veggies are about halfway to translucent, add the minced garlic and continue cooking until the onions are translucent and the rest of the veggies are soft.
 
Next add the diced tomatoes and seasonings and continue cooking for a few minutes until everything is nicely melded.
 
Now add the chicken stock, rice and greens, stirring until the rice is evenly distributed throughout the veggies.  Bring to a boil.
 
Add the meats and stir well again and bring to a boil again. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 25 minutes. 
 
Toss the shrimp with the teaspoon of cajun seasoning. Uncover the pot and place the shrimp on top of the rice, cover and continue cooking until the shrimp are pink.  Do NOT overcook the shrimp. 
 
Spoon into bowls and serve with good crusty bread!


NOTE: Be sure not to overcook your rice OR your shrimp.  Nobody likes mushy rice or rubbery shrimp.
 
   

Mom's Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

So, I have been slacking with posting the past few weeks! Work has been crazy with lots a shows…and that is a good thing! During the week of craziness I got to go to one of my favorite restaurants, Fat Fish Blue, with a few people from work. Unfortunately it was the last time we will ever get to go because it closed this past Sunday. There are a few other locations in the US, so if you see one go!  

Fat Fish Blue is a Cajun and Creole restaurant, serving some of the New Orleans classics like Po Boys, Gumbo, Jambalaya, Craw Dads, and more. Not only do they serve up great Cajun and Creole grub, they are a venue featuring nationally known Blues artists! What else but the blues would make for an authentic New Orleans experience?!

We started off with an order of buffalo tails for an appetizer, they are craw dad (crayfish) tails fried and covered in buffalo sauce…YUMMY! I will say the first time we ordered them I was a little apprehensive, I had never had crawdads before and had no idea what they would be like. I am so happy I tried them, because they are delicious!

Since it was my last time going, I had to get my favorite dish...gumbo! It was a colder day and it warmed me up for sure. It tasted just like the authentic gumbo I had while in New Orleans this past spring.

The good thing about gumbo is that you can make it at home...my mom makes it often this time of year and I love it! Here is her recipe:

Mom's Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

• 1 rotisserie chicken, store bought, cut into pieces

• 4 medium onions, cut in chunks, peeled first, of course

• celery leaves, all of them from a whole bunch of celery

• Crazy Salt - maybe 3 T.

• water, to barely cover

• 10 cups chicken broth, reserved (use the stock from above, adding canned chicken stock, if necessary)

• 8 slices bacon, sliced into 1/4" pieces (nice, thick hickory smoked bacon)

• 1 pound Andouille sausage or smoked sausage, sliced into half rounds 1/4" thick

• 1 1/2 cups onion, chopped

• 2 large green peppers, chopped

• 3 stalks celery, diced (use all the celery leaves you can...that's where the flavor is!)

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 can diced tomatoes, 14.5 ounce can (I like the fire-roasted ones)

• 1 can tomato sauce, 15 ounce can

• 10 ounces frozen corn

• 20 ounces frozen okra (LOVE my okra!)

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 tablespoon Hot Shot (if you can't find this in the McCormick section, use 1/4-1/2 t. cayenne and the rest fresh ground black pepper)

• Jane's Crazy Salt, to taste (or seasoned salt...but please, look for this magic ingredient!  Even Paula Deen used to use it before she started marketing her own.)

• 1-2 T. file powder (optional) - If you have a Penzey's near you, you can get it there.  It isn't necessary, but it lends a very authentic flavor and also serves to slightly thicken the gumbo. 

In LARGE soup pot, put chicken (yes, the store-bought rotisserie one), onion chunks, celery leaves and Crazy salt; cover with water. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer about 45 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken, cool, and set broth aside. Discard onion and celery leaves. Remove chicken from bones. Set aside. (If you wonder why I do it this way...a roasted chicken gives a deeper, richer stock.)

Cook bacon and sausage in the same pot until bacon is crisp and sausage is browned. Remove meats and set aside. There will be lots of brown stuff on the bottom of the pot.  Leave it there!  It will get deeper until you add the stock at the end.  Then, as you stir the soup, the stock will loosen all that browned, rich goodness and give the soup amazing flavor!

Add chopped onion, green pepper, celery, and garlic and cook until vegetables are tender. Stir OFTEN! Add chicken, bacon, sausage, broth, and all the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours. Stir occasionally - especially get the bottom to get that flavor up into the soup!

Serve in bowls, topped with a scoop of cooked rice - that's the traditional way. Without the rice is good, too!

GLUTEN-FREE NOTE:   Not all rotisserie chickens are gluten-free.  Read the label and/or talk to the store you buy it from.  I get mine at Costco for a lot of reasons...first, it is gluten-free, but check each and every time you buy one.  You never know when the store's recipe will change.  Second, Costco has the biggest and cheapest and BEST rotisserie chicken anywhere.  Period.  (Boston Market also has a GF rotisserie chicken!)

Sweet Red and Green Stuffed Bell Peppers

Sweet Red and Green Stuffed Bell Peppers

Crisp, cool fall days and beautiful, stuffed red and green peppers are a perfect tummy-warming match.  Look for red bell peppers at the farmers’ markets while they’re plentiful and cheap!  This is my favorite recipe.

                     

• 4           sweet red and/or green bell peppers 
• 1           pound  ground beef, extra lean
• 1/2        cup  instant rice -- uncooked
• 1/2        package  dry ranch-style dressing mix
• 1           small  onion -- finely minced
• 1           egg
• 1           can  tomato soup
• 1/2 T.    Worcestershire sauce
•  1 t.       granulated garlic
•              salt & pepper to taste
• 1 t.        oregano
•  1/3 C.  ketchup (Heinz, of course!)

Cut the tops off the peppers and pull out the seeds and insides.  Set aside.

Lightly mix all ingredients (but peppers, of course) together lightly. (Use only 1/2 a can of the soup.) 

Stuff the mixture evenly into peppers and snuggle them into a casserole dish with sides about 4” high to hold them upright.  Mix remaining 1/2 can of soup with a little white wine and ketchup to sauce consistency and pour over top of peppers.  Bake at 375 for an hour.  If you want (and I usually do), mix a little ketchup mixed with a little

NOTE:  I use the British version of Heinz Tomato Soup when I make these because it is gluten-free (but always check the label for yourself - things change!).  Find it in the International Aisle of Giant Eagle…in the British section, naturally!