More Asher-Friendly Food

Another allergen-free recipe for my boy.

Spicy Chicken and Rice Bake
from Better Homes and Gardens

2 1/2 to 3 lbs meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
2/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
Paprika

1. Skin chicken; set aside.
2. In a large saucepan cook onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil until vegetable are tender. Stir in black beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato juice, corn, uncooked rice, chili powder, red pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to boiling. Transfer rice mixture to a 3-qt rectangular baking dish. Arrange chicken pieces on top of rice mixture. Sprinkle chicken with paprika.
3. Bake, covered, in a 375 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and rice is tender.

Serves 6.

Vegetables cooking.

The rice mixture. Aside from the rice being uncooked, this tastes really good. I would eat this as a soup. I did cut back on the red pepper a little to make it a bit more kid/Tyler-friendly.

Ready to be covered and put in the oven.I used some boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They were really thick and took longer than the 45 to 50 minutes to cook. It was more in the hour to 1 hour, 15 minute range.

The final product: delicious. There was just a little kick but it was still managable for the kids. Asher seemed to really like the beans and rice mixture (as did I). The chicken also came out really juicy and with a hint of spice as well. You could definitely use smaller chicken pieces to save some cooking time and stretch this meal a bit (there is a ton of rice!). On the whole, it's a satisfying pairing.

Chicken and Bacon...in a Soup!!

I'm really into the bacon-based soups. Here's another bacon soup but this one has chicken too. You can never go wrong with chicken and bacon. Mmm!

Hunter's Chicken Stoup with Whole-Wheat Pasta
from Rachael Ray

1 lb whole-wheat short pasta (gemelli or penne)
6 Tbsp olive oil
4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices pancetta, chopped
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into large bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
6 portobello mushroom caps, cut into bite-sized dice
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
4 fresh rosemary sprigs, finely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 (28-oz) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
2 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 cup grated or shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it liberally, add the pasta and cook al dente.
2. While the water heats and the pasta cooks, make the stoup. Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat with 3 Tbsp olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook for a couple of minutes to crisp it up, then remove it to a plate. Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken for 10 minutes then transfer it to the plate with the pancetta. Add the remaining 3 Tbsp of oil and heat. When it's hot, add the mushrooms and soften them up for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the onions, carrot, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, garlic and rosemary, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms are dark and the onions are tender, another 6 to 8 minutes. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring up any bits from the bottom, then stir in the stock and tomatoes. Slide the chicken and pancetta back into the pan. Discard the bay leaf.
3. Just before the pasta is done, add 2 ladles of the starchy pasta water to the skillet with the chicken. Drain the pasta and return it to the hot pot. Add the butter, a couple of ladles of the stoup, and the cheese. Toss to combine.
4. Serve shallow bowls of pasta and top with ladles of the chicken and mushroom stoup to be mixed together.

I'm too cheap to buy pancetta on any regular basis so I substituted bacon. Bacon and olive oil smell heavenly. I also misread the recipe while gathering supplies and bought bone-in chicken thighs. Oops! It upped the preparation time since I had to debone the chicken before cutting it up but didn't effect the overall product. I also didn't have portobello mushrooms but I did have some button mushrooms left over from a previous recipe. Those seem to work well. All the veggies cooking. It smelled pretty good. (I subbed dried rosemary for the fresh and just eyeballed the amount.) The "stoup" (stew + soup). It was almost too much for my skillet! I looked everywhere for the can of crushed fire-roasted tomatoes. I was certain I had seen it somewhere before so I went to almost every store in my area. I didn't find it but I was able to substitute a couple of cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes. I was going to crush them myself but forgot. I also used the cooking wine that can be found next to the vinegars. I know that some cooks would yell at me for not using the real thing (apparently it's not the same quality) but I'm still too frightened/intimidated of a liquor store and wine in general to buy the real stuff. The final product was warm and hearty. I was able to make a couple more adjustments (brown-rice pasta and omitting the butter and cheese) to make it allergen-free for Asher. The pictured version is actually what Asher and I ate. I made the regular for Tyler and Addilyn and all agreed that it was pretty delicious. I was able to recognize the wine flavor but didn't find it overpowering. The pasta was also pretty good by itself warmed up as leftovers.

Italian Pork and Beans

This is the first post since the Friday before my son was born. Yay for having my head above water for the first time in quite a while!

Here's a super yummy recipe that just so happens to be allergen-free. That means that Asher could eat it. Now if we can only get this almost-2-year-old to try it. Silly boy.

Rachael Ray's Italian Pork and Beans

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 pound pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and grated

2 celery ribs with leafy tops, finely chopped

2 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 fresh or dried bay leaf

2 (15 oz) cans white bean, drained

salt and black pepper

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups tomato sauce

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook for 5 minutes or until crisp. Add the onions, carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the white beans and season liberally with salt and pepper, then stir in the stock and tomato sauce and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve the pork and beans in shallow bowls with crusty bread for mopping.

I didn't have pancetta but I did have a lot of bacon. Mmm...bacon. That'll work.

The bacon and vegetables cooking. It smelled divine.

I have a whole lot of dry beans in my pantry but have yet to do anything with them. This was my first attempt. I soaked the beans.

It was shortly after I had added them to the vegetables that I realized that soaked dry bean are not the same as canned beans. Oops!

That wasn't too big of a problem though. I just simmered the entire mixture for an hour and a half. The resulting product was really, really good. I've had it for lunches for the last three days in a row and if I had more, I'm sure I would continue eating it for days. The flavors are strong but delightful. This is one comfort food that I most definitely recommend.