Gluten-free Dairy-free Cilantro Lime Crock-pot Tacos // Ali Wren

Y'all, I'm so excited for you to hear from my friend Ali today!! I met Ali at the Influence Conference when she hosted a cute little meet-up for gluten-free/dairy-free folks to eat some allergy-free cupcakes from a local bakery! It was so fun and thoughtful. I loved even the short time I got to spend with her in sessions and just talking about failures and hopes. I knew she was a special person with so much to offer! 

Ali blogs about healthy minded eating and whole hearted living, truly being present where you are and loving people well, while being conscious of the food you eat! She has GREAT tips for traveling with allergies and even offers an e-book to her newsletter subscribers (available at the top of her homepage!) with in depth information on national chain restaurants and how they cater to allergy specific needs. It's incredibly helpful. 

Enjoy this recipe from Ali!! I'll definitely be making this for dinner next week! 

 Gluten-free Dairy-free Cilantro Lime Crock-pot Tacos 

Tacos are pretty much the greatest main dish. People with food allergies or special food needs can feast on the same meal as their friends and family. This chicken is a super easy and tasty crock-pot recipe. You can eat the meat hot and ready for dinner one night, and eat it cold on a salad for lunch the next day, or even scoop it up with chips and guacamole. 

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast or breast pieces
• 1 16-ounce jar gluten-free salsa (some gluten-free brands include: Chi Chi’s, Frontera, On the Border, Newman’s Own, Old El Paso, Pace, Taco Bell, and Tostito’s)
• 1 packet gluten-free taco seasoning (gluten-free brands include: Trader Joe’s, Old El Paso, Ortega, McCormick, Penzey’s, and some Frontera packages)
• 1/3 lime, juiced
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro (feel free to go lighter on the cilantro or eliminate if you are not a fan)
• gluten-free corn tortillas *optional (gluten-free brands include: Mission, Rudy’s, and La Tortilla)
• gluten-free corn chips *optional (gluten-free brands include: Snyder of Hanover, most Tostitos, Mission, and Xochil)
• condiments of your choice

Directions:
Place chicken in crock pot. Combine salsa, taco seasoning, lime juice, and cilantro. Pour combination over the chicken. Cover and heat on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for approximately 4 hours. Pull the chicken apart with two forks and mix everything together. Scoop into your favorite shell and Enjoy!

Notes: 

grain-free: eat as a taco salad

corn-free: eat on a salad or flour tortilla, or with sweet potato chips

optional add-ons: beans, cheese, sour cream, corn, salsa, guacamole

Lime Pie Pops!

We got a little bit of the exotic along with some staples in last weeks produce co-op basket and absolutely loved it. We had potatoes, cauliflower and (surprise!) prickly pear. Oh, and about 15 limes....So what does one do with all those limes? Well you make chicken curry with lime and then treat yourself to a fabulously tart and sweet dessert -- lime pie pops!

Find the recipe today at My Cooking Spot. Happy Friday! 

Pregnancy Cravings & Baked Spaghetti Squash

I never had any weird cravings while I was pregnant. In fact, any cravings I did have were honestly not even that strong, and I'm kind of sad about that. I mean, you've heard of the women craving gasoline and dirt, right? Well that wasn't me. Not even pickles. Dang. I'd say my biggest craving was Braum's frozen yogurt which my husband happily catered to multiple times a week. Somewhere my midwife is hanging her head in shame. ;) 

Wait! I just remembered that ice cream is the oldest craving in the book! I feel very accomplished now. 

Anyways, I did love myself some yellow and orange fruits and veggies, which I've mentioned here before. Carrots, yellow peppers, bananas, sweet potatoes, and squash. One uneventful September night I had a craving for spaghetti squash. I love that it’s healthy and substitutes pasta so well, and come on, it's down right delicious. I literally threw this together with what I could find in my fridge. My sweet (and hungry) husband approved and it was my first recipe I ever created and wrote down! 

This recipe is NOT dairy free BUT I made it the other night without any cheese or heavy cream and it came out just as good. For any of my non-dairy friends out there, I'll have the alternatives listed throughout the recipe for you. 

Serves: 2 with leftovers

Ingredients:

Olive oil

4-5 chicken thighs

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bunch of asparagus

1 Lemon

1 cup heavy cream (1 can full fat coconut milk if dairy free)

8 oz. fresh mozzarella (omit if dairy free)

Parmesan (omit if dairy free)

1 spaghetti squash

Preheat oven to 350 f

Cut your spaghetti squash in half vertically and scoop out all of the seeds. Drizzle the inside with olive oil and a splash of water and place cut side down on a baking sheet lined with foil. Make sure to do this fast so that water doesn't go splashing everywhere. The reason for the water is to help steam the squash from the inside. Rub olive oil on the outer skin of the squash as well to help it steam all the way through. Bake for 45 minutes.

Rinse chicken, pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Cook chicken in a large pan over a couple glugs of olive oil on medium high heat. Cook until golden brown on each side and cooked most of the way through, about 5-7 minutes on each side. Remove chicken from pan and cut into bite size pieces. Your pan will have all the beautiful bits of flavor from the chicken left over.... don’t clean it out! Add another drizzle of olive oil and sauté onions and garlic on medium low heat until golden and soft. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over to flavor and encourage the onions to sweat down. 

Snap ends off of asparagus and give them a rough chop, add them to your pan and continue to cook for about 10 more minutes. Squeeze the juice from half a lemon and add your heavy cream (or half a can of coconut milk) to finish off this velvety goodness, letting it bubble up for a few minutes so the flavors meld together.

riff -- You could also add cherry tomatoes to the mix, cut in half – just a thought to bring more color to this dish. 

Remove the squash from the oven and break up the “spaghetti” a bit with a fork. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and pour on the creamy onion and asparagus mixture. Add chicken and all the juices that have run out while it’s been sitting. Cut up some fresh mozzarella and place on top to your liking. Grate a generous portion of Parmesan to finish it off. (Dairy free friends, pour a little bit more coconut milk over the top)

Looks a little strange, but people, it's amazing!!

Back in the oven it goes for another 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted.

This serves a generous portion, so it'd be a great dish to save part of for lunch the next day!  Did you have any weird or textbook pregnancy cravings?

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Banana Oat Muffins // Gluten Free

My kitchen floor is a powdery disaster. My feet pick up a mix of flour and carrot shavings that fell off the counter last night as I was making dinner (a serious pet peeve of my husbands....) and the goo-crust from homemade dough is about caked onto the countertops so thick (that stuff should seriously be considered for a super glue replacement) that I dread scrubbing it off with my homemade-non-toxic-vinegar-all-purpose-spray. 

But when your child wakes up at 5 in the morning, you lay back in bed hoping to drift off into slumber at approximately 5:40 and cannot for the life of you get cranberries and oranges off the brain, you get up out of bed, brew a pot of coffee (decaf, but it makes me feel better) and get to baking scones. Naturally, like all mom's would do when faced with the opportunity for more sleep. (......)

The scones aren't quite ready to share on the blog yet, BUT these muffins are. Yet another reason for flour-y floors. I wont tell you how many baggies of baked goods I have lying around because of my need to get food out of my head and into the oven. For my first attempt at developing a baked treat from scratch, I'm pretty impressed. I know it's no french pastry but it's simple and got the approval of many a friend who I may have forced to try while I waited anxiously for their approval. 

Yields 12 muffins

Dry ingredients:

2 cups gluten free oat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Wet ingredients:

3 very ripe bananas

½ cup sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ cup melted coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350 f

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer on low speed, mash two bananas and sugar until completely smooth with very few banana chunks. Add eggs, one at a time and vanilla, followed by the coconut oil. You may need to increase the speed of the mixer for the oil to completely combine with the other ingredients. Slowly pour in the dry ingredients little by little, pushing down the sides when needed. Slice the other banana lengthwise then horizontally to create smaller pieces and gently fold them into the batter with a rubber spatula.

Line or lightly grease a muffin pan and using a 1/3 measuring cup, fill the tins with batter. Sprinkle a couple oats on top if you like. 

Don't forget to lick the bowl. It's the most important step. 

Bake those puppies for 20 minutes....and prepare for your kitchen to smell p-h-e-n-o-m-e-n-a-l. (Your taste buds will be happy too.)

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