Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup (gluten free)

 

I have made this creamy chicken noodle soup several times now, and it has been a big hit in my house.  You can totally make this with all-purpose flour and regular noodles if you do not need gluten free.  My daughter is a vegetarian, so I make a smaller version for her as well, and she loves it!  

Ingredients

2 pounds chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (leave out for vegetarian)

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 yellow or sweet onion, chopped

2-3 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced (2 Tbsp)

1/3 cup gluten free flour

10 cups chicken broth (use vegetable broth for vegetarian)

3 Tbsp cornstarch

2 tsp each of dried parsley, basil, salt

1 tsp each of dried thyme, oregano, pepper

16oz gluten free pasta (my favorite is Tinkyada brand) (may want to add an additional 4-8oz of pasta if doing vegetarian, depending on how thick you want your soup)

3 cups half and half

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup grated Parmesan

Instructions

Cook onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil on medium heat until vegetables soften.  Add chicken and cook about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and flour and stir.  Add 9 cups of broth.  Whisk cornstarch with remaining 1 cup broth, and add to soup.  Add all the spices and bring to a boil.  Add pasta and cook according to time on the package.  Add half and half, cream, and parmesan (may need to whisk to get out any lumps of cheese.  Remove from heat and enjoy!

Green Chile Spinach Quiche with a Hash Brown Crust

 

I wanted to make my Green Chile Spinach Quiche with a gluten free crust, and I've made a crust, but I wanted to try something different, and I'm so glad I did.  I brought these to a ladies retreat, and they got rant and raved over.  Several people wanted the recipe, and all of it got devoured.  You can use regular all purpose flour if you do not need it to be gluten free.  This made a thick hash brown crust, so if you prefer your crust to be thinner and crispier, use only 1 bag of shredded hash browns.  You may need to reduce the cooking time of the crust, but let me know how it turns out!

Ingredients

2 - 26oz bags frozen shredded hash browns, thawed

1 stick butter, melted

1/2 cup all purpose flour (gluten free if needed)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

12 eggs

8oz Mexican blend cheese, shredded

2 cups cottage cheese

10-12oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed out

7oz can diced green chiles

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix together the butter and hash browns, and then press into bottom and sides of 2 deep dish pie plates. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until the edges are light brown.  Reduce heat to 400 degrees.  Mix together remaining ingredients (I use my stand mixer for this) until well blended.  Pour into crusts evenly between the pies.   Bake for 15 minutes, and then reduce the oven temp to 350, and bake an additional 35 minutes.  Store any leftovers in the fridge, or you can cover the them and freeze the quiches, and let thaw in fridge the night before you want to serve it.

Green Chile Casserole (Keto)

I found this Green Chile Casserole and modified it (of course).  It was a winner around here, and I will be making it again.  The original recipe called to put it in a 7x11 pan, so I doubled most of the ingredients.  The container of cottage cheese was 24oz so I added 1 cup of sour cream instead of 32oz of cottage cheese.  Nobody in my family likes cottage cheese alone except for me unless it's in a lasagna or dish like this so if you're not a cottage cheese lover, don't write this one off yet.  Leftover chicken works great for this.

Ingredients
3 lbs chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
9 Tbsp taco seasoning or 3 packages (I used my homemade)
1 1/2 cups green salsa (chunky preferably)
7oz can green chilies, drained
24oz cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
8oz shredded Mexican blend cheese
green onions, optional

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine chicken, taco seasoning, salsa, green chilies, cottage cheese, and sour cream together until well mixed.  Pour into a sprayed 9x13 casserole dish.  Top with shredded cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly.  Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving with sour cream and green onions if you desire.

Taco Pie (Keto)

This is not my recipe, but it is worth reposting.  This Taco Pie is delicious and easy!  My whole family enjoyed it, and I've already made it 3 times.  It's super easy.  On the website, it says 1 cup heavy cream, but she has a video and in the comments below she says to use 1/2 cup heavy cream.  When I made this for my entire family, I doubled it and put it in a 9x13 pan and have to bake it for 45 minutes.

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey or beef (I used turkey)

3 Tbsp taco seasoning (I use my homemade)

6 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup Mexican blend cheese (or you can use cheddar or another blend if you want)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Brown ground meat and drain.  Mix in taco seasoning and spread evenly but loosely in the bottom of a sprayed pie plate.  Mix together eggs, cream, garlic, salt, and pepper and pour over top of meat.  Sprinkle cheese evenly over egg and meat mixture.  Bake 30-35 minutes until golden and puffed.  Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.  Top with sour cream, salsa, olives, avocado, or whatever toppings you would like.

Cheesy Chicken & Broccoli Casserole (Keto)

I took the sauce from my Cauliflower Cheese "Potatoes" and mixed it with chicken and broccoli and it came out delicious!  Leftover chicken would be perfect in this dish.  Also, if you prefer to make this a vegetarian side dish, leave out the chicken and use an extra bag of broccoli.

Ingredients
1 lb chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 - 12oz bags of frozen broccoli, cooked and drained
1 yellow onion, diced
1/4 cup butter
16oz sour cream
3 cups shredded cheddar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions
After I cooked the broccoli, I roughly chopped up the larger pieces.  Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Saute onion until soft.  Add 2 cups cheese and let melt, stirring.  Blend in sour cream, salt, and pepper. Fold sauce in with broccoli and chicken.  Spray 9x13 casserole dish and add mixture.  Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.  Bake 350 for 30 minutes or more.

Keto Chicken Enchiladas

Enchiladas are a favorite in my household.  I finally decided to try them recently and make them Keto friendly for me by using chicken lunch meat as the tortillas.  It came out super yummy.  I made these like my usual for my family with flour tortillas.  You can use whatever brand of enchilada sauce you like, just watch for the carb count.  I like to get the green one and mix it with the red one, and if I'm buying name brand, I prefer Old El Paso, but Aldi now carries their own brand and we enjoy it.

Ingredients
1 lb chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
8oz Mexican blend cheese
2 10oz cans enchilada sauce (see note above)
16oz thin-sliced deli chicken breast lunch meat (I like to get nitrate-free)

Directions
Mix shredded chicken breasts, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese, and 1/2 the enchilada sauce.  Use a small amount of the mixture to roll inside each piece of deli lunch meat and and place in a sprayed 9x13 pan.  Use up all the chicken and cheese mixture to fill up the rest of your deli lunch meat "tortillas."  Pour the rest of the sauce over the top and sprinkle the remaining cheese over top.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.  Let sit 5-10 to cool.

Serve with sour cream if you like.

Taco Salad (Keto)

We eat taco salad almost every Tuesday in my house.  It's a very simple recipe, but we love it around here.  We cut up all the toppings and everyone can personalize their bowl.  Before I went Keto, I ate it over corn chips (like Fritos), and my kids still eat it this way.  I make 3-4 pounds of meat for my family of 6.  This recipe includes my homemade taco seasoning.  I make large amounts and use 3 Tbsp per pound of meat.

Ingredients
1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

Optional toppings:
lettuce
cheese
salsa
tomatoes
avocado
sour cream
guacamole
cucumber
black olives
corn chips (if you're not doing low-carb or keto)

Directions
Brown ground meat, drain, and return to pan.  Add all the seasonings and the water and bring to a boil but then reduce and simmer for 5 minutes.  Top with whatever taco toppings you choose.

Protein Noodle Lasagna (Keto)

So I know this isn't the prettiest picture, but it's so delicious!  I have brought it to church potluck's and received many compliments.  It's Maria Emmerich's Protein Noodle Lasagna.  I made a few changes but just personal preferences.

Ingredients
1 lb ground sausage
3/4-1 lb ground turkey or beef
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
24oz jar low sugar marinara
16oz full fat cottage cheese (or Ricotta)
1 egg
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 lb shredded mozzarella
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
16oz thinly sliced deli chicken breast lunch meat (I like to get nitrate-free)

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cook sausage, ground meat, onion, and garlic until browned.  Drain and stir in marinara sauce.  In a bowl, combine cottage cheese, egg, and salt.  Spread meat sauce in bottom of 9x13 pan.  Arrange chicken slices over sauce.  Spread with cottage cheese mixture and top with mozzarella and Parmesan.  Repeat layers until everything is used up.  Cover with foil.  Bake 25 minutes, remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes.  Cool 15 minutes before serving.

Crockpot Keto Taco Soup

If you look up Keto Taco Soup online, you will find this recipe in multiple places.  I tweeked this to make it my own.  You can do this in the Instant Pot or in the Crock Pot.  If you really don't like spicy, you can use 1 can of Rotel and 1 can of regular diced tomatoes.  You can also serve with pasta if you don't care about carbs.

Ingredients

2 pounds ground sausage

2 8oz packages of cream cheese

2 10oz cans diced tomatoes and green chilies (like Rotel)

2 Tbsp taco seasoning

4 cups beef broth

8oz bag fresh spinach

Directions

Brown ground sausage, drain and add to crockpot.  Add rest of ingredients to crockpot.  Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours.  

If you want to use your Instant Pot instead, cook on high pressure for 20 minutes and allow to release naturally. 

Serve with cheese and sour cream.

Cheddar Biscuits (Keto/Low carb)

I made these Keto Cheddar Muffins tonight, and they were delicious!  I got the original recipe from the I Breathe I'm Hungry website.  I changed the recipe a little bit, and they were delicious!  I will definitely be making these again!  They are similar to a muffin in texture than a biscuit.

Ingredients

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1 cup superfine blanched almond flour

3 Tbsp coconut flour (or you can use more almond flour)

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/4 - 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp xantham gum

2 eggs

1/3 unsweetened coconut milk (or almond milk)

1/2-3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease or line a standard muffin pan with 8 muffin cups.  Mix all ingredients together and mix well with a whisk or a fork.  Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups, about 2/3 full.  Bake 22 minutes.

Net carbs: 2 grams

Broccoli Cheddar Soup (Keto)

I made this Broccoli Cheddar Soup tonight, and it was so delicious and comforting.  I made it in my Instant Pot, but I know you could make it on the stovetop or your crockpot.

Ingredients
1 small yellow onion, diced
36oz frozen broccoli florets (can use fresh if you prefer)
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tsp salt
8oz cream cheese
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Directions
Put onion, broccoli, chicken broth, and cream cheese into Instant Pot.  Put on high pressure for 15 minutes.  Quick release.  Turn Instant Pot onto saute for about 10 minutes.  Stir in heavy cream, salt, and cheddar, sprinkling a handful at a time and stirring it in good.  I used my whisk and then finished it off with the immersion blender but that's optional. 

Tortellini Giovanni

My favorite dish at Giovanni's is their Tortellini Giovanni. It is absolutely delicious! I was throwing something together for dinner one night and came up with this, and I went, "Wow! This tastes a lot like Tortellini Giovanni!" So yummy and super easy!!! I do think it had more cheese than it needed, so next time I will use 4oz instead of 8oz, but I love cheese, so I didn't mind. :-)

Ingredients
3 (19oz) bags of frozen cheese tortellini
1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu, large or regular size, preferable not one with tomato chunks in it)
1 small jar pesto (I used basil pesto by Classico)
4-8oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions
Boil tortellini in a very large pot according to package directions (I usually boil them 9-10 minutes or until they all float). Drain pasta and set aside. Add spaghetti sauce, pesto, and mozzarella cheese. Stir over low to medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add tortellini back into pot with sauce and stir well. Yum!

Cauliflower Cheese "Potatoes"

These are my Nana's amazing cheese potatoes recipe but made with cauliflower instead of potatoes!  They are so yummy and great for those on low carb or gluten free diet!  Great as a side or a main dish!

Ingredients
3 frozen frozen cauliflower, cooked and drained well

3 cups shredded cheddar

1/4 cup butter
16oz sour cream
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp pepper

Directions
Add cauliflower, one bag at a time, to your food processor and pulse until no big chunks remain. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Saute onion until soft.  Add 2 cups cheese and let melt, stirring.  Blend in sour cream, salt, and pepper. Fold sauce into cauliflower.  Spray 9x13 casserole dish and add mixture.  Top with remaining 1 cup cheese.  Bake 350 for 30 minutes or more.

Cauliflower "mac" & cheese

Ok, this is soooooo yummy!  I love mac and cheese but this makes it low carb, gets your veggies in, and is so creamy and delicious!!!  It's also gluten/wheat free.

Ingredients
1 bag frozen cauliflower, cooked and drained well

8oz shredded cheddar cheese
12 oz cottage cheese
8oz sour cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Mix together cauliflower, half the cheddar, cottage cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, salt & pepper.  Pour into sprayed 9x13 casserole dish and top with remaining cheddar.  Bake 350 for 30 minutes.  Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

You can also add cooked onion, onion powder, or onion flakes to the mixture as well if you like.  So yummy!

Egg and Cheese Pizza Crust

 Pizza crust made from egg and cheese.  If you like a lot of cheese on your pizza, you will love this.  The pizza comes out very thin and tasty.  I added a low carb spaghetti sauce, more mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and spices to mine.  It reheats well for leftovers.  Great for low carb, keto, or gluten free diets.

 Ingredients
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg
optional spices: garlic powder, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning
whatever toppings you want

Directions
Combine egg, cheese, and spices together in a bowl.  Spread out flat in a greased pie plate.  Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes.  Add any sauce and toppings you want to your taste.  Bake for another 10 minutes.  It is best if you let cool 10 minutes or so before cutting.

Green Chili Chicken Casserole

So I made this for dinner and I loved it, hubby liked it, and kids didn't like it.  Now wait before you write it off.  I shared some with a friend of mine down the street who absolutely loved it and shared it with another mutual friend who loved it as well as a bunch of teen girls at our church who all rant and raved and loved it.  You could use reduced fat ingredients if you like.  I got the original recipe here.

Ingredients
2-3 lbs chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise (I also cut mine into 2-3 pieces each breast)
garlic powder, to taste
salt, to taste
onion powder, to taste
8oz sour cream
8oz shredded cheddar cheese
7oz can green chilies, drained

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray or grease 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle chicken with garlic powder, onion powder, and salt to taste.  In a large bowl, mix together sour cream, cheese, and chilies.  Spread mixture evenly over chicken.  Bake 30-45 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

No Bake Cherry Cheesecake

This is like a light, delicious cheesecake, yet no bake and the easiest recipe ever!  I have made this a few times now and it's a big hit and absolutely delicious!  I would like to try it with all light/low fat ingredients and see how it comes out sometime, but I haven't tried it that way yet.  I found the original recipe on allrecipes and they call it cherry cheese pie, but that just sounded weird to me.  It only called for 2 cups of whipped topping, but I just used the whole container.  If you like cheesecake, this is light and not heavy and so delicious!

Ingredients
1 graham cracker crust
8oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
8oz frozen whipped topping, thawed
21oz can cherry pie filling

Directions
In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy.  Fold in whipped topping until smooth.  Pour into pie crust.  Top with cherry pie filling.  Cover and chill at least 2 hours.  So easy and so yummy!!!

Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti

I have started looking at recipes on the Crockin Girls Website.  This is the first one I made off of their website, and if you go to the link, you can see a video of them making this.  I did lighten it up some and used whole grain pasta (as well as some brown rice pasta I had on hand... hence the different looking noodles).  This was very yummy and made a LOT.  I did accidentally grab a can of cream of mushroom instead of cream of celery.  If you want to half the recipe, I would just use one can of cream of something soup and omit the other.  The recipe makes this a freezer meal, but I made it right away.

Ingredients
1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken, cubed (could leave out and make vegetarian) 

1 bell pepper, chopped                        

1 onion, chopped

2 pounds 2% Velveeta, cubed

1 1/2 cups light sour cream

1 can cream of chicken (I used reduced fat - watch for allergens, can make your own)

1 can cream of celery or cream of mushroom (I used reduced fat - watch for allergens, can make your own)                    

1 (7-ounce) can diced green chilies (optional)

1/2 cup milk (I used 1%) 

1-2 cloves garlic, minced                      

salt and pepper to taste

32oz noodles of your choice

Directions
Combine all ingredients except salt and pepper in a bowl.
EITHER: put into a gallon freezer bag and freeze for later.
OR: Dump everything into crockpot.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.
Cook noodles according to package directions and add to cheese sauce and mix well.  It will thicken as it cools.

South of the Border Chicken & Pasta Skillet

I got this recipe off the Kraft website and lightened it up and used whole wheat pasta.  It was a winner in our house, very simple, and I will definitely make it again!  I also doubled the recipe for my family, so you can half it if you are only serving a few people.

Ingredients
1 lb whole wheat penne (or other medium size pasta) (use brown rice pasta for GF)
2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces (leave out for vegetarian)
2 -16oz jars salsa
20oz frozen corn
8oz package reduced fat cream cheese (neufchatel), cubed
1/2 tsp cumin
7oz package reduced fat Mexican cheese

Directions
Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile, cook and stir chicken in a large skillet sprayed with cooking spray on medium-high heat until chicken is cooked through.  Add next 4 ingredients and stir well.  Simmer on medium-low heat about 6 minutes, until cream cheese is melted, stirring occassionally.  Drain pasta, add to chicken mixture with half the shredded cheese.  Simmer 3 minutes, stirring occassionally.  Top with remaining cheese, cover, and remove from heat and let cheese on top melt.

Easy Cheesy Tortellini

Made this last night and it was delicious and a big hit in our house.  Tortellini is one my favorite pastas.  Cheese filled little pastas, 2 of my favorite foods combined.  :-)  I made this similar to my two timin pasta since that is such a big hit in my house.  I found the original recipe, which I modifed, on allrecipes.com.  I will definitely be making this again.  It's so easy.  I did lighten it up since I'm on a diet by using 1/2 the amount of mozzarella it called for and light alfredo.

Ingredients
2 - 19oz frozen packages of tortellini
24oz Spaghetti sauce (I used Ragu traditional)
1 jar light afredo sauce (I used Classico), watch for egg-free if needed
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
4oz Mozzarella, shredded
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Boil your tortellini until they all float to the top (which I found is a lot longer than the package says), drain and return to pot.  Add all ingredients together to the tortellini and mix well.  Pour into sprayed 9x13 dish and bake 20-30 minutes.

Weight Watcher Points: depending on your sauce, 1/12 of the pan is 6 points.