BBQ Chicken Salad

I have been collecting gluten free meals for about four weeks now.  I have come across ones that I have loved and ones that I can't even eat.  It has been so hard on my husband how much food we have been throwing out but it is such a learning experience.  One of my favorite food blogs is melskitchencafe.com.  I have loved her recipes for years and she even has some gluten free recipes I have been using.  I am going to try and start documenting what we eat all day and help everybody out with how we went gluten free.  honestly it hasn't been that bad and we have really found meals that we have loved.  Tonight we had leftovers from last night.  It was so good the first night I was craving it again tonight.  Here is the link for the regular recipe.  Below is my Gluten Free version.

Mel’s Kitchen café’s

BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing

Note: this recipe calls for already cooked chicken so plan ahead! I like to cook my chicken in the crock pot, using a whole chicken. I usually melt 2 Tablespoons of butter on the bottom of my crock pot.  Then I take out all of the innards of the chicken and stick an apple in the cavity.  Then I rub it with Sea Salt, Garlic Powder, and a pinch of cayenne. I put the chicken in my crock pot on high for 4 hours.   It is really easy and so cheap.  We eat all of the meat usually within a couple days and then I make a bone broth with the left over bones.  I also make my own beans once a week.  I put them in my crock pot one night and then I don’t have to purchase canned beans.  Another way I have found to save money eating Gluten Free.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken and Salad:

·         3 cups cooked, shredded chicken

·         2 cups BBQ sauce (Make sure yours is Gluten Free)

·         ½ head iceberg lettuce, cored and chopped

·         2 romaine hearts, chopped ( I use 3 cups Spinach)

·         1/2 red onion diced

·         ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

·         1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed

·         1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained

·         4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cubed small or shredded

·         4 ounces Monterey jack cheese, cubed small or shredded

Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing:

·         1 cup mayonnaise, light or regular

·         1/3 cup milk

·         1/3 cup buttermilk ( I make my own Buttermilk by putting lemon Juice in milk)

·         2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped

·         1 tablespoon lime juice

·         1 teaspoon white vinegar

·         1 teaspoon granulated sugar

·         1 garlic clove, finely minced

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

·         1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

·         1/8 teaspoon black pepper

·         1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

·         1/4 to 1/2 cup BBQ sauce

DIRECTIONS

1.   For the salad, combine the cooked chicken and BBQ sauce in a medium bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

2.   In a large bowl, toss together the iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, red onion, cilantro, corn, black beans and cheese. Toss the mixed salad with about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the dressing, if desired. Otherwise, you can serve the dressing on the side. Place salad on plates and top with the prepared BBQ chicken and additional dressing.

3.   For the dressing, combine all the ingredients together and whisk (or shake, if using a jar) vigorously to combine. You could also run this through a blender to make it even more smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

NOTES

Make Ahead Instructions: All the components of this salad can be prepared up to a day in advance (the dressing can be made up to 3 days in advance). Store separately in the refrigerator and toss before serving.

Catching up...

We have had a ton of things going on lately and I have been horrible about keeping the blog updated. Rose is doing exceptionally well with eating gluten free. I know she doesn't like eating gluten because if given the choice she always chooses not to eat the gluten. I have given her the choice when we are surrounded by cake, bread, and other things that have gluten. It is easier on both of us if she is the one choosing not to eat the gluten. Then I don't have to feel guilty and she doesn't keep asking because I said "No."

Let's see what else have we been up to. We are doing another fundraiser for JDRF on this Monday so we are in full planning mood around here. I am not sure what I was thinking but this week I also decided to rearrange our home, moving every piece of furniture trying to make it feel bigger. It looks a lot better but man it has been a ton of work. My computer was taken down to move and I still haven't put it back up. Hence the reason why I haven't blogged in so long.

Oh and our insurance finally came through. Yeah! So we are pumping once again. Rose was excited to pump again but the last two times we have changed her insertion she has been very scared. We try to comfort her as much as we can but the truth is I don't blame her. I don't know if I could even have enough courage to put the insertion in myself. She is remarkably brave and courageous. I am constantly amazed at her determined personality. I will get my computer up soon and tell you all about what we have been eating and all the recipes we have liked and hated.

Happy Birthday Rose!!!

We celebrated Rose's 4th birthday on Sunday, April 6th.  We had a ton of fun with family and Rose blew out her candles on top of ice cream. She thought it was so cool that she had candles on ice cream.

If you would have told me ten years ago that I would have a child with celieacs disease and is a type one diabetic I would have thought you were crazy.  I never imagined having a child anything less than perfect.   But the truth is I am so proud to be the mother of Rose.  She is the bravest and most determined child i have ever met.  She is beautiful inside and out.  I am so blessed to be her mom.  She has great things ahead of her and she is not going to let these diseases hold her back. Happy Birthday and we love you so much!!!!

2 Weeks Gluten Free

It has been exactly 11 days since Rose was diagnosed with Celiac's.  It is crazy how fast time goes by.  I barely starting to feel like I can manage it. But then there are times right before I feed the kids that I wonder what I am going to feed them.  The biggest change for me is the fact that it takes me atleast an hour to prepare food, eat and then clean up for each meal.  We eat three meals and two snacks a day, that means I spend over five hours a day in my kitchen cooking.  It is a ton of work but Rose has been feeling so much better.

We have been fundraising for JDRF the last two weeks which has made us super busy.  A week ago we raised over $400 for JDRF selling hot dogs at Walmart that were provided to us by Coco-cola.  On April 14th we are going to be doing another fundraiser, but this time with my favorite place to eat... Costa Vida.  So excited for it, but it does mean a ton of work for me. So I am going to make this post short and tomorrow my post will be a special spot light on Rose.  She turns four tomorrow.  Not sure how I feel about being a mom of a four year old.