Buffalo Chicken Cobb Salad - Gluten Free

We've been eating a lot of salads lately.  Not only are salads a great way to incorporate veggies into our diet, but it's been crazy hot in Arizona and salads make a nice cool meal!  It can get a bit boring having salad 3 times a week, so I'm always on the lookout for a new twist on a familiar favorite.  The buffalo wing sauce used in this otherwise traditional Cobb Salad fits the bill and tastes delicious.

**a note about bleu cheese**

Bleu Cheese was traditionally made using bread as the starter and there was a question about whether or not it was gluten free.  Many companies now use chemical starters for the cheese instead of bread, making the cheese free of contamination and safe for the gluten free world.  However, there are some cheese makers that still use bread to make bleu cheese.  Bleu Cheese tests have detected gluten at less than 1ppm (part per million).  That's even smaller than itty bitty, but if you are super sensitive research some brands before you buy.  And ALWAYS read the ingredients on salad dressings...or make your own using bleu cheese that you are comfortable with.  That being said, my husband doesn't like bleu cheese so I used sharp cheddar cheese and gluten free ranch salad dressing instead!

Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Cobb Salad

-serves 4

6 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

1 large chicken breast, cooked & shredded (1 1/2 - 2 cups)

1/3 cup buffalo wing sauce (check ingredients)

1 head of your favorite lettuce, leaves torn

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese or 4 ounces bleu cheese crumbles

1 avocado, cut into cubes

1 large tomato, chopped

2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

1/4 cup diced red onion

gluten free Ranch or Bleu Cheese salad dressing for serving

Toss the shredded chicken with the buffalo wing sauce.  Cover four dinner plates or one large platter with the lettuce.  Arrange the bacon, chicken, cheese, avocado, tomato, eggs and red onion in columns on top of the lettuce.  Serve with your favorite gluten free dressing.

Asian Pasta Salad - Gluten Free

This is my new favorite pasta salad.  It's packed with flavor without the heaviness often accompanied by pasta salad and since it doesn't contain mayo or meat, it makes a great side for an outdoor dinner.  I shared this at a potluck dinner recently and was disappointed that I didn't have any leftover!

Gluten Free Asian Pasta Salad

Dressing:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup gluten free sweet and tangy or teriyaki sauce (San-J)
1/8 cup olive oil
1/8 cup sesame oil
1 Tablespoon grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Salad:
16 oz gluten free pasta fusilli or other bite size pasta
          (I used Trader Joe's organic brown rice pasta fusilli
           always check package ingredients as they often change!)
2 cups fresh baby spinach
1 cup dried cranberries
1 small can mandarin oranges, drained
1/2 bunch (3-4) green onions, chopped
1/2 cucumber, cut in bite size pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together dressing ingredients and set aside.  Cook gluten free pasta as directed on package until al dente.  Drain pasta and rinse with cold water.  Immediately mix cooked pasta with salad dressing so that the pasta doesn't stick together.  Mix in the rest of the salad ingredients and toss gently until evenly combined.  Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.  Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Gluten Free Cafe Rio Chicken Salad

 

There are a bazillion copy-cat Cafe Rio salad recipes out there - I've got at least 3 different variations in my recipe box. (Cafe Rio is a yummy fresh Mex restaurant out West).  In my humble opinion, they are all super delicious and really similar so it doesn't really matter which one you make!  This salad involves making 3 recipe (4 if you're making gluten free tortillas): Green Chili Rice, Creamy Tomatillo Dressing, and Seasoned Chicken.  

Cafe Rio chicken salad is served in layers.  First cheese is melted onto a flour tortilla (delicious with a gluten free tortilla, corn tortillas or no tortilla!) then it is filled with the green chili rice, black or pinto beans (we prefer black) and shredded chicken.  All of this yumminess is topped with the salad greens of your choice (they use romaine, but we use spinach because it's so good for you!), and if you're really ambitious you can add pico de gallo, guacamole and tortilla strips before drizzling on the amazing Creamy Tomatillo Dressing.  Yum!  I'm already looking forward to having leftovers tomorrow!

Seasoned Chicken

5 pounds chicken breasts or tenders

1 bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing (always check ingredients for gluten!)

1 Tablespoon Chili powder

1 Tablespoon cumin

Place everything in the crockpot and stir to coat the chicken.  Cook on high 2-3 hours or low 4-6 hours.  (If chicken is frozen, cook on high 4-5 hours) Shred chicken before serving.

Green Chili Rice

3 cups water

4 teaspoons gluten free chicken bullion

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 bunch chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon cumin

1 can mild diced green chilies

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 medium onion, chopped

3 cups rice (not instant)

1 Tablespoon butter

Combine ingredients in a rice cooker and cook per manufacturers directions or cook stove top following the directions on the rice package.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

3 medium tomatillos, peeled and rinsed

1 package dry ranch buttermilk dressing (double check ingredients for gluten)

1 cup gluten free mayonaisse

1/2 - 1 cup buttermilk (start with 1/2 and add more if dressing is too thick)

1/2 bunch cilantro

1 clove garlic

1/4 -1 jalepeno (depending on how spicy you like it)

juice of 1 lime

Dump everything into a blender and mix until smooth.  Add more buttermilk if dressing is too thick.  Chill until ready to serve.  

Additonal ingredients for salad:

black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed

gluten free tortillas

shredded cheese

salad greens

Optional Ingredients for salad:

Salsa (pico de gallo)

guacamole

tortilla strips or chips

any other topping that sounds good to you!

!BUEN PROVECHO!

Gluten Free Crock Pot Pulled Pork

I've been craving BBQ, but the weather isn't quite ready to cooperate so I turned to my trusty crock pot for this easy and delicious BBQ pulled pork. Make sure your BBQ sauce is gluten free. My favorite is Trader Joe's All Natural Barbeque Sauce.

Crock Pot Pulled Pork

2 pounds pork tenderloin

12 ounces gluten free root-beer (I've also used cola and it's just as good)

1-2 cups gluten free BBQ sauce

Place pork tenderloin and root-beer in crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove pork from crock pot, use a couple of forks to shred the meat then add the BBQ sauce to your desired sauciness. Serve over gluten free hamburger buns if desired.

We enjoyed our pulled pork with baked potatoes and this yummy 7 layer salad. The recipe for the salad can be found by following this link.

Santa Fe Quinoa Salad

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) has a very similar size and texture to couscous. This recipe is from Donna Klein's cookbook "The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen" and it's our go to salad for summer BBQ's and potlucks. It's fresh and flavorful and especially delicious with home grown cherry tomatoes. I follow the original recipe with one addition- the juice of 1/2 a lime. It adds a bit of freshness and brightens up the salad quite nicely.

Santa Fe Quinoa Salad

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup mild or medium picante sauce
1 cup quinoa, rinsed under cold water
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn (sweet white tastes best)
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
2 green onions (white and green parts), thinly sliced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon canola oil (I don't usually add this)

juice from 1/2 a lime (not in original recipe)

In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine the water, picante sauce, quinoa, cumin, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium, cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes. Uncover and toss with a fork.

Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Add remaining ingredients to the quinoa, tossing well to combine. Serve slightly warm or let cool to room temperature. Alternatively, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days and serve chilled.

Catalina Taco Salad

My version is loosely based on a recipe found here, but mine's vegetarian (at least tonight), uses a lot less dressing, and had no taco seasoning... does that make it a "not taco" taco salad? I love salads because you can pretty much use whatever you've got and it always taste good, plus it's so nice on a hot humid day to not have to fire up the stove!!!

I didn't really measure, but here's a list of ingredients and an approximation of how much I used:

Catalina Taco Salad

4 cups spinach
1 can kidney beans drained and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 small tomatoes chopped
1 avocado seeded and cubed
1/2 cup grated cheese
2 green onions sliced thinly
1 cup fritos
1/2 cup light Catalina salad dressing

Toss everything together in a large bowl and serve immediately. If you think there will be leftovers, add the fritos to each individual serving instead of mixing them with the salad. Otherwise they will get soggy.

This is one of our favorite salads - especially during the summertime!