Shredded Chicken Chili

If you follow me on Twitter you know one of the things I love about my husband is that he cooks his famous (around these here parts) chili for me. Any. Time. I. Want. It.

It’s a special treat because 1) it’s good! and 2) he’s cooking…not me!

Needless to say, it’s pretty unusual for me to make chili.

It was Kim’s (Cook It Allergy Free) Chicken Chipotle Tortilla Soup  that provided inspiration to try my hand at making chicken chili. I made a version of Kim’s soup for my guys and they loved it!! So, I decided to take it one step further and make chili.

There’s a little of this, not so much of that, and a few new ingredients that are definitely not in my husband’s chili or Kim’s soup recipe. This one definitely has my name on it.

It came out perfectly perfect. Now, I’m pretty sure the hub’s is going to ask me to make it. Any. Time. He. Wants. It.

Shredded Chicken Chili

Saute in a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium heat until crispy:

3 slices bacon, chopped into quarters

While the bacon is cooking prepare the vegetables:

1 sweet onion, diced
1 jalapeno*, seeds and stem removed, minced
1 red or green pepper, seeds and stem removed, diced

Remove the cooked bacon and most of the bacon fat from the pot. Set the bacon aside and discard the bacon fat. Add the vegetables to the pot and cook until the onions are just translucent—a few minutes. If you think a little more fat is needed while the vegetables are cooking add:

1 tablespoon olive oil

Sprinkle the cooked vegetables with herbs and spices:

2 teaspoons paprika
1 ½ teaspoons each: cumin and cocoa powder
1 teaspoon each: salt and chile powder*
½ teaspoon each: thyme, oregano and cilantro

Quickly add in and stir to combine:

2 cups chicken broth
1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
1 jar salsa (I used Frontera Roasted Tomato Salsa - glutenfree!)

Add in:

2 pounds skinless boneless chicken thighs, fat removed

Bring the pot to a boil and keep it at a slow boil for about 15-20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and set the pot to a simmer.

Stir the following ingredients into the pot and let it simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon honey

Shred the chicken with a fork and add it back into the pot along with:

1 can each black beans and white great northern beans, drained and rinsed.

Simmer for about 5 minutes to heat everything through.

Serve topped with the reserved bacon (chopped into bits), crumbled gluten-free tortilla chips and a wedge of lime for the more adventurous folks.

*Note: adjust the heat to your liking by adjusting the amount of jalapeno and chile powder you use in the recipe. The amounts I used created a medium hot chili.

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PB & Bacon Dog Biscuits: Gluten-free treats fit for The King's best friend

If Elvis still graced the earth he’d probably ask me to send him these PB & Bacon Dog Biscuits for his beloved companions.  I’d keep busy making GF dog bones for the Elvis pack and running my little blog for the rest of my natural born days.

Despite numerous Elvis sightings it seems that dream isn’t going to happen any time soon.

I’ll just have to keep making them for my little imps—Border Terriers who keep us constantly entertained and just as often irked. 

They’re pretty spoiled. Very loved. They give back as good as they get.

We take care of them—feed them, walk, play with and cuddle them. They give us endless kisses, tail wags, and unconditional love. Oh, and, chewed furniture. Did I mention upset tummies and mystery rashes?

That’s why the dogs are now officially gluten-free. They’ve had gluten-free dog food from the beginning but your run-of-the-mill treats which are, as we all know, laden with wheat and gluten. I hope ridding their diets of gluten will help with their tummy and skin issues.

GF dog biscuits are not readily available at your local pet store.  I was excited when I found a local dog biscuit company, Bubba Rose Biscuit Company, who specializes in just such treats. Besides a wide variety of GF dog goodies they had a copy of their cookbook—The Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook—available for sale. The recipes feature all the flours we GF folks have in our pantries—mostly brown rice and GF oat flour.

The recipes are easy and enticing. Bonus: the house will smell wonderfully peanut buttery when you bake this version of one of their popular treats. So good you’ll be tempted to eat them yourselves. Don’t bother. According to my husband they may smell good but they taste like cardboard. Save them for the furry ones.

Do my dogs savor these treats? Haha. Well, if you’ve ever had a dog you know that word is not in their food vocabulary. Dogs savor life; they do not savor food.

Do they love these treats? You bet they do!

Elvis’ dogs would have loved them, too.

PB & Bacon Dog Biscuits

(Inspired by Bubba Rose’s Organic Dog Biscuit recipes.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Combine in a medium size bowl:

1 cup gluten free oat flour (can be made by “grinding” rolled oats in a food processor)
½ cup sorghum flour
¾ cups brown rice flour

In a large glass measuring cup whisk together:

½ cup unsalted peanut butter
1 egg
½ cup water
2 teaspoons honey

Stir into the liquid mixture:

1 carrot, shredded and chopped into small bits
3 slices cooked bacon chopped into small bits

Mix the wet mixture into the flour mixture until thoroughly combined.

Roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment lightly sprinkled with sorghum or brown rice flour until about ¼ inch thick.

Cut out with a cookie cutter the size of which would suit your dog. (I used a small 1.5” cutter because my dogs weigh 14 and 22 pounds.) The dog biscuit shaped cutters are cute but any cutter that’s roughly round, oval or rectangular will work well.

Place the cookies on a parchment lined cookie sheet. You can place them fairly close—but not touching—since they don’t spread.

Bake for 30-35 minutes. Let the biscuits cool in the oven for a few hours. Remove them and continue cooling on wire rack.

Store about a week’s supply of cookies in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Freeze the balance for future use.

Note: Although it’s fun to experiment with ingredients in recipes it’s important—when it comes to pet treats—to understand what ingredients are poisonous to our furry friends. Please consult the appropriate sources before changing the ingredients list.

This ASPCA page has a great list for review.

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I’m not the only crazy lady making gluten-free biscuits for my dogs: 

Simply Gluten Free: Homemade Gluten-free Dog Biscuits

Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

A Sugar and Spice Life: Gluten-Free Bacon Dog Biscuits