The development of this recipe has been a slow evolution over the years. I used to make a tomato-based casserole like this, but started playing around with a creamy sauce in the last few years. This is the meal that my oldest always requests when I offer to cook a birthday dinner of his choice. I now make it gluten-free, using brown rice tortillas (I have only used the brand Food For Life so far) and potato starch as a thickening agent, rather than wheat flour. I don't consider this a truly primal meal, as it is higher in carbs and grains due to the tortillas, and involves quite a bit of dairy, but it is grain- and gluten-free. To make it more primal, eat the filling but skip the tortillas. You can even bake a bit tortilla free, or layer with thinly sliced zucchini instead of tortillas.
The sauce preparation is the hardest part, but it's really quite simple. You can assemble this casserole in advance and freeze to cook later, or put it in the fridge on a busy day and cook it in the evening. This is also a meal that tastes fine reheated, great for packing in a thermos for school lunches. In a sauce pan, over medium heat (don't rush this or the butter will brown and you'll have to start over...trust me), melt: 4 Tbsp butter Then stir into the butter: 1 Tbsp cumin 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp paprika (cayenne if you like spicy) 1 tsp salt dash of black pepper (I NEVER measure black pepper - it always makes me sneeze, and who wants a sneezing cook?) 3 Tbsp potato starch Mix it all together, keep it on medium heat, and heat until it bubbles. It should look like a paste at this point - not too dry, not too runny. If it's dry, add a few tsp of butter. If it's runny, add a tsp of starch. Let it bubble for about a minute, keeping an eye on the heat. Remember that butter does burn, so you want to keep the temperature on the lower side. Next add to the sauce pan, 1 cup at a time (this means stir in 1 cup and let heat for a minute or so before adding another cup): 2 cups milk (I always use whole) or cream 2 cups broth (If you don't have broth, use water. See broth tips at the end of the recipe.) Optional: 1/2 a block of cream cheese, stirred in after all the liquid has heated up. I don't always do this, but it adds some richness. Stir slowly until the entire mixture comes to a low boil. Sometimes I do turn up the heat a bit on this step - if you do that, don't leave the stove. Stir every minute or so to make sure it's not sticking to the bottom and burning. The sauce will be a light brown shade due to the spices. Don't be alarmed. Once the sauce is thickened, turn off the heat and set aside. That is the most annoying part of preparing this meal, and it's over now. Gather the following items: 1 package of tortillas (I used to use flour tortillas...they work great in this recipe...but use brown rice tortillas if you want to stay gluten free) 2 cups of shredded cheddar 3-4 cups of shredded cooked chicken* 1 rectangular baking pan Pour about 1/2 cup of the sauce into the bottom of the pan and smear around. Lay down a layer of tortillas. I like to tear them into smaller pieces and layer them like that, but you can leave them whole, as well. Drizzle another 1/2 cup of sauce on top. Now sprinkle about 1 cup of shredded chicken on the sauce, 1/2 cup shredded cheese on the chicken, and lay down another layer or tortillas. Repeat - sauce, chicken, cheese, tortillas - 2 more times. The top layer should be just tortillas. Pour ALL of the remaining sauce over the top. Sprinkle any remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until bubbly and slightly brown on top. Serve with salad or steamed veggies. Great with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and fresh cilantro, as well. *Cooked chicken and chicken broth: We never have leftovers anymore, which means if I roast a chicken for dinner one night, I don't have meat left to make a meal like this on another night. I have several ways of pre-emptively dealing with this: 1. Roast 2 chickens instead of 1 (I am just recently figuring this out) or buy 2 rotisserie chickens at the grocery store (ours offers hormone-free, naturally raised chickens most nights, at the same price as buying a raw chicken). Eat one for dinner with veggies and roasted potatoes. Let the other one cool. After dinner, take the meat off the carcass and store in the refigerator. Toss the carcass into a big pot of water. Snapping the bones with a nutcracker (not the Christmasy man-ish kind, of course, but the tong-like type...riotous mental image of nutcracker man with chicken bone in mouth...) will help to release more marrow into the broth, which is wonderful for you. Add a whole onion (don't peel it - the pigments in the peel add color to your broth), a whole carrot, a celery stalk, a few teaspoons of salt, and 2 bayleaves. Cover and let simmer (it should be just barely bubbling) all night long. This can be done in a crock pot overnight if it makes you nervous to leave your stove on. In the morning, turn the heat off, strain the broth, and store until you need it. 2. If you are making this meal "last minute", use a package of breast meat and a package of legs. Put them into a pot of water with a tsp of salt, bring to a low boil, and cook until the meat looks white through the middle. Pull the meat out and let cool on a plate. Save the water to use as the broth. When the meat is cool, pull the leg meat off the bones and chop the breast meat into bite-sized pieces. Set aside to use in the recipe.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI'm Emily. I currently work in online education management, but I also have a Masters degree in Nutritional Sciences (my true passion). In addition, I am a mom, cook, avid reader, novice gardener, and enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities. On my blog, you will find articles on food, fitness, weight management, and eating issues. ALL recipes on my blog are gluten-free. Many are low-carbohydrate. Most are grain free. Enjoy! Categories
All
Archives
June 2019
|