Gluten Free Moravian Chicken Pie Recipe

(This was a post I found in the archives that I meant to share months ago and it somehow was never published... I think it's perfect for January and for those who love serious comfort foods! Enjoy! -- Carrie) 

Before I went gluten-free one of my favorite places to eat lunch was this little place called "The Sugar Plum Shop." Actually you never ate there, you just picked up your food and went on your merry way.

At Sugar Plum you had the choice of three items: a pimiento cheese sandwich, a chicken salad sandwich, or a slice of Moravian Chicken Pie. More often than not, I had the pie.

The pie was basically cooked chicken in a thick sauce poured into a pie crust and topped with with an additional crust or a savory crumble topping. It sounds kinda boring, but it was and still is serious comfort food. No veggies (of course you could add them if you want), just sauce and tons of meaty chicken and flaky crust.

While we were recently traveling I bought some gluten-free frozen pie crusts at Earthfare and the first thing that popped into my mind was Moravian pie. I hadn't had any in years, I think since I had been gluten-free... and I thought... these crusts are MEANT for a savory chicken pie.

I don't know actual background of the pie. We have a history of the Moravian community in the Piedmont area of North Carolina and I think the idea of this pie may have originated there. It's also similar to some pie recipes I've seen in Amish cookbooks. It is simple, comfort-food cooking at it's very best.  Go ahead add veggies if you want.. but really, just give me the plain 'ol chicken pie!

Here's how I make it: 

Gluten-Free Moravian Chicken Pie

free of gluten/dairy/soy

adapted by carrie of gingerlemongirl.com

printer-friendly recipe

Crust:

1 - 8" or 9" prepared gluten-free, dairy-free pie crust, unbaked (store-bought or homemade -- scroll to the bottom of the page for the pie crust recipe)

Filling: 

2 1/2 cups cooked chicken (or the cooked meat from a small roasting chicken)

2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil

3 tablespoons brown rice flour

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free chicken broth (or use the broth from cooking the chicken)

Crumble Topping: 

1/4 cup brown rice flour

3 tablespoons butter or coconut oil

pinch salt

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sauce pan melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Add 3 tablespoons of brown rice flour, sea salt, and ground pepper. Whisk to cook flour in the butter for 2-3 minutes. Slowly pour in the gluten-free chicken broth. Start with 1 cup and if you want a more "saucy" pie add the additional 1/2 cup of broth. Whisk over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until sauce has thickened. Add cooked chicken to the sauce. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes to heat chicken through. Pour chicken and sauce into the prepared gluten-free pie crust. In a small bowl mix together the topping ingredients: 1/4 cup brown rice flour, 3 tablespoons of butter, and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle the crumbly mixture evenly over the surface of the pie. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the sauce around the edges of the pie is bubbly and the top of the pie is golden brown. Allow pie to cool for about 20 minutes before serving. Serve with steamed veggies on the side or a fresh green salad. This pie is delicious hot or cold! 

Make It Gluten Free Tuesdays: Quick Broccoli Casserole Recipe

I don't know about you... but what you see above? That's my favorite kinda recipe. That's Michael's Aunt Terri's Quick Broccoli Casserole. It's FAMOUS at our holiday meals and family reunions. I love hand-written recipes shared with friends and family. It's kind of rare now-a-days. A lost art of sorts. I love this recipe because it's very similar to one my great-grandmother used to make as well. She loved Cheez Whiz (which believe it or not IS gluten free!) and cream of chicken soup. I mean really... whose mom DIDN'T love "already-prepared-casserole-super-star", cream of chicken soup?

Admittedly, I enjoy just having recipes like this... reading them... treasuring the love which went into sharing them more than I do actually making these recipes (which use super processed products)... AND I think they are still super fun to share. And for the food nazis (just to be clear)... I am NOT suggesting you go out and fill your pantries with processed franken-food -- I'm just sharing with you how to change those favorite recipes IF you would like to do so! See how easy that is? No need to rant and rave. 

And I can't tell you how often I get an email asking something along the lines of... "So my grandmother used to make this recipe with so-and-so, and so-and-so... how in the WORLD can I re-create that gluten free?" So I thought it would be a fun series on this blog to share hand-written recipes I have from my grandmother, my great-grandma P., and various friends and neighbors and tell you how I would make them gluten free. Sound like a plan?

Would you like to join me? I'd like to make this a weekly link up series. You can share how you would make a recipe healthier, how to make it gluten free, dairy free, egg free, allergen free... etc... I love seeing these old recipes and I love figuring out how to make them new again!

So here's how I would make this recipe gluten free:

Aunt Terri's Quick Broccoli Casserole
revised to be gluten free (with dairy-free options)
printer-friendly version

Ingredients:
1 small onion, diced (about 1/2 cup)
1/3 cup green pepper, finely diced
2 tablespoons butter (or olive oil for dairy free)
1 recipe gluten free cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup COOKED rice
1 small (8 oz.) jar Cheez Whiz (if you're dairy free, check out this homemade dairy-free cheeze sauce instead)
1 small (5 oz.) can evaporated milk (if you're dairy free, try using full-fat coconut milk)
2 (10 oz.) packages frozen chopped broccoli

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Saute onion & green pepper in butter in a hot skillet. Stir in cooked rice, Cheez Whiz, milk, and soup. Stir continuously until cheez whiz is melted. Thaw broccoli and drain any liquid. Add drained broccoli to a greased 2 quart casserole dish. Pour sauce evenly over the broccoli. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes until hot & bubbly. Yields 6 servings.



Now if you'd like a healthier version of gluten free broccoli casserole? 
Here are great options:

• Tasty Eats At Home - Alta's Dairy Free Broccoli Souffle
• Gluten Free Mommy's Broccoli Casserole
• Spunky Coconut's Broccoli Casserole

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Now it's your turn!
Do you have a favorite family recipe that you re-created to be gluten free? It can be a new post, an old post, a post you've edited! Just link back to my page to be included! That's it!

Gluten Free Baked Pineapple Casserole Recipe

This recipe is my entry into the 2011 Rudi's Gluten Free Bakery Recipe Contest on Facebook. It would mean SO much to me if you could vote for my recipe on their website! I would TRULY love to win this contest! You can vote once a day through June 6, 2011. Thank you so much for your support!

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This gluten free dessert recipe is a hybrid of sorts. One of my favorite fruit desserts of all time is Edna Lewis'  Apple Brown Betty, which strangely enough I have never posted on Gingerlemongirl (hmmm... sounds like that needs to be remedied.) I love making it for Thanksgiving dessert or Christmas...but I also love to use other fruits such as pineapple. Another favorite fruity dessert is my friend Betty's Baked Pineapple. Betty's recipe is basically a cobbler, but instead of using flour, it uses day old bread crumbs as sort of the starch/base of the recipe. Well I just happened to have about 4 slices of both Rudi's gluten free bread that I needed to use for something.

The only fault of Apple Brown Betty is that it kind of falls apart when you serve it. Which is just perfect with ice-cream... but otherwise looks well... a bit messy. So I decided that I would sort of combine the two recipes using less sugar (as always) and just one egg to barely hold together the wonderful combination of toasted gluten free sugary bread & cubed pineapple!

It's an old-fashioned leftover dessert that I just love. If you have a few slices of leftover gluten free bread, please give this pretty little casserole a try! Serve it with ice-cream or whipped cream, or maybe even a drizzle of caramel sauce!

(Oh how I wish you could smell the aroma of this right out of the oven! Heavenly!)

Gluten Free Baked Pineapple Casserole
Free of gluten, dairy/casien, and soy
Created by Carrie Forbes of Gingerlemongirl.com
Printer-friendly recipe

3-4 slices gluten free bread, cut into small cubes
1/3 cup sugar, reserve half
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg (really makes this recipe!)
3 tablespoons melted butter, ghee, or margarine, reserve half
1 1/2 cups canned pineapple tidbits (drained of liquid), or chopped fresh pineapple
1 egg
1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a small casserole dish with butter, ghee, or non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl mix together the bread cubes, half of the sugar, the freshly grated nutmeg, and half the melted butter. Layer half of the bread crumb mixture in the bottom of the greased casserole dish. Spoon all of the pineapple tidbits or fresh pineapple over the bread crumbs. Top with remaining breadcrumbs. In a small bowl mix together the egg and the milk. Pour egg mixture evenly over the casserole. Lastly drizzle remaining butter & sprinkle remaining sugar over the top of the casserole. Bake for 25-30 minutes until casserole is golden brown and bubbling. Allow to cool for several minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

This Week's Menu with A Pantry Casserole Recipe Template

A few reasons I previously "stopped" posting our gluten free menus: 1) they can be boring & repetitive... do you really want to know how often we eat tuna salad? and 2) I often forgot to plan...

I've realized in the past few weeks that even though our menu can be a bit boring, and even if I don't follow it completely... it's SO much easier to eat healthily when I take a few hours to plan out our meals. 

After my weekly coaching session with Cheryl of Harris Whole Health today, I'm going to focus more this week on eating less refined/baked carbs and being more mindful of eating healthy complex carbohydrates at meals. I think the hardest part of letting go of more baked goods is simply that I love to bake. It's an outlet for me, and even though I may only do it once or twice a week at the most it's a stress reliever that's important to me. And while I'm not completely restricted from eating gluten free baked goods... I know it's tempting when they are around the house, even if they are in the freezer. So if I'm able to bake this week, I may attempt something with almond flour, so it would be much lower on the glycemic index.

Breakfasts This Week:

• Boiled Eggs, Amy Green's 7 Grain Breakfast Cereal, Chocolate Hemp Shakes, Berry Hemp Shakes, Eco-Planet gluten free instant hot cereal

Lunch This Week: 

• Most days: planned leftovers from dinner and/or cucumber tomato salad . If dinner leftovers don't work out: peanut butter & jelly sandwich on Udi's bread with a sliced apple and carrot sticks. Make sure not to eat gluten free baked goods on days that you have a sandwich for lunch!

 Dinners this Week: 

• Sunday -  Simple Roast Chicken + green beans with almonds + cheddar mashed potatoes
• Monday - Homemade Ground Turkey Tacos served with quick "Spanish" rice + steamed broccoli
• Tuesday - Baked Potatoes topped with homemade ground turkey chili + simple romaine salad
• Wednesday - Chicken Stirfry using a bag of frozen stir fry vegetables served over brown rice
• Thursday - Pantry Chicken Casserole -- see recipe below
• Friday - Pizza Night! Trying a pizza from "Against the Grain"

Sunday Night Pre- Meal Preparations:

• Make homemade ground turkey chili and pre-bake baked potatoes for a quick dinner on Tuesday. 
• Boil eggs & shell them. Make the 7 grain cereal in the rice cooker for the upcoming week. 
• Shred lettuce & dice tomatoes for ground turkey tacos. 
• Make ground turkey taco filling, so it only needs to be reheated on Monday night. 
• Make simple cucumber, tomato, radish & olive salad for last minute lunches and/or to serve with dinners that need an additional quick veggie. 
• Remove chicken from freezer and place in fridge to defrost for Wednesday night's stir fry. 

My canned goods "pantry." We use a lot of canned goods, especially in the fall and winter and on "lean" grocery weeks. Having a well-stocked pantry is essential when you need quick meals. I often use the canned fruit for last minute green smoothies. I use canned vegetables & beans with several meals during the week -- I'd buy more frozen vegetables but we have a tiny freezer! I love having soy free, dolphin safe tuna (most brands have broth made from soy protein) in the pantry for tuna salad and tuna melts. Peanut butter & almond butter for sandwiches and to spread on apple slices, etc... Knowing I have a pantry full of vegetables, beans, fruits, gluten free pasta, and gluten free grains means I can whip together a casserole pretty quickly during the week. I'm not sure I've ever made the same casserole twice though, much to the disappointment of my husband! This is generally how I create weeknight pantry casseroles:

Quick Gluten Free Pantry Casserole Recipe Template

Here's an easy way to construct a pantry casserole or hot pot depending on which region of the country you are from. We make a meal like this at least once a week. Have fun and use what you have on hand. It may not always be the prettiest meal, but it will always be healthy & filling. 

Printer-friendly Recipe

1. 1-2 cups cooked, chopped protein (chicken, beans, ground beef or turkey, tofu, pork, etc..)
2. 1-2 cups cooked starch (gluten free pasta, rice, brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, wild rice, millet, quinoa, aramanth, etc..)
3. 3 cups your favorite vegetables, either pre-cooked, frozen, canned (and drained), or raw (chopped into bite size pieces) = (zucchini/yellow squash, mushrooms, green or red peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, green beans, kale, spinach, carrots, garden peas, asparagus, etc...)
4. 2-3 cups liquid (chicken broth, plain tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, salsa, beef broth, vegetable broth, homemade gluten free "cream soup", etc..)
5. Seasonings & Spices: use what you like with the flavor you like... here's are two great guides for different international flavors:  Cooking Light World Cuisine Spice Guide & Cooking With Us - Cultural Spice Guide
6. Toppings (optional - I usually don't add a topping -- but for company and presentation it's nice!) -- blanched almond flour is awesome and looks & tastes like parmesan cheese when sprinkled evenly over casserole, bread crumbs or crushed corn tortillas, sliced almonds, shredded cheese if you're a dairy person, etc...

Directions:

Super fast casserole: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To make this uber fast, simply toss all ingredients but the topping in a large bowl and mix together. Pour casserole mixture into a greased 9x13 casserole dish -or- 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle on toppings if desired. Bake for 30 minutes until casserole is heated through. 

Layered casserole: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease casserole dish. Add ingredients in layers and sprinkle your seasonings on each layer (layer of protein, layer of starch, layer of vegetables etc). Pour liquid of choice over casserole. Add toppings if desired.  Bake for 30 minutes or until casserole is heated through. 

Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving!

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Other great gluten free menus this week can be found at Celiac Family who is hosting this week's gluten free menu swap! 

An amazing roundup of menus of ALL kinds can be found at OrgJunkie.com

{Gluten Free One Pot Meals} Ground Turkey & Quinoa Skillet Meal Recipe

Okay, I know this isn't the most appetizing meal you've ever seen. And the lighting in my kitchen at 8:30pm in the winter kinda stinks... but the one pot meal? Very good, very quick, and even husband friendly!

I'm starting a new series this week entitled, "Gluten Free One Pot Meals." I think I deserve a sticker for originality.

So the concept isn't anything new. But whether you work full time, commute an hour to work, stay home with your kids, dinner time can often be tough to figure out.

Last summer we addressed this issue with Gluten Free Quick & Easy Meals. A number of wonderful gluten free bloggers helped me out by sharing their favorite quick and easy meals.

This time I'm hoping to post a "One Pot Meal" once a week. I don't plan on having a time frame for this series. One pot, easy meals are needed year round.  "One pot" can meal anything from my dutch oven, to the pizza pan, to the frying pan, to a wok, etc...

This week's one pot meal uses my favorite large skillet. It's a 12" non-stick pan I received when Michael & I got married. It's still one of my favorite pans. These recipes will not be meals that are set in stone. Make them with the ingredients you have on hand. If you don't have any quinoa, or if it scares you, or if you have picky eaters... then use brown rice -or- gf pasta -or- gf bread cubes -or- cooked potatoes. Go crazy and try your own variations!

Ground Turkey, Vegetable & Quinoa Skillet Meal
- a gluten free recipe template by Carrie @ Gingerlemongirl.com -
free of gluten, dairy/casein, soy, and eggs

1 lb. ground turkey (or ground beef, or ground pork, etc...)
1 med. sweet onion, finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped
2 cups fresh button mushrooms (or baby bella mushrooms) stems removed, and sliced
3 carrots, sliced thinly diagonally
1 cup uncooked quinoa, that's been rinsed with fresh water (or 3 cups cooked quinoa, rice, diced potatoes, etc...)
Olive oil

Directions: In your skillet add 2 cups water and the dry quinoa. Bring the water to a simmer and cook covered for 10-12 minutes until quinoa is fluffy and very little water remains. (A great tutorial on cooking quinoa). Remove the cooked quinoa from the pan, place in a bowl & set aside. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Brown ground turkey. Add onions, and cook for 5-10 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes until they are soft. Stir the cooked quinoa into the mixture. (Alternatively, you could served the cooked vegetables & meat mixture over individual servings of quinoa.) Now, if you're not feeling up to a highly flavored meal you could eat the meal as is. But if you want some flavor variations for your one pot meal, here are some ideas you could use:

For an Asian Inspired Meal: 

• 1-2 tbsp. soy sauce (or soy sauce sub)
• a splash of sesame oil
• a few shakes of roasted sesame seeds
• a splash of rice vinegar
• a splash of fish sauce

For an Italian Inspired Meal:

• Add 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes to the skillet 5 minutes before serving
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (or 3 tablespoons julienned fresh basil)
• 1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
• splash a bit of extra virgin olive oil on each serving, right before eating!

For a Mexican Inspired Meal:

• Add 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa to the skillet 5 minutes before serving
• Add 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
• Serve with diced avocado or avocado slices
• 1-2 tsp. chili powder
• 1-2 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. adobo seasoning

What flavorings/seasonings/add in's would you use? 

What types of skillet/one pot meals would you like to see featured? 

Gluten Free Beef Italian Skillet Meal (Goulash) Recipe

Here's another favorite recipe from my college days. I'm sure we all grew up eating a basic ground beef casserole like this either with rice or noodles. As a child, I remember from a cookbook that was published by my local elementary school they called this "goulash." I thought that was a really cool name!

My friend Susan shared this recipe with me when I was in college. I remember she came over to my apartment and we made this along with a salad and just enjoyed cooking together. I still have the index card that she wrote the recipe on for me.

This is a super simple, hearty meal that my husband loved. It's easy with just a few simple ingredients and gluten free noodles.

For a casein free topping, I sprinkled blanched almond flour on the top of our servings!

Susan's Beef Italian Skillet Meal
free of gluten, casein/dairy, soy, corn, and eggs
Adapted by Carrie @ www.gingerlemongirl.com
printer-friendly recipe

1 1/2 cups gluten free pasta of your choice (I used these rice noodles from a local Asian market -- they don't get mushy!)
1 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce + 1/3 cup water
3 tablespoons blanched almond flour (or parmesan cheese) to sprinkle on top of each serving

Directions:
Cook gluten free noodles according to package directions until "al dente" or still slightly firm. Rinse with COLD water to completely stop the cooking process, drain and set aside. Brown ground beef in a large skillet or dutch oven. Add onions and celery and saute for about 5 minutes until onions are soft and transparent. Add garlic, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Mix tomato sauce with water and add to ground beef and vegetables. Simmer for 10 minutes until mixture is bubbling and heated through. Add cooked pasta to skillet and stir to coat noodles with sauce. Simmer for additional 5 minutes and serve. Sprinkle servings with blanched almond flour or parmesan cheese. Serve with green beans or a salad! Picky kid & husband friendly! Enjoy!

Hearty Cabbage and Beef Casserole Recipe (Gluten Free, Casein Free)

There's just something wonderful about comfort foods this time of year. One of my favorite comfort foods is macaroni. Although cheese is rarely on the menu these days, I still love a good creamy sauce for my pasta.

A week or two ago (during another dairy free "cheesy" sauce experiment) I decided instead of using another casein free "milk" substitute to create a creamy base, I would simply use chicken broth. Wow... it was another one of those "duh" moments when I realized after tasting the thickened chicken broth it was exactly the type of sauce I was looking for. It's a flavor I love and it can replicate "cheesiness" really well in a casserole. Perfect! And so incredibly easy.

I decided to create this casserole because I had a lot of vegetables on hand and we're eating from the pantry this week. It's one of those things about frugality I love. Creativity thrives when you have to use what you already have available!!

This one pot dish is FULL of hearty vegetables, a little ground beef for flavor (& to keep the husband happy), a gorgeous, flavorful, creamy sauce, and a kiss of greek seasoning. With all the vegetables in this meal, you don't even need a side dish!

While it takes a little time to prepare, it's a really easy dish to throw together once all the ingredients are prepped. And the best compliment? It's only about 340 calories per serving and while it doesn't actually have cheese in it... it tastes "cheesy." Upon his second serving, Michael asked me if I was SURE it didn't have cheese. I'll take that as high praise!


Hearty Cabbage and Beef Casserole
Created by Carrie @ Gingerlemongirl.com
Gluten Free, Casein Free, Soy Free

8 ounces dry gluten free pasta, cooked according to package directions
3 cups cabbage, sliced and cooked
1/2 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup brown rice flour
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons greek seasoning
3 egg whites

Optional Topping:
1/4 cup gluten free cornflake crumbles (an awesome substitute for parmesan cheese!), you could also use crushed tortilla chips if desired

Directions:
Brown ground beef. Drain fat, and set aside. In the same pan saute onions, garlic, celery, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Cook until onions are translucent and golden brown about 5 minutes. Set aside. In a large dutch oven heat olive oil. Whisk in brown rice flour. Cook for 2 minutes and slowly pour in chicken broth. Whisk well and cook for 5-10 minutes to create a thickened sauce. Add cooked pasta, cooked cabbage, cooked onion mixture, and 1/2 pound of browned ground beef. Add salt, pepper, and greek seasoning. Stir to coat and add in 3 egg whites. Mix together thoroughly and pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle gluten free corn flake crumbles or crushed tortilla chips evenly over casserole if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve. Makes 6-8 large servings.


** Just in case anyone else is counting: I have calculated that the total recipe is 2058 calories including 1/4 cup of the gluten free corn flake crumbles. For 6 large servings, it's 343 calories per serving. This is a nicely portioned meal with a healthy calorie count!


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