Gluten-free Cheesy Pepper Jack Potato Chowder

Ingredients:

8 strips bacon, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

1 large shallot or 1/2 small onion, chopped

pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes (or more or less)

2 Tablespoons glutenfree or allpurpose flour

2 cups chicken broth, divided

2 cups 2% milk

4 cups southern style frozen hash browns

8 oz freshly shredded Pepper Jack cheese

2 green onions, chopped

In a small bowl whisk together 2 Tablespoons flour with 1/4 cup chicken broth then set aside.

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat then add chopped bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain then remove all but 1 Tablespoon bacon grease from the pot. Add celery and shallots, season with pepper, and then sauté until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add minced garlic and red chili pepper flakes then sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add remaining 1 3/4 cups chicken broth, milk, hash browns, and lots of freshly cracked pepper to the pot then turn heat up to high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Slowly drizzle in flour/chicken broth mixture then stir to combine. Turn heat down to medium-low and simmer until chowder has thickened and potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat then add shredded cheese about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until completely smooth before adding the next batch. Stir in 1/2 the cooked bacon then serve with remaining bacon and green onions.

I made this for the soup cook off I hosted this weekend. It was so good! I made mine in the crockpot so it was even easier and could be kept warm throughout the night.  

Lyndee’s Spicy Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb. Italian sausage

½ c. salsa or picante sauce (If you don’t like the chunks, substitute some spicy V8 juice)

1 can chili beans

1 large can diced tomatoes (I use a quart size jar of my Grandma’s tomatoes)

2 tbsp. Jalapeño cream cheese

1 tbsp. hot sauce

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 tbsp. chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Minced garlic

Shredded pepper jack

Brown Italian sausage with minced garlic.  I like to add some chopped onion if I have any on hand.  In a large pot mix all other ingredients except shredded pepper jack.  Add meat once cooked.  Bring to a quick boil and then cover and simmer for 30 minutes, until warmed through and cream cheese has melted.  Serve and top with shredded pepper jack, crackers, sour cream or whatever you desire.

This can also be done in a crockpot on low heat for 4 hours.  Just dump and go! 

To “unspice” and make my normal chili, make as directed but leave out the cream cheese, hot sauce, red pepper flakes and pepper jack. 

Tangy Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:

2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breast, sliced into tenders

½ cup bbq sauce (I used Jack Daniels Spicy)

1 tbsp. Franks Red Hot sauce

½ an onion, diced

¼ cup minced garlic

¼ cup brown sugar

A few dashes of Cajun seasoning and/or hickory smoke salt

Place all ingredients in a plastic bag and make sure all chicken pieces are coated.  Refrigerate for 2 hours so that flavors can meld together.  Grill over medium heat until chicken is done and juices run clear.  If it’s not grilling season, bake in oven for 25 minutes at 350. 

These are great as is but I love to make slider sandwiches with them! All you need to do is cover with a piece of pepper jack cheese and serve on a sweet Hawaiian roll.  Yum!

Spinach & pepper jack stuffed chicken

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded (you can use up to 6 oz)

1 c frozen spinach, thawed and drained (I used fresh spinach)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp Cajun seasoning

1 tbsp breadcrumbs (I used Italian because that’s what was in the cupboard)

Sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Flatten the chicken to 1/4-inch thickness.  In a medium bowl, combine the pepper jack cheese, spinach, salt and pepper.  Combine the Cajun seasoning and breadcrumbs together in a small bowl.  Spoon about 1/4 c of the spinach mixture onto each chicken breast. 

Roll each chicken breast tightly and fasten with toothpicks.  Brush each chicken breast with the vegetable oil.  Sprinkle the Cajun seasoning mixture evenly over all. Sprinkle any remaining spinach and cheese on top of chicken (optional). 

Place the chicken seam-side down onto a tin foil-lined baking sheet (for easy cleanup).  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.  Remove the toothpicks before serving.

This recipe turned out so awesome! I loved it! I didn’t have a meat tenderizer so I used a hammer and wax paper to flatten the chicken. I could’ve flattened it a little bit more to make the rolling easier, but it worked as is. Do not try to use a plastic ladle to flatten.  It will break, as I found out last night. I will definitely make this chicken again. It was so juicy and flavorful.