Author: mitchellmeals

Baked Chicken

We used to have baked chicken all the time because it was very simple and only required Italian dressing.

And this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Baked Chicken

  • Servings: varies
  • Difficulty: easy
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An exceptionally easy chicken dish that’s quick to throw in the oven.

Ingredients

  • Chicken Breasts
  • Italian Dressing

Directions

(For more flavorful chicken, marinate in Italian dressing for at least half an hour.) On a greased cookie sheet, cover each chicken with Italian dressing. If boneless, cook for 30 minutes at 375° or until temperature reaches 160°. For chicken with bones, cook for at least 45 minutes.


Apricot Chicken

When I was living with my grandpa in my mid-twenties and his doctor told him to go on a low-sodium diet, I was looking for main dishes that my grandpa might enjoy. I knew he liked Olive Garden’s Apricot Chicken, and I found a recipe that was supposed to be a copycat. Over the years I’ve updated and improved it so the chicken has more flavor and the sauce isn’t as runny.

If you’re making this gluten free, this is naturally gluten free–just make sure to use a new jar of jam or one dedicated gluten free so there aren’t any crumbs from previous sandwiches.

Make it a meal with:

Apricot Chicken

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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In a real hurry, skip the sauce and just spread jam over the chicken, letting it melt slightly.

Ingredients

  • 4 Chicken Breasts
  • Onion Powder
  • Garlic Powder
  • Italian Seasoning
  • 1 tsp. Members Mark Chicken Base
  • ½ c. Pineapple Apricot Jam
  • Salt to taste

Directions

Sprinkle chicken with onion powder and garlic powder, then Italian seasoning on top and bake for 30 minutes at 375° or until the chicken’s internal temperature reaches 165°. In a pan on medium heat on the stove, heat the chicken base mixed in the jam. Boil until sauce thickens. Salt to taste. Spoon over baked chicken.


Spaetzle

I had a fair amount of spaetzle on my mission. Haha, I’m not sure I ever actually had any made by Germans–the missionaries just always seemed to make it because it was fairly easy and fun. And cheap. We generally eat it with cheese, so that it’s a lot like macaroni and cheese. But you can add onion, ham, or whatever you’d like, and warm it like a casserole. Or eat it with brown gravy on top. It’s not the most photogenic food, but it’s delicious.

I still sometimes make spaetzle as a side for Oktoberfest or when I make Schnitzel. White cheese like Emmentaler is more authentic, but you can use cheddar. Or use mozzarella if you want white cheese but don’t want the more expensive kinds. (I used mozzarella in the photo.)

If you’re making this one gluten free, it turns out great. I couldn’t even tell it was gluten free. Just substitute the cup for cup gluten free flour for the regular flour. Also remember to spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off with a knife.

Make it a meal with:

Spaetzle

  • Servings: 8?
  • Difficulty: medium
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A fun German side. It always takes longer to make than I think, but it’s fun and cheesy.

Ingredients

  • 1 c. Flour (or gluten free flour with xanthan gum)
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1/4 tsp. Pepper
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/2 c. Milk
  • Shredded Cheese

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a bowl except the cheese. You may need more milk. It should be slightly thicker than pancake batter because it has to drip through holes. Prepare a pot of water (almost to boiling). Over the pot, place a spaetzle maker or colander. Drop a few spoonfuls of batter into the colander and let the batter drip into the pot. When the spaetzle floats, use a slotted spoon to transfer it to a strainer. Once strained, place in a greased baking dish and cover a layer with shredded cheese. Then place in the oven and broil to melt the cheese.


Twice Baked Potatoes

We always used to make this with just cheese on top, but lately we’ve added green onions with the potato in the middle. And it’s been a delightful addition. It’s great either way–it just depends what you’re in the mood for.

And this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Twice Baked Potatoes

  • Servings: 8?
  • Difficulty: easy
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Pretty easy, but it takes a little time to make.

Ingredients

  • 8 Potatoes (or however many it takes to fill half a cookie sheet)
  • 1 (+) can Evaporated Milk
  • ½ c. Butter
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste
  • 1 bunch Green Onions, chopped (optional)
  • Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

Bake potatoes on cookie sheet at 400° for about 1-1 ¼ hours OR at 350° for about 1 ½ hours, depending on size. Cut potatoes in half and scoop out middles into a bowl, such as a stand mixer. Salt the remaining skins. To the potato middles, add and mix milk, butter, salt and pepper to taste, and green onion if using. You can even add a handful of cheese to the mixture and stir in, if desired. Spoon mixture back into skins on foil-covered cookie sheet and sprinkle potatoes with cheddar cheese. Broil till cheese melts and browns slightly.


Stuffing

Stuffing is great in general, and when you add sausage, it’s amazing. This recipe is for stuffing a Thanksgiving turkey. We always get the red bag of Pepperidge Farm–the cubes. If that’s not available, we’ve used Mrs. Cubbison’s as a substitute.

If you’re making this gluten free, you’ll want to use a gluten free stuffing mix or try making stuffing rice instead.

Make it a meal with:

Stuffing

  • Servings: 12?
  • Difficulty: easy
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Sausage is the key to an amazing stuffing.

Ingredients

  • Pepperidge Farm Seasoned Cubes (the red bags–2 packages for a big turkey) (or gluten free stuffing mix)
  • 4 c. boiling Water or Chicken Broth
  • 1 lb. Jimmy Dean Sausage
  • ½ c. Butter
  • 1 – 1 ½ c. Celery (small chop)
  • 1 – 1 ½ c. Onion (chop a little finer than for spaghetti)

Directions

Brown the sausage and add cube of butter to melt. Add celery and onion (usually chopped in food processor), and cook a little. Add all this to stuffing cubes, then add boiling water. Stir well but gently, being careful not to mash the stuffing. Make sure not to make too wet because turkey has juice. See turkey recipe for instructions on stuffing the bird. With leftover that won’t fit in turkey, place in microwave dish for later and refrigerate. When ready to heat the stuffing from the smaller dish, add chicken broth or water and microwave for 10 minutes.


Pistachio Salad

This is a fun, sweet side for summer BBQs or a green side for Halloween. Even though the idea of a pistachio side may sound weird, it’s always delicious and a crowd favorite. The picture makes it look whiter than it really is–it’s usually a nice light green.

And this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Pistachio Salad

  • Servings: 12?
  • Difficulty: easy
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A sweet, green side for summer or Halloween.

Ingredients

  • 1 box Pistachio Pudding Mix
  • 1 pt. Cottage Cheese
  • 1 container Cool Whip (or homemade whipped cream)
  • 1 can Pineapple Tidbits (drained except a small amount of juice)

Directions

Mix together cottage cheese and pudding mix in a bowl. Then add pineapple and a little bit of juice, to keep from getting too dry. Stir in whipped cream and chill.


Potato Wedges

Very simple and delicious, potato wedges are also very popular and sure to go quickly. I love them so much.

And luckily the Morton seasoned salt is gluten free, so this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Potato Wedges

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
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Simple, delicious, and a crowd pleaser.

Ingredients

  • About 4 Potatoes (or whatever it takes to fill a cookie sheet)
  • 1/4 – ½ c. Butter
  • Morton Season All Seasoned Salt

Directions

Melt butter on cookie sheet in oven. Cut potatoes into thin wedges. Dip potatoes in butter, sprinkle one side with seasoned salt (not too much or it gets overwhelming). Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes until golden brown.


Spinach Pear Salad

We don’t have this salad as much anymore, but for a while we always used to make it with the pears from the Harry and David basket we’d get from our uncle and aunt at Christmas. A nice, fresh salad in the winter.

And luckily the salad dressing is gluten free, so this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Spinach Pear Salad

  • Servings: 8?
  • Difficulty: easy
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A nice departure from regular iceberg salad.

Ingredients

  • 1 bag Spinach
  • 1 fresh Pear (sliced small)
  • 6 slices cooked Bacon, chopped
  • ¼ c. Onion, chopped
  • ½ c. Pecans, chopped
  • ¼ c. Craisins
  • ½ bottle Brianna’s Poppy Seed Dressing

Directions

Toss together all ingredients in large bowl.


Raspberry Pretzel Jell-O

This Jell-O is more like a dessert than a side dish, but we always have it as a sweet side for Thanksgiving or special Sunday dinners. It takes a bit of time to make, but it’s deliciously like a cheesecake. And oddly enough, the best part of it is the buttery pretzel crust.

Usually for Thanksgiving, we make the crust the night before and the rest of it on Thanksgiving morning (so the crust doesn’t get soggy and the Jell-O doesn’t soak down into the filling).

If you’re making this gluten free, make sure to use gluten free pretzels.

Make it a meal with:

Raspberry Pretzel Jell-O

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: medium
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A sweet, cheesecakey side for special occasions.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 c. crushed Pretzels (or crushed gluten free pretzels)
  • 3 Tbsp. Sugar
  • 3/4 c. melted Butter

Filling

  • 8 oz. Cool Whip
  • 1 c. Sugar (powdered sugar makes less grainy)
  • 8 oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature

Top Layer

  • 2 c. boiling Water
  • Large box of Raspberry Jell-O
  • 20 oz. frozen Raspberries

Directions

Crust: Mix all ingredients and press into a 9×13 pan, and bake for 8 minutes at 400°. Allow to cool.

Filling: Whip together all ingredients and gently spread over cooled crust, being careful not to incorporate crumbs into filling.

Top Layer: Pour boiling water into Jell-O powder and whisk until dissolved. Mix in frozen raspberries, then let thicken slightly in fridge (just a few minutes or it will set completely). Pour over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate until completely set.


Sparkling Potatoes

Sparkling potatoes in a Dutch oven are a camping classic, and I have many memories of having them during our camping excursions growing up. Or at Scouting events. We basically never go camping anymore, but it’s still fun to make these potatoes at home in the oven. Whether you’re having a “camping at home” night with s’mores or a Dutch oven night, they’re lots of fun. They do tend to be a bit greasy with all the cheese and bacon, so you may want to serve this with a less greasy main course or a nice fresh salad.

We’ve also made sparkling potatoes with leftover New Year’s ham instead of bacon. It’s pretty good and very similar to the regular kind, but bacon does make it better.

And of course this one is naturally gluten free.

Make it a meal with:

Sparkling Potatoes

  • Servings: 8?
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

It takes a bit of time and it’s fairly greasy, but it’s delicious.

Ingredients

  • 8 Potatoes, sliced (peeled or not, depending on your preference)
  • 1-2 Onion(s), chopped
  • 1 lb. Bacon
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • Pepper to taste
  • 1 (+) can Sprite
  • Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

Fry bacon and onions in bottom of pot. (If you want it less greasy, you can remove some bacon grease.) In same pot, add potatoes, salt, and pepper. Pour in Sprite. Sprinkle on a thick layer of cheese. Bake at 375° for about 1 hour or until potatoes are tender and cheese starts to brown.

(To save time, lately I’ve been cooking everything in a big ovenproof skillet beforehand to get the potatoes mostly done before putting it in the oven. Then I just pour in the Sprite and top with cheese, and basically cook until the cheese is melted and starting to brown a little.)

For cooking with charcoal: Dutchovendude.com says for a 12″ Dutch oven to be at 375°, place 20 coals on the lid and 6 under the oven. Don’t forget to rotate the oven every 10  minutes or so 1/4 turn.