Crockpot Taco Soup

I knew this afternoon would be busy. We had a prom committee meeting and didn't know how long that would take. There were a few other errands to do so I knew we would not have much time to make supper tonight. I took out my trusty crock pot and decided what to make. I changed up my Taco Soup recipe and this is what I came up with. It was delicious by the way.

Crock pot Taco Soup
3 large frozen chicken breasts
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large or 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1 can Rotel, do not drain
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, do not drain
1 26.5 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups water
5 chicken bouillon cubes
1 package taco seasoning
1 package dry ranch dressing
1/2 cup onions, diced
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon oregano

Place frozen chicken breasts in crock pot. Pour in Rotel and diced tomatoes. Do not drain. You need their liquid for the soup. Drain and rinse the black beans. Place all of the other ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on low 8 - 10 hours. Shred chicken before serving.

Optional garnishes: squeeze of lime juice, grated cheese, dollop of sour cream, and/or a few tortilla chips crushed

You may notice there is no corn in this recipe. Add it if you would like. Little Boy Blue is allergic to corn, so I omit it.

Eat and enjoy!!

Wonderful Gluten-Free Bread

Since Little Miss Muffet was diagnosed with Celiac last February and me just a month later, the journey for a fresh, soft yeasty bread has been long and not the textures we had imagined, until today. Little Miss Muffet made the Bob's Red Mill Homemade Wonderful Bread Mix.

It was easy to make, rose high, and almost tastes like we are cheating. It doesn't have the dense cornbread like consistency of the breads we have tried. After letting it rest for a while, I slathered it with butter and lemon curd. It was light, airy, fluffy, yeasty and tasty. Yum! I'm sure this loaf is going to be eaten pretty quickly! It does have cornstarch in it, so Little Boy Blue can't eat it since he is allergic to corn. I did find Oro Wheat bread, it is made without high fructose corn syrup, Little Boy Blue enjoyed having a grilled cheese sandwich today. We also try to stay soy-free since Little Boy Blue and I both are hypothyroid.

Look how high this rose. You can see the indention where the top of the pan was. I'm thinking sandwiches for supper, french toast for breakfast...Yum! Next bread we will try is a few from scratch, we hope it will be as good as this one is.