Mushroom, Quinoa and Chicken Soup

This soup was inspired by coupons for mushrooms and baby carrots.  I had hoped that the quinoa would cook up so soft and light it would float like noodles, but the black and red quinoa I used settled to the bottom of the soup.  I guess I'll try white quinoa next time.

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
4 c. water
1 1/2 tsp Penzey's Chicken Soup Base

3 T olive oil
1 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. diced celery
5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 rosemary stem (4" long)
3-4 thyme stems (4" long)

16 oz. button mushrooms, chopped
5-6 white pepper corns
32 oz. unsalted chicken stock

16 oz baby carrots, chopped into small pieces

1 c. quinoa (I used half red and half black)

~ 1 c. tomato puree  (I had some leftover from another recipe)

Place the water, soup base and chicken thighs in a large soup pot (at least 5 qts) over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover until meat is cooked through, and shreds apart.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and rinse if necessary.  Cut medium-sized caps in half, and large caps into thirds before slicing.  Set mushrooms aside in a bowl while you chop the onion, celery and garlic.

 Remove the meat to a cutting board or plate and let it cool.  Pour the cooking water through a strainer into the bowl.  If there is any chicken fat sticking to the bottom of the pot, wipe it out with a paper towel.  Return the pot to medium heat, and add the olive oil, onion, and celery.  Cook, stirring occasionally until onion is translucent and just starting to brown in spots.

Remove the rosemary and thyme leaves from the stems.  Discard the stems, and chop the leaves.  You should end up with about 2 tsp of chopped herbs.  Add the garlic and chopped herbs to the onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes.  Pour the stock and reserved cooking liquid into the pot.  Add the mushrooms and peppercorns.  Chop and add the baby carrots.

Taste the broth and add salt if needed.

If your quinoa isn't pre-washed, rinse it thoroughly in a fine mesh strainer, and add it to the simmering soup.  Stir, cover, and allow to cook until the quinoa is tender.  Stir in the tomato puree.

Gluten Free Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

I'd seen a lot of recipes using pureed cauliflower instead of roux for a macaroni & cheese and wanted to give it a try. The bright yellow color of corn & quinoa pasta is sort of nice  I have trouble convincing myself to buy and chop fresh produce to make a puree.

This puree did kill my blender -- the heat caused the rubber pad on the base to soften and break apart, so the motor no longer can spin the blades.  I'll be using a stick blender in a pot the next time I want to puree cauliflower.  Or possibly putting it through a potato ricer.



2 slices of gluten free bread (~2oz), grated into bread crumbs
1 1/2 Tbsp butter


16 oz. corn & quinoa macaroni elbows
24 oz. frozen cauliflower florets

11 oz. medium sharp cheddar (such as Tillamook medium sharp)
5 oz. processed cheese (such as Velveeta Queso Blanco)
2 oz. grated Parmesan
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
White pepper (20 cranks of the pepper grinder)
3 dashes of Tabasco
Salt to taste


Put a large pot full of hot water over high heat, and add about 2 Tbsp of kosher salt.

It's a little easier to grate fresh bread if it's frozen.  Use a food processor fitted with a coarse disk, or the coarse side of a hand grate to turn the bread into breadcrumbs and set it aside.  Wipe your processor/grater and then use it to grate the cheddar and Parmesan.  Process cheese is too soft to grate -- cut enough chunks to get the weight you need, and then break it into little chunks with your fingers.

When the water is boiling vigorously, dump in the pasta and stir so it doesn't stick together.  Wait for it to come back to a boil and cook for 3-5 minutes.  The pasta should be a little firmer than you want because it's going to be baked.   After the pasta is cool you can hold it in your casserole.  I used a 9x9 stoneware pan.

When the pasta is done, drain in a colander and rinse with cold tap water.  Put 3 cups of water into the pasta pot, and return it to the stove over high heat.  When the water is boiling, add the frozen cauliflower and stir.  Cover until the water returns to boiling, then remove the lid, reduce the heat to medium.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the cauliflower is too tender to be picked up by piercing it with the tip of a sharp knife.   Reserve 1 c. of the water, and drain the cauliflower.  Allow the cauliflower to cool if your blender can't handle hot foods.

Puree the cauliflower with about 1/2 a c. of the cooking water, adding more as needed.  Put the cauliflower puree back into your larger pot, and add the remaining ingredients.  Cook over medium heat until the cheese is melted.  Taste the sauce by dipping a piece of macaroni in it before you decide whether it needs more salt & pepper.  Usually cheese and the salt in the pasta water are enough for me.

Turn off the heat and stir the macaroni into the pot.  Wipe your casserole pan dry, and brush or spray with oil.  Spread the macaroni & cheese in the prepared pan, and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

I'm taking this to a potluck tonight, and I didn't want the cheese sauce to overflow in my friend's oven, so I under filled the pan a little, and saved about 2 servings in smaller dish for another night.

Bake in a 350 F oven until the top is crisp and the cheese sauce is bubbling.