Being new to gluten free, I feel I have been doing pretty well in our dinner combinations, without straying too far from our usual menu. For example, one night a week we always had pasta as an easy dinner, and now we just substitute gluten free pasta. Most nights though, we stick to our usual: some kind of meat and a vegetable. Occasionally, we include a starch- so we're not really missing out on too much.
But the cooksimple products I received all have only one or two ingredients you need to add, and each contain all actual, readable ingredients: spices, beans, etc. I was pleased from the start.
So last night I made the white bean chili . The box called for me to add shredded chicken, or any meat of my choice. The recommendation was a rotisserie chicken for the easiest option since it is precooked. I chose to use the boneless chicken thighs I had in the freezer.
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| via Instagram @mymackey |
So yesterday morning, while I waited for the coffee to brew, I threw the thighs in my crockpot with a chopped onion, about 1/2 c of barbecue sauce, and a splash of raw apple cider vinegar. By the time I was ready to make dinner, chicken was done and easily shredded with a fork.
The box calls for you to boil the packet with 4 cups of milk (or water)- I chose milk.
Then add your meat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
No, for real.... like, that's it! :)
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| this is what you see when you open the box |
I was a bit skeptical about the amount in the box. We had 5 of the 6 of us home, so I was unsure that the seemingly tiny box would feed our whole family. Again, a pleasant surprise, was that it fed us last night AND tonight! WOOT WOOT! Any busy mom LOVES leftovers!
Both nights I served the chili with a simple arugula salad, which I got from a dinner I had with Michelle Collins from the Economical Eater, and my new favorite Ken's Chefs Reserve Creamy Balsamic with Honey salad dressing! YUM!
I found the chili ended up super creamy, just spicy enough (if you want SUPER spicy- you'll need to add some crushed red pepper, or what we opted for: Hot salsa!), no bizarre "boxed food" aftertaste, and something that I can't wait to make again to put over nachos! There has GOT to be gluten free nachos right???? ;)
To give you an idea of how it turned out as a family meal:
Sissy (age 16 and picky ;)) ate it in a tortilla (she is NOT GF) and ate 3 of them! ;)
Hubby ate 2 bowls... last night AND tonight!
Baby A (age 2 and 1/2) ate hers topped with sour cream and had a second bowl today with lunch with some cubes of cheddar cheese. No weird faces or complaints ;)
Baby B (age 10 months) ate mostly the chicken. squished around the beans. I would say that's pretty age appropriate ;)
So in conclusion: a wonderful success! This weekend: Tamale Pie and I can't wait! Stay tuned, because one more review and there will be a GIVEAWAY for you to try your own cooksimple meal!
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Have you tried cooksimple meals? Which is your favorite?
