{Gluten and Dairy Free} Things You Never Knew You Could Make in the Crockpot

About.com has this fun list of 13 Things that you never thought you could make in the crockpot. I am going to do a brief series on this with Allergy-friendly recipes you can make in the crockpot. Most all of these are also nut and peanut free. Most are soy and egg free, as well.

LASAGNA:

Lasagna is my favorite.  To me, it is the epitome of comfort food. It doesn't get much better than a fresh baked lasagna. Except maybe a crockpot lasagna that has way less effort put into it. I was excited to find this recipe that makes it possible. I would skip the  eggs and cheese (with deep remorse!) and add a full package of Daiya Mozzerella cheese instead. Special thanks to imceliac.com for this rave recipe.

What You Need:
1 lb ground beef
2 cans (12oz) tomato sauce
2 cans (7oz) tomato paste
1 tbsp italian seasoning mix
1 diced tomato
1/4 chopped green pepper
1 - 2 sliced medium sized zucchini
1 box GF rice lasagna noodles (uncooked)
1 bag Daiya Cheese (my variation)

photo from imaceliac.com

How to Make It:
Brown beef and drain.  Add tomato sauce, paste, seasoning, and veggies to the skillet.  Put on low and simmer for at least 10 minutes while you get everything else together.  Layers for the crock pot: tomato sauce, double layer of noodles (uncooked), Daiya cheese, and repeat.  Cook on low for 4 hours.  For the last hour top with more mozzarella cheese. 

Tips:
To save time you could always use a 16oz jar of GF red pasta sauce instead of making it from the cans. You could add any veggies you want to this recipe - onions, mushrooms, eggplant, carrots, etc.   I had fresh zucchini from our farmers market so I used it. 
You will need a 4 qt crock pot or bigger.  I have a 3 qt pot so I had to make a small dish to go in the oven from the overflow. 
I was able to get 2 layers in my crock pot.

CHICKEN BROTH:

If you haven't done this before, you'll never believe how easy it is.
1. Buy a whole chicken. Remove wrapper and put in large crockpot. You can add, a bay leaf, garlic, salt and any other herbs you wish. You could also add carrots, celery or onion. I sometimes even just sprinkle the chicken with olive oil and salt alone. Then turn it on for 6 hours on low. Check it with an instant read thermometer. If it is 165F when inserted in the thigh away from the bone it should be done. This will make sure it is done, yet keep it from being too dry which chicken in the crockpot is famous for.

2.  Remove chicken from bone. Leave skin and bones in crockpot. Fill with water. Put on high for an hour or so. Let cool for a little while. Strain through a strainer. I put mine in a container in the fridge with saran wrap over it, with just a little opening for it to finish cooling. In the morning I skim off the fat. Then I freeze it in quart sized bags. Boom! You are done!