Free Chicken Nuggets

My favorite meal of all time is chicken nuggets. 

I grew up eating the ones you buy from the grocery store and occasionally enjoyed the fast food version.  Then I got married.  It didn't work for us to go to the drive thru every time I had a craving and I was determined to not buy processed food- so I learned to make my own.   

I have tried a number of recipes, all which disappointed and then I found it.  I found a chicken nugget recipe that inspired me to make my own version.  

I am confident that I will be feeding my version to my grandchildren one day.  

It is fast and easy and in fact, my husband is usually the one to make it!

If you haven't tried this recipe already, give it a try.  I promise you won't be disappointed...unless you use vanilla flavored Rice Krispies.  
 
Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets*, feeds 4

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken breasts
• 1/3 cup olive oil (+ extra on hand if you run out)
• 3-4 cups gluten free Rice Krispies, crushed**
• 3 tbsp of gluten free flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
3. Crush rice krispies (by hand or with food processor) and add flour.  Put in bowl and set aside.
4. Cut defrosted chicken into chunks/strips and put on plate.
5. Pour olive oil in a bowl
6. Begin an assembly line until all of the chicken has been used   

• dip chicken in olive oil
• dip chicken in Rice Krispie mixture
• put on pan  

    7. Sprinkle/drizzle any leftover krispies/oil over top.
    8. Bake in the oven until the meat is white in  the center (about 30 minutes).  Flip half way
      through.

Easy Peasy!

Notes: 
*Don't be fooled by the Gluten Free aspect.  A) they are still delicious...like actually and B) use regular Rice Krispies and white flour and you are able to have gluten.

** I keep a jar of crushed Rice Krispies on hand.  When it is low, I use my blender and make some more
  

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

  This week I made Slow-Cooker Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup. It is a recipe I found on The Food Network Website, so you know it has to be good.  I have eaten it almost every day and am in love with the flavors.  I hope you enjoy it too!

Source

You can find the recipe here.

Tips/Adaptations:
- I didn't want to wait, so I made my batch in a pot instead of the slow-cooker.  It took about an hour and turned out great.
- I really like coconut milk, so I added a can of light coconut milk.  It added a really nice flavor.
- Instead of butter, I used coconut oil, for the flavor and health benefits
- I originally didn't use very much ginger and the taste was dull.  I added ginger and extra curry powder until the soup tasted just right.  This was a good choice.
- For some reason I thought I had to puree the soup, so I did.  Now I realize that I didn't have to, but I don't regret it.  I would puree it again.
- I didn't have cilantro and it was still good.
- I bought cilantro and it made the soup taste even better!!!

Just like the Fort

I love Dragon Fort.  But now I don't have to go there because I know how to make a sweet and sour sauce that rivals theirs.

Last week I shared my recipe for Meatballs.  There are multiple ways to serve meatballs, but one of my favourite is with sweet & sour sauce.  I have tried a few different recipes but this recipe is amazing...it is seriously the same thing you get in a Chinese Food Restaurant...but you know what's in it. 

Let me brag about my brother again, he is very talented. I wanted a sauce for my meatballs and asked him what he does.  About 15 texts later I had a recipe and a ton of helpful tips to set me up for a delicious meal. 

And with his permission I share his sauce.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (gluten free)
• 1 cup liquid (1/2 water + 1/2 orange juice)*
• 3 tbsp cornstarch**
• Peppers & onions cut in chunks, if desired

Directions:
1. In sauce pan, mix sugars, vinegar, ketchup, soy sauce & 3/4 cup liquid.
2. Bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, mix together remaining 1/4 liquid and cornstarch in small bowl.
3. When contents in the pot are boiling, stir in cornstarch liquid and stir until thick. Add peppers & onions.

Note:
*You could use also use pineapple juice, or all juice or all water. 
** If you cannot have corn, you can also use arrowroot flour. 
*** If using with meatballs, arrange meatballs, peppers, and onions in baking dish and heat in oven before you make the sauce.  When sauce is finished, pour over meatballs and cook another 15 minutes.

Meatballs!!

If you have been reading my blog, you may have caught on that I love Gluten Free Rice Krispies.  I use them for chicken nuggets, for onion rings, and now for meatballs.  Thanks to this not so secret ingredient, I feel like I can eat like a regular person again.

Gluten free Meatballs served in Sweet & Sour Sauce

I have a great resource in my older brother.  He very creative, experimental, and as a bonus, a certified red seal chef.  He can have the credit for directing me for this meal.


Gluten Free Meatballs- makes about 30 medium sized (1 1/2 T)

Ingredients:

• 1 1b ground pork*
• 1/2 1b ground beef*
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1/4 cup ground gluten free Rice Krispies
• 1 egg **
• Parsley, Salt & Pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Saute onions and garlic in a frying pan
3.  Meanwhile, add additional ingredients to the bowl
4. When sauteed, add onions and garlic to meat mix.  Be careful, they are hot.
5. Mix all ingredients together

6. Roll meat into balls.  Using a small cookie scoop helps them all be the same size

7. Brown the meatballs in a frying pan before cooking in the oven

8. Line meatballs on a cookie sheet and back for 25-30 minutes until brown inside

9. Serve as desired

Tips: 
- Use a rubber gloves when rolling to help keep meat smooth
- Roll 20-30 times for a tight meatball
- Make a small patty and cook before rolling balls.  This way you can judge the taste
- Use meatballs with sweet & sour sauce, mushroom soup, tomato sauce, as is...however you want
- Double recipe and freeze for multiple quick meals on the go.
- Boil meatballs if you do not want to fry them

Notes:
* Meat choices can be chosen to your needs.  Feel free to mix them up, apparently the more meat variety, the better the meatball
** Eggs (and rice krispies) are not mandatory in a meatball.  If you cannot have eggs, omit or use your egg replacer.  I did this and it worked just as well
***Check out this link for my Gluten Free Sweet & Sour Sauce

The One Thing I could Eat Every Day

I think we have known each other long enough that it is time to share something with you.

Now this is something very near and dear to my heart.  It is in fact my favorite food, and some would say that it is a borderline addiction.

It's Potatoes.

When I found out that wheat, dairy, and a variety of other foods were causing me to feel unwell, I didn't know what to eat.  Things were rough for a while, so I resorted to plain potato chips and french fries.  I was told that I shouldn't eat potatoes more than twice a month, but I have decided that I am genetically predisposed and permitted to eat them multiple times a week because of my Irish roots.

They are one of the few foods I can indulge in without feeling sick afterwards, so you health gurus think what you will.  But I don't think I can give these up....

Potatoes are so versatile and everyone loves them.

I love them fried, boiled, mashed, hash browned,  french fried, as chips...any way they come.  But my ultimate favorite is French Fries.

So you can't imagine my excitement when I found a really easy recipe online that feeds my addiction and makes a great side to many week night meals. There are a few ways that I enjoy making my potatoes, but today I will share with you they way I ate them last night alongside my gluten free chicken nuggets.

French Fries- feeds 3-4

Ingredients:

• 2 Large potatoes (any kind will do)
• Canola Oil
• Salt

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Put a thin coat of cooking spray on a cookie sheet
3. Cut your potato into French Fry sized strips.
4. Put in a bowl and put a few swigs of canola oil on them and stir around
5. Put fries on your cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt, and cook for about 45-60 minutes, flipping every 10-15 minutes.

We had some guests over.  I enjoyed the french fries, but spruced up theirs, turning it into Poutine.

Here's how:

1. Follow instructions above
2. Cook up your favorite gravy mix (our favorite is the Swiss Chalet Brand, though I passed because it is not gluten free).
   
3. Top with your favorite cheese curds
4. Put back in the oven for about 5 minutes, until cheese curds are melted

What's in the Crockpot Tonight?

Currently I have one of our two favorite curry dishes in the slow-cooker.  Today has been a busy day, and as we are still recovering from the busyness of Christmas, a meal in the crock pot was very appealing.
  

Source

So tonight, we are having Durban Style Chicken Curry.  A friend found this recipe in the newspaper of all places and shared it with me- it has been a family favorite since.  

Like the Butter Chicken we serve it over Quinoa, but rice would do too.  This dish is also gluten, wheat, dairy, and egg free, but has been enjoyed by all!

You can find the recipe here.

Notes:   

• If you are very sensitive to gluten, make sure you use a gluten free curry powder, just in case there is some hidden in the various spices, starches, and/or flavorings.
  
  
• I only ever use 3 chicken thighs and shred the chicken before serving.  I find this to be more cost efficient and still satisfying.

• I freeze the leftovers with the leftover quinoa & veggies and send it with my hubby on days that he needs a dinner.  

 

   

Snow Days & Comfort Meals: Butter Chicken

Today I got an early morning phone call telling me to go back to sleep- it was a snow day!  This was a welcomed surprise.  It meant that I could sleep in, stay in my PJ’s for way too long, and work on Christmas presents.  This year I am making about 90% of my gifts.  I am really proud of what I have been making and will share them with you after Christmas...I don’t want to give anything away!  

It also meant that I could share with you one of my family’s favorite meals Slow Cooker Butter Chicken.  It is dairy, wheat, egg & gluten free, but does contain nuts. The best part is that my very taste specific husband considers this his favourite meal, next to Chicken Nuggets of course.  

If you are thinking “I don’t like Indian food or curry”, I still suggest you give it a try.  The flavor is very subtle and doesn’t taste very curryish.  Rather it is just a warm, easy, comforting meal- especially for a Snow Day like today.

The original recipe can be found at the Canadian Living website.  Instead of typing it up, I will direct you to the RECIPE itself.

   

NOTES:

• I have substituted the butter for Earth Balance and sour cream for coconut milk to make it dairy free.  
• We serve it over Quinoa, but I bet it is good over rice too. 
• For sides we enjoy peas or green beans
• I usually only use 3 chicken thighs.  They shred in the Slow Cooker and are a nice accent.
• I add the chicken from the beginning, we like how it shreds.  This means we don't puree it, and it is still quite good.  If you prefer it pureed, remove the cooked chicken, shred on a plate, puree the sauce, then add all together again. 
• This meal freezes beautifully.  It usually feeds my husband and I and leaves enough leftovers for 4 more servings.