Chicken pot pie rice

I threw this together tonight with what we had in our kitchen. Next time I might add in some carrots as well but it turned out well.

 Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts
1 cup water
1 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tsp Fody Chicken soup mix
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen green beans
2 tbsp gluten free flour blend (I used Bob's Redmill 1 to 1 flour mix)
Served with white rice (1 cup white rice, 2 cups water)

Instructions:

1) Start by cooking rice on stove per package instructions.

2) In the Instant pot add 1 cup water and chicken soup mix, place chicken breasts topped with poultry seasoning and salt.

3) Pressure cook on high for 15 minutes, natural release for 5 minutes and then quick release.

4) Remove chicken, dice and return to pot. 

5) Press sauté. Add vegetables and stir in flour blend.

6) Sauté until vegetables are heated through and sauce is thickened.

7) Serve over rice.

Italian Chicken and Rice Bake

It's clearly been a while since I last used this recipe blog but I thought I should share what I made for dinner tonight. . .

Years ago I had enjoyed a recipe from Campbells for something similar but with an inability to use cream soups any longer due to additional allergies, I pretty much shelved the recipe as something we'd never get to eat again.

Tonight I decided to make a lot of adjustments. . .and it was tasty! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Italian Chicken and Rice Bake:

Ingredients:

2 tsp chicken soup mix (I used Fody)

2 cups water

2 tbsp margarine, melted (I used Becel Vegan)

1 cup long grain white rice

1/2 tsp oregano leaves

1/2 tsp basil leaves

1/2 tsp ground sage

1 zucchini (about 1 cup worth)

14oz diced tomatoes, drained

4 chicken legs back attached

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400F

2) Mix chicken soup mix, water, margarine, rice, and spices together in 9x13 casserole dish.

3) Spread evenly with zucchini and diced tomatoes.

4) Top with chicken.
5) Cover with tin foil and bake at 400F for 55 minutes. Remove cover and bake for 5 minutes.

6) Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

This recipe served our family of 4 and we had a bit of the rice and veggies left over to eat later. In our case tonight's chicken cost $10.22, zucchini was $1.45 and we already had everything else. This brings our total to $11.67 or $2.92 per person.

 

 

 

Fried Chicken

So tonight I decided to basically make the recipe off the side of the gluten free Bisquick box entitled "Oven-baked Chicken." The recipe called for an entire chicken cut up which I didn't have so I reduced the recipe and then also modified it slightly as I didn't have seasoned salt.

Here is the recipe as modified.  It's definitely something we would make again!

Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp Becel Vegan Margarine
1/2 Cup Bisquick Gluten Free mix
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 pepper
2 eggs, beaten
2lbs of chicken legs back attached

1) Heat oven to 400F. Melt butter in 7 x 11 inch baking dish uncovered in oven.
2) Stir Bisquick mix, salt, paprika, garlic powder and pepper together.
3) Place eggs into a shallow dish.  Dip chicken into eggs, then coat with Bisquick mixture.
4) Place skin side down in heated dish.
5) Bake for 35minutes.  Turn chicken; bake about 15 minutes longer or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165F.

Gluten Free Bisquick is not currently officially available in Canada.  Some retail locations do sell it unofficially but it is available across the border in the United States if you cannot find it here.  I obviously have not tried this with regular gluten containing Bisquick.  Who knows, it might work too if you can eat gluten. :) Gluten free/ regular pancake mix (for the gluten eaters) might also work. :)

Mediterranean Chicken

I've never actually tasted Mediterranean chicken so I'm not actually sure if that's what this tastes like but I made this dish based on a recipe I modified of the same name and it was pretty yummy.  You probably wouldn't have to cut up the chicken like we did but we have a 3 year old and it just seems easier at times to cut everyone since we're already cutting anyway.

I found this recipe pretty cheap and fairly tasty so I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Mediterranean Chicken

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp tomato paste
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
2 lbs chicken legs back attached (you could also use thighs, or drumsticks)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350F.
2) In a small bowl, whisk together tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper to make sauce.
3) If desired, remove the skin chicken skin.  Place chicken in a casserole dish and pour sauce over it.
4) Cook chicken for 1 hour.

5) Serve over rice.

6) Enjoy!

Gluten free Shake and Bake Mix

Last night we decided to make "shake and bake" chicken but first I had to make up some shake and bake mix so I modified a gluten containing recipe I found online to make it gluten free.  This made enough shake and bake mix that we could use some and store some for another time.

Here is our recipe:

Gluten Free Shake and Bake Mix

Ingredients:

2 cups Millet flour

2 cups Alterna Gluten Free bread crumbs

1/6 cup salt (2 tbsp + 2tsp)

1 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder

1/2 Tbsp. onion powder

1/2 Tbsp. pepper

2 Tbsp. paprika

Directions: Add all ingredients into a large bowl and stir together.  When stirred dump bowl into large container or zip lock bag to store.  

To use, dip chicken in oil of your choice (I used olive oil) and shake chicken with a portion of mix in a large ziplock bag.  To give you an idea, we made 3 chicken legs and I used about 2/3 cups of mix in the ziplock.  I then cooked the chicken in a casserole dish without a lid at 350F for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Chicken Dinner

Tonight I was supposed to make a completely different meal for dinner but, when I went to assemble my ingredients together, I realized I was missing at least half of them!  So basically that recipe was a no-go.

I had no idea what to make until I had a "will it blend" moment. lol.  In case you're confused take a look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZegRcMjMRU

Obviously Will it Blend is pretty disgusting but when I remembered that clip I started thinking about what was in my cupboard - chicken, cranberry sauce, and spices for a "Thanksgiving dinner" style meal.  I had no idea if putting them together in the crock pot would work but happily it did!  So here's the recipe for what we ate for dinner tonight.

Crock Pot Chicken Dinner:

Ingredients:

2 Chicken Legs BA (approximately 2lbs)

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 1/2 Cups Butternut Squash, peeled and chopped

1 tsp dried Sage

1/2 Cup Vegetable Stock (I used Campbell's Vegetable Broth)

1/2 Cup Water

1/4 Cup Canned Cranberry Sauce

1 Cup Rice (+ water needed to make rice)

Directions:

1) Put the Chicken in the bottom of a 4 quart Crock Pot.

2) Throw Squash and Onion over top.

3) Sprinkle Sage over top

4) Add Vegetable Stock and water.

5) Dribble Cranberry Sauce over everything.

6) Cook on High for 4 hours.

7) Cook Rice separately on stove top.

8) Serve Chicken mixture over rice. Enjoy!

Creamy Farmhouse Chicken and Garden Soup

So tonight we tried a new recipe called Creamy Farmhouse Chicken and Garden Soup which I found on Family.go.com. (Original recipe here: http://family.go.com/food/recipe-cp-630066-creamy-farmhouse-chicken-and-garden-soup-t/)  :)  I guess this response is kind of getting repetitive but "it was really good"!

We're gluten free, casein free here so I had to modify it and I was worried about that but it didn't seem to affect the taste at all.  It was really yummy and reminded me somewhat of chicken pot pie but without the crust. :)

So here is the modified recipe:

Ingredients:
13oz Selection Oriental Style vegetables (I weighed this.  Mix contains - Broccoli, green beans, carrots, onions, red peppers, mushrooms)
1 small zucchini, peeled, sliced.
2 bone in, skin on, chicken legs back attached. (approximately 2lbs)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 cups Campbell's Gluten Free Vegetable Broth
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 oz Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta uncooked (I weighed this)
1 cup Rice Milk (I used Natur-a)
2 tbsp Becel Vegan Margarine

Directions:
1) Grease 6 quart Crock-pot.
2) Place Stir-fry vegetable mix and zucchini in the bottom.
3) Add chicken, garlic, broth and thyme.
4) Cover and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours (or until chicken is no longer pink). Remove chicken from crock pot and set aside.
5) Meanwhile cook noodles on stove top.
6) While noodles are cooking remove chicken skin, debone and chop.  Return to crock pot.  Stir in remaining ingredients and serve.

Sweet Potato - The Gateway Vegetable

Ever since I was little I wasn't particularly crazy about vegetables.  In college I became a self proclaimed "foodie".  I loved trying new dishes but most of them actually didn't include a lot of vegetables either. At restaurants I gravitated to things in the menu that were often breaded.  Foods from different countries were my favs - like Schnitzel, but I really wasn't that adventurous at all.

At home I still stuck with the regular stuff - meat, potatoes, pasta.

A couple of years ago a friend of mine introduced me to the sweet potato.  She suggested I "had" to try some sweet potato fries she made and she insisted I would "LOVE" them.  Well. . .I didn't.  Honestly I wasn't too keen on sweet potato based on that experience.

But, last year I found a recipe that included sweet potato and gave it another try.  Turns out it wasn't so bad after all.  Recently I've actually started to LIKE IT! *Gasp!* Sweet Potato turned out to be kind of like a Gateway Vegetable, leading to a willingness to experiment and try new vegetables . . .

This year, based on my sweet potato experiences, I'm really becoming more "adventurous".  We're trying to try new vegetables that are in season.  Tonight we tried turnip for the first time.  Honestly not the best vegetable out there but combined with beets and potato, some spices and chicken very edible. :)

Turns out vegetables aren't that bad after all. . .It's all in how you make them.  :)

Here's a link to the recipe I used tonight so you can also give it a try! :) Turned out pretty good! 

Crock Pot Chicken & Root Vegetables (Serves 3 to 4)

Ingredients

• 2 lb. chicken legs back attached
• 1/4 onion, sliced
• 1 beet
• 1 turnip, chopped
• 1 potatoes, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon thyme
• 1/2 tablespoon oregano
• 1/2 cup water
• oil to grease crock pot

Instructions

1. Chop potatoes, onion, turnip, and beets about the same size and thickness and put in 6 quart greased crock pot.
2. Shake spices over top of veggie mixture.  Add water.
3. Place chicken on top of vegetables.
4. Cook on high for 4 hours.

 Original recipe modified from: http://www.dietsinreview.com/recipes/crock-pot-chicken-and-root-vegetables/

Chicken Fingers - The Sequel

Premade Chicken Fingers are something that people without gluten intolerance or Celiac disease take for granted.  Go into a pub, restaurant, or a grocery store and you can probably pick up a pretty decent box of chicken fingers for what would probably be considered a reasonable price.

Not the case when you have Celiac disease.  Most gluten free premade chicken fingers are honestly pretty grose.  Enter S'Better Farms:

My daughter is celebrating her 2nd birthday tomorrow and requested "kicken" fingers.  She loves when I make them but I didn't think I had time so I decided to try one last ditch attempt at finding a box of chicken fingers that didn't taste disgusting and cost 2 arms and a leg. lol.

As taste and texture go, I was pretty impressed with S'Better Farms Chicken fingers.  They are also Kosher and Halal for those who that's important to.  Unfortunately, they are lacking in size for their price.  Here is a picture of some of the chicken fingers in the box.  (This is half of the box by the way.)  Not a whole lot of chicken for the comparable cost of a non-gluten free box of chicken fingers.  Unfortunately this is common with gluten free foods. :(

Boxed Chicken Fingers

If I had to buy premade chicken fingers S'Better Farms far surpasses the taste of any comparable gluten free product on the market and I would recommend them but unfortunately making my own is still cheaper and heartier than the gluten free products on the market. :)  Here is a picture of some of the gluten free chicken fingers I made tonight for the party tomorrow. :)

Homemade Chicken Fingers

I used my previous recipe, http://ontheedgeoftomorrow.blogspot.com/2011/07/chicken-fingers.html , but instead of using Rice Crisps I used 3/4 of a cup of Alterna Gluten Free Bread Crumbs pictured below and omitted the salt in the recipe (as the bread crumbs contain salt). :)  Hubby and I tried the chicken fingers tonight and we both agree they are yummy!  Hubby actually said they were the best gluten free chicken fingers he had ever tasted.  So try them yourself!  Let me know what you think! :)