Chick-Fil-A-ish knockoff Nuggets

Chick-fila is one of the places I really miss. We can still do the fries and coleslaw, and the grilled chicken filet, but those nuggets and that crispy #1 sandwich haunt my sleep, with the two crucial pickles....

So on pinterest I found this recipe and tried it. It was really good, but didn't quite nail it for me, so after reading all the comments and judging what I felt like it was missing the first time I tried it, I tweaked it and came up with this one. It's still not quite CFA, but it is tasty and quells the cravings. I think next time I make these, I'll run through the drive thru and get coleslaw and fries with lots of chick-fila sauce and ranch, just to make the whole experience complete.

Ingredients:
2 big boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in little bites
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 good sized spoonful hamburger dill pickle slices
1 cup Bob's Red mill all purpose GF baking flour
1 tbsp Lawry's seasoned salt
1 tsp Mrs. Dash (I like the table-ready kind so it's ground fine, but any kind is good)
2 tbsp powdered sugar (this was in the original recipe so i kept it. not sure what difference it would make to leave it out)
1 tsp pepper
oil for frying (I use refined coconut oil- it's better for you if you gotta have oil. the recipe calls for peanut or canola but I don't do those. A: can't do peanut. B: explain to me what a canola plant is? oh that's right... no such thing. manufactured in a lab and not real food!)

Steps:
Put the chicken, beaten egg, milk, and pickles in a gallon ziploc bag and marinate in the fridge for 2-4 hours.
Put all the flour and spices in another gallon ziploc.
Drain the liquid out of the marinade bag and add the chicken to the spice bag. Seal and shake. (If you hate fried pickles, fish those out first. I happen to love them, so I just mix them in with the chicken for a secondary treat.)
Heat your oil to 375 in a deep-ish pot, should be an inch or two deep with oil.
Drop chicken/pickles in small batches and cook about four minutes.
Try to let them cool so you don't burn your face off munching them.

Creamy Crockpot Chicken

This stuff is GOOD. It completely satisfies all my comfort food, noodle goodness, cream sauce cravings and I've perfected the gluten free version finally. We used to make this a lot before we were GF and it's taken me a while to figure out how to do it and make it taste the same. I always make double the amount of sauce it calls for and we still end up with big chunks of chicken in the pot while we scrape the last bit of sauce onto our pasta. Also good on rice.

If you're like me and you love the sauce and noodles, I'll post a recipe next about what to do with the leftover chicken. I made it last night and almost wept for joy it was so good. And my daughter? She wept for real and spit it in her plate. Silly rabbit.

anyway...

In the crockpot, put a 3 lb bag of frozen chicken. I like to use the tenders instead of the big pieces for this because I like for more surface area to be covered by spices. Then put a dry packet of Good Seasons Italian dressing over it. Or if you're like me and you never buy that stuff, here's how to make it at home:

1 tablespoon Mrs. Dash
1 tablespoon Lawry's Garlic Salt
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon basil
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon celery seeds (which I always leave out because I never have them)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon pepper

So you cook that for 5-6 hours on low. Then add:
chopped onion- however much you like
3 blocks of cream cheese
1 box Pacific gluten free cream of chicken soup (This stuff is new and it is a MIRACLE OF SCIENCE. It has made easy casseroles a reality once again. I don't like it by itself the way I used to eat the Campbells cream soups, but it's awesome in recipes.)

I like to shred the chicken with forks before mixing all the cream sauce into the juices. Then cook it on high for about another hour and serve it with noodles. Super yummy!!

Flawless Sesame Chicken

It has been years since I blogged. Really. Like since January of last year. I actually forgot how to blog! I had to call my sister to remind me and even then it is doing something weird with the colors, spacing and links. So Bare with me!

This recipe was good enough to bring me out of my 18 month blogging hiatus. THAT good.

My husband LOVES sesame chicken. Since we went gluten free 3 years ago we stopped going to Chinese restaurants for fear of death and while I do make Chinese food it is mostly limited to fried rice and stir fry. Until now.



I found the recipe here and changed it a little to fit our family needs.

Ingredients:

Servings: 3-4

• 3 whole boneless chicken breasts

Marinade

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cooking wine or 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 3 drops sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons flour *I used a mixed GF flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

* this smelled really weird to me while I was making it but that could be the crazy pregnant nose. I also found it odd that it bubbled like a baking soda volcano but it turned out so I guess it is supposed to do that?!

Sauce

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/8-1/4 cup white vinegar (depending on how sweet you want the sauce) or 1/8-1/4 cup rice wine vinegar (depending on how sweet you want the sauce)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup sugar (we use 1/2 cup sugar but the orginal recipe called for 1 cup) *I used 3/4 a cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon chili paste (or more) *They didn't sell this at the store I went to so I used chili powder and added a few chili flakes on the top of my serving.
• 1 garlic clove (minced)

*I have no idea the differnce between light and dark soy sauce so I just used what I had in the fridge for both

Frying

• peanut oil (3 1/2-4 cups) (I used Canola because it was what I had)

Serving

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• *I was feeling lazy by this point and didn't toast the sesame seeds. We didn't die.
  

Directions:

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 40 mins

1. 1 Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes. Mix the marinade ingredients (the first 9 ingredients listed) and marinate the chicken for 20 minutes.
2. 2 To prepare the sauce:.
3. 3 Mix together all of the sauce ingredients. Pour them into a small pot and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Turn the heat down to low and keep warm while you are deep-frying the chicken.
4. 4 To deep-fry the chicken:.
5. 5 Add the marinated chicken pieces a few at a time, and deep-fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and then place chicken in warm oven (130 degrees) while you continue frying. Repeat with the remainder of the chicken. Just before you are finished deep-frying, bring the sauce back up to a boil.
6. 6 Place the chicken on a large platter and pour the sauce over. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve the Sesame Chicken with rice.

This was the most amazing dish EVER!! I served it with a steamer bag of mixed Asian veggies and almost everyone loved it. The 3 year old was not a fan of the sauce so next time I will reserve some of the chicken out before I put the sauce on. We will for sure be doing this again!

Chicken Pot Pie

Oh. My. Word. I have missed you, chicken pot pie. Things with cream sauce and flaky pastry have been the hardest to recreate on my own. I finally found a couple of recipes to cobble together and the results have been fabulous. And it's GLUTEN FREE!!!! Not dairy free, but I'm sure you could change it up if you needed to. Plus, if you don't have to be gluten free, you could just get a can of whop biscuits and throw those on the top to make it even quicker.

{you know, whop biscuits? The ones in the can that you have to whop on the counter to open?}

I wish I could say I made this up, but it's pretty basically Bette Hagman's recipe from her Gluten-Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods. I change it up a tiny bit, but not really enough to say it's my own recipe.

Filling Ingredients:
1 cup diced cooked chicken
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup minced onion (i always chop a whole onion. onion is our friend.)
1/2 cup frozen peas (i use a can of those lesoeur peas with mushrooms and pearl onions- it adds a nice touch.)
3 tablespoons GF mix (or flour)
2-3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup cream
salt and pepper to taste

Oven at 350.

prepare chicken and set aside. In my case, that means open the can and flake it with a fork.

put the chicken stock in a large saucepan and bring it to a boil; add the carrots, celery and onions and cook for 15 minutes. Add peas and chicken and cook 5 minutes longer.

Mix the flour to a thin paste with the water. Use it to thicken stock and cook on low 1-2 minutes. Add cream and season with salt and pepper.

Pour mixture into a 2-quart casserole dish or individual ramekins (which I haven't tried but OH the cuteness!) and top with globs of biscuit dough. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

I ALWAYS double this recipe and put it in a 13x9.

Topping (gluten free):
Her recipe says to use her biscuit recipe, obviously. I don't. My mom spent her last snow day from school baking batch after batch of gf biscuits, tweaking 1/2 teaspoon here and there of various things to find the perfect recipe. I don't know what it started out as, but now it's hers and it is GOOD. So that's what I use instead.

1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup potato starch
3/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk

Oven at 375 if you're making actual biscuits with this recipe, otherwise I just throw the dough in blobs on top of the pot pie stuff and use the 350.

In food processor, blend all ingredients except milk. When everything is blended, add the milk and blend till smooth. Drop by spoonfuls onto greased baking sheet. Bake 15 minutes to make 8-9 biscuits.

I always have to at least triple this when I make biscuits for breakfast. A double batch works nicely for a double batch of potpie filling.


My daycare baby is highly enamored of the pot pie.

Here's one serving, ready to eat.

Side view of the casserole dish as it comes out of the oven. I'm not sure if I was trying to be artsy or what- now I'm looking at it and thinking it's kind of weird.

But I guess from the top, all you can see is huge fluffy biscuits, so it's good to have a side view to show off the sauce. :)

Easy Jambalaya

This is a staple dish in my family. I actually do not know if my dad makes his jambalya like this, but this is an easy way to make it for supper. I do not ever measure so, I'm sorry.

You will need:

• yellow onions
• green onions (I use frozen seasoning mix or Creole Seasoning Mix)
• garlic
• rice (2 cups)
• chicken stock
• water
• oil
• flour
• salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper (I use Tony's but some people don't like it)
• chicken or pork (I use bonelss, skinless chicken breasts most of the time)
• link sausage cut into bite size pieces
• cast iron skillet or dutch oven- must have a lid

1. First, coat your chicken pieces in flour.
2. Put some oil in the bottom of the skillet- coat the bottom
3. Brown the chicken in the oil
4. Take out chicken and put to the side. You may want to cut them up after they are not too hot.
5. There will be some little bits of flour + oil that is crunchy-like, that is ok
6. Now, sautee your veggies and garlic but don't burn it!
7. Using your spatula, pick up the little crunchy bits and mix them all with your veggies.
8. Add some chicken stock to help you pick up those little bits- just a glug or two.
9. Next you can add your chicken pieces and sausage.
10. Add 2 cups of rice
11. After all of that, add water until all of the rice and meat are covered. I use some chicken stock and some water.
12. Finally, add your Tony's (or salt, peppers, whatever).
13. Put the lid on and turn the heat to medium for about 20 minutes.
14. After that, stir (it's not easy to do) and fluff your rice- if you still have too much liquid- cook on low for a little longer. If your rice is still too crunchy- add some more chicken stock and cook for a little longer.

**Serve with white beans and cole slaw for a real south LA treat**

I am TERRIBLE at writing these things. I know that my recipe is not well written at all. I can answer questions though, if you have them.

Poppyseed Chicken Casserole

I got this recipe from my college roommate, Amy. I added a few things, partially because I can never just leave well enough alone when it comes to a recipe, and partially because I had a few things I needed to use up.

The recipe can go in a 9x13 baking dish, but like I usually do, I split it into two 8x8 dishes...one that I baked last night, and one that I froze for later. Since Gabby only eats about a quarter cup, the three of us can eat an 8x8 for two nights.

• 4 cups cooked, cubed chicken (I just used 4 chicken breasts and didn't measure...I boiled them with salt, pepper, and some crushed garlic cloves)
• 1 can of cream of chicken soup (reduced fat works fine)
• 1 16-oz container of sour cream (reduced fat works fine)
• 1 tub of mushrooms, diced (my addition)
• 1 small onion, diced (my addition)
• 1 can of water chestnuts, diced (my addition)
• 3/4 cup of toasted slivered almonds (Amy's recipe calls for 1/2 cup but as a rule I almost ALWAYS add extra nuts to any recipe)
• 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
• 1 sleeve of crushed Ritz crackers (reduced fat works fine)
• 1/4 cup melted butter, OR a few tablespoons of olive oil (optional)

Saute onions and mushrooms in a little olive oil until onions are translucent. Season with salt and pepper. Drain any liquid released from the mushrooms. In a large bowl, mix the soup and sour cream together, and then mix in the chicken, mushrooms & onions, water chestnuts, almonds, and poppyseeds. Spread mixture into a baking dish/dishes lightly coated with cooking spray. Mix cracker crumbs with butter or olive oil and spread over chicken. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly.

We ate it served over brown rice cooked in chicken broth, with steamed broccoli on the side. All three of us liked it...even David, who is normally not a fan of creamy-based casseroles.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas

I love these because they're so easily adaptable. I made them Thanksgiving weekend when we were all tired of the standard holiday dinner leftovers, and we had a whole bunch of my husband's family over. I made three pans of them ahead of time and tweaked each one to be a little different in spiciness and added stuff. Everybody liked them and kept commenting on how they couldn't believe they were gluten free. People tend to think that every single thing that is gluten free is going to be foreign and weird. Not so. Eating at home is pretty easy and tasty most of the time.

I started with this recipe from Allrecipes, but it doesn't end up being exactly like that in my kitchen, so here's what I do.

The basic filling:

• 2 cups cubed, cooked chicken meat
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 3/4 cup sour cream

If the kids are going to eat it, sometimes I stop with this. Usually I add more though, since that filling doesn't resemble actual Mexican food at all. It's good with some taco seasoning or cumin added in, or some Rotel, or my favorite, Homemade Gourmet Taco Soup mix. I've also added tomatoes, green chilies, extra cheese, whatever my little heart fancies. That's the beauty of an enchilada. No two are the same and they're really hard to mess up.

If you want them to be gluten free, use corn tortillas. I think the white corn ones taste better. If not, feel free to use flour if you like those best, although I'm told that enchilada purists demand corn, because it's a burrito if you use flour? I'm unclear on that. Anyway, get some tortillas and wrap those puppies up. The recipe calls for 8, but I almost always get at least 10 out of one batch of filling.

Sauce:

• 3 cups shredded cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream

That's all it called for, and I have trouble obtaining my desired consistency, so I usually end up adding some chicken broth or more sour cream or half and half or whatever I have in the fridge.

Pour that over, and then add fun toppings. Tomatoes and sliced black olives are my favorite, but you can get creative and put whatever. Jalapenos, for those of you with spicier, non-wurss palates than mine? Sky's the limit there.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 and devour.

These are good to make ahead and refrigerate or freeze for later too.