Happy Unofficial National Sweet and Sour Chicken Day

"Craving is a good thing. In matters of culinary art, craving creates wonders." - Andy Paula

I don't know if you heard, but yesterday was a very important day, aka National Pancake Day. Now, I had every intention of celebrating. I even went out and bought syrup! But for the last few days I've had a huge craving for sweet and sour chicken--a craving that overwhelmed even my love of pancakes. I know, but what can I say? The heart wants what the heart wants.

So I declared yesterday unofficial sweet and sour chicken day. You're welcome. 

Ingredients: 

1 pound raw boneless chicken breast tenders

½ cup frozen pineapple tidbits (or chunks)

1 cup frozen mix of sliced red bell peppers, onions, and green bell peppers

1/3 cup cornstarch

2 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

¾ cup white sugar

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce

½ teaspoon garlic salt

pinch of salt 

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9x11 pan with vegetable oil.

Step 2: Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Take two small bowls. In one, put the cornstarch. In the second, add the two eggs, and beat.

Step 3: Add vegetable oil to a small pan and turn to medium heat. Dip each chicken piece in the cornstarch (just a warning—touching cornstarch is about as pleasant as running your nails down a chalkboard), covering completely, and then dip in the egg liquid, covering completely again. Step 4: Carefully place the chicken into the oil (spoiler alert: oil is hot and splashes if you drop things in it!). If your chicken isn’t covered by the oil, cook for 1-2 minutes and then flip, cooking for another 1-2 minutes, until lightly browned. If your oil does cover your chicken, 2-3 minutes or so works well.

Step 4: In your greased pan, add the frozen vegetables and pineapple tidbits.  Transfer the browned chicken pieces to your pan.

Step 5: To make the sauce, mix your apple cider vinegar, soy sauce, garlic salt, sugar, salt to taste, and ketchup. Pour on top of your chicken/vegetable mixture.

Step 6: Cook your delicious entrée for 50 minutes, stirring halfway through (more often if you’re motivated).

Serves 4-6.

Gluten-Free Chicken Pot Pie

“Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.” - Mark Twain

Recently I went to a fellow gluten-free friend’s house for dinner and she made a fantastic chicken pot pie. I hadn’t had chicken pot pie in years. I can’t tell you how great it tasted. Better than I remembered it as a kid. Anyway, this recipe is adapted from hers. She actually makes hers dairy-free which I think is amazing, but this one isn’t.

She also introduced me to the wonder that is Pillsbury’s gluten-free crusts. So yummy! I can’t tell that it’s gluten-free, and I’m pretty picky about my crusts. Honestly, when I wasn’t GF, I still rarely ate crusts on pies. But this crust is divine. I’m telling you, you have to try it.

The dough is a little tricky to work with, especially since I didn’t read the instructions first. Since I don’t have wax paper at home, I ended up just kneading and then flattening out the dough on a plastic cutting board. I transferred it into my dish using a spatula, and then connected the crust. This actually worked pretty well for me! I’ll probably keep doing it this way, because I’m lazy and I like the path of least resistance. I just used a fork to smooth out the top at the end, and it turned out…well, see for yourself!

Ingredients:

1 Pillsbury gluten-free dough crust

½ cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon margarine

1/3 cup bob’s red mill gluten-free all purpose flour

1 ¾ cup gluten free chicken broth

½ cup milk

¼ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon thyme

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (your choice! I used a frozen combination of peas, carrots, corn lima beans, and green beans and it was fabulous)

1 cup cooked shredded chicken

A pinch of pepper

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425F. Prepare the pie crust in the pie plate as stated on the Pillsbury container, or if you’re like me, just kind of mash it into the shape of the container haha.

Step 2: On low/medium heat, melt the margarine in a large frying pan. Add the chopped onions and cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes. Add the gluten free chicken broth, pepper, thyme, and onion powder to the pan and bring to a boil.

Step 3: In a small bowl, mix the milk and the gluten-free flour, stirring well. Slowly pour the milk/flour mixture into the boiling chicken broth mix, stirring frequently. Stir in all the milk/flour and until your mixture is nice and creamy!

Step 4: Add the mixed vegetables and the chicken to the large pan. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for five minutes.

Step 5: Pour your pot pie filling into the crust and cover with additional crust (This is the part where I flattened out the dough and transferred it using a spatula. Works great if you don’t have wax paper!). Transfer your pot pie to the oven and cook uncovered for 40 minutes. (If you made your pot-pie with a decorative crust, make sure you follow the Pillsbury directions to avoid burning it! I chose to not make a crust, again, because I’m lazy and I think it tastes the same!)

Step 6: Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Serves 5-8.

It's Thyme for Chicken!

“Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently.” - Maya Angelou 

Fun fact: did you know that the word thyme is Greek in origin, and means courage?  Well, I think YOU are courageous for taking steps towards good health by cooking your meals instead of indulging in processed foods today. Your body thanks you!

Even though I love my perfect roast chicken recipe, which you can find here, I do like to spice it up (pun intended, haha) every once in a while and try new things! So here is an alternative roast chicken recipe based on the fantastic flavors of thyme and lemon.

Ingredients:

1 tablespon thyme

½ tablespoon lemon juice

½ tablespoon lemon pepper

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 tablespoons butter

1 ½ cups gluten-free chicken broth

1 yellow onion

1 package baby carrots (can be substituted with any vegetable you'd like!)

1 whole chicken

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 425F. In a small mixing bowl add melted butter, olive oil, garlic, salt, lemon pepper, thyme, lemon juice, and olive oil. Mix thoroughly.

Step 2: Remove chicken giblets and rinse chicken. Place chicken in a roasting pan. Gently peel the skin back from the chicken without removing the skin. Using half the mixture, rub the chicken with the mix that you created in step 1. Rub under the skin, over the skin, and in all the crevices for the ultimate chicken experience!  

Step 3: Add gluten-free chicken broth to the remaining half of the spices mixture and stir. Set aside.

Step 4: Cut onion into large chunks. Put one chunk inside the chicken for added flavor, but not the whole onion! Place the remaining onion pieces around the roasting pan. Add carrots to the roasting pan as well.

Step 5: Take the remaining mixture and chicken broth that you set aside and pour it evenly over the vegetables in the roasting pan. Place in oven and cook 80-120 minutes (basting both the chicken and the vegetables half-way), depending on the chicken size and your oven. Remember to cook thoroughly! If you add additional vegetables to stuff your chicken it will take longer to cook.

Enjoy!

Perfect Roast Chicken

"Is this chicken, what I have, or is it fish? I know it's tuna, but it says 'Chicken of the Sea.'" - Jessica Simpson 

There's a first time for everything, and today was my first time roasting a chicken! And I must admit, it was fan-freaking-tastic! I'm struggling right now not to eat the whole darn thing in one sitting. I wasn't planning on blogging this recipe, since it was the first time I made it and usually I like to try a different ways of making things before I pronounce it "the best"--but this chicken is amazing and must be shared with the world!

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (5-7 pounds)
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup white wine
*1 tablespoon chicken seasoning
1 tablespoon crushed garlic
2 cups chicken broth (gluten-free)
1 teaspoon salt
1 bag of baby carrots
1 large yellow onion

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 425F. In a small mixing bowl, melt the butter and mix with white wine, chicken seasoning, garlic, and salt.

Step 2: Remove the giblets from the chicken and rinse the chicken thoroughly. Place in a roasting pan and gently separate the skin from the breast while still leaving the breast intact.

Step 3: Rub the butter mixture inside the chicken and underneath the skin of the chicken.  Pour the remaining mixture on the chicken.

Step 4: Cut the onion into 1/4th. Stuff the chicken with a 1/4 of the onion.  Place the rest of the onion and carrots in the basting pan. Pour the chicken broth on top of the vegetables.

Step 5: Cook the chicken for approximately 80-120 minutes, or until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Baste chicken midway through cooking.

Additional Tip: I've read online that tying the legs together also helps ensure moisture, but I didn't try this. Also, if you stuff your chicken you'll need a longer cook time. My chicken was 6 pounds and took 90 minutes to cook.

Serves 4.

*Any chicken seasoning is fine, use whatever you prefer. Mine contained garlic, onion, thyme, pepper and lemon.

Rosemary and Sage Chicken

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.”- Luciano Pavarotti

This dish tastes like homemade chicken noodle soup, but without the carbs and tons of protein, so it is significantly healthier for you without sacrificing the taste. Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup organic chicken broth

1 tablespoon rosemary

1 tablespoon seasoned salt

1/8 teaspoon sage

1/8 teaspoon onion powder

1 lb chicken breast

6 red potatoes

1/2 cup shredded carrots

Directions:

Step 1: Pour the chicken broth into a square casserole dish. Add the rosemary, seasoned salt, sage, and onion powder. Stir. Add the thawed chicken breast to the dish and spoon liquid onto the breast so they have been covered with broth and seasoning.

Step 2: Cut the red potatoes in fourths. Place the potatoes and carrots around the chicken and spoon on broth. 

Step 3: Preheat oven to 350 and cook for 50 minutes.  

Serves 4.  Approximately 234 calories per serving.

Sweet Basil and Garlic Chicken

“A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness.” - Elsa Schiaparelli

I was about to make sweet and sour chicken when I realized that I didn't have pineapple juice. Crap! I had someone coming over for dinner and I didn't have time to run out to the store for that essential item. So I tore through my cupboards, threw ingredients into the pan, and hoped for the best. And the best is what I got! I made this exact same chicken for my fiance the next day, it was that good.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast strips
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon dried sweet basil
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 chopped green onions (optional)

Directions:

Step 1: In a large pan, sautee the garlic and grapeseed oil for 2 minutes on medium-high heat.

Step 2: Add chicken broth, onion powder, crushed garlic, butter, basil, and seasoned salt to the pan. Cook on high for 5 minutes. Add  the chicken to the pan and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, turning twice.

Step 3: Turn heat to simmer and cook an additional 10 minutes so the chicken can fully absorb the flavor. (Add optional green onions here).  If your sauce is runny at this point, cook on high an additional 2-3 minutes to thicken, but make sure you take the chicken out first so you don't overcook.

Note: If you use full chicken breasts and not strips be sure to adjust the cook time accordingly. Also, the first time I made this I added chopped green onions, which tasted really good, but I ran out for the second batch. I think I prefer it without only because it didn't change the flavor significantly and it was extra work--but it does look prettier, so not a bad ingredient to add when serving guests! (2 scallions, chopped, added during the simmer step)

Serves 2.