Gluten-Free Chinese Honey Garlic Chicken

So we just found out that my son is allergic to wheat and rye, basically that means staying away from gluten from now on.

I started to rack my brain on things to feed him so he can still enjoy the foods he enjoys now.

His first favorite food is chicken nuggets.  As we know most frozen chicken nuggets and chicken nuggets recipes are coated with flour.  So I tried to make my own gluten free version of it.  Here's what I did:

Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets
1 lb chicken breasts cut in cubes
1 cup buttermilk
Sweet White Rice flour or Glutinous Rice Flour for coating
Salt and pepper to taste
* (My son is allergic to dairy too, so make your own dairy-free buttermilk with 1 cup of soy milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Let sit for 10 minutes and voila!)

Directions:
1.  Mix chicken cubes with buttermilk in a resealable bag. Let marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2.  Season flour with some salt and pepper. You might add more seasonings if you prefer.
3.  Coat each chicken generously with the flour. Make sure chicken becomes dry with flour before taking it off the flour.  You can also put it in a resealable bag with the flour and shake to coat the chicken pieces.
4.  If you want the chicken nuggets to be more coated, you can double-dip by dipping the chicken in buttermilk again and then in the flour again.
3.  Fry!  Or in my case I used my Acti-fry by just using one tablespoon of oil!

You don't have to stop there! I continued on and used the chicken to cook some Chinese Honey Garlic Chicken for dinner! Yum yum!

After cooking the chicken nuggets, I left those I'm using for my Honey Garlic Chicken on my ActiFry.  I just added some cubed red bell peppers and onions and turned it on for 5 minutes.

If you don't have an ActiFry though (I suggest you get one!),  here's how to do it:

Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe
2 Red Bell Peppers, cubed
1 Onion, cubed
Cooked Chicken cubes *See recipe above
1 or 2 recipes of Honey Garlic Sauce as desired  *See recipe below

Directions:
1.  Saute onion until soft.
2.  Add Red Bell Peppers and saute for 2 minutes.
3.  Add fried chicken nuggets in the pan.
4.  Add Honey Garlic Sauce
5.  Mix mix mix!
6.  Serve on rice and enjoy!

Honey Garlic Sauce
1/4 cup Honey
1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tablespoons Garlic minced
2 tsp Cornstarch diluted in 2 tablespoons Water

Directions:
1.  Mix honey, soy sauce, vinegar and garlic in a saucepan and slowly let boil.
2.  Slowly stir in cornstarch mixture.
3.  Let the sauce thicken and mix with chicken while continuously stirring.
4.  This can also be cooled, put in ziplock bags and freeze for future use. Just reheat and mix with your dish!

So, this recipe sounds complicated. But actually took 25 minutes from start to finish (excluding marinating time).  First I put all the chicken in my ActiFry, then time it for 20 minutes.  I make the sauce in a small saucepan while waiting, which took like 5 minutes!  Waited 15 minutes of doing nothing. Then when the timer was done, I added the bell peppers and onions and time again for 5 minutes.  Put in a serving dish when done and mix the sauce with it!

I would've uploaded a picture but.. all of it are now devoured...

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

This is very simple but will give you a comforting and hearty meal.  You can make your own pie crust or buy a refrigerated pie plate.  Keep frozen vegetables to cut prep time.

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken (I use chicken thighs since I love dark meat!)
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans)  You can add other vegetables you like
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper


1.  Cut chicken into 1 inch cubes.  Season with salt and pepper.
2.  Heat oil in skillet, add and saute chicken.  Add vegetables when chicken is golden brown.  Cook vegetables for additional 2 minutes.  Remove from heat.
3.  Stir soup and milk to the chicken mixture.  Season with salt and pepper (I put some Cajun seasoning too).
4.  Bake at 350 deg F for 30 minutes or until top crust is golden brown.

Ready for the top crust and into the oven!

One slice down!

Ready to be devoured!

Homemade Chicken Caesar Pizza

It's spring break this week! That means kids get to stay home and run amok inside the house. This week I'm looking after my two nieces as well which makes four kids inside the house and I can't have all of them driving me crazy while they find something exciting to do at home. So I figured to make them busy today, I'm getting them involved in making our own homemade pizza for lunch.

My nieces putting the toppings on the pizzas

I'm not quite sure if I should put this pizza recipe in my baking blog (Joyful Indulgences tab above) or here in my easy dinner blog. I guess making the pizza dough itself should be in the baking blog since it's not really quick and easy as you need some time to knead and let the dough rise. Let alone shape the dough in the pan.

However, what makes this really easy is making a yummy Chicken Caesar pizza. You can buy a pre-made crust if you are short for time.

To make a Chicken Caesar Pizza you need:

Caesar Dressing
Cooked Chicken Breasts (cooked as directed below)
Bacon Pieces
Cheese

You can add other toppings you want too (we are adding mushrooms) but the ingredients above at least what you need to make it work.

1. Slice your chicken breast into one inch strips. Saute on a pan with butter, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Remove from heat when the chicken is tender. Pour in some Caesar dressing on the chicken just to coat them.

2. Take your crust and spread a good amount of Caesar dressing just like you would with pizza sauce. Sprinkle all your toppings around the pizza except the cheese.

3. Sprinkle a good amount of cheese (mozzarella cheese works best) on top.

4. Bake at 350 deg F for 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.


My pizza dough recipes to follow.  I use two different kinds, depending if you want a crunchy thin crust or a high-rising thick crust.

I will post them on my baking blog http://joyfulindulgences.com soon :)

Chicken Caesar Pizza fresh from the oven

Pizza Slice with crunchy thin crust

Easy Salmon

Cooking with salmon is so easy!!  It is very healthy for the kids in a lot of ways, but most importantly because it is high in Omega-3 which gives their tiny little brains a good boost.   For the *ahem* older ones, it reduces the risk of heart disease and it has antioxidants which decreases the risk of certain cancers.

Here are some of the ways I like to cook salmon.  I posted them here


http://notecook.com/main-course/fish/quick-and-easy-ways-to-cook-salmon/

Let me know which way you like the best!  

To All Moms!

This blog is dedicated to all moms out there, but is especially dedicated to my friend Melissa, who takes care of her two kids, works almost everyday, and is always short for time and ideas when dinnertime comes.

I must say these recipes are not "gourmet" in any level since these are time-crunched recipes, and also because of ingredients that you will probably easily find in any pantry.

However, I think these will serve the purpose of being quick and easy but hopefully a dinner that the whole family will love.