Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets

My son (and usually my daughter too) miss out on a few things that most kids take for granted...being able to stop in at (gag) McDonalds and have a happy meal, or even just being able to have chicken nuggets on a whim at home. I try my best to make sure if we go somewhere where other kids will be eating something (usually pizza at Christmas parties!), I bring 'exactly' the same thing for him to eat so he feels included, otherwise I don't usually let either kid have anything. They are too young to understand why one gets to eat something yummy in front of the other (I don't have any either if that's the case!). 

I've been kind of stumped on what to do for the inevitable McDonalds birthday parties. In fact, we went to 1/2 a birthday party earlier this year just to avoid such a problem (we played and had cake (the mom was nice enough to make a gf one!!!), and gave presents, but then we left when everyone else headed to McDonalds). Today I finally solved that problem!! I made some amazing (if I do say so myself) chicken nuggets. They were easy to make, freeze well uncooked and fry up in a matter of minutes. Don't look at me like that, yes, I deep fry things for my kids occasionally. Due to the high heat used and the minimal time immersed, I really do think they absorb less oil then if I pan fried them in 1/2" of oil. But I digress...I'm sure these would be tasty pan fried, or even baked. At least now I have an option that I could cook at home, bring to the party and let him eat along with everyone else. Yay!

I hesitate to call this a recipe, but here goes:

Ingredients
1-2 Cups Corn Flake Crumbs (GF)
2-4 Tbsp. Oil
4-6 Chicken Breasts
1 Egg
1/4 Cup Milk (If you need dairy free, I'm pretty sure water would substitute here just fine!)

Place Corn Flake Crumbs in a shallow dish and sprinkle 2 Tbsp. of oil over them for every 1 cup used. Mix up crumbs. Corn does not absorb liquid as wheat does, so this seems to be a necessary step to make it 'sticky'. (Although this may be a gf specific step, I'm really not sure...experiment!) Chop chicken breasts into nugget size pieces or strips. Mix together egg and milk in a bowl. Dip chicken pieces into milk/egg mixture, then roll in corn flake crumbs. Place on a baking sheet. When the baking sheet is full, place in the freezer.

NOTE: If you are making these from previously frozen chicken, you must cook all of the pieces once re-frozen to avoid becoming ill, if you are making these from fresh chicken then the freezer life (I think) would be the same as if you just froze the chicken.

When you are ready to cook, either bake in the oven (from frozen) at 425F for 20-30 minutes (I'm guessing here since I fried them!), or pan fry until cooked through. For deep frying, set your fryer to 375F and when the oil is up to temperature, place a single layer of frozen nuggets in the basket. Fry for 3-5 minutes (depending on size). When the oil stops making a lot of noise, generally whatever food is in there is done! That's my rule of thumb :)

I have not tried to freeze these after cooking. I have some leftovers in the fridge that I intend to re-heat in the oven tomorrow, but I think they would freeze ok.

In the words of my 3.5 year old "These are AWESOME Mommy!". I hope you enjoy them as much as we all did! :)

Note: I purchased my corn flake crumbs (see picture below) from amazon.com, and had them delivered in the states and had someone pick them up because I needed gluten free, however if you do not need gluten free Kellogg's has a corn flakes product that is available at any grocery store. It contains barley malt, so it's a no no in our house!

Using Dried Beans

I have had a friend request a 'how to' on using dry beans, so here is my method :) 

It can seem intimidating at first if you haven't done it, but once you have done it once you'll realize just how simple and convenient it is to always have beans ready to go. I do this once or twice a month.

1. Sort beans to remove any bad ones, or any dirt or rocks that may be in your bag. (You will be surprised what you can find!). I also remove any beans that float...my rationale is that if only a few are floating and most have sunk I go with the majority!

2. Place the amount of beans you want into your slow cooker pot, keeping in mind they will almost double in size! (My rule of thumb is less then half a pot, but more then a quarter). This can be done in a regular pot as well, but a slow cooker allows you to cook them the next day without monitoring them on the stove top.

    note: some people add a few tsp. of baking soda at this point to help reduce gassiness after eating...our family is used to eating beans and it doesn't seem to bother us so I skip this step. 

NEVER add salt when cooking or soaking your beans or they will not become tender no matter how long you cook them!

3. Fill with water, almost to the top of the pot.

4. Let soak overnight. (8-12 hours)

5. The next morning, drain the water, rinse the beans and place back into the slow cooker. 

6. Fill with water, almost to the top of the pot.

7. Cook on low for 8-12 hours (depends on heat of slow cooker, amount of beans etc.)

8. Beans are finished when fork tender (or if you like crunchier beans, stop cooking when they reach your desired texture).

9. Divide into containers (I do 3 cup portions, including bean juice) and freeze for later use.

There you have it. Easy peasy and so much cheaper then buying canned beans! I have done this with black beans and kidney beans, and both have worked really well. I always freeze them in their juices to avoid drying out and then depending on what recipe I'm putting them in I either rinse them or add everything in. I add black beans to almost every ground beef dish that I make. Sometimes as Refried Beans, and other times I just add the beans plain.

Dry lentils do not need to be soaked, nor do they need to be cooked very long. For lentils, I rinse them well and then I boil them on the stove until tender (5-10 minutes) and then I blend and add them to things like macaroni and cheese for extra protein!

Ooey Gooey Mozza Sticks

The yummiest mozza sticks I have EVER tasted and they are gluten free!
Hubby and I ate these for 3 nights in a row. We still have some in the freezer (I made 2 batches!) and I have a seriously hard time not cooking them up everytime I see them in there! Dip them in Marinara Sauce and its a little slice of paradise:) The original recipe is HERE. I made some minor changes

Ingredients
Mozza Cheese Sticks or just cut Mozza Cheese into 1.5-2" long and .5" wide. ( I made 48 at a time!)
2 eggs
1/4 water
GF Bread crumbs or frozen GF Bread ground up in the food processor
1/3 Cup Corn Starch
2/3 Cup GF All Purpose Flour
Garlic Powder or Granulated Garlic
Parmesan Cheese (Powder)
Oil, for deep frying

Bowl 1: Corn starch and flour, mixed
Bowl 2: Eggs and water, well beaten
Bowl 3: Breadcrumbs, sprinkle some garlic powder and parmesan cheese and mix.
(Note for the crumbs: I did my own with frozen bread. Mix your spices into the crumbs, in the bowl, and then use another bowl for breading. Put a bit at a time in this bowl and use until gone. This keeps your crumbs from retaining moisture and becoming useless as far as bread crumbs go!)

(You may need more egg/water mixture as you go and the bread crumb mix amount depends on how many you do.)

Cut your cheese into proper size. Too big and it wont cook properly, too small and you will be doing this forever! (I never buy cheese sticks because it's so much cheaper to buy a block of cheese. And it really didn't take long to cut it either, but if you do buy the cheese sticks cut them in half and you will have the proper size.)
Roll cheese in flour mix. Dip in egg mix. Roll in bread crumbs.
Place on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. Continue until all the pieces are done.
NOW, start at the first piece and RE egg and RE bread each piece. Seems redundant but trust me its worth it!
Place back on wax paper and freeze until completely frozen.
Heat oil to 375°F. Place a few at a time (my fryer handles about a dozen, but it's a big fryer. Don't put too many in or the oil will cool off too much) in the oil. Fry for 1-2 minutes or until outside is brown and they are soft. But get them out before you lose all the cheese! The re breading and the freezing is what makes these fry so well.
Serve hot with Marinara Sauce and be prepared for a scramble over the last one lol!

I dont think I will ever look at another mozza stick after this. Im sure they wont meet the new standard these set!

I'm thinking of adaptations for next time, perhaps some cayenne pepper in the breading? Maybe some hot sauce in the egg mix? Cheddar sticks? Mmmm my mouth is watering just thinking about them!

Peaches

Did you know that you can freeze peaches whole? If you have the freezer space this is the best way to enjoy peaches year round!
How To:
1. Let whole, unblemished peaches ripen. (I did not wash first)
2. Arrange whole peaches on a cookie sheet and place in freezer
3. After peaches have frozen solid; place them in a plastic bag
4. When you are ready to use, removed the desired number of peaches from the bag, run cold water over frozen peach and slip off the skin.
5. Microwave for 10 to 15 seconds on high.
6. Slice peaches to use as you desire for cereal toppings, pies or cobbler, ice cream, or simply slice them and enjoy!

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