Quick and Easy Chicken Stir Fry

I have a ton of veggies in my fridge right now, and what better way to use them, than in a stir fry.  The only problem for me is convincing everyone else in my family that they are good.  I live in a household of veggie haters, they only have a few select veggies they will eat, but I really wanted this, and since I'm the cook in the family we had it.  I didn't cut up the chicken breasts, because I knew my husband would be picking out the chicken, so I made it easier for him, but if I were to make it as a normal stir fry, I'd cut up the chicken.  The picture below, doesn't show the chicken, well, because I didn't think to take a picture until after dinner, so you get to see what my lunch looks like for tomorrow.  This stir fry is easy and quick, and you can use whatever veggies you have on hand.

Chicken Stir Fry

2 tablespoons oil
2 chicken breasts cut into 3/4" pieces
4 cups assorted fresh veggies (I used broccoli, carrots, celery, and red peppers)
2 cloves garlic minced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce

Directions
1. Cook chicken on medium high heat in 1 tablespoon of oil until no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add 1 tablespoon of oil to pan (if needed) and add vegetables.  Cook until tender crisp, stirring often.  Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.
3. Meanwhile, mix cornstarch, broth, and soy sauce until smooth.  Add mixture to veggies and reduce heat to medium.  Cook until mixture thickens.  Add chicken back into pan and heat through.  Serve over rice.

Artichokes with Herb Butter Sauce

Sometimes, I think we get carried away with trying to come up with gluten-free recipes that we forget that there are so many foods out there that are naturally gluten-free.  This post is nothing fancy or a break-through in cooking, but a reminder that you really don't need to do something special to make your meals gluten-free, especially when you're starting out.  A dinner consisting of lean meat, veggies, fruit, and maybe rice or potatoes, so more than plenty to eat, you really won't miss the bread.  So, in honor of that, I'll let you know what I ate for lunch--artichokes.  Now, I hardly ever (really, probably only once before) buy whole artichokes to eat.  But these ones came in my bountiful basket, so I had to celebrate and gorge myself on them.  For some reason, I'm a short order cook for lunches...I really shouldn't cater to everyone, but it's nice to have everyone eating, so I still do it.  But having a meal where everyone gets what they want, allows me to have what I want without everyone complaining, so no complaining about artichokes, because I had it all to myself.

Now for those of you, like me, that prefer buying artichokes in a can, so you don't have to wonder, "how the heck to I eat this?", here is the link for the recipe I used from Better Homes and Gardens, it includes instructions on how to clean and cook whole artichokes. :)  I used dill as my herb in my sauce and dairy-free margarine, of course, instead of butter.  It was divine!

GF/CF Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

I love cookies, and Sundays are usually when I bake them...just seems like the best day to do it.  So I thought I would give this recipe from gfutah.org a try.  I did modify it a little, I separated out the flours instead of having a flour blend...and modified the blend along with that.  Also, I made sure it was dairy free, so I could enjoy it as well. So here it is, how I made it:

GF/CF Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine, softened (I use Nucoa, because it's dairy-free)
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup brown rice flour
2/3 cup sorghum flour (if you don't have sorghum, go ahead and sub with brown rice flour)
1/2 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 cups dairy-free chocolate chips (I actually use the Kroger Value Brand semi-sweet....they don't guarantee that it's dairy-free, but I haven't gotten sick off of them yet, and they are a heck of a lot cheaper than the real dairy-free ones.)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream margarine, shortening, and sugars.  Add egg and mix well.
2. Stir together flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture and mix well.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Drop by rounded teaspoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 8-10 minutes or until lightly brown on edges and just set in middle.  Cool slightly on cookie sheet before removing and placing on wire rack.

Makes about 5 dozen. (I make the whole batch and freeze half of them)


UPDATE:  I got sick off the chocolate chips I used...so, it's not worth it to buy the Kroger Value chips, just pay the money for the dairy free ones. :(

Hot Dog and Hamburger Buns

I have been wanting a hot dog so much lately, yes I'm a kid still, I still like to eat processed meat.  I do like Brats even more, but I really just wanted the plain old, kid-friendly hot dog with ketchup and mustard.  I have gluten-free hot dogs, ketchup, and mustard...so what about hot dog buns?  I came across this idea in the Incredible Edible Gluten-Free Food for Kids, which I shall say again, is a wonderful book. So, I made a batch this morning, along with some hamburger buns, as well.  And it really isn't that bad to make, and they are sooooo much better than store bought buns...so enjoy!

 Hot Dog and Hamburger Buns

1.   Prepare the Ruth's Gluten-free Bread dough as directed.
2.   Make molds as follows

• Tear off a strip of foil about 15 inches long for hot dog buns and 8-12 inches long for hamburger buns.

• Fold in half the long way, so it's still 15 inches long, but now skinnier.

• Fold in half 2 more times, or until it's about 1-1 1/2" tall.

• Bring the ends of the foil strip together, tucking one end into the folds of the other end.

• Shape the mold into an oblong shape (or circle for hamburger buns) and place on a greased cookie sheet.  Repeat. (I made 4 hamburger buns and 4 hot dog buns with this recipe, but my hot dog buns were a little big, so you could probably get even more out of this).
  
  
  

3.   Grease the molds well.
4.   Spoon dough into the molds, and smooth out with a wet spatula or spoon.

 5.   Let the dough rise for 20 minutes.
6.   Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
7.   Cook buns for 25-30 minutes, covering after the first 10 minutes of cooking.
8.   Remove the buns from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
9.   Remove the buns from the molds and cool completely.
10. Slice each bun in half and insert a piece of waxed paper between the slices.
11. Store buns in freezer until needed (they should last at least 3-4 months in freezer).

Mrs. Leeper's Corn Spaghetti

So, I'm a pasta girl and I married a pasta boy...so of course we would have pasta kids, and what happens when that pasta is suddenly off limits?  Well, you still eat pasta!  I do love rice noodles (The Thai Kitchen brand is one of my favorites), but sometimes the Asian noodles just doesn't cut it and I want my Italian style pasta with meatballs and marinara sauce!  So, we tried out Mrs. Leeper's Corn Spaghetti and it passed!  My little one was literally stuffing his face with it, makes a mom smile. :)  The noodles were a bit fatter than our gluten spaghetti we have in the house, but the texture is right, and it definitely worked in alleviating my spaghetti craving and was a nice change from rice noodles.  So, if you're rice noodled out, this is worth a shot.

Overall Rating: 10 out of 10 because my little one more than put his stamp of approval on it and it worked perfectly for classic spaghetti and that's what I needed it for.