Ultimate Chicken Fingers (Gluten Free)

3/4 c. Bisquick Gluten Free mix
1/2 c. grated Parmesan Cheese
1 t. paprika
1/2 t. salt or garlic salt
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1lb) cut crosswise in 1/2 inch strips,(I used chicken tenders)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3 T. butter melted

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line cookie sheet with foil; spray with cooking spray.

Stir Bisquick mix, cheese, paprika and salt in shallow baking dish. Dip chicken strips into eggs, then coat with Bisquick mixture; repeat. Place chicken on cookie sheet. Drizzle butter over chicken.

Bake 12-14 minutes, turning after 6 minutes, until no longer pink in center.

I found this recipe on Betty Crockers website. I just put in Gluten Free in the search engine and it brought up a whole bunch. Check it out.

Cilantro Lime Chicken w/ Rice and Tortilla strips!

I made this yummy dinner last Sunday. It is sort of a compilation of recipes...i combined a rice bowl recipe with Cafe Rio and this is how it turned out! SO YUMMY! My kids-every single one- raved about it and wanted more! (And if you know Brynn...she usually eats a couple of bites and then announces she's done! Not with this one!) I was so proud of my "presentation" that I even took a picture! :) Warning: You will needs lots of cilantro (3 bunches) and limes (4)! Once I started typing the recipe, it seemed complicated, but trust me, it wasn't. There are just several steps involved! Hint: Make the tomatillo dressing and marinate the chicken the day before. Chop all cilantro at once..about 3 cups!

-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 6-8 and the marinade was enough)

-Cilantro lime marinade

-3/4 c vegetable oil

-Juice and zest of two limes

-1 T minced garlic

-2 t sugar

-1/2 t salt

-1/4 t black pepper

-1/2 c finely chopped cilantro

Marinate chicken for several hours or overnight in marinade.

-1 c mango salsa (optional-only Jeff used it!)

-1/2 c shredded pepper jack cheese

-Tomatillo Ranch Dressing

-1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch mix (NOT buttermilk)

-1 c mayonnaise

-1 c buttermilk (I make my own with 1 T vinegar and 1 c milk)

-2 tomatillos, husk removed and diced

-1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

-1 clove garlic

-juice of 1 lime

-1 jalapeno (if you like it spicy, leave the seeds in, otherwise remove the seeds)

-Mix all ingredients together in a blender until very smooth and creamy. Refrigerate.

-Extra cilantro and limes to garnish

-1-2 cans Black Beans (depending on your family size) Rinse and drain. Heat after adding 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 t cumin, 2 T olive oil and some salt to spice it up!

-Cilantro Lime Rice

Combine in Rice cooker:

-rice (make whatever amount you usually make)

-1-2 T butter

-2 cloves garlic, minced

-1 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice

-chicken broth according to your rice cooker's directions

When finished cooking, combine next three ingredients, pour over rice and fluff!

-1 T lime juice

-2 tsp sugar

-1/2 c chopped fresh cilantro

-Corn tortilla strips

Make these by cutting corn tortillas into strips and then frying them in oil. Just drain them for a few minutes on paper towels when you are done!

Start the rice in the cooker first. Grill the chicken and let rest. Fry the tortilla strips. Layer the rice on a serving dish, and then lay the chicken out on top of the rice. Sprinkle the hot chicken with the pepper jack cheese. Pile the tortilla strips up high on top of the chicken. (The dressing, black beans, and mango salsa I served on the side.)

The kids wanted to know how to serve it because it was piled so high, but it worked out! It was totally "family style" and everyone loved it!

Smothered Steak

1 1/2 pounds round steak
3 onions, sliced thin (I only use one and I slice it really thick so my kids can pick them out)
1 cup. sliced mushrooms ( I omit, kids don't like)
1/4 cup rice flour
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. paprika
1/2 c. beef broth
2 t. Worcestershire sauce

Place once sliced onion in bottom of crock pot. Mix flour, salt, pepper, and paprika together. Cut steak into serving size pieces and dredge in flour mixture. Place half of the steak pieces on top of the onions in the crock pot. Add another sliced onion and the mushrooms. Top with remaining meat and third sliced onion. Mix beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over all. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours. I doubled the recipe for my family of 6. I also put the leftover broth in the crockpot about 5 hours after I started. We serve it over mashed potatoes.

I got this recipe out of the cookbook "Dinner is Ready" by Deanna Buxton and changed regular flour to rice flour. Couldn't tell a difference.

Chicken, Bacon, Artichoke Pizza (a la Papa Murphys)

Papa Murphy's pizza was advertising their Chicken, Bacon & Artichoke Pizza a few weeks ago and Jeff said that it looked sooo good. I make Jeff pizza all the time with Bette Hagman's Yeast-Rising Thick Crust Pizza recipe...it's his favorite! But it's always either pepperoni or BBQ Chicken pizza. So...I went to Papa Murphy's to see about the ingredients. All the toppings for the C, B &A pizza were gluten free...even the white sauce! (They showed me the actual bottle they used and I was able to read the ingredients myself!) Anyway...they sold them to me for $1 per ingredient and packaged each ingredient in a container and sent me on my way! They say they do it all the time! I made the pizza on the GF crust and it was delicious! Jeff was so excited to have something new and exciting!

p.s. This would also be good on the Kinnikinnick frozen pizza crusts.
p.s.s. If you haven't noticed, I use Bette Hagman's book, "The Gluten-Free Gourmet" a lot. The GF Mix I use is in this book, along with tons of other useful info!

GF Dixie Fry (Tempura)

Ok-Jeff really wanted fried shrimp over the holidays. We always have them at our family fondue night and he usually has to pass on them. This year, I decided to try and make him some, too. I just looked at the ingredients on the Dixie Fry box and then made up my own GF recipe! It's pretty close to the real thing and Jeff loved it!

2 C GF Mix (Bette Hagman) or
Featherlight Flour mix*
1 t salt
1 t paprika
2 T cornstarch
1/2 t xanthan gum
1/2 t garlic powder
milk (to consistency)

Combine all ingredients and add milk until proper consistency-similar to pancake batter. Mix until smooth and no lumps. Coat shrimp and fry in hot oil. If using the Featherlight Flour mix, still add 2 T cornstarch. Using the Featherlight makes it lighter and fluffier.

*Featherlight Flour Mix
2/3 c rice flour
2/3 c tapioca starch
2/3 c cornstarch
2 tsp potato flour

This recipe is from memory-after the fact! You may have to adjust it a little...but it's a good starting point, and for the breading-deprived...they will love it!

Chicken Nuggets

8 Boneless, Skinless chicken breast halves, cut into nugget-size pieces
1 cup plain yogurt or nondairy yogurt or enough olive oil to coat
1 cup cornmeal
2 cups gluten-free cornflake crumbs
1 t. garlic salt
1 t. onion powder
1 t. ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a sheet pan.
2. Coat chicken pieces with yogurt or olive oil.
3. Place cornmeal, cornflakes and spices in a Ziploc bag. Seal and shake to thoroughly combine
ingredients.
4. Place coated chicken in cornmeal mixture. Seal the bag and shake to completely cover all the
pieces with crumbs.
5. Place breaded chicken pieces on prepared sheet pan. Bake in preheated oven until
cooked through, about 15-25 minutes depending on the size of the chicken pieces.
6. Serve warm with a gluten-free dipping sauce.

Each nugget contains 39 calories, 1 g. total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 12 mg cholesterol, 72 mg sodium, 3 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 5 g. protein.

This recipe by Sara Pluta was published in the Winter 2002 issue of Living Without.