Chicken Fingers

Our family loves chicken fingers (its a staple in a preschooler's life).  After some trial and error I have figured out a way to get my chicken finger fix being dairy and egg free!

Ingredients
~ 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breast
~ 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
~ 1 clove garlic, minced
~ 3/4 cup Panko Italian Bread Crumbs
~ 3/4 cup crumbs of Food Should Taste Good - Multigran chips (regular tortilla chips work well too)

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
1. Pound chicken to about an even 1/2 inch thickness.  Then cut into 1inch strips.
2. Combine oil and garlic in bowl.
3. Combine bread and chip crumbs in a second bowl.
4. Dip chicken strips in oil then coat with crumb mixture.
5. Place on cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating once half way.

Thanksgiving Leftovers

Our family celebrated Thanksgiving on Saturday with a delicious fried turkey, but we are now stuck with turkey leftovers.  Last night we ate a repeat of Saturday's meal, yet didn't make a dent in our turkey pile.  So I began to think of ways I could help to use up our turkey.  Typically in the past I made Turkey Pot Pie; however, the standard recipes are loaded with milk or cream and occasionally eggs.  None of which I can eat now, but these leftovers left me with quite the craving.  So this morning I was determined to figure out how to make a dairy and egg free Turkey Pot Pie, and I did it!!

Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients 

• 3 cups chicken broth

• 2 large carrots, diced finely

• 2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed finely

• 1 1/2 tablespoon flour

• olive oil, as needed

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1/2 cup peas

• 2 cups cooked turkey, cut into small pieces

• Pillsbury Pie Crust 

1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Heat chicken broth in a medium sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Add carrots and potatoes. Add flour and stir continuously until dissolved.

2. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil and spices until soft and transparent. Add onion mix to the chicken broth mix, then fold in the peas. Simmer for 15 minute until the vegetables are soft and the broth is thick. Add turkey.

3. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour chicken broth mixture over. Cover with top crust,  and seal edges. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

4. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the crust is golden.

5. Remove from oven, let stand for 10 minutes. Serve. 

The crock pot is my best friend!

I am in love with my crock pot.  And I'm slowly learning that it can pretty much be used to make ANYTHING!  One of our other favorite go-to meals, especially when we have company over, is tacos!  It is great because despite the fact that I am egg and dairy free, tacos allow those who 'need' dairy at every meal to be satisfied!

Easy-peasy recipe:
Crock pot Taco Chicken

Put 4 frozen chicken breasts in crock pot.
Sprinkle with about half a packet of taco seasoning.
Pour half a small jar of salsa on top. (More if you use more chicken)

Turn crock pot on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Shred the chicken and return to crock pot, stirring with the salsa.

Then set up your taco bar!  For my tacos I typically just use avocado, black olives, and onions.  And depending on my mood, either use soft whole wheat flour tortillas or hard corn taco shells.  (This recipe is gluten-free if you use the corn taco shells!) For company I put out cheese and sour cream as well.

It doesn't get much easier than this!

Our go-to meal!

This is a simple dish that was introduced to us the summer after we got married.  One of the hubs' best friends moved in with us for a few months while he was doing an internship.  I know it doesn't sound too nice, having a roommate when you're newlyweds but we had a blast!  Anyway, he was always cooking up this chicken dish so we've adapted it a little bit and made it our own.  Now we eat it weekly (except for when I'm pregnant and lose all taste for chicken!)

We use Harvestland chicken from BJs.  It comes frozen and is all-natural.  And you can't beat the price!  The hubs defrosts the chicken part way in the microwave and then cuts it up into bite size pieces.  The reason he only defrosts part way is that it is easier to handle and cut that way.  Plus, we don't have to worry about taking it out of the freezer the day before.

We usually use cut up red or orange pepper, zucchini or yellow squash, and onions.  The more colorful the better tasting and better for you!

Start with the chicken in a large pan over medium-high heat and pour in some Free Zesty Italian.  I unfortunately can't give you an exact measurement but I'd say 1/4 of a cup.  You don't want too much liquid in there.  After the chicken is almost cooked fully, throw in the veggies.  We do it this way because we want the veggies to stay crispy!  Once the chicken is fully cooked, I like to turn the burner to high and let the liquid burn down, then I pour in a little water and scrap off the sides and mix it with the chicken.  That helps add flavor and a nice brown color.

The hubs eats his just like that, in a bowl.  I like to add mine on top of a salad.  Sometimes I add a balsalmic dressing.  Because my eczema is only affected by cow's milk, not goat, I often will add goat's milk feta.  Yum!  (but make sure you read all labels because many 'goat cheeses' in the United States are actually made from cow's milk!  Yup, you read that right!  So make sure in the ingredients it says 'pasteurized goat's milk')

Enjoy!

Condensed Recipe without all of my blubbering!

3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 red pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 onion, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 yellow squash, cut into bite sized pieces
1/4C Free Zesty Italian dressing
Spinach or mixed greens, optional
Feta cheese, optional

Cook chicken with dressing on medium-high heat.  Add veggies when chicken is almost done.  Turn to high and burn off liquid.  Add small amount of water (maybe 1/8C) and scrape sides and bottom of pan to help brown chicken.  Serve over greens or with feta if you chose.  Enjoy!