Sunday, May 28, 2006

Serves 6
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
2 eggs
4 Tbsp butter, or 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp olive oil

Pound chicken breasts until they are 1/4 inch (5mm) thick and cut into 6 portions.  Set aside.

Combine cheese with oregano, parsley, garlic powder, paprika, pepper on a plate.  On another plate or in a shallow bowl, beat the eggs.  dip the chicken into the eggs, then into the cheese mixture, coating both sides evenly.

Melt butter or butter/oil mix in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat (any higher will burn the cheese) and saute for 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.

Cook’s note:
This is a higher fat dish due to the cheese.  the one cup is 457 calories, with 257 calories from fat, or 28.6 grams of fat. But bear in mind that this is used over 6 pieces of chicken, so per piece it’d be about 76 calories or about 42 from fat, or about 4.8 grams of fat, at most.  You can do this with cooking spray or minimal oil to lower the calorie/fat counts even more.  The eggs can be replaced with egg replacer for an egg-less version, and if tolerated, you can try a dairyfree version using soy parmesan cheese.  That will also substantially lower fat and calories.

This is from the 15 Minute Low-Carb cookbook by Dana Carpender.  It’s an awesome cookbook, with lots of quick ideas. 

Posted by Diosa in • Comfort Food • Gluten free • Low Carb • Meats • Poultry
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Saturday, May 27, 2006

1/2 lb boneless chicken breast (or 1/2 lb mixed vegetables, see note below)
2 to 6 small red chile peppers
1/2 stalk fresh lemon grass
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 T oil
1/2 c coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
fish sauce to taste (soy sauce for veggie version)
10 to 15 basil leaves
1 c chopped cabbage

Thinly cut chicken into 2-inch strips. (If doing veggie version, cut vegetables into thin strips.) Grind together red chili peppers, lemon grass, and kaffir lime leaves in a food processor or pound in a mortar. Heat oil to medium-high and saute pepper mixture for 3 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and cook for 2 minutes. Add chicken (or vegetables) and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked (same time for veggies). Reduce heat to medium-low. Stir in fish sauce (if using), salt, and basil. Serve on a bed of chopped cabbage.

Makes 3 to 4 servings.

Note: For mixed vegetables, choose from among bell peppers, string beans, water chestnuts, tomatoes (small cherry tomatoes are best), bamboo shoots, miniature corn, asparagus, cucumbers, zucchini, Japanese eggplant, and mushrooms. I particularly like string beans or asparagus, a few cherry tomatoes, shredded (rather than sliced) bamboo shoots, miniature corn, and some straw mushrooms or slender (Japanese) eggplant.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Low Carb • Low Fat • Meats • Poultry • Vegetarian
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Monday, May 15, 2006

Serves: 4
Prep time: 2 hours, 5 minutes (2 hours for marinating)
Cook time: 20 minutes skillet/broiler/grill

2 garlic cloves
walnut sized chunk of fresh ginger root
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup fresh cilantro (coriander), plus more for garnish if desired
1-2 Tbsp red pepper flakes (optional - add up to 1/4 cup)
4 boneless, skinless breasts or thighs

Place the first 5 ingredients in a blender or food processor.  Pulse until it forms a chunky paste.  Place chicken in a ziplock bag and add the cilantro mixture.  Place in the refrigerator for at least two hours or as long as overnight. 

Remove as much of the marinade as possible (or it does fine cooking it on the chicken if you are pressed for time) and place chicken on grill or broiler, r in a heated skillet.  Cook until the juices run clear, roughly 10 minutes per side.  Serve immediately, with the additional cilantro if using.

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Serves 4
Prep time: 2 hours 10 minutes (2 hours for marinating time)
Cook time: 15-20 minutes grill/broiler/skillet.

This is one of my first ever recipes I tried.  This thing is ancient!  But it’s good.  Add more tabasco if you want more heat.  The original incarnation of this called for a whole chicken, roughly 3-4lbs in weight, either whole or cut up.  Now I just use 1-2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs.

1-2lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
2-3 Tbsp Olive oil (or vegetable oil is fine)
Juice of 2 lemons (I’ve also juiced up a couple of limes for more intense flavor and added 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest)
1Tbsp fresh cracked pepper
1tsp salt

Mix marinade ingredients together in a large ziplock bag.  Place chicken in bag.  Marinate for at least two hours to overnight.  Cook chicken in broiler, on the grill or in a skillet for about 15-20 minutes or until done.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Meats • Poultry
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Thursday, April 27, 2006

This was one of the dishes from IAmGlutenFree‘s party this weekend that I still owe an entry about.  This was superb.  I’m changing the recipe up a little bit, but here’s the main rendition of it.

Spicy Basil Chicken
(Gai Pad Gra Pow)

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh Thai holy basil* (bai gra pow), or Thai sweet basil (bai horapa) leaves
1/2 to 1 cup fresh Thai sweet basil* (bai horapa)
2 to 3 Tbsp. oil
4 to 6 cloves garlic, minced
2 to 3 shallots, thinly sliced (or substitute with 1/2 cup sliced onion)
1 lb. boneless chicken, chopped or cut into small bite-sized pieces
2 to 3 fresh jalapeno, cut into large slivers; or 4 to 8 Thai chilies (prik kee noo), minced or chopped
2 small kaffir lime leaves, very finely slivered (optional)
1 to 2 tsp. sweet black soy sauce
1 to 2 Tbsp. Thai Kitchen Premium Fish sauce (to taste)
1 Tbsp. Sugar
ground white pepper (a few dashes to taste)

Directions:
Clean and wash basil leaves. Fresh basil leaves should be left whole; the flowers may also be used. Pull off leaves and flowers and discard the stems.

In a wok add oil and heat until the surface is smoking hot. Add garlic and shallots. Sautee until fragrant. Add chicken. Stir-fry until browned.

Add chilies, kaffir lime leaves (optional) and dried holy basil leaves. Add black soy sauce and stir-fry for an additional 30 seconds. Season to taste with fish sauce and sugar. Stir-in fresh basil. Toss well. Stir-fry another half a minute or until the basil is wilted and the chicken cooked through. Sprinkle with white pepper. Stir and transfer to a serving dish or spoon over individual plates of cooked Thai Kitchen Select Harvest Jasmine Rice.

* Note: You can substitute you favorite basil if specified basil is difficult to find.

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Friday, April 14, 2006

A friend of mine sent me this the other day.  Now I’m not huge on stirfries.  Especially chicken.  I can cook all sorts of meals and use all sorts of techniques to cook, yet the hubmle stirfry eludes me.  I’ve never been able to master the art of keeping the chicken moist.  Mine always used to end up as these little grey lumps in the midst of the veggies.  However, I’ve not tried a stir fry in a very long time, probably a good 8 or 9 years.

This recipe will hopefully change that.

I will be giving this a whirl tonight.  Wish me luck.

Lemon Chicken Stir-Fry

Makes 4 servings

Lemon chicken most often appears as pieces of chicken battered,
deep-fried and topped with a thick, lemony sauce. While tasty, it’s
tricky for the home cook to get just right, plus the dish is laden
with calories.

By stir-frying strips of chicken and adding asparagus, then adding the
lemon sauce toward the end of cooking, this recipe becomes a true
one-pot--or one-wok--dish

* 1/4 cup lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons honey
* 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
* 1/2 teaspoon plus 2 teaspoons minced garlic
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon grated ginger, plus 2 teaspoons minced ginger
* 1/3 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 2 teaspoons cornstarch
* 3 tablespoons canola oil
* Three 6- to 8-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves,
cut in 1/4-inch strips
* 1/2 pound thin asparagus spears, trimmed and cut in 2-inch
lengths
* 2 large carrots, peeled and cut in 2 x 1/4-inch strips
* 1 small red onion, halved lengthwise and cut in 1/4-inch slices

1. Stir the lemon juice and honey together in a small bowl to dissolve
the honey; stir in the lemon zest. Mash the 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
with the salt using the back of the tines of a fork to form a paste;
stir the paste into the lemon mixture along with the grated ginger.
Stir the chicken broth and cornstarch together in a separate small
bowl.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the canola oil in a wok over high heat; swirl
to coat the sides. Add 1 teaspoon of the remaining garlic and 1
teaspoon of the minced ginger to the wok and stir quickly. Add the
chicken; stir-fry until the chicken is no longer pink in the center
when cut with a knife, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove.

3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon canola oil to the wok; swirl to coat
the sides. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon garlic and the remaining 1
teaspoon minced ginger; stir quickly. Add the asparagus, carrots, and
onion; stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the lemon mixture and bring to a
boil. Boil, stirring often, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 2
to 3 minutes.

4. Add the reserved chicken. Stir the cornstarch mixture to blend;
pour into the wok. Bring to a boil; boil until thickened and clear,
about 1 minute. Serve with rice to soak up the lemon sauce.

Make Ahead: Have everything prepped and assembled in advance.

Recipe from The One-Dish Chicken Cookbook
http://mail.publicradio.org/site/R?i=-ZQcFZcaWB_NMNpCs7arxQ..
by Mary Ellen Evans. Published in 2006 by Broadway Books, a division
of Random House, Inc. © 2006 by Mary Ellen Evans.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Meats • Poultry
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Sunday, April 09, 2006

MURGHI BADAMI

Murghi Badami is a richer version of Chicken Korma, where the chicken is cooked entirely in natural yogurt and single cream. No water is added to the chicken and the result is a thick and silky gravy with delightful taste.

SERVES 4-6 people

2.2LBS CHICKEN BREAST SKINNED
1 TSP SALT
1” ROOT GINGER CHOPPED & PEELED
3-4 CLOVES GARLIC CHOPPED & PEELED
1 TSP FRESH GROUD BLACK PEPPER
1TBS LEMON JUICE
275g/10 OZ THICK SET YOGURT
50grms / 2oz GHEE OR UN SALTED BUTTER
2 MED SIZED ONIONS FINELY SLICED
6 GREEN CARDOMON PODS SPLIT ON TOP
1 TBS GROUND CORIANDER
1 TSP GROUND TURMERIC
150/5FL.OZ SINGLE CREAM
¼-1/2 TSP. CHILLI POWDER
1 HEAPED TBSP GROUND ALMONDS

1 Cut chicken breast in half. Wash and dry. Make small incisions on both sides of chicken with sharp knife
2 Add salt to ginger and garlic and mash to a pulp. Mix with the pepper and lemon juice. Rub this mixture into the chiken, cover and keep aside for 1 hour.
3 Beat the yogurt until smooth and set aside.
4 Melt the ghee or butter over medium heat and fry the onions until well browned [ 10 to 12 mins]. Remove pan from heat and drain off excess fat by pressing onions on side of pan. Transfer the onions to a plate.
5 Return pan to the heat, add cardamom pods and coriander, stir fry for 30 seconds. Add the chicken until it changes colour [5 to 6 mins] stirring continuously.
6 Stir in the turmeric and yogurt and simmer,cover the pan and cook for 15 mins, stirring occasionally
7 Reserve 2 tbs of the fried onions and add the rest to the chicken along with the cream and chilli pdr mix well. Cover and simmer for a further 15 to 20 mins. Stirring occasionally
8 Sprinkle the ground almonds and mix well, cover and simmer for 6 to 8 mins. Remove from heat
9 Put the chicken in a serving dish and garnish with the remaining fried onions
Serve with any Inian bread, Saffron or Pilau Rice

Taken from Complete Indian Cookbook by Mridula Baljekar.

Posted by maggievgood in • Meats • Poultry
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Tender Italian Baked Chicken

Submit a recipe photo
“Flavorful and moist baked chicken.”
Original recipe yield: 4 servings.

Prep Time:
10 Minutes
Cook Time:
20 Minutes
Ready In:
30 Minutes
Servings:
4

INGREDIENTS:

* 3/4 cup mayonnaise
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
* 3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
* 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and garlic powder. Place bread crumbs in a separate bowl. Dip chicken into the mayonnaise mixture, then into the bread crumbs to coat. Arrange coated chicken on a baking sheet.
3. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken juices run clear and coating is golden brown.

Posted by maggievgood in • Meats • Poultry
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Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Tomorrow I’m “hosting” a dinner for seven.  Our friend Liz just had her baby and we thought it’d be fun to get together and have some food.  She wanted to try the Thai Beef in Lettuce, so I’m making a Thai night out of it.  I’ve got the beef all ready and most of the stuff prepped.  I still need to prep the “rice” and get a cucumber.  The starter will be a Tom Yum (Hot and Sour ) soup.  It should be really good.  The base is sitting in the fridge now with the lemongrass and limes marinating away.  I don’t have any chili paste, but opted to make my own.  (Chilis, oil, salt.  How can you go wrong? ) For dessert, I’m thinking something basic, like oranges in a simple syrup.  There’s a great baked pineapple recipe I found, but that takes an hour!!  Another time though, definitely.

At any rate, here’s the Tom Yum soup recipe.  It’s from Thai Kitchen, but I’ve definitely strayed from this.  It needed much more in the way of veggies and stuff like the “normal” soup I’m used to.

Tom Yum Hot & Sour Soup

12 oz. chicken, or cleaned shrimp, shelled and
deveined, or firm tofu, strained and cubed
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 pieces fresh lemongrass (tender bottom 2/3 inch of stalk only)
2-3 Tbs. Thai Kitchen Premium Fish Sauce
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1” piece fresh galangal (Thai ginger) or Chinese ginger,
sliced and bruised
2 Tbs. sugar

2 Tbs. Thai Kitchen Roasted Red Chili Paste
1 (15 oz.) can straw mushrooms, drained
Optional garnish: sprigs of fresh cilantro

Bone and skin the chicken; cut into large pieces. In a large pot, combine the stock, lemongrass, fish sauce, lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, galangal and sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add roasted red chili paste and stir well to incorporate. Add the mushrooms and the chicken and simmer for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until chicken is cooked. (If using shrimp or tofu, simmer for an additional 10 minutes then add into soup. Cook until shrimp turns orange-pink in color or tofu is tender, about 1 to 2 minutes.) Remove lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal from soup before serving. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 4.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Meats • Poultry
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Thursday, March 30, 2006

The rather blurry photos in the moblog entry below were from dinner last weekend where some friends cme over.  These were friends I either haven’t cooked fo at all or have only done so on occasion, and I wanted to serve something really nice.  I debated for most of the week, until Saturday when I decided I wanted to do my friend Dave’s Firehouse Chicken recipe.  It’s chiken that’s been flattened and rolled with mushrooms, spinach and feta cheese, breaded, quick fried to brown it and then baked to melt the cheese.  That is then topped with a port wine sauce.  I knew someone was bringing a salad and another the veggies, so I didn’t need to do anything with those really, so we needed a dessert.  I decided on the GF brownies that you see below.  They were a hit, considering that plate was full and they were gone by the end of the night.

So here is the recipe for Dave’s Firehouse Chicken.  Quantities can vary, so there isn’t much in the way of measurements, and that’s the beauty of this one.  You can just play with it and and get creative.  The port wine sauce can be done in several ways.  You can do it a bit more savory and ad onions and mushrooms or like I did, which was a bit sweeter and add some sugar to it.

Dave’s Firehouse Chicken

4 bonesless skinless breasts of chicken, pounded to about 1/2” (1 cm) or so.
1 package of sliced baby bella mushrooms, or whatever your favorite mushrooms are
1 10 oz bag d pre-washed spinach
1 block goat/sheep Feta cheese (soy or rice cheese would probably work here, just bump up the spices used)
GF cornflake crumbs, seasoned with salt, pepper and whatever else you’d like
about 1/4 cup GF flour
enough oil to fill the bottom of a skillet for frying
1 egg or the equivalent egg substitute for 2 eggs
toothpicks (just in case)
smoked paprika (or just regular paprika)
salt
pepper
garlic powder (or onion, or whatever strikes your fancy at that moment)

Saute the mushrooms in a bit of oil until soft, add the spinach and wilt.  While this is happening, grate the feta cheese into a bowl or a small plate.  Once the spinach is wilted, place the mixture into a strainer to get rid of any water that may have been produced from the mushrooms or the spinach.  Let sit until cool enough to handle. 

Season the chicken with the salt, pepper, paprik and whatever other seasoning you are using, and then place the cheese and the spinach mushroom mixture on the chicken.  Roll the chicken tightly and secure with toothpicks if necessary.  Roll up the others in the same fashion.  Put them on a plate and refrigerate for about an hour.  This will help firm them up so they don’t fall apart during the breading and the frying.

Start heating the oil for frying the chicken.  Preheat the oven to 375.  Dredge the chicken in the GF flour.  Then dip the chicken in the egg wash, making sure to cover all sides.  Roll in the seasoned cornflakes until coated, then place in heated oil and fry on all sides just til they look golden brown.  Place on a cookie sheet and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted and the chicken is cooked through.

Port Wine Sauce

1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup port
salt
pepper
up to 1/4 cup of brown sugar (for the sweet version)
a couple Tablespoons chopped onions and mushrooms (for the savory version)

Heat up the chicken stock in a small saucepan.  Add the port, salt, pepper and whatever remaining ingredients you are using.  Bring to a boil and let reduce to about half.  Serve over the chicken.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Meats • Poultry
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Friday, March 24, 2006

Ok, one last stop around the world.  Mexico!!  I love Mexican food.  I miss Fajitas N Ritas.  I love cheap margaritas and decent food to soak up the alcohol.  So it was an amazing experience to be able to do this again.

Tonight was Chicken with Lime dressing, avocado mash, and a blackbean and corn salsa.  All Gluten Free, all dairy, soy and other evil nasty for me free. Again I prepped most of this last night, so I could enjoy hanging out with my friend who came up with his cute little puggie.  The lime dressing came together pretty easily with only one war wound.  My DH stabbed himself on the ip of his pinkie with my Global knife.  OW!!  He was in charge of juicing the limes.  I was a bit disappointed as these particular limes were not really giving up the juice.  They were thick skinned as well.  After 4 limes I got enough to juice to work with.  I decided to marinate the chicken in most of the dressing overnight and leave just a bit for the avocado mash.  The salsa was also done last night so the flavors had a chance to mix all together.

I made several modifications to the recipe.  The first was the marinating.  This called for 10 minutes.  No way.  Meat needs longer than that. The second was I actually forgot about the peppers and the lemon juice.  The funny thing was, no one missed it in the least, including me.  The avocado mash needed serious help.  The avocados were at the perfect point of ripeness.  They scooped right out of the shells and were pretty easy to mash all up.  I put the rest of the dressing in, thinking we were all set.  Nope - the recipe as it stood was bland.  It was really missing something.  I played around with it, adding salt, pepper and more lime juice (sweetened lime juice).  In the end I got it, but I think a bit more cilantro would make it dazzle. 

Oh yes, and the margaritas. :D Cocktails can be a bit of a challenge.  Some people are fine with grain-based alcohol, others, despite the distillation, cant tolerate them at all.  I do better with the potato vodkas than I do the grain based, for example.  But then there’s tequila.  White 100% blue agave tequila.  Mix that with some Cointrea and Rosa’s lime juice.  I’m a purist at heart so to me, that’s a margarita (unless you dd some awesome bitters or sour mix), but feel free to use Mr & Mrs T’s.  It’s gluten free. 

The dinner was really fabulous.  The salsa was well blended in flavour, so that was no issue.  Chicken was juicy and tender and the avocado really set everything off.  I konw this sounds complicated, but honestly, it was a snap to throw together.

The chicken recipe came from the SBD cookbook and the salsa came from my WW’s Cook it Quick cookbook.  Enjoy!

Chicken with Lime Dressing

For the dressing/marinade:

1/3 cup fresh lime juice (That took about 4 limes for me.  YMMV)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp chopped scallions (green onion)
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil (you can use other oil)
1 tsp sugar substitute
1/2 tsp salt

For the chicken:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to 1/2” thickness (I honestly didn’t bother - this just helps make it cook quicker)
2 medium avocados, peeled and pitted (I used 3 of the smaller black ones)
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp picante sauce
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)
2 Tbsp gluten free flour (optional)

To make the dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients in a bowl.

If you are marinating for a while, put the chicken in a ziplock bag with 3 tablespoons of the dressing.  Let marinade for at least 2 hours up to 24 hours.  Otherwise, place the chicken in a large glass dish with 3 tablespoons of the dressing.  Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

In a medium sized bowl, mash the avocados with 2 tablespoons of the dressing.  Stir in the lemon juice and the picante sauce.  Reserve the remaining dressing.

Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large nonstick skillet.  Add the pepper and cook, stirring occasionally for 6 minutes, or until the peppers are tender and lightly browned.  Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Remove to a large bowl and add the almonds, if using.

Remove the chicken from the dressing and if desired, pat dry and sprinkle both sides of the chicken with flour.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook for 6 minutes each side or until done.  Place chicken on 4 serving plates and equally divide the pepper mixture, sprinkling over the chicken.  Drizzle the reserved dressing over each serving.  Serve with the mashed avocado.

Blackbean and Corn Salsa

1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained (or the equivalent of dried beans that have been soaked and cooked til tender)
1 (10 oz) box frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 tomato, coarsely chopped
1 red onion, thinly sliced (I personally caramelized the onion - I don’t like raw onion)
1 (11 oz) jar GF salsa (any of your favorites that are gluten free)
1/3 cup red wine vinegar (I would throttle back on this - it’s really a bit much.  I ended up adding some Splenda to cut the tang)
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Combine everything and let sit for at least 15 minutes.  Serve.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Marinades, Condiments, dressings and rubs • Meats • Poultry
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Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Tonight I was ready for a light meal.  I knew we were doing the Lemon Chicken tonight.  I had the chicken marinating last night and the nuoc cham made, all I had to do tonight was prep the salad and cook the chicken.  The chicken was gorgeous!  It was definitely high ranking in my favorites.  There was such a play of flavors with the chicken, the lemon, and garlic with the sugar, the cilantro, lettuce and green onion, the spice and heat of the dipping sauce and the cleansing of the cucumber.  YUM!!  All of it practically danced in your mouth.  The only thing I wasn’t keen on was the pea shoots.  They tasted like grass to me.  Maybe if they were blanched or something but in their straight out of the garden taste, they were not that nice for me.  I’ll admit - I’m picky when it comes to stuff like sprouts or shoots.  I really don’t like most of them because they taste of grass (at least raw).  So next salad, those will definitely be omitted.  The chicken recipe came from the 15 Minute low Carb Recipe book I have.  They only marinate for a few minutes, but I just can’t do that.  I love the intensity of the flavor (not to mention the tenderness) of meat that marinates for hours, even days.  But if you don’t mind that, feel free to marinate on the spot.  The salad recipe I found online somewhere (lost the bookmark to it unfortunately.) I made some variations.  I diced the chicken up as it was better over the salad that way.  Plus I added several dashes of red pepper to the nuoc cham.  I wanted it to be spicy and have some bite to it.  Feel free to leave that out if it’s too hot or too spicy.

Vietnamese Lemon Chicken

1 1/2 lbs (750g) boneless skinless chicken (your choice of white or dark - I used breasts as they were on sale)
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp lemon juice (I just used the juice of a whole lemon and the zest)
2 tsp garlic
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Slenda (or sugar if you prefer the carbed up version)
2 tsp fish sauce (nuoc mam) (i’ll admit - I used more)
1/2 tsp pepper
Oil
Nuoc Cham (see below)

If time permits, combine the everything save the oil and the nuoc cham and let marinate overnight.  Also, if you can, make the nuoc cham the night before just to get the flavors blended together.  If you are pressed for time, pound each piece of chicken until it is 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick.  Put them on a plate.

Mix together the lemon, garlic, splenda, fish sauce and pepper aand pour the mixture evenly over the chicken.  Turn the chicken so that all sides are coated.  Heat 1 or 2 Tbsp oil in a heavy skillet and add the chicken.  Saute 4 to 5 minutes each side, or until cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, toss together the nuoc cham - see below, but this takes no time at all to put together.

In the last minute or so of cooking, pour the lemon juice mixture remaining on the plate into the skillet, turning the chicken once again to make sure it’s all coated.  After a minute or so, remove from heat.  Serve with a little pool or a bowl of the nuoc cham to dip the chicken in.

Nuoc Cham (Spicy dipping sauce)

2 Tbsp fish sauce (I was a bit liberal with this)
2 Tbsp lime juice (I just used a whole lime)
1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar and again, I was a bit generous with the pour)
3 Tbsp Splenda
1/2 tsp minced garlic or 1 clove, crushed
1 tsp chili garlic paste
several dashes red pepper (optional)

Simply mix everything in a small dish.

Vietnamese Green Salad

1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar or white rice vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
¼ teaspoon superfine (caster) sugar (I used Splenda for this)
4 cups oak leaf lettuce leaves—washed, dried and roughly torn (I ended up using escarole, as it’s what they had at the store)
1 oz (30g) snow pea sprouts
1 scallion—thinly sliced on the diagonal
15 thinly sliced rounds of cucumber—cut in half
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves (I was generous with this and I’m glad I was.  It’s a great flavor enhancer in this)

MIX together the fish sauce, vinegar and sugar in a bowl until well combined (or shake together in a screw-top jar). PLACE all remaining ingredients, except the dressing, in a salad bowl. POUR the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Low Carb • Marinades, Condiments, dressings and rubs • Meats • Poultry • Salads
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Monday, March 20, 2006

Tonight was probably one of my best meals ever.  Tonight was chinese sweet and sour chicken.  Again, the craving for takeout comfort was intense, so sweet and sour chicken seemed to fit the bill.  But it was so funny.  I was all organised to the point that all I had to do was dump everything in.  I found this one off of Recipezaar, with my own modifications.  I made sure to season the chicken with plenty of salt and pepper.  I also added a bit more vinegar than recommended, and made sure to use cider vinegar.  Also I de-glutened this by using cauliflower “rice”.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe #141131
YUMMMMM!
1/2 head cauliflower
1 Tbsp oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into cubes (about 3/4 lbs.)
1 small green bell peppers, cut into strips
1 small red bell peppers, cut into strips
3 Tbsp vinegar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce substitute
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 (8 oz) can chunk pineapple in juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1. For the rice, put the shredded cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover.  Add a few tablespoons of water and microwave for 6 minutes or so.
2. Meanwhile, cook and stir chicken in hot oil in large skillet until brown. Add peppers; cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes. Stir cornstarch and soy sauce in small bowl. Add soy sauce mixture, pineapple in juice, vinegar, sugar, ginger and garlic powder to skillet; bring to boil.  Enjoy.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Low Carb • Meats • Poultry
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Sunday, January 08, 2006

Except for the chicken, the rest of this isn’t really measured, so these are my best guesses.  I just chuck a bunch of the stuff together until it “looks right”

2 1/2 to 3 lbs. boneless, skinless, meaty chicken pieces (I prefer thighs, but breasts work well)
2 Tbsp cooking oil or Olive oil
1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1-2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
1 1/2 tsp oregano, basil or italian seasoning, crushed
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (I go a bit easy on this)

For better results, marinade the chicken at least 10 minutes in the sauce.  If you have the time, marinade longer, up to overnight.  If you are REALLY short on time, follow the broiling instructions.

Preheat a skillet over medium to medium-high heat.  Place chicken in skillet.  Cover and cook about 5-7 minutes each side or until chicken pieces are done.  Serve.

If you are broiling.  place chicken in the broiler, about 4 inches from the heat.  Broil for about 3 minutes then turn.  Use the sauce as a glaze and brush ckicken with it.  Broil for another couple minutes then turn and brush again.  Give it a few more minutes then check for doneness.  When done, serve, brushing chicken with any remaining marinade.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Low Carb • Meats • Poultry
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Tuesday, December 27, 2005

The Wednesday before Christmas, we decided to host dinner and a small gift exchange with some of our dearest friends.  We opted for our place since I’ve got the GF kitchen.  I appreciate when my friends try to cook for me, and I’m trying to show them that GF doesn’t have to mean boring.  Especially now that I’ve worked this out that I can have a lot of fun with food.  I’ve been discovering the joy of roast vegetables, including butternut squash, beets, onions and cauliflower.  I decided to make Chicken Florentine with roasted butternut squash.  Now, me being me, I have this perpetual fear of not having enough food.  That’s how I ended up with an 18 lbs turkey for Thanksgiving when we were just having 3 people one day and a 6 the next.  But I digress.  I started looking at the two squashes I had peeled and chopped, and started thinking “Will this be enough food?” Bear in mind, I was already stressing as I discovered the chicken breasts weren’t thawed and I only had 11 thighs for 6 people.  So I checked the fridge for what else I had.  I put another tray in consisting of carrots and onions.  That way I was sure we would have enough food.  Hopefully.

The chicken was being stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, and bacon in a thyme sauce.  The veggies were roasted with just olive oil, salt and pepper. And everyone loved it.  The veggies were a huge hit as well as the chicken.  My recipe for roasting veggies is simple.  Heat oven 425F, put them in for at least 30 minutes, then turn the oven off and let them sit in the oven until serving.  That makes them perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside.  But here’s the recipe for the Chicken Florentine.  It’s from the Weight Watchers Cook it Quick, and it’s fast, GF, and extremely tasty.  This is my take on it as I hardly ever have ham in the house as called for in the original recipe.  I substitute it with portobella mushrooms, to get the same meaty texture.  Today I added the bacon as well that I had leftover from a roast chicken.  And while I suppose you could use frozen spinach, I’ve never tried.  I always use the fresh stuff.  It holds up well.

Chicken Breast Florentine

1 (10 oz) bag triple-washed spinach, rinsed (do not dry)
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (or more if you like garlic)
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
8 oz portobella mushrooms, chopped
1/2 tsp thyme
4 tsp olive oil
4 (1/4 lbs) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup dry white wine (or chicken broth)
salt to taste
lemon to taste

Heat a nonstick skillet with a bit of oil.  Put the mushrooms in, salt them lightly, and let them cook for about 5 minutes.  Remove from skillet.  Add the spinach, garlic and pepper.  Cover and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the spinach wilts.  Let the mixture cool and squeeze out the excess moisture.  Add the mushrooms and a pinch of thyme in and mix.

Cut a long thin pocket into the chicken breast.  Stuff the spinach mixture into the pockets, then press the edges shut and seal closed with a toothpick.  If using boneless skinless thighs, open the thigh up, spread the mixture out, roll it up and pin with two toothpicks.

Heat the oil in the skillet, then add the chicken breasts and brown, turning once or twice.  Add the wine, salt and rest of thyme.  Recude heat to low, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Top with any pan juices and serve.

Posted by Diosa in • Gluten free • Meats • Poultry
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