Crispy Cheddar Chicken gluten free of course

 Crispy Cheddar Chicken

2 lbs chicken tenders or 4 large chicken breasts 

2 sleeves gluten free Ritz style crackers 

1/8 teaspoon pepper 

3 cups cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 teaspoon paprika 

1/4c parmesan cheese 

1tsp garlic powder

Crush crackers. If using chicken breasts and not tenders, cut each chicken breast into 3 large pieces. Pour the cheeses and cracker crumbs into 2 separate small pans. Toss the garlic powder, paprika and pepper into the cracker crumbs and stir the mixture around to combine. Dip each piece of chicken into the cheese Press the cheese into the chicken with your fingers. Then press the cheesy coated chicken into the cracker crumbs and press it in.

Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and lay the chicken inside the pan. . Cover the pan with tin foil and bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

BLACKBERRY BBQ CHICKEN- For the Slow Cooker

It's that time of year where it's too hot to cook. The slow cooker is your friend!!

Blackberry BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
 • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 cup blackberry jam  (and 2 T for the end)
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce ( and another squirt for the end) 



Directions 
1) Add chicken breasts to your slow cooker.
2) In a medium-sized bowl, create sauce by adding blackberry jam and  BBQ sauce. Stir to combine.
3) Spoon sauce over chicken.
4) Add lid and cook on “low” setting for 3-6 hours or until the chicken shreds easily. (The cooking time will depend on your slow cooker).
5) Shred chicken and put in a separate bowl. I then added a little of the "sauce" from the crock pot and some more blackberry jam (2 T) and another squirt of my bbq sauce. 

Serve over a gluten free bun, or with some chips, make it into nachos, roll it in a tortilla. There are SO many ways you can use this yummy chicken.

Southwest Chicken on the Spot

Southwest Chicken on the Spot

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 1/3 pounds total), fresh or frozen

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 large green bell pepper

1 large red bell pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic

1/2 cup frozen chopped onions

1 can (14 oz.) crushed or diced tomatoes

1/3 cup bottled salsa

2/3 cup fat-free chicken broth or water

1 cup instant rice

1 can (15 oz.) black beans

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar, Monterrey Jack or Mexican blend cheese

If the chicken is frozen, run hot water over it so you can remove any packaging. Place the chicken on a microwave-safe plate and microwave 2 minutes, uncovered, on high, to begin defrosting.

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch nonstick skillet that has a lid. Slice the chicken (fresh or partially defrosted) into 1 inch strips, adding them to the skillet as you slice. Seed both the bell peppers and cut into 1 inch strips, adding them to the skillet as you cut.

Stir the chili powder and cumin into the chicken and peppers and continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the garlic, onions, tomatoes with their juice, salsa, and chicken broth. Cover the skillet and bring the mixture to a boil.

When the liquid boils, add the rice and stir well. Cover the skillet, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse and drain the beans.

When the rice has absorbed the broth, remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the beans, and sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Cover and let the dish rest for 2 minutes until the cheese melts, or until you are ready to serve.

Serves 4.

Crunchy Chicken Salad

     It has been sweltering hot here. When it is hot I do not wish to eat. Nothing sounds good, nothing looks good. I decided to try making some chicken salad. I remembered that my Grandma made chicken salad once from a recipe that came from the Hays House in Council Grove, Kansas. The Hays House is known for being the oldest continuous restaurant west of the Mississippi River. It was built in 1857. They serve all sorts of gluteny home cooked foods. (end of history lesson)
     I can't remember if Grandma asked the chef for the recipe, or if they have recipe cards available for purchase in the establishment. Either way, Grandma made their chicken salad and it was yummy. SO I decided to look online and see if I could come up with it...and low and behold I found the Hays House Crunchy Chicken Salad Recipe on the Kansas Magazine website.
     My recipe isn't exactly like their recipe, but it is inspired by their recipe for chicken salad. I hope you enjoy it.

Crunchy Chicken Salad

5 C. Cooked Chicken, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 C. Celery diced into small pieces
1 C. Pineapple tidbits, drained
1 C. Red Seedless Grapes, cut into halves
1/4 C. Toasted Pecan Pieces
Dressing:
1 C. Plain Greek Yogurt
1 C. Miracle Whip
1 tsp. Seasoning Salt

In a large bowl combine the chicken pieces, celery, pineapple, grapes, and toasted pecans. Mix until combined. In a small bowl combine the dressing ingredients together. Pour the dressing over the chicken mixture and mix until coated. Chill in the refrigerator.

Serve on bread for a sandwich, on lettuce for a salad, or with gluten free crackers.

Wash all the veggies and get ready for prep...it won't take long though

Dice the celery into small pieces

Cut the seedless red grapes into 1/2. If you are serving this to little kiddos, you may want to cut them into even smaller pieces so that they aren't a choking hazard.

Add the pineapple tidbits, I even cut them into 1/2, but you wouldn't have to.

Add the toasted pecans. (to toast nuts, bake at 350 for 5-10 min. until slightly browned and have a toasted flavor. Watch them carefully so they do not burn)

Cut the chicken into small chunks.

Combine the dressing ingredients.

Mix the dressing into the other ingredients until everything is well coated with yummyness.

Serve well chilled with gluten free crackers.

I hope you enjoy my chicken salad recipe. I tried to make it a little more "healthy" by using greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Also, it is something that won't heat up the house too much during this intense heat wave we have been going through. Oh, and it also tastes pretty darn good! Enjoy.

-Jessica

Thai BBQ Chicken In The Slow Cooker

     I'm in a cooking rut. It has been hot outside, nothing sounds good when it's hot. I hate to heat up the oven and heat up the house to make food. I'm feeling very blah about food. I decided that I can't live on yogurt, blueberries, and Bakery on Main Maple Granola. Ok, so I COULD.....but it probably isn't a good idea.
     I didn't want any heavy foods with the "Cream of" soups. UGH! The thought of eating creamy heavy sauce and heat make me sick. UGH! I thought about making stir-fry. However, the thought of standing over a hot wok also makes me sick! ha
    I was going to BBQ some chicken last night, however it wasn't thawed out in time. So there goes that idea as well because tonight I'm busy so no time to stand at the BBQ. That left me with the option of throwing something in the crock pot. I already had the chicken out (from last night). So that left me with two things to go on....chicken something in the crock pot.
    I LOVE to make Thai BBQ sauce to slather on chicken when I grill. I love the sweetness of the BBQ sauce and honey with the creaminess of the peanut butter. YUM! So I decided to see if I could replicate the taste in the slow cooker. Here is my result.

Thai BBQ Chicken in the Slow Cooker

2 Small/Medium Sweet Potatoes, washed, peeled, and cut into chunks
1 Package Chicken Breasts (could also use boneless thighs)
1 Small Onion, sliced
1/4 C. Water

Sauce:
1/2 C. BBQ Sauce (I use Sweet Baby Ray's)
2 Heaping tablespoons of Peanut Butter
2 T. Honey
1 tsp Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp. Chopped Fresh Cilantro

Generously spray your slow cooker with cooking spray. Place the sliced/diced sweet potatoes in the bottom of the cooker. Pour the 1/4 C. Water over the sweet potatoes (it will not cover the potatoes). Place the chicken breasts over the top of the sweet potatoes. Combine the sauce ingredients with a whisk. Spread the sauce over the chicken breasts (sauce is very thick). Lay the sliced onion on top of the sauce covered chicken.

Cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Layer 1 is sweet potatoes

Layer 2 is the chicken breasts

Combine the sauce ingredients.

Whisk until thick and creamy looking.

Spread the sauce over the chicken breasts (layer 3).

Top with the sliced onion (layer 4).

Cook on high for 3-4 hours.

Smells good!

 

Ok, so after making this there are a couple of things that I would change. I think I would leave the sweet potatoes out. They seemed to flavor the chicken more than I thought they would. So then everything kind of had the same flavor. I think I would maybe add some garlic to the sauce. It was good. It wasn't exactly like my BBQ chicken that I make on the grill, but it was still good.

-Jessica

Easy Classy Garlic Chicken

     I have been craving bacon wrapped chicken. Ok, the truth is I have been craving bacon. The smell of bacon, the crispiness of bacon. I have been craving everything about bacon!
     I figured a good recipe to cure that craving would be bacon wrapped chicken breasts. They are always a hit. I usually use my garlic press and put fresh garlic on the chicken then wrap a couple of pieces of bacon over the chicken breast. The bacon comes out crispy and the chicken has a yummy bacon and garlic flavor.
     The other day I ran across a recipe on Pinterest that I thought would go nicely with my idea for bacon wrapped chicken. It used sauteed garlic in olive oil. Then that was mixed with brown sugar and baked at 500 degrees. Yes, you read that right......500 degrees!! I thought that was a little crazy, but who am I to judge. So I took their Easy Garlic Chicken recipe and turned the oven down and added bacon!!! I think the end result is pretty yummy.

Easy Classy Garlic Chicken

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

4 garlic cloves , minced

4 tablespoons brown sugar

3 teaspoons Margarine or butter

3-4 Slices of Bacon 

Pre-heat the oven to 450 deg. Line a baking dish with foil. Spray the foil generously with cooking spray. Place the chicken breasts into the foil lined baking dish.

In a skillet, melt the margarine. Using a garlic press, press 4 cloves of garlic into the skillet. Saute until tender. Remove from heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until combined.

Cover the chicken breasts with the garlic and brown sugar mixture. Top with the uncooked bacon. 1 slice per chicken breast.

Bake uncovered for 45 min. to 1 hour or until chicken is no longer pink and bacon is crisp.

Line a baking pan with foil and generously spray with cooking spray. (you will thank me later)

Melt the butter in a skillet.

Using a garlic press, mince the garlic into the hot skillet.

Saute garlic in the margarine until the garlic is tender.

Remove from heat and add the brown sugar.

Mix together to form a paste.

Top the chicken breast with the brown sugar and garlic mixture.

Spread the mixture over the chicken breast.

Top each chicken breast with a piece of bacon. Bake at 450 deg. for 45 min. to 1 hour.

The chicken is done when it is no longer pink on the inside and the bacon is crispy.

As you can see from the area around the chicken, it turns black, you will be super glad you used foil :) Less scrubbing!!

This chicken would be great served with a baked potato and some veggies!! I hope you enjoy the chicken. Be sure to check to be sure that all of your ingredients are gluten free before you start cooking. Enjoy!!

-Jessica

Chicken Patties / Chicken Nuggets

    Sometimes I just crave "kid food". Chicken nuggets!! I usually make the adult form of a chicken nugget, which is of course a chicken patty. However, this recipe can easily be made into nuggets, trust me, I have done it before!! You just shape the patties much smaller and they turn into nuggets. The bonus is, you know what is going into the food. It is 100% chicken.
     I looooove this chicken patty on a toasted Udi's bun, lots of honey mustard and a little bit of lettuce. Add a side of extra crunch tater tots and I am in heaven! So yummy!

Chicken Nuggets/ Chicken Patties

1 lb. Ground Chicken
Large handful of Ridged Potato Chips, crushed
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. Paprika
1/2 C. Bob's Red Mill All Purpose GF Flour
4 T. Cooking Oil

In a pie plate or on a paper plate mix the crushed potato chips, black pepper, paprika, and gf flour. Shape the ground chicken into patties (1 lb. should make 4-5 patties). Place the patty into the flour/potato chip mixture and coat the patty. Flip it over and coat the other side. When all the patties are coated with the mixture, place them into a skillet with the cooking oil heated to a medium high heat. Cook the patties until the outsides are a golden brown and the inside is no longer pink. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or serve on a gluten free bun.

Crunch your gf potato chips into tiny chunks. The easiest way to do that is to put them into a plastic baggie and smoosh them. (Great job to assign the kiddos)

Combine your smooshed chips, gf flour, pepper and paprika.

Shape your 1 lb. ground chicken into patties or nuggets.

Press the chicken patty into the flour. Flip and coat the other side as well.

Place the chicken patties or nuggets into the hot cooking oil.

Be sure that each side is a golden brown and that the inside is no longer pink.

Remove the chicken patties from the hot oil and let them drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

Enjoy the "kid food"!!

-Jessica