Chick-Fil-A Copy Cat Nuggets (Grain Free)

Earlier in the year my grain free friends were raving about this amazing copy cat recipe for Chick-Fil-A nuggets. But like any good friend, I was a doubting Thomas. I love  Chick-Fil-A and saying you have an amazing grain free copy cat recipe is just pretentious. Right?

Well, I'll eat crow now, because holy amazing... it is just that. And without the grains to bog it down, I don't get a belly ache after eating 500 pieces.

 Chick-Fil-A nuggets

You’ll Need:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup dill pickle juice

1 egg, beaten

2 tbsp buttermilk or cream (coconut milk okay)

1/2 cup tapioca starch

2 tbsp paprika (smoked paprika kicks it up a notch)

2 tsp each salt and black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

2 dash ground cayenne pepper

1/2 cup coconut oil for frying

1. Combine the chicken pieces and pickle juice in a resealable plastic bag or large enough pyrex container that the all the pieces can marinate. If needed stir often to ensure every piece soaks up some yummy juice. Marinate for at least 1 hour to get that key taste but you can marinate over night.
2. When the chicken has finished marinating, strain it through a colander to drain out the extra pickle juice. Put the chicken back into the bag and cover with buttermilk and beaten eggs and allow to sit a few minutes. Alternately you can just put it all into a bowl and draw out the chicken when you coat it.
3. As the chicken marinates again, prepare your breading by combining the starch, paprika, black pepper, and salt. Usually I combine this mixture in a sheet pan so I can dredge the pieces quickly and pile up on the side. 
4. Preheat your oven to 250F for keeping the pieces warm you finish.
5. Melt coconut oil in a cast iron skillet (or high pot to prevent splatters) over medium heat for 3 minutes. Resist the temptation to add more oil then called for. The oil should reach halfway up the chicken pieces while cooking but not cover the pieces. You can add more oil if needed while cooking.  Be sure to watch the heat, as the skillet will get warmer over time; adjust heat as needed. You’re looking for an oil temperature around 350F.
6. With your fingers, dredge chicken, then carefully add it to the oil. Repeat until you have filled your skillet; be careful not to overcrowd. Resist temptation to move the chicken before 2-3 minutes has passed. This will ensure a beautiful crispy coating! Turn and allow to cook another 2-3 minutes (depending on the size of your chicken) or until done.
7.  Place the cooked pieces on a plate lined with paper towels and put them in the oven to stay warm.

The General came to dinner.... (story)

You know how sometimes recipes are written beautifully? And then sometimes they are just written adequately (like mine)? And then, there are the moments that they are just written wrong. The recipe itself isn't wrong, but the way they wrote it throws the whole thing into a conundrum and you get it wrong.

This my friends, is my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Never mind the fact that you should always READ THROUGH a recipe before you try it.
Never mind the other fact that your brain should scream red flags and flashing signs when you think it says to add in 1/2 cup (CUPS) of thickening agent.
And we won't even mention the fact that I realized an hour before we had to leave that I hadn't started said meal yet.
No no, it was just written way wrong.

And this is how it went down. Don't judge.

Lil-kid turned 12 on January 22 and with any child's birthday, they are allowed to make a food request for dinner. And because we eat so differently then years in the past, that means extra work for me because if I don't have a recipe in my arsenal, then I have to find one and hope for the best.

Enter General Tso. He's a cheeky old Asian fellow with a little kick in his step. And wouldn't you guess it, Lil-kid wanted the General over for dinner.

Okay, self, we can do this. We will do this! Oh crap, look at the time! We have to do this quickly because they need to go to youth group tonight! Now like the obviously heathen mom I am (said tongue in cheek), I had an idea.

Me: Well, do you want to skip church to have your birthday meal?
Him: Heck no! You can do it!
Me: *panic* Mid-kid, you're my Sioux Chef, let's go!

Luckily I'd already printed the recipe for us and we were able to get to prepping. Brilliantly so. In fact, I believe we could have won some cooking show with the speed and beauty of the dish on the stove.

Fast forward to ten  minutes before the kids need to get into the car -- still my final ingredient add. To thicken the sauce so it sticks to the chicken like white to rice. Oh yeah--- DUMP.

Uh... hmm. Why did this starch turn immediately into a snot ball?

*Adds more liquid coconut aminos... chicken stock.... water....* Umm, it still looks like snot.
*Checks paper quickly, it did say 1/2 cup right? Yes, it did. (Or at least I thought it did... more than once!!).*

Tastes great... but, what the heck? Oh well, I have to serve it.

Rice goes on the plate, then the snot... err General Tso's Chicken goes on top and I serve and wait for the peanut gallery to comment.

Mid-kid, aka Sioux Chef, pressed right on through the snot texture and absolutely loved the flavors of the meal. WIN.

Big-kid, aka not picky about anything, ate a few bites and says, "Do I have to eat all this? I can't get over the texture."

SIGH, eyes switch to Lil-Kid, the birthday boy. THIS is his birthday slime!

Now, I need to pause and tell you that he is a very outspoken young man. In fact, he will tell you EVERYTHING that is wrong with ANYTHING every moment of every day. We've been working on the extending of grace thing, but usually he will tell you exactly what he thinks, feels, or might feel at the drop of a hat. Love the kid, but he has no filter sometimes.

Me: So how is it, Lil-kid? (I'm probably asking for trouble)
Him: Oh it's fine. *pushes some chicken around the plate*
Me: *Thinking--WHAT?! HOW? WHAT?!* But say: Oh good.

So I rise from the table and begin to madly rush around trying to get us out the door and we make it JUST IN TIME to church.

But something curious happened when I got home. Lil-kid loves food. I mean LOVES IT. He will probably be a chef someday if that's what he's called to do. So when I walked back into the house from dropping them off, my eyes land on his plate, still at the table. STILL FULL OF FOOD. It looked like he'd taken two bites and then pushed the rest around so it looked like he ate more.

Oh bless his heart. He didn't want to tell me it sucked. But what? HE SAID NOTHING? Oh my word, my heart just melted into a big pile of great tasting General Tso's goo.

MAN, what a kid, but now what? This recipe just single-handedly RUINED my kids birthday dinner. I mean the taste itself was fabulous, but the texture was something to never behold again. Never. Shudder.

*insert GRU's voice--- LIGHT BULB*

Quick as all, I snapped into action and to create the meal COMPLETELY all over again (Luckily I had gotten the first ingredients from Costco, so I had everything there again to do it). So I worked feverishly for the next hour (alone, since my Sioux Chef was at church) recreating this dinner so that my boy could actually enjoy his birthday.

I'll stop here to say that even my steel stomached husband who will literally eat ANYTHING could not eat this snot meal. It was seriously... seriously... snot on a plate. So gross.

So I'm tasting and watching as I go, reading everything carefully to make sure I didn't screw up again. And I decided that THIS TIME I'm going to leave out the thickener all together. Because without it, the sauce was AMAZ-ZA-ZING! Who needs it to cling? Not me... I'd had enough of that clinging for one day.

Fast forward to 8:30pm when my husband goes to pick up the boys.... and I'm waiting with a new plate of food on the table for everyone...

RELIEF comes in the form of HUGE SMILES when he walks through the door. Lil-kid looks at the table and says, "Why did you do that for? I'm not hungry anymore."

*face palm*

Needless to say, into pyrex containers the meal went and he had it for lunch the following day, to which he proclaimed, "THIS IS MY FAVORITE MEAL EVER."

Mom win.

I did have the opportunity to talk with Lil-kid about how he had extended grace to me and he recognized that he had made the choice to NOT say anything because it was the thought that counted. What a gem, that one.

So as I cleaned up the complete mess left in my kitchen from making two fancy meals, I thought maybe, just maybe I would reread that end bit of the recipe and see what it actually said. And yes, it was poorly written. And it didn't follow recipe etiquette with the right abbreviations. Now, had I not been in such a hurry, I would have realized it meant 1/2 tablespoon, not 1/2 cup, but alas, this is how we get fodder for life lessons. And this is why it's important to READ THROUGH the recipe before you start and never be in a hurry when you make something for the first time.

I will mention now that Mid-kid is requesting it for his birthday dinner, so really really, this recipe I will share with you tonight, is amazing. Gluten free. Soy free. Dairy free. Msg free. Grain free (unless you use the rice like I did). And certainly snot free.

Trust me. Snot free is a big deal. And I'm certain stories will be told tonight around the dinner table about General Snot.

So be it.

RECIPE HERE!

Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte .Copy Cat

On days like this (too much to do and not enough time to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee) I end up in the Bucks-taker drive-thru ordering my Skinny Cinnamon Dolce (with only 3 pumps not 5) and wishing it didn't have the chemicals in it (Splenda). But, I make the sacrifice because I'm out of the house and I NEED a coffee. Yes NEED.

Now, this recipe doesn't replace the NEED for a quick drive-thru trip, but maybe if I can make it at home and have it taste JUST as good and if not BETTER, maybe I will get up five minutes earlier and bring it along. That is the theory anyway. And while this doesn't exactly taste like a cinnamon dolce from the green logo super-chain caffeine store, i believe with a little tweaking of your own, it will be close enough that you can really enjoy it! 

And because you make it at home, you control what you put in your body! This is a win/win!

Ingredients:



6oz of strong brewed coffee, or two shots of espresso

2-4 packages of your favorite sugar (Stevia, Monk Fruit, Sugar, etc)

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

½-3/4 cup milk or your choice. Coconut, Almond, Cow, Rice, half and half, whatever.

Instructions

1. Brew coffee extra strong. Make sure you have about 6oz. Any more and you'll need some more milk. Any less and you'll have a steamer instead of a latte

2. Put milk in microwavable container and warm until steaming. Alternately, if you wish to skip microwaving you can heat in smallest pan you have. But I found the microwave worked fine.

3.  Once steaming add the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Whisk that the best you can.  If using the stove, add ingredients and whisk together. Remove from heat. 

4. Now here is a step you can either skip or embrace. Pour the milk mixture in a small glass jar and put your blender bottom on the top! Genius! Put it in the blender and give it a whir for 20-30 seconds (because your jar is probably lighter then the blender jar, be sure to hold your hand OVER the bottom of the jar when you turn it on or your jar MAY go flying if it doesn't lock into place). If your blender bottom doesn't match your jar, you can skip this step (or just put it into the blender itself and transfer back). Whir until frothy. 

5. Add the milk into the coffee and enjoy!

**Updated, when I originally posted this recipe yesterday I had tried it once and loved it. But this morning I tweaked the recipe a little and found I loved it even more! So above is the updated version.

Zuppa Toscana

If you love Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, I need you to stop what you are doing and print this recipe ASAP! This is by far the closest thing I've ever come to something and it's seriously one of my favorites. Being that we are mostly Paleo now, I have made it with full fat coconut milk (and 1/2 coconut cream) instead of the heavy cream but it's simply amazing with the heavy whipping cream. 

Once cooked, I am sure this soup will freeze, but I've got no idea because it never lasts that long... ever. So I can't trust that it will freeze well, though if you wait to add the cream, I'm sure it will work brilliantly. I should try it just for you. Next time. As long as we don't eat it first. Hummm...

What you will need:

1lb Italian sausage (Not breakfast sausage, but one of the no-nitrate ones would be best like the New York Sausage Company brand chubs.)

4-5 Potatoes (peeled, washed, chopped into bite sized chunks)

1 Onion (diced)

2 TBS of minced garlic

32 ounces of chicken broth

Water

4-6 pieces of bacon (equal to 1/4 cup cooked and chopped/crumbled--optional)

1 bunch of kale (washed, chopped into bite sized pieces)

1 cup heavy whip cream (you can use full fat coconut milk and some coconut cream)

2 TBS of any flour (you can use wheat, oat, sorghum, etc. I wouldn't use coconut though. Any thickener will do. Or do without the thickening)

Cayenne

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

• Brown meat in large stock pot you will cook your soup in. 
• If you prefer, you can drain the excess fat from the sausage before you move on, otherwise, add to the browned meat: chicken broth, garlic, potatoes, and onion. 
• Add just enough water to cover the potatoes. 
• Cook on high or until potatoes are soft. 

• Alternately, this can go in the crockpot. Cook on high 3-4 hours or until potatoes are soft (low 5-6 hours).

Once potatoes are soft (or 30 minutes before serving):

• Mix flour into cream and try hard to get out all the lumps. 
• Add cream, kale and bacon to crockpot and stir well.
• Cook on high 30 minutes or until broth is thickened.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Add a dash of cayenne to kick it up a notch.

Seriously the best soup ever. I make it twice a month and it's heaven in a bowl.

It's not you, it's the kitchen!

Often I think about this blog and feel like it needs my time, but then I find myself in the kitchen, binders full of recipes, testing out the latest and greatest paleo or gluten free dish. These of course require much pomp and circumstance. So much so that I barely have time to think about anything else but cooking and sleeping. So the blog and recipes are neglected. BUT I'm vowing to change that. So, it starts tonight. Whatever we are having for dinner will make it on this blog.

And I vow to go through the old posts and make sure I still agree with all my statements and grammar.

Why?

Because, I need a place to keep all these recipes because I'm so tired of not having one at the tips of my fingers when I am out and about. I find myself saying, "oh I have a great recipe for that... let me just find it..." and then someone finds one of their own and forgets I even mentioned it.

DRAT! So I vow to change this. And the name of this. So, stay tuned. Turkey Meatballs are happening to tonight. And the 12yo is making them.

Nut Meal/Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

I may have to change the name of this blog soon, for various reasons. One is that I'm going to need to remake EVERY one of these meals soon without using any plastic of any kind.

[soapbox]We just found out that my son has nearly toxic levels of plastic in his blood, which comes from all the use of plastic in not only freezer meals (leaching into the food when it defrosts or is WARM in the bag) but various other sources in the house (like shampoo, plastic cups, paper products, etc). So, I'm going to start using glass storage and see where it takes me.[/soapbox]

Also, I'm branching out to lots of grain and dairy free recipes for health reasons. So when I find a great recipe, I'm waffling on where to post it! So I might change the blog name and hope you followers come along! :)  It's going to have to be something to do with Healthy Eating and Freezer Meals. I dunno, the name is in the works.

ANYHOW, I made some fantastic SERIOUSLY cookies last night. I actually ate them for breakfast this morning they were THAT good. You can make these dairy free (using ghee) and you also might be able to make them egg free (with flax), but I made them with butter and eggs. So delish.

The original recipe called for almond flour, but I am allergic to almonds (darnit!) so I gave this a whirl with walnuts! And best thing ever, you don't even have to buy special walnut meal to make this. I purchased a bag of walnuts from Trader Joe's (walnut baking pieces) and stuck them in my food processor until I liked the consistency. Then voilà! I have meal/flour. I've also done it with sunflower seeds, halzenuts, and almonds (for my sons). It works great and is more than half the price of already ground meals/flours.

So here is what you need:

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened (not melted! You can use ghee)
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar (or coconut palm sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs (or flax meal mix)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups walnut or almond meal/flour
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips of choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cream together the butter, coconut oil, and brown sugar. I'll note here that you can use 100% butter/ghee instead of some coconut oil. Makes the cookies a slightly different flavor, but so good all the same.

Add the vanilla and eggs and mix well.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Add the meal/flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

If you have ground your own meal, pay attention to the consistency. Sometimes my ground stuff has more air pockets when I measure, so add more if the batter looks too runny. You want it to hold up to heat for a little while ;)

Fold in the chocolate chips.

If you refrigerate for 30 minutes before you bake, they won't spread as much. And trust me when I tell you, these bad boys SPREAD. These pictures are NON-CHILLED. So you can see they are flat, but oh so yummy.

Using two spoons, put dough balls onto the lined baking sheet and make sure they are a good 3 inches apart. Because they WILL spread (especially if you have not refrigerated the dough).

Bake for 11-13 minutes. Allow to cool on the pan then transfer to a baking rack (to make more!).

Eat way too many, but love every second of it ;)

Gluten Free Brownies

These brownies are,  hands down, the best gluten free brownies I have ever tasted!

I started using GF Oats at first, but just tonight, I tried straight millet flour and it was a complete hit!

What you need:

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of GF flour (I've done both oat flour and millet in this recipe -- both fabulous)

1/3 cup of cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp of vanilla

Mix dry ingredients first, then add eggs, oil, and vanilla. Mix well.

Pour into well greased 8x8 square baking pan or line your pan with parchment. 

Bake 350 four 20-25 minutes. The edges will get crispy, but don't be tempted to take them out before they are really done, unless you like a bit gooey brownies. Wait until 20+ minutes until you're sure they are done.

I know you've heard it a million time... "Cool completely before cutting" but you must believe me... COOL COMPLETELY or else you will have a bit of a mess. Give it time to rest and really bind together.

Enjoy with caramel sauce or ice cream. Totally delish!