Extra crispy chicken wings

How do you make extra crispy wings when you can't have gluten or dairy or eggs? Well, you can, and it's not too difficult. Use your flours of choice, of course.

Ingredients:
-- dozen chicken wings, cut and washed
-- flour mix (i use 1/2 cup sorghum, 1/2 cup tapioca flour, 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper)
-- 2 egg subs (i use Ener-G)
-- oil of choice (i use canola)

Heat oil in a large pan. Cut wings. Now, toss and coat in the flour mixture. Dip into the egg sub mixture. Toss again and coat in the flour mixture. Cook in frying pan until golden and cooked through. These also could be baked.

The "regular-crispy" version of this is to not use the egg sub. Just coat the wings with the flour mix and cook.

Garlicky chicken

I've read how garlic is a natural detoxifier and I try to work it into as many recipes as possible. Others to consider, and read about on your own, are cilantro and cumin. Back to garlic. This dish is very simple -- Garlic Chicken.

Ingredients
-----------
2 chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into strips or nuggets.
2 tsp canola oil
1 tsp sea salt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
tapioca starch

OK, this takes no time at all. Cut the chicken and put in a mixing bowl. Add the oil and stir to coat. You just want enough oil to coat the chicken, not drench it. You don't add oil to the pan. Next, sprinkle the sea salt and enough tapioca starch to coat, maybe a couple tablespoons. Stir the chicken to get that light coating on. This isn't a coating like a chicken nugget, just a very light starch coating. As the pan's heating to medium high, crush the garlic and chop. When hot, toss the chicken in along with the garlic, mixing it around. Stir to cook all sides evenly. Serve.

Taco Pie anyone?

My kids love Taco Pie, which is a recipe in Lisa Lewis' Special Diets for Special Kids Two. We call this pizza, because it looks like deep dish pizza. And, I've modified the recipe a little in a way that actually creates a "cheesy" texture to the inside. So, to get the original recipe, you'll have to buy the book. Here's my version:

Ingredients
------------
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 medium onion, chopped
taco seasoning mixture -- see recipe below
1 cup milk substitute (I use Darifree)
2 eggs (I use Ener-G egg substitute)
1/2 cup flour baking mix -- see recipe below
1/4 cup salsa (either homemade or I also will use Tostitos brand milk salsa. Frito Lay claims this is GF, CF, MSG free, soy free and egg free. See the company's allergen info here.)

So, first, cook the beef over a medium heat with the onion.

While it's cooking, make the taco seasoning. This is 2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp crushed dried red pepper, 1/4 tsp oregano, 1 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp tapioca starch, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp cumin. Mix well.

Heat oven to 400.

Now, make the flour baking mix. This is my version.
- 2.75 cups gf flour (3/4 cup sorghum flour, 1 cup tapioca starch, 1 cup potato starch)
- 1/8 cup baking powder
- 2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2-3 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup canola oil
Mix the dry ingredients well in a bowl. Pour in oil. Then mix well with a beater to blend oil in.

Grease a pie plate. I use Spectrum organic shortening.

Drain meat mixture. Pour into pie plate and spread around.

Top with salsa, as much or little as you want. I do it in blotches. If I don't have salsa, I pour a little ketchup here and there.

If you're using egg subs, make them first and let sit a few minutes.

In a bowl, combine milk sub, egg (or egg sub), and baking mix until blended. It may be a little lumpy and that's OK. It will be liquidy. Pour over the meat mixture.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out cleanly.

Easy variations of this are hamburger pie, by eliminating salsa and taco seasoning. You could add an onion seasoning mix to this if you wanted.

Asian chicken

Another real easy chicken dish. I had made too many recipes based on a seasoning mixture of chili powder, sea salt and cumin that I decided to go another route altogether. This worked nicely.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast, cut up
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 tbsp cane syrup (I use Steen's. You could sub honey, real maple syrup, Agave syrup, etc. I used Steen's because of the "dark" flavor it has that lends itself well to Asian dishes.)

OK -- heat a pan on the stove. Meanwhile, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Toss into pan. Heat until chicken's cooked (or precook chicken and then just heat to serve). Serve with a favorite veggie.

Chicken or beef hash

This is a dinner dish. It's easy and a neat way to introduce veggies.

Ingredients:
- 1 chicken breast, cubed
- ketchup
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2 potatoes, diced or cubed
- garlic
- basil
- sea salt
- 2-3 carrots, cut into sticks
- oil

Heat oil in a pan. Add potatoes and carrot. Cook for 5-10 minutes, tossing every so often. Add onion and garlic. Cook 2 minutes. Add chicken after stirring in 1 tbsp ketchup. Add basil and sea salt. Cook until chicken is done or warmed. Add any other veggies you wish, beans, peas, broccoli, etc.

Enjoy.

Pancakes -- Spicy chicken pancakes

OK -- so this is a variation on my PizzaBurgerPancake and Spicy Chicken recipes. Very easy.

Make the spicy fish recipe. Set aside.

Make the pancake batter. In a mixing bowl, combine 1/3 cup chickpea flour, 1/3 cup potato starch and 1/3 cup tapioca starch. That's the flour base. Now add 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp sea salt. Mix flour well. Add 2 tbsp canola oil and 1/3 cup water. You'll need to continue adding 1 tbsp water at a time until you reach the right "pancake" consistency. And no, you don't need xanthan gum.

I heat a small nonstick pan and toss in some of the chicken with a little onion. Heat for a minute. Then pour some of the pancake batter over top, coating the chicken. Turn when the bottom side is starting to brown, just like you would with a pancake. Cook other side until starting to brown.

That's it.

Meatloaf

This is easy.

Ingredients
----------------
1.5-2 lbs ground beef
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp Heinz ketchup
1 small onion, cut fine
1/4 cup broth -- homemade gfcf
1/2 cup gfcf bread/roll/cracker, etc.
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder (optional)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 egg, beaten or 1 egg substitute (Ener-G)

Heat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients well. Bake for 30-45 minutes, ensuring meat is thoroughly cooked using a meat thermometer.

Wings -- (not the band)

What a treat these are to make and enjoy with your kids. I buy a 2 lb. bag of wings every so often from a local farmer. That's when we splurge and have wings and fries night. If you do this, make the fries first (the chicken seasoning "dirties" the oil and will coat the fries).

So, wash the wings. I cut them into sections and remove the tips.

In a bowl, I mix chickpea flour, sea salt, paprika and a bit of cayenne pepper to add some punch.

I heat canola oil in a large pan. When hot, I coat the wings with the flour/seasoning mix. I don't use eggs to coat the wings because my kids can't eat eggs. If yours can, maybe try it to get a better coating. Then put into the pan and fry. Turn to brown all sides. Drain after cooked. Serve with fries and ketchup.

Pizza burger pancakes

I think this food is just as fun to say as it is to eat. And my kids love pizza-burger pancake nights. I do too, because they're quick and easy.

First, you make the pizza-burger part, which really is just ground beef cooked and drained, and then seasoned with a taco or other spicy kind of flavor. Personally, I use chili powder, cumin and sea salt. That's it. (Note: I make about two pounds of this at a time and freeze them in 1/2 pound portions for later use. This comes in handy when you need a quick meal.)

While the meat's cooking, make the pancake batter. In a mixing bowl, combine 1/3 cup chickpea flour, 1/3 cup potato starch and 1/3 cup tapioca starch. That's the flour base. Now add 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder and 1/4 tsp sea salt. Mix flour well. Add 2 tbsp canola oil and 1/3 cup water. You'll need to continue adding 1 tbsp water at a time until you reach the right "pancake" consistency. And no, you don't need xanthan gum.

I heat a small nonstick pan and toss in some of the ground beef. Heat for 30 seconds. Then pour some of the pancake batter over top, coating the beef. Turn when the bottom side is starting to brown, just like you would with a pancake. Cook other side until starting to brown.

That's it. I serve a half pancake to each girl with some ketchup to dip in. My youngest likes this cut up into pieces. My oldest likes to eat it whole. I haven't tried, but I'll bet these would freeze nicely.

Back -- with ketchup fish

Happy New Year!

And let me introduce you to "Ketchup Fish."

Yep, just like it sounds. Ketchup. And fish.

So, here's what you need:

1 lb. cod or other firm fish
1 tsp sea salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2-1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon Heinz ketchup
1-2 potatoes cut into thin "fry" strips

Heat a nonstick pan. Cut fish into bite sized pieces. Toss in a bowl with other ingredients to coat. Toss into pan and cook until fish is flaky and potatoes are cooked. That's it.

Enjoy.

Oven "fried" chicken

OK -- this is really easy.

Ingredients:
Chicken legs and wings, cut up.
Chickpea flour
Sea salt
Paprika
Hot pepper powder
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Canola oil

Heat oven to 400. Wash chicken. Toss 1 tablespoon oil over chicken in a bowl. Hand toss to coat.Mix dry ingredients in bowl. When oven is hot, toss chicken and coat in the dry mix. Coat generously. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Turn, drizzle oil sparingly on top of chicken. Bake 5 more minutes.

Very good.

Chili burgers

Now here's a really simply burger recipe that my kids like. They seem to like spicy foods. And, it has cumin in it, which is a good spice antioxidant.

Anyway, here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef (I prefer farm bought)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
diced onion to taste or onion powder
1 tbsp Heinz ketchup

Mix together well. Form into patties. Bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Easy. Enjoy.

Spicy chicken

The kids have called this fish, but lately they're realizing it's really chicken. So, we're starting to call this spicy chicken.

I buy farm chicken twice a month, usually a few pounds at a time. When I get home, I wash the chicken breasts, slice them into strips, and boil them. When cool, I freeze them in 1 lb packages.

Pull a package out the night before you want to use it. One package is enough to feed two kids for two nights.

Cut the strips into "nugget" pieces.

In a bowl, mix 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp hot pepper powder, 1/4 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp onion or garlic powder.

Heat a nonstick pan to medium high heat. Add 1 tsp of canola oil to the pan.

Stir the chicken pieces into the seasoning mix and rub it in a little -- doesn't have to be coated like a deep-fried batter, just rubbed in.

Cook pieces in the pan until cooked through, no pink.

Easy.

Burgers

Now, this one is ridiculously easy! Anyone can make a burger, and you probably have your own way of making it. So, follow your stomach, or your kids' stomachs. Here's my simple version. Served without buns (for now) and Heinz ketchup.

1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp hot pepper powder
1 tbsp onion diced
1 tbsp ketchup

I bake these at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. I also make a bunch and freeze the extras.

Potato Chip Chicken

This is a favorite in our home and a special treat we make every so often.

The recipe, of course, is just what it sounds like -- potato chips and chicken, together.

What you need, then, is some chips, and some chicken. Essentially, you just crush the chips, dip the chicken and cook!

Ingredients
-------------
4 oz. Lays potato chips (gf), crushed (2 small bags)
1 chicken breast
Canola oil
Heinz ketchup (optional)
1 Egg or egg sub
Sea salt
Paprika

Cut chicken into nugget pieces. Heat pan with oil (this could be baked also). Mix 1 tsp oil into chicken pieces along with sea salt and paprika. Dip pieces into egg/egg sub and then roll in crushed chips to coat. Cook or bake until done.

One variation on this is to skip the oil and egg coating, and stir in ketchup instead, then coat with chips. The kids love this too.