Fried Rice

This is a great easy and quick meal. The thing that takes the longest to cook is the rice. My husband doesn't like any food that is remotely Asian so thanks for reading and giving me an excuse to make this :). This is also a great meal to make a copy cat of for little ones.

1c brown rice
2c water
1-3 lbs your favorite meat (we used thin sliced chuck roast cut into strips)
1 carrot julianned
1/2 c edamame
1 bunch green onions chopped
3 eggs

Sauce/Marinade:
1/3 c Rice Vinegar
4-5 Drops Sesame Oil
1/2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1 1/2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (I use Kikkoman Gluten Free)
1 tsp Sugar
Dash of Wasabi

Bring your 2c of water to a boil then add the rice, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.

Combine Rice Vinegar, Sesame Oil, Garlic, Soy Sauce, Sugar, and Wasabi. (If you are using closer to 3lbs of meat double the recipe.) Cut your meat into bite size pieces and place in the marinade. Let sit for 20min to 4 hours. If marinating more than 20 minutes cover and refrigerate.

Scramble your eggs then grease a skillet and cook them into an omelette like disk. If you can't flip it don't worry. Let the egg cook through and pull raw egg to the sides to cook. It'll go back in the pan later. Pour out the egg onto a plate and cut into strips.

Put your veggies in the skillet and stir fry, then add your meat and sauce and cook until meat is done. Add your rice and egg strips.

Top with soy sauce and peanuts if you want, or anything else you desire!

If you want to make a copycat meal for your little one take out 3 Tbsp of steamed rice, add in a few strips of egg, and some steamed peas.

This is one of those versatile meals that will go well with about any veggie combination. Add in some bell peppers, a regular onion, snap peas, go crazy!

Happy eating!
Tori

Chicken Nuggets

One of the things I missed most after going gluten free was nugget night. I know that chicken nuggets aren't that healthy. I know that the commercial ones that we used to buy are full of crazy scary stuff. What can I say, I love chicken nuggets.

That was why my first gluten free cooking experiment was the chicken nugget. The first time I made these they were not good.. I only had salt and pepper in my breading, I smashed my Chex in a Ziploc bag instead of food processing it, and I fried the heck out of them. Now they are nuggets to rival Tyson.

2 Chicken Breasts
2 eggs
1 1/2  c Cornstarch
1 1/2 Tbsp Kosher Salt
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1/2 Tbsp Paprika
1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper
A dash or two of dried mustard
3 cups Chex (or other gluten free cereal, my mom used to use corn flakes)

Start off by heating some cooking oil to at least 360º, I prefer 370º. You can use a pot on the stove and a thermometer, we have used the electric skillet, or a deep fryer. If you are using a deep fryer make sure that you are using one that has never ever, ever even once had gluten in it. Gluten gets trapped between the heating elements and in all the joints. It's near impossible to get off.

Place your cornstarch in a large flat dish, put your eggs in a separate dish and scramble, then crush or food process your cereal and spices and put in a 3rd flat dish. If you crush your cereal you will have very crunchy almost sharp nuggets, if you pulse the mix in a food processor it will be more akin to fast food.

Cut your chicken into 1 inch cubes then dip in your egg wash. After the egg dip it in the cornstarch and coat completely, then back in the egg (coat completely), then into the breading (coat completely).

At this point get as many nuggets together as will fit into your cooker of choice. I usually let my nuggets hang out in the breading bowl until I have several ready. Then check to make sure your oil is at temperature.

Put your nuggets into the hot oil and fry for 5 minutes. Remove the nuggets from the oil, place on a paper towel, then allow them to cool for 1 minute. Now enjoy!

You can also fry these for 2 minutes then freeze them and fry again for 5 minutes taken directly from the freezer. They are a great kid friendly meal for those days you have a sleepover with a picky glutenated kiddo. If you don't say anything the other kids will never know. (Serve up with so Annie's gluten free mac and cheese and you are golden!)

Happy eating!
Tori

The Perfect Baked Potato

Baked potatoes are the go to easy meal in our house. They are naturally gluten free and you can put whatever you want on them. If you put two together you have a giant deli sized potato that is definitely enough for a full dinner.

Now everyone cooks baked potatoes their own way. You have the nuclear style microwavers. The extreme steam mondo foil wrappers. The one layer of foil and some season salters. I don't even know how many more.

Here's my version of my perfect baked potato. I like the inside to be soft and steamy, and the skin to be crisp so I can make potato skins later if I am feeling particularly piggy.

Take your potatoes and wash them well then pat dry. Immediately coat those potatoes in vegetable oil. The oil keeps the skin from burning while creating a barrier to trap in moisture. Poke holes so the potato can breathe, coat lightly with kosher salt or your favorite steak seasoning, put the potatoes directly into a preheated 375º oven, and cook for at least an hour. 

We have taken to lining the bottom rack of the oven with foil so that we can catch the drippy bits. We also usually end up leaving the potatoes in for almost 2 hours.

Top with your favorite things and enjoy!

Happy eating!

Tori