Pizza Chicken. Not to be confused with Chicken Pizza

Yesterday while pulling out some chicken from the freezer for dinner, I saw the package of turkey pepperoni that I had bought for pizza a week and a half ago and a thought crossed my mind. Why don't I make a Pizza Chicken? Now I don't normally buu turkey pepperoni, because it contains sulfites, but, I made a farewell dinner for one of my husband's friends and co-workers who was being sent to another site and that's what he likes. He even bought me a rolling pin so I could make it for him a few weeks earlier. If I could find turkey pepperoni without sulfites I would be ecstatic, but, for now I want to use up what I still have left. I whisked an egg and rolled the chicken in the egg, then coated it with some crushed rice chips. I love this technique so much I usually don't have any leftover crumbs left. I then cooked the chicken for 20 minutes on 350, then took it out and spooned some of the leftover pizza sauce on top of it. Next I topped it with the pepperoni and some red and green peppers and grated some mozzarella cheese on it. It went back in the oven and cooked for 10 more minutes. My husband asked me if I used a recipe or made it up. He should know better! I made it up of course. He said "You should sell this." Another success story!!!

Chicken Stroganoff

I love Beef Stroganoff. But I'm trying to go wheat free, and I had to revise it somewhat. So two nights ago I made my own version. I replaced the egg noodles with brown rice noodles, and instead of using flour I used potato starch to make the roux. Roux? Now there's a great word for Words With Friends. I didn't have any beef, but had a package of organic chicken in the freezer so I decided to make it a chicken stroganoff. I also didn't have Worcester sauce, so I just used some red wine vinegar and added some spices. I used a little garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, ginger, and paprika. It turned out perfect. I had some noodles leftover so last night I made Chicken Parmesan with Fettuccine Alfredo. I never throw away the crumbs from the bottom of the chip bag (I never throw anything away.) I save them and use them to throw in Chicken Tortilla Soup, Taco Salads, or Chili. Last night I crushed them up and dunked the chicken in an egg mixture and then rolled it in a combination of crushed chips, oregano, salt, and pepper. Then I baked the chicken for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. I then spread some pizza sauce, leftover from last weeks pizza that I had put in the freezer and then defrosted, sprinkled some mozzarella cheese on the top and put back in the oven for a few minutes till the cheese melted and browned just a little. While this was cooking I made a "Fettuccine Alfredo" sort of. I took the leftover noodles and cooked them with some heavy cream I had bought the other day at the Dairy Farm, grated mozzarella cheese (I didn't have parmesan), nutmeg, salt, and black pepper. That's it. I served everything with a side salad made with spinach, tomatoes, nitrite-free bacon, walnuts from the bottom of the bag I had bought to make banana bread, and some homemade Italian dressing. Deliciousness!

Going Wheat Free

Recently it has been brought to my attention that wheat is not as good for you as it once was. The wheat that is grown now is a result of cross-breeding and hybridization. What was once 4 and a half foot tall "amber waves of grain" is now a 2 feet tall genetic disaster. Here is an exerpt from the article available on http://www.mhlas.com/na-online-articles/natural-awakenings/franken-wheat: "This new wheat may be at the heart of 55 diseases as specified in The New England Journal of Medicine—such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, cancer, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, gall bladder disease, acid reflux, autism and Parkinson’s disease. In addition, autoimmune diseases are the number three cause of death in this country and caused by central nervous system inflammatory effects of wheat components." Another article http://www.wellandgoodnyc.com/2012/11/07/is-frankenwheat-haunting-your-diet/ states: "According to Dr. Hyman, a leader in Functional Medicine and a four-time New York Times bestselling author of such books as The Blood Sugar Solution, this new wheat is a triple threat: It contains twice the number of chromosomes. This means it codes for a much larger variety of gluten proteins, or “super gluten,” as Dr. Hyman likes to say. It contains high levels of a “super starch” amylopectin A, which excels at making both Cinnabons and bellies swell. And it’s full of wheat polypeptides called gluteomorphins, which trigger an opiate-like response in the brain, so guess what? You’ll want more Frankenwheat." I don't know about you, but that concerns me. My goal when I eat is to put something in my body that prevents these conditions, not cause it. So I've decided to go wheat free and see what results I get. Now is the perfect time since my husband is working about 80 hours a week and I have a lot of time on my hands to experiment with new wheat-free recipes. This morning I made my first revisions on one of my favorite breakfast items. I LOVE hash browns with my eggs. Now I'm going to share my secret to make them perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and yummy on the inside. In my old recipe I heat some coconut oil in a pan, then I put about a Tablespoon of flour in a bowl with a lid and mixed with a little cayenne, salt, and pepper. Then I would cut up one small potato in small pieces, put them in the bowl with the flour, put the lid on and shake enough to coat the potatoes. Then put them in the oil to fry. Don't turn too much. I add some sauteed onion and serve. These go great as a side or on my favorite breakfast burritos. My revised version is to use potato starch instead of flour. I also added some turmeric, which has a light flavor and has tons of benefits (http://www.healthdiaries.com/eatthis/20-health-benefits-of-turmeric.html.)I add it to as many dishes as I can now. I served this with one egg fried in coconut oil, some cut up cantaloupe and this wheat free bread you can make in a mug in the microwave: (http://shecookshecleans.net/2011/09/05/oh-baby-its-a-sandwich/.) I made this then took it out of the mug, cut it in half threw it in a pan and grilled it, then cut that in half and put butter and the Huckleberry-Rasberry jam I picked up the other day on it. It was a super delicious breakfast. I think I can do this.