Rice Krispy Chicken and Crispy Potato Cubes

 This is one of my kids' current favorite meals. They go crazy over the little potato cubes, especially Andrew, and the chicken is tender and flavorful.  No picture, but two links below for your convenience. A+ blogging right here.

https://ourbestbites.com/crispy-baked-chicken-thighs/

https://www.blessthismessplease.com/extra-crispy-oven-roasted-potato-cubes/

Feeding a Hungry Husband on the 6-food Elimination Diet (plus Coconut Chicken Curry )

It has now been six months that Preston has been wheat, dairy, egg, soy, seafood, and peanut free. It hasn't been too bad, although Preston might say differently, and we have gotten used to it. The diet is definitely working. It's nice to not spend time making a nice dinner only to have Preston come home, take a bite, and spend the next hour or two in the bathroom trying to work it down (or up) his throat. I would like to say I make him a lot of fancy allergy friendly treats, but the past six months have also been full of sick kids and babies not sleeping through the night, so I keep it as simple as possible. Plus, one time when I did make a cake for him, he said he would rather eat cereal....so I stopped trying very hard after that.

Our food budget has definitely increased and I am trying hard to just not worry about it, while still keeping things as frugal as possible on my end. This is what his diet is like most days.

Breakfast:  Cereal with almond milk. Usually some variety of Chex, Cheerios, Rice Krispies, or Corn Flakes, although there are more options becoming available. This is where most of the increase in our food budget has come from. We go through lots of cereal and lots of almond milk. Almond milk is $1 cheaper at BJ's, so I get it from there as often as possible, but it's still just expensive.

Lunch:  I try to make a dinner that will have leftovers that Preston can take, but it doesn't always happen. If he doesn't have leftovers, he has oatmeal packets and fruit, or buys a salad or rice bowl.

Snacks:  At work, his staples are Enjoy Life bars, Justin's Honey Almond Butter packets, and oatmeal packets. At home, his staple snack is........cereal........with almond milk.

Dinner:  There really are only a few options that are completely off the table for dinner - like pizza - I can't make pizza allergy friendly. Or lasagna. Or quiche. But most other things can be adjusted.  Our staples lately have been baked potatoes, bean and cheese burritos (bean and guacamole on corn tortillas for Preston), basic stir fry, brown rice spaghetti, and any other chicken and rice or beans and rice combination. I have made meatloaf with applesauce and quick oats instead of eggs and bread crumbs. We have also discovered some new favorite recipes, like the lentil, sausage, and spinach soup from Mom's cookbook, and the coconut chicken curry recipe below.

Preston has another upper GI endoscopy in a couple of weeks, and then will probably start adding foods back in one at a time. Six months from now, only one or two of these things will be permanent. That will be nice.


Coconut Chicken Curry from the Budget Bytes cookbook (my changes in parentheses)

2 T vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled (I always used powdered)
1.5 pounds chicken breast, cut into 1.5-2 inch chunks
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t turmeric
1 t curry powder
2 cans coconut milk (I think one is plenty, especially if you use less chicken)
1/2 t salt
6 cups cooked rice (I cook 1.5 cups dry rice and it's about right)
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro (I omit because cilantro is way too expensive and I can take it or leave it)

Heat the vegetable oil in large skillet. Add the onion and garlic, and using a small-holed cheese grater or a Microplane, grate the ginger directly into the skillet. Saute about 5 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the chicken and continue to saute until the chicken is cooked through.

Add the paprika, turmeric, and curry powder and saute for 1 minute more. Add the coconut milk and stir, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes more, or until warmed through. Stir in the salt. Serve over rice. Top with cilantro leaves, if desired.

Baked Chicken Drumsticks

This dinner earned thumbs up all around the table.  I wish I had a picture of Andrew gnawing on his drumstick. He picked two drumsticks completely clean. Lauren had two as well, but she just ate off the crispy parts and left a lot of meat inside. Preston had two and would have eaten more if there were more. It was unanimously decided that this dinner should go in the regular rotation. Drumsticks are pretty cheap -  99 cents a pound or less - and Preston likes eating cornflakes, so I usually pick up a box when I go to Aldi.  The ingredient list is kind of long, but it is easy to make. Hooray for another winner dinner.

Baked Chicken Drumsticks

from Two Peas and Their Pod from someone else's cookbook

8 chicken drumsticks, skinned

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning (I looked up a recipe online and threw in a bit of whatever ingredients I had)
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup buttermilk
Juice of 1/2 lemon

The morning you planto serve these, place the skinned drumsticks in a dish and season with spices. Pour the buttermilk and lemon juice over the chicken, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6-8 hours.


Coating
1/2 cup crushed cornflake crumbs
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs (I reversed the amounts of cornflakes and bread crumbs based on availability)
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Preheat oven to 400. Place a rack on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray Mix all coating ingredients. Remove chicken from the fridge and dredge each drumstick in coating. Place on rack, and spray the tops of the chicken with cooking spray. Bake for around 40 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

                                

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

I'm so glad I discovered boneless skinless chicken thighs. They are much more flavorful and juicy than chicken breasts and they are perfect for the slow cooker because they don't dry out. This is a good summer recipe because it takes about 3 minutes to put it in and about 3 minutes to shred the chicken at dinnertime. And, of course, it's tasty.

This is a picture of the picture from the magazine.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken

from May 2014 All You magazine


2 lb. boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of extra fat
salt and pepper
1 cup jarred salsa
juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 T chili powder
1 t cumin
1 T honey
3 cloves garlic, minced

Put chicken in slow cooker and sprinkle with salt and pepper all over. Mix the rest of the ingredients and pour on top of the chicken. Cook on low for 3 to 5 hours. Using two forks, shred chicken. Serve on rice, in tortillas, in lettuce wraps or on a bed of spinach. I suggest topping with some sour cream.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Homemade Chicken Broth

A whole chicken is a good investment of your grocery money. They are pretty cheap, usually around 99 cents a pound, and they can last for several meals, especially if you make your own chicken broth with the bones. I have been making this slow cooker chicken for a while. It is not the most amazing roast chicken you will ever have - it doesn't have any butter rubbed on it and the skin doesn't get crispy, but you also don't have to worry about changing the temperature, flipping the bird, basting or checking the temperature and unless you really overcook it, it shouldn't be dry. Meals that I can put in during naptime and not worry about until dinner are right up my alley.

I made this chicken last Tuesday and we had it with a green salad and some sauteed yellow squash that night, then Preston had chicken on his salad for lunch the next two days and I used the leftovers to make Chicken and Peas Fried Rice on Thursday. I felt frugal.

Recipe from 100 Days of Real Food

2 t paprika
1 t salt
1 t onion powder
1/2 t thyme
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t cayenne pepper
1 onion
1 large chicken

Mix all the spices together and rub all over your chicken, including in the cavity and under the skin on the breast. Loosely dice the onion and put in the bottom of the slow cooker, then place the chicken on top of the onions and cook on high 4-6 hours until the chicken is falling off the bone.

You should never make bone-in chicken without keeping the bones and making chicken broth with them.  All you do is put the bones back in the slow cooker, add a loosely chopped onion (you can include the skin), a couple of loosely chopped carrots, some celery if you keep it around, a bay leaf, some peppercorns, or parsley. Really you can use any vegetables and herbs you have lying around if you like the flavor. Then cover the bones with water and turn on low before you go to bed. In the morning, let the broth cool a bit, then strain out the bones and veggies and pour the broth through a strainer into containers. If you have cheesecloth you can use that to strain off some of the gunky stuff that collects at the bottom. I store the broth in old cottage cheese and yogurt containers. Let it cool in the fridge for a day, then you can skim the fat off the top and freeze it until needed. You will need to add additional salt to the recipes you use this broth in since no salt is added to it.

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches {Slow Cooker}

It's a lovely 75 degrees today. We left the windows open overnight and I was actually chilly when I went downstairs this morning. I'm taking advantage and doing some baking. This recipe, however, does not require the oven. It is easy, it is tasty, and it would be perfect to make for a crowd.

Slow Cooker Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

from The Girl Who Ate Everything

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 to 1 cup bottled Caesar dressing (I generally use store brand, but I would bet that a more expensive brand is even better)
 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups shredded romaine.
buns


Place the chicken thighs in the slow cooker with a cup of water and let cook on low heat 4-6 hours. When done, remove chicken onto a cutting board and pull apart with two forks, discarding any fat. Drain the water and any chicken residue from the slow cooker, then put the chicken back in with the dressing, parmesan, parsley and pepper. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes until it is hot throughout. Scoop onto buns and top with romaine. 

Honey Baked Chicken and Baked Brown Rice

Chicken legs are one of the cheapest cuts of meat you can buy. I have found them for as low as 59 cents a pound.  If you usually shy away from dark meat because  you think it is less healthy, now is the time to change!  I even heard Dr. Oz say that this is a fallacy and white meat has no greater health benefits. In fact, dark meat may help lower your cholesterol. It also has more iron, plus I think it is tastier. This recipe takes minutes to prepare and is a perfectly warm dinner for a chilly evening. The original recipe is from the More with Less cookbook, but I found it on Whole Eat & Whole Treats.

Honey Baked Chicken

4 chicken leg quarters
1/3 cup honey
2 T melted butter
1 T prepared mustard
1.5 t curry powder
1 t salt

Place the chicken in a casserole dish. Mix the remaining ingredients and pour over the chicken. Bake at 350 for about an hour and a half, basting 3 or 4 times with the pan juices.

This chicken is delicious with brown rice. If you have a hard time cooking rice on the stovetop, try baking in the oven following the recipe below. It always turns out perfectly. The chicken would probably also be great with mashed potatoes, spooning some of the sauce over the top.


Baked Brown Rice

1.5 cups brown rice
2.5 cups water
2 t butter
1 t salt

Put everything in an 8 inch casserole dish and cover tightly with foil. Baked at 350 for an hour to an hour and a half.

Soup Season

Ah....fall. The first day of autumn and the rainy, cool day, along with the squash sale this week and the chicken in my freezer gave me a perfect reason to make one of our all-time favorite soups, Colorful Chicken and Squash. You can find the full recipe here. It makes a lot and is very healthy and delicious. Just give yourself plenty of time to prepare it - it involves lots of chopping, but it's good for several meals and freezes well.

We paired it with Parmesan Muffins from my new 500 Muffin Recipes book. I thought they were okay, but hubby really, really liked them.

Helpful Hint: To make butternut squash easier to peel, stick a few holes in it with a fork and put the whole thing in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. The peel will soften and once it's cool, you can easily peel it with a vegetable peeler.

What did you have to celebrate the first day of autumn?