What's For Dinner

Pan Seared Chicken Breast

Today what's for dinner is whatever a ten year old can easily be tutored from the couch.  It has been seven days since my foot surgery and I am slowly getting better.  I still can not stand for very long hence the ten year old making dinner.  Unfortunately for him he is the oldest one home and mom is hungry.

After looking in the fridge he decided chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans and maybe strawberries.  He has NEVER cooked meat or poultry of any kind.  There is a first for everything.  A method that works well for cooking chicken breast is pan searing the meat then baking.

Pan Seared Chicken Breast

Rinse chicken breasts and pat dry.  Sprinkle lightly with sea salt.  If I have any garlic powder that I made from my garlic in my garden I will also sprinkle each chicken breast with that.  In a cast iron skillet heat (or a skillet that can be put in the oven) 1 to 2 TBSP of olive oil on high heat.  Brown or sear each side of the chicken.   Add low sodium chicken broth so it covers the bottom of the pan.  Put the lid on the pan and put in a preheated 400 degree oven and bake for 25 min.  Check internal temp to make sure that meat is cooked.  Let the meat rest in the pan for 10 min before serving.


The chicken was very moist and the ten year old is feeling pretty competent with his first foray into cooking poultry.  The rest of the dinner was pretty simple.   Idahoan instant mashed potatoes, turkey gravy from a package, and a bottle of green beans that we canned last summer.

I caution using prepackaged mixes if you have allergies.  To often they have filler items to prevent caking or aging or just for bulk.  I also noticed that they generally refer to spices and do not always list exactly what they are.  READ the LABEL.  I remember when I was first diagnosed with allergies that it was so discouraging to read the labels and see that most mixes did not work for me.  So, now when I find one that works I will buy several to have on hand for days that we need a quick meal.  In the next couple of months I am going to take a class on making my own mixes to have on hand.

Laying Around

Faux Oatmeal Cookies

Laying around is not all that it is cracked up to be. Today is day six after surgery for a Morton's neuroma and plantar fascitis in my right foot.  The key to my pain is taking ibuprofen before the pain even starts and elevating my foot.  I am grateful for my mom, husband and kids helping me around the house.  Standing on my foot for very long is uncomfortable and sometimes painful.  So,  cooking has not been a possibility.

Over the past week I have had a craving for oatmeal cookies as I have been laying around.  I am allergic to oats and have been searching for a product similar to oats that was not outrageously priced.  I recently found rolled wheat, rolled kamut, and rolled spelt.  I found the rolled wheat at Macey's and the kamut and spelt at Natural Grocers.  I am excited to have Natural Grocers in town.

I had the product but never got to making the faux oatmeal cookies.  My husband was awesome and made the cookies for me (twice) with the aid of "Cookies Country".  He tweaked the recipe to work with what I could eat and made a fabulous cookie.  He used Ener G egg replacer instead of eggs, and replaced the 3 cups of oats with 1 cup rolled kamut, 1 cup rolled wheat, and1 cup roll spelt.  Additionally he reduced the flour to compensate for how dry the dough usually is with the egg replacer.      Although he found with this recipe that reducing the flour made the cookies to runny and ended adding it back to the original amount.  He also, by my request, added 1/2 tsp. cinnamon to the mixture.  They ended up cooking best at about 12 - 15 min.  They ended up having a crisp exterior and a soft center.  I thought they were a success and are something that I will make in the future.

Big and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
16 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups raisins (optional)

Faux Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp ground sea salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
16 TBSP unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tsp Ener G egg replacer
4 TBSP water
1 cup rolled kamut
1 cup rolled wheat
1 cup rolled spelt
1/2 cup raisins, or chocolate chips (optional)


1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.  Mix the first four ingredients together and set aside.
3.  Cream together the butter and sugars together.  Whisk the water and egg replacer together.  Add egg mixture to the creamed butter and  sugar and blend until incorporated.
4.  Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture.  Add rolled kamut, rolled wheat and the rolled spelt and mix.  Then add the raisins if using.
5.  Place 1 TBSP size balls on cookie sheet a couple of inches apart.    Cook until golden brown around the edges about 15 minutes.  Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a couple of minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

I think you could use any rolled grain in  this recipe.  I have also seen rolled barley in addition to the others I put in.  Although I have not tried this, if you are also looking to be diary free you could possibly replace the butter with coconut oil.

Rotation or Elimation Diet

I finally went to the doctor for my migraines and headaches.  I have been having at least 2 migraines a week and a headache on any of the other given days.  I know that I get headaches with my allergies, barometric pressure change, stress, and hormones.  The following things have brought some relief:  regular exercise, regularly eating meals and snacks, massage, chiropractic care and acupuncture.

The doctor decided that we might want to check my heart to rule that out as a contributing factor.  My heart checked out fine.  The next suggestion is medication.  Before I go that direction I decided I wanted to make sure that there are no other allergies that I am not aware of.  

So, my next step I decided was to start a rotation diet.  When I first was diagnosed with food allergies I tried a color coded diet that the allergy doctor suggested.  It was very discouraging and hard to manage.  So I gave up and opted to just eliminate the offending foods and move on.  I have since then done more research and am trying it again.  This diet is a four day rotation of food families.  The premise is that it takes about two to three days for your body to process and eliminate food in your body.  Therefore, four days will allow time for your body to recover before having a food or food family again.

So the first four days you are supposed to identify 12 foods that think you can tolerate and identify which food groups they belong to.  You are only supposed to eat one food from a food family during a meal.   If you are not having problems with a particular food you can have another food from that food group at least two days apart.

EXAMPLE

	Day 1	Food Family	Day 2	Food Family	Day 3	Food Family	Day 4	Food Family
Breakfast	WATERMELON	Melon or Gourd	STRAWBERRIES	Berry	APPLES	Apple	PEACHES	Plum
Sweetener
Lunch	CARROTS	Parsley	BROCCOLI	Mustard	ZUCCHINI	Melon or Gourd	CABBAGE	Mustard
Oil
Dinner	LAMB	Bovid	TURKEY	Turkey	SALMON	Salmon	CHICKEN	Pheasant
Snack

You can eat as much as you want of that food during that meal.  You can eat the food raw or cooked.  Salt and Baking Soda are free items that can be used at any time.  On day five you can another food family to each meal.  On day 9 add a snack from a food family.  On day 13 you can add a sweetener and oil to the foods you eat.  You can also start to combined the foods within a day on day 13.

PLUM KETCHUP

I thought that I would put this as a separate post for those looking for an alternative to Ketchup.  I would not dip french fries in plum ketchup but it does work well for BBQ sauces.  I have not yet tried it for chili but will in the future.  This year I picked my neighbors trees and canned it.  The Plum Sauce in the Ball Blue book is similar and cans well.  Or you can freeze this recipe.  I have also used rhubarb in this recipe instead of plums.  It works okay but is a little tart.  I like the color, taste and consistency of the plums best.

Plum Ketchup

The Allergy Self Help Cook Book, MarJorie Hurt Jones, R.N., 2001

1 pound Italian plums, pitted
2 TBSP finely chopped fresh ginger
1/3 cup finely chopped onion (optional)
1/3 cup light agave nectar or honey
1 TBSP what free tamari or a pinch of salt
2/3 cup pineapple juice or water

In a blender or food processor, combine the plums and ginger.  Process for 1 to 2 minutes, or until smooth.

Pour into a saucepan.  Add the onion if using, the agave nectar or honey, tamari or salt, and juice or water.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until thickened.  Adjust the seasoning to taste.

Although I am allergic to onions I have found that I can use chives and garlic and have added them to this recipe.  I have also added celery seed.

Makes about 1 ½ cups

Freezes nicely for up to six months.

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Chicken

I like this recipe on days that I work because it does not take a lot of time to make. I have also found that you can freeze the leftovers in individual portions sizes and heat up another day. I "used" to like BBQ ribs, chicken, beef, etc... but found that it was making me very ill. So I created this recipe. I used the plum ketchup in The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook, by Marjorie Hurt Jones, R.N and a general outline of a Barbecue Sauce Recipe found in Steven Raichlen's How to Grill cookbook. I have found that cookbooks that discuss why recipes work and their process have helped me the most. This recipe is Tomato and Onion Free. If you are allergic to everything in the Lily family then you would also want to leave out the garlic. I also left out chili powder because of its connection to pepper and found a nice Thai chili sauce that works well.

Crockpot BBQ Pulled Chicken
2 cups of plum ketchup (you could use tomato ketchup)
1 TBSP Ground Ginger
1 TBSP Powdered Garlic
1 TBSP Ground Mustard
1 TBSP Celery Seed
2 tsp. Liquid Smoke
2 tsp. Worchester Sauce
1/4 tsp. to 1 tsp. chili sauce (optional)

2.5 pounds of chicken tenders or breast

Cook the chicken in the crockpot on high for about one and half to two hours. Check to see if they are cooked enough to pull apart. Cook until ready. When they are cooked pull apart with two forks.

 

Combined sauce in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Let the sauce boil on medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes. Pour over the shredded chicken and let simmer on low in the crockpot for another hour.

I usually serve this on a bun, over rice for those not eating buns or just on the side.  We had a side of cucumbers, and apple slices and corn chips (for everyone but me) with salsa.

Teriyaki

I have to eat so I have to cook.  To be completely assured that I can eat I need to make it.  I am finding that recipes are guidelines, which can be changed up to a point.

I have a family member allergic/ sensitive to cane sugar, pepper, and wheat. These allergies are different from my allergies so I developed the below recipe based on a combination of recipes that I enjoy.

Grilled Teriyaki Turkey Breast



1/4 cup Soy Sauce or Gluten free Tamari Sauce
1/4 cup Maple syrup or Pancake syrup or brown sugar
1/8 cup Canola Oil
1 tsp. finely grated ginger
1 tsp. finely grated garlic
1/2 tsp. ground mustard powder
2 pounds of Turkey Breast

To make a sauce combined the first six ingredients until well blended.  Place turkey breast in the sauce. Let it marinated for at least one hour but not more than 8. Sometimes I will prick the meat about every inch with a fork to help the absorption of the sauce into the meat.

Oil the grill and preheat grill to about 400 degrees. Place the turkey on the grill on an area with indirect heat. Cook for about 10 minutes then brush the marinade on and turn over. Brush the marinade on the other side as well then cook for another 10 minutes. Brush the marinade on again check the internal temperature. It should reach about 170 degrees. Continue to cook until the internal temp is high enough. Take off the grill and let it rest for about 10 minutes before it is cut into.

If you cannot eat the last three ingredients leave them out. The soy sauce, sugar, and oil are the basic recipe.  This recipe is also good with chicken.

I have found that if I am on top of things when I first get home from shopping and put the turkey or chicken in with the marinate than freeze the raw meat in the sauce it makes for a easier meal on another day.  The meat can then marinate as it unthaws.

For this meal we also had a turban squash   (it has another name that I cannot think of right now) baked with a little sea salt.  This is a sweet squash by itself without adding anything.  I also opened a can of green beans which I had canned this summer.   I also made an apple cinnamon muffin.  I will post this recipe another day.

Vegetable Cheese Soup

It was definitely soup weather today. The high at my house was 18 degrees. My kids and I decided that vegetable cheese soup would taste good. I adapted a recipe that I had picked up years ago at a church party. The original recipe is called vegetable chowder. Below is the original recipe:

1 1/2 cup diced potatoes
1 cup chopped celery

I doubled the recipe.  It makes about 5 to 6 cup servings with orginal recipe.

1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 cup water

Simmer until soft

White Sauce
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter
1 cup milk
1/2 cup chicken broth

Slowly bring to a boil, or it will scorch, until thick in a separate pan. Add 1 cup of grated cheese.
Constantly stir the vegetables as you add the sauce until fully incorporated.   We like a little bit thicker soup so I pour a little of the water off the vegetables before I add the sauce.

I basically use the same recipe. I use the rule of thumb of four cups of vegetables to 2 cups of water. I also use sea salt and leave out the pepper because of other family member’s allergies. The vegetables that I used tonight were: potatoes, celery, carrots, garlic, cauliflower, and broccoli. I have also used parsnip in the past. I usually use what I have on hand which sometimes is only a couple of items. Garlic seems to be a constant because we grow it and I have abundance on hand.

Fortunately, I do not have to change the white sauce. If you are allergic to any of the with sauce items I would substitute margarine for the butter, an alternative milk for the milk or just increase the chicken broth so that there is a total of 1 1/2 cups of liquid. You could also substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth. Homemade broth tastes the best. However, there are some organic or natural broths that taste great too.

For the thickener, flour, I have not tried it but you could probably use corn starch, tapioca flour, or arrowroot flour. I would experiment with the consistency first.

I double my recipe so that I could have some left over for tomorrow.

Good luck on your attempt!