Gluten Free: Marsala Mushroom Cream Sauce

Not too long ago, I found myself standing in front of the fridge, like I do most nights, wondering what in the world I was going to make for dinner. I thought it would help if Lynne Rosetto Kasper showed up, at least we could play 'Stump the Cook' and I'd have a beautiful meal out of her other-worldly suggestions, but alas. It was just me and the few things I thought I could make into a meal.

On the immediate list the end of a bottle of cream, a few mushrooms needing to be used up, leftover steak... and I started turning my wheels. My mom used to make this really beautiful chicken Marsala-- so I grabbed a bottle of cooking wine and started assembling flavors. A bit of this an that. It turned out really well. And once the table was set, wine poured and the candles were lit, it seemed like my dinner dilemma was a far away memory.


Perhaps, you'd like to tuck this in your back pocket for an front-of-fridge emergency?

Marsala Mushroom Cream Sauce
1/4 onion diced fine
1 clove of garlic diced fine
2 carrots diced
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/2 of cooked steak
1/4 cup of Marsala cooking wine
1//2 cup of cream
1 Cup Chicken stock
5-10 Baby Bella mushrooms sliced
Sprinkle of Thyme
Sprinkle of Savory
Springle of Garlic Powder
As always, I started with a glug of olive oil in a cast iron skillet. I sauteed the onion and garlic until they were fragrant. Then add the carrots and stir until they are coated with oil. Salt. Add the diced tomatoes, chicken stock and wine. Then add the seasonings. Simmer about 10 to 15 minutes until thickened. Add cream and sliced mushrooms. Stir until combined. Cook gently about 5 minutes more. Add to pasta. We use gluten free.

Gluten Free Week: Chicken Nuggets

Dear friends, what a week. We ended up taking down the walls in our basement bathroom after some flooding, our interent went down and we're on an epic cross country road trip (AS WE SPEAK). 

So, the give away winner will be in a follow up post. And without further ado, here is Eric's recipe for gluten free chicken strips. No one will ever know they are gluten free!


Heat about 6-12 cups of oil (depending on how many you are making) to 350 (start it on medium high and let it rise to the temp gradually. We have one of those thermometers that has a clip on the side that you can put into the oil. Don't put it all the way to the bottom where it's touching the metal because you'll get a false temp but put it in the middle (as much as possible) and that should be good. Once the chicken is in the oil there will be enough movement that you shouldn't worry too much as long as it doesn't dip below 300 (they'll start getting soggy below 300). As the process goes on you may want to turn the heat up so that it stays above 300 but you also don't want to scorch the oil and burn the fingers.

Dipping flour (aka DF) we used brown rice flour (you can use soy flour too), you can season this one or just leave it alone.

Egg wash (EW):
2 eggs (or equivalent egg replacer)
2 tbls milk
2 tblsp water
season to taste

Breading (B):
gluten free bread (we used udis white rice flour) cut into cubes
Salt
pepper
garlic powder (or any other seasonings you'd like)
Blend the ingredients in a food processor about 2-3 minutes or until it's finely minced and looks like breading.

Prepare the chicken:
One full chicken breast-both sides feeds the 4 of us, and Lucy also gets one or two. Butterfly the breast. Slice the entire breast to the desired thickness and length, the more you do this the easier it will become.

Once the breast is all cut up take several pieces at a time and dip into the DF to coat. Take from DF and place in EW and make sure the entire surface is wet from the EW. Take from the EW and place into the B making sure that all of the surface is covered. *

*Note about breading anything properly: Always have a wet hand and a dry hand. I'm right handed and always have the DF on the far left, EW in the middle and B on the far right. With my left (dry) hand I pick the chicken out of the pile and place it in the DF, grab it with my dry hand and place it in the EW. From the EW I grab it with my right (wet) hand and place it in the B. From the B I grab it with my dry hand and either place it in a bowl to be fried or put it directly into the fryer or pot with oil. When mixing in each container (DF, EW or B) make sure you are using the appropriate wet or dry hand.

Fry each batch for approximately 8-10 minutes (depending on how many you have in the frying device). Or until the pieces are floating at the top for about a minute each. If you are unsure you can pull them out of the frying liquid and temp them, they should register around 160 but they will also continue minimally cooking after they have been finished, so if it's close don't worry.

Also, please note I've been frying food for many years and eyeball a lot of things, if you aren't sure initially I would temp it or leave it in a little longer (if it starts turning black it's gone too long). We also try pieces along the way tearing them open to make sure there isn't any red but that they are also nice and juicy. This also gives you an idea of how long to cook them.

Also, if we're doing big batches we'll sometimes turn the oven to about 200 and put them in there just to warm. We typically turn it on and once it's reached the temp turn it off so the oven is just warm enough to keep them from getting cold but also it's not going to dry them out.

We used to make these with conventional flour and the kids loved them. They can be a bit time consuming so try it for a Friday night movie night, but also make sure to give the kids a snack once you get home so they aren't too crabby from having to wait a few more minutes for these to be done. I promise, you nor they will be disappointed.

We've also starting making our own honey mustard and though the kids haven't starting eating it we love it. We just take the desired amount of honey and mustard. We typically mix regular yellow mustard with something stone ground or spicier and then add as much honey as we like until we gain the consistency we want. You can also add some mayo to make it thicker and try some horseradish to add some more spice. Really the possibilities are endless. I also make homemade BBQ sauce, but there isn't really a recipe (see everything is free flowy).

Whatever you do, just try it, they're way better than fast food and you and your kids will be so thankful that there are options for GF chicken nuggets.

Gluten Free Week: Keep it Simple

It is easy in the booming market of expensive gluten free foods to get swept away with all the marketing. You do not need to buy gluten free items when naturally gluten free items are throughout the grocery store. And most convenience foods can be made simply and at home.

With a few quick changes many of our meals became gluten free. We traded for gluten free soy sauce, gluten free pasta noodles, quinoa for couscous. We now use rice flour instead of wheat to make a roux for a gravy, bechamel sauce or cheese sauce will not alter the flavor too much. Though I typically use 1 part flour to 3 parts fat (instead of the usual 1 to 1 ratio). All you have to remember is that gf flours tend to take in much more liquid. They are thirsty flours!

Many of our dinners were already gluten free and Isabel, for years had self regulated without realizing it. But, she had also stopped trying new foods because she was afraid she'd get a stomach ache. Now, she eats things she would never touch before: mushrooms, onions, spinach, beans, sour cream. Knowing what makes her sick frees her up to eat anything other than gluten!

I was looking through my menu planning (it's sparce!) and my archives. Here are some of our favorite dinner ideas and recipes, most were written over the years. Dinner should not be a problem without gluten!

*Tacos, use authentic corn tortilla's. All of the toppings meat, cheese, beans, sour cream(check label for thickeners), salsa, tomatoes, lettuce...

*Pot roast, potatoes, veggies, green salad

*Roast chicken, brown rice, sliced fruit, raw veggies

*Beef and veggie soup (with gf pasta noodles)

*Shepherd's pie, green salad, fruit salad

*Steak with holiday potatoes, lemon asparagus, green salad

*Pork chops with sweet potato fries

*Hungarian goulash

*Beef bourguignon

*Chicken Strips and roasted potato fries (Recipe this week!) 
*Spring rolls (use gf soy sauce)


*Something out of nothing soup

*Broccoli soup with chicken

*Chicken stir fry with soba noodles (use gf soy sauce)

*Easy baked gumbo
 
*Split pea soup

*Flank steak with cilantro pesto, grilled corn salad with tomatoes and feta cheese (use gf soy sauce)

Dessert: 

 *Sweet chex mix

*One-one-one cookies

*Chocolate flourless cake (Recipe this week!)

*Ice cream (watch for mix ins)

*Frozen yogurt (watch for mix ins)

Gluten Free Week: Our Journey (and DONUTS!)

I hope your day was as beautiful as mine, it finally felt like summer. The sun was shining, the clouds were glorious and it was just hot enough to make you think, we might be getting a summer after all. We ate a delicious dinner, frittata with steak, onions and mushrooms and a healthy side of grapes. Ahh for quick dinners that utilize leftovers in a 'new' way! We took a trip to a coffee shop, tried (unsuccessfully) to fly kites and played until it got dark with dear friends!

Did you see the giveaway? I wouldn't want for you to miss Pamela's baking mix. It is just that good. And no, they are not paying me to say that. I firmly believe it!

Going Gluten Free: 

Starting back when Isabel was in preschool we noticed that she had been having migraines, ones that would make her so sick she would vomit. We noticed it happened mostly after she ate processed food. So we eliminated fast food and that seemed to help. In kindergarten, she got more headaches and they came more frequently near the holidays. 

And then in first grade, she was ill almost everyday after lunch. We had been through a few appointments, her eyes checked, allergist scratch testing and so on. But nothing was really helping. So after consulting with my dear friend who was getting her Master's degree in Nutrition, we had a few options to think about. One of them stood out, it could be gluten.

My twin sister has been gluten free for five years, so I knew that could be a big possiblity. And my older sister has gone gluten free for health reasons in the last 18 months.

After only a few weeks gluten free, her headaches were much better, her daily illness stopped and she was feeling so much better. As a parent, I am still wondering why we didn't try this sooner!

We made just a few adjustments in our diet. We traded wheat for gf pasta, wheat-based crackers for nut thins and oatmeal to cream of rice.

The only things she complained about missing were fish crackers and donuts. She'd say, "the REAL fish crackers, please don't try homemade... it will make me sad." I didn't attempt the fish crackers, but I did try to make donuts.

I found few recipes for donuts on the web. But since I had a bag of Pamela's on hand. I decided to try their recipe. I had to tweak it based on the ingredients I had in the house. And they were really good. So the next time, I made them, I adjusted it a bit more. Now we have a recipe that we love when we are in the mood for donuts. And it doesn't take forever. It's really easy!

Easy Gluten Free Donuts

2 cups Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix 

Sprinkle of Cinnamon

3/4 cup milk + 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar

1 egg lightly beaten

1 quart light tasting oil

Combine Pamela's Baking & Pancake Mix and cinnamon. Mix milk with apple cider vinegar, it should gently curdle immediately. Combine with dry ingredients, mix in beaten egg.
Start oil at low medium heat. When oil shimmers, drop batter by scant teaspoonfuls into hot oil and fry for 3 to 5 minutes or until balls puff and turn darker golden brown, if you don't cook long enough they will be doughy in the middle. Cooking them lower temp and for longer makes for much better spongier donuts. Drain on paper towels. Roll in cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar. Best served warm.