It has been a little while since last I posted. I've been on the road again a bit and will follow up more on the ups and downs of traveling gluten free - will eventually have a whole list of graded locations, but that is another post for another time.
Finally home for a few weeks, last night I put together a great gluten free dinner which was super healthy, relatively inexpensive and delicious.
Corn flake crusted "fried" chicken tenders
Garlic mashed "potatoes"
Spinach and Broccoli Rabe
For the chicken, I'd purchased 1/2 a pound of chicken tenders from the Whole Foods butcher (the AHGSTCMTWF doesn't sell meat products). I rinsed the chicken and dried it, then let it sit wrapped in paper towels to really absorb all of the moisture.
I made a breading from several cups of corn flakes (not the regular grocery store brands - those have malt added which contains gluten), smashed into powder/little tiny pieces, cayenne powder, garlic powder, onion flakes, salt and black pepper.
I beat one egg with a little bit of skim milk for the binder.
Preheated the oven to 400, and prepared cookie sheets by covering them with parchment paper (to catch any drips or crumbs) and put racks on top of those (non stick racks are definitely better for this purpose).
To prepare the chicken, I took each piece, dunked it in the egg/milk mixture, then dredged it through the cornflake mixture (I used a big shallow pan to do this), turning it over and really pressing some of the coating onto the chicken, then placing it on the rack on the baking sheet. I baked it for 15 minutes (the chicken was pretty thin, so baking time may need to be adjusted depending).
My husband pitched in and made dipping sauces - one spicy mustard, one balsamic pesto and one BBQ sauce (the BBQ sauce was from the fridge).
For the "potatoes", I took a head of cauliflower, diced it, boiled it until tender, drained it, then "mashed" it with my immersion blender. I put the mashed cauliflower into a pan on the stove, added milk, butter spray (it works better if you just remove the top and pour some in, instead of spraying and spraying), garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and dried onion flakes. It was still lacking something, so I investigated the refrigerator for ideas. I found several wedges of light Laughing Cow garlic and herb cheese. I cut up two of these and let them melt in and it did exactly what it needed to for flavor.
For the green veggies, I sliced a small shallot and sauteed it in some olive oil. I added the Broccoli Rabe, sauteed for a few min, then added a good amount of spinach (enough to fill the large-ish frying pan) and let it wilt down. Added salt and pepper and it was ready to go.
The result was a super healthy delicious gluten free meal. The chicken came out super crispy and the "breading" adhered well to the meat, so it really was like eating chicken tenders. The cayenne gave it a nice bite, and the cauliflower balanced that out nicely. My husband even went back for seconds, and not just of the chicken but of the mashed "potatoes" that he'd mocked for their health factor while I was cooking.
Definitely a meal to add to the rotation - should have taken pictures because it was a really nice looking meal as well. I just wish I'd made more so I'd have leftovers for lunch!
