I recently discovered I am gluten and dairy intolerant. Changing my diet is more difficult when trying to cook one meal for me and another for my family. Being gluten free doesn’t mean you’re not eating bread any more there is a lot more involved. Reading the book The Gluten Connection helped me understand where gluten finds itself.

I’m on the hunt to find recipes and food we can all eat. It makes preparation and cooking so much easier. This recipe is now added to that list. Everyone loved this and it didn’t make me sick!

I found the recipe on a blog full of recipes but I changed it up a bit.

Gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Gluten Free)

1-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
2-6 tablespoons oil, for frying chicken
-or-
Non-stick cooking spray or olive oil for spritzing on chicken for baking

Coating Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown rice flour 1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup sweet rice flour 1/2 cup GF pancake mix
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons garlic granules (like Spike)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder

Sauce Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons GF soy sauce
3 tablespoons ketchup
Add a small can sliced pineapple with juice.

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized container with a tight fitting lid, mix all coating ingredients together. Add chicken pieces, replace lid tightly, and shake to coat chicken.

2. To Fry Chicken: Add oil to a large, heavy bottomed skillet and heat oil over medium-hot heat. Drop in coated chicken, and fry until chicken pieces are browned and fully cooked. Drain on paper towels.
To Bake Chicken: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly spritz coated chicken with olive oil or non-stick cooking spray and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes until chicken is crispy and cooked through. (Can make sauce while chicken is baking!)

3. In a large saucepan, whisk together all sauce ingredients. Heat until mixture boils, whisking/stirring constantly. Mixture will appear reddish-gray at first, just continue to whisk until mixture turns a translucent, glassy, bright red color. It may take 5-10 minutes for this to occur. When mixture turns that wonderful shiny bright red color, take it off the heat. Pour over chicken pieces and toss to coat. Serve over cooked rice or pasta with sauteed veggies!

Enjoy!

Today is the first day of Fall. I have many fond memories of Fall as a child. When we lived in Ohio, my family would pile in the car and head to the nearest apple orchard to pick the beautiful specimens off the trees.

The orchard would have hot apple cider and sometimes apple cider doughnuts. One didn’t actually chew these doughnuts, but they melted in the mouth with the first bite. Before the cook could finish preparing a fresh batch of doughnuts the hot ones were devoured leaving not even a crumb on the plate.

Several years ago, I stumbled on a recipe for apple cider doughnuts in a magazine. On my next shopping trip, I collected the  necessary items to make these delightful treats. They were delicious.

Enjoy a little bit of Fall with this recipe.

Apple Cider Doughnuts
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup apple cider
4 tbsp. butter, melted
Oil for frying
Glaze
1 1/2 cup confectioner sugar
3 tbsp. apple cider

In a large bowl sift together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs and cider. Stir in melted butter. Make a well in the flour mixture and stir in the wet ingredients. Turn the soft dough onto a floured surface and pat into a 1/2 inch high round. Heat 3 inches of oil in a deep pot over medium heat. Then use a doughnut cutter to form rings (or use a glass and poke holes in the rings). Once the oil begins to bubble, use a spatula to carefully lower doughnut into oil. You can cook several at a time-just don’t overcrowd them. Once the doughnuts rise to the surface and begin to brown, flip them over with the spatula. Remove after 2 to 3 minutes or when golden brown. Drain on paper towels on a plate.

For glaze, stir together the confectioner’s sugar and the cider and spoon the mixture over the doughnuts. Yum! Yum!