Crock Pot Chicken ala Renee

This is the perfect thing to make on a weekend because it takes 8 hours in the crock pot, and it's absurdly easy.

What you need:

• A whole chicken
• Salt
• Pepper
• Crock Pot
• 8 hours + chicken washing time

I thaw my chicken in a bowl to keep juices from escaping into the refrigerator, and then I take that very same bowl over to the kitchen sink and set it in there with the chicken inside of it. Saves me having to clean the sink before cleaning the chicken. The first thing I do is take out the bag of giblets, rinse them off, and stick them in the crock pot. I give them to the cats, and they help to flavor the juices for making yummy gravy. I rinse the chicken off in warm water and remove any feathers that were missed by the defeathering process that happened when the chicken was processed. I stick the chicken in the crock pot, skin and all, and then I wash my hands really, really, really well. Then I salt and pepper the chicken, stick the lid on, and put the crock pot on low heat for 8 hours.

Now I've got 8 hours to do whatever I want to do, but first things first. The bowl and all chicken processing equipment such as my scissors to open the bag go in the dishwasher, the sink gets cleaned, and my hands get washed thoroughly once again.

Forward ahead 8 hours. In that time, I've managed to:

• Take a walk with my cat
• Watch Season 5 of Doctor Who
• Catch up some on the Weather Channel
• Poke about on Facebook
• Finish 2 knitting projects for the contest I'm involved in

Say it with me, "slow cookers are awesome!"

I made a batch of biscuits using the Gluten Free Bisquick and substituting Ener-G egg substitute, rice milk, and vegan shortening.

Then, I pulled the chicken out of the slow cooker and placed it on a serving plate. Ok so it wasn't so much a serving plate but a 9x9 baking pan. But whatever, if the chicken fits, and it's dishwasher safe... I fished out the giblets and set them on a plate to cool for the cats. Then I poured out the juices into my Pyrex measuring cup and found out that I had a whole 2 cups of juices - perfect for gravy!

I know that a while ago, I posted about this absurdly easy gravy recipe. Seriously though anything involving making a roux is not easy, absurd or not. I found a much easier recipe online for Microwave Turkey Gravy, but it works just as well for chicken. It's a wheat-free, gluten-free recipe!

Here's what you need:

• 2 cups turkey OR chicken broth (The chicken made 2 cups of its own broth)
• tablespoons Argo® or Kingsford's® Corn Starch (I use Argo)
• tablespoons turkey fat drippings, skimmed from pan (The chicken also made fat drippings included in the broth - there is a method to my skin-leaving-on madness afterall!)

Here's what you do:

• Stir turkey broth and corn starch in a 1-1/2-quart microwaveable bowl until smooth. Season to taste.
• Microwave on HIGH (100%), 7 to 9 minutes, stirring twice, until mixture boils; boil 1 minute. (It never takes nearly this long, so be sure to watch the microwave. I average 3 minutes)
• Remove from microwave. Stir in fat drippings. (nope, I don't have to - included in the broth)

This was a super-easy chicken dinner! Thanks Renee! You rock!

BLT Sandwich!

Sometimes when you have as many multiple food allergies as I do, you can really get to missing foods that you used to love. Case in point: the BLT sandwich. I've no problem eating either bacon, lettuce, or tomatoes, and since I've learned of my allergies, I've developed an appreciation for bacon that I'd never had previously. Honestly, it's an easy protein, and when eaten in moderation, there's nothing wrong with bacon. Made in the microwave, it's not nearly as messy as making it on the stovetop. Being allergic to dairy and eggs means that meat is about the only protein I can eat.

All that said, however, the idea of bacon and tomato lettuce wraps isn't that thrilling to me. Then, Craig's friend, Chris, told him about an allergen free bread. So, Craig stopped at Whole Foods on his way home from work and picked up a loaf of this special bread, Ener-g's Yeast-free Brown Rice Loaf. It's free of gluten, wheat, casein, dairy, yeast, egg, soy, and nut.

Using my special, dedicated toaster, we toasted up some of this bread and made a BLT sandwich for me. I'm allergic to mayonnaise, so I used the Earth Balance buttery spread instead. The result was utter and wonderful deliciousness!

About my special toaster:
It is very easy to experience cross-contamination in the kitchen. Even a particle of an allergen can cause an allergic reaction! I'm not being hyperbolic either. I'm quite serious. I've reacted from even touching things that I'm allergic to. So, I bought a dedicated toaster. It's pink, so there's no mistaking my special toaster.

Crustless, Dairy-free, Egg-free Key Lime Pie ala Dad and Me

I was in Florida last week visiting my family, and one of Dad's friends had given him a bag of key limes. I love key limes. I'll even eat them straight! But Dad and I decided to challenge ourselves and figure out how to make a key lime pie that I would not be allergic to, and he would not be either. Dad and I both have food allergies.

When making the first pie, Dad attempted to modify a recipe he has for homemade oatmeal and fruit bars into an oatmeal-based crust. It didn't taste bad, but it didn't add anything to the pie. We ended up eating slices of pie and skipping the crust bit. So, I suggested that we make life easier and make crustless pie.

Here is our key lime pie recipe:

3/4 cups key lime juice
2 1/2 cups soy milk
1 cup sugar
5 TBSP cornstarch
2 tsp lime zest

Whisk all the ingredients together in a saucepan, then turn on medium heat and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thick and creamy. Allow to cool slightly and then either pour into a pie plate or individual ramekins. Refrigerate until firm.

Chicken Soup ala Renee

Renee makes an awesome chicken soup, probably the best I've ever had. I finally got around to asking her for the recipe, and I've been making it with good results. So, I thought I'd share the recipe. It's super-easy! Did I mention that it's gluten free and allergen free too? None of the big 8 allergens are in this soup!

Ingredients:
1 chicken carcass
1 TBSP Salt
Water
1 Onion
Veggies (carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, really whatever you've got is fine. The last batch I made, I used a package of frozen broccoli & cauliflower.)
2 Tsp black pepper
1 tsp parsley flakes

Instructions:
1. Put your chicken carcass in a big pot and cover with water. Add 1 TBSP salt and veggies. Put your pot on the stove and bring the contents to a boil.
2. Lower temp to a simmer and simmer for 2 hours uncovered.
3. Get out a plate, cutting board, or I use a cookie sheet. Pull out all of the chicken bones and set it on the plate. Walk away and let it cool for a while. Then put the meat back in the soup and discard the bones.
4. Add your parsley and black pepper. Taste the soup. Does it taste good? Too weak, simmer for longer. Too strong, add some water and simmer for longer.
5. Serve it up. Hooray, you've made chicken soup with no cans!

When I make it, the soup serves around 8, so I have lots of leftovers. I portion it up into containers that I freeze (you can only keep leftovers in the refrigerator for three days - that's it), and then when I want "fast food," I can heat up the leftovers in the microwave. If you don't have a microwave, it would be easy enough to heat up the leftovers on the stove too.

I served my soup for dinner with gluten free biscuits made from Gluten Free Bisquick. I substituted Ener-G egg substitute for eggs, rice milk for milk, and vegan shortening for butter. Yes, they still turned out good. Perhaps, if you didn't typically eat gluten free, you wouldn't like them, but I live with a fairly lengthy list of allergies. If you didn't want to deal with all that, you could serve it with a side of rice.