Chicken Nuggets

As far as I know, there is no truth-in-advertising law for blogs, but I will tell you up front that these chicken nuggets are not going to taste like MacD's. (As they say on Seinfeld, not that there's anything wrong with that.) I can't even walk into a MacDonald's, or I walk out with asthma. Something with soy in it--fryer grease? non-stick spray for the grill?--is in the air.

We serve these hot over salad with a creamy dressing.

Chicken Nuggets
(more of an idea than a recipe)

1 - 1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken
flour (white, whole-wheat, or a mix)
sesame seeds
paprika
Old Bay seafood seasoning or celery salt
canola or other soy-free oil
Asian sesame oil

In a shallow bowl or pie plate, put some flour (1/3-1/2 cup?) and add 2 or 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds, about 1/2 teaspoon of paprika, several shakes of Old Bay or celery salt, and stir to mix.

Cut the chicken into chicken-nugget sized pieces and dredge in the flour mixture. Heat a couple of tablespoons of canola oil in a skillet, and add a teaspoon or two of sesame oil. Saute the nuggets unti golden brown and the chicken is cooked through (cut one in half to see.)

You can serve these over salad like we do, or you can dunk them in sweet-and-sour sauce.

Hooray for the bread machine, part 3: Almond Braid

Well, we are on a bread kick, apparently. An old friend of mine from my graduate school days is in town and she came this morning for coffee. She offered to bring doughnuts, but if they don't have soy flour in them (like Dunkin Donuts) they are fried in soy oil. So that's out. I made one of my husband's favorite coffee cakes. It's reminiscent of an almond danish:

Almond Braid

3/4 cup milk (skim is fine)
1 egg
2 Tbs butter
1/2 8-oz can almond paste (or 1/2 7-oz tube)*
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast

1.) Put all the ingredients in the bread machine in the order called for in the machine's manual. Process on "dough" mode.
2.) On a floured board, pat the dough into a rectangle and cut in thirds. Roll each third into a long rope, about 18 inches. On a cookie sheet lined with parchement or buttered foil, braid the three ropes together, pinch the ends, and tuck under.
3.) Bake at 375F for 25 minutes. When cool, glaze (see below).

Almond Glaze
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract
1-2 Tbs milk
sliced almonds

Measure the confectioner's sugar in a one-cup measure and leave it in the cup. Add the extract and let it melt a hole into the sugar. A little at a time, add the milk, stirring until the glaze is thin enough to spread but not runny. Spread it over the braid, and sprinkle with the sliced almonds.

* Save the other half in the freezer. You'll want to make this bread again.

Hooray for the Bread Machine, part 2: Cinnamon Rolls

You know how tired you get when you're shopping in a mall, and how hungry you get, and how those cinnamon rolls smell so good? Well, when you're soy allergic, you can't buy them. They may be soy-free--who knows? The company doesn't post this information on their website, and I haven't written them. In any case, here's a recipe that's pretty close, except I don't use a cream-cheese based frosting:

Cinnamon Rolls

Dough
2 teaspoons yeast
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk*
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, cut into small chunks
1 egg

Filling:
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

For pan:
2 tablespoons melted butter

Icing:
1 tablespoon melted butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water or milk


1. Put all the dough ingredients in the bread machine in the order specified in the manual and process on "dough" mode.
2. Turn out onto a floured board and roll out into a rectangle 1/2" thick or slightly less.
3. Spread dough with 2 Tbs melted butter, leaving one long edge unbuttered. Mix together 2/3 cup sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over dough, avoiding the unbuttered edge.
4. Roll up jellyroll fashion, starting with the long edge opposite the unbuttered one. Wet the unbuttered edge with your finger, and pinch edge together to seal. Cut into 12 pieces.
5. Coat bottom of a 9"x13' pan with 2 tablespoons melted butter.
6. Place cinnamon roll slices in 4 rows of 3 each in the pan. Let rise in a warm place until dough has doubled, 30-45 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 25 minutes.
8. Prepare glaze. In small bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon melted butter, vanilla, and enough warm water or milk to make spreadable. Spread over slightly cooled rolls.

*note: can use 2 Tbsp dry milk powder and another 1/2 cup of water

Tuna Noodle Casserole and a Bonus Recipe

Tuna Noodle Casserole (or Toona Noona, as one of my kids called it) is not high class fare, but it has its advantages. It is quick, and my whole family will eat it.

Half of that changed when I came down with the soy allergy.

Canned Cream of Chicken--or Cream of Mushroom, or Cream of Celery--soup contains soy. You could make a white sauce for the casserole, but then you've changed what makes this dish most appealing--after the pasta is cooked, the whole thing takes 10 minutes, tops, if you leave off buttered bread crumbs, which we do because the kids think they're disgusting. They will eat it with crushed potato chips, though. Big surprise. Anyway. . . .

Heloise solved this one. Sort of. The Hints from Heloise column had a recipe for a "creamed soup mix" that involved dried everything, including milk. You just added water, heated it, and Presto! Quasi creamed soup. Or creamed quasi soup. Or something.

I have been known to use dried ingredients, but instant powdered milk as the main ingredient only shows up in one thing in our house (more on this later). So, what to do? Take the concept, replace the dried milk and water with real milk, and try it out. It worked. Here is our new standard:

Tuna Noodle Casserole

8 ounces shell pasta
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs, such as Italian or Herbes de Provence (without lavender)
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay Seafood seasoning (optional)
2 cups milk
2 6-oz cans soy-free tuna*
1 4-oz can sliced mushrooms

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, undercooking by a minute or two. Drain. Put back in the same pan.
2. While the pasta is cooking, mix all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl. Open and drain the tuna and mushrooms
3. With the pasta back in the pan, but off the heat, stir in the flour mixture. Put the heat back on to medium.
4. Stirring constantly, slowly add the milk. Heat the mixture, stirring once in a while, until it bubbles. Add the tuna and mushrooms.
5. Let sit a few minutes on low heat to give the pasta a chance to absorb some of the liquid.

*A word about soy-free tuna. It's hard to find. That "vegetable broth" a lot of tuna is canned in, is usually some combination of soy and other things. Trader Joe's has tuna in plain spring water, with salt or salt-free, and so does Whole Foods. I am told that expensive imported Italian tuna in olive oil is fine, too. If you can't find soy-free tuna, canned soy-free chicken is easier to come by, and it works in this recipe, too. In that case, you can omit the herbs and add a teaspoonful of curry powder or dried dill.

Bonus recipe:
Honey Nut Butter Candy

1 cup powdered dry milk
1/2 cup nut butter of your choice (peanut butter, almond butter, etc.)
1/2 cup honey
ground nuts, sugar, colored sugar, or soy-free chocolate shot (ha! if you can find these, let me know.)

Mix the milk powder, nut butter, and honey together in a bowl until you can't see the milk powder any more. Roll teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls. (If it's hard to handle, refridgerate for a half hour to an hour.) Roll in nuts, sugar, or chocolate shot.

You can put this in little paper cups in a box for a nice presentation. We have alternated these with nut-stuffed dates rolled in sugar for gifts. It is easy for kids to make.