Gluten/Dairy Free Mushroom Smothered Chicken

As you know if you've read any previous recipes, I am suffering from a nursling with a dairy sensitivity. Therefore, I have been craving nothing but creamy, cheesy, buttery foods that would be sure to lead to an evening of projectile vomiting and a very upset 8 week old. Lets not go there...

Tonight upon opening my refrigerator, I found some gorgeous mushrooms. My first thought of a rich, creamy, smothered chicken breast was immediately stifled. But I couldn't help myself.  Why can't I have a delicious meal without the dairy induced screaming? A little tweaking to my standard recipe and this little gem was born. This is a very flexible recipe, which can be adapted for many dietary needs! This one however, is gluten and of course, dairy free. Enjoy! 


Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salt, pepper, garlic powder
• 6 tablespoons coconut oil (divided)
• 3 crushed garlic cloves
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb sliced mushrooms
• 5 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 14oz can chicken broth
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

Directions

• Heat 4 tablespoons coconut oil in a large pan over medium high heat.

• Season chicken breasts with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

• Place the chicken breasts in the pan and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes on each side. DO NOT OVERCOOK! Yes, yes I know. Raw chicken will kill you! I promise you that the bacteria is killed far before that chicken is dry as a bone. You should be able to cut into the breast and the juices (that's right, juices!) will run clear. 

• Once the chicken is cooked, remove from the pan, cover with foil and set aside. 

• Add the remaining coconut oil, shallots, garlic and mushrooms and cook until shallots are translucent and mushrooms are browned slightly. 

• Sprinkle the coconut flour over the mushrooms and stir to coat evenly. 

• Add the chicken broth slowly and let the sauce thicken, stirring constantly.  Add coconut milk and stir. 

• Return the chicken breasts back to the pan and spoon sauce over breasts. Serve over noodles, or gluten free noodles or rice for a gluten free option! 

-Shalana

Don't Be Intimidated: Crocheting

When I was 8 months pregnant with my first son I wanted to crochet him blanket so he could sleep with it without me worrying about him suffocating.  My problem was I had never crocheted before.  I thought myself to knit scarfs when I was in college, but I hadn’t kept up with it.  My friend talked me out of learning due to the fact that I was trying to become a licensed landscape architect and about to take my last exam, which I passed and probably wouldn’t have if I learned to crochet.  Christmas came around and my son was 4 months old.  I bought him a cute crocheted hat off of ETSY like I did for his birth announcements.  The hat cost about $25 and I decided then that I was going to learn to crochet because it had to be cheaper than buying them.  In January I taught myself to crochet hats and soon my friends were asking me to make hats, blankets and shoes for them.  I eventually opened up my own ETSY shop, Hats and Knit Knacks.  

Crocheting is really easy with practice and I taught myself how to crochet from youtube videos.  I first found a video that I liked and then went and bought the supplies.  What I have found is that most yarns and patterns use a G Hook (4.0 mm).  So that is what I started with.  I went to Michaels and bought 1 skein of yarn and a G Hook.  This way you aren’t spending a ton of money on an entire kit if you don’t like it.  I eventually went back and bought a set of hooks and have added larger hooks when patterns required them. Here are some of the videos I used.  

Basic Double Crochet Hat with Ears

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNeSZkUpWkM&feature=related

Granny Stitch Hat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1SBPeCw8YI&feature=relmfu

Puff Stitch Hat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8lLMHpt1Sw

A great site to find patterns is ravelry.com  Some patterns are free and some aren’t.  You can usually find what you are looking for free, but you will need to know the crochet language.  A list of terminology can be found at Lions Brand http://www.lionbrand.com/cgi-bin/faq-search.cgi?dictionaryOfAbbreviations=1

I hope you find this information helpful.  Just remember it may not come easy.  My first hat probably took me 8 hours to make.  I was yelling at my husband to turn the tv down and to be quiet.  My stitches also did not look like hers in the video.  It takes practice to crochet evenly and tight.  My first  hat was more of a bowl and couldn’t fit anyones head.  I can now make a hat in an hour or two depending on the detail and size.

Happy Crocheting!

xoxo

-J