Chicken Tenders

Is there a kid walking this planet that doesn't like chicken tenders? I know that all of my guys love them, and they are a quick dinner to whip up. I can have dinner on the table in less than 45 minutes on nights that I make these. I serve them up with honey mustard sauce for dipping.
Add a salad and some potato wedges and you have a tasty meal.

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken tenders
1 egg
1 C milk
1 1/2 C. gluten free all purpose flour blend 
1/3 C grated parmesan cheese
2 TBL Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
1/4 C butter, melted

Preheat your oven to 400*F and line 2 baking sheets with foil for easy clean up.

1. Whisk together the egg and milk. Combine all the dry ingredients in a dish with sides ( I use a glass casserole dish).

2.  Soak your chicken in the egg/milk mixture, and drop one or two pieces at a time into the flour mix, covering well.  Transfer to the baking sheets. Repeat until all are done. 
Sometimes, I will repeat the whole process for thicker coating.

3 Drizzle your melted butter over the chicken, and bake for 30 minutes, turning them after 15 minutes.

Honey mustard sauce:

1/2 C gluten free Dijon mustard
1/2 C honey
1/4 C mayonnaise
a dash of lemon juice
a dash of cayenne (optional)

Mix well and chill in the fridge while your tenders are cooking.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Wings

 My boys usually ask me to make wings for sleepovers, and movie nights, and while I make several variations, this is usually the batch that disappears first.

I buy whole wings, and separate them myself, saving the tips for making broth later.

I'll admit that is easier if you buy the packages of wings that are already made into drummies, and worth the little bit extra it costs to save yourself the work of dis-joining a huge pile of wings.

Ingredients:

1 1/2-2 lbs. chicken wings

Olive oil to coat wings

For the sauce:

1/2 C honey

1/4 C sriracha sauce

1 TBLS. gluten free soy sauce

1 tsp. lime juice

1 TBSP. orange juice

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400*F

1. Using a sharp knife, separate the wings at the joint.

2.Mix your sauce ingredients (minus the sesame seeds). 

3. Line a roasting pan with foil and spray with cooking spray to prevent sticking.  Coat your wings lightly with oil, salt and pepper to taste and place in the pan. 

Bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until they start to feel crispy when poked.

4.While the wings are baking,  bring the sauce to a simmer over medium heat, stirring it every so often, until it thickens up a bit (about 15-20 minutes).

5. Brush the sauce on your wings (or you can toss them into the sauce to coat), sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired and place back in oven for 10 minutes to set up, or you can serve the sauce on the side for dipping.

Spaghetti Squash With Meatballs

Spaghetti has always been a popular meal in our house, but we all have a different preference when it comes to topping it.
Chance and I will eat almost any kind of sauce, with or without meat, while my hubby prefers meatless tomato sauces, and The Teen will only eat his with butter, parmesan and garlic salt.  My solution is meatballs in tomato sauce.

As for the pasta, hubby and The Teen like regular old spaghetti, while again, Chance and I are 'adventurous' eaters, and will try anything. When wheat based pasta became a thing of the past for Chance, we got even more adventurous with our pasta options.

Enter spaghetti squash :)

Don't turn your nose up just yet. While I will honestly tell you that it doesn't taste like pasta, you really ought to try it at least once.
When you cook up a spaghetti squash, and tease it's golden strings out of the skin, it is a wonderful, healthy substitute for pasta. It holds sauce well, and if sliced the right way before cooking, the strands are as long as spaghetti noodles.
I found that its best to cut it crosswise, rather than the long way, because the fiber goes around the squash...not up and down.

Let's begin.

Begin by slicing your squash in 1" slices and clean the seeds and pulp from the center.

Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment and bake at 375*F for about 50 minutes, or until tender.
OR
Place your sliced squash in a microwave dish, add 1 " of water, cover and cook on high for 10 minutes, or until tender.
Either way you cook it, let it cool for about 15 minutes before you try to pull the 'meat' out of the skin, using a fork.

Ingredients for meatballs:
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
3/4 C gluten free oats ( I use Bob's Red Mill)
1 C milk
3 Tbsp chopped onion
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2 TBSP grated parmesan

Preheat your oven to 350*F

1. Mix all of your meatball ingredients well (I use my KitchenAid mixer), but you can use your hands.

2.Shape your meat mixture into balls, and place on a baking sheet. I make mine about 2 1/2 inches, and usually get about 18 large meatballs.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the internal temp is about 155* when tested with a digital thermometer.

Now just put them into your sauce, (I opted to use a jarred sauce today) and you're good to go!

I usually use half in the sauce, and freeze half for another time.