Kid Friendly Food Fridays - Creamy Chicken Tacos!

Welcome back to Kid-Friendly Food Fridays! We started this weekly event to feature healthy, yummy, delicious, and quick recipes to make for kids! For more information on this weekly event, please visit the Kid Friendly Food Fridays Headquarters! We welcome you to submit recipes and ideas for this feature to gingerlemon_girl at yahoo dot com!

Photo credits: Becky Luigart-Stayver, and Jan Gauto, Cooking Light Sept. 2002

Today's recipe comes from our friend Kelly. You are probably familiar with my friend Kelly by now, as she contributed a recipe for outstanding waffles several weeks ago. I trust Kelly's opinion on kid-friendly recipes because she is wonderful mom to two young children, who love her gluten free cooking!

During the summer in the Ginger Lemon Girl household, our work schedules change and it always takes Michael and me a few weeks to adjust our new, usually later, dinner routine. We have to come up with fast, easy, and hopefully nutritious meals, or we'll be eating at 9pm every night!

Recently I asked Kelly if she had any really easy, yummy, and FAST ideas for a gluten free dinner. In no time at all Kelly whipped out a recipe for Creamy Chicken Tacos, which she received from her sister. Here are Kelly's thoughts on these great tacos:

"{This recipe} makes enough for 6-10 meals or more. When we make this dish, we can create meals from it for a week! The leftovers also freeze very well. Company loves it and EVERYONE asks for the recipe. There is also a lot you can do with it other than just making tacos:

• make a taco salad
• toast a corn tortilla in the oven and, when crispy, add creamy chicken mixture, cheese, lettuce, tomato, salsa, sour cream, whatever you have, for a creamy chicken pizza!
• I also like to put it on half a corn tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, and microwave it for a minute to melt the cheese. Then I add extra sour cream and salsa, fold it over and eat it with a fork.
  

With so many options, this recipe never gets old!"


Michael and I made these tacos and we LOVE them! We ate creamy chicken tacos for 3 meals this week, and never tired of them! After those meals we still had enough leftovers that I made a creamy chicken enchilada casserole and froze it for a quick dinner next week! I love how easy this is to make in the crockpot. I'm not usually a big fan of the crockpot because I am away from home for 12 hours a day, and normally anything left in the crockpot that long isn't worth eating! With this recipe, I can easily make it on Sunday, then just heat up what we need for dinner the next day! Perfect for busy moms and working families!




Kelly's Crockpot Creamy Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed*
1 package gluten free taco seasoning (McCormick's is gluten free)
16 ounces salsa
1/2 cup brown minute rice
8-10 ounces sour cream

Directions:
Place chicken breasts in the crockpot, sprinkle with taco seasoning
and pour salsa on top. Cover and turn on low for 6-8 hours or high
for 4-6 hours. One hour before you want to eat it, shred all the
chicken with two forks, add rice and sour cream, stir, cover for the
last hour.

*Carrie's Recipe Notes: When I started the chicken, I also added a can of green chilies in addition to the salsa. In the last hour of cooking, I also added a can of drained and rinsed black beans along with the sour cream and brown rice! We loved these additions! If your kids do not like black beans (but you would like to add them to the recipe) puree the beans in your blender and then stir them into the chicken in the last hour of cooking!

For a printer friendly version, click here.

• Make sure to visit Gluten Free Kay's blog today for her Kid-Friendly Food Friday Recipe: Honey Caramels! They are gluten free, corn free, egg free, soy free, and VERY kid friendly!! Great job Kay! Thanks so much for contributing your recipe!!

Many thanks to Kelly and Kay for sharing their wonderful recipes with us!

Have a fun weekend!!

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken (Gluten Free)

One of Michael's favorite meals is a simple Asian-inspired stir-fry. We usually make this meal fast and frugally using a frozen package of "stir-fry" vegetables, leftover meat from a previous meal, and quick brown rice. We rely on this meal at least twice a month, and for me, it satisfies a craving for foods I used to order at Chinese restaurants in my old gluten filled days.

For a new twist on this old favorite of ours, I decided to make a teriyaki marinade for the chicken, which I would later grill instead of adding to the stir-fried vegetables.

Grilling the chicken, instead of adding it to the stir-fry, really brought out the flavors of the teriyaki marinade. It also gave the dish a delicious new presentation!

I think this marinade would also be excellent on salmon steaks, tofu, or beef!




Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup gluten free, low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground mustard
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon blackstrap molasses
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound chicken tenders (or meat/meat substitute of your choice)

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together oils, lemon juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, molasses, ginger, ground mustard, and minced garlic. Pour marinade into a large zip-lock bag. Add chicken or meat of your choice, close bag tightly and shake to distribute marinade. Marinate 1-2 hours in the refrigerator. Grill or broil chicken as desired until juices run clear. (This took 3-5 minutes on our counter-top grill.) Serve over stir-fried vegetables and brown rice.

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For more yummy gluten-free Asian inspired dishes try:

• Natalie's Thai Chicken Wraps
• Natalie's Kung Pao Chicken
• Kate's Spring Rolls
• Kate's Saki Chicken with Peppers and Chinese Broccoli
• Book of Yum's Savory Tofu Peanut Sauce Stirfry
• Book of Yum's Orange Sauce Tofu with Baby Bok Choy
• Book of Yum's Recipe Index -- with MANY Asian inspired dishes!

Cheesy Chicken Pasta Primavera (Gluten Free)

I came up with this easy chicken primavera several weeks ago. I love the concept of this simple meal made with fresh or leftover chicken (I usually make it with leftovers). It is very easy to prepare on my stovetop in my large, enameled, cast iron dutch oven. (A recent birthday present from my sweetie!) I've made this easy, yummy dish several times since, and I'm looking forward to it again this week!

One of the best things about being gluten free is that I learned how to make a roux. Basically, a roux can be the base of a creamy sauce, soup, gravy, etc... A roux is so easy and so helpful in cooking. I like knowing that I no longer have to depend on a can of Campbell's soup to make a meal. I am able make that "can of cream soup" all by myself, and it's so much better than the "can" ever was!

For a great picture tutorial on how to properly make a gluten free roux (for a mushroom cream soup), see Mary Frances' lesson.

If you haven't yet made a roux, you need to! It is a great cooking skill to learn, it is very simple, and you can use it as the base of so many different meals!

The roux in this meal uses very little "flour." It uses only 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch (or arrowroot flour, or sweet rice flour: use the gluten free thickening agent you prefer) to make the base of the cheese sauce for the chicken, pasta, and vegetables. If you precook your noodles and defrost your vegetables ahead of time, this dish can be prepared very quickly!





Cheesy Chicken Pasta Primavera

6 oz. uncooked gluten free spaghetti or other thin pasta
2 cups low-fat milk (I use reconstituted evaporated milk)
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp. cornstarch (or arrowroot starch, or sweet rice flour)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. white wine
1 1/2 tsp. dried basil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen California vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots), defrosted
2-3 cups chicken, cooked and cubed
3 Tbsp. fresh parmesan cheese
3 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled

Directions:
Break spaghetti into 2-3 inch pieces and cook according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large heavy bottomed cast iron pan or Dutch oven melt butter. Whisk in crushed garlic. Whisk in cornstarch until thoroughly combined with butter and garlic into a soft paste. Slowly whisk in milk. Add lemon juice, white wine, basil, salt, and pepper. On med. heat, whisk constantly for about 6-8 minutes until milk is creamy and saucy. Whisk in cheese. When cheese has fully melted and incorporated into the sauce, add vegetables and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in cooked chicken and heat through. Drain spaghetti and add to chicken mixture. Toss to coat. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon. Serve immediately! Makes 4-5 large servings. A simple salad goes well with this meal!


For a printer friendly version, click here.

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Unfortunately, due to time restraints and illness, the Gluten Free Grill has been put on hold until April!

We will have a fantastic interview with our secret grill victim in about 2 weeks so please stay tuned!


Check back later this week for a delicious, healthy, and easy carrot cake!

Michael's Best Rustic Chicken Pot Pie (Gluten Free)

It is a special man who will make a gluten free dinner for his wife, who isn't feeling good, even though he doesn't like to cook.

Michael sweetly offered to make dinner one night last week when I had a migraine. I helped him to make the roux for the gluten free cream soup, but for the rest of the recipe, I cannot take any credit. He made everything. He even made that awesome crescent roll recipe for the top and bottom crust of this wonderfully delicious chicken pot pie!

This is a great recipe to make when you know you will have leftover chicken in the week. We roasted a chicken earlier in the week, and then used the rest of the chicken meat for this excellent pie.

This is ultimate comfort food and gluten free goodness at it's best! It is an easy dish to prepare, and elegant enough for company (especially with that awesome gluten free crescent roll crust!) I think I will make this the next time my mom-in-law and pop-in-law stop by for a visit! I hope you will try this wonderful dish created by my love and tell me if you love it too!


Michael's Rustic Chicken Pie

6 servings
7 WW points per serving

1 recipe Gluten Free Crescent Roll Pastry
1-2 cups roasted or cooked chicken, cut into cubes
1 (14.5 oz.) can young peas (like LeSeour), (save vegetable liquids for soup)
1 1/2 cups baby carrots
1 (15 oz.) can kitchen cut green beans, drained (save vegetable liquids for soup)
2 Tbsp. butter or lite margarine (like Smart Balance)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
salt/pepper
2 cups low fat -or- skim milk
1 tsp. powdered chicken stock base (like Hormel's Herb Ox Seasoning)
1/4 tsp. dried thyme

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix crescent roll pastry according to directions and roll out to 1/4" thickness in a large rectangle. Cut rectangle in half for a top pastry and a bottom pastry to fit a 12" x 9" casserole dish. Place bottom pastry in the casserole dish and place in preheated oven. Bake 10-15 minutes until pastry is golden brown and crispy to the touch. Place top pastry in freezer until it's time to bake the casserole. While bottom pastry is baking, cook baby carrots in microwave (in a microwave safe bowl with 1/3 cup water) for 5-10 minutes until they are fork tender. Once cooked, drain the water, and slice the carrots into bite size pieces. Set aside.

Next you will make a cream soup for the pot pie. Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan. When butter is sizzling whisk cornstarch into butter, until a thick paste is created (this is called making a "roux"). Turn heat down to medium and add milk. Whisk milk and cornstarch mixture for 10-15 minutes until milk is thickened to a "cream-like" consistency, this is a gluten free cream soup. Whisk constantly while cooking! This mixture WILL burn if you do not! Add salt/pepper, dried thyme, and chicken stock seasoning and whisk in thoroughly. Take cream soup off the heat once thickened.

In a medium sized bowl mix together drained peas, cooked carrots, drained green beans, and cooked, diced chicken. Spoon this mixture over the cooked bottom pastry in the casserole dish. Pour cream soup mixture over the chicken and vegetables. Do not overfill the casserole dish or it will spill over during baking. You can save leftover chicken and veggies to use for soup later.

Remove top pastry from freezer and place on top of casserole dish. Set on large heavy baking sheet (to prevent spills) and bake in 350 degree preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until pastry is golden brown and crispy and pot pie mixture is bubbly. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

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Amy's Pecan Chicken

Meet Amy.... she's the genius behind Tuesday night's chicken!




We grew up in the same tiny little town. Our families used to get together for Saturday dinners. Amy and I were the oldest girls. We teased our little sisters, hung sheet tents from our clothes lines, caught fireflies in glass jars, had a club with all of our dogs and cats as mascots, and played with our dolls. We had original cabbage patch dolls.. the ones with cloth faces.



Then we went drifted in middle school. Amy's a year older, so she left me behind as she headed to Jr. High. Somewhere in our junior and senior years of high school we became close friends again. Shared in our teenage struggles, anxieties, and joys. Then we went to different colleges, in different states, but we stayed in touch with a newly emerging technology called e-mail (boy, do I feel old Amy!), we also wrote letters back then.




Amy got married after college. Moved away from our small town. But we somehow were able to maintain our friendship. I'm so glad. Amy is one of the most down to earth people I know. Has an outrageous since of humor... knows how to quilt and sew, but she's rather be building something... or decorating. The girl can decorate! I am always in awe of this talent because I absolutely don't have it.



Amy is an amazing mom and wife and she's one heck of a good cook! She rarely shares recipes with me and so I knew when she sent me her recipe for pecan chicken it had to be really good!



And it IS folks! This is some tasty (and easy) chicken! Michael had seconds, and the boy doesn't have seconds unless he hasn't eaten for three days, or the food is really, REALLY good. And I knew darn well he had eaten for three days, so this stuff must be incredibly delicious!! This recipe is reminiscent of Abby's Honey Pecan Chicken Thighs, which I'm still aiming to make one week.



Next time I'll have to take better pictures! (Thanks to Natalie, I'm learning a bit more about photography!) So just bear with me! These pictures do not depict how good this chicken was! Just trust me on this one! Once you start making this chicken, you'll be making it all the time!








Amy's Pecan Chicken

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or 2 lbs. chicken tenders

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. pepper

• 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped

• 1/2 cup cornmeal or gluten-free breadcrumbs

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil

• Honey for drizzling (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse and pat chicken dry. In a wide flat-bottomed dish mix pecans, cornmeal or GF breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper. Pour milk in a separate wide, flat-bottomed dish. In a large oven proof skillet (Your great-grandma's will work best!), heat olive oil to HOT, but not smoking. Dip chicken in milk then dredge in pecan cornmeal/GF breadcrumb mixture, and place in skillet. Using tongs, carefully flip chicken to brown on both sides (about 4 minutes per side). Transfer skillet to preheated oven and bake until juices from chicken run clear (about 8 minutes). Let chicken rest for approximately 10 minutes before serving. Michael and I drizzled about 2 Tbsp. of honey over the chicken as soon as we pulled it from the oven. We served this with lemony broccolini and sweet brown rice.

(We had more chicken than pecan mixture, so I made some chicken with just a cornmeal coating.
It was also delicious!)

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SOOOOO.... my friends at work have told me that the mystery picture was definitely a COMPLETE mystery and they are clueless... SO I will give you an additional hint in the form of another picture:

And one more embarrassingly easy hint:
You most likely own a LOT of this....





Hopefully I haven't made it TOO easy!! If you've mustered up a good guess as to what this is, OR even if you have a lame guess... just guess folks!! ... you can get all the details here to enter the contest!! I need some entries people or I'll be giving this cookbook away to my husband and he sure won't use it!!






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Check back this weekend for John's Pumpkin Lasagna

Baking away again in Marinara-ville…

Please tell me you are Jimmy Buffet fans… I love Jimmy… when I’m having a rough day, or if I’m super stressed, Jimmy can always make me laugh and bring me back down to earth… it’s kind of odd. I don’t drink. I never have. Alcoholism runs in my family, as well as Michael’s, so except for the occasional dinner made with a wine sauce (which really doesn't count!), or my yearly fruitcake… we’re strict tee-totalers. But I still love Jimmy Buffet (sauced, as he occasionally may be!) He knows how to live with a lightness of heart that I admire.

I think today’s recipe would meet with Jimmy’s approval. It’s easy, super quick, and extremely tasty! You can’t really go wrong with American Italian. This is a great dinner for a night, when you are way too busy to really cook. Toss it up. Throw it in the pan. Add some cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes and you’re good to go. It doesn’t get much easier than that.

I use this recipe usually the week after I’ve roasted a chicken and I have between 1-2 cups of leftovers in the freezer. If you don’t have cooked chicken ready, you can certainly leave it out, or quickly boil a couple of chicken breasts to throw in the meal. Also, on Sundays, I usually precook an 8 oz. package of gluten-free pasta and keep it in the refrigerator. By doing this, I have gluten free ingredients ready for a quick and easy casserole dish or stove-top dinner any night of the week.

If I weren’t in such a hurry, I’d make my own marinara sauce (which I will post soon.) However, if you are anything like me, especially most evenings after work (in a crazy frenzy trying to get dinner cooked, clothes washed, everybody fed, cat box cleaned…), just use a store bought jar of gluten-free marinara sauce. I promise no one will mind. Or if you’re really clever and have company coming: Throw the canned marinara sauce in a pot and stir your little heart out while Mom-in-law and Pop-in-law are walking through the door! They will simply adore all your hard work!

Jimmy, if you’re reading… tell me what you think!

Chicken Mushroom Marinara Bake

• 16-18 oz. gluten-free marinara sauce

• 1 cup cooked, cut up chicken

• 16 oz. fresh mushrooms, sliced

• 2 Tbsp. butter or extra virgin olive oil

• 8 oz. gluten-free pasta, cooked according to package directions

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

• 1 tsp. sweet basil

• 2 tsp. garlic seasoning (I like SPIKE garlic seasoning granules)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a medium-sized casserole baking dish, set aside. In a medium-sized shallow pan, sauté mushroom slices in butter or olive oil for 4-5 minutes until tender. In a bowl, mix marinara sauce, cut up chicken, sauteed mushrooms, and pasta together until thoroughly mixed. Pour into casserole dish. Sprinkle garlic seasoning and sweet basil evenly over casserole. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes until cheese is slightly browned and sauce is bubbly.

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Check back tomorrow for a hearty oatmeal breakfast.

Eric's Lemon Butter Chicken

It’s not often you make a friend that you know you will have for the rest of your life. You just know. They will stick with you no matter the situation. When you’re in trouble and when things are going well. They love you even when you’re not lovable.

Jodi is one of those friends.

On the outside we’re as different as can be. Jodi grew up in Jersey, and she’s proud of it. I grew up in the foothills of southeastern Virginia… about as far away from a Jersey lifestyle as you can get! I’m shy, usually calm, timid in a crowd, and usually a tee-totaler. Jodi is loud, feisty, isn’t afraid to say what she thinks, and enjoys a cold brew. Jodi runs 2-3 miles a week and has golden-brown, naturally olive-toned skin, and doesn’t need to worry about weight. I have freckles, skin so light that Jodi’s dad calls me “Snowflake”, and I will always have issues with weight.

But we are friends for life. We’re stuck. Jodi and I can make each other laugh more easily than anyone I know. We’ve supported each other through tough times, encouraged each other during difficult situations, cheered each other on through triumphs. Jodi is always honest, even when I don’t want to hear an honest answer. She’s also not afraid to be wrong, and apologizes easily. It’s a blessing and an honor to have a friend like that.

A few years ago Jodi met Eric. Eric loves to cook. Not long after, Jodi married Eric! It was meant to be. Jodi will always eat well with Eric in the kitchen. They also have a beautiful son named Ryan!

Eric and Ryan

At least once a week, I get an incredibly detailed email from Jodi, explaining the glorious dinner that Eric prepared the night before. I am usually salivating by the end of her emails.

Last week, Jodi shared Eric’s latest kitchen triumph… a great chicken dish with a butter, lemon, and wine sauce. It really was magnificent! I made this last night and served it with gluten-free linguini noodles. The dish is incredibly aromatic, buttery, and warm. It’s one of those dishes that I could easily associate with happy memories. It makes me think of them. I felt warm and loved when eating this simple, yet elegant meal.

I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Eric’s Lemon Butter Chicken

Main Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. chicken cutlets

• Salt & pepper to taste

• 1 egg

• ½ cup rice flour

• 1-2 cups corn meal or GF breadcrumbs, for coating
  

• Fresh mushrooms, sliced and sauteed (opt.)

• Sliced Mozzarella cheese (opt.)

Sauce Ingredients:

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

• 1 c. chicken broth

• 1/2 c. white or maderia wine

• 1 tbsp. lemon juice (or more to add flavor)

• Fresh parsley, to taste

• 1/2 stick butter

Rinse and dry chicken cutlets. Cover cutlets with a layer of rice flour (I put rice flour in a large bag and added chicken and tossed about until chicken was covered. Next, dip cutlets in egg, then in GF breadcrumbs or cornmeal. Fry until brown. Set aside in baking dish. Lay slices of mozzarella over chicken cutlets, add sautéed mushrooms if desired. Set aside.

SAUCE: Saute garlic in a 1 tbsp. of butter, lightly. Add rest of butter. Add chicken broth. Add lemon juice and wine. Simmer 5 minutes. Add parsley and pour over meat. Bake 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Let stand before serving. Serve with GF linguini noodles or rice, and mixed green salad.

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Michael and I will be traveling for the next 5 days, for our anniversary! I will not post a weekly menu for next week since we won’t return until Wednesday, but I plan on coming back with several Amish dishes to share with you! Have a wonderful weekend and I’ll post again on next Wednesday or Thursday!

Spring Chicken and Grits

Grits are a southern staple. I grew up eating grits for breakfast. My dad was usually in charge of breakfast (before I was old enough to prepare it myself) and more often than not during the weekdays, he heated up a bowl of grits or oatmeal for my sister and I, and padded back to bed. He wasn’t much of an early riser!

Grits are often ignored… given a bad rap as a poor man’s breakfast… but they are so much more than that.

About 20 years ago, a popular dish served by Crook’s Corner in Chapel Hill, NC received national acclaim. A dish simply called, “Shrimp and Grits” was sampled by none other than Craig Claiborne, former food editor of the New York Times, and after his glowing article on the dish, it became a national hit. While the dish probably originated in the low country South Carolina area, it’s been the best seller and signature dish at Crook's Corner since Claiborne's article. It's also now popular in upscale restaurants around the country.

On many food blogs I have read, there is a lot of hype around polenta. It sounds fancy. Italian. Gourmet.

Folks… it’s grits. Polenta is just a fancy-smancy name for grits. Humble, little, delicious grits.

Basically grits is/are (who knows what the proper English usage would be, this has been debated for years) whole kernels of yellow corn that have been ground into pieces usually by a stone mill. There are several different types of grits. The best kind to buy for a meal like this is the traditional stone ground grits. Because the whole corn grain is used stone ground grits are best kept refrigerated (due to the oils in the germ). You can also buy quick cooking grits, Quaker is a popular brand, but if you want the real deal… buy traditional stone ground.

Grits are excellent for breakfast (because they are easily digestible), great for a quick lunch, and in my opinion, are a delicious and different dish to serve with dinner.

The grits in this recipe are used as the foundation of the meal as they are used in Shrimp and Grits.

This chicken is fancy enough for company, and humble enough for an everyday meal… just make sure your husband, who was dragged into helping you with dinner, who has an unusually queasy stomach...doesn’t cut up the fresh chicken before cooking and won’t eat the rest of the meal… you’ll be stuck with an entire pan of Spring Chicken and Grits to eat all by yourself.

Maybe that’s not such a bad thing (as this is one heck of a delicious dish!)… but just for the fun of it, bring some friends over who don’t mind cutting up chicken and are excited about eatin’ grits for dinner AND enjoy!!

Spring Chicken and Grits

• 1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat

• 3 Tbsp. rice flour

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• 2 Tbsp. peanut oil (or olive oil)

• 2/3 cup sliced scallions

• 1 ½ cups sugar snap peas, trimmed and stringed

• 3 Tbsp. water or chicken stock

• 1 large garlic clove, crushed through a garlic press

• 1 recipe of basic boiled grits (see recipe below), hot and liquid, but not too runny

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into 2-inch strips. Season rice flour with salt and pepper and dust chicken strips lightly with the mixture.

2. Heat the oil in the large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and brown lightly on all sides, roughly 6-7 minutes. Remove chicken to a warm place. Set aside.

3. Add scallions and sugar snap peas to the skillet. Stir about until just wilted. Do not overcook. Return chicken to the pan and add water and garlic. Toss about until hot.

4. Divide the grits among 4 warm plates. Spoon chicken and vegetables over the top and serve immediately.

I actually made cheese grits by adding freshly grated asiago cheese, and a little freshly grated nutmeg. Michael would have preferred them plain or with cheddar cheese.

I served this dish with a green leaf salad and homemade cucumber dill dressing.

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Uncooked Stone Ground Grits

“Old recipes always direct you to first “wash” the grits. Even today most modern stone-ground grits need rinsing to separate the last remains of the hull or chaff from the kernel. Simply cover the grits with cold water. The meal will sink to the bottom and the chaff will float to the surface, where it can be skimmed off with a kitchen strainer.”
- Bill Neal and David Perry from pg. 22 “The Good Old Grits Cookbook.”

Basic Boiled Grits

• 1 cup stone ground grits

• 4 cups water

• ½ tsp. salt, or to taste

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1. Pour the grits into a large bowl and cover with cold water. Skim off chaff as it floats to the surface. Stir the grits about and skim again until all the chaff has been removed. Drain the grits in a sieve.
2. Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the salt and slowly stir in the grits. Cook at a simmer, stirring frequently, until the grits are done to the consistency you prefer – should be quite thick and creamy – last night only took about 20 minutes, can take up to 40 minutes depending on how high you have the heat.
3. Remove the grits from the heat and stir in the butter.

A finished pot of hot, creamy, yummy, Stone Ground Grits!

** Both of these recipes originated from Bill Neal’s and David Perry’s book, “The Good Old Grits Cookbook.”