Air Fryer Fun! Gluten Free

I got an Air Fryer!! Ok this was super exciting to me, cause of 2 reasons, having Celiac, fried foods when dining out are off limits, minus those few place that “happen” to have a dedicated fryer, that are far and few in between, and usually pricey. Secondly I have issue with my Gall Bladder being slow, so using a traditional deep fryer is a bit rough, on my gut. Gall bladder attacks are not fun, and have landed me in the hospital twice now.

I’ve learned it’s more than just fried foods you can make in an air fryer, similar to my favorite kitchen gadget, the Pizza Pizzaz, the Air Fryer can make foods you’d normally make in the oven, without firing up the oven and making the house hot! Even items as simple as Ore-Ida French fries, without oil, come out crispy and baked.

Since shrimp was on sale the first weekend I got the Air Fryer, we started with Coconut Shrimp. So good. I’d baked coconut shrimp a few weeks back, (Last time shrimp was on sale) this was better. 

I had some Aleia’s Italian bread crumbs still in the cabinet, but rather low, I’d also bought Kikkoman Panko crumbs also, of the two, we really liked how the panko crumbs turned out. So we’ve gone from NEVER eating seafood, to eating coconut shrimp whenever shrimp is on sale! Like anything there are good and bad recipes that require trial and error here. We also tried a Blooming Onion in the fryer, and that well, fell short. It was not “Outback” worthy, but I’ll keep roaming for new recipes to try for this. Mozzarella sticks, also fell apart on me, and I followed the recipe to a T! So I’ve found another recipe to try out.

Click here to get both Coconut Shrimp Recipes, (Baked Or Air Fried!) and check it out. I do feel which bread crumbs you use is important for consistency and flavor. We used different bread crumbs for the mozzarella stick than the shrimp for consistency. 

  

Spiked Seltzers Gluten Free and some New To Me Ciders

I was excited to see the Spiked Seltzer water trend starting to gain some ground, mostly because a lot of them are gluten free. For once it's an alcoholic canned beverage that is not a malted beverage at heart! They aren't overly sweet and even a bit dry, they make great mixers or even just on their own. Check these out next time you're heading to the bar, or game night at a friends house!

Honestly these come down to flavor preference I've noticed, the all have rather the same taste profile otherwise, there isn't a huge difference, and what's great, They're All Gluten Free!!!

Truly - I haven't found the blood orange yet, but colima lime is tasty!
White Claw - My favorite is the black cherry, but that one fits more in my flavor pallet. 
Shell House Spiked Seltzer Water Trader Joe's - Only two flavors got pomegranate to try, it's ok, and cheaper than the others on the market.
Bravazzi - This was interesting as it's a spiked Italian Soda. It's more fizzy and flavorful, and honestly this one is the flavor winner for me. 

The other one upping their game is the cider manufacturers with new flavors. The Rose trend has hit cider and it makes me happy! Cider for me tends to be sweet and taste like apple juice... I like the flavored ones, and these hit the mark for me. One thing I noticed when I was in Southwest Michigan last year is how many wineries are now making flavored ciders! I was trying as much cider as I was wine. 
2 Fools Cider is "local" to Chicago, being produce in Indiana. 
Blake's Hard Ciders are "local" and from Michigan, they're great cause they too have flavors other than plain apple, and they are unique in flavor and taste. 
Angry Orchard is great cause you're bound to find it in quite a few places and markets. It's the most common to find when dinning out or traveling. I do like them a LOT better than Woodchuck Ciders or even most of the Ace Ciders. But they're all options you can find gluten free!

 

Keep in mind These are Hard Ciders, Not Cider Beers. Cider Beers like Redd's Apple Ale ARE NOT GLUTEN FREE! Nor or most of the Hard Root Beer or Hard Soda's Like Henry's Hard Soda. They are malted beverages, and not gluten free.

Tata's Perogi's Gluten Free Polish Food!

Being mostly Polish we'd indulge on some Perogi's and Paczki's every so often, especially when Lent would roll around each year. Perogi's were the hardest for me to give up, they were so tasty and had so many options, plus it was the strongest connection to my "culture" that I had for Polish Food. I was so excited when I saw an ad for Gluten Free Perogi's. I honestly didn't believe it at first. So I went in specifically to question them on if this was true information. I was so delighted to find out it really was!

Tata's Perogi Opened in 2016 in Elk Grove Village, I discovered them towards the end of the summer 2017. After talking with them about gluten free, what flavors they had, I brought a bag of frozen ones home. You'd have thought I was bringing home a bag of gold, I called my dad to tell him, I called my brother, I posted it on Facebook and told all my local GF friends where I got them, needless to say, I was excited! I made them the way my family always made perogi's fried with a lot of butter. They didn't disappoint! 

A few months went by, and with the hustle and bustle of the holidays and wedding planning we didn't get over there until recently again, when I had a long rough week at work and wanted comfort food, I convinced my fiance we'd go pick up food to go. He got a Gluten-full perogi sampler, and I got a Polish sampler with the perogi's sausage and potato pancakes, and some extra potato pancakes on the side. It was Heaven in a to go container! Not only was it delicious but it made me feel much better and less stressed out. 

For me the great part is we'd always do Perogi's for Friday's in Lent since we're not big "Fish eaters". So I can go back to enjoying Friday's in Lent and get some Potato and Cheese perogi's and some potato pancakes and be happy! The restaurant itself is a small "dive" with about 10 tables, cute decor and lots of Polish food options. I've made my parents curious to check it out. It's hard finding good Polish food, but especially in the suburbs, and Tata's is spot on for me. With flavor options, and menu choices they get 4 dragonflies from me for variety, and amazing food.~

Quick Chicken 1 Pan Dish

This was so easy to make, I'm shocked I didn't think of this sooner. Great quick 1 pan dish for dinner. Feel free to add other ingredients for other tweaks. Spinach is a good extra to add to this as well.

Ingredients: 
1lb Chicken Breasts
1 teaspoon of Chopped Garlic
1 teaspoon onion powder
Dash Paprika
1/4th Brick of Cream Cheese
1 Cup chopped Mushrooms
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Directions: 
Grill the chicken so it's fully cooked. While the chicken is grilling, saute the mushrooms with the garlic and vegetable oil. Once the chicken is cooked, add the chicken to the pan with the mushrooms and garlic, add the Onion powder and paprika to the pan and cook until fragrant. Chop the cream cheese into smaller cubes and place in the pan with the chicken and mushrooms. Stir until all the cream cheese is melted and well mixed up. You can add more cream cheese if needed for more "sauce". I also tend to mix  this up with different seasonings depending what flavor I'm looking for that day.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Here is a great, dump and go casserole for after work. I made this the first time and didn't add much seasoning, the 2nd time I spiced it up. What's great is you can add any savory seasonings of your choice. Finding good gluten free cream soups, heck gluten free cream soups in general are impossible. I used Imagine broccoli cream soup this time. You will need a 9x13 baking dish and some foil for baking. It seems like a lot to make this, but it's really not.

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs chopped raw chicken
1 Cup uncooked rice
1/2 a brick of cream cheese
1 Cup Shredded Cheddar cheese
1 Bag frozen broccoli 
16 oz Cream soup
1/2 Cup Water 
1 Teaspoon garlic
1/2 Teaspoon Thyme
Dash Onion Powder
Dash cayenne pepper 
Cooking Spray


Directions:
First off spray the bottom of your pan with Pam (Or like spray) Pam Original, (non-baking spray) is gluten free. Next you want to chop up your chicken, and set it aside. Mix the cream soup, cream cheese and water together and pour into the casserole dish. Next place the chicken, rice and broccoli in the dish and mix it up real good. Add in your seasonings, plus any others you like to add to chicken. Next mix in the cheddar cheese and sprinkle the top with any extra. Make sure to cover Tightly with foil and place in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. After popping this in the oven I decided to do my workout/yoga session, I had 60 minutes to spare!