We all have those days when we’re gone all day, only to come home to no dinner ready, a mess waiting for us, and kids homework to tackle, not to mention all the emails and “professional” duties awaiting our attention.

I had this kind of day yesterday.  On top of all my duties, I was exhausted.  Cooking a full course meal was the last thing on my mind.  {This is when freezer cooking can be handy.}  I had planned on fixing Italian Chicken Bruschetta Pasta, but couldn’t even muster up the energy for that easy recipe.  It’s times like these that we just feel like grabbing the box of cereal.  I would have done this, but I had thawed chicken that had to be cooked.  Since none of the options were at all appealing, I came up with a 4 ingredient main course and added a side of steamed vegetables.  I would normally have a starch, like rice pilaf, but I decided we would just double up on the veggies and call it a night.

The main course consisted of chicken, cooked in a homemade honey mustard salad dressing, and topped with coarsely ground rice.  I made a honey mustard dressing last week for salad bar night, but my husband wasn’t crazy about it.  To rescue it from the back of the refrigerator, I poured it on the chicken instead.  You can use any kind of honey mustard salad dressing you want for this recipe, whether homemade or store-bought.  The chicken turned out quite tasty, with just the right amount of crunch, and perfectly moist.

What is an easy dinner you go to when you can’t muster up the energy for grandiose?

Crunchy Honey Mustard Chicken

Use a homemade recipe of honey mustard salad dressing to avoid the top allergens, but you can use a store-bought dressing.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken breast-boneless, skinless
• 1 cups honey mustard dressing
• 1-2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1/3 cups rice, coarsely ground

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Place small chicken breasts (cut breasts into smaller pieces, if necessary) in shallow baking dish. Pour honey mustard dressing over top of chicken and season with garlic salt. Grind rice in coffee bean grinder, if necessary, until coarsely ground. Sprinkle ground rice over chicken.

2. Bake in oven, uncovered, for about 45 minutes or until cooked through and brown on top.

3. Turn oven to broil and broil for about 2 minutes, just to crisp it up a bit more.

Serve with rice pilaf and steamed vegetables. Enjoy!

Shared at Full Plate Thursday and Thriving on Thursdays.

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I know it’s past the actual day of the Running of the Roses (aka Kentucky Derby), but that doesn’t mean that we can’t still enjoy the traditional pie from the fastest 2 minutes in sports.  That pie is called a “Kentucky Derby Pie” but the name is trademarked, so no one else is allowed to use that name when referring to this pie (unless you actually get your pie from the original restaurant).

We had the pleasure and most amazing time watching the derby with a host of other families this past weekend.  (We do not live in Kentucky but still enjoy the event.)  I had the job of supplying the traditional pie.  I made three regular (full-on allergies) pies from this recipe called Kentucky Derby Chocolate Walnut Pie.  This is my absolute favorite pie in the whole world!  Top with some fresh homemade whip cream and you’re about as close to heaven as you can come with a pie.  (And, yes, I did include the bourbon in the original recipe .)

I didn’t want to leave my husband and son out of the pie enjoying festivities, so I set out to make a version that is free of all top allergens, except treenuts.  I did not include bourbon in this allergy-friendly version because bourbon contains grains (corn & gluten).  If you’re able to have those ingredients, I say go for the little extra umph to your pie!

(Note: You cannot use whiskey instead of bourbon.  There are very distinct differences between the two, do not interchange them.  Want to know the difference between bourbon & whiskey? Read up here.  You know you’ve always wanted to know this little tidbit of random knowledge…well, it’s a prerequisite to living in Ky & Tn.)

Now, on to that most delicious of allergy-friendly pie recipes.  Don’t let this recipe scare or intimidate you.  It is super-duper easy and well worth the effort!  (Warning: You will get a chocolate high from this pie.)

Free of gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanuts, corn (contains tree nuts)

Kentucky Chocolate Pecan Pie

If desired/allowed, add 2 Tbsp of Ky bourbon to the wet ingredients. Bourbon contains corn, gluten, & yeast.

Ingredients

• 2 EnerG egg replacer
• 1/2 cups coconut oil
• 3/4 cups brown sugar
• 1 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cups allowed flour (any gluten or gluten-free flour will work)
• 1/8 teaspoons salt
• 1 cups pecans, chopped
• 1 cups mini chocolate chips (like Enjoy Life)

Instructions

1. Make your pie crust (see recipe below). Do not use a pie dish that has air holes in the bottom -- this just may cause a smokey situation when baking (I wouldn't know though). Refrigerate for at least 1 hour (overnight is fine too).

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove pie crust from refrigerator.

3. Whisk together your egg replacer (3 tsp powder + 4 Tbsp water; or 2 eggs). With a mixer, cream together the softened coconut oil and sugar with the egg mixture. (*Use a mild coconut oil b/c you don't want a coconut flavor. You could also use softened palm shortening or butter.) Mix in vanilla (and bourbon here, if using).

4. Mix in allowed flour (I used rice flour, but you can use any gluten-free or regular flour, except I wouldn't use coconut flour) and salt.

5. Finally, stir in chopped pecans and chocolate chips.

6. Pour pie filling into pie crust and spread out evenly. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing.

Top with a dollap of dairy-free whip cream or ice cream! Enjoy!

Pecan Crust II

See "Pecan Crust" under recipe tab for the other version.

Ingredients

• 1/2-3/4 cups pecans
• 1 1/2 cups rice flour
• 1/2 cups tapioca flour
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons ginger, ground
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 6 tablespoons palm shortening
• 3-4 teaspoons cold water

Instructions

1. Preferably in a food processor, grind pecans into a course flour. Add other flours to food processor and pulse to combine. Add ginger, brown sugar, and salt into food processor; mix together.

2. Add palm shortening (preferably chilled) to food processor, a couple tablespoons at a time, and pulse until crumbly. (You may need to remove the lid and give it a little stir to make sure all the dry ingredients are incorporated into the shortening.)

3. Finally, pulse in cold water, one teaspoon at a time, until crust holds together in your hand.

4. Press crust into greased pie dish on the bottom and up the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerator for about 1 hour (overnight is fine too).

Prepare pie filling as directed in recipe. Remove pie crust from refrigerator while making pie filling and preheating oven.

Shared at Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Allergy Friendly Friday, Monday Mania, Homestead Barn Hop, Real Food 101, Make Your Own Monday, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Tasty Tuesday, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Works-for-Me-Wednesday, and Thriving on Thursday.

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I was flipping through one of my favorite cooking magazines recently, Cooking Light, when I noticed an ad for the ever so delectable Pepperidge Farm Milano Slices.  The photography, of course, wins you over as they show the topping being sprinkled on melted chocolate, all over a crunchy, thin little cookie.

My first thought wasn’t, “Oh, I wish we could have cookies like that in our house.”  (I’ll admit that sometimes I do that kind of loathing.)  No, I thought, “This is such a simple little cookie, I could so make this into a gluten-free, allergy-friendly version.”  So, guess what?  I did!  I did and they were good!

The great thing about this recipe is that you can do just about any topping you desire, whether it is chopped nuts or shredded coconut.  You could even skip the chocolate and use a favorite jam instead.

Free of gluten, dairy, egg, soy, corn, peanut (*can be made nut-free too)

Milano-ish Cookies

*To make this recipe nut-free: Substitute oat flour or more rice flour for the almond flour. Use a non-nut topping like shredded coconut.

Ingredients

• 1 EnerG egg replacer
• 1/3-1/2 cups oil, room temperature (such as, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, butter, shortening)
• 1/4 cups brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cups rice flour
• 1/2 cups tapioca flour
• 1/2 cups almond meal/flour
• 1/2 tablespoons guar gum
• 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoons ginger, ground
• 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips (like Enjoy Life)
• 1/4 cups hazelnuts, chopped

Instructions

1. Make egg replacer (1 1/2 tsp powder + 2 Tbsp water; or 1 egg); set aside. Cream together room temperature oil and sugar. Add egg replacer & vanilla to the oil/sugar; mix well.

2. Combine rice flour, tapioca flour, & almond meal. Add in guar gum, baking soda, cream of tartar, ginger, & salt; mix well.

3. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients until they come together into a ball. Place in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes to harden a bit.

4. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Remove the cookie dough from the refrigerator and place on parchment paper. (It may be a little sticky and oily, but that is okay). Spread the dough out into a rectangle using the best instrument that works for you. I used a rubber spatula and it spread very easily without sticking. You could also use a rolling pin. Spread the dough out to about 1/8-1/4 inch thick.

5. Cut dough into desired shapes using a knife or pizza cutter. I ended up cutting my dough into a variety of shapes, some square, some rectangular, others were more triangular. I wasn't particular. Place the cookies on parchment paper (or silpat) on a cookie sheet. (I actually just spread my cookies out on the same parchment paper on which I cut the dough and placed it on the cookie sheet. It didn't require any transferring.)

6. Bake cookies for 15-20 minutes, or until cookies are browning around the edges and are solid. They will get harder on the top as they cool. Allow cookies to cool.

7. Melt chocolate in a saucepan or the microwave. Drop about a teaspoonful of chocolate on each cookie and spread evening to the edges. Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts (or other desired topping) on the warm chocolate. Place in refrigerator for chocolate to harden, about 20 minutes.

Makes about 16 cookies.

Enjoy!

Shared at Full Plate Thursday, Sweet Tooth Friday, Homestead Barn Hop, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesday Party, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Works for Me Wednesday, and Thriving on Thursdays.

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