Chicken Meatloaf (Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free)
This recipe is from Sandra Ramacher's Cookbook "Healing Foods - Cooking for Celiacs, Colitis, Crohn's and IBS." The book is based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and follows it 100%. Even though there are recipes which include dairy, most of the recipe are either dairy-free or the use of dairy is optional.

Readers in both the US and UK can purchase this cookbook from Amazon.

Chicken Meatloaf

Serves 6

500 g (1 lb) chicken - minced
2 egg whites
1 shallot – finely sliced
65 g (½ cup) carrots – peeled, grated
65 g (½ cup) red peppers - finely chopped
100 g (1 cup) fresh shiitake mushrooms - finely chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger – grated
1 clove garlic – minced
20 g (¼ cup) fresh coriander – chopped
20 g (¼ cup) fresh chives – chopped

Preheat the oven to 175°C/350°F
Line a 10 x 21 cm/4 x 8 inch loaf pan with baking paper Combine all the ingredients and mix well with your hands. Pack the ingredients into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the oven for 50 – 60 minutes, until the loaf is cooked through and golden on top. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve cut into slices with a salad or steamed greens.

Dairy Free Chicken Pot Pie


Notes: As always, using veggies fresh from the garden makes it better, but it is still mighty tasty if you use frozen peas and carrots and such. We choose to use spelt flour, but whole wheat works just as well.

Serves: 8

Crust:

2 cups spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons chilled butter flavored shortening (use butter if dairy is not an issue)
Ice water
Chicken:

1 large or 2 small boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
small bunch fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
Filling:

4 tablespoons canola margarine (again, use butter if dairy is not an issue)
2 ribs celery, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 small potato, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup peas
4 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup spelt flour
2 cups chicken broth (I recommend Swanson's Organic broth, very yummy)
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped or 1 tablespoon dry parsley
1/2 teaspoon dry sage
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F

In a large bowl, stir together the spelt flour and salt. Cut the shortening into pats as you add it to the flour. Use a pastry blender if you have it to cut the shortening into the flour. If not, just use a fork and just push the back down into the shortening and flour so you get little slivers of the fat with flour stuck to it. Keep doing this till the mixture resembles cornmeal. Sprinkle or spray with ice water a little at a time, folding it in to the dough until it holds together as a nice ball. Cover the ball with plastic wrap and put it back into the refrigerator.
Add about 1/2 inch of water to a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the chicken and rosemary and cook the chicken till done. Strain and set aside.
Return the saucepan to the heat and melt the margarine. Add the celery, garlic, mushrooms and onion and cook it till they start to soften. Add the flour and continue cooking for about a minute to allow the flour to start to brown. Add the broth a little at a time, stirring it as you go. Add the potato and carrots and contiue cooking until the sauce lthickens. Add a little more flour if you need to.
Remove from the heat and add the chicken, peas, parsley and sage. Add the salt and pepper to taste. I find that it just takes a couple of pinches of salt and maybe a teaspoon of pepper.
Divide the dough into two parts. Roll the first one out on a floured board so that it is large enough to completely cover your pie plate. Push it down into the corners of your plate and trim off the excess. Use the trimmings for any necessary repairs to cracks or tears that may have developed. Add the filling. Roll out the remaining crust to fit over the top. Seal the edges and put several slashes in the top to allow steam to escape.
Cook for 1 hour. Let rest at least 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy

Flax-fried Chicken Breasts (Nut-Free, Soy-Free)

6 T dijon mustard
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground cayenne pepper
1/4 c fine whole wheat bread crumbs
2 T ground flaxseed
2 T sesame seeds
4 chicken breast halves (I used boneless skinless)
4 t oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl season mustard with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl combine bread crumbs, flax, and sesame seeds. Brush chicken with mustard on both side, then role in flax mix to coat well. Arrange chicken bone side down on greased baking sheet. Drizzle each chicken breast with 1 t oil. Bake for 25-35 min or until juices run clear when pierced with a fork.

Fish Fingers (Gluten-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free)
This recipe is from Sandra Ramacher's Cookbook "Healing Foods - Cooking for Celiacs, Colitis, Crohn's and IBS." The book is based on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and follows it 100%. Even though there are recipes which include dairy, most of the recipe are either dairy-free or the use of dairy is optional.

Readers in both the US and UK can purchase this cookbook from Amazon.

Fish Fingers

Serves 4

500 g (1 lb) deboned firm white fish (flake or swordfish)
1 egg
Salt and pepper
100 g (1 cup) almond flour
Oil for frying

Cut the fish into finger lengths. Beat the egg, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Place the almond flour onto a flat plate. Dip the fish into the egg and then into the almond flour, turning it to cover all sides.
Pour some oil into a non-stick frying pan and heat until hot. Place the crumbed fish fingers into the frying pan and fry on both sides until golden brown. Serve with a wedge of lemon.

Figgy Bars (Vegan, Nut-Free, Soy-Free, Wheat-Free)
Of course, our resident fig-lover, VeggieGirl was not shy about putting the sweet power of the fig to the test. She is bravely entering a virtually sugar-free fig dessert (just a touch of agave) into a sugary baking contest, but if I dare say so, I think she has a pretty good shot! VeggieGirl's Figgy Bars may be sweet, but they are healthy enough for an afternoon snack, a lunchbox treat, or even a quick breakfast on-the-go!

By VeggieGirl - I happened to remember Susan posting a while back about her Skinny Figgy Bars recipe, and I knew that this would be a great entry for the Sugar High Fridays baking contest.

Since I made quite a few changes to the original recipe, I thought I would post my version, below. If the amount of water sounds like a typo, it is not - despite the large amount of liquid, the bars were still firm and delicious, with just the right amount of moistness! So, if you like a drier bar, then simply reduce the water (or, just use the original amount of water that the recipe calls for, and add more, as needed):


Figgy Bars (adapted from this recipe):


Filling:

• 8 ounces dried figs (one round package)

• 4 ounces pitted dates

• 1 tbsp. agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 tbsp. lemon juice

• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/8 tsp. ginger

Snip off the figs' stems, and put them, the dates, and the almonds into the food processor. Grind to a coarse paste. Stir in the remaining filling ingredients (gradually adding in the water), and process until mixed. Set aside.


Crust:

• 1 cup regular or quick oats, ground in blender until fine

• 1 cup regular or quick oats, uncooked (not instant oatmeal)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 4 ounces unsweetened apple sauce

• 3 tbsp. agave nectar (or other liquid sweetener)

• 1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 375 F. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in the wet ingredients, mixing well to a thick consistency (if the mixture is still a bit wet, then let it sit for a few minutes before continue to stir). Press half the crust mixture into the bottom of an oiled, eight-inch square cake pan (use a wooden spoon). Spread the fig mixture evenly over the crust. Smooth the remaining crust mixture over the filling. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars (I suggest waiting at least a few hours, before cutting).

Makes 16 bars.