Monday, March 11, 2013

Dairy and Gluten Free Chipotle Apple Butter Chicken Thighs

Chicken thighs are delicious but can be boring.  I was looking for a way to spice up our dairy and gluten free dinner and found a similar recipe by another blogger.  I played with the ratios some and came up with these Chipotle Apple Butter Chicken Thighs.  They are sweet and spicy and definitely an unexpected combination of flavors.  I used my home canned apple butter; however, the store bought version will work well in this recipe.




Chipotle Apple Butter Chicken Thighs

6 to 8 chicken thighs
1 medium red onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 to 3 chipotle peppers in adobo (depends on how spicy you like it)
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup apple butter

Place the chicken thighs and chopped onion in a gallon sized zip top bag.
In a food processor, combine the remaining ingredients.
Process until the marinade is fairly smooth.
Pour the marinade over the chicken and onion.
Rub the marinade into the chicken.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to over night.
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Line a baking pan with foil.
Place the chicken in a single layer in the pan. 
Pour the remaining marinade over the chicken.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the chicken is cooked through.
Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Dairy and Gluten Free Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Cups

Beautiful crisp butter lettuce was the inspiration for this meal of dairy and gluten free Buffalo chicken lettuce cups with a mock blue cheese dip.  Both the Buffalo chicken tenders and the mock blue cheese dip have a multitude of other uses besides in these delicious lettuce cups!  The Buffalo chicken tenders are both dairy and gluten free.  The creamy mock blue cheese dip utilizes Cypress Grove Midnight Moon Goat Milk Cheese instead of a cow's milk dairy cheese.  






Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Cups
1 batch Buffalo Chicken Tenders
1 batch Mock Blue Cheese Dip
1 head butter lettuce, separated into individual leaves
2 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thin strips (I used a vegetable peeler)

Assemble the lettuce cups by layering the lettuce leaves with tomato, celery, carrots, chicken and dip.

Buffalo Chicken Tenders
1 stick dairy free buttery spread, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup Frank's Thick Hot Sauce 
1 tsp to 1 tbs Sriracha
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tbs cornstarch
1 1/2 lbs chicken tenders

 Combine all ingredients.
Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Place the chicken in a single layer on a foil lined baking dish.
Pour the extra sauce over the top of the chicken.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Then broil for a few minutes longer.

Mock Blue Cheese Dip
2 oz Cypress Grove Midnight Moon Goat Milk Cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce (check for gluten free)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Mix all ingredients together.
Allow to rest at least 30 minutes for flavors to mingle.