Yummy! Yummy!

Once again, I've been a huge slacker on this blog. So, to make up for it here are a few of our favorite allergy friendly recipes!

Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe has been revised from a Real Simple Recipe.

4 tbsp. canola oil or just plain water
2 small zucchini, diced
1 ear of corn or 1/2 cup corn
2 cups shredded chicken
Salt & Pepper
12 6-inch corn tortillas

Salsa of choice

Optional: shredded Monterey Jack Cheese and Sour Cream

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat 1 tbsp. of the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and corn and cook, stirring, until zucchini begins to soften (about 3-5 minutes). Transfer to large bowl.

Add the chicken, 1 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Mix to combine.

Wipe out the skillet and heat the remaining oil on medium heat. One at a time, cook the tortillas in the skillet until softened, 10-15 seconds per side. Transfer paper towel-lined plate.

Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas, fold them up, and place seam-side down in a large baking dish. Bake until heated through, 8-10 minutes.

Serve enchiladas with cheese, salsa, and sour cream if using.

Chicken and Corn Chili

Recipe revised. Originally from Family Circle.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 green pepper, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
3/4 tsp. salt
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons stone-ground cornmeal

Combine chicken, broth, green pepper, an spices in slow cooker bowl. Cover and cook for 4 hours on HIGH or 6 hours on LOW.

Remove the chicken to a cutting board and allow to cool slightly. Shred the chicken and return to the slow cooker with tomatoes, corn and beans.

Stir in the cornmeal and let sit for 5 minutes to soften cornmeal.

Grandparents Coming to Dinner

This week marks my first week of allergy friendly meals without specialty foods from health food stores. It took a few hours to make the menu for the week, but it will be worth it. After having our grocery bill triple over the last two months, I'm anxious to resume a more typical food budget. Although I still will end up buying milk alternatives for the boys and flours on special occasion.

The menu was a bit tricky in places. Grandparents are coming to visit. I wanted to prepare a dinner that they would enjoy, but still allergy friendly for Child 1. It had to be simple and not exotic.

And of course we can't forget dessert! There is a rule in our house that when company comes over we have dessert. This has been extremely hard with the newly diagnosed allergies, but I finally hit the jackpot and found a fun recipe that everyone can have (minus the 10 month old).

Here's what I came up with-

Dinner: Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Chicken Kabobs with Rice
(Click on meal to obtain recipe.)

Dessert: Caramel Corn

Recipe given to me by Dana R. Dwyer
1/2 cup margarine (Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine contains no gluten or dairy. It does contain soy.)
1/2 c. honey
Dash of maple flavoring
4 Quarts popped popcorn (or more), cooled.

1. Melt margarine and honey. Bring to boil and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in maple flavoring.
2. Pour over popcorn and stir. Let cool.

-Can add molasses for more flavor.
-Sugar can be substituted for honey.

What a great way to have fun with food allergies!