2012
Many of the top 8 allergen-free chicken nuggets that you can buy in the frozen food section are made with corn, which Gino is allergic to. So, of course, we have to make our own but I wanted to put a little twist on it. With the help of my dear friend, Letty, we came up with Chicken Tortas. I catch myself taste testing them so much that the kids are lucky if there are any left for them.
Letty’s Chicken Tortas
3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
2 garlic cloves
4 TBSP gluten-free flour
2 tsp olive oil
1/4 white onion, chopped finely
1/4 cup rice drink
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp kosher salt
First, I clean 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and then boil them in water for 40 minutes or until completely cooked. I usually add 2 whole garlic cloves, a slice of onion, salt and pepper to the water to flavor the chicken. In this photo, I added a tomato but this is optional. It also looks like I doubled the recipe here… that’s a lot of chicken!
When the chicken is cooked thoroughly, I remove them from the water. Once they are cooled slightly, I cut the breasts into fours, tear the chicken into very small pieces and place it in a bowl. Add 1/4 finely chopped onion, 4 TBSP gluten-free flour mix, 2 tsp olive oil, and 1/4 cup rice drink to the bowl and mix by hand. Then sprinkle 1/2 tsp garlic salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp kosher salt onto this mixture and mix again.
Gino doesn’t like the onion to be crunchy and because the meat is already cooked, they don’t need to be fried for too long. This means that the onion often remains a little crunchy. If your children have a texture issue, you can blend the chopped onion with the rice drink. This eliminates the crunchiness of the onion. Problem solved.
When all of the ingredients are mixed together, form into small patties. I use about 1/2 cup of canola oil in the skillet and when this is hot, I add the patties, frying them for about 1 minutes on each side or until they are easily able to be flipped. You can also brush them with oil on both sides and bake them to avoid the extra oil involved in frying. The chicken is already cooked so bake them to your desired doneness.
When you take the tortas out of the pan, set on a paper towel to drain the remaining oil.
I usually serve these up with crinkle cut fries, ketchup and a bowl of fruit on the side. These can also be frozen, so double the recipe and you will be able to pull a few out at a time for a quick lunch or dinner.
Hope your family enjoys them as much as we do. I love the idea of eating non-processed chicken, don’t you?
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SAFETY NOTE: Although this recipe is meant to be top eight (cow’s milk, egg, soy, wheat, peanut, tree nuts, fish and shellfish) allergen-free, I cannot guarantee that all of the products that I have used will remain top eight allergen-free. I encourage you to always read food labels thoroughly each and every time you use a product as ingredients and manufacturing practices may change without warning. Please omit and/or substitute any ingredients that are unsafe for you or your family members for ingredients that are safe. If you need help finding substitutions, please let me know and I will do my best to help. If you have questions about whether a particular food is safe for you or your family members, please contact your physician.
Very yummy-looking recipe. Thank you for sharing!
[BTW, canola oil *may* become an issue at some point:
http://hiddencorn.wordpress.com/wheres-the-corn/ ]
I will understand if you don’t publish my comment on account of adding a URL. I just wanted you to have the information, seeing as how corn is an issue for one of your boys.
Thank you for sharing, Amber. It is interesting to see all of the places where corn products/derivatives are used. Many of these sources do not concern me in terms of anaphylaxis due to the highly processed nature of the derivatives in some cases but still good to think about. Have a great day and thank you for reading!
Thank you for this info!!! My daughter has embarked on the corn allergy journey since July. I always welcome info!
It’s my pleasure.
Take care, Jen.
Sarah
Love the recipe (and you)! Thank you for all that you do. With a long list of foods we avoid, it’s such a treat to get one of your new recipes. Everything our family can eat. Keep ‘em coming. xoxo
Thank you, Janine! You’re so sweet say that! I’m hoping to get up a zucchini muffin recipe soon. I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult to find easy breakfast ideas. Have a great day!
Sarah
Try making millet pudding instead of oatmeal as a breakfast cereal. Mmmm !
These look delicious! Thank you for such a yummy recipe. As soon as chicken is back in our diet I will make these for my son! (We’re sorting out problem foods right now). I have a handful of top 8 allergen free recipes on my blog, and they’re also free of the “top” FPIES trigger foods, too, if you’re interested.
. Oh, wow, I’m getting hungry just thinking about these tortas!!
I’ll check out your recipes too, thank you, Carrie! You may be able to try these with ground turkey too if that is a safe option for you. Thank you for your comment!
Sarah
That looks super yummy! Thanks for sharing that recipe- can’t wait to try it!
Let me know if you like them! Thank you, Diana!
We just had Thanksgiving here in Canada, and these look like something I could make with leftover turkey! Thanks…I think I’ll give these a try tonight. I might make a few with tofu for my vegetarian daughter as well.
Rebecca,
Please let us know if these variations worked for you! I would love to know and I’m other people would as well!
Thank you,
Sarah
Can’t wait the try this recipe ! Have you tried it with different meats and /or different flours ?
Hi Char,
I always use King Arthur’s Gluten free flour mix. I am sure ground turkey or beef would work as well. I would probably just bake the beef instead of fry it. Let me know if you try any variations and I will do the same.
Thank you for your comment!
Sarah
Hi could you substitute the rice drink with water? My son has FPIES to rice.. No milks yet either only neocate! Thanks
Susie,
I haven’t done it but I am sure it would work… rice milk almost seems like water to me! Try it and let us know!
Thank you!
Sarah
Thank you for this recipe… my little Bekah misses her nuggets!
Hope Bekah likes them!! Let me know!
Sarah
These look great! Trying them tomorrow! Thanks!
Robin,
I hope you liked them!
Sarah
Thank you! These look great. I recently started making my own chicken stock (tired of buying the boxed stuff and since we cook so much at home now, I figured, why not), but I’ve had some trouble coming up with enough creative uses for all the boiled chicken. This looks like a keeper!
Thanks, Maria! Hope you like them!
Sarah