Hello! It has been quite awhile, hasn’t it? About a year ago, our church family had the need for people to step up and help when there was a staffing vacancy, so I stepped up and helped! They hired someone and now I’m starting to gain some time back here and there and I’ve missed blogging, so I hope to be around here more often.

What broke my blog silence? Chicken. And fasting. Weird, huh?

About a month ago, I took part in a week of fasting and prayer. I cannot fast like most people because I have some thyroid difficulties and it isn’t okay for me to skip meals. I decided to do a modified fast: smaller portions, no fast food, no coffee (eek!), and no desserts of any kind. It was a lot more difficult than I imagined it would be, but I learned some valuable lessons.

I learned how much money I was wasting by eating out. Even though, I usually choose healthy options, it was a scary amount of money that we saved by avoiding convenience food. I also realized food was a bit of a crutch when I was stressed out. I was reaching for it instead of getting to the heart of the issue. And I learned that I could make a lot of the same food at home for cheaper and with better quality ingredients.

Since then, we’ve decided to limit ourselves to eating out as a family one time a week. I’ve also started experimenting with our favorite types of food whether they are healthy or not. My husband has skin issues when he eats dairy and my son has food allergies of his own, so I’ve had to learn how to cook everyday meals completely differently than an ordinary recipe.

And sometimes, I have a happy surprise when I taste the result.

Tonight, I decided to fry some chicken. We can’t use milk, so I used almond milk as a replacement. I also wanted it to have a peanut flavor because I wanted to use peanut oil, so I decided to use Thai peanut sauce. We’ve been on a bit of an Asian food kick lately, so I had some on hand. It turns out that the sauce was gluten free, as well as the Aldi pancake mix I used. Yes, I said pancake mix. We didn’t have any flour and I used what I had. I do not regret this decision.

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you will remember that I cook by smell and taste and I throw a bunch of stuff together. Some of this is going to be up to your personal preference and taste.

And if you are lucky, it will taste like Chick-fil-a chicken (or better, according to my husband).

Okay, enough gabbing. Time for the recipe…

You ready?

Gluten Free, Dairy Free Chick-fil-a-like Chicken

2 chicken breasts

4/5 eggs

2/3 cups almond milk

3/4 tbsp. gluten free Thai peanut sauce

3 cups gluten free pancake mix

1-2 tbsp. of: garlic granules, ginger root, orange peel, turmeric, onion powder

1-2 tsp. of: salt and pepper

2 tbsp. peanut oil

Warm grill pan while preparing ingredients.

Slice chicken breasts into thin strips and set aside.

Beat eggs and set aside (egg wash).

Combine almond milk and Thai peanut sauce (milk mixture). Mix well and set aside.

Combine pancake mix with spices and salt and pepper. (flour) Note: this step is guided by personal preference.

Turn the heat of the grill pan to low. Add the peanut oil and move around pan until it is greased.

Take one slice of chicken. Dip it in egg wash, flour, milk mixture, and flour again. Place it on the grill pan. Repeat until the pan is full of breaded chicken.

Slowly raise the temp, but keep the heat low. Flip chicken every few minutes to avoid burning. If the breading seems dry, add more peanut oil. When the chicken is lightly browned on both sides, raise the heat slightly to a medium temp and flip more frequently in order to avoid burning and ensure that the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Remove chicken from pan and place on a plate to cool.

Serve it up and listen to your family tell you how wonderful it is.

I don’t know about you, but I like pickles on my chicken sandwiches. After a few pieces of this chicken, I pulled a jar of baby dill pickles out of the fridge and enjoyed them with my Chick-fil-a-like chicken.

While this recipe isn’t super healthy due to the oil, it is certainly tasty and probably has less questionable ingredients than a fast food restaurant AND it meets a need for all you gluten-free, dairy-free readers out there!

Enjoy!