Trying to get southern fried chicken that isn't deep fried and is gluten free is impossible unless you make it yourself. I've created the following recipe and it is so easy to make and much better than a well known fast food.

Oven Baked - Southern Fried Chicken

Ingredients

3 legs of chicken - cut into thighs and drumsticks

1 oz lactofree butter

1 egg

Coating

6 oz plain gluten free flour

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dried sage

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp ground mace

1/2 tsp umami dust (Waitrose stock this)

Method

Preheat oven to Gas 6. Put an 11 inch roasting tray in the oven, it needs sides to capture the juices and oils as they are released. Heat the tray whilst you are coating the chicken.

Mix all the coating ingredients in a zip lock large bag, zip closed and then shake to mix.

Dip and coat a piece of chicken in the beaten egg, then drop the chicken in the zip bag and coat with the seasoned flour, keep moving until all of the egg is coated. Put on a plate and coat the remaining pieces of chicken in the same way.

Remove the tray from the oven and smear the butter over the bottom of the tray, making sure it coats all of the bottom. Place the chicken evenly onto the tray.

Put in the over and bake for 20 minutes, turn over half-way through and continue baking.

Check chicken is cooked by piercing chicken thigh with a sharp knife, check that the chicken isn't pink.

The wing joints are also great especially if you joint your own chicken.

To make chicken nuggets, use breast meat cut into chunks.

A very successful dinner last night.

As our daughter has an intolerance to wheat, gluten and dairy, we had bought a Fajita Kit a couple of weeks ago. Tonight I used this to save some time and create a healthy dinner for all of us.
The kit came with the tortillas, salsa and the fajita spice mix.
I used one chicken breast, plus a red and a green pepper and one onion to make the fajitas.
I added some salad leaves and slices of avocado when building the fajitas with the salsa.
A big hit, the aromas in the kitchen were wonderful. A great store cupboard hit, full of nutrients and very low fat.

For the first evening meal for my hubby, I decided that a simple chicken dish would be the best, but with lots of different vegetables to ensure that we were all following the recommended diet. I also stretched the chicken to feed 3 of us, so it was economical. I bought a whole free range chicken and then took the breast off for our meal. 

Electric Steamer

We were lucky to receive an electric steamer last year from my sister-in-law, which is brilliant for cooking the vegetables to serve with the dinner, just pop them in using however many tiers as necessary, I even cook my rice in it too, saves on pots and pans and also doesn't need to be watched. The biggest benefit is you don't need salt and keep the vitamins and minerals in the veg, none is cooked away in the water.

Potato Ricer

I also have a potato ricer, this is amazing, no worry of lumps and I don't need butter or milk unless turning into "creamed potatoes". I use the potato ricer to produce small threads of potato, I carefully spoon them onto the plate when serving without compressing them. I also use the ricer directly onto fish pies and cottage style pies, low calorie, lovely crunchy top.

Chicken Fricassee

Ingredients (serves 3)

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 banana shallots, finely diced

1 red pepper (I used a long thin pepper) cut into thin strips

2 large chestnut mushrooms, halved and cut into thin slices

1 organic chicken stock cube

1/2 pint water

1 free range chicken breast, cut into small bite sized chunks

handful of french beans, cut into small pieces

Skimmed milk

2 tablespoons cornflour

Method

Heat the oil gently and add the shallots, gently fry the shallots until soft, then add the peppers, keep frying until they soften. Once the peppers and shallots are soft add the mushrooms and fry for another minute.

Add the water and stock cube and turn up the heat until the stock is bubbling, add the chicken and beans and lower to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes until chicken is cooked and the beans are just tender.

Mix the cornflour in a small cup with enough water to make a thin paste. Carefully add this to the pan stirring constantly, thin out the sauce with milk until it is the desired thickness, it should be thick enough to cover the vegetables and chicken with a thick layer.

Check seasoning and add pepper if needed.

I served with mashed (riced) potatoes, tender stem broccoli and carrot batons

Feedback from family was yum.