October is practically here and it feels like fall in Chicago. Fall in the Midwest is breath-taking; the colors on the trees are gorgeous and the chill in the air always makes me want to hole up in my cozy home. The reality is, though, two of my kids play travel soccer, two other kids play park district soccer, two kids take piano lessons, one takes guitar lessons, one is trying out for travel basketball, one is in yearbook club, two others are in chess club, and baby Michael’s lack of speaking means I have to add weekly speech therapy as well. Nevermind my own schedule. But I am still adamant about making a home cooked meal for breakfast and dinner most days of the week.
In order to do that, I have to plan ahead and choose meals that aren’t fussy. I love slow roasting, slow cooking and braising for easy home-cooked deliciousness. This Chicken and Rice dish screams comfort food…but it is incredibly easy and requires very little labor time at all. I love to saute the veggies when the kids get home from school (5 minutes) and then let the oven do the rest of the work. Feel free to use whatever veggies you want in the saute mixture…butternut squash, carrots, celery and zucchini are my favorites. I also use whatever rice I have on hand, Basmati, Brown, etc. This dish also makes an excellent leftover meal the next night.
ALLERGY FRIENDLY CHICKEN AND RICE
1 3-4 lb. package chicken, cut up into legs, quarters, breast, etc.
1 T. olive oil
1 T. dairy free margarine
3 peeled carrots, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1/2 small butternut squash, diced
1 large garlic clove. minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1 3/4 c. rice (I like basmati or brown)
1 1/2 c. organic chicken broth
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large dutch oven, heat olive oil and dairy free margarine until hot. Add vegetables and garlic, and season generously with salt and pepper. Saute for 5 minutes and stir in dried thyme and celery seed. Stir in rice and lightly toast for 1-2 minutes. Turn off burner and place chicken pieces on top of rice and vegetables. Place dutch oven uncovered in oven and bake 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and add chicken broth. Put cover on top of chicken and bake 40-45 additional minutes or until chicken is done.
What, no Karate in there somewhere? Just joking.
I always look forward to your posts and can’t wait to try this Chx/Rice.
Keep up the piano – there is some great Halloween music we are working on here in Connecticut for our Annual Costume Piano Party. Christmas music right around the corner… Great time for music.
When you have a chance, I would love to see your Halloween food suggestions. I’m thinking Recital, school parties, as well as birthday for my two kiddos. Thanks, Kelly!
Hi Kelly,
I was wondering what foods you make for breakfast in your house? My son has an egg allergy and I have a hard time figuring out what to give him besides hot cereal and occasionally pancakes.
Thanks,
Laura
Hey Kelly:
Thought you would like to see this…my allergy free apple cake was featured in the Washington Post….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat
My daughter is allergic to eggs and we usually stick to cereal though we sometimes make pancakes or waffles using egg replacer powder, comes out great! Cherrybrook kitchen also has a delicious whole wheat pancake mix that you can use too. If my kid ate fruit I’d love to try fruit/yogurt/cereal parfaits, but for now we’re still in the bland phase.
My son is also allergic to chicken eggs and corn. I’d make him muffins (different flavors), scones, cookies (I add a lot of dried fruits, rolled oats, and flaxseed meals so my kids can have them for snacks and breakfast), fruit smoothie with rice cereal toppings, or waffles. I love all of Kelly’s muffins.
Kelly, Without your book my family would be lost. We use it for breakfast every single day. Our copy is covered in flour and stained with palm shortening, which in a sense makes it more beloved to us. It’s carried us through some very, very tough times. Truly I can’t express in words our graditude.
Hooray for a non-breakfast or treat recipe! Lunch and dinner is where we struggle the most (dairy, seeds, nuts, legumes, fish, soy, eggs and citrus among many, many other allergies). I break down sobbing at times because I just don’t know what to make for lunch and dinner with such limited ingredients. Most recipes contain way too many allergen ingredients (mainly cheese, cream or beans) for me to modify. I know you are exceedingly busy but if you could fine the time and energy to publish an allergy lunch/dinner book you would do the community an incredible service. Thank you again for helping our family and many others in a multitude of ways. You are my family’s #1 thought leader.
Yay for a chicken and rice recipe that doesn’t require canned soup or cheese! It’s exactly what I have been looking for. I will definitely be trying this one ths week. I am so thankful for people like you who can create so many delicious recipes for those of us who can’t.
And for the lady who is searching for breakfast ideas, don’t forget about ideas like sun butter or soynut butter on toast (maybe with a touch of jelly or honey). It’s super filling for little tummies and packs a nutritious punch. There are some great soy and dairy free bread recipes online if your child can’t do store bought bread. I just make a loaf or two, slice them up and freeze. Then I can pull out a piece or two when needed and warm them up. Avocado is fantastic on toast too, with a touch of sea salt! Smoothies can be super filling if they have the right stuff in them. Try one with some coconut milk or sunbitter mixed in. As you can see, I am big on the good fats. My daughter has enough allergies that we have to work on getting those fats and proteins in her any way we can!
Great, thanks everyone for the suggestions!
@Laura, I don’t know if you have any Stop and Shop’s in your area, but their Nature Promise brand organic toaster waffles have been a Godsend on busy mornings. They are dairy and egg free and safe for my peanut, dairy, egg and shellfish allergic boys.
Hey Kelly!
I might use this myself..except with Gardein fake chicken
Keep the meals comin’!
Kelly,
Thank you SO much for your allergy friendly receipes! I just happened to run across your blog in a search for allergy friendly meal ideas, and now I am addicted!
I immediately purchased your baking cookbook and hope to create many memories in the kitchen with my daughter who has an egg, milk, and peanut allergy. As you know, baked goods are an allergy nightmare. I appreciate your posts, your baking recipes, and second a previous posters request for more lunch/dinner recipes. This is where we struggle the most. Please post more recipes that are non-treat related. Thanks!
You are amazing, Kelly!
So sweet Julie, thank you so much!! xo
You are sweet Emily! Thank you so much for your sweet message! I absolutely will be posting more meal recipes!!! Requests are being taken as well!
Any Halloween food ideas (not dessert but savory)?
Kelly,
This dish was absolutely delicious. Thank you for sharing it with us. We just made it 2 days ago and my husband wants it again. The seasonings were something I didn’t use much of before, but I am so glad we tried them, thanks to you! I also have to say the smell of this dish cooking was amazing! I can’t thank you enough. I have your cookbook and use it a lot. I have already made the pumpkin bread 4 times this Fall. Several friends we have shared it with couldn’t believe it was egg and dairy free. You really have been a bright spot in our lives through your fabulous recipes. Thank you for all you do for this food allergy community!
This is delicious!! Will definitely be in the weekly rotation of dinners. Thanks, Kelly!
I have never had butternut squash in rice before, how do you keep it from getting mushy? This seems so flavorful, might just add it to my dinner recipes for this week! Thanks for sharing. – Carolyn Knott
This chicken dish sounds yummy! I love the idea of braising the chicken to keep it moist. Not sure how my kids will like the squash…more for me! I love to marinate my chicken breasts in lemon juice, olive oil and garlic for a quick bbq. Easy to freeze a bunch and thaw when needed. My son has multiple food allergies to dairy, egg, beef, sesame, fish, shellfish, peanut/tree nuts, raspberries and mustard. My second son has peanut/tree nut allergies. It can be very limiting so finding and playing around with recipes has turned into my passion.