Tuscan-Style Chicken in a Red Sauce Served over Noodles

This recipe is one of the first that I have written down.  I mostly cook off the top of my head using whatever items are available in our kitchen at the time.  Given that we are on a tight budget due to our six children's penchant for eating I often find myself creating different meals rather than repeating tried and true recipes.  Thus when my wife and I decided to post a blog documenting some of our experience with life on the spectrum, I felt it would be a good idea to begin capturing the Gluten-Free main meals we have been forced to improvise.

This recipe serves approximately 6-10 people depending on your serving size it could go further if served with other items on the plate, such as additional veggies or side dish.

Ingredients:

• 3 Frozen Chicken Breasts
• 5 Green Onion Stalks
• 8-10 Sweet Mini Peppers
• 3 Tablespoons of McCormick's Gourmet Tuscan-Style Italian Seasoning (MSG-Free) It appears to be Gluten-Free based upon the label.   We are not a Siliac family so if you are you know the drill better than we do.
• 2 Cans of Tomato Sauce (Your favorite GF brand should work.  We used Sam's Choice because it is cheap.)
• 1 Tablespoon of Black Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon of Brown Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon of Limon Juice
• 1 Tablespoon of Lime Juice
• 2 Tablespoon of Olive Oil
• 1 Teaspoon of Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 Cups of Namaste or Pamela's Brand Gluten-Free Flour
• 1 Cups of Water
• 2 Cans of Diced Tomatoes (Again, Your favorite GF brand should work.  We used Sam's Choice because it is cheap.)
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese as needed
• Aged Parmesan Cheese (We like a mixed blend of Italian Cheeses, I'll update it once I get the brand and types.  All I recall now is Romano and Asagio.)
• Sharp Cheese of your choice (My wife suggest an Aged Gouda, but your kids might find a Sharp Cheddar more to their liking.)

Instructions:

1. Start by partially thawing the Chicken Breasts in the microwave and then cube and brown them.
2. Once the chicken is cooked but not browned, add the Black Pepper and Tuscan-Style Seasoning.
3. Mix until the chicken is well coated.
4. Add the Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar
5. Add in the meaty parts of the Green Onions and half of the Sweet Mini Peppers and continue to mix until the Chicken is good and browned.
6. Add 1.5 cups of water once the chicken reaches this stage and bring the mixture to a boil.
7. Let it boil for about 2 minutes while you put on the Water for the Noodles to boil.
8. Add the Diced Tomatoes and the Tomato Sauce.
9. In a separate container mix .5 cups of water with the 2 cups of Gluten-Free flour. It should result in a thick consistent paste.
10. This paste should them mix it into the sauce pan.
11. Bring the mixture back to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes.
12. The water for the noodles should be boiling so now add the Gluten-Free noodles of your choice. (We used Rotini this time.)
13. Continue to stir both the Noodles and the Sauce.
14. Once the Noodles are done.  Drain them and stir in 3 Tablespoons of Real Butter (not the imitation garbage.)
15. Now dish out the Noodles onto individual plates forming a flattened bed.
16. Sprinkle some Mozzarella Cheese on top of the bed.
17. Ladle the sauce on covering the bed of Noodles.
18. Add Parmesan Cheese and your Sharp Cheese of choice
19. Top with the Chive-like stalks of the green onions and the Sweet Mini Peppers set aside earlier.
20. Serve and enjoy!

Alternatives:

1. Could be made up as a casserole.  In which case you should pre-heat your oven to 350 when you begin.  Then once everything is ready to server in the recipe above, mix it all together in an oven pan including the Mozzarella Cheese in the mix liberally, then top with the other cheeses. 
2. The Chicken could be served as a whole Breast or strips in stead of cubed if that were desired.  If served as a whole Breast then I think the casserole option might be a good idea. If you adjusted the first half of the recipe appropriately.

I welcome your suggestions and feed back in the comments below.

(I have pictures that will be added as soon as I have downloaded and edited them.)

Hello World...

Welcome to our attempt to share with other parents what we have experienced and learned while raising our six children, two of which are on the High Functioning end of the Spectrum. 

We have two boys who are very different in their High Functioning Autistic worlds.  One is extremely logical the other is extremely emotional.  Both struggled immensely with interpersonal relationship, other functional quirks and one struggles with dyslexia while the other has extreme mood swings, (thankfully improving now that we have him on a gluten free diet).  We also have an ADHD boy and girl in our mix of our remaining 4 children.  So we have had lots of interesting experiences over the last 14 years of parenthood.

This blog is the place that we are going to share what we have learned.  Both my wife and I will be contributing what we have learned in the hope that it will be of value to you and your family.   That said it should be clear that no two Autistic Spectrum Children are the same even in the same family.

Topics you will find discussed here are:

• Medical Treatments
• Vaccinations
• Medications
• Educational options
• Occupational Therapies
• Vision Therapy
• Dietary Discoveries
• Allergies
• Gluten-Free Recipes and Tips