I was looking for a way to use up some of the cooked chicken that we’re getting such an abundance of what with making all this broth.
I cooked another chicken on Monday the 7th, and dutifully stripped the meat from the bones. It used to be when we made stock we would make chicken salad sandwiches, complete of course with bread and mayonnaise. Younger Son tells me we don’t have the right oils on hand to make mayonnaise. I trust his judgment, and I know mayo made with straight olive oil does not taste very good. And dh is already trying his best to avoid bread and carbohydrates.
Or we’d just make chicken soup. Well, we’re getting a little worn down on eating chicken soup.
The night I made these (a few days ago) we were having Chef Salad and we put chicken in the salad. But we usually have homemade Ranch Dressing with just about any salad. Of course since we don’t have the right oils to make mayonnaise and we aren’t using dairy, no Ranch Dressing for me or dh, or Eldest Son. We will have a nice vinegar and oil dressing instead.
I went looking on the Internet to see what I could find. Most recipes want cream cheese, parmesan cheese, bread crumbs or something not GAPS legal. Finally I came across Chicken Tots by Liz over at Pecanbread which this recipe is inspired by. I’d barely heard of Pecanbread not less than a week ago, but I get the impression it’s a GAPS friendly site.
I didn’t have any green beans on hand, so I thought instead I’d try using the cooked celery and onion that we always put into the chicken while it cooks. Actually, I always boil the chickens to make broth, my husband swears the secret is to bake the bird first, then pull off the meat and boil the remaining bones and skin with the drippings.
As it turns out, the cooked celery/onions [affiliate link] was a little bit moist and made the paste a bit too wet.
So here’s what I used:
- 1 cup cooked chicken breast
- 1/2 cup cooked celery/onions
- 3 cloves [affiliate link] garlic, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt [affiliate link]
I put all the ingredients into a bowl and used my stick blender to make a paste.
I put some butter and bacon grease into my cast iron skillet and heated it, then made little tiny meatball shaped balls in my hand, then carefully patted them into patties.
What I was hoping for was something that would taste good cold, so my husband could take a baggie of these with him to eat instead of having to figure out what to take (used to be easy, just grab a sandwich and lunchmeat).
I like the taste, although the feel is a bit different. The patties were very, very soft and wouldn’t hold their shape very well, so I added in a couple of tablespoons of almond flour [affiliate link]. That helped a little bit, but the patties are still very soft in texture. I don’t know how my husband will like them.
I’ll have to see how they taste when they are cold. I think they will firm up a bit more.
I think this might be a good way to use up some of the chicken. The chicken breast is so dry, I think that’s because I’m cooking it too long.
Now don’t tell my husband, but I also snuck in a tiny chunk of chicken liver. Shhhhh! We both swore we’d NEVER eat liver, or make our kids eat liver since we both hated liver as children. Now I am trying to be brave and sometimes eat at least chicken liver, and he’s like “Uh-uh, no way!”
Later on in the day… the little patties did firm up after cooling, and my husband says they are good and he will eat them!
- 1 cup cooked chicken breast
- ½ cup cooked celery/onions
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tbsp almond flour
- Put all the ingredients into a bowl and use a stick blender to make a paste. (Or use a regular blender and put it into a bowl after.)
- Put some butter and bacon grease into a skillet and heat.
- Make little tiny meatball shaped balls by hand and pat them into patties.
- Fry in the butter and bacon grease until cooked through.
If you love recipes like this, I have two cookbooks you really need to check out ASAP! Beyond Grain and Dairy for gluten-free recipes and Winter Soups.
