Paleo Chicken Fried "Rice"

I LOVE Chinese take-out.  However, when the doc said I needed to go Paleo/Primal I was like, “NO RICE?!”  And I had heard from others that cauliflower “rice” was great, but I was a total skeptic.  How could cauliflower even remotely resemble or taste like rice...BUT– I will try it and see.

So I found the below recipe and tweaked it so it was a little easier for busy ladies like myself.  

It came out FABULOUS!  I, in fact, would choose the below recipe over Chinese take-out  any day now.  I make it at least once a week so I can have it for dinner and then lunch at work as well.  It reheats in the microwave at work very well (I have had comments such as, "That smells SO good!  Where'd you get that??").  It is more filling than the traditional Chicken Fried Rice and you get a ton of veggies in for the day because it is mostly veggies!

You could replace the chicken with shrimp or roasted pork or leave it out all together and bulk up the veggies if you'd rather.  It looks daunting with all the ingredients but I truly suggest that you do your prep work before you start cooking (i.e.: chop your veggies or buy them chopped already, measure out your spices, and get out your separate bowls so they are ready to go for you to transfer your cooked eggs and chicken to them from the skillet.  Once that prep work is done, this is a breeze.)

Paleo Chicken Fried “Rice”

• 1-1 ½ C frozen, ready to go grilled organic chicken
• 1 slice fresh lemon
• 1 small head organic cauliflower separated in florets
• 2 organic eggs
• 1T & 1t (separately) powdered ginger
• 1 large garlic clove minced
• 1 large shallot sliced
• 1/2C sliced fresh mushroom
• 1/2C diced carrots
• 1/2C diced broccoli
• (I have also thrown in some chopped celery and you can add colorful bell peppers – chopped – as well.  Whatever you like to bulk it up even more.)
• 3 tablespoons coconut aminos 
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce

To “rice “ your cauliflower:

1. Clean your cauliflower if its leaves
2. Then wash it well and cut into florets
3. Using a food processor, pulsate the cauliflower until the pieces are the size of rice. Set aside.  If you don't have a food processor you can use a cheese grater or a food chopper and do it by hand.  The food processor does make it go quickly though.

It will look like rice – totally for real!

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the two eggs. 
2. Heat 1 teaspoon of EV coconut oil in a skillet ( I actually use a large saute pan and it worked great!) over medium heat. 
3. Add eggs, scramble, and when cooked remove to a separate bowl
4. Heat an additional 1 tablespoon of EV coconut oil in the skillet over medium high heat. 
5. Add frozen chicken and add teaspoon of powdered ginger and lemon juice to chicken and cook until defrosted.  Remove to a cutting board and chop up some.  Then put in a separate bowl.
6. Add one teaspoon of EV coconut oil, carrots,broccoli and any other veggies you might like to use to the skillet. Cook for 2 minutes. 
7. Next add in shallot, garlic, ginger, mushroom, tamari, sesame oil and fish sauce to skillet. Continue cooking over medium heat for 3 more minutes.
8. Add in cauliflower "rice" to skillet and mix.  Cover and cook for 3 minutes. 
9. Add in cooked chicken and scrambled egg. Cover with lid and cook for 2-3 more minutes or until "rice" is tender (but not too mushy).
10. Add in additional black pepper, tamari, sesame oil, and fish sauce to taste.

CSA Recipe #8 - Asparagus & Chicken Packages

This was SO good!  I found this recipe and modified so it would be soy free, egg free and gluten free.  Since it called for mayonnaise, which contains in all brands (even at whole foods) soy and eggs - I used the ONLY brand I can find in Nashville that doesn't contain either.  Also, I replaced panko bread crumbs with mashed up GF potato chips (look for GF potato chips because sometimes potato chips are not totally GF).

All that said, I am not usually a big asparagus gal and we got about two dozen of them in the last two weeks.  And Darren isn't a big saucy dish person.  However, I thought I would try this because it looked fancy, maybe a little French and not all that hard, which in the end it was all these things.

They came out DEE-LISH!  And this was an exclamation from both Darren and I, so I know it was a WIN!

It looks a little messy but SO GOOD!

Here you go:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used Follow Your Heart Soy Free Veganaise)
• 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 lemon, juiced and zested
• 2 teaspoons dried tarragon
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 16 spears fresh asparagus, trimmed
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 4 slices provolone cheese
• 1 cup Kettle brand low fat lightly salted kettle chips, mashed up to crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Take the provolone out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature while you prep - this way it won't crumble when you are working with it.  Grease a glass baking dish. In a bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, lemon zest, tarragon, thyme, salt, and pepper until the mixture is well combined. Cover and put in the fridge for 30minutes.
2. Cook asparagus in the microwave on High until bright green and just tender, 1 minutes (if using a steamer put 1T water in the bottom). Set the asparagus spears aside. Place a chicken breast between two sheets of heavy plastic (resealable freezer bags work well) on a solid, level surface. Firmly pound the chicken breast with the smooth side of a meat mallet to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Repeat with the rest of the chicken breasts.  The thinner the chicken the easier it is to roll up.
3. Place 1 slice of provolone on each chicken breast, and top the cheese with 4 asparagus spears per breast. Roll the chicken breasts around the asparagus and cheese, like a burrito.  Secure them with two toothpicks and place, seam side down, in the prepared baking dish. Salt and pepper the tops and then, with a pastry brush, schmear on the mayonnaise mixture to each chicken breast, and sprinkle each with potato chips.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the crumbs are browned and the chicken juices run clear, about 25 minutes.

SUPPER GOOD!  I served with boiled red potatoes dressed with ghee, s&p & parsley.

CSA recipe #1 - Garlic Broccolini Pasta with Tomatoes - Clean Eating, gluten free, dairy free

When I picked up my first CSA box last Saturday the first thing I saw was the broccolini and I was like - I got this one!  I love Broccolini (aka Broccoli Rabe, Rabe or baby broccoli).  It tastes like broccoli but not as strong and acts like asparagus when you cook it. 

Here is my broccolini after I trimmed it

Now the traditional route is to put it with sausage but I (a) wanted something different and (b) we didn't have any sausage.  So - I went with what I had - left over grilled chicken.  You can make this meat free if you are a veggie or vegan and it will still be awesome.  I also thought if you'd rather shrimp - that would be great too.  So here it goes:

2T Olive Oil

3 cloves garlic - sliced thin

2 medium tomatoes - diced

2C broccolini - washed and snipped to about 3-4inches from the tops

2t ghee (this is clarified butter for those of us who can't have dairy but if you can have dairy use 1T REAL butter)

1 boneless skinless chicken breast - grilled and diced (optional or can replace with shrimp)

1/4C white wine

1-2T lemon juice

1lb thin spaghetti (i used rice pasta - gluten free)

Here is were everything is cooking up!

1. heat oil in a saute pan and put in the garlic mash while sauteing - do not burn.

2. swirl in ghee (butter) until melted

3. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes

4. cook pasta as directed

5. add wine and lemon juice and simmer for 3-5 minutes

6. When you have 5mins left until your pasta is done - throw in the broccolini

7. Drain pasta when finished and then toss together with your saute.

OMG!  So yummy!  Darren isn't big on green veggies but went back twice - SO it had to be just as good as I thought it was. Add a glass of pinot grigio and a lovely summer meal.  

 

40 Cloves and a Chicken - SUCCESS!

I tried a version of this last year and it was an epic fail.  It took me about a year to get up the gumption to try again.  And I thought about it, would Julia Child use a crockpot?  Non! Non! Non!  I could hear her saying to me.  Find your cast iron enameled pot and kick it old school!  (Not sure she would use that phrase but that's what I told myself).  It was a much better experience.

I had gone a little overboard at the grocery one week.  Four grass fed organic chicken legs for less than $4 a pack?!  WHOOPIE!  Takes so little to excite me...I got two packages.  Then I got home and was like – what the heck am I going to do with eight chicken legs...  Then I remembered I wanted to retry the Chicken and 40 cloves.  

Normally, you are supposed to get a whole chicken and cut it in eight pieces but I had eight chicken legs instead.  So I thought ok – one little modification won't kill me.  And so here it goes....

• 8 pieces of chicken – bone in (so use legs, breasts, a whole chicken cut up - what have you)
• 40 cloves of garlic – 3-4 bulbs yields 40.  Peeled (you can buy them already peeled but I cut my own b/c it's fresher and my Aunt would kill me if I used bottled.
• 2T Olive Oil - used to brown the chicken in
• 1/2C Olive Oil - used for cooking it in the oven
• 10 (or a handful) of fresh Thyme – washed and patted dry

This is before - not sprinkle in the garlic so it flavors the chicken evenly

SUPER easy – I think the hardest thing is peeling the garlic. Maybe not hard – but tedious.

• Preheat oven to 350
• Sprinkle the chicken with salt & pepper
• In your cast iron pot (or a saute pan) put the 2 table spoons Olive Oil – heat on medium heat.  
• Then brown the chicken on both sides.  You may have to do this in batches – I couldn't fit all the chicken in the pot at once.
• If you are using the cast iron pot, When you're done browning, take the pot off the heat.  Put all the chicken in the pot, put the garlic in the pot al over the chicken and then put in the thyme.  Then pour in the 1/2C Olive oil.  Cover and put in the oven for 1 ½ hours.
• If you are using a fry pan to brown your chicken – put all the chicken in an oven safe dish that has a cover, follow the above from putting the chicken, garlic, thyme and oil in the dish, cover and into the oven for 1 ½ hr.
• When it's done - take it out of the oven and let it rest for 5-10 minutes.  Poor chicken is tired after all that cooking!

This is how it will look when you take it out of the oven

I served it with wild rice seasoned with ghee, garlic and thyme and Italian green beans but you can make your own sides.

YUM!  And it is paleo & virgin diet friendly.  Gluten free, dairy free, Fabulous!

Healthy Dairy Free Buffalo Tenders!

Now I love me some Buffalo Sauce - which is generally made up of a stick of butter, hot sauce, salt, pepper and maybe a kick of tabasco... Well- how can I have my favorite western NY treat without gluten or dairy? I got it!

Ghee! It is the most wonderful thing - granted I can only find it at Whole Food but if you are industrious there are tons of website that will tell you how to make it yourself. Basically it's clarified butter. Clarified of all the things that lactose and casein protein intolerant people can't take. So it's butter without all the stuff that makes you sick and it TASTES Devine! Just find it in the dairy section at Whole Foods or maybe your local international market as it originated from India.

Here you go - Gluten Free Dairy Free Buffalo Chicken Tenders

Ingredients:
Boneless & skinless chicken tenders 6-8
1t ghee - melted
1/4c olive oil
1/4c Texas Pete or other hot sauce
S&P

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350
Melt ghee in microwave for 30secs
Mix into ghee, olive oil, hot sauce S&P - mix well
In a large bowl place the chicken & pour buffalo mixture over it. Mix well & let marinate at least 20-30mins

Line a cookie sheet w/ parchment & place chicken on cookie sheet.
Bake for 20-30mins, flipping & re- basting half way through.

While in the oven prepare another batch of sauce in a sauce pan or large bowl.
When chicken is done, dip each one in the 2nd batch of sauce before serving.

Latin Grilled (or baked) Chicken

Darren was having a steak and I really am not a steak eater - I know HOW CAN THAT BE?!  It is what it is and I was feeling spicy so I came up with this Latin Chicken recipe - super easy and YUMMY FAB!  AND clean eating friendly!  (If you want more than one just double, triple or how ever many the recipe)

1 boneless skinless chicken breast

1T olive oil

1/4C white wine (I used a Portuguese white slightly fizzy wine - which also is a nice pairing for this dish)

1/2 T cumin

1 heaping t  minced garlic 

the juice of ½ lime

Salt and pepper to taste

Place all in a bowl and stir.  Cover and marinate at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator

You can put this either on the grill (which is how I did it – actually Darren grilled because GADS! I can't grill) until there's no pink in the middle.  

If you don't grill, like me, and you don't have someone who can grill it for you, you can also bake this.  Pour everything in the bowl in a pyrex dish and bake in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes.

Serve this with the Black Beans and Brown Rice Confetti (recipe coming soon!)– YUMMY!!!  


PS - I doubled the marinate and marinated some chicken kabobs in the marinate and that was on Saturday and it's Monday and Darren is still talking about how much he loved it!