Fresh Curry Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

This was one of my first Paleo meals I ever made. I remember buying my first can of  coconut milk  and a jar of curry spice. Both were new additions to my kitchen and both have remained, getting frequent use. Your house will smell scrumptious when you whip up this diddy! 

Fresh Curry Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
1 pound chicken cut into strips 
1 can coconut milk
4 cups broccoli
1 1/2 tsp curry
1 tsp grated ginger
Cooking fat (I used coconut oil)
Salt to taste
optional:
unsweetened coconut flakes

In a separate bowl add the coconut milk and curry. Set aside for later. In wok, or on stove top, heat oil. Add chicken and cook adding a little salt to taste. Set chicken aside. Add more cooking fat and clean and chopped broccoli (you will want the florets to be fairly small). Cover and cook for 3-4 min. Add chicken and milk mixture. Stir until warm. 


Optional: 
  Toast some unsweetened coconut flakes over med heat. When toasting flakes cook until they start to slightly turn colors:

Sprinkle over dish, serve and enjoy!

Fresh Chicken Salad Sandwich

Last week I baked up a HUGE 24 lb turkey. By the end of the week Mr. Man and I were getting pretty sick of turkey! I decided to whip up some biscuits and make one of my favorite fresh sandwiches. I used the turkey meat, but it would be easy to use chicken. The salad would also be delicious on slices of cucumber if you wanted to skip the biscuits.

Fresh Chicken Salad
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken/turkey
1/2 cup paleo mayo
1/2 cup unsweetened cranberries (you could also replace this with fresh grapes, or add both!)
1 apple, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1 Tbsp lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp fresh chopped dill weed (if you don't have this on hand, dried works too)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, and enjoy!

Flaky, Buttery, Biscuits
I found this recipe here. I ended up using 1/2 coconut flour and 1/2 almond meal because I was out of the blanched almond flour. It was still delicious, although you can see from my picture it doesn't look as "light" as hers does.

 

I served mine like an open faced sandwich. That way I could have more salad. :) They are very filling, which is always a good thing! Enjoy!

Fresh Chicken Fried Rice

I took this recipe from my new FAVORITE cookbook: WellFed. I changed up the ingredients a bit, (originally BBQ pork fried rice) but the final result is amazing! Even your non-paleo lovin' friends will like it, and ask for more. And even if they don't  you will be happy to send them to the Chinese restaurant down to the road, and keep the leftovers for yourself (if you have any).

 

Fresh Chicken Fried Rice

1 large head fresh cauliflower

2 eggs

2 tsp plus 2 tbsp coconut aminos

coconut oil

1/2 onion diced

1 cup broccoli florets cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2-3 carrots sliced into discs

3-4 stocks of celery sliced

4-6 cooked chicken thighs (or more depending on your preference)

 

Rinse the cauliflower and break into florets, removing the stems. Place florets into a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower looks like rice. (It works better in smaller batches so you don't clog your food processor) Place rice in a microwave save bowl and nuke for 2 min. This helps keep the rice from being mushy.

 

Add 2 eggs and 2 tsp coconut aminos in a bowl and mix. Heat 1 tsp coconut oil over medium-high heat. Add eggs and stir until cooked thoroughly. Remove eggs and save for later.

 

In same pan add 1 tsp coconut oil and cook onions on medium-high heat until translucent. (Disclaimer- I like my veggies lightly cooked with the crunch still in them, if you don't, you may way to steam them for a few min before this step) Add broccoli, carrots and celery (or any other veggies you prefer) and saute for about 3 min, or until their color changes slightly and they are slightly softened. (Depending on how many veggies you have here, you may need to add more coconut oil so you don't burn them- use your discretion) Add another 1 tbsp coconut oil and increase heat to high. Add ALL ingredients, eggs, rice, meat, and 2 tbsp coconut aminos to your pan and stir for about 3 min, or until it is heated throughout. Remove from heat, plate and enjoy!

 

Optional topping ingredients: toasted sesame seeds, chopped fresh cilantro, lime juice, or chopped scallions.



 

 

Fresh Balsamic Crockpot Chicken

On these cold winter days I find myself less motivated to cook and more motivated to eat. Really bad combo if you ask me. I don't know if it is the going to work in the dark and getting home in the dark that makes me feel like snuggling and less energized to be in the kitchen. Ya feel me? Yeah thought so. Crockpots to the rescue! This recipe is awesome too because it only takes a few hours to cook so if you decide to do a crockpot dinner later in the day, you still have time to enjoy it. I found the recipe here and followed it just how she had it. She has some great pictures and ideas for making this with chicken breast, so be sure to check it out if you are interested.

Fresh Balsamic Crockpot Chicken
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons dried minced onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs - I used drumsticks, worked just a well
Sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley (optional- I wasn't a big fan of the parsley)

Combine the dry ingredients together and rub them on the chicken. In the bottom of your crockpot place the olive oil and garlic. Put in your chicken next and pour balsamic vinegar over everything. Cook on high for 4 hours. Sprinkle fresh chopped parsley over cooked chicken and enjoy!

Fresh Crockpot Mexican Chicken Tacos

I recently found this recipe and gave it a try. My husband really enjoyed it, and although the recipe is a great base, I would suggests adding hot salsa to the mix to increase the flavor. Because of the chicken broth, it diluted the "heat" of the salsa and I found it a little bland. I did use it the next day by mixing it with mayo and made a "tuna-ish" mixture. It was delicious! Check out the comments on the site I found the recipe from for some other modifications.  

Fresh Crockpot Mexican Chicken Tacos
1.5-2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup salsa of choice
1 can diced green chills
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp chili powder (more if you like some heat)
1/4 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
sea salt and pepper to taste
Butter Lettuce
Optional Toppings:
hot sauce
advocate
fresh cilantro - chopped
lime juice

Place chicken in crockpot. Mix ingredients in a separate bowl, pour over chicken. Cook on high for 6-8 hours. Shred chicken 30 min before serving and allow juices to soak into the meat. Wash butter lettuce and prepare toppings. Make little tacos using the lettuce as your wrap. Enjoy!

 

Citrus Brine

I love to make these little chickens. They are just the right size for my family and they don't take all day to cook. Last week I tried out this citrus brine and it was to die for. You can adjust this for the size of your bird, and it would work well for turkey too.

Fresh Citrus Brine:

1/2 cup salt
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 orange, cut into wedges
1 medium onion, cut into wedges
2 sprigs of fresh bay leaves
1 T dried thyme
1 T black pepper
1 gallon of water

Rub salt on your bird. Place remaining ingredients in a large pot with the bird. Fill with water. Place in your refrigerator overnight. Discard brine from bird before cooking. For more flavor, add the oranges, lemon, onion and bay leaves to the edges of your baking dish. For my little chicken I cooked it on 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Perfection!

 Enjoy!
 

Before. . .

 

After. . .

 

Fresh Chicken Crockpot

The most frustrating part of baking a chicken is cutting all the meat off the bones. Until now... put that little chicken into your crockpot, season and walk away. At the end of the day the meat will literally be falling off the bones. Brilliant! A dad of one of our CrossFit kids shared this idea with me, and it works! I included the spices I used, but you can use your favorite combination and it will work just fine.


Fresh Crockpot Chicken
1 Whole Chicken (you will want to be sure to choose something that will fit in your crockpot. I used this 3.5lb chicken from Amazon Fresh)
1 Lemon
Olive Oil (or fat of your choice)
Paprika
Salt
Pepper
Aluminum Foil


Rinse your chicken inside and out. Make 3 foil balls and place them in the bottom of your crockpot. Place chicken on top of foil. Place oil, seasonings and sliced lemon on top of your chicken. Turn crockpot on high and cook for 1 hour. Next, turn the temperature down to low and continue to cook for about 8 hours or until meat is thoroughly cook and juices run clear. Feel free to baste chicken a few times throughout cooking time for a moister chicken.


As you can see from my picture the chicken was literally falling apart as I took it out of the pot. It was delicious! Enjoy!

 Before

After

Fresh Pesto Chicken Pizza

Have some left over chicken from your recent BBQ? Use it up by adding it to this fresh simple recipe. You will be sure to enjoy the final result. As always use this recipe as a base and add or take away any ingredients to fit your families' tastes. 


Fresh Pesto Chicken Pizza
3-4 cooked chicken breast copped into cubes
1 pizza crust (see recipe below)
Pesto sauce (see recipe below)
1/2 onion
Cherry Tomatoes
Parmesan Cheese (optional)

* Prepare Crust as below and place in oven for 20 min. 

   

     Crust:

        2 cups almond meal

        2 eggs

        3 tbsp olive oil

        ¼ tsp baking soda

        1 tsp garlic powder

        1 ½ tbsp fresh rosemary chopped

        Pre heat oven to 350 degrees

         Mix crust ingredients together in a large bowl. Mixture will be thick- form into a ball. Put ball in between two pieces of parchment paper or wax paper and roll flat. It should be about 12 inches wide, rolling it as thin as possible. Place crust onto cooking sheet, remove wax paper. If you are using a silpat, no oil is necessary. If you are using a regular cooking sheet, lightly oil it with olive oil. 

* While crust is baking make pesto sauce:

Pesto Sauce:

2/3 cup olive oil

2 bunches of fresh basil

1/2 cup pine nuts

6 cloves of garlic

Salt to taste

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until mixed and smooth. 

* Using a cooking fat of your choice, carmalize onions. I used this trick to chop my onions into little pieces. 

* Once your crust has been baked, top with pesto sauce, chicken, onions, cherry tomatoes (cut into 1/2), and parmesean cheese (optional). Return pizza to oven and cook for another 20-30 minutes or until the cheese has melted and middle is warmed. 


*Remove from oven, cut, serve and enjoy!

Fresh Coconut Curry Chicken

I originally saw this recipe used for a sir fry, but my lack of time to prepare for dinner, and my constant simplification of recipes brought me to this simple, easy and flavorful recipe. It is one of those go to recipes that find its way to the back of the recipe shelf. Every time I make it I think, "Man this is so good! I should make it more!" The truth is, I feel that way about most things I make. There are so many amazing Paleo recipes out there! So here is one more recipe to add to your repertoire.

Fresh Coconut Curry Chicken
1 Lb. Chicken Breast
1 Can Coconut Milk (canned milk, not from a carton)
Curry Powder
Fresh Minced Garlic
Sea Salt


*Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

*Place chicken in large glass baking dish (or whatever fits your chicken- you can cook one breast at a time if you are cooking for one)

*Generously sprinkle curry powder and salt over both sides of chicken.

*Pour coconut milk around chicken and add garlic to the surrounding milk and on top of chicken.

*Bake for one hour or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.

*Remove, and plate chicken. Drizzle juice over chicken and enjoy!

(If you have time you can toast some unsweetened coconut to add to the chicken before you serve it. Toast the coconut on your stove top over med heat till it starts to turn light tan)

Fresh Lemon Ginger Chicken

I love lemon, and ginger. I decided to put these ingredients together to achieve a full tart flavor. I made this with chicken breast, but you could prepare the marinade and use it to grill chicken legs/wings on your BBQ. If you are choosing the legs/wings option buy 2-3 lbs. chicken.

Fresh Lemon Ginger Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1 T lemon zest
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp ginger
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp thyme

Place all ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Mix till chicken is fully coated. Put in refrigerator for at least 1 hour to marinate.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray glass baking dish with non stick spray and add chicken and juice from the bag. Bake for 1 hour or until internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees. Remove from oven.  Drizzle the juice from the pan over the meat- enjoy!

*If you are grilling, save some of the juice to brush onto your wings 1/2 way through grilling. You can also add a bit of butter to lemon juice to help in the browning of the chicken.

Fresh Rosted Rosemary Apple Chicken

Since my Valentines day consisted of teaching, wodding, then training at the gym I was on the hunt for a delicious meal I could assemble and have the Mr. put in the oven when he arrived home. I came across this recipe and WOW! So easy, so delicious. We decided that this should be a weekly meal for quite awhile. The apples absorb the balsamic and rosemary flavors, and the chicken is tender and full of flavor. We devoured it so quickly I didn't take an after picture- once you make it you will see why. :)


Rosemary Apple Chicken

1 whole chicken (2-3 pounds)

¼ cup olive oil *

¼ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sea salt

4 apples, cored and sliced

4 sprigs rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse the chicken, pat dry with a paper towel and place in a 9x12 inch glass baking dish breast side up. Under the chicken, place the whole springs of rosemary. Pour oil and vinegar over the chicken and sprinkle with salt. Cut up apples removing the cores and place around the chicken.

Bake for 90 mins or until browned on the outside

Remove from oven and enjoy!

*I did make some modifications to the oil since grapeseed oil is bad for you.