Whole30 Day 14: Roasted Chicken Thighs and Veggies

It's hot and I don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen.  Even though I used my oven, this was quick and easy.

Ingredients:

• organic, free range chicken thighs
• green beans, trimmed
• baby heirloom tomatoes
• red onion, cut into chunks
• evoo
• salt, dried thyme, fresh rosemary

Directions:

1. heat oven to 375˚F .
2. combine all veggies and thighs in a bowl.  Add evoo and spices and mix evenly to coat all ingredients in oil.
3. Add ingredients to a baking dish putting thighs in first, veggies on top.
4. Roast for 30-40 minutes, until veggies are crisp and chicken is cooked through.

I added some sautéed mushrooms to my plate.  I'm the only one that likes them.

Directions:

1. Heat a big tablespoon of butter in a skillet and add mushrooms.  
2. Sauté at a medium heat until mushrooms are golden brown and caramelized.
3. Season with salt and pepper.

Whole30 Day 9: Homemade Chicken Soup

So, my youngest is home sick.  Time to make chicken soup.  Thankfully, I turned my bones from last Monday's "Beer Can" Chicken into delicious, healing broth.

Ingredients:

• bone broth - make it yourself to get all the rich, healing nutrients.  Why bone broth? Check it out here that includes a recipe.
• organic, free range, roasted chicken
• veggies: carrots, celery, onion, kale, zucchini, broccoli, etc.
• salt to taste

Directions:

Add all ingredients to bone broth and bring to a boil.  Simmer, covered for about 15 minutes or until veggies are tender (not mushy).

Whole30 Day 1: "Beer Can" Chicken

Back in the day we grilled beer can chicken all the time.  I had totally forgotten about this delicious dish until whole30recipes posted her version on Instagram.  She uses a rack but I never have.  I find the can and the chicken's legs make a nice tripod.

Ingredients:

• 1 3-4lb Whole Organic, Free Range Chicken, innards removed, rinsed, and patted dry
• EVOO
• equal parts smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, pepper
• 1 can sparkling water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350˚F.
2. Rub EVOO and spices over entire chicken
3. Open can of sparkling water and place chicken over it.
4. Add veggies to the pan (optional)
5. Roast for 90 min. until thighs register 165˚F

 Super easy and super yummy!

Maple Thyme Roasted Carrots

Photo: Martha Stewart

Easy and pairs perfectly with almost everything.  We had them with my modified version of Nom Nom Paleo's Green Sliders.  Yum!

Ingredients:

• a pound of organic carrots, cut into 2" chunks
• 3 T pure maple syrup
• 2 T ghee or butter, melted
• 1 t fresh, chopped thyme
• salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
2. In a shallow baking dish mix all ingredients together.
3. Roast for about 20 minutes.

Banana Rice Cakes

When my tummy started bothering me and I couldn't figure out what was wrong, I did a 30-day FODMAPs free journey of  experimenting & observing the foods I was eating (or not eating) and how my body was affected.   At the time I was only able to eat bland, soft foods like rice, white fish, and bananas.

I re-discovered organic, brown rice cakes.  They really satisfy the crunch and salty cravings.  Cooper loves them, too (how about that!).  In addition to this recipe, Cooper and I like them with Kerrygold grass-fed butter and salt.  This is my new favorite snack!

Ingredients:

• 1T raw almond butter - we started making our own.
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• 1 rice cake
• cinnamon

Directions:

1. Spread almond butter over rice cake
2. Top with sliced banana
3. Sprinkle with cinnamon

Mini "Corn" Dogs

Cooper's favorite food is mini corn dogs.  Bummer.  It's been a long time since I've made the kid corn dogs.  But thanks to Gluten Free Fix we can add it back into our "can haves".  Too bad Cooper didn't like them. :(

Carly and I did like them and I will make them again.  They are a perfect snack or you can make a few batches and serve them with a nice salad to make an quick and easy main dish.

If you're feeling ambitious, serve them with California Cavegirl Kindra's Spicy as @$%* Paleo Honey Mustard or her whole30 compliant Honey Mustard.

Photo: Gluten Free Fix

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup grass-fed butter, melted
• 3 eggs
• 1T honey, optional
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 2T coconut flour
• 1/4t baking soda
• 1/4t sea salt
• organic, grass-fed beef hot dogs, we use Applegate, 1 hot dog per 5 mini muffins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F
2. Butter a mini muffin pan, set aside
3. Whisk together butter, eggs, honey
4. Stir in dry ingredients
5. Scoop about a tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup
6. Cut hot dog into 1/2" pieces, 5 per hot dog
7. Place one hot dog slice into each muffin cup
8. Bake for 17 minutes or until golden brown
9. Serve warm

Makes about 15 minis

Hot Dog!

Is it a secret that sometimes you need to be creative when you are cooking?  Going paleo I find I need to be creative to come up with ingredient substitutions and new ideas.  When I started avoiding FODMAPs I really needed to kick up the creative juices.

Thanks to the many bloggers, I can pretty easily find new, easy, yummy recipes.  My dear friend, Kindra at Bon Appetit Paleo, is brilliantly creative.  Hence, a hot dog!

OK, we're no strangers to organic, grass-fed, beef hot dogs.  We've been buying the Applegate hot dogs for a couple of years and eating them bunless.  We love them!  But when Kindra told me her idea for a bun, I HAD to make it.

It was perfect!  PERFECT!  I barely had to convince myself I was not eating a hot dog bun.

Ingredients:

• organic, grass-fed, beef hot dogs
• small organic sweet potato or yam (about the size of your hot dog)
• condiments

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.
2. Scrub potatoes and slather with ghee or bacon fat.
3. Bake sweet potatoes for about 20 - 30 minutes, until soft and skins are starting to crisp.
4. Grill hot dogs.
5. Remove potatoes and allow to cool, to handle.
6. Scoop out flesh.  This is your side dish.
7. Add hot dog to potato skin and top with condiments.

Love, love, love this dish!

Chocolate Pie

Photo: Paleo Magazine

Paleo Magazine's, Oct/Nov 2013 issue gives us this amazing chocolate pie with a raw graham cracker-like crust.  It is so easy to make and so delicious you'll be proud to serve it to guests.  It offers a perfect ending to any meal.

Crust Ingredients:

• 1 cup walnut halves and pieces
• 1/4 cup soft, pitted Medjool dates
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of sea salt

Filling Ingredients:

• 1 cup coconut cream*
• 1/2 cup soft, pitted Medjool dates
• 3 oz dark chocolate, melted
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

* use the cream at the top of a can of separated full-fat coconut milk that has been refrigerated over night or "Let's Do...Organic" brand organic coconut cream.

Directions:

1. To make the crust, in a food processor with an "S" blade purée all crust ingredients for about 20 seconds or until very fine.
2. Transfer the crust mixture to a glass pie dish and press it across the bottom and halfway up the sides.
3. Rinse the food processor.
4. In a small saucepan heat the coconut cream just slightly.
5. In the food processor add the heated coconut cream to the remaining filling ingredients and purée for 1 minute or until the filling is dark and completely smooth.
6. Pour the filling over the crust and chill to set.
7. Store the pie at room temperature.

Susie's Famous Pumpkin Roll - Paleofied!

I can hardly believe I have successfully transformed this delicious treat into a paleofied masterpiece!  For my friends who have come to love the traditional pumpkin roll my husband and I have been making for 20 years, here is a much healthier version.  This one is grain free and gluten free and can be made dairy free or coconut free.

Photo: Carly Johnson

Directions for bread:

Start with the Best Pumpkin Bread EVER from an earlier post.  Do everything the same until you get to putting it in the pan.

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F
2. Use coconut oil and grease and wax paper line a rimmed cookie sheet.
3. Pour batter into prepared pan.  Smooth out batter to ensure it is evenly distributed.
4. Bake for 15 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes.
6. Invert pan onto a thin dish towel, remove pan and wax paper.  Allow to cool for 10 more minutes.
7. From 10-inch side, roll cake up in the towel.  Set aside.
8. Prepare filling.

Filling ingredients:

• 1-8oz package organic cream cheese or diary free option: 2 cans of full fat coconut milk, chilled in the fridge over night.
• 4T softened butter
• 1/4 cup real maple syrup or raw honey
• 1t vanilla extract
• 1T cinnamon

Directions for roll:

1. Beat together all the ingredients for the filling.  If using coconut milk, only use the cream that is sitting at the top of the can by pouring out the milk.  If the coconut milk is a little thin, add up to a tablespoon of arrowroot powder to thicken.
2. Unroll the bread and spread the filling evenly, covering all of the bread.
3. Roll up bread without the towel and wrap in plastic wrap.  Your bread may crack in a few places, but that is ok.  Just roll it up nice and tight.
4. Chill for at least one hour before slicing and ENJOY!

Bacon Glazed Chicken

We only eat chicken once in a while.  To learn why, see my previous post, Roast Chicken with Carmelized Shallots, delish, by the way.

Jan's Sushi Bar

When I came across this recipe from Jan's Sushi Bar, I couldn't resist.  We do love bacon!

Ingredients:

• 1 whole organic, free-range chicken, cut up or about 8 of your favorite pieces, we use Rosie Organic Chicken
• 1/4 cup melted, high-quality bacon fat, we use Applegate Sunday Bacon
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350˚F.
• Place rinsed, patted dry chicken pieces in a baking dish.  
• Mix together syrup, cayenne, salt, and pepper.  Sprinkle over all the chicken pieces.  
• Drizzle melted bacon fat over pieces and rub into skin.
• Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165˚F.
• Allow to stand 5 minutes before serving.

Firecracker Pops

Happy 4th of July!  Today brings out some fun and yummy red, white, and blue themed treats.  This one is no exception.

Everyday Food, July/August 2010

Ingredients:

1/2 pound strawberries, hulled
1/2 pound blueberries (we used blackberries because our daughter doesn't like blueberries)
1 1/4 cup organic, whole milk, vanilla yogurt (we used Strauss)

Directions:

• In a food processor, puree strawberries.  Transfer to a small bowl.
• Next, puree blueberries.  Transfer to a small bowl.
• Pour the 3 mixtures, alternating, into 3-ounce popsicle molds, making 3-5 layers each.
• With a skewer or thin-bladed knife, swirl mixtures together in an up-and-down motion.
• Insert popsicle sticks and freeze until solid, about 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

Note: for a smooth consistency with these super seeded berries, you may want to press them through a sieve.