Savory Chicken Sausage Oatmeal

Okay I'm stuck on this savory oatmeal kick. This one was made extra amazing by adding the egg. This is more breakfast-like than the ham and cheese one, but breakfast for dinner or lunch is never a bad thing!

Ingredients:

1/2 to 1lb Italian chicken sausage

1/3 red onion, chopped

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

2 C chicken broth (substitute bouillon cube and 2 C water if needed)

1 C extra thick oatmeal

Supplies:

Medium pot

Measuring cup

Spatula or spoon

Serves: 2-4

Crumble the sausage in the pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and minced garlic, heat until slightly tender. Add broth, increase heat and bring to a boil. Once at a rolling boil add oatmeal and lower heat back to medium. Cook 10-15 minutes stirring frequently until you reach your desired thickness. As long as you've used a very flavorful sausage, no additional salt or pepper is needed. 

I topped mine with a fried egg. 

The creaminess of the yolk added the perfect texture. 

You could also soft scramble an egg if you are preparing for tomorrow's breakfast. 

South of the Border Stew

Ingredients:

4 lbs meat, cubed (beef, lamb, pork or chicken)

1 yellow onion, diced

3-4 cloves garlic

2 C strained tomatoes (or 1 can tomato paste + 1/2 can water)

1/2 C broth of choice

2 Tbsp ground chipotle chili pepper

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 Tbsp dried oregano

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (substitute with white vinegar if needed)

Sea salt and ground pepper to taste

Supplies:

Blender/food processor

Slow cooker

Serves: 6

In your blender, blend everything except meat, salt and pepper until smooth. Pour into slow cooker. Season meat with salt and pepper then add to sauce. Cook on low 8 hours, stirring halfway through if possible. 

This is another recipe I got from the book Paleo Slow Cooking. I changed the chili powder the recipe calls for to chipotle chili pepper - you could go with the chili powder the recipe calls for if you don't have chipotle chili pepper. If using chicken I would cook for less time, maybe 5-6 hours. This recipe does have some bite to it so I would pair it with a nice sweet potato mash or roasted cubed butternut squash to balance the spice. 

Shoyu Chicken

Ingredients:
4 to 4.5 lbs chicken thighs (skin on or skinless)
1 C shoyu (soy sauce)
1.5 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3-4 cloves garlic minced
1 inch ginger, grated
1/2 C coconut sugar
1/2 C honey
3 Tbsp vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Supplies:
Slow cooker

Serves: 6-8

Put all ingredients in slow cooker, liquid should almost cover chicken. I prepped this the night before and let it sit in the fridge, covered, overnight.

In the morning I stirred it a bit and turned the slow cooker on high for the first hour to minimize temperature lingering in SalmonellaBreedingVille, then turned it to low for 3-4 more hours. Serve with vegetables.

This is definitely not Whole30 friendly, and is not Paleo friendly either, really. But shoyu chicken is a very traditional dish here in Hawaii so having this once in a while is one of the best ways to eat clean-er and still eat "local." That's what we call comfort food here in the islands. And the original recipe called for a cup of white sugar so at least there's that improvement! 

Recipe adapted from Food Network. 

Chicken Veggie Kabobs - No Grill

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
1/2 zucchini
1/2 red onion
1/2 tray mushrooms
Any veggies you want (peppers are another good one)
Or even fruit (pineapple is a good one)
Organic Ville Miso Ginger Organic Vinaigrette to taste

Supplies:
8-10 wooden skewers, soaked in water 20 minutes
Cookie sheet

Serves 2-4

Preheat oven to 325F. Cut ingredients into even sized chunks, about 1 or 1.5 cubic inches (or cut the mushrooms in half and make everything else the same size as that). Put on skewers making sure each one has the same or similar amount of each ingredient. If you're nuts like me you'll make sure the number of chunks are divisible by 8 or 10 and keep track and make a pattern. I told you, nuts. Season with salt and pepper to taste - add other spices or herbs like garlic powder, ground ginger, oregano, paprika, etc if you want. Drizzle or brush each skewer with a small amount of the dressing. Cook in oven until the chicken juice runs clear, about 30 minutes (depending how big your chunks were).

Of course, if you have a grill and have the energy, grilling is always tastier.

Serve with a ramekin of a little more of the dressing for dipping.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts
8-12 slices bacon
1/4 tsp chili pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
Salt & pepper
1 Tbsp honey (optional)

Supplies:
Small nonstick or glass baking dish
Toothpicks soaked in water (optional)
Brush (if using honey)

Serves: 3-4

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut chicken into strips about one inch thick. Season evenly with the spices and salt and pepper. Wrap each strip in bacon. Secure with toothpick if desired. Place strips in baking dish. Brush very lightly with honey. Put in oven on middle rack and cook for 45 minutes. At 45 minutes turn oven up to 400 and move dish to top rack. Cook for 5-10 more minutes.

This is pretty easy but you can't really go wrong with bacon. Serve with veggies (pictured with chopped spinach).

Cilantro Lime Chicken Breast

Ingredients:
3 chicken breasts, whole
1/2 red onion, chopped
1/2 C chopped fresh cilantro
3 cloves garlic minced
Juice of two limes
1 tsp cumin
Salt/pepper to taste

Supplies:
Slow cooker

Serves: 6-8

You can partly make this ahead of time. In a ziplock bag combine: chicken breast, chopped onion, chopped cilantro, minced garlic, cumin. Don't put the lime - the acid might begin to cook the chicken. I did this the night before but if you want you can do this and freeze. When ready to cook, defrost if frozen, then place contents of bag into slow cooker and add juice of 2 limes and salt and pepper. Set on low for 7-8 hours. If possible, at 6 hours open the crockpot and pull the breasts apart into shreds with tongs. If not, shred before serving. Or serve whole or in chunks.

Serve with vegetable of your choice.

Mushroom Onion Chicken

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 medium onion*
3-4 cloves garlic
1-2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt & pepper
Click here for Mushroom Gravy recipe

Supplies:
Large nonstick pan/skillet with lid
Pair non-scratching tongs
Small nonstick egg pan

Slice onion into thin slices. I used a whole onion because I used part of it to prepare the mushroom gravy. Mince the garlic. Put all the onions and garlic into the large pan, drizzle with half the EVOO and heat on medium-low heat, stirring/tossing occasionally. Meanwhile, slice chicken breasts into thin slices and season with salt and pepper. In small pan, heat a a small amount of the EVOO on medium to medium-high heat. Sear chicken strips quickly to get a golden color on each side then use the tongs to transfer and add to the large pan. Do this in batches if necessary. When all chicken has been seared and it is all in the large pan, cover the large pan, and turn heat to low. Keep slowly simmering and toss occasionally. Remove 3/4 of the onions and add to the sautéed mushrooms to be used for the Mushroom Gravy. Chicken is cooked when juice run clear.

This recipe is almost identical to the Chicken Breast and Sweet Potato recipe I posted previously. In these photos I served the chicken with Mushroom Gravy and garlic cauliflower mash. Not the most exciting and colorful meal but tasty and easy.

Filipino Adobo

Ingredients:
4 lbs beef, chicken or pork
2 C water
1 C shoyu
1/2 C vinegar
2 Tbsp agave nectar
1 finger ginger (about 4-5 inches)
5-6 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp fresh coarsely cracked pepper
Salt & pepper to taste
Extra virgin olive oil or oil of your choice
2 Tbsp flour of your choice

Supplies:
Large pot with lid
Ladle or large spoon
Small bowl

Serves: 4-6

Cut the meat into 1-2 inch cubes. Cut ginger into several pieces (not too small - you want them easy to fish out later) and crush. Crush the garlic as well. Keep count of how many pieces of ginger you cut. In the bottom of the pot heat a small amount of oil. Season the meat with salt and pepper, then sear in the pot on medium high. Add water, vinegar, shoyu, garlic and ginger and bring to high boil. Once boiling, add agave. Reduce to medium and boil for 10 minutes stirring frequently. Add bay leaves and cracked pepper. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer slowly until meat is fork tender (about 2 hours for beef, less for chicken and pork). Once finished cooking, reserve meat in a separate bowl and fish out ginger pieces and the bay leaves. Remove all except about 2 cups of the juices (more if you want to make more gravy). In the small bowl, measure out 2 tablespoons of a flour of your choice. Mix with a small amount of cold water until smooth. Add to the reserved juices in the pot and bring to a boil stirring or whisking the bottom continuously. Return meat to pot or pour out gravy into the bowl with the meat.

I hate wasting, but the rest of the juices are so intensely flavored that you can't use it for much else unless you want to eat adobo flavor for a week.

Serve with veggies - I'm partial to steamed broccoli.

Paleo Friendly "Fried" Chicken

Ingredients:
6 chicken drumsticks
1/3 C almond flour (or flour of your choice)
2 tsp paprika
2.5 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp basil
1/4 C oil of your choice*

Supplies:
9x13 pan
Foil
8 quart mixing bowl
Tongs

*If you double the recipe as I did, no need to use 1/2 C oil. 1/3 C should be sufficient - you just want a thin layer on the bottom of the pan.

Preheat oven to 450F and move the top rack to the second notch or as high as possible to still get the pan in. Line pan with foil. If using coconut oil or any oil/fat that is semi-solid at room temp, put it in the pan and put the pan in the oven to melt it. If using EVOO like I did, don't do this right away - the oil will burn. Put it in about 1-2 minutes before you're ready to actually cook the drumsticks. Meanwhile, combine flour and spices in mixing bowl. Toss chicken drumsticks (3 at a time at most) in mixture, coating well. Place them on a plate if your pan is in the oven. Once the oven is ready and pan is ready with hot fat/oil, place the drumsticks into the pan and place pan on top rack. In 15 minutes, turn the drumsticks over. Cook for another 20-30 minutes. Serve with vegetables like Roasted Kabocha Squash as pictured.

"Almost-Ranch" Simmered Chicken

We are crazy about ranch flavor, and really it's not ranch-y without buttermilk, and I didn't have any thyme which kind of threw this off, but cooking in real life for a real family when you have a real job is all about improvising. Also my kitchen is hilariously small - one day I'll take a photo and you can see what kind of space I'm working with (which is none - no space).

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts, cubed
1/2 to 3/4 cups almond milk
2 tsp dried parsley
1.5 tsp ground black pepper
1.5 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp rosemary
Juice of 1/2 small lemon (optional)

Supplies:
Quart sized ziplock bag
Small/medium saucepan or pot

Serves: 3-4

Measure out the herbs and spices into the ziplock, add the almond milk, lemon juice if you're using it, then the chicken cubes last, and zip the bag letting out the air first. The amount of milk should be just enough to ensure that all the chicken is able to evenly marinate. Marinate for 30-60 minutes.

Pour contents into the saucepan/pot and bring to a medium boil, covered. Stir occasionally. Once the chicken reaches a boil, turn heat down to simmer. Simmer covered until chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally. Simmer longer for moister, more fork-tender chicken pieces. Once chicken is cooked as desired, remove cover, remove chicken, and turn heat back up to medium- high to reduce the almond milk gravy. Thicken with flour if you're not eating paleo.

Replace the rosemary with thyme for a more ranch-accurate spice combination. (I just didn't have any in the cupboard.)

Serve with vegetables.

Ranch Chicken Strips

This was so amazing that I think it has become one of our at-least-once-a-week staples. So easy! So fast! SO YUMMY.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
Ranch mix*
Almond flour (approx. 1/2 cup)
EVOO (for the pan)

Supplies:
2 pair tongs
Large pan/skillet
Bowl or ziplock

Serves: 4

*If you're eating clean, ready made ranch mix is off the table but you can make your own - check out this "recipe" at http://www.food.com/recipe/ranch-dressing-and-seasoning-mix-47249 . If you're eating truly paleo you'll also leave out the dried buttermilk that recipe calls for.

Rinse and dry the chicken breasts. Slice into fajita-style strips. Mix your ranch mix and about 1/2 cup almond flour in a shallow bowl or ziplock bag. The almond flour is really just a way to stretch the ranch mix (otherwise the chicken ends up way too salty) so you can use any flour you prefer - tapioca, flaxseed, etc. Toss your chicken strips in the mix. Meanwhile heat a small amount of EVOO in your skillet on just-above-medium heat (not quite medium high!). Once pan is hot, put your strips into the pan quickly using your first pair of tongs. They'll form a crust fairly quickly - turn them using the same pair of tongs. Once strips are cooked through, transfer to a plate with the second pair of tongs. Serve with veggies of your choice - I steamed a bag of frozen veggies.

Chicken Breast and Sweet Potato

Even though there are hundreds of thousands of creative and interesting recipes on the interwebs and Pinterest, if you're a busy mom or just a busy person, you end up with a few go-to meals that are fast, easy, and eventually mindless. This is one of ours.

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (skinless boneless)
1/2 onion
4-6 mushrooms
3-4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp chicken stock*
1 large sweet potato

*If chicken stock is not available, vegetable or beef stock is acceptable or even plain water.

Supplies:
Large sauté pan or skillet with cover
Non-scratching tongs

Serves: 4

Clean, butterfly** and dry chicken breasts. Season with salt and pepper (other herbs and spices if desired - some suggestions: oregano, tarragon, rosemary) set aside. Slice onion and mushrooms, mince garlic. Heat skillet on medium with olive oil; once heated, add onions, mushrooms, garlic. Cook until onions begin to turn translucent. Make room for chicken breasts in pan. Place breasts in pan, cook for two minutes and turn. Add a few drops of EVOO if necessary. Cover chicken breasts with the mushrooms and onions using non-scratching tongs. Add 1 tablespoon chicken stock and cover, turning heat to medium low. After 5 minutes turn breasts. Chicken is done when juices run clear.

**For how to butterfly the breast see http://www.ehow.com/how_5023503_butterfly-cut-chicken-breasts.html

For sweet potato:
Wash and dry thoroughly, and prick several times. Bake in 375F oven for one hour on the rack; or microwave for 5 minutes, turn, microwave for 5 more minutes. Slice into rounds.

I am unashamed to say we eat this or a version of it about once a week (sometimes more). Super fast, simple, filling, fairly inexpensive. You could add sautéed spinach or kale using the exact same pan, or a fresh salad to get more veggies in. Yum!