Need a delicious, one-pot, gourmet looking, yet easy to make meal this weekend? Head over to SPOON to checkout my Duck Legs with Yams recipe straight from the Paleo Slow Cooker!
Chicken/Poultry
02/06/2013
02/03/2013
{Slow-cooker Chocolate Chicken Mole... Again!}
I rarely go to Trader Joe's, maybe once a month to stock up on Kerrygold Butter (tip: it's close to $1 cheaper there than other stores), organic frozen berries & tequila (sometimes). Of course, I am always tempted with the loads of chocolate near the check out. I noticed this one - organic & with no soy lecithin, which you don't often see. I was really excited to try it, but I should have known better than to think "salt & pepper" chocolate would be good. I don't recommend this for dessert, but it did make a killer mole!
I have been experimenting with moles in my crock-pot for a couple of years now. I think this is the best one I've made yet. It is really really good! I am a little bummed that I didn't come up with this one for my cookbook. The one in my book is really good too, but it is a little more involved. Easy is always key for us & I am sure for many of you too!
Ingredients
2 lbs. chicken (I used breast & bone-in legs, skins removed)
salt & pepper
2 tablespoons ghee, divided (or healthy cooking fat of choice)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
6-7 whole tomatoes, skins removed or 1 can whole tomatoes
5 dried new mexico chilies, chopped
1/4 cup almond butter
2.5 ounces dark chocolate (I used the TJs salt & pepper, see photo above)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon guajillo chili powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
Avocado, cilantro & jalapeno for garnish
- Place a pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon ghee. Once ghee has liquefied, add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic, and saute for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Transfer onions & garlic to slow-cooker.
- Salt & pepper chicken generously. Add remaining tablespoon of ghee to pan and brown chicken on all sides. You may need to do this in batches. Once chicken is browned, place in slow-cooker.
- Add the tomaotes,chilies, almond butter, dark chocolate, salt & spices to the slow-cooker. If you really want to take this to the next level, you can blend the remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor first. I was too lazy to do this step, and the recipe still turned out delicious! However, I did open the lid once half way through to stir all the ingredients together. Yes, yes, I know ... The rule is to never open the slow-cooker, but I've never been able to stick to this & my recipes still turn out great!
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours or until chicken is tender & pulls apart easily.
- Remove bones, if you used any bone-in chicken. Top with your favorite garnishes & serve!
Enjoy!
08/15/2012
{sun-dried tomato + basil stuffed chicken breast}
What I love about making paleo meals, or just using real ingredients in general, is how quickly you can whip up a meal that tastes like it is from a 5 star restaurant. Not that I whipped this up quickly with a 2 month old that has taken up becoming an expert in catnapping. But as I was making it, I imagined how quickly I would have been able to make this pre-baby.
Stuffed chicken breasts, look fancy, but our actually pretty easy to make & they are such a tasty way to serve chicken. If you include dairy in your diet, some Parmesan or goat-cheese, would be a delicious addition to this dish!
And for those of you that noticed ... yes, we eat potatoes around here. The husbands primary source of exercise is skateboarding - requires lots of endurance... The boy needs his carbs!
Serves 2
Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons pine nuts
4 sun-dried tomatoes, marinated in olive oil, chopped
1/4 cup basil, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock
1-2 tablespoons ghee
salt + pepper
- Place chicken breast in between 2 pieces of wax paper and using a meat hammer or rolling pin, beat until chicken is thin enough to roll.
- Salt & pepper both side of the chicken breast.
- In the center of each chicken breast, place 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon pine nuts, 2 sun-dried tomatoes, half of chopped basil.
- Starting at the broader end, roll chicken around the filling and secure the chicken breasts with a toothpick.
- Heat ghee in a skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Brown stuffed chicken breast on all sides.
- Add chicken stock to skillet and any extra ingredients you have left over to the skillet. Place lid on skillet and lower heat to simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken from skillet and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Reduce sauce: Turn up heat until sauce is boiling, once boiling, reduce heat to low and allow sauce to cook to desired consistency.
- Pour sauce over chicken & serve!
Enjoy!
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07/31/2012
{mango-fennel chicken salad}
One of my favorite things about summer besides relaxing at the beach, is all the varieties of salads that can be made. It's such a perfect way to enjoy all the delicious fruits & veggies that are in season! And makes for such a quick & healthy meal.
This salad was created with the intention of using up what was in my fridge. My goal while I am home for maternity leave is to not let anything go bad & use up everything that we have.
These flavors came together really well ... And possbly made what I would consider a perfect summer salad!
Dressing
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon stone ground or dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon jalapeno, minced (optional)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste
Whisk together all above ingredients.
Salad
2 coconut-orange marinated chicken breasts
1 small fennel bulb, finely chopped
1 mango, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parlsey, minced
2 green onions, chopped
1 head frisee, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
- In a large bowl combine fennel, chicken, parsley and green onions.
- Top chicken mixture over frisee.
- Top with avocado and drizzle with dressing.
Enjoy!
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07/30/2012
{orange-coconut grilled chicken breasts}
This is a paleo take on a more traditional soy-orange glazed chicken. Have you tried coconut-aminos yet? It is a great alternative to soy sauce or tamari. It brings that similar salty/savory flavor to a dish, with an additional hint of sweetness!
Ingredients
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
juice from 1 orange
1/8 cup coconut-aminos
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup white onion, diced
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
- Mix together all ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Add chicken, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.
- Remove chicken from bowl and discard the marinade.
- Grill until chicken is cooked through.
Enjoy!
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07/27/2012
{spaghetti squash with cilantro-macadamia pesto} + {primal life organics coupon code!}
Happy Friday! I am particularly excited that the weekend is around the corner because 1-olympics will be on (yay)! 2-B, Indy & I, are going to go to our favorite coffee shop + a beach stroll. That's a big outing for me these days! :) ... What are you all up to?
Thanks again to everyone for participating in our giveaway this week! Primal Life Organics is offering a coupon code for Rubies & Radishes readers to save 10% on your entire order! Just use the code: ThePrimalRadish. Code is valid until 7/31. Hope you head over and check out their website & give their amazing products a try!
On the cooking front, I am still trying to get through all that fennel in my fridge, so I decided to throw some into this dish. Although uncooked fennel has a licorice flavor, once it is cooked, the flavor becomes much milder and the texture becomes much softer - adding a very pleasant and refreshing flavor! I also made the pesto in advance, to help the flavors meld together better.
Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash
2 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 fennel bulb, diced
Cherry tomatoes + fresh basil for garnish
1 tablespoon ghee (or other paleo fat for sauteing)
Pesto
2 cups cilantro, firmly packed
1 cup basil
3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup green onion, chopped (use mostly green parts)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
zest from 1 lemon
juice from 1 lemon
salt to taste
In a food processor, blend all of the above ingredients to desired consistency. Adjust salt to taste.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Place spaghetti squash in a baking dish and cook for 30 minutes or until you can easily pierce it with a knife.
- Remove from oven and cut lengthwise.
- Place back into baking dish, rind side up. Add 1/2 inch of water to baking dish.
- Place back into oven and cook for 20 minutes, or until you can easily lift the strands.
- Let cool for 20 minutes.
- Discard seeds and place strands of spaghetti squash in a seperate bowl.
- Heat ghee over medium heat and saute fennel until soft, then add chicken and saute until chicken is warm. Toss in spaghetti squash and add enough pesto to coat the dish. Serve rest of the pesto on the side, or save to make green eggs & ham for breakfast! :)
- Serve with fresh basil & cherry tomatoes!
Enjoy!
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07/20/2012
{thai green curry chicken}
Thai food is my favorite! So, I decided to do a curry with the leftover homemade coconut milk. You can never go wrong with Thai flavors - lemongrass & kaffir lime leaves... they somehow manage to make a meal both comforting and refreshing!
This dish is traditionally served with rice. If you don't include rice in your diet, it's great over cauliflower rice too!
Ingredients
1 lb. chicken thigh (boneless, skinless) - cut into 1 inch chunks
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoon green curry paste
1/2 white onion, thinly sliced
2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
1 inch fresh ginger, grated
*3 inch lemongrass
1 zucchini, sliced
1 red bell pepper sliced
2 cups white mushrooms, sliced
4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups homemade coconut milk
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
- Heat coconut oil over medium heat in a saute pan. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic, lemongrass and ginger, saute for a minute or two until fragrant.
- Toss chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
- Add chicken to pan and brown on all sides. Use more coconut oil, if needed.
- Add green curry paste and make sure all chicken is coated.
- Add rest of vegetables until lightly sauteed (just a minute or two).
- Add coconut milk and simmer on low for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are soft, but still firm and colorful.
- Top with fresh basil & serve!
*Lemongrass - Use the pale yellow portion, slice it thinly and place it in the food processor. For more details, here is a great step by step guide.
Enjoy!
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07/17/2012
{Maple Roasted Chicken & Sweet Potatoes}
Hi all, this is Natalie from Figalicious! My dear friend Arsy here asked me if I would like to be a guest on Rubies & Radishes... so here I am!! I started up my own little food blog recently, so getting to be a guest on hers is a major honor :) While I don't always cook Paleo, I try my best to make things that are healthy and gluten-free (well, most of the time anyway- I have to indulge every now and then!). When Arsy had adorable little baby Indy a few weeks ago (she's incredibly sweet and beautiful by the way), I offered to make a little din din to bring over for her and Brooke... so that's what I'm sharing today. When thinking of what to conjure up for them, I racked my brain to think of something simple and comforting that they could easily reheat and enjoy. Naturally, since I love to cook, a gazillion recipes came to mind (man being an indecisive Libra is rough sometimes!). Realizing that the day was quickly passing and I didn't have a ton of time, I opted for one of my fave go-to's that's quick and simple... maple roasted chicken and sweet potatoes. I've made this dish a lot, but even with its minimal ingredients, seem to make it different every time. For this version, I added a touch of garlic powder, which you can omit if you want, but I felt like adding an extra hint of zing to this batch (I'm Greek- we put garlic in everything if we can).
I usually cook this dish in fall or winter, when I'm craving something comforting and warm, but there's no rule that says you can't have comfort food in summer! Plus, it's sooooo easy- like crazy easy- you really can't mess this one up. You just chop up some sweet potatoes and an onion, throw 'em in a pan with some olive oil, maple syrup, and fresh thyme, and then toss in a dash of salt and pepper... oh and a sprinkle of garlic powder if you want too! Easy right? Then you bake it for about one hour and vuala... done! You might be thinking maple syrup in poultry sounds a bit bizarre, but it's really good (sorry guys but the Aunt Jemima stuff won't work here- it's gotta be the good stuff). You don't need much though, just enough so that when mixed with the natural sweetness of the sweet potatoes, the broth from the chicken, and the earthy tones of the thyme, it creates a sweet savory coating for the veggies and chicken... yummm. I recommend using bone-in/skin-on thighs or breasts, since the bones add more flavor and keep the chicken moist, but you can use whatever you like. Bonus about this dish... you don't have to worry about exact measurements- you can literally just toss the stuff together, bake, and eat. Five main ingredients, one hour, and boom... you have din din :) Plus, it's Paleo and nutritious!!
Serves 2-4, depending on how hungry how you are
INGREDIENTS
4 chicken pieces (I like bone-in/skin-on thighs)
2 sweet potatoes
1 yellow onion (he didn't make it in the pic this time, but don't forget him!)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp maple syrup (the real/good kind- makes a huge difference)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder (optional)
8 sprigs fresh thyme
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Begin by peeling sweet potatoes
Then chop them into about 1 inch thick pieces
the onions and potatoes similar in size
Mix well to evenly coat veggies and chicken
Position chicken on bottom of
pan so that it will cook in liquid and stay moist!
Bake for about 1 hour, uncovered
About half way through, stir veggies and chicken, making sure
that the pieces that were on top get into the liquid
(The thyme leaves should begin to fall off and dry as they cook)
*This is an optional step- we like crispy skin in my house :)
(I got mighty close to charcoaling this batch-see below haha- watch that
oven and don't take any phone calls when browning it like I did!)
This is a good time to check to seasoning and adjust as needed... enjoy!!
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05/02/2012
{curried chicken salad}
The other weekend, a gf & I were trying to head here for a late lunch, but it was 88 degrees that day, and the beach traffic was atrocious. We had to make a quick turn and come up with a new plan. At first I was a little bummed because I had been dying to try The Picnic Basket, as much of the ingredients are organic & locally sourced. We ended up at an amazing bakery instead, although I have not had their pastries in years, their deli does not disappoint! I had a delicious curried chicken salad in an avocado cup. I couldn't stop thinking about how good it was when I got home, so I had to recreate it!
The key to this recipe is to chop your ingredients very tiny, so be prepared to be in the kitch for a while. I didn't have any on hand, but this would be delicious on a bed of arugula with a lemony vinaigrette!
Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves - cooked & diced. I poached mine in chicken broth to make sure they were tender.
1/2 cup homemade mayonnaise (recipe below) or you can use a store bought paleo-friendly one.
1/4 cup dried apricots, finely diced
1/8 cup dried cranberries, finely diced
1/2 a small gala apple, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chives, minced
1/2 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 tablespoon green onion, finely chopped (white part only)
2 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon curry powder (mild)
salt + pepper to taste
- In a large bowl, combine all above ingredients. Mix all together and adjust salt + pepper to taste!
- Cut an avocado in half, remove the pit and top with chicken salad & serve!
Homemade Mayonnaise
My favorite mayo recipe is this one from the NY Times Dining & Wine section.
Ingredients
One egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup mild-tasting olive oil
- Into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade, place the egg yolk, mustard, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- While it's running, add the olive oil to the insert. The insert should have a tiny little whole in it that will slowly drip the oil into the food processor. Leave the food processor running until all of the oil has completely dripped through. This emulsification process is key when making mayo. Trust me, the first time I ever made homemade mayo, I just poured the cup of olive oil right in with the ingredients and it just made a liquidy mess and not a mayo.
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Enjoy!
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04/15/2012
{slow-cooker macadamia chicken pesto}
Does it seem like there is something different through every stage of pregnancy that keeps you from sleeping? I sometimes wonder how many years it will be until I have a decent night of sleep again. Sigh. Actually, don't tell me, I don't really want to know :). Anyway, after not being able to sleep this am and getting up super early, I spent the am scouring my favorite sites for the perfect black skinnys and high waisted maxi skirt, for post-pregnancy of course. It's fun day dreaming about wearing regular clothes again one day!
I thought I should also do something productive with my morning, so I am going to share one of the recipes that I tested for my book this weekend!
We had our good friends over for dinner last night, and it's always a great time with them, especially since Natalie of Figalicious, is food-obsessed like me! This was a great dish to make for a dinner party because I was able to make it earlier in the day, so I could enjoy chatting with our guests over appetizers, instead of rushing to get dinner made.
We were having so much fun with N & E, that we spaced taking photos of everything. The photo thing is so tough sometimes because you want to capture what you are doing, so you could remember it later and/or share it... but, you don't want to disrupt the present. Now, I am kind of regretting not having photos to share with you of the delicious baby artichoke appetizer, and the various dressings for the yams. What is your take on the photo thing? Do you try to document everything or just go with the flow & enjoy the moment?
Here was our MENU for the evening:
appetizer: baby artichokes with 3 different dipping sauces (maybe if we are lucky the recipes will show up on Figalicious soon)
side 1: baked yams with 3 different dressing options (1: butter w/ s&p, 2: coconut oil with nutmeg & cinnamon, 3: olive oil w/ garlic and fresh rosemary)
side 2: arugula salad with homemade meyer lemon vinaigrette - which turned out really good, but I forgot to measure out the ingredients to share :(
main course: macadamia chicken pesto
dessert: coconut milk ice-cream w/ fresh strawberries & dark chocolate (yeah, we went kind of big :)
Ingredients
2 lbs. chicken (breast or thigh - whichever you prefer)
sea salt & pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt (save for the end of cooking)
Pesto
1 cup flat leaf parsley
2 cups fresh basil
3-4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup macadamia nuts
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (I used meyer lemons)
2 teaspoons fresh oregano
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
- Combine all pesto ingredients in food process until smooth.
Directions
- Salt and pepper chicken on both sides & place in slow-cooker. Pour pesto over chicken.
- Cook on low for 6 hours.
- About 30 minutes before the end of cooking time, add your additional sea salt (the slow-cooker tends to make herbs and spices a little blander, so it helps to add some back in towards the end). If you are not going to be around towards the end of cooking time, you can do it when its done cooking.
- This dish can be served immediately or the sauce can be thickened (which I prefer).
- Optional: Put chicken aside and reduce the sauce in a skillet. Bring the sauce to a simmer, without boiling it and stir occasionally, until it is at desired consistency. Pour over chicken and serve!
If you have a chance to try out this recipe, I would love to hear your feedback!
Happy Sunday!
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Arsy
Welcome to my blog! - Here, I will share everything I know and learn along the way about paleo living.
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