Almond (or Cashew) Butter Chicken

Almond Butter Chicken with a side by side taste test of zoodles and Cumin Cauli-Rice

Almond (or Cashew) Butter Chicken

1. Cut 3 chicken breasts into bite sized chunks & place in a bowl. 
 

2.  Add:
     3 tsp real salt***
     Zest and juice of 1 lime
     1" ginger, peeled and grated
     6 cloves of garlic, minced
     2 tsp cumin
     1 tsp granulated garlic
     1/4 tsp Cayenne (more or less depending on your heat tolerance.)
          Stir and let sit while you...

3. Chop these veggies:
     1 leek, sliced
     2 bell peppers, cut into strips
     3 carrots thinly sliced into half moons (or spiralized)
     1 small head broccoli or 2 cups frozen**

4. In a saucepan, warm:
     1 cup nut butter
     1 cup full fat coconut milk
     2 cups chicken stock
     1 tsp salt***
     1 tsp granulated garlic*
     1 tsp cumin*
     1/4 tsp Coriander*
     1/8 tsp cardamom*
     1/4 tsp tumeric*
          Whisk until smooth.

5.  Heat a very large saucepan with coconut oil.  Once it's hot, pour the chicken in and sear on a sides.  Once browned, add your veggies** and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through.

6. Add the sauce and simmer until the flavors combine, and it starts to slightly reduce.   If it gets too thick, feel free to add more stock.

7.  Serve over cumin cauli-rice, or zoodles.  Drizzle with sesame oil.  Garnish with toasted cashews, thinly sliced green onions and/or cilantro if desired.  Kenny gave his a really healthy few shakes of crushed red pepper, too.

*you may substitute curry powder for these spices, if you'd like.
**if using frozen broccoli wait until just before you add the sauce to prevent it from getting mushy.
***I realize that it seems like an INSANE amount of salt,  but I put that much to make up for the omission of lack soy sauce

Kaitlyn  (5) took a picture of her plate too.

AND, if you're wondering who won the side by side taste test at the beginning, look no further.  Kenny's favorite was the cumin cauli-rice, but everyone else preferred the zoodles.  The slurp factor definitely played a role in the decision for the kids.  

Stuffed Poblanos

Stuffed Poblanos 

Sauté some veggies in coconut oil.

Add ground beef (mine was browned and frozen)

Season well with sslt, pepper, garlic, cumin, oregano and Ancho chili powder. 

Slice Poblanos in half, scoop out the seeds and membranes. 

Stuff the peppers with your filling. 

Spoon enchilada sauce on top and Grill or Bake until the peppers are cooked to your desired taste/texture.

Stuffed Poblanos:

2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 handful of Leeks  (or onion)

1 handful of Peppers

1 zucchini

4 cloves of garlic

 Salt

Pepper

1/2 tsp Granulated Garlic

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp oregano 

1/4 tsp Ancho chili powder

1.5 cups of ground beef*

Poblanos 

Enchilada Sauce

Melt your oil in a pan. Add veggies and seasonings and cook until softened.  Add your beef and stir until flavors are well incorporated.  Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.  

Slice the Poblanos, removing the seeds and membranes.  Stuff with your filling, and spoon Enchilada Sauce over top. Place on the grill and cook until the peppers are cooked to your liking.  (Or bake 400° for 25-20 mins)

I try to stay prepared and make dinner time less hectic by doing things ahead of time.  When. I buy ground beef, I cook it all up and leave some plain and bag it up in 1.5 cup portions for my freezer.  If you don't have meat already cooked, start by browning your meat, then add your veggies.  Just be sure to season each step of the way.  

If the enchilada sauce is too runny, feel free to cook it down some more.  I froze it the last time I made it, and it seperated a bit, so I let it simmer until it was the desired thickness. 

Coodles! With Recipes for Italian Dressing and Salad Supreme

Our Spiralizer arrived in the mail, and we wasted NO time checking it out.  
We used the thick "noodle" blade on 2 cucumbers, the thin blade on 1 green pepper, and the wide blade on a yellow squash. 

Then I made a quick "spaghetti salad" with our coodles. 
 

Coodle "Spaghetti" Salad

Lemon Garlic Whole Grilled Butterflied Chicken

So, you're probably thinking, "a butterflied chicken?!?! No way.  Too hard."  And until Friday, that's what I thought too.  However, it is sooo stinking easy! I don't know what I was so afraid of!  

How to butterfly a chicken:

1.  Find the back/spine.  

2.  Cut down one side with kitchen shears.

3.  Repeat on the otherside.

4.  Discard (or save for stock) the back.

5.  Flip the chicken over and press down with the palm of your hand until it cracks and is flat. 

***so easy***

Marinade, and then grill on indirect heat until the internal temp is 165° (it was between 45-60 minutes for us).

Serve with grilled veggies

It was delicious plain, but AMAZING with a drizzle of Chimichurri Sauce! 

(See the last post for that recipe!)

Lemon Garlic Grilled Whole Butterflied Chicken

Mix:

1/2 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp chopped garlic

2 tsp salt 

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/4 tsp basil

1/4 tsp parsley

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (more or less depending on your taste)

Zest from 1 lemon

Juice from 2 lemons

2 Tbsp vinegar

Butterfly Chicken and place in a bowl or bag.  Pour marinade over and refrigerate.  Allow to marinade for as long as time allows, preferably at least an hour.  We did it overnight.  Grill on indirect heat for 45 minutes to an hour or until the internal temperature reaches 165°.  

Optional: Serve with the chimichurri sauce from my last post. (Which, once you taste it, there will not be an option.  It really is that good!)

Potsticker Burgers over Asian Slaw

Potsticker Burgers over an Asian Slaw

I LOVE dumplings, potsickers, spring rolls, lumpia, etc.  However, since becoming gluten free, I haven't been able to have any since they're all wrapped in gluten!  Then I came across a recipe on pinterest for potsicker burgers over an asian slaw, and I was THRILLED!  I adapted it a bit and created this recipe, but the idea is not my own.  It has become a new favorite for us.  We used to love that cabbage salad with toasted nuts and crunchy ramen noodles (**cringes**), and the slaw in this recipe reminds me a lot of that salad. 

Potsicker Burger over Asian Slaw

Asian Slaw:

You can use whatever you have on hand, but this is what I included this time. Shredded broccoli stems would have been a good addition as well, but I didn't have broccoli this time.  Amounts are roughly estimated.  Buying a bag of coleslaw mix is also an option.

• 3 cups chopped cabbage
• 1 red pepper thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 4 radishes, thinly sliced, or shredded
• 4 green onions, sliced

Prepare cabbage, pepper, carrots and radishes and toss together in a bowl.  Set aside 2 cups to go into the burger mixture, then add the green onions, and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Dressing:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. ginger, minced
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 Tbsp. gf soy sauce or coconut aminos
• 3 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 2-3 green onions, sliced

Place all ingredients into a Mason Jar and shake until well combined.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Toasted Nut Mix: 

I completely eyeball this, and use different nuts each time depending on what I have in my cabinet.

• 2 Tbsp. butter, or coconut oil
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 2 T sesame seeds
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a pan on the stove over medium heat until the nuts/seeds become fragrant or toasted.  Or you could melt the butter and combine it all and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 mins.

Burgers:

• 2 lbs. ground turkey meat 
• 2 cups asian slaw mix (above)
• 1 egg
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. ginger, minced
• 4 Tbsp. gf soy sauce, or coconut aminos
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
• 3 green onions, sliced
• olive or coconut oil for cooking

In a large bowl combine the egg, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and green onions.  Whisk together, and then add the turkey and slaw mix, stir until well incorporated.

Heat a pan over medium heat with a bit of oil.  Add burgers and cook completely, about 4-5 mins per side depending on how large you make them.

To Serve:

Place some slaw on a plate, sprinkle with some nuts, put several burgers on top then drizzle with dressing, and enjoy!  

The original recipe combines everything but the burgers ahead of time, but I prefer the slaw to stay crunchy, especially if there are leftovers.  

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