Chicken and Broccoli

I think I am finally convincing Hubby that it really does matter what you eat ... 

Yeah. slowly, but surely, he's following along ...

I've been craving Japanese/Chinese ... and I know, they are NOT the same, but you know what I mean ... so I've had this recipe on hold for quite a while ... and kept telling Hubby this past week to NOT touch the fresh broccoli or chicken thighs as I was making dinner one night. Took me 3 nights to get to it but the wait was totally worth it.

Seriously. THIS IS WHOLE30 APPROVED!

2 pounds of chicken thighs, cut in to bite size pieces
1 large head of broccoli, cut in to bite size pieces
3 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs ginger ... I'm not a fan but I used this stuff
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2/3 c coconut aminos
1 tbs arrowroot powder  to thicken
Riced cauliflower (Trader Joes!) or zucchini noodles, if desired

See, not a whole lot of stuff ;-)  AND ... it only took 30 minutes of cooking time so get chopping in the morning before you head out to work!

Heat up a large skillet over medium heat and add the oil, ginger, coconut aminos, salt, garlic powder and them pepper flakes.  Add the chicken in and give a quick shake to coat a bit. Cook til chicken is about half cooked through.*

Add the broccoli, shake the pan a bit, turn up the heat and put a lid on the pan. I used a lid that sat just inside the pan as I didn't want it 100% covered.  Lift lid and give a stir every few minutes to get the broccoli coated a bit.

Once the broccoli has started to get soft, if desired, add a sprinkle of arrowroot powder over the mixture and stir with a large spoon. This will help it thicken a little.

Serve over zucchini noodles OR riced cauliflower.

Me? I ate mine just as is in a bowl. I may have had more than one serving as well ... and went ahead and packaged up my lunch for tomorrow as well. It's a good thing, Hubby loved it and said it was a keeper. Huh. Did he know it's Whole30/Paleo Approved? Well ... he knew that I used the coconut aminos instead of soy sauce ... so that should have led him to believe ... but then again, he's been using the coconut aminos instead of soy sauce ever since I told him soy sauce isn't good for women ;-) I guess that means he loves me? I love him too! Any how ....

This was pretty damn good and it will so be happening again!

Enjoy!

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

*So for the record: I followed the original recipe from the start and was sorry as soon as I added the chicken in. The chicken NEEDS to cook first other wise you will have raw chicken on top of quickly dying broccoli. I ended up scooping the sad broccoli out in to a bowl while the chicken cooked, adding it back at the end with more raw broccoli so I wouldn't have sad broccoli throughout.

The Perfect Veggie Dish

A little while ago, I was really, really in to fresh veggies: cucumbers, red peppers, green peppers, red onions, tomatoes, all tossed together with a light dressing.

I would eat that stuff daily.

DAILY

And then, I guess I just got over veggied out. It happens, you know?

But ... it's summertime and the peppers, the cucumbers, the tomatoes, everything looks so dang appealing in the produce stores that I just have to scoop them up ... to hell with the Freezer / Pantry / No Spend Challenge!

I could justify the purchases, honestly.

It is, afterall, Summertime! And that's the time when the full fledge BBQ/Pool/Outdoor parties are kicking in ... and psst ... it's also Whole30/Paleo approved but don't tell no one THAT!

Sunday morning rolled around and Princess and the Boyfriend texted us to say they wanted to maybe come over later in the day to hang out.  Not quite lunch time, not quite dinner time ... 

and because Princess is currently in AA (long story, but for her, alcohol does NOT improve her personal being) I (me, myself AND I) try to eliminate the alcohol factor when she's around, and really stay focused on healthy, happy foods. Well, just because, that's what a mom does to encourage their child, adult or not, to stay focused and on track (right?) ... 

Hence, Veggies.

Good, ripe, in season vegetables.

Lets get to it, shall we?

2 cucumbers (mine were seedless and picked up from ALDI for $1.29 each)

1 red pepper (picked up from Trader Joes, 79 cents a piece)

1/2 red onion (ALDI, 99 cents for 2 pounds)

3 roma tomatoes (picked up from ALDI, like 8 per bag for 99 cents)

3 tbs olive oil (Trader Joes)

2 tbs red wine vinegar (ALDI)

a generous sprinkling of oregano (Costco)

dash of salt and black pepper

Peel them cucumbers, slice in half and half again so you have 4 long spears. Chop up into bite size pieces.  If you have seeds in them and they are really seedy (not in THAT way), scrap the seeds out before cutting up. Toss in a large bowl (which I always, always pick too small of a bowl!)

Cut the red pepper in to bite size pieces and toss in the bowl.

Grab your tomatoes and cut in to 4 wedges. If really juicy, pull out the seeds and juicy stuff and then cut in to bite size pieces.

Dice the red onion in to small pieces. Not, like, tiny pieces, but certainly smaller than bite size ;-) Toss those in the bowl, as well.

Grab a small little bowl and mix up the oil, vinegar, oregano and salt and pepper and then pour that over them fresh veggies. Give it a quick stir to distribute the dressing, put a lid on it, and ideally, let it chill in the fridge for an hour or so. Not necessary, but it does taste even better chilled.

Me? I didn't have time. I was close to lobbing off a finger or two from those secret snatches of the fresh chopped veggies.

Go ahead, give it a try! Those BBQ/Pool/Outdoor parties are coming and you MUST be prepared!

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post may contain affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)

Whole30 / Paleo Ranch Dressing

I woke up this morning and realized that I was out of my favorite Tessemae's Lemon Garlic dressing ... it was 7:45am and I needed to get to work fast!

So, instead of stopping at Whole Foods and spending $5.49 for a bottle of dressing, I made this instead, in minutes.  

Yes, by 8:00am, I was out the door ... 

It's Whole30 approved. Dairy Free. Grain Free. Obviously, Gluten Free!

And easy easy EASY to make!!

This recipe is totally from Whole Sisters and I give them FULL credit ... this is just me saying I made it, I loved it and I want to share it with the world!! Give the girls a drive by and check out their site, it's chock-full of good stuff!

Here's how I made it

egg, room temperature
1 tbs lemon juice, room temperature
1 cup olive oil
2 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
handful of parsley, leaves pulled off and stems discarded
dash of dried dill

Grab yourself a tall jar and make sure your immersion blender fits in the top ;-) I speak from experience! Place everything in jar, insert your immersion blender and let it rip. Make sure you go up and down to pull the parsley in to the blades. Once everything is combined and creamy, give a taste, say "yummm, real ranch" and cap that bad boy and place in the fridge. 

I just poured some in a small jar to take to work with me for that salad that salad I made earlier ... I am looking forward to using it to dip my chicken in this evening at dinner time as well ... 

Go ahead, make it and you will NOT be disappointed! 

Looking forward to sharing with some of these GREAT Parties ... go check them out!

*This post contains affiliate links ... click here to read my disclosure :-)