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.

Shallot Chicken Thighs

This recipe comes from Paleo Girl 99 who I found on Instagram ... doing the Whole30 had introduced me to a whole new class of bloggers!

So. The first time I made this, I didn't have the deyhdrated shallots, but had dehydrated onions, so I improvised and used the onions.

Yeah. Hubby was in love.  Asked me for 3 days if this was really the only thing that I did to make it taste so good. Was I sure it was just the dehydrated onions and not the "fried onions"  and on and on.

Good grief. He just can't accept that something so simple would be so tasty. I did NOT share that this was Whole30 approved as some things just don't need to be said out loud.

Then I put this on the menu again and said, hmmm, let me just order some shallots from Amazon. Well. The first thing that popped up was $1xx.00 to buy. No thank you ... so I kept shopping and finally came across a $12 bottle. Thank you one click ordering!

So, here's how I made it the first time with GREAT success!

2 1/2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, extra fatty stuff removed
generous amount of black pepper, salt and garlic powder (we have it premixed sitting next to stove)
generous amount of dehydrated onions or shallots

Rinse and pat dry the chicken thighs, lay them flat in a glass baking dish.

Generously season with the black pepper, salt and garlic. Flip and lightly season the other side.

Now. Go to town with the dehydrated onions or shallots (whichever you choose).  I mean, really go to town. Honestly, I really liked them with the onions!

Bake these in the oven for 25 minutes at 425 degrees.  Because Hubby is different, he wanted to finish them off on the grill. So we cooked on the grill, over medium heat, til golden brown. Alternatively, you could broil to achieve the golden brown topping.

Serve up and 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 :-)

That Damn Fine Chicken

I'm willing to bet that 50% of you know who Michelle is over at Nom Nom Paleo, and the other 50% are probably thinking "hmmm....that sounds vaguely familiar" ... am I right??

So yeah, she makes some stuff that I've not ventured into as of yet (bone broth, organs, etc.) but some of her other stuff I have tried and well, yeah, it's pretty tasty ... but I've yet to find something to say Damn Fine, and I know Hubby would certainly back me up on that!

So what the heck, let's give this here Damn Fine Chicken recipe a shot and see if we have a winner, shall we?

So, crank up Pandora to the station YOU like (I got lucky, not a soul in the house BUT ME! so I put on Black Eyed Peas ... first up was Boom Boom Pow and then ... I'm Sexy and I Know It (sorry, I just can't link up the video, it's a little disturbing).  Um, yes, I did dance around, jumping, shaking, shimmying and fist pumping ... there are NO witnesses!

Yes, I know this is "I Gotta Feeling" but I was too busy dancing to take a pic of Boom Boom Pow!

Once I caught my breath (heck, 50 and dancing like I'm 19 isn't like it was just a few years ago!), I got down to cooking and this is how I did it ...

2 package of bone in chicken thighs WITH skin on (10 6 medium size thighs is what my packages held, thanks Whole Foods for being different on the count)
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 clove of garlic, finely chopped (um, I process my garlic in advance so I just used a generous tsp)
6 tbs balsamic vinegar
6 tbs avocado oil (yes, I really did have some in the pantry...you can use any other mild oil)
2 tbs coconut aminos (again, yes, I have some in the pantry. Use soy sauce if you don't!)
2 tbs fish sauce (I used the Red Boat I have)
Salt & pepper
Generous sprinkle of Italian seasoning

Quick question: how do you store your measuring spoons? I have something like 7 or 8 sets so I just cram them all in this little stoneware cup ...

Ready?

Mix all ingredients except the chicken in the crock.  Add chicken and toss to coat all pieces well.

Put the lid on and turn crock pot on low for 5 hours.

Ahem ... then Gangnam Style came on ... perfect timing, so I did my little dance right there in the kitchen ... again, NO witnesses, except Kitty Kitty who wasn't sure what to do :-) FYI ... that Youtube link is for the Music Awards live performance and I just think it's awesome how EVERYONE was dancing in the crowd :-)

When you feel the chicken is really sufficiently cooked through, fire up the broiler in the oven.  Remove chicken and place on a rack on a cookie sheet.

Place under broiler, skin side up and allow to broil til a little crispy and slightly charry looking (ahem, there's a very very fine line between charry and BURNT so keep an eye on it...no dishes, no phone, nothing but staring at the oven window!)

Remove, smell, poke (careful, it's hot!) and think, wow, that's some Damn Fine Chicken!