Almond Crusted Chicken-pseudo fried

INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken pieces (I used cutlets-see below.)
3/4 cup almond meal
1,5 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cayenne
1,5 tsp dry mustard
4 tbsp olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Combine almond meal with seasonings.
Rub each piece of chicken with a little olive oil, then roll in seasoned almond meal.

Arrange in a roasting pan. Roast for an hour or so, until juices run clear, and the coating is crunchy. If you use a thermometer, your chicken needs to reach 165 degrees. If you don't want crunchy, you can put it in a baker where it holds onto the juices. I used the Pampered Chef baker shown on the right.

 This is how it looked when I pulled it out of the oven.

I put it with green/wax beans and pan-fried squash (which was super delish and my first time to do this).

Non-Ice Cream Ice Cream-Strawberry

If you're trying to do without the typical "sweets", this is a nice, refreshing option.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb frozen strawberry (non-sweetened)
• 14 oz coconut milk
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 cup coconut palm (or to taste)

Instructions:

Place all of the ingredients in the food processor and liquefy/blend. You can expect to have to stop and get some strawberries off of the blades. You can try this with other types of fruits. It can be frozen, but it freezes pretty solid so be sure to let it sit out for about 30 minutes before expecting to eat it.

Enjoy!

Fajita Wraps

Kudos to Lori Leopard who shared a recipe with me for Crockpot Chicken Fajitas. I had to change a couple of things because of my new way of eating; however, it's pretty much the same.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breast (I used chicken tenders.)
• 3 peppers (green, red, yellow)
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Homemade taco seasoning
• Greek yogurt
• Head of lettuce
• Cooked brown rice (about 1 1/2 cups)

Instructions

1. Slice peppers and onions then place them on the bottom of the crock pot
2. Put Chicken on top of peppers and onions
3. Sprinkle taco seasoning on the top
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hrs (or high for 3-4)
5. The chicken looks burnt but it’s just crispy.

 

 

6. Once it's done, I shredded it (using Pamper Chef's salad chopper-easy) and mixed it all up.

 

7. Normally, you would put this on tortillas, but I can't have that so I opted to create a fajita lettuce wrap. So I took the lettuce leaf, added a scoop of rice, then the fajita mixture. Rather than adding sour cream, I add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt.

 



 

 

This is absolutely yummy! I had a picky 8 year old eating with me, and she ate it up!

 

Here's a link to the original recipe:

Easy Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

Clean Eating Taco Seasoning from The Gracious Pantry

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic  powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp chili powder

Instructions

1. Blend all spices in a bowl and use to season any taco meat you are cooking. Use approximately 1 tbsp. per pound of meat.
2. The mix has a small amount of "kick" to it, but it's not on "fire".

*Recipe from The Gracious Pantry

Apple Walnut Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
4 cups shredded cabbage
2 apples, cored and chopped or sliced-your preference
3 tbsp. walnut oil
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. mayo (homemade for me)
1/4 tsp black pepper
salt to taste

Instructions

1. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and cook at 350 for about 8 minutes.
2. While these are roasting, put cabbage and apple in a big mixing bowl.
3. Put the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and whisk.
4. When walnuts are done, add them to cabbage, then toss in dressing mixture.

It's best served fresh, but it can sit for a couple of days. The next day, I felt like I would enjoy a little sweeter taste to the salad so I added a couple of tablespoons of coconut palm (since I don't do white sugar). It made it even more delish!

Egg Salad

Ingredients:

1/2 green bell pepper, diced
2 large celery ribs, diced-include any crisp leaves (use pre-cut/diced when in a hurry)
4 scallions-include crisp part of green
2 tbsp parsley
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
6 tbsp mayo (from my mayo recipe)
1 tbsp brown mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Cut up veggies and eggs and combine them in a mixing bowl.
2. Stir together the mayo and mustard, then add to salad and stir.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste

Eat as is, wrap in lettuce, stuff in tomatoes...sky's the limit

Homemade Mayonnaise in the Jar

I'm giving you the version I used for my example, and the version I actually made.

Original Recipe I found

Ingredients

2 egg yolks
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. wine vinegar or another tbsp. lemon juice
1 tsp dry mustard
2 dashes hot sauce, such as Tabasco
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup olive oil

Instructions:
Put everything but oil in a clean old jar with a good tight lid. Have oil measured and standing by in measuring cup with pouring lip.
Insert stick blender all the way down to the bottom of the jar. Blend egg yolks with the seasonings.
Keep blender running. Now slowly start pouring in oil; you want a stream about the diameter of a pencil lead. Work the blender up and down in the jar as you go. When you can't get any more oil to incorporate, and it's puddling on the surface, stop. You're done. Leftover oil can go back in the bottle. Cap your jar of mayo and stash it in the fridge (lasts about 10 days).

Serves: Makes about a cup. If you use a lot of mayo in a week, double the recipe

My Version

Ingredients
2 eggs
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dry mustard
3 dashes hot sauce
1 tsp salt
1 cup olive oil

Instructions

I didn't have a stick blender or a jar so I used a regular blender. It worked just fine, although you do have to scrape it out. I would do the jar if I had the right stuff.

I put everything but the oil in the blender and blended well. Then I took the little grip out of the top of the blender and began to pour the oil, with a small, constant stream. It's the craziest thing because it just starts becoming mayo, from the bottom up. When it stops puddling at the top, your done.

As a sidenote, remember that you can have all kinds of may. I added some spicy mustard to it once I was finished and used it for a spread over some fish. You can add it to sandwiches. Try adding horseradish. Any kind of mayo spread you see in the store, you can make at home. Get creative!