Chicken Salad

I am allergic to eggs so I wanted to find a paleo type mayonnaise that I could use.  I found this recipe from Empowered Sustenance and I love it.

The chicken was from a leftover roast chicken from the night before.

Egg Free Mayonnaise
1/2 cup coconut butter
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend on high for a minute or two until the sauce thickens. Let cool at room temperature, use in chicken salad.  If you place this mayonnaise into the refrigerator it will harden, just remove and let sit at room temperature or warm gently before using.

I like to add to my chicken salad, pecans, cut red grapes, and scallions.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup

I love soup when the weather turns cooler and I truly believe I could eat it every day.

Here is a super simple recipe I put together tonight.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Soup
(Dairy Free, Gluten Free)

1 medium to large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
olive oil
1 can coconut milk
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  On a parchment lined cookie sheet add squash and sweet potato.  Drizzle with olive oil.   Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes, turn the chunks to help them to cook evenly.  Continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes or until tender and slightly brown.  In a blender add coconut milk, broth, ginger, cinnamon and a little salt.  Blend until smooth.  Depending on the size of your squash and potato you may have to blend this in two batches.  Place blended soup into a large pan and heat over medium heat.  Add more salt as necessary to taste.

I added some smoked salmon in the bowl with the soup to add some protein.

White Bean Chicken Chili

White Bean Chicken Chili

(Dairy Free, Gluten Free)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/3 cup cassava flour (Here is where I get mine from, Otto's Naturals)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups frozen corn

1 - 15 ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups boneless chicken, cut into small pieces

1 - 4 ounce can chopped green chilies 

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

In a dutch oven heat olive oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic.  Cook until onions are tender.  Stir in flour, salt and chili powder, mix well.  Add milk and chicken broth, stir until thickened slightly.  Use a whisk to help break up the flour and to make it creamy.  Add remaining ingredients except cilantro.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Taste and to check for flavor and add more salt as necessary.  Stir in cilantro and serve.

Chicken Coconut Curry

Like always I find a recipe online and then tweak it slightly to fit either my food allergies or my tastes. Tonight was no exception.

Chicken Coconut Curry
2 tablespoons ghee (use coconut oil to make this dairy free)
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 can full fat coconut milk
Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 boneless chicken breasts, cubed
1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
Salt to taste
In a medium sized dutch oven, heat ghee over medium heat, let melt, whisk in curry powder.  Add coconut milk and whisk until incorporated.  Turn heat to low.
In a large skillet, bring a little bit olive oil, over medium high heat.  Add onion and garlic.  Cook until onions are translucent.  Add chicken and cook until it is no longer pink.
Add sweet potatoes to coconut curry mixture, stir.  Add chicken, onion and garlic mixture to coconut curry and stir.  Stir in fresh ginger. Turn heat to high and bring mixture to a boil.  Once it reaches a boil, reduce heat and place lid on dutch oven.  Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Taste and add salt as needed. Serve over quinoa.

Marinated London Broil with Parship Mash and Minted Peas

Marinated London Broil
1-1/2 pound london broil
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Place london broil into a large Ziploc bag.  Add all of the ingredients into the bag.  Seal up and massage meat to help incorporate the marinade.  Place in refrigerator and let marinate for about 3 to 4 hours (the longer you let it marinate the more flavor it will have).

In a large heavy duty skillet (I always use my cast iron skillet) place over medium high heat, add a couple of tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.  Add meat to the pan to sear it, don't move the meat, for about 6 minutes, flip and sear other side.  If the meat is a thick cut it might take longer per side.  This cut that I had was really thick so I seared it on both sides and then put it (the entire pan) into the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit and let it cook for about 10 minutes more.  I cooked it until the internal temperature reached 125 degrees Fahrenheit which will then give it a perfect medium rare.  Remove it from the pan or oven and let it rest for about 10 minutes.  Slice against the grain and serve.

Parsnip Mash
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cloves garlic, minced
Canned coconut milk
Salt and Pepper
Place parsnips into a pan and cover with water.  Place on stove and bring to a boil.  Cook until the parsnips are fork tender.  It will take about 10 minutes.  Remove from stove and drain water.  Add parsnips back into the hot pan.  Place pan back on burner (that is turned off), this will help to get rid of any excess water.  Add garlic and using a masher, mash parsnips, add a little bit of coconut milk and continue to mash and add coconut milk until you get the consistency you want.  We like our mash slightly chunky.  Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Minted Peas
Fresh peas aren't yet in from our garden so I am using frozen peas.
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 package frozen peas
3 sprigs of fresh mint
Salt
Place peas into a small colander and rinse with hot water, set aside.  Remove mint leaves and finely dice, set aside.  In a small skillet over medium high heat, add coconut oil, let it melt.  Add peas and toss to cook for about 2 minutes.  Add mint and toss to incorporate into the peas.  Cook for 2 minutes more.  Serve.