Paleo Chicken "Fettuccine Cauli-fredo"

 

Paleo Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo AKA: "Zuchi-ccine Cauli-fredo":

We had A LOT of zucchini from the secret garden. (What is the secret garden you ask? You’ll have to check back to this blog post.) Kyle previously made me some zucchini muffins and made some zucchini bread for himself, we used the rest for grilling (YUM!) and decided to try some Zucchini noodles.

Problem: I don’t have a mandoline. (Is that the right word? Great…now I’m going to end up with a musical instrument for Christmas!) You know what I’m talking about…right? Like a pampered chef slicing thing…yeah…I really want one! It would make this whole process A LOT easier! I had to use a peeler and peel the zucchini into strips and then cut it up into fettuccine size. It works…it just takes a while!

To cook your “noodles”: (Jessica dubbed them zuchi-ccine. I told her I didn’t think it would stick…but maybe?!)

Slice and sprinkle with salt – let rest to draw the moisture out. (About 20 minutes)

Rinse the salt off and now dry the noodles with a paper towel

Saute the noodles in some olive oil and season to taste.

Cauli-fredo:

Original recipe found here:  http://cupcakesomg.blogspot.com/2012/08/caulif-redo-sauce-aka-paleo-alfredo.html

I tweaked a little bit. My tweaks in italics

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower, cored and chopped into large chunks

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 shallot - Chives from Secret Garden only because I can’t have onion
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan – I added a little more
• 1/4 cup canned coconut milk
• salt/pepper to taste
• Garlic powder
• pinch of nutmeg

Instructions:

1. Steam cauliflower until fork-tender. 

2. While cauliflower steams, heat olive oil over medium low heat in a small pot and saute shallot. Add chicken broth and heat through. Add all other ingredients and heat through.

3. Add cauliflower, shallot/broth mixture, and remaining ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. Add more coconut milk if needed.

We served it with some leftover chicken.

It is one of those surprisingly yummy recipes. Who knew Cauliflower could be so good!J

Baked Chicken and Mashed Cauli

 

Paleo Baked Chicken:

Easy and delicious…what more do you need to know?

I didn't have pecans...so I had to use Almonds.

Original recipe found at:  http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/05/01/pecan-crusted-chicken/

Pecan Crusted Chicken
4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup organic spicy brown mustard
2 tbsp raw organic honey
1 cup pecans
sea salt
Instructions:
Pre heat oven to 350. In a medium sized mixing bowl blend together the mustard and honey.  Toss the pecans in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped.  Pour the chopped pecans either on a plate or in a pie pan if you have one.  Using a paper towel, remove any excess moisture from the outside of your chicken breasts.  Taking one chicken breast at a time, first place the chicken into the mustard/honey mixture and coat on both sides.  Transfer chicken to the chopped pecans and again cover both sides.  Place coated chicken into a greased glass baking dish (I used a little olive oil spray to cover the bottom of the dish) and sprinkle each chicken breast with just a little sea salt.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.

We chose to serve it up with some Mashed Cauliflower.  I’m going to tell another of Kyle’s secrets…he has never been much of a Cauliflower person. Every time we are going to have it he has to tell me how cauliflower is actually a cabbage broccoli hybrid and not a real vegetable etc. (A lot of you are thinking…”that sounds like Kyle.”) He recently said though, “As much as it pains me to say this, I think you might have made a cauliflower convert out of me.”  Maybe you’ll be a Cauliflower convert too.  There are so many things you can do with it: Riced Cauliflower, pizza crust, “alfredo" sauce (coming soon!)  But for now...

Mashed Cauliflower:

Steam your cauliflower florets

Put in a food processor

Add some chicken stock

Season to taste (Worchestire sauce is good!)

Chicken Satay and "Peanut" (almond) Sauce

What to bring to a finger food potluck??

We made some chicken satay with Thai "Peanut" (almond) sauce.  It turned out pretty yummy.  I think we cooked them a little long...they were a little dry.  Better safe than sorry. :)

We made a marinade and had the chicken tenders in it overnight. Then we put them on bamboo skewers. Kyle grilled them up for me.

Thanks for the help babe!

Marinade:
Coconut milk
Grated ginger
Coconut aminos
Lime juice
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Cayenne powder
Curry powder
Honey

Paleo Fried Rice(d Cauliflower)

Tonight I wasn't really feeling what was planned for dinner. It was a pretty crazy day at work and I just wanted a bowl of something comforting. So on the drive home I started thinking we might have the stuff to attempt to prepare fried rice. It actually turned out pretty good. This would be a great winter dinner. A steamy, yummy, comforting bowl of deliciousness!

I almost forgot the most important part...it really does taste like fried rice...not cauliflower!

I really didn't measure anything out. Here is what you'll need:

• Sesame oil
• Olive oil
• 1 large carrot (diced)
• Peas (I just cut up some pea pods)
• Chicken (However much you would like) Or any other meat - we had chicken on hand
• 1 head Cauliflower
• Fresh Ginger Grated
• Juice of 1 lime
• Chili powder
• Cayenne pepper (Next time I'll make sure to have some Thai chillies on hand)
• 2 eggs (next time I would use at least 3)
• Garlic powder (you could use fresh)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

*I would add cashews next time...that sounds yummy!

Prepare:

1. "Rice" cauliflower (put in food processor until the consistency of rice. Or you could shred it)
2. Put riced cauliflower in the microwave for about 7 minutes.
3. Cut chicken into small, bite sized pieces
4. Cook chicken in a mixture of Olive and Sesame oil. Season with ginger, cayenne pepper, chili, garlic and salt.
5. Put chicken aside
6. Cook Carrot and peas in sesame/olive oil until they start getting a little tender
7. Put in Cauliflower - Cook until Cauliflower starts to brown a little
8. Season with more ginger, garlic powder, chili, cayenne, juice of 1 lime, salt and pepper to taste.
9. Move Cauliflower to side of pan. Crack 2 eggs (or more) and scramble a little then mix in with the rest of the cauliflower.
10. Place meat back into pan and cook together for a few minutes. Season to taste.

Eat piping hot and steaming...this was good stuff! I'm excited to try some different variations!

It was just what I needed after a crazy day...a yummy dinner...a hug from my sweet husband who helped to make dinner and clean up after...and a nice relaxing evening watching a Mariner's game. Okay...the Mariner's game wasn't my choice. But Kyle is doing laundry right now as he watches and he just swept the floor so I'd be crazy to say something! :)