Main Dishes

Crock Pot Chicken Veggie Soup

Crock Pot Chicken Soup

I don’t travel well, darn it! I thought now that I had finally got a diagnosis of SIBO and had done the antibiotic protocol, which made me feel so great, that I would travel much better. Much to my disappointment, after a twelve hour car ride up north for some summer fun, I had a set back. Here is a nourishing, soothing chicken soup recipe for when you need very cooked and easy to digest food. It is delicious, and you can enjoy it with your family. It cooks in the crock pot for 6 to 8 hours, so you can play, and dinner will be ready when you get home. The longest part of making it is the chopping.

Ingredients:

1 Whole Chicken (preferably organic)

1 Cup One Inch Sliced Green Beans

2 Medium Zucchini, Chopped

3 Endive, Sliced

4 Peeled and Chopped Carrots

1 Green Pepper, Chopped

6 Scallions, Green Parts Only, Sliced

Fresh Parsley, 1 small handful stems removed and minced

Zest and Juice of 1 Lemon

4 Teaspoons Himalayan Pink Salt

3/4 Teaspoon Pepper

6 to 8 cups filtered or well water

Chicken Soup Prep

Put all the prepped ingredients into a crock pot, add enough water to cover your chicken (about 6 to 8 cups. The chicken makes your broth) and cook on low for 8 hours. Take out the chicken and shred and remove the bones. Put the chicken back in the crock pot. Serve.

Prepped Chicken Veggie Soup

Alternately, if you only have six hours. Turn crock pot to high for 1 hour, then turn to low for the remaining five hours.

Sloppy Joes (Messy Jessie’s in My House)

Messy Jessie’s

This recipe is a SCD Diet, Low FodMap rendition of Sloppy Joe’s in honor of my daughter, Jessie, who loves them. It is a quick and easy weeknight meal using my SCD Low Fodmap BBQ Sauce recipe. So you can have this BBQ Sauce on hand and add to two pounds of ground meat and a few other ingredients, and viola, a very yummy Messy Jessie!

Ingredients:

1 Large Butternut Squash

2 Pounds of Grass Fed Ground Beef

1 Green Pepper, chopped

1 1/2 Cups SCD Low FodMap BBQ Sauce

1 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil, Plus more for the Squash

Directions:

Peel and Slice the Butternut Squash into rounds. The rounds will come from the solid top part of the squash. The rest can be cubed and roasted along with the “buns”. Lay the rounds in a single layer on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and brush with melted coconut oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes flipping after 15 minutes. This is your bun.

Meanwhile, sautee the green pepper, ground beef, salt and pepper in the coconut oil until browned. Drain excess fat and add the BBQ sauce and simmer for five minutes. Place one round of butternut squash on a plate, pile on the Messy Jessie filling and top with another round of squash. A family friendly Messy Jessie! My husband and kids love the butternut squash bun, and the leftover filling is great on salad the next day.

Eat Your Nutrients!

Grilled Venison 50/50 Burgers

Grilled Venison 50/50 Burgers

I found some fantastic ground venison at the local market here in Northern Michigan to make burgers with. I did a fifty/fifty burger using pastured ground pork because venison is very lean and the pork makes them juicy! We grilled these last night for dinner, and they were really, really good!

Grilled Venison 50/50 Burgers

Ingredients:

1 Pound Ground Venison

1 Pound Ground Pastured Pork

1 tsp. Allspice

1 tsp. Himalayan Pink Salt

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

1 Tablespoon Garlic Olive Oil

1/2 tsp. Ground Sage

1/4 tsp. Thyme

1 Tablespoon Djon Mustard

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly in a large mixing bowl. Divide into 8 – one inch thick patties. Grill until just cooked through 165 degrees. Eat ’em up!

Chinese Five Spice Chicken Bites – Paleo

Chinese Five Spice Chicken Bites - Paleo, Soy Free

Chinese Five Spice Powder is Amazing! It is a combination of Star Anise, Fennel, Black Pepper, Cinnamon and Cloves. It is a warming blend that pairs wonderfully with meat! Here I use it to make Five Spice Chicken Thigh Bites using boneless chicken thighs. This is very kid friendly because of the bite size pieces, and it is slightly sweet with fresh squeezed orange and lemon juices and just a bit of heat with red pepper flakes. You can turn up the heat by adding more red pepper flakes if you like, but don’t leave them out. You need them to balance the dish.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs

3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil

2 Tablespoons of Chinese Five Spice Powder (Gluten Free)

2 teaspoons Ground Ginger

3 Tablespoons of Clear Honey

1/4 Cup Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice

1/4 Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice

1 1/2 teaspoons Himalayan Pink Salt divided

1/2 teaspoon of Black Pepper

1/4 teaspoon of White Pepper

1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Quarter each boneless chicken thigh into 4 cubes. Mix together in a small bowl the Chinese Five Spice Powder, Ground Ginger, 1 Teaspoon Salt, White Pepper and Black Pepper.

Place Chicken Thigh cubes and powdered spice mixture into a gallon ziplock bag and shake until very well distributed. Get in there and massage with your hands if necessary. 🙂

Mix together the orange juice, lemon juice, honey, red pepper flakes, and the other 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer until reduced by half. Melt the coconut oil in a large oven safe skillet or fry pan. Add the chicken cubes in one layer (very important for browning, so make sure your pan is big enough).

Chinese Five Spice Chicken Bites

Brown for five minutes not touching, then flip the cubes and brown 5 more minutes. Pour the reduced sauce over the chicken cubes and transfer to the oven in the pan and bake for 5 minutes. Viola! Done! Pour the chicken and sauce into a serving dish and toss a couple times to coat with the sauce.

Eat Your Nutrients!

I love to hear your comments!

Easy Moist and Tender Pot Roast w/Carrots

Easy Moist & Tender Pot Roast

There are many benefits to incorporating grass fed beef into your diet. A big benefit I like is it contains more conjugated linoleic acid which may protect against heart disease, diabetes and cancer. It has zinc, iron, potassium and phosphorus, and who doesn’t want more nutrients. Chris Kresser has a article on the benefits you can read more about here: http://chriskresser.com/why-grass-fed-trumps-grain-fed

I like this pot roast for several reasons. It takes about 3 1/2 hours, but that is oven time not hands on time. The prep is fifteen minutes and then it goes in the oven and you go about your day. It is moist every time…..no dried out hard to chew pot roast here. I make it often, because it is a winner! There is a lot of flavor, and you can change up the sides depending on what is in season and the time of year. People will ask you for this recipe. So let’s get to it!

Easy Moist & Tender Pot Roast

Ingredients:

1 – 3 1/2 to 4 pound boneless (grass fed/organic is best) beef chuck roast

Himalayan Pink Sea Salt

Black Pepper

2 Tablespoons Garlic Infused Olive Oil

1 Cup Dry Red Wine (one you would drink such as Syrah or Grenache)

2 Cups Homemade Broth if you are Low FodMap or Good Organic Gluten Free Broth of your choice

1 teaspoon Organic Italian Seasoning

1 teaspoon Organic Parsley

Preheat Oven 350 degrees.

Season your Beef with Salt and Pepper generously. Using a Dutch oven or other heavy oven proof pot with a lid, heat 2 tablespoons of Garlic Infused Olive Oil over medium high heat. Add your seasoned roast (make sure oil is hot enough to sizzle when beef is added). Brown five minutes without touching the meat, then flip it and brown five minutes on the other side. Take the gorgeously browned roast out of the pan and set it on a plate. Add a Cup of Dry Red Wine to the pan and release all the brown bits, bring to a boil for a minute, then add the broth and seasonings. Add the roast back to the pot with the burner still on and bring it all just to a boil, then place the lid on your pot and place in the 350 degree oven. Roast for three hours, flipping after an hour and a half. After three hours remove the roast from the oven and let it sit with lid on for fifteen minutes. Serve with sides of your choice. Here it is shown with some sauteed carrot coins.

I love to hear your thoughts. Eat well, you deserve it!

Eat Your Nutrients!

Honey Mustard Chicken Wings

If you are craving some tangy, succulent wings that are easy and everyone will love, this recipe is a great choice! The sauce is quick to mix together. They smelled so good when they were baking in the oven, I could hardly wait to dig into them! They would be great the next day in a lunchbox, but we didn’t have any left, so next time, I will need a double batch. They are baked and then finished off under the broiler to get them nice and crispy.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Chicken Wings

2 TBS. Garlic Infused Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Clear Honey

1 Tablespoon Garlic Free Yellow Mustard

1 Tablespoon Djon Mustard

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder

1 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

1/8 teaspoon White Pepper

two dashes of Habanero Pepper Sauce

2 Tablespoons Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Lay wings on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with a little extra Himalayan Pink Salt and Black Pepper (pre-season your meat to build flavor) and bake ten minutes. Meanwhile whisk up the rest of the ingredients for the sauce. After ten minutes of baking, remove wings and brush with some of the sauce…coat them well. Bake another ten minutes, remove from the oven and turn the wings over and brush again and return to the oven ten more minutes. Repeat once more for ten minutes. Keep an eye on your wings. (Depending on the size of them the time will vary. My wings were medium sized and took 40 minutes.) Turn on broiler and broil the wings until they are at your desired crispiness, coating again and turning once. This will only take a minute or two. Serve!

Can't Resist Them - Honey Mustard Chicken Wngs

Can’t Resist Them – Honey Mustard Chicken Wings

Thick and Rich Italian Tomato Sauce

Italian Tomato Sauce with Zucchini Noodles

This recipe for Italian Tomato Sauce is thick and rich with a lot of flavor. You can make it in larger batches and freeze it too ,so you always have good sauce on hand. You need a food processor or immersion blender for this recipe.

Thick and Rich Italian Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

2 – 25 oz. cartons or cans of Strained Tomatoes

1 orange bell pepper, diced (they are the sweetest)

1 Tablespoon Garlic Infused Olive Oil

1 1/4 teaspoon Himalayan Pink Salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 tsp. ground fennel

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning (I used Spicely Organics certified gluten free)

1/2 Cup Dry Red Wine

Place garlic infused oil, diced orange bell pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of Himalayan Pink Salt in a dutch oven or large stock pot and cook on medium high heat until soft and starting to brown. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer on stove top with sauce partially covered with the lid for approximately 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The sauce will reduce, thicken up, and get infused with all the seasonings you added to it. Using a food processor or immersion blender blend the sauce until smooth incorporating all the orange pepper so there are no chunks. Serve! The sky is the limit. I served it over zucchini ribbon noodles.

A Quick Snack That is Portable and Healthy – Sardines….Yep!

Some days are crazy and I don’t have time to “fix” a snack, or my homemade snack stash has run out. It is challenging if you have a couple crazy busy days doing errands, appointments and just life in general. This is when I grab a tin of sardines or mackerel, drain it, and put some mustard on it, sit down for a minute and refuel. I love the benefits of sardines and mackerel…..Calcium, Omega 3’s, Protein. It is a power snack. The last few days have been crazy. My daughter is getting married, and I am wedding planning. The other day we had dress fittings, piano lessons, pick ups, drop offs. I had a minute to sit down outside in a comfy chair and eat a can of mackerel, listen to the birds, and look at the sky. It was just right. I also find that eating a snack like that holds me over just fine until the next meal, and no sugar crashes. So, here’s to sardines!

A Quick Snack – Mackerel with Mustard

Savory Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

I don’t know about you, but when I make a recipe for meat that is juicy, fast and delicious fresh and even better leftover, it is a keeper! These thighs are so yummy and have a bit of a umami addiction to them. The ingredients are SCD, Low FodMap and Paleo and Gluten Free. I love to chop up the leftover chicken the next day and add to a salad for lunch. I also pack them cold for my girls’ school lunches the next day, and they love them that way. Since Chili Powder has garlic added, I found Chipotle powder a fantastic option. Make sure your spices are gluten free and organic is even better. I love Spicely Organic Spices since they are certified gluten free, and I am very sensitive to gluten. Here is the recipe. Let me know what you think. I served the thighs with oven roasted zucchini spears drizzled with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (recipe coming soon), and a salad.

Savory Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs

8 bone in skin on chicken thighs
2 tablespoons garlic oil
1 tablespoon chipotle chili powder (just chipotle peppers in it)
1 1/2 teaspoons himalayan pink salt or sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne (more or less depending on how much kick you like)
6 tablespoons clear honey
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Lay your chicken thighs out on a parchement covered rimmed baking sheet.

Mix together garlic oil through cayenne and stir to create a rub. Rub evenly all over both sides of the thighs.

Rubbed Thighs Ready for Broiling

Mix together 6 tablespoons of clear honey and 1 tablespoon cider vinegar to brush on at the end and set aside.

Broil chicken 7 minutes, then turn all the thighs over and broil for 7 minutes more. Take thighs out of oven and brush with half of the honey/vinegar mixture and return to broiler for 2 minutes, turn once more and brush with remaining honey/vinegar and broil 2 more minutes or until 165 degrees in the center. That is 18 minutes and they are done!

So Juicy, Fast and Delicious!

Easy Recipe: Meatballs with Tangy Cilantro-Chive Sauce

Lately I have been craving lamb. I think my body may need more zinc and selenium. You can get both in lamb. Here is a new recipe from Diane Sanfilippo, of Balanced Bites and Author of Practical Paleo and The 21 Day Sugar Detox books using ground lamb. I love Diane’s Easy and Nourishing recipes. They get my family fed and me out of the kitchen to play! Go here to get the recipe and see photos of the meatballs.

Easy Recipe: Meatballs with Tangy Cilantro-Chive Sauce.

Make, enjoy, and get outside to enjoy Spring!

Sam