Chicken-Chili Soup

This was the result of a list minute "throw it in a pot" moment of cooking. Turned out pretty well...tastes like chili, but completely SCD legal and bean-free (important in our house!) Feel free to adjust the spices up or down to dial in the chili flavor. If I was making it just for myself, I would have added more cayenne, but since a little man was sharing with me, I kept it mild.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion diced
2 large carrots diced
3 cloves garlic diced
1 bell pepper diced
1 large organic chicken breast, sliced very thin against the grain then diced
2/3 cup organic tomato puree
1 ½ tsp large grain sea salt
Pinch cayenne
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp coriander
Pinch cinnamon
Pinch pepper
Water
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro.

In a 2 quart cast iron pot, caramelize diced onion in the olive oil. Once caramelized, add diced carrots and sweat until just slightly tender. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Add pepper, tomato, seasoning and add enough water to come 1 inch from bottom of pot. Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Add chicken and cook 5 minutes (or until chicken is done). Add cilantro and simmer 5 more minutes.

Single-serving of Pecan Chicken Nuggets

This is a "fast-food" in our house for dinner for my son. He will inhale these (and so will any adult around to steal a piece or two).

1. Preheat Oven to 400 degrees
2. While oven is heating, dice 1/2 butterflied chicken breast in 1cm cubes. This is easiest when dicing a partially-thawed piece of chicken. I keep them in the freezaer then nuke for 45 sec to 1 min before dicing.
3. Mix 1/3 cup pecan meal, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp kosher salt in ziplock sandwich bag.
4. Add chicken to ziplock and shake to coat pieces.
5. Line cookie tray with parchment paper.
6. Place pieces on tray and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Lemon-zinger Chicken Marinade

Juice & Zest from 1 large lemon
6-8 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp honey
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil

Puree all ingredients. Marinate 4-6 butterflied chicken breasts for 8 hours.

Garlicky Tangy Grilled Veggies

2 Organic Zucchinis
2 Organic Yellow Summer Squash
2 Organic Bell Peppers (any color)
6 cloves garlic
1/3 organic onion
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup extra light olive oil
1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano

Slice squash lengthwise as thin as you can. Slice peppers in rings
Puree garlic, onion, salt, oregano and half of the vinegar into paste. Add remaining liquids and blend until smooth. Pour in large bowl over sliced veggies and marinate 15 min to 1 hour. Grill on high heat to the done-ness you like. Serves 4 adults who like veggies.

Cilantro-Lime Chicken

Marinade:
1/4 Cup Grapeseed Oil
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/3 Cup apple cider vinegar
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup diced cilantro
1 seeded jalapeno
juice of 2 limes
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp honey
Puree in blender.

Marinate 2 pounds chicken overnight for best flavor then grill away!

Layered Pot-Roast

2-3 pound eye round roast sliced thin
46 oz Tomato Juice (1 large can Campbell's)
1 onion diced
4-6 cloves garlic diced
2 stalks celery diced
2-3 tbsp olive oil
dried oregano
kosher salt

1. Slice eye round against the grain as thinly as possible
2. Saute onion, garlic and celery in olive oil until translucent.
3. Pour enough tomato juice in bottom of crock to cover the crock.
4. Place enough slices of beef along bottom of crock to cover juice.
5. Sprinkle 1/4 to 1/3 of sauteed vegetables on top of beef.
6. Sprinkle with oregano and salt.
7. Pour more tomato juice to cover veggies.
8. Repeat layering with beef, veggies, spices, juice to use up all ingredients.
9. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.

"Brownies"

1 1/2 cup pecan-butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey
2 RIPE bananas
1 cup butternut squash
1 tsp baking soda
3 ounces raw chicken

Puree. Pour into greased 8x8 or 9x9 pan and bake at 300 for 1:15 or until center comes out clean with toothpick. These tend to be a little wet so if you have trouble, leave them in a low oven to dry out a bit.

Fajita-ish Chicken

Okay, so, usually I have a plan for dinner. Tonight I did not. So, I threw a few things in a pan hoping to replicate a little fajita-ish flavor for my flavor-deprived boy. Turned out great and I ate half. Oops. The portions are small b/c I thought I was cooking for one. I'll update the next time I make it for larger portions.

1/2 organic chicken breast, sliced very thin against grain and diced.
1/2 organic zucchini, pealed and diced
1/2 organic red pepper, diced.

Marinade:
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp oil (light olive works well)
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp coriander (can be increased if you like more fajita-ish flavor)
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
2 cloves diced garlic

Mix marinade and pour over chicken and veggies. Let sit 15 minutes. Dump everything into a VERY hot skillet and stir-fry until done.

Egg-Free Pecan Spice Cookies

1 1/2 Cup Pecan Flour (would work just as well w/almond too)
1/8 Cup honey
1/4 Cup pear sauce
1/8 Cup melted spectrum palm shortening
1 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp SCD vanilla
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix honey into warm, melted shortening. Blend pear sauce & vanilla into it. Stir all dry ingredients together. Pour wet ingredients into dry and blend well. Roll into small balls and press flat like peanut-butter cookies (I use a standard cookie scooper). Bake at 300 for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Pearsauce

So, makin' pearsauce is time consuming, but easy.

Step 1. Buy green pears.
Step 2. Peel pears
Step 3. Core Pears
Step 4. Throw pears in pot on low - medium heat for 4 hours, stirring every 15 min for the first hour and mashing them down as they soften.
Step 5. Puree pears and freeze in individual-size containers.

I usually do 9-12 pounds of pears at a time b/c Will INHALES this stuff. Tastes like candy when it's done (and looks a little pink too). But, can be done with just a few pears if you want. You know it's done when the pears just fall apart and turn a little pink.

Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce

Sauce:
48 ounces strained tomatoes (I found some bottled ones in the organic section of giant - they were PERFECT).
1-4 onions
6 ribs of celery
4-6 cloves garlic
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1-2 bay leaves
1 tsp oregano
1-2 tsp other spices (rosemary, basil, parsley, sage, thyme, etc.)
3/4 - 1 pound organic ground beef

Use food processor to dice finely the onion, celery and garlic
In Stock pot, warm olive oil over med heat for 1 minute
Add all ingredients except tomatoes
Saute/stir frequently until almost all liquid has evaporated
Add tomatoes.
Cover with splashguard and allow to simmer on low for 15- 20 minutes
In frying pan, brown meat. Strain and add to sauce.

Squash:
wash 1 spaghetti squash
Cut in half and scoop out seeds and other gook
Place rind up in casserole dish with 1/2 inch of water and bake at 375 for 30 - 45 minutes until knife goes in easily.
When done, scrape squash with fork side to side to make "noodles"

Serve sauce over squash noodles.

Egg-Free Pumpkin Cookies

3 Cups SCD Flour
1/4 Cup Honey
3/4 plus 1/8 cup Pumpkin Puree
1/8 cup melted palm shortening or coconut oil
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ginger
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg.

Preheat oven to 300
Melt oil.
Combine all wet ingredients
Combine all dry ingredients
Mix wet into dry ingredients
Form dough into little balls the size of walnuts (I use a cookie scooper for this) and place on parchment lined cookie sheet (or silpat)
Bake 10 - 15 minutes until slightly browned.

Makes about 3 doz cookies.

Chicken Curry

1 tsp olive oil
1 onion diced
4 cloved minced garlic
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp SCD Curry Powder
2 medium tomatoes diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 lb chicken diced
1 1/2 C Water

1. Saute onion & Garlic in oil 4-5 min.
2. Add salt, ginger & Curry. Cook 1-2 min.
3. Add tomatoes & mix well
4. Add chicken, stir well.
5. Add water.
6. Cover & cook on medium 20 minutes
7. Uncover & cook on low 10 minutes

Curry Powder

1 tsp cardamom (or seeds from 8 whole cardamom pods)
4 inches of cinnamon stick
8 whole cloves
4 tsp corieander seeds
4 tsp cumin seeds (or 1/2 tsp cumin)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne

Grind together in a coffee grinder approx. 3 minutes into a fine powder. You can add more cayenne if you like a spicier finished product. This amount of cayenne allowed me to use it for my son (not spicy)

Chicken or the egg??

I have found that 2 oz of raw chicken pureed into the wet ingredients in a baked-good recipes binds the final product together better than any other egg-free "eggs". So, feel free to substitute away. :)