RECIPE: Moroccan Marinated Chicken

I often refer to Gavan Murphy's website for cooking adventure ideas. Everything I have made from his recipes has been outstanding, so I rest assured that each new attempt will be delicious, as well. For years I trusted Southern Living cookbooks (and still do!!) but I just don't cook like a Southern gal anymore. Paleo cooking is much for rewarding, so why tamper with a good thing! (Actually, at some point I will refer back to some of my favorite Southern recipes and I will attempt to 'convert' them to Paleo.
I bought chicken breasts at the store yesterday, so I decided to try a recipe I've been curious about ... Moroccan Marinated Chicken. I paired it with some roasted zucchini filled with grape tomato halves, herbs, and mozzarella cheese ... That recipe will be posted shortly, too. Dessert was AMAZING! I made Paleo Strawberry Coconut Sorbet! Yes, I'll be posting that recipe, as well! 
***Please note***The chicken must marinate for 4 hours, so there is preparation that needs to be done in advance.

MOROCCAN MARINATED CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS:
4 large organic Chicken Breasts (Gavan used 2 whole organic chickens)
Marinade:
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon groung Coriander
2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Sea Salt
2 teaspoons Lemon Pepper
1 teaspoon organic Agave

DIRECTIONS:
Preparing/marinating the chicken ...
Combine the marinade ingredients together and blend well. (I used my immersion blender) Taste and set aside.
Preheat large skillet on high heat. Lay chicken pieces on foil or a paper towel then sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to hot pan, then add pieces of chicken to sear all sides. This should take 2 or 3 minutes per side. You may need to sear the chicken a few pieces at a time rather than all at once.

Once all the chicken is golden brown, add the chicken to the marinade and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Baking the chicken ... 
***Allow the chicken to return to room temperature to insure even cooking.***


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.


Place chicken pieces on a foil-lined baking dish.

If you're cooking mixed pieces of chicken you will need to pot the dark meat pieces in first, as they take longer to cook.


After the dark meat pieces have baked for 8 minutes, add white meat pieces and return to the oven for approximately 12 minutes. 


Check for doneness. I used my meat thermometer and checked the thickest part of a breast.  At 20 minutes the inside temperature of the chicken was 139 degrees, so I returned the dish back to the oven for 5more minutes. If you're checking with a meat thermometer you want the internat temperature to be 160 degrees. It's easy to tell with dark meat ... cut into the meat and see if juices next to the bone are clear. If so, it's done.

Remove the dish from the oven and allow the meat to 'rest' for at least 3 minutes. This allows for the juices to be reabsorbed back into the meat for maximum juiciness.

RECIPE: Almond Crusted Chicken

Chicken is a favorite source of protein around here. When I went grocery shopping the other day I picked up a couple of pounds of fresh organic chicken tenders. It's cold and rainy here in Northern California this weekend, and "comfort" food seemed to be in order. It's fun finding Paleo recipes that fill the "Comfort Food" void for this Southern girl! How does Almond Crusted Chicken,  Roasted Acorn Squash and a Tomato and Blue Salad sound? Sounds great to me!

Almond Crusted Chicken Tenders
INGREDIENTS:
10 chicken tenders
1 large egg
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup chopped raw almonds
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

 DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Wash and dry the chicken.
3. Crack an egg into a bowl and whisk until blended. Put almond meal and chopped raw almonds into another bowl.

 4. Coat each piece of chicken with egg.

 5. Then coat chicken (with egg) with almond flour mixture.

 6. Place chicken in greased pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

7. Bake for 20 minutes.

I'll be posting the recipe for the acorn squash next!

RECIPE: Stir-Fry Chicken

I have experimented with ingredients for stir-fry for years. I finally decided the simpler the better. I came up with this recipe a couple of years ago. We liked it so well I stopped experimenting.

STIR-FRY CHICKEN
INGREDIENTS:
1 lb. organic chicken breasts
2 crowns broccoli
8 oz sliced mushrooms
4 tsp curry (I use Trader Joe's)
Sea salt & Pepper to taste
Olive oil
*Secret Ingredient #1*
*Secret Ingredient #2*

DIRECTIONS:
1. Cut broccoli, mushrooms, and chicken into bite sized pieces. Be sure to keep raw chicken away from vegetables.
2. Heat wok to medium high and add 1 Tbsp olive oil. After one minute add chicken and 2 tsp curry, stir ring occasionally to cook evenly, but not burn.

3. Once chicken is done, remove from wok and place in a bowl.
4. Add more oil, if needed, and add broccoli. Cover and cook 2 minutes on medium. Add mushrooms and 1 tsp curry. Stirring occasionally for even cooking. Cover when not stirring.

5. Once vegetables are tender, but not mushy, add chicken back into the wok and stir until well mixed. Add secret ingredient. (See below)

Secret Ingredient #1 is "Soy-Vay Island Teriyaki" from Trader Joe's. I know, I know, it's not 100% Paleo, but I am going to attempt to make a version that is. This stuff tastes so good, and it does have a lot of good ingredients in  it, but it does have some sugar. I am going to attempt to make something similar with honey or agave. (Contents: Preservative free soy sauce, water, sugar, 100% pure pineapple juice, vinegar, soy oil, sesame seeds, fresh garlic, dried onions, fresh ginger, garlic granules, sesame oil, onion powder, and ginger powder.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SECRET SAUCE RECIPE: (Secret Ingredient #2)
1/2 cup Paleo mayo
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Curry
1/2 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Agave
water

1. Spoon mayonnaise into a bowl and add all ingredients except water.
2. Mix well.
3. Add only enough water to thin the mixture out a little - I'm guessing 1 Tbsp or so. The mixture should have the consistency of thick salad dressing.
4. Spoon onto stir-fry. Enjoy!

I made a small quantity of *gasp* brown rice for Conrad, however I plated mine with the remaining spaghetti squash from the night before. I added a dash of curry and a splash of secret ingredient #1 to add oriental flavor.

Here it is ... Stir-fry chicken with broccoli and mushrooms with a side of curried spaghetti squash drizzled with secret sauce!

RECIPE: Roasted Chicken & Barley Soup

I have been a big fan of Gavan Murphy for a while now. I will be posting several of his recipes ... Some as he posted them, some with my modifications. 
We have been invited to attend a Christmas Eve "Soup Potluck" and I was at a loss as to what to take. I checked Gavan's recipes and found this one. Since my neighbor sells Wildtree Products I wanted to incorporate at least two of their products into the recipe. I used their Chicken Bouillon Soup Base and their Garlic Galore Seasoning Blend. Here's a link to her Wildtree page for more information about their wonderful products: Wildtree
So, here's the recipe!
INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil (I substituted Wildtree Grapeseed Oil)
½ cup white onion – fine dice
½ cup celery – thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove – minced (I used 1 tsp. Wildtree Garlic Galore Seasoning Blend)
6 ounce baby portabella mushrooms – chopped
1 medium roasted chicken – meat shredded
1/3 cup barley
2 bay leaves
1 14 ½ ounce can chopped tomatoes
6 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (I used 6 cups of water and 4 tablespoons Wildtree Chicken Bouillon Soup Base)
3 tablespoons. fresh parsley – chopped


½ lemon – zested (I didn't have a lemon, so I omitted this)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin by preheating soup pot on medium heat for 1 minute.
2. Add olive oil and sauté the onions and celery for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not brown.
3. Add garlic, mushrooms and bay leaves and continue sautéing for additional 3 minutes.
4. Add broth and tomatoes. Stir and bring to a boil.
5. Once boiling reduce to a simmer and partially cover with lid.
6. Cook for 15 minutes.
7. Add barley and cook for 20 minutes.
8. Add shredded chicken and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
9. Finish by adding fresh chopped parsley and lemon zest.
10. Taste and season.
And now for some photos ... 

 Soup's ready ... Just added the fresh parsley and a little fresh ground pepper!
Could this possibly look any more festive?

 We each had a HUGE mug of soup and this is what was left over. 

 These are the Wildtree products I used ... Well, and their Grapeseed Oil.