Batch-Cooked Chicken Breast Meals

Bone-in chicken breasts are not only an economical form in which to purchase breast meat, but they are also more moist and flavorful than the more commonly used boneless skinless chicken breasts. Here are instructions for preparing a pack with about two large split breasts (4 breast pieces) into three paleo, AIP-friendly meals for 2-4 people (depending on appetites!). A key ingredient is the salt - I nearly always use himalayan pink salt. When your flavor options are limited, a quality salt makes a big difference. It's healthier too!

Cook the chicken:
Place chicken pieces in a large pot and cover with 4-6 cups water. Add 1 tsp. salt, cover and bring to simmer on stove over medium heat. Check for doneness by pricking to see if juices run clear. When just done, remove from heat immediately. Let sit, covered for 10 minutes, then remove chicken to platter, reserving broth. When just cool enough to handle, but still warm, remove skin and bones. Place skin back into broth on stove. Discard bones (or add to your bag of bones for stock in the freezer).

Now you have 4 large, peeled chicken breasts. Using a sharp, serrated knife, cut each breast into 1/2 inch slices and sprinkle the cut surface with sea salt immediately. Put salted pieces into a covered dish. Spoon over a little broth, to moisten.

Meal #1: Creamy Broccoli Chicken Soup
Remove 2 cups of broth from the pot, and reserve for other use.
Return remaining broth with skins in it to medium-high heat.
Add 1 bag of frozen broccoli, 1 cup frozen peas (optional), 1-2 peeled and chopped turnips, and 1 Tbsp minced dry onion.
Cook until vegetables are tender.
Add a handful of fresh parsley or other herbs of choice.
Puree - an immersion blender is your best friend here, but adding to a regular blender by batches if you don't have one - until smooth. The fatty chicken skin is key to creating creaminess.
Take a third of the reserved chicken, chop into smaller pieces and add into pureed soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with butter, chopped walnuts, and fresh chopped parsley if desired.

Meal #2: Chicken Salad
While soup is cooking, take another third of the chicken, chop it finely and add in red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, dijon mustard and chopped fresh herbs. (Or your own home made vinaigrette recipe - enough to thoroughly moisten all the meat). Pack into a covered glass container tightly and refrigerate overnight. Serve on top of salad greens with tomatoes, grated carrot, olives or other favorite salad toppings and additional vinaigrette.

Meal #3: Spaghetti Squash Alfredo
Place 1/4 cup of raw cashews into a blender jar. Cover with 1 1/4 cup of boiling water and let sit 20-30 minutes. Add 1/4 tsp salt, dash of pepper and 2 Tbsp. butter. Puree until smooth. This can be done ahead of time and refrigerated for a day or so.
Cook a spaghetti squash according to typical directions. Remove 'noodles' and toss with butter and salt and dried basil. Set aside.
Place leftover chopped chicken in pan coated with olive oil. Cook on medium heat til warm and sizzling. Add cashew cream sauce and cook til bubbly. Serve over spaghetti squash.
A side dish of spinach salad with vinaigrette or cooked green beans or asparagus rounds out the meal nicely.

Leftover Chicken Collard Wraps

Leftover roast chicken has many wonderful uses, but it can also become wonderfully ho-hum if you eat chicken often. This tasty wrap filling takes advantage of leftover chicken's tendency to turn to mushy shreds as it forms a creamy filling for collard leaves.

Simmer in small saucepan till tender:

1 large carrot, grated

2-3 Tbsp. water or broth

2 Tbsp. coconut cream or coconut butter

 -- you could try subbing in 1/4 cup coconut milk for the two above ingredients - I find coconut cream easier to keep on hand and dilute as needed

Add: 

1 - 1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken

1 Tbsp. sesame butter

Salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, cinnamon, chili powder to taste - depending on how your chicken leftovers were seasoned and what you are in the mood for.

Dash of broth or coconut milk as needed to prevent sticking.

Stir chicken and carrots in sauce, cooking on medium low heat until simmering and thick, and resembling something like tuna salad (but much better smelling!). Remove from heat and  allow to cool slightly. Stir in some chopped fresh parsley or chives if they're handy.

Prepare 2 or 3 collard leaves for wrapping. Wash, pat dry and remove fat stem from lower end. For small leaves, cut upwards an inch or so into the leaf to remove as much stem as possible without compromising the leaf's wrappability. For large leaves, simply cut leaf in two sections on either side of the stem for two stemless wraps.

Place 2 or 3 Tablespoons of filling in each leaf and wrap as for egg rolls or burritos. The warm filling wilts the leaf just enough to make it soft and easy to eat. Enjoy immediately.

One-Pot Chicken and Lentil Dinner

Cook 1 lb. bag of lentils according to directions on bag, with addition of bay leaf, and 1 tsp. salt.
Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid (basically, enough to make the lentils a little soupy, but not floating in liquid).

In large, covered skillet or Dutch oven, brown
6 chicken drumsticks or thighs
in
1 Tbsp butter

Grind or mix together (I use mortar and pestle):
1 tsp dry rosemary
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1/2  tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp marjoram
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt

Sprinkle over chicken while it browns in pan, turning to sprinkle and brown all sides When chicken is browned, or no longer pink on all outside surface, spoon cooked lentils with liquid evenly over chicken. Heat till bubbling, then turn to very low. Cook, covered 1 hour.

Add
2 carrots, diced
Cook another half hour, covered.

Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley, oregano or basil before serving. And parmesan cheese if you like that stuff.
Excellent paired with a salad of spring greens and red wine vinaigrette.

Savory Chicken Gravy - GF, DF

I experimented with a grain- and dairy-free 'biscuits and gravy' dinner this evening using homemade cashew milk for the chicken gravy, and it turned out beautifully. It was my first try with making cashew milk from raw cashews, and I'm sure this won't be the last. If you're tired of coconut products, and want something creamy but dairy-free that doesn't taste like coconut milk for once, cashew milk is a great alternative as it has very little flavor, but lots of creamy texture.

Chicken Gravy with Cashew Milk

Cook and stir over medium-heat in large saucepan, till meat is either cooked through or re-heated. (I used leftover chopped, cooked chicken breast.)

1 Tbsp fat/oil/bacon grease

2 cups chopped chicken, turkey, or sausage

1 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. white pepper or powdered dry sage

Add (optional)

1 c. chopped kale leaves, stems removed

Cook till wilted and tender over lowered heat.

For the gravy

Combine in blender and whirl till fine-textured and milky:

1/2 cup "raw" (blanched) cashews 

3/4 c boiling water

1 clove fresh garlic

1 tsp. salt (more or less, depending on if your meat is salted)

Add cashew puree/milk to saucepan along with

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 Tbsp. arrowroot powder dissolved in 1/3 c water or reserved cashew milk - I used water that I put in the blender to rinse out the cashew milk residue.

After adding all liquids to the meat mixture, raise heat back to medium. Stir well until mixture is heated through and thickening and bubbling and then turn heat to low and simmer for 10-20 minutes. Serve over biscuits, waffles or pancakes. I hope to post my grain-free pancake or waffle recipe another time!

Pineapple Chicken

I wanted to make a yummy pineapple chicken skillet dinner without using sugar, soy sauce, tomato or peppers and this is what I came up with! Many people use coconut aminos in place of soy sauce, but I didn't have any and I had tamarind paste (bought on Amazon) so that's what I used. It turned out sticky, savory and yummy!

Sticky Pineapple Chicken

(Start by having your chicken pieces out of the package and set aside on a dish so you can add them quickly to your skillet when the seasonings are about to brown.)

In large skillet or other wide pan with a lid, melt together over medium heat:
1 T butter
1-2 T olive, coconut, or sesame oil

Add:
2 T sesame seeds
1-2 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp. minced dried onion or 1/2 small fresh onion minced
Stir over medium heat till beginning to sizzle and brown very slightly.

Add:
5-6 chicken drumsticks or thighs - about 1 'regular' package
Continue stirring - meat pieces should stay on one side long enough to brown, but don't let the seasonings burn. Flip chicken pieces after a few minutes and lower heat.

Add and stir:
1 - 1 1/2 cups pineapple chunks (fresh or canned and drained)

Combine in small bowl and pour over meat and pineapple in skillet:
1 T tamarind paste 
2 t salt
3/4 c water, pineapple juice or chicken broth 

Cover skillet and cook on low heat for 45-60 minutes, checking every 10-15 minutes to loosen sticking portions and add a little more liquid to prevent scorching if needed. Done when chicken is coming away from the bones and pineapple sauce is sticky. Serve over rice (or peas if you can't eat rice).

Flourless Crusty Baked Chicken

Going beyond gluten-free to grain-free is sometimes tricky for making filling meals. However, a cracker recipe on the back of some Bob's Red Mill sunflower seeds gave me the idea to modify the recipe for a "breaded" baked chicken that was very tasty and filling.

6-8 chicken pieces

1/4 cup. coconut oil

Grind to crumbs in blender or food processor:

1 cup sunflower seeds, toasted

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Place crumbs in a wide bowl and add:

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. dried basil

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. cayenne powder (or paprika if you don't like the heat)

- OR-

just add a generous amount of your favorite seasoned salt!

Dip chicken pieces in coconut oil and then roll in crumbs. Place in a greased (or even better, greased aluminum foil-lined for easy clean up) baking dish and bake at 350 for about an hour (depending on piece sizes).

I served this chicken along with a generous mound of steamed cabbage and carrots topped with this saucepan combination:

1/4 cup. melted butter,

1 tbsp. chopped onion (or 1 tsp. onion powder)

1/2 tsp. ground ginger,

3 tbsp. white vinegar,

1/2 t. salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste