Whole 30 Compliant Chicken Piccata

Chicken piccata is a fave of mine.  Beast makes it almost every year for my birthday and he made it the first night we brought our Ladybug home.  Typically it is served with a buttery sauce (not Whole 30 compliant) over or with noodles of some sort (also not Whole 30 compliant).  I was having a little craving for a lemony sauce one night when we were doing Whole 30 and were planning to make grilled chicken salads.  This is the dish I made instead and it wound up being a big hit.

It is very close to a typical, unbreaded chicken piccata using ghee instead of butter and serving it on a bed of spinach instead of noodles.  The spinach gets lightly sautéed when you top it with the warm sauce and works really well with the salty, lemony capers.  We gave the kids some steamed frozen veggies to have with the chicken in addition to a small amount of spinach so it worked for everyone.  Enjoy!

Searing chicken in small batches to make sure you get a sear and not a steam.

Seared chicken set aside.

What may look dirty is actually flavor.  Add the chicken stock and all those brown tasty bits will come off.

Chicken simmering in the sauce.

Final product.

Happy Cooking!

Mel

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Whole 30 Compliant Chicken Piccata

by Mel from Served With Love in Colorado September-18-2017

This is a great way to get the taste of the dish you love while being compliant with the Whole 30 program. Add as much lemon and capers to your taste, the 2 Tablespoons each here is the minimum. I typically use 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice and 4 Tablespoons or more of capers. The warm sauce lightly cooks the spinach it tops so it is much more like eating lightly sautéed spinach than raw spinach. 

Ingredients

• 3, sliced to 1/4 inch thick chicken breasts
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2+ Tablespoons lemon juice
• 2+ Tablespoons capers
• 1 Tablespoon ghee
• 4 cups spinach

Instructions

1. Slice the chicken in 1/4 inch long slices2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper 3. Heat olive oil in cast iron pan or dutch oven with sides4. Sear chicken on 2-3 minutes each side in small batches5. Put chicken to the side once seared6. Add chicken stock to pan and scrape brown bits with wood spoon until clean7. Add 2 Tablespoons lemon juice and at least 2 Tablespoons capers8. Bring sauce to simmer for 5 minutes until it somewhat thickens9. Add ghee and stir to mix10. Taste sauce and add any additional lemon or capers to your taste (I typically add an additional Tablespoon of lemon juice here)11. Add chicken to the sauce and leave uncovered on low heat for 5 minutes12. Split spinach between large bowls13. Add several slices of chicken to bowls as well as a ladle of sauce and capers

Details

Prep time: 10 mins Cook time: 20 mins Total time: 30 mins Yield: 4 servings

Dinner Inspiration: My neighbor's arugula pesto

We have the best neighbors in the entire world.  Seriously.  This is for a variety of reasons but one that I hold especially dear:  They share things from their garden.

The other day we were in the backyard trading gardening stories with our neighbor (we have both just moved into new houses and this was both of first years for these gardens).  He then asked if we would like to try his arugula pesto.  Absolutely!  In two minutes I was holding a mason jar full of love from his garden.  He said it was a mix of home grown arugula, lemon juice, parmesan, olive oil, and pine nuts.  I don't know the recipe so that's why I'm not sharing it here.

With that in hand, I was inspired to make a pasta dish with some love from my garden too.

I marinated chicken thighs in basil, olive oil and pepper then grilled them.  Roasted sliced zucchini (from my garden) and asparagus (cut into one inch pieces) mixed with olive oil, pepper, and salt at 350 for 15 minutes and then high broil for 2 minutes.  Boiled up some shell pasta and mixed it all together with the pesto.  Plated it up and topped it with some shredded parmesan.

I can always tell how well Beast likes something by if he runs to claim the leftovers for lunch the next day.  As we were clearing the table, he was already scraping the bowl into a "to go" container.

This is easily re-creatable even if you don't have lovely neighbors giving you jars of heavenly made pesto.  Grab a jar of pesto at the grocery store or make your own.  Serve with roasted veggies, pasta, and grilled chicken and you've got it.

Happy cooking!

Served With Love: Grace

Last night the dinner I Served With Love was Papa Murphy's pizza, a store bought salad mix, and cut up grapes and cucumbers.  It was one of those nights.

We got back from vacation Sunday night so the house was a mess (when I unpack, it looks like a bomb went off in the suitcase) and fridge was bare.  I didn't sleep well the night before because all the things I need to do were running through my head.  I didn't leave work until almost 5:45 pm which meant I wasn't home until well after 6 pm.  Dinner getting on the table by 6:30 pm was not going to happen, especially if I had to make something.  A quick call to Papa Murphy's and a stop on the way home was all I needed to get a meal on the table.  

And you know what?  Everyone was happy!  Not a big deal at all.  And I was able to soak up some time with the kids while the pizza was cooking.  Way better than frantically trying to create something out of nothing while exhausted.  

I'm glad I've learned through the years to give myself some grace on nights like this.

What is your go to quick pick up meal?  I'd love to have some others in my back pocket!

BBQ Chicken and Veggies One Pan Dinner

The other night, I didn't get home with the kids until 6:00 PM.  We normally try to have dinner around 6:30 so we can play with the kids for a bit before they go to bed around 7:30-8 PM.  So that meant I had to get started quick to get dinner together and on the table.  Nights like this, a one pan throw in the oven dinner is a quick an easy way to go.  Here is what I threw together:  BBQ Chicken with broccoli and potatoes.

Ingredients:
Package of chicken tenders (or chicken breasts cut into slices)
Head of broccoli
3 potatoes
BBQ sauce
Olive oil
Pepper and salt
Seasoning mix of your choice

• As soon as you get home, turn the oven on to preheat to 400 degrees.
• Turn Sesame Street on for the kids.
• Cut the broccoli florets off the head with kitchen shears and put the florets on one side of a sheet pan.
• Cut the up the potatoes in SMALL cubes (you need them to cook quickly) around 1/2 inch and put them on the other side of the pan, leaving some space in the middle.
• Drizzle olive oil over the veggies and sprinkle with salt and pepper over the veggies.  If you have a spice mix you like, sprinkle it over the potatoes.  I used a seasoning mix from Savory that had a little bit of everything in it: garlic, onion, rosemary, etc.
• Mix the veggies with your hands.
• Throw the chicken in the middle with a little space in between if you can.
• Put a couple glugs of your favorite BBQ sauce on top of the chicken.  Paint the sauce over the chicken, flip and repeat.
• Throw in the over for 30 minutes and wallah!  Dinner is served!

While it was cooking, I was able to get a bit of time in with the kids, get things cleaned up, and get the table and drinks all ready for dinner.  Everyone in our house was happy and after a long day, it was really nice to just have one pan to clean up!

Happy cooking!

Cinnamon Apple Pork and Sweet Potatoes

My kids (and hubby) love their sweets.  This is a dinner that to them tasted like dessert but I felt fine about it because there was plenty of fruit and veggies in every bite.  Ladybug decided that forks should be optional during this meal because she was able to shovel in the goodness with her hands better.

Ingredients:

Pork chops

1 c (or one juice box) apple juice

2 Tablespoons cinnamon

1/4 c honey

2-3 sweet potatoes

2 apples

1. Night before (or right when you get home) put pork chops, apple juice, honey, and cinnamon in a large ziplock bag to marinate the meat. Cooking/Meal planning tip:  Even if I haven't meal planned, I like to know what I am making for dinner by the night before.  That way I can make sure any meat needed is thawed and ingredients are on hand.
2. Peel and cube sweet potatoes (~1/2 inch cubes are perfect)
3. Cook the sweet potatoes with some coconut oil or olive oil for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Preheat the grill.
5. While sweet potatoes are cooking, cube the apples (I leave the peel on)
6. Once the sweet potatoes are starting to soften, add the apples and a little more oil. 
7. Put the meat on the grill, keeping the marinade.

   

   Reserved marinade

8. Pour the marinade into the sweet potatoes and apples and cover.
9. Flip the meat when it is no longer sticking to the grill (about 4 minutes)
10. Pull the meat off the grill when again, it is no longer sticking to it and let it rest while the apples and sweet potatoes finish cooking.                                                                                                        

Go To Taco Meat

This is the recipe for my Go To Taco Meat that I seriously make almost every week.  Beast looks at my weekly menu more on that later for it each week and will ask if it isn't there when I'm making it next.  This recipe makes plenty for dinner and next day lunches too.  And the kids have no idea how many veggies they are eating.   

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef or ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 can diced green chiles

1 can black beans

1 box Spanish rice

1 box hard taco shells

1 packet taco seasoning

Beer for deglazing the pan (pretty much anything will work as long as it isn't too fruity)

Cheddar cheese for topping

Other possible additions:

Chopped zucchini
Chopped fresh spinach

Other possible toppings:

Sour cream 

Lettuce

Diced fresh tomatoes

Directions:

• Put on a Sesame Street episode for the kids.  
• Open a beer and take a swig.  You have to make sure the bottle is good before using it in a recipe.  Seriously.  
• Put on your favorite Pandora mix.  I recommend "Ed Sheeran Radio" or "Today's Indie Radio."
• Brown meat.
• While meat is cooking, chop onion, red pepper, and carrots.

• Once meat is browned, drain if there is a pourable amount of fat.
• Add carrots and cook about 5 minutes. 

• Cook the Spanish rice as directed on the box.  Add the diced tomatoes can once the water is boiling.
• Add other vegetables and cook about 5 minutes (until onions are tender).

• Add the packet of taco seasoning to the meat.
• If at any time the bottom of the pans starts to get crusty technical term deglaze the pan with a glug of beer.  Once the beer is in, scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the good stuff off flavor off the bottom. 
• Cook the meat until the carrots are tender.
• Add the can of green chiles.
• Drain and rinse the can of black beans.  Add it to the meat.  This might sound strange but I do this for a couple of reasons: 1) My kids won't eat beans if I serve them on the side but they will eat them in the meat.  2) This makes 1 pound of meat go a long way since the beans act as a cheap additional protein and filler.

• Serve the tacos topped with cheese and any other toppings you like and a side of rice.

• Watch your children eat veggies they have no idea about.  Evil cackle quietly to yourself.

So there you have it.  This is not anything fancy but it goes over really well with my family and tastes great for lunch the next day.  It is also really flexible and you can make it different depending on what you have on hand.

Hope it works for you too!

Go To Pasta Sauce

This is the recipe for my Go To Pasta Sauce that I seriously make almost every week.  Without fail.  My family loves it.  It makes plenty for dinner and next day lunches too.  And the kids have no idea how many veggies they are eating.  Seriously, no idea.  

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef or Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
1 box of your favorite pasta
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1 Tbsp minced garlic
Red peppers flakes (to taste)
Red wine for deglazing the pan
Parmesan cheese

Other possible additions:

Chopped zucchini
Chopped fresh spinach
Chopped red peppers
Canned pumpkin Seriously, you can't taste it at all and it adds lots of vitamins and fiber.  And gets that can out of the fridge that you had to use half of for another recipe.

Directions:

• Put on a Daniel Tiger episode for the kids.  Choose their sermon.  Today you need to hear about sharing...
• Open red wine and pour taster glass.  You have to make sure the bottle is good before using it in a recipe.  Seriously.  Really this might be step one depending on the work day...
• Put on your favorite Pandora mix.  I recommend "A Dinner Party Ambience Radio" or "Indie Singer-Songwriters Radio."
• Put on a big pot of water to boil for the pasta.
• Brown meat.
• While meat is cooking, chop onion and carrots.
• Once meat is browned, drain if there is a pourable amount of fat.
• Add onions and carrots and cook about 5 minutes (until onions are tender)

• While onions and carrots are cooking, chop anything else you will be adding and get it ready.  Tonight I added zucchini so here is where I chopped that.
• Add the zucchini or any other fresh veggies.
• While the additions are cooking, add the Italian Seasoning, red pepper flakes, and garlic.
• If at any time the bottom of the pans starts to get crusty technical term deglaze the pan with a glug of wine.  Once the wine is in, scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the good stuff off flavor off the bottom.
• Add in any other additions.  Tonight I added canned pumpkin since I had still had one can leftover in the pantry from all the pumpkin recipes I was making in the fall.
• Cook until the carrots are tender.
• Add the pasta sauce and turn heat down to low to simmer.

• Depending on how long it is going to take Beast to get home, I'll sometimes simmer the sauce stirring it occasionally for 15-30 minutes or just go straight to serving.  You can be flexible.  
• Once I have "Find iPhone" stalked Beast and determined he is 10 minutes from home, I drop the pasta and cook according to the directions on the box.  
• Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add to the pot of sauce.  I have toddlers so we use a lot of penne or other small pastas that they can more easily eat than spaghetti.
• Stir to get sauce in every nook and cranny.
• Top with parmesan cheese or "sprinkle cheese" as it is known in my house and serve.
• Watch your children eat carrots, spinach and other goodness they have no idea about.  Evil cackle quietly to yourself.

So there you have it.  This is not anything fancy but it goes over really well with my family and tastes great for lunch the next day.  It is also really flexible and you can make it different depending on what you have on hand.

Hope it works for you too!

Easy One Pan Dinner

So a couple of friends asked for me to send them a recipe every once and a while since cooking is something I really enjoy. Here is a basic one pan oven dinner that my family enjoys.

Ingredients:

Package of chicken sausage (any flavor, 4-8 depending on your family size and how much you want for leftovers)

2 zucchini (cut into coins about 1/4 inch thick)

4 potatoes (cut into small chunk about 1 cm cubes)

Put sliced zucchini and potatoes on each side of a sheet pan.

Preheat oven to bake at 375 degrees. Toss separately with olive oil, salt, pepper, and any additional seasoning you would like to add. I like to add rosemary and garlic powder to the potatoes. Put the sausages in the middle.

Put the pan in the oven and set a time for 10 minutes. When the 10 minutes are up, take the pan out to flip the sausages and toss the vegetable. Put back in the oven and set a timer for another 10 minutes. When the 10 minutes is up, take the pan out and flip the oven to a high broil. Remove the sausages and zucchini and spread the potatoes out across the pan. Put the potatoes back in for 5-10 minutes depending on how crispy you like them. (I use this 5 minutes to cut the sausages and zucchini up for the kids, get milks and waters on the table, etc.) Pull out of the oven when the time is up and serve.