Week 7 New to Me Recipe

I have been doing that Whole30 thing since Feb 1, and this time I am doing one thing very differently. I am trying to make meals that are equally enjoyable for those not doing the program, as they are for those of us who are. (In our those those of us who are is just me and those who aren't is TheHub and anyone else who happens to pop by for a meal). Fortunately for me TheHub will eat pretty much anything and as long as it has a good flavor he is a happy camper.

I tried this mainly because my mouth was craving intense flavor, and the Girl Scout Thin Mints in the freezer were singing a sweet song to me, telling me I had been so diligent and it wouldn't hurt to eat just one. Except I know me and that one cookie would turn into a whole cellophane stack, leaving me with a sugar overload and the burden of regret.

Since I was hungry I needed something substantial as well as something delicious, so I started looking at various Whole 30/paleo blogs. When I saw a few recipes for buffalo chicken I knew my mouth would be happy, but they were all slow cooker recipes, it was about 6 and I needed something that could be ready within the hour. (I have found with little or no snacking between meals, especially when snacks are celery sticks with almond butter, that I am hungry earlier and we are eating within 30 minutes of TheHub getting home).

This link will take you directly to the page where the recipe I mostly used is found. I am writing it in the body of this post with the changes I made to it (mostly based on what I had available)

2 large sweet potatoes baked however you like to bake them.

( I stick mine in the microwave)

2 cups shredded lettuce (I had leaf lettuce so that's what I used.

1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs cubed. (use whatever boneless skinless chicken you have on hand)

1/4 cup ghee (can use oil instead but use about 1/2 the amount)

5 ribs of celery, sliced thin

3 large carrots cut in thin "coins 1 zucchini grated
1/4 onion diced
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot* sauce
1 teaspoon  salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

sliced scallions for garnish 

Melt the ghee in a dutch oven. Toss in the chicken and cook until the chicken loses its color. Remove from the pan and add the veggies and let them soften slightly. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the chicken  back to the pan and cook on medium low until the veggies are cooked through and the chicken is done.

Cut each potato in half and kind of squeeze it so the sweet potato is "loose".  Add 1/2 cup 

shredded lettuce to the cut side of each potato then tops with 1/4 of the mixture. Add either ranch or blue cheese dressing and sprinkle the top with scallions. 

This was beyond delicious. Son2 and GF2 dropped by to eat and they thought it was incredible. The half potato was enough for everyone but Son2 who went back for more of the chicken mixture. Even with him having seconds there was enough left for me to eat for lunch a couple of days later. So this passed the paleo and non paleo food taste test with flying colors. I am going to keep this in our meal rotation whether I am doing Whole30 or not.

I had made paleo ranch dressing and they all used it, but any ranch or blue cheese will work well. Also *Franks Hot Sauce is sugar free and falls in one of the few "regular food condiments" that are whole 30 compliant. It is a pretty mild "hot" sauce, so if you use a hotter one adjust accordingly.

And I apologize for being mostly absent from everyone's blogs lately. Lots of stuff is happening here right now and I will post about it a little later.

Have a great day and try some new recipes and let us know about it!