Disaster Averted

Yikes! I recently bought 6 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs, put them in the laundry room fridge and promptly forgot about them until 10 o'clock tonight.  I was putting up a few things TheHub and I bought when I saw them.  I am pretty sure if I hadn't noticed them I would be throwing them out tomorrow.  So while the rest of the world was in wind down mode I was waiting for chicken to finish baking.

I didn't want to cook it all the same way and I am still doing the paleo thing so I was a little limited with how I was going to make it.  Ordinarily I would just toss it in the oven with a little salt and pepper, bake them off  and chop into pieces for a casserole, chicken tacos, or chicken tetrazzini. Well that was not something I could eat right now so I had to come up with different ways to flavor them while still remaining paleo. I split them into 3 pans (9x13 pyrex)  of approximately 2 pounds each and put on whatever was left of my thinking cap.







Pan 1 was pretty easy.  I had about 1/3 of a bottle of Bragg Ginger and Sesame Dressing.  If you have never tried this I really do recommend getting some.(Well, only get it if you love ginger, garlic and sesame oil) I poured it over the thighs and stuck in it a 350 degree oven. You will notice the bottle is completely empty now.  If any of you know how to make a dupe of this dressing please let me know. I use it all the time and it is a tad pricey!








Pan 2 was pretty easy also. I put the thighs in the bottom the pan, sprinkled them with poultry spices, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper.  I sliced a lemon very thin and put a slice on each thigh then sprinkled 4 ribs of chopped celery and 1 large chopped onion over everything.  I drizzled olive oil over the entire pan and off it went into the oven as well.




Pan 3 took a bit more thinking.  I had about 1/2 cup of paleo mayo (no sugar and made with olive oil) so I decided I would use it somehow.  Still having no idea where it would lead I added about a tablespoon of Chulula, (my all time favorite not too hot sauce)                               >
and approximately 1/2 teaspoon each of coriander powder, oregano and cumin.  I also tossed in 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder for good measure, because everything is better with a tad of garlic.  When I tasted it I thought it was flat and needed some sweetness. Major problem since I am doing no sugar, but out of the corner of my eye I spied 2 mandarins (Halo's, to be exact) so I juiced them and stirred the juice into the mayo mixture.  I tasted it again and it was getting there but I felt like it needed a little more heat, so I added 2 shakes of crushed red pepper, the kind that you find in a pizza place.  And for me I needed 2 more shakes, but we like things hot.  I poured it over the thighs and popped them in the oven where all 3 pans lived happily ever after, or until they were done, whichever came first.


I tried bites of all three and I was right, they tasted completely different.

 The first pan will be served to TheHub over rice (to me over cauliflower "rice") with a green side dish (probably broccoli but maybe asparagus) with a tossed salad.  It has a little bit on an Asian flavor so it should work well with the rice.

The herb baked chicken will be chopped and reheated with sauteed sweet potato cubes and served as a hash. A savory coleslaw will partner well with it, I think.  All the lemon slices will be removed remove before re-warming , but right now they live in the ziploc bag with the chicken so the citrus flavor will intensify a little.

And pan 3. Oh my goodness the bite I had was delicious.  No doubt it will be dinner tomorrow.  I know I will serve a mixed green salad and green beans.  I saved all the baking liquid so I imagine I will serve TheHubs over spaghetti noodles and mine over spiraiized zucchini and ladle a couple of tablespoons of the liquid over the noodles or fake noodles as the case may be.

This is so blooming good.  I am just sorry there is no way for y'all to taste and smell it.  I am blogging about this mainly to have a written "how-to" because I am sure in a couple of days I will have no idea how I made it.  That is the downside of throwing things together and hoping for the best, sometimes it actually is the best and if it's not written down it is very forgettable.

Now I have 2 meals for the freezer and one for tomorrow. Life is good and the chicken did not have to be thrown out. If I didn't have to get Mom's taxes in order tomorrow life would be better than good, it would be grand! But the upside is dinner is ready and Lent is almost over!

St.Paddy's Emergency Dessert

Thursday at the last minute I invited Mom to eat with us.  I had a large corned beef cooked, 2 heads of cabbage and a 5 pound bag of potatoes so I had more than enough food to include her, but Mom also likes dessert with special meals and I had planned none plus I only  had about 35 minutes until she was coming. So, once again, it was punt time  Lucky for me I keep a couple of cake mixes on hand all the time, mainly because you never know when you will need to punt.

I had my choice of using either the basic yellow cake mix or a butter pecan mix ( I don't remember buying it and wonder if I intended to get 2 yellow cake mixes and picked it up by mistake)  Since butter pecan cake sounded neither tasty nor Irish I used the yellow mix.  I was only going to need dessert for 3 and did not want extra cake hanging around the house so I split the mix in half, added a couple of extra things to it and called it done.  I am telling you in advance this is one of the easiest things I have done, and it looked and tasted (I was told 'cause it is still Lent and all) much different than a cake mix cake.

Mint Chocolate Chip Loaf

1/2 yellow cake mix
2/3 cup water
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
1 teaspoon flour
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

In a medium bowl mix the cake mix with the water and the egg.  I didn't want to waste the time getting the mixer out so I beat it about 200 strokes with a wooden spoon until it was smooth and creamy. After it was well blended I added the mint extract and stirred it well. Add the flour to a small bowl and the pour the chocolate chips on top of it.  Stir the chocolate chips until the surface of every chocolate bit is coated lightly with the flour.  Stir into the batter just enough to distribute them through the cake.  Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. Whew 5 minutes to spare and the cake had time to cool while we ate dinner.

Since it was an un-iced cake TheHub stopped by Publix on his way home and bought mint chocolate chip ice cream to go on top of it. (I would have frosted it but I had zero confectioners sugar and did not have enough time to make a cooked frosting.  He prefers something topping his cake, but honestly I think he just used it as an excuse to buy ice cream)

Those who ate it thought it was delicious. It is a pretty good "fool everyone" way to make something very simple turn into something special. I looked at it,  smelled it and wanted to eat it,  but ate another serving of cabbage instead.  The upside is I still have a half of the cake mix, leftover mini chips and mint extract.  I may have to try this after Easter!  Ok!  I will be making it the week after Easter and will consider sharing it, but I will only consider it !  No promises!

Achoo!

                              Yes it is that time of the year again!  Happy Pollendays!

Quick Dessert for 1

Last night I made this light and delicious dessert because I have not had dessert since Lent began, but mainly because Mama K (AKA Ms.SON1) had posted this to Pinterest and I saw it earlier in the evening. I had everything it called for so I gave it a shot.  Oh man was it ever delicious and did I mention it was also low calorie and paleo. (Do not be put off by the paleo label.  It could be just as easily be made non-paleo and I am sure it would be equally delicious)

 Frozen Pineapple Fluff

1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
1/8 cup almond milk or whole milk
1 teaspoon stevia or 2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon vanilla



Put the frozen pineapple in a blender and blend until it is somewhat like pineapple chunky snow.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend until it is smooth.  Put it in a bowl and enjoy.  Do not put it in a bowl, hunt for camera, give up and hunt for the phone, answer the phone and talk to Mom for a few minutes before taking a picture.  It is delicious but does start to melt quickly and if you wait about 3 minutes before eating it this is what you get.

In spite of the slight melt, I felt like I was eating something decadent and really felt like I was being a paleo cheat when I wasn't.  Now that I have found this I might have to start making it a couple of times a week, and this is just my beginning point. Next time I might add a little raw coconut to the pineapple for a pina colada flavor. A little fresh mint maybe? And I can't imagine how delicious it will be during the summer made with a fresh frozen peach.  Mango is another possibility.
Any other ideas you can think of?

Oh and "Beware the Ides of March", yall

Just For Fun!

Surprisingly Delicious

Today marks day 33 of the countdown to Easter.   Technically the Sundays in Lent are not counted as part of the fast. For me, I have been refraining from grains, beans, dairy, and sugars of every kind, including the paleo acceptable sweeteners like honey and coconut sugar.  While I have not exactly been enthusiastic about  the Whole 30 concept I have at stayed within the confines of the diet. (Yes, even on the horrid trip to New York and eating out each meal I remained Whole30 compliant.) Well in my way of thinking since Lent does not include Sundays and I have completed the 30 days of the Whole 30 plan, I am giving myself a little break today.  I am staying paleo, but not with the rigorous and demanding limitations of Whole30.

We woke (grudgingly) and went to church, but because of the time change I had no time to make anything for breakfast, and by the time we got home I was really hungry.  I had been pouring over breakfast ideas last night so I knew what I was going to eat this morning. (That is, if you call 12:15 morning)

Although this is a paleo dish, it is really delicious and I wish I had known about it years ago.  I can see eating this once a week, and I haven't eaten any paleo breakfast that I had thought was tasty enough/easy enough to have regularly. I will eat this even when I am no longer doing the paleo thing. (BTW I have knocked off a few pounds, I feel better, plus my skin is looking fantastic so I might stay with a regular paleo diet most of the time.)


                                                     Banana Pancakes

Serves 1

1 very ripe banana
2 teaspoons coconut flour (not on Whole 30 but still paleo)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder (ditto)
pinch cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon pecan pieces






Mash the banana well. Because I loathe bananas (consistency not the flavor) I put mine in the Magic Bullet Blender and pureed it totally. (If chunky pieces of banana don't bother you, you might want to skip this step.)  Add the coconut flour, baking powder, and cinnamon and mix well. Stir the beaten egg and mix thoroughly until everything is nice and creamy. Stir in the pecan pieces and drop the batter onto a heated griddle or pan that has been brushed with coconut oil. Make sure you only make them about silver dollar sized.  Since they have no grain for the egg to bind with they are a little tricky to flip and the smaller sized ones turn relatively easy. (Use my trial and error here so you won't have a mess).  These have to cook a tad longer that traditional pancakes and you don't get the tell tale bubbles to let you know when to flip them.  After the first pancake I realized I needed to turn the heat down a little so they would not scorch during the cooking time.  When the pancake is set flip it to cook on the other side.

Have a plate waiting and sit down and enjoy something delicious and not bad for you at all.  Since the banana is so ripe you need no syrup.  It had a mouth feel much like a slightly undercooked regular pancake, but whatever it lacked in consistency it more than made up for in taste.  It tasted like I was eating banana nut bread pancakes.  Oh my goodness, what a welcome treat! I am not a huge fan of breakfast food anyway, but I could eat this for my meal any time of the day.

I was thinking about what I would do differently next time and the only thing I can think of that might possibly add to the flavor is to toast the nuts before adding them, just because it intensifies the nutty flavor.  They were nearly perfect as they were.

Tomorrow I get back on the Whole30 restrictive paleo plan, but I am already planning on having these next Sunday morning.  I might even be kind and make them for TheHub too!

So for the rest of the day I am going to enjoy the less demanding regular paleo life and tonight there is the promise of a glass of wine or some Armagnac. Woo Hoo!

What Would You Do?

I saw this the other day and it made me laugh!  According to the Lenten countdown calendar I am on day 30 of Lent with 16.47 days to go.  That is 30 days of no grains, dairy, sugars, beans or anything else that is truly tasty.  It makes me wonder on Easter Sunday, exactly what I would do for a Klondike bar? Or a Russell Stover coconut cream egg? Or a Lindt Chocolate Bunny? Or an Oreo? Or even a piece of toast with butter?  How about the rest of you?  Ever had a period of denial?  Handle it with grace, or pettiness (like I am doing right now)?

Chocolate Dreams live here