Grain Free Dairy Free Chicken/Eggplant "Parmigiana"

Introducing a new tool:

Did you know that there are two kinds (at least) of vegetable peelers?

You probably use the common peeler that is intended for "hard" fruits and veggies like apples, potatoes, zucchini, cucumber, etc...

Then there is a "special" peeler for your softer things like tomatoes, eggplant, kiwi, etc...

If you are going to make eggplant, I highly recommend investing in the correct peeler (far left). I'm a huge believer of using the correct tools when cooking. 

Ingredients

1 Eggplant or 2 large Chicken breasts

1/2c. Almond Meal

1/2c. Coconut Flour

1 tsp. Thyme

1 tsp. Oregano

1 tsp. Rosemary

1 tsp. Salt

3-4 eggs

Coconut Oil for frying

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350.

Mix the dry ingredients together. Lightly beat the egg. If using eggplant, peel the eggplant, cut off both ends and slice into 1/4" disks. If using chicken breast, butterfly* it and tenderize it using one of these. 

For Eggplant 

Heat approx. 1/2 c. of coconut oil in heavy bottom skillet. It's best to do med-low to medium heat. You want the oil to sizzle when food is placed in, but you don't want the extra flour to scorch. remember, if anything in your pan burns, the whole dish will taste and smell burnt. Dredge eggplant through "flour" mixture, then through the eggs and back into the flour for a final dusting. 

Gently place eggplant into oil. 

Cook until golden-brown and turn over. Once pieces are golden-brown, place in glass baking dish and bake for approx 15-20 minutes. 

For Chicken

To butterfly lay the breast flat on the cutting board. Place one hand flat over the breast, using a sharp knife slowly cut from widest end of the breast across lengthwise leaving the interior side intact to create two uniform sides when laid flat. We butterfly to create a thinner piece of meat. Breasts are notoriously difficult to cook evenly without it becoming dry. Butterflying it will help. You may also elect to cut all the way through depending on how large your piece are. Follow the link here for video how-to.

Heat approx. 1/2 c. of coconut oil in heavy bottom skillet. It's best to do med-low to medium heat. You want the oil to sizzle when food is placed in, but you don't want the extra flour to scorch. remember, if anything in your pan burns, the whole dish will taste and smell burnt. Dredge chicken through "flour" mixture, then through the eggs and back into the flour for a final dusting. 

Gently place chicken into oil. Cook approximately 7-10 minutes on each side for chicken to cook thoroughly.

Once you've gotten used to cooking meat, you'll know how a "done" piece of meat feels. Practice by gently tapping your utensil against the breast at different stages of the cooking process. A done breast should still show juices when punctured or cut. The juice should be entirely clear. It should be easy to cut with a knife or fork. If you wan to use a meat thermometer while you are getting used to it, cook to 165 degrees.

I made the chicken and eggplant together and served with a salad and another vegetable. I love Newman's Own Marinara. I use if for my lasagna as well. 

Happy Cooking. Happy Eating!!

Clean Eating 2014

Zucchini Spirals - YIPPEE!!

I follow several vegan/raw chefs and bloggers on Instagram as inspiration to incorporate more healthy foods/meals into our diet. Since we have milk allergies, lactose intolerance and Celiac in the house I'm forced to be creative.

Part of our "eating healthier" goal this year is to drastically cut down our grains and replace them with vegetables. As such, we've been doing lots of spaghetti squash, butternut squash and sweet potatoes. But, I kept seeing these vegan/raw writers use zucchini and carrots as noodles. They looked so beautiful and lovely and yummy. I didn't find much online to help me figure out the best way to do it. Then I found this and I nearly came out of my skin I was so excited, because I was getting a new kitchen tool! :)

I got mine at Sur la Table, but I did find it on Amazon for about $10 cheaper. Had I not had a gift card to Sur la Table, I would have gotten it from Amazon.

Here are the tools you'll need to make your zucchini noodles:
Knife
Spiraling Tool
Cutting board
Colander or mesh strainer
Bowl

Cut off the ends of the zucchini and cut it in half. The tool is incredibly easy to use. I even let Brock (2 yrs old) do one zucchini. He thought that was cool. The tool comes with 3 different blades, a straight blade, a fine blade and a medium blade. I didn't try the straight, b/c that is more of a slicer. Below are the noodles created with fine and medium blades. 

The medium blade created noodles that were good for pasta. The fine blade would have been more useful for thinks like garnish or harder vegetable like parsnip, horseradish or something like that. 

Making the noodles was not time consuming. If I was doing a "raw" diet I would not have cooked them, but I like my noodles hot. I think they would be good on a salad or sandwich cold, but I wanted to try them in the place of grain pasta. 

Obviously I didn't want to "cook" them too much else they be mushy. I brought a large pot of water to a boil. I added the zucchini spirals to the boiling water and turned them over a couple of times in the water until they were hot, then quickly removed them to a colander. 

I served them with a tomato, garlic and pine-nut sauce. It was excellent and even the carb-loving hubby liked it. With the sauce and noodles we had sauteed mushrooms and grain free "biscuits". Everyone was satisfied and enjoyed it. I will definitely be making it again. 

A few things to consider :

1) Chose a sauce that is high in flavor

2) Make sure to properly strain the noodles your plate be full of water

3) Approx 1 small-medium zucchini makes enough noodles for one person.

Happy cooking. Happy Eating.

How To Series: Roasting Vegetables

It has come to my attention that how to roast veggies is not common knowledge. It's so easy you're going to wonder why you haven't been doing it your whole life. First, let me say this - I think this is the easiest way to cook almost any vegetable and the tastiest.

My hubby is not a veggie guy. The only veggies he claims to like are "jalapenos and peppers". However, upon roasting some cauliflower, he has decided he does actually like it. So, if you have "non-veggie" eaters in your midst, try this method.

Preheat oven to 425

Chop Vegetables into 1"(ish) pieces
Toss in about 3-5 TBSP EVOO or other cooking oil*
Add spices

Place vegetables on baking sheet with edges (jellyroll pan)

Bake for approx 25-30 min

Enjoy!

Yup, it's that easy. So, for all of you that need portions and measurements, know that I am not a recipe girl by nature and that I go with what feels good. But here are some ideas to get your started. Use your nose and your best judgement. If you don't like it the first time, do it differently the next time. That's how you learn to season - trial and error!

Potatoes
5 med-large potatoes
1 heaping TBSP minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or chipotle powder**


Sweet Potatoes (Spicy Eastern Flare)
2-3 large Yams/Sweet Potatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp tumeric
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Sweet Potatoes and Apples
2-3 large Yams/Sweet Potatoes
2 Gala or Honeycrisp Apples
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
2 TBSP Maple Syrup (not pancake syrup)

Cauliflower
1 head of Cauliflower
1 heaping TBSP minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or chipotle powder

Zucchini and Mushrooms
2 large Zucchini and 1 pint Mushrooms
1 heaping TBSP minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or chipotle powder

*You can also use butter in place of oil. It will be yummier, but obviously not as healthy and not dairy free. If using butter melt one stick of butter in microwave and use melted butter in place of oil.

**Omit if you are sensitive to spicy foods.

How to Series: Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti Squash is amazing. We have it about 2-3x a month these days. With the turn of the new year we are trying to remove all grains and drastically decrease our dairy and sugar intake. As a result I venture a guess that we will be eating it even more than that. I've had lots of people ask me HOW to prepare it. I posted a recipe for lasagna that is so yummy I can hardly stand it. If you are not trying to cut dairy, try that first. It is a great "intro" to spaghetti squash.

Tonight, we had spaghetti squash with meat sauce, green beans and kale salad.

So, this series is a "how to". You'll want to look for a sizable squash if you are serving more than 2 people (or if you are making the lasagna). They look like this and are readily available in every grocery store produce area that I've seen. 

You'll begin by making sure you have a large sharp knife. What you see here is a 9" Wusthoff Santoku. (I'm a bit of a knife nut. Good knives are essential to making food from scratch. Good knives should be sharpened every 2-3 uses.)

Lie the squash down on its long side and cut off the ends. You're doing this so that you have a flat surface on which to stand the squash when you begin the next cut. It will also help it fit into the pan better.

Next you will take a large spoon and scrape (not scoop or push, but literally scrape) the seeds and fibers out of the inside. All of that soft stringy stuff attached to the seeds needs to go too! Set your two halves open side down into a 9x13 glass baking dish. Add a bit of water (half to full inch) to the dish and cover with saran or press and seal plastic wrap. Place in the microwave on high heat for 10-20 min. The cooking time varies because of differences in squash size and microwave strength. You are basically going to stop at 3 min. intervals until the flesh is tender - not mushy, tender.

When it is done cooking remove the plastic wrap (carefully, don't burn yourself with the steam). If you aren't trying to get dinner on the table and are prepping ahead of time, allow them to cool before moving to the next step. Otherwise, using a good pair of tongs remove the halves one at a time and using a fork take the flesh from the skin. The flesh of the squash is where it gets its name. It will look like long noodles when removed.

Drag your fork tine side down across the flesh to pull the "noodles" apart. When you've removed all of the flesh, place in a strainer/colander over a bowl to allow the liquid/juices to completely drain from the "noodles."

There you have it. It's that easy. I make most of my meals for dinner within a 30-40 min window (baking time excluded when applicable). Spaghetti squash doesn't take more time and really isn't that much more labor intensive. You can freeze it and save it for later. You can make it ahead of time and refrigerate. You can serve in lieu of a grain pasta with almost any sauce. Make sure you allow it to drain. If you do not, you'll have a watery dish. 

Feel free to leave a comment below with questions! :) 

Happy cooking! :)