One night I was struggling for what to make for dinner.
I wanted quick and easy.
My friend Amber texted this recipe to me.
I've loved her even more since that day. 

3 chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
2 sweet potatoes cut into bite size pieces
2 -3 apples cut up into bite size pieces
1 red onion chopped up
6 slices of sugar free bacon (if you can find it...if not leave it out)
salt & pepper to taste
oregano - maybe 1 or 2 tsps?
thyme - maybe 1 or 2 tsps?
Bake in the oven at 350 for about 30 - 40 minutes
cut the bacon up, mix everything together and serve. 
YUM-O!!

Hello beautiful.
I can't wait to eat you.

We have been mixing things up a bit since being on the Whole 30.
And I must admit, I've mixed it up a little more than normal.
I can't believe I cooked BRUSSEL SPROUTS.
Brussel sprouts for goodness sakes!
I guess when you are eating to live, not vice versa you are more willing to try different things, even when you remember those things being really nasty.
And I mean really nasty, but not as nasty as meatloaf.
Meatloaf is YUCK.
I will never cook meatloaf in my house.
N.E.V.E.R.
I couldn't STAND meatloaf as a child.
Meatloaf was my worst dinner nightmare.
True story.

OK, back to brussel sprouts.
There is no way I could let my children go through their childhood without trying those little green gross smelling things  I used to GAG on as a child.
When my children ask what they were I told them brains.
"No, really Mom, what are they?"
"Brains. I'm feeding you brains. Little tiny chicken brains."
They rolled their eyes at me.
You can't blame them.

Boy 3 actually liked them and gobbled them down!  And guess what....I no longer think they are nasty!  (I'm still NOT giving meatloaf another try, don't even ask!) The other children where happy to give their BS to Boy 3...

So, this chicken was super easy to make.

I made it with 2 chickens, but since I'm not giving you amounts (because I didn't measure) you can cut it down to just 1 chicken with no problem.

Preheat oven to 375.
Line a deep baking pan with foil (this is merely for easy clean-up.)
Place whole chicken, breast side up in pan.
Stuff bird with:
Lemon  & Garlic cloves
Sprinkle bird with:
garlic salt
onion powder
paprika
cayenne pepper 
salt  & pepper
Throw these things around the bird:
brussel sprouts
leeks
onion
carrots
fresh rosemary
fresh thyme

Cook approximately 1 hour & 15 - 20 minutes or until meat thermometer (inserted between breast and thigh in the meaty part) reaches 165 degrees.

Toss vegetables about 1/2 way thorough cooking.
Happy eating!
Tiny brains are the new rage.

Who knew that when I started making these amazing chicken wings so many years ago they would come to benefit us on our new food journey?

These are simple and a great substitute for those Plucker's chicken wings I crave so often.   Don't get me wrong I am not comparing these to Plucker's, but when you live overseas and a can't get a decent chicken wing these just might get you past that craving!

And I (as well as everyone else in my family) love them!!

Wing spice:
2 1/2 TBL garlic salt
2 1/2 TBL cayenne pepper
2 1/2 TBL ground black pepper
2 TBL oregano

Mix them all together and there you have it:
Wing Spice

Generously sprinkle wing spice over both sides of wings.
Cook on grill till done and serve with blue cheese and celery sticks.

OR

Bake in the oven at 400 for 17 minutes, flip and cook for another 17 minutes.
Serve with baked sweet potato and salad.

***Normally I break apart the wings into drumettes  and little winglets parts but today I was in a hurry so I left them together.

***These are much better cooked on the grill.

Let's get something straight - even if I were not doing the Whole30, I would still make this for dinner.
In fact it is going in our normal rotation (if there is such a thing around here!).
AND - I gave you substitutes at the bottom.
Enjoy!
I got this recipe from NomNomPaleo - check out the original recipe here.
(She goes into WAY more detail than I do & has great follow along pictures.)
I have a feeling I will be using many of the recipes NomNom post. :o)

Oh and if you didn't know, I'm doing the Whole30. 
I have a separate area on my blog for daily updates- all month long. 
I am on Day 9 today without 1 single slip up! 
Head on over and cheer me on if you feel so inclined.
Moving on.
I have a Hamilton Beach programmable crockpot (I get nothing from mentioning that - just sayin'!) so I can set it and forget about it. It has a probe so it cooks to the temperature I want - then stops cooking and turns itself to warm.
LOVE THAT.
It is also big enough to fit 2 whole 5 pound chickens in, so I doubled this recipe and there wasn't even a sliver of chicken left.

The recipe:
4-5 pound chicken
2 TBL of ghee (clarified butter which I have to special order)
2 onions, chopped into large pieces
4 green onions with stems, chopped
6 cloves of garlic coarsely chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken stock
Poultry Magic (or your favorite seasoning)
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

-Melt ghee in a large skillet and sauté onions, garlic & green onions & saute for 2-3 minutes
-Add tomato paste & sauté another 8-10 minutes
-Toss in poultry magic - I used about 2 TBL
-Deglaze the pan with chicken stock
-Remove from heat

-Put chicken in crockpot and pour sautéed  mixture into crockpot
-Cook for 4-6 hours our until you thermometer reads 165 degrees
-Once it is done take it out of the crockpot and let it rest while you make the gravy!

-De-fat sauce in crockpot by spooning as much out as possible

-Blend with an immersion blender until totally smooth, like gravy
-Add salt and pepper to taste

Watch your family eat it all up!  :o)


*****If you want to make this and you are not on the Whole30 and you don't happen to have ghee in your house, just use butter.  :o)  Also you can subsitute the chicken broth for wine.

We have them for lunch, we have them for dinner, we have them for snack.  Heck, we have even been known to have a cold one for breakfast.

Chicken cutlets ROCK and they freeze well.
I use them has homemade chicken nuggets.
Much better than that frozen crap you buy in the freezer section.

This is one thing every single person in our family will eat without complaint.
The only time they complain is when I don't make mashed potatoes and gravy to go with it.

OK.  Let's get started - what you will need:

(This is one of those recipes where I am guessing at the measurements!)

4-6 Boneless skinless chicken breast - sliced thin lengthwise (you can buy the thin sliced chicken breast or tenders, but I feel they are too expensive so I cut them thin myself.)
Your favorite paprika (I use smoked - thanks for sending it to me Lara!)
Salt
Pepper
2-3 cups of flour
3-4 cups of your favorite bread crumbs
3-4 eggs
2-4 cups of vegetable oil

Slice your chicken breast lengthwise into 3 pieces and then pound the heck out of them with a meat mallet. (OK...maybe not the heck out of them, but pound them enough to help make them a little more tender:)
When tenderizing place a sheet of plastic wrap over of the chicken to keep chicken juice from splattering all over you.

Sprinkle with a little salt, pepper and paprika.

Put flour, eggs & bread crumbs in separate dishes.
Scramble eggs.
Dredge chicken in flour.
Dip chicken in egg then coat with bread crumbs.

Over medium high heat, heat enough oil in frying pan to almost cover the cutlets.
To make sure oil is hot enough drop a little flour into pan, if it sizzles you are good to go. 
Add chicken one layer at a time like this:

Fry for about 2 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Cut them up into bite size pieces for you kids to eat as an after school snack.

** Sure you can cut the chicken up into bite size pieces in the beginning so that all pieces of the chicken is coated, but I feel that takes too long and my kids are just as happy to have chicken nuggets with a little chicken showing.  Sometimes when I have enough time I do it the right way, but not today.  :o)

To freeze: I let them cool first then I flash freeze them - I put them on a cookie sheet in a single layer, pop them in the freezer for 10 minutes and then put into a Ziploc bag to freeze.
(Flash freezing helps prevent things from sticking together.)

OK, yes.
I have posted this before.
I thought you might have forgot.
It is so good I felt it needed an encore.
 Doesn't it look delicious?
It is.
Really.
Give it a try.
You won't be disappointed.

Funny thing....I was actually working on this post when I friend sent a note to me via Facebook telling me she had just tried this and her family loved it....in fact she said "I was a bit ticked off because Hubby said it was his favorite meal I've made in a long time... Wait, does that mean he hasn't liked what I've been serving? Oh well... It will go into our rotation..."

That made my day!  Thanks friend for sharing!

So here it is again for the second time around - with better pictures!

1 (2 ½ - 3 lb) chicken, cut up -
1  pound sweet Italian sausage - torn into bite size pieces (Hot or mild sausage works well too...just depends on your preference.)
2  large baking potatoes peeled and cut into bite size pieces
2 large bell peppers cut into bite size pieces (I like to use one red and one green - pick your favorites!)
2 small onions, cut up small enough so your kids cannot identify them
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, with juice (San Marzano are the BEST if you can find them.)
½ cup olive oil
2 tsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 F.

Combine the chicken, sausage, potatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic in a roasting pan large enough to fit all in ingredients comfortably. 
Add the crushed tomatoes with their juice. 
Drizzle olive oil over the ingredients. 
Season with oregano, salt and pepper. 
Roast in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 20 minutes. 
The dish is done when the potatoes are tender and the chicken pulls away easily from the bone.

Watch it disappear.

I don't know why I don't have Caesar dressing made and ready to go at all times.  This salad is a favorite of all 4 children.  Yes, I said ALL FOUR CHILDREN.  From ages 7-16.  They all love it and they all had more than one serving last night.  Boy 2 had at least 3 servings - I'm thinking possibly 4.  True story.   If that isn't enough to sell you on this salad, then there is no help for you.

What you will need to make this happen:

First of all you need a food processor.  If you don't have one you could try a blender.  It won't be as good as a food processor, but it will probably work.  Let me know if you try it this way. 

For the Caesar Dressing you will need:
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese - it is so totally worth it to grate your own.
1/2 cup of fresh grated pecorino romano cheese - it is so totally worth it to grate your own.
1 2 oz package of anchovy filets (in oil)
3 TBL FRESH lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
4 garlic cloves
2 TBL Dijon mustard
3/4  cup + 2 TBL of good olive oil
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Put all ingredients EXCEPT olive oil and salt and pepper in food processor.

Once all ingredients are in the food processor put the lid on and turn on - slowly add the olive oil while the food processor is running.

Add salt and LOTS of fresh ground pepper to taste.

Homemade Croutons:

Of course you buy croutons as there are some really good ones on the market, but if you want an over the top Caesar Salad you really need to bite the bullet and make your own.  Plus they are super easy and don't take much time at all.

Preheat oven to 325 F

3 cups of sourdough bread cut into crouton size bites  (really you can use almost any bread you like, I like a sourdough for my croutons)
4 TBL olive oil
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary

Heat olive oil in a 12 inch skillet - add garlic, thyme, oregano and rosemary till fragrant.

Add bread cubes to the mixture - toss around to coat.
Put bread crumbs on cookie sheet, sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until bread cubes are nice and golden.

Bringing it all together:
Put 1 or 2 heads of Romaine lettuce cut into bite size pieces (my family goes through 3!) in a large bowl. 
Toss with dressing, start with 3 or 4 tablespoons (you can always add more, but you can't take away!)  When you have salad properly dressed, toss in croutons.  Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.  Grate fresh parmesan over the top.  And you will have this: 

Options:
To make it a meal add grilled chicken or shrimp!
YUM-O!