Gluten Free Chicken, Rice & Broccoli

Lately I've struggling with dinner making at our house.  By afternoon we have all the after school busyness, then a quick supper, then off to whatever activity we have that night.  So, with 3rd trimester fatigue and Christmas approaching, quick & easy has been my motto.  This recipe was made up on a whim and my WHOLE family like it and requested I make it again.  It is not paleo since it includes rice, but it is dairy free, gluten free and healthy.  Plus this is kid friendly, quick to make and quick to eat!

Ingredients:
about 2 lbs organic chicken breasts
2-3 Tbsp oil (I used avocado)
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can mushrooms, drained
1 1/2 cup organic wild rice blend (I found a really good blend for a great price last time I went to Costco)
3 cups vegetable broth (chicken would work great too)
1 lb frozen broccoli florets
salt
pepper
seasoning salt
dried thyme

Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large pot.  Add onions for a couple minutes.  Add garlic and mushrooms and saute for a couple more minutes.  Add dry rice, saute for a couple minutes.  Add broth and 1 tsp of salt, cover pot and turn heat down to simmer.  Cut chicken breasts into cubes.  Heat remaining 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet.  Sprinkle chicken with seasoning salt and pepper, saute chicken until it is browned on both sides, it does not need to be cooked through.  Add to rice mixture and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes.  Test if rice is done and add broccoli and thyme for about 10 minutes or until cooked to desired consistency.  Add more salt and pepper if needed.  Serve immediately.

We ate ours with some thawed berries sprinkled with lime juice and a bit of stevia.  

Paleo Salted Caramel Mocha

I've been enjoying making a healthier versions of "coffee house" drinks.  I'm loving this Peppermint Mocha.  I also wanted to create a salted caramel option.  I  wanted to be able to achieve this by not needing to make a caramel sauce first.  Here's what I came up with.

Paleo Salted Caramel Mocha
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee
1 Tbsp good quality cacao powder
1 1/2 Tbsp coconut nectar
2 Tbsp salted butter (I use Kerrygold grass-fed)
6 drops vanilla creme stevia
Himalayan pink salt

Combine all ingredients except the salt in a high speed blender or Vitamix until foamy.  Transfer to a small pot and heat thoroughly.  Pour into 2 mugs.  Grind a bit of Himalayan pink salt on top.  Enjoy!

Hot Cocoa with Peppermint Marshmallow Cookies

With requests for egg nog so often, I seem to have an abundance of egg whites.  I decided to use some to make the marshmallow cookies in this recipe.  They were easy to make and have great flavor.  Mine were more of a toasted color due to my lack of low temperature on my oven.  Anyone whose seen my kitchen will understand.  This cocoa recipe is rich and chocolately, but not overly sweet.  We added a few drops of stevia. 

Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza (Primal)

How does a recipe for deep dish pizza end up on a paleo blog???  Well, it is only due to the genius of Brittany Angell!  This recipe is fantastic.  I followed the crust instructions exactly.  We used chicken sausage in one pizza and seasoned hamburger in the other.  They were delicious!  I try to refrain from buying too many special ingredients, but I also enjoy learning about and how to use new things.  I just received my first bag of sweet potato starch and it was great in this recipe.
  
One of my kiddos took this next picture.  :)