Crock Pot Chicken & Gravy

Supper tonight at our house was wonderful!  This chicken recipe comes with our entire family's stamp of approval.  Hubby & all the kiddos want to see this again.  It only took about 20 minutes to put together and then cooked away as I was gone all afternoon.  So, here is a link to Nom Nom Paleo's Crock Pot Chicken & Gravy.  Here are the substitutions I made:

Butter instead of Ghee
Poultry seasoning instead of Sunny Paris Seasoning
All broth, no wine
Added:  1 tsp coconut aminos & 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

After removing cooked chicken and skimming off the fat, I pureed the rest of it in my blender to create the gravy.

We ate ours with roasted sweet potatoes, broccoli and a salad.

Carrot Gingerbread Muffins & Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Muffins are such a great portable breakfast and snack.  I like both of these recipes because they are high in protein and contain some veggies or fruit.  These both come from the Practical Paleo cookbook. First is the Carrot Gingerbread Muffin recipe.   My hubby & I both love these, but the kiddos are so-so about them.  They have very strong spices in them.  The other muffin is a Lemon Blueberry Muffin.  This blogger left out the lemon juice, we used 4 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice in ours.  My kiddos liked the lemon flavor.  These both keep well in the fridge for a few days.

 
See the liners on these muffins?  They are parchment paper muffin liners.  A friend recommended them to me for paleo baking.  She was right, they come right off, no wasted muffin stuck to the liner!  

Healthy Finger Jello

I have followed this method for making finger Jello a few times now.  Gelatin is actually a very healthy food.  Those little colorful boxes of Jello?  Not so much!  What is in Jello that I don't want to put in my body?  Sugar, low quality gelatin from unknown sources, artificial flavors, food coloring and preservatives to name a few.  How complicated is this recipe?  Very easy, only 2 ingredients!  We added 20 drops of stevia to ours, which made it a 3 ingredient recipe.  We have only made this with 100% grape juice, but would like experiment with other flavors of juice.  Also, I used Great Lakes Beef Gelatin.   

Creamed Turkey & Peas Over Biscuits

Here's another quick and easy 1 dish meal.  The biscuits mix up super quick and the sauce can be made while the biscuits bake.  My whole family liked this, but a couple thought it was too spicy.  Feel free to omit the cayenne or add at the table for those who like a bit more kick. This would be great with chicken also, but I had turkey on hand today.  Here's how to make it in 30 minutes!

Preheat oven to 400.
Mix up a batch of Cassidy's buttermilk biscuits (I use arrowroot powder and make buttermilk from coconut milk.)  Bake for 17 minutes.
While these are baking, make this:

Creamed Turkey & Peas
5 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup tapioca flour
1 Tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp dried parsley
dash cayenne pepper
4 cups non-dairy milk (I used coconut-almond milk)
2 cups frozen peas
4 cups cooked, chopped turkey

In a large skillet, melt the butter.  Whisk in tapioca flour, onion, salt, peppers, parsley and Worcestershire sauce.  Slowly add the milk.  Cook until thick & bubbly.  Fold in peas and turkey.  Cook until heated through.

By now the biscuits should be done.  Crumble a biscuit in a shallow bowl and top with sauce.  Or pour sauce in bowls and put biscuits on top.  Enjoy!


 

Fluffy Coconut Flour Waffles

We really like Brittany Angell's crispy paleo waffles, but decided to try her fluffy coconut flour waffle recipe.  These were really good, too!  I cut back on the sweetener and used coconut sugar.  Since it is Christmas break, we decided to drizzle them with melted chocolate chips and top them with strawberries.

 

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette

With all the rich food during the holidays, I really long for simple things.  Here is a quick, easy, satisfying salad dressing that can be made in less than 5 minutes.

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1-2 Tbsp honey
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a blender or Vitamix.  Slowly add oil through the lid until emulsified.  Serve with any greens or veggies. 

Chicken and Rice Casserole (Paleo)

What is it about a casserole?  It is comfort food at it's best!  Paleo casseroles are extra tricky.  The newest "Against All Grain" cookbook has a great recipe in it for a chicken & rice casserole.  The author has shared this recipe and 2 others from her newest book here.  This was a delicious 1 dish meal that got my family's stamp of approval.  We will definitely make this again!