Spinach-Prosciutto Chicken Roulade

Sometimes, chicken thighs get old. So, we recently decided to mix things up a bit. Instead of baking or grilling, we thought, why not transform these regular thighs into a roulade? I'm sure more people would use breast meat, but we love thigh meat and it's what we had in our freezer.

This seemingly delicate dish takes time but its actually very easy to make. The only tricky part (in my opinion) is pinning the roulades just right with the toothpicks. Thankfully, Brent was very successful with that part.

This was our first time attempting to make any kind of roulade. I have to say, they turned out better than we imagined! The chicken was super moist and the edges of the prosciutto were just a little crispy. Meanwhile, the slight saltiness from the prosciutto blended beautifully with the savory mustard and earthy spinach. No need to add salt, pepper or other spices--the food speaks for itself here. :)

Coq au Vin (sans Vin)

While visiting my parents in Virginia, we were lucky to visit the local farmer's market.  We found some great local produce as well as a few local farmers.  This chicken (and our turkey on its way for Thanksgiving) is from Moving Meadows Farm, and it was absolutely delicious.  I really am looking forward to the turkey later this month, as well as visiting them more often when we go to visit my parents.  

Zesty Buffalo-Ranch Chicken Wings

Just because we had to start the season with replacement referees doesn't mean you should be substituting your buffalo wing flavor.  As a diehard Green Bay Packer fan who made these wings for the night we lost to the Seahawks, these wings were the only thing that was good about that night.  I hope you all get a chance to make these, as wings are one of my favorite things to eat, and having them without the breading or other junk.

As much as I hate to admit it, I took a piece of advice from Paula Deen for this recipe; she recommended deep-frying the wings in vegetable oil.  I didn't quite go that far, but we did use a layer of coconut oil in a dutch oven to get a similar effect.  That being said, these were delicious.  I hope you make them for your next big sports party, or whenever you feel like wings.

Ingredients

3 lbs chicken wings

5 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp Tessemae's All Natural Zesty Ranch 

(or a blend of 2 tbsp olive oil, zest of organic lemons, and 1/8 tsp each of organic garlic, mustard, sea salt, cracked black pepper, chives, parsley, dill weed, and onion powder)

1/2 C Crystal hot sauce

1/4 tsp ancho chili pepper powder

1/4 C ghee

Method

While preheating the oven to 375ºF, combine your hot sauce, ancho chili powder, and zesty ranch mixture (bought or homemade) with a whisk.  Then place this mixture in a small saucepan with ghee to simmer.

Add your dutch oven with coconut oil to the oven so that it may heat up with the oven.  Rinse and lightly salt and pepper chicken while you wait for the preheat to finish.

Once the oven is preheated, add a layer of wings into the dutch oven and bake for 8 minutes, and then flip for another 8 minutes.  Cover your container for the final 2 minutes to ensure the chicken is cooked through.

Once you have finished cooking the wings (ours took 4 batches), pour your dill/buffalo hot sauce over the wings and allow to sit.  Prepare your traditional sides, like carrots and celery, and then serve.

These wings were exactly what the doctor ordered.  We somehow went through three pounds between the two of us, so don't say we didn't warn you.  I can only imagine these get better as they sit in the refrigerator.  Maybe next time we'll make 5 pounds and see what happens.  Enjoy!

Indian Spiced Whole Roast Chicken

This chicken was absolutely the most moist and tender roast chicken Brent or I have ever made. We were in complete awe of our success. The complex flavors and strong aromas had us smiling and drooling for days. It actually took us two days to make it, because our efforts were very much trial and error. But it was worth it. You must try this!

Indian Spiced Whole Roast Chicken

Angry Chicken "Parm"

We haven't had a "traditional" pasta dish in ages, and the other day, while rummaging through the pantry, I found something that sparked my creative juices. A couple months ago, I made Paleomg's Double-decker Carrot Cake Cupcakes (and, yes, they were amazing!); but I had a lot of ground-up cashews leftover because I guess I got a little zealous with that part, haha. I saw the airtight container I stored the leftovers in and thought, "Oh man, I need to use that!"

Now, I've seen paleo-friendly chicken parmesan recipes in passing AND I've also seen recipes for paleo-friendly "cheese" made from cashews. So, my logic was this: I could make a chicken "parm" using the cashews as a base, and maybe it'd come out a little bit like the real thing. :)

And the best part? I found a "clean" pasta sauce at my regular grocery store! I wasn't sure I'd find something suitable--in fact, I was pretty certain I wouldn't, so I was prepared to make sauce from scratch or at least from "clean" canned, crushed tomatoes--but I checked the pasta sauce aisle, just in case. I found Rao's Homemade Arrabbiata Sauce. OMG, I can't believe this stuff. It's completely clean! I've included a few pictures at the bottom of this post so you can check it out for yourself. Go ahead, scroll to it before reading the rest, if you want. Just make sure you come back up here to read the recipe and such later. ;)

Anyways, back to the final product: Brent was shocked. I told him I'd be experimenting while he was at work, and I think he was a little leery, haha. But I brought him a chicken "parm" popper when I picked him up from work that night, and he loved it! The next day, I packed up some "angry [zucchini] spaghetti" and a bunch of chicken "parm" poppers for his lunch. He came home raving, "It was so good!"

YAY! I love it when he loves my experiments. I hope you will love it too...


Angry Chicken "Parm"

Safety tips (for proteins)

Be safe, but waste not! If you have protein that’s been sitting in your refrigerator a few too many days, use these quick tips* to make sure it’s safe to eat.  

• To remove bad smells: Wash in a salt-water bath (or rub with salt and rinse) just before use.
• To remove small amounts of slime or film: Wash in a salt-water bath (or rub with salt and rinse) just before use.

*Consider throwing out the item if a salt-water bath does not eliminate the smell or remove the slime.

• Greenish tinted fat: Trim off beef or pork; as long as it’s just a few areas on the fat, the meat will be fine.
• Black or green meat: If there are many spots or large portions that have turned colors, throw it away. In cases like these, trimming the bad parts and washing in salt water probably won't be enough to protect you and your family from possible illness.

NOTE: If the meat tastes funy after using any one or more of these tips and after cooking, stop eating it and throw it out immediately. Don’t make yourself sick just to save a few pennies. It’s not worth it.


These are just a few tips brought to you by me, via my dad (a "butcher by trade"). What tips do you have for safely preparing and consuming meat? We'd love to hear from you!

Pesto- and Avocado-Stuffed Chicken

This post is well over due... oops! Last week, we had two small chickens (they were on sale at the store, packaged together, so we couldn't resist even though they were not on our shopping list) and we needed to find someway to make use of them or else butcher them further to freeze the parts. Freezing a whole chicken is something I've never attempted, nor do I ever want to; and cutting it up to freeze it in pieces just seemed like so much work. :p

So, instead, we nixed a one or two other planned meals and made the chickens. Tuesday night, after dinner, I set to making homemade pesto for our first roast chicken. Brent or I (honestly, I don't remember who's idea it was) thought stuffing the chicken with pesto would be more interesting that the standard lemon and garlic roast chicken. In addition, to try adding texture and substance, we agreed we'd crisp up some of the shredded white sweet potato (seriously, we had a lot of this stuff--it's gone into a ton of recipes lately!) and add that plus some avocado to the chicken cavity.

Shredded Buffalo Chicken

One thing I've been missing for a long time is buffalo.  Wings, tenders, salads, and any combination thereof.  All of that came to a screeching halt when I had to cut out added sugar and breaded foods.

Chicken Salad

Here's my attempt at Haley's Homemade Chicken Salad from the Food Lovers' Primal Palate (recipe here).  This is one of my favorite recipes, and I thoroughly recommend it. My one cautionary tale: 

Baked Jalapeño Dijon Grilled Chicken

Full disclosure:  I pulled this recipe from Civilized Caveman and played around with it a little bit.  It was delicious; spicy and flavorful and ridiculously juicy.  I forgot how much better bone-in and skin-on chicken is, and the best part is that it's less expensive than the prepared stuff.