Cashew Crusted Chicken Fingers

I adore this recipe. I came up with it as an alternative to parmesan crusted chicken fingers. You get all the yummy creaminess without the dairy!

INGREDIENTS

        12 to 16 chicken tenders

        1 1/2 cups almond meal/flour

        1/2 teaspoon salt

        1/4 teaspoon pepper

        1 teaspoon paprika (optional)

        1 cup cashew cream

INSTRUCTIONS

    1.    Preheat oven to 350F

    2.    Pat chicken dry

    3.    Spread cashew cream liberally on top of tender

    4.    Combine almond meal, salt, pepper, and paprika and coat both sides of tenders in mixture

    5.    Place in an oiled baking dish (cashew cream side up) and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown

Chicken Vegetable Soup

This is the single most husband-requested recipe in this house. It's his favorite, hands-down. And I love it too, not only because it's super tasty, but because I get to clean out all the extra veggies from my fridge and freezer and dump them in. I hate wasting food, and this makes it easy not to. As with most of my recipes, this is a staple in most homes. So below is more of a suggestion, than a strict recipe. Like I said, chop and toss in the veggies you've already got. Or pick up your favorites from the store. Enjoy!

YEILD 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS

        4 medium chicken breasts, chopped into small bite-sized pieces

        4 cups liquid (I use a combination of chicken or vegetable stock (low sodium) and water, usually 1:1)

        1 large bell pepper, chopped

        2 to 4 cups fresh spinach

        4 large white mushrooms, sliced

        1 large carrot, peeled & chopped

        1 head broccoli, chopped

        1 tablespoon salt

        1 teaspoon cumin

        1/2 teaspoon paprika

        1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

        1 tablespoon minced garlic

        1 can black beans (optional)

        1 cup shredded parmesan (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

    1.    Get vegetables ready and rinse beans in a colander

    2.    Heat broth on medium to a gentle boil and stir in salt, seasonings, and any dense veggies that take a little longer to cook, like broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc, and allow to cook for about 10 minutes, or until they're beginning to get tender

    3.    Then stir in chicken, beans and the rest of the vegetables, and allow to cook until chicken is done

    4.    Garnish with a little parmesan, hot sauce or guacamole (our favorite!)

Chicken Broccoli in Cashew Alfredo Sauce

Quick and tasty; my favorite! And I love how easily my cashew cream sauce doubles as a creamy, rich alfredo sauce. Plus it's a cinch to throw together. Enjoy!

YIELD 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

        4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, chopped

        1 head of broccoli, chopped

        1/2 onion, sliced

        4 cups fresh spinach, chopped

        2 to 3 teaspoons coconut oil (for coating chicken and veggies)

        For Cashew Alfredo

        1 1/3 cups cashew cream

        1/3 cup water (add water to your desired consistency)

INSTRUCTIONS

    1.    Preheat oven to 450F

    2.    Coat chicken peices with a little oil and place in a large (3 qt) casserole dish

    3.    Coat broccoli and onions in a little oil too, and add to casserole dish (keep them separate so chicken is easy to scoop out later)

    4.    Bake 15-20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through

    5.    While it's baking, steam the spinach for a couple minutes in a frying pan with a little water - set aside and pat dry

    6.    When chicken is done, remove from dish and return veggies to the oven for 5-10 more minutes, until tender

    7.    While the veggies are finishing up, stir the water into your cashew cream

    8.    When veggies are done, toss the broccoli, spinach, onions and chicken in the cashew cream and serve

Slow Cooker Chicken Potato Soup with Apples

Thad's dubious. "We're having apple soup for dinner?" Yeah, that's fair. Putting apples in soup sounds like a ploy to use up the rest of our bumper crop of backyard apple tree apples. Which, alright fine, it totally is. But a girl can only freeze so much apple sauce. So here was my shot at a savory apple dish, and I've gotta say, it's SO so good. The apples give a lovely, smooth balance to the onions and garlic. And I promise it's not even a little weird. Just all yummed up with hearty potato, chicken, apple tastiness.

* Potato thoughts

YIELD 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS

        1 pound skinless chicken breast, chopped

        4 medium potatoes, cubed (no need to peel)

        2 small/medium apples w/ skin on, cubed (I used ginger gold for an even balance between sweet and tart)

        1 large sweet onion, sliced

        1 tablespoon minced garlic

        1 tablespoon ghee or butter

        1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

        1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

        1/2 teaspoon black pepper

        1/2 teaspoon coriander

        1 teaspoon thyme

        1 1/2 cups water

        Green onions, chopped (optional, for garnish)

INSTRUCTIONS

    1.    Combine all ingredients (except green onions) in crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours

    2.    About 30 minutes before you're ready to serve, fork the chicken to shred it (it should fall apart easily and soak up lots of the yummy broth)

    3.    Allow to finish cooking and serve

Parmesan Crusted Chicken Fingers

Such a simple, 6 ingredient, 4 step recipe. And who'd ever know it was grain-free? It's too tasty for anyone to care.

* You can find my non-dairy alternative here.

YIELD 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

        12 to 16 chicken tenders

        1 cup grated parmesan or parmesan blend

        3/4 cup almond meal/flour

        1/2 teaspoon salt

        1/4 teaspoon pepper

        2 to 3 large eggs, beaten

INSTRUCTIONS

    1.    Preheat oven to 350F

    2.    Mix almond flour with cheese, spices, salt and pepper and set aside

    3.    Pat chicken dry, dip in the eggs (allow excess to drip off) and dredge in parmesan almond mixture

    4.    Place in an oiled baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown

Balsamic Chicken & Eggplant

I'm a huge fan of one-pot meals. Who doesn't like simple? Just prep, dump and cook. And while prep might be simple, the flavors are not. The bite of balsamic with the sweetness of apples, peppers and hearty eggplant work so well together in this chicken dish.

* This involves marinating chicken, so keep that in mind the night before/morning of, depending on how long you prefer to marinate.

YIELD 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

        4 boneless chicken breasts

        1 eggplant, cubed (approx 4 cups)

        1 firm apple, diced (I use my favorite, pink lady, which has a nice balance of tart and sweet)

        1 bell pepper, chopped

        1 cup sliced carrots (approx 2 medium carrots, peeled)

        1/2 cup currants

        Salt to coat eggplant

        Coconut oil to coat casserole dish

        For marinade

        3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

        1/3 c water

        3 tablespoons honey

        1 teaspoon minced garlic

        1/2 teaspoon salt 

        1/4 teaspoon black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

    1.    Preheat the oven to 350F

    2.    Combine the ingredients for marinade, place chicken in it and refrigerate ideally overnight, but at least an hour

    3.    Prepare eggplant: cube into bite-sized pieces and coat with salt, place in colander in sink for excess liquid to be pulled from the eggplant (about 30 minutes)

    4.    While the eggplant is sitting, prepare the rest of the vegetables and apple and lightly oil large casserole dish (3 qt)

    5.    Rinse eggplant and pat dry, pressing to soak up as much water as you can

    6.    Place chicken into oiled casserole dish and surround with chopped veggies and currants

    7.    Pour marinade over meat and vegetables and bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes (or until internal temp of meat reaches 165F)