HOMEMADE MEALS MONDAYS: bacon wrapped chicken breast!

I love bacon, most people love bacon! Anything with bacon is always extra yummy.  So this past Monday, I made bacon-wrapped chicken breasts.  The idea sounds good (like the bacon-wrapped hot dogs they sell on Sunset after a long night of drinking and clubbing!) and OMG it WAS AWESOME!  The hubs even had the leftovers the next day!

Bacon-wrapped Chicken Breast

What you need:
2 chicken breast
1 packed of organic, uncured bacon
pepper
olive oil

So all I did what cut up the chicken breast into about 4.  Then I rubbed some olive oil and pepper on the chicken and then wrapped it in with bacon.  Placed it on a hot grill pan and that's it!  Cook until the chicken is fully cooked (cover pan so it cooks faster).  I am absolutely convinced that the bacon keeps the chicken breast moist because it was very moist and tasty and the bacon was crispy.  So yum and super easy!

beginning of some deliciousness!

voila!  so easy and so yummy!

HOMEMADE MEALS MONDAYS: intro to tagine chicken!

tagine = my new toy

I was going to wait to use our new cooking gadgets until we moved into our new house.  But I couldn't wait to use my new fancy tagine given to us by my cousin, Tina, and her family.  So I was thinking of following this tagine recipe, instead decided to just make one up haha.  I really wasn't sure how it would turn up but man, it was good...it was darn good!  I didn't tell the hubs that I made up the recipe until he tried it and he loved it! I'll have to make it again sometime soon...it's perfect for cold winter nights!


Remy's Bad Ass Tagine Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:

ingredients

2 organic chicken breasts and 2 organic chicken thighs cut into 1in. pieces (or just breasts or just thighs)
1 small butternut squash - seeded, peeled and cut into 1in. pieces
1 medium sweet potato - peeled and cut up
1 carrot - peeled and cut up
1 small yellow onion chopped
1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
1 15oz can of organic diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons of garam masala (yes, I am using Indian spice on a Moroccan dish!)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
salt & pepper

my new recipe - tagine chicken

First add the olive into a tagine (or a skillet with cover would be fine too). Saute the garlic and onions until slightly brown.  Add the chicken and stir.  Once chicken is slightly brown, add the sweet potatoes, carrots and a can of diced tomatoes. Then add salt and pepper and cover. Let the dish simmer for about 30 min in low-medium heat.  Then add the the butternut squash and garam masala.  Cover again for another 15 minutes.  Voila!  That's it!  I realized that I am a pretty efficient cook.  I cook mainly during the weeks after a long day at work so I like things easy and very simple but tasty.  This dish is definitely simple and tasty!  I'll have to make again soon as it's a perfect dish for a cold winter night.  Enjoy it and please feel free to leave feedback, would love to hear it! :)

HOMEMADE MEALS MONDAYS: garam masala roasted chicken

So the hubs and I watched the documentary Food Inc. last year and it totally changed the way we viewed food, specially chicken and beef.  You see he and I love roasted chicken. We would always get a whole roasted chicken from Costco because they are always so juicy and so plumped...until we saw that documentary. There is a reason why those chickens are so big and it is not good! (Watch the documentary if you haven't!)  So we vowed NEVER to eat Tyson roasted chicken from Costco EVER AGAIN.

So I had to come up with my own recipe using organic, free-range chicken. One of my girlfriends from work has suggested that I try garam masala with my protein as it is very tasty.  So I bought a little container of Spicely organic garam masala from Wholefoods a while back. Garam masala is an all-purpose spice used mainly in Indian dishes.  Reading straight from the packaging...it contains cinnamon, coriander, fennel, cumin, black pepper, cardamom and cloves. That's it! So I came up with a very simple roasted chicken recipe using this and I was pleasantly surprised on how moist and tasty it is! The hubs really loved it too, so I'll probably make it quite often!

GARAM MASALA ROASTED CHICKEN
  
1 organic, free-range whole chicken (about 3 lbs)
1/4 cup of organic butter (slightly melted)
1/2 organic apple of any kind (cut in half)
1 tablespoon of garam masala (try the Spicely brand as it has no salt, preservatives, wheat, etc.)
salt & pepper

ingredients

First pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Rinse the whole chicken, removing the giblets, etc. and pat dry.  Now brush the melted butter all over the chicken including the cavity (I used my hand and it was messy so I suggest some sort of a brush).  Add salt and pepper everywhere.  Then rub the garam masala seasoning all over including the cavity.  Then insert the apple slices inside the cavity to keep the chicken moist.  Finally, place the chicken on a roasting pan and bake for an hour and a half (until the internal temp is 180 degrees).  That's it!  Super simple, super moist and super yum!!!  :)

garam masala roasted chicken - yum!!!

HOMEMADE MONDAY MEALS: thai chicken chile & basil

This is probably one of my favorite dishes to make because it's so simple and very tasty! Also, you can try it with different kinds of meats.  I have made it with chicken, salmon and even tofu!  All came out yummy!!!

THAI CHICKEN CHILE & BASIL

ingredients

2 chicken breasts (cut up)
2 red bell peppers chopped (I prefer yellow, orange, or red as they are sweeter)
1 big handful of fresh basil
2 serrano peppers (seeded and chopped)
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 teaspoon red chili paste with garlic (from Asian market) or Siracha would be fine too
1 tablespoon soy sauce (tamari sauce for Paleo or gluten-free peeps)
2 teaspoons of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of coconut oil

So first, mix the chopped serrano peppers and minced garlic with a little bit of salt using the edge of your knife.  (See pic below).  Place coconut oil in a heated pan, dump the pepper/garlic/salt mixture into the pan.  Stir until the garlic turns slightly brown.  Then add the chicken and mix for about 3 minutes. Now add the soy sauce, fish sauce and the red chili and mix until chicken starts to brown.  Then add the chopped red (or yellow or orange peppers).  Cover the pan until chicken and peppers are cooked all the way through.  Lastly, add the basil loosely all over the dish. Let the basil sit until wilted then mix.  Voila!  Done!  Serve with rice or eat by itself.  This dish is soo tasty and yummy!!!  You can even ask my friend Sheri, this one is one of her faves too!

garlic, serrano peppers and salt mixture

mixture in the coconut oil

with the cut up chicken breast

thai chicken chile & basil  (i should really start taking better pictures!)

HOMEMADE MEALS MONDAYS: moroccan chicken stew

Yesterday morning, the hubs and I went to the local weekly farmer's market, which we try to do whenever we get the chance.  We always go to this booth which sells grass-fed beef and organic, free-range chicken. So we bought 2 one-pound ground beef and half of a whole chicken.  So I thought I would do something with the chicken.  First I thought I should roast it but then it wasn't a whole chicken so I don't how that would work and I didn't want to spend too much time waiting for the chicken to cook in the oven.  Then, I thought I'll use the slow cooker to make something so the hubs can watch a movie in the theater yeah!  Then I remembered this Moroccan chicken recipe my friend had given me a while ago.  Well I couldn't use the whole recipe as I wanted to make a healthy, Paleo dish and I didn't have some of the ingredients on hand.  So here is what I came up with which actually turned out really well!

Moroccan Chicken Stew

1/2 whole chicken or 2 lbs worth of chicken pieces (If you do not have good knives or just don't want to deal with the hassle of de-boning, I suggest getting boneless chicken pieces.)

1 onion (chopped)

1 red bell pepper (cut into 1in. pieces)

1 green bell pepper (cut into 1in. pieces)

1 27oz can of plum tomatoes

2 tablespoons of tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoon of cumin

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

2 tablespoons of water

2 tablespoon of almond butter

ingredients

This recipe, as most slow cooker recipes, is very easy.  First, place onion, red and green bell peppers, tomato, tomato paste, cumin, paprika and water into the slow cooker.  Mix it all up.  Then nestle the chicken pieces in the mixture.  Turn slow cooker on for 6-7 hrs on low.  (We didn't have much time so we had it on high for 3 hours but the veggies weren't as soft as we wanted them but were still yum!!!)  Add the almond butter at the very end when you are ready to serve.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Voila, that's it!  For non-Paleo, serve with rice or couscous! 

Moroccan chicken stew

HOMEMADE MEALS MONDAYS: chicken milanese - Paleo style!

Ok Chicken Milanese is one of my favorite dishes.  I've come up with a healthier version about a year ago that is really yummy.  Today, I tempted to create it - Paleo style!  Yikes!  Paleo style means no cheese, no wheat flour, no breadcrumbs - this should be interesting right?! Yes, interestingly good!!!  It was really good, try it out for yourself!

chicken milanese with topping and spinach salad  - yummy!!!

What you will need:

2 chicken breasts (pounded until breast is about 1/4in thick)
1/4 cup coconut flour (non-Paleo: use wheat flour)
1/2 cup almond meal (non-Paleo: use bread crumbs and add shredded Parmersan cheese)
1 egg
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
olive oil
salt & pepper

topping:
olive oil
garlic
small onion
1 1/2 cup grape or sugar plum tomatoes (cut in half)
salt & pepper

First let's make the topping!  Place a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet.  Add garlic and brown.  Then add the onion and sautee until it starts to turn brown, I believe the term is "carmelizing" it. This step is important in creating this sweetness to your topping.  Then add the chopped tomatoes and mix with the rest of the ingredients and cook for about 3 min. Done and put aside.

Now mix almond meal, basil and oregano in a bowl.  Place aside.  In another bowl, mix coconut flour, salt, and pepper.  Set aside this too.  Then beat a large egg and place in another bowl.  Now it's time to dip your chicken breast in those three bowls!  This is the order in which you should dip the chicken breasts: 1) Dunk the chicken breast in the coconut flour mixture. 2) Then dunk it in the egg mixture until all surface areas are covered in egg. 3) Then roll it around in the almond meal mixture.

Place the chicken breasts on a heated pan with about half a tablespoon of olive oil for every batch.Cook for about 3 minutes on each side. Voila!  You're done.  Serve up the chicken breast with the topping and with some baby spinach and drizzle olive oil and some balsamic vinegar. ENJOY!!!

HOMEMADE MEALS MONDAYS: remy's yellow chicken curry!

It's been unbelievably cold in LA lately.  Yes, I know it's not snowing nor are we having a blizzard...but the temperatures being in the 40s in Los Angeles is REALLY cold.  So to warm up, I've decided to cook up some Paleo yellow curry (I think this dish is a bit more Thai than Indian but not too sure as I am making it up as I go haha)!

What you need (all ingredients I used are organic):
1 tablespoon of coconut oil (olive oil will be fine too)
1 teaspoon of minced garlic
1 yellow onion (chopped)
1 green pepper (chopped)
2-3 carrots (chopped)
2 chicken breast (cut up)
3 tablespoons of curry powder
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 13.5oz can of coconut milk

yummy curry!

Heat up coconut oil in a skillet.  Add the garlic and onion, sautee with garlic for about 3 min.  Then add the chicken and brown for about 5 min.  Add the curry and cinnamon, mix it all up. Then add the green pepper and carrots, mix it all up one more time. Finally pour in the coconut milk. Simmer for about 30 min or until carrots are tender.  Voila it's done! Yummy!!!  Enjoy with white rice or eat by itself!!!