Chicken No-Noodle Soup

Easy Wholesome Chicken Noodle Soup... Minus the noodles.

Ingredients:

• Chicken Breast
• Chicken Stock
• Veggies to add ( celery, carrots, onions, parsley, radish, garlic, bay leaf were all used for mine )
• Fat to add in ( coconut oil is pretty damned tasty 3 TBSP )

What else you need:

• Large Pot
• Wooden Spoon
• Two forks
• Tongs 
• Open Flame/heating element, duh

Steps:

1. Place chicken breasts into pot
2. Cover chicken breasts with stock
3. Add Oil 3TBSP is probably plenty of what ever you use
4. Turn heat to high and bring to boil
5. While this all comes to a boil chop your veggies how ever you like and set aside 
6. Add the flavor veggies to the boil ( onions, celery, radish, bay leaf, garlic, parsley ) 
7. Turn down to simmer for 1 hour
8. Using tongs pull chicken out of pot and place onto cutting board/surface top
9. Using two forks, shred the chicken and add it back to the pot
10. Add carrots and let simmer for another 30 minutes to an hour.

That is it, enjoy!  I garnished mine with some chopped green onion and red pepper flakes.

If you really wanted to you could add noodles at the end and bring to a boil until noodles are ready.

Curried Basil Coconut Chicken

I've experimented around with this based on a hunger I was having.

I was craving something with a curry flavor.  I also wanted to use some coconut butter.  A lot of curry recipes call for coconut milk.

Traditionally curry's don't even use curry powder!! So I made up my own food, like I normally do when I'm not stealing it from someone else.

1) Start rice maker with desired amount of Rice( used a touch of curry powder for color on the above photo ).
2) Dice, Slice, Cube Chicken meat quantity of choice
3) heat non stick skillet with glob of Coconut Oil
4) Mix spices* ( curry powder, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, basil, paprika, ginger and ground mustard )
5) Add chicken to hot oil
6) Add spice mixture to chicken, Mix Thoroughly.
7) Once chicken is done, add globs of coconut butter to desired coating.  It'll melt right in.  Mix well.
8) Top chicken on a plate or bowl of the rice.

For the spices, depending on my mood I vary quantities.  Sometimes it's more cayenne and ginger, sometimes it's a lot of garlic, light cayenne.

As pictured above you could make 1 plate worth with 1 chicken breast or you can make a lot at once

Southern Fried Things

See that fried pork chop?  It's healthy for you.

Yep, healthy.

I used rice flour instead of regular flour and pan fried it in coconut oil.  You could use almond meal.  Make sure it's a good meal, not that Bob's Red Mill saw dust junk.

Take a pan, get it hot, add coconut oil.  Two large spoonfuls should work.

Put flour on a flat plate, crack some eggs in a bowl and beat them, then dreadge desired food item for frying through egg then flour.

Add to hot pan with hot coconut oil, cook to desired cookedness.

I highly suggest adding seasoning to the flour.  Salt, pepper, spices, meat dust, etc.

As Chris Shugart has shown in his thread here you can use this on all sorts of things.

The rest of the dish was a gluten free mac - n - cheese dish from Kroger.  Then roasted tomatoes, asparagus and brussels sprouts.

Not quite perfected, Perfect Granola

2 cups minute oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
boat load of penzy's cinnamon
nutmeg
melted 80% cacao ( about a serving )
finely diced candied ginger
1 TBSP coconut oil
pinch of salt
pecan pieces
1/4 cup of splenda

Pre-heat oven to 350

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

Then mix in 1/4 cup of water a little splash at a time.  The oatmeal mixture should be clumping together You might need more than 1/4 cup of water.  I just kind of winged it, maybe closer to half a cup.

Once the mixture is mixed well and clumpish, stir in melted cacao and melted coconut oil.

Spread across coconut oil greased glass baking dish and bake for 30 minutes.  Check firmness by breaking granola into pieces.  If the granola is still damp or moist, return to over in 15 minute intervals checking on it.  It should take about 1 hour total.

Variations: Add pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, other seeds/nuts as you see fit.

Serve over greek yogurt like the attached photo or perhaps in a bowl of almond milk

Notes:

A lot of granola recipes call for lots of sugar ingredients such as sugar, molasses, honey, agave and olive oil.  I wanted to make a better granola.  This recipe is the first step.  I will experiment with it a bit more.

I've also seen where you could use a nut butter as a binding agent.  I may play around with that in the future when I work on granola bars.

Quick Mexican Casserole

Ingredients:
2 cups of dry long grain white rice
1-2 pounds of lean meat ( beef, chicken, turkey )
mexican seasonings of choice
1 can enchilada sauce
1 can tomato paste
1 pound of lower fat shredded cheese

Optional:
beans
salsa
anything else

Pre heat Oven to 425
Make rice according to the instructions the rice came in.
Cook meat with seasonings, drain, return to skillet and mix in tomato past and enchilada sauce.
Spread cooked rice across casserole dish bottom, then layer on the meat paste and top with cheese.

If using the optional ingredients simply add them in, I like rice, bean, meat, salsa, cheese.

Put casserole into oven and let the cheese get all melty, bubbly and tasty.

Serve on plate, bowls, or eat the whole dish.  Top with fat free sour cream if wanted.

Ultimate Peanut Butter Cookies

I like peanut butter cookies. Who doesn't? Ohh you don't? Well there's the door, feel free to let it hit your butt on the way out!

Now for those of us still here, the cool people. I bring to you, Peanut butter flour peanut butter cookies.

1 large egg ( 2 medium eggs )
1 1/4 cup sugar substitute ( I used splenda )
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups peanut flour
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 TBSP coconut oil ( melted )

Preheat oven to 375°F and grease baking sheet.

Beat together egg, sugar, baking soda and vanilla. Beat in the peanut butter. Add peanut flour until you have a firm dough. You might need to let it sit after mixing to solidify a bit.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet, pressing lightly with the back of a fork to slightly flatten ( make that cool X pattern!! ). Bake for 5-7 minutes, until lightly set.

Let cool thoroughly on cookies sheets ( no sneak eating, you'll thank me )

Long life tomato soup

Ingredients:

2.5 pounds of mixed tomatoes, preferably vine-ripened
Several cloves of garlic or a couple of spoonfuls of pre-minced jarred garlic
2 yellow onions
Half a cup of extra-virgin olive oil
1 quart reduced-sodium organic chicken stock
2 bay leaves
Pink sea salt and fresh ground pepper
4 tablespoons omega-3 Smart Balance stick butter
1/2 cup of fresh basil or a few tablespoons of dried
3/4 cup of half-n-half ( optional )
Avocado

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Wash and core the tomatoes, cut into halves. Slice onions. Peel garlic cloves if using whole ones.
3. Add tomatoes, onions, and garlic to a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for 20 to 30 minutes. They should look caramelized.
4. Transfer it all into a big pot. Add chicken stock, bay leaves and butter. Bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until liquid is reduced (evaporated and thickened) by about a third.
5. Add basil to pot, then use an immersion stick-style blender to puree the soup until fairly smooth. I like to leave mine a little grainy and chunky.
6. Return soup to low heat, add half-n-half if your diet goals allow for it, then add more chicken stock if you want it thinner.
7. Add more sea salt and pepper if you want, pour into bowl, and garnish with avocado slices.

-- Recipe borrowed from my buddy ChrisShugart

Goes great with some turkey bacon crumbled on top or even better a roasted poblano pepper stuffed with a touch of goat cheese and turkey bacon!!

Reeses peanut butter pie

You can make this and eat the whole thing without feeling like a total fat person.  Just a partial one!
 Note: you can make this fattier and carbier if you wish.  Use real peanut butter and a pre-baked pie crust.
Ingredients:

Crust: diced walnuts
4 oz fat-free cream cheese (half a standard package)
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
1/4 cup Splenda
8 oz Cool Whip, sugar free
2 scoop chocolate Metabolic Drive
butt load of PB2 ( available at large grocers or online )

Directions

1. Line the bottom of a pie tin or bowl with diced walnuts

2. In a bowl, mix up the cream cheese, sour cream, and Splenda with a fork.

3. Fold in thawed Cool Whip, PB2, and Metabolic Drive ( add more protein powder or PB2 to taste ).

4. Pour over "crust."

5. Chill for a few hours in the fridge or one hour in the freezer.

6. Eat the whole thing whole watching Glee. I won't tell.