Coconut Chicken Chili

Coconut Chicken Chili (from here)

12 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast halves chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 14oz can unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon peanut butter
1 15-19oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3 medium carrots, shredded
1 stalk celery, sliced (I didn't have this.)
1 medium green onion, sliced (I didn't have this either.)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (I didn't use fresh.)

In a large sauce pan, cook chicken onion, chili powder, ginger, and  1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and the cayenne pepper in hot oil over medium heat for 6 to 8 mins until chicken is no longer pink. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute more. Stir in coconut milk, peanut butter, and 1 cup water. Bring to boiling, stirring occasionally.

Stir in beans, carrots, celery, green onion, garlic, and chopped basil. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Serve with rice.

Recipe suggest to top with fresh basil and sliced jalapenos (but I'm a spice wimp, so we didn't).

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken + Coconut Milk Rice (or Crock Pot)

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken (Inspired by this recipe.)

Notes: The original recipe calls for marinating and grilling, but I opted to do everything in the crock pot. I also halved the recipe when I made it. It's the full one below. It was delicious!

3 lbs. boneliness skinless chicken thighs
2 c. soy sauce (use low sodium soy sauce)
2 c. water
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 bunch of green onions, chopped (reserve some for garnish) (I didn't actually have these so I left them off.)
1/4 c. white onion, chopped
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp sesame oil (I left this out -- mostly because I forgot.)
1 can coconut milk (You'll need more for the rice.)

Mix soy sauce, water, brown sugar, onions, garlic, oil and 1 can of coconut milk in a crock pot. Add chicken and cook on high for 6 hours.

To make coconut rice, replace half of the water with coconut milk. I do 1 c. white rice, 1 c. water, 1 c. coconut milk and cook as directed.

To grill, you marinade in the sauce for 8 hours and then grill for 5-7 mins on each side.

Light Wheat Pizza Dough

Makes 8 crusts

3 1/2 c. lukewarm water
1 tbsp granulated yeast
1 - 1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp sugar or honey
1/8 c. olive oil
7 cups white whole wheat flour (or traditional whole wheat flour)

Option: for a lighter dough, use half whole wheat flour and half all-purposed unbleached and decrease the water to 3 1/4 c.

1. Mix the yeast, salt, sweetner, and olive oil.

2. Mix in remaining dry ingredients.

3. Cover and allow to rest at room temp until it rises and collapses or flattens on top -- about 2 hours

4. The dough can be used immediately after it's initial rise. Refrigerate remaining dough in a lidded not airtight container and use for pizza or flatbread over next 10 days or up to 3 weeks in the freezer in 1/2 lb. portions. When using frozen dough, thaw in fridge overnight before use.

5. On pizza day, roll out or stretch the dough into a thin round on parchment paper & top with toppings. Preheat oven to 450 with stone inside. Transfer the parchment paper to the stone. Bake for 8 to 10 mins.

Pumpkin Green Smoothie

Inspired by this recipe.

1/2 c. pumpkin puree
1 c. almond milk
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 large carrot chopped (I didn't have this, but I would def. try adding it)
2 c. baby spinach or other leafy green
2 frozen bananas
I added 1tsp of stevia, but would probably cut this to 1/2 next time.

GAVIN DRANK IT! Hello sneaking veggi's into my picky kids belly.

I really liked it. It was a nice switch up from my normal banana, strawberry, spinach mix.

Frozen Yogurt Pops

2 c. frozen yogurt
2 cups frozen berries - thaw in the microwave for 1 min
1/2 to 3/4 c. confectioners sugar

Combine and pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Dairy Free Chocolate Pudding

Haven't tried this but saw a variation in a cookbook so I wanted to write it down.

1/4 c. dairy free margarine (smart balance light)
1 c. avacado puree
1 c. confectioners sugar
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 c. cornstarch

In a medium sauce pan melt the margarine over low heat. Stir in the avacado puree, sugar, cocoa powder and vanilla. Cook mashing well with a silicone spatula to smooth out any lumps of avacado until the mixture thickens, 3 to 4 mins. Off the heat, gradually stir in the cornstarch. Serve warm.

Chipotle's Shredded Beef Recipe

Inspired by this recipe.

1/3 c. apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp lime juice (i only had lemon, so i used it)
2 Chipotle Peppers canned in Adobo Sauce (Recipe called for 4 but I'm a spice wimp...2 was good!)
1 small to medium sweet onion
5 cloves garlic
4 tsp cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground clove
2 tbsp oil
4 lb roast (top round, bottom round, chuck, etc.)
1 c. beef broth

Combine the vinegar to the clove in a blender and puree.

Put the oil in the bottom of the crock pot and put the rost on top. Pour half of the sauce on top of the roast. Flip the roast and pour the remaining half of the sauce on the roast. Add the beef broth to the crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours.

This had great flavor and was pretty delicious!