SCD Chicken in Indian-Spiced Yogurt Sauce

Brown, crusty chicken with Indian spices and cooling yogurt. What could be better? And it's really easy, too.

Ingredients
3/4 cup SCD yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of cinnamon
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half lengthwise
3 tablespoons chopped mint leaves and/or scallions

Directions
Mix yogurt, spices, and lemon juice together in a large bowl or ziplock and add chicken.  Marinate for an hour. Then, heat pan to medium and add the oil. Cook the chicken in the pan, turning once. It should cook for about 10 minutes. Garnish with chopped mint leaves and scallions.

SCD Buffalo Wings with Cooling Creamy Dressing

Spicy, crispy, yummy, classic finger food. What could be better? I made these last night and got a reaction from Alex of, "they're good, but spicy!" - I don't think he's used to spicy food. Which may be my fault. Buckle up and get ready for the heat, friends! This recipe is closely modified from Alton Brown's recipe.

Ingredients
Buffalo Wings
12 whole chicken wings
1/4 cup original Tabasco sauce
6 tbsp melted butter
1 clove minced garlic
1 pinch cayenne
1 pinch black pepper

Cooling Creamy Dressing (optional)
1/4 cup Creamy Garlic and Dill dressing
1 tbsp SCD Yogurt

Directions
1. Cut tips of the wings off (at the "wrist"), then cut the remainder in half at the "elbow" joint. (This was almost too much for my vegetarian sensibilities.) If you have a steamer, you'll be steaming these in it for 10 minutes, so use your steamer according to the directions. If not, you can do what I did and rig up a big pot full to about 2 inches high of water with a mesh strainer hanging on top. Get that water boiling, add the chicken to the strainer hanging above the water, and cover as much as possible with the pot lid. Steam for 12 minutes this way.
2. Put the wings on some paper towels and pat dry. Put them in the fridge for an hour. (Skipping this step is okay, but they'll be better if you do it.)
3. Heat your oven to 425F and place the wings on a bake sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, turn them over, and then bake another 5 minutes. Meanwhile, melt your butter and add the spices, Tabasco, and garlic in a big bowl. Toss the finished chicken in that mixture.
4. Take the 1/4 cup of the dressing and strain with the mesh strainer to get the dill out. Add a tablespoon of yogurt to the dressing, and salt to taste if necessary. Serve it all up.

SCD Mango Chicken Stir Fry

We got in late today and Alex was out of his lentil soup. In my possession was a ripe mango, leftover coconut milk, and some veggies that needed to get used up. Eureka! Stir fry. Yum town, USA, population Alex. This came out well and is especially balanced in flavor if you make sure you have a small piece of mango in each bite. This isn't a strict recipe and I'd encourage you to add or subtract whatever vegetables you like, or substitute lentils for chicken if you're vegetarian.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground fresh ginger
1 pinch ground nutmeg
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 big pinch of tumeric
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 mango, peeled and diced
2 green onions, diced
1 bell pepper (color of your choice)
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup cauliflower, diced
1/2 cup broccoli, diced
1/2 cup carrots, diced
salt to taste

Directions
1. Add coconut oil and diced onion to a big pan on medium low heat and let the onions sweat. Meanwhile, mix the spices (except the fresh ginger) in a small bowl and toss the cubed chicken in it.

I didn't add the tumeric until later, and I added it purely for color. You can add it here or later. 

2. Add the chicken to the pan. Cook it until the chicken releases most of its moisture and the moisture evaporates. Next, add the coconut milk, fresh ginger, cauliflower, and carrots -  mix thoroughly and let it simmer for a minute or two since these veggies need to cook a little longer.
3. Add the rest of the vegetables, stir!

4. Simmer until the sauce is no longer chicken-watery, the chicken is good through, and the vegetables are tender. Serve and eat!

Easy SCD Taco Turkey Burgers

 Odds are, I'll be posting a lot of burger variations. Alex demands burgers, usually for lunch. I'm not sure what got him stuck into that routine, but there it is. I end up getting creative with them sometimes, unless he feels sick and wants a basic burger. I tried something new this time and it worked out very nicely. The taco flavors are all there and the salsa helped create a nice sear on the burger that made it extra yummy. Alex liked it a lot and ate one and a half of them as soon as they were ready.

Ingredients:

1.25lb turkey burger meat
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 tablespoons SCD salsa (I like Trader Joe's Mild Salsa)

1 tablespoon SCD chili powder (We use McCormick's, not 100% sure it's SCD.)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

1. I like to mix up my turkey burger right in the package. If you do, make sure to take out the little paper under the meat.

2. Add the spices, diced onion, and salsa to the turkey. Preheat a skillet (preferably a 10 inch cast iron skillet) on medium heat. Mix the turkey and spices together with your hands.

 3. Form into patties and put into the pan. I wanted a nice sizzle when I put it into the pan and preheating made sure that I got a lovely brown crust on the meat. Cook about 7 minutes on each side. I know it's time to flip when the edges are brown. Try to flip only once. Serve with salsa, avocado slices, on a bun, or with some sliced cheese.

Alex's dinner tonight:

My dinner was nowhere as exciting. Yuuum!

Recipe Review: Grain Free Ginger and Lemon Tart GF SCD (And Ginger Snaps, Too!)

Click for the recipe. I know I've said it before, but Gluten Free SCD and Veggie is a fantastic blog and especially knocks it way out of the park with creative and delicious desserts. This pie is good. I'm talkin' really, really good. Creamy, lemony, deliciousness. And those ginger snaps are fantastic, too, both on their own and as a pie crust. I stuck to the recipe except for using fresh ginger with the ginger snaps (Alex even wanted gingerier cookies and so I added yet more ginger to the second batch before they went in the oven) and coconut milk instead of almond milk in the pie. Trust, Vicky knows what she's doing with these recipes.

This recipe has a lot of steps. But they're each reasonably easy. Take it one at a time, make the ginger snaps and the pie, and try not to eat the pie filling right out of the blender. Alex liked it, and I personally think that you'd never know the filling is primarily cashews. It tastes like lemony creamy sweetness. This stuff is good. Make it. Now.

I'd like to mention that I worked hard for this recipe. I didn't have dessicated coconut. Trader Joe's didn't, either. They had sweetened, shredded coconut. Nope, no go. I had to buy a whole coconut.

Here's a mini recipe for homemade dessicated coconut: Make sure you pick one that you can hear water rustling around in so you know it's fresh and yummy. Preheat the oven to 250F. Grab a hammer and nail (or screwdriver) and examine which of the 3 "eyes" is the softest. One will be nice and soft. Hammer that nail in, until it breaks through.

I did not take pictures of this part. Whoops!

Pull it back out after and drain the water (I put it through a sieve and Alex drank it after). Then, wrap that coconut in a dishrag or towel, put it on the floor (don't risk destroying your counter top) and whack that thing with a hammer until it's in quarters. Then, break apart the meat from the shell (it'll take a little effort in some cases) and peel off the soft brown skin with a veggie peeler. Grate on the small grates of a box grater. Then, spread out the grated coconut on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper, so it's a thin single layer. Bake at 250F for about 15-20 minutes, checking every five minutes, or until it is brittle instead of soft.  One coconut will yield enough for probably 4 or 5 batches of ginger snaps, so plan to freeze most of the dried coconut and save it for next time.

Today I also made myself some vegetarian pumpkin/squash chili, so I was very busy. Oh, and then I cut my thumb somewhat badly on the can of coconut milk which was in the trash at the time. No idea how. So I comforted myself by licking the bowl and spoon of the pie filling. Yuuuum.

Yes.