Sun- Dried Tomato Creamy Chicken (Whole 30)

Whole 30 can be completely scary and intimidating but I'm here to tell you it can be easy and DELICIOUS!!!  This is one of my favorite Whole 30 chicken dishes!  The whole family loves it!  The creaminess of the coconut milk with the sun-dried tomatoes is heavenly!!!

Ingredients:
8 Bone In Chicken Thighs
1/4 cup Tapioca Starch
1 TBSP salt
1 Tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
3 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion Thinly Sliced
3/4 cup Sun-Dried Tomatoes (not packed in oil)
1 TBSP Minced Garlic
1 tsp Italian Seasoning
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
13.5 oz Can of Coconut Milk
1 Cup Chicken Stock
Basil for garnish

Directions:

1. Mix together the tapioca starch, salt, and pepper in a medium sized bowl.  Toss the chicken thighs in the mixture until fully coated.
2.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
3. Heat 2 TBSP olive oil in dutch oven.  Add chicken a few pieces at a time and brown on each side.  When all chicken is browned, removed it and set aside.
4.  Add the remaining 1 TBSP of olive oil to pain and heat to medium high.  Add the sliced onions and saute for 2 minutes.  Add the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and red pepper and saute another 30 seconds.
5.  Add the coconut milk and chicken broth and bring to a boil.
6.  Add the chicken back to the sauce scooping the onions and tomatoes over the chicken.  Try to fit the chicken in a single layer if possible.
7.  Cover pan with lid and cook for 45 minutes in oven at 400 degrees.  after 45 minutes, reduce heat to 300 and cook for another 20 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and top with shredded basil before serving.

Enjoy!

Beef Stew

Beef Stew is one of my comfort foods.  I absolutely love it and it has been my mission to find the best beef stew recipe.  I don't know if this is the BEST recipe for beef stew out there but it comes pretty darn close!  I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
6ox of thick sliced bacon, chopped into 1/4" wide strips
Olive oil
2- 2 1/2 pounds of boneless beef chuck or quality stew meat trimmed and cut into 1"pieces
1/4 cup flour (all purpose)
2 cups of red wine
1 lb sliced mushrooms
4 large carrots peeled and cut into 1/2" thick pieces
1 medium onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP tomato paste
4 cups low sodium beef broth
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 lb fingerling potatoes, halved or quartered

Instructions:
In a large, oven poof pot, sauté
bacon over medium heat until golden brown and fat is released.  Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon pieces to a separate bowl.  While bacon is cooking, place stewed meat into a large mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Sprinkle beef with 1/4 cup flour and evenly coat the beef.  Transfer beef in batches into the hot bacon fat and cook over medium to medium high heat until beef is browned and then transfer the beef to the bowl with the bacon.  Add 2 cups of red wine to the pot and bring to a boil, scraping the bottom to deglaze the pot.  Add sliced mushrooms and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Return beef and bacon to the pot.  Meanwhile, heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat and add 2 TBS of olive oil.  Sauté the carrots, onions and garlic for about 4 minutes then add 1 TSP of tomato paste and sauté another minute.  Transfer the veggies to the soup pot.  Stir to combine and bring to a low boil.  Add potatoes making sure they are submerged in liquid then cover and transfer to a 325 degree over and cook for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Chili

Nothing is better than a bowl of soup on a cold winter's day!  I have tried thousands of chili recipes and I think this one is my favorite.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef, turkey or venison

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 yellow or white onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

2 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped (optional)

3 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

46-oz. can tomato juice

28-oz. can diced tomatoes

15-oz. can tomato sauce

16-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

16-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Shredded cheese and sour cream, for topping

Instructions:

In a large skillet, cook ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Drain excess grease from skillet, but do not clean.

Add the olive oil to the skillet. Add the onion, green pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeño peppers (if using) and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.

If cooking the chili stovetop, add the cooked meat back to the skillet. If using a slow cooker, add meat-veggie mixture to the slow cooker. Add the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and pinto beans to either the skillet or slow cooker, depending on which you are using. On stovetop, bring to a boil, dial back to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours. In slow cooker, cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve warm with cheese and sour cream.

Smothered Baked Pork Chops

Ingredients:

6-8 Center Cut Pork Chops
1 TSP Garlic Powder
1 TSP Seasoning Salt
2 Eggs, beaten
1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Cups Italian Style Breadcrumbs
4 TBSP Olive Oil
1 TBSP Worcestershire
1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1/2 Cup of Milk
1/3 Cup White Wine

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350.  Rinse chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl.  Dredge chops in flour, dip in egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.  Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat.  Fry the chops 5 minutes per side or until breading appears well browned.  Place pork chops in a 9x13 baking dish and cover tightly with foil.  Bake for 30 minutes.  While pork chops are baking, mix the cream of mushroom soup, white wine, milk and Worcestershire together in a bowl.  After pork chops have baked for 30 minutes, pour soup mixture on top of the pork chops and cover back with foil and bake an additional 30 minutes.  

Spaghetti Squash

Shhhhh!!!  Don't tell my kids this isn't pasta!  This is one of my favorite side dishes and my kids think it's pasta!  It is super easy and delicious!!!

Ingredients: 

1 small spaghetti squash (about 3-4 pounds)
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup finely minced parsley (or basil)
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Pierce squash a few times with sharp paring knife (to let steam escape). Bake spaghetti squash for 60 minutes, or until a paring knife pierces easily through skin with little resistance. Let squash cool for 10 minutes.

2. Cut squash in half, lengthwise. Use a fork to remove and discard the seeds. Continue using fork to scrape the squash to get long, lovely strands. If the squash seem difficult to scrape, return the squash to bake for an additional 10 minutes.

3. Heat a large saute pan with the butter and the garlic over medium-low heat. When garlic becomes fragrant, add parsley, salt and spaghetti squash strands. Toss well, sprinkle in the parmesan cheese and taste to see if you need additional salt. The spaghetti squash should have a slight crunch (i.e. not mushy) - but if you like it softer, cover the pan and cook 2 more minutes.

Creamy White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

1 TBS Olive Oil
1 Pound Skinless Boneless Chicken Breast halves, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 Onion chopped
2 Cloves garlic chopped
2- 15.5oz Cans great Northern Beans rinsed and drained
1- 14.4 oz can chicken broth
2- 4oz cans diced green chilies
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
1 can white shoe peg corn
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
4 oz pkg cream cheese

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cook and stir chicken, onion and garlic in hot oil until no longer pink in the center and juices run clear.  (10-15 min) Mix Great Northern Beans, corn, chicken broth, green chilies, salt, cumin, black pepper, cayenne pepper into chicken mixture and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until flavors have blended. (about 30 min)  Remove chili from heat and add sour cream, heavy cream and cream cheese until incorporated.  Turn heat back to low and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until cream cheese has melted.


Crock Pot Version:

Add uncut chicken breasts, chilies, onion, garlic, salt, cumin, pepper, cayenne pepper to crock pot. Stir to coat chicken.  Cover with chicken broth and cook on low for 6 hours.  Shred the chicken into bite size pieces and add beans,corn, and cream cheese and continue cooking about 30 minutes,  Add heavy cream and sour cream and stir till incorporated.  .

Crock Pot Beef Stew

2 (1 oz) packages dry onion soup mix
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 pounds lean beef stew meat (cut up into bite sized pieces)
5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 to 3 cups baby carrots
1 small Onion, chopped
2 (10 oz.) cans cream of celery soup
1 cup ketchup

In a large plastic bag, combine the dry onion soup mix and paprika. Add in meat and shake the bag to coat meat with the seasonings. (You may have to do that step in two batches, for all the meat to fit)

Once meat is coated, spread out evenly into a greased 7 quart crock pot. Top meat evenly with diced potatoes, carrots and onion.  Mix the cream of celery soup and ketchup in a small bowl. Pour mixture over the meat and vegetables.Cover crock pot with lid. Cook on low heat for 8 hours or until meat is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Stir to combine everything then serve.