http://www.cookingforseven.com/2011/01/coconut-chicken-curry-soup/

Coconut & Chicken Curry Soup

Erica Lea on Jan 1st 2011

Having lived in Minnesota my whole life, I’ve become quite accustomed to temperatures that dip well below freezing for months on end; to drifts of snow several feet high. Do I bemoan my fate and pine for summer? Not at all!

I love being able to stand by the fire, pull on warm socks & sweaters, and enjoy a bowl of steaming soup.

Here’s a recipe that’s sure to keep you cozy. Not only by it’s thermal heat - the spicy jalapeño peppers will keep your taste buds hopping!

Notes: I added my own spin to this recipe. We had some fresh ginger in the refrigerator, so I added a tablespoon or so. I thought the amount of spicy heat was perfect, but if you prefer a milder flavor simply leave out the jalapeño peppers and reduce the amount of curry powder.

The original recipe suggest that you serve the soup with jasmine rice. The soup was wonderful on its own, though I would like to try it with rice or rice noodles.

Coconut & Chicken Curry Soup

Adapted from a recipe by Katie Goodman

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 3 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized chunks
• 1/2 of a large onion, chopped fine
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 can (14 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk, full fat
• 2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 jalapeño, seeded, minced
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 small green bell pepper, sliced thin
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish
• 1/2 cup unsweetened chipped coconut
• 2 cups freshly cooked jasmine rice (optional)

Directions:

1) Heat the olive oil in a medium sized soup pot over medium heat. Add the chicken to the oil, season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté until cooked through and golden. Remove chicken and set aside. Sauté the onion, adding more oil if necessary, until tender.

2) Return the chicken to the pot with the onions. Add the ginger; cook for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, coconut milk, curry powder and jalapeno. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add bell pepper and cilantro and simmer an additional 3 minutes. Stir in lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3) Optional: Spoon rice into 4 bowls. Top with a ladle or two of soup. Garnish with additional cilantro and a sprinkling of shredded coconut. Serve.

Makes approximately 6 servings

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Most of us are familiar with slow cookers and rely on them from time to time when we want a home cooked meal that requires very little effort. There are many reasons to love a slow cooker. Speed is not one of them.

A pressure cooker, on the other hand, can do just about everything a slow cooker can in a fraction of the time. The basic idea is the same: throw meat and vegetables in a pot, add seasonings and enough liquid to cover the ingredients, put on the lid and walk away. But instead of walking away for 4-8 hours, like you would with a slow cooker, a pressure cooker gives you just enough time to change out of your work clothes and sort through the junk mail before dinner is done. In about 30 minutes a whole chicken or several pounds of tough stew meat are transformed into a meal that will melt in your mouth, rich with flavor and perfectly cooked. In an hour, an entire pot roast will fall apart with tenderness.

A pressure cooker is locked shut and seals in all the water vapor that rise up from the simmering liquid and ingredients in the pot. The increased pressure increases the cooking temperature and triples the amount of heat transferred into the meat while it cooks. This tenderizes meat at a remarkably fast rate. Using a pressure cooker is also an efficient way to cook stock, as the high temperature will coax flavor and collagen out of bones in record time. Just add your bones and animal parts, throw in a few cups of chopped carrots, celery and onion, plus enough water to cover everything, and cook for 35 minutes or so.

Are there any downsides to using a pressure cooker? Well, when it really gets going a pressure cooker sounds a little bit like a steam locomotive moving through your kitchen. Though if used correctly, there is no reason to fear that the pot will blow its lid and spray scalding steam across your kitchen, as some people fear. The lid of a pressure cooker locks tightly into place and can only be opened if you press a button to release the latch.



When removed from heat, the cooker slowly lowers the pressure inside on its own (or can be run under cold water to speed up the process) and will indicate when it is safe to remove the lid. Newer models of pressure cookers have all sorts of added features for safety and ease of use and are pretty much fool-proof.



If you’re one of those people who’s had a pressure cooker in your cupboard for years but have always been afraid of using it, now’s the time. Thirty-five minutes later, when you’re sitting down to a warm bowl of tender meat and vegetables, you’ll wonder why you waited so long.

Pressure Cooker Beef Stew
Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:



2 pounds beef stew meat
Several tablespoons of oil
1 onion, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 garlic cloves
3 cups beef broth
1 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 bay leaves
6 sprigs of thyme
Instructions:

Season meat lightly with salt and pepper. With the lid off, heat oil in the pressure cooker over medium high heat. Brown the meat, 3-5 minutes. (The meat will brown better if you brown half of it, then remove it from the pot and brown the other half.)

When all the beef is browned, add the onion, carrots and garlic (and any other vegetables). Saute a few minutes more then add broth, tomato paste, bay leaves and thyme sprigs.



Put the lid on the pressure cooker, making sure it clicks into place, and turn the heat to high. As soon as the pressure cooker begins to loudly release steam, set the timer and cook the stew for 25 minutes. When the steam valve comes down, remove the lid. Add salt and pepper to taste.



Pressure Cooker Chicken and Broth
Servings: 4

Ingredients:



Several tablespoons oil
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 white or yellow onion, chopped or sliced
One 4-pound chicken
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
8-12 cups water
Optional: garlic cloves and fresh herbs
Instructions:

With the lid off, heat oil in the pressure cooker over medium high heat. Add carrots, celery and onion and sauté 3-5 minutes.



Add the whole chicken, breast side down, and then add salt, peppercorns and bay leaves. Add enough water to just barely cover the chicken, 8-12 cups.

Put the lid on the pressure cooker, making sure it clicks into place, and turn the heat to high. As soon as the pressure cooker begins to loudly release steam, set the timer for 35 minutes. When the steam valve comes down, remove the lid.

Using tongs, remove the chicken from the pot and separate the meat from the bones. The chicken can be added back to the broth to make soup, or you can eat the chicken separately and then strain and refrigerate the broth for later use.

How to Slow Cook a Whole Chicken (and Make Broth)

OCTOBER 24, 2011 4 COMMENTS AND 1 REACTION

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As we wrap up Crocktoberfest this week, I thought this easy recipe was appropriate. If you haven’t roasted a chicken in your crock pot yet… try it!

Not only is it the cheapest and easiest way I’ve found to make chicken, but you get a couple quarts of chicken broth from it too!

Ingredients and Tools:

• A whole chicken (Usually available for under $2/lb for even organic)
• 1 tbsp butter
• favorite herbs and spices (I add 1 tsp garlic granules or powder, 1 tsp sea salt, and about 1/2 tsp each of basil, oregano, thyme, and rosemary.)
• Crock Pot

How To Slow Cook a Chicken In the Crock Pot (Don’t blink or you’ll miss the instructions!)

1. Rinse chicken and make sure innards are removed.
2. Put butter in bottom or crock pot and turn on low (butter is to prevent sticking, can use coconut oil).
3. Once butter melts, put chicken in crock pot (putting breast-down will make it cook faster)
4. Sprinkle with desired spices. (I’ve also heard of stuffing the chicken with an onion, apple or orange for more moistness and great flavor)
5. Put lid on and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until well cooked.

To Make Broth:

1. Remove chicken and pull meat off the bones but leave all the juices in the crock pot.
2. Put the bones back in the crock pot and add 1 small chopped onion, 2 ribs of celery, 1 chopped carrot and a little more sea salt.
3. Add 2-3 quarts of water (depending on what your’s will hold)
4. Cook on low overnight.
5. Strain bones and vegetables out.
6. Use within 3 days or freeze for later use.

Note: This makes a thick broth which can be frozen in ice cube trays for “instant” chicken broth when needed in recipes.

Some other ideas for using your whole roasted chicken:

• Put a small colander on top of the chicken when almost done cooking and fill with veggies. It will steam them so you have the whole meal ready to serve.
• For the last few hours, put some medium sized sweet potatoes on top of the chicken and put the lid back on. Both will be ready for dinner.
• After making the broth, remove the bones, add some chicken back in along with a few cups of favorite veggies and you have an easy chicken soup (with tons of nutrients)

Bacon Apple Crock Pot Chicken

OCTOBER 17, 2011 0 COMMENTS AND 0 REACTIONS

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This is one of my favorite easy chicken recipes… In fact, it never lasts long enough to get a picture…

Bacon Apple Crock Pot Chicken Ingredients:

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (can also be done with a whole chicken or thighs)
• 2 apples- peeled, cored and grated
• 1 cup homemade barbecue sauce -or Mitch’s (sugar sweetened) and Nature’s Hollow(xyitol sweetened) are both decent options if you don’t make your own
• 8 pieces of bacon

How To Make:

1. Wrap each piece of chicken in 2 pieces of bacon and place in bottom of crock pot.
2. Mix grated apple and barbecue sauce and pour over chicken.
3. Cook on low for 7-8 hours until done.
4. We enjoy with homemade cole slaw or sweet potatoes.

How do you cook chicken in the crock pot? Share below!

Chicken Broccoli Alfredo Casserole

rebel with a spatual

Cauliflower is a great way to ween yourself off the love of pasta. This is a CHEAP Paleo dish (if you are cool with dairy and cheese... if not, not so Paleo).

• 4 Cups Cauliflower, steamed to softness and chopped
• 3 cubed Chicken Breasts (I baked mine with skin on then cooled and cut)
• 1 cup Coconut Milk
• 3/4 cup Heavy Cream
• 1 stick Butter
• 3/4 cup Parmesan
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups Broccoli
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder (I love garlic powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 Onion, chopped
• 6 strips of bacon cut in quarters

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Melt butter in microwave bowl. Add in cream, coconut milk, garlic powder, parmesan, salt, onion and eggs and whip with a fork or whisk.

2. Add chicken and cauliflower and mix it in. Pour into casserole or cake pan.

3. Add a little more parmesan on top and then place bacon in a single layer across the top.

4. Bake for 1 hour. Then put on broil for 5-6 minutes until bacon is crispy.

Chicken Nuggets - the Paleo way!

Of course the kids like chicken nuggets. I think they are genetically wired to bug the crap out of me until i make them. They are super yummy so i guess i don't blame them... much. Anywho -- here are the lovely little morsels with sliced sweet potatoes and a fruit chaser. Kids were happy! Who am i kiddin'?? This was MY plate! :)

Paleo Nuggets
2 Cups Almond Meal
2 Tbs Seasoned Salt
2 Eggs - Scrambled
1 - 2 lbs Chicken breast tenders
Couple dashes hot sauce (optional but not really)
Coconut oil for frying


Season the almond meal, chicken and eggs with the salt. Add hot sauce to eggs. Dip tenders in egg then almond meal. Fry in oil until done (5-7 minutes per side). Enjoy!

Delicious Slow Cooker Chicken

by MYRA on OCTOBER 11, 2011

My mom got me hooked on this fantastically easy slow cooker chicken recipe years ago when I was still at home. The beauty of this recipe is that it can be totally customized with various herbs and spices. You seriously can’t mess it up…and throwing all the ingredients in the slow cooker only takes a few minutes.

{drool}

World’s Easiest Slow Cooker Recipe

• Chicken {I buy organic whole chickens and chicken breasts. Use whatever you like or have on hand.}
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 T. olive oil or butter
• 1/2 t. salt
• freshly ground black pepper {I usually just give my grinder a few twists}
• herbs & spices – garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, McCormick garlic & herb blend etc.

Place the chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. I’ve done both frozen and thawed chicken…so whichever is fine…as long as you get the insides out of a frozen whole chicken before hand.

Add sliced onion, water, salt & pepper, spices, oil or butter. Turn the slow cooker on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10 hours. Cover it up and forget about it for the rest of the day…or until you start smelling the deliciousness wafting through your house!

This slow cooker chicken recipe always, always, always produces the most tender, delicious chicken in the world!

Step 1. Follow these steps for great results!

Step 2. Click like!

Step 3. If you’re not a Facebook fan, click here: http://facebook.com/fastpaleo!

Cooking Steps

How to:
• Slice up your onion into thin-ish strips and toss it in a pan with some ghee and caramelize them {remember low & slow!}

• While your onions are happy in the ghee, cut your chicken into strips… whatever size you like.. I did kinda thin ones because that’s how it was made at the Chinese Food Place.

• Toss your chicken in a skillet that has some ghee in it, let your chicken start to brown.

• While your chicken is browning start to peel & Chop your cucumber… Cut them into really thin match sticks { I cut it half first, then did the match-stick thing}. I didn’t use the inside seeds of the cucumber, it’s a bit to soft for this dish, so it was sliced out. If you like that portion of the cucumber by all means add it in! Set aside your cucumbers.

• Probably about now {or maybe earlier}, you’ll want to flip your chicken over… and let it go to town on the other side {remember to stir your onions a bit!}

• Start rocking and rolling on your Cauliflower rice { Cut into florets, toss in food processor, give it a whirl so it looks like rice, dump in bowl, cover with plastic wrap, microwave for 3.5-5 Minutes {depending on how much you use}. Take out of microwave, add ghee, salt & pepper to taste!}

• When your chicken is done, add two heaping {at least} tablespoons of almond butter. Start to mix it as best you can. Slowly start to add some chicken stock in. I had filled up a mug about 1/2 way and would pour in some, stir, pour in some stir, until you get the sauce to be loose-ish. This part is total preference, if you like a “saucey” sauce then add a ton of stock, if you like pretty thick sauce, don’t add so much in….. When the sauce is where you want it, add in a dash of paprika, pinch of salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes to taste… I used ohh I want to say 3-4 teaspoons of it.

• Your onions should be done, so add those into the sauce + chicken. If this starts to mess with how loose / firm the sauce is adjust it with more stalk or almond butter.

• Then turn off the heat. Let it sit a minute while you divide up the cauliflower rice.

• At the last possible minute … as in right before you put it on your cauliflower rice, add in your cucumbers and give it a quick toss. {You want the cold – warm, crunchy – soft texture balance}.

•Put it on your Cauliflower rice, and you’re done!

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Serves 2

20 mins

This is a Non-Dairy Recipe

Ingredients

• • 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
• Cucumber
• 2 Gigantic tablespoons Smooth Almond Butter { I used a kitchen spoon… and they were HUGE!}
• Between 1/2 – 1 Cup of Chicken Stock
• 1/2 an Onion {yellow}
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Paprika
• Salt + Pepper
• Cauliflower Rice
• Ghee {and/or coconut oil}