As usual, it's been way too long since I posted anything. It's still a little crazy around here and not a whole lot has changed. We are patiently waiting for the doctor to schedule a T&A (tonsil and adenoid) removal for our son Lucca. Patient is a loose term but I will use it for now. We have tried several antibiotics but some PANDAS symptoms just keep lingering. Lucca is manageable and is much better than last year but, we are still dealing with the PANDAS monster. Needless to say I've been a little consumed with other things and writing hasn't been the front runner in the race of crap going through my mind lately. Does that even make sense? See what I mean???
Truth is I've been a little uninspired and tired! I have tons of recipes written down but I never took pictures when I made them and obviously it becomes difficult to share recipes without pictures!! Plus, I like to make some recipes a couple of times to make sure I have measurements right and it actually tastes delicious. I do this some times...not all the time but some to most of the time. Because I've been tired, I've gone to the easiest and least creative foods that I have under my belt. Things so easy, they are only a handful of ingredients. Things I would never expect people to be interested in.
Well, while taking Kaine, our youngest, to gymnastics a friend reminded me how much they enjoyed the dinner I had made a little while back. While watching our little ones climb, jump, balance, and swing, she told me how much her and her husband loved the chicken I made while over at our house. In fact they loved it so much they had already made the chicken dish several times since I had given her the recipe (which she hounded me for)!
When we have friends over, I don't push paleo. I just cook some food and swap out some of the obvious no-no dishes. Instead of dessert, we have fresh fruit. Instead of cheese and crackers, we have some sweet potato/potato chips or fresh veggies. Instead of sandwiches or pizza, I grill some meat and make a salad. If the bread, cheese, sugar, dairy, and other stuff isn't in front of you it's easy to eat paleo and not even realize it. The hardest part is when the food is staring you in the face, but it's extremely easy when the option isn't there. So, when our friends came over with their two little ones I made this chicken and the Kale "Krack" Salad.
I went with the easiest dishes I could think of. The kale salad I could make ahead of time and let sit in the fridge and the chicken, I just throw on the grill and I'm done. I like to talk and I get excited to speak with other adults. I work from home a lot so I don't get the office camaraderie anymore or adult conversations in general because I pretty much always have my kids around. So when friends are coming over I want to be able to sit down, have a drink, and talk. I don't want to be running around cooking.
After our conversation, I started to realize that maybe people would be interested in the quick meals that I typically just whip together. But this meant I would need to make it again and take some pictures. Well, I finally got around to taking the pictures but of course that meant I still needed to find the time to sit down and write. Of course it took longer than I had hoped but hopefully this recipe is worth the wait. If you don't count salt and pepper this dish is literally 3 ingredients added to chicken. It's super simple and I have grilled and broiled the chicken with similar results. My kids love chicken on the bone so we always have to get a couple of drumsticks but this works on chicken breasts, thighs, a whole rotisserie chicken or beer can chicken per my friends (not exactly paleo but oh well). Typically the sauce will cover about 8 pieces of chicken and you may have a little left over to coat the meat while cooking or to add after it is off the grill.
Next time you can't think of something for dinner try this out and add in the Farm Salad for a super effortless dinner.
Enjoy!
Happy Cooking and Eating!
Creamy Dijon Chicken
Prep Time:3 minutes
Cook Time:10-18 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked
Total Time:13-21 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 pieces of chicken, typically we do 6 drumsticks and 2 chicken breasts cut into strips (quicker to cook and stays juicy)
- 1/2 cup of Amazing Mayo or favorite mayo (I like Primal Kitchen or Sir Kensington, if you don't want to make your own)
- 3 TBSP dijon mustard
- 2 tsp of Herbs de Provence (you can find this in the spice aisle)
- Salt and Pepper (about 1/8 tsp of each, but I just sprinkle some on)
Instructions:
- Turn grill on and get hot!
- Mix mayo, mustard, and herbs together in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.
- Coat chicken with the dijon sauce and rub into the chicken.
- Place chicken on the grill and cook for about 5-10 minutes (depending on your grill)and flip. Cook and continue to flip until chicken is fully cooked. If you have left over sauce you can baste the chicken while it is cooking or add a little after you take it off the grill.
