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Thai Cauliflower Fried Rice

My husband travels a lot for work. While I miss him a lot, there are some things I take advantage of. I watch movies like “Pride and Prejudice.” I don’t have to worry about us waking each other up at night. But my favorite part is the food. I can make food he refuses to eat. And I do. Last week he was out of town and I made this delicious cauliflower fried rice. My husband thinks cauliflower is a horrible addition to any meal, so I usually save it for snacks and lunch, or serve it on the side.

This dish did not disappoint. It was full of both flavor and nutrients. While I’d still rather have him home, this definitely softened the blow.

The key to this dish is to dice all the veggies small and cook it in stages. Start with the heartier veggies and work your way up to the softer ones so everything cooks evenly.

And can I talk about this sauce. It’s so amazing. As I’ve mentioned before, I’m on a candida cleanse and can’t have anything fermented. That means no coconut aminos or gluten free soy sauce. That has been really hard but this sauce is a great substitute. You can definitely use 1/4 C coconut aminos instead of the water to up the flavor, but it was still incredible with the water.

This is also versatile based on what you have/like. We used leftover pork chops for the protein but this would be great with chicken, ham, steak or any ground meat. We just always got ham fried rice growing up, so fried rice and pork seem to be the perfect combination to me.

Sadly, my husband has a few more trips coming up before summer. The good news is, this dish will get to make more appearances as I plan to have it every time he leaves town.

 

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One Pan Autumn Chicken and Veggie Dinner

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I recently got a new set of knives. I didn’t exactly need them, but they were at Costco and they came in different colors. They were so pretty I couldn’t resist. I’m kind of like a fish drawn to shiny things. I brought my lovely knives home and unpacked them (which was quite an accomplishment since the package was pretty much welded together) and selected which knife to use based on color. The massacre began when I was slicing an onion. My new, very sharp knife slipped and I cut my pointer and middle finger. Luckily we have a rather extensive collection of Star Wars band-aids, so I wrapped up my hands and went back to making dinner. The next cut was to my knuckle. I’m still not totally sure how that one happened, but there it was. Another R2D2 bandaid and I was set to go.

A few days later I was making something with coconut milk and cut my other knuckle on the can. It’s been so bad lately that my 8-year-old who is as oblivious to what’s going on around him as any 8-year-old said, “Mom. Why do you keep cutting your hands? Maybe you shouldn’t use knives anymore.” Seriously! Am I the only one who is a total spaz in the kitchen? Am I the only one who goes through more band-aids than their children?

To make my story relevant, I have a recipe for you that requires a lot of chopping. One thing it doesn’t require though is a lot of is dishes. I wanted a complete meat and veggie meal that could be made with one pan. Done!

Not only does this dish come together in one pan, but it’s a savory dish that has all the delicious flavors of fall.

To make things easier, chop all your veggies and add them to a large plastic bag with the oil, salt and pepper. Then shake it up to coat the veggies.

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Here’s where the fall flavors come in. We get to make a fabulous spice blend that has slightly sweet flavors like cinnamon and orange, and warm flavors like paprika and cumin.

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Using the same bag you tossed the veggies in, toss some chicken thighs with the seasoning mix. Remember that commercial back in the 80’s/90’s with the little girl who helped make the chicken? “It’s shake and bake and I helped.” Funny. I don’t remember freshman science, but I remember that commercial. That’s basically what we’re going to do here.

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So if the veggies and chicken covered in delicious flavors isn’t enough, we up the flavor with the ingredient that improves anything: Bacon! I ended up using 8 slices of bacon to wrap all 6 thighs but use however many you need/want based on the size of thighs you have.

The chicken goes on the same pan as the veggies and it all goes in the oven together.

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I like to eat mine over spinach, but my husband thinks that’s a terrible idea. You choose.

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However you eat it, be careful cutting those veggies.

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