Tag Archives: dairy free

Chicken Thighs with Sweet and Sour Sauce

Posted on by Erin

My Sweetie Pie husband has this thing for Chinese sweet and sour dishes. He always gets excited when he orders them, and then is always disappointed when his plate arrives, glowing with sauce a shade of red not found in nature. So I had my eye out for a homemade, “natural” sweet and sour equivalent.

Then, a few years ago, I went on a cookbook binge at the library and cleared the shelves of any book with the words “quick”, “easy”, or “cheap”. This was when I had three babes and my oldest was four-years-old. I was feeling stretched a little thin.

Anyway, this great book from America’s Test Kitchen was one of the ones that I brought home. I was so thrilled to find this recipe. I copied it and am so glad I held onto it. It’s wonderfully delicious and everyone loved it (especially the Sweetie Pie).

I made just a few ingredient changes to make it allergen-friendly and refined-sugar-free. I used coconut oil instead of butter, and honey instead of brown sugar. I was pleased with these changes. My family couldn’t seem to get enough of the sauce, so I’d consider doubling the sauce next time.

I also simplified the cooking method just a bit. I know that America’s Test Kitchen is, in fact, a test kitchen and that surely they’ve tested every single way to make a recipe. But in my opinion, the best way to make a recipe is also the most efficient one. Some of the instructions felt a little fussy, so I just simplified it a little bit. Everything worked out just great.

Plan to Eat users, click on the recipe title to import it into your account.

Chicken Thighs with Sweet-and-Sour Sauce

Source: The Best Make Ahead Recipe

Serves: 6

Ingredients

  • CHICKEN
  • 6 Tbs coconut oil, melted
  • 4 tsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 1 1/2 tsp five-spice powder
  • 12 organic chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
  • SAUCE
  • 1 Tbs coconut oil
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbs fresh ginger, minced
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar
  • 4 scallions, sliced thin

Directions

  1. For the chicken: Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a rack in the center of the oven.
  2. Mix 4 Tbs of the coconut oil, ginger, five-spice powder, and 1/4 tsp salt together in a small bowl. Gently separate the skin of the chicken from the meat. Rub the spice mixture under the skin. Place the chicken, skin side up, on a broiler pan (with the drip pan underneath).
  3. Melt the remaining 2 Tbs coconut oil and brush the chicken with it. Season with salt and pepper. Bake the chicken on the middle rack about 30-40 minutes, until done.
  4. Remove chicken and preheat the broiler. Broil for about 5 minutes, until skin is crispy and browned.
  5. For the sauce: While the chicken is baking, cook the remaining coconut oil, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan until fragrant, about 3 minutes Stir in the honey and vinegar and simmer until smooth. Let cool slightly and add the scallions to the sauce.
  6. Serve chicken and sauce together.

View recipe at plantoeat.com

Sri Lankan Curry

Posted on by Erin

When the Sweetie Pie and I were newlyweds, we would get a craving for curry. We’d head to the closest Indian restaurant, get our curry fix, and then head back home where we’d eat Pasta-Roni for the next three weeks. At that time, all curry seemed the same. Sometimes we’d get curry with peas and potatoes, sometimes we’d get zucchini and cauliflower, but it was all the same to us.

I know better now. I don’t know a whole lot about which regions create which curries, but I do know that they’re all different. And this one is Sri Lankan. Now I don’t really know what makes a curry Sri Lankan, but it seems to me that some of the spices in this curry come from India, and others from places like Thailand or Cambodia. And since Sri Lanka sits kind of in between these two places, that makes complete sense.

Anyway, whatever the origination, this curry is darn good.

Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients. They’re mostly spices and they all go in at the same time. This dish really comes together in no time.

You can find curry leaves at your local ethnic grocery. You could probably find them at some hoity toity gourmet grocery too, but they’ll cost you five times as much. Go to your ethnic grocer, buy a whole branch of curry leaves for a couple of bucks, and keep them in your freezer. They’ll keep for ages. If you’re opposed to tracking down obscure ingredients, you could just leave them out. But you’re going to miss out on some of the subtle flavor.

The same thing goes for the lemongrass. It will be so much cheaper from your ethnic grocer. The last time I made a trip to the Indian grocery I found a jar of dried lemongrass, which is what I use. It’s not a fresh tasting though (think of dried basil vs. fresh basil) so I recommend the fresh if it’s available to you.

I served this over rice, with this yummy cucumber salad, adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe. If you prefer your veg mixed in, you could add some green beans, cauliflower, or other veg to the curry itself. You may want to consider doubling the sauce if you add veggies.

Plan to Eat users, click on the recipe title to import it into your account.

Sri Lankan Curry

Source: Healing Foods by Sandra Ramacher

Serves: 6

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbs ghee or coconut oil
  • 10 fresh curry leaves
  • 2 cups onions, finely chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp ginger, grated
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • 1 Tbs ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground fennel
  • 2 tsp ground paprika
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbs GF rice vinegar
  • 3 pounds organic chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, cut into chunks
  • 2 tomatoes, peeled and choppeds
  • 6 cardamom pods, lightly crusheds
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 1 stalk lemon grass, minced
  • 1 can coconut milk

Directions

  1. Heat the ghee or coconut oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the curry leaves until they turn brown.
  2. Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Cook until onions are golden and tender.
  3. Add spices (through salt) and vinegar. Stir until well-combined.
  4. Add chicken and stir until thoroughly coated with the spices. Add the remaining ingredients, except the coconut milk, and cover. Cook over medium heat for 40-50 minutes. Uncover and add coconut milk. Stir and cook uncovered for 2 minutes.
  5. Serve over rice.

View recipe at plantoeat.com

Chicken Mole

Posted on by Erin

I can’t figure out to get an accent over the “e” in the title. This is not “Chicken Mohl”. This is “Chicken Mohlay”. And it is worthy of your attention.

I have an old mole recipe that I made before babies. It’s quite complicated and involves roasting chiles and melting chocolate in a double boiler. It’s amazing, of course, but not practical for this season of life. So I was thrilled when I saw this recipe that looked oh-so-much easier. Easier it is. It’s also really tasty.

Everything came together in a jiffy. The chicken goes in the crockpot, the rest of the ingredients in the blender. Add what’s in the blender to what’s in the crockpot and you’re done.

I omitted the chiles so that I wouldn’t get complaints from the kiddos at the table. I put in a teaspoon or two of chili powder just for flavor.

Buying chocolate can be a tricky proposition if you have food allergies. Most chocolate will have traces of peanuts. Most chocolate will also have soy and dairy. I don’t have to worry about the trace allergens, so I usually buy a high quality dark-chocolate bar (which are more likely to be made without soy and dairy) and use that for any recipe calling for bittersweet or semisweet chocolate. If you have to be more careful, I’d recommend this dark chocolate bar by Enjoy Life foods. I’ve not tried this one, but have tried other chocolate by Enjoy Life and have found it pretty good.

We served this over rice, with some steamed veg on the side. My kids complain about green things scattered across their food, so we left off the cilantro.

Plan to Eat users, click on the recipe title to import it into your account.

Chicken Mole

Source: Everyday Foods

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds organic chicken thighs, boneless, skinless
  • sea salt
  • 1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes
  • 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmeds
  • 1 large chipotle chile in adobo sauce
  • 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
  • 1/4 cup raisins
  • 3 ozs bittersweet or dark chocolate (dairy- and soy-free), chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and smasheds
  • 3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • fresh cilantro, for serving optional

Method

  1. Season chicken with salt and place in a 5-6 quart slow cooker.
  2. In a blender, puree all remaining ingredients, except cilantro until smooth. Add tomato mixture to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on high until chicken is tender, about 4 hours on high (8 hours on low).
  3. Serve with rice and topped with cilantro.

Recipe Swap Friday–Allergen-Friendly Chocolate Coconut “Fudge”

Posted on by Erin

Welcome again to Recipe Swap Friday! I’m so glad you’ve joined us today. I brought my newest, most favorite, just-sweet-enough treat (and it happens to be gluten- and dairy-free!)

First though, I have to apologize. Because Recipe Swap Friday won’t be back next week, or the next week. This is going to be our last recipe link-up for now (I know! I’m going to miss you, too.) I have lots of good excuses, most of them involving my little people here at home, but I know you don’t really want to hear them so I’ll spare you. But thanks to all of you who have joined us these past few weeks, and especially you who have swapped recipes with us!

And we’ll bring the link-up party back every once in a while, just for giggles.

For this week, though, you can link up to your favorite just-sweet-enough recipe below, either on your blog or in your Plan to Eat account. If linking up to your Plan to Eat account, just cut and paste the url from the recipe in your recipe book. Mine recipes are sweetened with alternative sweeteners (honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar…..) but yours can be any treat that’s not-too-sweet.

Shall we?

This week I’m sharing Chocolate Coconut “Fudge”. It’s actually unfair to call this fudge, because it’s not very much like fudge at all. It’s kind of like chocolate bark….but not really. I’m not sure what it is. But it’s yummy. Really yummy.

I gave a piece to the Sweetie Pie and said, “You have to tell me if this is actually good, or if it just tastes good because I don’t remember what real treats taste like.” He asked for more. I told him this was only for people who have food allergies and are therefore treat-less. I pointed him to the stash of chocolate kisses in the cupboard. He looked disappointed, which I think means that it’s actually pretty yummy.

So please don’t be deterred by my lack of photographic finesse. I know they look like tortilla chips or black bean something-or-others. Seriously, this stuff is wonderful.

The recipe calls for nut or seed butter. You could use plain old peanut butter. I can’t tolerate peanuts, and almond butter is just way too expensive lately (Was there a crop failure or something?? It’s practically doubled in price!) I used unsweetened sunbutter, which is made from sunflower seeds. I like the results very much. Whatever you use, I do recommend using the “natural” version which tends to be a bit thicker.

I’m curious to try this out with other things mixed in. Almonds? Dried fruit? Spices? I’m also wondering about the possibility of making other shapes. Perhaps some little truffle-like balls? If anyone does any experimenting, please share in the comments!

Note that you have to store this in the freezer, otherwise it gets too soft.

Plan to Eat users, click on the recipe title to import the recipe into your account.

Chocolate Coconut Fudge

Source: Free Coconut Recipes.com

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup nut or seed butter (I used sunbutter, unsweetened)
  • 1/4 cup (generous) cocoa powder
  • 1 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup (generous) coconut oil melted
  • 1/4 cup raw honey

Method

  1. Mix together all ingredients. Pour on a piece of unbleached parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Spread out to about 1/4″ thick.
  2. Place fudge in freezer. Let set for about 30 minutes.
  3. Break into pieces and serve or put in container back in freezer until you are ready to serve.

 

Share Your Just-Sweet-Enough Treat with the Rest of Us


Rules for Sharing:

This is a sharing post. So…please share.

The rules for sharing are simple: If you take a taste (link from this post to your blog) you should share a taste (link from your blog back to this post).

If you’re linking to a recipe in your Plan to Eat account, you don’t need to bother with “sharing a taste”. Just copy and paste the web address for your recipe from your Plan to Eat account.

How to Get Your Dish Onto the Goodie Table:

I really want this to be easy and accessible to everyone, so leave me a comment if you have trouble. I’ll do my best to help you out. It’s a little bit harder than just setting a bowl of veg on the table, but I promise it’s pretty easy. Just click on the link below that says “Click to view/add link” and follow the directions from there.

Honey-Baked Chicken

Posted on by Erin

Last summer, during our cookbook tour of Nourishing Traditions, I made this recipe which was divine. This dish made me think of the country-cousin to that recipe–a little less refined, less fussy, and more humble. Still, it was delicious. It wasn’t divine, but it was delicious. And it was easy.

I made very few changes to the original recipe. I used grapeseed oil instead of margarine. It would also be delicious with coconut oil, butter, or plain ol’ olive oil.

My oven also tends to run a little hot, so I ended up cooking it for about an hour, a little shy of the recommended hour and 15 minutes. As you can see from the photo, it was beginning to burn.

We served ours up with some rice and steamed broccoli. All tummies at the table were well-pleased and you can bet we’ll be visiting this dish again in our house.

Plan to Eat users, click on the recipe title to import the recipe into your account.

Honey-Baked Chicken

Source: More with Less by Doris Janzen Longacre

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs organic chicken pieces
  • ⅓ cup grapeseed oil or other preferred fat
  • ⅓ cup honey
  • 2 Tbs prepared mustard
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp curry powder

Method

For instructions, see page 180 in More with Less by Doris Janzen Longacre **

** While it’s technically legal to repost recipes, we don’t feel it’s ethical to post copyrighted recipes from the same source for weeks at a time. I’m providing the ingredient list to use in creating a shopping list. We here at the Plan to Eat blog apologize for any inconvenience. If you don’t already own the cookbook, and don’t wish to buy it, most libraries have a copy on their shelves. Thanks for your understanding