Recipe: My Go-To Recipe & The Best Recipe!

Thursday nights are the nights where I hate cooking. I've done by job Sunday through Wednesday, cooking great healthy meals. But, by Thursday, I want my glass of wine and an easy meal! Usually, Thursday nights result in take out something and a glass of wine on the couch. Tonight is the first Bronco's game of the season, so I have a feeling our night is going to center around football. It's back!

My tune drastically changes on Sundays. Sunday is my day to experiment. I love trying new recipes, especially the ones that are so messy I spend three times the time cleaning than we did eating. Sundays are for the meals you always remember and say, "man that was so good."

Luckily for you, I've got both of these recipes.

THE GO-TO RECIPE: I have two of these. Both salad options. When I asked Adam what his favorite easy recipe was that I make, his immediate response was the almond butter chicken salad. My immediate response was my new thai chicken salad. It's the battle of the salads people!

Thai chicken salad v. almond butter chicken salad. Both of these recipes make enough for Friday-lunch leftovers and both are incredible. Plus, I usually have all these ingredients in my fridge and pantry.

Paleo Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 cups shredded chicken (this is about two large breasts) 
• 6 tablespoons almond butter
• 4 tablespoons olive oil 
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup onion, diced (use red if you can, but yellow is good too!) 
• Butter lettuce, bread or wraps to eat it with. Or a fork. Let's be real, it's that's good.

How to Make: 

1. Shred the dang chicken. Get this part out of the way. (To make shredded chicken, place chicken in a saute pan. Cover the chicken with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce and let simmer. Takes about 25 minutes. Flip the chicken half way through.)
2. Make the dressing. Mix the almond butter, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard and salt. Taste it. Last night, ours tasted too much like almond butter, so I added a little more apple cider vinegar and a titch of salt. This is up to your taste buds! 
3. In a large bowl, mix the chicken, celery, cranberries, almonds and onion. Don't be afraid to add other things. I used some seeds last night. I even thought about adding red cabbage. 
4. Wait to toss the salad with the dressing until ready to eat. Toss, serve, enjoy! 

Thai Chicken Salad: 

Ingredients:

For the thai "peanut" dressing (I doubled everything) 

• 1⁄4 cup sunflower seed butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon coconut vinegar
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
• juice of 1⁄2 lime (about 1 tablespoon)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon red pepper flakes\

For the salad

• 4 tablespoons ghee, divided
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded thin
• 1⁄4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon garlic powder
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 small sweet potato or yam, shredded 
• 6 to 8 cups mixed greens
• 1 cucumber, diced
• handful of sliced carrots
• handful diced tomatoes 
• 1⁄4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• roughly chopped green onions, for garnish

How to Make: 

Dressing: Place all the ingredients in a food processor until smooth. 

Salad:  

1. In a large sauté pan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the ghee. 
2. Season the chicken on both sides with the salt, garlic powder, and pepper, then place in the hot pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on thickness, until the chicken is cooked through and no pink remains. 
3. While the chicken cooks, place the remaining 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. 
4. Add the shredded sweet potato and a bit of salt and pepper and sauté for about 5 minutes, until soft. 
5. When the chicken is done, let it rest for 3 minutes, then slice it at an angle into strips.  
6. Arrange the salad: Place the greens in a large bowl, add as much dressing as you like, and toss to coat. 
7. Add some greens to each plate, then top with the chicken strips, sautéed sweet potato, cucumber, coconut, and cilantro. 
8. Serve immediately and enjoy!

THE BEST RECIPE: Paleo ravioli. It was hands down the greatest cooking accomplishment of my thirtys. (I'm 45 days in!). It's one of those meals, where I envision my girl friends sitting at my counter with red wine while I prepare ravioli and then we sit around and tell each other stories and secrets. Dream life amiright?

Ingredients:
Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 cloves gargle, mined
• 1 can (24 ounces) diced tomatoes (drained)
• 2 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon oregano 
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon truffle salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf

Mushroom Filling 

• big handful of mushrooms (about a cup), diced
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon ghee
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 dried ground sage
• 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

How to Make: 

• For the filling, saute all the ingredients over medium heat until they are nicely browned and softened. 
• For the sauce, saute the onion and garlic with olive oil or ghee until nice and sodt. add the remaining ingredients to a blender, mix until smooth. Add back to the sauce pan, stir into the onion, garlic combo. 
• For the ravioli; 
• Like I mentioned, I used Capellos lasagna noodles. 
• Make sure you have a small cup of water nearby. 
• I laid the noodles out and took about a teaspoon of filling and spaced them about 6 inches apart. I made two rows of filling. Once all the filing is set, wet the edges pretty well. 
• Take another sheet of noodles and lay it over the other, press down on all sides. 
• Then I just used wet fingers to make the squares around the filing. Pizza cutter to cut the squares and set them aside. I made all the ravioli before I put them in the boiling water. 
• When they're all made, boil a large saucepan of water. 
• Once it's bubbling, add the ravioli in. 
• I cooked mine for about 90 seconds! That's the joy of Capellos. You don't want them mushy, so make sure to check! 
• Cover with sauce, top with fresh parm and dive in! 

Happy Thursday friends and Go Broncos! I hope I helped make meal planning a little easier! And remember, cooking is better with wine and friends.

We're almost to the weekend! Let's do it!