Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner, was last night’s dinner and the perfect leftovers for my lunch today. Yesterday was Lucky’s birthday, so we spent the day in the park so I wasn’t fully prepared for dinner.  I always try to incorporate lots of foods that combat inflammation and to use very little of those that might cause a flair-up.  A colorful veggie assortment and skinless chicken helped me meet both my health and nutrition goals, while providing me the easy meal I craved.  From start to finish it took me about 30 minutes.  This meal fits into both gluten free and SCD eating plans.

I like making “dressings” in my mini-prep food processor for two reasons, I don’t have mince, dice etc, the solid ingredients and it makes emulsifying the oil really easy.  You can certainly make this by hand, but I’m not especially coordinated anymore due to some nerve damage in my hands. Just the  thought of me whisking the vinegar mixture continuously with one hand while slowly streaming in the oil with the other, is the making of a comedy skit and it’s surely a mess about to happen.  It’s not too hard if you’re coordinated, but I wanted you to know that I “cheat”.   I cook from scratch, but I don’t do everything by hand!

These recipes are NOT written as formally as I write for my cookbook or for a cooking classes, but that doesn’t make them any less delicious.  I won't normally post a entire meal's recipes, but I thought this would provide a good example for many of the posts I have planned.

Cashew Vinaigrette (and Marinade)

1 medium shallot
Fresh thyme
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon clover or orange blossom honey
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of unsalted, toasted cashews
Salt to taste


I place the shallot, 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, vinegar and honey in the mini-prep and pulse them until the shallot is finely minced.

If doing this by hand, mince the shallot.
Place the shallot, vinegar, thyme and honey in a large salad bowl.
Whisk until well combined.

For either method, allow this mixture to sit 10 to 15 minutes.  

• This technique is called maceration.  It is used to change the flavor and/or texture of fruits and vegetables.  In this case, it allows the shallot’s flavor to “mellow” by breaking down the cell walls so it can take on some of sweetness from the honey.  In case you were wondering, this won’t happen if you skip this step. Flavors develop and transfer differently in the presence of acids and oils.

After 15 minutes, it’s time to add the oil.

If using a machine, process till all the oil has been added and you’ve effortlessly achieved a perfect emulsion.    

• The mini prep has two shallow reservoirs in the lid to hold oil.  At the bottom of each reservoir is a pinhole to allow the oil to stream into the bowl. These little reservoirs won’t hold all the oil at once, but I can manage to fill them while pressing a button.  

•  An emulsion is simply a uniform mixture of two “unmixable” liquids.  This means the dressing doesn’t separate and it also means the dressing will take on a creamy texture. You know it’s right when even 24 hours later, the vinaigrette is still perfectly mixed together.

If making by hand, whisk the vinegar mixture continuously while slowly streaming in the oil to create an emulsion.

• If you stream the oil in too quickly, or whisk too slowly, you may not achieve an emulsion or the dressing may break, which means that the emulsion separates back into oil and vinegar. Don’t panic, it will still taste fine.  You’ll just need to shake it well between uses or whisk in a tiny bit of Dijon mustard which will help keep it together.  If you use a tiny bit it won’t change the taste too much.

Salt to taste.  

Wait to add the cashews if using this as both your marinade and dressing.

Oven Roasted Veggie Kabobs - total cook time 20 minutes

Offering veggies on a stick adds instant appeal for children and adults alike. My husband is just a large child so this really works in my house. Because this was a quick side and I didn’t want a lot of prep time, I didn’t use certain veggies.  The relatively quick cook time of these oven kabobs doesn’t allow enough time for less tender veggies to cook through; one such veggie is onions.  

I used different color peppers, mushrooms, green and yellow summer squash all on heavy duty wooden skewers.  I don’t care for the ones that are little more than long toothpicks, and I don’t want to wash reusable metal ones!

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

Cut the peppers into 1 or 1 ½ inch squares.
Don’t peel the summer squash, just cut them into rounds about ½ thick.  
The mushrooms require you to only trim the stem ends and the tomatoes are good as is.
Alternate the vegetables so you get an appealing mix of colors, shapes and sizes on each skewer.

Time Management Note: I prep the veggies, after I start the Vinaigrette, making use of those 15 minute for the shallots to macerate. After assembling the kabobs, I finish the Vinaigrette and wash the spinach for the salad. Now we’re ready to finish up the Kabobs and get them in the oven.


Place the kabobs on a platter and slowly drizzle the vinaigrette over them.  

• You want them lightly coated by not drowning.  Go ahead and use your hands to rub the marinade that fell onto the plate over the kabobs to ensure they are lightly coated all around.

Transfer kabobs to a cookie sheet or a sheet pan and save the platter to prep the chicken.

• I like to use a small sheet pan lined with a silicone baking mat because I like easy clean-up and I don’t like buy aluminum foil.  If you don’t have  silicone liner, wrap your cookie sheet or sheet pan in foil.

Place kabobs in the oven.  If you have a large capacity oven, position pan so it’s in the center of the oven.

Set a timer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, turn the kabobs over and roast for another 10 minute

Marinated Grilled Chicken

This is a quick dinner, so I bought boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  The brand I use is always trimmed perfectly, eliminating a lot of work.  I like to use my deni meat tenderizer to get them to a uniform thickness (so they cook evenly) and to help the marinade permeate the poultry.  

Chicken can actually “cook” if it sits too long in a marinade that contains acids like vinegar or citrus juices. So keep the marinade time short. If you don’t own a meat tenderizer, you can pierce the chicken with a fork, but that won’t deal with chicken breasts that are thicker on one end than the other.  


Ingredients:
1- 4 oz boneless skinless chicken breast per person
salt and freshly ground pepper
Bell’s salt free poultry seasoning
Cashew Vinaigrette

Once tenderized, lay out the chicken in a single layer on the same platter used to drizzle the marinade over the kabobs.

Salt and pepper the chicken.

• I really like a “5 peppercorn blend” for chicken and fish.

Sprinkle a tiny amount of the poultry seasoning on both sides of each piece of chicken.

Dredge the chicken in any marinade left on the platter.  

Pour additional marinade over the chicken so that each piece is evenly coated but not swimming in marinade.  


I hope you’re Watching the time.  Your kabobs get turned after 10 minutes which should be about now.

After turning your kabobs, your grill pan should be hot enough.  

• This is a were some experience is helpful - how hot is hot?  The chicken should sizzle when it hits the pan, but if your kitchen is filled with smoke it’s too hot.  A little smoke is normal.

• If your chicken is really wet - it will not grill properly. If too wet it will steam in the pan, and it will make a sticky mess of your grill pan.  If it drips when lifted, you need to pat the chicken breast with a clean, dry paper towel to remove the excess marinade.

• As a general rule, I think too many people tend to eat “holy” food, meaning they cook the hell out of it.  Chicken doesn’t have to be dry in order to be fully cooked.  A hot cast iron grill pan should cook a chicken breast in about 8 minutes - yup - 3 or 4 minutes per side is all it needs.  See how well this works with your kabobs - after turning, they'll only need about 10 more minutes.  The chicken needs to rest before it’s served, so these play nice when it comes to timing.

Place the chicken, presentation side down in the grill pan. Once you place the chicken on the hot grill pan don’t move it!  

• A properly seasoned cast iron grill pan, will release the food when it’s ready - if you try to move it before it’s time the food will stick.  As a bonus, you’ll also get a pan that’s hard to clean, and a chicken that looks more like road kill than a well executed dinner.

• If you didn’t own a cast iron grill pan, you don’t need to break the bank with a fancy French style enameled cast iron, but you should get one.  I own this Lodge pan, I’ve had it long time and with proper care it will last generations.

After 3 - 4 minutes, turn the chicken.  

When done, remove the chicken to a CLEAN platter (don’t put cooked chicken BACK on a platter that held the raw chicken, unless of course, it’s been properly washed).  

Let it rest a few minutes before serving.
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Time to check the kabobs roasting in the oven. 
The veggies should still be bright in color, but are fork tender and slightly caramelized.
Serve on the platter along with the chicken.
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The finishing touch to round out this meal is a salad so simple, you don’t need a recipe.  

Now is when you add those chopped toasted pecans to the dressing. Stir to combine.

Tender baby spinach, tossed with fresh ruby red grapefruit sections and farmer cheese is lovely topped with the Pecan Vinaigrette.

Feel free to use a different cheese if your diet allows.

Enjoy - we did!