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Healing Chicken Soup Recipe

This is just your basic chicken soup recipe, but when each component is carefully prepared from the roasting of the chicken, to the making of the stock, to the preparation and addition of other ingredients like the soaked barley, it is truly a masterpiece. I like to make some sort of soup every other week or so (especially during the cold months) because it makes a great “go to” lunch, dinner, breakfast, or snack. Whenever I am too busy to prepare a meal or feel hungry and tempted to eat a pile of cookies or go to McDonalds, I just put my soup on the stove and minutes later I have a nice, delicious, healthy, and nourishing meal.

Ingredients

1 whole roasted chicken (4-5 pounds, preferably pastured)
Bone broth (If you’re in a pinch, you could also use bullion cubes and water.)
2 cups soaked barley -or-
- 1½ cups basmati rice
- 3 8 oz cans garbanzo and butter beans (or 3 cups dry beans, soak overnight)
2 carrots (cut in half then sliced in ¼ chunks)
4 celery stalks (sliced in ¼ chunks)
1 medium onion (sliced and diced)
3 teaspoons Real Salt (add to taste)
½ teaspoon pepper (add to taste)
Optional: I like to add variety to my soup, so sometimes I’ll add a few garlic cloves, 1 cup chopped leeks, 1 cup chopped bok choy, and/or whatever else is leftover in my fridge that could be chopped up and sounds like it would be good in soup like zucchini, broccoli, parsley, or green beans.

Directions

Bake the chicken. Check out my roasted chicken recipe here, but basically, you’re going to season your 4-5 pound chicken (I use garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and throw a stick of butter in the cavity) and bake at 350° F for 1.5 hours.
Roast Chicken
Cut it up. Let the chicken cool, cut it off the bone, and leave to soak in its own juices.
Make your bone broth. Read more about making bone broth here, but basically, you’re going to low boil your bones, skin, etc. with cold filtered water and a dash of apple cider vinegar (to draw out the minerals) for 24-36 hours (or at least overnight). Then, drain the broth and use it for your stock. I like using a large 7 quart pot for making my broth so that I can use half for my soup and freeze the other half for later use.
Straining the Bone Broth
*Pre-cook the veggies. This is an optional step because you can certainly just cook the veggies in the soup, but it adds a TON of flavor. In a large wok, melt some butter then add minced garlic and diced onion, then add whatever vegetables you are using. Season with a bit of Bragg Liquid Aminos, Real Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano powder, and basil powder and cook (covered and stirring often) until wilted but still firm (about 8 minutes).
Add the veggies and chicken, then pour the broth over. By adding the veggies and chicken first, you ensure that you don’t add too much broth!
Chicken Soup with Carrots, Celery, Bok Choy, and Leeks
Add your starch. If you’re trying to eliminate starches, you don’t have to add them, but I think it makes the soup taste more complete. If you’re going to soak your barley (which gets rid of phytic acid), make sure you do it properly, especially by rinsing and draining it enough (otherwise your soup will be really cloudy). If you’re in a hurry, you can just go with some quick barley. Barley is the healthiest option, but to mix it up, I like to either add beans (like butter beans and garbanzo beans) or some basmati rice (which has the least amount of arsenic and no phytic acid).
Chicken Soup Over Rice
Bring to a low boil. If all of your ingredients are pre-cooked, you’ll just want to bring it to a slow boil (keep it at about a 3-4, low-medium heat) until it boils, then turn it off and leave it covered. If you need to cook your veggies, turn it down to a rolling boil (keep at about a 3) for about 10 minutes or until the veggies are soft but still firm and the starch is tender.
Salt and pepper to taste. I like to wait until all of the flavors have had a chance to simmer together before adding my salt and pepper. Then, I’ll add a bit at a time, stir, taste, and repeat until the flavor is just right!
Enjoy! When everything is just right, get out your bowls and enjoy some soup! It’s also really good to serve some piping hot sourdough muffins with this meal.
Chicken Soup with Carrots, Celery, Bok Choy, and Leeks

In Conclusion

Chicken soup make with organic, pasture raised chickens using properly prepared broth and grains is just about one of the healthiest meals you can eat. I love making a pot whether it’s summer or winter for a nourishing go to meal that can last my family through the week. Read more of my soup recipes here or my chicken recipes here.

August 23, 2016/by Stacey Maaser

How to Make the Best Roasted Chicken

Chicken, General

This is a very basic recipe for roasted chicken, but sometimes the best meals stem from simplicity. I like to make a roasted chicken about once a week. My kids love eating it cut up into bite size chunks when it’s fresh out of the oven, and my husband always gets first dibs on the legs! After I pick all of the meat off, I’ll boil the bones to make chicken stock and the extra chicken will either go into a pot of soup, or I’ll use it for some other meal.

Ingredients

1 4-5 pound chicken (Organic and pastured is best, look for a local farmer, or check it our here.)
1 stick butter (Pastured butter like Kerrygold is the best!)
1 teaspoon Real Salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon oregano powder
1 teaspoon basil powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder

Directions

Thaw the chicken. If the chicken is frozen, try to remember to put it in the fridge for a day or two until it thaws out. If you’re in a pinch, fill the sink up with warm water and let it soak for an hour. (Don’t try to cook the chicken frozen!)
Get the oven ready. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Prepare the chicken. Once the chicken is thawed, pull out the giblets (I throw them away), rinse with cold water, pat dry with a paper towel, and place in a roasting pan. (I like using a glass pan).
Season. Sprinkle the seasonings generously all over the chicken, especially inside the cavity. I actually never measure my seasonings, I just try to coat the chicken evenly.
Butter. Put the stick of butter inside the cavity of the chicken. (You could also rub some of the butter into the skin of the chicken. Just do it before you add the seasonings.) *Butter is not to be feared as we have so previously and erroneously thought. Read more here.)
Seasoned Whole Chicken Ready to be Cooked
Bake. Bake at 350˚F for 1½ hours.
Roasted Chicken
Let cool. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before cutting. (This gives the juices a chance to settle in.) If you notice that the juice is really pink or that the chicken is still pink, cook for another 20 minutes and check again. If you’re the type who likes to check the internal temperature, it should read 165˚F.
Cut into pieces. Peal the skin back and cut horizontal lines in the breast followed by vertical lines. (Save the skin for your bone broth!) Then cut down at an angle until you get big chunks of breast meat falling off the bone.
Pre-Cut Chicken Breast from a Roasted Chicken
Soak the meat in the juice. Let these chunks of meat soak in the juice of the chicken. Cut the rest of the meat off the bones as much as possible. (To remove the chicken legs, find where the two bones connect and gently saw through the cartilage.) Leave the legs and wings intact if it suits your fancy. (My chicken legs never make it past my husband; they’re his favorite part!) Let all of the meat soak in the juice, sprinkle with a fresh bit of salt, and serve!
Roasted Chicken Meat Cut and Ready to Serve
Save the scraps. Save the bones, skin, and all other remnants to make a healing chicken broth and/or use the chicken (and all of the juice of course) to make some delicious chicken soup!

Variations:

You can use any combination of the following variations. Try a few things out. See what you like and don’t like. Get creative and try something new!

Cut a lemon in half, gently squeeze both halves into the cavity of the chicken, and place both halves in there as well.
Peel some garlic cloves (about 4-6 nice sized ones) and place them in the cavity of the chicken.
Use rosemary, salt, and pepper only.
Chop up some big chunks of onion and place them around the chicken.
Cut up some potatoes (or leave them whole) and place them around the chicken.
Cut up some carrots and celery into big chunks and place them around the chicken.

August 23, 2016/by Stacey Maaser

How to Make a Nourishing Chicken Bone Broth

General, Soup

2018

Making a good chicken bone broth (or chicken stock as it is also called) is one of the simplest and most nourishing things you can make. You can use it immediately to make some chicken soup, put it in a Ziploc bag and freeze it to use later, freeze it in ice cube trays to have little bursts of “bullion” to use whenever you need it, or you can simply sip a nice hot mug of it instead of coffee or as a snack/meal replacement.

Health Benefits of Chicken Broth

I love making soup of any kind because it provides a nice complete meal that can feed my family at a moment’s notice for the week, but I especially like making any kind of soup with chicken bone broth because it is pretty much the most healing and most nutritious food there is.

Chicken bone broth is easy to both digest and metabolize (two things that are very different yet people think are the same…I’ll be exploring this in more depth at a later time). This makes it perfect the perfect food when you are trying to heal from any chronic illness or are sick with the flu or the common cold.

During digestion, the gelatin found in bone broth is a hydrophilic colloid that attracts and holds liquids, including digestive juices, which helps to support proper digestion. In her book, Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon also states that chicken soup,

“Has a natural ingredient which feeds, repairs and calms the mucous lining in the small intestine. This inner lining is the beginning or ending of the nervous system. It is easily pulled away from the intestine through too many laxatives, too many additives…and parasites.”

Chicken broth also contains valuable minerals including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulfur chondroitin, glucosamine, and a variety of trace minerals that are in a form your body can easily absorb. When your body is healing, you NEED these nutrients from nutrient dense food to heal.

Another cool thing about bone broth is that because of the anti-inflammatory acids such as arginine, it helps to inhibit infection caused by cold and flu viruses. In her article, Broth is Beautiful, Sally Fallon explains,

“Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons–stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.”

My Recipe

Ok, so are you ready to make some broth? For such a simple meal, there sure are a lot of different recipes for bone broth. With four young children underfoot, I like to cook food that’s as nutritious as possible as simply as possible. This is why I don’t add anything (except apple cider vinegar, which helps to draw out the minerals) to my bone broth. You can surely get creative and add whatever you’d like, but if you’re looking for simple, you’ve come to the right place!

Ingredients

1 4-5 pound whole roasted chicken (Preferably organic and pastured, the stock will not gel properly with a battery-raised chicken.)
One large pot
Cold filtered water
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar (This pulls the minerals, especially calcium, out of the chicken bones.)
*Optional: Carrot tops and pieces, celery stalks and leaves, onion skins and onion, parsley, and salt (I usually don’t add any of these ingredients except the salt, and I wait to add that at then end so that I can salt it to my taste preference. If you’re going to add parsley, wait until the very end.)
Advanced: Chicken feet (Provides a more gelatinous broth.)

Directions

Roast your chicken. You can read more about my roasted chicken here, but basically, I stuff mine with a stick of butter and season with salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano powder, basil powder, and bake at 350° F for 1.5 hours.
Roast Chicken
Pick off the meat. I like to cut my breasts into cubes before cutting off the bone. Then I methodically pick off all usable pieces of meat, cut into bite size pieces, leave all pieces to soak in the remaining chicken juice, cover, and store in the refrigerator until the next day.
Pick the Meat Off the Bones
Save all skin, bones, and other parts. I do typically discard the giblets (unless my cats want to eat them), but other than that, every last little scrap goes into my pot including the carcass, bones, skin, and any other little tidbits. I also like to leave just a titch of meat on the bones for extra flavor.
Save ALL of Your Chicken Scraps
Cover with water. After filling the pot with your chicken scraps, fill to just about the brim with cold filtered water.
Chicken Bits Covered with Water
Add the apple cider vinegar. You have to be careful that you don’t add too much or you will really taste it. You might want to start with just a teaspoon and adjust to taste. Even though 2 tablespoons would be most effective, I usually only add about a teaspoon because that’s the flavor I like.
Slow boil. Bring the water to a slow boil and skim any scum that comes to the top. (These are impurities.)
Cover and simmer. Cover and reduce to a low rolling boil. (On my stove, this usually hovers around a 2 or 3.) Ideally, you’ll want it to simmer for a good 24-36 hours for the maximum benefit, but at the very least, just let it simmer overnight.
Bone Broth Cooling
Cool and strain. Turn off the burner, let it cool, then strain into a separate bowl through a colander. You’ll notice that the bones will be soft and break apart easily. *Do not feed them to any animals, it will tear up their insides.
Straining the Broth
Enjoy! Time to put your broth to use.
- Chicken Soup: Add some chicken, celery, carrots, and soaked barely to make a simple chicken soup.
  Chicken Soup
- Egg Drop Soup: Bring it to a boil, add some Bragg Liquid Aminos, Sriracha, and eggs to make an egg drop soup to die for.
  Egg Drop Soup
- Store in the Freezer: Store your stock in Ziploc bags in the freezer. (Just be sure to lay them flat instead of plopping them on a rack where they will freeze while seeping through the cracks and then rip open when you try to take it out later….um, personal experience!)
- Freeze into Cubes: Freeze in ice cube trays to save for smaller size portions to use instead of those MSG laden “bullion cubes”.
- Sip It: Pour into a mug to sip on. Sometimes, I like adding some Bragg Liquid Aminos and Sriracha for a spicy oriental flavor!
  Bone Broth in a Mug

In Conclusion

If there is one food that you could add to your family’s meal plan that would make the most difference, I would say that bone broth is in the top ten for sure! If you’re not much of a cook, don’t worry! You can hardly get this recipe wrong! If you are, there are certainly a lot of variations you could try to make this a gourmet dish. As we enter another cold winter season full of viruses, I’m sure that I’ll be finding ways to incorporate this bone broth into our diets on a regular basis.

See more ideas for what to make with this broth in my soup section.

August 23, 2016/by Stacey Maaser

The Best Chicken Cordon Bleu You’ll Ever Taste!

Chicken, General, Recipes

Embracing Motherhood chicken cordon bleu

This is the best chicken cordon blue recipe I have ever had the pleasure of eating. The taste is amazing and complex, but it is seriously easy to make.

I have so many other blogs that I want to write right now, but I just have to take a moment to share this recipe that I stumbled upon for chicken cordon bleu because it is soooooo good! I have tried making this before, and I always felt like I needed a sauce to go along with it, but the way that all of these ingredients work together makes a sauce or any sides even…irrelevant.

Ingredients

4 Boneless Chicken Breast Halves
1 lb of Deli Ham
1 lb of Swiss Cheese
1 Cup of Melted Butter
4 Slices of Bread (I prefer sourdough.)
Seasonings: Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Paprika, really…whatever you fancy

Directions

Preheat the Oven: to 350º F
Cut the Chicken: Use a really sharp knife to cut the breasts into layers that are ¼ thick.
My Workstation for Chicken Cordon Bleu
Ham and Swiss: Top each chicken breast filet with a slice of cheese and then ham.
Roll It: Roll, tuck the ends, and secure with a couple of toothpicks.
Butter: Use a glass bowl to melt the butter (the shallower the better), then dip the entire roll in it. Make sure the butter gets into every crevice.
Breadcrumbs: Use a blender, or crumble by hand, the slices of bread. Add your preferred seasonings and mix. After dipping the chicken in butter, roll it around in the breadcrumbs.
Baking Pan: Place the chicken rolls into a (preferably glass) baking pan. You can squish them together pretty closely.
Ready to bake!
Cook: Bake for 40 minutes at 350º F.
Ok…so a few are missing already. 🙂
Serve: Serve alone or with noodles or rice and some sort of veggie like broccoli or asparagus.
Kid’s Plate of Chicken Cordon Bleu

April 20, 2016/by Stacey Maaser

Egg Drop Soup Recipe

General, Recipes, Soup

As we approach colder days and sicker days (The two always go hand in hand don’t they?), I love making a nourishing chicken bone broth and using it in as many different recipes as I can. I was looking for something different than my standard chicken soup recipe and came across this. Here is my version. I love this soup so much that I want to eat it (or drink it) for every meal! It’s also really great if you’re trying to do a low carb or keto diet.

Egg Drop Soup Recipe

Ingredients

6 c. Bone Broth (Check out my simple recipe here.)
2 Eggs (Pastured or organic would be best.)
1 T. Bragg Liquid Aminos (Get some here.)
1 t. Sriracha (Get some here.)
½ t. Cornstarch (or Arrowroot powder)
Salt and Pepper

Directions

Boil some chicken bones and get yourself some bone broth. If you roast and boil and entire chicken, it will make way more than 6 cups, but this recipe is best to eat right away. So I recommend saving the rest of the broth to make more egg drop soup later, turn it into a standard chicken soup, or freeze it for later.
Bone Broth
Add the Bragg Liquid Aminos, Sriracha, salt, and pepper. *With the salt and pepper, I just add it to my taste preference.
Bring the broth to a slow rolling boil. (Set the dial to about a 6, stir occasionally until it boils, then turn it down to a 3 and let it continue to boil.)
Mix the cornstarch into a cup of water (so it won’t be clumpy) and add to the boiling water. (You can add a little bit to the eggs to make them creamier too.)
Beat the two eggs, add a bit of salt and pepper, and slowly drizzle into the boiling water.
Turn off the heat, let it cool a bit, and serve right away! Sprinkle some scallions on top for a nice little touch or add some chicken to make this more of a meal. I like pouring mine into a mug and just sipping on it!
Egg Drop Soup

November 3, 2015/by Stacey Maaser

Baked Chili Lemon Butter Split Chicken Breasts

Chicken, General, Recipes

Embracing Motherhood Baked Chili Lemon Butter Split Chicken Breast

This is a quick, simple, go to meal that can be turned into a variety of things. Once you cook the chicken breasts, you can chop them up into cubes, and store in the refrigerator to use on salads. Or you can serve with some rice and green beans for a complete dinner.

I like getting pasture raised whole chickens when we can, but at $15 a chicken, it’s kind of pricy and sometimes I just buy packs of chicken breasts at the store. Getting the chicken breasts with the bone in makes for the most nutritious and delicious chicken.

Ingredients

4 Split Chicken Breasts (bone in)
1 Stick of Butter
2 Lemons
Chili Powder
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Real Salt
Pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350º F.
Squeeze the lemon over the chicken breasts.
Raw Split hicken Breasts and Lemon
Sprinkle both sides generously with all of the seasonings.
Place 2 T. of butter on top of each chicken breast.
Seasoned, Buttered, and Ready to Bake
Bake at 350º F for 1 hour.
Baked Split Chicken Breast
Pre-cut the breast while it’s still on the bone. I like doing this for the kids especially, but when the pieces are cut up like this, they can really soak up all of the juices, and besides, it’s easier for me to eat it that way!
Pre-cut the Chicken Breast
Let the cut up chicken breast soak in the juices. You can eat it right away at this point, pop it back in the oven on the lowest setting to stew a bit, or cover and put back in the fridge.
Soaking up the Juices
Serve! This chicken makes an excellent topping for any salad, hot or cold. I also like serving it over a bed of white rice and beans. My favorite thing to do lately is to sprinkle everything with cayenne pepper. I like the spice!
Chicken, Rice, and Green Beans
Cayenne Pepper Explosion

July 24, 2015/by Stacey Maaser

White Chicken Chili Recipe

General, Recipes, Soup

When I used to work at The B.O.B., Bobarino’s made the best white chicken chili ever, and I would eat a bowl every single day for my shift meal. It was my all time favorite food, and when I ventured off into the world of teaching, and then a job as a full time stay at home mom, I finally figured how to make a similar chili that was even better than the white chicken chili that I used to love so much.

I mean, this chili is so good that I would say it is the single best thing that I have ever learned how to cook. The secret to the amazing flavor of this soup is in both the quality of each of the ingredients and in following this recipe precisely each step of the way so that each component of the soup is properly prepared. Making a good soup like this is NOT about just throwing all of the ingredients into a pot. Each flavor must be layered upon each other, and the end result is a dish so exquisite that you will either want to share it with everyone to impress them, or horde it for yourself so that you can enjoy all of the succulent flavors by your lonesome.

Ingredients

3 Large Chicken Breasts (or one whole roasted chicken)
2 c. Raw Organic Garbanzo Beans (Or two cans of garbanzo beans if you’re in a pinch.)
1 4 oz. Jar of Green Chilies
1 Stick of Butter
¼ c. Flour
1 Medium Onion (Organic)
2 c. Cream (I skim the cream from our raw milk.)
4 c. Chicken Stock (See how to make it here, or you can buy some, preferably organic. I always try to make extra and store it in the freezer in Ziploc bags.)
2 c. Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese (You can really use any kind of cheese. I used a combination of mozerella and sharp cheddar last time I made this because that was all I had and it turned out great.)
1 c. Sour Cream (Get a good brand like Daisy that doesn’t list a ton of extra ingredients.)
Chili Powder
Braggs Liquid Aminos
Real Salt
Onion Powder
Cumin
Cayenne Pepper (Add a bit if you like a little spice.)
*Green Onion
*Jalapeño
*Tortilla Chips

*For toppings

Directions

Prepare the Beans: In a pinch, you can use canned beans from the store, but I buy dry organic garbanzo beans in bulk, and to get rid of the phytic acid, I need to prepare them properly. To do this, I put my beans in a large pot, cover them with twice as much water, and add a glug of apple cider vinegar and a spoonful of freshly ground whole wheat flour that helps to unlock the phytase that will break down the phytic acid. Then, I turn my pot on low and let them sit overnight. In the morning, I bring them to a boil, skim the scum, turn the heat back down to low, and cover and simmer for the entire day (or 8 hours). The longer you can do this (24-36 hours), the better, but anything is better than nothing. 🙂
Skim the Scum from the Beans
Cooked Garbanzo Beans
Season the Chicken: Put the chicken into a bowl and add 2 t. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, 2 t. Real Salt, 2 t. Chili Powder, 1 t. Cumin, 1 t. Onion Powder, and a bit of pepper. *I hate adding amounts for my seasonings, because I never measure them when I cook, I just eyeball it, but you can use my numbers to get you started. You can cook the chicken right after you season it, or you can put it in a ziploc bag or cover up the bowl and let it marinate in the fridge overnight (recommended).
Cook the Chicken: If I can, I like to cook my chicken on the grill, but you can also pan fry it as well.
- Grilled Chicken: Preheat and scrape the grill. Grill on medium heat for about 15 minutes on each side or until the internal temperature is between 160º-180º F.
  Grilled Chicken
- Pan Fried Chicken: Preheat a generous amount of butter or coconut oil in your pan (preferably a cast iron skillet). Cook on medium heat with a cover for 15 minutes, flip, and cook on the other side for an additional 15 minutes.
Cut the Chicken: When I had more time, I used to like to shred my chicken with my fingers into irregular chunks, but in an effort to save time, I just cut my cooked chicken into cubes, and I like it just fine this way. Make sure you’ve given the chicken a chance to fully cool before cutting it. This will ensure that all of the juices are soaked up. Add more of the same seasonings to the cut up chicken and put back into the fridge to let the flavors soak in (recommended), or you can use it right away.
Make the Roux: Melt one stick of butter in a large soup pot. When it’s melted and a little bubbly, add the flour and stir constantly for about 3 minutes.
Add the Onion: If you pan fry your chicken, you can cook the onion in the same juices until it’s soft, but if you’ve grilled your chicken, you can just add the chopped onion to the roux.
Add the Liquid: Add the chicken stock and the cream and slowly bring to a boil stirring often. After it comes to a boil, turn it down to a lower temperature to let it simmer.
Roux with Cream, Chicken Stock, and Onion
Add the Rest: Add the beans, chicken, green chilies, cheese, and sour cream.
Season the Soup: Add 4 t. chili powder, 2 t.cumin, 1 T Real Salt, and ½ t. cayenne pepper. Simmer everything for about 20 minutes. *I hate giving amounts for the seasonings because I like to just add to taste. I recommend that you taste often as you add your spices to adjust the amounts to your liking.
White Chicken Chili
Serve: Serve each bowl with a dollop of sour cream and top with green onions and jalapeños (if you like spice). Serve with tortilla chips too. *I’m not usually one to stage my food before I serve it, but this chili tastes REALLY good with the toppings put on precisely like this.
Bowl of White Chicken Chili

July 1, 2015/by Stacey Maaser

Chicken Kebabs with Rice and Lettuce Wraps

Chicken, General, Recipes

Embracing Motherhood Chicken Kabobs with Rice and Lettuce Wraps

It’s summer, and that means it’s time for grilling! There is just something so amazing about slow grilled, flame-licked, and well seasoned meat on a hot summer’s day or cool summer’s night. Get ready to have your taste buds blown away with this amazing recipe that has quickly become a family favorite in our household. I have always enjoyed cooking kebabs, but I was inspired by some an online post about a beef, rice, and lettuce wrap and I decided to take our kebabs to the next level by adding rice and lettuce and turning them into these amazing wraps!

Ingredients

3 Large Chicken Breasts
2 Bell Pepper
1 Medium Onion
Cherry Tomatoes
Skewers
3 T. Apple Cider Vinegar
3 T. Olive Oil
1 c. Fresh Herbs (I used cilantro, parsley, and dill. You could also use oregano, basil, thyme, etc.)
3 t. Salt
½ t. Cayenne Pepper

Directions

Cut up the chicken breast into one inch cubes.
Cubed Raw Chicken
Marinate the chicken cubes in apple cider vinegar, olive oil, fresh herbs, and salt. You can add some pepper here too if you want. I like add a little cayenne pepper for extra flavor. Add more or less depending on how spicy you like things.
Raw Chicken Cubes with Seasonings
- I like to use fresh herbs from my garden when I can, but any kind of herbs will do.
  My Little Herb Garden
- You might as well go ahead and make some Italian dressing while you’re at it now because it needs all of the same ingredients.
  Italian Dressing
Cover and place in the fridge for an hour, up to overnight.
Chilled Marinated Cubed Chicken
Cut up the onion and bell pepper into one inch squares.
Skewering Chicken Kebabs
Make the skewers. I like to alternate bell pepper, chicken, onion, chicken, bell pepper, you get the idea! The tomato on the end doesn’t always stay put on the grill, but it sure looks pretty, and it tastes amazing!
Raw Chicken Kebabs
Make sure to preheat your grill and scrape it clean before you start grilling. Set the grill temperature to medium, and grill for about 20-25 minutes turning the skewers occasionally. I like to try to make sure that every side of the chicken gets some grill time. You can also paint the kebabs with any remaining sauce as you turn them. Before you take all of the skewers off from the grill, test one to see if the chicken is fully cooked. It should be firm throughout, not pink, and not opaque.
Chicken Kebabs on the Grill
Grilled Chicken Kebabs Served on a Plate
While the chicken is grilling, prepare your rice. I just used an Uncle Ben’s Lemon Wild Rice mixture, but you can cook any kind of rice. *Check out my post about phytic acid to learn how to properly prepare rice and other grains. But in this case, I just view the rice as something extra that gives flavor rather than a “healthy addition”.
Prepare the lettuce. I like to buy organic romaine lettuce bunches. I just went to the middle to get some firm leaves for the “shell” or the “bed”.
Make the lettuce wraps.
Chicken Kebab with Lettuce and Rice Wrap
Cut Up Chicken Kebab on Rice in a Lettuce Wrap
Chicken Kebab Kid Plates
Kebab Salad

June 25, 2015/by Stacey Maaser

How to Make Paninis That Will Knock Your Socks Off!

General, Grain, Recipes

Finally, I have a reason to use my George Foreman grill again! Remember back in the day when everyone thought that high protein, low-fat diets were healthy? (You know that we were misguided then, right?) Well, when I learned the truth about fats and how good it was to eat fats with their attached proteins (thank you Sally Fallon), I put my George Foreman grill on the shelf. Well, now thanks to one of my lunchtime panini cravings, the Foreman is back!

It all started when my husband and I stopped at a little deli the other day, excited to try one of their advertised special paninis. At the mere mention of said panini, my mouth started watering in anticipation. The crisp bread, the melted cheese, the caccophony of flavors, I could hardly wait! But then, as I bit into the premade deli sandwich, I was crestfallen at the reality of the flavor, or the lack thereof.

So, I went on a mission to create my own panini, and let me say, it was well worth the journey. I think that having fresh, quality ingredients really makes all of the difference.

Ingredients

Sourdough Bread (I just purchased some from our local grocery store. Properly prepared sourdough is, in my opinion, the healthiest bread choice because it gets rid of the most phytic acid that blocks mineral absorbtion.)
Lunchmeat (I would have preferred sliced organic free range chicken, but I settled for Oscar Meyer’s carving board lunchmeat.)
Cheese (I used sliced havarti and shredded cheddar.)
Tomato Slices
Avocado Slices
Finely Chopped Jalapeño
Mustard
Mayonnaise (I like Hellman’s)
Real Salt
Butter

Directions

Plug in the Foreman grill. Prop the front legs up on a cutting board to make it level so that all of the butter doesn’t slip out.
Spread the butter generously on one side of the sourdough bread.
Stack the two slices of bread so that the butter sides are together so that you can put the toppings on the other side of one of the slices.
Start by spreading the mayo and mustard on the bread.
Then add your lunchmeat and sliced cheese.
Add the tomato, avocado, and jalapeño. (Be careful not to let things stack too high.)
Add a nice sprinkling of Real Salt, and hey, maybe even add a dash of pepper to boot.
Cover everything with a handful of shredded cheese.
Making the Panini
Carefully place the bread half with all of the toppings onto the preheated Foreman grill and cover with the other half of the bread.
Press the top down really hard and cook for about 10 minutes (or until all of the cheese is melty and gooey and the bread is nicely browned.

Grilled Paninis

Variations

Ultimate Grilled Cheese Panini: I put tomato, jalapeño, garlic, and salt into our little food chopper and pulsed it until it was a finely chopped. Then, I put these ingredients in between two layers of cheese and grilled them to perfection.
Ultimate Grilled Cheese Panini
Roasted Chicken Panini: After I cooked a delicious roasted chicken and cut up all of the meat into chunks, I placed those chunks on my sourdough bread and topped them with sliced tomato, chopped jalapeno, fresh parsley, and shredded cheddar cheese. It was amazing!
Breakfast Panini: Cook some scrambled eggs and bacon separately, then place the scrambled eggs, crumbled bacon, and shredded cheddar cheese on sourdough and grill it up! Add some jalapenos for a little kick!

June 14, 2015/by Stacey Maaser

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Hi, I’m Stacey Maaser,

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