PAPRIKA-GARLIC CHICKEN OVER SWEET KALE MIX

PAPRIKA-GARLIC CHICKEN BREAST ON A BED OF SWEET KALE SALAD MIX

Yah. You heard me:  Salad in a bag! And frozen chicken breast (organic)

This took absolutely no time to put together.  I swear. Gluten-free, paleo, delish.

Don't you just LOVE that Sweet Kale Salad Mix with that awesome dressing and cranberries and pumpkin seeds?  I could eat the salad everyday.  I worry though about how raw cruciferous veggies like the ones in the mix are goitrogenic.  For people like me who have Hashimoto's disease, I've read that we should avoid eating goitrogenic foods.  Since having half my thyroid removed (it was a size of a walnut); I've become sad finding that practically everything I ate before is something that might cause me to have another goiter. I do want to keep that left thyroid as healthy as possible.   So did you know that broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, strawberries, spinach and practically all the cruciferous veggies that composed the main part of my diet are goitrogenic?  Apparently if you eat them raw it's goitrogenic.  Aiya.  

Scroll down to the bottom for the recipe if you want to skip my long-winded explanation of why I have to not post a cake pic and recipe today. Heehee

Fortunately, and I'm going to just trust the articles I've read because I don't want to give up my fave veggies, and it's convenient to believe so...if you cook them, it reduces the goitrogens.  

So we arrive at today's lunch after my workout at Steve Nash Fitness.  Yah.  You heard right.  Since my shoulder impingement is starting to slowly defrost (frozen shoulder! Such an apt term!) I decided to join a gym.  I thought about just joining a yoga studio; but frankly, I love my kettlebells and want to start using them again.  For a whole year, this frozen shoulder has been a pain and I've been afraid to do weights and use my kettlebells.  I had injured it skiing I think.  Frankly, I don't remember it hurting that much when I fell; but the pain increased afterwards over the course of a few months to the point that I couldn't even change my clothes without extreme pain.  I used up all my physio and massage therapy and eventually went to UBC Sports Med to see a specialist.  He essentially told me there's not a whole lot you can do to hurry along a frozen shoulder.  He said eventually it will slowly defrost.  And it did.  But it took just over a year. He told me when it starts to defrost, I should start exercising and rehabilitating the shoulder.  

Lovin' Costco's Pre-washed Shredded Veggies in a bag for Juicing and Smoothies! This mix has: beet greens, carrots, kale, broccoli stems, chard...and all you add is fruit. I used a granny smith

With my gym membership I received 3 free sessions with a personal trainer; so this month with my left shoulder having increased mobility, I decided to start the journey back to health.  When I booked my 3 sessions, I was told he was the most educated trainer at the gym. I must have sounded like a difficult case! LOL! She told me that he's an ex pro-hockey player and is familiar with sports injuries too.  I was like "holy smokes! He's gonna kill me!"  What I found out later when I met him is that he is a kettlebell specialist (yay!) and is very well-rounded.  I'm feeling lucky here to have such a knowledgeable trainer *Hi Kyle!*  who is a rock star.   He's created an exercise plan for me to help build up strength in my wonky shoulder and get me back into shape from that whole year of pretty much not exercising much.   His plan includes self-myofascial release techniques using a foam roller and this really hard plastic ball.  When I'm doing the release techniques, it's like "OW"; but I know it's good for me.  

I know he's going to address my eating next session (yikes) but for me it's not about a lack of knowlege of how to eat healthy but the loss of my muse (desserts).  You know I love to take pics of my food...that's why you're here right?   And I love to bake. And baked goods ALWAYS look good in pics.  They don't move around. They ooze sexiness.  Now I've gotta make kale look sexy.  It's gonna be rough guys. Fortunately, I have willing colleagues that'll eat my baked goods so the baking probably won't end.  I just love cake...the idea of cake, the taste of layered cakes, and the perfect beauty of cake.  Believe it or not, I'm not tempted to eat baked goods, cake and other desserts, but potato chips are kind of my achilles heel.  If I just have a taste of cake, like one bite, it'll suffice for me. Sometimes I don't even taste things I make because they're for parties or other people; but I know how it tastes from how it looks.  If it looks like a sexy cake, it'll taste good.

This weekend I have to bake some cupcakes for my 8 yr old's birthday.  Twice.  Once for the party and once for the class.  So yes, I'll still have plenty of cake to take pics of in the near future. Until then, here's an easy-peasy chicken dish.  Next time I think I will have it without the guacamole.  It was good; but not necessary.  In fact cherry tomatoes with the kale would be a better choice next time.  

PAPRIKA-GARLIC CHICKEN BREAST OVER SWEET KALE SALAD (GF & Paleo)

1 organic skinless, boneless chicken breast

2 handfuls of Sweet Kale Salad Mix (from Costco) 

*NB you will NOT use the dressing or pumpkin seed/craisins mix

1/4 tsp Garlic powder

1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 tsp Avocado oil

Optional: 1 tablespoon prepared guacamole or cherry tomatoes

1. Marinate the chicken breast with the salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder & avocado oil.  Set aside

2.  Heat a cast iron skillet until hot.  Place the chicken breast in the pan and cover with a loose lid or splatter screen.  Reduce heat to med.  Allow to cook for 4 minutes.  Flip the breast and cook the other side for another 4 minutes, loosely covered

3.  Remove chicken breast to a cutting board to rest.  

4.  Wipe the skillet with a paper towel. It's okay to leave some bits and oil in there.  Toss in the sweet kale salad mixture (just the veggies, not the packaged dressing or seeds and stuff).  Add a splash of water and sautee the veggies until slightly wilted.

5.  Remove the kale mix to a plate.  Slice the chicken breast and arrange on top of the kale.  NB:  if you like, you can add 1 tablespoon of prepared guacamole on the bed of kale like I did, just before you place the chicken on top OR sliced cherry tomatoes

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Itty Bitty Lemon Meringue Tartlets!

Mini Lemon Meringue Tartlets

Pucker up! Mini Lemon Meringue Tartlets for the New Year!

Wishing you all a healthy, happy, delicious 2016 full of laughter and good times!

My 8 yr old asked Santa for a mini whisk!  And he came through!

From me, she received a new tartlet pan.  So she did a lot of stirring with the new whisk when we made the lemon curd for these little tarts.  She made the tart dough recipe on the back of the WS tartlet pan's box.  Then I made an easy food processor lemon curd recipe and an easy meringue

I did the piping because she's not too savvy with the piping bag as of yet.  Instead of a big swirl, I decided to make little poofs to cover the tartlets.  The result: billowy little meringue puffs atop creamy lemon curd that is seriously to-die for! It's perfectly balanced; not too tart and not too sweet and easy peasy.  I'll be making double-batches of this in the future and keeping it on hand for emergencies.  It's one of those lick-the-bowl when you're cleaning up kind of recipes.  

LEMON CURD

(Adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

• 3 organic lemons
• 1 1/2 Cups organic evaporated cane sugar (or granulated sugar)
• 1/4 lb (1 stick or 1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 Large free range eggs
• 1/2 Cup lemon juice (3 to 4 organic lemons)
• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

1. Zest 3 lemons with a zester, being careful to avoid the white pith. Put the zest in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the sugar and pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.
2. Add the butter pieces to the processor and pulse in the sugar and lemon mixture. With the food processor running, add the eggs, 1 at a time, and then add the lemon juice and salt. Continue mixing until combined.
3. Press the entire mixture through a sieve into a 2 quart saucepan.  
4. Cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes), stirring constantly. The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees F, or just below simmer. Remove from the heat and cool or refrigerate.
5. Makes 3 cups

TART CRUST

(Adapted from the back of the WS tartlet pan box)

• 2 1/2 cups (390g) alll-purpose flour
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 2 tsp salt
• 16 Tbs (2 sticks/250g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch (6 mm) pieces
• 6 to 8 Tbsp (90 to 125 ml) ice water

1. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and salt and pulse to combine.  Add the butter and pulse until the ixture resembles coarse meal.  Add the 6 Tbs (90ml) ice water and pulse twice.  The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky.  If it is crumbly, add more water, 1 tsp at a time, pulsing twice after each addition.  Turn the dough out onto a work surface an divide in half.  Shape each into a disk.  Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 2 days.
2. Preheat oven to 350F (180C)
3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let stand for 5 minutes.  Place 1 dough disk on a lightly floured surface and roll out 3/16 inch (4.5 mm) thick.  Using the cutter, cut out the tart shells, reserving scraps of dough to re-use.  Place the cutouts on a baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining dough disk.  Re-roll the scraps and make more cutouts.  If the dough becomes too soft to cut, refrigerate it for 15-20 minutes.
4. Center a cutout over one of the wells in the baking pan and using the tamper, gently but firmly press the cutout into the well so that the sides of the tart shell come just above the pan.  Press a cutout into each of the remaining wells.  
5. Dock the tart shells with a fork; line with a circle of parchment and load in some dried beans or pie weights.  Bake the tarts for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees.  Bake for an additional 5 minutes.  Remove to cool on a rack.  Allow tart pan to cool and complete the same process for all of the rest of the remaining dough until everything is baked off.  
6. Place the pre-baked tart shells on a rimmed cookie sheet in preparation for filling or store in sealed container for use later.

MERINGUE:

4 organic large egg whites

1/2 cup organic evaporated cane sugar (or regular granulated sugar)

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1.  In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on med speed until frothy.  Add the cream of tartar.  Turn up the speed to 8 (med-high speed) on a KitchenAid and continue beating

2.  Gradually add the sugar while the mixer is running; continuing to beat until stiff peaks form

3. The meringue should be very stiff.  Fill a pastry bag with the meringue with decorative tip of your choice.  

4.  Follow assembly instructions below

MINI LEMON MERINGUE TARTS ASSEMBLY:

1.  Preheat oven to 400F.  Arrange the pre-baked tart shells on a rimmed cookie sheet

2.  Pipe the lemon curd into the pre-baked tart shells

3.  Pipe the meringue onto the filled tarts.  

4.  Bake the tarts in the oven until the meringue is a golden brown, approximately 10 minutes.

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