Rotisserie Chicken —> Chicken Curry with Vegetables

I've never bought a rotisserie chicken! 😯

I was hungry while shopping recently and kept smelling something WONDERFUL! I followed my nose right to it. I'd been looking at skinless-boneless chicken breasts that looked great, but really expensive. THIS was only $4.99!!! I was sure the sign was wrong and it would ring up at $4.99 / pound since that's about what those breasts cost and they were uncooked. At that point, I was prepared to pay it though, the scent was heavenly! Got it home and found it was a 5-Pound Chicken - for $4.99!

We had part of the chicken on Sunday, when I had my granddaughter and her family over after church. It was excellent, and there's still SO much left! Today I decided to turn some of this into curry. The bones, skin and cooking juices, that were inside the container it was sold in, will become bone broth and a simple Chicken Soup.

Slice or chop, then sauté the first group of vegetables, for 10 minutes. Add the next group and continue to simmer and stir over low-medium heat until the carrots start to soften, another 10-15 minutes. Keep covered between stirs.

2T coconut oil
2 sliced carrots
6oz. sliced celery
8oz. mixed mushrooms
~ (shown in a 1# container, but I only used half)

6 green onions

1 med. purple onion

4 colorful mini peppers

Add the curry, fruit and nuts, and chicken. Bring back to a simmer. Heat and stir 5 minutes, then add the coconut milk, stir, cover and turn off the heat.

18oz. red Thai curry sauce

1c craisins or dried fruit bits

1c honey roasted peanuts

8oz. chicken cut in 1" pieces

13.5oz. coconut milk

Ladle in a bowl, as is for sort of a curry stew. Or serve over rice or pasta. . .Lin

A Healthy Salad Mix

I've been doing a lot of listening and reading lately, trying to sort through all the information floating around, regarding nutrition.  My old standby, my 5 Ingredient Salad, has always been my favorite go-to.  It would (will) be hard to turn my back on that.  However, I've learned that tomatoes and cucumbers 2/5 of the salad, contain high levels of lectins.  The 'jury' still seems to be out as to whether or not they should be reduced or eliminated from our diets, but I do know lectin containing foods are inflammatory.  Having many auto-immune conditions, which are perpetuated by inflammation, for myself, I'm going to eliminate foods high in lectin until I hear or read otherwise.

This is one version of a healthier alternative.  If we shop carefully, at food co-ops and farm stands, we can later, check our vegetable drawers for good salad mix ideas.  Vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, cilantro, parsley, celery, green and purple cabbage, radishes, kohlrabi, onions, romaine and all types of lettuce, carrots. . .SO many good choices!

This time I used Romaine, Purple Cabbage, Green Cabbage, Celery, Carrots, Onion, and added black beans, avocado, and some bleu cheese crumbles.  The dressing I was craving today was made in an old Good Seasons cruet using apple cider vinegar, rosemary seasonings, water and good quality extra virgin olive oil.  Clean eating can be fun as well as healthy. . .Lin

1 Giant Healthy Salad

½ cucumber - scrubbed

½ lg. roma tomato

½ avocado

1c broccoli florets

⅓ med. yellow onion

1 med. carrot - scrubbed

1 big handful flat leaf parsley

2T crushed salad croutons

splash of Lemon-Olive Oil Dressing *

This is such an easy salad and has tremendous health benefits in each of the main ingredients.  Slice the carrot very thin, chop or slice all the rest and mix in a big salad bowl.  Be creative though, if you're missing a couple of these ingredients. . .Improvise!. . .Substitute! . . . Lin

This Scandinavian Woman's Crunchy Colorful Kimchi

3# green cabbage

1# purple cabbage

½c salt

2 yellow sweet peppers

1 lg. red bell pepper

1 Anaheim pepper

1 lg. leek

8 radishes

2 med. carrots

1/2 purple onion

2 bunches green onions

2t sugar

¼c fish sauce

1½" cube of ginger

8-10 lg. cloves of garlic

2T finely ground red pepper

I don't think 'Scandinavian Kimchi' is really a thing. . .it's just My Thing!  I'm 62% Scandinavian, and I love Kimchi.  For me though, the traditional Korean style is WAAAY too hot for me.  After buying MANY jars of a really mild, crunchy, flavorful version at the Duluth, Northern Smoke House, I decided to create my own 😉 Mine has way more ingredients than any of the other I've tried, but I think they each bring something special to the mix. 

Thinly slice the cabbage into a huge bowl.  Sprinkle on the salt and massage it in.  Let stand for 2 hours then cover with 10c of cold water.  Stir this around with your hands to be sure the salt is evenly distributed.  Using a big glass plate, invert it over the cabbage and weigh it down.  Leave it like this - on your counter if it's cool in your kitchen, or cover and put in the refrigerator - for 24 hours.

Next, either the same day or about 12 hours later, slice the vegetables into another huge bowl.  Mix up the last group of ingredients, for the sauce.  Finely mince the ginger and garlic, and pour the spicy sauce over the colorful vegetables.  Stir gently with a wooden spoon, or if this is in a big Tupperware-type bowl with a tight fitting lid, be sure the lid is well sealed and 'burped', then shake and flip it around until all the vegetables are well covered.  Do that occasionally, until it's time to combine them with the cabbage.

After 24 hours, drain and rinse the cabbage very well, in a large colander.  Shake off the excess water and blot with a clump of paper towels.  Add the cabbage to the marinating vegetables.  Combine well and then fill your Kimchi jars.  Leave the jars sealed for 24 hours, in a cool dry place, then refrigerate for at least 48 hours before serving.  The Kimchi will have much better flavor if it's allowed to ferment in the refrigerator for a week or so.

If you're unsure of what vegetables to include in your mix, pick apart and examine a good brand of grocery store Kimchi, or one you like at an Asian restaurant and use that as your guide.  Have fun with this!  It's a fun, creative process, and Kimchi is so good and healthy.  Last time I made this I found I was adding it to salads, sandwiches, over meat, and a lot of times just a nice bowl of it, by itself.  Be Creative!  Happy Cooking!! . . .😀. . .Lin

Angus Beef and Vegetables

½# Angus Beef Eye Round Steak

2-4c cubed yellow and green zucchini

1 sweet red pepper

1 sweet purple pepper

¼ lg. onion - 1 leek

1 VERY large purple shallot

4 radishes

Slice the beef - across the grain - then cut into bite-size pieces.  Put in a big non-stick pan with a couple tablespoons of seasoned olive oil and balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Stir to coat then sauté a few minutes.  Add the sliced or chopped vegetables, stir again, to coat, then turn off the heat, cover and let stand 20-30 minutes to marinate everything.  Turn the heat back on, sauté and simmer in a little white wine, beer, Vodka or Gin, and a hefty splash of A-1, for 20-30 minutes.  Serve over rice, pasta, a tortilla - Fajita style, or just as is, for a great low-carb dinner.  Mmmm, this turned out EXCELLENT! .  .  .  Lin