Thursday, April 14, 2016

Lemony Chicken Stir-Fry + 30 Days of Dinner!!


I am life cranky right now. I've tried to blame it on post-vacation blues, but spring break has been over for a few weeks. It could be the fact that I've restarted a Whole30 three times in the last several weeks (I'm on Day 3 this round, so fingers crossed!). But I think it's more just a funk about everything and nothing in particular. But, in any event, it's making me sort of blah about blogging right now. I'm not planning anything drastic, but I did decide to stop our Project 52. Nothing about that excites me at the moment and I felt like I was phoning it in. So today, instead of a weekly photo, I've got our next 30 Days of Dinner.

I love cooking and the spring weather that finally seems to be on its way is full of promises for great produce, seasonal recipes, and lots of grilling. This bright Lemony Chicken Stir Fry was a huge win with everyone in the fam. I served the kids' portions with regular rice, but even Cam was tempted by the purple cauliflower "rice." It's a great go-to weekday meal that doesn't scream Paleo, but is Whole30 compliant. And I'll pretend that I'm not cranky about the glass of wine I can't have with it.

As I mentioned, I'm in the middle of restarting a Whole30, so the 30 Days of Dinner are a mix bag of clean eating, Paleo compliant, and Whole30-approved recipes.

Lemony Chicken Stir-Fry
(slightly adapted from Food + Wine)

Ingredients
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts 
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos  
- 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil 
- Kosher salt 
- freshly ground pepper
- 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced 
cauliflower rice (I used a purple cauliflower, which was visually so much fun)

Directions
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 4 minutes. 
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, 3 minutes. 
- Stir in the coconut aminos and sesame oil, season with salt and pepper and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through, 3 minutes longer. 
Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper, and coconut aminos. Transfer the chicken to a platter, top with the sliced scallions and serve with cauliflower rice.

*          *          *

30 Days of Dinner

Day 1 (Sun) -- dinner out

Day 2 (M) -- Avocado Turkey Burgers; sweet potato fries; Cauliflower Kale Salad (used dried cherries instead of pomegranates)
Day 3(T) -- Shawarma-Spiced Chicken with Tahini-Yogurt Sauce and Paleo Naan
Day 4 (W) -- Grilled Turkey Kofta Skewers with Yogurt Sauce (used goat's milk yogurt); roasted potatoes; leftover kale salad
Day 5 (Th) -- Korean Steak and Vegetable Noodle Bowls (use coconut aminos and leave out honey for Whole30)
Day 6 (F) -- Soy-Lime Broiled Tilapia with Kale-Spinach (use coconut aminos); cauliflower rice. Pizza for kids. Also, I still hate cooked fish.
Day 7 (Sat) -- dinner out
Day 8 (Sun) -- Food52 Breakfast Hash using turkey sausage, sweet potato red onion, red pepper, kale, cabbage, mushrooms, and eggs. 

Day 9 (M) -- Honey Grilled Chicken with Citrus Salad (Paleo, not Whole30 compliant); roasted potatoes
Day 10 (T) -- Easy Bibimbap Bowls with cauliflower rice
Day 11 (W) -- leftovers
Day 12 (Th) -- dinner out
Day 13 (F) -- dinner out
Day 14 (Sat) -- dinner out
Day 15 (Sun) -- dinner out (we were getting ready to go on vacation, thus lots of dining out) 

Day 16 (M) -- Lemony Chicken Stir-Fry
Day 17 (T) -- Marinated and Grilled Flank Steak (no Worcestershire); Spring Cleaning Detox Kale Salad (no honey); roasted potatoes
Day 18 (W) -- Food52 Breakfast Hash; green salad
Day 19 (Th) -- Persian-Spiced Chicken with Spaghetti Squash (everyone LOVED this)
Day 20 (F) -- One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet (doubled recipe and made 1/2 without cheese); cauliflower rice
Day 21 (Sat) -- leftovers
Day 22 (Sun) -- dinner out 

Day 23 (M) -- Italian Baked Eggs (sans cheese and bread); zoodles.
 Day 24 (T) -- Cajun Burgers with Caramelized Onions; sweet potato fries.
Day 25 (W) -- dinner out 
Day 26 (Th) -- Grilled Chicken Tacos (without tortilla); grilled vegetable kebabs.
Day 27 (F) -- leftovers 
Day 28 (Sat) -- dinner out 
Day 29 (Sun) -- dinner out 

Day 30 (M) -- grilled vegetable kebabs (skewer cut up veggies, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other seasoning); roasted potatoes; fried eggs

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