The Pasta-bilities

Without much success, I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of dairy and gluten in my diet. Really difficult to do while in quarantine and seeking comfort. Though delicious while consuming, I often feel sluggish and bloated afterwards.

BUT, I recently discovered the gluten-free pastas by Jovial Foods and was so excited to see that their pasta boxes have compostable windows! (Plus, their diced tomatoes come in BPA-free glass jars.) Now this is a company I can get behind.

Wondering what to do with my Jovial pasta, I came up with the recipe below, which is super easy to make vegetarian/vegan. While emptying the freezer, we found some frozen chicken and bacon that we purchased months ago. The version in the photos has crispy bacon (baked in the oven on a cookie sheet between parchment paper) and crispy chicken thighs (pan fried in avocado oil until golden brown on both sides). The vegetables I added were ones that had been in my fridge all week and needed to be eaten pronto. This is a great end-of-the-week dish to use whenever whatever in your fridge is near end-of-life.

Ingredients

1 package (12 oz) of Jovial Foods GF farfalle pasta

1 can of coconut milk

2 cups of frozen peas

2 cups of diced asparagus

2 cups of chopped broccolini

1 package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs

6 strips of bacon

1 tablespoon of avocado oil

2 tablespoons of olive oil

4 tablespoons of dried onion granules

2 tablespoons of dried thyme

Salt, pepper, and chili flakes to taste (I used A LOT of freshly ground black pepper)

Instructions

1. Bake the bacon at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes or until crispy. Set aside to cool.

2. In a dutch oven, heat up the avocado oil on low-medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken thighs. Chicken thighs are hard to dry out, so don’t worry about over-cooking them. Leave them on one side to sizzle for about 8 minutes. When that side is crispy and caramelized, flip them onto the other side. When the chicken is crispy and cooked to your liking, set aside to cool.

3. In a separate pot, start cooking the pasta according to the instructions on the box.

4. In the dutch oven, leave the oil and chicken drippings on low-medium heat. Add the veggies and stir until the asparagus and broccolini are tender.

5. Add the can of coconut milk and the spices. Turn off the heat once the coconut milk has dissolved. The dish will continue to cook with the residual heat.

6. Drain the pasta and add it to the dutch oven.

7. Shred or dice the chicken thighs and bacon. Add them to the dutch oven.

8. Have a taste to see if additional spices are needed. My love for black pepper might differ from yours :)

9. Drizzle with olive oil before serving.

10. Enjoy with a cold glass of lemonade.

Leggo My Alfredo

One comfort food I crave from time-to-time is the chicken alfredo from the Olive Garden. Because that dish is almost 1,500 calories with basically no nutritional value, I wanted a healthier alternative. This version still satisfies my desire for a silky, creamy sauce, succulent chunks of chicken, and noodles I can twirl my fork in. Except, this recipe is grain-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free. Win. Win. Win.

Ingredients

• 1 large spaghetti squash

• 2 cups of cooked chicken, cut however you’d like (either shredded, cubed, or cut into strips)

• For the sauce:

  • 1 cup of raw cashes, soaked for a few hours in warm water

  • 2 tablespoons of avocado oil or olive oil

  • Juice of 3-4 lemons

  • 1 garlic bulb

  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cut the garlic bulb in half and rub with oil. Place in a small baking pan. (You don’t have to bake the garlic but since the oven is on to bake the squash, might as well sweeten the garlic too.)

Cut the spaghetti squash in half and place face down on a baking sheet (separate from the baking pan the garlic is in). Add enough water to the baking sheet so that the edges of the squash are covered. Place both the squash and the garlic in the oven to bake.

Once the outside of the garlic is translucent, take it out and blend it with the rest of the sauce ingredients. Blend until really smooth. That’s how easy the sauce is.

After about 30 minutes, check the squash. It’s done if you can easily spear it with a fork. When the squash is cool enough to handle (or use a dry towel to hold it), take a fork and scrape out the seeds to discard. Then, scrape out the strands, starting from the outside and working your way in.

Toss together the spaghetti squash, alfredo sauce, and chicken. Voila!

Cauliflowah in Chowdah

It’s chilly out, and all I want is comfort food. Comfort food to me means carbs and cream. Pasta, pastries, chowder, chocolate. I could go on.

Last week, I inhaled two bowls of clam chowder at work and immediately felt sluggish the rest of the afternoon.

Sigh, my craving for comfort food completely contradicts my desire to eat healthy.

Until this week.

I found a delicious and nutritious substitute for cream in my soups, stews, and chowders: pureed cauliflower.

One serving of cauliflower has 100% of our daily recommended amount of vitamin C and is high in fiber (source). Not to mention, cauliflower is super versatile to cook with and can often be found in grocery stores plastic-free. So many wins.

Here’s how I used pureed cauliflower this week in my chicken pot pie chowder:

Ingredients

• 1 small head of cauliflower

• 1 small yellow onion

• 3 cups of chicken broth

• 2 cups of shredded chicken

• 2 cups of frozen corn

• 2 cups of frozen peas

• 2 cups of diced carrots

• 2 cups of diced potatoes

• 1 cup of almond milk

• 1 tablespoon of ghee

• 2 teaspoons of thyme

• 2 teaspoons of chili powder

• 1 teaspoon of turmeric

• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Side note: I roasted a whole chicken the day before, made broth from the bones, and shredded the breasts for the chowder.

2. Cut the cauliflower into large pieces.

3. Bring the broth and cauliflower to a boil in a large pot; cook until the cauliflower is tender. Let cool.

4. Dice the onions, carrots, and potatoes.

5. Blend the broth and cauliflower until smooth. Keep it in the blender for a moment.

6. In the empty pot, heat up the ghee. Soften the onions, carrots, and potatoes until the onions are translucent.

7. Add the pureed cauliflower and almond milk to the pot.

8. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the seasonings, frozen corn, and frozen peas.

9. Chowder is done once the potatoes are tender.

10. Enjoy!