It is kind of weird that Erin wrote that she was craving pancakes. I didn't even see that post, yet that was what I was craving, too! I attempted to do "breakfast for dinner", after I found a pancake recipe that uses either almond flour or coconut flour, but I could find neither in the store, so I prepared a back up plan.
Was looking for a chicken dish that would be amenable to the kids tonight, and I found some good ideas. One that stuck out was Chicken Apple, which was adapted from the Paleo Plan website. This one sounded like something that the kids would actually eat, so I figured that I would try it. Keeping with the apple theme, I just fried up some apples to go with it as a side dish.
Chicken Apple
2Tbs Coconut Oil
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 large apple, diced (I went with Red Delicious, as they hold their form better when frying)
Pepper to taste
Pumpkin Pie Spice to taste (alternatives: Cinnamon or Allspice)
Dice up the chicken into cubes. Over medium high heat, melt the coconut oil, and toss in the chicken. Grind some peppah onto it. Cook the chicken until only a little pink remains (~150°F/65°C), then toss in the apples. Add the pumpkin pie spice, making sure that everything has some, but not to excess. Continue cooking until the chicken is done, and the apples are tender. This was enough to feed all three of us, with a little left over.
Fried Cinnamon Apples
Coconut Oil Spray
3 Large Apples (again, Red Delicious was my choice)
Cinnamon to taste
These are wicked easy. Spray a frying pan with coconut oil spray. Peel and core the apples, then dice into large chunks. Now is the time to introduce them to their burning doom, stirring occasionally. Let them fry up a little bit, then drop some cinnamon on those bad boys. Make sure they are coated well. The trick is to stir often, as to not let them burn up, but not often enough so they get nicely browned. Your goal: They should look like pan fried potatoes. I didn't use a recipe for this one, but I suppose that you could add some kind of butter alternative, if you want to fry it up with something. But in my opinion, it doesn't need it.
Cody and Logan actually ate this one. It is simple enough that their palates were not confused, and it wasn't overly fancy. Man...Logan tore into those apples like they were candy.
My thoughts: First, I'll talk about the side dish. Three words in that regard: warm apple pie. Now, now...hold your American Pie jokes. These were holy crap good, and would make for a cheap, healthy side dish or even a snack for whenever.
As for the main dish, I overcooked the chicken. But that is my own fault. Failure to get a full mise en place, and not checking the gauge of my shredder. The original recipe asked for you to grate the apple into the pan with the chicken, but the grater I got did not have large enough holes, and the apple looked less like shredded cheese (for lack of a better comparison), and more like applesauce. So I quickly diced it up small, and tossed it into the pan. But that extra time cooked the chicken for an extra minute or two, so it ended up a touch dry for my taste. This was also my first time using solidified coconut oil to cook. I could feel it coating the chicken. It wasn't a bad taste...in fact, it didn't taste like anything. But it was just that the coating was something I am not used to...something like when you eat really rich Southern foods. Maybe I'll cut down the amount of oil the next time I cook it.
But, overall, I liked the dish, and I was quite full by the time I was done.
I like your recipe ideas. Thanks for sharing them. :)
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