I see chickey chicks in our future...

I'm probably a little late in the year, but I do believe my dream of having chickens may soon become a reality.  Here's a taste of things (hopefully lots of eggs) to come!

 

roast chicken | chicken salad with goji berries...

I know it's only March, but spring is in the air and that means 4 days of baseball and 2 days of Taekwondo per week on top of everything else we do.  That also means I have a lot less time to prepare our dinners.  Have a busy week coming up?  Throw a couple organic, pastured chickens in the oven on a Sunday or Monday morning.  Two chickens will usually provide us 3-4 meals and I can make stock with the left over carcasses to store in the freezer.   
   

Roast Chicken

-Slice two onions and cut the tops off two heads of garlic.  Place vegetables in a parchment lined roasting pan.  (You can skip the parchment if you have a stainless steel roasting pan)
-Place chicken in roasting pan and stuff with fresh herbs if you have any.  (I like thyme, oregano and rosemary)
-Sprinkle chicken with himalayan salt, pepper and more herbs (fresh or dried) and top with a few pats of butter.
-Bake at 375 degrees for one hour and then flip over using a wooden spoon inserted into the cavity.
-Season other side of the chicken and bake for one more hour.
-For a simple sauce throw the onion slices and a few cloves of the roasted garlic into a pan and add some liquid: a few tablespoons of butter + dry white wine, chicken stock, raw milk or cream, etc.  Stir until it simmers and serve along with cut up chicken.

I like to take the meat off the bone while the chicken is still warm (and eat my favorite parts as I go!) and store it in the refirgerator to snack on during the week or use in dinner recipes:

Black Bean Chicken Soup

Chicken Tacos

Red Curry Chicken

Chicken Salad...

Chicken Salad

2 Cups Chicken, cut up
1/2 Green Apple, chopped
1 rib Celery, halved and chopped
1/4 Red Onion
1/4 Cup Goji Berries
1/4 Cup Mayo
1/4 Cup Sour Cream
1 tsp Mustard
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
salt/pepper/cayenne to taste

*Mix everything together in a bowl, top with extra goji berries and serve with avocado slices or a hard boiled egg.

garlic butter chicken legs & cheesy broccoli brown rice...

 

We will only eat chicken legs or thighs at our house-dark meat with a bone in it.  This makes me happy, knowing we're getting the best, most nutritious part, so I make chicken legs at least once a week and eat the leftovers for lunch.  I need meat at almost every meal to feel satisfied and having chicken legs in the frig makes it easy to grab something healthy and fast if we don't have time to make lunch...and who doesn't love garlic & butter?  I always use Himalayan Pink Salt, but grabbed this Sea Salt blend at Williams Sonoma a few weeks ago and am loving that it's mixed with pepper and herbs.  If you are grain-free, steamed cauliflower mashed with a potato masher is a nice substitute for brown rice!

GARLIC BUTTER CHICKEN LEGS

2 Packs Organic pastured Chicken Legs (about 8 legs)
2-3 Cloves Organic Garlic
1/4 C Organic Butter
Himalayan Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Paprika or Cayenne if you like it hot!

*Place chicken legs in 9x13 dish and add minced garlic cloves, salt & pepper and herbs to tast, topping each leg with a pat of butter.  Bake @ 350 for about one hour.

CHEESY BROCCOLI BROWN RICE

1-2 Cups Organic Brown Rice, cooked

1 Head Broccoli, steamed

Drippings from Garlic Butter Chicken Legs

1/4-1/2 Stick Organic Butter 

1/2-1 Cup grated Organic Cheese of your Choice (We like raw Pepper Jack)

Himalayan Salt & Pepper to taste

*Mix all ingredients in a medium sauce pan or skillet and serve alongside Garlic Butter Chicken Legs