Almond Butter Chicken

I love Chinese/Japanese/Asian food in general.  It is one of those things I don't eat out very often anymore for various reasons.  I am going to link to some of my favorite easy, paleo/or adaptable recipes to make Take Out dishes at home. 

Almond Butter Chicken

Almond butter chicken, mushrooms and carrots

(If I had some white rice, I probably would have made some to go with it.)

I have made this recipe a couple of times before and I have always really liked it.  Last night, the husband declared it to be in his top 10 favorite dinners EVER. On Facebook, no less.  That makes it really official.  That is kind of huge, as I fix on average 4 dinners a week for the last 10 years.  Crazy math! It is really good and really different.  It originally was a Peanut Butter chicken recipe, but we don't eat peanut butter anymore, so a few adaptations later and here it is. 

Original recipe from http://www.crockpot365.blogspot.com/

If you haven't checked out his lady's blog, you should.  It is genius.  She cooked with a crockpot everyday for a year and blogged the good, the bad and the ugly.  Simple, yummy food.  She also has a child that is celiac so the recipes are already gluten free, they don't need much adapting to be paleo! One of my most used blogs for recipes. She has a couple of cookbooks now, too. 

Almond Butter Chicken

1 -2 lbs chicken

1/2 cup almond butter

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 lime, juiced

1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce OR coconut aminos

1/2 cup chicken broth

Notes: Use what chicken you have or prefer. I have made this with chicken legs (it will get tender and fall off the bone), boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced chicken breast.  It is all good.

If you don't have a lime, use another form of citrus (such as orange juice, lemon).

Consider doubling the sauce, it is awesome on rice or some steamed vegetables like broccoli!

1.  Spray a 4quart slow cooker. Put the chicken into the bottom and add the almond butter.

2.  Toss in the vegetables and cumin.

3.  Squeeze in lime, and add soy sauce/coconut aminos and chicken broth.

4..  Stir as well as you can to combine (the peanut butter will be clumpy, and that's just fine).

5. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for about 4 hours.

6.  Serve over rice and/or vegetables.

I have also made this recipe in the oven and on the stove top.  Turns out great!

Other recipes to check out:

Beef and Broccoli - This is so easy and turns out SO GOOD!

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/03/crockpot-broccoli-beef.html

Lemon Chicken...also great, although I would cut back on her use of the lemonade concentrate. Just use lemon juice and honey, or at the least, only use half of the can.

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/01/chinese-lemon-chicken-crockpot-recipe.html

Orange Chicken...Made this twice this month and forgot to take a picture! Aaagghhh. Seriously good.

http://www.health-bent.com/poultry/paleo-orange-chicken

Lettuce Wraps....an old post of mine

http://www.picketfencepaleo.blogspot.com/2011/08/asian-lettuce-wraps.html

"Frying the Chicken"

If you have a little extra time and a little extra love for your families to share and want to make either the Almond Butter Chicken, Lemon Chicken or Orange Chicken recipes extra special, fry the chicken ahead of time. Cut your chicken into pieces, dredge in almond meal, and pan fry in coconut oil.  Make your sauce off to the side in a saucepan.  It turns out amazing.  Maybe for those of you that are making the switch,  this will help make those initial meals more exciting.  I do it when I can, but not always. 

Is rice paleo?

It is a grain, but the one that few people have an issue with. I don't mind it from time to time. How many grains/carbs someone is consuming has a lot to do with their personal situation and preference. I would say that personally, I probably have 1-2 servings of grains a week in the form of white rice, corn or a piece of gluten free something. If having some rice with your dinner is going to help your family convert to paleo, go for it! White rice, not the brown. (Even though we have been taught that the brown, "whole grain" is healthier.)