Chicken w/ salsa & squash

Ingredients
3lb Whole Chicken

2T. Bacon Fat (you can also use
coconut oil, ghee, or olive oil)

1 Small Butternut Squash, peeled,
seeded, and cut into 1" cubes

14-16oz Fire-Roasted Salsa (use
your favorite salsa)

Sea Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Heat a dutch oven (you can also use a crock pot, it will just increase the cooking
time).
3. Add bacon fat (or other fat).
4. Season chicken (I used a 3lb pastured chicken from Rehoboth Ranch) with sea
salt and pepper and transfer to pot, breast-side down. While chicken is browning
on one side, peel, seed, and chop the squash into 1" cubes.
5. Flip chicken, add butternut squash to pot, and top everything with a 16oz
container of salsa (I used a fire-roasted salsa from a local Tex-Mex restaurant).
Put a lid on the pot and transfer to preheated oven. Cook for about 1 hour or until
chicken is cooked through.*

Day 30 - wow!!?!!?!!

So here we are, and I actually don't find myself wanting to stop. 30 days in and all I crave is food like I had for lunch today, chicken with salsa and squash ( i've come to love butternut squash by the way).

All I will be changing is perhaps adding some tortilla chips and the occasional cheese or bread, but really, I believe I'm pretty much sold on eating this way for life I hope!

Chicken with Cacciatore Sauce

10 skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
salt & pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tsp. fresh minced rosemary leaves
2 - 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1 small jar pitted kalamata olives
1 can artichoke hearts

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Pat chicken dry, season with salt and pepper. Place skin-side up in baking dish and roast till skin is golden 30 - 40 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a dutch oven or large stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and bacon till onion is translucent.
• Stir in rosemary, mushrooms, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Add olives and artichoke hearts. Simmer another 10 minutes.
• Add chicken thighs to pot and simmer another 20 minutes.
• Serve in bowls with plenty of sauce.

Banana-Mashed Sweet Potatoes

1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 or 2 bananas, cut into pieces
salt & pepper

1. In a medium pot, cover sweet potatoes with salted water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower heat and simmer till tender - about 20 minutes.
2. Drain water from pot.
3. Mash in the banana and season with salt and pepper

Confetti Tilapia Packets

1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 scallions, sliced
3 bacon strips, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 tilapia fillets
4 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. In a large skillet, saute pepper, scallions, bacon, and celery till vegetables are tender and bacon is crisp; drain fat.
2. Add tomato, salt, and pepper; heat through.
3. Place each fillet on a double thickness of heavy duty foil - about 12 inches square.
4. Drizzle fillets with lemon juice.
5. Top with vegetable mixture.
6. Fold foil around fish and seal tightly.
7. Grill, covered, over medium-hot heat for 20 minutes or till fish flakes easily with a fork.
8. Open packets carefully to allow steam to escape.

Coconut-Crusted Chicken with Mango Salsa

1/2 pound frozen mango (or fresh) thawed and chopped - about 1 1/2 cups
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped red onion
2 TBSP chopped cilantro
1 TBSP white vinegar
salt & Pepper
1 egg
1 tsp water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
4 6-oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 TBSP coconut oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a small bowl, combine mango, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, and vinegar; season with salt & pepper.
3. In a shallow pie pan, beat the egg with 1 tsp water and 1/2 tsp salt.
4. Place the coconut in another shallow pie pan.
5. Dip the chicken in the egg and then into the coconut. Press to coat.
6. In a large ovenproof skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides -- about 5 minutes.
7. Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake, until cooked through, about 20 - 25 minutes.
8. Serve the chicken with the mango salsa.

Roast Salmon with Mustard Vinaigrette - dinner tonight!

1 1/2 pound salmon fillet
1 TBSP olive oil
Salt & pepper
3 tsp white vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup olive oil
4 hard boiled eggs
3 tsp finely chopped parsley

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place salmon skin side down on parchment lined baking sheet; drizzle w/1 TBSP olive oil and season w/salt & pepper.
3. Roast until beads of moisture form on the surface - about 25 minutes, then let cool to room temperature.
4. In a small bowl, wisk together vinegar, mustard, and olive oil.
5. Force the boiled eggs through a fine sieve (food mill) or process in a food processor. Pour into the vinaigrette.
6. Stir in the parsley.
7. Serve the salmon with the mustard vinaigrette drizzled over it.

Collecting Recipes!

One of the fun side benefits for me during this 30 Day Cahllenge has been searching out great recipes such as the ones I am going to try over the weekend and next week:

• Martha Stewart's Turkey Chili
• Seared Cod
• Chicken with Lemon & Green Olives
• Fried Egg-Topped Turkey Patties
• Portugese Fish Stew
• Southern Style Collard Greens
• Citrus Salad
• Roasted Fennel with Tomatoes
• Chicken with Cacciatore Sauce
• Eggs in Purgatory!

Let me know if you want any of the recipes!

Reflections...Day 24

I have had so much more energy over the last 3+ weeks. I am guessing it is from de-toxing -- yes? t think I can probably continue to stay away from dairy, corn & rice. I KNOW I will certainly continue to read labels more carefully -- corn is EVERYWHERE as is sugar.

Day 24 - only seven days left!

I'm really thinking it may be hard for me to delve bak too much into the way I was eating before. I believe the bible is clear that were put here to be cultivators and to create, as our creative Father has done. So it's no wonder why I've found extreme joy an satisfaction in spending the last several Sunday afternoons cookin meals from recipes! It's time consuming, but really fun! We'll see how well I can couple this with a garden this spring!

I'll try and track my eating, though my life has gotten busy and this blog has sorta been forgotten this week.

Breakfast: hardboiled eggs, mashed with avocado half and handful of spinach, half tbsp olive oil, mashed sweet potatoes w pecans on te side

Snack: almonds, banana