Whole30 Orange Chicken, by Diane

 

This is another of @iheartumami’s family recipes with a Whole30 twist! This was a really interesting method to get chicken crispy without frying, and the sauce was flavorful (I doubled the amount of aminos to get it perfect for me). 

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs chicken, cut into bite size pieces

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 tsp baking soda

Coconut oil 

2 tbsp + 1/2 tbsp arrowroot powder 

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

2 thin slices ginger, minced plus 1 tsp grated ginger

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp orange zest

1/3 cup orange juice

4 tbsp coconut aminos

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 scallion stalks, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425. Place a baking sheet in the oven while it preheats.

2. Toss the chicken in a bowl with the salt, pepper, baking soda, and 2 tbsp arrowroot to coat. Place in the fridge until the oven is ready. 

3. Once the oven is ready, remove the baking sheet and coat with 2 tbsp oil, then place the chicken evenly spaced on the sheet. Bake on lower rack for 10 minutes.

4. While the chicken cooks, combine the garlic, minced ginger, and red pepper flakes in a bowl. Set aside. Combine orange zest, juice, aminos, grated ginger, vinegar, and remaining 1/2 tbsp arrowroot powder in a small bowl, and whisk to combine before setting aside.

5. After 10 minutes, flip the chicken and cook until golden and crispy, another 8-10 minutes.

6. While the chicken cooks again, heat a saucepan to medium high, and add 1 tbsp oil. When it’s hot, lower the heat to medium and add the ginger/garlic/red pepper bowl as well as a pinch of salt. Stir 15 seconds until fragrant.

7. Whisk the orange juice bowl once more and add to the pan.  It should thicken as you stir often. Adjust with more arrowroot as needed, and taste your seasonings.

8. When the chicken is done, combine it in the pan with the sauce and toss well. Top with scallions. 

Tuna, Blood Orange, and Avocado Salad, by Diane

Our next country up was Spain, as we thought it would have a lot of cold dishes we wouldn’t have to turn the oven on for. First up was this salad, which seemed good in theory but in actuality the tastes just didn’t really go well together for me. It was supposed to use tuna belly, but I couldn’t find it and had to use canned tuna instead. Recipe from: https://spanishsabores.com/2014/04/18/tuna-belly-blood-orange-and-avocado-spanish-salad-recipe/


Ingredients:

One cup arugula
1/4 cup tuna
1 blood orange, cut in slices
1/2 avocado, cut in slices
10 pistachios, crushed
Olive oil
Sea salt


Directions:

Assemble all ingredients together, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt.

Roasted Beet, Orange, and Avocado Salad, by Cheryl

This is a great start to any meal! I actually roasted the beets the first time I made it, but used canned beets for other times and it was still great. I put it on a bed of arugula to get some greens in. The recipe is from the Whole 30 cookbook. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 medium beets
2 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 orange, halved, one half zested and juiced, the other peeled and cut into segments
salt and pepper
1 avocado, diced
Extra greens (optional)


Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 425. Rinse the beets thoroughly and stab all sides with a fork. Oil the beets and place in tin foil pinching the top to create a seal. Roast for 35 minutes, or until tender.

2) Remove the skins from the beets. Dice the beets into one inch pieces and place in serving bowl.

3) In a small bowl, combine the 1 tbsp EVOO, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, orange juice, salt, and pepper, and whisk until combined.

4) Add the orange segments and avocado to the beets. Drizzle with dressing, sprinkle in orange zest, toss to coat, and serve.

Nutty Wild Rice Salad, by Cheryl

This is a recipe from Once Upon a Chef. It's the cookbook my friend chose for the cookbook club this month. This recipe was a hit! It's great cold or slightly warmed up. So flavorful and yummy! And not too bad for you either. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 cup wild rice, rinsed
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice from 1 orange
1/4 cup EVOO
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley,
2 celery stalks, diced
1 tart yet sweet apple, peeled, cored, and diced
1/4 cup roasted and salted pepitas
2 scallions, light and dark green parts, thinly sliced

Directions:

1) In a medium pot, cook the wild rice according to package directions.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the orange zest, orange juice, oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, pepper, and remaining salt. Add the cooled rice, pecans, dried cranberries, parsley, celery, apple, pepitas, and scallions. Taste and adjust the seasoning if desired. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Orange Braised Carrots and Parsnips, by Cheryl

This is the second recipe I chose to make from the cookbook. I thought the orange flavor in the veggies was very tasty. I couldn't find my large Le Creuset because of the move so the only baking dish I had didn't have the vegetables lying flat, which caused the bottom veggies to become too tender. But this was a solid dish and went well with the chicken that we were having. Yum!

Ingredients:

1lb carrots with greens attached
1 lb thin parsnips
1/3 cup small-diced shallots
2 tsps grated orange zest
1.25 cups freshly squeezed orange juice, divided
1/3 cup olive oil
6 sprigs fresh thyme
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
2 tbsp minced fresh flat leaf parsley

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 275.

2) Trim and scrub or peeel the carrots and parsnips. If the parsnips are thick, slice them in half or quarters lengthwise so they are the same width as the carrots.

3) Place the carrots and parsnips in a pot or Dutch oven that's large enough for everything to lie flat. Add the shallots, orange zest, 3/4 cup orange juice, the olive oil, thyme, red pepper flakes, 2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper.

4) Place the pot on the stove and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover tightly with a lid or heavy duty foil. Transfer to the oven and cook for 1.5 hours, until the carrots and parsnips are very tender. Discard the thyme. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of orange juice and parsley and season to taste.