DINNER LAST NIGHT

Dinner last night consisted of Apple/Squash soup, Nutty Chicken, Oven Roasted Asparagus, and Pan Fried Broccoli.  The soup and chicken were both first time experiments, the vote was that the soup was good but very rich, so small portions are the key with it and it made a great dipping sauce for the chicken.  Everyone loved the chicken, broccoli and Asparagus.

Here is what I did for the Chicken.

Nutty Chicken 

Serves 6

6 Organic chicken breast

2 cups of mixed nuts ground up in your food processor ( I used an assortment of what I had on hand, pecans, lots of raw cashews, and macadamia nuts)

4 egg whites beaten

Sea Salt 

Ground Pepper

Olive oil

Start by dipping the chicken in the eggs, then roll it in the ground nuts and place in a greased pan, do this until all of the chicken is coated and ready to go.  Then drizzle the chicken breast with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover with foil and bake at 400 for about 15 minutes, Then uncover and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until done (depending on the size of chicken you have and your oven).  Brown under high heat if desired and serve.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

This is the easiest thing ever and taste great.  Clean your Asparagus removing the tough ends, dry on a towel and place in a jelly roll pan.  Then drizzle some olive oil over them, add a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper if desired stir them up a bit to coat and bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Pan Fried Broccoli

Place desired amount of broccoli in a skillet, drizzle with a good amount of olive oil and sesame oil.  Then over high heat saute or "fry" them stirring continuously so it doesn't burn, you can sprinkle with some sesame seeds if desired.  You could also throw some slivered almonds in while cooking too, or some chopped garlic.  The sesame oil gives it a great flavor. If it's browning your broccoli to quickly you can turn the heat down a bit.  It's done when it 's nicely browned  and tender/crisp.

Apple Squash Soup

Serves 4-6

1  1/2 (2 if they are small) Organic Fuji Apples 

2 pounds of winter squash, such as Butternut, Kabocha or Acorn (I used Kabocha)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1-32 ounce Carton of Organic chicken Stock ( I used Kirkland brand, if you read the ingredients on a lot of them they add sugar or other funny things,  but not the Kirkland)

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground pepper

salt (optional, I skipped it)

1 cup of full fat coconut milk

Peel core and dice the apples.  Peel and cut squash into 1 -1 1/2 inch cubes.  Combine apples, squash, onions, and chicken broth in a large saucepan.  Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes, or until tender.   Then pour ingredients into food processor or blender and puree.  Return the puree to the pan, add the cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste.  Bring to boil, then simmer uncovered 10 minutes to let the flavors blend well.  Stir in the coconut milk (or I just returned it to the blender for a few seconds), then heat soup thoroughly and serve with a dash of cinnamon.