Thai Cashew Chicken

Here is a Pinterest recipe I found almost two years ago and am just now making.  It was pretty good I must say!  I would suggest prepping  (chopping veggies and getting all of your stuff out).

Here is the recipe:  http://fastpaleo.com/recipe/thai-cashew-chicken/


                                   

                                   

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breast, You can  use chicken tenders so they cook quickly 
• 2 heads of baby bok choy, slice into long strips
• 1 small head of broccoli, chopped
• 2 large or 4 small carrots, sliced in half moons
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 cup of chicken stock, divided
• 1/2 cup of toasted cashews
• 1 Tablespoon of arrow root powder
• 2 Table spoon of coconut aminos - 1 teaspoon of thai chili powder or 1Tablespoon of red pepper flakes if you don't have the thai chili powder - Salt and pepper to taste - source of quality fat for cooking the chicken

- in a dry nonstick pan over medium heat toast up your cashews. This should only take about 5-7 minutes. Keep an eye on them, they will burn.
- in a large skillet heat 1 T of fat, I used bacon grease.
- salt and pepper your chicken and add it to the pan, cover and let it cook for about 5 minutes per side until cooked through and no longer pink inside
- take chicken out and set it on a cutting board.

slice chicken thinly against the grain
- in the same pan over medium heat add all your veggies
- add in the coconut aminos and some salt and pepper
- toss veggies and let them cook for about 7 minutes until they are crisp tender

                                 

- add 1/2 cup of the stock to the pan
- in a separate small bowl.

add the other 1/2 cup of stock and arrow root powder, stir till completely dissolved and add to the pan of veggies
- add in cashews, thai chili powder and chicken back into the pan to heat up again

- let cook and the sauce thicken for about 3 minutes
- the heat level is relative add more or less to your taste
- add salt and pepper to taste
- serve over cauliflower rice (I used Organic Quinoa).

 

ENJOY :)

 

  

Recipes, Meal Planning, and Grocery Shopping.....

 This post is about how I grocery shop, meal plan, etc.  I always "plan" each week but this time my goal was to plan even better, mainly dinners for this post.  

Tips:  Normally I try to purchase and plan 2 weeks worth of meals.  When I buy my fresh veggies, I tend to use those up the first 7-8 days and then rely on my frozen veggies for the other meals down the road. We do run out of fruit each week so I will put back about $10 for fruit out of my budget which usually consists of banana's, apples, and strawberries.

So first off I went through all of my recipes.  I have hundreds printed and 3 cookbooks I refer to.  I also try to find recipes that call for the same ingredients for the most part.  I usually do this Wednesday night.  Once I find everything I want to make over the next 2 weeks, I get my notebook out and start writing down all the ingredients I need.

Next I head out to Costco (or wherever you choose to go) and grab my meat/frozen veggies/frozen fruit.  I normally try to do this Wednesday afternoon or Thursday as its not very busy compared to Friday and Saturday.  Most times I just buy meat there but I def check out the frozen veggies/fruit for deals, etc.  Water is also cheaper there.  Paper goods are also a great deal when you combine with an instant manf cpn.  This time around I needed TP and Paper Towels.

Paper Goods/Cleaning $28.68

Toilet Paper $18.99 - $4.30 Instant Cpn = $14.69 (This will last 4 weeks) = $3.67 week
Paper Towels $17.79 - $3.80 Instant Cpn = $13.99 (This will last 8 weeks) = $1.74 week

My meat /egg/frozen fruit purchase:

Costco Food $102

24 Pk Organic Eggs $6.99 = $3.50 week(This will last 2 weeks)
4 packs Bacon $8.99 = $2.24 each pack (This will last me 4 weeks)
Boneless Thighs Organic $19.36 = 2 meals
Ground Beef Organic 4 lbs $21.99= 3 meals
Organic Strawberries  4 lbs $10.59 = $2.64 week (This will last 4 weeks)
Organic Chicken Breast  $18.51 - $3 instant man cpn = $15.51 = 2 meals
Pork Tenderloin $18.04 = 2 meals + 2 days of leftovers for Justin and I

Next, I hit Aldi for a lot of my produce and I always shop on Friday or Saturday.  I make sure I have my notebook and pen and get everything on my list.

Here are the veggies I picked up for my meals............

ALDI

Pineapple $2.19

2 bags of frozen broccoli florets (to use later down the road when my fresh veggies are all gone) $1.19 each bag

Organic Banana's $1.38

Lemons $.35 each

Bag of Mini multi colored peppers $2.49

2 pack bell peppers $.99

3 pack tomato .99

Blueberries $2.49

Strawberries $1.69

Mushrooms .99

Granny Smith Apples $2.99

Pack of 4 squash $1.69

Pack of 4 Zucchini $.99

Organic baby carrots $1.49

Pack of 5 sweet pot $1.99

Organic Chicken Broth $1.79

Total $27.23

Here are the dairy items I picked up.

ALDI-

Almond Milk $2.29

Moo Tubes $1.79

OJ $2.09

1/2 G 1% Milk $2.19

Van Yogurt $1.89

Greek Yogurt $3.89

Organic Arugula $2.49

Total $16.63

ALDI- WATER $2.49

Good luck with your shopping!