Meal Prep- Week 5- Chicken Chili, One-Dish Chicken and Green Beans, and Paleo Enchiladas

Thanksgiving week meant leftovers for meal prep last week.... but I am back to it! Working out with friends who kick my butt.....

....and we set up our tree for the last time in our house since we are moving and are ready to enjoy the pretty lights for the next few weeks....Charlie is at a perfect age this year and has a variety of descriptive words to tell me how much she is enjoying this time of year with the lights, Santa, snow, etc.

This recipe has two originals of mine and one adapted from Giada Delaurentiis that is not paleo because of the beans but pretty close! I am also including nutritional information for the chili for those of you tracking macros, etc.

White Bean Chicken Chili

(Serves 4 easily)
(Link to the original recipe from Giada)

- Olive Oil
- 1 Large, Sweet Onion
- 4 Garlic Cloves
- 2 lbs Ground Chicken
- 2 Tbsp Cumin
- 3 tsp Chili Powder
- 1 Pinch Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/4 Cup Arrowroot Powder
- Water
- 2 (15-oz Cans) Cannellini Beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 lb Swiss Chard, chopped
- 2 Cups Sweet Corn, frozen, fresh or canned
- 4 Cups Chicken Stock

1. In a large dutch oven heat a little oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until translucent. (About 5 minutes)
2. Add the chicken, a sprinkle of salt and cook until the chicken is cooked through. At this point I drained the liquid in the pan because there was too much. Add the spices and stir until fragerant.
3. Add the stock, beans, corn and swiss chard. Bring to a boil. Make a slurry with the arrowroot powder by adding a little water (2 Tbsp-ish) and dissolving it. Add this to the boiling soup. Reduce the heat and summer 45 min-1 hour until the soup has thickened. If it is not as thick as you would like add more arrowroot/water- bring to a boil for just a few minutes for it to thicken and then turn off the heat again.

Paleo Enchiladas

I was thinking next time I would use corn tortillas just because these are a lot more labor intensive, but with the frozen, "riced" cauliflower at Trader Joe's the process of making them became a lot easier. I used the concept of making pizza crust with cauliflower for the tortillas in this. 

Cauliflower Tortillas

(Or two bags of the riced, frozen cauliflower** If you are doing this, thaw it and squeeze it in a thin towel to get as much of the liquid out as you can- it will be about a cup or more** Then proceed to step two)
- 1 Small Head of Cauliflower
- 3 Eggs
- Pinch of Salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

1. Break the cauliflower into florets. Pulse in a food processor until a texture finer than rice is formed. Place it on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake 10 minutes OR microwave 4-5 minutes stirring part way through. When it is cooled, place in a thin towel and squeeze as much liquid as you can out... at least a cup!
2. In a bowl, mix the eggs, salt and cauliflower. Press onto a parchment lined baking sheet as thin and even as possible. It is is fairly liquidly, that's ok! It will firm up when baking. Bake 10 minutes. Flip as best you can and bake another 10 minutes. Now you can cut them into the shapes you need for your enchilada assembly.

Enchilada Sauce

- 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
- 3 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 3 Tbsp Arrowroot powder
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/4 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 Cups Water
- 1 15-oz Can Tomato Sauce (check ingredients for sugar!)

1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil, chili powder and arrowroot powder. Whisk constantly for a few minutes until it is bubbly and a light brown color (3 minutes at most!)
2. Add the rest of the ingredients, whisk until smooth, and simmer 7-8 minutes.

Chicken

- 1 lb Chicken Breasts- cooked and shredded. Or be lazy and buy a rotisserie chicken and use the whole thing :)

Other ingredient options!

- 3 Green Onions, chopped
- Corn
- Cheese

Putting it all together....

1. In an 8x8" glass baking dish, pour enough of the sauce to just cover the bottom (about 1/4 cup)
2. Place a tortilla that fits the pan on top. Add 1/2 the shredded chicken, (green onions and corn if you are adding that), 1/3 of the sauce and repeat one more time ending with the sauce on top. *If you aren't paleo some cheese in the layers would be awesome!
3. Cover with foil and bake 35-40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes until the top is bubbly. As it cools it becomes easier to cut. Enjoy!

One-Dish Chicken and Green Beans

Taking a note from my very successful salmon dish, I decided to do it with chicken. I was lazier this time and didn't mix the seasonings into the butter...my bad. The butter made an interesting pattern when it was done, but this healthy meal is easy and with only one pan, clean up is a breeze!

- 4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- 1 lb Green Beans, trimmed and cut in one-inch pieces
- 1 Tbsp Lemon Pepper
- 4 Tbsp Butter
- 1 tsp Salt

Preheat Oven to 400 Degrees

1. In a 9x11" baking dish, arrange the chicken and tuck the green beans around it.
2. Place a 1/2 tablespoon of butter each chicken breast and the rest on the green beans. Sprinkle with the seasonings. Bake, uncovered, 40-45 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken. Juices will run clean when it is done. Toss to coat everything and serve when it is done or there are four lunches made for the week!