Wellness Wednesday: Crockpot Balsamic Chicken

If you've been following Life, KV Style for a while, this recipe may look familiar to you. And that's because it's a faster, easier version of one of my favorite recipes that I shared several months ago. And I'm all about easy + healthy meals! Crockpots are definitely my friend. :)

Crockpot Balsamic Chicken

You'll need: 

6-8 chicken breasts or 10-12 tenders

1/2-3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

4 Tbsp. olive oil

2-3 tsp. garlic powder
a few pinches of salt (I use pink himalayan salt)

a few pinches of pepper

just enough water to cover the bottom of the crockpot

1) Place all the ingredients in the crockpot on high for 6 hours. (Don't forget to use a crockpot liner if you use those--much recommend.)

You know that's about it, right? ;)

For the optional sauce:

You'll need:
3 Tbsp. olive oil

4-5 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1/4-1/3 cup honey
a couple pinches of salt and pepper

1) Heat the oil in a skillet on medium/medium high and add the balsamic vinegar. Stir it around.

2) Once it's warmed (about 30 seconds), add the honey. Stir it around.

3) Once the mixture starts bubbling (takes a minute or two) add the salt and pepper and stir again. Remove from heat or it will burn.

You can either place the finished chicken in the sauce and stir the pieces around to coat them, or use the sauce as a dip or dressing. I like to use it as a dip but in this instance just drizzled it on the chicken and rice. As with most things, it's great served with rice and Easy Fried Broccoli.

Soo easy. And I'll probably be eating a lot of this over Christmas. :)

P.S. Linking up with Delicious Dish Tuesday.

Wellness Wednesday: Coconut Sauce Chicken Alfredo

When I shared this Shredded Lemon Garlic Chicken recipe a few weeks ago, I said that there were so many different ways to use it: You can use it in place of the turkey in this Easy Turkey and Veggie Fry, you can use it in Lettuce Wraps like this, and you can even use the chicken in place of pepperoni in this pizza recipe. I've also already shared my Lemon Garlic Chicken Salad with Coconut Mayo, one of my favorite meals lately, and now I'm back with one last use for this awesome chicken (though the possibilities are endless, of course).

Now, this obviously isn't Chicken Alfredo, but that was the inspiration, and I do think it tastes rather like it. Plus, if you already have the chicken made ahead of time (like I like to do), this meal is super easy to make.

You'll need:
Shredded Lemon Garlic Chicken, made with the addition of basil
Rice (I use this)
Olive oil
Basil
Garlic powder
Sea Salt
Pepper
This coconut "mayo" sauce

1) Cook the rice according to the directions, then drizzle olive oil in a pan and briefly fry the rice in it, along with a few generous sprinkles of salt, pepper, basil, and garlic powder.
2) Place the rice in a dish, top with the chicken (warmed if you didn't just make it) and coconut sauce, and stir together.

All done!

Easy enough? I like to serve it with this broccoli or salad. And once again, the secret to this meal is the ever-versatile coconut sauce that I just keep using! It's great as a dressing, a pizza sauce, and now an "alfredo" sauce too.

Enjoy! If you like this, be sure to check out the rest of my healthy, yummy recipes!

{linking up with Delicious Dish Tuesday, Real Food Recipe Roundup here and here, Time to Sparkle, Share It Link Party, Do Tell Tuesday, Let Your Light Shine, Treat Yo' Self Thursday}

Wellness Wednesday: Lemon Garlic Chicken Salad with Coconut Mayo

When I shared this chicken recipe a couple of weeks ago, I said I'd be back with more recipes to use the chicken in. And here's the first! It's simple and yummy (I think restaurant-worthy, but what do I know), and crave-at-night worthy too. Many nights after Daniel goes to bed have involved whipping up this salad and eating it while watching whatever free Youtube movie struck my fancy. ;)

I also have to briefly explain why I call this coconut "mayo." I've mentioned Brittany Angell on here before and all of her amazing recipes, and one time I saw her mention on Instagram that she just combines coconut milk and olive oil for mayonnaise. I don't know if she adds more to those, or how much of each, but I decided to just put them together and add some salt and came out with this concoction that I find pretty stinkin' handy. One warning: it really does not taste very good on its own. It just complements this salad so well once it's mixed in with the other ingredients. So if you dip your finger in it and think gross! do still give it a try.

You'll need:
1/2-3/4 cup of this chicken
Lettuce
15-20 grapes
optional: 2 slices of turkey lunchmeat (I use this)
optional: Some chopped onion

For the dressing:
1 can of coconut milk (like this)
Olive oil
Himalayan salt or sea salt

1) Place the can of coconut milk in the freezer.
2) Tear up the two pieces of lunchmeat and lay them on a paper-towel covered plated. Lay another paper towel on top and microwave for 2 1/2 minutes or until it's crispy. (Like I made it for this recipe.) Once it's cooled enough to not burn yourself, of course, crumble the meat into bits.
3) Prepare the lettuce as you normally would and top it with the chicken (I like to microwave it if I didn't just make it), chopped onion, grapes, and "bacon" bits.
4) Once the coconut milk has been in the freezer for about 10 minutes, the top half probably won't be hardened, but it should be mostly separated from the lower, clear half. So just pour the upper, creamier half into a container, then add the oil and salt to your liking, and stir. I do about 1/4-1/2 cup of olive oil and probably 1/2 tsp. of salt, but the amounts are up to you. Just remember my warning about it not tasting very good by itself--it will taste like coconut milk, oil, and salt, it's just a matter of what combo you prefer. ;) Then drizzle as much as you like on the salad. This amount of dressing will last for several meals.

All done! Of course, you could just have this without any dressing, but I think it really adds to it.

Oh, and did you know salad always tastes better served on a plate instead of in a bowl? I think it probably has something to do with restaurants serving it that way, but I still think it's true. ;)

The beauty of the Shredded Lemon Garlic Chicken is that you can make a whole bunch at once and then have it to use in things like this salad for days. (Thanks, Mommy! :) Yep, I'll be sharing another simple but very tasty way to use it on another Wellness Wednesday!

{linking up with Delicious Dish Tuesday, Real Food Recipe Roundup here and here, Time to Sparkle, Share It Link Party, Do Tell Tuesday, Let Your Light Shine, Treat Yo' Self Thursday}

Wellness Wednesday: Shredded Lemon Garlic Chicken

For this Wellness Wednesday, it's time for another GF, DF, SF, SF, NF, NSF,  everything-free recipe! You ought to know by now that this is how things go around here. ;)

I have to tell you guys, this recipe is all my Mom's! She started seeing my doctor for her own health problems a few months ago and has had much more dramatic results than I did. And of course, her time on the Repairvite Diet led her to come up with all kinds of her own recipes like I did, and this is one of them.

She made a whole bunch right before we moved, and I happily lived on it for several days when our kitchen wasn't exactly settled in and cookable yet. Now I've learned how to make it myself and do so every. single. week. O_O I go in phases with my food. For a few months, I was addicted to these wraps, then for a few more months it was this veggie fry, and now it's this chicken, in various forms. What will be next?

This recipe is so easy. I can't call it fast, but the boiling can be done ahead of time, and the steps are so simple!

Shredded Lemon Garlic Chicken

You'll need:
6-8 frozen chicken breasts
1 large onion, chopped
juice of 1-1 1/2 lemons
olive oil
salt (I use pink himalayan)
pepper
garlic powder

1. Boil the chicken for an hour.

2. Once the chicken is done, saute the onion in olive oil. While waiting on the onion, tear or cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.

3. Once the onion is done, add the chicken, then sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic to taste. (I'm quite generous with mine.)

4. Reduce the heat to medium and let the chicken begin to brown, stirring occasionally. Add the lemon juice and stir to coat all the chicken, then let it continue to brown to your liking.

This chicken can be used in all kinds of dishes: serve it with rice and my Easy Fried Broccoli, use it in place of the turkey in my Easy Turkey and Veggie Fry, or use it in these Chicken and Grape Lettuce Wraps. And lots of other things, like this salad--and more--all coming to the blog later! (Do you think I like chicken?)

{linking up with Delicious Dish Tuesday, Real Food Recipe Roundup here and here, Time to Sparkle, Share It Link Party, Do Tell Tuesday, Let Your Light Shine, Treat Yo' Self Thursday}

Cheesy Chicken Happiness

Well, I'm sick on this lovely winter day and hoping I can manage this post of deliciousness for you. Cause this dish is da bomb.

The amazing recipe is from the Plain Chicken blog, and you can see it here. I found it through Pinterest. :)

 Cheesy Honey Mustard Chicken

You'll need:

4 thawed chicken breasts or several tenders
Lemon pepper to taste
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp paprika
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
4 Tbsp bacon bits (I used Oscar Mayer)

Steps:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (The most important step! ;)

2) Place the chicken in a baking dish and season with lemon pepper and then a mixture of the Dijon mustard, honey, lemon juice, and paprika.

3) Bake for 20-25 minutes, then remove, sprinkle with bacon bits and cheese, and then put back in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Post-baking, pre-cheese and bacon.

Post-cheese and bacon, pre-last 10 minutes.

All done. :)

Oh, and make sure to drizzle the chicken in the leftover sauce when you eat it. ;) I highly recommend having this with rice (I use Minute rice), green beans or salad, and sauteed mushrooms.

I just sautee the mushrooms in butter and soy sauce--just make sure the soy sauce specifically says gluten free on it, if you're wanting that of course.

And simple as that stuff is, it is amazing.

This meal is quite close to my favorite meal at Texas Steakhouse, which is like, one of my favorite meals ever. So yeah, this recipe is pretty awesome. ;)