Cucumber Lemon Chicken

This recipe is a family favorite and I love to make it whenever I get cucumbers from our organic co-op. The original recipe called for cream and lots of butter, but I've successfully converted it over and my family still loves it. We served ours with a wild rice blend and lightly steamed carrots. Enjoy!

Cucumber Lemon Chicken

2 lb. chicken (breasts or tenders
2 large cucumbers
1/4 c. brown rice flour
6 Tbsp. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 c. chicken stock
1 c. rice milk
1 Tbsp. tapioca flour
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. dill
lemon peel

Peel, halve and slice cucumbers (approx. 4 cups). Place them in a colander, sprinkle with sea salt, toss and let drain for one hour. Pat cucumbers dry. Saute cucumbers in 3 Tbsp. olive oil until light brown (approx. 7 minutes). Set aside.

Mix brown rice flour with salt and pepper in a shallow bowl. Coat chicken. Saute chicken in 3 Tbsp. olive oil until browned. Add 1/2 cup chicken stock, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until cooked through (approx. 5 minutes). Set chicken aside.

Add remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock. Increase heat and boil until reduced to 1/4 cup (approx. 4-5 minutes). Mix rice milk and tapioc flour together. Add to skillet. Simmer until thickened, stirring frequently (approx. 2 minutes). Stir in lemon juice and dill. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add chicken and cucumbers to sauce and heat through. Garnish with lemon peel.

Chicken Bone-Broth Soup

One of our favorite meals, which we have about 3 times per month, is homemade chicken bone-broth soup. There is a lot of research which indicates multiple health benefits of bone-broth such as:

• Broth is rich in calcium, magnesium, phosporus & other trace minerals
• Minerals in broth are easily absorbed
• Contains glucosamine & chondroitin, reduce effects of arthritis & joint pain
• Rich in gelatin, which supports connective tissue of body
• Gelatin (broth) can also help with gastrointestinal symptoms, reflux and inflammatory bowel diseases

So we can see that broth has properties of being both a food & a medicine. Not to mention it is inexpensive to make & tastes great!!

Chicken Bone-Broth Soup
Chicken Bones
4 large carrots, diced
4 celery stalks, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
2 medium zuchinni, sliced
2 medium yellow squash, sliced
1 cup spinach, chopped
4 oz. gluten-free spiral noodles

We love to buy the rotisserie chickens from Costco, which incidentally are gluten & diary free (and quite tasty too). After using the chicken for 1-2 meals, I place the bones & remaining chicken in a pot, cover it with water and add a little bit of white wine vinegar. I then let it boil for 3+ hours. After which I fish out all the bones, and start adding the following: carrots, celery, onion and sweet potato. I let this simmer for about 30 minutes and then add the zuchinni, yellow squash and gluten-free noodles. I let this simmer for an additional 15 minutes and then remove from the heat. Add chopped spinach just before serving.

I typically don't add a lot of seasoning and we season it to our liking (typically just a little sea salt). My young boys have gotten to where they love this soup too and cheer each time I make it. Enjoy a bowl of homemade bone broth soup tonight!