Fried Chicken Tenders

100g chicken

1 T milk

1 grissini

Seasonings (salt, pepper, paprika, ground red pepper, garlic powder)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
   
2. Slice chicken breast into 3 tenders.
   
3. In small bowl, mix milk and any seasonings you prefer.
   
4. Grind grissini in food processor until it is a powder. (I use my coffee grinder.)
   
5. Put grissini powder in a separate small bowl.
   
6. Add chicken to milk mixture and toss to coat well.
   
7. Then one at a time, place chicken in grissini powder and coat both sides of chicken.
   
8. Place chicken in glass baking dish and bake 30-40 mins, turning over halfway through.
   
9. In last 5 mins, turn on broiler and broil 2-3 mins each side.
   
10. Serve immediately.

NOTE:Remember that this recipe includes both your meat and grissini portion. As well as your daily allowance of milk.

Baked Apple

1 apple

cinnamon

ground cloves

ground nutmeg

water

1. Preheat oven to 350.
   
2. Core apple leaving about 1" in bottom. Do NOT core all the way through.
   
3. Place apple in baking dish.
   
4. Fill apple with 1/4 t cinnamon, 1/8 t ground cloves, dash nutmeg, and 2 t water (water should almost reach top of apple - adjust as needed).
   
5. Pour 1/2 c water, 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 t ground cloves, and 1/2 t nutmeg around apple in the baking dish.
   
6. Bake for 45 mins - 1 hour.
   
7. Serve immediately.

Orange Julius

1 orange

5-10 drops vanilla creme liquid stevia (to taste)

ice

water (as needed)

1. Peel orange and place orange sections in blender.
   
2. Add about a handful of ice.
   
3. Blend.
   
4. Add vanilla creme stevia.
   
5. Blend to desired consistency. Add water as needed.

TIP: Place this in the freezer for about 1 hr after preparing and have an on protocol version of orange sherbet! Yummy.

Boiled Shrimp

100g shrimp

2-3 c water (enough to cover shrimp in pan)

1/4 c apple cider vinegar

2 T seafood seasoning

1. Add water, apple cider vinegar, seafood seasoning and shrimp to saucepan over MED-HI heat.
   
2. Let water come to slow boil. When shrimp start floating, remove from heat & drain.
   
3. Immediately place shrimp in ice water for 1 minute.
   
4. Drain & serve immediately or chill in refrigerator.

Onion Rings

80g sliced onion rings

1 grissini

1 T skim milk (as allowed daily)

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450.
   
2. In a small bowl, add milk, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper. Mix to make a batter.
   
3. Grind grissini in food processor until it is a powder. (I use my coffee grinder.)
   
4. Put grissini in a separate small bowl.
   
5. Place rings in batter bowl and toss to coat fully. (It's best to use your hands here to ensure you coat each ring.)
   
6. Let sit in batter 2-3 mins then toss again.
   
7. Dip each ring into the grissini powder by hand. I find it works best to do these one at a time, rolling the ring in the grissini coating instead of tossing or shaking it on.
   
8. Place on cookie sheet lined with non-stick aluminum foil.
   
9. Cook 6-7 mins. Then flip, cooking an additional 6-7 mins.
   
10. Serve immediately.

NOTE: Don't expect these to look like a diner's fried onion rings when you pull them out of the oven. I have to admit I was disappointed the first time when I saw them come out thinking I failed somewhere along the line. But then I tasted them. YUM! To me, they tasted like good ol' onion rings but without all the grease. Serve them plain or with homemade mustard and you're good to go.

Also, remember that this includes both your veggie and grissini portion for your meal.

Chicken "Gravy"

1/2 c homemade broth

1 grissini

1. Add 1/4 c broth to small saucepan and bring to boil.
   
2. While broth is heating, grind grissini in food processor until it is a powder. (I use my coffee grinder.)
   
3. Add the powdered grissini to the pan, whisking constantly until dissolved.
   
4. Still whisking, add remaining 1/4 c broth.
   
5. Reduce heat to MED and whisk for 3-4 mins, until thickened.
   
6. I usually add some salt, pepper, thyme, sage, or poultry seasoning, etc for more flavor. Feel free to add any spices you like.
   

TIP: I pour this over my boiled chicken that I use to make my broth. This gives it a lot more flavor as boiled chicken is usually pretty bland.

Mexican Chicken Soup

100g cooked chicken, shredded into bite-sized pieces

3-4 cloves minced garlic

1 t cumin

1/2 t onion powder

1/2 t chili powder

1/2 t cayenne (use less if you don't want it as spicy)

diced tomato

2-3 c homemade chicken broth

1/4 c fresh chopped cilantro (optional)

1. Preheat pot over medium-high heat.
   
2. Add garlic, and cook for 3-5 minutes. (Heat until you see little bubbles around the garlic.)
   
3. Use a bit of your broth to keep garlic from sticking to the pot, if necessary.
   
4. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, and onion powder, cumin, chili powder, cayenne.
5. Bring to a boil.
   
6. Reduce heat to a simmer, and add chicken.
   
7. Simmer for 20 minutes.
   
8. Stir in cilantro, and simmer for 5 minutes more.
   

TIP: For easy chopping of cilantro and other herbs, use kitchen shears. When using a knife sometimes the leaves of the herbs are difficult to chop. The kitchen shears make this a simple task.

Easy Homemade Broth

100g chicken (you can add more chicken - you just need to track your portions)

parsley

onion powder

garlic

thyme

rosemary

oregano

basil

bay leaf

salt

black pepper

1. Fill saucepan 3/4 full with water.
   
2. Bring to boil.
   
3. Add chicken and seasonings.
   
4. Boil for 20 mins.
   
5. Remove boiled chicken & serve or refrigerate and save for later.
   
6. Strain out bay leaf & seasonings.
   
7. Let broth cool to room temperature.
   
8. Skim fat off surface (if any).
   
9. Refrigerate broth.
   
10. Once cold, skim the rest of the fat from the top (if any).
    
11. Store in refrigerator or freeze for later use.
    
    

TIP: You can add on-protocol veggies such as 3-4 stalks celery (I usually add the trimmings that I don't eat) and 1 onion for more flavor - just be sure to strain them at the end. You can also choose to omit the chicken altogether and just use the celery and onion with the seasonings for a simple veggie broth. OR add your steak trimmings that you've inevitably had to trim from your steaks and add to the broth for a beef broth.

TIP²: I usually freeze the broth in ice cube trays after cooling and skimming all fat. Then after they freeze, I place the cubes of broth in a freezer bag. This makes for easy use when 'frying' up shrimp, chicken, etc. Just toss a broth cube into a pan and let it melt then add your meat, etc. It adds flavor and keeps food from sticking.