Paleo diet meal plan

CHICKEN WITH ROASTED RED PEPPERS AND OLIVES

My mom is always making recipes like this one. She moves about the kitchen swiftly, often with a glass of wine in her hand, and somehow makes magic happen with just a few seemingly random ingredients. She’ll pull out the olives at the last minute, as though she had forgotten about them, or maybe only just thought to throw them in. It’s this kind of cooking that I love the most—the kind that involves the quick dip of a spoon into the sauce to taste what’s missing. It’s how family recipes come to be. SERVES 4

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

COOK TIME: 20 minutes

2 tablespoons grass-fed butter

1 onion, sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced lengthwise into tenders

½ cup white wine or chicken broth

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

2 or 3 roasted red peppers, diced

⅓ cup Kalamata olives

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

  1. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the butter. Sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is slightly translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chicken to the pan, and brown, about 5 minutes more.
  2. Deglaze the pan with the wine or broth, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom, and then add the artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers. Cook for 7 to 10 more minutes.
  3. Add the olives during the final minute of cooking, and serve garnished with the parsley.

VARIATION 1 SPINACH AND MUSHROOM CHICKEN: Before adding the chicken in step 1, add 1 cup well-washed and drained spinach and 8 to 10 ounces sliced mushrooms to the pan. Sauté for about 10 minutes, and then add the chicken and continue with the recipe as written. Skip the olives.

VARIATION 2 SUN-DRIED TOMATO CHICKEN WITH ARTICHOKES: Substitute the roasted red peppers for chopped sun-dried tomatoes for a stronger flavor.

PALEO PAIR: Serve with Roasted Broccoli with Lemon (here) for a complete dinner.