Chicken a la King

Over the past few weeks, Heather and I have been home with our newborn son, Otto, and this past week we spent some time at my parents in an attempt to transport some nursery furniture home from their house. Long story short, the trailer hitch I purchased was damaged in transit and a local auto parts store ordered us a replacement arriving the next day, only to then say the next day it would be a week or two.

While we spent time relaxing with Grandma and Grandpa, we also decided to cook up a recipe. Chicken a la King has a complicated history, with competing ideas as to how it was created. What is known is that this recipe is made with chicken, a cream sauce, and vegetables, and often served over rice, bread, or pasta. We’ve created a dairy-free cream sauce and served this on its own. That said, you can easily put this over rice, cauliflower rice, or some homemade gluten-free bread.

Heather’s Strawberry Salad

Sleep deprivation makes me crave sugary things. Couple that with the hot summer weather we’re experiencing, and all I want to eat are salads and fruit. This strawberry salad was inspired by a salad at our favorite local restaurant. My version, however, doesn’t include any dairy and I chose to use romaine lettuce because it’s one of my favorite greens. The result is something light and refreshing, and you can easily add grilled chicken for a more substantial meal. I have a feeling we’ll be making this pretty regularly this summer. We hope you enjoy it, too!

Roasted Adobo Chicken

With a new baby, we haven’t had much energy to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. More than ever we’re looking towards big, batch cooking options to get us through the week. This weekend, I realized that we had not roasted a whole chicken in a while, and whole chickens are a great way to make multiple meals from one dish. This whole chicken recipe uses our take on the Latin American spice mixture, Adobo. It’s straightforward and delicious. Serve it with Cauliflower Rice and/or sautéed peppers for a complete meal. Leftovers can be shredded for lettuce boats or stir-fried with mixed vegetables.

Pork Shoulder with North Carolina-ish Barbecue Sauce

Today we’re particularly ecstatic about batch cooking. The reason this pork shoulder recipe is so timely is that Heather gave birth to our son Otto early Sunday morning. Labor was relatively quick (about 7 hours) and mom and baby were healthy enough to leave the hospital early. We’re getting less sleep than normal, so having large amounts of pre-cooked food has been a life saver.

This pork shoulder is another iteration of cooking pork shoulder in the Instant Pot. Normally we submerge the shoulder in broth or water, and this time we decided to use just a small amount of water in the bottom. We ended up with a tender meat with a spicy, vinegar-based sauce. This isn’t a traditional North Carolina barbecue sauce, but we think you’ll like it all the same.

Also, at the bottom of the post you can catch a glimpse of our newest family member.

Asparagus and Napa Cabbage Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

One of the unexpected side-effects of pregnancy has been a renewed focus on nutrient density and food quality. There are long lists of things expectant mothers should or should not have, and there is considerable debate over several popular items. That said, the benefit for us has been an intentional effort to double down on new and exciting ways to get more vegetables into our daily routine. We shared one such example last week, showcasing beets and avocados.

This week, we put together a light salad with Napa cabbage and blanched asparagus. If you’re feeling the need to bump up the protein, kick it up a notch with chicken, hardboiled egg, smoked salmon, or all three! If you give it a shot, let us know in the comments.