Asparagus and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken Breast (AIP, Paleo, Whole 30)

This recipe is a result of a few things going on in our lives. First, I have shared it on social media, but not on the blog yet. We decided it was best for our family that I would not return to work following my maternity leave. That means for last 6 months, I have been taking on my new role as a stay at home mom. This also meant, we went from a two salary income to a one salary income over night, with one extra warm body to care for as well. We have to cut a lot of expenses and find ways to save money. One of the few areas we have a lot of control in is our grocery and eating out budget. It was easy to say, no more eating out, but finding ways to cut groceries was simple at first, but also got me being more creative.

I am notorious for buying things that I want to use, and then avoiding using them because I don't want them to be gone. It is a weird quirk of mine. However, I am learning to cook all the food we have until the fridge is pretty bare, and then we go and buy what we need. I am happy to share we have kept in our food bugdet since we started, saving us several $100s in just the last 6 months.

The second thing that influenced this meal was the need for fast and easy prep since I have a 13 ½ pound, 6-month old permanently attached to my hip. It took me about 5 minutes to put this all together, and then I could just put it in the oven and forget about it until the timer went off.

Asparagus and Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken Breast

Ingredients

• 5-6 thin sliced chicken breast
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 5-6 slices prosciutto
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ tablespoon dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
• ½ tablespoon dried oregano

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degree F. 
2. If need be, pound chicken breast between two pieces of plastic wrap to ensure it is all equal thickness, around 1/4 inch thick.
3. Place chicken breast flat on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. 
4. Lay one slice of prosciutto on top of each chicken breast.
5. Rise asparagus and cut off 2 inches off the bottom of each stem.
6. Divide asparagus among each chicken breast and place in the middle.
7. Roll up the chicken and prosciutto around the asparagus and place the open side down. 
8. Lightly coat the chicken and asparagus ends with olive oil. Then evenly distribute the sea salt, thyme, and oregano among the wrapped up chicken breasts.
9. Cook for 25 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let rest for a few minutes, then serve with your favorite sides, like Roasted Acorn Squash with Brussel Sprouts or Kabocha Tots. 

Greek Inspired Ground Turkey & Chicken Liver Sauté with Mashed Acorn Squash and Steamed Asparagus (AIP, Paleo, Whole30)

First, I have to admit that I am a big fat baby when it comes to eating my liver. I have been able to tolerate many other types of offal, but liver has been my nemesis. Usually, I have to sneak it into meals or I just take liver pills. Trust me, I have tried at least half a dozen pate recipes and EVERY single time I basically spit it right back out. Right before our little Emily was born, I made another big batch of liver pate, thinking maybe pregnancy will change my taste buds, but alas, no such luck. So I frozen it up in 1 cup serving sizes, determined to do something with it.

Last night as I was trying to figure out dinner (this child thing is really messing up our meal planning, we will figure it out soon), I saw the liver pate in my freezer and decided tonight was the night. As a trolled the internet I found several great recipes to hid your liver in, but I was either missing something, or too lazy to make them (see: newborn mom). The only solution was to blend all the things I could find and like right now and cross my fingers it turns out well.

After my first few bites, I was like, "woah, this is pretty dang good." To which the hubby replied, "the olives work well." That's a success in my book! And since it turned out so well, I decided to share it with you. It's a mouthful of a name, but I know you will want a mouthful of this dinner. (har har, Mom jokes are already coming so naturally).

Greek Inspired Ground Turkey & Chicken Liver Sauté with Mashed Acorn Squash and Steamed Asparagus 

Serves 4-5

Ingredients

• 1 large acorn squash
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb of ground turkey
• ¼ to ½ a lb chicken liver pate (your preference, here is a great AIP aproved one)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• ½ sweet onion, diced
• ½ teaspoon of sea salt 
• 1 ½ tablespoons oregano
• Juice from ½ a lemon
• Zest from 1 lemon
• ½ cup of kalamata or green olives, halved
• 1 tablespoon of capers
• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped, divided
• 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 cup of water
• 1 lb of frozen or fresh asparagus

Instructions

1. First, get your acorn squash started. You can cook it one of two ways:
1. Via your Instant Pot
1. Rinse off squash and place in your instant pot on rack or veggie steamer basket, (leave whole)
2. Add one cup of water to the pot.
3. Close lid and be sure valve is set to sealing
4. Using the manual setting at high pressure, set it for 14 minutes
5. Once complete, manually release pressure and then remove from pot when done. 
2. Via your oven
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Cut squash in half and place face down on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
3. Cook in preheated oven for 50 mins or until you can easily pierce with a fork.
2. While squash is cooking, you can start working on the sauté.
3. Start by heating extra virgin olive oil in a large frying pan over medium/high heat.
4. Once pan is hot, add the ground turkey to the pan and allow it to cook until there it is no longer pink, about 4-5 minutes.
5. Next add the chicken liver pate, onions, garlic, sea salt, and oregano to the pan and stir to combine. Let it cook until the onions and garlic begin to soften, about 2-3 minutes
6. Turn heat down to low and add the lemon juice, lemon zest, olives, and capers to the pan and stir to combine. Allow to cook uncovered while you prepare the asparagus. Stir occasionally.
7. In a medium frying pan bring 1 cup of lightly salted water to a boil.
8. Once boiling add in asparagus spears, cover and turn off the burner.
9. Allow to cook for 7-8 minutes for frozen and 9-10 minutes for fresh.
10. Once time is up, drain water from the pan and set asparagus to the side.
11. The acorn squash should be done by now and cooled a little. Carefully remove the skin by peeling if off and place the flesh in a medium size bowl.
12. Using a potato masher, mash the acorn squash. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt.
13. Layer a spoonful of squash on a plate, followed by a layer of asparagus spears.
14. Turn off the turkey and chicken liver sauté burner and stir in the parsley and thyme.
15. Spoon the sauté over the asparagus and acorn squash and enjoy!