Whole 30 Kung Pao Chicken

I'm not sure if this is still considered kung pao chicken anymore because I made it with cashews since peanuts are not Whole 30 approved...so maybe it's cashew chicken...but I made it in a kung pao sauce...so maybe I should call it kung pao cashew chicken. Anywho.

This is Hubs's all-time favorite dishes I make. For his birthday I told him I would make him anything in the world that he wanted: steak, lamb, etc. He chose this dish. So I'd say it's pretty good.

I made a few adjustments when making this to make it Whole 30 approved, and I think I might actually like it better than my original! Hubs liked my original more but that's only because I made this with cauli-rice instead of the real stuff...so if you're not too keen on substituting veggies for grain go ahead and make you some rice.

Ingredients:

6 oz tomato paste
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 red or green bell pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/8 cup crushed red pepper
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons coconut aminos (substitute soy sauce if you're not doing whole 30 or the paleo diet)
1/2 cup crushed cashew pieces
1/8 cup dried minced onion
2 heaping tablespoons garlic salt
Juice of half of a lemon
4 chicken breasts cut up
1/2 head cauli rice
1 tablespoon ghee

Combine all ingredients except for the bell pepper, coconut oil, garlic, cauliflower and half of the cashews in a bowl. Cover and let marinate during the day or at least 30 minutes prior to cooking. The longer you let it sit, the more the chicken will absorb the flavor.

Break half of a head of cauliflower into smaller pieces and put in food processor. Pulse food processor until cauliflower is rice-like. Cook in a skillet on low heat with ghee, stirring occasionally while you prepare the chicken.

Sautée garlic and bell pepper in coconut oil over medium-high heat for about a minute or until garlic starts to turn golden. Add chicken mixture and make sure it is well blended. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all of the way through. Top with more cashew pieces.

This would be a really easy recipe to prepare ahead of time and have ready to make portions in the freezer. That way when you're looking at a busy day ahead, you can just pull out a bag of this and throw it in a pan for a quick meal.

Happy cooking!

PS: I bought my dream giant dining room table on Tuesday! I'm working on painting it right now and I'll have some pictures up  soon.