Creamy Coconut Chicken Comfort Food

Most of my cooking happens in one of two pots. My LeCreuset crock pot or my LeCreuset stew pot. And since it continues to be cold and snow I am still in the need of comfort food. But this is quite a conundrum since I am not eating a ton of that bad goodness you add to comfort food. I crave mac and cheese but lets not even talk about that.

I was in need of something hearty, substantial, meaty, and creamy without lots of fat, starches, or salt. During a quest for dinner ideas I happened upon on a recipe that included chicken, butternut squash, and coconut milk. Hmm I think I can work with this. I normally do not stick to one recipe. I will pull from 5 different ones for inspiration and eventually forget all about those pins. I hope this recipe can serve as inspiration for small kitchen chefs like myself.

Ingredients

Prep time: 25 min 

Cook Time: 1 hour

1 lb of chicken 

1 TBS refined coconut oil

1 can of light coconut milk 

1 teaspoon of oregano

1 teaspoon of parsley 

1 teaspoon of thyme  

1 head of chopped cauliflower 

10 oz of cubes cooked butternut squash 

1 bunch of chopped kale 

I used a cast iron pot to slow cook this meal. You could also use a crock pot or cook in a casserole dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your chicken - trim and cut chicken into small pieces. Coat the bottom of your pot with 1/2 TBS of coconut oil and coat your chicken with the remaining 1/2 TBS. Add can off coconut milk. If needed add more coconut milk to make sure chicken is covered. Use water as a substitute. Add in butternut squash, making sure it is covered by liquid. *If you do not have cooked butternut squash on hand you may use uncooked and add more cooking time so the squash has enough time to soften up.  Add spices (parsley, oregano, and thyme) and salt and pepper to taste. Put the lid on and cook for 30 minutes. About halfway through mix in chopped cauliflower. 10 minutes before you are ready to eat mix in chopped kale and allow to soften. The result is a thick filling part stew,  part casserole comfort dish. If you are into it, serve with a shredded parmesan cheese and a baguette.