Almost Paleo Big Skillet Chicken

I have to call this "almost" Paleo because it does have two small variations, but I was basically experimenting in a hurry with this one and I think the end result pretty much justified the variations in this.

I've said it before, one of the things I love about eating Paleo and natural, is that you just look at what you have and figure something out.

I have to confess, I ran across something called "Big Skillet Chicken" that someone had eaten in Branson and I worked off that, modifying as much as possible.

Almost Paleo Big Skillet Chicken

Ingredients(most amounts are approximate)

2 cups precooked diced chicken*

2 medium sweet potatoes, diced

1 small onion, chopped

1 small bell pepper, chopped(mine was orange)

2 cups okra, coated with home ground corn meal and fried

2 cups/1 can corn, whole kernel or rinse the cream off a can of cream style

salt and other preferred seasonings

Oil for frying(I use extra light olive oil)

*I used some white meat chicken that I had previously cooked and frozen. You could use boneless, skinless, chicken breast or turkey breast fillet meat in this and I think it would be even better. 

You'll need two iron skillets for this, one needs to be pretty big(it is called "Big Skillet Chicken.")

If you just don't want to use corn meal of any kind, then you might try frying your okra in a mixture of almond flour and coconut flour, however....there aren't many things in life that taste better than fresh okra, coated in nothing more than corn meal and fried. This dish just needed that old fashioned goodness in it, and my corn meal was some local grown and ground that my aunt had given me. Again, I think the end completely justified the variation. My biggest problem was not eating the okra before it went into the big skillet.

For the okra, rinse in a colander, salt and coat with corn meal.. In your smaller skillet, fry the okra, then set aside(and try not to eat it all.)

If you don't have precooked chicken, you'll need to saute your diced chicken or turkey breast in the big skillet and set it aside. In retrospect, I really think you'll get more flavor doing this instead of using the chicken you've cooked in the crock pot or pot and then frozen.

Put a small amount of oil in your big skillet and add your potatoes, onions and bell peppers. Cook on high with a minimum of stirring. You want them to have a bit of crispness and not be smushy.

When the vegetables are tender, but hopefully still a bit crisp, then you'll add your corn. I only had a can of cream style, so I rinsed the cream off of it in a colander. Fresh corn would be best in this, but you would need to add it with the other vegetables. This was canned and already cooked, so I just needed to heat it a bit. Again, you need to stir as little as possible.

Add your seasonings, I used salt and one of my favorite seasonings, Trader Joe's South African Smoke Seasoning.

Next, add your chicken and allow to heat briefly.

Lastly, you add the fried okra and just stir to mix.

A splash of Balsamic Vinegar goes well with this too. I didn't have time for pretty  pictures, it was time to eat! This was really very, very good! It is better eaten right away because the crispness of the fried okra really lends to the old fashioned goodness of this meal.

Blessings from Patti's Place to your place!