Stuffed and Crusted Chicken Fillets, with Roast Veggies and Sweet Potato Cubes

Today I made Paleo Stuffed and Crusted Chicken with Chunky BBQ Sauce

I was recently asked by a good friend of mine to do a healthy all homemade dinner with no use of packages or jars or anything. I never like to use jars so I was thrilled to take on this challenge. I got fascinated with the ins and outs of the "Paleo Diet" recently and did a lot of research on what you are allowed and not allowed to eat. The Paleo Diet is also referred to as the "Caveman Diet" This diet is based mainly on the concept that you eat all fresh including lean cuts of Meat, Fruit, Vegetables Nuts, Pulses, Seeds and a select amount of oils with an emphasis on Nut Oils and Coconut Oils. This dish consists purely of lean Meats, tonnes of Veggies, Sweet Potatoes and a yummy homemade BBQ Sauce. 

Chicken is one of the leanest meats you can choose while still being super tasty and really moist. All around a perfect meat in my eyes. This chicken is stuffed with a mixture I made for stuffing chicken or using as a sausage substitute. It's made from very lean Pork mince, Wild Mushrooms and Herbs all blitzed together - a great way to up the protein levels of the dish. The crust is made from breadcrumbs - I make a Paleo Friendly bread using Almond Flour and Coconut oil but you can use Gluten Free Bread to make your breadcrumbs. I mix the Breadcrumbs with Cracked Black Pepper, Paprika, Basil, Sesame Seeds and Shredded Coconut. 

This dish is served with yummy Roast Vegetables, Sweet Potato Cubes and the best BBQ Sauce ever. The fact it's Paleo and super healthy is just a brilliant bonus. There is very little fat in this dish as there is only a tiny amount of Walnut oil used. The sauce came about by accident one day. I was just making a normal tomato sauce and then I realised I had the ingredients to make a BBQ Sauce so I thought I'd give it a go. Then when I had it made, along with tasting amazing and undoubtedly BBQ-y I realised it just happened to be Paleo. I leave this sauce a little chunky so it adds a great texture to the dish. The Sauce has a great sheen to it and a tangy, sweet and zingy flavour.

Ingredients:

For the Crusted Chicken:

• 3 Chicken Fillets
• 60g Sausage Meat - Homemade
• 1 Large Egg
• 2 Teaspoons Paprika
• 1 Slice of Gluten Free bread, breadcrumb-ed - Homemade Paleo Bread
• Cracked Black Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Chopped Nuts
• 2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds
• 2 Tablespoons Shredded Coconut

For the Roast Vegetables:

• 4 Large Carrots
• 1 Red Pepper
• 1 Yellow Pepper
• Large Handful of Mange Tout
• Large Handful of Baby Sweetcorn
• Half a lemon

For the Sweet Potato Cubes:

• 3 Large Sweet Potatoes
• Tablespoon of Walnut Oil
• 2 Teaspoons Paprika

For the BBQ Sauce:

• 1 Large Onion
• 2 Cloves of Garlic
• 300g Cooked and Crushed Tomatoes 
• 2 Teaspoons Paprika 
• Juice of Half a Lemon
• 1 Tablespoon Molasses 
• 1 Tablespoon Raw Honey
• 2 Teaspoon Cider Vinegar 

Instructions: 

1. Butterfly the three chicken fillets. Place the homemade Sausage Meat into the pocket in the Chicken Fillet and close over the side again and press secure. 

2. In a bowl mix together the Breadcrumbs, Paprika, Sesame Seeds, Chopped Mixed Nuts, Shredded Coconut and Cracked Black Pepper. In another bowl whisk the egg. Dip each Chicken Fillet first in the egg and then into your crust mix. Make sure you cover the chicken fillets fully with crust and then place on a baking tray.

3. For the Roast Vegetables: Dice your carrots on the diagonal - to make them look pretty, try keep them all roughly the same size and place them in a baking tray. Dice up the Red and Yellow Pepper and add to the carrots, finally add in the Mange Tout and Baby Sweetcorn. Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and season.

4. For the Sweet Potatoes Cubes: Cut up the Sweet Potatoes into cubes and place in a baking tray - I like to leave the skins on for the extra fiber (nothing to do with the fact I'm lazy). Drizzle with a small amount of Walnut Oil and then sprinkle with the Paprika. 

5. Place the Chicken fillets, Vegetables and Sweet Potatoes into the oven at 200°C for 20-25 minutes. While they are in the oven you can make the sauce.

6. Fry the finely diced Onion and crushed Garlic in a frying pan until soft - you don't need any colour on them. Add in the Cooked and Crushed Tomatoes and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in the Paprika, Lemon Juice, Molasses, Honey and Cider Vinegar and simmer for a further 8-10 minutes. The sauce will start to thicken as it starts to reduce leaving a thick, glossy, tangy and sweet healthy BBQ sauce. 

7. When the Chicken Fillets are golden brown and the Vegetables and Sweet Potatoes have softened slightly you can take up your yummy healthy meal and slather with your yummy BBQ Sauce.

"Following the Paleo Diet has become much easier with the news the earliest known Winery was in a Cave "