8
Apr

Southwestern Pulled Chicken with Cilantro Lime Slaw

Southwestern Pulled Chicken with Cilantro Lime Slaw Sandwich.

After picking up my beautiful friend Andie Mitchell's new cookbook, Eating in the Middle, I couldn't wait to flip through the pages and find some recipes that I could paleo-fy and enjoy. I curled up on the couch and scanned through the pages and ended up spending almost an hour looking at the book and dog-earing almost every page! There are so many recipes in here that only need a few subs to make them grain-free and paleo, which I absolutely love.

Andie and I met last year at the Cherry Bomb Jubilee when she introduced our panel on healthy eating. If you don't know Andie's story, you should grab her first book It Was Me All Along where she chronicles her story of struggling with obesity, losing weight, and finding balance through life. It's so easy to eat mindlessly and not think about what we're putting into our bodies, and Andie shares how she stopped that habit and started eating healthy. And now she's back at it again and changing lives with her cookbook!

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I had such hard time picking what recipe to make and share with you all, so I took to my husband Ryan and asked what he'd prefer. He asked me to make the Southwestern Pulled Chicken Sandwiches with Cilantro Lime Slaw… and let me tell you, I'm SO glad he did! First of all, this recipe is ridiculously easy. You basically throw it all into the slow-cooker, let it do its thing, come back hours later, and you have dinner.  I had to make 2 minor subs: coconut sugar for brown sugar, and a dried chipotle pepper instead of chipotle in adobo since they often have wheat or soybean oil.

I chose to serve the succulent pulled chicken over my Grain-Free Sandwich Rolls, but we ate the leftovers simply wrapped in butter lettuce, kind of like a taco. I will warn you– these sandwiches are messy, but it's so worth it because of the bold smoky flavors and refreshing lime-y slaw that it's paired with.

I decided to create a little list of some easy substitutions that you can use throughout the book. Check them out below!

Butter– Ghee

Brown Sugar– Coconut Sugar

Sandwich Buns– Grain-Free Sandwich Rolls, Wraps, Grain-Free Bread, or Butter Lettuce

Rice– Cauliflower Rice

Mashed Potatoes– Mashed Cauliflower or Parsnip Turnip Puree

Potatoes– Hannah Sweet Potatoes

Pasta– Zucchini Noodles, Spaghetti Squash, Butternut Squash Noodles

Soy Sauce– Coconut Aminos

Panko Bread Crumbs– Almond Flour or Finely Ground Macadamia Nuts

Heavy Cream– Cashew Cream or Coconut Cream

Milk– Almond Milk

Cornstarch– Arrowroot Starch

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You can find Andie's book at most any bookstore, Amazon and even Kindle! Grab your copy HERE!

Southwestern Pulled Chicken with Cilantro Lime Slaw



AUTHOR:

SERVES: 6

Cuisine: American

Category: Dinner

PREP TIME: 15 mins

COOK TIME: crockpot 7-8 hours mins TOTAL TIME: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Cilantro Lime Slaw

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 cups green cabbage, finely shredded (about 1/4 of a large head or 1/2 pound)
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and grated (about 1 cup)
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Instructions:

  1. Place the dried chipotle pepper in a small bowl of boiling water to re-hydrate it for approximately 20 minutes. Cut the side of the pepper and with a spoon, scrape out the seeds.
  2. Put the chicken in a 6-quart slow cooker. Scatter the onion over the chicken.
  3.  In a small blender, combine the tomato puree, vinegar, liquid smoke, garlic, coconut sugar, coriander, cumin, chili powder, and the re-hydrated chipotle pepper. Blend on low for for 30 seconds and high for 15 seconds until smooth. Pour the mixture over the chicken.
  4. Cook on low until the chicken thighs are easily pierced with a fork, about 7-8 hours. Using two forks, shred the chicken.
  5. Meanwhile, make the Cilantro Lime Slaw. In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, honey, chili powder, and sea salt. Add the cabbage, carrot, and cilantro, and toss well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 30 minutes in advance and up to 1 day. Note that the cabbage will soften and wilt the longer it sits.
  6. To serve, put the bottom halves of the sandwich rolls on 6 plates. Divide the shredded chicken among the buns, arrange the avocado slices over the chicken, top with a spoonful of slaw and place the other half of the roll on top. Serve with 1/2 cup Cilantro Lime Slaw alongside each sandwich.

Reprinted from Eating in the Middle by Andie Mitchell. Copyright (c) 2016 by Andie Mitchell. By permission of Clarkson Potter. Available wherever books are sold.

 



Keywords: crock pot, dairy free, egg free, gluten free, main dish, paleo, quick and easy