Homemade Marinara

2 T coconut oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced (Approx 1 ½ cups)

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 T Italian Seasoning

1 ½ t sea salt

1 t ground pepper

½ t fennel seeds, crushed

1 T real maple syrup (cut back to 2t if your not a sweet person…)

2 t unfiltered apple cider vinegar (Apple Cider Vinegar balances your body’s pH)

1 cup chicken broth (Homemade best! Quality store-bought just fine…)

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 28 oz can tomato puree

In a large saucepan, sauté onions over medium heat in 2 T coconut oil. After 3-4 minutes, add garlic and continue to sauté until onions are softened. Add Italian Seasoning, sea salt, pepper and fennel. Saute for an additional 1 minute to release the flavors in the dried spices. Add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer for 50 minutes. Re-season with sea salt & pepper if necessary, and serve.

Chicken Parmesan

butter, to grease pan

1 cup breadcrumbs (see homemade Ezekiel Breadcrumb recipe below)

½ cup grated Parmesan

2 free range eggs, lightly beaten

sea salt

pepper

4 organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 batch of homemade marinara (see recipe above)

4 thin slices of raw Gruyere Swiss cheese (any Swiss will do…)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly butter a 9×13 glass pan. Clean and pat your chicken dry. Place breadcrumbs, Parmesan and a pinch of sea salt & pepper on a plate. Mix with your hands. Place eggs in a bowl next to the breadcrumb mixture (your setting up a breading station.) Add a pinch of sea salt & pepper to the eggs. Lightly sea salt & pepper your chicken breasts on both sides. Dredge each breast through the eggs mixture, then the bread mixture and press the breading into the chicken to coat thoroughly. Place each breast into the glass pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch and cooked through when tested with a knife (no pink.) Remove the pan from the oven. Put a generous scoop of marinara on top of each breast. Then place a slice of cheese on top (I like to cut the cheese into strips and place across diagonally for fancy’s sake.) Return to the oven only to melt the cheese. Serve over pasta or spaghetti squash, if you’d like, or I just skip the pasta and serve it with a green salad tossed in a lemon vinaigrette. Enjoy!

Homemade Ezekiel Bread Crumbs

4 pieces of Ezekiel Bread, toasted and cooled (Try Millet or Rice Bread, if you are Gluten Free!)

pinch sea salt

pinch of pepper

Break your bread into big chunks. Grind everything up in the food processor until bread crumb size. That’s it!