Tomorrow I'm making this recipe for dinner, and thought I'd post it. Just to give credit where it's due, I made some tweaks and added to this recipe I found online sometime ago: http://paleopot.com/2012/06/paleo-mango-coconut-chipotle-chicken/ Originally I made the recipe as found at that link, but found that we wanted more sauce and thickness. I also added more mango than called for Over time I also added pineapple in its own juice and that has been a fantastic addition. So, this is the recipe that works best for our family. This has become a family favorite; I love how easy it is, since you put everything in a crock pot on high and it's done 4 hours later. We eat it over rice, but you could eat it plain or serve or another grain such as quinoa.
Mango Pineapple Chicken
Ingredients:
2 cans whole coconut milk
1 T chipotle pepper flakes*
1 tsp. salt**
1 lb. chicken breasts or tenders, cut up into 1" pieces
2 softball-sized mangos, peeled and cut into chunks (reserve mango pits)
2 T arrowroot flour or tapioca starch/flour (with tapioca they are the same thing)
1 can pineapple in its own juice***
2 T sucanat or brown sugar if desired (try the recipe without it first and see how you like it; between the mango, pineapple and juice you may not feel that it needs any more sweetness)
Pour both cans coconut milk into crockpot, along with pepper flakes and salt; mix well. Add chicken and mango chunks, as well as the mango pits (they add a lot of flavor and usually end up with "meat" still on them). Drain pineapple juice into container with lid; add tapioca to the juice, put lid on the container and shake it up really well. Pour mixture into crock pot. Add pineapple chunks and stir everything together. Put lid on crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours. During the last 15 minutes of cook time, add sucanat or brown sugar if desired. Turn heat off after done; remove lid and let cool for 10-15 minutes to allow to cool and thicken. Remove mango pits before serving.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have!
*The Spice Hunter brand chipotle flakes have been safe for Brittany. Not all spice brands are safe in regards to corn cross-contamination. Some people on the allergy forums use Spice Garden or Penzey's spices. We have also done well with Frontier bulk spices, which I buy at Sprouts Farmer's Market.
**If you are avoiding corn, do NOT use iodized salt. The flowing agents used to keep it from clumping are corn derived. I usually use pink himalayan salt (Kirkland brand at Costco has been safe and is a good value price-wise) or Redmond RealSalt. If you don't have ready access to these, use canning/pickling salt--you can usually pick up a good sized bag or box for a couple of dollars. Canning salt has to be pure for the canning process, which is why canning/pickling recipes will specify using it.
***When shopping for canned fruit, ALWAYS check the ingredients label for citric acid. Citric acid used commercially is a corn derivative. I have found that there are very few canned fruits I can buy, but was pleasantly surprised to find canned pineapple that is just the fruit and juice at Sprouts. I also found, believe it or not, that the Great Value brand at Walmart is pure. That was a shocker because there are so few things I can buy there and at other regular grocery stores. I buy the pineapple rings and cut them up myself, because the options so far have been sliced or crushed.
