The Onion verdict

...not to be confused with The Onion newspaper - of awesome!

Onions were the food of the week last week. And I've discovered that I can eat them, but they have to be baked and not the feature ingredient. I can use them for flavor, so long as I'm not really ingesting large quantities of them at one time. So, I'll probably do a lot of diced onions mixed with things, or else use big chunks of onion and then remove them before serving.

Immediate Reaction
Nothing really.

2 Hours Afterward Reaction
Too much onion gives me heartburn. But very small quantity doesn't create any noticeable symptoms.

2 days Afterward Reaction
Too much onion ends up creating gas bubbles in my stomach, and also dries up my system a bit. Smaller quantity still dries up my system, but not nearly as bad, and also no gas bubbles in the stomach.

So the fun part of the story is that I can actually use onions again!

This week is an off-week, since I'll be flying to MN at the end of the week, and I want my digestive system in top condition before going up in the air. But my week in MN will be the week I try out pepper. So excited for this!

And so, without further ado, my onion reintroduction recipe:

Baked Chicken with Mushrooms & Onions

Served up with steamed green beans and a slice of pear-cinnamon bread? Delicious. There's no online link for this recipe - I got it from my hairstylist. This is apparently her kids' favorite dish - she says they ask for it all the time. I now understand why!

2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
1 package of brown mushrooms, cut into thick slices - I used a package of baby portobellos
1 small yellow onion, chopped into 1-inch chunks
Extra virgin olive oil
Fresh parsley, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 500 deg F.
1. Wash chicken breasts and place in roasting pan.
2. Add mushroom slices and onion chunks around the chicken, but not on top of the chicken.
3. Splash with a few small dabs of olive oil over everything - enough to make everything shiny without drowning anything in oil.
4. Bake at 500 for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 400 deg F. Bake chicken for another 20-25 minutes, or until done. Use a meat thermometer to check chicken - it should be at or above 165 deg F.
5. Serve chicken with mushrooms and onions sprinkled on top.

My addendum here has to do with the onions. Instead of chopping them into 1-inch chunks, chop the onion into 4 chunks, and place one chunk in each corner of the roasting pan. Bake as directed. When chicken is done, remove onion.