Seared Sesame Crusted Ahi with Ginger Glazed Baby Bok Choy

We're on Day 6 of a W30 and needed something...different.  This dish lived up to that! As my husband said, "this has everything!" (a la Daniel Tosh, which is why we'll probably end up referring to this as "Tosh Tuna").We live on Oahu, so fresh fish is readily available--we will be taking advantage of that much more often now that I know it's so easy!

Seared Sesame Crusted Ahi (2 hearty portions)
2 Ahi steaks, as fresh as possible (I think mine were about 8oz each)
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp sea salt
3 TBS toasted sesame seeds
2 TBS coconut oil

Mix fennel seeds, ground mustard, ground pepper, salt, and sesame seeds together in a small bowl and then pour onto a small plate so that it's an even thickness.  Heat coconut oil in a pan (I used non-stick) over medium high heat until pan is nice and hot.  Dredge each side of the tuna steak in the sesame seed mixture and place in pan.  I cooked mine for about 2 minutes per side (maybe a little less), but you can cook it longer if you don't like it rare. Serve with Ginger Glazed Baby Bok Choy and sliced carrots and cucumbers.

Ginger Glazed Baby Bok Choy
About 8 baby bok choy, washed and halved
2 TBS coconut aminos
2 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 tsp sesame oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 TBS fresh ginger, minced
3 TBS coconut oil

In a small bowl, combine coconut aminos, ACV, and sesame oil. Heat oven to 400.  Place 1TBS coconut oil in a roasting pan and place in oven until oil is melted (it won't take long).  Remove from oven and place bok choy in the pan in a single layer, cut side up.  Roast for about 6 minutes until just wilted.  While it's roasting, add 2 TBS coconut oil, garlic, and ginger in a small pan over medium heat and cook for about 20 seconds being careful not to burn.  Add the coconut amino mixture and continue to cook for a few minutes while the bok choy finishes roasting.  Drizzle the sauce over the bok choy to serve.

Amazeballs Bolognese

I think I finally nailed down a good Bolognese recipe!  I bought some pastured raised pork sausage from our local Farmers Market and put it to good use.

2 TBS bacon fat
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, finally chopped
1 package mushrooms, chopped
5 slices bacon, chopped
1 lb Italian pork sausage
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup red wine
6 oz tomato paste
8 oz tomato sauce
6 oz coconut milk

In a large saucepan, melt 1 TBS of bacon fat and saute onion, garlic, carrot, and mushrooms until tender.  Remove to a bowl.  Add the other TBS of bacon fat to pan and brown bacon, sausage and ground beef until cooked through.  Add veggies back to pan along with remaining ingredients and cook over low heat for a bit.  Serve over spaghetti squash.

Broccoli "Fettuccine"

I needed some comfort food tonight, but had a pretty empty cupboard and fridge.  A lot of these ingredients I had in my pantry or freezer.  Even better, it is a quick dish (well, minus baking the spaghetti squash)!

Broccoli "Fettuccine"

1 Spaghetti squash, cooked (Take the squash, use some muscle and cut it in half.  Remove seeds.  Mist or brush both sides with olive oil.  Bake on foil covered cookie sheet for 45 min at 350.  Remove and shred "noodles" with fork.  You might only want to use 1/2 of the noodles if you want it saucier.

olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups of frozen broccoli florets, defrosted
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 TPS parsley (dried or otherwise)
S&P to taste
1 cup full fat coconut milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (some say it's Paleo, some say it's not, but I had it, so I used it)

Chicken, cooked to your liking (I had some chicken tenders that I had cooked up for my girls on hand)

In a saucepan, heat a bit of olive oil and add onions and garlic.  Saute until tender.  Add chicken stock and let boil for about 2 minutes.  Reduce heat and add defrosted broccoli, spices, and coconut milk.  Sprinkle nutritional yeast over mixture and combine.  Add cooked spaghetti squash and toss to coat.  Serve with chicken.

Mushroom and Artichoke Chicken with Zucchini "pasta"

I had almost forgotten about one of my family's favorite recipes from the pre-Paleo days, as we hadn't made it since we pretty much cut out most breads, cheeses and pastas.  I realized the other day that it would be super simple to "paleo up" and so I did.

Mushroom and Artichoke Chicken

Mushroom and Artichoke Chicken

About 8-10 chicken tenders (a package or so, although I used frozen ones this time--if you do use frozen, just rinse the ice off first--no need to thaw)
3/4 cup almond flour, seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper
1 package baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp freshly chopped rosemary
1 can chicken stock
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 375.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat and add mushrooms (you can season with salt and pepper, garlic and onion powders if you'd like) and rosemary.  Sautee until tender.  Remove from skillet and set aside.
In the same skillet heat a little bit more olive oil.
Place almond flour in a baggie along with seasonings.  Add rinsed chicken tenders and shake until coated.  Add chicken to pan and cook until just browned on each side (you don't have to cook it all the way through).
Place chicken in a baking dish and top with mushrooms and artichoke hearts.  Keep the pan over heat and add the can of chicken stock, scraping up the brown bits.  Let that simmer for a few minutes and then pour the chicken stock over the chicken.
Bake for 30 minutes.
I served mine over zucchini "pasta".

Zucchini "Pasta"

4 zucchini squash

Heat a pot of salted water until boiling.  Wash zucchini and use a vegetable peeler to slice into thin strips (I found that it was best to cut off one end and do one side until you couldn't get a strip any more and then turn it over and do it again).  It seems like it would be time consuming, but it's not that bad.  Add zucchini to boiling water and boil for about 1 and a half minutes until just tender.  Drain well.  Ta da!

Balsamic Pulled Pork with Red Cabbage Jalapeno Slaw

I usually try to grab a pork roast when it's on sale at my local grocery store (I know, it would be much better to buy from my local butcher, but most of the time it's just too expensive to do so).  I prefer to cook pork in my crock pot, just because I can do the prep work and then forget about it for a while.  I wanted something crunchy with it, so I picked up some nice red cabbage and had a jalapeno and some cilantro in the fridge.  Figured it couldn't be bad!  What I liked about the pork is that it was super moist and didn't have that "crock pot taste".  It had a nice little tangy thing going on, which went perfectly with the subtle heat from the slaw.

Balsamic Pulled Pork

4 lb pork roast
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 TBS Montreal chicken seasoning (I know, not 100% Paleo, but hey!  You're more than welcome to add your own Paleo approved seasonings instead)
3 garlic cloves, sliced

Place olive oil, vinegar, seasoning and garlic in a plastic bag and mix well.  Add pork, seal bag and marinate overnight in the fridge.  In the morning, place pork and marinade in crock pot and cook on low for about 7 hours (give or take, depending on your crock pot).  Once done, shred and mix with marinade.
Serve over cabbage slaw.

Red Cabbage Jalapeno Slaw


1/2 head red cabbage, thinly sliced (I just used a knife)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 thinly sliced jalapeno (you can remove the seeds, depending on your heat tolerance)
juice of 2 limes
1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients well and let sit for a few hours.  The cabbage will turn a really pretty purply pink color.  If you like a sweeter slaw, then add a little bit of raw honey to the lime juice before adding to the cabbage.

Turkey Piccatta with Mushrooms

I wanted to take a break from chicken, so we decided to try some turkey cutlets.  I had some lemons, capers and mushrooms on hand, so this is what we came up with.  It has a small amount of white wine, so technically it's not "clean", but you could probably substitute or leave it out.

Turkey Piccatta 


juice of 1 lemon
2 TBS capers with their juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup EVOO
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp sea salt
a few grinds of black pepper
2 lbs turkey cutlets (we wanted leftovers, but the same amount of marinade would probably work for 1lb)

Mix first 7 ingredients well and put into a large sealable dish.  Add turkey cutlets and toss well to coat.  I let mine marinate overnight, but I'm sure whatever time you have will be good.  Grill over medium low heat until cooked--I think Jason said about 3-4 minutes a side would be about right (ours were overcooked a little, as it was the first time we were grilling turkey).  Serve over spaghetti squash with this mushroom sauce.

Dijon Mushroom Sauce


1-2 TBS EVOO
1 package mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 TBS capers with their juice
1/4 cup dry white wine
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 TBS dijon mustard (no sugar added)
2 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Heat EVOO over medium heat and add mushrooms and garlic.  Saute for a minute or two and then add capers, wine, lemon juice, and mustard.  Cook over medium low heat until mushrooms are cooked, stirring often, and add parsley when almost done.

Spaghetti Squash


1 Spaghetti Squash
1 TBS coconut oil
Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Heat oven to 375.  Line a cookie sheet with tin foil.  Pierce a whole squash several times with a knife so that it doesn't explode.  Place on cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour.  Cut squash horizontally in half and scoop out seeds (careful, it'll be hot!).  Use a fork to separate "spaghetti" strands and place in a serving dish.  Toss with coconut oil and salt and pepper.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts


Peel and trim Brussels Sprouts.  Cut in half and place in roasting pan.  Toss with EVOO, S&P, and garlic and onion powders.  Roast at 450 for 20 minutes, tossing once.

Ahhhh, time to get back in the groove!

So, you'd think that Costa Rica would be THE place for fresh seafood and vegetables...not so much.  Yes, they have some pretty great ceviche, but for the most part, our vacation consisted of Americanized fish tacos, weird "fajitas", and lots and lots of margaritas and Imperial beers.  We were ready to get back in the groove.  This is what we made for our first dinner home.

Foil Wrapped Salmon

1 fillet of salmon
Salt
Pepper
Dill
Parsley

Place fillet on large sheet of heavy duty foil and sprinkle with seasonings and wrap well with foil.  Grill for about 9 minutes per side and let rest 5 minutes.


Roasted Summer Squash

Summer squash, cut into 1 inch pieces
Olive oil
S&P
garlic and onion powders

Toss ingredients in large roasting pan and roast at 425 for about 45 minutes, tossing every 15 minutes.

Nancy's Dish (Veggies and Mince)

My friend Nancy was the inspiration for this dish.

Makes 4 servings (can be halved, but I wanted double for leftovers).  This would be really good with spaghetti squash too.

Meatballs: 
2lbs ground beef, preferably organic, no hormones, etc.
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp dried oregano


Mix thoroughly and shape into 1" balls.  Place on a broiler pan sprayed with olive oil (cover bottom pan with tin foil) and bake at 350 for 30 min.

The fat that dripped off

Pre-cooked

For Veggies:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, sliced

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1TBS chopped basil

1 TBS tomato paste

green pepper, cut into matchsticks
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 cups baby spinach
Ground red pepper 
Saute onions and garlic.  Add next 4 ingredients until well mixed.  Add rest of veggies and saute until done to your liking.

Put the Lime in the Coconut Salmon

I needed to do something other than my usual baked salmon.  This is what I came up with.

1 large salmon fillet (2-3lbs)
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
juice of 1 1/2 limes
zest of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Coconut flakes and lime wedges for serving

Combine ginger, lime juice, zest, S&P in a dish large enough for the salmon.  Place salmon in, skin side up and let it marinate for at least 30 minutes.  Place salmon (reserve marinade) on a cookie sheet (I covered mine in foil sprayed with olive oil) and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Place reserved marinade in small saucepan and bring to a high simmer for 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with coconut flakes and serve with lime wedges.

I served mine with Roasted Summer Squash and steamed green beans.
Cut summer squash into 1 inch pieces.  Place in roasting pan and spray with EVOO.  Sprinkle with S&P and garlic powder and give it a good shake.  Bake at 450 for 10 minutes.

Beef Carnitas

*Adapted from my Mom, who got it from "Perfect One Dish Dinners" (not sure of the author).

3 lbs boneless chuck roast
3 TBS olive oil, divided
1 TBS plus 1 tsp ground cumin, divided
Sea Salt and ground black pepper
1 4.5oz can chopped green chilis (could probably use the real thing...maybe 1 or 2)
1/8 cup chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth
3 large onions, cut into 12 wedges
3 large green bell peppers, cut into 12 wedges
fresh cilantro
fresh lime wedges

Adjust oven racks to lowest and middle positions and preheat to 450.  Place dutch oven (I used my cast iron one that has a lid) over low heat.

Meanwhile, place roast into large bowl and coat with 1 TBS olive oil and season with 1 TBS ground cumin, plus plenty of salt and pepper.  Mix chilis, chili powder, remaining cumin and oregano in a small bowl.
A few minutes before searing, increase heat to a medium high heat until nice and hot.  Add roasts and sear, turning once until it has a nice brown crust, about 8 minutes total.  Transfer roast to a place and add garlic to the pot and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds.  Add chili mixture and cook, stirring, about another 30 seconds.  Add chicken broth and bring to a simmer.  Return roast and any juices on plate to pan.  Cover dutch oven with lid (or with a couple of sheets of heavy duty tin foil until well sealed.
Place on middle rack of oven and cook for a total of 1 hour 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, about 30 minutes before roasts are done, toss peppers and onions with remaining 2 TBS olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.  Place in a roasting pan and place on bottom rack of oven and cook about 20 minutes or until crisp tender.
Remove everything from oven and shred meat.
Serve with peppers, onions, fresh cilantro and lime wedges.  We also served mango/avocado salsa with it.

Pretty Awesome Stuffed Peppers with Guacamole

My sister in law makes an awesome stuffed pepper recipe (passed down from my mother in law) and I miss them!  This is what I came up with, minus the cheese, rice and black beans of course.  And they were delicious!

Stuffed Peppers

4 bell peppers

1 lb ground beef (the best quality you can find, but it doesn't matter about the fat content)
S&P
Garlic and onion powders
1 onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, diced
1 cup mushrooms (I used a 4 oz can of organic mushrooms because that's what I had on hand, but fresh would be ideal)
1 mashed sweet potato (to bind everything together a bit better)
1 cup chunky salsa (sugar free)
2 cups "riced" cauliflower (chop cauliflower florets in the food processor until rice-like)

Cut tops off of bell peppers and de-seed (I chop up the tops and put them in a baggie and freeze it for another recipe).  Place them in about 1 inch of water in a pot and cover.  Bring to a boil and steam for about 5 minutes.  Remove to a casserole dish.

Meanwhile, brown ground beef in a medium saucepan.  Season with S&P, garlic and onion powders and add onion and celery.  Saute until soft.  Add rest of ingredients until well combined.

Place filling in prepared peppers (at this point, you can refrigerate them until you're ready to eat 'em).  Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes.  Top with guacamole.

Guacamole
2 ripe avocados, mashed
1/2 lemon
S&P
garlic and onion powder

Combine until seasoned to your taste.

Curried Tilapia

There used to be a recipe on the back of the bag of Tilapia that I use that I was able to make "clean".  Of course, I threw the last bag away without writing it down....I think this is close, if not better.  You can make it in the morning and let it marinate, so that way all you have to do at dinner is throw it in a pan.

4 Tilapia fillets

1/2 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 cup canned coconut milk (full fat)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper


In a blender (I love my handheld one!), blend the shallot and next 8 ingredients until smooth.  Pour over tilapia fillets and marinate (if you have the time...if not, cook right then and there).  Heat large skillet over medium heat and cook tilapia (and marinade), covered, for about 10 minutes.  Flip fillets and cook another 10 minutes, covered.

I served it with stir-fried broccoli and roasted sweet potatoes.

Cleaned Up Crockpot Thai Chicken

So, this is one of my favorite Crockpot recipes ever, and I wanted to try to "clean" it up a little.  Since I'm not eating any peanuts at the moment, Sunbutter (made from sunflower seeds) was a great substitute for peanut butter.  Just try to find one that doesn't have any added sugar (same for the salsa).

2 1/2 lbs chicken (I used boneless, skinless thighs, but breasts work well too, just cut them in half)
1 tsp fresh grated ginger (I keep a nugget of it in the freezer and just peel and grate as needed)
Juice of 2 limes (about 4 TBS)
16 oz jar chunky salsa (no added sugar, corn or beans)
1/2 cup Sunbutter (I think you could probably also use almond butter)


Spray crockpot with Pam and place chicken in it.  Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour over chicken and stir well.  Cook on low 6-8 hours.  Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and chopped almonds if desired.  I served it with cauliflower "rice" and stir-fried garlic green beans.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

This is as close to pasta as you can get without the grains!

Spaghetti Squash
Poke a couple holes in it with a knife, put it in a pan and bake it at 375 for one hour.  When it's done, cut off the stem part, and then cut it in half, lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds and then separate the "spaghetti" with a fork.  You could always just stop here and add a little coconut oil and S&P, and I'm sure that would be delicious too.

Marinara
EVOO
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1lb ground chicken (you could use beef, turkey, or go without)
S&P
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1TBS double concentrate tomato paste (or by that reasoning 2TBS regular tomato paste)
small handful of sun-dried tomatoes
2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes (sugar free)
red pepper flakes

Saute onion and garlic in EVOO.  Add ground meat and season.  When cooked through stir in tomato paste and then add diced tomatoes.  Check seasoning and add red pepper flakes and more S&P if needed.  Let simmer for a few minutes...20, 30...whatever time you have on hand.

Serve over spaghetti squash.

Coconut Curry Shrimp and Spinach with Roasted Broccoli

*Adapted from www.paleodietlifestyle.com

2 lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 bag fresh spinach, chopped (original recipe called for 2 cups--I think this is more like 4)

1 onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped (my addition)

1 tsp fresh grated ginger (my addition)

2TBS coconut oil

2TBS tomato paste

2 tsp curry powder

1 C full fat coconut milk

1/2 cup chicken stock (could probably do without)

salt and pepper to taste

Heat coconut oil in a large skillet and add onion, garlic and ginger and saute until soft. Season with S&P and add curry powder and cook for an additional minute. Place half of mixture (original recipe says all of it) in blender and add tomato paste, chicken stock and coconut milk and puree until smooth. Pour mixture back into skillet and bring to a simmer. Add shrimp and cook for a few minutes until they start to turn pink. Add spinach and cook until just tender.

For the roasted broccoli, I just toss broccoli with a TBS or so of olive oil, S&P, garlic powder, and onion powder. Place on a baking sheet and roast at 450 for 10 minutes. Works as a good snack too!

Grilled Ribeyes with Cherry Tomato Relish

We had this last night and the Cherry Tomato Relish was the cherry on top, so to speak. We served it with sauteed spinach and roasted butternut squash. Delish!

Prepare and grill steaks to your liking.

For the relish:

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1/2 red onion, sliced

EVOO

S&P

Gently toss ingredients and place on a cookie sheet. Roast at 425 for 25 minutes, or until starting to brown, turning every 10 minutes. Good either hot or cold.

Top steak with relish.

Oven "Fried" Chicken with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Parsnip Mash

So, I had some chicken (I had added some olive oil, S&P, and garlic and onion powders to it last night when I was prepping it) in the fridge that I was just going to bake tonight, but that sounded boring, so I experimented.

Oven "Fried" Chicken

Boneless skinless chicken breasts (although this would work great with tenders!)--like I mentioned, it had sort of been marinating overnight in some EVOO, S&P, and garlic and onion powders.

1 C ground coconut (I just put my regular flakes in the food processor)

1/4 C ground almonds (I was just seeing if my food processor would actually grind them, so I used it--not necessary)

Seasonings of your choice (paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, S&P....whatever your feeling!)

Egg wash, if your chicken hasn't been marinating like mine was.

Preheat oven to 400. Line cookie sheet with tin foil and spray with Pam (I know, not 100% clean, but whatev). Place coconut flakes and ground almonds in dish and season with whatever you're choosing. Place egg wash in another dish (if using). Dip chicken in egg wash, and then in coconut "crumbs" until well coated. Place on baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes or until done.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Brussels sprouts trimmed and cut in half

EVOO

S&P

Roast at 425 for 30-40 minutes shaking every 10 minutes or so until nice and browned.

Parsnip Mash (I needed a side dish)--Beware: your house will smell like armpits while they're boiling.

Bag of parsnips

Chicken stock

Coconut milk

S&P

Peel Parsnips and cut into 1 inch rounds. Place in saucepan and cover with 1/2 water and 1/2 chicken stock. Bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Drain. Mash and add coconut milk to desired consistency and season with S&P.