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.

Just Peachy Crisp

We recently moved to the midwest, and I was craving something from back home.  Specifically, a good ol' peach cobbler.  I don't normally do much baking, and this is a far cry from my old canned peaches and biscuit topped cobbler, but it hit the spot (and made the house smell heavenly!).  It has honey and coconut crystals in the recipe, so it's not for the purists, but it's a nice once in a while treat.

8 peaches, sliced
1/2 cup raw honey (I also tried using 1/4 cup, and while it was good, it wasn't quite sweet enough for what I wanted, but you can play with it)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 TBS vanilla

1/2 cup coconut oil
1 cup almond flour
1 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup coconut crystals
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 TBS cinnamon
1 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 375.  In a small bowl, melt honey for about 30 seconds in microwave, then stir in 1 tsp cinnamon and vanilla.  Pour over sliced peaches and toss to coat.  Place peaches in baking dish.
Melt coconut oil in a large bowl for about a minute, until liquid.  Add remaining ingredients and mix well (I used my hands).  Press mixture over peaches.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Fried Plantains (aka, Little Patties of Goodness)

For one reason or another, I've never tried cooking plantains.  I've always zipped right by them at the grocery store.  Today I picked a few up and actually cooked them.  This is not my recipe--I got it from amazingpaleo.com (I had no idea where to start with plantains!).

2 very ripe plantains
4 TBS coconut oil
sea salt
lime juice

Carefully peel the plantains (you may have to use a knife to start it), being careful not to cut into the actual plantain.  Cut into 1 inch rounds.  Heat coconut oil over medium heat in a large skillet until hot.  Add plantains and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned, but not burnt.  Remove from skillet and place on paper towels to soak up some of the oil.  Take a drinking glass and smash each round down a bit.  Sprinkle a little salt on each plantain.  Reheat oil and fry again, this time for 1 minute each side.  Again, place on paper towels, sprinkle some salt on those suckers and drizzle with fresh lime juice.  Enjoy!

(Cauliflower) Hummus

Sorry for the crummy photo, but this stuff is good and I wanted to share it with you.  "Snacks" can be few and far between in the Paleo world, but you can make up a batch of this and it will keep for a few days in your fridge.  Chop up a whole bunch of veggies and your set for that crunchy/salty urge.

1 head of cauliflower, steamed until very soft and cooled
juice of 1 lemon (you could also grate up some of the peel and add it as well)
2 cloves of garlic, minced (mince before you add it, or else it won't blend quite right)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sea salt (more or less to your liking)
freshly ground black pepper
4 TBS tahini
3 TBS olive oil

Put cauliflower, lemon juice, garlic, spices and tahini in a food processor and blend until smooth.  Slowly add the olive oil and blend.  Serve with lots of fresh veggies!

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.

Kicked Up Chicken Salad

I had some leftover chicken and a few avocados that needed to be used up, so here is the tasty result!

2 ripe avocados
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 clove garlic
1-2 TBS pickled sliced jalapenos
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 or so cups diced or shredded chicken
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a food processor combine and blend first 8 ingredients.  Combine in a bowl with diced chicken, carrots and the rest of the cilantro.  I'm eating mine in lettuce leaves.  Simple, delicious dinner or lunch!

Spicy Turkey Chili/Stew

Okay, so I recognize that this does not photograph very well, but Jason has asked for it each week since I started making it, so it passed the husband test (at least in my house).  It is pretty darn spicy, so you could experiment with the amount of jalapeno (or leave it out altogether) if you don't do spicy.  We do spicy.  By the way, I think the last recipe I posted was similar to this, but this one is the clear winner in our house.

Spicy Turkey Chili/Stew
(makes a big pot)

1lb ground turkey
1lb turkey sausage, as clean as you can find, cut into rounds (I'll be honest and tell you I just used a regular old smoked turkey sausage from the regular deli section....shhhhh!)
2TBS olive oil
2 bell peppers, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeds removed and diced small
2 cloves garlic, minced
2TBS chipotle chili powder
2 TBS pumpkin pie spice
1 TBS dark cocoa powder
1 TBS ground coriander
1/2 tsp salt
2 (15oz?)cans diced tomatoes (no sugar added)
2 (15oz?) cans pure pumpkin puree
3ish cups chicken stock.

Heat olive oil in a large chili pot and add onion, peppers, garlic, and jalapeno.  Saute until tender.  Place this in a separate bowl (I use a bowl that I'm going to store my chili in....no use dirtying up another dish!) and add the turkey to the pot that is now empty.  Brown.  Add all spices, pepper mixture, then diced tomatoes and pumpkin, and give it a good stir.  It's not going to look appetizing at this point, but keep on.  Add the sausage, stir again, and add chicken stock to desired consistency.  Let it simmer for a bit....I was home for a while, so I let mine go a good two hours, stirring occasionally, but I'm sure it would be fine after, say, 20 minutes if you were in a rush.
I served mine over roasted butternut squash cubes (it cut down on the spice a little), topped with chopped cilantro and avocado.

Pumpkin Chicken Chili with Pumpkin Biscuits

As the weather has been cooling down, I've been craving my "real" non-paleo chili, filled with lots of beans and corn.  I find that most paleo chilis are lacking a bit in texture and taste.  All things pumpkin are all over the place right now, so I decided to experiment a bit.  This is a slightly sweet, slightly spicy warm bowl of goodness.  The biscuit recipe is not my own, but it rounds out the meal perfectly.

Pumpkin Chicken Chili
This makes quite a large batch (I'll be feeding a crowd), so make sure your pot is big enough, or else make half a recipe.

2 TBS olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red onion, diced
2 bell peppers, diced (I used orange and yellow)
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced (if you want to amp up the spiciness, you could leave the seeds in)
1 butternut squash, peeled and diced (I had about 4 cups)
4 lbs diced chicken breasts (about 6 breasts, I'm also thinking you could use ground chicken or turkey)
3 TBS chili powder
1 TBS pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp ground coriander
1 TBS cocoa powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
2 cups chicken broth
2 15oz cans fire roasted diced tomatoes (make sure it's sugar free)
1 can pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Heat olive oil in a large pot and add garlic, onion, peppers and saute until tender.  Add butternut squash, chicken, chili powder, pumpkin pie spice, coriander, cocoa powder, salt and pepper and mix well.  Add chicken broth, tomatoes, pumpkin and cranberries, stir well and let simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through.  Serve with chopped cilantro.

Pumpkin Biscuits--from The Urban Poser
Makes about a dozen small biscuits (it doubles well)

The original recipe calls for sauteed bacon and green onions to be added in the batter, but I didn't have time, so I just made it without.  They would be wonderful with the addition!

Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

1/2 cup coconut flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 large eggs at room temp (put them in a glass of hot water for 3 minutes to warm them up if need be)
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin

In a mixing bowl, combine coconut flour, baking soda and sea salt and stir until well mixed.  Add coconut oil (it will probably be solid) and beat with a mixer until smooth.

In another bowl, combine eggs, vinegar and pumpkin and beat until smooth.  Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and beat until well combined.

Use a small cookie scoop to place mounds of batter on the cookie sheet (about 1/8 cup).  Shape with fingers if wanted, but make sure not to press down too much.

Bake for 15 minutes until started to get slightly golden.

Cool on a wire rack.

Chicken with Bacon and Fig Sauce

Fresh Black Mission figs were on sale at the market today, so I picked up their natural paring, bacon, and came up with this....

4 chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness
1 tsp dried thyme (or fresh)
S&P
olive oil
6 slices uncured bacon
2 cloves garlic, minced
8-10 fresh figs, quartered
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup dry white wine
S&P to taste

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pan over medium heat.  Season both sides of the chicken breasts with thyme, salt and pepper.  Cook about 7-10 minutes per side until done (mine always seem to take on the longer side).  Remove from pan, cover and keep warm.  In the same pan, add the bacon and cook until starting to brown.  Add garlic and figs, and saute until garlic is tender.  Add balsamic and wine and let simmer, seasoning with S&P to taste.  To serve, slice chicken thinly and spoon sauce over it.  I served mine with wilted spinach with mushroom and onions.

Chili Maple Grilled Salmon

We've instituted one day a week where we have seafood on the menu.  Salmon is one of those things that is always a hit with my girls, so I've been experimenting with various preparations.  This one is a keeper!

Chili Maple Grilled Salmon

4 salmon fillets
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 cloves crushed garlic
dash of red pepper flakes

Prepare marinade and put in a gallon ziploc bag, along with the salmon and let marinate (I did mine overnight).  Grill skin side down over medium heat (350-400) for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Cakies

The is not my usual post, but I needed to bring a treat to a function and wanted to try out some "paleo-ish" baking.  I got the recipe from www.mulitplydelicious.com.  Not my own at all, but it was good, so I wanted to share with you all!

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/4 cup blanched almond flour

1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus additional for topping

1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

6 organic dates, pits removed

1/2 cup smooth organic almond butter

1 small ripe banana

1/3 cup canned organic pumpkin

2 medium eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 to 4 ounces dark chocolate (anything over 70% cacao – and soy free), chopped – reserve some for topping cookies--I used the "Enjoy Life" brand

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together coconut flour, almond flour, shredded coconut, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In a small microwave-safe bowl add pitted dates and 1 tablespoon water.  Microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Remove dish from microwave and mash dates into a paste using a fork or spoon.

Add the date paste to the bowl of a food processor along with almond butter, banana, pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla extract.  Process until well combined.  Then add dry ingredients to food processor and process until everything is incorporated.  Remove blade and stir in chopped dark chocolate.  The batter will be sticky.

Using a ice cream scoop or large tablespoon, scoop dough into balls and place on prepared cookie sheet.  About 2″ apart.  With wet fingers press gently on tops of cookies.  Sprinkle additional dark chocolate and shredded coconut flakes onto the tops of cookies.

Bake cookies for 18 to 20 minutes or until cookies are golden.  Allow the cookies to cool on a wire rack. 

The cookies are great after they are cooled and even better the next day.  If you don’t eat them all right away I would suggest storing them in a air tight container in the refrigerator. 

Enjoy!!

Grilled Lemon Salmon with Dill and Garlic

I wanted to do something other than my usual baked salmon (which usually has that weird white stuff because it's cooked too hot too quickly, even though it tastes good) and decided to try grilling it again.  Well worth it!

2 lbs salmon fillets, rinsed and dried (should be about 4 fillets)
juice of 1 lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 TBS dill (could have used more, but I ran out)
1/2 tsp sea salt
freshly ground pepper

Place lemon juice, olive oil and seasonings in a large ziploc bag, mix well, and add salmon fillets.  Marinate in fridge for a few hours.  About 30 minutes before you're ready to grill, take them out to warm up a bit.  Grill at about 300-350 degrees for 15 minutes, skin side down, or until done.  Let rest 5 minutes.  I served mine with wilted garlic spinach.

Baked Fajitas

This is a super simple dish that I found via Pinterest (again) from sixsistersstuff.com.  I tweaked it a little, wrapped in lettuce leaves instead of tortillas and it becomes Paleo!

2 pounds chicken tenders
2 bell peppers, cut into strips
2 onions, sliced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (sugar free)
1 4 oz can diced green chilis
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS chili powder
1 TBS cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a large baking pan.  In a small bowl, mix oil and spices and set aside.  Place chicken, peppers, onions, diced tomatoes and chilis in pan, drizzle spice mixture over chicken and veggies and toss to coat.  Bake for 20-25 minutes until chicken is cooked through.  I served mine in lettuce leaves with some sliced avocado and chopped fresh cilantro.

Thai Turkey Croquettes

I was inspired by the paleOMG recipe for "cilantro chicken nuggets", but tweaked it a bit.  Best meal I've had in ages, hands down.  Just the right amount of spice and I served it with a crunchy red cabbage slaw and zucchini "fries".  So, so good.

Thai Turkey Croquettes

1 egg, beaten
1/2 fresh jalapeno, seeded and diced
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sriracha hot chili sauce
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp grated fresh ginger (or about 1/4 tsp ground)
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup coconut flour
Coconut oil for cooking

Mix first 9 ingredients (everything except turkey and flour) in a bowl until well mixed.  Add turkey and mix well.  Form into small patties and dredge lightly in coconut flour.  In a large nonstick pan, heat coconut oil (maybe a TBS?) over medium head.  Once heated, add patties (make sure to give them enough room--you might have to do a few batches) and cook about 5 minutes per side, until golden and cooked through.

Red Slaw
1/2 head red cabbage, shredded
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lime
a bit of Sriracha sauce (depending on your heat tolerance)
sea salt and pepper

Mix and marinate a bit.

Zucchini "Fries"
5 or so small zucchini
olive oil
S&P
Seasonings of your choice (I used some garlic powder)

Preheat oven to 450.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or tin foil.  Cut tops and bottoms off of zucchini and cut into quarters (lengthwise).  Toss well with oil and seasonings.  Place on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, then turn over and bake for another 10.

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.

Southwestern "Rice" Bowl

You all know I like a good bowl of food.  I tried to up the ante with cauliflower yesterday and it was super delicious.  I had grilled some steak that I used for this recipe, but you can also use whatever protein you'd like on it.

Grilled chicken or steak (I used flank steak, seasoned with S&P and grilled for about 5 minutes per side, and then thinly sliced against the grain)
1 head of cauliflower
2 TBS Olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 onion, sliced
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced into rounds (I like things spicy so I used the whole pepper, so you could add less if you desired)
8 oz can of sugar free tomato sauce
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cumin
Fresh cilantro
Fresh avocado

"Rice" cauliflower by grating it or putting it through a food processor.  Place "rice" in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Microwave for about 4 minutes.
In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onion, garlic and jalapeno.  Once they are soft, add the cauliflower and cook for about 5 minutes or so, stirring often.  Add the tomato sauce and spices (you can customize to your liking) and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
To serve, place the "Mexican Rice" in a bowl and top with steak, fresh cilantro and sliced avocado.

Mediterranean Chicken over "Spaghetti" and Parsley Tahini Sauce

This will be on my repeat list, for sure!  It's got that creamy, garlic-y, satisfying thing down pat!

1 Spaghetti Squash, baked whole for about an hour at 375, and then cut in half and "spaghetti-fied"

Mediterranean Chicken
1 package (about a pound or so) of organic, thin cut chicken breasts (could also use tenders)
1/4 c flat leaf parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon
2 TBS EVOO
1 TBS chopped capers
2 cloves chopped garlic
S&P

Combine parsley, lemon juice, EVOO, Capers, garlic and S&P in a bowl or plastic bag.   Add chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes.  Once you are ready to cook, heat EVOO in a large pan and saute chicken until done and a little browned.

Parsley Tahini Sauce 
1 cup flat leaf parsley
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup tahini
1/8 cup water (or as needed to thin)

Place all ingredients except for water in a food processor and blend.  Add water as needed to thin.  This sauce would be great on a variety of dishes!

To serve, place "spaghetti" on plate with chicken and top with sauce!

Mustard Maple Chicken Thighs

While technically not Paleo, I thought I'd give this recipe a try, as it seemed pretty "clean".  I thought it was quite good....but it wasn't as big of a  hit with my little ladies as the bacon wrapped tenders.  I got the recipe off of wittyinthecity.com, which calls it "Man Pleasing Chicken".  You be the judge!

1 package chicken thighs (mine had 6 in it)
1/2 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 TBS rice wine vinegar
S&P
Fresh herbs, such as thyme or rosemary (optional, I used about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme)

Preheat oven to 450.  Place chicken thighs in a foil lined baking dish and season with S&P.  In a bowl, mix mustard, maple syrup, and rice wine vinegar.  Pour  over chicken and toss to coat.  Bake for about 40 minutes, basting with sauce about halfway through.  Let rest 5 minutes and sprinkle fresh herbs over the top.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders

You know it's good when your daughter asks for you to put it in her lunch for the next day!

I got this recipe from marthastewart.com, of all places.

Ingredients

• 8 fresh sage leaves
• 8 chicken tenders (about 1 1/4 pounds)
• 8 slices bacon
• 
  

Directions

1. Place a sage leaf on each chicken tender, then wrap each with a bacon slice. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add tenders, sage side down, and cook until fat is rendered and bacon is browned, about 6 minutes. Flip and cook until tenders are cooked through, 6 minutes. With tongs, transfer to a wire rack set on a rimmed baking sheet to drain.