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.

Twice Baked Butternut Squash, Paleo style

There was a recipe floating around on Pinterest (I know, big surprise!) on butternut squash re-baked in it's own shell.  I played around with the recipe a bit (no cream or breadcrumbs needed here) and this is what I came up with--it's a keeper!  It's got a sweet/spicy thing going on that is perfect.

2 butternut squash, halved and seeded
6 TBS coconut milk
Fresh ground pepper
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp chipotle powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 TBS almond meal

Preheat oven to 450 and place halved squash in a large pan with 1/4 inch of water on the bottom.  Cover tightly with foil and bake for about 35 minutes until tender.  Remove squash from oven, uncover and let cool until you can handle them.  Reduce oven to 425.  Use a spoon (I used a melon baller to scoop flesh out of the halves into a large bowl, leaving 1/4 inch border around 2 of the halves so that they don't collapse on you.  Discard the other 2 skins.  Add the coconut milk, S&P, chipotle powder, and cinnamon to the bowl and blend with a hand blender until smooth.  Place mixture back into the reserved squash shells and sprinkle with almond meal.  Bake for about another 20 minutes until starting to brown on top.

Chipotle Chicken Cauliflower Bake

Not my own creation as usual, but another find from Pinterest (the website is maoomba.com) .  This was a bit too spicy for my girls, so if you have kids in the house, you may want to tone down the seasonings a bit, but I loved it!

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 tsp chile powder
• 1 tsp chipotle powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt, to taste
• 2 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped
• 6 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• Olive oil or bacon fat for sautéing

Instructions

1. Cut cauliflower into florets. Steam over boiling water for about 12 minutes, until it florets are tender but not mushy. (Note: this is a good time to cook up your chicken and bacon if you haven’t already.)
2. Preheat oven to 375 degree F.
3. Heat frying pan to medium high heat. Add olive oil or bacon fat and red peppers. Sauté for 3 minutes. Add green onions and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes longer. Set aside.
4. Cut cauliflower into ¾ inch chunks and place in a large mixing bowl. Stir in chile powder, chipotle powder, cumin, and salt until well blended. Stir in red pepper mixture, chicken chunks, crumbled bacon, tomatoes, and cilantro.
5. Pour mixture into a lightly greased casserole dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, or until heated through and the top is golden brown.

Hawaiian Bacon Burgers with Grilled Brussels Sprouts

The girls were begging for burgers and I had some nice Brussels sprouts in the fridge, so this is what I came up with.

Hawaiian Bacon Burgers
 1ish pounds of organic ground beef (makes about 4 burgers, 2 of which are for the kiddos, on a regular bun).
S&P
Garlic and Onion Powders (you could use fresh, diced up very finely, but I wanted a shortcut)
Fresh pineapple, cut into 1/4 inch rounds, brushed with olive oil--I only needed 2 rounds, the rest I cut up for dessert
Red onion, cut into rounds, brushed with olive oil
Cooked bacon
Sliced avocado
 4 Portobella mushroom caps, brushed with olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt and pepper


Mix ground beef with spices and shape into 4 burgers (I usually put a "dent" in the middle and they don't shrink up so much.  I ground extra black pepper onto mine and sort of pressed it in--pepper corn crusted, if you will.  Grill over medium heat until done to your liking--mine took about 4 minutes a side.

While burgers are grilling, add sliced pineapple, onion and mushroom caps (I put the mushrooms on that little rack above the main one.  Turn when you turn your burgers.

To assemble, place a burger on one mushroom cap, top with pineapple, onions, bacon and avocado.  Place another mushroom cap on top.

Grilled Brussels Sprouts
1 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half
1/4 cup diced red onion
Drizzle of olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

Place Brussels sprouts and onions on a sheet of tin foil.  Sprinkle with olive oil and S&P.  Fold up foil so that it makes a little packet.  Grill over medium heat about 8 minutes per side (flipping once).  I should have added some cooked chopped bacon to the mix.  That would have really been delicious!

Paleo Pina Colada Cake

Desserts are few and far between in the Paleo world (which is usually fine for me), but sometimes you want something cake-y.  This was pretty darn good, but next time I think I'll add a little (maybe 3 TBS?) of melted coconut oil to the batter so that it's a little more moist.  But my girls loved it, so I guess that's what counts!

1/2 fresh pineapple, diced (about 1.5 cups, although you could use more)
1 TBS coconut oil
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp nutmeg
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 375.  In a saucepan, melt coconut oil.  Add pineapple and saute until it starts to caramelize, about 10 minutes.  Place in a pie plate, greased with a little coconut oil.  In a food processor, add coconut milk, coconut flour, vanilla, nutmeg and eggs and blend until smooth.  Pour over pineapple and bake for about 45 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes and then serve.

Ellen's Easter Potatoes

For some reason, I had never thought about adding sweet potatoes to my mashed cauliflower until my friend Ellen recommended it.  The result takes care of that slightly watery thing that can happen with just cauliflower.  It was delicious!

1 large head of cauliflower
3 sweet potatoes
1 tsp coconut oil
S&P to taste

Bake whole sweet potatoes at about 400 degrees for at least an hour (or until nice and soft).  Steam cauliflower until very soft as well. Place both (peel the potatoes first) in a large bowl and add coconut oil.  With a hand held blender, puree until smooth.  Add S&P to taste.

Apple and Apricot Stuffed Pork Loin Roast

This was super yummy--the whole family ate it!

3-4 lb pork loin roast (you could probably use a smaller tenderloin roast, but you'd need to pound it out)
6 pieces of thick cut bacon, diced (preferably nitrate free)
1 onion, diced
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced
2 TBS fresh sage leaves, chopped
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/2 cup chicken stock

Preheat oven to 375.
Butterfly the pork loin, making sure not to cut all the way through.  I didn't pound it out, but it would be easier to roll up if you did so.  Season with S&P.
In a pan, saute bacon until the fat renders and then add the onion and apples.  Saute until tender and add sage and apricots.
Place apple filling in center of pork and roll up.  Tie with several pieces of kitchen twine to secure.  Place cut side down in a large baking pan.  Score any fat with a sharp knife into a criss-cross pattern and season with S&P again.
Roast for 45 and then add the chicken stock to the pan.  Continue roasting another 45 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160.  Let rest 15 minutes and then slice into thin rounds to serve.

Greens N Eggs

This is comfort food for me, and pretty easy to whip up.  Of course, it's also really good with a nice, thick piece of toasted sourdough bread.

Greens N Eggs

1/2 lb peppered bacon, diced
1 red onion, sliced
8 oz baby bella mushrooms, sliced
4 TBS white wine, to deglaze--could probably leave out
8 oz chopped mustard greens
4 oz baby spinach
8 eggs
S&P
red pepper flakes (optional)

In a large pan that has a lid, saute bacon for a few minutes and then add onion and mushrooms and continue cooking until onions turn translucent, stirring often.  Deglaze with wine and stir well.  Add greens, stir, cover and cook until greens wilt,  about 5 minutes.  Stir again and crack eggs over greens mixture.  Season with S&P and red pepper flakes.  Cover and cook until eggs are done to your liking, about 5 minutes for us.

Crock Pot Pork Roast with Apples and Onions

Another Crock Pot meal!  I just wish that the apples hadn't fallen apart so much.  Maybe I'll try bigger pieces next time. I think some golden raisins would also be nice.

4 lb Pork tenderloin, trimmed

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp ground mustard

1 tsp sage (I used dried)

2 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced

2 onions, sliced

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup chicken stock

Combine garlic, salt, black pepper, ground mustard, and sage in a small bowl.  Place sliced apples and onions in the bottom of a crockpot.  Place pork on top of apples and onions and rub pork with the spice mixture.  Pour vinegar and chicken stock around the pork.  Cook on low for 6 hours.

I served mine with roasted Brussels sprouts and mashed cauliflower.

Lemon Thyme Roasted Drumsticks

I just discovered drumsticks when my local store had the organic ones on sale--I don't know why I haven't cooked them before--they're delicious!

Lemon Thyme Drumsticks

About 8 drumsticks, preferably organic
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup olive oil
1 TBS dijon mustard
The leaves from a couple of stems of fresh thyme (maybe 2 TBS?)
2 cloves crushed garlic
S&P to taste
1/2 cup chicken stock

Combine lemon juice and zest, olive oil, dijon mustard, thyme, garlic, and salt and pepper.  Rinse and dry drumsticks and marinate in the lemon mixture for about an hour (longer if you can).  Place in a shallow roasting pan and bake for 45 min in a 375 degree oven.  Add 1/2 cup chicken stock to pan and roast for 30 more minutes or until baked through.  I served mine with mashed cauliflower and roasted broccoli.