Spicy Shrimp Salad

I recently started a 21-Day Fix Challenge Group.  Let me tell you... it has been amazing!!!  I have been working out for 30 minutes a day, doing the DVD workouts that come with the 21-Day Fix Program.  I love them because they are done in 1-minute intervals, there are modifications for all different fitness levels, and EVERYONE who sticks with it WILL see results.  No matter if you have 100+ pounds to lose, or don't want to lose any weight, but just want to tone up your body. 

There is an eating plan with the 21-Day Fix Program, as well.  It comes with these color-coded containers, with each color being associated with a different food group (green = veggies, purple = fruit, etc.).  Depending on your weight, you get a certain number of each container per day.  Follow it, and you'll see results!  I am on Day 18 now, of my 21 days, so I'll post after my first round is over with my results!  

Anyway, so I've been trying new, healthy recipes since being on the 21-Day Fix.  This is one of them.  Spicy shrimp salad.  This was my lunch one day.  It was so delicious!!  I made a big batch of shrimp to use for shrimp tacos the following day, and got another salad out of it, as well.  I didn't measure anything, just did everything to taste when I baked the shrimp.  

Spicy Shrimp Salad

Raw shrimp

Chili powder

Black pepper

Cumin

Cayenne pepper (optional)

Lettuce

Vegetable salad toppings (onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.)

Corn

Salad dressing of choice (vinegar & 1 tsp oil is delicious)

In a bowl, toss the shrimp with as much chili powder, black pepper, cumin and cayenne pepper as you would like.  I probably used about a Tablespoon each of chili powder, black pepper and cumin, and then just a pinch of cayenne.  I also used a full bag of thawed raw shrimp with the tails removed.  Arrange the seasoned shrimp on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes, flipping at the 10-minute mark.  

Meanwhile, make your salad.  I was only making one individual salad, so I used 1 cup of lettuce (1 Green container) and 1/2 cup of assorted vegetables (1/2 Green container)... I just used what I had on hand at the time (onions, cucumbers, celery).  I then added 1/2 cup corn (1 Yellow container).  

Once the shrimp was done, I filled a Red container (3/4 cup) with shrimp... it ended up being 6 shrimp for me.  I tossed that on top of the salad.  It is so flavorful, it honestly doesn't even need dressing.  You can use a dressing of choice, or just a teaspoon of olive oil with vinegar to taste.  

Its a super simple, delicious and healthy lunch!  I also had a cup of fruit on the side and a big glass of water with mine.  

Fix:  1 1/2 Green, 1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Spoon

If you're interested in hearing more about the 21 Day Fix, leave me a comment below!  

Paleo Turkey Nuggets

We had our Thanksgiving a little early.  We hosted some of my paternal extended family on Saturday for a mostly dairy-free Thanksgiving dinner (everything I made was dairy-free... the mashed potatoes and rolls that others brought were the only things with dairy in them).  I roasted two turkey breasts, made some homemade sausage stuffing (I subbed out the normal butter for lard), roasted vegetables (carrots, beets, butternut squash, and green beans), and made a cherry pie and a pumpkin pie.  Everything was so delicious!  And no one could even tell that dairy was missing from most of the meal, until I pointed it out.  :)

With two turkey breasts and four people that did not end up coming at the last minute, we had a lot of leftover turkey.  So to change up the leftovers a bit, I made turkey nuggets for dinner last night.  I made them the same way I make chicken nuggets (or chicken tenders, as Kevin insists they are called).  I used almond flour to keep them paleo, but any flour would work.  Just substitute whole wheat, coconut, rice, or even all-purpose flour in the recipe below.  These were so yummy!  And a nice change from regular ol' leftover turkey.  So keep these in mind for your Thanksgiving leftovers later this week.

Paleo Turkey Nuggets

leftover turkey
1 egg
1-cup almond flour
seasonings - onion powder, sea salt, pepper, to taste
lard or coconut oil, for frying

Heat lard or coconut oil in a stainless steel saute pan over medium-high heat.  Chop your leftover turkey up into nugget sized pieces.  Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk until frothy.  Mix seasonings into flour in a shallow bowl.

Once oil is hot, drop turkey pieces into egg.  Then dip into the flour mixture and place gently into the lard or oil.  Fry until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes, and flip over until golden brown.  Remove turkey nuggets from oil and place on a plate covered with a paper towel.  Enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Monday Mania @ Healthy Home Economist
Fat Tuesday @ Real Food Forager
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday @ SS&GF

Fried Egg Topped Salad

For those that don't know, I've been dairy-free for 4 months now... since I've had my daughter.  I am breastfeeding her and she does not tolerate dairy well at all.  It's pretty much pure torture for her.  So I've had to make a lot of adjustments to my diet to suit her needs.

My favorite salad dressing is homemade ranch, but of course this has dairy in it.  I was making homemade honey mustard dressing there for awhile and would also use vinegar and oil (which has kind of become my new favorite, actually) quite often, but they both get old after awhile.  Especially with as many salads as I consumed (and still am consuming) this year with our delicious salad greens from our CSA. 

So I started using fried eggs on my salads.  I just cook the egg whites and keep the yolk runny.  The yolk then becomes my salad dressing.  This picture was taken one of the first couple times I made them like this and only has one egg on it.  I actually usually use one whole egg plus another yolk now.  It makes such a delicious salad dressing and it is SUPER nutritious!  Give it a try the next time you make a salad. 


This post is linked to:
Simple Lives Thursday @ GNOWFGLINS
Fat Tuesday @ Real Food Forager
Monday Mania @ Healthy Home Economist

Guacamole

I know everyone has their own guacamole recipe, but I still need to post this one.  I've made a lot of different guacamoles over time, but this one beats them all... hands down.  I got this recipe from my friend, Melissa, over at The Franson Kitchen.  She made it with her amazing cafe rio when she invited our family over for dinner last winter.  It was delicious then and it was delicious when I made it again last weekend for my son's birthday party.  Guacamole has been one thing I've been craving during this pregnancy.  I think I could eat it every day... especially if I made this recipe every day!  And I did actually make this recipe (in smaller proportion) three different times in the last week.  :)  It is just that good.  I basically make it just as Melissa has it posted on her blog, with the exception of the jalapeno.  You need some for flavor, but I don't add a whole one... just enough to add the flavor without the spice.  I'll post it below the way I make it. 

The Best Guacamole Ever

4-5 ripe avocados (if they are large ones, only 4)

3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 to 1/2 of a small jalapeno, minced

1/2 cup minced red onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

Cut avocados in half length-wise and remove pits.  Scoop the avocado flesh from the shells.  In a medium bowl, mash with a potato masher or large fork.  You don't want to completely turn it to mush, leave a few small chunks for texture.  Add the remaining ingredients.  

Serve with tortilla chips as an appetizer or as a topping for tacos or other mexican dishes. 

You can make this a couple of hours in advance, but you will want to be sure to seal it well so that no air gets to the surface and turns it brown.  I take plastic wrap and press it down on top of the guacamole in the bowl, removing all the air and making sure the edges are sealed well.  Then just remove the plastic wrap when you're ready to serve.

Balsamic Chicken

We are still loving all of the recipes I try from Make it Paleo.  Most of them are so simple and fast to make, which is what I really like in a recipe for a work night.  And they have all tasted wonderful, too.  This one is no exception.  In the book, it is titled Balsamic and Rosemary Chicken.  I could not find my rosemary when I made this, so I used some of my home-dried french tarragon instead.  It was awesome.  The herbs and garlic flavor the chicken while it bakes and the balsamic that is drizzled on immediately once you remove from the oven soaks in and adds an even more wonderful flavor.  I want to try this with bone-in, skin-on chicken some time.  I used boneless, skinless as the recipe called for this time, since I do freeze some boneless, skinless breasts when I butcher my fresh chickens (though most are frozen with bone in, and skin on.  This recipe will have a regular place in our meals.  It'll be awesome this summer on salads that we make from our CSA share - which we just decided on this weekend and will be sending in our deposit for this week!  We can't wait! 

Balsamic Chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon tarragon or rosemary, dried - increase to 2 teaspoons if using fresh
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Press fresh garlic and tarragon or rosemary into chicken breasts. 

Roast at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately drizzle balsamic vinegar over chicken breasts.  Let rest in pan for a few minutes before serving. 

Easy Cheesy Queso Dip

Ok, so this recipe is not paleo-friendly at all.  But this is a super easy appetizer to throw together if some friends show up at your door to hang out for a bit unexpectedly, or you decide to head over to a get together last-minute and have nothing planned or prepped to contribute.  Bottom line, it's super fast to throw together and is always a hit.  I've been making this dip for many years, I think since high school, or shortly thereafter.  My friend Destiny made it many, many years ago for a get together at her house and I've loved it ever since. 

Easy Cheesy Queso Dip

8 oz organic cream cheese, or homemade soft cheese
1/2 - 3/4 cup homemade salsa
1 cup shredded cheddar or co-jack cheese

Leave cream cheese out of refrigerator to soften a little.  Once it has softened, mix all ingredients together.  Serve immediately, or place back in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve.  This is great with tortilla chips and fresh veggies! 

Paleo Dijon Pork Chops

I'm still getting back into the swing of things when it comes to cooking dinners.  I still have some "off" days, but thankfully my good days far outnumber the bad ones.  I've been kind of excited to finally get back to cooking.  Its been a long couple months of eating leftovers (if I would make a big crockpot of something on a weekend... cooked in the garage to avoid the smell :)), food brought over by my family, and eating out.  I think we were all looking forward to home-cooked family dinners again.  :)

I was hungry for pork chops last week, so I came up with this recipe based off of things that have been tasty in the past.  This is super simple and a very quick meal... Perfect for a work night!  Dinner was on the table within a little less than 20 minutes after starting the prep.  And it was delicious!  That's my kind of meal! 

Paleo Dijon Pork Chops

2-3 pork chops, preferably pastured pork
2-3 Tablespoons dijon mustard
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Salt and pepper

Preheat a stainless steel or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.  Add some coconut oil to melt.  Also, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Meanwhile, mix dijon, garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl.  Dip pork chops into mixture, making sure all surfaces are covered. 

Place pork chops in hot skillet.  Don't move them once you put them down in the skillet.  You want to get a nice brown color on each side.  It took mine about 2 minutes per side. 

Once both sides have been seared, transfer the skillet to your preheated oven.  Cook until done, probably about 7-9 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve.

I served these with peas, corn, and side salads.  Enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Fight Back Friday @ Food Renegade
Monday Mania @ The Healthy Home Economist
Weekend Gourmet Blog Carnival @ Hartke is Online

Philly Cheesesteak in a Bowl

Kevin and I love a good philly cheesesteak sandwich.  Carson does, too.  But since I’m not making much/anything with bread these days, this means no philly cheesesteak sandwiches.  That’s ok, though.  Because we found out that they’re actually just as tasty sans bread and served in a bowl.  I’ve made them several times.  Sometimes I’ll have cheese on them (primal), but usually I don't have cheese on mine to keep it paleo.  I'll take some out in a bowl for me and put cheese on the rest for Kevin and Carson.  Either way they are super tasty.  And very easy if you have some leftover beef.  That’s usually when I make these – when I have leftover steak or pot roast.  I’ll chop up the veggies ahead of time and this makes for a very quick work-night meal.  

Philly Cheesesteak in a Bowl

2 Tablespoons butter

2 bell peppers, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

8 oz. mushrooms, thinly sliced

Leftover grassfed beef steak or roast works well, too

1/2 cup beef stock or broth

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 Tablespoon coconut aminos

1 teaspoon hot sauce

Good melting cheese

In a large, ovenproof skillet or saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  

Add peppers, onions, and mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms are translucent and peppers and mushrooms are soft.  

Meanwhile, turn your oven broiler on low. 

Next add the leftover beef.  You can use raw beef if you want, too.  Saute for a minute or two.  

Then add the stock/broth, Worcestershire sauce, coconut aminos, and hot sauce.  Saute for a few minutes more. 

Now sprinkle some shredded cheese or lay some cheese slices atop the beef mixture.  Place in the oven under the broiler until the cheese is melted and slightly browned.

Remove from broiler and enjoy! 


This post is linked to:
Fight Back Friday @ Food Renegade
Fresh Bites Friday @ Real Food Whole Health
Pennywise Platter Thursday @ The Nourishing Gourmet
Simple Lives Thursday @ GNOWFGLINS
Fat Tuesday @ Real Food Forager

Egg in a Basket (with Zucchini)

Have you ever heard of Egg in a Basket, or Hole in the Heads, or One-Eyed Jacks?  It usually refers to the idea of cutting a round hole in a slice of toast, placing it in a frypan, and cracking an egg in the center to cook.  I always called them Hole in the Heads, but I figured Egg in a Basket was a more appropriate reference.  Since we're not eating bread at our house these days, I decided to try them with zucchini and summer squash since we are getting so much of it from our garden.  It's a good use for those zucchini or squash that get ginormous overnight when you don't think they're quite ready to pick the day prior.  We really enjoyed these.  And you really can't have a simpler breakfast, lunch, or dinner. 

Zucchini Eggs in a Basket

1 large zucchini or summer squash
eggs
coconut oil or butter for frying
celtic sea salt

Grease your pan with coconut oil or butter.  Let it heat up. 

Slice your zucchini or summer squash into about 1/2"-3/4" slices.  Use a sharp knife to cut the seeds out of the middle, leaving a hole. 

Fry up both sides of the zucchini until tender.  Then crack an egg into the center.  Flip over after the egg has cooked on the first side.  Sprinkle with celtic sea salt, serve, and enjoy! 


This post is linked to:
Traditional Tuesdays @ Delicious Obsessions
Fight Back Friday @ Food Renegade
Simple Lives Thursday @ GNOWFGLINS

Grain-Free Dutch Baby Pancakes

I have made dutch baby pancakes many times. They're a quick, easy, and tasty breakfast. I haven't made them since we've been avoiding grains, though. So when I saw a recipe for grain-free dutch baby pancakes on Nourishing Days, I knew we had to try them. So I made them yesterday morning for breakfast with some scrambled eggs and bacon. They were a hit! We couldn't tell they were not made with wheat flour at all. They tasted just like the ones I've made in the past. This is definitely going to be a regular breakfast for us. I served them with sliced banana and nectarine. Kevin and Carson also had some maple syrup on theirs. And I did modify the recipe slightly, with the addition of vanilla.

Grain-Free Dutch Baby Pancakes

3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons almond meal
2 tablespoons arrowroot flour
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + extra for serving generous pinch of nutmeg pinch of sea salt
3 tablespoons butter or ghee
fruit/honey/maple syrup/yogurt for serving

Place a 12" cast-iron skillet or 9x13" glass baking dish in your oven and preheat to 475 degrees.

In a medium-sized bowl whisk the eggs. Whisk in milk and then flours, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sea salt until completely combined.

Once the oven is preheated, very carefully remove the skillet or baking dish from the oven and immediately place butter in skillet. Rotate skillet and allow butter to melt all over and coat skillet. It will sizzle, the pan is so hot.

As soon as butter is melted pour in batter, making sure it is evenly distributed. Place the pan back in preheated oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until the pancake is puffed up in the middle and golden brown all the way around.  (Note that the puffiness will deflate quickly once you remove the pan from the oven and let the pancakes cool... at least mine did.  I took this picture a couple minutes after I had pulled it out of the oven and it had already mostly deflated.)

Meanwhile, chop fruit (banana, apple, pear, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, etc) into bite-sized pieces.

Cut the pancake into slices and serve topped with fruit, maple syrup, honey, and/or some plain whole milk yogurt.

Sausage Zucchini Bake

I am still getting quite a few zucchini from our garden, so I've been trying to use it up in tasty ways.  I saw a recipe for sausage zucchini bake on Kitchen Stewardship and thought I'd try it.  I made a few modifications based on things I had on hand, so click on the link above for the original recipe. 

This was really good!  We all really enjoyed it a lot.  I think this is a new favorite way to use up zucchini.  The leftovers were great, too... and for those of you that know me, you know I don't usually care for leftovers... so for me to say they were good is a pretty big thing.  :) 

This is a really affordable recipe.  Even moreso if you have a garden.  The zucchini, tomato, and onion all came from my garden.  The pasta sauce was homemade.  The pork sausage was local, organic, pastured.  I did use up some conventional shredded cheese that I had in the freezer for this, but I'll use local, raw cheese in the future. 

Another great thing about this dish is that it can be prepped ahead.  I prepped everything ahead 24 hours in advance - cooked the sausage/onions, sliced the zucchini and tomato.  So it was super fast to assemble and pop in the oven for dinner.  We've been more pressed for time than normal lately, with my working longer hours at work, so having something easy to prep and get cooking is essential for us these days. 

Something else to note, I only made a 9x9 pan of this, yet I still used the quantities listed below.  It filled my casserole dish to the top, but it was delicious! 

Sausage Zucchini Bake

1 pound sausage
1 chopped onion
1-2 large zucchini
1 jar pasta sauce, preferably homemade
1-2 tomatoes, sliced
2 cups shredded cheese

Slice you zucchini into 1/2" thick slices.  Don't worry about peeling it.  Sprinkle the zucchini with salt and let drain. 

Meanwhile, brown sausage. Saute onion in with the meat. 

Pour a little pasta sauce in a 9×13 glass baking dish. Layer zucchini on top.

Mix the remaining spaghetti sauce in a large bowl with the sauteed meat.  Pour over top of the zucchini.

Layer sliced tomatoes on top, then sprinkle with cheese.  (Look at that yummy tomato... fresh from the garden... I love this time of year!)

Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15-30 minutes longer, until the cheese is browned and the sides are bubbling.


This post is linked to:
Grain Free Real Food Carnival @ Real Food Forager

Meatza

I found this on The Primalist a while back and knew I wanted to try it. So I made it for dinner a few weeks ago. This was really tasty! We all thought it actually did serve as a good substitute for pizza. It's a versatile recipe, too. You can pretty much use whatever you like or have on hand. And its very easy and quick to throw together. If you don't mind your child touching raw meat (I don't... that's what hand-washing is for), its a lot of fun for the kids to help press out the meat layer. Carson loved helping with that, at least.

I made some subtle changes to the original recipe. Mostly, I just scaled it back for our small family of three (and still had plenty leftover for lunches). I'll post the recipe below as I made it.

Meatza

Beef mixture:
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 eggs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder

Toppings:
Use whatever you like. Here's what we used:
homemade pizza sauce
fresh basil leaves
sauteed mushrooms, onions, and bell pepper
shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 450°F. Prepare a baking dish or pan. I used a 12" x 9" jelly roll pan. You may wish to line the pan with parchment paper... I usually would, but didn't because I realized I was completely out of paper.

Combine all ingredients for beef mixture by hand. Mix well. Transfer the beef mixture to the pan and flatten out all the way to sides and corners of the pan. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Pour out juices that have accumulated in the pan. The meat will shrink away from the sides some, but this is normal.

Set oven to broil. Place toppings on meatza. You can use whatever toppings you like. I had mushrooms, onions, and bell pepper on hand, so I sauteed those up in some olive oil and used those with some homemade pizza sauce, fresh basil leaves from the garden, and some shredded co-jack cheese. You can use whatever pizza toppings you normally like, though.

Place meatza in oven, broil for about 5 minutes, until cheese is melted and just starting to brown.


This post is linked to:
Traditional Tuesdays at Real Food Whole Health

Campfire Chicken Fajitas

Last weekend, we headed out to Sleepy Hollow State Park for our first camping trip of the summer.  Of course, I planned out our food for the trip earlier in the week and had much of it prepped before leaving home to make the cooking around a campfire easy and fun.  I had originally planned to make some hobo dinners like we tried on our only camping trip last summer.  I had decided I'd use some chopped up chicken breasts since I had some in the freezer that needed to be used.  Then I got to thinking... why not do chicken fajitas instead of the typical hobo dinner?  So that's what I did.  These were super easy to prep and they tasted awesome!  We're not eating grains much these days, so we opted for no tortillas and just added some toppings to the fajitas and ate it all with a fork.  These will definitely be something I'll make often when we go camping - they were a total hit! 

Campfire Chicken Fajitas

chicken breasts, cut into strips/chunks
bell peppers, sliced
onions, sliced
other veggies are optional (we had asparagus in our since its in season)
taco seasoning
extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed and unfiltered
toppings - diced avocado, homemade salsa, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

Cut the meat from your chicken breasts (or you can use boneless) into strips or chunks.  Place into an airtight container and toss with taco seasoning and olive oil.  The amount you use will depend on your tastes and how much chicken you are making.  I used two large chicken breasts and used about 3 Tablespoons of seasoning, plus enough olive oil to coat.  I didn't measure anything, just used what looked right.  Put the lid on your container and place it in the refrigerator or cooler with ice.  I prepped everything the night before we left, so my chicken marinated for about 24 hours or a little more. 

Next, slice up your peppers, onions, and whatever other veggies you like.  I added asparagus to ours since that's what was in season.  If you are taking these camping with you, do this step at home so everything is ready to go.  Then place the veggies in another airtight container or ziploc bag and place in the cooler on ice. 

When you are ready to make your campfire fajitas, tear off some large pieces of heavy duty aluminum foil.  You'll want big enough pieces to form into packets around your meals.  Place however much chicken you want in each meal in the center of the foil.  Then top with the prepared veggies.  Wrap up the foil around everything, into a packet.  Then wrap again with another piece of foil - double wrapping helps so the food doesn't get too charred on the fire. 

Finally, place the packets onto the hot coals in your campfire.  You should flip them and rotate them a few times.  Let them cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on how hot your fire is.  Once done, remove from the fire.  Unwrap the foil carefully - the steam escaping is very hot and can burn you if you're not careful.  We just dumped ours out onto our plates.  Then top with your favorite fajita toppings.  We kept it simple and just used some homemade salsa, diced avocado, and sour cream.  If you are ok with grains, serve with some tortillas.  Otherwise, enjoy with your fork - that's what we did and they were delicious!

This post is linked to:

Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet

Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade

Grain Free Real Food Carnival at Real Food Forager

Burger Lettuce Wraps

This is how we eat our burgers these days.  Since we're eating mostly primal, we're avoiding grains.  This means... no buns for our burgers.  At first, both Kevin and I thought it was going to be very difficult to eat our burgers wrapped in lettuce.  But it wasn't hard at all.  In fact, we actually tend to prefer our burgers this way... we seriously don't miss the buns at all.  Especially right now with all the yummy lettuce we're getting from our garden and that you can find at just about any farmers' market this time of year.  On this particular night, we had burgers topped with raw provolone cheese, pickles, mayo, and bacon... and I'm pretty sure I had avocado on mine (Kevin's is in the picture).  All wrapped in lettuce and served with a side of green and yellow beans from last year's garden (that we'd frozen).  It is a perfect summer time meal!

Pecan Crusted Chicken

I've made this quite a few times now, but I just haven't gotten around to posting it yet. I've made chicken and fish this way and want to try it with pork chops sometime, too. I've also made it with other crispy nuts - almonds and walnuts.  All are great, but pecans are my favorite! It's delicious, fast, and so easy! Perfect for a weeknight meal. I originally got the idea from a recipe I saw in my Everyday Paleo cookbook - you can also view the recipe on the Everyday Paleo website. I've made it exactly as written in Sarah's book/site, but it tastes just as great the way I've written it below. Plus its even easier.

Pecan Crusted Chicken (or Fish or Pork Chops)

4 pastured chicken breasts
1/2 cup organic/natural dijon mustard
1 cup crispy pecans
sea salt, to taste
coconut oil or butter, for greasing the pan

Preheat your oven to 350. Grease a glass baking dish with some coconut oil or butter. Set aside.

Place the pecans in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped. Pour the chopped pecans into a pie plate or shallow/wide bowl.

Squeeze the dijon mustard into another pie plate or shallow/wide bowl.

Take each chicken breast individually and dip into the dijon mustard. Make sure to coat on both sides. Next, dip the chicken in the chopped pecans. Again, make sure to coat both sides.

Place coated chicken into the greased glass baking dish. Sprinkle each chicken breast with just a little sea salt.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until the chicken juices run clear.

This post is shared at:
Grain-Free Tuesday at Hella Delicious
Traditional Tuesday at Delicious Obsessions
Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Individual Primal Pizzas

I came up with this idea while I was at the grocery store a few weeks back. Pizza has always been somewhat of a staple in our house... both homemade and buying it from our awesome local pizzeria, Rocky's. Now that we're eating mostly primal, pizza doesn't really fit into our health goals. So, I had to figure out a way to try to satisfy those pizza cravings we all have. I've seen some homemade primal pizza dough recipes online that use coconut or almond flours - and I hope to try them someday - but that's not what I wanted a few weeks back. So I decided to pick up some large portobella mushrooms and use those as my base. I had some cooked ground beef in the freezer that I pulled out and then just used a random assortment of veggies from our refrigerator. I layered everything up with some homemade tomato sauce and some shredded cheese and voila! Individual primal pizzas. These were a total hit! Carson scarfed his down and wanted more. Kevin ate a few and said he thought they were great. I loved them. These were super easy to make, too... and will definitely be a regular thing on our menus from now on!

Individual Primal Pizzas

large portobella mushroom caps
veggies of your choice
cooked ground beef
tomato sauce, preferably homemade
shredded cheese
olive oil

Place your mushroom caps and whatever raw veggies you are using on a baking sheet. I ended up using some orange and green bell peppers, broccoli, carrot shreds, and spinach leaves. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast at 375 for about 8 minutes.

Pile up your veggies on the portobella mushroom caps. Next top with some cooked ground beef. Then some tomato sauce. Finally, sprinkle on some shredded cheese.

Place back in the oven at 375 and bake until cheese is melted.

Enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health

Paleo Salisbury Steak

I made this recipe from Everyday Paleo a couple of weeks ago.  It is a new favorite of ours and will be appearing in our meal plans regularly.  I only used one pound of meat for us and I prepped the patties and chopped all the veggies the night before so all I had to do once we got home from work was cook everything.  It was done within a half hour.  Perfect!  And it was so delicious!  I love that it has healing broth and healthy coconut milk included, as well. 

I've left the recipe as written below, for 2 pounds of meat.  But like I said, I only made a half recipe and used 1 pound of meat for our family of 3.  I made 5 patties with my one pound and we still had 2 patties leftover for lunches. 

Paleo Salisbury Steak

Steaks:
2 pounds of ground beef
1 cup spinach, finely diced
1 egg
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon ground marjoram
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grass fed butter, ghee, or coconut oil

Gravy:
4 tablespoons butter
1 red onion thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper thinly sliced
2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
1 cup beef broth
1/4 cup coconut milk
Black pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl place all the ingredients for the steaks and using your hands mix well.  In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium high heat. While the butter is melting, form the hamburger mixture into thin oval patties (makes 7-8). Place the patties into the hot melted butter, make sure it sizzles, you want the pan to be nice and hot! Cook for 2 minutes on each side, the meat should be nice and browned on both sides. You’ll have to cook these in batches so add more butter or coconut oil if necessary. Once all the steaks are done, place in the oven to keep warm and now it’s time for the gravy!

In the same pan that you just cooked your steaks in, melt the butter over medium heat. Saute the onions, bell pepper, and mushrooms in the butter until tender, about 7-8 minutes. Add the beef broth and deglaze the pan (scrap all the bits off the bottom of the pan that might still be there from cooking the steaks). Bring to a boil and add the coconut milk and pepper. Mix well, bring back to a boil. At this point you’ll want to turn the heat down until the gravy is just simmering. Now you’ll want to reduce down the gravy by stirring frequently for about 10 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.

Serve the steaks with the gravy ladled over the top and garnished with diced flat leaf Italian Parsley.

Bacon Wrapped Salmon Cakes

This was another idea that I got from Life as a Plate.  AndreAnna made these amazing looking and sounding appetizers by wrapping salmon cakes and asparagus spears in bacon.  I'd like to make the appetizers the same way she made them for a party one of these days.  But I decided to just make the salmon cakes and wrap them in bacon as a main course for one of our dinners this week.  I used canned salmon instead of the salmon fillet that AndreAnna used, too.  Just because I have some in my pantry to useup.  I also changed up some of the ingredients for what I had on hand.  Use the link at the beginning of this post to see the original recipe.  I've written it below as I made them. 

Wow, these were delicious!  We all enjoyed them a lot.  I prepped the salmon cakes and wrapped them in bacon, then put them in a glass Pyrex storage dish on Sunday afternoon.  Then I just had to remove the lid from the container and pop them in the oven to bake for dinner on Monday night.  This made making dinner a cinch on Monday! 

Bacon Wrapped Salmon Cakes

1 can salmon
pat of butter
1-2 Tablespoons finely diced onion
1 garlic clove, finely diced
2/3 cup pine nuts
1 Tablespoon mayo
1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning
1 egg
bacon

In a saute pan, melt the butter and saute the garlic and onions until translucent.  Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, blend the pine nuts for a few minutes.  You want to take them past the chopped, crumbly stage, but not quite all the way to a butter stage.  These will help bind the salmon cakes together while giving them a nutty taste. 

Put the drained salmon into a medium mixing bowl.  Add the blended pine nuts, garlic and onions, mayo, dijon, cheese, seasoning, and egg.  Mix well.  You can put this mixture into the fridge for a half hour or so to firm it up, or you can just assemble the salmon cakes now.  Chilling the mixture makes it easier to work with, but I just kept going. 

Form salmon cakes with your hands.  Wrap bacon around the cakes and place the ends of the bacon underneath the bottom of the cake.  I used two pieces of bacon.  Place in a glass baking dish. 

You can either refrigerate the assembled cakes until you are ready to cook them, or bake them immediately. 
Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes, checking often. The length of time you need to cook them will depend on how thick your cakes are, as well as the thickness of the bacon.


This post is linked to:
Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop
Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS
Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade
Gluten Free Recipe Parade at Heavenly Homemakers
Fresh Bites Friday at Real Food Whole Health

Tuna (or Egg) Salad in Avocado Boats

I've put tuna and egg salad in avocado boats many times over the years.  I got the idea from one of my friends back in college.  I haven't done this often these last couple of years, mostly because I kind of forgot about it, but also because my husband isn't a fan of avocado.  Now that we're trying to go mostly primal in our house, we won't be having bread for tuna or egg salad sandwiches anymore.  So Carson and I will be eating ours in avocado boats from now on.  Kevin just eats his straight with a fork or wrapped in lettuce. 

I mix avocado into our tuna and egg salad sometimes, too.. and Kevin eats that with few complaints usually.  It's delicious mixed into the salad, as well. 

Sorry for the poor quality of this picture.  I'll update once I get some decent pictures.  This was a boring tuna salad with just tuna, mayo, and mustard since I didn't have any of my other typical additions and I was serving it in the avocado boats, so didn't add the mashed avocado.  I'll post the way I usually make our tuna salad below.  I'll try to take a picture of our egg salad this week and post how we like ours later this week. 

Tuna Salad in Avocado Boats

1 or 2 avocado, sliced in half, peeled, and pitted
1 can white tuna
3-4 Tablespoons mayonnaise (preferably homemade)
1-2 Tablespoons mustard
2-3 Tablespoons dill pickle relish or diced cucumbers
2-3 Tablespoons diced celery and/or carrots
1/2 avocado, mashed (optional... if I serve in avocado boats, I leave this out)

Mix tuna with mayonnaise, mustard, relish or cucumbers, celery and carrots, and mashed avocado (if using) ina small bowl.  Fill avocado halves with the tuna salad and enjoy!


This post is linked to:
Grain-Free Tuesdays at Hella Delicious

Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies

I saw these grain-free brownies on Health Bent and knew at once that I had to try them. I looooove fudgy brownies and these looked and sounded amazing. So Carson and I mixed some up a couple of weeks ago.  We used homemade almond butter, substituted half of the cocoa powder with carob powder, only added half of the optional sweetener, and did not add the nuts (for Kevin's sake). They were very quick and easy to mix together.  The raw batter was awesome (Carson and I both enjoyed cleaning out the bowl and spoons after we had the brownies in the oven :), so I knew the brownies would be, too.  And were they ever!  Yum!  These things are soooo good!  Very addicting!  They don't look done in the middle when you take them out of the oven - they're still quite jiggly - but they set up as they cool.  They are very fudgy and soft, which we all loved, but I can see how it wouldn't be ideal for some people.  But like I said, we thought they were pretty amazing.  :)

Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies

1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup canned coconut milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used half cocoa powder and half carob powder)
1/4 cup sucanat (optional... I added about 1/8 cup)
1/3 cup chocolate chips (use the highest % cocoa you can find)
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I left these off)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish.

In a bowl whisk together the almond butter, coconut milk, eggs, vanilla extract and salt. Then add the cocoa powder, sugar, and chocolate chips.

Pour into the prepared baking dish and top with chopped nuts.

Bake for approximately 18 minutes.  The brownies will still be jiggly in the center, but they will set up as they cool down.  Wait until they have cooled completely before serving.  Store in the refrigerator.

This post is linked to:

Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS

Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet

Foodies Follow Fridays at Hella Delicious

Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade