Chicken Tortilla-less soup

This soup was a pleasant surprise.  I wasn't planning for it to turn into a tortilla-less soup but that's what it tasted like to me and it was delicious.  And even better, it cooked in the crock pot all day long.  This is my modified version of the Chicken-Tomatillo Soup from the Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook, which if you don't have it yet, is a really fantastic book (especially if you're from the south, lots of southern staples in the book).  This is a great dish to come home to on a chilly fall night!  The soup has a very rich flavor with a little heat but it wasn't too hot for the kids (they even had seconds).  You can add jalapenos to the dish if you want to kick it up a notch.  I served this with chopped cilantro on top and it was a nice addition.

Ingredients:

2 - 3 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded (I did thighs with salt and pepper cooked on the BBQ and then shredded) (use any leftover chicken or pork that you have, it'll be delicious)
1-2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 medium poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
1 large zucchini, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 - 2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 1/2 lbs tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed and coarsely chopped
2 tsp chipotle powder
2 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp smoked paprika
4 Cups chicken broth
1 jalapeno (*optional, if you like it spicy)
chopped cilantro for garnish

 

• Heat oil over medium heat in large Dutch oven or pot
• Add poblano peppers, zucchini, onion, bell peppers and garlic.  Saute until onions are translucent.
• Add all the spices and mix until well incorporated.
• Add tomatillos
• At this point, I transferred everything in the pot to my crock pot.
• Add the chicken and broth.
• Let cook for several hours on low (or all day) and taste to adjust seasonings to your taste.
• You can also leave it on the stove and let it simmer for an hour or two.

Enjoy!

Dinosaur Eggs

This is my own version of what others call 'scotch eggs'.  My kids weren't that excited to eat them so I had to get creative and come up with a better name. We now call them Dinosaur eggs and they are very popular in our house.  These are pretty easy to make and a super dose of protein which is always a plus.  We love these for breakfast, post workout meal, snack, lunch, dinner . . . are you catching on that these are delicious anytime you're hungry! I also send them for school lunches and they're perfect!

2 lbs (2 packages) Italian sausage
     -I like to use 1 hot Italian and 1 mild Italian.  I put both in a bowl and use my hands to combine well
8 - 10 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, rinsed and patted dry

                       

Gently work the meat around the egg

• Preheat oven to 375
• Divide your sausage into equal parts for each of your eggs (if you have 8 eggs, divide your sausage into 8 equal patties)
• Start with a sausage 'patty' and place egg in the center.  Using your hands carefully work the meat around the egg and make sure it is evenly distributed.  Be sure to work all the cracks out so the meat doesn't separate during cooking
• Repeat procedure with all eggs and place them on a baking sheet
• Bake for 25 - 30 minutes
• Turn on broiler and cook an additional 3 - 7 minutes depending on the level of crispness you would like on your dinosaur egg
• Enjoy!

The Dinosaur Egg hatched

Easy Chicken Dinner

I'm back!  Summer flew by and I obviously didn't stay on top of my recipe blog.  But, the kids are in school and I'm getting back on track.  With school activities filling up the calendar, it's so important to have easy meals you can put together for your family.  This is one I got from the Paleo Diet Cookbook with some modifications.  I know fennel isn't an everyday food item (in most kitchens) but give it a go, it's yummy.  Here's a quick video how to for fennel. Enjoy!

8 - 10 chicken thighs

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 fennel bulb, cored and sliced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, washed and halved
1/2 Cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 yellow onion, chopped

• Preheat oven to 425.  
• Saute onion in 2 Tbsp oil for 20-25 minutes until brown and caramelized,  stirring often.  Remove from heat.
• Season chicken thoroughly with freshly ground pepper.
• Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a cast iron skillet over high heat.  Place chicken in pan and sear each side for 2 minutes.  Remove from pan and set aside.
• Add fennel and tomatoes to pan and saute for 2 minutes.  Add onion and stir to combine.  Place chicken back in pan and sprinkle with basil.
• Cover with foil (or lid) and bake in oven for 30 minutes.  
• Change oven setting to broil.  Remove foil (or lid) and set under broiler for 2-3 minutes.
• Remove from oven.  You can garnish the chicken with fresh basil leaves

Quick Chicken Salad

I was in a hurry the other day and had no plans for a meal and 4 hungry boys (my husband is considered one of the boys).  The only thing I could find was canned chicken and this is what I created.  It was a big hit and quite delicious.  All of the measurements are guesstimates, change it to your preference.  I served this in a leaf of lettuce with tomato and cucumber on the side.

2 cans chicken (I use big costco ones)
guacamole
yellow mustard
black pepper
cayenne pepper

garlic powder

• Open chicken, drain and put in a bowl
• Add half a container of guacamole
• A generous squirt of yellow mustard (probably about 1 1/2 tsp)
• black pepper to taste, a dash of cayenne and garlic powder (prob 1 1/2 - 2 tsp)
• Mix well

Easy Chicken

I had some leftover chicken tenders the other day and threw them in some foil with black pepper a little bit of salt and a can of diced green chilies.  Just seal the foil, put on a baking sheet and cook at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until done.  This could be a meal, a snack, protein to go with your eggs at breakfast . . . the possibilities are endless.

After

Before

Rosemary Turkey Burgers and Avocado Tomatillo Salsa

 I didn't actually eat these two recipes together but have been eating a lot of both so thought I would share with you.  The burgers were born of desperation...no time and poor planning, 1 red onion, some ground turkey and a large rosemary bush and voila! - one of our favorite recipes is born.  I make really big batches of these and always have some patties in the freezer for those nights you just don't have the time or desire to cook. 

This salsa is so yummy and is great on everything!  I love it on eggs in the morning, my burger for lunch and on a big bowl of pulled pork for dinner.  If you've never worked with tomatillos before, don't be afraid.  They look funny but are super easy to work with and delicious. 

Another recipe I just discovered over the weekend is Paleo Lasagna and it is fabulous.  It's a pretty time intensive recipe so double it so you can freeze one and make it worth your while.  I followed the recipe except for the tomato sauce, I used 1 jar per recipe (read your label and make sure it's sugar-free).  Let me know what you think!
http://gfrealfood.com/2011/05/21/9-layer-lasagna-grain-free-dairy-free-soy-free-gluten-free/

Rosemary Turkey Burgers

1 large red onion, diced (I like to finely dice 1/2 of the onion and have 1/2 of it be bigger chunks so you can get a big bite of onion in the burger)
Several tablespoons of fresh, chopped rosemary (depending on your taste, I usually do about 3 Tbsp per pkg of ground turkey)
1 pkg ground turkey
Salt and pepper to taste
1 egg

Burgers before going out to the grill. 
Forgot to get a pic after they were cooked

• Place turkey in a big bowl.  
• Add onion, rosemary, pepper and salt, egg.  
• Combine well with your hands.  
• Form into patties.  
• Cook on the grill until cooked through.  I wrap some in wax paper and put in freezer bag for later.

Avocado Tomatillo Salsa (this is from one of my favorite non-paleo cookbooks)

Tomatillos pre-roast

5 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed
4 medium avocados, pitted, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
1 to 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3/4 tsp coarse salt

• Preheat the oven to 375.
• Place the tomatillos on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 25 minutes, turning once halfway through. 
• Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
• Coarsely chop the roasted tomatillos and combine with the avocados, jalapenos, lime juice, garlic, cilantro and salt.  
• Serve warm or chilled on anything that tickles your fancy!



This was breakfast with leftover burger patty, over-easy egg and salsa.  What a way to start the day!!!

Carrot Muffins

My boys wanted to help cook something over the weekend and weren't too excited about helping me prepare veggies.  So I looked up a muffin recipe and made some modifications.  The result...delicious!!!  The whole family really enjoyed them and sadly they didn't last very long.  The batter was dry, almost like cookie dough, so I rolled it into big balls and put the balls in my muffin tin liners.  I'm not a huge fan of 'paleo-fying' recipes but I think everyone wants a sweet treat every now and again, and these are better than the average 'real' muffin.

1 C almond meal
1 C coconut flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 C dates, pitted
3 ripe bananas
3 eggs
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/4 C coconut oil, melted
1 1/2 C carrots, shredded

3/4 C walnuts, finely chopped
1 C coconut flakes

• Preheat oven to 350
• Combine almond meal, coconut flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in small bowl
• In a food processor combine dates, bananas, eggs, vinegar and coconut oil.  After well blended, add walnuts and coconut flakes and pulse until finely chopped.
• Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients.  Fold in carrots (I used my hands to combine it all really well)
• Form into balls and place in 12 muffin liners in your muffin pan
• Bake for 25 minutes

Enjoy!  (It's your decision whether to use Diego or Scooby muffin liners, we had to use 6 of each so each boy knew which muffins were his to eat)

Scooby or Diego . . . decisions, decisions!

Meatza! Meatza!

I have tried several 'paleo pizza' recipes with the modified crusts and have never been in love with any of them.  The solution: meatza!  I have made this several ways and this is my favorite (and Whole 30 approved).  Veggies are the main ingredient here so use as many as you possibly can.  I'm listing the ones that I use most often, but use whatever you prefer and as many as you can.  Use any seasoning combo you like, this is the one we have found gives the most flavor but experiment and find what works best for you.

You can make this with all ground meat to keep it Whole 30 or you can use 1 lb sausage in place of 1 lb of the meat (it's almost impossible to find 'clean' sausage).  If you use sausage, eliminate the taco seasoning and make sure that you combine the sausage and meat really well. 

2 lbs ground beef (pork, turkey, or any combination)
2 Tbsp taco seasoning (be sure to read the label to check for added sugar.  Add more or less to your taste)
Tomato Sauce (this is your preference, I use about 3/4 C and that's not much but I don't like saucy pizza)
1 onion, diced
1 Tbsp oil
1 zucchini, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 pkg sliced mushrooms
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
several handfuls of spinach or kale, roughly chopped
pepper, garlic powder to taste

Meat shrinks down a bit

• Preheat oven to 400
• Put meat on cookie sheet and sprinkle with seasoning.  Mash, knead and mix meat until seasoning is well incorporated.  
• Pat meat out until it fills entire baking sheet and is same thickness everywhere.
• Bake for 15 minutes or until meat is cooked through.
• While meat is cooking, cook your veggies.
• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and saute until carmelized about 7-10 minutes
• Add the other veggies (except the spinach) and saute until they're as tender as you like
• Sprinkle veggies with pepper and garlic powder to taste
• Add spinach on top of other veggies and allow to wilt
• Remove meat from oven and drain off excess grease (the meat shrinks quite a bit)
• Cover with tomato sauce, leaving about a 1 inch 'crust' around the edge
• Spread veggie mixture evenly over top of sauce
• Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until veggies are heated through and at your desired level of 'done'
• Cut into slices 

Enjoy! 

Yum! Great leftovers.  I eat it cold out of the fridge although we rarely have any left.

Snacks

When you change your eating habits you also have to change your meal expectations.  For example, eggs can be eaten any time of day and you can have meatloaf for breakfast.  It doesn't matter when you eat a certain food, just that it's a nutritionally good choice.  That being said, I have found it more of a challenge to find good snack options.  If you're not prepared for your mid-day snack attack, you might find yourself reaching for the crackers or chips and we're trying to avoid that.  I have found these two recipes are great snack choices and very versatile so you can change them according to your tastes that day.  They're good enough that even my kids enjoy them and request the kale chips on a regular basis.  So, think outside of the box and have a spinach muffin for your next snack!


Spinach Muffins (this is a recipe I got from the Whole 9 website that I have tweaked a bit)

These muffins are really yummy!  Even if you're not a fan of spinach, give them a try because it really doesn't taste like spinach.  It's going to taste like whatever you season it with so make it good.  They should be stored in the fridge and are delicious straight out of the fridge.  Perfect for any snack attack!

3 - 16 oz bags frozen, organic spinach (I use TJ's)
4 whole eggs
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp spice blend*(you can use any spices you would like: Italian spice blend, basil, oregano, curry, garlic powder, onion powder . . . whatever you're in the mood for)
A few shakes of red pepper flakes

*Spice blend (this is the rub for the Dry Rub Burgers from the Everyday Paleo website.  I love it and always have some prepared in the cabinet for seasoning meat and veggies)

1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
2 1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

• Preheat oven to 350
• Defrost spinach.  This can be done in the microwave or by setting the spinach out on the counter for a few hours or in the fridge overnight.  
• Drain the spinach REALLY well.  I like to dump the spinach into a colander over the sink and squeeze the life out of it, one handful at a time.
• Dump spinach in a bowl with garlic and spices you are using.
• Beat eggs in a separate bowl really well
• Add beaten eggs to spinach and mix well
• Spoon evenly into 12 well-greased muffin pan holes and pack down a bit
• Bake for 30-35 minutes
• Place on cooling rack to cool a bit before removing from pan

This is the version of the muffins my kids like.  I have tried them many different ways and this is the one the kids enjoy the most.

Kale Chips
Did you know kale is the most nutrient dense vegetable you can eat?  Why not try to eat lots of it!?  I assure you, eating kale chips does not feel like eating veggies.

1-2 bunches of kale, rinsed, dried and roughly chopped (I use the pre-washed, torn kale from TJ's.  It's by the lettuce bags and so easy)
1-2 Tbsp oil
Salt to taste
*you can add different seasoning to change it up

• Preheat oven to 400
• Toss kale and oil in a bowl
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
• Put kale on baking sheet
• Bake for 15-25 minutes, tossing once halfway through (I like my kale chips really crispy so I cook them longer, which means they brown up a bit.  You might prefer yours just wilted or lightly crispy on the edges.  Play around with it until you find what works for you.)
• When done to your liking, remove from oven and sprinkle with salt to taste.  

I leave them on the cookie sheet and the whole family snacks on them all day.  It's nothing to eat an entire batch in one day.  These are the perfect snack solution when you're looking for something salty and crunchy.  Enjoy!!