Cuisines: paleo

Mushroom Dijon Chicken Skillet

Mushroom Dijon Chicken Skillet

  I am so happy right now!  I’ve been outside in a tank top all morning shoveling dirt and getting my garden soil prepped for planting.  Yeah, I realize that sort of work isn’t necessarily fun for all but I LOVE it.  AND it’s only 

Dark Chocolate Lava Cakes

Dark Chocolate Lava Cakes

May I just take a moment to tempt your taste buds with these AMAZING dark chocolate lava cakes?  Okay good!  These perfect little confections have been given a slight makeover in the nutrition department.  I’ve made them gluten free (you can still use regular flour if 

Brussels Sprouts Sauté

Brussels Sprouts Sauté

SONY DSC

Who can resist the cuteness of a little Brussels sprout??  They look and taste sort of like a mini cabbage but my kids need a little convincing of their virtuous qualities. Call it a baby cabbage and they’re at least partially sold… call it baby anything and they suddenly think it’s adorable and irresistible like in this Brussels sprouts sauté.

Overcooked veggies are awful so these little guys are a quick easy Brussels sprouts sauté that comes together with a warm and pretty salad presentation. This sauté begins with a sliced shallot and pancetta (or diced bacon) to brown and caramelize the shallots to a beautiful tasty treat.  The rest of the prep work is done while the shallots caramelize and the Brussels sprouts are added to the final five minutes of the sauté so they come out just warmed but not soggy. With just a hint of sweetness from dried cranberries (or a spoonful of cranberry sauce), even my kids will FINALLY eat these little sprouts!

SONY DSC

Brussels Sprouts Sauté
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Sides
Cuisine: paleo
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • 5 oz pancetta or about 6-8 slices of bacon, diced
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries
  • 1 pound Brussels sprouts, shredded or sliced thin
  • pepper and salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Melt butter in a large frying pan and add shallot.
  2. Sauté shallot on medium low heat for ten minutes and then add pancetta/bacon.
  3. Stir fry until shallot is caramelized and pancetta is cooked through but not crispy about 20 minutes.
  4. Slice or shred Brussels sprouts while shallot and pancetta are cooking.
  5. Toss in cranberries and stir fry a few minutes.
  6. Add Brussels sprouts and stir fry 3-5 minutes until sprouts are bright green and warmed.
  7. Season with pepper and salt to taste.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 254 Fat: 18g Carbohydrates: 18g Sodium: 611mg Fiber: 5g Protein: 9g

 

Coconut Eggnog

Coconut Eggnog

It’s gloomy and threatening to rain.  I guess that could be a metaphor for what I’ve felt like the past few days too.  This past weekend, I unfortunately discovered I still can’t really tolerate having milk without suffering afterwards for multiple days.  I tempted fate by 

Plum Pepper Chutney over Grilled Pork Chops

Plum Pepper Chutney over Grilled Pork Chops

I swear I must have been a prepper in a past life. My husband too for that matter.  Lately he’s all about doing/fixing/building/repurposing things for ourselves when he can and has decided to take up blacksmithing as a hobby. I am highly supportive of creative physical hobbies that also happen 

Broccoli Chicken Salad

Broccoli Chicken Salad

SONY DSC

My two daughters left to spend a week on my dad’s farm yesterday which is one of the things they have come to look forward to most during the summer as it’s become an annual trip for them.  They will be hanging out with the goats, showing their crafts at the county fair that I grew up attending and just soaking up the farm experience making memories with their grandma and grandpa.  Today is day number one without them around so I’m down to just me and my son at home during the day FOR AN ENTIRE WEEK.  It’s like a vacation (almost)… so much more calm with just one kid in the house!   Time to play catch up with a few home projects and recipe posts now that my garden building project is nearly finished too (future post on that coming!).  While I was out sweating my buttooski off last week in the heat and humidity building the garden with my hubs, I didn’t cook anything that required the use of a stove/oven or anything that took more than 15 minutes of my time so this broccoli chicken salad was just the ticket to an easy meal.

We had grilled chicken leftover from the night before and I had just hit up the farmers market and found a great looking head of broccoli so a broccoli chicken salad was an easy and awesome combination of protein and veggie with a little tangy sweetness from the dried cranberries and homemade dressing.  The dressing is very similar to the poppyseed dressing I posted a few weeks ago and also begins with homemade mayo.  A little whisk of three ingredients is all this dressing needs to then be simply poured over a head of fresh broccoli florets, diced chicken (leftover directly from the fridge), celery bits, sunflower seeds (or pecans) and dried cranberries for a summery simple salad – no cooking required 🙂

SONY DSC

Broccoli Chicken Salad
 
Prep time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: salads
Cuisine: paleo
Serves: 4 servings
Ingredients
  • 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
  • 2 stalks celery, diced
  • 1½ cups diced chicken (use leftovers straight from the fridge for easy prep)
  • ½ cup dried cranberries
  • ¼ cup sunflower seeds (or pecans or walnuts)
  • DRESSING:
  • ¾ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
  1. Place all salad ingredients in a large salad bowl.
  2. Whisk the mayo, lemon juice and honey together.
  3. Pour dressing over salad and toss to coat. Serve chilled.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 567 Fat: 37g Carbohydrates: 44g Sodium: 418mg Fiber: 10g Protein: 24g

 

 

Poppyseed Dressing with Berry Spinach Salad

Poppyseed Dressing with Berry Spinach Salad

Adventures in landscaping part 2:  I turned my back from my planting project for a moment while the kids were out exploring the outdoor space between the large pine trees which is full of loose dirt perfect for digging and mud pies.  I should have known 

Strawberry Yogurt Bites

Strawberry Yogurt Bites

After a stressful morning yesterday, we pulled it off and closed on our new house!!  It was a beautiful day to CELEBRATE!!!!!   Now it’s on to more packing as we have about two weeks to slowly move to the new place before we close on 

Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori Chicken

SONY DSC

Nothing beats a flavorful grilled steak or chicken.  Especially when it’s had a nice long marinade in an Indian spiced yogurt mixture overnight to let the flavors soak in and soften the meat to pure tender perfection.  Don’t let this tandoori chicken intimidate you.  It looks challenging and has many ingredients but it’s secretly really easy to make and will impress any dinner guests you have over to sample your handiwork.

To really bring out the fragrant spices in this dish, I use whole cardamom and cloves rather than ground and then smash them with a mortar and pestle.

SONY DSC

You can use pre-ground spices as well just make sure they’re fresh for the best flavor.  All of the marinade ingredients then come together quick as a flash.  The key to getting all that deep delicious spice infused into the tandoori chicken is to lightly score the cuts of chicken prior to soaking in the marinade.  Then let the chicken rest in its yogurt bath for 24 hours.  The yogurt cultures will gently break down the meat just enough to give it the PERFECT tenderness and keep it juicy.

SONY DSC

When you’re ready to prepare your meal, either place the chicken pieces directly on the grill or you can bake them by placing them on a baking sheet with a wire rack to elevate them like this:

SONY DSC

If you grill them, do so over medium low heat turning every 10 minutes for about 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  If you bake them, bake for 20 minutes and turn on the broiler for an additional 5 minutes to get a similar char to grilling.  Both ways you cook it will result in a tasty tandoori chicken.  Need a coordinating side dish?  No problem!  This one-pot vegetable curried rice has ya covered!

SONY DSC

Tandoori Chicken
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
Recipe type: Main Dishes
Cuisine: paleo
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
  • 4-6 chicken breasts, thighs or drumsticks (about 1.5 pounds)
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
  • 4 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon pink himalayan salt*
  • 5 whole cloves (or ¼ teaspoon ground)
  • 5 cardamom pods, use just the seeds inside the pod (or ¼ teaspoon ground)
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 12 ounces plain coconut yogurt or plain Greek yogurt
Instructions
  1. Crush cloves and cardamom seeds with a mortar and pestle until fairly finely ground.
  2. Combine all ingredients except chicken in a large bowl and mix well.
  3. Lightly score chicken pieces with a knife and place in marinade.
  4. Marinate for 24 hours.
  5. When ready to cook, grill on medium-low heat for about 40 minutes turning pieces every 10 minutes until chicken reaches 165 degrees.
  6. To bake instead, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken pieces on a wire rack inside a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Broil for an additional 5 minutes and check to be sure chicken is 165 degrees.
Notes
For low sodium, reduce salt to ¼ teaspoon = 139mg per serving
Nutrition Information
Calories: 187 Fat: 5g Carbohydrates: 12g Sodium: 358mg* Fiber: 4g Protein: 27g

 

Breakfast Skillet

Breakfast Skillet

Breakfast, I think, is my favorite meal.  I eat breakfast for lunch, or breakfast for dinner quite often.  So many options!!!   Plus, when you get ten dozen beautiful farm fresh eggs while heading back “home” for the Easter weekend, delicious protein rich breakfast gets to happen