Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Another submission from Jess - THANK YOU!  She said this recipe rocks.  I haven't tried it yet, but can't wait to do so!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
2 tsp Paprika
1 1/2 tsp Crushed Rosemary Leaves
1 tsp Minced Garlic
2 TBSP Olive Oil
1 tsp Sea Salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Mix oil, all spices and salt in large bowl.  Add chicken; toss to coat well.  Arrange chicken in foil-lined pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Roast for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Who Doesn't Like a Good Rub?

...wow, that sounded bad.  But really, Jess gave me a list of dry rubs that can spice up your meat.  If you're getting sick of lemon juice and black pepper, try these out!

Just mix the ingredients together, pat dry your meat, and rub spices in before grilling or roasting...delish!

Spanish Chicken

2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Thyme leaves
1/4 tsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper

Caribbean Grilled Steak or Pork

2 tsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 tsp Minced Onion
1 tsp Oregano Leaves
1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper

Garlic Lime Chicken

1 tsp Minced Garlic
1 tsp Minced Onion
3/4 tsp Ground Cumin
3/4 tsp Oregano Leaves
1/2 tsp Cilantro Leaves
1/2 tsp Coarse Ground Pepper

Paleo Biscuits and Gravy

Jamie forwarded me these recipes yesterday and they are FABULOUS!!!!  If you like biscuits and gravy, you will not be disappointed with this.  These recipes came right from the man himself, Robb Wolf.  The gravy is simply magical and the biscuits are good too. I think I'll do some tweaking on the biscuit recipe in the future, as they are really dense, but still very tasty.

Paleo Biscuits

***UPDATE*** I added 2 TBSP of coconut milk (from the can) to this recipe and cooked a little longer (maybe 5 minutes, or until the biscuit springs back when you push on the top) and they were much better!
Ingredients:

1/2 C coconut flour
1/4 C almond flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 TBSP cold grass-fed butter (or coconut oil)
6 egg whites
coconut oil to grease pan

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease up 6 cups of a muffin tin with coconut oil.
2. Put coconut flour, almond flour, salt and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is incorporated. The butter pieces should be about the size of peas.
3. In a blender (or by hand if you’re feeling energetic), whiz the egg whites until they are frothy. Add them to the food processor and pulse a couple times until they’re incorporated. Don’t go crazy though, just pulse it a few times until just blended.
4. Distribute the batter evenly into the 6 cups of your muffin tin. It should fill them about 3/4 full. These biscuits don’t rise, so that’s okay. Bake for 15 minutes until the tops are browned.
5. Pour your gravy on top, and enjoy.

Paleo Sausage Gravy

Ingredients:

16 oz Country Style Pork Sausage (I used Boulder Sausage's Breakfast Sausage)

2 TBSP arrowroot powder (I ran out of this, so substituted coconut flour)

1 can coconut milk (shake before you open)

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp dried, rubbed sage

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (I used Frank's Red Hot Sauce)

1/2 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp sea salt

Method:

1. Heat up a skillet over medium-high heat and brown the sausage. Break up the sausage into fairly small pieces so it will cook easily, but I like to leave some bigger chunks in there too. Once the sausage is thoroughly cooked, remove it with a slotted spoon and set it aside. Discard most of the fat, but leave about a tablespoon in there, and leave all the stuck-on brown bits of sausage in the bottom of the pan.
2. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the arrowroot and stir it into the fat & brown bits, whisking constantly for about a minute so it doesn’t burn. It will get pretty thick and almost dry.
3. Add the coconut milk about 1/3 of the can at a time, and whisk together with the “roux” you just made, incorporating it thoroughly. Some of the browned bits should start to come off the bottom of the pan, too. This is what we want. Keep adding in the coconut milk until it is all incorporated. Add the fennel, sage, cayenne, salt and pepper and mix it in.
4. Add the sausage back in and incorporate throughout the gravy. Cook for a moment so everything is heated evenly. Serve immediately over biscuits.

NOT Lasagna - I'm just going to call it "food"

Aaron asked if I had a Paleo lasagna recipe and I told him I did, but hadn't made it yet. I decided to make it last night. And while the recipe itself tastes very good, I had this mentality going into my first bite of cheesy goodness and found myself completely disappointed.  So...I'm not going to call this recipe lasagna because I believe you also will find your first bite a complete disappointment.  Instead, I am going to call it food. Or maybe and Italian casserole.

Italian Casserole (borrowed and adapted from Everyday Paleo)

Ingredients:

6 zucchini, thinly sliced
2 lbs ground beef (preferably grass fed)
1 lb Italian sausage (I used Boulder Sausage brand)
1 red onion, diced
2 heaping TBSP minced garlic
2 TBSP dried oregano
2 TBSP dried basil
1 tsp Cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
4 TBSP olive oil
1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes, no salt added, drained
1 small can of tomato paste
1 cup black olives, sliced (I used Lindsey Organic)

Method:

Thinly slice zucchini into even rounds. I used a mandolin slicer to make them noodle-like and found it would have been better to slice them into rounds.

In large soup pot, saute onions and garlic in olive oil until onions are transparent. Set aside. Brown ground beef and sausage and drain excess fat.  Combine meat, onions and garlic, all spices, tomatoes, and tomato paste and mix well.

Heat oven to 350 F.

In a large baking dish, layer half of the zucchini in the bottom and spread half the meat mixture over the top. Sprinkle with half of the olives. Repeat.  Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

Primal Quiche - except you need an oven and food processor...

I wanted to try my hand at a Paleo-friendly quiche, so decided to experiment tonight and the end result was AMAZING!  Even the kiddos loved it. Since our gym is in the middle of a Paleo Challenge, I wanted to make it extra clean and ensure I didn't add any questionable ingredients.  Take this recipe and gussy it up however you please.  I topped it with sliced avocado and my pico de gallo recipe.  YUM!

Suggestion: Make two. This did a vanishing act and is fairly labor intensive.

Crust:

1 cup almond flour
1 cup pecans
1 tsp Olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 250 F. Combine all ingredients in food processor and blend until you see the mixture start to stick to the side of the bowl.  Make sure you watch it closely, because if you wait too long, it will turn into more a butter. You want it to appear crumbly, but stick together when pressed.  Once you have achieved this consistency, pour contents into greased (with olive oil) pie pan and press until crust is formed along bottom and sides of dish.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Quiche Filling:

8 eggs
1 cup mushrooms, sliced or chopped
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup spinach, cooked and drained
6 slices bacon, cooked and patted to remove excess fat
2 TBSP almond flour
1 TBSP minced garlic
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 TBSP olive oil

Heat oven to 300 F. Place eggs, almond flour, garlic, spices, and olive oil in food processor and mix until eggs are well beaten.  Add remaining ingredients and pulse until you achieve desired consistency.  I blended all ingredients, but found that my veggies and bacon were chopped so small that my quiche was a uniform consistency. If you want chunky veggies, add them in later.

Pour contents into crust.  Bake for 60-70 minutes or until toothpick placed in center of filling comes out clean.

Flax Seed Focaccia

Sam and I were discussing the upcoming Paleo Challenge this morning and he reminded me of this recipe. If you are struggling without bread in your diet, this is a great recipe to curb your cravings on occasion. You can modify it by adding sundried tomatoes or raisens or whatever spices you might like. I am just providing the base recipe...don't be afraid to get creative!

Flax Seed Focaccia

Ingredients:

2 cups flax meal
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder (not Paleo...you can go without it, but your bread will be flatter)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Beat eggs. Then add in water and olive oil and mix thoroughly. Mix dry ingredients together. Stir in wet ingredients until well combined.

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour batter in center of sheet and use spatula to spread evenly. I spread the batter to about 3/4 inch thickness.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Cookies!!!!!!!!

First off...HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I've been avoiding posting much for desserts lately, as I realize that the whole intent of going "Paleo" is to cure your sweet tooth and quit eating the crap that makes one unhealthy.  That said, I also believe that every once in a while it is necessary to indulge on a sweet treat to maintain a level of sanity.  In the event that you feel as though you might go postal because your sweet tooth is wreaking havoc on your mental state, I would rather you resort to a fairly healthy option as opposed to going all out and scarfing down a dozen toxic cookies made with refined sugar and grains.  So, here is a fabulous recipe I borrowed from http://stevepaleo.blogspot.com/.

Ingredients:

4 cups ground almonds (Food Processor)
2 cups ground walnuts (Food Processor)
2 cups heated raw organic honey (mixes easier that way) – or sub organic Agave Nectar (controversial)
1 cup chopped dry fruit (cranberries/raisins)
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I really like cinnamon, so I used 2 teaspoons)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix the dry ingredients together, then add honey.  If you have the time, refrigerate mixture for an hour, as this makes it much easier to roll the "dough" into balls. If you don't have the time, just take spoon-fulls and place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Space them 2-3" apart, as they flatten quite a bit.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. Mine are perfect at 17 minutes. You don't want to overcook them or they become better used as frisbees, so check them often after 15 minutes. I watch for the edges to be golden brown. The center of the cookie might still be really soft, but that is ok, as they will become more firm when they cool.

Enjoy!