Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Green Beans with Dill

Vikki Horrisberger Stutzman 


6 Tbsp lemon juice
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves minced garlic
1-2 Tbsp dried dill (can substitute with oregano)
1/4 cup olive oil, more or less to taste
1 (16 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 Tbsp dried parsley
1 cup water or broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf

Combine all ingredients and cook 30-45 minutes over medium heat.  Stir occasionally, until sauce is thickened.

Remove bay leaf before serving.


Italian Baked Chicken

Lori Evans

Number of Servings 4


4 boneless chicken breasts (or equivalent chicken thighs)
3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
14 1/2 oz can Italian stewed tomatoes
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 med. zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 cups mushrooms
1 med. onion, cut into wedges

In a small bowl mix together the Italian seasoning, garlic, salt and pepper. Rub on both sides of the chicken.

Coat a skillet with Pam or a little olive oil, add chicken and cook until chicken is browned.

In a large bowl, mix together tomatoes and tomato paste, add zucchini, mushrooms and onion.

After the chicken is browned, place it into a baking dish, spread the vegetable mixture around the chicken.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.


Chili Garlic Chicken

Jennifer Agnew Borruso



This is an eyeball or to taste recipe for most of the ingredients.

Chicken, cut into cubes
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Ground ginger
Garlic powder
Crushed Red Pepper

Green beans
Onion, sliced

Salt
Pepper
Ginger
Garlic

Broccoli Slaw

Heat pan to med-high heat, combine chicken, olive oil, salt, pepper, ginger, garlic powder, and red pepper
until done; remove from pan.

In the same pan as chicken, cook the green beans and onion.

Add salt, pepper, ginger to taste; when onions are just soft, add the fresh garlic and broccoli slaw.

Add coconut aminos and some balsamic vinegar to taste. When veggies are cooked push to one side of pan and add chicken back into the pan.

Coat chicken with Chili sauce and you are done.


Meatloaf Muffins

Simmie Sinow

These were made using a square muffin tin pan that accommodates 12 muffins!

Number of Servings 12

2 lbs. ground turkey, beef, or your favorite ground poultry/meat
1 egg         
Low sugar marinara sauce or salsa
3 Tbsp Flaxseed meal
1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Garlic powder
Crushed garlic (optional)
½ tsp Sage
To taste Onion flakes or minced
Mushrooms
Squash or zucchini, cubed small
      
Combine all ingredients except the marinara sauce and mix well. Add enough marinara to make the mixture just a little on the “wet” side. With the mushrooms and squash, I ran both through about three pulses of my Ninja food processor before adding to the rest of the ingredients.

Place an even amount of the mixture into 12 muffin tins and bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes. If you are going to freeze some of them, I'd bake for 25 minutes; then once they're defrosted and reheated, they will be the perfect texture and moisture level.

After removing from the oven, let it sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.


Salmon Burgers

Cathy Nors




14.75 oz can pink salmon
1 cup grated cauliflower
diced onion
black pepper
1 egg

Combine all ingredients and then brown your patties in olive oil when cooking,and enjoy!


Meatza Pizza

Recipe Author: Marita Spencer-Metivier

1 lb ground beef, turkey, or chicken
Spices of your choice (salt, pepper, garlic, oregano, italian seasoning)
2 eggs
Pizza sauce
Veggies of your choice
Additional meats

Brown the ground beef in a skillet and let cool. When browning, add your choice of spices such as salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, italian seasoning, etc.  Once cooled, mix with the eggs.

Pack the mixture down tight into a casserole dish/pizza pan/ baking pan to about the thickness of a pizza crust. Then layer on top red sauce, veggies, addiitonal meats (if you want).

Bake in 350 degree oven until done.

Stuffed Peppers - Crockpot

Recipe Author: Beverly Bates Johnson


4-5 bell peppers, seeded and halved
1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
1 Tbsp olive oil
Mushrooms (1-2 cups, chopped, or as much as you like)
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves of chopped garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
8 oz can tomato sauce (or more, if desired)
Salsa

Brown the turkey with the olive oil, onion and garlic. Add mushrooms and cook until they are soft. Add diced tomatoes and ½ cup of salsa. Heat through.

Coat slow cooker with cooking spray. Stuff peppers and place in cooker. Top with tomato sauce and more salsa. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours, or until peppers reach the consistency you prefer.

This can also be baked in the oven: Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

Notes:
Get creative with your vegetables when stuffing this! You can use carrots, or other variations.


Hot Italian Cabbage Dijon

Recipe Author: Simmie Sinow

Serves 4

5 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chicken broth or homemade chicken broth
1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/8 tsp black pepper

In a medium microwaveable bowl, combine cabbage, onion and tomatoes.  Alternatively, this could be prepared in a saute pan on your stovetop as well.

Combine remaining ingredients and pour over vegetables.

Microwave on high 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Italian Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Rosalena Andrews



Spaghetti Squash
1 lb leanground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken (or really, any ground meat or poultry will work well)
Marinara sauce
Italian Seasoning
Mushrooms

To make the spaghetti squash:
In the oven: Poke holes in the spaghetti squash and bake at 375 for 1 hour.
In the microwave: Cut spaghetti squash in half, put plastic wrap over the open side of the spaghetti squash and place, face-down, on a dinner plate that has about 1/4" of water in it, then microwave for about 10 minutes.

After cooking is done, remove the seeds and shred the spaghetti squash with a fork.

To make the casserole:
Cook turkey meat with your favorite spices.

Spray the bottom of baking pan then layer with spaghetti, meat, sauce, and 1 can of mushrooms. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.


Monday, August 18, 2014

Apps for your Mobile Device

Looking for some Paleo or Whole30 or Primal apps for your phone?

They're certainly out there: the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Here's a short list, with the recommended apps first.  If you have any to add, please either comment with the app name and a short "why I like it" or email me with PALEO APP in the subject line.


RECOMMENDED

MARKS DAILY APPLE FORUM
Recommended
I love this one. While Mark's Daily Apple is a Primal site, recipes are easy to adjust. There's tabs for the forum, for recipes, you can bookmark favorites. One of my favorites!

FAST PALEO
Recommended
I like this one; it's laid out well, easy to read the recipes with a separate tab for the ingredients.

NOMNOM PALEO
This is a cookbook application by Michelle Tam, author of cookbooks and website by the same name. This is for iPad only, and highly recommended.

PALEO DIET PLAN
Recommended
This one I'd recommend. Real simple book with 2 weeks of Meal Plans. You can choose Beginners, Simple, Delicious, or Ultra Easy meal plans. It also has a full shopping list for whatever category (beginners, etc.) you choose.
Caution: This one does have some non-compliant ingredients (one recipe had peanuts) and for Whole30 folks, they do have some smoothies -- but swapping out those meals with something else is fairly easy.

PALEO PLATE
Recommended
Recipes by category, laid out nicely. Some recipes require the paid-for version but most are not that way. Good but not great, I'd recommend at least checking it out.


RECOMMENDED, WITH CAUTION

PALEO COOKBOOK FOR BEGINNERS (101 Paleo Recipes):  
Recommended, High Frustration Tho!
Looks good at first, but when you open a category, there is no index, and one recipe scrolls into the next.

PALEO DIET RECIPES
Recommended, with a lot of caution
Meh, not so nuts about this one. About 6 recipes per category, total of 100 each and some aren't all that good.


NOT RECOMMENDED

PALEO DIET - PALEO APP
Not Recommended 
This is just a very short book, laid out pretty badly, about what Paleo is....no recipes etc. Not recommended.

MY KITCHEN  (by Primal Palate)
Not Recommended
Read the reviews on this one--they all pretty much say the same thing, the app isn't ready for release. This one irritates me to a point as it locks me into the app and won't let me back out of it when I was signing up. Also once signed up, there's no way to exit the app (I usually just use the back key on my phone...that doesn't work). Not the most user friendly app--this is for creating your own menu plan and recipes. For me, I'm removing this one from my phone today as it is pretty useless, but wanted to list it as an app that is available.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Simmie's Foolproof Mayonnaise

Simmie Sinow

This recipe is the result of trial and error with several different recipes online (NomNom Paleo and SeriousEats) that didn't quite "cut it" for me.  This is now my 100% foolproof recipe using a stick/immersion blender.

The foolproof part of it, I believe, is in:
  • the size of the egg yolk
  • using egg yolk only and not a whole egg
  • the temperature of the egg yolk and water
  • Using a blender cup or the cup that comes with your blender and not your mason jar!
This recipe requires a stick blender. This method WILL NOT WORK in a regular blender.

Are you tired of struggling with making mayonnaise in a regular blender? How about the oil dribbling that has to be done so slow that it almost feels like you're not adding any oil to it at all? For about 3 minutes, no less!

Well fear not, this is a recipe that will take about 30 seconds start to finish, if that; probably closer to 10 seconds.



THE RECIPE!
Here we go.  First the ingredients:

Put the following in a blender cup or a 2 cup mixing bowl. Do not use your mason jar for this unless you want failure!!

1 Jumbo egg yolk, cold
1 Tbsp water, cold (as in from the refrigerator door or ice cold)
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice (this is too much for me; I use lime juice or ACV instead)
1 heaping tsp dry mustard (I sometimes double this, you don't taste the mustard)

Swish it around a bit until you can see that it's well blended....no little bits of the mustard powder floating anywhere. Do not use your blender for this part!

Then add, all at once:
1 cup olive, walnut, or avocado oil (you can also use light tasting olive oil)

Place the head of immersion blender at bottom of the cup and switch it on (set it to low, not high). As mayonnaise begins to form, continue to let it emulsify thoroughly -- the oil will be sitting on top at the this point and that's ok. Move the blender head around and then slowly lift it up (do NOT tilt the container)  until all the oil is emulsified. Make sure you don't see any sneaky remnants hanging onto the side of your blender cup!

Hint: If you blend the oil in for too long, you may wind up with runny mayo; don't throw it out! You can make Dump Ranch dressing from that.

Season to taste with salt.  Personally I think this tastes great without salt, but everyone's salt level is different.

Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

How long will this be good?
It should last at least five days beyond the expiration on your egg carton. Mine is usually good for about 3 weeks.  But then again, mine doesn't usually last long enough to find that out!

How do I know when it has gone bad?
Two ways!
(1) Smell test -- smell it and if it's gone bad, it MAY have a slight overly sweet or (I hate to say this....but...) rancid smell, but NOT always.
(2) My sure fire way to test it is to dip the prongs of a fork in the mayo, and just "dot" it on your tongue -- if it's gone bad, you'll know that way, before you use it in a recipe.

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Meatloaf Cupcakes with Sweet Potato Frosting

Wellness Mama

Now this is just a plain ole fun recipe and result!!!

On Whole30, there is no way I'd consider this SWYPO, as it's not going to get you wanting sweet cupcakes! This is all good protein and sweet potato!

This could really be made with any sort of ground meat or chicken, so creativity is in your lap on that!

And.....HERE is the full recipe!



Almond Milk

Against All Grain

I absolutely love a good glass of almond milk.  But finding it without carageenan is next to impossible -- but now possible as Silk Unsweetened now has no carageenan or sugar in it!

But Danielle of the Against All Grain website, has a great recipe which I've revised a bit below!


1 cup raw almonds
3 cups filtered water + enough to cover the almonds while soaking
1/4 teaspoon sea salt, divided
1 medjool date, pitted
1/4 tsp vanilla powder, no added sugar, no alcohol, no additives (optional...I suggest omitting it)

Place the almonds and the sea salt in a container such as a 2-cup measuring cup or your blender and cover it and soak for about 6 hours.  I start the soaking before I go to bed and let them just soak overnight. You can't soak them too long. Mine usually wind up soaking for about 10 hours.

Drain the nuts and rinse them really well.

Transfer to a blender and fill with 4 cups of filtered water, your pitted date, 1/4 tsp vanilla powder (if using) and 1/8 tsp sea salt and puree until smooth.  What I do is 2 minutes, then I let things settle and blend 1 more minute. I've also split all this in half and blended in my small Ninja food processor which holds 2 cups, as it seems to puree more thoroughly.

Strain the milk through a nut milk bag or doubled over cheesecloth.  Squeee to get all of the delicious liquid out!

Store in your refrigerator for up to 5 days.  I've had some batches last the full 5 days, while other batches lasted 3 days.  You will know when it has "gone south" as the taste will tell you!

Vanilla Powder with No Sugar, No Alchol, No Additives
For compliant vanilla powder: I found a no-alcohol, no-sugar, no additives powder at WildernessPoets here at $13.95 for 1 ounce. Since you'll use 1/4 to 1/3 tsp powder to replace 1 tsp liquid vanilla extract, this should last you for a while!



Carnitas Breakfast Muffins

Stupid Easy Paleo

What a fantastic idea for a breakfast egg muffin!

Those of you with some leftover crockpotted pork roast? Just shred it and use it in this recipe!

This is a great Make Ahead and Freeze recipe!

Click HERE to see the entire recipe

Baba Ganoush

Paleo Leap

Missing your hummus, are you?

Well have you tried Paleo Leap's recipe for Baba Ganoush? You simply must! It's wonderful!

HERE is the recipe from Paleo Leap!

All you'll need is eggplant, garlic cloves, lemon juice, tahini, EVOO, cumin, and salt and pepper! Easy Peasy, as the saying goes!

Asparagus Noodles

Real Healthy Recipes

You've heard of Zoodles (using zucchini to make spaghetti-like noodles), and Boodles (butternut squash to make spaghetti-like noodles), but how about this?

Using asparagus to make noodles? Oooooh, my all-time favorite vegetable!!


Click HERE to go to the Real Healthy Recipes blog to see the entire recipe!

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Eggs with Spots?

Have you seen eggs like this before?



Well, don't worry, it's safe to go ahead and eat them!

From CafeMom's website, the story on the spots can be read HERE, which is actually a good article about all sorts of facts about eggs in general.



Sunday, August 3, 2014

Onion Loaf

Predominantly Paleo

Drooling yet?  I know I am!


Click HERE for the recipe on Predominantly Paleo!

I am going to have to get a different type of spiralizer for this (all I have is my AWESOME Titan Julienne Tool).  There is no way I'm letting this recipe go unmade in this house!



Sweet Potato Buns

Predominantly Paleo

I love sweet potatoes and yams.

No, really -- I adore them and love them; they're probably one of my favorite foods!

I'm always looking for new things to do with them.

Predominantly Paleo hit the nail on the head with this recipe for making buns from sweet potatoes!


Click HERE for the recipe!


Rice Replacement a la Zoodles

Predominantly Paleo

Is there anyone like me -- do you gag at just the thought of eating cauliflower?

Good! Then I'm not alone!

For those of you that want to say "Oh but you haven't tried X or Y or Z....".  Yes, I have.  I can't stand the taste, but moreso the smell. (picture me pinching my nose)

The recipe from Predominantly Paleo uses zoodles chopped fine as a rice replacement! BRILLIANT!!!




Click HERE for the full recipe!




Saturday, August 2, 2014

Bacon Beef Butternut Squash

Thanks to Civilized Caveman Cooking for this!

Have you seen this scrumptious (fill in the blank) from Civilized Caveman Cooking? This looks too good to pass up on!


I've got a butternut squash in the house that I'm using part of for BBQ sauce, but the other half is definitely going to be used for this!


HERE is the recipe!