Deconstructed Paleo Pork Egg Rolls

This has got to be the easiest Paleo dish I've made so far and possible, one of the tastiest. :)
I found this recipe on PaleoFoodBlog. I adjusted the recipe, just slightly to make it a little more convenient. This was delicious ( and so easy to put together ). The picture does not do this meal justice.

Deconstructed Paleo Pork Egg Rolls


3/4 lb ground pork
2 Tbsp Bacon Grease ( or your choice of fat )
1 large shallot, shredded
1 bag of shredded coleslaw ( green & red cabbage, carrot ) 
2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos ( The Paleo alternative to Soy Sauce ) 
Red pepper flakes ( judge how spicy you want it )
1 egg, slightly beaten
salt & pepper


Break apart and cook ground pork until brown and crumbled. Add red pepper to pork as it cooks. 


Add bacon fat to pan. Add shredded veggies to pan and saute until cabbage is softened but still slightly crisp. 


Add coconut aminos and a pinch of salt & pepper. Stir well. 

Cook for a few more minutes to let flavors blend.

Chicken and Vegetable 'Lo Mein'

Thanks to Primal Palate, I can love Chinese food again. :)
Even though this dish is mostly vegetables, you really feel like you are eating lo mein noodles in a tasty stir fry. The other bonus to this recipe is that it finally gave me a reason to guy buy a wok. I would have made a huge mess on my stove if not for the wok. It makes a difference for sure.

Chicken and Vegetable 'Lo Mein'


Chicken or beef ( I used 1 lb of chicken tenders )
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
1/2 cup water chestnuts
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1/2 cup shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and cut in half
1/4 cup celery, chopped
1 tablespoon minced Ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups broccoli
2 cups shredded cabbage
Toasted sesame oil
Coconut aminos
Sesame seeds to garnish


Clean all vegetables and trim fat from meat (if applicable).
Cut broccoli, chicken and mushrooms into bite sized pieces.
Thinly slice 2 cups of cabbage (about half the head of cabbage).
Chop almonds, green onion, celery; mince garlic and ginger.
Heat wok over high heat.
Add sesame oil, swirl to coat bottom of wok, then add meat.
Cook meat for 3-4 minutes, until mostly cooked.
Add in broccoli, water chestnuts, celery and shiitake mushrooms; cook for 2 minutes
Add in almonds, cabbage, ginger, green onion and garlic. Add a splash of coconut aminos (2-4 tbsp). Cook 2-3 minutes, until cabbage softens a little.
Remove from heat, garnish with sesame seeds, and enjoy!

Bison Chili

Yum! We haven't had bison in ages, but it was delicious in this chili. I found the recipe on Paleo Plan's site. This was pretty easy to put together and tasted better than the last few times I tried making chili. :) You won't miss the beans at all. The bison meat worked perfectly in here. The flavors all play nicely together.

Bison Chili

1 Tbs coconut oil
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
* I added a few diced baby bella mushrooms
1-3/4 lb ground bison (elk, venison, or beef may be substituted)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 tsp thyme
1 (12 oz) jar salsa
1 (8 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (7 oz) can mild green chiles
2 tsp sea salt (optional)

Heat a heavy bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat.  

When the pan is hot, add coconut oil.
Add onions, celery and garlic and sauté until onions are translucent, about 3 or 4 minutes.

Next, add ground bison, cumin, thyme, and chili powder.

Stir while this cooks, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Pour in salsa, tomatoes, green chiles and salt.

Simmer for at least 1 hour.

Grilled Smokey Skirt Steak with Cucumber Mango Salad

So the lesson to be learned here is that paprika = magic on steak. :)
I found this recipe on Health-Bent which by the way is quickly becoming my favorite place for Paleo recipes. Skirt Steak is such an easy piece of meat to work with and it's pretty inexpensive at the grocery store so it's a win all around. We really liked this recipe. I had to add avocado to the salad... we had some, i love it, and it went perfectly with the other flavors.

Grilled Smokey Skirt Steak with Cucumber Mango Salad

For the steak:
2 1/2 lbs. skirt or flank steak
4 T smoked paprika
1 t salt
1 t pepper

Rub the ingredients on both sides of the steak. Place on a preheated grill and let cook for about 12 minutes…that’ll get you a nice medium rare.

For the salad:
2 mangoes, cubed
1 English cucumber, cubed
1/2 red onion, finely diced
* ½ an avocado, cubed
2 limes, juiced
handful of mint, chopped
S&P

Combine all ingredients. Let marinate in the fridge for a few hours or eat immediately.

Deconstructed Hamburger ( salad )

Since going primal, we're really not missing bread as much as I thought we would. While I was in Minnesota last week, Cancy created this yummy little salad. We recreated it last night. It tastes just like a delicious hamburger without the heaviness of a giant bun.

Deconstructed Hamburger ( for 2 )

For the burger:

3/4 lb of ground beef, grass fed preferred

coconut aminos, S&P

For the salad:

1/2 head of iceberg lettuce, shredded

vine-on tomato, diced

red onion, sliced into rings

dill pickle slices

1/2 an avocado

Mix up your burger meat and form into two patties.

Grill to your desired doneness.

While your burgers are grilling, cut up your vegetables for the salad.

Assemble and drizzle mustard over the top... Even better, add some homemade mayo, yum!

But I don't really feel like cooking...

New Year's Day was just one of those days where I didn't really feel like cooking. My 10 day vacation from work was winding down and we just wanted a lazy day. Lucky for us, I went grocery shopping the day before and had some lovely steaks just waiting for us. This really isn't much of a recipe, more of just something to put together.

Steak Dinner

2 New York Strips

1 pkg baby portabellas

1 bundle of asparagus

1 small pkg of pancetta ( or prosciutto )

For the steak marinade:

2 TBSP coconut aminos, 1 TBSP olive oil, S&P

Marinate your steak for about an hour, flipping 1/2 way through.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

While waiting on your steak, break the hard, woody ends off of your asparagus and wrap 1 piece of pancetta around the middle. Do this until you run out of asparagus or pancetta. :)

In a 9x13 pan, place your wrapped asparagus and just toss the portabellas in with it. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Grill your steak to the doneness you like and chow down.

Crockpot Carnitas ( Carnita Salad )

My very favorite fast food is the Carnitas Salad from Chipotle. Thanks to Erin @ Nourished Meadow, I have finally found a recipe for Carnitas that comes very close and makes an amazing dinner ( with tons of leftovers ). 

Crockpot Carnitas

4-5lb pork roast (I use a bone in shoulder)
8 oz diced roasted green chilies (2 small cans)
2-4 garlic cloves minced

Dry rub seasoning (measurements are approx, adjust for your own preferences)
-1 tablespoon chili powder
-1 tablespoon cumin
-1 tablespoon powdered chili (I used Chili Molido for this batch, you can just increase chili powder instead)
-1 tablespoon kosher salt, or less (check salt just before serving)
-1 teaspoon ground black pepper
-1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

(note, if you do anything less then a 4lb roast be sure to reduce salt)

Mix together seasoning, green chilies, and garlic until you have a paste. Coat roast on all sides, no need to make it pretty.

Place roast in crockpot, if you would like more liquid for serving later add about 1/2-1 cup of chicken stock when you put the roast in.

A 5lb roast will need a good 10 hrs plus on low, you can increase heat to high for the last hour or two to speed this up if necessary.

When roast is done, transfer to a large platter or 9×13 glass pan. Using two forks shred the meat and remove any large remaining pieces of fat. If you like your meat a bit crispy, using an oven safe platter place under a broiler for about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent burning.

Using a ladle or large spoon skim some of the fat from the juices remaining in the crockpot (they should have settled on the top). This will leave you with less oily liquid to pour over your meat before serving.

* When your carnitas  are finished, for a super yummy salad, chop up some romaine, place the carnitas on top. serve with fresh guacamole, homemade pico, and sour cream ( if you are eating dairy ).

Who would have thought...

Well, this has certainly been a new style of eating for us this week. Tonight was a blueberry sauce over pork tenderloin and it was amazing. Neither of us ever thought of blueberries with something savory, but it works. It's good. :)


We found this recipe on Paleo Plan.

Pork Tenderloin with Blueberry Sauce

• 1-1/4 lb pork tenderloin
• 2 tsp Mrs. Dash Chicken Grilling Blend seasoning
• 1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 lb green beans, trimmed
• 1 Tbs olive oil, divided
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1-1/2 cups frozen blueberries, thawed
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp raw honey
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 
  
• Heat oven to 400° F.
• Rub pork with Mrs. Dash seasoning and 1/4 tsp each sea salt (optional) and black pepper. Place in a roasting pan and roast for 25 minutes (or until internal temperature reaches 155° F).
• When about 10 minutes of cooking time remains, remove pan from oven and spread green beans around pork. Working quickly, drizzle green beans with 1/2 Tbs olive oil. Stir and return pan to oven.
• Heat remaining 1/2 Tbs olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Add onion, and cook for about 5 minutes. Add blueberries, vinegar, honey, thyme, remaining sea salt (optional) and black pepper.
• Continue to cook for an additional 5 minutes, or until thickened.
• Serve pork alongside green beans with sauce drizzled on top.

And we have fish...

Fish has always been super difficult for me to fit into our weekly menus. I'm not sure why really.
I planned for this recipe but swapped the catfish out for haddock fillets. It was very good.


We also made Zucchini Cakes, which ended up being a great side dish.

Sriracha burgers with guacamole & caramelized onions

On Tuesday we had Sriracha burgers with caramelized onions. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef. Also, it was raining out so we pan fried the burgers instead of grilling. It truly tasted much better than it looked. Maybe next time, we'll get a good shot. :)
Below is how we did this, but here is the original link from BrokeAssGourmet.

Sriracha burgers with guacamole & caramelized onions

2 tbsp butter
1 medium onion, half sliced thinly, half diced finely
1 lb ground turkey ( or ground beef )
2 tbsp Sriracha (or more if you it extra-spicy)
2 tbsp coconut aminos
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves,
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
your favorite guacamole

Preheat a grill, grill pan or cast iron frying pan over medium-high heat.

Melt butter in a medium frying pan over medium-low. Add the sliced onions and cook for 18-20 minutes, until caramelized.

While onions cook, combine the chopped onions, beef, sriracha, soy sauce coconut aminos, cilantro and garlic. Use your hands to mix well and form into 4 equal-sized patties.

Cook the burgers to desired doneness and serve over mixed greens or alone, topped with a generous dollop of guacamole and a few caramelized onions.

Serves 4.

Garlic Lime Chicken with Mango-Pineapple Salsa

Tonight's dinner is currently in the oven, making our house small amazing. We made the salsa yesterday & I'm probably going to just eat it with a spoon. :) 

This recipe comes from Primal Women in the Kitchen. I'm finding that there are tons of Paleo/Primal blogs out there with great ideas, it's just a matter of putting a menu together that works for you.

Garlic Lime Chicken with Mango-Pineapple Salsa

For the Chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 large lime

4 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups of raw spinach

Mango-Pineapple salsa

1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped

1 cup finely diced fresh pineapple

1 ripe tomato, chopped

1/3c sweet red peppers or 1 yellow sweet pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 finely diced jalapeño (only use as much as the amount of heat you can take)

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 lime, juice of

salt and pepper (to taste)

Directions:

Marinate the chicken w/ the juice of one lime and the oil and garlic in a zip lock bag in the fridge for at least 2 hrs or overnight.

For the salsa- mix all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper to taste, set aside for the flavors to blend,

Grill the chicken breasts on low heat till no longer pink.

Place chicken breast on a bed of spinach and then divide the salsa amongst the 2 plates and serve.

What is Paleo?

The Paleo way of life is how we, as humans, are genetically programmed to eat.

Meats

Fruits

Veggies

Nuts/Seeds

We were not meant to eat genetically engineered processed foods that take up 85% of the grocery stores today.

Shop the perimeter of the grocery store! If there is something in the list of ingredients that you cannot pronounce then DO NOT eat it!

Stay away list:

Dairy (Cancy & I are allowing a small amount of dairy in our diet. Nothing processed though. )

Grains: rice, pasta, breads, oats

Legumes

Anything artificial or processed

* This is really the easiest way to sum it up. Thanks to Primal Woman in the Kitchen. 

Our first Primal/Paleo meal... Carne Asada & fresh Pico de Gallo

In order to get us started off on the right foot, I spent Saturday morning putting together a menu for the week. I'll try to blog most of the meals as we try them out.

Tonight's dinner was a great first meal. We found a great recipe for Carne Asada on Mark's Daily Apple. When I got back from buying groceries this morning, I started the marinade and made the Pico de Gallo.

This meal came together so easily and everything tasted great. Because of the flavors on the plate, we didn't miss the tortillas, cheese, or sour cream at all. Check it out below:

Carne Asada & fresh Pico de Gallo

1 pound of flank steak
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 limes, juiced
1 orange, juiced
8 to 12 ounces beer (or beef broth)

Slice the flank steak on the diagonal into thin strips.

Combine all ingredients in a large Ziploc bag or in a shallow dish (meat should be completely covered in liquid).

Marinate in the refrigerator at least 3 hours. Take out and drain off the marinade. Lightly salt the steak. The meat can be cooked in a skillet with coconut oil or grilled.

Cook 3-6 minutes on each side for medium-rare.

For the Pico:
1 white onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (optional)
Juice from half a lime

Mix together ingredients. Add salt to taste.