BBQ Chicken Baker

Sometimes Oftentimes I am in need of a dinner that is delicious, satiating, and quick. That seems to be a trend with me - maybe this blog should be called Quick Paleo or Paleo In A Hurry....hmmm.

Anyways, when I was in high school, we would occasionally eat at McAllister's after church. Every now and then, I would order one of their chicken Spuds. If you aren't familiar with that, here is the run down. They would give you the biggest, white potato, you have ever seen with about a pound of chicken smothered in cheese, bacon, and bbq sauce. It is delicious and really, not that far from 'paleo'. I got to thinking about those the other day and decided that I wanted a Spud! I always have these ingredients on hand so I was able to whip this up in no time.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes
• 3 slices bacon
• 8-12 oz chicken
• BBQ sauce of choice

Instructions:

1. Wrap sweet potatoes in plastic wrap and microwave the sweet potatoes for approx 10 minutes
2. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet.
3. In a separate skillet, cook the chicken on medium high heat for about 6 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink. I used left over rotisserie chicken which I warmed in the oven
4. When sweet potatoes are finished, cut lengthwise and open - scoop some chicken into the potato and top with bacon and BBQ sauce.
5. Consume!   

I served this with asparagus that I sauteed in the bacon fat. YUM.

Honey Sesame Tilapia

I know you don't care to hear me ramble about nothing....so here it is.

Ingredients:

• 5 tilapia filets
• 4 Tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup sesame oil

Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, mix the honey and sesame oil until well incorportated
2. In a glass baking dish cover the Tilapia's with honey mixture and marinate in fridge for at least 30 minutes
3. In a skillet over medium high heat (#6) cook tilapia for 6 minutes on each side, until done

I served this with baked avocado! Quick and easy. 

Zoodles & Meatballs

I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted a recipe. The last recipe I posted was in AUGUST! It is now the 17th of September and that means that not one single recipe has been posted this entire month. Unacceptable. I just slapped my wrist. So I will get right to this recipe. I used Zucchini noodles for this dish and let me just tell you that they are SO much better than Spaghetti Squash noodles. As I have said before, I never was a big fan of spaghetti squash when used in spaghetti recipes. I have since found my replacement. You will need a Julianne peeler. Yes, you can use made the noodles without one, but do yourself a favor and spend $7.99. You won't regret it.

Ingredients:

• 4-6 zucchini squash
• salt
• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 2 eggs, whisked
• Spices of choice. I used:
• garlic powder (1/2 tbsp)
• salt & pepper (1/2 tbsp)
• smoked paprika (1/2 tbsp)
• cumin (1/2 tbsp)
• cayenne pepper (1 tsp)
• Jar of marinera

Instructions:

1. Slice zucchini with Julienne peeler until you reach the seedy center*
2. Put zucchini noodles on some paper towels and generously sprinkle salt over them. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP. This allows the zucchini to sweat and removes excess moisture. Let sit for 20-30 mins, then rinse and pat dry.
3. In a large bowl, mix the ground turkey, whisked eggs, and spices until combined well. 
4. Make meatballs out of the turkey mixture about the size of golf balls. You should get a lot of meatballs.
5. In a large skillet over medium high heat, cook the meatballs until almost done. Work in batches.
6. Once all of the meatballs have seen time in the skillet, add all the meatballs back to the skillet, pour in the jar of marinara, cover, and let simmer for approx 10 minutes. 
7. Place zoodles in a bowl and top with meatballs and sauce.

* I found it easiest to thinly slice the zucchini lengthwise. then you can lay the zucchini, cut side down, on your cutting board and it won't roll around everywhere.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't love a chewy chocolate chip cookie??? I know that I sure do! I have been craving cookies for about a week now and I thought that if I would just ignore the craving, it would go away. NOPE. It didn't happen. So, I decided to give in and make some. They turned out amazing! It was everything I had hoped for and more. I know, that sounded dramatic. You just wait until you try them.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 + cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl , combine melted coconut oil, honey, and vanilla extract. Add the liquid ingredients to the almond flour mixture. Combine well.
3. Fold in chocolate chips
4. Take about 1 Tbsp of cookie batter, roll into a ball and place on cookie sheet lined with 2 pieces of parchment paper*. Continue until all the batter is used up. 
5. Press the cookie dough balls down until flat. The cookies will not spread or rise much (if any) so the size you make the cookies, is the size your cookie will turn out
6. Bake cookies for approx 8-12 minutes. Mine were perfect at 9 minutes. The cookies will not be completely done. They will still be really soft. Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes - this allows the cooking process to continue and the cookies will firm up. 

This made a dozen cookies for me! *Lining the cookie sheet with 2 pieces of parchment paper will ensure that the bottom of the cookie doesn't burn.

Consume one and share the rest!! I do think that these are best right out of the oven if you eat them right after they have cooled for the 10 minutes. They still taste great the next day, but we all know that fresh, warm cookies are the best.

For other variations of cookies, use the exact same ingredients, minus the chocolate chips. Then add any mix-in's you'd like. I am going to try cranberries and walnuts next! And heck, I may leave the chocolate chip's in those cookies! I have done a Snickerdoodle variation. To make these, again leave out the chocolate chips, and in a separate bowl,  mix 1 Tbsp cinnamon with 1 Tbsp coconut crystals. Before placing the dough on your baking sheet, roll the cookie dough ball in the cinnamon crystal mixture. Then place on baking sheet and flatten - follow the remaining steps. 

Snickerdoodle and Chocolate Chip cookies

Smoky Burgers with Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce

This is a recipe from the newest Paleo Cookbook on the block - Practical Paleo. I loved the flavor combinations more than I can tell you. I really hope you make these, and make them soon. I think Labor Day would be the perfect opportunity. I mean, American holidays do require burgers.

Ingredients:
Burgers-

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp sea salt
• 1/2 Tbsp black pepper

Sauce-

• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup chopped pineapple (I used canned)
• 1 Tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, for garnish
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:
Burgers-

1. Let meat come to room temperature, then mix in all the spices listed under the Burgers section
2. Preheat grill, or skillet, to medium heat
3. Form your meat into 8 patties and set on plate while grill/skillet is heated
4. Once warm, place burgers on heat and cook approx 6 minutes on each side or until the burgers reach the level of doneness you desire
5. Once cooked through, let the burgers rest for 10 minutes before garnishing and adding the sauce

Sauce-

1. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients listed under the Sauce section, except for the sesame oil, and simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until most of the water has cooked out
2. Place the cooked pineapple in a blender, and blend until smooth
3. Add sesame oil to blender and blend until well incorporated
4. Use the sauce to top the burgers

*Confession: I cooked and crumbled a couple pieces of bacon to add to the burgers

Dessert on a Spoon

The other night I was really craving something sweet, and preferably with chocolate. It was already getting a little bit late and I didn't want to dirty up the kitchen or make something that required any amount of effort or time. I didn't think I would get my craving met, because let's be honest, all those stipulations I just put on myself would make creating any dessert rather tricky. What I ended up with, was pure genius (only because I couldn't figure out why I hadn't thought of this before!) - although it can hardly be called a 'recipe'. It was the perfect quick, easy, non-messy, little bit of dessert that I desperately wanted.

Ingredients:

• Metal spoon
• Almond butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
• Enjoy life chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Get a large spoonful of almond butter out of the jar, using your spoon
2. Place spoon in freezer on top of a small piece of parchment paper. Leave for approx 8
3. While spoon is in freezer, melt a couple handful's of chocolate chips in microwave
4. Dip almond butter-spoon in to melted chocolate and coat evenly
5. Place the spoon with chocolate covered almond butter back in the freezer for approx 8 more minutes. The chocolate should be hardened when done
6. Remove spoon from freezer and eat the chocolate covered almond butter right off of the spoon!

Leeky Eggs

I tried something new this week - Leek! If you have never had a Leek, it has a very mild onion flavor. When the leek is cooked down, the mild flavor becomes even more mild. It made a wonderful base to my breakfast this week. I really liked the flavor combo, although I will tell you that Adam wasn't a huge fan. I will use it again, for sure, but will leave it out of Adams portion :) If you are looking to try something new, don't be afraid - give it a shot! I think you will be surprised.

Ingredients:

• 1 leek, green portion diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 5 strips of bacon (one for eating while the eggs cook)
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove bacon from skillet.
2. In the same skillet, add the diced leek and bell pepper. Saute until leek is tender - consume 1 piece of bacon.
3. Create 4 small wells in the leek mixture and crack 1 egg into each well
4. Turn heat down to medium (if it is higher than that), cover, and let the eggs cook until done
5. Chop remaining bacon and garnish the eggs with it and a sprinkle of salt & pepper

Salmon Cake's

Tuesday night's are Adam's bible study nights. He isn't home for dinner, so if I cook anything, it is something really easy and a lot of times not very glamorous. This week was no exception on the 'easy' part, but luckily it did turn out a bit glamorous! I plated the salmon cakes on top of some baby spinach and garnished with dried cranberries and a piece of bacon I cooked separately. I then cooked some asparagus in the bacon fat and I used a light dressing of EVOO and lemon juice to compliment the salmon.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium sweet potato, mashed
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 6oz cans of salmon
• 3 slices uncooked bacon, diced small
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• zest 1/2 lemon
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp almond flour
• salt & pepper

Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Patty the salmon mixture - this made 9 patties for me.
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat with some EVOO
3. Cook the patties for approx 3-4 minutes on each side. 
4. Enjoy!

A couple helpful hints: Wrap the sweet potato in plastic wrap and put it in the microwave for 7 minutes. You can then easily pull the skin away and remove the insides. Also, if you but the bacon in the freezer for about 10 minutes, this makes it much easier to dice the bacon.

Balsamic Steak with Garlic Zucchini

Quick and easy this recipe was! I am on a mission to get Adam to eat more veggies and so far I am doing a pretty good job (he even had asparagus for breakfast the other day!)! Here is a recipe for the meal I cooked recently and sure enough, Adam ate all his veggies :)

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp EVOO, divided
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 medium zucchini, cut into thin half-moons
• salt and pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds london broil, or red meat of choice
• 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp EVOO over medium high. Add garlic and zucchini moons, season with salt and pepper to taste. Saute until zucchini is tender and starting to brown, approx 6 minutes. Remove from skillet.
2. Add remaining oil to the same skillet. Season meat with salt and pepper and cook until browned on all sides, approx 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil
3. Then, add balsamic vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper to same skillet. Cook, stirring, until reduced by half, approx 2 minutes. Drizzle balsamic reduction over steak and serve.

 I also baked sweet potato chips for an additional side.

Cherry Ice Cream

Ice cream was a staple in my house growing up. My family would have ice cream for dessert at least 3 times a week, and I am pretty sure my parents still do. I am not going to sit here and pretend that I haven't had real ice cream since deciding to eat paleo - because that would be a huge, and total, lie. I LOVE ice cream. But now, since I have this paleofied version, I don't feel as guilty indulging in my guilty pleasure! And one more thing, don't worry if you don't have an ice cream maker. I don't.

Ingredients:

• 3 frozen, ripe bananas, cut up
• 1 cup frozen cherries
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup coconut cream (chill a can of coconut milk, then scrape the cream off the top)

Instructions:

1. Place the bananas, cherries, vanilla, and coconut cream in a food processor
2. Process all the ingredients for 1-2 minutes or until consistency of soft serve
3. Scoop the ice cream into chilled bowls and consume immediately.

This recipe will make a decent amount, so put the remainder in tuperware and stick it in the freezer to enjoy later! Next on my list of flavors to try is cinnamon peach, strawberry, and chocolate chip-something.