Paleo Fried Chicken!

Yep. You read that right. This turned out SO amazing. It was actually the brainchild of my husband and son while I was at work. The key is using a thermometer for use to check your oil temperature, but also the internal temperature of the chicken. Grab your favorite bone, skin on chicken, and go to town! I like to use the digital thermometers with the wireless probe, or the probe that is connected with a wire to the digital reader. You want your oil to stay at 350 degrees, so you might need to continuously adjust your burner over time. Remove the chicken once it reaches 155-160 so that it can continue to reach 165 while cooling.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 6 pieces bone-in, skin on dark meat chicken (haven’t tried with white meat yet, but confident it would work).
• 1 bag pork rinds
• salt and pepper
• avocado oil or lard

Method:

In a cast iron skillet, heat about 1/2 inch of oil (this will depend on how wide the base of your skillet is (or dutch oven). Heat the oil to 350 degrees.  Pulse the pork rinds until they are the consistency of breadcrumbs. Pat the chicken dry. Season with salt and pepper. Dip into the egg and then into the pork rind breadcrumbs. If the oil has reached 350 degrees, gently place the chicken into the oil. Cook on each side for around 5 minutes. Check the oil temperature frequently to be sure it is staying around 350 degrees (to avoid burning). Continue turning the chicken ever few minutes until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 155-160. Remove to paper towels once it is up to temperature and allow to cool a bit. Enjoy!

Potato Shakshuka

I have had shakshuka recipes on the blog in the past, but so far, this one really is my favorite. It does include potatoes (so if you are low carb or are paleo or of the mind that potatoes aren’t paleo, then this recipe is not for you). I got this recipe from Blue Apron. I modified it a bit because I did not like some of their ingredients. I have been trying food delivery services lately as it has been easy to skip eating out when I had everything I needed for a yummy dinner right at my fingertips. I’m not seeing a jump in food budget, so this seems like a good option. If you go the Blue Apron option, Costco has gift cards ($80 for $100).

I have also been trying Home Chef. At the moment, Home Chef is my favorite. Home Chef has some of their ingredients prepped a bit more, and they are also much more modifiable for those with food restrictions  (no dairy, gluten, soy, low carb…) They also have WAY more menu options for any given week. If you want to give Home Chef a try, you can get $30 off your first order with this link Home Chef $30 off. Right now, I am leaning towards Home Chef because of the variety of recipes and ease. The 2 person serving size at Home Chef feeds our family of three, so it is ideal for us. Their app is also great on my phone. I can cancel delivery for the upcoming week, can change menu selections, can change delivery dates. It’s pretty convenient, and it really would work well for people who don’t have time to menu plan, shop for ingredients, and do a lot of prep for cooking.

I know that Sunbasket is another food delivery service that seems to have great quality organics as well, but it was the most expensive of the three.

This recipe says “serves 2”, but it easily served 3.

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 ounce pea shoots, finely chopped
• 1 plum tomato, cored and diced
• 3/4 lb yukon gold potatoes, small dice
• 1 large bunch parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Za’atar
• 1 shallot, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• avocado oil (or other paleo fat)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In an oven safe, nonstick pan, heat 2 tsp olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add potatoes, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, 7-9 minutes, or until browned and slightly tender. Transfer to bowl and wipe out the pan.

Heat 2 tsp oil over medium-high heat. Add shallot, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato paste, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, 1-3 minutes, or until dark red.

Add tomato, potatoes, 2/3 of parsley, za’atar, and 1 1/4 cups of water to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally 6-8 minutes, or until thickened.

Turn off the heat, and stir in pea shoots. Create 4 wells in the center of the pan of finished sauce. Crack an egg into each one and cook 6-8 minutes or until eggs are set to your liking. Let cool for 2 minutes and top with cheese. Garnish with remaining parsley.

 

 

Paleo Italian Eggs

I decided I wanted to have breakfast for lunch today, so I came up with these.  It was very easy since I had all of these ingredients already in my home.  It takes a bit of time in the oven, and the process could be expedited if you cover after adding the eggs. You can also make this with hard centered eggs if you want.  My friend, Jeannie gave me the idea of separating the eggs for the cooking process in order to get a runny egg. These were really great, and quite simple.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb italian sausage (I like Trader Joe’s. Make sure to check ingredients to avoid sugars, nitrates or any ingredients that you do not immediately recognize as real foods)
• 1/2 cup organic marinara (again, check the label for added sugar or oils that aren’t good to consume e.g. canola oil)
• 6 eggs
• 1 green onion
• cayenne
• salt and pepper

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mold the sausage into large ramekins (you could also use a muffin tin though it would be a tighter fit)
3. Bake for 10 minutes.
4. Spoon the marinara into the cups to cover the bottom.
5. Add the egg to the ramekins (if you want a runny yolk, separate the yolk from the whites and cook the whites first)
6. Bake until the egg is set (about 20 minutes–faster if covered). Add yolk back for 3-4 minutes if you reserved it.
7. Garnish with green onion and add salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

You can either eat out of the ramekin (though it might be hot).  You can also take a large spoon, hold the ramekin with tongs, and ease the sausage cup out.

Serves 6

Grab and Go Meatloaf!

Because I will be going on my first trip since starting the Paleo transformation, I felt that I needed to bring some things that I could just heat and eat. I LOVE my mom’s meatballs from when I was growing up, so I modified the recipe a bit. I used just a bit of paleo breadcrumbs, but they would’ve still been fine without (I have eaten them in the form of meatballs before. You will also need parchment muffin cups to keep everything together and easy to remove from the wrapper.

Ingredients:
1 lb 85%lean grass feed ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup paleo breadcrumbs
1/2 cup diced onion
2 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 cup+1/3 cup organic pasta sauce (whole foods has a sugar free one with all organic and recognizable ingredients that could be found in a garden)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with parchment cups.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients (and only 1/2 cup of the pasta sauce). Use your hands to combine well. With your hands, press the mixture into the muffin cups almost to the top. Spoon the remainder of the pasta sauce over the top. If you have any empty muffin holders in the tin, fill him with water. Bake for 30 minutes.

You can eat these right away (my husband thought they were great for breakfast) or save them for an easy reheat on the go. They taste like meatloaf, and are very satisfying.

Chicken Roulade

This was my spin on an Against All Grain recipe. It was not too difficult, and everyone liked it. It’s also “pretty”.

Ingredients:

• 4- large chicken breasts with “tenders” removed (it’s the little flap hanging off)
• 1/4 cup paleo pesto
• 1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
• 6 slices of prosciutto
• 1/2 cup paleo breadcrumbs (don’t worry, they’re crazy easy)–optional
• toothpicks

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. On a flat surface, pound the chicken to approximately 1/4 inch thickness. Smear a thin layer of pesto over each piece of chicken, add approximately 1 Tbsp sun dried tomato to each piece, but space them out. Add a layer of prosciutto over the top. Roll the chicken and secure with toothpicks. Sprinkle (or roll) chicken with the breadcrumbs. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. Using a thermometer is recommended. Remove the chicken once it reaches 155 degrees, and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes.  Slice and enjoy.

Mexican Egg Cups

These were incredibly easy to make, and you can adjust it for just a paleo or primal with the cheese added. I used my leftover taco meat from last night, and I threw in some green chilis green onions. Easy and great!

Ingredients:

• 8 eggs, beaten
• 1 4ounce can green chilis
• 1 cup shredded cheese (optional and many kinds of cheeses would work perfectly)
• 1 green onion
• 1 cup seasoned, cooked taco meat
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• cayenne (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Use a 1/4 or 1/3 cup measure to put the mixture into muffin cups. If you use the 1/4 cup measure, you will make 12 muffins. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Insert a knife to check for doneness.

Whole30 Hot Dog Chili!

Is anyone cold? I swear, I have been cold for two weeks despite the fact that I live on the west coast. I am basically just a baby who cannot handle anything below 68 degrees.

There are so many options for this chili, that it really can appeal to almost everyone.

I got this idea from the cookbook, Primal Cravings, but I have changed a quite a bit of the original recipe.  I love Trader Joe’s Salsa Verdi, so I threw that in instead of stewed tomatoes. There is tomato sauce in the recipe as well, so it has plenty of that tomato flavor, but not a lot of tomato chunks. This is SO easy to make, and my husband loves it leftover to take for lunches. Obviously, it is packed with a lot of protein, but I love the addition of the soft egg on top. It was a perfect!

Ingredients:

1.25 lbs ground beef

1 lb uncured hot dogs

1 jar Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde

1 1/3 cup tomato sauce

3 large cloves garlic

1 1/4 tsp ground cumin

1 4oz can chopped green chilis

optional:

avocado

sour cream

shredded cheese

jalapeños

fresh tomato

raw onion

scallions

mustard

relish

avocado

bacon

fried egg

sauerkraut

Method:

In a large pot or skillet, brown the beef and hot dogs. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes over medium heat. Top with any of the optional ingredients.

Pressure Cooker Method:

Brown the beef on the “browning” setting of the pressure cooker. Add hot dogs and garlic, and stir for a few minutes. Add remaining ingredients, stir.  Set the cooker to “high pressure” for 10 minutes.  That’s it!

 

Whole30 Snacks

Looking for snacks to eat this week?

Deviled Eggs

To start, these chicken salad bites are killer! They’re also very easy to make.

Mini Bacon Bowls. They are cute and tasty. You can use the above mentioned chicken salad, but here, I used tuna and egg salads as my fillings.

And now for the nuts… I really love roasting my own cashews. They are often total crowd pleasers, and there is something for everyone (as long as they can eat nuts). You could use other kinds of nuts, but cashews are definitely my favorite.

Ducky Rosemary Cashews

Paleo Taco Nuts: These are my most popularly replicated nuts by blog followers. They are simply nuts made with my homemade paleo taco seasoning.

Indian Spiced Nuts

Paleo Roll Ups

These are really simple and easy. You can make them much smaller than shown here, and you can also use a variety of meats or just use lettuce as the wrap.

Salmon Poke

I absolutely LOVE this light and tasty dish. It really is perfection!

Who is ready to start Whole30 tomorrow???

Anyone ready to hop back on the wagon? I will definitely be doing this and hoping that the week or two of withdrawals won’t make me feel too terrible. I sure have had a great holiday binge, but I am feeling tired, bloated, and ready to get my paleo on. Here are some good recipes to get everyone started this week! There’s something for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack! All very quick and easy!

Paleo Italian Eggs

Lunch Roll Ups

Taco Nuts

Lemon Basil Chicken Tenders

Paleo Egg Drop Soup

What do you make when you’re cold and crabby?  Egg Drop Soup!  This actually turned out really good!  I would like to have had corn in it, but alas that is a grain and not paleo. It’s still great on a cold day.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups chicken broth+ 1/4 cup (homemade or organic)
• 1/2 tsp dried ginger
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tsp arrowroot powder
• 2 eggs + 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper OR white pepper (be really careful with the white pepper–a little goes a LONG way and it can get SPICY!)
• sliced mushrooms, peas, or chicken (optional)

Method:

1. Begin heating the broth over medium heat.
2. While the broth is heating, make a slurry with the arrowroot and 1/4 cup reserved broth.  Stir one more time right before using.
3. Add the ginger, garlic, green onion and sesame oil to the broth.
4. Whisk in the slurry.
5. Once the broth is steaming, add in the egg by making slow circles with the whisk as you pour them in.
6. Add seasoning. Taste as you go as some might like this more salty than others. The white pepper is REALLY good, but VERY strong.
7. Add any optional add-ins that you prefer.