Paleo "Corn"Bread

My mom made us some amazing chili this week and quite honestly I don't think chili is chili without corn bread. Having to stick with my Paleo guidelines for the food challenge we are doing, I found a recipe for some paleo muffins and I thought I had all the ingredients, but when I got home realized I only had 2 eggs instead of the 4 the recipe called for. I just improvised :) Here is what I did - it made about 8 cornbread muffins.

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

3 tablespoons honey, warmed

1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• In a bowl, add flour and salt. 
• In a food processor, add eggs, vinegar and applesauce and pulse for about 5 seconds. 
• Put honey and coconut oil in a bowl and put in the microwave for about 1 minute until everything is warmed and melted. 
• Add to the mix in the food processor and pulse about 5 seconds
• Then add the wet liquid to your dry ingredients and stir until it is all incorporated
• Line your cupcake pan with liners and fill the liners a little over 3/4 full with the mix. 
• Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes
• You want the tops to be starting to brown and be firm to the touch!

Hot Italian Sausage & Veggie Pasta

I always crave pasta, it is definitely my biggest downfall, so with this Challenge, it has been especially difficult. I found this pasta at Traders and it only has brown rice, quinoa flour and water in it! I of course had to try it out. It is delicious. It is very similar to brown rice pasta if you are familiar with that. The recipe I cam up with was super easy and we both loved it!

1 package of Hot Italian Sausage

1 container of diced pancetta

1 yellow pepper

1 can of artichoke hearts in water

large container of cherry tomatoes

2 cups fresh basil, chopped

1 package of brown rice & quinoa pasta

salt and pepper

2 teaspoons garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried minced onions

Directions:

• Chop up veggies so they are all about the same size, and cut tomatoes in half.
• In a large pan, brown the sausage, when it is done, add the pancetta. You could drain the grease if you wanted, but the pasta needs some sort of sauce, so I just left it. It really wan't that much anyways. 
• Boil and cook pasta according to instructions, then drain (do not rinse)
• Then add all veggies and basil to the sausage, add seasonings and let cook about 5 minutes. 
• Add pasta to the sausage and veggies and stir it up!
• Serve it up with some basil over the top. 

Green Olive Sole

We wanted fish for dinner, and I had some Dover Sole in the fridge. I got home, stared in the fridge for about 5 minutes trying to figure out how I was going to make the fish (since typically I really rely on butter for fish like this) and came up with this. Seriously amazing! Stephen LOVED it and we both wish we had more.

2 sole fillets (or other white fish)

1 cup green olives, sliced

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup olive juice

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

garlic powder

Directions:

• In a large pan, put olive oil and saute onions until they are tender and start to become translucent. 
• Add olives, parsley, olive juice, and pepper (don't add salt yet). 
• Season the sole on both sides with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Go VERY light on the salt, the olives and juice add a lot of salt to this dish so you don't want to over do it. 
• Add the fish right on top of the onion and olive mix and let cook about 4 minutes, then flip the fish and let cook through. The fish cooks very fast and you don't want to over do it. 
• Serve the fish up over some quinoa cooked in vegetable or chicken stock! I also garnished with some parsley and served up some sauteed kale on the side. Delicious!!!

Creamy Sirloin Steak

So this recipe came about because I was craving some biscuits and gravy for dinner. This recipe is no where close, obviously, but it did satisfy my craving! The sauce is nice and rich and so delicious. The best part about the gravy was that not only was it excellent on the meat, it was so good served over top the sweet potato mash I made! I usually get pictures of the final product, however as delicious as this meal was, it was extremely unappetizing in pictures :)

3 large portabello mushrooms, sliced 

2-3 thin sliced sirloin steaks

1/2 tablespoon olive oil (or bacon fat)

1/2 cup light coconut milk

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon dried minced onions

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (a substitute for cornstarch)

2 tablespoons water

salt and pepper

1 large sweet potato

1 tablespoon agave

Directions: 

• Salt and pepper sirloin steaks.
• In a large pan, brown the sirloin steaks lightly. You don't want to cook them all the way through because they will be finished off in the gravy. 
• Remove the steaks from the pan and add 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil (Or in my case, I keep bacon grease in a container in my fridge.. duh who wouldn't? Add 1/2 tablespoon of that in here- trust me!)
• Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Then cook about 2 minutes and add garlic. 
• Then add coconut milk, chicken stock, and minced onions. Stir and let cook for 2-3 minutes. 
• Whisk the arrowroot and water together to make a slurry, add to the gravy and stir, it will start to thicken in 3-5 minutes. Once it is thickened slightly, add the sirloin meat in and let simmer for about 10 minutes. 
• While you are cooking the gravy, get your sweet potato in some water to boil. Once it is done, drain and mash with 1 tablespoon agave. 
• Serve the sweet potato on the bottom and the sirloin steaks right over the top. 
• DELICIOUS!

Pork Tenderloin Stir Fry

I was in the meat section of Traders last week, looking for some inspiration. I am embarrassed to even say it, not sure if it was the shape of the tenderloin or what, but it grabbed my eye and I decided it was the piece of meat for me :)  This is what I came up with! I made this last week - a little late on the post, but better late than never on this one!

1 pork tenderloin, cut into medium sized cubes

2 cups carrots

2 cups snow peas

1/2 cup broccoli
1/2 cup green beans

Sauce:

1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce

2 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons coconut flour (to thicken sauce)

1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1 tablespoon of fresh ginger, minced**
4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon sesame seeds
juice of one lime

salt and pepper

Directions: 

• Cut up the tenderloin into either medium size cubes or thinner sliced rounds. If you want to cut thinner, and you have time, placing the pork loin in the freezer for 20-30 minutes really helps make that process 100 times easier.
• Season the pork with salt and pepper.
• In a pan with 1 tablespoon oil, saute the meat until it is mostly opaque and browned. Remove from the pan and drain. 
• In the same pan, add the veggies and cook about 5 minutes. I prefer my veggies to be very crisp still when I eat them- leave those nutrients where they belong!
• Then mix up your sauce and add to the pan, then add back in your meat right away and cook about 5-10 minutes until the sauce has thickened. 
• Serve up alone or over some quinoa or brown rice!

** Another tip with ginger. I always keep mine in the freezer. When I go to grate it, it goes SUPER fast and is way easier!

Tuna Salad Lettuce Wraps

Stephen and I made these this weekend, they were delicious and savory. We didn't even miss the mayo and bread that typically comes with a tuna sandwich. This is a perfect lunch or a quick and simple dinner if you are in a rush!

2 cans of tuna in water, drained

1 cup carrots, chopped

1/4 cup sugar snap peas, chopped

1/4 cup cabbage, chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard (make sure no sugar)

2 tablespoons dijon mustard (no sugar)

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish

1 tablespoon chopped capers

Romaine lettuce spears- or you can use butter lettuce

Directions: 

• Chop all your ingredients (Stephen did a pretty awesome job chopping, don't you think?!)
• Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste and add extra mustard if you would like it a tad creamier. Also add salt and pepper to taste. 
• Fill your lettuce spears with the mix (Stephen had also spread a little hummus on the bottom and put some avocado on top, was pretty amazing!)

Paleo Bacon, Pancetta & Chicken Alfredo

Got this recipe from PaleOMG and OMG it is amazing. Seriously what I have been craving! Definitely a super easy must try. I made several modifications from the original, and I think it was pretty dang good, really I might even make this over normal alfredo from now on. One modification that I LOVED was my addition of Jalapeno Bacon!! We will see how it is for leftovers the next day! I made a BUNCH so I could have leftovers, plenty for dinner, and take a friend some for lunch too :)

2 spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed

1 larger acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed

6 chicken thighs (or 3 chicken breasts)

6 slices of Jalapeno bacon, diced
1 small package of diced pancetta
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

2 cans light coconut milk
3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon oregano

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

salt and pepper
olive oil

Directions:

• Preheat your 450 degrees.
• Cut spaghetti squash & acorn squash in half and use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and excess threads. 
• Place all squash open side down on a baking sheet (use aluminum foil or parchment paper for easy clean up) and cook for 20-25 minutes. 
• Just place chicken on a foil or parchment paper lined baking sheet, sprinkle some olive oil over the chicken (or other kind of fat), salt and pepper it and add some garlic powder. Cook about 15 minutes in the 450 degree oven, turning 1/2 way through. . 
• Once your squash is done cooking, pull it out of the oven, dethread the spaghetti squash into a large bowl with a fork. 
• Now throw your diced bacon and pancetta into a skillet and cook until done. Use a slotted spoon to pull out your cooked bacon, but leave behind the grease (remove some if it happens to be a lot.
• Take your acorn squash and hollow it out. Just use the insides and dump them into your warm skillet filled with bacon grease. Then add your coconut milk. You may need to add a little bit more coconut milk depending on how runny you like your sauce. Mix thoroughly with a ladle to break up the squash a bit.
• Add seasonings to the mix and salt and pepper as needed. Mix thoroughly and cook on low for about 5 minutes to simmer.
• Now dice up your cooked chicken and add the chicken and bacon back into the pan. 
• Pour sauce over spaghetti squash serve up!
• Next time I make this I will add some mushrooms too!