Project Paleo

On the road again

Just when I thought I wasn’t going to be on a plane again for a few weeks, a surprise trip to Michigan popped up.  And I had literally just unpacked from my trip to DC this weekend.  So this will probably be my lone post of the week - sorry gang!  

I overpaid for this chuck roast from a local high-end grocery store who happens to carry Proffitt Farms beef - that’s what happens when you’re away every weekend, I guess.  But once it turned into melt-in-your-mouth-meat, it was totally worth the $20.49 (that’s about $10/lb for you math geniuses).  Plus it was ready when I got home tonight!

Lemongrass Beef

• 2 lb chuck roast, cut into 1” chunks
• 1 can coconut milk (I used lite and it was fine)
• 3 stalks of lemongrass, diced
• 1 tbsp ginger powder
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp fish sauce

Mix it all in a crockpot and then cook on low for 6 hours.  Garnish with cilantro if you’re feeling fancy!

We served it with a side of roasted curry cauliflower:

Lifesavers: Chicken & Garlic

Thank goodness for rotisserie chicken - and garlic.  I can never get enough garlic.  One of our grocery stores sells “smart chickens”, which are as close to Paleo rotisserie chickens as you can get.  I bought one on Sunday to jump-start my weekly meals since there hasn’t been a Sunday cook-up in our house in over a month.  It came in handy tonight when I wasn’t up for making an involved recipe.  So I turned to my favorite ingredient, garlic, and threw this together in about 15 minutes.  It would work well with leftover chicken, too.

Garlic Lemon Chicken

• Shredded chicken (we had about a half of a rotisserie chicken left)
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• handful of basil leaves
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• olive oil
• sea salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook for about 1 minute.  Add chicken, basil, and tomatoes and saute for about 2-3 minutes.  Add lemon juice and sea salt & pepper.  Cook another 1-2 minutes, and enjoy.

Garlic & crushed red pepper-sauteed broccoli on the side…YUM!

Chili Dogs Reinvented

Who needs chili dogs when you have chili with hot dogs in it?  Sounds like a red neck meal, but it’s a darn good one.  It was also super-easy to make after being away all weekend (Ft. Worth - my love for Uncle Julio’s continues).  The key is using ground pork, ground beef, and hot dogs from Wild Turkey Farms (which are made from grass fed beef, pasture-raised pork, and have no caseins/gluten).  The blend works.

Red Neck Chili

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 lb package of hot dogs, cut into 1” pieces
• 2 14 oz cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 package of fire-roasted peppers & onions (Trader Joe’s frozen)
• chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, and garlic salt (and I didn’t measure)
• cilantro for garnish

Mix it all together in a crock pot and cook for 6-7 hours on low.  DONE!

Served the chili with a sweet potato and half an avocado.  Easy capeeze!

Red Hot Curry Peppers

The title is slightly misleading…this really wasn’t that spicy.  But it sure was red!  I made Thai coconut curry with an entire jar of red curry paste.  Totally worth it - so flavorful.  I also slightly changed up my recipe: instead of cooking the chicken first, I warmed up 1/2 can of coconut milk mixed with the jar of curry paste in a large pan, then added the chicken, then the rest of the coconut milk, fish sauce, and peppers.  Can’t wait to try this again with green curry!

Enjoyed it with a side of roasted curry cauliflower:

Roasting cauliflower is totally the way to go - love the nutty taste.

Deconstructing Delicious

I just love pesto, but I don’t love making it after a long day at work.  Call me lazy, but dragging out the food processor is kind of a hassle sometimes.  So tonight I deconstructed pesto…some would just call it basil & garlic, but I’m calling deconstructed pesto.  I left out the nuts to keep it low cal; in case you missed it, I overate this weekend.  

Deconstructed Pesto Pasta

• 3 zucchinis, shredded into noodles
• 1 lb Italian pork sausage, cut into 1/2” slices (trusty Grateful Growers!)
• large handful of basil leaves
• 6-8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 10 grape tomatoes (optional)
• sea salt & pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to boil and blanch the zucchini noodles for 3 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.  In a large pan, start cooking the sausage.  Once almost entirely cooked through, add basil, grape tomatoes, garlic, and sea salt & pepper.  After a few minutes, add zucchini and olive oil.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes more until thoroughly mixed and sausage is cooked through.  

We roasted some beets to have as a side, too.  All part of this complete dinner!

Weekday Warrior

I am back from another weekend of traveling, this time to New York.  One of the highlights was trying Red Farm, a farm-to-table Asian restaurant in the West Village.  It wasn’t exactly a Paleo meal, but it was the “cleanest” Chinese food I’ve ever had.  I went to bed in a dim sum-induced food coma….whoops.

Back to basics today with Real Simple’s Chicken Tikka Masala.  I made it with carrot “pappardelle” sauteed in curry powder, sesame oil, and garlic powder.  The carrots are a keeper for sure.

Shades of Beige

I’m a little disappointed in my lack of a colorful meal tonight - but what it lacked in color, it more than made up for in taste.  I also went the extra mile and basically made two dinners tonight so that I could have a lunch for tomorrow.  As Nick always says, my family crest is a spreadsheet - I love to plan.

Smothered Pork Chops (click the title for the recipe)

and

Lazy Pork-fried Rice

• 1 head of cauliflower, riced in a food processor, or chopped finely

• 1 lb of ground pork 
• Handful of Trader Joe’s frozen leeks (which are pre-diced)
• 1 egg
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp coconut aminos, divided
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• pinch of Chinese 5-spice powder
• sea salt & pepper to taste
• coconut oil

Heat coconut oil in large pan or wok and add pork.  While pork is cooking, add garlic and 1 tbsp coconut aminos.  Cook until pork is browned, then remove and set aside.  In the same pan, add cauliflower and a little more coconut oil and stir frequently over medium-high heat.  Create a small space in the center of the pan, and add the egg, scrambling it.  Mix the scrambled egg & cauliflower and add 1 tbsp coconut aminos, Chinese 5 spice powder, and the leeks.  After about 3 minutes, add pork back in and 1 tbsp sesame oil.  Cook for about another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  

Told you it was beige.  But so delicious!  PS Those are oyster mushrooms for a fun change.  PPS Yes, there’s a pork chop under there.

Portion Control

I tried.  But this was just too good to not have seconds.  I bought some lemongrass on an “impulse buy” at the farmers market, only to realize I didn’t really have a recipe in mind.  Trusty google led me to a recipe for Vietnamese Coconut Lemongrass Chicken.  So I paleo-fied it:

Paleo Lemongrass Chicken

• 1 lb chicken tenderloins, sliced into 1” chunks
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1” piece of ginger, peeled & minced
• 3-4 stalks of lemongrass, green tops removed and pale ends finely chopped
• 1/2 tbsp crushed red pepper (or more if you like spicy food)
• 1/2 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 oz. coconut milk (I used full fat)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• sea salt & pepper to taste

Heat coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add onion & garlic and saute until onion starts to soften.  Add salt, pepper, ginger, and chicken and cook until chicken starts to brown.  Add the crushed red pepper, lemongrass, curry powder, coconut aminos, fish sauce, and coconut milk.  Cover and cook over low-medium heat for about 5-7 minutes.  Remove the lid and simmer for about 2-3 more minutes, until the sauce thickens.

For a side dish, we had spicy broccoli, my favorite!

This would be awesome with cashews tossed in!

Siete de Mayo

I missed out on most of the Cinco de Mayo celebrations, as I was at the Wells Fargo Championship (golf tournament) all day.  And to make up for it, we went out for Mexican food last night, and I made a Tex-Mex meal tonight.  I’m feeling much more festive now - and pretty thrilled with my latest twist on carnitas.

Slow Cooker Carnitas

• 1 pork shoulder (about 3 lbs)
• 2 tbsp Salt Lick dry rub
• 1 jar Trader Joe’s roasted tomatillo & yellow chile salsa

Rub pork with dry rub and wrap tightly in plastic wrap over night.  Unwrap and place in slow cooker.  Cover with salsa and add about a half jar of water.  Cook for 6 hours on low.  Shred pork if desired.  

Served it with sauteed green peppers, red onions, and kale and guacamole mixed with mango.  The guacamole was out of this world.