Category: Food

This was a super easy and tasty recipe from Bon Appetit. They call it gluten free, I call it paleo.

I was afraid that the lemon would interfere with the taste of the chicken ~ you know, overwhelm it, but it didn’t.

So ~ here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this (olive oil, salt and pepper not shown).

You’ll be adding the shallot, garlic and red pepper flakes to a large cast iron pot or any heavy pot, then cooking this through until you can smell the fragrance of the garlic.  Ummmmmm ….

The recipe has you add only 1/3 of the ground chicken to the pot to start, but in hindsight, you can actually add it all in at once. I’ve left the original directions as they are for blog purposes.

You’ll be mixing the ground chicken with the other ingredients then transferring it to a bowl and letting it cool.

Next you’ll be adding the remaining chicken meat, salt, and several grindings of black pepper and mixing this in the pot to just combine it.

Then you’ll be combining this to the other 1/3 chicken and making meatballs from them then adding them back to the pot along with a tad of olive oil.

Cook the meatballs until golden brown then remove them from the pot.

Next, you’ll be adding the remaining shallot and the sliced lemons to the pot and letting the lemons soften.

After the lemon slices have softened, add the broth and the meatballs to the pot and allow this to simmer.

Looking yummy already, aren’t they?

Lower the heat and cover the pot and allow this to simmer for about 10 minutes then add the kale and cook until the kale is a nice bright green ~ not more than 4 minutes.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper and … you’re finished!

Ready to see the recipe?

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 medium shallots, minced, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 pound ground chicken meat
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, more or less
• 1 lemon, very thinly sliced and seeds removed
• 2 cups low salt chicken broth
• 1 large bunch curly kale, destemmed

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a large heavy pot over medium heat.
2. Add one shallot, garlic, and red pepper flakes then cook, stirring constantly until softened and fragrant, about 6 minutes.
3. Add 1/3 of the ground chicken to the pot and cook just until cooked through, breaking up any clumps.
4. Transfer to a medium bowl and let cool slightly.
5. Add the remaining chicken meat, salt, and several grindings of black pepper. Mix just to combine.
6. Wipe out the pot and add the remaining tablespoon of oil then heat over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking.
7. Form meat mixture into 8 -10 meatballs about 2 inches around each then add them to the pot (mixture will be soft).
8. Cook the meatballs until light golden brown on all sides, 6-8 minutes total. Remove meatballs to a plate and set this aside.
9. Add the remaining shallot along with the lemon slices and cook until the lemon is tender and starting to turn light golden brown, about 2 minutes.
10. Next, add the chicken broth and return the meatballs to the pot.
11. Bring the broth to a simmer, lower the heat and cover.
12. Cook meatballs for about 8-10 minutes.
13. Add kale to the pot then cook until the kale is tender and bright green, about 4-5 minutes.
14. Season everything with salt and pepper then remove it from the heat and get ready to serve it.

I served this wonderful dish with basil zucchini and a slice of sweet potato.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

I adapted this Food Network recipe to make it paleo ~ quite simple really as I just replaced the new potatoes with sweet potatoes. It turned out quite well.

Here is what you’ll be needing for this recipe (olive oil, salt and pepper not shown) ~

And, of course, turkey tenderloins ~

You’ll be dicing your sweet potato into large bite-sized chunks.

Next you’ll be adding the prepared turkey to a large casserole dish along with the diced sweet potatoes.

Make a nice broth to pour over the turkey mixture.

You’ll be baking this for about 40 minutes then allowing it to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing the turkey.

Ready to see the recipe?

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 (1 1/2 pound) turkey tenderloins
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 1 large sweet potato cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons dried tarragon

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2.  Place olive oil in a large baking dish then season the turkey tenderloins with salt and black pepper then place them in the baking dish.
3. Arrange the potatoes all around the turkey and coat them with oil.
4. Season the potatoes by adding salt and black pepper to them.
5. Arrange the shallots over the potatoes in the pan.
6.  In a small bowl, combine the wine, broth, vinegar, and tarragon then pour this mixture over the turkey.
7.  Roast the turkey and potatoes for 40 minutes until an instant-read thermometer registers at least 160 degrees F then let the turkey rest 10 minutes before slicing crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices.
8. Now serve your meal with a salad or additional vegetables.

Pretty simple, no?

Here’s the final product. I served my turkey tenderloins with a green salad.

Roasted Turkey with Sweet Potatoes and Tarragon

Enjoy!

Have you ever wondered why paleo eaters don’t regularly eat potatoes? One of the reasons is that the potato causes spikes in our glycemic index which can wreak havoc in our bodies.  Here’s a really good article on it that gives you a lot more detail: The Paleo Diet ~ Potatoes.

Ahhhh ~ but what about sweet potatoes, you say. Sweet potatoes don’t have several harmful substances such as saponins and lectins. 

And ~ that’s all I’ll say on that topic but please feel free to read the above articles along with the comments that accompany them.

For additional paleo recipes, click here.

I’m really glad I stumbled upon this Crispy Chicken Thighs recipe. It was delicious! And it was really really easy to make. What a great combination.

Here are the ingredients you’ll be using (less the salt):

Then ~ you’ll need some bone-in skin-on chicken thighs. This package had 5 thighs which was perfect for us. Clean them thighs well then dry them.

Next I prepared the spices in a small bowl. You can use however much of each you want depending on your taste buds. (Cool, no?)

After rubbing the herbs on the cleaned and dried chicken, I prepared a cookie sheet by layering it with parchment paper.

The chicken gets baked in a 400° convection oven (40 minutes in a regular oven) for approximately 30 minutes.  Use a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken is completely cooked ~ if you don’t have one, poke a fork through the chicken and make sure the juices run clear.

And that’s how simple it was.  Special thanks to Stupid Easy Paleo for this recipe. Head on over there if you need additional instructions.

Enjoy!

A couple of weeks ago I bought a large eggplant and, sad to say, I didn’t use it and it became moldy.

So, I decided to try again and bought another eggplant. This time I had a recipe ready for it. Am I getting smart or what?  (laughing)

I found the recipe in a cookbook called The Cooking Light Cookbook that I was given as a gift a couple of years back. It really has some very nice recipes that don’t need tweaking to make them paleo.

I used one large eggplant instead of 4 small ones as the recipe recommended ~ you can choose what works for you.

Here’s what you’ll be needing (salt, pepper and olive oil are not shown) …

I used fresh basil but didn’t have fresh sage on hand so I used powdered and it worked out quite well.

This year, I planted rosemary in a flower pot and it’s worked really well for me. I keep the flower pot right next to the front door. Unfortunately, I’ve been told that rosemary is not a perennial in Minnesota (unlike Seattle where the rosemary seems to grow most of the year and then comes back the following year).

You’ll be cutting the eggplant lengthwise but barely to the top as you want it to stay intact while it bakes.

Then, you’ll be preparing the herb mixture.

Dum dee dum … too easy, too easy …

After brushing the eggplant (inside and outside) with olive oil, you’ll be baking it in the oven.

So ~ let’s take a look at the actual recipe, shall we?

Ingredients

• 4 small eggplants (about 13 ounces) or 1 large one
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450°.
2. Cut the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices, cutting to but not through the stem end.
3. Fan the eggplant and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or you can spray it with olive oil spray.
4. Brush 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil evenly over the eggplant slices.
5. Bake for 15 minutes or so then remove from the oven and press the eggplant “slices” apart.
6. Brush the slices with 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7. Put the eggplant back in the oven for an additional 10 minutes until the flesh is tender and the edges are browned.  (Note: It only took an additional 5 minutes in a convection oven.)
8. Remove the eggplant from the oven then drizzle just a bit more olive oil evenly over the eggplant and sprinkle with the herbs.

That’s it! I served the Roasted Eggplant with grilled Steak and Cilantro and Cumin Spiced Carrots.

Enjoy!

For additional recipes, click here.