Simply Norma

Coming up with easy “sides” for entrees is becoming easier and easier.

This paleo Baked Sweet Potato with Thyme recipe was thrown together in no time at all.

Here is what you’ll need …

After cleaning your sweet potato, you’ll be cutting it into bite size pieces.

Next, slice the shallots.

Put the potatoes and shallots in a small bowl.

Next, you’ll be slowly pouring the oil over the potatoes and shallots but just a little at a time. You want the oil to coat the mixture — don’t drown it.  (hehe)

Add 2 teaspoons of thyme to the mixture and blend it all together. Line a glass pan with aluminum foil (easy clean up later) then add the potato mixture to the pan.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes (poke a fork through one of the potato pieces to check for doneness — it should be soft) and whala!

Here’s the recipe for you.

Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato, cleaned and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 Shallot, peeled then sliced
• 2 teaspoons dried Thyme
• 1-2 teaspoons Olive Oil

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
2. Clean and slice the sweet potato into bite size pieces.
3. Slice the shallot.
4. Add the sweet potato and the shallot to a small bowl.
5. Add the olive oil to the sweet potato mixture a little at a time, while tossing, to coat the mixture.
6. Add the thyme to the mixture and stir everything together.
7. Line a glass pan with aluminum foil and add the potato mixture to the pan making sure the potatoes are mostly evenly spaced.
8.  Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a fork poked through one of the potato pieces goes through easily.

This makes approximately 3 servings.

I served this with Baked Salmon, Steamed Broccoli and Apricot Ginger Sauce.

And, I must say — it was delicious!

Enjoy!

For a list of other Paleo Recipes, click here.

Besides our regular grocery, a trip to Costco yesterday yielded one large tray of apricots. I really enjoy eating them and can eat 3-4 in one sitting. Unfortunately, as we were checking out, we noticed that one of the apricots in the bunch was spoiled. The cashier was kind enough to have someone bring us a new tray and we walked out the door — happy.

When we arrived home, I opened the tray of apricots to “feel” for the ones that might be ripe and ready to eat. I touched one, then another and another — they were all ripe and ready to eat NOW. I had three and decided to find a recipe that I could make with some of the remaining ones.

This is the recipe I came up with which is adapted from one called Apricot Ginger BBQ Sauce.

I remembered having Apricot Chicken at Olive Garden a couple of years ago so I had high hopes for this recipe and it did not disappoint.

Alright then — let’s take a look at this paleo recipe. Here are the main ingredients (less the salt and water).

You’ll be slicing the apricots in half, removing the pit and then dicing them up. They will mostly break apart when you cook them so they don’t all have to be the same size.

Next you’ll be dicing up the tomatoes. I used small heirloom tomatoes.

Both the diced apricots and tomatoes will be thrown (not literally — haha) into a small pot along with a half cup of water then you’ll bring that to a simmer.

While the apricot mixture is cooking through, grate the fresh ginger and dice up the cranberries.

Next you’ll be adding the ginger, cranberries, honey and salt to the apricot mixture and letting everything come to a boil until you have a nice sauce.

You’ll notice it’s still a little thick. Set this aside and allow it to cool.

Once the mixture is cooked, you’ll be using an immersion blender and pulsing the mixture until you get a smooth saucy texture.

And the sauce will be so beautiful looking … ahhhhhh. And so tasty. ….. ahhhhh. I do enjoy apricots.

Ready to see the recipe?

Ingredients

• 6 Ripe Apricots, pits removed then diced
• 4-6 small Heirloom Tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 Cup Water
• 1 Tablespoon Grated Fresh Ginger
• 2-3 Tablespoons Dried Cranberries, diced
• 1 Tablespoons Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Salt

Ingredients

1. After preparing the apricots and tomatoes, add them to a small pot along with the water.
2. Cook the apricot mixture on medium until it comes to a simmer.
3. Add the honey, vinegar and sea salt then taste to make sure it’s sweet enough for you.
4. While the apricot mixture is cooking through, prepare the ginger and cranberries then add them to the apricot mixture.
5. Once the mixture starts boiling, remove it from the stove and let the sauce cool.
6. After cooling, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce into an almost smooth consistency.

Any leftovers of this sauce can be refrigerated.  The sauce tastes great on both on salmon and chicken.

This time around I used it on baked salmon and I must say, it was delicious! I served the salmon with steamed broccoli and Baked Sweet Potato with Thyme.

Enjoy!

For additional Paleo Recipes, click here.

I’m finally back home after two birthday parties, a graduation party and a family reunion. Whew! That’s a lot of family to see.

Here’s a recipe I made right before I left that I think you’ll enjoy.

Most recipes are easy to “paleo-ize” and this one was no exception. Not only was it easy but it was quite delicious as well. Originally I was going to make this recipe for my husband’s lunch but I kept forgetting so we had it for dinner instead. The ingredients are simple enough to purchase.

And, of course, the chicken.

I prepared the vegetables which consisted of shredding the carrots and slicing the celery.

Next I cleaned and shredded the lettuce then tossed it in a bowl.

I used three boneless skinless chicken breasts and prepared them by grilling them on the stovetop then cutting them into bite size pieces. Then I seasoned them with a little bit of black ground pepper.

The original recipe calls for peanuts but I used raw cashews that I chopped up.

The coconut dressing is a combination of light coconut milk, maple syrup, almond butter, lime juice, coconut amino and a tad of red pepper flakes.

So far, so good? Take a peek at the recipe …

Ingredients

• 4-6 cups romaine lettuce (cut up)
• 2-3 skinless boneless chicken breasts, grilled and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup celery, sliced
• 2/3 cup light coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons coconut amino
• Red Pepper flakes (just a dash)
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped raw unsalted cashews

Directions

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.
2. In a separate medium sized bowl, add the coconut milk, maple syrup, almond butter, lime juice, coconut amino and the red pepper flakes (or use ground pepper if you prefer) then stir everything together.
3. Transfer the coconut mixture to a small saucepan and bring it to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Stir to make sure everything is well combined.
4. Remove the coconut mixture from the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes.
5. Pour the coconut mixture over the lettuce mixture and sprinkle with the cashews.

And here is the final result. Easy and delicious!

Adapted from Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing.

For a list of paleo recipes, click here.

Interesting. This paleo Roasted Moroccan Spiced Grapes and Chicken recipe is very interesting indeed and delicious.

I wasn’t sure if I would like the taste of grapes and olives together but it worked quite well. Really, it did.

Here are the ingredients you’ll be needing … (olive oil and chicken not shown). I substituted the red pepper flakes for ground red pepper.

With the spices, you’ll be making a spice mixture. Here’s what it will look like when you combine everything.

Next you’ll need to cut up your vegetables, add them to a bowl along with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and salt then mix it all together. It doesn’t look like a lot but I’m only cooking for two. Add more if you wish.

I like to have most things prepped before I start so I don’t go “oops, I forgot something” later on.

You’ll be needing 2 cookie sheets or  jelly rolls. The cookie sheets/jelly rolls will be put in the oven and left there while it’s preheating at 450° Fahrenheit.

Then you’ll be removing one of the cookie sheets from the oven and adding the vegetable mixture to it and putting that back into the oven for about 10 minutes.

While the veggies are in the oven, prepare your olive oil and grape mixture.

Next you’ll be preparing the chicken. After cleaning the bone-in skin-on chicken and patting them dry, coat them with the spice mixture.

Prepare a cast iron skillet (that’s what I like to use for browning meat) by adding a coating of olive oil on the bottom then preheating the skillet on medium. (What a boring picture, eh?)

Once the olive oil is hot, add the chicken pieces, skin side down so you can brown them and make them crispy. It shouldn’t take too long — 5 to 7 minutes. They should look like this …

Make sure you don’t forget to take out the veggies that are in the oven. Once that’s completed, add the pieces of chicken on top of the veggies and pop them back into the oven. You’ll be baking this for 15-25 minutes — check to make sure the juices run clear by poking the chicken with a sharp knife or a skewer (you can also use a meat thermometer).

Remember that second cookie sheet that’s still in the oven? Remove it and place your grape/olive mixture on it and bake it for 10 minutes or so until the mixture is soft.

Once everything is cooked through and removed from the oven, you’ll be adding part of the grape/olive mixture and part of the vegetables on the bottom of a plate then adding the chicken on top.

Ready to see the recipe?

Ingredients

• 1 cup sliced yellow onion
• 3 large carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
•  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, cleaned
• 1 -2 cups seedless red grapes
• 1/4 cup pitted green olives
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Place 2 cookie sheets or jelly roll pans in the oven and preheat to 450° Fahrenheit.
2. Combine the onion, carrots and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl then toss together.
3. Once the cookie sheets are preheated, remove one and add the onion mixture on it along with 1/4 teaspoon salt and bake this for 10 minutes.
4. Combine 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, the cumin, coriander, cinnamon and red pepper flakes in a small bowl to make the spice mixture.
5. Sprinkle the chicken evenly with the spice mixture.
6. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat then add 1 teaspoon of oil to the pan to coat it.
7. Add the spiced chicken to the skillet, skin side down, and cook until the skin is browned and crisp.
8. Remove the chicken from the pan and add it to the vegetable mixture, skin side up, then bake at 450°for 15-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
9. Combine the remaining 1 teaspoon oil, grapes, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and the olives in a medium bowl and toss it to combine it together.
10. Remove the 2nd cookie sheet from the oven and place the grape mixture on it and bake the grapes/olive mixture for about 10 minutes until the grapes are soft.
11. To serve: Place part of the vegetable mixture and part of the grape mixture on a plate then top with 1 or 2 chicken thighs.
12. Sprinkle with parsley if you wish.

I served this with guacamole (I had some very ripe avocados I had to use) along with a tomato basil salad.

List of Paleo Recipes