Chicken Avocado in Green Chile Sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes (I did a bit of prepping as I went)

 

This recipe appealed to me, because I LOVE chile peppers, all kinds, shapes and sizes. The ancho chile, is a poblano pepper, dried. Should be in the produce section of any grocery store. It has a very unique smoky scent and flavor.

 

2 chicken breasts

Put in pan with water and cover on med high heat for 15 minutes. Pull chicken out and shred. Set aside.

Sauce:
2 cloves garlic minced
dice your ancho chile (take your seeds out, I left mine in, because I thought it might add flavor, but I don't think it did and the seeds were hard to chew)
4-5 diced tomatillos

2 ripe avocados

1/2 cup organic chicken broth

juice from 1/2 of lime
cilantro to taste

Put in saucepan with 1 tbs oil (I used garlic infused olive oil) and heat over medium heat until tomatillos start to break down. Once sauce is cooked, add in: 2 ripe avocados mashed with 1 tbs lime juice

Mix chicken into sauce

I served with:
Butternut squash, peeled seeded and diced that I boiled and smashed with a little garlic olive oil. 

The butternut squash was the perfect compliment to the slight tartness of the tomatillos. The only seasoning I used on them, was the garlic infused olive oil. Really simple and really tasty.

Super meaty Chili

It's that time of year again.....break out your chili pan and hooded sweatshirt. Chili is such an easy, fun dish to experiment with. Every time I make it, I do something differently than the last time. My family's chili is heavy on the tomatoes and tomato paste, so when I came across this one on paleomama's website, I thought I'd give it a try. Here is the original recipe, I made some modifications, because I wanted more veggies and more spice. It turned out real nice :)

http://paleomama.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/my-infamous-paleo-chili/

2 lbs lean ground beef (grassfed)
1 lb grassfed stew meat
1 large can crushed tomatoes (look for the one where the only ingredient is tomatoes)
10 whole tomatillos
1 large onion diced

1 yellow pepper diced

1 orange pepper diced

1 poblano pepper diced (1/2 de-seeded)

1 jalapeno pepper diced (1/2 de-seeded)
1/8 cup almond flour (this is optional for thickening, omit if you have a nut allergy)
about 2 cups of beef broth

4 cloves garlic minced
2 tbs ground cumin
3-4 tbs chili powder

red chili peppers to taste
chipotle infused olive oil

Put about 2 tbs olive oil in a pan and get it screaming hot. Sear the chunks of steak. It doesn’t have to be cooked at this point, just brown and pull it out. Add a little more oil if needed and add diced onion to kind of brown a bit, then add peppers one by one. Add the beef stock and let it cook until it is reduced by half (this gives a really meaty base). While the stock was reducing, I  peeled the tomatillos and cut them in half, then placed them in a cast iron  skillet to brown. Once they are browned on both sides, I put them in a blender with some cilantro. Blend to a chunky liquid and add to chili pan. Next, add in ground beef and almond flour. Stir until it browns a bit. Add garlic, spices, tomatoes, and steak chunks. Simmer on low heat for a couple of hours. It gets better the longer it cooks.

Curried Shrimps and Kale (or spinach)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20

2 lbs shrimps, peeled and deveined
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 cup full-fat coconut milk
1/2 bunch of Kale (you can also use spinach)

Heat a large skillet over a medium-low heat and cook the onion in the coconut oil until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the curry powder and continue cooking for a minute.
Place mixture in a blender or a food processor, add the tomato paste as well as the chicken stock and coconut milk. Process or blend until smooth.
Pour the mixture back in the skillet and bring to a simmer.
Add the shrimps and kale (or spinach) and cook, covered, for about 5 minutes, until the shrimps are just cooked.

I added crushed red peppers to this recipe, because I just love spicy.....this is a good one! ENJOY

Chorizo Stuffed Peppers

Photo: dish shown pre-cooked

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
 
4 green, red, yellow or orange bell peppers (I used all four colors)
1 lb pork chorizo sausage, out of casing 
1 cup onion, chopped 
1 cup carrot, chopped
1 tsp oregano 

I bought the pork chorizo at whole foods butcher counter, it's so flavorful already, you don't need a whole lot of additional seasoning, which is great. 


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cut the top off of each pepper; discard the tops and seeds. Chop the onion and carrot and add it to a bowl. Add the chorizo, plus spices. Mix well. Stuff the meat mixture into each pepper. Place the peppers upright into a baking pan. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the peppers have softened.

Let cool for a couple minutes and serve. 

I found this recipe on Crossfitcenturion.com, but modified it slightly by subbing pork sausage for chicken, adding carrots and oregano. It's still cooking, but I think I'm going to like it!

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

We got rhubarb in our csa this week, so I thought I would try a new recipe.....this turned out really good and was super easy to throw together before dinner tonight! Wish I would have snapped a photo before we taste tested it......piggys over here :)

Ingredients

2 cups fresh stawberries
12 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
1 cup Pecan halves
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 1/2 cups rhubarb

Directions


Chop rhubarb, halve/quarter strawberries, place in bottom of 8x8 pan. Melt coconut oil in separate bowl. Mix in unsweetened coconut and crushed pecans. Spread mixture over top of fruit and bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes.

Fluffy Coconut Pancakes

Got this recipe from Jess and just had to share! It is the first paleo pancake recipe I've tried that actually tastes like a pancake! So so good. I made the same subs that Jess suggested, but here is the link to the original recipe from Nourishing Days: http://www.nourishingdays.com/2010/07/fluffy-coconut-flour-pancakes/

I used coconut milk and left out the honey/stevia and added a couple pinches of cinnamon instead. I also added a little extra coconut flour to thicken the batter and topped them with honey, walnuts and blueberries. I can't wait to make these again!


Ingredients
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk (raw cow’s or coconut both work)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey or a pinch of stevia
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
coconut oil or butter for frying

Directions

1. Preheat griddle over medium-low heat. In a small bowl beat eggs until frothy, about two minutes. Mix in milk, vanilla, and honey or stevia.
2. In a medium-sized bowl combine coconut flour, baking soda, and sea salt and whisk together. Stir wet mixture into dry until coconut flour is incorporated.
3. Grease pan with butter or coconut oil. Ladle a few tablespoons of batter into pan for each pancake. Spread out slightly with the back of a spoon. The pancakes should be 2-3 inches in diameter and fairly thick. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until the tops dry out slightly and the bottoms start to brown. Flip and cook an additional 2-3 minutes.
4. Serve hot with butter, coconut oil, honey, syrup, or fruit.

Sausage “Spaghetti" in Creamy Tomato Sauce

I think Karen Cason said it best, when she said, "most paleo recipes are just a mixture of meat and vegetables!", and while that is exactly what this is.....it's got a bit of zip because of the spicy sausage, which I like. This recipe makes a TON of food, so make sure you have a crew or are in need of lunch for the week. 

Ingredients
1.25 lbs mild Italian pork sausage
1 large leek, diced
½ red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 can of artichoke hearts packed in water, cut into quarters
1 tablespoon coconut oil
5 zucchini squash, sliced thin like noodles (I sliced mine by hand, so had to be very patient to get it as thin as I wanted. Everyday Paleo, where I got the recipe, sliced their zucchini thin with a mandolin slicer and then used a knife to slice the thin noodle strips into “spaghetti” like noodles.  You can also make it easier on yourself and use a julienne slicer. I'm not quite that fancy yet!!

Sauce
1 can of organic diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons coconut milk (EP called for coconut cream concentrate or sub with coconut milk, or grass fed heavy whipping cream)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, minced
Black pepper to taste

In a large skillet or wok heat the coconut oil.  Brown the meat in the coconut oil and add the onion, leeks, and bell peppers. In a small sauce pan mix together the can of diced tomatoes with the juice with the coconut cream concentrate.  Bring to a simmer and add the remaining sauce ingredients and mix well.  To the meat and veggies add the zucchini and artichokes and pour the sauce over.  Mix well and cook for another 5-6 minutes, just until the zucchini al dente – careful not over cook or they will turn to mush!

Like I said this is a LOT of food. I actually didn't have room in my pan for the last zucchini! I enjoyed this dish, it was a nice switch from ground beef, chicken and turkey AND the sausage seasoning pretty much took care of the flavoring. yum.