Paleo Spicy Braised Chicken with Tomatoes & Zucchini

This dish has some kick! You can adjust the heat by the type/number of chilies you use, but in this house, we like spicy. You could also cook these in a crock pot - after you sear them, pop them in on low before you head to work. 

8 piece Kosher chicken

1 cup fresh chives

1 cup fresh Italian parsley

7-10 dried chilies

1 tsp salt

4 cloves garlic

2 tbs water

2 medium onions, chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup white wine

16 oz chicken broth

1 bay leaf

In a food processor, pulse chives, parsley, salt, chilies, garlic and water to make a paste.  Rinse and pat chicken dry and put in a large baking dish.  Pour paste over chicken and marinate in the fridge for 4-6 hours.  

Heat a couple tbs of oil in a dutch oven, wipe off any excess marinade and brown chicken in batches, transferring to a plate when both sides are done.  Add onions and zucchini and saute for a few minutes, then add tomatoes, wine, broth, and bay leaf,  scraping up any bits.  Bring to a boil and return chicken, dumping in any marinade and juices that accumulated on the plate.  Simmer for 30-40 minutes until chicken is cooked throughout.

Paleo Beet Greens with Onions & Beef Bacon

I love beets and eat them all the time, and there's nothing worse than throwing away all the beautiful, leafy green tops.   The beet greens have an delicious earthy taste, and the coconut oil/maple syrup combo gives it sweeter finish.  This is a really nice winter/cold weather vegetable dish and can be prepared in less than 15 minutes.

If you can't find the beef bacon, you can use a piece of thick cut pork bacon, just decrease the coconut oil a bit.  If you don't have access to beet greens, you can use collard greens or chard.  If you have a juicer, beet greens are great in green juice blends!

Beet greens from 9 very large beets

1 large piece uncured beef bacon (I found mine at Trader Joe's), diced

1 tbs coconut oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup water

1 tsp sea salt

1 tbs Grade B maple syrup

Wash the beet greens very well and drain, then chop into small pieces, leaving the bigger parts of the stems out.  In a large sauce pan, heat the coconut oil and brown bacon.  Add the onions and garlic and saute about 2-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water, beet greens, and maple syrup to the pan.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 7 minutes until greens are tender.

Paleo Chili Verde Fish

I've been working on a pork chili verde recipe for my cookbook and had some of the sauce left over, and if there's one thing about chili verde (besides the fact that it tastes delicious), is that it's very versatile.  I used freshwater farmed tilapia for this dish, it's a sustainable choice and very mild in flavor but really any type of fish will work.  If you used halibut or a fish with a thicker steak, just up the cooking time a bit. 

1 medium eggplant, diced

1 large tomato, diced

3 large fish filets (tilapia, sole, flounder, cod etc...)

1 orange bell pepper, julienned 

20 oz chili verde sauce

Put eggplant and tomato in a large baking dish and sprinkle with salt.  Wash and pat fish dry, salt and pepper both sides and lay on top of the eggplant and tomatoes. Pour chili verde over top of the fish and lay julienned pepper slices on top.  Bake at 400 for 20+/- minutes, until sauce is bubbling and fish is cooked throughout. 

Paleo Lunch - Tuna with Egg Wraps and Avocado

Lunch is sometimes the hardest part about "becoming" paleo as most Americans are used to sandwiches and get anxious when they can't think of anything that doesn't go between bread...ahhh!!!!!  

Don't panic.

For the tuna salad:

1 can tuna (pick a good one)

juice from 1/2 lemon

salt & pepper to taste

1 celery stalk, finely diced

1/2 small jicama, diced

1 tbs flax oil

Egg wraps:

5 eggs

1/2 c almond meal

1 tsp salt

Whisk ingredients together and pour a small amount into the bottom of a heated, buttered pan.  You may have to whirl it around so it spreads out and gets thin - if not, you'll have a pancake.  When edges brown, give it a flip very gently.  You could probably use a crepe maker as well.  

Serve with an avocado, and some halved tomatoes (I also had leftover roasted carrots).

Paleo Kilauea Coconut Cod with Kale

Since she's erupting, I thought I'd name this Hawaiian inspired fish dish after the famous Big Island volcano. Also, I really like alliteration. 

2 Wild Pacific Cod filets

2 tbs coconut oil

1 tbs dried seaweed

1 tbs dried onion

1 tbs cashews, crushed

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp sea salt

2 tbs unsweetened coconut flakes

2 cups kale

Preheat broiler to high.

In a large saute pan heat coconut oil.  Wash and pat cod filets dry, then salt each side. Mix seaweed, onion, cashews, garlic powder and crushed red pepper together - then press the mixture on to both sides of the fish. Fry the fish in the coconut oil, about 3 minutes on each side.  Remove filets and place on a baking sheet.  Sprinkle any remaining seaweed spice mixture and coconut flakes on top, and place in broiler.  DO NOT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE FISH!  The coconut will burn in less than a second, so keep watch.  It only takes a minute or so, you just want it golden.

In the same pan you cooked the fish, drain all but a tablespoon or two of the leftover oil and throw kale in there.  Toss with tongs until wilted, serve fish on a bed of kale. 

Buffalo Meatballs with Roasted Orange Cauliflower

Just a quick and easy weeknight dinner - that makes delicious leftovers for lunch the next day.

For the meatballs:

1 lb ground buffalo

1 egg, beaten

1/2 red onion, diced

2 tbs almond meal

1 tbs fresh oregano, chopped

1 tbs fresh italian parsley, chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp cayenne

5-6 tomatoes, chopped (roasted, optional)

1/2 cup white wine

Mix everything but the tomatoes and wine in a bowl and roll into 1/2"-2" balls.  Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large pan and brown outside edges of meatballs.  Once browned, add tomatoes and wine to pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until liquid is reduced by at least half and the meatballs are cooked throughout.

For the cauliflower:

1 head orange cauliflower, cut into florets

2+ tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 tbs fresh oregano, chopped

Preheat oven to 375.  Toss cauliflower with olive oil and spices and lay in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, turning once, until edges are browned and cauliflower has softened.

Paleo Epazote Stuffed Peppers

Sometimes all you need to get out of a cooking/eating slump is to discover a new flavor.  It can take a dish you make all the time taste different, so you'll never get bored even if you're repertoire isn't as thick as Mastering the Art of French Cooking. 

Epazote is a spice that some describe as 'medicinal' tasting  and is very popular in Southern Mexican cooking.   It has a bite, even a little citrus flavor, and if you can't find it you could probably use a combination of dried oregano, cilantro and lemon pepper.

Paleo Power Pancakes

I've made pancakes for this blog before, but even in all of my searching, my experimenting, my tweaking and my eating, I have to say these pancakes are my new favorite by a landslide.  They satisfy the need to have light, buttery, fluffy disc that would fool you into thinking you're sitting at {insert big name pancake house} waiting for a bitter waitress to refill your even more bitter coffee. 

***update:  Your protein powder will make a difference.  I get my protein here and it works amazingly well, so experiment with a few different brands to see which works best for texture. 

Paleo Orange Harissa Chicken with Carrot Puree

Another Saveur recipe! This recipe had a TON of steps, and since I have no dishwasher, I usually try and consolidate as much as possible.  This spicy chicken makes for a bright dish, and if you have trouble finding dandelion greens, you can use spinach or another dark leafy green.

For the carrot puree:  Peel and cube 2 lbs of carrots and boil until soft, drain.  In a large saucepan saute 1 large diced onion and 1 tbs ghee until translucent, add carrots and cook about 4-5 minutes longer.  Puree in a food processor until smooth (add a little chicken broth if needed.)

For the chicken: drizzle 4 chicken breasts with olive oil, salt and pepper, and harissa*.  Heat up a large saucepan and sear both sides of chicken breast, reduce heat to low (add a little more olive oil) and cover.  Just before chicken is done, add 1 bunch of trimmed dandelion greens to wilt.

In a separate saucepan heat 1 cup of fresh squeezed OJ until reduced by half, then whisk in 1/2 tbs butter and segments from 1 orange. Drizzle over chicken and greens

*you can buy harissa, or here's the way to make it at home:

Soak 12-15 dried chilies in water for 30+ minutes, the  remove seeds/stems.  Blend with 3 cloves garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 3 tbs olive oil, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground caraway seeds, 1 tsp cumin until it becomes a paste

Paleo Cuban Pork Hash

I love my food magazines, but it's rare that I come across recipes that are paleo right from those gorgeous glossy pages, so I put on one of my cute Anthro aprons, crank some music and pretend I'm someone important from a test kitchen.  I really enjoy tweaking and playing with recipes because I feel like the paleo diet (more like lifestyle) can open up so many doors when it comes to health and happiness, that I want to share it with everyone I know - foodies included.  We have friends over for dinner and they'd never know it was a 'paleo' meal.  That is why I spend my time in the kitchen!  On that note - any suggestions for recipes that need to be paleo-cized?? 

This hash recipe is from Saveur Magazine and is definitely something I will be making on the regular.  It's flavorful, hearty, good at any time of day, it's even good cold.  If you can't find ground pork, it might even be good with some leftover pot roast. 

Heat a couple tbs of canola oil in a large saucepan and add 1 cinnamon stick, 1 onion/1 bell pepper/1/2 of 1 small butternut squash all finely diced.  Saute until onions are translucent, then add a couple minced garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tbs dried cilantro, 1 tsp ground cloves and cook for a couple more minutes.  Add 1 1/2 lbs of ground pork and brown.

Add a dash of salt and pepper, 1 16oz can or jar of diced tomatoes with the liquid, 3/4 c raisins, 3/4 pimento stuffed olives (halved) and cook 15-20 minutes until most of the liquid is gone.  Mix in 3/4 c slivered almonds and 2 tbs apple cider vinegar.