Monthly Archives: April 2010

Seafood “Who Needs Rice” Jambalaya

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My whole family likes it spicey.  Even my two year old will slurp down curries and salsa with a smile.  My oldest recently started a ritualistic competition with my husband to see who can eat two hot pickled peppers the fastest.  It’s a pretty comical way to start our evening meal… I contribute my childrens’ spice tolerant palettes to all the jalapenos I craved – and consumed while pregnant, and this recipe can be a bit spicy so feel free to omit the hot sauce if you prefer a more mild jambalaya. 

Seafood “Who Needs Rice” Jambalaya

1 lb wild Alaskan cod fillets (or other wild caught fish of your choice)

1 16 ounce bag of frozen already cooked shrimp (thawed and drained)

2 cups chicken broth

1 green bell pepper cut into strips

1 orange bell pepper cut into strips

1 red bell pepper cut into strips

4-5 carrots cut into strips

a pinch or two of sea salt

1 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

4 cloves of minced fresh garlic

1/4 cup organic butter or ghee

a lot or a little Tapatio hot sauce

Make sure your fish and shrimp are thawed and drained.  I like to pat the fish and shrimp dry with a paper towel, it will have a better texture after cooking if you do this.   Cut the fish into bite size pieces. Melt butter in a large soup pot and saute carrots for about 4 minutes.  Add the bell peppers and garlic and saute for another 3-4 minutes.  Add all the spices and the chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Throw in the fish and simmer until the fish begins to flake and then add the shrimp and stir just until the shrimp are warm.  Dowse with Tapatio and stir. If you are using fresh shrimp throw in with the fish and cook for about the same amount of time together.  Serve in bowls immediately.  Add more hot sauce of desired.

Enjoy!

Salmon Cakes with Homemade Ginger Mayo

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After I made these yesterday I sent my husband a text message telling him that I just made the best salmon cakes ever.  He replied back, “ever??” And my reply was, “EVER!!”

Now that you have a glimpse into how truly boring my life is and how excited I get about the little things like really great salmon cakes, I will happily share the recipe with you.

Salmon Cakes

3 6 oz cans of wild caught Alaskan Salmon

3 omega 3 enriched eggs

4 diced green onions

1 tbsp dried dill

1/2 tsp ground ginger

a few shakes of red pepper flakes

about 1 tsp fresh ground pepper

a pinch of sea salt

about 1/4 cup coconut oil

3 tbsps of fresh squeezed lemon juice

Shredded green and purple cabbage

Drain the water from the canned salmon and dump into a large mixing bowl.  Add the eggs, green onions, dill, ginger, red pepper flakes, black pepper, and salt and mix well.  In a large skillet heat the coconut oil over medium to medium high heat – make sure there is more than enough to cover the bottom of the pan.  You’ll know the oil is hot enough when it crackles after flicking some water into the pan – but do not get the oil so hot that is smokes.  Form the salmon mixture one at a time into patties or “cakes” and place gently into the oil.  Fry for 3 minutes on each side.  IMPORTANT – do not mess with the patties once they are in the pan.  Let them go for the full 3 minutes before you touch them or flip them or they will stick or fall apart.  Serve the patties over a bed of the shredded green and purple cabbage with a lemon wedge and the ginger mayo.

Ginger Mayo

2 omega 3 enriched eggs

2 tbsps apple cider vinegar

1 tsp yellow mustard

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp ground ginger

2 cups light tasting olive oil

In a blender or food processor place all ingrediants except for the oil.  Cover and blend on low while you count to 5.  Continue to blend while you slowly, VERY SLOWLY add the olive oil.  Once all the oil is in continue to blend while you again count to 5.  Shut the blender or processor down at this point, and ta-da: home made ginger mayo for your best salmon cakes ever!!

Enjoy!

Three “No Excuses” Lunch Ideas and Magazine Update

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The Woman’s World magazine hit the stands yesterday with the Paleo story making the cover promoted by a picture of the beautfil CSI Miami star Eva La Rue!  Prior to finding out yesterday, totally unbeknown to me, there is a celebrity promoting the paleo diet – look how mainstream paleo is quickly becoming!!  Very cool!  The article within the mag highlights Dr. Cordain and promotes his book - which is also great.  I am also in the article, a little pic of what I look like now and a before pic as well and a few quotes from my interview.  Overall I am happy that the magazine shed paleo in a positive light, and I WAS correctly quoted in saying that paleo for me is now my lifestyle and not just a diet.  Out of respect for the magazine sales, once this issue is off the stands I will try to scan and post the article on my blog – or ya’ll can  just go buy one!! : )

Ok, on to food!!  Here are three easy chicken based recipes that can be made in abundance and packed to go so there are no excuses at lunch time…  I have also made the last salad recipe with canned salmon and it’s awesome this way as well!

Chicken Stir Fry over greens…

1 package already cooked chicken from Trader Joe’s or 3 -4 cooked and diced chicken breasts

1/2 package of sliced mushrooms

1 head of organic broccoli chopped

2 organic carrots sliced

2-3 green onions (i used 1 giant one from the farmers market…)

1/2 a bag of frozen onions and bell peppers from Trader Joe’s

1 jar of marinated artichoke hearts

1/4 -1/2 cup organic free range chicken broth

grape seed oil

crushed garlic, black pepper, sea salt, and dried basil to taste

2 bunches of greens to your liking (chard or kale is good…)

Chop up your greens and either steam or saute until tender, set aside.  In a large skillet, pour enough grapeseed oil in to cover the bottom and heat over medium.  Add frozen onions and bells until thawed and add broccoli and carrots.  Cook broccoli and carrots until crisply tender and then add remaining veggies, artichoke hearts and chicken.  Stir together until warm, add seasoning and chicken broth, stir and simmer for just a couple of minutes.  Serve over a bed of greens.  Make a double batch and pack in Tupperware for next day’s lunch!

Sun Dried Tomato Chicken Salad

4 diced chicken breasts or whatever leftover chicken pieces you might have

1 jar sun dried tomatoes

1 diced apple

1/2 a bag of sliced almonds

1/2 a head of shredded green or purple cabbage

olive oil, black pepper, and white balsamic vinegar to taste

Mix all ingredients together.  When I make this I fill up a huge Tupperware and it’s ready in the fridge for school lunches and of course for me.  My two year old loves this salad…

Warm Chicken and Bacon Green Salad

1 chicken breast diced (or 1 can of wild salmon)

4 strips of cooked diced bacon

1/2 an apple diced

2 big handfuls of salad greens

olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and black pepper to taste.

Pretty easy and straight forward but if you take the time to warm up the chicken and then adding the warm bacon on top of the crisp greens and then all that lovely olive oil, it just tastes too good to be so easy..

Enjoy and No Excuses!!

Italian Rib Eye with Sun Dried Tomato Topping

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This  recipe sounds much more complicated than it actually is and I  must say it’s pretty darn scrumptious… 

Italian Rib Eye

4 big rib eye steaks

1 1/2 cups olive oil

the juice from 1 meyer lemon

1 tbsp basil

1 tbsp oregano

ground black pepper to taste

sea salt to taste

Mix all marinade ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.  Add steaks and mix together with your hands to make sure all the steaks are well coated.  Leave in the fridge for at least 45 minutes but the best would be for a day.  Broil or grill for 7-10 minutes per side depending on thickness for a nice medium rare steak.  For rare cook for 4-6 minutes each side. 

Sun Dried Tomato Topping

In a food processor throw in 1 jar of sun dried tomatoes and 1/2 a jar of garlic stuffed green olives.  Pulse until roughly chopped and serve on top of steaks. 

My husband being a MEAT guy liked the steaks better without the topping but I LOVED the topping and so did my boys.  My 2 year old, as you can see from the pics, was eating the topping with a spoon!! 

I served the steak with baked winter squash and steamed collard greens.  Enjoy!

Dry Rub Burgers and Sweet Potato Rounds

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First – props to Jaden (my six year old) for taking all the photos for this blog post.  You rock J!!  

This dry rub recipe works well on burgers but is also bangin’ on rib eye steaks and probably on chicken too (haven’t tried that yet, but could imagine it would be tasty…)

Also, a big shout out to AJ at www.nutritionize.net for sharing the awesome sweet potato recipe, it’s simply delicious! 

Dry Rub Burgers

1 ½ tbsp chili powder

2 ½ tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp ground white pepper

2 1/2 lbs grass fed ground beef (makes about 7-9 medium sized burgers)

sea salt to taste

Mix all dry rub ingredients together.  Form hamburger meat into patties and cover both sides generously with the dry rub.  Let the burgers sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes before cooking.  Either grill or pan fry about 4 minutes each side for medium, less for rare, more for well… (sprinkle on sea salt once the burgers are in the pan or on the grill).

Sweet Potato Rounds

2-3 yams

3-4 egg whites

21 seasoning blend from Trader Joe’s or Oregon, Thyme, and Garlic Powder

ground black pepper

sea salt

olive oil

Slice sweet potatoes into round discs.  Separate eggs and add as much 21 seasoning spice blend and black pepper as you like.  Dip each sweet potato round into the egg mixture and lay flat on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Drizzle the rounds with olive oil and sprinkle on more seasoning – this is key – and then sprinkle on a little sea salt.  Bake at 350 for 30 -40 minutes.  The egg whites make these a little crispy, and I actually finished them under the broiler for about a minute which made them even crispier, but still soft and yummy in the middle. 

Enjoy!!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

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Here is one of my favorite go to meals that’s always a hit with the family. 

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken mixture

4-5 chicken breasts

3 tbsp of Tamari Wheat Free soy sauce

1/2 cup chicken broth

garlic powder to taste

2 zucchini diced

6-8 mushrooms diced

sesame oil

Condiments

1 head iceberg lettuce cored and leaves removed for wraps

Shredded green or purple cabbage

1 red bell pepper finely chopped

3 green onions chopped

1 can water chestnuts diced

sliced or slivered almonds

2 – 3 carrots finely chopped

I like to cook the chicken in the crock pot on low for 6 hours or until falling apart.  Place the chicken in the crock pot and cover with garlic powder and cover with the soy sauce and chicken broth.  When the chicken is done, shred with a fork or throw it in the food processor and pulse it a few times.  In a large soup pan saute zucchini and mushrooms in a generous amount of sesame oil until the veggies are tender.  Add the shredded chicken and mix well.  Serve the chicken mixture in lettuce leaves and add your condiments.  Top with more sesame oil, hot chili oil if you like, and San-J  makes a good gluten free Thai Peanut sauce if your feeling crazy.  I have made my own  “Thai Peanut Sauce”  with almond butter that’s a tasty substitute as well but these wraps are also great just on their own.

Also pictured is lunch the following day: I sauteed the left over chicken, chopped veggies, and almonds with some left over steamed brussel sprouts that I found in the fridge.  It was a fast and delicious way to make the best of my leftovers!

Enjoy!