Monthly Archives: June 2010

Grilled Chicken with Walnut Pesto Sauce and Warm Arugula Salad…

Posted on by
34

Pesto is an amazing sauce; it makes anything taste good from scrambled eggs to salad – so I have been working on a decent paleo version.  I think I came up with a pesto recipe, that in my humble opinion is better then most pestos which are laden with parmesean – and it’s super easy to put together.  Tonight I grilled some chicken and poured the green goodness on top and served this dish with a Warm Arugula Salad, and our favorite Smashed Cauliflower.  I have a bunch of left over pesto that I can’t wait to use as a topping for whatever else I eat tomorrow!! 

Grilled Chicken with Walnut Pesto Sauce

Chicken

3-4 Chicken Breasts

Trader Joe’s Everyday Seasoning to taste (or just some cracked black pepper)

Pesto Sauce

4 oz fresh basil (3 ½ cups)

1 cup walnut halves and pieces

6 garlic cloves

1 cup olive oil

1 tsp sea salt

Juice from ½ a lemon

Heat your grill over medium high heat for approximately 10 min.  Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with either the Trader Joe’s seasoning or with just some black pepper. Turn grill down to low and place the chicken on the grill.  Close the lid and grill for 7-10 minutes.  Flip the chicken, close the lid, and grill for another 7-10 minutes.  Remove the chicken and cover with tinfoil and set aside.  Now it’s time for the pesto.  In a food processor add the walnuts, garlic, sea salt, and olive oil.  Process until smooth.  Add the basil and lemon juice and process again until smooth.  Slice the chicken and spoon the pesto sauce on top to serve.

Warm Arugula Salad

6 strips nitrate free bacon diced

2 shallots finely chopped

7 oz arugula

1/4 cup olive oil

Handful of chopped walnuts

Ground black pepper to taste

Place the arugula in a large salad bowl and set aside.  In a medium sized skillet brown the diced bacon.  Add the shallots and saute with the bacon until the shallots are translucent.  Add the olive oil to the pan and heat just until warm.  Pour the olive oil, bacon, shallot mixture over the arugula and mix well.  The heat from the bacon mixture will slightly wilt the arugula – this is what you want!  Add some fresh ground black pepper and serve immediately topped with a sprinkle of walnuts. 

 

Sharing is nice…

Posted on by
7

One of my blog readers shared his favorite recipe with me recently and after giving it a try, and loving it, I thought I would share it with all of you.  Thank you so much Collin P., there’s nothing nicer than sharing and especially when it comes to passing on delicious recipes!!   So, here it is –  Collin’s Shrimp Diablo! 

Collin’s Shrimp Diablo

15-20 Jumbo Shrimp (de-veined)
7-10 Jalapeno Peppers (cut in half, seeds removed)
15-20 Cuts of Bacon (nitrate free)
 
Soak 5-7 bamboo skewers in water for 30 mins so they don’t set on fire (or use metal skewers if you have them handy).    De-vein shrimp, and remove shell if still on.  Give them a quick wash in cold water.  Slice jalapeno peppers in half lengthwise and remove all seeds.  Turn on grill.  Grab one shrimp, place a half a jalapeno on the backside of the shrimp, wrap VERY TIGHT with the bacon and place on a skewer.  Usually 4-5 Shrimp Diablo per skewer, it depends on the size of the shrimp.  Sprinkle on some cracked pepper.  Cook on medium heat on the grill 3-5 mins per side. or until shrimp is pink and bacon is all the way cooked. 

I made a few without the jalapenos for my two year old, and he LOVED them!! 

Enjoy!

Blackberry Cobbler

Posted on by
59

I love the seasonal fruits and veggies of summer.  This time of year in Chico you’ll find a fresh fruit stand on almost every corner.  On my way home from the gym yesterday I pulled off the road to one of the stands and picked up an abundance of strawberries, blackberries, and cherries.  I knew the blackberries would go bad before we could eat them all and the first thing that came to mind was cobbler…  Here’s what we came up with.

Blackberry Cobbler

3 cups of fresh blackberries

1 1/2 cups almond meal (finely ground almonds)

1 omega 3 enriched egg

2 tbsp coconut oil

A drizzle of raw organic honey

Cinnamon to taste

“So Delicious” coconut milk

Preheat oven to 350. Pour the blackberries into a pie pan.  In a small bowl mix together the egg, almond meal, and coconut oil, and shake in a bunch of cinnamon.  Stir well.  The mixture will be really thick and clumpy.  If you wish, drizzle a bit of raw organic honey on top of the blackberries.  By hand (or if you have a 2 year old to help you, that works just as well…) crumble the almond meal mixture on top of the blackberries and bake in your pre-heated oven for 35 minutes.  Serve in bowls with cold “So Delicious” brand coconut milk poured over the top.  Yes, it’s addicting, but life’s too short to not eat cobbler now and then…

Enjoy!

Hog Heaven!!

Posted on by
25

We are back from our Mexico adventure – and I promise that my next post will contain some pics and details of the note worthy food that we ate there.  The best part about our return is that we came home to a freezer full of pig – who doesn’t want that?!!  One of our rock star trainer’s at Norcal S&C and my good friend, Katie D., comes from a family who raises their own hogs (all natural - raised just the way us paleo eaters want to eat pig!!) and I was lucky enough to be able to get in on the last slaughter and now we are stocked up with piggy goodness.  I am so happy…

So, here is a recipe for the pork chops we made tonight - a recipe that my oldest son helped me come up with.  They were fancy and fun but easy and so so good.

Apple Shallot Pork Chops

4 big pork chops

1 apple

2 shallots

1/4 cup white wine

5 tbsp coconut oil

Cinnamon and sea salt to taste

Slivered toasted almonds

Slice the apple as thinly as possible and then cut the slices in half.  Thinly slice the shallots.  Heat 4 tbsp of the coconut oil over medium heat and add the apples and shallots.  Saute for 5 minutes or until the apples are tender but still a little crisp.  Remove the apples and shallots from the pan and add the last tbsp of coconut oil.  Generously sprinkle cinnamon on both sides of the pork chops and lightly sprinkle on sea salt if desired.  Rub the cinnamon and salt into the pork chops and place the chops in the hot oiled pan.  Sear on each side for 2 minutes.  If you have a gas stove, turn the flame up to high and add a 1/4 cup of white wine.  Now, don’t be scared, tilt your pan towards the flame and let the wine catch on fire – sometimes you can’t flambe with wine, it depends on the alcohol content, but it worked for me this time – so give it a shot!  Either way, make sure you bring the wine to a boil to cook off the alcohol.  After adding the wine, add the apple and shallot mixture back to the pan, cover and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes depending on the thickness of your pork chops, it might need more or less time.  Make sure you serve the pork chops with plenty of the apple and shallot mixture and add a sprinkle of slivered toasted almonds on top.

Enjoy!

Fresh Salsa – and Everyday Paleo is Going on Vacation!!

Posted on by
7

If any of ya’ll have noticed that I have been a bit skimpy on my posts this week, well it’s because I’m already in vacation mode.  The family and I will be heading off tomorrow to Mexico for a much needed week of rest and relaxation!! 

So, in the spirit of traveling to Mexico, here is a recipe for fresh salsa, which my sister-in-law Dixie gets all the credit for.  Soon after meeting my husband, this is one of the first things I begged Dixie to show me how to make, it’s really simple, and oh so great on everything (especially eggs and avocados in the morning)…. 

I will try to post once or twice while we are away with pics of what we find to eat on our trip - but if not (or if I drink to much tequila and forget…), I”ll be back next week with more recipes to share! 

Fresh Salsa

6 Roma tomatoes

1 jalapeno

1/2 red onion

6 garlic cloves

1 bunch of cilantro

sea salt to taste

Place the tomatoes and the jalapeno in a skillet and heat over medium high heat turning frequently until the skins start to blacken on the tomatoes and begin to peel off.  While the tomatoes and the pepper are in the skillet, put the onion, garlic, and cilantro in a food processor or blender and pulse until chopped.  Add the blackened tomatoes, pepper, and sea salt, and blend until smooth.  I usually only use about 1/2 of the pepper but if you like it really hot, toss in the whole thing.  

Enjoy!!