The other evening we made the boys an early dinner that John and I barely nibbled on in between taking care of ten million other things.  Many, many hours later, after the boys were asleep and life had settled down, we ended up making a second dinner for the two of us.  The experience was a pleasant reminder that cooking a meal together is a great way to just “be” together.  Here’s what we came up with.

Steak and Broccoli With Port Sauce

1 big t-bone steak (or cut of your choice)

1 shallot minced

3 garlic cloves minced

¼  cup chicken broth

1 tbsp spicy brown mustard

½ cup port (I’m sure red wine would work also, but we had a bottle of port by chance so we used it…)

1 tbsp dried thyme leaves

1 head of broccoli

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle of olive oil

Sprinkle both sides of your steak with sea salt and pepper.  In a skillet, sear the steak for 4-5 minutes on each side.  Remove the steak from the skillet and set aside.  In the same pan with the steak drippings, add a drizzle of olive oil and saute the shallots and garlic until the shallots are transparent.  While the shallots and garlic are cooking, finish your steak under the broiler for about 3 minutes per side for medium rare.  Also, steam your broccoli. Add the port to the pan with the shallots and garlic and whisk together, making sure to get all the yummy bits off the bottom of the pan.  Add the chicken stock, thyme, and mustard and whisk until blended.  Bring to a simmer for 1 minute.  Place the steak and the broccoli on a plate and pour the sauce over everything.

Enjoy!

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Amazing Arugula Chicken Salad

4 cooked chicken breast diced

2 cups shredded green cabbage

6 cups fresh arugula

1 organic apple diced

6 strips of nitrate free bacon diced

3 tbsp dried rosemary

4 1/2 oz julienned sun dried tomatoes with olive oil

3 green onions diced

Juice from 1/2 a lemon

Small handful of sliced almonds

Olive oil and black pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl toss in the arugula, cabbage, apple, and onion.  While the chicken and bacon are still warm, add these items to the bowl as well.  Top with the sun dried tomatoes, lemon juice, rosemary, and any additional olive oil and black pepper to taste.  Toss the ingredients all together and serve immediately topped with a small handful of sliced almonds.

Enjoy!

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Ginger Shrimp Salad

1 lb medium shrimp (tails removed, cooked, and de-veined – I buy them frozen and already cooked)

3 green onions

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1/2 tsp crushed garlic

Pinch of sea salt

Palm full of red pepper flakes

Juice from 1 lemon

Fresh Arugula

Olive oil to taste

1 Avocado

If you are using frozen shrimp like I did; thaw, drain, and pat dry with paper towels.  If using fresh shrimp, remove tails, de-vein, and toss into boiling water.  Bring the water back to a simmer.  Once the shrimp rise to the top remove them and place in ice water.  Then drain and pat dry with paper towels. Toss the cold shrimp with the lemon juice, ginger, garlic, onions, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.  Serve on a bed of arugula garnished with sliced avocado and top with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Curried Hash

2 sweet potatoes

2 zucchini

2 shallots

2 omega 3 enriched eggs

1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

5 tbsp coconut oil

Peel the sweet potatoes and rinse.  Using a food processor or a cheese grater, shred the sweet potatoes and the zucchini.  Using a hand held chopper, finely chop the shallots.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded potatoes, zucchini, shallots, eggs, and spices.  In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium, add the hash, and cook stirring frequently until the potatoes are soft and start to crisp up.  Serve immediately.  This is a great post workout snack!!

Enjoy!

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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!

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Quick Curry Soup

1 yellow onion diced

3 zucchini squash halved and sliced

2 lbs grass fed ground beef

2 tsp crushed garlic or 6 minced garlic cloves

4 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp ground ginger

2 cans coconut milk

2 tbsp coconut oil

Chopped cilantro

Saute the onions in the coconut oil until tender, add the ground beef and brown.  Add all the spices to the ground beef and onion mixture and stir well.  Pour in the coconut  milk and add the sliced zucchini.  Bring the soup to a simmer and let it cook for about 5 – 7 minutes or until the zucchini are tender but not too mushy.  Serve with a little chopped cilantro for garnish.

Enjoy!

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Stuffed Avocados

3 -4 ripe avocados

4 cans of Trader Joe’s tuna packed in water

3 green onions

3 celery stalks

1 palm full of dried dill

1 tbsp garlic powder

fresh ground black pepper to taste

grape tomatoes halved

about 1 cup of Olive Oil Mayo- 1egg, 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar, pinch of sea salt, few shakes of cayenne pepper, 1 tsp yellow mustard, 1 cup olive oil

Cut avocados in half lengthwise and remove the stone – leave the peel on.  In a large mixing bowl mix together the tuna, celery,  onions, and spices. In a food processor process for 5 seconds the egg, vinegar, mustard, cayenne pepper, and sea salt.  For another 5 seconds of blending slowly add the olive oil until it makes mayo. 

Add the mayo mixture to the tuna, mix well, and scoop onto halved avocados and top with tomatoes.

Enjoy!

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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 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 grape seed 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 grape seed 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 grape seed 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 add the grape seed 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!

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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!!

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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!!

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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!

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