Before we get to the food, here’s a bit of fun trivia about this years super bowl!  Aaron Rodgers, quarterback for the Green Bay Packers is a Chico, CA native.  Yup, born and raised right here in my home town.  Pretty cool considering how freaking hard it is to get in the NFL!  So yes, we will be cheering on the Packers in hopes to see a hometown super star bring back the win.

Let’s start with 2 new recipe ideas that could be fun for Super Bowl Sunday

Garlic Studded Pork Loin

1  3 lb pork loin or two 1.5 lb pork loins (I used 2 pork loins)

12 garlic cloves

1 cup chicken broth

2 bay leaves

sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 yellow onion, halved and sliced

5 celery stalks, cut into large chunks

4 small sweet potatoes, cut into 2 inch chunks

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Using a knife cut about 1/2 inch slits into your pork loin about 1 – 2 inches apart.  Stuff a garlic clove into each slit.  Sprinkle the pork loin with salt and pepper and rub the salt and pepper into the loin.  In your pressure cooker, sear the loin in the coconut oil for 5 minutes on each side or until browned.  If any garlic cloves fall out in the searing process just use tongs or a fork to put them back into place.  Add the chicken stock to the pressure cooker, cover and bring to pressure.  Cook for 15-18 minutes.  Release the pressure and add the veggies to that pot.  Cover and again, bring back to pressure and cook for another 8 minutes.  Slice the pork loin and serve with the veggies.  You can also make this in the slow cooker.  Make sure you sear the loin before putting it in the slow cooker, add the veggies in with the meat and the chicken broth and cook all day on low for 7-8 hours.  This would be good to start on Saturday night so it’s ready on Sunday morning!

Meatballs Too Tasty for Super Bowl Sunday

Meatballs

1.5 lbs ground beef

½ cup dried unsweetened cherries, finely diced

5 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup diced cilantro

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ tablespoon Garam Masala

Dash or two of cayenne pepper

Black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons coconut oil

Sauce

1 6oz can tomato paste

1 can coconut milk

5 green onions, diced

1 ½  teaspoons Garam Masala

½ teaspoon sea salt

Pan drippings from meatballs

Using your hands mix together the meatball ingredients except for the coconut oil.  In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.  Make sure the pan is nice and hot before you start adding your meatballs.  Once the oil is hot, form golf ball size meatballs and add to the pan.  Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side or until brown.  Remove the meatballs and set aside.  To the pan drippings add the tomato paste, onions, and spices and using your whisk, blend these ingredients together with the pan drippings.  Slowly add the coconut milk, whisking as you pour.  Once the sauce is well mixed, bring to a simmer and let it cook for 3 minutes.  Add the meatballs back to the sauce, cover the pan and cook for three minutes.  Turn the meatballs over so that they are coated with sauce, cover and cook for another 3 minutes. Serve with a few diced green onions on top. Delicious!!!!

Here are some more options for you Sunday feast.  First lets start with what I made last year.  My bean-less chili is really satisfyingly good and a great game day meal!

Everyone loves chips and dip on game day so my plantain chips and guacamole is a perfect sub – you can also dip cut up veggies in the guac as well!! Also included in this post is a recipe for shrimp tacos and sweet potato fries – all great party food!

I’ve never made these before but a friend suggested a recipe for Zucchini Sticks, which everyone loves: Dip the sliced zucchini in egg whites and next dip in almond meal seasoned with garlic, parsley salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes with a drizzle of coconut oil and dip in marinara sauce. Not entirely sure on the bake time so you may have to play with this one.  Again, these have not been tested yet by me but sound very tasty!

Don’t forget my Shrimp Loves Coconut recipe – so yummy and total party food! While you are checking out this recipe, take a minute to read the blog post too – a great reminder to keep things in perspective.

Finally – my Dry Rub Burgers are pretty darn good if I say so myself and burgers are always a hit on game day!

I hope this gives you all some ideas for a fun-filled and food-filled weekend!

As always, Enjoy!!

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2011 Super Bowl Eats is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Happy Holidays!!  The holidays are meant to be a time of joy, a time of merriment, a time for reflection on the year behind us and a time to plan for the future.  Alright, now it’s time to get real. The holidays can also be down right STRESSFUL and often our joy can be lost in trying to simply survive the insanity of shopping, wrapping, packing, flying, driving, and dealing with relatives…   With that being said, I tossed together a few appetizer options, a scrumptious festive soup, and a decadent dessert in hopes that my little gift of recipes will help ease the stress that is often associated with this time of year. If you know you’ll be attending a party or function that likely will be laden with unhealthy options; offer to bring an appetizer or a dish to share so you will not feel deprived and can spread some paleo love along the way!

So please dear readers, keep your chin up, your stress level down, eat well, sleep when you can, hug close the ones you love the most, and give yourself the gift of health this season.  Here’s hoping that you take a few minutes to slow down a bit, look around at all we are blessed with, take a few long deep breaths, and really, truly, honestly ENJOY!!!

Depending on how many people you will be feeding, you may want to double of triple the following recipes.

Merry Little Lamb Bites

1 cup dried apricots, rehydrate by soaking in hot water for 30 minutes

1 lb ground lamb

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of saffron threads

¼ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 egg

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Mix all ingredients together except for the apricots and cilantro leaves.  Place the lamb mixture in fridge for 15 minutes to let the flavors meld.  Remove the lamb from the fridge and heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Form the lamb mixture into small meat balls, about ½ a tablespoon size, and fry in the coconut oil for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Cover the meatballs, turn the heat down to medium low and cook another 5 minutes.  While the meatballs finish cooking, remove the apricots from the water and dry with paper towels.  Cut the apricots into fourths.  To serve, take a meatball, top with a couple of cilantro leaves, and top with a piece of apricot.  I would suggest spearing it all with a toothpick – I did not have any handy for the picture!  Makes approximately 25 meatballs.

Merry Little Lamb Bites

Bell Pepper Shrimp Boats

1 lb medium shrimp, cooked tails removed and finely diced

1 red, yellow, and orange bell pepper

1 cup celery, finely diced

½ cup mango, finely diced

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup lemon juice

Pinch or two of cayenne pepper

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Parsley and Paprika for garnish

Preheat oven to 500. Cut each bell pepper into quarters and remove the seeds (see picture).  Roast the bell pepper quarters on each side for 6 minutes.  Remove and set aside to cool.  In a large mixing bowl, stir together the finely chopped shrimp, celery, and mango.  Add the olive oil, lemon juice, and spices and mix well.  Fill each cooled bell pepper boat with the shrimp filling and garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley and sprinkle with paprika.  Makes 16 shrimp boats.

Festive Squash Soup

1 butter nut squash, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes

¼ cup diced yellow onion

1 Fuji apple, peeled, cored and diced

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup coconut milk

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of black pepper

In a large soup pot add the squash, apple, onion, and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil and cook for 20-25 minutes or until the squash is tender.  Add this mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth.  Add the soup mixture back to the pot and add the coconut milk and spices.  Bring to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring often.  Serve garnished with apple slices and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Serves 4. This soup is AMAZING!!!

Festive Squash Soup

Joyful Curry Chicken Gifts

2 ½ cups finely diced cooked chicken breasts

½ cup finely diced cucumber

½ cup raisins

¼ cup slivered almonds

2 tablespoons minced onions

1 tablespoon curry powder

¼ cup paleo mayo

2 cucumbers, sliced or romaine lettuce leaves cut into 3″ pieces

Mix all ingredients together except for the sliced cucumbers or lettuce leaves.  Spoon small amounts of the chicken mixture onto the cucumber slices or lettuce leaves and serve! Delicious!  Will make about 30 cucumber slices.

And finally a dessert…  I made a Zabaglione which is a light Italian custard – more like a sauce really.  It is decadent and amazing and after all your cooking and entertaining, a well deserved treat!! Before I give you this final recipe, I also recommend checking out my pumpkin pie and other recipes from this post for more holiday food ideas.  Another festive dessert idea is my Berry Cobbler, which also works well with sliced apples. Now, on to the Zabaglione…

Brandy Zabaglione

6 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest (finely grated lemon peel)

A sprinkle of cinnamon

2 tablespoons of brandy

1/3 cup water

1 mashed banana

Fresh blueberries

Honey

Fill a small sauce pan half way with water.  Bring to a boil and then turn heat down so that the water is just simmering.  In a metal mixing bowl, add the egg yolks, lemon zest, sprinkle of cinnamon, brandy, and water.  Place the bowl on top of the sauce pan with simmering water.  Make sure you bowl is big enough that it does not rest down into the sauce pan and touch the water but that only the steam from the water is heating the bowl.  Using a hand held mixer, beat the egg yolk mixture on low for 10 minutes.  The mixture will become pale and frothy and triple in size.  When it’s finished, it will be a foamy, creamy, very thin custard – not thick at all.  Remove immediately from heat after 10 minutes of mixing.  In a martini glass, spoon in a couple small spoonfuls of mashed banana and top with a few blueberries. Spoon in some of the Zabaglione and drizzle on a bit of honey.  Add a few more blueberries, another layer of the Zabaglione, a few more blueberries, and another drizzle of honey.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve while it’s still warm.  TO DIE FOR!!

Brandy Zabaglione

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Recipes for the season is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

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Paleo Party for 10 is a post from Everyday Paleo - licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License