365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 19: Kale Chips

Someone asked today on a Nerd Fitness forum what he should do with the 6 heads of baby kale that he picked up at the store. As you may remember, I mentioned a few days ago that I don't care for cooked greens. I recommended this recipe for kale chips. They're basically torn kale leaves that bake up until they're crisp and then crumble in your mouth. Oh and they taste like concentrated broccoli, so if you're a broccoli fan (which I am) you'll dig it. 

Ingredients:

1 head of kale, torn into bite-sized pieces

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 350. Spread your kale leaves on a baking sheet in an even layer and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and bake for 10-15 minutes.

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 18: Veggie and Sausage Frittata

I had a bummer of a day yesterday, so my adoring little sister decided that she'd come over for breakfast this morning and we'd have a little Mimosa Monday. Since I was feeling a little fancy with my mimosas (yeah - there were multiple) I decided to try my hand at my first ever frittata. 

I pulled out some veggies that I hadn't used last week and the leftover sage sausage from our sausage and egg breakfast "tacos", and got to chopping and dicing. Tricia helped, so you should all be proud, because she's never really cooked. 

Ingredients:

1/2lb ground sausage

1 pint of baby portabello mushrooms, sliced

4 small sweet peppers, diced

1 zucchini, sliced thin

8 eggs, beaten with 1/4 cup water

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook your sausage until browned. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Return the skillet to the heat, lower to medium and using the grease from your sausage, cook your veggies for 10 minutes, or until brown and softened. Add your meat to the veggies and miz thoroughly. Pour the beaten eggs on top and cook until the edges begin to firm up. 

Transfer the skillet to the over and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Remove, allow to rest 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

 

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 17: Chicken "Tacos" with Raw Mango-Jalapeno Salsa

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, I made chicken "tacos" with a delicious raw salsa. Of course, me being me, I rubbed my mouth right after mincing my jalapenos, so some of the joy was taken out of my celebration. NOTE - Never touch your face after touching peppers!! 

Ingredients:

1 c mango, chopped

2 tbsp red onion, minced

2 tbsp scallions, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 lime

1 lb chicken tenders

salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

romaine lettuce leaves

In a medium-sized bowl, mix your mango, onion, scallions and jalapeno. Squeeze the juice of your lime over the bowl and toss, mixing evenly. Set your salsa aside. 

To season your chicken tenders, sprinkle lightly with salt, pepper and cayenne. (Cayenne is pretty spicy, so use sparingly). Grill or pan fry in olive oil. 

To build your "tacos", lay chicken tenders on top of the lettuce leaves and top with mango-jalapeno salsa. Fold the lettuce and have an awesome Cinco de Mayo!

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 16: Egg and Kale "Tacos"

This recipe is straight from the 50 Tacos section of Food Network Magazine. You're going to be disappointed to know that I didn't make it, because I can't stand the texture of cooked greens, but I never said I would make all 365 recipes - just that I would supply them. Yep - I'm getting off on a technicality. I still wanted to put this recipe out there, because I thought it sounds good, and people who do like cooked greens might be into it.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale leaves, torn

1 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1/2 c water

1 tsp salt

3 eggs, scrambled

Romain lettuce leaves

In a medium saucepan, heat water, olive oil, garlic, salt and kale leaves over medium heat. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until tender. Serve in lettuce leaves with scrambled eggs.

365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 15: Paleo Breakfast Tacos

One of my favorite breakfast foods are breakfast tacos. They're quick, easy, packed with protein and super tasty. So, if you're a beginner to cooking, this recipe is for you. I really really love chorizo in my breakfast tacos, but being stuck up here in the north, I wasn't able to find any. Instead, I had to substitute sage sausage. Still good, but not quite chorizo.

Ingredients:

5 eggs, beaten in a bowl with 1 tbsp water

1/3 lb breakfast sausage (any kind. I used sage)

2 romain lettuce leaves

Brown your sausage in a skillet over med-high heat. When sausage is mostly cooked through, add your eggs. Cook, stirring frequently, until just set. Spoon into lettuce leaves an serve.

 

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 14: Fried Egg and Mushroom Tacos

If you're following along, you'll know that we're smack-dab in the middle of "Ode to the Taco" week, where we're making paleo-friendly versions of different taco recipes. Most of the recipes are slightly tweaked versions of those featured in this month's "50 Tacos" from Food Network Magazine. Rather than serving our "tacos" in tortillas, we're using lettuce leaves.

Today's was really one of my favorites, because I LOVE mushrooms. Unfortunately, the recipe didn't call for any form of protein, so I had to add some.

Ingredients:

1 lb button mushrooms, sliced

1 shallot, sliced thin

1 tsp saltdiet

juice of one lemon

1/4 tsp dried parsley flakes

2 eggs

romaine lettuce leaves

Heat one tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over med heat and add your shallot. If you're unfamiliar with shallots, they're small redish-purple oinions with a mild onion flavor. Saute shallot until they're just beginning to soften and add your mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are browned and softened. 

Toss mushrooms in a bowl with lemon juice and parsley. 

In your skillet, fry your two eggs to your desired "doneness".

To serve, spoon mushroom mixture into lettuce leaves and top with a fried egg.

Season with salt and pepper if desired.

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365 Paleo Recipe Project: DAY 13: Fajitas!

I suppose I should have saved this one for Cinco de Mayo, but I wasn't thinking, so I did it today. In all fairness, in my opinion, every day is a good day if I have fajitas. Being from the south, I was kind of raised on them, and since I moved north, I have yet to so much as see a mexican restaurant.

Every Tuesday night, my sister and brother-in-law come over. I cook dinner and we watch The New Girl. It's our little thing. They were pretty stoked to find out that they got to participate in "Ode to the Taco Week." The thing I loved most about making fajitas was that I didn't feel like I had to make anything special for myself, while they ate "normal" food. They just ate theirs in tortillas, and I used lettuce (and left off the cheese and sour cream, of course). 

Ingredients:

1 lb flank steak

1 onion, sliced

2 bell peppers, sliced

salt and pepper

4 limes, halved

romaine lettuce leaves

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until peppers are soft and onions are caramelized, 25-30 minutes.

Season your flank steak with salt and pepper. Heat your grill to high heat and place the flank steak on one side of the grill. Place limes on the other. Cook until blood rises to the top surface, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook another 2 minutes. Remove steak and limes from the heat and allow the steak to rest on a plate for 5 minutes. Slice thinly against the grain.

Load a platter with steak, onions, bell peppers and limes. To build your fajitas, fill romaine lettuce leaves with meat, peppers and onions and drizzle with lime juice. Ole!

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