This is not a ‘healthy’ or ‘paleo’ recipe, but it is delicious. My mother in law makes this dip for family gatherings and special occasions (luckily us coming to visit counts as just such an occasion), and I love it. Crave it, even. It may or may not be the first thing I think of when I know a visit is imminent. Not that the in-laws aren’t great, but since one of the (many) reasons I married their son was his prowess in the kitchen; I’d say that getting excited about a visit (partially) because of food is not out of the question. Lucky for you guys, she was gracious enough to share the recipe and help direct the photography.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
10 ounces chicken breast (canned)
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (the recipes calls for 1/4 to 1/2 cup; my MIL uses less if a non-spicy eater is in residence)
8 oz. cream cheese (full fat is best)
1/2 c. ranch dressing (Hidden Valley is the favorite)
1/2 c. sharp cheddar, shredded
Tortilla chips to serve
Preheat the oven to 350. Combine cream cheese, hot sauce and chicken in a medium pan over medium heat. Stir to combine until cheese is melted and chicken is broken up.
Remove from the heat, add the ranch, and stir. Pour into an 8×8 casserole dish and top with the cheddar. Bake 20-25 minutes and serve with tortilla chips.
Serves umm…. depends on who is in the house. If my sister in law and I are both there, maybe two? Three? She usually doubles or triples the recipe, depending upon how excited the two of us look.
*Drool* Ok, so this isn’t *technically* Carolina-style pig. I lack a pit and/or a smoker and am not bbq level confident about my grill skills, so this is a compromise. A damn tasty compromise. This pork is a great thing to have on hand when the midday munchies hit and gives you more than a week’s worth of lunch or dinner toss-in meat. Making a salad? Chuck in some pork. Need to use up some random veggies and half an avocado? Call it a stir-fry and add some pork. Craving pineapple, pork and vinegar? Well, there you go. You can make this wonder meat on a Sunday and eat it all week. Now that’s my kind of time vs. payoff investment.
Slow Roasted Pork, Carolina Style (paleo)
Based on the Momofuku Pork recipe posted on Yummy Supper
3-5 pounds pork butt (shoulder), skin removed
3 tsp. salt per pound (I used sea salt)
1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. sugar per pound (I used regular white)
Black pepper
Time
Heat
1 c. apple cider vinegar (Bragg’s is awesome here)
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. Texas Pete (or other hot sauce if you must. you can also omit for a less spicy version)
Big pinch red pepper flakes
Few grinds black pepper
1 big pinch salt
Mix your salt, sugar and pepper together in a small bowl and sprinkle very liberally over the pork on all sides. Place in the fridge to cure for 24 hours.
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F. Slap your pork into a cast iron skillet or similar pot and slip into the oven for 3 hours. After the 3 hour mark, baste once an hour for an additional 3 hours.
While your pork is going through its first stage cooking, make the sauce by combining all ingredients in a small saucepan and bringing to a boil. Stir until the sugar and salt are dissolved, remove from the heat, and let chill in the fridge a couple hours until ready to serve.
Pull when falling apart to the touch and a beautiful mahogany with a maddening smell. Pull with 2 forks like a dog burying a bone.
Slather with sauce and serve with everything – pineapple salsa, broccolini & avocado, just a fork … seriously, pork goes with everything. It’s the LBD of dinner meats.
This recipe grew from a craving. A pineapple and tomato craving. And what’s better to pair with pineapple and tomato than the salty tang of coconut aminos? Not much, I’ll tell you, unless you’re talking about heat. Fresh heat from diced jalapenos takes this salsa over the edge. The components are great in and of themselves, but with the slight pepper crunch from the jalapeno, something magical happens.
This recipe takes a little marinating time – about an hour – but the chicken comes out well worth it. This is a riff on a soy/pineapple/egg white chicken my mother used to serve and never fails to bring me right back to that dish, which at the time was one of my favorites and ever-so-exotic.
Tropical Chicken & Broccoli with Spicy Pineapple Salsa
Tropical Chicken & Broccoli
2 boneless skinless breasts chicken
4 Tbsp. coconut aminos
2 tsp. honey
1 big pinch red pepper flakes
2 c. broccoli
Drizzle olive oil
Pinch salt
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
Spicy Pineapple Salsa
1.5 cups fresh pineapple
1 c. cherry tomatoes
1 tsp. honey
1/2 jalapeno
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. rice vinegar
Big pinch flaky salt
1 tsp. chipotle powder (optional. I’m not sure it added anything to the dish)
First, get your salsa going. If you are using fresh pineapple, peel and core and cut into bite-sized pieces. If you’re going the canned route, do yourself a favor and pick pineapple in natural juice; you don’t want cloying sweet here since you’re looking to walk a balance between sweet, hot and tart. Add the pineapple to a medium bowl.
De-seed and dice the jalapeno, halve the tomatoes and crush the garlic. Add to the pineapple bowl, along with the honey, rice vinegar and chipotle powder if you’re using.
Stash in the fridge to give the flavors a chance to marry.
Cut the chicken into strips and add to a large plastic bag, along with the coconut aminos, 2 tsp. honey and red pepper flakes.
Marinate in the fridge for an hour.
While things are chilling, put your broccoli on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Broil until starting to brown, flip, and continue broiling until nicely browned to just about where you want it – about 25-40 minutes depending upon how large your pieces are and how far from the heating source you place the rack.
When the broccoli is done, add to a large pan with the sesame oil and sesame seeds and toss to finish browning. Set aside.
Add some fat to the pan and sautee the chicken until done through and browned on all sides. Be careful while the chicken cooks, as the honey will want to burn. Keep it moving so that doesn’t happen.
Serve the chicken topped with salsa alongside the broccoli.
This is one of those meals where everything went wrong – I consciously decided to swap the main meat, the grocery was out of chorizo, I didn’t have as much adobo sauce and almond flour as I thought – and yet it all came together just fine into a damn tasty little dish, and not at all as meat clogged as I had thought it would be. I was expecting heavy, greasy, and to finish feeling like I’m on meat overload – happily, that was not the case here.
Yeah, that’s a meaty little snowman head and a meaty little mitten – in May – what of it? That’s just how I roll. With the cool kids.
Mini Turkey & Sausage Spicy Meatloaves with Seared Tomato Relish
1 lb. ground turkey
1 lb. fresh sausage (the original recipe called for chorizo; I used some sort of spicy ‘mystery sausage’ from the freezer and it turned out great)
1 Tbsp. adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles – read your label!)
2 eggs
Scant 2 Tbsp. almond flour (you can omit this alltogether and things will work out just fine – the meat mix will be a little wet but all will be well. If too-wet meat freaks you out, just halve or omit the egg – ground meat in a muffin tin is very forgiving)
1 large onion
5 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 c. cherry tomatoes
1 tsp. adobo sauce + sriracha or more adobo if you have it and you need it for spice
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 c. cilantro
juice of 1 lime (maybe more)
extra lime juice + 1/4 an avocado per person for garnish
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add to a medium pan with the coconut oil and sautee until translucent and beginning to brown around the edges.
Add half the onions & garlic to a large bowl and half to the bowl of your food processor.
To the bowl (not food processor), add the ground meat + sausage slipped of its casings + egg + flour + 1 Tbsp. adobo and mix by hand until incorporated.
If you’re a normal adult human and have “regular” muffin tins, you will need 2 for this recipe. If you’re like me and only have 1 tin of mini muffin cups and a couple novelty tins for making holiday cakes, muddle through as you can. Whatever kind of loaf you’re making, fill your cups, making sure not to fill each cup up more than 3/4 of the way through or you will have a hot mess on your hands. A hot mess and overflowing grease. Yum. I made 1 tin of mini muffins + 1 tin of snowman/mitten muffins + 3 burger sized patties fried on the stovetop.
Pop those babies into the oven and set the timer for 25 minutes.
While the loaves/muffins/snowmen heads are baking, toss the tomatoes into the pan you were using for the onions and let cook until blackened in spots and beginning to pop open. Add to the food processor, along with the remaining adobo, olive oil, lime juice, and 2 big pinches of salt. Process. Taste for seasoning; adjust heat/acid/salt if necessary. At this point, if your salsa is too wet (mine was), toss back into the pan and cook some of that liquid off. Make sure to re-taste for seasoning. Add the cilantro and set aside.
When your timer goes off, check the meatloaves. You’re looking for rendered fat on the top (you won’t have a whole heck of a lot if you’re working with turkey), and done looking bottoms. If you are using metal pans, you may have a nice crust. Silicone tins aren’t really into all that mess. If things look good, you’re in the clear. I was slightly worried about doneness (and was secretly hoping for a nice crust), so I jacked the heat to 400 and blasted the loaves for an additional 5 minutes.
Serve over a bed of sliced avocado, topped with the relish and a squirt of fresh lime juice.
Makes a bunch – I’m getting 4-6 servings (3 mini muffins, 2 snow men/mittens, or 1.5 burger patties per serving). Your mileage may vary.
Craving a rich, decadent ragu, but cutting out unnecessary carbs? This is the recipe for you. This dish is luxurious and rich, comes together in about an hour, and feels like it took days to cook. It’s meaty, hearty, and paleo friendly. It even features one of my more favorite braised vegetables, that unsung hero of the kitchen, celery. Never had cooked celery? You’re missing out. Cooked celery goes all slumpy and soft, while keeping a slight fresh taste that just speaks of crisp spring days. Yum.
1 lb. celery
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 onion
2 oz. pancetta
15 ounce can plum tomatoes
1 lb. hot Italian sausage (4 links)
1 egg per person
2 tsp. or so butter
crushed red pepper
salt & pepper
Cut your celery on a diagonal into 3 inch pieces. Slice the onion very thin. cut the pancetta into strips or dice into cubes.
In a large pan, heat the oil on medium. Add the onion and sautee until light gold. Add the pancetta and cook until the fat becomes translucent. Add 2 links sausage, slipped out of their casings, and sautee (breaking up the sausage into bits as you go) until browned.
Once everything is nice and browned, add the tomatoes and their juice, crushing as you add to the pan. Nestle the remaining 2 sausages in the pan. Add the celery, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper and toss to coat well. Pop the lid on and knock the heat down to a steady simmer.
Simmer 15 minutes and check – I ended up cooking my dish for an hour in total to get the doneness I wanted; you may want to go less time if you want crisper celery. At an hour, the celery was nice and soft and the flavors were really well melded. Check every 15-20 minutes or so to make sure things aren’t getting too dry and to give a nice stir. If your mix does get dry, add some water or white wan to the pan. If the mix is too watery; take the lid off, raise the heat, and boil away the excess liquid.
While the ragu is simmering, fry your eggs in butter until the desired doneness – I went for runny yolks and the dish was luscious.
Yeah, there’s a lot of meat going on in this dish. But it’s good. This was a meal that came together based on what I was craving – crispy bacon, luscious egg yolk and a carb – and what needed to be used up – a bag of fresh peas, the pork chops I had defrosted, and the celery nubbins hanging out in the crisper.
Pork & Bacon Quinoa with Peas and an Egg
1/2 cup red quinoa (regular would work just fine)
1 cup turkey stock
1-2 stalks celery (I used the inner core + a few leaves)
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. coconut oil
10 ounces fresh English peas (you can certainly use frozen if that is what you have on hand)
2 ounces bacon (1 thick cut strip)
6 oz. pork chops (2 small boneless)
2 eggs
2 tbsp. parsley
Rinse your quinoa and add to a small saucepan with the turkey stock. Bring to a boil, pop a lid on, and drop the heat to a simmer. Simmer 15-20 minutes, or until the curlicues open and most of the liquid is absorbed.
Dice the celery and shallots; slice the garlic thin. Add to a large sautee pan with the coconut oil and sautee over medium heat until just beginning to brown. Add the peas and sautee, stirring frequently to avoid burning, until peas begin to soften. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Slice the bacon into batons and chop the pork chops into bite-sized pieces.
To the pan (still over medium), add the bacon and fry until the fat begins to render and the bacon is about half-done. Add the pork to the pan and continue cooking until the pork is browned and the bacon is crisped. Remove and set aside, keeping the fat for the eggs.
Return the pan back to the heat and add the eggs. Fry until desired yolk runnyness is reached.
These meatballs are intoxicating. I first made them the week before leaving for a long vacation, and managed to think about them almost every day during my absence – even in the face of exciting new foods. That’s the kind of power these meatballs have over me. I’ve made them with the egg and cheese and without; and both ways are spectacular. These are also great in chicken if turkey is unavailable.
Chipotle Lime Turkey Meatballs with Sweet Potato Fries
1 pound ground turkey (dark meat is best if you can find it) 1 Tbsp. chipotle powder 2 Tbsp. dried cilantro 2 Tbsp. grainy dijon mustard (I use Maille) 3 Tbsp. freshly grated Asiago or Parmesan (optional) 2 tsp. sriracha (optional but oh-so-tasty) 1 egg 3 cloves minced garlic Juice of 2 limes 1 Tbsp. grapeseed or coconut oil Salt & pepper
for the sweet potato fries
2 medium sweet potatoes (or 1 per person) 1/2 palm cumin 1/2 palm hungarian hot paprika salt & pepper to taste 2 tsp. grapeseed or coconut oil
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Aluminum foil can also be used, but will result in less-crispy fries which may stick.
Peel the potatoes and slice into fry shapes by halving widthwise and slicing into 1/4 inch thick batons. Arrange in a single layer on the prepared cookie sheet (grabbing a second if you need it) and sprinkle with the oil and spices. Toss to coat, sprinkle with salt & pepper and spread into a single layer on the sheet. Pop into the oven and bake 15 minutes. Flip the fries (and rotate your pans if necessary) and cook an additional 10-15 minutes until golden brown and crisped around the edges.
While your fries are working, add all the meatball ingredients but the oil (and only half the lime juice) to a medium bowl and mix until well combined (by hand works best).
Warm the oil in your largest skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Once the oil is up to temperature; quickly form golfball sized meatballs, dropping them into the pan as you go. The mix will be quite wet – that’s ok. It all works out in the end. You will wind up with 12-13 meatballs. If you have more than will fit in your pan without touching, whip out a second pan to take care of the rest.
Sautee until browned on one side and flip, cooking until browned on the other and firm to the touch. You don’t want to move these bad boys around too much or they tend to stick and fall apart. If you treat them delicately and only turn once, you will end up with some very lovely balls.
When done, transfer to a plate and sprinkle with the remaining lime juice; dust with chipotle and serve alongside the fries.
Have you seen my recipe for tomato jam yet? It goes with these fries fantastically.
Serves 2 for dinner with a serving of meatballs leftover for lunch.
This is one of those recipes I read the ingredient list for and was off running before I even remembered to save the recipe, let alone print it. Something about the combination of olives, feta and spinach really intrigued me. I’m glad I made it. This dish is creamy from the feta, briny from the olives, and earthy from the spinach – pretty much everything you could want out of spring.
Crappy picture, great dish
Spring Orzo with Mint, Olive, Feta and Spinach
1/2 c. orzo (use a gluten-free pasta to make this dish gf)
4 c. water
1/4 c. parsley
1/4 c. mint
1/4 c. cucumber
1/2 c. black and green olives
2 cloves garlic
6 ounces baby spinach
2 chicken breasts
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 ounces feta
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 Tbsp. garlic infused olive oil
2 big pinches red pepper flakes
salt & pepper to taste
Add the orzo and water to a medium pot over high heat. Add a palm full of salt and bring to a boil. Boil 6 minutes or until tender. Drain and add back to the warm pot. Add the spinach, pop a lid on, and let wilt (stirring first to get things going).
While the orzo is cooking, chop the parsley, mint, olives and garlic. Dice the cucumber. Set aside until the orzo is done and the spinach has wilted a little. Add to the pot and stir well to combine.
While that is all going, chop the chicken into bite-sized chunks and sautee with regular olive oil in a large pan over medium heat until browned. Season well.
Add the chicken to the pot, stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Add the feta, lemon juice and a big pinch red pepper flakes. Stir. Taste for seasoning. Add the garlic infused oil and second big pinch red pepper flakes.
This dish might look like it takes a lot of pans and bother to make, but things can be simplified by cooking the mushrooms with the leeks. I left separate because I am the only mushroom-eater in the house and had a craving.
I also had leftovers for lunch the next day topped with 2 fried eggs – fabulous. The kind of fabulous that made me sad I didn’t have a larger bowl.
Spring Pea and Asparagus Quinoa with Mushrooms and Leeks
2 c. vegetable stock
1 c. quinoa
2 leeks, white and light green parts only
2 cloves garlic
1 lb. crimini mushrooms, sliced
10 oz. fresh English peas
1 shallot
1 bunch asparagus
2 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. + 2 tsp. butter
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
2 Tbsp. chopped mint
Salt & pepper to taste
Add the quinoa and stock to a medium pan over high heat. Bring to a boil, cover, knock the heat back to a simmer and let cook 15 minutes or until curlicues open.
Slice the leeks into thin rounds and chop the garlic.
Add to a large pan with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter. Sautee over medium 10 minutes or until browned. Season with salt and pepper. When the leeks are done, add to a medium bowl.
Add the mushrooms, 2 tsp. olive oil and 2 tsp. butter to a medium pan over medium heat. Sautee 15 minutes or until softened and browned. Season with salt and pepper.
Slice the shallot into thin rings and chop the asparagus into bite-sized pieces. Add to the vacant leek pan with the peas and 1 Tbsp. olive oil. sautee over medium-high until browned. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the shallot/pea/asparagus mixture to the leek bowl and toss to combine. Hit with the lemon juice and taste for seasoning. Add the mint and toss. Serve over the quinoa, topped with mushrooms.
Perfect for a picnic or any sunny day, this chicken salad leaves the mayo behind.
Gluten-free; easily made paleo if you switch the green beans out for something like crispy cauliflower nuggets or broccolini.
‘Undressed’ Poppyseed & Orange Chicken Salad with Green Beans
2 chicken breasts
1/2 c. celery
1/2 c. pecans
1/4 c. chives
12 oz. haricots verts
Juice of 1 orange
2 tsp. dijon (grainy to be whole30 compliant)
2 tsp. poppy seeds
1/4 c. grapeseed oil
2 big pinches grey salt
Other citrus juice (optional)
3 Tbsp. coconut oil
Chop the chicken into roughly 1 inch cubes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 Tbsp. coconut oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sautee until golden brown and delicious looking.
Pull out your haricots verts, and chop into roughly bite-sized pieces.
In a separate pan, heat 1 Tbsp. coconut oil until melted. Add the haricots verts and cook until blistered and wilted.
While all that is working, slice the celery into thin half moons, toast the pecans in a dry pan until starting to brown and become fragrant, and chop or snip the chives. Add each new prepped ingredient to a large bowl as it is ready.
In a separate smaller bowl, make the vinaigrette. Whisk the orange juice, dijon, poppy seeds and grapeseed oil together until an emulsion forms. Taste. Add a big pinch of grey salt and taste again. If the flavors aren’t already sparkling, add another big pinch of salt. If your orange is still kind of dull tasting, hit it with a squirt or two of other citrus juice until the flavors sing.
When the chicken and/or green beans are done, add to the large bowl and toss to combine. Add half of the vinaigrette and toss. I was fine with the dressing level here; if you need to, add the rest.
Gastography 