Tag: recipes

Braised Chicken Leg with Vegetables

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This homey and comforting dish makes the best of late Summer’s vegetable bounty. It’s delicious, a nice light dinner, and is relatively hands-off, once the chicken is browned.

  

 

Gluten-free

Braised Chicken Leg with Vegetables

2 chicken leg quarters, bone-in and skin-on
Fat Of Choice
1 small onion
4 stalks celery
1 ear corn
1 medium sweet potato
1 large clove garlic
Splash white wine
3 bay leaves
1/2 bunch thyme
1c. bone broth
Kosher salt & black pepper

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Salt and pepper the chicken on both sides. Place a large cast iron or other oven-safe skillet over medium high heat. Add a Tablespoon of your favorite fat and bring to temperature.

When hot, add the chicken. Brown on both sides, making sure to leave alone in the pan 3-5 minutes per side so it can do its thing.

While the chicken is browning, chop the onion and dice the garlic. Set aside.

Chop the celery, take the corn off the cob, and peel and chop the sweet potato. Set aside.

When the chicken is nice and brown, deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine. Add the onion and garlic, and stir for a minute. Add the rest of the veggies and stir. Let cook while you gather your stock and herbs.

Add the stock, herbs, and chicken (nestle the chicken in the veggies so it touches the bottom of the pan).

Braise 40-45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are tender.

Serves 2 for dinner, with enough leftover veggies for lunch. 

Primal Eggplant Meatballs

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I love it when I successfully trick my DH into eating foods he doesn’t think he likes. This recipe contains a vegetable he just can’t get into – eggplant – and if he noticed it, he didn’t mention it.

Gluten-free, primal

 

Primal Eggplant Meatballs

1 lb. grass fed ground beef
1 large eggplant
2 large cloves garlic
Fresh parsley
1 lemon
1/4 c. hard cheese (I used sheep pecorino)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. dukkah
1/2 tsp. ras el hanout
Kosher salt & black pepper

First, bake the eggplant. Cube, toss with fat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 375 F for 45 minutes, flipping once during cooking.

Pull and cool.

When cool, combine 1.5 cups of the eggplant with the ground beef, minced garlic (2 Tbsp.), chopped parsley (2 Tbsp.), the zest of the lemon, the juice of the lemon, cheese, and spices. Hit with a big pinch salt and a few grinds black pepper.

Turn into golf ball sized meatballs and brown over medium-high heat.

Serves 3 – 4, depending upon what you serve these with.

Plum And Cucumber Salsa

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What to do with an overabundance of stone fruit? Make salsa, of course. This salsa makes a fantastic salad base for a light lunch – just throw on your favorite protein, maybe a hand full of baby spinach or some shredded cabbage, and you’re good to go.

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, paleo

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Plum And Cucumber Salsa

Plums – enough to total 2-3 cups when chopped
3 peaches
1 cucumber
1 red jalapeno (it doesn’t have to be red, they’re just prettier IMHO)
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 inch ginger
2 cloves garlic
Kosher salt & black pepper

De-pit and chop the fruit. De-seed and dice the jalapeño. Dice the cucumber. Peel and mince the ginger and garlic. Add everything to a large bowl and toss with the lime juice, a generous pinch salt & a few cracks black pepper.

This salsa is good straight after making, but the flavors are even better the next day.

Serves 3 – 4 as part of a nice lunch

 

Paleo Slow Cooker Butter Poultry

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This is a paleo-fied version of one of my DH and my favorite Indian takeout treats. This version uses everyone’s favorite weeknight dinner helper to make an almost hands-free dish that can be ready when you are.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30 if you source your coconut milk and tomato paste well

Paleo Slow Cooker Butter Poultry
Based on Slow Cooker Butter Chicken Sliders by Kiwi & Bean

1 lb. poultry – I used boneless, skinless turkey breast
2.5 Tbsp. FOC (fat of choice)
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic
1/5 – 2 inches fresh ginger
1 Tbsp. garam masala
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. ground turmeric
Spice – I used a slight dust of ghost chili powder, the recipe calls for 1/2 – 1 tsp. cayenne
15 ounce can coconut milk – I used light, because that’s what was on hand
4-5 ounce can tomato paste
Kosher salt & black pepper
Something to serve with or on – I ate mine over chopped cucumber, the DH had a sandwich, cauli rice or zoodles would also be great

Heat the fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Chop the onion and add to the pan when hot. Chop the garlic and add. Peel and dice the ginger and add. Hit with a couple big pinches salt and a few grinds black pepper.

Cook until the onion is browned. It would be awesome if you waited until the onion was caramelized, but I have zero patience for all that.

While your aromatics are working, add your poultry to your slow cooker.

When your onion is caramelized or you can’t wait any longer, add the spices and cook, stirring, until the spices bloom and become fragrant.

Add the coconut milk and tomato paste. Stir to combine and break up any clumps and bring to a boil.

Dump into the slow cooker. Cook on High 6 hours.

When done, shred the poultry and toss well to coat in sauce. Taste and season more if needed.

Serves 2 – 4 depending upon your delivery vehicle

Paleo Stuffed Globe Zucchini

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I credit a cosmic alignment bringing serendipity as the impetus behind this recipe. A friend of mine over at Nerd Fitness posted something a few weeks ago he was calling a grenade – from what I can remember, it involved baked globe zucchini stuffed with some sort of ground meat. It sounded delicious, but since I had no pretty balls of zucchini on hand, I pushed it out of my mind.

And then this week the stars aligned and my CSA gave us beautiful, round zucchinis the perfect size for stuffing plus ground pork. Serendipity.

This recipe makes a fantastic light dinner for two, with enough innards left over for at least 1 lunch, maybe 2.

A note on sausage: I’m using a really nicely flavored sweet pork sausage here I’ve been getting from my CSA (order form). It’s fan-freaking-tastic. I would suggest swapping in the best sweet Italian sausage you can find. 

Paleo, gluten-free, Whole30 if you source your sausage well

 

Paleo Stuffed Globe Zucchini

2 round zucchini
1 lb. sweet pork sausage
2 shallots
4 cloves garlic
2 smallish potatoes
4 roma tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. thyme
Kosher salt & black pepper

Preheat your oven to 375F. Set your largest pan over medium heat and add the sausage.

While the sausage starts to cook, peel and dice the garlic and shallots. Add to the pan and give everything a stir, breaking up any huge sausage lumps.

Dice the potatoes and add to the pan. Stir.

Chop the pepper. Add to the pan and stir.

Chop the tomatoes. Add to the pan and stir.

Cut the tops off the zucchini. Using a large spoon, scoop the innards out of the zucchinis, being careful to not puncture the sides. Chop the innards and add to the pan. Stir.

Add the coriander, thyme, a big pinch or two Kosher salt and a few cracks black pepper to the pan. Stir and taste for seasoning. Add more if necessary.

Stuff the empty zucchini with the sausage mixture, replace the zucchini tops, and place in a baking dish. Add a little water to the bottom of the dish. Cover with foil.

Bake 1 hour, or until the zucchini is soft.

Serves 2 for dinner, with enough sausage mix left over to supply 1 – 2 lunches

Zucchini Mashed Potatoes

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Zucchini. Mashed. Potatoes. A simple, delicious vehicle that whisks away some of summer’s over bounty if you’re lucky enough to subscribe to a CSA (or have a backyard plot of veggies). This side dish is zucchini-hating DH-approved (he pretended it was unidentified herbs until confronted with reality).

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30 if you sub clarified butter, vegetarian

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Zucchini Mashed Potatoes

4 smallish potatoes (about hand sized)
1 large zucchini
2 large cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. unsalted grass fed butter (sub clarified if W30)
Kosher salt & pepper

Wash, peel and chop the potatoes into half inch-ish pieces. Peel the garlic. Add both to a large pot and cover with water (+ about an inch). Set over High heat, add a generous sprinkle salt, and bring to a low boil. Let cook 10 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking, chop the zucchini. Add to the pot after the 10 minutes are up. Boil 5 minutes.

Drain and add to the bowl of a food processor or blender carafe. Add the butter and process. Taste. Add salt & pepper as needed.

Serves 4 as a side – perfect with simple sautéed chicken breast or broiled steaks

 

Chicken-And-Egg Zoodles

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I started this meal thinking a nice simple plate of cacio e pepe sounded delicious. But, I don’t eat pasta – and I didn’t have any parmesan. What I *did* have was some CSA fresh zucchini, some bacon ends, a bit of leftover baked chicken and some farm fresh eggs.

A delicious, dead simple, quick-to-prepare dinner was born. And, without heating my apartment to 900 degrees, or filling it with seared meat smoke. #winning

Paleo, gluten-free, whole30 if you source your bacon right

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Chicken-And-Egg Zoodles

4 ounces bacon
4 ounces leftover cooked chicken
1 large zucchini
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp. FOC (fat of choice)
2 eggs per person
More FOC
Salt & pepper

Heat a pan on medium. Chop your bacon and add. Brown. When the bacon is halfway browned, add the leftover chicken and 2 chopped cloves garlic.

Zoodle your zucchini however you accomplish this (I use a spiralizer that works like sharpening a pencil – there are a ton of ways to make noodles out of zucchini).

When the bacon is browned and the chicken is warm, add the zoodles to the pan and toss. Add 2 tsp. olive oil, a few cracks black pepper and a sprinkle of salt. Set aside while you fry the eggs.

Put your pan back over the fire and add more fat. Fry the eggs and use to top the “pasta”.

Serves 2

Pan-Roasted Chicken, Broccoli & Corn

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This is a simple to throw together one-skillet meal that’s as satisfying as it is easy.

Gluten-free

What the what kind of ridiculousness happened here? Sorry guys - the blurriness of this image hurts my eyes, but dinner was too good not to share.
What the what kind of ridiculousness happened here? Sorry guys – the blurriness of this image hurts my eyes, but dinner was too good not to share.

Pan-Roasted Chicken, Broccoli & Corn
Adapted from Pan-Roasted Rosemary Chicken from Bon Appetit

1/2 chicken or 2 quarters chicken, bone-in and skin on
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic, divided
3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 shallot
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme
1 small head broccoli
1 ear corn
1/4 to 1/2 cup stock
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Splash apple cider vinegar
Salt & pepper

Chop the rosemary and two of the garlic cloves. Mix together with 2 Tbsp. of the oil and spread over the flesh side of the chicken. Cover and chill 1 hour to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400 F with a rack in the lower third. While the oven is heating, pat the skin side of your chicken dry and hit with salt and pepper. In a large cast iron (or other ovenproof) skillet, heat the last Tbsp. oil over medium-high and add the chicken skin side down. Let brown while you chop the veggies and the oven finishes heating.

Chop the broccoli, and de-cob the corn. Add to the sides of the chicken, hit with salt and pepper, and roast uncovered about 25 minutes or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165 F.

While the chicken and veggies are cooking, prep your add-ins. Dice the shallot and remaining 2 cloves garlic. De-stem the thyme. Collect your broth, butter and vinegar.

Pull the chicken and let rest, skin side up, on a plate.

Sauté the shallot, thyme and garlic in the pan juices over medium heat until softened. Add the broth and vinegar, scraping up the browned bits, until the sauce reduces a bit and the vegetables are nice and coated. Add the butter and stir until combined.

Serves 2 for dinner, with enough chicken leftover for lunch 

 

Spicy Chard Salad with Sweet Miso Dressing

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This is one of those crowd-pleasing, light and refreshing salads that makes the perfect thing to bring to a potluck. It’s vegan, gluten-free (check your labels!) and paleo-adjacent. It’s also sweet and spicy and interesting enough to warrant seconds on a hot summer day.

Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free

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Spicy Chard Salad With Sweet Miso Dressing

1 bunch Swiss chard
1/2 head red cabbage
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 shallot
2 Tbsp. white miso (check your labels!)
1.5 Tbsp. tahini
1.5 Tbsp. coconut nectar
1.5 Tbsp. coconut aminos
1 – 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
Few cracks black pepper
Big pinch Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
Bare dusting ground ghost pepper

Wash and chop the chard, cabbage and peppers – add to a large bowl. Dice the shallot and add. Halve the tomatoes and add.

In a small bowl, whisk together the miso, tahini, coconut nectar, coconut amino, rice vinegar, salt, pepper, coriander and ghost pepper.

Pour over the salad and toss to combine.

Serves 6+, enough for a potluck

Blistered Lemon Green Beans

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Lemon! This is one of those bright, punchy side dishes that calls to mind hot summer evenings spent draped over the arms of furniture because it’s wilty outside, potluck barbecues with friends, and the bounty of an overflowing CSA box.

In short, it’s delicious and will wake your tastebuds up. Plus, it’s safe for pretty much everyone if you want to bring it somewhere.

Gluten-free, paleo, Whole30, vegetarian, vegan

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Blistered Lemon Green Beans

1 lb. beans (I used a mix of yellow and green)
2-3 lemons
2 tsp. FOC (fat of choice)
4 cloves roasted garlic
1 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. chopped basil
Kosher salt & pepper
Water

First, tip your green beans and put your broiler on high. Add the green beans in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Slice one of the lemons in half, and then into thin rounds (peel and all). Pick out the seeds of the rounds and place on the cookie sheet with the green beans. Sprinkle with your fat of choice, salt and pepper.

Broil until the green beans are starting to blister and the lemons are starting to burn – roughly 5 mins., turn the pan and 3 mins. (at least in my oven) – start with 5 minutes and watch from there.

While your green beans are burning, make the dressing. Dice the garlic and add to a small bowl with 2 Tbsp. lemon juice, the tahini, and a shot of salt & pepper. Stir to combine and add a little water (about a Tablespoon) to loosen up a little if needed. Chop the basil and add to the dressing. Stir again.

When the beans and lemon slices are ready, remove from the pan. Dice the lemon (peel and all) and add to the dressing.

Toss the dressing with the beans well to combine (I massaged the dressing into the beans with my fingers).

Serves 2-3 as a dinner side