Recipe: Paleo/Primal Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers...

Happy unofficial start of Fall! I looooooove Fall. Sweater weather, fire pits, hard ciders, regular ciders, crunchy leaves, mums, everything. Lucky for us, we were rewarded with cooler weather starting on Labor Day. Obviously helpful for running, this was also a big help since we needed to have our windows open. Why?

We built a table!

Yup. I finally have a dining table. And it's basically my dream table. Except it cost me about $150 at Home Depot instead of costing $1700 at Crate and Barrel like I always believed it would. We followed the instructions found at ana-white.com, here.

It was definitely a two-day project, in part because some of the glued and stained portions took a while to dry, and in part because we had to make a few trips to HD, but it was much easier than I thought. And now, I have a dining table!! The husband and I can actually sit and enjoy a meal and conversation rather than eating on the couch, ignoring each other, while the dog stares and begs.

Our table ready to host its first meal!

So, what better to do with a new table? A new meal! I took some rough inspiration and came up with this (very easy) recipe for Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers. If you're a cheese eater, use cheese. If not, don't. 

Paleo Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken breast
• 2 Green bell peppers
• 2 Cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 1/2 white or yellow onion
• garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste
• 1/2 Cup hot sauce (I use Chalula)
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 Cup almond milk
• 1/2 Cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Put chicken breast in crockpot. Pour broth over, and add water as needed until chicken is just covered. Add a few dashes of garlic powder. Chop onion into large chunks and add to crockpot. Cook chicken for 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

After cooked, pour out broth and use two forks to shred chicken. 

Preheat oven to 350.

In pot over low heat, melt butter, add hot sauce and milk. Stir until melted and well blended. Add chicken and onions to pot, stir to coat. (1/2 Cup hot sauce will make a mild-to-medium spice. Adjust accordingly when making buffalo sauce.)

Remove core and seeds from green peppers, slice in half and lay halves in a casserole dish. Scoop buffalo coated chicken into each pepper half. Fill until slightly mounded. 

If adding cheese, remove peppers after 25 minutes, cover with cheese and bake and additional 5. If you're not using cheese, just bake for 30 minutes. 

Let cool, enjoy.

Recipe: Paleo Balsamic Chicken with Strawberry Kiwi Salsa...

This recipe must've been good. I didn't get a "blogable" pronouncement from the husband. Rather, he refused to stop chewing, but gave me the thumbs-up while nodding. Same thing?

Serve this dish with mashed sweet potatoes (throw in some cinnamon and butter) for a delightful summer dinner. As below, this serves 4

Paleo Balsamic Chicken with Strawberry Kiwi Salsa

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts
1/2 Cup balsamic vinegar
4 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 lbs strawberries, diced
3-4 kiwi, peeled and diced
1 jalepeno, diced and seeded
Juice of 2 limes
4 green onions

Directions

Using a meat mallet, pound the chicken breasts to approximately 1/2 inch thick. Place in a dish. Mix together the balsamic vinegar and 2 Tbsp grapeseed oil. Pour over chicken breasts, and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour.

In a separate bowl, mix together strawberries, kiwi and jalepeno. Add lime juice. Allow to stand in the fridge while you cook the chicken.

Chop the green onions, and add to a pan along with the remaining 2 Tbsp of grapeseed oil. Cook on medium-high heat until onions are fragrant. Cook each chicken breast for 3-5 minutes per side.  (Careful, the oil will splatter quite a bit).  Allow chicken to drain on a cooling rack, or pat with a towel. Top with strawberry kiwi salsa, and enjoy!

Recipe: Paleo (ish) Stuffed Chicken...

Some nights, you just have to cook. No recipe, no real plan, just some ingredients, a glass of wine (obviously), some music, and the kitchen. It just screams stress relief to me. 

Life has been an adventure lately. Or a misadventure.. isn't that the name of this blog? So it should come as no surprise... I've started a new job, and I'm finally doing what I want to do, which is a blessing. But, it's at a very small (President and several contractors) company, and I work from home. Definitely a bit of a struggle and an adjustment. 

My training is still on track though! I've had a bit of a set back... of course one week before the half marathon... a touch of shin splints, or something. The muscles along my shin are knotted like you wouldn't believe! So I've had to have a bit of extra rest, but I'm ready! Except I need to choose my outfit still. That's important, right?

The shoes and green top don't exactly match, but I'm leaning toward a clashing-ish outfit of the Blue shorts and green top...  although right now, they're calling for a high of 54, low of 44, and chance of rain, which may lead to a long sleeve top. Oh, decisions...

Anyway... on to the recipe...

I had a great time, can't lie. Popped open an amazing Rose, and turned on the latest Michael Buble album on Spotify... great cooking music and I'm now obsessed with the song "Close Your Eyes". I invented as I went, and I'm glad to say this was not actually pronounced "blog-able". Mostly because the husband didn't stop chewing long enough to say anything to me!  

This recipe uses Organic Valley's Organic Cream Cheese. Again, we eat dairy in our house, so we find this acceptable. If you don't want it, leave it out. Or replace it with a goat cheese. The creaminess was really awesome, but it's (as always) up to you!

This serves 3, and I've left the ingredient list as such.. most likely, you'll want to double it.

Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 oz. organic cream cheese
• 1/2 medium red onion
• 2 large leafs of kale
• 3 slices bacon
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• splash of olive or grapeseed oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Slice your red onion and separate the rings. Add to a saucepan and cook until they begin to brown. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and continue cooking until soft. Remove onions and put bacon in pan. Cook until browned, but not crisped.

Remove and set aside to cool. Pour grease out of pan, add just enough oil to coat (if you prefer, you can use a new pan, but why make a mess? Just wipe it out and use the same, already hot pan!). Add your kale and cook until it just begins to wilt. Turn off heat, but leave kale in pan. It will continue to cook down while you prep the chicken.

While your kale is cooking and bacon cooking, prepare your chicken breasts. Using a sharp knife, cut a slit in each one, but do not cut all the way through. Fold the breast open, then use a meat hammer to pound each one to no more than 1/2 inch thick.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lay each chicken breast open on the sheet.

Spread one side of each chicken breast with cream cheese. Sprinkle with onions. Crumble bacon on top of the onion layer. Add kale as final layer.

Once the stuffing is in place, fold each chicken breast closed. Cook for approximately 35-40 minutes or until cooked through.  Eat. Do not speak to wife until finished. Only then may you proclaim this dish's awesomeness.

Recipe: Paleo Chicken Marengo with Roasted Cheddar Broccoli

I am extremely proud of this recipe! On my ongoing quest to recreate my (sadly) gluten-filled, non-Paleo favorite dishes of my childhood, I reached Chicken Marengo. Like with Beef Stroganoff, my family went with the quick n' easy version... consisting mainly of Tomato soup and Golden Mushroom soup.

This one was *not* a first-time hit. It took a few tries... but tonight's version was pronounced...  "blogable".

Paleo Chicken Marengo

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs. chicken breast tenders
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 6oz. can tomato paste
• 4 tsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. garlic powder (or two cloves crushed)
• 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 3-4 oz. white mushrooms, diced  (I usually use 3 good sized mushrooms)
• 1 C. beef stock
• 1 C. water

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix onion powder, salt, garlic and tomato paste. Add 1 C. water and 3/4 C. beef stock. Whisk until smooth.

In a large saucepan, brown the chicken in the olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, onion salt and garlic powder as desired.
Once browned, remove the chicken and pour off the oil.
Add remaining beef stock to still hot pan and add diced mushrooms. Sautee mushrooms in stock until tender.
Add chicken, and pour tomato mixture over. Stir just to mix. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  For a slightly thicker broth, remove the lid for the last 5 minutes of cooking sign. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

Roasted Cheddar Broccoli

Ingredients

• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 C. shredded sharp cheddar 
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Put broccoli florets in large mixing bowl, add olive oil and garlic, toss to cover. Add half the cheese and toss well. 

Pour onto lined baking sheet and spread out so florets are not too crowded. Sprinkle remaining cheese on the broccoli. Cook for approximately 10 minutes. 

Recipe: Paleo Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I love zucchini. Grilled, roasted, steamed, whatever. Cook zucchini and I'm there. Why I didn't think to make them my main dish instead of a side before now, I don't know!  I can't wait to make this again in the summer when the zucchinis are a bit bigger.

Paleo Stuffed Zucchini Boats

Ingredients

• 4 large zucchini 
• 1 lb. chicken breast (I used thin sliced cutlets to make life a little easier)
• 1 large tomato
• 4 oz. black olives
• 1/2 large onion
• 3 oz. feta cheese 
• Seasonings as desired (I used oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper)
• Olive oil to brush on zucchini

Boil the chicken until cooked. I added oregano and red pepper flakes to the water when I boiled the chicken. When done, drain, and allow to cool until it can be handled.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut the ends off each zucchini, then slice in half lengthwise.  Scoop out a channel in the middle of each zucchini, creating a shallow place for the stuffing. Place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Brush each zucchini with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Dice chicken breast, tomato and onion. Slice olives. Add ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Scoop mixture into each zucchini. Don't worry if it overflows!

Roast for 15 minutes, allow to cool, enjoy!