Recipe: Paleo/Gluten-Free Buckwheat Bread...

Bread.

The holy grail of Paleo and Gluten-free people everywhere.

Most breads that are gluten-free, and especially those that are paleo have weird textures, can't hold up well enough for sandwiches, and well, taste like cardboard.

This bread is easy to make, tasty, and holds up! You actually need a bread knife to cut it! My husband compared it to the brown bread served at Outback Steakhouse.. though I think it would need a little tweaking to match that.  I had it with stew last night and breakfast this morning. I've topped it with butter and honey, toasted and plain. Yum!

Warning #1 with this bread. It looks brown, and it certainly falls into a grey area. It contains both buckwheat and yeast.  My understanding is that buckwheat is grossly misunderstood. It is NOT a grain. However, some still consider it a grass, and thus non-paleo. I believe, and several sources state, that it is actually a fruit.   It IS gluten-free.  As always, I urge you to make your own decisions. If you don't think buckwheat flour is OK in your definition of paleo, don't make this bread.

Warning #2 of course is the yeast.  I am going to try to replicate this bread in the future without yeast, using the baking soda/acid reaction to make it rise. However, I have not had much success with that in the past. Yeast is technically an organism. Again, debate this all you want... I think the occasional yeast is OK. If you don't, don't make this and I'll try to make it yeast-free soon.

So with all those warnings out of the way, let's get to the important stuff... the recipe!!

Buckwheat Bread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups lukewarm water
• 3 eggs
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 package active dry yeast (I used Red Star)
• 1/2 Cup tapioca flour
• 1/2 Cup coconut flour
• 1 Cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tsp. salt

Directions

Mix yeast and water in a medium bowl and set aside for at least 5 minutes. 

In a large bowl, mix the remaining dry ingredients (coconut, tapioca, buckwheat, salt) together until completely blended.

In the medium bowl with your yeast water, add eggs, honey, vinegar and mix well. Once mixed, pour liquids into the dry ingredients.  Mix well. 

Pour batter into your greased pan. I used two 8x4 pans, but you should be able to do a full loaf pan without problems. 

Let rise at least one hour  (note in the above image, I thought yeast should rise in the fridge... which actually slows the process... oops).

Heat oven to 350.  Bake for 45-50 minutes (full loaf may take longer) or until a toothpick comes out cleanly. 

Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a cooling rack. 

Add some grassfed butter and ENJOY!!!

Recipe: Paleo Pie Crust plus Apple or Pumpkin Filling...

When marathon training kicks off the week of Thanksgiving, you are hosting, AND you're mostly Paleo, but strictly gluten-free, what's the one thing planted firmly at the top of your planning list? 

Pie.

Yes, pie.   What were you thinking about? Let's be honest, the majority of Thanksgiving dinner is easy to make Paleo and especially easy to make gluten-free. But the pie! Oh, the pie!

I've struggled with making quiche or pie, and trying to find an acceptable crust. The pre-made versions in store are wildly expensive, and the recipes out there just weren't cutting it. Most that were just gluten-free were.. well, weird. Rice flour, potato flour, a million eggs, etc.  And the Paleo recipes, my own included, were almond flour based. Almond flour is a lovely thing, and works for many, many recipes, but try as I might, I couldn't make a pie crust that wasn't insanely dense. And pie crusts are meant to be light!

I got to work, and made several complete failures. I forced upon my husband a quiche crust that was chewy... and only got worse when microwaved. But hey, it had like 8 eggs and 6 slices of bacon invested in it, so he was eating it! We both suffered through one that was quite salty. And then I made something that I doubted would work.. it was so wet, I didn't see how it would work. But it did! It did! I liked it! I really, really liked it!!

Sorry, having a Sally Field moment...

I tested this crust with both apple and pumpkin pie fillings (my Thanksgiving staples). I haven't tasted the Pumpkin, as I don't like Pumpkin, well, anything, but my husband swears to me that it's delicious.  The best part is that this crust is nut and egg free, which is something I know several friends are happy for. 

Without further ado, I present to you... Paleo Pie Crust!!!  (with more pictures than any previous post!)

Paleo Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 1/4 Cup coconut flour
• 1 tbsp. arrowroot
• 1/8 Cup (or 2 tbsp.) Tapioca starch/flour
• 1/2 Cup Spectrum all-vegetable shortening
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 - 3/4 Cup water  (start with 1/2 cup, add until you reach the consistency pictured)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 325.

First, grease your pie round really well with either butter or coconut oil and lightly dust with coconut flour.

In a medium or large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (coconut, arrowroot, tapioca, salt) until thoroughly blended.

Use a fork to cut in and blend in the shortening. 

You will end up with something the consistency of frosting. Once you have the right consistency, spread it out a bit to make the next step easier. 

Add water and stir together slowly with a spoon until completely blended. You now have something somewhere between cake batter and cookie dough consistency (pretty wet and sticky).

Here's the hardest, most time-consuming part...

Spoon some of the mix into the pie dish, then use the spoon to spread it until it evenly covers, and is a fairly even, thin thickness.  This takes a bit of time and patience, and you will most likely need to use your hands at the end. 

Once spread, use a fork to poke holes in the dough.

Dough plopped into the prepared pie round...

Spreading the dough. I'm not kidding when I say this is thin, but sticky...

Dough spread, ready to pre-bake...

If you want lattice or a double pie, you'll need to prep a cookie sheet with parchment paper. After you prep your pie round, put the leftover dough onto the parchment paper, and spread into a rectangle of even thickness. You should have more than enough dough.

Cook the pie crust in the oven at 325 for 15 minutes. The top layer can go for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let cool! Time for fillings!!

Pre-baked crusts ready!!   To make lattice, use a sharp knife to slice the rectangle into slices and weave. To make a top, cut out shapes as desired. 

Paleo Apple Pie

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted organic butter
• 1/2 Cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp arrowroot
• cinnamon to taste
• 6 granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced

Directions

Preheat oven to 425. 

Prep the apples first. Put them into the pre-baked pie crust.

In a small pot, melt the butter over low heat. 

Add the arrowroot and stir until completely smooth. Add desired amount of cinnamon (I use probably 1 TBSP...)

Add maple syrup, stir until blended. Bring just to boiling, but do not actually boil. 

While the sauce is cooking, make your lattice, or put your top on the apple pie. Sprinkle additional cinnamon on top as desired. 

Slowly pour the sauce over the lattice.

 Cover the entire pie with foil. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Decrease heat to 350.  At this point, I recommend that you remove the pie, remove the foil, and place either a pie shield, or create one out of foil to cover the outer ring of the crust. The tippy top will burn, but the liquid will keep the lattice from getting too burnt.

Bake an additional 35 minutes at 350.  Let cool, and enjoy!!!

Sorry the picture is sideways...  you can see here how the edges will crisp up if not protected.

Paleo Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

• 1 can of pumpkin (make your own if you want... I won't judge if you don't!)
• 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 Cup. maple syrup
• 2 eggs

Directions

Preheat oven to 425. 

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in canned pumpkin. Mix in maple syrup.  Slightly beat the eggs, and then stir in until everything is well blended.

Pour into pre-baked pie crust. Smooth out with your spoon.

Pumpkin pie ready to go!

As you can see in the finished product, I recommend that you use a pie crust shield or make one.. The exposed part of the crust will burn a bit. 

Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 425.   Reduce temp to 350 and bake an additional 40 minutes or until the center is set. 

My husband ate this by himself. In two days. 

Recipe: Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Fall makes me want to bake. Well, it makes me want to bake even more than usual. I looooooove baking. I am that girl who randomly brings baked goods into the office (well, I was when I had an office) just because I had the urge to bake. 

Going gluten free and paleo really seemed to take the joy of baking away from me. 'Gluten-free All-purpose' flour is not really a good thing.. It replaces wheat flour with all kinds of rice starch, potato starch... still going to spike the heck out of your blood sugar (of course it is, it's going into baked goods), and leaves you with a weird grainy texture.

In my hunt for baking recipes, it was hard to find 'traditional' things...  sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, etc. Ok, Elena's Pantry has a great brownie recipe. But there was no simple, classic, GOOD chocolate chip recipe. Everything out there was 'hazelnut chocolate chip', or 'maple bacon chocolate chip'. They sound good, but they aren't what I want. And the few plain chocolate chip cookie recipes I could find weren't quite..   right.

So last night, I was feeling a bit blue, and I decided to bake. I had modified a recipe earlier that got me very, very close to what I wanted, and I decided to give it one more try. When I tested the final product, I declared to my husband that, "I win paleo chocolate chip cookies." He agreed, and also declared these 'dangerous'. And the best part of all? They really aren't that complicated!!

I did grind my own almond flour using a NutriBullet my mom got me (we don't have the dry blade for our Vitamix). This yielded a finer flour than Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour - and at half the cost! - but you should be fine using whatever almond flour you prefer.  

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 C. almond flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 tsp. sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. vanilla
• 3 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 C. grassfed butter, softened
• 1/2 - 3/4 C. dark chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. 

Put almond flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Use a fork to mix until well blended. 

Add vanilla, honey, and butter. Use a hand mixer on low to blend all ingredients together. Dough will be very wet.

Scoop dough by rounded teaspoon onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. (Leave room, these cookies will spread!) I did 9 per sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes.  

Be sure to let them cool either on the pan, or lift the parchment paper onto a cooling rack!  At 8 minutes, these will be soft, but much more crumbly when handled. At 10 minutes, they had a tiny bit of crunch and did not fall apart (my perfect cookie).  

Yields roughly 20 cookies... try not to eat them all at once!

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 Sautéed Shrimp with Roasted Butterball Potatoes

Cravings. We've all been there. Yup.

Today, I wanted shrimp. I had NO idea what to do with it. So I bought shrimp, brought it home, realized I had some good ingredients hanging around, including the dill plant I'm growing.

Before you panic, rant, scream, or throw something at the computer, I know, I know "potatoes aren't paleo!!!" "And neither are those green beans on your plate!!!" I get it. They are 'grey area' foods. If you don't like them... make the shrimp and skip the potatoes. Even better, cook this and eat it. Period. Yum.

Ingredients

- 1 lb. shrimp

-1 Tbsp. fresh dill

-4 Tbsp. butter (Kerrygold is awesome)

-dash garlic powder

-1/2 lb. green beans

-1/2 lb. German butterball potatoes, diced into bite size pieces

-1/4 yellow onion, chopped into bite-size pieces

-3 cloves garlic, peeled and just barely crushed

-rosemary to taste

-olive oil to coat

-salt and pepper to season

-1 squeeze lemon juice

Preheat oven to 450. Add potatoes, onions, garlic and desired amount of rosemary. Toss to coat. Spread in a single layer on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Roast for 30 minutes. 

Cook green beans as desired. 

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Add dill, a dash of garlic powder and a dash of salt. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add shrimp and cook through. Once cooked, squeeze lemon over shrimp. 

Enjoy!

Recipe: Paleo Maple Balsamic Steak Salad

Hey! Summer finally arrived! I guess it's not fair to say "finally". Technically, it arrived right on time, on the first day of summer. Nice mild start... June 21, bam! high 80s!

The warm temps lent themselves to a couple things...  First, that first time you go run in the 80-degree weather? Yuck!! I planned for 5 miles. Then I planned for 4 miles. Then I got out there, wanted to pass out after 1.5 miles, finished up 2 miles and started walking. But I did not wimp out. Go me! Since I was still 2 miles from home, I finished my route by doing 8 rounds of 30 second sprints with a minute and a half of walking. Yes, I was smoked.

The other perk of the newly-found heat? Don't make me turn on my oven!!!  Don't trap me inside! Seriously, summer comes around, and it just feels... right to grill.

But what could I grill? I had thawed a grass-fed London Broil for a different recipe, and we had just received our Door-to-Door Organics delivery... Grilled steak salad!

Ingredients

Dressing                                                              Marinade
-1/4 C. balsamic vinegar                                      -1/2 C. balsamic vinegar
-1/2 C. maple syrup                                             -1/2 C. maple syrup
-1 Tbsp. dijon mustard                                         -1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
-1 tsp. garlic powder                                            -1/2 tsp. garlic powder
-dash salt/pepper                                                  -dash salt/pepper
-1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
-2/3 C. olive oil

Salad
-1/2 (or more) red onion, sliced
-2 (or more) pears, peeled, cored and sliced
-1 pound London Broil
-1/2 C. walnut pieces
-2-3 C. desired lettuce (we had a mix of kale, green leaf, and arugula)

First, mix the marinade ingredients. Place steak in a large bag or container, pour marinade over. Let sit in fridge for at least 2 hours (mine sat 5 hours).

Add all the dressing ingredients and mix until well blended. Let cool in the fridge until the salad is done.

Toast your walnut pieces at 375 for 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Heat up your grill!  I found some grill toppers designed for veggies, and highly recommend using them so your pears and onions don't fall through the grill. Once the grill is hot, add your steak. At the same time, put on your onion slices. Cook the steak to your desire level of doneness. I cooked 5 minutes on one side and 8 on the other.

Add the pears approximately 5 minutes after the steak and onions. 'Stir' the pears and onions at least once.  Be sure to let the steak stand at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Slice the steak, add all your ingredients together, top with dressing. Enjoy!

Running On My Own Two Feet...

I'm not sure if it's my age, my slow descent from 'newlywed' to 'boring old married lady with no kids', or my constant state of life upheaval, but I feel like I'm constantly, daily trying to find myself.

On the job front, this is easily explained. My career is a series of intentional and unintentional interruptions. I feel like I've spent my entire career fighting really hard to make lateral movements. A fun year doing what I want, a year starting my 'professional career', almost a year trying to find a job after moving to a city I knew I loved, a bit more than a year working a job I enjoyed, a layoff, a move out of the city and another period of almost a year trying to find a job. I feel a touch like a football player with fancy feet who jukes left, jukes right, it all looks pretty, and in the end, he gained... one yard. Or the line of scrimmage.

In terms of fitness, it's almost more complicated. Say what you want, the fitness world is full of influence, and trying to find yourself once you're in can be just as complicated and challenging as the initial decision to make the commitment, jump in and focus on health.

Consider my initial battle with paleo/gluten-free vs. whole grains. My husband had gone Paleo, and I fought for at least a year. I liked bread, and the prevailing message is all about "healthy whole grains"! It wasn't until I made the personal decision to try a gluten-free trial that I made any progress, and now that I know I'm not very tolerant of gluten, it's a lifestyle that is truly my choice. But, especially given my husband, the lines between the Paleo and gluten-free communities constantly blur. We eat primarily Paleo, but we both eat some forms of dairy, and I will occasionally have rice. It's what works for me. So, easy, self found, right?

Not so fast.

I was at the Vitamin Shoppe and somehow the cashier, another customer and I began discussing Paleo. First, she stared at me in shock because I let her know that actually, I do eat dairy. Then she went into a long discussion with herself about how she's trying so hard to give up eggs because she's heard bad things about what they do to people. I left shaking my head. Eggs? And in the name of what? Was she having personal problems with eggs, or was it just the message her personal Paleo community was preaching to her?  Influence on self.

Consider working out. I have now run two half marathons. I am extremely proud of that. And yet, by following the Paleo community, I've recently been exposed to numerous articles warning me of the dangers of endurance cardio. It's not healthy, you won't lose weight, heck, you might even harm yourself!! Posted alllll over social media. So...  exercising isn't enough, you have to do it in the right way, or risk the scorn and judgement of strangers? Eyeroll.

Even within running, look at the schools of thought on shoes. Traditional padded shoes or minimal shoes? People will judge you no matter which choice you make.

Ultimately, it comes back to the lesson that I think we all struggle to learn..  do what is right for you, and stand firm in it. I enjoy running; I will run. I think running and strength training can live in harmony; I will push myself to lift heavy and run long. Minimal shoes work for me; I will run minimal. I like the occasional rice, a glass of wine, and darn it, I like cheese; I will eat these things. I will read the articles, listen to advice and opinions, consider the evidence, and come to my own conclusions about my own health. I will stand, or run, on my own two feet.

Me? I eat dairy, I drink wine, sometimes I eat rice or potato chips. I wear Nike shorts and minimal New Balance shoes. I truly hate pushups, and can't currently do a pull-up. I prefer organic. I eat clean. I lift heavy and I run long.

Now if I could just figure out all that other job, what to be when I grow up, what color to paint the room type stuff...

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 Beef and Broccoli

Seems like a lot of CrossFit peeps are starting up Paleo challenges. I keep seeing it pop up in my Twitter feed, and it dawned on me that I have a fantastically easy, and delicious recipe to share! Why I've never shared this before, I don't know. It was almost Paleo right from the start...

I call it Pepper Steak because that's what my mom called it. But it tastes like Beef with Broccoli, or some other delicious Chinese food dish, just without the creepy stuff that sneaks into the sauces. You could serve this with some riced cauliflower, fruit, salad, whatever...  yum!

Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients

• 1 lb round steak
• 1/4 Cup oil (use coconut or olive)
• 1/2 Cup chopped onion
• 1 green pepper cut into bite sized slices
• 1-2 Cups chopped broccoli
• 1 Cup beef broth
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Red Pepper flakes to taste
• 1 Tbsp wheat free soy sauce or coconut aminos
• 1-2 tsp arrowroot powder
• 1 clove garlic or equivalent garlic powder

Directions

Cut steak into thin slices approximately two inches long. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add garlic, allow to cook a few minutes. Add meat and cook, turning as needed, until browned.

Add onion, green pepper, broccoli, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. I usually use about 2 tsp worth, but adjust this according to your desired level of spiciness, or leave out all together.  Cook over medium heat, stirring, until vegetables are just tender. 

Blend broth and soy or aminos. Stir in arrowroot. Pour over mixture in skillet. Bring just to a boil, then reduce heat, stirring constantly until sauce reached desired thickness.   (If you're like me and occasionally make your sauce too thick (arrowroot can be tricky), don't panic, just stir together a little more broth and sauce, and add it in).

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!

Recipe: Paleo Beef Stroganoff

Comfort food. Those certain meals that just make you happy. They take you back to childhood. They always make your tummy happy. They are pretty much NEVER paleo-approved.

I love, love, love beef stroganoff. Numerous elementary school projects show my adorable childish handwriting on an "about me" list announcing my favorite food to be beef stroganoff.  Our version wasn't the cheapest, but certainly wasn't the fanciest. The two main ingredients were sour cream and Cream of Mushroom soup.

When I went wheat-free, and about 90% paleo, I started reading labels, well, the rare labels because we try hard to avoid packaged foods. And when I picked up the can of Campbell's condense Cream of Mushroom soup, my heart sank. All kinds of crap, and definitely wheat. I tried making stroganoff with the few gluten-free Cream of Mushroom soups I could find, but nothing tasted quite right. So tonight, I decided to experiment.

This turned out so well, the hubs deemed it better than the original, and 100% blog-worthy. And, oops, we enjoyed it so much, we didn't get a picture until it was half-eaten!  Remember, we are dairy-consuming paleo-ites.   Without further ado...

Ingredients

• 2/3 C. Beef Stock
• 1/3 C. Almond milk
• 2 Tbsp Almond flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 4 oz. mushrooms, diced
• 16 oz. sour cream (I used Horizon organic)
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika

• At least 1 pound steak (round or skirt)
• 1/2 large yellow onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp butter or olive oil
• Large pinch or dash Garlic powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a small bowl, combine beef stock and almond milk. Add almond flour and mix in until dissolved. Add salt and onion powder and mix well. Stir in diced mushrooms. Set aside.

Cut steak into thin strips, no more than one inch wide (should be thin and essentially bite-sized). Place the butter or olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and steak. Season with garlic, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until steak is browned. 

Drain meat.  Add your mushroom 'soup' mixture, sour cream, and paprika. Stir until sour cream has mixed in. 

Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. For a thicker sauce, uncover for the last 15 minutes, and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes after done cooking. 

If desired, this can be served with a pasta substitute.

Enjoy!!

Maybe next time, we'll take a picture *before* we eat it. Doubtful.

Recipe: Paleo Sausage Mushroom Balls...

First, Jenn (aka The Wife), is awesome. She's a fellow military spouse, has an adorable kiddo, and whips up some awesome recipes. A while back, she shared a recipe for Sausage Mushroom Bites, and they were delicious!!  Check out the original recipe here and check out the rest of her blog while you're at it!

However... her sausage bites are designed to sit in little phylo dough cups. Not so wheat-free or paleo. So, I took the lead from her recipe and came up with this little gem...  can't lie, when I popped the first one in my mouth, I actually said, "Oh holy shit." I know, pardon my potty mouth.  I served these to a friend during the Super Bowl and she agreed they were awesome.

Remember, we are dairy consuming Paleo-ites.. I always recommend Cabot cheese... which are naturally gluten and lactose free! This can easily be made without the cheese.

 Not the best picture, but they taste better than they look!

Sausage Mushroom Balls

Ingredients
1 pound (package) ground sausage
1/4 Cup almond flour
4 oz. white mushrooms, finely diced
1 Cup shredded sharp cheddar
(You could also use 1/4 Cup finely chopped spinach, or sub it for the cheddar)

Preheat oven to 375.

Place all ingredients in a large bowl, and mix well. (Go ahead, get those hands dirty!). Scoop out portions and roll into balls roughly 1 inch in diameter and place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 18 minutes or until done.

Makes roughly 30 balls.

Recipe: Paleo Quiche Crust

I love quiche. I mean really, eggs, meat, veggies, and cheese (for me), placed into an awesome crust and eaten like the world's greatest pie, breakfast, lunch or dinner? Awesome.   But, going wheat-free suddenly meant quiche was no longer easy (Ok, quiche was never easy, but now... infinitely more difficult). I found a recipe that used only almond flour and eggs, but it was way, way too dense.  I decided to experiment, and I'm pretty darn close. Try it out, and as always, I welcome feedback!

Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup almond flour
• 3/4 Cup coconut flour
• 1 egg
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp coconut oil, melted, plus more for pan
• 1/4 Cup water

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease your quiche/pie pan well with coconut oil. Mix the almond flour and coconut flour until blended. Add in coconut oil, egg and egg white. Mix together. Add water and combine into dough. Most likely, you will need to press this together with your hands.   Put dough mixture into pan. Using (very) wet hands, press dough into pan until desired thickness. You should be able to get this fairly thin, covering the bottom and sides of the pan. Usually I run my hands under running water and then press a small section to the appropriate thinness.  Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes.

-At this point, you add your quiche ingredients to your pan. I find everyone has their own recipe, but in general, I use 6 eggs, 4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped, 1 Cup chopped broccoli, 1/2 shredded sharp white cheddar (I love Cabot! Naturally gluten and lactose free), and mix in water or coconut milk to make the eggs a bit more fluffy.  Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until the center is set.