Roasted Poblano Vinaigrette

I've never really been a salad person.  I was never one of those girls who, on a date, would eat a big bowl of lettuce and miraculously claim that "Wow, I'm stuffed!"  When I went out, I was more of a ribeye and asparagus girl.  However, since going paleo, I've had a new appreciation for salads! 

One of the problems was that I used to count calories (I know! pointless! but that was my pre-paleo days).  Anyway, for me to like a salad, I needed to add so many toppings (cheese, croutons, spiced pecans, those toasted noodle thingeys).  After all of those things were added, the calories were totally not worth it!  Now, I've realized that I CAN eat a whole bowl of lettuce and throw on all sorts of toppings (paleo friendly of course!)   Now that I can be creative and not have to worry about pointless calorie counting, I've started to actually like salads!  With this in mind, here's a paleo friendly salad dressing in case you want a change from the old oil and vinegar :)

Roasted Poblano Vinaigrette

(Bobby Flay's recipe!)

• 2 poblano pepers, roasted, peeled and seeded
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup spinach leaves
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper 

I've seen people roast poblanos and other peppers before, but I'd never  actually done it before.  The other day when I was grilling up these babies  I just threw on the fresh poblanos that I bought from a local farmer's market.  You just throw them on the grill and let the outside char... they will look like you burned them to a crisp, but it's ok... it's just the skin that's black, the inside is nice and roasty and yummy.  Anyway, you throw the peppers on the fire and let them get nice and black.  Afterwards, throw them in a ziplock bag because this helps the peppers to steam and the skin to loosen.  Then, you can scrape off the skin, then remove the stem and cut the seeds out. Then you'll have peppers that look like the picture above.

While I was letting the peppers steam, I juiced the limes... I think it took 2 small limes to get the right amount of juice.  For this recipe, you definitely want to use fresh juice.  The stuff that you can buy from concentrate never tastes the same, and especially since we aren't cooking this recipe, you'd really be able to taste the freshness!

Next, I pulled out my trusty mini food processor and threw in the 1/4 of the onion (Bobby used red, but I only had a white onion, so that went in).  I also put in the garlic, honey, and the roasted poblanos. Then, I whirled it all together until everything was about the same consistency.

It will all look like this when it's pureed to the right consistency.  Doesn't look much like salad dressing yet, but just wait!

Next, you'll want to stream in VERY SLOWLY the olive oil.  This little food processor had 2 tiny little holes in the top of the lid, so I slowly poured the olive oil in.  You have to do it slowly so the salad dressing can get to the right texture.... it's called emulsification.  I'm not 100% sure of the science behind it, but I know that it won't turn out right if you don't do it!

Next, you want to add in the spinach leaves.  I'm not sure why this was a part of the recipe... maybe to give it more green color?   Either way, I followed the recipe and I thought it worked out :)

So you puree it again until everything is pureed until its nice and smooth.  Basically, you don't want big chunks of garlic or spinach in your dressing - at least I didn't, but if you do, then just go for it!

So here's the dressing on a steak salad.  It's just some greens with sliced steak and the vinaigrette.  I typically put more stuff in my salads (onion, carrots, peppers, etc) but this one was for Curt and he likes just lettuce and meat haha. 

Overall, I thought this was a great recipe! It was easy and made about 1 1/2 or 2 cups.  I saved it in this little mason jar and stuck it in the fridge for the rest of the week.  It would go well with a spicy meal... like fajitas or tacos or something else similarly delicious!!

 

 

Enjoy!!

 

Grilled Beef Kabobs

It's been FOREVER since I've made a posting! Sorry about that... my camera decided to call it quits and then my computer decided to do the same... anyhow, everything is up and running and we're back in business! So here's a yummy recipe I made recently!

Summertime, for me, is all about grilling.  It's such an easy way to make a meal... and, unless you burn the food, it's pretty hard to mess up.  Have you noticed that? You can pretty much marinate anything in anything else and come up with a yummy meal.  I had a lot of beef tips that were perfect for kabobs, so that's what I decided to make.  I did some research on Bobby Flay's website (because he's the king of the grill) and found this recipe!

Garlic Mustard Grilled Beef Skewers

2 lbs beef tips (or cut up roast)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup grainy mustard

2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

any veggies you like grilled

This was super easy peasy!  In a small bowl, mix the mustards, paprika, salt, pepper, soy sauce, garlic, white wine vinegar, and honey.  The honey is optional, but I'm not a huge fan of mustard, and I think the honey cuts up the spicy taste of the mustard.  I bought 2 different types of mustard: 1 is a grainy mustard with the big mustard seeds and the other is a dijon mustard.  I'm still slowly trying to make myself like mustard, but it's a slow process! I've gotten myself to like onions, pepper, and red wine, so I figure I'll try to add mustard to the mix.

Anyway, when all of the ingredients were combined, I threw the beef in the bowl and tossed it all together to make sure that each piece was nicely coated in the marinade.  I then covered it and let it marinate for 30 minutes.



While waiting for the meat to marinate, I set out to cut the veggies.  This is really easy... it just depends on what you like to eat!  I love grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms, potatoes... almost anything!  I did just visit a farmer's market the day before, so I already had a red, yellow, and green pepper, a red onion, and some zucchini, so I washed them up and cut them into big sized chunks.

When the meat had fininshed marinating, I threw everything on skewers.  Typically, you are supposed to soak the skewers in water so that they don't burn when they go on the grill.  I didn't have time to, though, so I just skipped that step.  I threw the ingredients onto a skewer and set them on a foil lined pan.  I had the grill heated up to a pretty high temperature. 

Before throwing the kabobs onto the grill, I took the extra marinade and brushed it over the whole kabob, including the veggies.  This is how the veggies were seasoned since I didn't season them with anything else. Might as well make use of all the yummy flavors we created, right?!

 So here the kabobs are on the grill.  It didn't take very long at all.  Curt likes his meat charred on the outside but medium rare on the inside.  Hence, why I put the grill on high.  When the heat is high, the outside can get a nice char, just keep turning it so there is char on all sides.  Then, you can either turn the heat down, or you can move the kabobs to a part of the grill that isn't so hot.  Overall, they only took about 10 minutes to grill.

Here they are!  Super easy and pretty tasty too.  You could definitely taste the mustard.  I think that next time, I might add a bit more garlic, just because I LOVE garlic.  The flavor was really good and it was just an easy dish to make.  It was perfect for a hot summer day.  There wasn't much prep work or clean up either!  This is definitely a must try!  You could probably use it on chicken or just brush it on a regular steak too.

I have a few more kabob recipes up my sleeve too! Keep your eyes open for them! 

Perfect Paleo Gumbo

I love soups... chicken soup, beef soup, chili, mushroom soup, maryland crab soup, cioppino...  I love them all!  This past winter, I attempted to make some gumbo!  We have some good friends who are from New Orleans who KNOW how to make some authentic dishes.  One day, I was just craving some anduille sausage and figured I'd try my hand at some gumbo.  I shot a quick text message to Angele asking her for any tips when making gumbo.  She immediately called me back and asked me if I had a pen and paper to take notes!  I combined a bunch of different recipes and made a DELICIOUS gumbo.  Here's my version of

Pefect Paleo Gumbo

* 1 bag frozen chopped okra

* 1 whole roasting chicken

* 1 large onion, diced

* 1 lb peeled shrimp

* 1 lb anduille sausage

* 1 lb lump crabmeat

* 1/4 cup bacon grease

* 2 cups seafood stock

* 1 can diced tomatoes

* 3 ribs celery , diced

* 1 green pepper, diced

* 6 cloves garlic, minced

* 1/2 tsp cayenne

* 1 tsp paprika

* 2 tbs creole seasoning (I used Zatarains)

Before you get started, you'll want to cook the whole chicken.  I just threw the chicken in a big pot and covered it with cold water.  Then I put a pinch of salt and pepper in the water and coverfed the whole thing with a lid and let it boil.  It took a while to cook the whole thing, but you want to boil and cook the chicken.  Once it's cooked all the way, you can remove the chicken from the water (but save the water- you'll want the flavor for later!!!).  Then, pick through the chicken and set the meat aside because you will use this for your gumbo.

I started off the gumbo by putting the bacon grease in a large heavy bottom pot.  Once it was liquidy, I added in the okra.  I put it in still frozen because it will obviously thaw out once it cooks through.  You'll want to start this early because the okra needs to cook for a while.  As it cooks, you will notice that it's getting slimy... you can literally see the slime stuff on your spoon as you stir it up.  Don't fear! Keep going... the slimey stuff will eventually go away, leaving a deliciously flavored okra that helps to thicken the gumbo.

While the okra is cooking down, you can dice the onion and the garlic as well as the green pepper and the celery.  Once the okra is past the slimy part, you can add in the onions and the garlic. Let it cook down and get all soft and cooked.  This is definitely a slow process that you don't want to rush! 

Stir in the celery and the green peppers and cook everything down.  I didn't want any crunch in my gumbo, so I just kept adding in a bit of bacon grease when it all seemed to dry up.  I didn't have to add too much extra, just enough so that the veggies didn't brown and crisp up.  I just wanted them sauteed and soft.

Next, I added in the can of diced tomatoes.  I always use the organic, salt free tomatoes that are diced.  You could probably use fresh tomatoes if you want, but I just had canned... so that's what went in!  I mixed it all together and started seeing some promising results!

I added in the seafood stock (which I make from scratch, but you can certainly buy).  I like my soups very liquidy, so I added in about another 2-4 cups of the water that was reserved from cooking the chicken.  You can add in chicken broth, or skip this step altogether if you'd rather have yours more chunky. 

Then, in went the reserved chicken meat that I left in nice bite sized chunks.

I also threw in the shrimp and crabmeat.  The first time I made this gumbo, I used chicken, shrimp, and anduille sausage... unfortunately, the grocery store I went to didn't have anduille sausage... btutI remembereed Angele saying that she used crabmeat sometimes... so I took a trip to the seafood department and picked up a pound of crab meat!  Being a girl from the Md area, I love crab and decided that it would be a nice addition!  So in went some crab.

I stirred it all together and let the shrimp cook through (which only took a few minutes).  I then added in the cayenne and paprika. 

I also added in the creole seasoning. I love spices so I actually added in a lot more than 2 tbs, but you should really add it to your own personal taste.  There are tons of different creole spices you can use, but this stuff was what the store had, so in it went!  It was pretty darn tasty!



 

So here's the finished project!  Seafood gumbo!  It was soooo delicious... I'm definitely a fan of gumbo now :)  Now I will say that, traditionally, gumbos need a roux which is basically a cooked paste of flour and butter. Flour, as we know, is definitely not paleo, so I just omitted this part.  I thought it still tasted great and didn't miss it at all.  If you want to make the gumbo thicker, you could probably add in some tapioca starch or something gluten free... but I didn't think that the lack of a roux detracted in any way shape or form. 

Enjoy!

Breakfast Fritattas

So my computer has been acting totally off... I think I have a virus, but I don't know how to fix it... so all my personal settings are gone, as well as a lot of pictures that have disappeared somehow... including a bunch of food pictures. :(  I'm hoping to find some way to fix it and restore everything!

Anyway, I just thought I'd put up a quick posting of a weekly staple for me and Curt.  Breakfast frittata!  It can be hard to find a quick breakfast that's paleo friendly.  I tend to wake up early and make an omelette of some sort.  Curt, however, prefers to get on the road early and eat breakfast at the office, so I've started making him these little egg concoctions to just heat up and eat!  They are SUPER easy and very versatile... I change up the ingredients every week! 

Breakfast Frittatas!

* 1 dozen eggs

* 1 package of bacon (I don't know how much bacon is in a package... half a lb?)

* 1 box of frozen spinach (you could use fresh)

* 1/2 lb of breakfast sausage

* 1/2 onion, diced

* salt and pepper to taste

  

First, I browned all of the sausage in a pan... this only took a few minutes.  After it was cooked all the way through, I removed it, but left the oil in the pan.  You have to cook all of the ingredients first, or else they won't cook all the way when you bake it later!

Next, I added in the bacon.  I let it crisp up (I like CRISPY bacon).  Again, after it was cooked, I removed it, crumbled it, and put it aside.  I drained most of the bacon grease, but left about a tablespoon in the pan so that I could cook the onions in it, rather than have to add butter or something similar.

I threw in the onion and sauteed that until it was soft - remember Curt doesn't like tasting the texture of onions! :) haha... cook them as much or as little as you like!

Once the onions were browned, I added in the frozen spinach.  You could take the time to thaw it all out if you would like... but the water would eventually evaporate anyway, and I didn't think ahead when making this and hadn't thawed it out yet!  Basically, you just keep pushing it around and poking at it with a wooden spoon until it thaws, cooks, and the water evaporates.

Then, I added the sausage and the bacon back in and mixed everything up so that it was all nice and combined.  I added in a pinch of two of pepper (my new favorite and highly underrated spice!)  I didn't really add in any salt because the bacon and the sausage already have enough in it.

Once everything was combined thoroughly, I put in evenly into a baking dish.  I don't remember how big it was, but use your judgement.  I've seen people put them in cupcake tins so you have individual little egg cupcakes, like my good friend Caroline did Here  But for Curt's sake, I just bake it all together and then cut it into big serving sizes.

I then cracked the whole dozen eggs into a big container and whip up the whole lot of it.  Again... I add in some pepper, just for fun!

Then, I poured the egg mixture over the "toppings" and used a fork to swirl everything up.  You don't want to have all the yummy stuff in clumps on the bottom and just egg on top (I don't think you do at least).  So just mix it all up and pop it in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes.  You just let it cook until you can stick a toothpick in it and have it come out clean - like you would for a cake. :)  When it cooks, it will get all big and puffy, so make sure that whatever pan you use, there is at least an inch between the top of the egg mixture and the edge of the pan or else you might have some messy overflow!

I took it out of the oven and voila!  Deliciousness.

Here's a picture of what Curt eats almost every morning for breakfast while reading the Wall Street Journal.  Now, you can have it with fruit, or veggies... whatever you'd like.  I tend to get full on just this.  I break each of these "pans" down into 4 servings, so on average, it's about 3 eggs a day with a bunch of veggies and meats mixed in.

This is really a super simple recipe.  You can mix and match ingredients, spices, and amounts and it almost always turns out great.  Here are a few of my favorite combinations:

~ crab, asparagus (Curt wasn't a fan of the asparagus in it though)

~ chicken, spinach, mushrooms

~ spinach, mushrooms, onions, feta cheese, bacon, oregano (Greekish)

~ spinach, sweet potatoes, bacon

~ bacon, mushrooms, onions

~ broccoli, spinach, and bacon

~ tomatoes, oregano, basil, chicken (Italiany theme)

Get creative! You can almost have a different fritatta each week!

Scrumptious Spinach

In looking over my blog, I've realized that most of my postings are entrees... I'll post some sort of protein and then just have some random veggie side.  Since going paleo, Curt and I have been eating a TON more veggies.  Needless to say, steamed broccoli or green beans, although delicious, can get somewhat boring.  I've had to get a bit creative and try new recipes to make sure I don't get bored! Here's one of my new favorite sides!  Spinach!  I was never a huge fan of spinach, but I had this in a tapas restaurant once and LOVED it, so I tried my hand at it... super simple and super delicious!

Sauteed Spinach with Raisins and Pine nuts

* 1 bag baby spinach

* 1 shallot, minced

* 1/4 cup raisins

* 1/4 cup pine nuts

* 1 Tbs butter

So this recipe is so easy that anyone should be able to do it!  First, I melted the butter in a pan, then I added in the shallots.  I let the shallots cook for a few minutes to soften up a bit.  Then, I added in the pine nuts and raisins.  From here, I just let everything saute and heat through. 

 Easy so far, right?!

Next, I added in the entire bag of spinach.  I'll warn you that it looks like a lot, but spinach really cooks down to nothing.  If you are cooking for 2 people who like spinach, you should definitely double the recipe!  I let the spinach cook through and heat up.  This really only takes about 2 minutes to cook.  Just make sure you stir the whole mixture together so that the spinach is cooked (I either like mine cooked or raw... not half way wilted... I feel like that's a bit to indecisive for me!)

Voila! There you have the easiest spinach dish ever.  I did see a few recipes that asked for some sherry cooking wine to be added.  I tried this with and without and didnt' notice much of a difference... but if you have some sherry on hand, go ahead and throw in a bit (1 tbs or so) to see if you notice a difference!

So there you go... super easy, right?  It's also done in just a few minutes, making it the perfect side for a quick last minute meal!  I think I paired this one with a hamburger patty or something of the sort.  Does anyone have any yummy spinach recipes?

Rosemary Proscuitto Chicken

I find it ironic that I'm not a huge fan of Rachel Ray, however, I've posted about 3 or 4 of her different recipes!  I bought some chicken thighs from the grocery store and wanted to do something with them.  Usually, I grill them and throw them on my salads... this time, I just wanted to make something a little different.  I went to foodnetwork.com and searched for chicken thighs and found this incredibly easy recipe by Rachel Ray... it was totally paleo and totally easy!

Rosemary Prosciutto Chicken Thighs

* 8 chicken thighs

* 2 tbs fresh rosemary, chopped

* 1/4 lb thinly sliced prosciutto

* 5 cloves garlic

* 1/4 cup olive oil

This shouldn't take long at all to make!  First, you chop the rosemary and the garlic.  Then throw it in a dish and pour the olive oil on top and mix it all together.  I added in some salt and pepper (which just so happens to be my new favorite spice- highly underrated!!!).

Next, you throw in the chicken thighs and coat them in the herb/oil mixture.  You want to make sure the chicken thighs are evenly coated.  You could let the chicken marinate for a while and just bake/grill it as is... however... I wanted to add that extra touch :) Hence... prosciutto!

 

You take each chicken thigh and wrap it in the prosciutto.  The prosciutto was sliced perfectly to wrap around the chicken thighs.  Next, you need to place it, seam side down to rest for a bit.  It didn't take long to wrap the chicken.  I liked how neatly packaged these little flavorful chicken parcels were. :) 

 

You can bake the chicken, but I wanted to use my cast iron grill.  This is the same one that I have a love/hate relationship with.  Sometimes it's great... othertimes, its a smoky burnt marinade mess... this time, however, it was a love experience.  I heated up the grill pan and greased it a bit with some bacon grease that I always have on hand.  Next, I just placed the chicken thighs on the grill and let it cook.  You want to make sure the chicken is seam side down, that way, it sort of seals the prosciutto so it won't open and the chicken won't spill out.   After the chicken had cooked for a few minutes and the prosciutto had crisped up, I flipped them over and cooked the other side. Then, after only about 10 minutes, the chicken was done!  As my students would say, it was "easy peasy lemon squeesy" (I teach 5 year olds!).

I'd love to say that this chicken was delicious.  I'd love to say that it was cooked perfectly and seasoned well.  I'd love to say that the rosemary flavored the chicken really nicely and complemented the prosciutto.... unfortunately, Curt ate it all before I had a chance to try it.

 

Of the 8 pieces, I had packed 6 for Curt's lunch.  I paired it with some steamed broccoli and a salad.  The very next night, the GIANT tupperware came home empty.  Curt had eaten it all in one day.  I had placed the last 2 pieces in a tupperware for me to eat with some broccoli.  I forgot it in the fridge on that first day.  The next morning, I reached into the fridge to grab my lunch for the day and found that my lunch had been kidnapped!  So, sadly, I have no idea how this dish tasted.... but judging by the fact that Curt ate all 8 pieces of chicken within 2 days is probably a good sign!