Cauliflower I'll Actually Eat

1 package of frozen cauliflower florets, (about 3 cups) or a head of fresh cauliflower cut into pieces.

5 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

 Salt, to taste

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a medium bowl, combine the cauliflower, cheese, parsley, garlic powder, and pepper. Season with salt. Toss to mix. Drizzle on the oil and toss again. Transfer the mixture to a small nonstick baking dish.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, tossing once, or until lightly browned and crisp-tender. Serve immediately.  Cooking time varies if florets are frozen or fresh...

Quick Shepherd’s Pie

Ground sirloin

Frozen green beans

Frozen carrots

Frozen cauliflower

Beef stock (gluten free)

Steam cauliflower. Drain and place in food processor.  Place meat in skillet and cook. I pressed the meat into hamburger patties and served individual portions, but you can do whatever you feel like.  Empty the pot you cooked the cauliflower in and pour in some beef stock, green beans, carrots and simmer. I added the beef stock because I wasn’t using gravy or any type of thickener. The meat was so flavorful that it probably didn’t make a difference, so next time I will most likely just steam the veggies with water.  Pulse the cauliflower in the food processor with butter. I used a few cups of cauliflower and about 3 tbls of butter. Scoop the cauliflower “potatoes” on top of the veggies. 

Egg Cups

Great to grab from the fridge early in the morning!

1 small pkg of sausage

1 dozen eggs

¼ cup of chopped onion

1 cup shredded cheddar

Place a spoonful of sausage onion mixture in bottom of each cupcake wrapper. Pour egg mixture up to ½” from top of wrapper. Sprinkle a pinch of cheese over each.  Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Can add spinach, green onions, bell peppers.

Spicy Italian Chicken

Spicy Italian Chicken

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast (chunked up into large bite size pieces)

1-2 jars of roasted sweet red peppers

1-2 fresh tomatoes (cut up for easier processing)

Handful of fresh basil, one  garlic clove, and 1/2 cup of red wine

Garlic powder, dried oregano, crushed red pepper flakes and S&P.

In a food processor or blender, add roasted red peppers (semi drained of liquid), tomatoes, basil, S&P (lightly), pinch or two of red pepper flakes and chopped garlic.  Process until soupy.

In a bowl or on your cutting board, sprinkle chicken chunks with S&P, oregano and garlic powder (about a tablespoon), and mix together with hands, massaging spices into the chicken. 

In a large skillet, heated over medium/med. high heat (no oil), add about 6-8 chicken chunks (depending on size), and sear on all sides, take out and repeat until all chicken is seared off.  The point in doing a little bit of chicken at a time, is to get that crust on the bottom of the pan and to seal in the juices of the chicken. With all chicken out of the pan, turn stove down to medium, and add wine (stand back when doing this).  Scrape with spatula or spoon and get that flavor from the chicken off the bottom of the pan (deglazing).  Let it hard simmer for about 2 minutes, then add your processed veggies.  This will create your sauce.  Let it simmer for about 30 minutes or until it’s reduced down a little bit.  Add chicken back into sauce and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, just to cook the chicken through.

This is a gorgeous, colorful dish.  Vibrant reds from the peppers and tomatoes, with splashes of green from the basil.

Before I would have served this over rice, or pasta…..now I eat it on a bed of spinach and/or arugula.  I don’t even miss the rice or pasta! 

Herb Stuffed Leg of Lamb

HERB STUFFED LEG OF LAMB (CHUCK’S DAY OFF)

IN A MEDIUM BOWL –  COMBINE ALL THE BELOW WITH A GENEROUS AMOUNT OF SALT.  SET ASIDE

1 CARROT – DICED

1 CUP CELERY LEAVES

1 LEEK – THINLY SLICED

½ CUP CHIVES – CHOPPED

HANDFUL OF PARSLEY – CHOPPED

1 CUP OF CELERY ROOT – SHREDDED

THE LEG OF LAMB – USE A VERY SHARP BONING KNIFE OR FILLET KNIFE AND CUT THE BONE OUT OF THE MEAT, BUTTERFLYING THE LEG OF MEAT AS YOU CUT OUT THE BONE.

LAY IT OUT FLAT – SALT & PEPPER BOTH SIDES THEN STUFF WITH HERB STUFFING.  ROLL UP AND TIE WITH COOKING STRING.

DRIZZLE SOME EVOO OVER THE MEAT AND LET IN GET INTO THE CRACKS & CREVECES. 

HEAT A LARGE SKILLET OVER MEDIUM HIGH HEAT, AND BROWN LAMB ON ALL SIDES, ABOUT 3 MINUTES EACH SIDE.  POUR IN 4 CUPS OF STOCK, THE BONE (removed earlier) AND CUT ONE FULL HEAD OF GARLIC IN HALF AND ADD TO STOCK.  COOK UNCOVERED AT 350 DEGREES FOR ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF.  (cast iron skillets work best for this)

PULL LAMB OUT AND LET REST, COVER WITH FOIL.  THROW OUT BONE.  INTO A SAUCE PAN, SQUEEZE COOKED GARLIC THROUGH A FINE MESH STRAINER AND ADD JUICES FROM PAN, THRU STRAINER ALSO.  OVER MEDIUM HEAT COOK/SIMMER FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES, THEN ADD 2 TBLSP OF BUTTER WITH A LITTLE SALT AND SOME PEPPER.

REMOVE STRING, AND CUT THICK SLICES OF LAMB.  LADLE SAUCE OVER SLICES OF LAMB AND SERVE.  BRUSSEL SPROUTS OR ASPARAGUS WOULD BE NICE WITH THIS.  I DID NOT ADD ONE OF THE HERBS THE ORGINAL RECIPE CALLED FOR, I COULDN'T FIND IT.  BUT I LOVED IT THIS WAY.

Snooky's Rich People Food Breakfast Cups

These are TOO cute!
Someone told Nicole she looked like she was eating rich people food. It cracked me up and a title was created. Here are her instructions:

You need either the rubber reuseable cupcake molds or a cupcake pan. Using deli meat as wrappers line eat cup with a slice of deli meat.

Preheat oven to 350

Chop onions, red bell pepper, and spinach into little 1/4-1/2 inch squares or bite size.

Saute onions, red bell pepper with a pad (1 Tbls. or so) of butter or olive oil.
Toss the spinach in the onion an pepper mix the last minute or two with 1/4 or small spoonful of minced garlic.

Let the mix cool and in a separate bowl whisk eggs. Once the mix has cooled some whisk the veggies in with the eggs.

Pour egg mix in ham lined cups almost to the top. Note: the mix isn't like cake mix so there's no rising you have to worry about. You may have to hold the "wrappers" back with one hand so you can get the mix in the cups.

Put in oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until eggs have cooked.

 

The amount of everything kinda depends on how many cupcakes you plan to make. I'll make them again next week and try to measure out how much of each thing I used. If you get to filling your cups and you dont have enough mix which has happened to me I just whisk another egg or two and spoon out some veggies from the other egg cups.

Snooky's Fudge Babies. WARNING: Addictive

Snooky made a few versions of these. One of them was the fudge and one had coconut. BOTH were unreal and tasted completely sinful.  I've grown to find that Dates are nature's candy. I love them in the LaraBar recipes I use and when she mentioned that these were mainly Dates and Cocoa I was super excited.

Original Fudge Babies

(Serves… depends on how good bad non-existent your self-control is)

• 1 c walnuts (120 grams)
• 1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates (230 grams) (If you want a sweeter result, up the proportion of dates.) (If you’re unsure as to what dates to use, see fudge baby FAQ post)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3-4 tablespoons cocoa powder, depending on how chocolatey you want the balls to be (I used 4T extra dark)

1. Chop/blend all the ingredients, using a food processor, Magic Bullet, etc.  (No need to blend the dates first; I just blend everything all at once.)
2. Roll into cutey-pie little balls.  (Use plastic wrap if you wish.) Or, if you want true brownies, shape the dough into bars!

Hot Cocoa Fudge Babies

I’ve been toying around with the original recipe.  Here is my newest-favorite variation:
30 grams cashews, 80 grams dates, 5 grams (1T) dark cocoa powder.
Blend.  Even fudgier than the original!
(Add mint extract + cacao nibs and you’re in Wild Bar territory.
And if you leave out the cocoa powder, you have a homemade cashew cookie Larabar!)

Original Site from Katie.

Matt and Courtney's Allegro Jerky

I've tried several jerky recipes and haven't found one that's really blown me away. I was told to try this one -which is by far the easiest version I've seen yet!  I'll post the link below.  I placed a top round in the freezer for an hour to make slicing easier. Then I placed the strips of meat into a large baking dish with the Hickory Smoke Allegro Marinade overnight. I have a dehydrator, but its a small one so I place the strips (not touching each other) on a foil-covered cookie sheet in the oven on the lowest setting (170 is my lowest setting). I wod up a ball of tin foil and stick in the oven door to allow some moisture out and cook for about 10 hours.  Make sure to cut out ALL fat, or feed those pieces to your lovely dog. My boxer loves this part. ( ;  The fat will not keep, but the reset of the jerky will keep for about, oh..100 years.  It's not 100% good for you, organic, sugar-free, or whatever - but it's a GREAT alternative to the millions of lesser choices out there.  Oh ya, and it tastes amazing.

Allegro Recipe

Avocado & Spinach Salad

Salad –

1 avocado peeled and diced

1 cup spinach – chopped

¼ of onion  - small dice

Half a cucumber – cut up

Cherry tomatoes

Grape seed oil and lemon juice – both to taste

Combine all together in a bowl.  I also added a little black pepper to taste.

Lamb Patties

1 pound organic ground lamb

1 organic egg

½ cup freshly shredded aged asiago cheese

Seasonings – red pepper flakes, garlic powder, oregano, S&P.

Combine together in a bowl and then form little mini patties.  I cooked then in some bacon grease heated in a cast iron skillet.  I only cooked a few at a time, allowing them to form a nice crust on the outside, but remaining juicy and tender inside.

This was my mother's day dinner to myself.  I drank a chilled Chardonnay with it.  It was delicious!!!

Spinach Salad

If you saw the beautiful pictures in past posts of Small's garden, you know that I've been living it up with some fresh baby spinach.  It is THE best spinach I've ever had. I don't have a picture, but lately I've been on a kick with this salad: Spinach, Plain Walnuts, Strawberries (Thank you summer!), Feta Cheese, and this Newman's Own Salad Dressing.  It's a cranberry walnut dressing with 70 calories in 2 Tbls. Warning: Obviously not TrUe primal. Click the link to see the ingredients, but it has me eating spinach salad like its going out of style. Yay Newman!

Oh - Sometimes I chop up a hard boiled egg or two for some added protein, or some bacon crumbles.

Trail Mix at Target!?

I recently found a trailmix at Target that I absolutely LOVE.  It comes in many sizes, but I can now find it in my local store in a box with six 1.5oz. snack packs. For the money, it comes out the same as when I make my own. It is around 130 calories and just enough to keep you going when you're in a bind. The Sunny Cranberry mix contains cranberries, almonds, golden raisins, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds.
I like to make my own trailmix when I can, but life is hectic. I like to buy almonds and pecans in large bags at Sam's. This weekend I will try my hand at dehydrating a pineapple! Wish me luck... Until then, these snack packs will have to do!

Gardening

Part of being "primal" for me, is gardening.  Getting to eat something I grew, from a seed, is a very primal and fulfilling feeling.  I wish I had the time and resources to have a larger more productive garden, but I enjoy what I do get to grow for now.  We ate spinach and radishes from the garden this weekend, and I may be nuts, but I do think the flavors were more intense, than store bought!  Strawberries are looking promising and so are our wild blackberries.  Even if all you have room for is a flower pot on your patio, try growing something in it that you can eat....it's a great feeling!!

Shish Kabobs

Shisk kabobs can be made several different ways, with various meats, vegetables, and spices. They're easy but pretty and look like you put a lot of work into them. These last few days of great weather has me excited for summer. Instead of grilling though, I had to throw these under a broiler for 6-7 minutes, turn, then 6-7 more minutes.

I cut the steak into 1" pieces and marinaded it all day. When cooking on a budget you know that some of less expensive cuts need a bit of fancying up, and shish kabobs are a great way to do that!

Ingredients we chose in the picture above:

-Green bell peppers (yellow and red bell peppers have jumped in price lately, whats up with that!?)

-Mushrooms (we cooked ours whole because I was afraid they would fall off, but next time I'm going to cut them into thick slices and brush with olive oil so they char up a bit more)

-Onions, cut in half, then quartered.

-Cherry Tomatoes

I didn't put these on a bed of rice to keep it more paleo-friendly, and I'm slowly getting used to seeing my plate without an "unnecessary filler". I paired these with bacon wrapped asparagus bundles that I also cooked under the broiler.

Update on Primal Blinis from Feb. 10th

In my quest to indulge my sweet tooth somewhat "primal-like", I decided to play around with the Primal Blini recipe.  In the yolk mixture I added about 1/4 cup of 1/2N1/2, 1/4-1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa, a little bit of raw sugar crystals, vanilla and a little cinnamon.  ~I also mixed in some chopped pecans, but realized after, I should have just sprinkled them on top before baking.~  Mix this together, but do not over mix....then fold into whipped egg whites. Then proceed with the recipe.  I was quite pleased with the outcome.  Felt like I was eating a relative of the brownie....so I was happy.-

Laura's Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes (and Whipped Cream Frosting!)

We had a going-away party for a fellow crossfitter and Laura brought a tray of these wonderful chocolate cupcakes topped with fluffy white frosting. Someone asked what was in them and my boyfriend replied "Heaven!" as he shoved the last of one into his mouth.

Well, Drew, here is the recipe!

Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes
1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips 73% cacao
½ cup almonds
3 eggs
¼ cup grapeseed oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt (or just a pinch if you're not a salt lover like me!)

1. Place chocolate and almonds in a food processor
2. Grind until the consistency of coarse sand
3. Pulse in eggs, grapeseed oil and agave
4. Then pulse in vanilla and salt
5. Spoon batter into cupcake tins lined with unbleached baking cups
6. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes
7. Cool and frost with Whipped Cream Frosting
8. Serve

Makes 10 cupcakes

Whipped Cream Frosting
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons agave nectar

1. Place the cream and agave in a large (and if possible deep) bowl
2. Whip with a hand blender until stiff peaks form
3. Spread over cupcakes or cake
4. Serve

 Recipe from http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Pork, Cabbage and Sauerkraut

1 lb. ground pork
1/2 head red cabbage chopped
12 oz. white sauerkraut
1/2 red onion chopped
4 slices of bacon chopped up

Brown ground pork and bacon, while browning, add sage, fennel seed, celery seed, S&P and a dash of brown sugar (all to taste).  Then add cabbage and onion.  Cook for about 10 minutes, mix in sauerkraut and cover.  Transfer to a 300 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.  Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream on top.
Strong bold flavor....delicious.

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

My friend Laura brought these to a party. They were unbelievable! 

Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
1 ½ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ tablespoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
¼ cup agave nectar
1 ½ cups carrots, grated
½ cup pecans, chopped

1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon
2. In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, oil and agave
3. Stir carrots and pecans into wet ingredients
4. Stir wet ingredients into dry
5. Scoop a heaping ¼ cup batter into paper lined cupcake pan
6. Bake at 325° for 18 to 22 minutes
7. Cool to room temperature and spread with creamy cream cheese frosting
8. Serve

Makes about 10 cupcakes

Creamy Cream Cheese Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 tbsp agave nectar
3 tbsp heavy cream

1. To make frosting combine cream cheese and agave in a medium bowl until well blended
2. Whip in heavy cream until frosting is nice and thick
3. Spread over Cinnamon Bun Muffins
4. Serve

Recipe from http://www.elanaspantry.com/

Sauerkraut - Food For Thought

1. Sauerkraut as immune booster.
   One of the not so secret benefits of sauerkraut is the boost it gives to immune systems. Packed with vitamins and minerals, sauerkraut has been used as a lay immune booster for centuries. Sauerkraut contains phytochemicals which are created during the fermentation process. These naturally occurring, beneficial by products of sauerkraut help boost the immune system which leads to a decrease in a number of health problems. The common cold, skin problems, weight gain and tainted blood are all fixed by a healthy functioning immune system.
2. Digestive Aid.
   Eating sauerkraut is a great way to protect the balance of bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract. Sauerkraut is one of the few foods that contain the bacterium Lactobacilli plantarum. L. planatarum is a very dominant strain of healthful bacteria which helps your digestive system in the following ways: boost the immune system by increasing antibodies that fight infectious disease help inhibit pathogenic organisms including E.coli, salmonella and unhealthy overgrowth of candida (yeast) create antioxidants (glutathione and superoxide dismustase) that scavenge free radicals which are a cancer precursor transforms hard-to-digest lactose from milk to the more easily digested lactic acid. It neutralizes the antinutrients found in many foods including the phytic acid found in all grains and the trypsin-inhibitors in soy generates new nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids, digestive aids and the trace mineral GTF chromium. These various properties are the best scientific reasons given for what has been known by loyal users for millennia, sauerkraut cures an upset stomach and is the best natural physic there is. Many sources say raw fermented foods are beneficial to the digestive system by increasing the healthy flora in the intestinal tract or creating the type of environment for them to flourish. Sauerkraut and its juice are traditional folk remedies for constipation. Fermentation actually increases nutrient values in the cabbage, especially vitamin C. Fermented foods are also said to facilitate the breakdown and assimilation of proteins. They have a soothing effect on the nervous system. The benefits of sauerkraut and sauerkraut juice have been recognized for generations. In some families of southern Germany, the children are fed raw sauerkraut twice weekly to support their intestines. Today it is thought that these benefits may relate to a high proportion of lactic acid in sauerkraut and sauerkraut juice that naturally supports the digestive processes, maintain intestinal flora, and increase the feeling of well-being.

Frozen Spiced Bananas

This is my new go-to for ice-cream cravings. It’s amazing.

2 large ripe bananas

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

4 tablespoons pecans, toasted and finely chopped

Freshly ground nutmeg, to taste

Cut bananas and place on a wax paper covered cookie sheet. In a small jar, combine vanilla, ginger, and allspice and shake well. Brush over bananas.  Freeze for thirty minutes. Top bananas with pecans and season with nutmeg to taste.

Can do length-wise slices to grab with your fingers, or cut into small circles to scoop up in a bowl. Yum.

"Chopping Broccoli..."

Sometimes I wonder if I should post what I had for dinner because some of these recipes really aren't recipes at all. It's just what we threw together. The cleaner we eat its seems, the simpler our dishes get.

But sometimes all you want is another way to eat broccoli because you swear if you eat broccoli ONE MORE TIME you'll lose it! If you get to that point - burnt out on a certain food - sometimes these "non"recipes do the trick.

Chop the broccoli and steam it. In a skillet crisp some bacon, cut into small pieces, and add in chopped almonds.  When they're done, combine all the ingredients.

I'm fairly certain when you add bacon everything tastes better.

Baked Apples

I cannot describe how good my home smelled last night. I love when my mother comes to visit! After the chicken-veggie dish, we had this for dessert!

The recipe listed a few kinds of apples that would work best, such as Granny Smiths.  These are commonly used for baking but because there is no sugar in this recipe we found that they were pretty tart. However, I liked the tartness combined with the sweet raisins. So find a kind you like best and enjoy!

2 tablespoons raisins

2 tablespoons chopped raw walnuts

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 small apples, peeled and cored

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix thoroughly. Evenly divide the raisin mixture into four portions and stuff into hollows of apples. Place upright in glass or ceramic baking dish and add 1 inch of water. Bake for thirty to forty minutes. Apples are done when soft and easily pierced with a fork. Cool for five minutes before serving.

Chick-Veggie Heaven

My mother came to visit this weekend. She was able to stay a few days and while here, got to reading Loren Cordain's Paleo Diet Cookbook.  She made this last night and it was awesome! This is our take on his recipe Chick-Veggie Heaven

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks

8 ounces leftover chicken, shredded

8 ounces fresh, raw spinach

Juice from ½ lemon

We added a couple strips of chopped bacon for even more flavor and a handful of chopped mushrooms we had in the fridge.

The recipe calls for 8 ounces of fresh asparagus also if you wish to add.

In a cast iron skillet over medium flame, saute onion and garlic for about five minutes or until tender. Add asparagus and carrot and continue to saute for an additional five minutes. Mix in chicken and stir for one minute.

Fold in spinach, remove from heat, and cover. Spinach will wilt from the steam. Remove cover and drizzle mixture with fresh lemon juice.

Apologies for the poor picture quality. I snapped it on my phone before I quickly scarfed this down!

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers (primal style)

Stuffed Red Bell Peppers (primal style)

This is a spicy, hot, south of the border dish…..that brought my house down!!  Using the idea of a traditional stuffed bell pepper, I turned it inside out and upside down and came up with this recipe.  Enjoy!  Feeds 2-4 depending on the appetite.

Preheat oven to 350.

1 lb. ground pork

1-2 red bell peppers

1 apple (peeled, cored and minced)

½ of a yellow onion (diced)

3-4 cloves of garlic (minced)

Leftover bacon grease

3 good sized Poblano Peppers (seeds removed and diced, I did my chopping in the food processor to save my hands, but to each their own)

Seasonings – I used fennel seed, sage, salt, black pepper, and chili powder…..lots of chili powder, say a tablespoon.

In a large pot, I melted down, over medium heat, 3 heaping tablespoons of bacon grease; it gives this dish a nice smoked flavor.  Add to this the apple, onion, garlic and poblano pepper.  Add in seasonings, being generous with the salt and pepper.  After this mixture has cooked well for about 15 minutes, remove from pan into a holding bowl.  Add ground pork to this pot (no rinsing).  Brown meat until nearly done, then add in cooked veggie mixture.  Cook for about 10 minutes.  Meanwhile in a baking dish of some sort (I used a glass pie plate), grease the bottom, slice your bell pepper (s) in half and place in dish.  Once your meat mixture is ready, stuff your bell pepper halves, and then pile all the rest of the filling in around and over the stuffed peppers.  The above ingredients I used for one bell pepper, it can be spread out to two peppers…..there just won’t be much of the filling to bake with the peppers, so you could easily just double everything and have plenty. 

I grated some aged parmesan cheese over the top, just for a little crunch.

Bake for 15 minutes.  I cut up some asparagus to accompany this dish, and put them in the oven with some olive oil and S&P for the last 5 minutes of cooking time. 

Serve and enjoy. 

FYI – I have a somewhat low tolerance for spicy heat, but once the poblanos are de-seeded, their heat is not bad at all.

Primal Blinis

Makes 8-12 blinis

§  4 tablespoons butter

§  4 eggs, separated into whites and yolks

§  1/4 teaspoon salt

~I used some vanilla, agave nectar (honey) and cinnamon for a sweeter blini.

~You could use, other spices to change it up however.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Melt two tablespoons of butter and let cool.

Use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, melted butter and salt by hand.

Gently fold egg yolks into egg whites

Melt remaining butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat.

Spoon egg mixture evenly into the pan.

Let the eggs cook untouched for two minutes then move the pan into the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool, then cut however you like.
These could be topped with tomatoes, basil and garlic, eat like a pizza....topped with fruit for something sweet.  It's soft, not very rigid.....but can be very versatile.

Chicken, Onion and Cabbage Soup

Chicken, Onion and Cabbage Soup

4 cooked chicken thighs, skinned and deboned, and chopped up.

4-5 slices of ham (optional)

1 onion – chopped

½ a head of red cabbage

6-8 asparagus spears – cut up to bite size pieces

4 cloves of garlic sliced

2 – 3 cups of chicken stock

3-4 sprigs of rosemary

Various seasonings – depends on your tastes.  Below is what I added….

In your soup pot, add some olive oil and/or bacon grease….just to coat the bottom.  Once heated (medium heat), add, onion, ham, cabbage, garlic and asparagus.  Strip rosemary sprigs and chop if desired and throw into the pot.  Add cooked chicken and some salt, black pepper, marjoram leaves and 2 bay leaves.  Mix all together and cook for about 10 minutes.  Add chicken stock.  Cover and cook for about 30 minutes at a simmering heat.  Remove bay leaves and enjoy!

Chicken Burgers

     For these Chicken Burgers, we used one pound of organic ground chicken, 2 handfuls of fresh, chopped spinach leaves, 4 cloves of garlic, chopped, 1/2 a red onion chopped, one farm fresh egg, and about 2 tablespoons of organic plain yogurt.  We used for seasonings a variety of things.....kosher salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, and ground cloves.  We found the ground cloves really brought the flavors all together.  These were attractive little burgers that we grilled on the grill, but could just as easily be baked in the oven for about 30 minutes at about 350 degrees. 
     We ate them on a bed of red and green leaf lettuce, with a slice of tomato.  Never missed the bun!  I really wished I would've taken a picture, because this was a pretty dish as well as being tasty.

H.A.M.

When I saw ham for under $1.50/lb I had to buy it. Now I have a 10lb ham and need to figure out how many different ways I can cook it, and freeze portions until I do so.

Much harder than it looks. Ham itself is okay occasionally, but it’s always secretly paired with non-primal foods. Planning meals is like getting a Q in Scrabble with no U to lay it down. I grew up with leftover ham in cheesy potato casseroles, chopped ham spread on Ritz crackers, ham sandwiches, ham and beans, sugary BBQ goodness… So here’s my list so far, of ways to eat this ham differently than I have the past 30 years.  Double. Word. Score. Check it.

Ham and eggs.

Ham and green beans.

Ham & summer vegetables.

Chopped ham on iceberg salad with tomatoes and hard boiled eggs.

Chopped ham on spinach salad with strawberries and slivered almonds.

Chopped ham and pineapple bits in lettuce wraps.

Broccoli, ham, and egg bake.

Ham and asparagus frittata.

Ham and julienned stir-fry veggies (minus the corn starch).

Heat a wok or large skillet with oil on medium heat. Place carrots, onions, green beans, green peas, broccoli, green peppers and red peppers. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Make a well in the center of vegetables. Place ham in and stir to moisten. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes.

In a small, lightly greased skillet, scramble the eggs until firm. Cut eggs up into small pieces.

Stir vegetables, ham and eggs together. Mix the soy sauce, water and cornstarch in a bowl and pour into center of wok or skillet. Stir quickly until it begins to thicken.

Pork and Apples.

1/2 red onion, sliced

1 stalk celery, chopped

2-3 C. ham, cut into cubes

Dash of oil of choice

1 red apple, cored and chopped

Add cubed ham, celery, and onion and stir fry until near-tender. Add apples and heat through. Serve.

Whats your take on ham? Please leave us your comments!