Sauteed Spinach

Ask me if I would have eaten this a year ago and I would have gagged at the name. Shockingly it was tasty and not bitter.
The Ingredients:
5 Handfuls of Spinach
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Garlic cloves, diced
1 Tbsp Fresh Basil
1 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro
1 small Red Pepper, finely chopped
1 Lemon, halved

The Process:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic for 1 min. Add in the spinach, basil, and cilantro and mix thoroughly for 2 min. Remove from heat, add red pepper slices and juice from half the lemon. Mix. Serve.

The fresh spices really make this dish work.

Paleo Turkey Tacos

I got this recipe from fastpaleo.com. I made the seasoning mix as instructed but didn't use it all. Good flavor and a nice change from ground beef. And I just realized I didn't add the red pepper but I think it would have been better with it.

The Ingredients:
2.5lbs Ground Turkey
1/2 Cup diced onion
3/4 Cup Coconut Oil
Seasoning:
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1.5 Tbsp Cumin
1.5 Tbsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes

The Process:
Heat pan and then add coconut oil. Brown meat and onions. Add seasoning a bit at a time. Mixing it in and then adding more. Add 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 5-10min.

Serve with Butter Lettuce leaves. And lots of other toppings of course.

Chocolatey Cookies

I struggle with Paleo cookies because they always taste like and have the consistency of banana bread. These turned out quite well and would be better with chocolate chips added. But what wouldn't? And I have decided that baking is the one place cutting out salt is not worth it. I also prefer butter when baking but this recipe was good with coconut oil.

The Ingredients:
1 1/2 C Almond Flour
1/4 C Coconut Oil- melted
1/4 C Agave- or less. I used just under 1/4.
1 Egg
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder

The Process:
Heat oven to 375. Mix wet ingredients in one bowl. Mix dry ingredients in another. Combine. Drop tablespoon size balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 8min. Makes 9 cookies.

*1/4 of chocolate chips would make these great.

Just enough for a binge. Not enough to make you feel bad for eating them all in one day.

Paleo BBQ Short Ribs

This was my first attempt cooking ribs and I am pretty damn pleased with myself. Added bonus: it's a crockpot recipe. Woohoo! I didn't want to ruin a bunch of ribs if this was a disaster so I only made 2. You can easily increase this recipe (and I will next time). Serves 2.

The Ingredients:
2 Short Ribs
1 Cup Son of Grok's BBQ Sauce + pineapple

The Process:
Sear the short ribs on all sides in a pan with coconut oil. Throw them in the crockpot. Add enough BBQ sauce to coat them but not soak in. Cook on low 8-9 Hours.

Son of Grok's BBQ Sauce:
Ingredients:
- 1 6oz can tomato paste (preferable organic)
- 1 cup of beef stock
- 3 Cloves Garlic- finely diced
- .5 of an onion- finely diced
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
1/4 Cup crushed pineapple

The Process:
Add all ingredients to a saucepan. Bring sauce to heat over a low setting. Cover and simmer 20-30min.

**This recipe makes about 2 cups of sauce. It freezes well.

A Lighter Phad Thai

I love thin noodles in my Phad Thai so I altered the Paleo Phad Thai recipe to meet my craving requirements. Spicey, yummy, satisfying. A lower in fat. This is also a great recipe to pair on the menu with spaghetti sauce to use up the extra spaghetti squash you may have.

The Ingredients:

• 2 cooked chicken breasts, sliced or cubed
  
• 1/2 roasted spaghetti squash or 1 small squash
  
• 2 zucchinis
• 1 onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 T fresh ginger, minced
  
• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 T chili garlic sauce
• 1 lime, juiced
• sliced green onions

The Process:

Sautee the onion, garlic, and ginger. Add the zucchini and sautee until al dente. Add the spaghetti squash (heat until warm if using leftovers) and heat 2-3min. In a small bowl mix the chili sauce, apple cider vinegar, and lime juice. Pour over spaghetti squash mixture and toss. Remove from heat. Top with green onions. Serve with chicken mixed in or on the side.

You can also add fresh veggies to the finished product: spinach, water chestnuts, peppers, your veggie of choice.

Savory Sweet Potato Stuffing

This is a fantastic stuffing but is time intensive. You have to have 1 1/2 hours allotted for prepping and cooking.
Here is a link to the original recipe. I would suggest adding fresh Thyme and Garlic Powder. It was a little bland.

Eggs in Ham Cups

Yet another way to eat eggs and ham.

Ingredients:
6 slices of ham (I love Applegate Farms Uncured Ham)
6 eggs
Pepper

Process:
Preheat oven to 375.
Grease muffin tin with coconut oil. Line each cups with 1 slice of ham, letting it ruffle to form a cup. Crack an egg into each cup. Sprinkle with pepper.
Bake for 15-20 min until the white of the egg is firm.
Serves 2. I'm sure you can make a full dozen at once but I'm not sure how well they keep.

Alternates:
You can scramble the eggs first and then pour into the ham cups. It bakes the same and is quite tasty.
You can also add thinly sliced veggies, though the egg fills the ham cup so I wouldn't add much.