Chicken Sausage Stir Fry over Garlic Cauliflower Mash



This is one of my favorite dinners. I usually make this at least once a week and once you try it you will see why. That is of course if you are in to mushrooms and onions. You can always substitute with green beans and zuchini, there are so many options in the stir fry world. This however, is what I found in the fridge and it happens to be a great combination. 



Ingredients:
1 package of all natural Chicken Sausages ( I use Trader Joes Jalapeno Chicken Sausages)
1 package of sliced Mushrooms
2 tablespoons of Grapeseed Oil
1 White Onion sliced
1 Head of steamed Cauliflower florets (cook until very tender)
2 tablespoons of All Natural Butter (use to your liking)
Use Garlic, Sea Salt and Ground Pepper to taste

Directions:

Over Medium to High heat combine grapeseed oil, onions, mushrooms and sliced sausage in a large frying pan until lightly browned.

In a blender, combine hot (soft) cauliflower florets, garlic, sea salt, ground pepper, and butter. Blend until smooth. Serve stir fry on top of the mash and Walla! Delish!

Kristy  



Veal Meatballs

I was hungry and needed a quick fix.  I saw ground veal in the grocery store and decided I was going to have veal for dinner.  The problem was that I didn’t know what I was going to do with the veal.  Then, it hit me when I got home and noticed the spaghetti squash resting on the kitchen counter top…..Meatballs!  Meatballs with spaghetti squash!

The particular recipe came from my own little brain.  I basically used whatever I could find in the kitchen and added it to the ground veal.  It wasn’t brain surgery by any stretch of the imagination.  I have to say, I impressed myself with the flavor.

Each meatball is approximately 63 calories (1 gram of Carbs, 3 grams of Fat and 8 grams of Protein).

Ingredients

1 lbs of ground veal

1 egg

¼ cup of yellow onion, diced

3 cloves of garlic, diced

2 tablespoons of parsley, chopped

2 teaspoons of dried oregano

Sea salt and pepper to taste

The hard part:

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  On a greased pan, make about 12 meatballs.  Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes or until the middle is no longer pink.  

What? What? Potato Salad (Paleo)

Hello?  Is anybody out there?

Let me start by saying I hate the notion of a food item trying to be something its not.  Kind of like Tofurkey.  What is the point?  If you want turkey, eat turkey and not Tofu.  Right?  Thus I have tried to steer clear of “pseudo” food items……until now.

As Paleo eaters, we know potatoes are off the table.  Potatoes have no place in our diet, unless it’s a sweet potato.  I’ve seen the Paleo Potato Salad recipe now and again on the ThePaleoPlan.com and other websites.  I had no interest in attempting to make this recipe until Emma (shout out) brought it to work during one of our Paleo Potlucks.  I, truthfully, have to say it was pretty darn good.  Paleo Potato Salad is the perfect side dish to a protein-rich main course.   I was so impressed with the salad’s texture and flavor that I had to make it myself.  Yes, I tweaked the recipe.  Why?  Because I wanted it to taste like my mother’s potato salad.  

Oh, one last thing, this recipe makes a ton of salad.  A TON!  Perfect for a potluck or your side dish for the week. When I say a ton of salad, I mean a TON of salad.  You can easily substitute a 20lb wall-ball for a large bowl of No Potato Salad during the next WOD.  This recipe easily serve 8-10 people.  Be sure to use a large bowl when making a full recipe. 

Each serving is approximately 75 calories (7 grams of carbs (4 grams of sugar), 4 grams of fat and 4 grams of protein).

Ingredients:

1 head of Cauliflower, chopped in to small pieces

2 stalks of celery, diced

¼ yellow onion, finely diced

2 hard-boiled eggs sliced

1-2 tablespoons of fresh parsley, diced

4 strips of crispy bacon, chopped

¼ cup of black olives, diced

¼ cup of carrots, diced

Sea salt and pepper to taste

3-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1-2 tablespoon of yellow mustard (you can do Dijon too)

***Next time I am going to add pickle juice.

Instructions:

Steam cauliflower over medium heat and cook until slightly tender.  Be careful not to over cook the cauliflower. Overcooking will result in a strong cauliflower flavor to your salad.  Once properly cook, remove cauliflower and rinse under cool water and then place in a large bowl.

Combine celery, onion, parsley, bacon, olives, carrots, pepper and salt.  Stir in mayonnaise and mustard.  Garnish with sliced hard-boiled egg.  Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Rubbed Pulled Pork

In the history of Paleo cooking, I would say this recipe is, the by far, the simplest to prepare.  Really, I swear!  Inspired by a co-worker, I decided to give this baby a whirl.  Yes, there are more complex recipes out on the interwebs but like I’ve said before: I like simple recipes.  I hate tedium.  This recipe came from everydaypaleo.com

The flavor is incredible!  The dry rub spices come though in each bite of pulled pork.  The spice flavor is subtle yet enough flavor to make a difference in perking up and enhancing the flavor of the pork.  The pork, literally, just falls apart and melts in your mouth. 

Since this recipe requires a crockpot (slow cooker), your pork is guaranteed to come out juicy and tender.  All that is required are onions, spices and a pork roast….oh, and some time, not thyme.  There is nothing else to add, not even broth.  This baby cooks ALL DAY…the longer the cook time, the better the outcome.  I am sure you can fit in a few WODs during the cook time.

When I tried this recipe, I bought a 4.4 lb pork roast, which yielded enough pork to feed all the members at small CrossFit gym.  Lets just say, I had plenty of pulled pork that lasted through out the week for lunch and snacks.  I even fed some of my Paleo co-workers (shout out to Kuka and Emma).  I am tempted to try the left-over pulled pork over spaghetti squash or Paleo tortillas. 

A four ounce serving of pulled pork is approximately 221 calories (1 gram of Carbs (sugar), 16 grams of Fat and 20 grams of Protein)

***No Potato Salad, Cabbage Salad are also in the picture above.  Recipes are coming soon.

Ingredients:

4-5 lbs of pork butt roast (try to select a roast that is not overly fatty)

2 large yellow onions

3 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tablespoon of dried parsley

1 teaspoon or coriander

2 teaspoons of cumin

2 teaspoons of onion powder

2 teaspoons of sea salt

¼ teaspoon of chipotle powder.

What to do:

Mix all dry ingredients together.  Rub pork roast with dry rub.  Use all the dry rub.  At the bottom of a crockpot, place a layer of sliced onion.  Rest rubbed pork on top of the onion layer.  Cook pork on high for 4-5 hours, then cook pork on low for another 3-4 hours.

Cumin Chicken with Kale and Bell Pepper

I had this last night (April 29^th) for the first time.  I was in an utter Paleo cooking frenzy.  Insane!  If you see me in the kitchen cooking, please move out of my way.  I am on a mission. I posted a picture of my Facebook and got a number of responses, thus I decided to post the recipe on ThePaleoPlunge.

But I digress….back to the Cumin Chicken.  As you probably know Cumin has a distinct pungent, yet wonderful, odor.  Now imagine the wonderful odor wafting through the air of your kitchen!  The smell of cumin is somewhat comforting to me.  Now add a protein-packed meat, like chicken, to the equation and you, my Paleo friends, have a winner.  What makes this dish even better is that its all done in one pan.  That right, the kale and red peppers are sautéed in the same dish as the chicken!  Easy to make and easy to clean up.  If you are newbie at trying Paleo cooking, this is a good recipe to attempt to cook.  You really need to try to mess this one up.

This recipe was brought to you by the www.paleoplan.com

What you will need:

1lb of boneless, skinless chicken

1 teaspoon of cumin

1 teaspoon of chili powers

1 teaspoon of sea salt

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of coconut oil

1 bunch of kale, remove stalk

1 red bell pepper, diced

0.5 cups of slivered almonds (optional)

What to do:

In a medium bowl, combine and coat chicken with cumin, chili power, sea salt and garlic.  Next, in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, add coconut oil.  When skillet is hot add chicken and brown on both sides.  This should take about 5-7 minuets.  Then, add kale and red pepper.  Stir until vegetables are tender.  Plate chicken and vegetables, and sprinkle with slivered almonds.