Chevaps

Menu:
Chevaps || The Clothes Make the Girl
Green Beans

Hamburgers & Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Red Onions and Pine Nuts

Menu:
Hamburgers with Avocado
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Red Onions and Pine Nuts || What's Cooking Good Looking

NOTE: I'm kind of obsessed with these potatoes. They are so delicious. Hamburgers were served without a bun.

Cauliflower Soup with Toasted Garlic

Menu:
Cauliflower Soup with Toasted Garlic || Real Simple
Salad with Beets, Hearts of Palm, Avocado and Pistachios

NOTE: I make a lot of soups in the winter -- and Brian said this was maybe the best in a long time. He loved it. So did the kids. And it's super easy. In place of olive oil on drizzled on top, I used truffle oil. It kind of made the dish. Yum.

Cauliflower Soup with Toasted Garlic
Serves 4| Hands-On Time: 15m| Total Time: 40m

Ingredients 
3 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small head cauliflower, chopped
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
kosher salt and black pepper

Directions
Cook the garlic in the oil in a large pot over medium heat, stirring, until golden, 2 to 3 minutes; remove and reserve the garlic. To the pot, add the cauliflower, chicken broth, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Top with the garlic, a drizzle of olive oil, and additional thyme before serving.

Toasted Coconut Tilapia with Pomegranate Salsa

Menu:
Toasted Coconut Tilapia with Pomegranate Salsa || How Sweet It Is
Cilantro Cauliflower "Rice" || Practical Paleo

NOTE: Guys, this was so darn good! I prepped everything earlier in the day (which didn't take long), and when we got home from taekwondo, I whipped up dinner. Even Brian (the post-dinner snacker -- he's lucky I don't get offended) was completely satisfied afterwards.

Stuffed Mushrooms & Roasted Beets

Menu:
Grandma Barbara's Stuffed Mushrooms || Practical Paleo
Roasted Beets & Fennel || Practical Paleo
Salad with Avocado and Pea Shoots

Grandma Barbara's Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients
12 mini portobello mushroom caps (or 4 large)
1 tbsp. bacon fat (I used coconut oil)
1/4 c. red bell pepper, minced
1/4 c. small yellow onion, minced
1 lb. Italian sausage (removed from casing - I used bulk turkey Italian sausage)
2 cups spinach, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. sea salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place mushrooms cap-side down on a baking sheet and bake for around 10 minutes.

While waiting on the mushrooms, prepare your stuffing. Heat the fat over medium in a large skillet. 

Add red pepper and onion and saute about 3 minutes.

Add Italian sausage to the pan. Break the pork up with a spoon and cook until little pink remains. Toss in spinach and garlic and combine well. Spoon the mixture into each of the mushrooms caps and place them back in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until stuffing has browned on top.

Beef & Vegetable Stir Fry

Menu:
Beef & Vegetable Stir Fry || Practical Paleo

NOTE: The vegetables and meat can really be whatever you want. But the sauce is really delicious. 2 T coconut aminos, 2 T warm water, 1/4 t grated ginger, 2 garlic cloves (minced).

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs

Menu:
Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs || Practical Paleo
Sautéed Red Cabbage with Apples || Practical Paleo
Cucumbers

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs
Serves 2

4 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
8 slices of bacon
2 tsp Smoky Spice Blend or Savory Blend

Preparation: Preheat oven to 375. Sprinkle the chicken thighs with 1 tsp of Smoky Spice Blend, then wrap each one in 2 strips of bacon. Sprinkle with the remaining Smoky Spice Blend and bake for approximately 40 minutes.

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Smoky Spice Blend: 1 Tbsp chipotle powder, 1 Tbsp smoked paprika, 1 Tbsp onion powder, 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon, 1 Tbsp sea salt, 1/2 Tbsp black pepper

Savory Spice Blend: 2 Tbsp Rosemary Salt (I just used 1 T salt with a 1 T rosemary), 1 T garlic powder 1, T onion powder, 1/2 T paprika, 1 tsp black pepper

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Sauteed Red Cabbage with Apple

2 Tbsp lard/bacon fat, grass-fed butter or coconut oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 head of red cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1c Apple Cider Vinegar
1 green apple, cut into matchstick sized pieces
1 T. Rosemary Salt (1/2 T dried rosemary, 1/2 T salt)

In a large enameled pot or pan, sautée the onion in the fat, then when they’re mostly cooked, add the cabbage until it begins to soften. Add the vinegar and seasonings. Allow the cabbage and onion mixture to cook down until everything is soft, then add the apples and allow them to cook in until soft. The total cooking time tends to be around 30-45 minutes to get the cabbage really soft. Add more vinegar or some water if the mixture gets too dry.

Spiced Lamb Meatballs with Fig Compote

Menu:
Spiced Lamb Meatballs with Fig Compote || Practical Paleo
Shaved Brussels Sprouts with Fennel

Spiced Lamb Meatballs with Fig Compote
1 lb. ground lamb
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
Sea salt & pepper
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
6-8 dried figs, sliced
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix the meat and all spices together in a mixing bowl
3. Form into 16 small meatballs and bake on a foil-lined sheet for 20-25 minutes until cooked through
5. While baking, add vinegar, water, figs, and rosemary to your pan on the stove 6. Simmer until the compote reduces
7. Serve the meatballs fresh out of the oven on top of the compote

Turkey Bolognese with Zucchini "Noodles"

Menu:
Turkey Bolognese
Zucchini "Noodles" || Well Fed 

Turkey Bolognese || Slightly modified from Giada de Laurentiis
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 pound ground cooked turkey (preferably dark meat)
3 cups marinara sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions :: Heat the oil in a heavy large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and saute until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the turkey and saute 1 minute. Add the marinara sauce. Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend, stirring often. Stir in the basil. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Moroccan Meatballs

Menu:
Moroccan Meatball || Well Fed (The Clothes Make the Girl)
Sweet Potatoes with Green Onion, Garlic Coconut Kefir (from here)
Salad

Pad Thai {Paleo}

Menu:
Paleo Pad Thai || The Clothes Make the Girl

NOTE: Like most everyone I know, the new year is a great time to readjust our eating habits a bit. We've been indulging for the past month and a half (6 months, who knows), and it's time to take a little break from that. We are not, however, eating strictly paleo. I just really happen to like recipes from this book (this is one of them). Seriously guys, this is amazing. We had leftover the next day, and Brian was blown away by how delicious it is.