Category: Glimpses of Life

This was an interesting recipe. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry so didn’t have time to take photos of the different steps. Mea culpa. Next time I make it, I’ll have to come back and post more pictures.

I adapted the original recipe. I’m starting to get a lot more comfortable in doing that — just replacing ingredients with ones that I like more or that are cheaper. For this particular recipe, I had bought a large batch of beef strips from Costco and had feta in the fridge already so that’s what I substituted. Skip the feta if you’re following a really strict paleo diet.

Here’s the recipe …

Ingredients

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• 1 pound or 3 large beef strips
• Cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 8 cups loosely packed baby arugula
• 3 plums, thinly sliced
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Directions

1. Combine the pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a small bowl then rub this over both sides of the meat.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Coat the skillet with cooking spray.
4. Add the meat to the pan and cook 5 minutes on each side or until it reaches your desired degree of doneness.
5. Remove the steak from the skillet then let it rest for 5 -10 minutes.
6. Cut the meat diagonally across the grain into thin slices and set this aside
7. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, honey, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and stir it well with a whisk.
8. Add the arugula to a bowl and toss gently with the dressing to coat it.
9. Arrange about 1 1/2 cups arugula mixture onto each of 4 plates and top each serving with 3 ounces steak, about 1/2 cup plums, sliced 1/4 avocado and 1 tablespoon of the cheese.

Pretty simple, no? Here’s the final product.

This recipe is similar to the Thai Steak Salad that I made before.  Scrumptious!

Adapted from MyRecipes.

I’m considering this salad paleo although I did use aged sliced parmesan cheese and most dedicated paleo-ites don’t use cheese but since the cheese can be omitted, I’m labeling it paleo.  (smile)

Lately, I’ve had a salad almost every day. Something about romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, etc. just seems to draw me.

Here are the ingredients …

So … let’s put this recipe together …

Ingredients

• 1 bag of Spring Mix Salad
• 1 bag of Power Greens (baby kale, baby chard & baby spinach)
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 red apple, thinly sliced
• 1 Anjou pear, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons Spiced Cider (I used Trader Joe’s as it has no added sugar)
• 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon Pure Maple Syrup
• Kosher salt and pepper (according to your taste)
• 1/4 cup aged parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Add the Spring Mix and the Power Greens to a large bowl.
2. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the apples and pears and toss with the greens. This will keep them from turning brown.
3. Add the parmesan cheese and toss to blend it all together.
4. In a small bowl, combine the cider, cider vinegar and maple syrup then add the oil and whisk it all together.
5. Add salt and pepper to the dressing and stir to combine.

That’s pretty much it!  Serve the dressing on the side so that you can save any leftover salad — otherwise it will be soggy later.

This recipe was adapted and paleo-ized from an Orchard Salad by Rachael Ray.

I absolutely loved, loved and loved this paleo Chicken Soup. Even my “hum-ho, it’s okay” husband thought it was really good.  That means I’ll be making it again.

And, it was so easy — look at the ingredients …

The instructions say to shred the chicken and after I cooked the chicken and let it cool, I used my hands to cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. It was fun!

So … here are the instructions for you to try this wonderful soup — let me know if you change anything in the recipe as I made a few changes myself.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
• 2 celery ribs, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 1/2 quarts chicken broth (original recipe calls for bone broth)
• 3 cups boneless skinless chicken breasts, shredded
• 1/8 cup minced fresh parsley
• 3 eggs at room temperature and lightly beaten
• kosher salt and pepper to taste

(I doubled the amount of carrots and celery as I wanted a heartier soup. I also decreased the amount of fresh parsley.)

Directions

1. In a large skillet, on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
2. Once the oil is heated, add and grill the three chicken breasts until cooked through. If the chicken breasts are thick, you can slice them in half before adding them to the skillet to make sure they get cooked all the way through.
3. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the skillet and set it aside to cool for approximately 10 minutes.
4. After the chicken is cooled, shred the chicken with your hands into bite-sized pieces (or use a knife to cut it up). Set this aside until needed.
5. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
6. Add the onion, carrot, and celery then cook until the vegetables are soft.
7. Stir in the thyme, broth, and the chicken.
8. Bring everything to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes or so.
9. Stir in the parsley.
10. Pour the beaten eggs into the soup in a slow steady stream and stir slowly.
11. Remove the soup from the heat then add salt and pepper according to your taste.

So delicious! The cold Minnesota nights just got a little bit warmer because of this soup.

Enjoy!

I changed this Real Simple recipe just a little bit because I couldn’t find the collards at the grocery store. Is that strange? I don’t believe I’ve ever bought collards before so I don’t know if they are a regular food item that the grocery store should carry.

Anyway, the spinach worked just fine.

Here are your ingredients (besides your chicken thighs, salt and pepper) …

And your baked chicken thighs will eventually come out looking all pretty, like this …

There’s simply not much to this tasty recipe so — let’s get ready to try it.

Ingredients

• 1 pound parsnips, cut into 3-inch lengths, halved or quartered
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and black pepper
• 4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 bunch of spinach, stems discarded and leaves thinly sliced (about 2-3 cups)

Directions

1. Heat your oven to 425° F.
2. Toss the parsnips, honey, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Roast, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and brown the chicken in batches, 4 to 6 minutes per side.
6. Transfer the chicken to a rimmed baking sheet but reserve the drippings that are left in the skillet.
7. Bake the chicken in the oven until cooked. I stab my chicken with a wooden skewer and my chicken is done when no “pink” liquid comes out of it. You could also use a meat thermometer and insert that in the thickest part of the chicken. You want a temperature of 165° F for doneness. You’ll be baking the chicken for 12-15 minutes more or less.
8. While the chicken is baking, add the raisins, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the drippings in the skillet and combine it all, scraping up the bits stuck to the pan, until the vinegar is reduced by half, oh – a minute or so.
9. Add the spinach to the skillet and cook, stirring, until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes.
10. Serve the salad with the chicken and parsnips.

Quite a snap to make and this recipe had everything incorporated into it — the meat, salad and a veggie.

Enjoy!

I know it’s October but it’s still not too late to grill outside — or, make these inside if you like. I especially liked the marinade on these Paleo Chicken Kebobs. Delicious!

The ingredients are so basic.

Are you looking at that large tub of honey? It’s actually five (5) pounds of honey. You won’t be using a lot — don’t worry. We recently attended a fair and they had this raw honey on sale so we had to get it.

For the veggies — you can use whatever you like. I made it simple and used a green pepper, mushrooms and tomatoes. Food does not have to be complicated in order to taste great.

Here is what your marinade will look like …

Ready to try this recipe? I’m planning on using this marinade for baking some chicken thighs soon.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 (15 1/4 ounce) can unsweetened pineapple chunks or use chunks from a fresh pineapple
• 1/2 cup liquid aminos
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 large green pepper cut into pieces
• Mushrooms
• Cherry Tomatoes

Directions

1. Put the cut chicken in a large shallow dish.
2. Drain the pineapple and keep 1/2 cup juice in reserve. Set the pineapple aside.
3. Mix the pineapple juice with the next 7 ingredients in a small pan and bring this to a boil on the stovetop.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer the marinade for appoximately 5 minutes.
5. Pour the marinade over the chicken.
6. Cover and chill the chicken for at least 1 hour.
7. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade but reserve the marinade.
8. On skewers, alternate the chicken, pineapple, green pepper, mushrooms, and tomatoes.
9. Grill the kabobs for approximately 20 minutes or until the chicken is done.
10. Turn and baste frequently with the marinade.

And that’s how easy it is. Very scrumptious! Very very scrumptious!

This recipe was adapted from Hawaiian Chicken Kebobs.