Simply Norma

This paleo Chicken Fingers recipe is so easy to make and, although it says kids would love it, it’s a great meal for all ages.

Although the recipe uses few ingredients and instructions, it’s a little messy to make if you use your fingers. The breading can get clumpy so be careful to not just toss all the chicken pieces into the breading at once. (I didn’t do that but I did a few pieces at a time and that made it clumpy.)

So — let’s begin. Besides the pound of chicken breasts (or tenders if you prefer) here’s what you’ll need.

First you’ll be combining the dry ingredients to make the breading.

Then you’ll be making a “dipping” station. Having your lined cookie sheet next to your dipping station will make it easy to transfer the chicken pieces onto it.

This is what they will look like. Because of the clumps some of my pieces weren’t breaded enough but taste-wise they were fine.

I served this dish with fried ripe plantains.  Have you ever had them? If you decide to try them, you want to make sure you get very very ripe plantains. Yes, yellow ones are good but the ones that are turning almost black are even riper and sweeter. (But don’t use the green ones for this.) Just inspect them for white fuzziness — mold.  You don’t want to get sick.

An interesting side note – most grocery stores I’ve been to will get rid of or discount the really really ripe plantains as they think no one will buy them — unless that is you go to a Spanish market who know the clientele who buy these often.

The plantains are sliced at an angle, mashed down a little with the palm of your hand and fried in coconut or olive oil. I chose to use coconut this time. They don’t take long to fry and I can usually tell by the color of the plantain when they’re ready. If your heat is too high though they’ll cook on the outside but not on the inside.  Turn your stovetop heat to almost medium, check for a nice golden color then turn it to the other side.

And this is what you’ll get.  You’ll notice some of them look a little “flat.” With the second batch that I was frying, I got distracted but quickly turned the stovetop off so they wouldn’t burn. Unfortunately they sat in the oil longer than they should have so they absorbed more of the oil than usual. Not a “bad” thing but the fried plantains should have a little “puffiness” to them and shouldn’t taste like oil.  Remember, this is about the plantain.  So — pay attention!

Now back to the chicken fingers. Ready to try the recipe?

Ingredients

• 1 pound skinless chicken breasts cut into long strips and into the same thickness as much as possible
• 1 egg, at room temperature and beaten
• 1/2 cup Almond Meal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin seed

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 425F.
2. While the oven is heating, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Combine the almond meal with the spices on a plate or shallow dish. If you especially like the taste of coriander or cumin, double it to 1/2 a teaspoon for more flavor.
4. Put the beaten egg in a shallow dish all by its lonesome. You’ll be dipping your chicken in here so make sure the chicken will fit in the dish.
5. If your chicken is wet or soggy, dry it with a paper towel.
6. Dip the chicken in the egg mixture then in the almond meal mixture.
7. Gently put your dipped chicken pieces onto the lined baking sheet.
8. Bake the chicken for approximately 16-18 minutes turning once in the middle of baking. Making sure that your chicken pieces are about the same thickness will insure that they will all be cooked at the same time.

And — that’s it! Simple, no? I served my chicken fingers with fried plantains and a side salad. Enjoy!

Note: It has been said that paprika has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Check it out!

Is anyone thinking about Thanksgiving already, besides me?

I’ve already tried one paleo sweet potato recipe but thought I’d try another one as a side dish for one of our dinners. This one turned out pretty good — yes, pretty good. I would definitely feel comfortable serving it to any guests we might have.

There are two sets of ingredients — one for the “inside” and one for the topping. Here are the ones for the “inside:”

Those sweet potatoes will need to be baked until they’re cooked, skin removed and then mashed.

Here are the topping ingredients …

Not too many, eh?

You’ll be combining the topping ingredients all together. It will look similar to this:

After all the ingredients for the “inside” are put together they will be put in a casserole dish and then the topping will be layered on top and then baked.

Are you ready to try it?

Ingredients (for the potatoes)

• 3 cups baked sweet potatoes, I used one large, 1 medium and 1 small
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large eggs, beaten and at room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (8 tablespoons)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Ingredients (for the topping)

• 1 cup almond flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/8 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 cup chopped pecans or you can use walnuts if you prefer

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF.
2. Bake your sweet potatoes until a fork pricked through the thickest section of the potato goes through with no resistance. (The potatoes will probably be “leaking” by now.) Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them sit until they cool.
3. While the potatoes are cooling, work on your topping (see step 9).
4. Once cooled, peel the potatoes and put them in a bowl then mash them well.
5. Add the honey, eggs, butter, coconut milk, vanilla and salt to the mashed sweet potatoes.
6. Combine all the ingredients thoroughly.
7. Add the potato mixture to a 9×9 baking dish.
8. Place the almond flour, coconut flour, honey, salt and butter in a medium bowl.
9. Stir to combine the ingredients well.
10. Add the pecans to the topping mixture and stir to combine.
11. Sprinkle the topping mixture in an even layer over the sweet potatoes.
12. Bake for approximately 20 minutes.

My picture didn’t come out the best but this tasted great!

Enjoy!

Special thanks to Deliciously Organic for this recipe.

This paleo Egg Muffin recipe might seem boring to some but I like it because it’s a way to grab something really quickly in the morning when you’re in a rush or simply don’t want to take the time to make something.  Next time I make these I’ll add a little more “spice” to them — maybe even a few red chili flakes.  Ooh la la! (laughing)  That’s a big deal for me because I don’t normally like spicy foods.

The ingredients are simple enough and can be varied according to your taste. For instance, you could add a really spicy sausage or add a jalapeno pepper to give it more oomph.

You’ll basically be adding all these ingredients together after prepping them some and then baking it in a muffin tin.

So — are you ready to try it? I halved the original recipe to make sure we would like them so that’s the measurements you’ll see below. Feel free to double it.

Ingredients

• 1 mild chicken sausage (I use the ones with no pork casing)
• 1/8 cup red bell pepper, diced (I used a green one)
• 1/8 cup carrots, grated
• 1/4 cup fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh basil, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 5 – 12 eggs (I used 6), beaten

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with coconut or olive oil. If you’re not making 12 muffins, put a little water in the empty muffin spaces so it doesn’t burn.
3. In a skillet, cook the sausage until its cooked through then cut it up into small pieces.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the cooked sausage, bell pepper, shredded carrots, spinach and basil then set this aside.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper.
6. Add the egg mixture to the sausage and veggie mixture then stir to combine it all.
7. Using a measuring cup fill the muffin cups with the egg mixture being sure not to fill it to the rim – about 1/3 cup.
8. Bake the egg muffins for 20 to 25 minutes or until the eggs are set in the middle.

This makes about 9 muffins, can be stored in the refrigerator and reheated the next morning for a quick breakfast. Very nice!

Hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

I had bought some eggplants so decided to try this paleo Crispy Baked Eggplant Dipper recipe. It was a hit — even as leftovers! I served them with Lamb Chops with a Herb and Garlic Sauce along with a Tomato/Onion Salad. Delicious!

Here are the main ingredients for the recipe …

You’ll be setting up a dipping station that will look something like this …

Then you’ll be putting them on a rack for baking after they’re prepared. (it’s a little messy but well worth it.)

They’ll come out looking like this. Yes, yes, some of them look a tad crispier than others but that didn’t affect the taste.

Remove them and place them on a platter. You’ll be serving this with a marinara sauce.

Ready to try it?

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant, or 3 small
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 cup almond meal/flour
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp Italian Herb Seasoning (I left this ingredient out but you can add basil or oregano to the flour if you don’t have the seasoning)
• red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1 jar organic tomato sauce (I messed up a little on this as I forgot to check the ingredients on the sauce and it had added sugar. Bleh! Next time I’ll make my own.)
• 1/2 cup fresh shaved parmigiano-reggiano

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Set up a “breading” station using 3 large bowls or plates. In the first dish, add the coconut flour and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. In the second dish gently beat the eggs.
4. In the third dish combine the almond meal, Italian herb seasoning (if using), and the garlic powder.
5. Slice the eggplant into 3/4-inch slices.
6. Coat the eggplant pieces in coconut flour, then in the eggs and finally in the almond meal.
7. Next, arrange the eggplant pieces on a rack over a cookie sheet (so you don’t have a mess).
8. Bake this in the oven until crispy about 25 minutes.
9. If you’re using the cheese, shave the parmigiano-reggiano in a small bowl.
10. When the eggplant has baked, remove it from the oven, turn them over and sprinkle the parmigiano reggiano on each piece of eggplant (about 1 tablespoon).
11. Set your oven to “broil” then put the eggplant back in on the middle rack for approximately 4 minutes or until the cheese is melted or bubbly.
12. Garnish with the red pepper flakes if you like.
13. Serve with a small dish of marinara sauce for dipping.

Whala! That’s it!  Here’s what the final meal looked like.

Enjoy!

And … this recipe also had a Tomato and Onion Salad with Crispy Baked Eggplant Dippers.

I normally try to make only one new recipe for dinner but this evening I made three of them. Whew! Talk about coordination!

Fortunately for me, all three recipes turned out great.

I started with the ingredients for the Herb and Garlic Sauce. The original recipe calls for 20 lamb chops and I only used two so I adjusted the recipe accordingly.

Here’s the recipe for the sauce.

Ingredients

• 1 handful fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 handful fresh mint leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, mashed
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Salt (to taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Directions

1. Add the parsley and mint leaves to your food processor or blender, followed by the garlic, olive oil and lemon juice.
2. Process these ingredients until you have a slightly coarse sauce then add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Mix again and taste it, adjusting the seasonings as you see fit.
4. Put the sauce in a small bowl and set this aside until ready to use.

This is what it will look like.

Next we’ll work on the Tomato and Onion Salad. Here are the ingredients — so simple and easy.

Ingredients

• A variety of cherry tomatoes, halved
• Red onion, sliced
• 3 parts extra virgin olive oil
• 1 part red-wine vinegar
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Add all the salad ingredients into a big salad plate and toss it all together.
2. Check the seasoning before serving.

That’s it!

Next we’ll work on the lamb chops. Again, I only bought two of them – one for me and one for hubby.  You’ll be trimming off the fat then drying them on paper towels.

Next, pour the olive oil over them and rub it in the chops. Season them with salt and pepper.

Heat your outdoor grill or your stovetop nice and hot. I like mine cooked well (no pink in the middle). The original recipe says you’ll be cooking them for 2 minutes on each side if you want them cooked medium so I doubled that time and they came out just fine.

And … here’s the result. Totally delicious.  Click here to see the recipe for the Crispy Baked Eggplant Dippers. So delicious, so simple —

Thanks to My Little Expat Kitchen for these two recipes. She has a wonderful blog with many new recipes to try and this one is truly paleo!