Simply Norma

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!

This Roasted Chicken Thighs with Lemon and Oregano is another great paleo recipe for chicken thighs.

Although the recipe is not labeled as paleo, I did not have to make any changes to it. I did have to, for the first time in my life, buy wine. Fortunately for me the recipe told me exactly which wine to get AND it was inexpensive. There are just a few ingredients to use besides the chicken thighs.

You’ll be putting the chicken in a skillet skin side down and allowing the skin to render then baking it in the oven.

After the chicken is rendered, you’ll be baking it in the oven and when it comes out, you’ll be making a broth of sorts with the spices and some of the lemon.

After the chicken is baked and rested, you’ll be putting it back into the broth to warm it.

Doesn’t it look beautiful?  It’s as beautiful as it is delicious.  Are you ready to try it?

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 4 large skin-on, boneless chicken thighs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 3 sprigs oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
• 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°.
2. Very thinly slice half of the lemon discarding any seeds.  Next, cut the remaining lemon half into 2 wedges and season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
3. Coat a large room-temperature skillet with 1 teaspoon oil.
4. Add the chicken, skin side down.
5. Place the skillet over medium heat and cook the chicken allowing the skin to render and brown. Pour off excess fat to maintain a thin coating in the pan until chicken is cooked halfway through, about 10 minutes.
6. Scatter half of the lemon slices over the chicken and half on the bottom of the skillet (the slices on top of the chicken will soften; those in the skillet will caramelize).
7. Transfer the skillet to the oven leaving the chicken skin side down.
8. Roast until the chicken is cooked through, skin is crisp, and the lemon slices on the bottom of the skillet are caramelized, 6-8 minutes.
9. Transfer the chicken pieces, skin side up, and caramelized lemon slices from the bottom of the skillet to a warm platter. (Leave softened lemon slices in the skillet.)
10. Return the skillet to medium heat.
11. Add oregano sprigs, shallot, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant — about a minute or so.
12. Remove the skillet from the heat.
13. Add the wine then cook over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by half, 1-2 minutes.
14. Add the broth then cook until the liquid thickens, about 3 minutes.
15. Squeeze 1 lemon wedge over the chicken and season the sauce with salt, pepper and the juice from the remaining lemon wedge, if desired.
16. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons oil (if you find this necessary — I did not).
17. Return the chicken to the skillet, skin side up, to rewarm.
18. Serve topped with caramelized lemon slices.

Wonderful meal! I served it with steamed vegetables.

Enjoy!

It’s still officially summer although the temperatures in Minnesota have been quite mild for August — in the 70’s. So, we’re still grilling (indoor and outdoors) and having “summer” food.

Here’s a new Egg and Potato Salad that I’ve revamped a wee bit. I used this recipe for the Paleo Mayonnaise instead of the one that the original recipe suggests as I didn’t want to buy avocado oil when I have plenty of olive oil in the cupboard. (The picture below shows a jar of honey but that’s because I haven’t re-labeled it to show that it has paleo mayonnaise in it.)

The hardest part of this recipe will be peeling and cutting up the potatoes into bite size pieces.

So — let’s try it and see how it goes. It tasted very good for having so few ingredients.

Ingredients

• 2 sweet potatoes, diced
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 4 eggs, hard boiled and diced
• 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard (or more if you like the taste of mustard)
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice (I used fresh lemon juice)
• Paleo Mayonnaise (you’ll be adding the mayonnaise a tablespoon at a time until it’s the right consistency for you)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Coat diced sweet potatoes in coconut oil then place them on a baking sheet and bake for 15-25 minutes until soft. After you remove them, let them cool.
3. Place eggs in a saucepan filled with water and let them boil for 8-10 minutes. Let them also cool then peel and dice them.
4.  Mix cooled sweet potatoes, eggs, onion, lemon juice and mayonnaise in a bowl.
5. Taste and sprinkle with salt and/or pepper if you wish.

And — here’s the final product.

I served this with baked salmon and it was a perfect side for it.

Enjoy!

Finally! A paleo bread that tastes and can be used like “real” bread. I am overjoyed — truly! I have not had much luck making bread products (although the rosemary biscuits I made came pretty close).

I am so excited to share this recipe with you. I made one loaf and have already made sandwiches for lunch and toast for breakfast. Oh boy oh boy!  Bread!

In addition, I was reading about the benefits of a couple of the ingredients that are used, i.e. arrowroot powder and flaxseed meal. There are a few links I gathered below on that topic so you can do some reading on your own.

I must warn you — my picture did not come out the best but don’t let that deter you from trying this recipe. You will enjoy this gluten and grain free bread as much as I did.

You’ll be mixing the ingredients all together.

And you’ll get this wonderful loaf!

Ready to try this recipe? No, no, you don’t have to thank me for finding it for you.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup Arrowroot Powder
• 1 cup Golden Flaxseed Meal
• 4 Eggs
• 4 Egg Whites
• 4 Tablespoons Walnut Oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Coarse Sea Salt (I used Kosher Salt)
• 4 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 teaspoons Cider Vinegar (I used Apple Cider Vinegar)
• Olive Oil Spray (for the bread loaf pan you’ll be using)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl then use a whisk to blend them together.
3. Combine all the wet ingredients and whisk them together to blend them also.
4. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend it all together.
5. Spray the bread loaf pan down with the oil.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the bread comes out clean.

You can also make muffins with these although I haven’t tried that yet. The directions for the muffins would be to bake 20-25 minutes then remove them from the oven when a toothpick inserted in the middle of one of them comes out clean.

The ideas for variations on this bread are endless. Perhaps I’ll try using cinnamon and raisins one day.

Benefits of using Arrowroot Powder

• More Than Alive
• Girl Meets Nourishment
• Nutrition and You

Benefits of using Flaxseed Meal

• Low Carb Diets
• The World’s Healthiest Foods
• Dr Oz – 3 Benefits of Flax

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  And a special thank you to Meghan at Paleo Effect for this recipe. You are a gem!