Before I move onto food I just want to say I hope you guys have a wonderful week filled with whatever is refreshing after such an emotionally draining time for our country. As a runner, and more importantly a human being, I was horrified to hear such a cowardly act had been committed against innocent people at Boston. I have never once felt unsafe in any race that I have participated in and as a pseudo member of EMS I cannot begin to thank the countless first responders, both official and unofficial, that helped save so many lives in Boston and at the explosions in West TX. Despite the capture of one of the accused bombers we may never fully know his motives and there may never be an answer to "why." I hope that we all can now appreciate and focus on how much good there is around us. Don't let the selfish and evil acts of a few individuals cast doubt on the whole. Just reading all the stories of those helping during such an awful time proves otherwise...there is good out there. So, hug those you love tighter and cherish every breath you take...happy eating...
Saturday:
- New York Strip, Roasted Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus, and Field Green Salad. I love food and this meal in all it's simplicity just makes me love it even more. We went to a friends house for dinner so I can't take real credit for this meal, but they know our food preferences and we know they truly love us because we ate a "Paleo" dinner!!! The best part of this dinner was that even though it looked fancy, it was a quick meal that was easily prepped before we got there and was pretty much hands off until it was time to eat...the guys manned the grill and the girls manned the red wine...someones got make sure the wine feels loved!!! (The best part was the flour-less chocolate cake and raspberry sorbet for dessert...I'm going to need that recipe!)
Sunday:
- Pork Tenderloin and Steamed Broccoli. I was short on time this week too (becoming a trend...) so I just rubbed the pork tenderloin with some coconut oil and sprinkled it with salt/pepper/Italian seasoning in the morning before I went to work and then just sliced it in medallions and quickly fried them up in some more coconut oil. Steamed broccoli and clarified butter..yum..this is one of the reasons I chop ALL my veggies on grocery day. They all get placed in bags in the fridge so I don't have to wasted extra time when I'm running late and need a quick veggie. I also do it so when I'm having my 2pm hungry episode I can just grab a handful of them and some homemade ranch and move on with my day (which might be happening as I type!)
Monday:
- Cilantro Chicken and Roasted Veggies. Shockingly...I forgot to set out my chicken last night so instead of it being just the perfect firmness for chopping into cubes (this was supposed to be a kabob type recipe) it was hard as concrete so I just decided I'd change it up. I pulsed the ingredients in my blender and then dumped it all in a bag and decided I would just grill these guys up whole with as much marinade as possible. And they turned out AMAZING. The hubs doesn't eat with us on Monday nights and on Tuesday when he reheated them up for lunch I got a text that said "how did you cook these they're so delicious" For the roasted veggies I just dumped brussel sprouts, chopped zucchini and some mushrooms on a baking sheet, tossed them with coconut oil (always my oil of choice for roasting due to it's ability to maintain stability at higher temps than olive oil...)
Marinade Ingredients:
Juice of 1 lime
1 bunch of cilantro (just cut most of the leaves off)
6 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
Tuesday:
- Lemon Garlic Shrimp over Cauliflower Mash. WARNING!!! This does have some Parmesan cheese in it!!!! BUT I won't put it in next time, not that I'm that hardcore, just that it didn't add enough flavor to the dish to make it worth it to me. If I'm going to deviate I want it to be the most amazing thing I could possibly think about eating...and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese just doesn't fit that category. This dish was so flavorful and full of depth I can't wait to make it again. I did double the sauce because that's what I do and am so glad I did!!
Wednesday:
- Tilapia and Sauteed Carrots. I didn't use many recipes this week, sorry about that. I find myself doing that more and more because it's just easier for me to piece together our favorites. I think one of the best things about eating Paleo is that I have gained more of an understanding of herbs and spices. They add so much depth and flavor that I can't imagine not cooking without them. This is one example. I love my tilapia with dill and lemon now. It just blends so well with the lightness of the fish. So that's what I did, melted some clarified butter in a pan, threw in my tilapia, sprinkled it with dill/salt/pepper and then gave it a little squeeze of lemon juice to make a nice little sauce. For the carrots I just tossed them in a pan with some melted butter and let them cook up until they were tasty morsels of sweetness.
If you don't want to spend time chopping veggies tomorrow night, do it all tonight
Thursday:
- Rainbow Chicken. One pan cooking at it's finest!!! This was super easy, since I put it together the night before it was super easy when I walked in to start fixing dinner. I just uncovered it and threw it in the oven. I did add some extra sweet potatoes in place of the white potato, but if you like parsnips (not a fan over here) then that would work as a good sub too. This wasn't the most amazingly flavorful dish I've made, but it was super convenient and I'm sure it'll get called on again!
Make sure to read Friday's recipe ahead of time, it calls for the roast to get the rub placed the night before, wrapped in saran wrap and then put in the crock pot with the extra stuff the next day for cooking. I just prepped all my crockpot ingredients and put it in the fridge too so all I had to do was add my roast in the morning and it was ready at dinner time
Friday:
- Cuban Pulled Pork and Peas. This got rave reviews from the hubs and kids...I ate it only as leftovers and it was still marvelous. The mix of savory and sweet in this dish is perfect. It's got such a subtle smokiness that was not lost at all. I was incredibly pleased with this and will for sure keep it around as one of my meals to have prepped for the hubs to manage while I'm working. And peas...who can go wrong with some peas!
Staples
- Salt
- Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Coconut Oil
- Italian Seasoning
- Garlic (I think I went through 3-4 heads this week....)
- Oregano
- Chicken broth (check the labels on these too...most have added sugar!!)
- Clarified butter
- Dill
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Red Wine Vinegar
- Onion
- Dijon Mustard
- Cayenne Pepper
- Allspice
- Chili Powder
- Cinnamon
- Honey
Fruits
- (6) Limes
- (2) Lemons
- (1) Orange
Veggies
- Asparagus
- Salad
- Mushrooms
- Broccoli
- Brussel Sprouts
- Zucchini
- Cauliflower
- Carrots
- Sweet Potatoes
- (2) Bell Peppers
- Peas
Meat
- New York Strip (or whatever steak is on sale, my ultimate fave is the rib eye)
- Prosciutto (read the ingredients, look for one with the fewest and no sugar)
- Pork Tenderloin
- 1lb Chicken Breast
- 1lb Shrimp (raw, I did that once...bought cooked shrimp for a recipe)
- Bacon
- Tilapia
- 1 1/4lb Chicken Thighs
- 3lb Pork Shoulder Roast
Etc
- Salad Dressing (just whip up your own, you'll spend 10 hours looking for one in the store that isn't full of junk)
- Cilantro
- Parmesan cheese, if you dare :-)
- White wine
- Fresh oregano (didn't use it FYI)
No comments:
Post a Comment