Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad) and Coconut Sticky Rice

During my month long stay in Thailand, and longer stay in Southeast Asia, I lived off street food. This led me to some unique, exotic, and sometimes unidentifiable surprises! My street food diet also led me to my all time favorite salad, Som Tum.  Back home, I sometimes see it on menus in Thai restaurants, but I wanted it MORE often, so I researched and tinkered with recipes until I learned how to make it right at home.  Making this fresh, easy, and healthy meal takes me back to my happy place, on the beach in Koh Tao.

This recipe requires some kitchen equipment and ingredients you may not have on hand, but a trip to your local Asian supermarket will fix you up with one stop, and within a reasonable budget. The first equipment hitch you may run into comes in shredding the green papaya. You can purchase pre-shredded papaya, but I prefer to buy it whole and shred it using a food processor with a shredding attachment.  You may substitute a cheese grater for the shredding, but it will take a bit longer. Lastly, and probably most critical for getting the flavors to come together is a mortar and pestle.  If you don't have a mortar and pestle, I recommend investing. It is an essential kitchen gadget for unlocking the authentic goodness of many spices and sauces, especially for curries (and delicious guacamole).

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 chili peppers, sliced 
• 2 roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped (or other small sweet/tangy tomato variety)
• 10 long beans, cut into 1 inch pieces (or green beans)
• 1 TBS fish sauce
• 1.5 TBS dried shrimp
• 1.5 TBS coconut sugar (or palm sugar)
• juice of 1 lime
• 4 TBS peanuts 
• 1 shredded green papaya (~3 cups; skin and seeds removed and shredded)

Optional garnishes (I recommend them all!)

• 1-2 cups green cabbage
• 1 chili pepper
• lime slices
• chopped peanuts
• Thai basil

Coconut Sticky Rice... (delicious side that is also a great reliever of the spiciness from the chilies)

• 1 cup rice (glutinous rice is the correct kind for real sticky rice, but jasmine works too)
• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp salt

Shred papaya or place pre-shredded papaya in a large bowl and set aside. 

If making coconut sticky rice, bring water, coconut milk and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Add rice, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, or as directed on the rice package. 

For the Som Tum, smash garlic in the mortar with the pestle. Add sliced chilies and smash a few times. Add the tomato and long beans and smash a few more times to release the juices of the tomatoes and breakdown the cellulose in the beans. 

Next, add the fish sauce, dried shrimp, sugar, lime juice and peanuts and continue smashing lightly until combined.

Use the spatula to scoop the smashed ingredients onto the shredded papaya and toss until combined. Arrange garnishes on a second plate and serve! Shown below with an extra side of ginger, red curry shrimp :)  Enjoy! 

  

Chicken and quinoa salad with kale, butternut squash and fresh apples

Sometimes it can be really really hard to eat well when you're in graduate school.  There aren't enough hours in the day. Lately, I have been trying very hard to make large batches of something delicious and healthy on Sunday's that I can have for lunch or dinner all week.  This week I had a pantry full of random ingredients, so I decided to toss them into a warm, fall inspired salad.



Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 small butternut squash, chopped
half onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch kale, separated from stems and shredded (stems are used too)
2/3 cup dry quinoa, prepared with stock or water
2 honey crisp apples, chopped
2+ TBS Olive Oil
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
1 TBS whole grain mustard
1 TBS agave nectar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 375F. Rinse, dry, trim, and rub chicken breasts with olive oil.  Sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and 1 clove of chopped garlic. Bake for ~25 minutes. Once baked and cooled, shred chicken using 2 forks.

While chicken is baking, prepare 2/3 cup of dry quinoa as directed on the package.  You can use stock to make it more flavorful, but I just used water.

Also while the chicken is cooking, sauté the chopped onions, 1 clove of garlic, butternut squash, and chopped kale stems until squash is fork tender.  (I was impatient and actually stuck the sauté pan in the oven after 5 minutes of sautéing to roast for an additional 20 minutes).

Once the quinoa is done, add the shredded kale to the pot. This allows the steam to wilt the kale down. Add the chopped apple once the kale has wilted down.

Whisk together the apple cider vinegar, mustard, and agave.  Once all ingredients are cooked, toss them together with the dressing and enjoy.

Makes 4 servings 
nutrition per serving

Calories: 320

Carbs: 40

Fat: 10

Protein: 20

Fiber: 9

Roasted Golden Beet & Carrot Salad

This morning I awoke to a wonderful box of fresh, organic veggies on the front porch courtesy of our CSA. Inside, I found full, leafy bunches of carrots and golden beets.  When you see a carrot or beet with it's full top on, it seems incredibly wasteful to not utilize those beautiful greens, so I got on interest for ideas.  Unfortunately, most of the recipes I found involved too many ingredients I didn't have and too many steps I just didn't feel like doing, so I scanned the ingredient and preparation instructions and concocted my own recipe.  The result… not the quickest recipe but fresh, colorful and blissfully delicious and healthy!

Ingredients 

1 large bunch golden beets

1 bunch beet greens, washed thoroughly

1 large bunch carrots

1 cup of carrot greens, trimmed and washed thoroughly

1 clove garlic, minced

olive oil

red wine vinegar

salt

pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp cayenne

parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat oven to 375

Remove the beet greens and set aside.  Remove and discard the beet tops and scrub beets thoroughly to remove dirt. Repeat same process with carrots.  Halve the golden beets and place then flat side down in a baking dish.  Fill the dish with 1 inch of water and cover with tin foil.  Drizzle the carrots with olive oil and place them on top of the tin foil sealed beet dish and roast vegetables for ~50-60 minutes or until all vegetables are fork tender.

When there is about 15 minutes left on the vegetables, boil a large pot of water for the beet greens.  Take the trimmed carrot greens, roll them into a ball and slice/ mince them once through.  After the first chop, drizzle the greens with olive oil, put one half the minced garlic, cayenne, salt and pepper on the greens and continue to mince through until well coated and well chopped. 

Once the water boils, place whole beet green stalks into the water and boil until wilted  (~5 minutes).  Once wilted, pour greens into a colander and rinse with cold water.  Shake out the greens, blot dry with a cloth if needed, and place them in the bottom of a serving dish.  Drizzle the greens with olive oil and set aside.  

Remove the beets and carrots from the oven.  Peel the beets and slice the vegetables how you like (I did carrots on an angle and beets in thin strips). Toss the slice vegetables in red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin, and the other half of the minced clove of garlic, and then pour the dressed vegetables on top of the beet greens.  

Top the vegetables with the minced carrot greens and shave fresh parmesan to top.  

NOM! 

GG

* I didn't take a picture because I didn't think it would be delicious or blog worthy, but I will definitely be making this again soon, so picture to come… 

Banana Yogurt Bread

Your basic banana bread with a healthy twist

Ingredients 
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1/8 cup golden toasted flax seeds
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup room temp butter (can use 1/4 if you want but Chris and Justin love the buttery taste)
1/8 cup plain greek yogurt (use 1/4 if you use 1/4 cup butter)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 room temp eggs
2 overripe bananas
1+ tsp vanilla

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 F, and prepare your baking pan (9x 5 loaf or 9x13 baking pan as pictured above) with butter and a light dusting of flour.

In one bowl, wisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flax seed and set aside

In a separate bowl, beat butter and yogurt.  Blend in brown sugar.  Beat in vanilla and then eggs one at a time (eggs and butter don't have to be room temp but it helps keep the bread lighter). Fold in peeled/mashed bananas until just combined.

Add combined wet ingredients in batches into the bowl of dry ingredient.  Fold mixtures together until just combined; be careful not to over mix because that makes the bread bake up heavier.

Spread batter in prepared pan and bake 30-35 minutes for a 9x13 pan or 50-55 for a regular 9x5 loaf pan. Baking can be be variable, so check the bread 5 minutes early to make sure it is cooking evenly.  When a knife or toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly, remove bread from the oven and set aside on a wire rack to cool.

Enjoy!
GG

Nutrition
(serving size= 1 slice; 16 slices per batch)
Calories:  168
Fat: 7 g
Carb: 24 g
Fiber: 1 g
Sugar: 12 g
Protein: 3 g

Warm Bacon & Brussel Sprout Salad

I like to play the game "can I make something delicious?" using only what is left in the fridge.  Sometimes it's a miss, but sometimes it's a hit, and I think this recipe was a game winner!

Ingredients 
20 brussel sprouts, trimmed and sliced
6 baby bella mushrooms (or any other mushroom variety) sliced
1 (15 oz.) can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 slices of thick bacon, fried and crumbled
2 tsp organic maple syrup (the real stuff)
salt
pepper

Directions 
Pan fry the strips of bacon.  Remove bacon, place on paper towels, and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium. Using the bacon drippings (or drain and use olive oil), sauté sliced mushrooms until they begin to caramelize.  Add sliced brussels sprouts and continue to sauté until they begin to wilt, about 5 minutes. During the sauté process, add in black pepper to your liking.

Once brussel spouts and mushrooms are cooked, add in chickpeas and crumble or rough chop the bacon and add that to the mix.  Toss ingredients together in pan until heated through.

Transfer to a serving bowl.  Add maple syrup and a few pinches of salt to give it that salty sweet character and serve warm!

Enjoy :)
gg

Key Lime Cupcakes with Pinnacle Whipped Frosting

The Summer sun has me thinking of crazy baking concoctions... 

Cream cheese frosting would be the traditional complement to Key Lime cupcakes, but who wants traditional ALL the time?  A stabilized whipped frosting will be lighter in taste and calories, which keeps in theme with the event at hand... the lovely Kelly Hirschbeck's Bachelorette Party! 

Cupcakes (adapted from Bon Appetit 2008)

*1 and 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
*1 tsp baking powder
*1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
*1+1/2 cups sugar
*2 eggs, room temp
*3 TBS key lime juice
*1 TBS Lime zest
*3/4 cup buttermilk ( or 3/4 cup milk + 1tsp lemon juice, set for 10 minutes)

Preheat oven to 350F, whisk dry ingredients together, cream butter then add sugar and beat in eggs 1 at a time.  Beat in lime+zest (batter may look curdled but don't worry), add buttermilk and dry mix alternately in 3 additions each then spoon a SCANT 1/3 cup into lined cupcake wells.

Bake 18-25 minutes.  My oven cooks things fast.  Overdone cupcakes= heavy and BLA

Whipped Frosting

*1/4 cup whipped vodka
*2 tsp unflavored gelatin
*1 cup heavy whipping cream
*1 tsp lime juice
*1/4 cup powdered sugar

Chill mixing bowl and beater for 15 minutes (while cupcakes are baking/cooling)

In small saucepan on LOW, warm lime juice and half the vodka and sprinkled with gelatin until gelatin is disolved (apx 5 minutes).  If vapor starts to come off the mix remove it from the heat because that is your alcohol being vaporized! 

 Once gelatin is completely dissolved, add the other half of the vodka, whisking constantly.

Whip cream and sugar until beater marks begin to appear in the cream.  Steadily pour the vodka Jello into the cream, beating consistently and continue to beat until soft peaks start to form.  

Icing pipes well if used immediately. Enjoy! 

Tom Yum Goong (Spicy Sour Thai Lemongrass soup)

Authentic Thai food is edible art- unique ingredients and techniques combined to create amazing flavors that are healthy and delicious. Tom YUMMMM is a beginner recipe.  The secret of Thai food is the spices and fresh ingredients, some of which can be hard to find. Everything below can be found at a specialty or asian market fairly easily. 

2-3 Servings

·         2 chili peppers

·         5 sprigs cilantro

·         2 tablespoon fish sauce

·         ½ clove garlic

·         3 kaffir lime leaves

·         1 lemongrass (3 slices~ 2-3 inches)

·         1  lime juiced

·         1 cup sliced mushrooms, cabbage and carrot

·         1 tablespoon Nam Prig Pow/Pad 

·         1 cup shrimp

·         4 cups water

Boil water
 Slice/smash the lemongrass to release flavor and boil for 5 mins

Peel and de-vein the shrimp 

Combine fish sauce and lime juice and divide into serving bowls
Crush chili pepper and set aside

Add de-stemed kaffir lime leaves, garlic, vegetables, and several sprigs cilantro and boil 5 minutes

Add the shrimp and simmer till just orange

Scoop shrimp and liquid into the serving bowls to serve immediately

Add the nam prig pow/pad, cilantro, chili pepper, fish sauce, and lime to taste

**do NOT use stock for this recipe if you want it to taste authentic. The herbs and shrimp make the "stock" 

Baked Mango Oatmeal

..... because Sunday Brunch is the best meal of the week!

**still to be tried**

2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup Turbinado Sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1 TBS chia
1 cup sliced mangos
1 cup coconut milk (I use Trader Joe's unsweetened and reduced fat)
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
butter for greasing


Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 11x7" baking dish with butter 

Mix oats, sugar, baking powder, spices, salt, chia and coconut

whisk egg, add sugar, stir in vanilla and then fold in mango and oatmeal mixture

If you see fit, top oatmeal with sliced mango, bananas, walnuts, brown sugar, etc 

Bake 30-40 minutes or until the top is nicely golden brown and set

Berry Oatmeal Yogurt Muffins

I woke up craving blueberry muffins BUT the best/closest thing I had on hand for baking was blueberry greek yogurt and raspberry preserves.  Fear not! I can make this work...

*1 and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

*1 cup quick-cooking oats

*1/2 cup raw turbinado sugar (or packed brown sugar)

*2 tsps baking powder

*1/2 tsp salt

*1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

*1/2 tsp baking soda

*pinch nutmeg

*pinch or two of cardamom (if you have it)

*1 egg

*1 container (6 oz) blueberry yogurt

*2 TBS coconut oil + extra to prepare in the muffin tin

Combine all the dry ingredients 

Combine wet (egg, yogurt and oil) gently

Fold dry and wet together just until combined (over-mixing=heavy muffins)

Coat muffin pan with coconut oil or cooking spray or butter or paper liners and fill each cup halfway with batter.  Add a dollop of raspberry jam to each and then add more muffin batter.  Overall, each muffin well should be 3/4+ way full 

Bake at 400F for 17-20 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the middle and comes out clean

**Possible additions: chia seeds, walnuts, real berries**

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus with Poached Eggs and Quinoa

Breakfast for dinner with a twist!

Breakfast for dinner has become a hump day staple in our house. My farmer's market purchases of thick-cut bacon, asparagus and duck eggs plus this AMAZING food porn photo from The Chive inspired me to kick up our Wednesday breakfast this week...

1 lb asparagus spears, trimmed 
EVOO
sea salt and black pepper
4-8 slices bacon
Chives
Fresh parsley
1 cup quinoa prepared in chicken stock
4-8 duck or chicken eggs
white vinegar (see AB's egg poaching rules below)

Get your quinoa simmering in chicken stock with some garlic or what have you...

Lightly coat asparagus with olive oil, season with black pepper and divide into 4 bunches.  Wrap each bunch with one or two slices of bacon and secure with toothpicks.

You could roast these in the oven at 400F till the bacon is crispy, but it's Summer so toss those suckers on the grill (by toss I mean place gently) for 10-12 mins/till bacon is crispy

For poached eggs, I follow Mr. Alton Brown's how-to...

1) Add 1-inch of water to a non-stick skillet
2) Acidulate water with 1 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice per each cup of water
3) Boil
4) Deliver eggs to the pan with a custard cup or large spoon 
5) Remove pan from heat and cover
6) For hardly runny yolks cook 4 eggs for 7-8 mins (more eggs will take longer)
7) Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel to absorb extra water

To assemble... plate quinoa, add an asparagus bunch, top with 1 or 2 eggs, sprinkle with chopped chives, parsley and salt/pepper to taste.  

Viola...

Not quite as foodie porn as the inspiring picture but tasted darn good.

Roasted Brussel Sprout and Garbanzo Salad

Just about every healthy ingredient I love so much in one place...

2 handfuls of almonds, toasted and chopped 

1 lb Brussel sprouts, trimmed and quartered

2 TBS olive oil... just eyeball it... 

salt and pepper

3/4 cup quinoa

1 1/2 cup stock

2+ TBS Lemon juice (I tossed in a dash of apple cider vinegar for good measure too)

half bunch of fresh Parsley, chopped

1 can garbanzo beans, 

1 clove fresh garlic chopped 

*Toast the almonds for 5-10 minutes at 400F being careful not to burn them. 

*Toss prepared brussel sprouts in olive oil, sprinkle withsalt and pepper and roast for 20-25 mins.  The loose leave may burn a little so shake the pan every once in awhile but don't worry. They still taste good!   

*Cook quinoa in stock as directed on package

*Once everything is done, stir it up and serve warm or chilled

We made this to go with cider BBQ chicken sandwiches with white cheddar, but it is a totally satisfying meal on it's own.... I'm having it for lunch right now! Could toss some craisins in there too now that I think of it. 

Quinoa Granola Bars

Granola bars are expensive and full of sugar/preservatives.  Make them healthier at home and save some $$

1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup quinoa
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup pecans
1/2 cup craisins
4 TBS Chia seeds
2 overripe bananas

*you can mix infinite variations- chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, dried cherries, plums, prunes, raisins, flax, almond butter, etc...

You can combine everything in a food processor, but I just stirred all the dry ingredients together, processed the banana and then combined.  If you want to add almond or peanut butter process it with the bananas.

Use a cookie cutter (I used the handle of my cheese grater because I wanted bar shaped bars) and arrange on a baking sheet.

Bake 15-20 mins at 325 F.

Store in the fridge and eat within a week.... not a problem at my house... they're usually gone in 2 days

200 calories with 8 g protein and 6 g of fiber

Mini Apple Pies

No mere cake will do to celebrate the love of my life's birthday! 

A little more labor intensive than making one crust, but they will save time in serving, and they're so darn cute...

Crust
2 cups flour
2/3 cup butter softened
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
(4 tablespoons water)

Filling 
5 medium granny smith apples peeled and chopped
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter 

Directions
Blend all crust ingredients (except water) together until they blend and clump together into little balls. Then, slowly add water and blend until the mixture looks like it's sticking.  Once it reaches a sticky consistency, continue to combine dough with your hands and form a ball. 

Roll crust dough ball out on a lightly floured surface, and cut out 12 x 4 inch circles (you can use a cup or bowl with a 4" diameter). Leftover crust trimmings can be used used for lattice pie tops. 

Press each circle into a well of the muffin tin and roll edges. Mix filling ingredients and spoon into muffin bowls. Decorate them with extra crust or crunch top and a few dots of butter.  

Bake at 425 degrees for 16-18 minutes (until crust is light brown and apples are bubbling). After cooling they loosen easily with a knife or spoon and come right out.  Add vanilla ice cream and good to go!

Kale and Potato Soup

My friend Diana made this last month and sent me the recipe.  She's a genius in the kitchen


3-4 yukon gold potatoes
1 bunch of kale (I used a mix of Red Russian and Lucitano)
1 large container stock
1 C water
1+ cup of wine (Diana used white. I used red.  As long as it's dry, use what ya got)
4 stalks of celery
3 cloves of garlic
1 yellow onion
1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
4 sprigs of rosemary
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
olive oil

Toppings

Marscapone!!!

Olive Oil

Bread 

I didn't try the croutons but the Marscapone really really makes it

Dice onion, celery and garlic and add to large stock pot on medium with a drizzle of olive oil, rosemary and thyme with the stems attached (remove them before serving), and wine and cook till veggies are tender 

Add cubed potatoes, fire roasted tomatoes, broth, and water. Season with fresh ground pepper and sea salt. Simmer on medium-low heat for a 1-2 hours stirring occasionally and adding extra seasoning, water, or wine if necessary

Remove herb stems. 15-ish minutes before you are ready to eat, chop and add kale to the mix. I like it better when the kale is bright green and partially firm. If you put in the kale for too long it turns mushy and looses flavor

If you want bread crumbs, cube bread, add to a pan on med-high heat with olive oil. Turning frequently until golden brown. Season with salt and place on paper towels to absorb any extra oil, then crush into course crumbs

SERIOUSLY try the marscapone :) 

Superfood Soup

(i.e. Chicken, Kale and Quinoa Soup)

This was one of those, what do I have lying around the house? kind of soups.  Affectionately named Superfood Soup by Matt, for the presence of kale and quinoa.  Adapted from Cookin With Chopin, Living with Elmo.  (http://cookingwithchopin.blogspot.com/2011/01/chicken-and-kale-soup.html.)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced 
6 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped (I threw in a little of the celery greens, too)
2 teaspoons kosher salt (plus more to taste)
Fresh cracked pepper
4 cups chicken stock (or broth)
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary 
1 teaspoon dried sage 
1 teaspoon dried thyme 
2 bay leaves 
1 bunch fresh kale, chopped 
1 1/4 cup quinoa (rinsed)
1.5 pounds chicken (I used what I had leftover from the night before)

In a large stockpot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onions, and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring often.  Then add carrots and celery and saute for about 10 minutes.  Add kosher salt and some fresh cracked pepper for the last two minutes of the saute. Add the chicken stock and herbs and let it come to a boil.  At that point throw in the kale, allowing it to boil for 5 minutes or so.  Add the quinoa and let it cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The quinoa won't look very prevalant, but trust me, it will be dominant in the soup when it's done cooking.  For the last 5 minutes add the chicken, just to heat it up.

The original recipe called for canned white beans and diced tomatoes, neither of which I had on hand, but my end result was excellent!

Total cooking time: 45 minutes.

~Shae

Paleo Banana Cardamom Bread

The ingredients are a little pricey, but once you have them they will last you.  I was doubtful, but this may be my favorite banana bread yet, paleo or regular

Paleo Banana Cardamom Bread 

Ingredients
■2 cups blanched almond flour
■1/3 cup unsweetened coconut 
■2 teaspoons ground cardamom
■1 teaspoon baking soda
■1 teaspoon cinnamon
■1/4 teaspoon salt
■1 cup of mashed ripe banana (approximately 2)
■4 large eggs
■1/4 cup maple syrup
■1/3 cup liquified coconut oil (butter or ghee)
■2 teaspoons vanilla extract



Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2.Grease 2 loaf pan (8x4).
3.Combine/sift dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
4.Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl and whisk together (or use a stand mixer).
5.Pour dry ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
6.into loaf pans and smooth the tops.
7.Bake for about 40-50 minutes.* (Banana bread is done when a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean.)
8.Remove banana bread loaf from oven, let it cool in the pan for a few minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
9.Store in the refrigerator.

Crock pot Paleo Gumbo

I have become a little obsessed with my crockpot lately to help with our Paleo transition.

I saw paleo gumbo on another blog a few days ago, and it got me craving cajun. I couldn't find a crock pot version I liked, so I read some traditional recipes and some paleo alternatives and this is their love child....

Ingredients
*1 lb andouille sausage, sliced
*1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
*1 lb chicken breasts
*2 slices thick cut pepper bacon (I removed some of the excess fat, but you don't have to)
*4 cups chicken stock
*1 onion
*1 cup celery
*1 small red bell pepper
*1 small yellow bell pepper
*1 small green bell pepper
*3-4 cloves garlic
*3 oz tomato paste or 2 TBS of concentrated tomato paste
*1 can diced tomatoes
*1/2 tsp garlic powder
*1/2 tsp onion powder
*2 tsp smoked paprika
*2 bay leaves
*1 tsp thyme
*1 tsp oregano
*2 tsp cajun spice (I got a blend from WinCo, which is my favorite new supermarket)
*1/2 tsp cayenne
**** Rice ingredients and recipe below (yes, paleo rice.... prepare to be amazed...)

Gumbo Instructions

1) Dice the onions, peppers, celery, bacon and garlic and add to crock pot

2) Add spices, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes and stir it up then add chicken stock and stir again

3) Submerge whole chicken breasts in the mix 

4) Cook on low for 3-4 hours

5) Remove chicken breasts and use 2 forks to shred chicken

6) Add chicken and sliced andouille sausage 

7) Cook on low for another 3-4 hours

*If you're setting it and forgetting it, you can add the sausage in the beginning and shred the chicken before you serve it.  This way just makes the chicken soak up more of the flavor 

8) 20 minutes before finished cooking, add the shrimp and start making the "rice"

Rice Ingredients
*1 head cauliflower
*2 tbs olive or coconut oil
*1 clove garlic
*1/2 tsp garlic powder
*1/2 tsp thyme
*1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
*1/3 cup chicken stock
*salt to taste

1) remove stems and process cauliflower in food processor into "rice-sized"pieces
2) heat oil and garlic in a saucepan till garlic becomes fragrant
3) add cauliflower rice, pour over saucepan and bring to a sizzle/simmer
3) add spices and sauté the mix for 10-15 minutes

Put rice in a bowl, top with gumbo goodness, and MAGIC!

Delicious, healthy, worth the effort :) My boyfriend said it was the best thing I've made in a long time.  BOOM.

Curly Kale Chips

I have a TON of kale, from our organic community farm share.  Not a huge fan of wilted kale (it reminds me of cooked spinach) I was looking for something else to do.  I've heard a lot about Kale Chips, and as I had the material and it takes little to no time to prepare, I figured I would try it out.

~10 kale leaves (it cooks down a lot, and is seriously addicting, so the amount you do really should depend on how much you will eat)
2 Tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea salt
Pepper
Shredded Locatelli Romano cheese

Tear the kale away from the purple stems in handfuls.  Larger chips tended to be harder for me to eat, so I would recommend pieces between 2 and 3 inches.
Toss the kale in a bowl with the olive oil, salt and pepper until well coated.
Coat the baking sheets with cooking spray and spread out your kale pieces, so not very many of them are touching.

Bake your kale chips at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.  At 10 minutes I tested one, and mine were done.

Put in a bowl and toss the chips with a little cheese and salt (I love salt...) and enjoy!

~Shae

Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup

This recipe came from having lots of good ingredients and a little boredom on hand.  I had a bone-in venison roast from the crock pot made the day before that needed to be used, but this soup would be GREAT with sausage.  Frozen squash reduced down with the broth and made a very good base.  Fresh squash may do the same, but I think it would leave chunks of squash.  This is a seriously healthy soup that tured out really delicious too

Extra virgin olive oil (of course)
1/2 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb bone in roast chopped or 1 package hot Italian sausage, cut in small pieces
3 celery stalks, chopped
3 carrots peeled and chopped
1 package frozen butternut squash (or fresh if ya got it- peeled, cleaned, and cut)
8 cups low sodium beef broth
1 bunch kale, sliced
1 TBS ground cumin
1 TBS paprika
1 dash cayenne
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp fresh basil
salt to taste
1 cup dry lentils
1/4 cup dry quinoa

Heat oil over medium heat.  Cook onions and garlic until turn transluscent (don't burn the garlic!).  Add celery, carrots, and meat (if using cooked roast or already browned anad drained sausage, cook the veggies till softened first).  Add squash, spices, broth, and lentils and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about an hour or until the lentils cook.  Return to a boil and add quinoa and kale then reduce and simmer for length of time it takes to cook whatever kind of quinoa you're using. 

Sweet and Spicy Pasta

1 package of quinoa pasta (or regular pasta)
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 onion
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1+ cup chopped kale
4 cloves garlic
Chopped basil
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
8 oz feta or other salty crumbly cheese

Boil the pasta. sauté onion in oil, add garlic, add chopped peppers, add kale and spices. Sauté until cooked to your preference (5-10 mins). Toss saucers veggies in pasta and add feta.

This is so easy, very healthy, sweet/spicy/ and a little salty from the feta. I served with baked lemon basil salmon.