Curried Chicken Bites w/Sweet Potato Noodles

While the prep on this one can take a bit of time, the ingredient list is short and and the directions are simple. Not to mention the cook time is less than 10 minutes!

I got the chicken idea from PaleoBites over on Instagram - go check out her stuff she's pretty awesome! As for the noodles, those came from the Caveman himself and you can get the recipe directly here.

Without further ado, let's begin the recipe portion! I usually make enough for leftovers, so I am going to give you exactly what I used.

Curried Chicken:

3 chicken breast, cut into large chunks
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tbsp each fresh cracked pepper and sea salt

Place chicken chunks into a large ziplock bag. Add garlic and spices. Zip bag closed and shake vigorously to coat chicken chunks with seasonings.

In a saute pan (or  an electric skillet, my fave thing to cook in) heat 2 tbsp coconut oil. Add chicken to pan and allow to cook 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.

Don't stir too often, you want the pieces to get a little crispy!

See those brown edges? Yeah those are the best.

Sweet Potato Noodles:

Rinse and peel 2 sweet potatoes. I used white ones as they have a milder flavour and my husband actually liked them. He's not a sweet potato fan =) Using a mandolin, carefully thinly slice the poatoes. Then, using a knife, cut each of those slices into strips.

I guess I forgot to take a pic of them cooking, but here is what I did. I only had a wok style pan to use and this would have worked better in a standard saute pan. I put 2 tbsp Kerrygold salted butter and about 1tbsp coconut oil in the pan over a medium high heat. Once heated, I added the noodles and tossed them around to coat them. Allow them to cook 5-8 minutes or until they are at a consistency you prefer. I overcooked them a teensy bit and they lost some of their noodle-y nature and ended up more like pieces. 

In the bottom of the bowl, I added sea salt, pepper, and cinnamon. I put the now cooked potatoes back in the bowl and stirred them to coat with seasonings.

So, in less than 10 minutes cook time (and about 15 minutes prep time) we sat down to eat:

It was really, really tasty! My husband loved it, and he hasn't ever eaten curry that he liked. This pleased me greatly! 

You could very easily turn this into something more traditional by adding some coconut milk to the pan and some sweet peppers, onions, and pineapple or something similar. But it was so easy without those things and that was the best part of this recipe.

Happy cooking!

Kale Pesto and Roasted Tomato Sauce Spaghetti

Okay, I'm not the best at titles!

Today I decided to mess around and make some pesto using the ginormous leaves from my newly acquired basil plant and some kale that I had. I would suggest using a recipe if you are worried about quantities. Me? I walk the wild side and eyeball things. This isn't always a good idea, but sometimes it works out!

On the upside: this pesto tasted awesome when mixed into something.
On the downside: it's a tad bitter on its own due to the kale.

Pesto:
Basil (I used about 10 large leaves)
Kale (I only used a bit, maybe 1/8C chopped)
2-3 garlic cloves
Crushed/diced pecans (2-3 tbsp you can use pinenuts if you prefer)
Olive Oil (1/4C or so - start small, you can always add)
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Blend furiously in the Cuisinart until smooth. Voila!

Then I had to decide what to do with the green goodness that I created. I had already intended to make spaghetti squash for dinner, so I got the squash into the oven and formulated a plan. Remember the steak recipe from the other night, and the can of Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes that I only used half of? Yep, those were definitely going to be part of my plan. And some grass fed beef for good measure, because what's a meal without protein? (Hint: not a meal).

This is what came of it all:

And yeah, it was definitely awesome. Not too heavy, which is great because it's in the triple digits outside. But the flavours all blended well and I was very pleased with it.

To cook the squash:

Preheat oven to 375

Slice squash in half and clean out seeds

Place halves open side down in a large casserole dish

Add ~3/4" of water to the dish

Place in oven and bake for 30-45 minutes (depending on how well your oven cooks)

Once squash is cooked it shreds easily with a fork. I placed the squash "noodles" into a large bowl and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a dash of olive oil to help it all spread around. If you aren't avoiding butter you could use Kerrygold or some other grassfed butter instead.

For the sauce:

In a large pan, brown 1lb grassfed beef. (If you don't use grassfed, be sure to drain off the fat before adding the other ingredients). Season beef with salt and pepper. 

Once browned, add 1/2C kale pesto and mix well. Once mixed, add the 1/2 can tomatoes. Reduce heat to simmer and allow to cook for 5 minutes or so. Taste to see if it needs more salt as oftentimes the tomatoes are unsalted.

This made approximately 3 servings, but it depends on your appetite. Could easily simply feed 2 people but you won't be left feeling like you ate too much. Also with the addition of a side of some sort this could very easily stretch to 4 people without issue.

Ohmergerh, a new fave snack has emerged!

After a rousing morning of wandering through the outlet mall in search of The Perfect Running Shoe (to no avail, alas), I worked up quite a hunger. This was further enhanced by another 40 minutes spent at the grocery store wandering up and down aisles to see what they had and how prices compared to other places. By the time we got back home, I was ravenous! As I put groceries away, I also eyeballed my available options and came up with the following:

A. B. P. T. Salad
(Avocado Basil Pecan and Tomato Salad)

2 small avocados
3 basil leaves
1 roma tomato (or 1/2 if it is large)
A sprinkling of pecans
Salt and Pepper
A dash of balsamic vinegar

To make: Scoop avocados into a small bowl. Chop basil and sprinkle over the top. Mash together vigorously. Dice up tomato, (I prefer larger chunks) and add to bowl. Crush up pecans and add them too. Salt and pepper, pour your balsamic over the top and stir it all together. Et voila! A tasty snack.

Now that I am done, however, it would be INFINITELY better with some cubed up or shredded chicken. Possibly a bit of fresh garlic or a teensy bit of onion if that's more to your taste. And then wrapped in a lettuce wrap. OMG.

Yeah I could totally eat another helping.

Pan Fried Steak and Peppers

Hello dear readers! I am not so great about posting frequently but that hopefully will change now that we have finally moved and are settled in.

Being here in a new city is allowing us to really have truly a fresh start again, and I am thrilled to be here. We are close to a Trader Joe's, a Whole Foods, and a number of other grocery stores. This is a welcome change! We were able to stock the fridge with some really awesome goodies, and NO CRAP food. (I am secretly very thrilled about this).

Anywhoodles, we came home yesterday from being out for awhile and the Mister was very hungry. So I just raided the fridge, pulled out some stuff, and this is was I came up with:

Now, in our new apartment we can't have a grill so I wasn't able to grill the zucchini which is what I would have preferred. I made everything in my electric skillet, just because it was easier, but I would have preferred to grill the zucchini, cook the peppers and onions in a regular frying pan, and then just pan fry the steak in the skillet. This keeps it from getting too hot in the house when it's over 100 degrees outside =)

Instead, I first cooked the onions and peppers in the skillet. I then moved them to a bowl and covered them with tin foil to maintain heat. After everything else was cooked I threw them back in the pan to warm them up quickly (20 seconds or so). After those were cooked, I added coconut oil to the pan and then cooked up my steaks. Lastly, I laid the zucchini strips in the pan and let them cook down. Cooking everything in the same pan did allow the flavours to blend and I did not need to season a bunch.

INGREDIENTS

2 New York Strip steaks, about .65lb ea

2 small zucchini's, sliced lengthwise into strips

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 each red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, cut into strips

1/2 can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes, divided

SPICES

Sea Salt

Fresh Cracked Pepper

Paprika

Oregano

Cumin

Cardamon

Cocoa powder (unsweetened)

Coconut oil 

I don't use measurements for spices, because oftentimes I really think it's to your own personal taste. I like to season my steaks well, and then lightly season other things. This time I accidentally used too much cumin on the peppers. A little cumin goes a long way!

Pull out the steaks and allow them to rest and come to room temp about 30 minutes prior to cooking. Just before you are ready to put them in the pan, season them with the following:

1 minced garlic clove each

Fresh Cracked Pepper

Cumin

Cardamon

Paprika

Cocoa Powder (a little goes a long way, so just a sprinkle)

I salt my steak just before I serve it. This works really well for me!

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Serves 2 people

In a pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp or so coconut oil (I use Tropical Traditions Gold Label). Add 1 clove garlic and the chopped onions. Allow the onions and garlic to sweat and become fragrant (about 3 minutes). Give them a stir and add the peppers. Add seasoning: cumin, cardamon, salt, pepper. After the peppers have cooked down a bit (about 3-4 minutes), add in about 1/2 cup Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes. Cook for another 3-4 minutes - longer if you don't want your peppers too firm.  Put them to the side until ready to serve.

In the skillet, heat 3 tbsp coconut oil. Once hot, place steaks in the pan and cover with the lid. Allow to cook 3-4 minutes.  Using tongs, flip the steaks over. Add 1/8c of the tomatoes to the pan and cover with the lid for another 2-3 minutes (depending on how well you like your steak cooked). Once done, place steaks on plate and cover with tin foil. If they rest about 10 minutes the juices will be sealed in. Just before serving, salt liberally.

For the zucchini, I laid them in the skillet after I pulled the steak out, and added a few tbsp of the tomato juice and seasoned with salt and pepper. Allow them to cook for about 4 minutes on each side. As I said above, I would have preferred to grill the zucchini and would have kept the seasoning simple: oil, salt, pepper. 

Et voila! You are finished, except for plating =) This turned out so super tasty, and I could not have been more pleased.

Next up: Spaghetti Squash and chicken sausage marinara sauce. Simple, but you can't ever go wrong with spaghetti right?