Crockpot Spicy Chicken with Avocado Coleslaw

Here's a quick, easy recipe that we tried out a few weeks back.  We had some chicken in the freezer that had already been prepped for tacos/fajitas/what-have-you.  Basically, it was cut up chicken, seasoned with some taco seasoning (uncooked) that I had just stuck in the freezer for a rainy day.  When we buy chicken in bulk, I like to take a little time to do some prep work before sticking it in the freezer to make life a little easier.

So we tossed the pre-seasoned chicken in the crockpot with a can of jalapeno salsa and let it cook on low for 6-8 hours (I can't remember exactly how long it actually was...).

One it was done, we shredded it up and served it with some avocado coleslaw and chowed!  Super good, super quick, and super easy!

Quick Dinner and a New Bacon Lover

Quick dinners have become the norm lately.  We always have some protein and veggies in the fridge. Sometimes I have a game plan for the week, sometimes I just throw stuff in a pan, add some seasonings and call it good.  It really doesn't have to be complicated.  Honestly, it feels easier than life before Paleo.  I usually spend an hour or two one night a week working on a few things to make life easier.  This week, it meant that I made some paleo granola, taco salad stuff (pico de gallo, sliced onions, sliced olives, cut up cabbage, cooking and seasoning ground beef), slicing strawberries, starting some Cheap & Cheerful Chicken, and making mayo and tzatziki.  It really took very little time and I felt like I was one step ahead of the game for the week.

One day, I hadn't planned lunch (our big meal) ahead of time.  Usually, I have some idea of what I'm going to do.  Actually, that's not entirely true.  I had planned on making Green Chile Chicken Soup, but realized that we didn't have any carrots.  None of the veggies we had on hand sounded like they would be good in the soup, so I made a super quick stirfry instead.

I threw in the chicken I had cooked earlier in the week, asparagus, red peppers and mushrooms.  Then I added in some coconut aminos, garlic, and a little salt.  Fifteen minutes from start to finish!

And something exciting happened in house -- Sam discovered bacon!  I know that sounds a bit silly, but he's not a huge meat lover, so we're jazzed to have another protein source to throw in the mix with him.  And really, who doesn't love bacon?

Grilled Chicken Scampi

It's the time of the year that squash is in abundance.  They are super cheap and they last a while after you buy them.  I picked up a spaghetti squash at Trader Joe's a few weeks back (for under $3) and finally cooked it up last week for what has long been one of our favorite paleo meals. I made this as part of my mama's birthday dinner this past April and it was a hit with our pre-paleo family as well (right guys?).

Speaking of pre-paleo -- I loved me some Olive Garden pasta.  This meal is a bit of a copy cat of my favorite meal there, Grilled Chicken Scampi, minus the cream (which really doesn't make that big of a difference) and the pasta.  And it is good.  Brandon says that it's one of his favorite meals.  Jack loves it.  Sam, well, he actually went to bed early the night we made this, so I don't know what his opinion would have been.  Although he did love the hot dog and avocado he had instead. :)

I will say that this dish is a smidge more labor intensive than our normal meals.  But a little prep ahead of time helps.  And, while I often cook with the kids running underfoot (or getting caught in the cross fire of a Nerf gun war...), I don't usually when I make this meal.  Just keeping it real here.  However, this is definitely a meal that you could make ahead of time and pop in the oven for 20 minutes or so before you serve it.

Grilled Chicken Scampi

1.5 lbs (roughly) sliced chicken breast or tenderloins
1 spaghetti squash, cooked and shredded (see note)
1 head garlic, roasted (see note)
3 bell peppers, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
3 Tbsp butter
4 Tbsp garlic, minced
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 Tbsp arrowroot powder
3 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil for cooking chicken

Heat butter in large skillet.  Add minced garlic, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper.  Cook for a minute on medium heat and then add in arrowroot powder and stir for another minute.  Whisk in chicken broth until smooth.  Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens a bit (about 25 minutes).

While sauce is cooking, season chicken with salt and pepper and grill up in olive oil.  I usually have to do this in a couple of batches.  Once chicken is done, remove from pan and grill up peppers and onion with a bit of salt.

Take roasted garlic cloves and mash into a paste with a fork.  Whisk into sauce. 

Lastly, combine spaghetti squash, chicken, peppers, onions, and sauce in a large serving bowl and serve family style!

*Spaghetti Squash: A lot of times when you buy a spaghetti squash, it will come with a sticker on it with instructions of how to cook it.  You can microwave it or cook it in the stove.  I like to cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and place it face down in a large pan with about an inch of water.  Pop it in a 350 degree oven for about 45-60 minutes. (Which is about how long it takes to roast your garlic....)  Once it has cooled a bit, scrap out the insides with a fork and watch it magically turn into spaghetti!

*Roasting Garlic: Cut the top off a head of garlic.  Drizzle with olive oil and wrap in foil.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 45 minutes.  Once it has cooled a bit, squeeze cloves out of the paper.

Paleo Zuppa Toscana

Last week we got a bunch of kale in our CSA bin.  My favorite way to eat kale is, by far, this recipe.  It's basically a copy cat of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana, but without the potatoes and cream.  Although we didn't this time around, you could easily add some parsnips to this recipe to make it feel a little closer to the real thing.  You could also add some heavy cream or half and half if you don't mind a little dairy.  However, it definitely doesn't feel like it's lacking anything to begin with.  It's good and simple.  And very fall-ish.

Kale is a good source of calcium.  This is important to note if you have kids and don't eat dairy.  Cooked kale is a great way to get some calcium into those little bodies.  In this particular soup, the kale really takes on the flavors of the soup and doesn't have a heavy, mushy, bland taste.  And if you're pediatrician gives you a hard time about your little dude's calcium intake, rest assured that, if they are eating some greens and nut and seeds and a little fish, they are doing just fine.  Contrary to popular belief, there are other sources of calcium besides milk!

Paleo Zuppa Toscana

1 1/2 lbs Italian sausage (links or ground is fine)
5 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, torn into bit sized pieces
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup water, as needed

In large soup pot, cook bacon and sausage.  Add in onions and garlic and cook until soft.  Add in kale and stock.  If you want you soup to be a bit "soupier", add in the water.  We tend to like our soup a little on the thick, stew like side, so we skip that.

If you are going to add in parsnips, wait to add in kale until the soup is about finished.  It only needs a couple of minutes to cook and this will keep it from getting overcooked.

If you are going to add in any cream, add that in toward the end as well.

Paleo Cauliflower Fried Rice

This is definitely one of my favorite go-to meals.  It's quick, easy, and tastes like regular old fried rice.  I generally throw some bone-in chicken thighs in the crock pot the night before, essentially making this recipe.  Then I shred some cauliflower in our food processor and chop up a bunch of other stuff--cabbage, peppers, onion, and broccoli this particular time.  And then I grab the secret ingredient: Coconut Aminos. Like I've said before, this stuff tastes exactly like soy sauce, but it's made from coconuts.

Since we don't have a pan big enough to cook all of the veggies at once, I usually do it in two batches.  I threw the chicken, onion and peppers in the first batch and fried it up with some coconut aminos.  Once it was done, I set it aside and tossed everything else in the pan with a little more coconut aminos.  Once that was done, I just mixed it all together -- pretty quick and simple!

If I'd had more time, I would have scrambled up some eggs and added those in as well.   This is also a great recipe if you've got some leftover meat as well.  I'm thinking it would be a great meal to make with leftover pork tenderloin or even Thanksgiving turkey.  At the same time, it could easily be made without meat too!  Super easy and versatile.

Jack's Favorite: Make-Your-Own Taco Salad

In honor of Jack's first full week of kindergarten (which has been an adjustment for all of us), I wanted to make a fun meal.  If you ask Jack what his favorite meal is, he'll say Make-Your-Own Taco Salad.  I'm sure it has to do more with the fact that he gets to assemble it however he likes than the actual flavor of the meal.  It's actually a great meal to have kids help with too.  Jack can slice olives, help me make the salsa, and cook up the meat.  He's  a great helper in the kitchen.  And just an all around great kiddo.  Now I'm getting sappy.  I'm feeling proud and sentimental (and tired) as we've all adjusted to having a kiddo in school.

Okay, on to the food.  This meal is a great one to serve to non paleo eaters because it's not too different from a typical taco salad.  If you don't shy away from dairy, you could also add some sour cream or cheese as well. 

This edition of Make-You-Own Taco Salad contained:

-ground beef seasoned with homemade taco seasoning
-red cabbage
-olives
-salsa (working on a recipe for this)
-guacamole (in reality, it was just mashed up avocado mixed with a bit of salsa)
-salsa verde (working on a recipe for this too)

You could also chop some tomatoes, onions, cilantro, pepper -- anything really!  Jack loves to pile stuff on his plate.  We tell him that he needs to pick at least two veggies, but he usually ends up with more.  Sam (18mo) had some olives, meat and avocado.  And Brandon and I had a little of everything in case you were wondering.

Deviled Eggs

I'm working on a posting a few new recipes, but my laptop is on the fritz and I'm afraid it might eat my photos, so I've got to wait for my Tech Support (aka Brandon) to get home from his 12 hours of overtime, at which time I'm sure he'll be eager to talk some sense into my computer.  Once I'm back up and running, I've got a new coconut cream larabar recipe, a note about freezing tomatoes, and, last but certainly not least, a paleo green bean casserole recipe!

But for now, here are a couple of things that we made the other day for a barbecue that we had at our house.  They both involve bacon so it basically goes without saying that they both were amazing.

First up, I whipped up some deviled eggs with bacon.  I don't have an exact recipe to share with you because I was making it on the fly, but it is by no means rocket science.  Hard boil some eggs, peel, slice and remove yolks.  Combine some mayo or light olive oil, a little mustard powder, salt, pepper, and crumbled bacon with the the yolks.  And then fill those eggs back up with the mixture.  I reserved some bacon to sprinkle over the tops for a little pizazz.  If you have paprika, which we were out of, you could sprinkle a little of that on top as well. 

This guy has been on Brandon's list of things to make for a while.  He found the recipe online and it's called "Bacon Explosion".  Basically, it's ground pork stuffed with bacon and then wrapped in bacon.  And it's good.  Check out the recipe here.

Stuffed Zucchini

Another zucchini recipe! This one came together as a result of one seriously large zucchini.  It was probably almost a foot and a half long.  So, I chopped it up into four different chunks and scrapped out the insides.  Then I stuffed them with some of the same meat mixture that I put in our lasagna combined with some extra pizza sauce I had leftover after canning. (By the way, you could easily make some sauce and just freeze it if canning is a bit intimidating!)  I would have also added in the zucchini that I had cut out of the middle, but I was crunched for time and totally spaced it.

I popped them in the a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  They turned out great! 

We've been having zucchini for at least two meals a day lately and I think we are starting to tire of it.  I've got a couple more recipes that I want to try out, but then I think it's safe to say that we'll be happy to take a little break from our mass consumption of zucchini.  Until we have a craving for lasagna -- which might not be very long!

Zucchini Lasagna

We're still swimming in zucchini around here.  And it's showing no signs of slowing down.  So it's time to get creative with those little green dudes.  Hopefully this blog won't turn into a zucchini exclusive blog, but you gotta work with what you got and right now, that means zucchini.

I'm sure lots of you out there already have a tried and true lasagna recipe, so you're already most of the way there.  Just switch out those noodles with some zucchini or squash and you're good to go.  If you don't have a recipe, hopefully you'll like this one!

Zucchini Lasagna

1.5-2 lbs of ground meat (we used Italian pork sausage and ground beef)
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 medium onion
2-3 medium carrots
1-2 bell peppers
2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 28 oz can marinara sauce (we use Trader Joe's brand, like we do for spaghetti)
2-3 medium/large zucchini

First off, obviously my measurements aren't exact because I just eyeball things based on the size of the veggies that come in our CSA basket.  But with this kind of recipe, exact measurements aren't important.

Start by browning the meat in a large sauce pan.  Once it is cooked through, season with garlic and add the mushrooms, onion, carrots and bell peppers.  Cook for about 10 minutes (it will continue to cook while in the oven) and then add in the marinara sauce and remove from heat.  Slice the zucchini into 1/4 thick slices. Now it's time to start assembling your lasagna.  Start by layering slices of zucchini, then a thin layer of meat sauce, more zucchini, more sauce, etc.  You'll want to end with a layer of the meat sauce on top.  Also, you can season the zucchini as you go as well.  I usually sprinkle a little garlic and oregano on it, but it's not necessary.  Once you've got it all put together, bake it in a 350 oven for about 35-45 minutes, or until zucchini is done. 

Unstuffed Pork Chops

This is a great recipe that came about by accident.  I had intended to actually stuff the pork chops, but ran unto some issues (they were a little too marbled to get a nice slice through them).  However, they still turned out great.

Now, some people will argue that green beans aren't Paleo and maybe they're right.  However, we got them in our CSA basket and weren't going to let them go to waste.  There are a lot worse things you can eat than green beans.  Like the potato chips I had earlier today.

Unstuffed Pork Chops

4 bone in pork chops
2-3 carrots, chopped
1 medium squash, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
4 slices bacon, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp dried thyme
1 Tbsp garlic powder
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 350.  In large oven proof skillet, cook bacon.  Once mostly cooked, add carrots, squash, and onion.  Season with thyme, garlic and a little bit of salt and pepper.  When everything is well mixed, remove from pan and set aside.  (You don't need to cook it all the way because it will cook in the oven.)  Season pork chops with salt a pepper and add them to the skillet.  On medium heat, brown chops on both sides, approximately 4 minutes on each side.  Add vegetable/bacon mixture back to pan, covering the chops.  Loosely cover entire pan with foil and place in oven for about 30 minutes or until internal temperature in pork reaches 160 degrees.

Super Quick and Easy Spaghetti

It's a classic.  It's cheap.  It's easy.  It feeds a lot of people.  What's no to like about spaghetti?  Okay, the pasta maybe.  But we can easily fix that.  This is the time of year for zucchini and there is plenty of it to go around.  The past couple of weeks when I've gone to pick up our CSA basket, there are always a couple of extra huge zucchinis free for the taking and I always grab one.  Of course, you can always use spaghetti squash for this dish too, but it takes a bit more time and it can cost a pretty penny sometimes.

If you've got picky eaters in your family, I would suggest that you peel the zucchini (or yellow squash or whatever you use) to "mask" (okay, maybe hide?) the initial fact that it's a veggie.  Anyone with kids knows what I'm talking about.  If it's green, some kids won't even think about eating it.  It's not a trick that we've had to employ with our kids, but I'm not above eliminating things that might prevent your kids from even giving it a chance.  I'm not condoning deception, but more encouraging a better first impression....am I starting to sound like a politician?  Anyway, I really think that the veggies in this dish take on the taste of the meaty sauce and it really tastes like a genuine spaghetti dish.  Granted, I haven't had real spaghetti in over a year, but I think I have a pretty good memory.

This is our secret ingredient.  Of course, you could make your own, but having this bad boy in the pantry means that I'm just a few steps away from a quick dinner.

Super Quick Paleo Spaghetti

1 can spaghetti sauce
1.5 pounds ground beef, pork or italian sausage (we usually use a combo of beef and itialian sausage)
3-4 medium zucchini or sqaush
seasonings: garlic, onion, basil, oregano (whatever your preference)

Brown meat in pan and season as desired.  If you are using grass fed beef, I find that I really need to season it to dull the "beefy" flavor of it.  Just a preference thing though.  Once cooked through, add sauce and heat through.  While meat is browning, julienne slice zucchini.  Or just chop it up.  Heat a little oil in a skillet and drop zucchini in once hot.  I usually do this just before I add the sauce to the meat and they both end up being ready about the same time.  Season the zucchini with a little salt, garlic and onion powder.  Serve and enjoy!


And, if you have a little more time, make meatballs!  Actually, we tend to make big batches of meatballs ahead of time, so they are usually sitting there ready to go.

One more thing...some people can have a sensitivity to tomatoes.  They are inflammatory, so if you have arthritis or something, it might be best to stay away from them.  We have found that tomatoes in large doses tend to upset our stomachs on occasion, so it's just something to think about.  And I'm sure the 2.5 mile uphill trail run/hike we did after this particular meal had nothing to do with it...

Paleo Tzatziki And A Fresh Salad

Last week, we had a meal that was loosely inspired by my all time favorite thing in the entire world to eat -- Kebab. Now, this isn't like kebabs that we eat here in America. It doesn't come on a stick. This kebab is Turkish (I think), but we get them at a great little kebab place in Slovenia (a country in Eastern Europe) whenever we go there. Before kids, we went there once a year. It isn't as often now, but we did have the chance to go back in February and you better believe that we made it a point to stop by and have one of these bad boys. I'm sure you can get them around here too, but there is something about this particular little stand that makes them incredible.

The sandwich basically consists of shaved meat (lamb, I believe), lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, a tzatziki type sauce and a sweet and spicy red pepper sauce on the most perfectly crispy sesame flatbread that you've ever had. I wish I could convey to you how good it tastes.

Okay, enough about that because we obviously aren't going to be eating it any time soon and it is also obviously not paleo due to the bread. But last week, we tried a new recipe out of The Primal Blueprint Cookbook -- Turkey Kebabs. Basically ground turkey seasoned with cumin, paprika, salt, cinnamon, cayenne, parsley and mint. They turned out great, although we ditched the skewers and just grilled them up like burgers. When I saw the recipe, it reminded me loosely of kebab, so I decided to make some tzatziki to go with it. We also had some cucumbers and olives and a cucumber, tomato and onion salad to go with it. The salad was inspired by a typical Slovene salad that we often have when we are there. It all turned out so good. Nice and fresh and light, but still so filling.

The tzatziki was easy to make and would be great as a salad dressing too. In fact, I think I prefer it to the homemade ranch that we usually make. It would also be a great dip with a plate of fresh cut up veggies. You could easily take it to a party with a platter of veggies and no one would even complain that it was too "healthy" or something silly like that. Tzatziki is typically made with Greek yogurt, but this version is dairy free.

Paleo Tzatziki

1 cup mayo (homemade is best!)
2 cloves garlic
1 medium cucumber
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp dried dill

Peel and grate cucumber. Drain as much liquid as you can from the cucumber. You can do this by letting it sit in a colander for a while or ringing it out in some cheesecloth. If you are cheap and in a hurry like me, you can squeeze it out in some paper towels a couple of times. A little messier, yes, but it works. In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients until smooth. Chill and serve. If you weren't able to get all of the liquid out of the cucumber like me, it may start to separate a little when it's chilling. Just give it a good stir before you serve it.

Cucumber, Tomato, and Onion Salad

1 medium cucumber
1 medium tomato
1/2 onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper

Slice up cucumber, tomato and onion. The size and shape doesn't really matter, so do whatever suits your fancy. Dice, slice, chop -- whatever makes you happy. Put veggies in bowl and toss with remaining ingredients. Depending on the size of your veggies and your taste preferences, you may want more or less oil and vinegar. Add a little salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Paleo Pizza!

We are a family of pizza lovers. Although, who doesn't love pizza? Friday's used to mean homemade pizza at our house. Since today is Friday, I thought I would post about our favorite Paleo pizza. Early on in our Paleo journey, we found Everyday Paleo's pizza crust recipe and we love it. It is definitely not the same as regular old not so good for you pizza, but it makes a great substitute. Pizza is also a great thing to get kids involved in making. Jack often picks out one or two of our veggies and he's a great little sauce spreader.

And we also recently discovered this delicious tapanade (sounds so fancy, huh?) at Trader Joe's that works great as a pizza sauce.

The tapande is a great base flavor for almost any topping. We usually just add whatever we have laying around.

This time around (please ignore the spot on the camera lens...), we used Italian sausage, yellow peppers and olives. We would normally add more veggies, but we were running low on this particular day.

Slice it up and enjoy!

A couple of quick and easy dinners

One thing that I've learned since we started eating Paleo almost a year and a half ago is that it's really easy to go over budget each month in the grocery department. Since we are at the store every couple of days buying fresh stuff (most often bananas for the little guy), it's easy to see some great stuff and get inspired to make something. However, we always have meat in the freezer (namely beef because we buy 1/4 cow or more each year), so we can easily cook that up with some veggies and call it good. No need to get fancy.

So, as the month came to an end last week, we challenged ourselves to "make it work" as Tim Gunn would say. (Please don't judge me by my Project Runway reference...) In addition to beef, we had chicken, bacon, and a ton of eggs, so we were set as far as protein goes. After we set aside money for bananas, we had a little less than $10 left for veggies for the week. Granted, we also still had some random veggies in the fridge too (beets, snap peas, chard, a couple of small zucchini and a few peppers). We ate a lot of "breakfast for dinner" in addition to breakfast for breakfast. But, we like eggs, so it really wasn't all that bad.

Okay, all that to say, it is possible to eat Paleo and not break the budget. It also means that not all of your meals have to be gourmet. Basic works. As long as you have meat, veggies and some good fat, you're set. An added bonus is that these basic meals take a lot less time to put together and aside from defrosting the meat, they require no planning ahead.


This was just a basic steak and sweet potato fries dinner. I marinated the steaks the night before in a little fresh grated ginger that we had laying around, along with a some coconut aminos. For the fries, I followed Nom Nom Paleo's basic recipe.

For this meal, we sauteed some snap peas in coconut oil and grilled up some chicken thighs with a Tuscan Spice Rub that my sister made for Brandon as a gift -- great gift idea, huh? Super good rub too. I would recommend making a big batch of the spice rub to have on hand. It's great for quick dinners.

Tuscan Spice Rub (slightly adapted from Eating Well)

1 Tbsp fennel seeds
6 Tbsp dried basil
3 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp sea salt
2 Tbsp dried rosemary
2 Tbsp dried oregano

And this meal consisted of grilling up some meatball kebabs. The meatballs were a mixture of Italian sausage and ground beef and we just stuck them on some skewers with peppers and onions. I can't remember now what we paired it with, but it's pretty safe to say that we just roasted some broccoli. Pretty simple stuff!

Chicken Divine

The other day, it was rainy outside and crazy inside and I was craving some comfort food. Growing up, my mom made some delicious Chicken Divine. And, like all good things back then, it involved Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup. It was so creamy and delicious and it was always served over some pasta. For my junior prom, a big group of my friends went "out" to dinner at my dad's empty tool store (he had just moved to a new location), which our moms had decorated beautifully to look like a nice restaurant. We were served Chicken Divine by our parents and even a few of our younger siblings. It sounds cheesy, but it was pretty cool. And the food was tasty.

However, I knew that I could come up with something similar once I had perfected making homemade mayo. Last week, I did just that! After consulting my mom's recipe and a few others online, I came up with something pretty close to what I grew up with.

Paleo Chicken Divine

6 chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut up into bite sized pieces
4 broccoli crowns, chopped
2 1/2 cups mayo
1 1/2 Tbsp curry
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp poultry seasoning*
1 Tbsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp olive oil or butter

In large skillet, heat oil and then add chicken. I usually season with a bit of poultry seasoning and salt and pepper, but that is optional. Once cooked, set aside. In large bowl, combine mayo, curry powder, poultry seasoning, onion powder and salt. Mix well. Next, add chicken and broccoli and combine well. Once combined, place in 13x9 baking dish and bake for 30-40 minutes at 350. Top with almond last 15 minutes, if desired.

A note about homemade mayo: First off, it's actually really easy to make your own mayo, so don't be scared. You really only need eggs, olive oil, and an acid (vinegar or lemon juice). The two most helpful recipes I've found are at Everyday Paleo and The Clothes Make the Girl. Give it a shot!

*The stuff that we get at New Seasons turns everything a funky shade of green, as you can see in the above picture

Planning Ahead

This past week has been crazy town around our house. I knew it was coming, but I really didn't think about planning ahead. So, a couple of days into the craziness, I decided to take a couple of afternoons and get some major cooking done during the kids' rest time. I hadn't planned ahead a ton, but we had everything on hand that I needed thanks to a recent shopping trip to Trader Joe's and Costco and our weekly CSA basket.

Here's what I got done on the first afternoon:

I combined two pounds of ground beef and one pound of ground italian sausage, along with some garlic pepper seasoning that I recently discovered at the meat counter at Fred Meyer. I made some burger patties for dinner and the rest of the meat was turned into meatballs.

Next up, I made up a batch of Nom Nom Paleo's Grilled Green Chicken -- which was AMAZING! It was incredible. I can't say enough good things about it. It was fabulous.

And here's what it all looked like after it was all cooked and consumed...

Burgers, grilled onions, homemade spicy ginger mayo, avocado, and some roasted carrots.

Spaghetti and meatballs (recipe coming soon!). This was delicious and super quick and easy. And I only used half of the meatballs that I made, so we'll still get another meal out of the rest. I'm thinking kabobs of some kind with some cauliflower rice, but we'll see what I feel like at the time.

Grilled Green Chicken and roasted broccoli.

And then today, I took another couple of hours to get more stuff done.

I hard boiled a dozen eggs, made 4 batches of Blueberry Coconut Muffins (two batches were actually made with raspberries), two dozen mini egg frittatas (just like a frittata, but baked in a muffin tin), a batch of Cheap & Cheerful Chicken, and some bacon wrapped dates just because I felt like wrapping something in bacon. By the time this picture was taken, a few muffins and some chicken had gone mysteriously missing. I put sixteen of the muffins and sixteen of the frittatas in the freezer for a rainy day (coincidentally, it was pretty rainy today around these parts). The eggs and the chicken will get eaten this week for snacks, meals and with salads for my husbands work lunches.

So, there you have it, a little planning ahead -- and a lot of dishes -- and I can kick my feet up and not worry about anything for a few days. Okay, well maybe not, but it will definitely make things easier!

Fish Taco Salad

This was a super quick and easy meal that turned out fabulous. As our 5 year old says, "This one's a keeper, for sure!". So, it has the kid seal of approval too. We used some Alaskan Cod pieces that we picked up at Trader Joe's, which I snagged because it was cheaper than the fillets. The pieces are all different sizes, but for this recipe, it doesn't make a difference. We served the cod with some leftover Avocado Coleslaw and the results were great. Definitely our favorite meal of the week.

For the seasoning on the fish, we used some homemade taco seasoning, which I would highly recommend making and having on hand. It's fast and easy to put together and it lasts a while. Here's the mixture that we make and keep in our spice cupboard:

Taco Seasoning (from Heavenly Homemakers)

1/2 cup chili powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1/8 cup ground cumin
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon paprika
1 Tablespoon sea salt

Put all ingredients into a jar and shake!

Fish Taco Salad

1 pound cod pieces*
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
Avocado Coleslaw

Pat fish dry and place in a medium mixing bowl with taco seasoning. Toss to coat. In large skillet, heat oil, then add fish. Cook 5-7 minutes or until cooked through. Serve on top of Avocado Coleslaw.

*I would recommend 1/2 pound of fish per person. Or more. Just increase the other ingredients as needed if you are making more than one pound. You may even go closer to 3/4 pound per person. All we had was one pound, so that's what we made due with, but we'll be picking up two packages next time!

Date Night In

The other night, things were a bit hectic around dinner time because we'd been working on projects around the house, so we decided to feed the kids something quick (salmon burgers from Costco - not 100% paleo, but they are great in a pinch) and then eat after they went to bed. And since our kids are both out by 7, we got to eat out on the deck while the sun was making it's way down. A very nice way to end the day.

For dinner, we tried out some new recipes. Some of Brandon's coworkers turned him on to grilled avocados, which he loves. A coworker also told him about coleslaw made with avocado instead of mayo, so I made something similar, and it turned out great. And for the salmon, we made Moroccan Grilled Salmon on the grill.

Our dinner plates. Can you guess which one is mine and which is my hubby's?

Grilled Avocados

Avocado
Olive Oil
Sea Salt
Pepper

Slice avocado in half, remove pit. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill about 4 minutes.


Avocado Coleslaw

1 bag coleslaw mix
1 large avocado
1 jalepeno (or 2 if you like a little more spice)
1 lime
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch cilantro

Mix avocado, jalepeno and lime together. (I did mine in the food processor, but if you chop the jalepeno finely enough, you could just mash it up. Basically, you're making guacamole here.) Chop onions and cilantro and mix with coleslaw mix. Add avocado mixture. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cheap & Cheerful Chicken

It's no secret that our 17 month old can polish off a half a rotisserie chicken in a single sitting. The kid loves chicken. So, we came up with a super easy recipe that tastes just like rotisserie chicken. And it uses bone in chicken thighs, which is just about one of the cheapest pieces of chicken you can get. The chicken just falls right off the bone, so it's not that tricky to shred or just eat as is. Oh, and did I mention that it's made in the slow cooker so it takes about five minutes of prep work? And that it's absolutely delicious?

Cheap & Cheerful Chicken

Bone in, skin on chicken thighs
Poultry Seasoning (I found some great stuff at New Seasons that doesn't have any gunk in it)
Garlic Powder
Sea Salt
Pepper

Remove skin from chicken thighs. Put in slow cooker and sprinkle on poultry seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook on low 7-9 hours.

Once it's cooked, I take it out, let it cool and then just shred it by hand. It could easily be served as is though.

For this particular dinner, we served it with some cabbage sauteed in bacon fat (yes, bacon fat), salt and pepper, along with some roasted broccolini from our CSA basket.

And just to give you a realistic picture of what our five year old eats, here are some photos of his plate....

Before.

After.

He didn't eat all his broccoli, but he had already eaten his cabbage and some of the broccoli, so we let it slide. As long as he is eating some veggies, we're happy!

Grilled Chicken and Moroccan Beet Greens

This was one of those "What are we going to have for dinner in an hour?" meals. We had thawed some chicken, so I threw it in a dish with some garlic, coconut oil, and the last little bit of coconut aminos* that we had on hand, along with some salt and pepper. We let it sit for a few minutes and then grilled it up and it turned out great.

The beet greens came in our CSA basket and, I'll admit, I had no idea what to do with them and I thought they were a little weird. However, a couple of recipes were thrown in our basket as well, so we tried out one of them. From my understanding, beet greens are pretty similar to spinach, so I think this recipe would work with either.

Moroccan Beet Greens
(adapted from the recipe given to us in our CSA basket)

2 bunches beet greens
2-4 garlic cloves, minces
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper

Once rinsed and dried, roughly chop greens, set aside. In a large sauce pan, add oil and garlic. Saute for about a minute and then add the chopped greens. Cook for about two minutes, stirring often. Add remaining ingredients and cook a few more minutes, until done.

*Coconut Aminos tastes just like Soy Sauce and we get it at Whole Foods or locally at Lillian's.