Breakfast Meatballs

2 lb ground chicken thighs (dark meat)*

1 tsp thyme

2 tsp sage (leaves) or 1 tsp rubbed sage

1 tsp marjoram (leaves) or 1/2 tsp ground marjoram

1 tsp all-spice

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp kosher salt

1 T maple syrup

1 T olive oil

1 32 oz carton of chicken broth 

*If you can't find this, combine 1 lb ground chicken (white meat) with 1 lb ground pork.  The ground white meat chicken alone is way too dry.

Pour broth into pot and heat to a boil.  Combine meat, spices, maple syrup, and olive oil.  Use disher (small ice cream scoop) to scoop meatballs into broth, once boiling.  Simmer for 10 minutes, or until done.

Pork Breakfast Sausage

Similar to Jimmy Dean sausage.

1 lb ground pork

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sage

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp brown sugar

Mix together.  Cook as patties on griddle.

Beef Enchilada Bowl

Sauce:
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp arrowroot
1 Tbsp almond meal
14 oz chicken broth
1-1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1 small chipotle chili (minced) + 1 Tbsp sauce from can

Make roux with oil, arrowroot, almond meal.  Whisk in broth.  Add chili powder, chipotle, and sauce.  Simmer until reduced and thickened.

Filling:
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef

Cook together until browned.

Garnish:
green onion
cilantro
avocado
poblano peppers
bell peppers
salsa
tomatoes
pico de gallo

Mom's Baked Potato Soup

4 large baking potatoes
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups milk
3/4 tsp salt*
1/2 tsp pepper
4 green onions, sliced
12 slices bacon, crumbled
5 oz cheddar cheese, grated (1-1/4 cup)

Bake potatoes at 400 F for 1 hour, or until done.
Let potatoes cool, then peel; discard skins.
Melt butter in large pot over medium-low to medium heat.
Add flour in gradually (~2 Tbsp at a time), stirring with whisk each time until smooth.
Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add milk in gradually (~1/2 cup at a time), stirring with whisk each time until smooth.
Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly.
Add potatoes, salt, pepper, and 1 cup cheese.
Cook until heated and cheese melted.
Serve with additional cheese, bacon, and green onions.

*This is my mom's original recipe.  I usually add in another 1/2 tsp salt.  Salt to your own taste.

Seasonal Eating

Okay, it's from the BBC, but I love this table because it does meat and fish as well as fruits and vegetables.

BBC Seasonality Table

Riddle Love's Seasonal Meal Plans

Quick Green Curry

1 lb cooked shrimp (or chicken)
1 bag stir fry vegetables
1 can coconut milk
2 tsp thai seasoning (kaffir lime + lemongrass + sweet basil)
2 tsp green curry paste (or more to taste)
coconut oil

Heat pan.  Heat coconut oil.  Saute bag of veggies and curry paste. Push to side and warm shrimp. Add coconut milk and seasoning; heat until warm.

Eat as is, or serve with rice.

Italian Omelette

Leftover Chicken Cacciatore
Mushrooms, sliced
Red Bell Peppers, sliced

Eggs
Butter
Olive oil

Salisbury Steak

Ree Drummond's Recipe:

Salisbury Steak.  Leave out bread crumbs.

Chicken Cacciatore

1.5 lb chicken breasts
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1/2 cup chicken or beef broth
white wine for deglazing
garlic, chopped
Essence
salt
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
olive oil

Heat pan.  Add olive oil.  Season chicken with salt and Essence.  Brown on both sides in olive oil. Remove chicken.  Brown garlic, just slightly.  Deglaze pan with a little white wine.  Add spaghetti sauce, broth, basil, thyme, and chicken.  Heat to boiling.  Cover and place in 220 (deg F) oven for 2-3 hours. Shred chicken.  Season sauce with more salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with Ribbon Pan Fry.

Waitrose Vegetable Ribbon Pan Fry

Swede (Rutabaga)

 Carrots

Spring Greens

Butternut Squash

Red Cabbage

M&S Salads

I love these salads at my local M&S Simply Food.  Need to tweak and make PHD friendly.  Safe starch substitutions for lentils and couscous?

Rainbow Super Salad
edamame
green lentils
red peppers
pomegranate seeds
spinach
rocket
couscous
chickpeas
honey and lime dressing

Greek Salad
plum tomatoes
red onion
feta
cucumber
kalamata olives
basil and mint oil dressing

Mango Salad
mango
mange tout
cilantro
lime and ginger dressing

Goat Cheese and Lentil Salad
lentils
giant couscous
goat cheese
bell peppers
lemon and basil dressing

Mulligatawny Soup

Emeril always comes through for me!  This was delicious.  I cooked it on the stove at lunchtime, and then transferred to a 220 deg oven until dinner (5-6 hours).  

Emeril's Mulligatawny Soup

Leave out the lentils and potatoes to make it more paleo.  

Breakfast (or Dessert!) Plantains

The trick to these is to wait until the plantains are very ripe (and sweet).  80% brown is not too ripe!  Plantains hold their shape much better than bananas, so even when they are very ripe you can still slice them.  It can take about 2 weeks or more for a green plantain to fully ripen.  I buy one or two each week and let them sit until ready.

1 plantain
coconut oil
salt
honey or maple syrup

Slice plantain into rounds between 1/4-1/2 inch thick.  Heat pan on medium heat.  Add oil and swirl to coat.  Add plantains.  Cook until browned; flip and cook until other side browned.  Turn off heat, but let pan sit on heat for a few minutes to cook the plantains all the way through (especially if they are sliced thick).  Serve with a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

1 plantain serves 2 people, or 1 really hungry person

Pork Breakfast Scramble

The idea for this recipe came off a tube of Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage.  It would be better cooked with some US Wellness Pork Breakfast Sausage.  But sometimes grocery meat has to do!

1 lb ground pork breakfast sausage
1 cup chopped cilantro
white wine vinegar

top with:
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
sliced tomatoes

Brown sausage in pan until cooked and crumbled.  Use a splash of white wine vinegar to deglaze any stuck bits of sausage.  Remove from heat; stir in chopped cilantro.  Top with cheese and/or tomatoes.

This dish should not need any extra salt, as the sausage is usually salty enough.

Crispy Cod

This recipe is similar to the way I make tilapia, but a tiny bit more work to get a nice crispy crust.

Per each cod filet:

Mix together:
2 Tbsp almond flour
1 Tbsp arrowroot
1/2 tsp Herbes de Provence

In a separate bowl:
1 egg white whisked into 2 Tbsp water.

Add to heated pan:
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil

Place pan on burner to heat.  Pat cod dry with paper towels.  Dip into egg white wash, then into flour -spice mixture.  Set aside.  Add butter and oil to hot pan; heat until butter melts and stops sizzling.  Add filets and cook until lightly browned*.  Flip** and cook until other side is browned.  Turn off heat, but leave pan on burner.  Cover and let sit until time to eat.  Salt to taste when serving.

*I usually flip my fish when I can start to see the edges turn a light brown and look cooked through.  The secret to this fish is to NOT flip until browned.  Don't flip back and forth; just one turn.  Better to be a little bit too browned than not enough.

**My favorite kitchen tool to flip fish is the Mini-Serving Spatula from Pampered Chef.

Quick Shrimp

I've been cooking for 20 years.   Yet I still find there are things that chefs write off as "simple - everyone knows how to do this!" But I don't.  Cooking yummy, tender, perfect boiled shrimp was one of those things.  Every time I would make shrimp, they were either under-cooked, over-cooked, watery, or tough.  What is this thing that "everyone knows how to do!" but I don't?  After much trial and error, I finally found my perfect (simple!) and foolproof way to make quick shrimp.  These are great for a salad at lunch, or a quick snack for the kids.

1/2 lb frozen shrimp (shells off, tails on, deveined - I get mine at Costco)
1 Tbsp salt

Place frozen shrimp in heat-safe bowl in sink (I use a round, glass corning-ware bowl).  Cover with 1 Tbsp salt and cold water (about 6 cups).  Let sit 30 minutes to thaw and brine. (Make sure this is only 30 minutes - too long and the shrimp will be salty).

Heat 6 cups water to boiling (I use an electric kettle).  Drain shrimp, place back in bowl.  Pour boiling water over shrimp.  Let sit until pink, about 5 minutes. (Longer is ok, if you are temporarily distracted.)  Drain. De-tail.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.  You can throw these in a pan with butter for a quick saute to brown, or eat as is.

Meal Plan - Lunch Template

Lunch 1 (Monday - Tuesday)
Quick Protein to go with a Green Salad
-hamburger patties
-sliced roast beef / philly style
-diced deli meat
-bacon
-baked chicken breasts
-broiled chicken patties
-quick shrimp
-cocktail shrimp

Salad, Tomatoes, Pickles, Sauerkraut (Bubbies)

I usually just put a little homemade mayo on (between 1-3 tsp) and forego the dressing.

-example meals:
BLT Salad
Romaine Lettuce, Quick Shrimp, Spicy Kraut Slaw

Lunch 2 (Wednesday-Thursday)
Quick Protein to make a Mayo- or Oil-Based Meat Salad
-asian chicken salad
-middle eastern chicken salad
-waldorf chicken salad
-curry chicken salad (basic chicken salad with 1 tsp curry, or something more fancy)
-tuna salad
-salmon salad
-shrimp salad

-use raw veggies to dip into salad, or eat on the side

Raw Veggies (carrots, cucumber, celery)

Lunch 3 (Friday)
On The Go (no refrigeration or microwave available)
-deli meat rollups (with butter and pepperoni)
-Snack Sticks
-carrots/apples
-almond butter dip (sweet or spicy)
-trail mix (coconut chips/flakes + beef jerky + dried fruit)

Lunch 4 (Saturday - Sunday)
Leftovers and/or Soups
-creamy chicken crockpot soup
-curry soup
-harira

BLT Salad

2-3 slices bacon
1 (1 oz) slice deli turkey, cut up with scissors
3 cups lettuce
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
1 Tbsp mayo (or bacon mayo)
salt to taste

Cook bacon as desired. (I microwave it in a pie plate, covered with parchment paper for 3 minutes, or 1 minute per slice).  Cool and crumble.  Mix salad.

Plantain Crusted Chicken Strips (Paleo Chicken Nuggets)

If you need paleo chicken nuggets (with no almond or coconut products), here you go.  Original recipe from Health-Bent using the same technique for making fish sticks.

1 lb chicken cutlets
1 small bag (4 oz?) plantain chips
mix of butter and olive oil
salt
garlic powder
onion powder

Slice cutlets into strips.  Crush chips into crumbs using (1) food processor or (2) ziploc bag + wooden mallet + small child.  Toss chicken strips with crumbs until coated.*

Heat butter and oil (about 1 Tbsp each) in skillet.  Brown strips on one side; flip.  Brown on other side. Reduce heat and let sit until cooked through, a few minutes.  Drain on paper towels.  While still hot, sprinkle with salt, garlic powder, and onion powder.   Add a little extra olive oil to the pan for repeat batches.

When you are done, you will have some plantain crumbs stuck in the pan.  If you want something really yummy, cut up leftover potatoes and cook them in the pan, scraping up the crunchy plantain bits to mix in.  

*My crumbs stick to the chicken ok, but not great.  If you want to make this harder, feel free to dry your chicken and coat with egg wash before dipping in crumbs.  I'm all about creating less dirty dishes, so this is good enough for us.

BBQ Sauce

Original recipe from Health-Bent, where it is called "Almost Paleo BBQ Sauce."  Some borderline ingredients, but still light years better than a store bought sauce.  I prefer the taste of the dry mustard powder over the prepared mustard used in the original.

1 cup brewed coffee
1/4 cup molasses
2 Tbsp dry mustard powder
1/4 cup tamari soy sauce
1 T worcestershire sauce
1 T sriracha hot sauce
1/2 cup tomato ketchup

Mix together to use as a sauce in BBQ Chicken.   If you want a second batch to use on the side, heat in a saucepan until warmed and blended.