Paleo Cashew Chicken

Sorry in advance for these not being better quality photos for blogging but now that there is a new boss in town, you just gotta go with what you can do at the time!

I'm really trying to crack down on eating paleo all the way the last time I did it before I was pregnant I felt AMAZING!!! So while I was at the grocery store Sunday, I googled for some recipes and found this from the Ultimate Paleo Guide. 

INGREDIENTS:

2Boneless and skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1 chunks)

1 Red bell pepper (cut into strips)

1 Onion (cut into strips)

1 Garlic cloves (minced)

1/2 cup Raw cashews

2 tbsp Coconut oil

2 tbsp Honey

1 tbsp Coconut aminos

1 tbsp Rice vinegar

1 tsp Fresh grated ginger Sea salt and black pepper (to taste)

3 Scallions (sliced)

Pour coconut oil onto large skillet over medium heat..

Add onion and red pepper and cook for a few minutes..

Toss in the chicken and cook 4-5 minutes..

Mix in garlic and cashew. Cook for another 2 -3 minutes..

Stir in honey, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, grated ginger and season with salt and pepper..

Cook another 4-5 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Serve and garnish with scallions.

It was absolutley amazing and Coach has already requested that we have it again!!

I'm not a fan of ginger so I left that off and also the scallions..

And, if you are like me and don't really know where a lot of stuff is at the grocery store... rice vinegar can be found on the baking aisle near the pickles. I just happened to look up and there it was! 

And, this precious little joined me for some cooking fun.

Let me know if you try it! I have no doubt you will love it too!

Spinach & Artichoke Dip

I'm not really sure what got into me yesterday, but I came home from the grocery store and stayed in the kitchen for several hours. 

One of the things I did want to do was have Coach some dip for the Superbowl. For some reason, I had Velveeta cheese (no clue why this was in the pantry), picked up a can of Rotel tomatoes and chips at the grocery store and Coach had him a little snack for the game!

I wanted to have a healthier dip so I found this original recipe and oh my it was DELICIOUS! This one is definitely going in favorites recipe folder.

If you checked out the original already, you would see it called for cashews.. well, in my haste to get to the grocery store, I only read the ingredients and decided I didn't want cashews in my dip.. lesson learned, I will start reading the instructions as well.

I didn't fret tho! Out of no where came this brilliant moment where I decided I would replace the cashew flour with greek yogurt. I don't think that's actually Paleo and that's why I didn't call my version "Paleo".

Ingredients:

2 (14 oz) cans artichoke hearts, chopped

16 oz frozen spinach

1 cup cashews, roasted and unsalted (replaced with Fage Greek Yogurt)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Add frozen spinach and artichokes to large saucepan over medium heat..

Original says sprinkle with salt but I hate the taste so I didn't add it.

Here is where you are supposed to make the cashew flour. Please see original if you chose to make it with cashews.

Instead, I mixed my seasonings together..

Measured about 3/4 cup Fage Greek Yogurt..

And started mixing both together with the spinach and artichokes that I had transferred to a bowl.

In all, I ended up adding about 1cup of greek yogurt.

Paired it with these chips I found at Ingle's!

The seasoning's that went into this dip made it absolutely delicious! I had plenty left over and thought it would be a healthy snack for the next couple days! Sweet potato chips do sound amazing with it.. need to find a recipe for that.. My sweet potato fries never turn out crispy so I need to look into that recipe.

PaleoOMG had a second version with 2 ounces of goat cheese. I picked some up at the grocery store and completely forgot to add it! Oh well!

It's What's for Dinner... Paleo Style

I sure did miss you guys yesterday! My plan is to catch up with all you guys today! The going to bed early at a decent hour has continued the past few nights.. WHOO HOO I'm on a roll! Seriously tho, 10:30 bedtime and I've been getting a good 8-9 hours restful sleep. I'm. Loving. It! 

Yesterday was a FULL day, and I just didn't make it here because I knew I would miss my bedtime if I would have opened my laptop. 

BUT, I wanted to share with you a new recipe I found last night for us to try for din din.

PALEO CROCKPOT JAMBALYA SOUP

Ingredients:

5c. chicken stock

4 peppers - any color you want, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 large can of organic diced tomatoes (leave the juice)

2 cloves garlic, diced

2 bay leafs

1 lb large shrimp, raw and de-veined

4 oz chicken, diced

1 package spicy Andouille sausage

1/2 -1 head of cauliflower

2c okra (optional)

3 tbsp Cajun seasoning 

1/4 c Frank's Red Hot (or hot sauce of your choice)

Or you can make your own Cajun seasoning:

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

(yields about 2/3 c)

1. Put the chopped peppers, onions, garlic, chicken, cajun seasoning, Red Hot, and bay leafs in the crockpot with the chicken stock. Set on low for 6 hours.

2. About 30 minutes before it's finished, toss in the cut up sausages.

3. While this is cooking quickly make cauliflower rice by pulsing raw cauliflower in the food processor until is resembles rice.

4. For the last 20 minutes, add in the cauliflower rice and the raw shrimp. Note: you can choose to quickly stem the cauliflower rice in the microwave and serve the jambalaya OVER it as well.

Doesn't sound just delicious??? 

Coach was helping me unpack groceries yesterday and he picked up the sausage and said, "YOU bought sausage???!" Yes honey... just for you I bought sausage. I didn't mean for you to see that it was "all natural, no hormones", but hopefully you will still eat it.

SOURCE // Life as a Plate

Paleo Banana Pancakes

Reporting to you live another paleo recipe that I absolutely LOVE! I know that I have already said that about the Pistachio Energy Bites but I have made these pancakes SEVERAL times... Shane loves these too!

We had them again yesterday (I probably need to watch how many times I have these) and just like Ultimate Paleo Guide suggests... its becoming one of my favorites for Saturday mornings!

PHOTO

1. Ingredients:
2. 2 ripe bananas
3. 2 eggs
4. 2 tsp honey
5. 1 tsp almond milk
6. 3 tbsp coconut flour
7. 1/2 tsp baking soda
8. Pinch of salt
9. 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
10. Maple syrup, for topping
11. Coconut oil

1. Whisk the bananas, eggs, honey, and almond milk together in a large bowl.
2. Add the coconut flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Set aside to rest for 4-5 minutes to allow the coconut flour to soak up the batter.
4. Meanwhile, place the blueberries and your desired amount of maple syrup into a saucepan over low heat.
5. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-8 minutes, until the blueberries have released their juices. Set aside to cool.
6. Heat a griddle to medium heat and coat with coconut oil.
7. Pour about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the griddle to make a small pancake.
8. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the pancake can be flipped.
9. Carefully flip over and cook for another 3-4 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.
10. Repeat with the remaining batter.
11. Serve warm, drizzled with the blueberry syrup

Let me know if you try them and how they turn out!

I'm pretty sure you will thank me. Ha!