Mr. and Mrs. Tenorman Chili

For those wondering, no I did not make my chili out of people. Unlike Cartman in South Park in the episode Scott Tenorman Must Die. But I wanted to name my carnivorous chili something that would stick in your minds. Like as if I made it out of people. Luckily for you my chili is 100% beef with some deliciousness mixed in.

There are a few cooking methods you can choose from in this recipe. I'll tell you how I did it, and then towards the end give you the alternatives. Sound good? Great.

Mr. and Mrs. Tenorman Chili
2 lbs ground chuck beef
16 oz tomato sauce
6 oz tomato paste
4 oz diced green Anaheim peppers (Fresh & Easy has a good organic canned green peppers in the "Latin" aisle)
1 cup beef broth
4 chipotle peppers, diced (The canned ones are perfect because they have the oils and juices all contained within!)
Chili seasonings - 1/4 cup total: chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder.


My method: Place all ingredients in a crock pot. Set on "high" and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. TASTE YOUR FOOD WHILE IT'S COOKING. Add more seasonings, broth, peppers to your taste. I ended up adding more chili powder and black pepper. The consistency you want is a nice thick chili. Not soupy. But if it starts getting too thick for you, just add a little beef broth until it is to your liking.

Super simple, right? Well here are two more ways you can make your chili.

Method 2: Same as above, but cook on "low" for 8 hours. This method is for those who will be gone all day and want dinner ready when you come home from work or school.

Method 3: In a large saucepan, brown beef on medium heat with about 2 TBL olive oil/coconut oil. Add tomato paste, sauce, chilies, broth and seasonings. Cover, and cook on medium-low heat for 2-3 hours or until you have a thick consistency.


Serve hot. We ate this just as it is. You can add raw chopped onions, or add a little hot sauce if you like! Or put it on some hot dogs... mmm... :P Obviously, if you are not Paleo, add cheese or french fries to make this super carb-a-icious.

Warm Chicken Salad

Ok friends, prepare yourself for this. This recipe was made by my lovely boyfriend Colin!

I've been having moments of dietary weakness recently, but Colin has been keeping me in line. So today while I was complaining about really wanting a pizza covered in macaroni and cheese (sounds brilliant, huh?!) he went into the kitchen and whipped up this delicious chicken salad.

Colin's Warm Chicken Salad (with dijon mustard reduction)


For the chicken:
1 (VERY) large chicken breast
1 TBL Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute (I highly recommend this one. Really good all-purpose seasoning to have around)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 TBL garlic salt
1/2 TBL Trader Joe's South African Smoke (Another of my favorite seasoning grinders. Again, GET IT! Sooooo good!) or substitute 1 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 TBL olive oil + 2 TBL for pan frying
1 1/2 TBL red wine vinegar + 1 TBL for reduction
water to boil (about a 4 cups)
1 1/2 TBL dijon mustard

For the base: 
2-3 cups green leave lettuce, chopped
2 radishes, sliced
1 bunch (about 15 leaves) of basil, sliced

Place chicken and all seasonings in a pot of water and cook on high heat for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked all the way through.

Once chicken is fully cooked, remove from water (SAVE THE WATER). Get a large sauce pan and heat about 2 TBL olive oil. Cut chicken in half lengthwise and brown in the olive oil.

Once you have a nice brown sear on the chicken, pour water from pot into the sauce pan. Reduce the water to about 1/2 of its original volume. Remove chicken from water. Cube the chicken and set aside.  Add dijon mustard and the remaining red wine vinegar to pan, and whisk thoroughly. Reduce the sauce to a 1/3 of it's original volume. Set aside.

Make the base of the salad by plating lettuce, radishes and basil. Top with chicken and dijon vinaigrette.

Voila!

Look how beautiful this is!! See boys, you can cook too!

Chicken Parmesana... minus the parmesan.

As a Sicilian woman, I love my flag foods! For those who don't know what the Italian flag looks like, it's green, white and red; like basil, cheese, and tomatoes. The three staples of Italian cuisine. Being Paleo means no cheese though. Which is HANDS DOWN the only thing I do not like about being Paleo. But, I digress... (that's what cheat days are for! haha!)

For tonight's dinner recipe, I wanted a Paleo version of Chicken Parmesana. So here is my gluten-free, dairy-free chicken dinner that's just as yummy as it is easy to make.

Chicken Parmesana...minus the parmesan. 
 For the chicken:
2 large free-range chicken breasts
2 large cage-free eggs
1 cup almond flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp oregano

For the sauce:
1 can whole tomatoes with sauce (make sure it's a good organic brand. I like Nina or Contadina)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced. (If you don't like that much garlic, you don't have to use this much. Cut it down to 2-3)
1/3 cup basil, chiffonade (just a fancy culinary term for thinly sliced)
2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more if you want it spicy!)
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp oregano
olive oil

Optional Super Easy Side Salad:
1 head ice burg lettuce
1/4 cup cucumbers, diced
2 carrots, diced
less than 1/4 cup green olives, sliced
Olive oil/Balsamic vinegar 1/4 cup mixed together.
salt/pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium sauce pan, heat up about 1 TBL olive oil. Add onions, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Simmer until the garlic and onions are slightly golden. Add tomatoes, basil,  salt, pepper, and oregano. Cook on medium-low for about 15-20 minutes.

While sauce is cooking, prepare the chicken. Skim chicken of any excess fat. In one bowl or tupperware,  add two eggs and mix. In a separate bowl, mix almond flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Dip chicken into egg coating evenly, and then into the almond flour mix, coating evenly. Place chicken into an oven-safe dish or pan. Bake for about 35 minutes. (If your oven is crappy like mine, crank it up to 400 degrees for the last 15 minutes of baking.)

While the chicken is in the oven, turn the stove down on the sauce to low. Let it simmer for the whole time the chicken is cooking.

For the salad, mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add olive oil and vinegar, or have it on the side.

Serve hot and enjoy your meal!

Pan-seared Pork Chops with Homemade Apple Sauce

I know just reading the title of this post you can hear Peter Brady saying "pork chops...and apple sauce." 

My version of this classic dinner will leave you wanting seconds. Again, I try to keep my dinners as simple as possible both for me and my readers to create. I know at the end of my day all I want to do is eat, and preparing a complex dinner always makes me tempted just to order take out. (But I don't!)

Pork is a delicious substitute for chicken. It's nice and lean and when cooked properly can be super juicy!

Pan-seared Pork Chops with Homemade Apple Sauce:
Pork Chops:
4 pork chops (bone-in or boneless.) I prefer bone-in, I feel like you get more tenderness and juice when cooking.
Sea Salt (I have neglected to say I use Himalayan Pink Sea Salt. It's delicate and packs a lot of flavor)
Pepper
Olive oil.

Apple Sauce:
2 Fuji apples, peeled, cored, and diced
2 Gala apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1/2 cup water
Sea Salt/Pepper to taste
1 TBL cinnamon
PINCH nutmeg. (about 1/8 tsp)

Optional: Grilled Onions:
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 TBL olive oil
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1 TBL balsamic vinegar

Prepare apples. Place apples and all ingredients into a 4 quart saucepan. Simmer on LOW for about 30 minutes, or until apples have reduced by almost half. Add water in small quantities throughout cooking if they start to look dry. You want a syrup-y consistency in the apples.

With about 15 minutes left in the cooking process of the apples, grill pork chops and onions. Season the pork with salt, pepper and olive oil and pan-sear them in a large frying pan. Cook until 170 degrees inside, or until there is NO pink left. (Under-cooked pork is very dangerous. Similar to undercooked chicken.)

While the pork is cooking, place sliced onions, olive oil, paprika and pepper in a separate frying pan. When they are about halfway cooked (soft, no grill marks yet) add the balsamic vinegar. Cook until soft and have blacked ends.

Serve hot with a side of fresh radishes.

Easy Steak and Potatoes with Jalapeno Salsa

A good staple for the Paleo diet is a nice juicy steak. At least for me it is. Chicken is delicious and all, but when the carnivore in me comes out, chewing on some red meat really gets my mouth watering!

I started out being a vegetarian (6 years of it!) then went to only eating chicken as a meat. Red meat was a little hard for me to get used to at first. But, I'm in love now, and it's in most of my dinners I make!

This recipe is really super duper simple for those nights you don't really feel like cooking, but you need a substantial amount of food in your belly.

Today is the 30th day of our 30-day strict Paleo diet. At the end of our trek, he lost 13 lbs and I lost 10 lbs! (thank you, thank you!). Had to get that out, now back to the recipe...

Easy Steak and (Sweet) Potatoes with Jalapeno Salsa
For the steaks:
2 top sirloin steaks
salt/pepper to taste

Sweet Potatoes:
4 large sweet potatoes, sliced into fries
2 TBL olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cinnamon

Jalapeno Salsa:
5 fresh jalapenos, seeded and diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 roma tomato, diced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1 TBL olive oil
1 TBL vinegar
juice of 1 lime
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt/pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice sweet potatoes into fries, and set them in a oven-safe pan or dish. Sprinkle with the olive oil, black pepper, and cinnamon. Bake for 30-35 min, or until the middle is soft and the outside is a little crunchy (just like normal french fries).

While the fries are cooking, make your salsa. Cut all of your veggies and mix well in a bowl. Add olive oil, vinegar, lime, and cayenne pepper and mix again. Salt and pepper it to your taste. Set aside. (You want the flavors to kind of melt together)

When the potatoes have about 10 min left to cook, start grilling your steaks. Salt and pepper the steaks to your liking. I have a cast-iron grill pan, but if you have an actual grill, that will work as well. Heat up the pan (or grill) and place steaks on it. Grill for about 5 min each side (more for more well-done steaks, and less for more rare steaks). I like my steaks medium to medium rare, so I cooked them for about 5-6 minutes each side.

The sweet potatoes should be perfectly done by the time your steaks are done. Serve immediately with the jalapeno salsa!

We had left-over salsa, so I put the remainder in a left-over jalapeno jar!