Recipe Roundup:  

Check out the following recipes and let me know what you think.  Also don't forget to share your favorite recipes with the community.  Email them to dana@cfnorcal.com.  

Curry Chicken

Ingredients

Sauce and Chicken:

• 1 lb of boneless/skinless organic chicken breast
• 1 can unsweetened Coconut Milk
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped or crushed ginger
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Fresh cilantro and red onions for garnish
• Cucumber

Curry Rice:

• 1 med head cauliflower – 20 oz
• 1/2 teaspoon ground curry
• 1 green onion – finely chopped
• dash of cayenne pepper, sea salt, ground black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

1. The original recipe calls for marinating the chicken overnight, but I do it a bit differently. Start by heating up some medium-diced chicken on the stove.
2. As it cooks, prep the sauce.  Just put the coconut milk in a large sauce pan, and start adding the spices, lemon juice, and ginger. There’s a lot of random spices, and it’ll look and smell funky, but don’t worry, it’s amazing. Keep that heating up while you move on to the cauliflower.
3. The fastest and easiest way to do the cauliflower is to chop them to small florets, then microwave them for a few minutes until they get soft. This is critical. Then, toss them in a food processor and just dice the hell out of ‘em.
4. Somewhere in the middle of step 3, take the somewhat cooked chicken, place it in a glass 8×8″ baking pan (pyrex style), and pour the sauce over it. Then toss it in the oven at 450 for about 20 minutes. This lets the sauce really cook into the meat and thicken up just a touch.
5. Now that the cauliflower is good and chopped, toss it into a hot pan with a bit of olive oil and just stir fry it like you would have rice.
6. When it’s all done, take a scoop of ‘rice,’ pour on some chicken and curry sauce, and garnish with red onion, cilantro, and cucumber. As Steve says, the cucumber will help you while eating this nice and spicy dish, so don’t leave it out.
7. Again, put half in the tupperware right away to keep yourself going back for seconds.

ENJOY!!!

Recipes!! 

Here is your weekly recipe roundup.  Remember if you take the time this weekend to prepare for the week ahead you will be glad you did.  Here are a few recipes to get you started.  They are found at www.healthbent.com.  It is a very organized and easy to use site.  As always, feel free to share your favorite recipes by sending them to dana@cfnorcal.com.  Cheers!!!

Courtesy of http://www.health-bent.com/paleo-diet-recipes

Thai Basil Meatballs

• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 lbs ground beef (preferably 80/20)
• 1/2 c almond flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 roasted red pepper, about 1/3 c, chopped
• 1/4 c wheat-free soy sauce or coconut aminos
• 1 t fish sauce
• 1 t sriracha, chile sauce or hot sauce
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 lime, zested
• salt

Method

Preheat your oven 400ºF.
In a small skillet, heat up a teaspoon or 2 of your fat of choice and saute the garlic until it’s golden, but not brown.
In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients (except the beef). Now add the beef and mix well, making sure everything is thoroughly combined.
Portion out the mixture, using a cookie scoop, onto a parchment or silicone/silpat lined baking sheet.
Pop in the oven until cooked through, and the tops have slightly browned (you may need to switch to broil), about 20-30 minutes.

Buffalo Ceaser Chicken Salad

• 1 lb chicken, chopped in ½” cubes
• 2 T FOC (fat of choice)
• 3 T hot sauce
• 1 t cajun seasoning (no salt added)–if you can’t find it or don’t have it, just use hot sauce

Heat FOC and add diced chicken. Sear on high heat before flipping to facilitate the browning action. When the chicken is cooked through (10-15 minutes total, 5-7.5 per side) add hot sauce and cajun seasoning directly to pan…stir in and keep on low heat until ready to serve.

Roasted Garlic Dressing

• ½ C avocado mayo
• 2 T white wine or apple cider vinegar
• 6 cloves roasted garlic
• S & lots of P

Make mayo per directions. Peel the garlic cloves and place in a piece of  foil, drizzle with olive oil and crumple the foil into a pouch shape. Roast the garlic in a 400°F oven until golden brown (about 10 minutes). Don’t burn it! Add all the ingredients to food processor and blend until smooth. Parmesan would be a welcome addition here, if you wish. We didn’t use it and know it’ll be delicious either way.

For the Salad

• 2 heads romaine, chopped
• roasted red peppers, diced
• kalamata olives
• anchovies, if you like ‘em
• 4 portobello mushrooms, sliced thin
• balsamic vinegar
• S&P

Clean and remove gills from mushrooms. Slice thin. Saute the shrooms in your FOC, until softened. If you want, remove the chicken from the pan and use it to saute the shrooms. Add a splash of balsamic vinegar and S&P.
Serve romaine topped with sauteed mushrooms, diced red pepper, olives, buffalo chicken and garlic dressing.

 

Recipe Time!! 

What a beautiful weekend!  I know you don't want to think about it, but another busy week lies ahead tomorrow.  Your busy week also requires lots of healthy food to keep you humming along.  Sundays are a great time to prepare some tasty meals ahead of time.  Here are a few great recipes to get your cooking juices flowing. Enjoy!!

Recipes courtesy of Meat and Veggies: Paleo Receipes for Crossfit.  Check 'em out.  Nicely organized, easy to understand recipes, and colorful pictures to get you stoked to cook.  Share your favorite recipes to comments.  

Thick Cut Pork Chops with Balsamic Vinegar Sauce

INGREDIENTS

4 Bone-in rib pork chops, about 1 1/2 inches thick (about 12 ounces each)
1/4 cup table salt

5 ounces bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 large shallots, minced (about 1/2 cup)
Pinch sugar
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 1 tablespoon garlic)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup dry Marsala wine or sweet vermouth
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into 4 pieces

DIRECTIONS

Brine the pork chops: dissolve the salt in 6 cups cold water in a large bowl. Add the pork chops and refrigerate until fully seasoned, about one hour. Remove the pork chops from the brine, rinse, and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Season the chops with pepper.

Cook the pork chops: adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position, place a shallow roasting pan or rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 450 degrees. When the oven reaches 450 degrees, heat the oil in a heavy bottomed 12-inch skillet over high heat until shimmering. Lay the chops in the skillet and cook until well browned and a nice crust has formed on the surface, about 3 minutes (1 1/2 to 2 minutes for thinner chops). Turn the chops over with tongs and cook until well browned a nice crust has formed on the second side, 2 to 3 minutes longer (only 1 to 2 minutes for thinner chops, just until a crust has formed).

Using the tongs, transfer the chops to the preheated pan in the oven (start the pan sauce as soon as the chops are in the oven). Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a chop register 125 or 127 degrees, 8 to 10 minutes (3 to 5 for thinner chops, keep a thermometer running as to prevent over cooking), turning the chops over once halfway through the cooking time. Transfer the chops to a platter, tent loosely with foil, and let rest for 5 minutes. Check the internal temperature, it should register 145 degrees.

Once the chops have been placed in the oven, start the sauce.

Make the sauce: pour off the fat in the skillet used to brown the chops. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and cook the bacon until crisp, about 6 minutes (I have to use a medium low heat to keep the bacon grease from smoking). Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate; pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat. Reduce the heat to low, add the shallots and sugar and cook until the shallots are softened, about 1 minute (do not brown). Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Increase the heat to medium0high, stir in the vinegar, and scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits. Add the Marsala wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the butter, one piece at a time, until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon the sauce over the chops and sprinkle bacon on top.

Serve immediately.

Spinach, Shrimp and Avocado Salad

INGREDIENTS

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped capers (optional)
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 clove minced garlic
Kosher salt
Pepper
2 bunches flat leaf spinach, thick stems removed (about 8 cups)
1 pound cooked, peeled, and deveined medium shrimp (see note below if you have raw shrimp on hand)
4 plum tomatoes, sliced or chopped
1 avocado, sliced

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, oil, capers (if using), honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and garlic.

In a large bowl, combine the spinach, shrimp, tomatoes, and avocado and toss with the vinaigrette.

Place tossed salad in individual bowls or plates and serve. Enjoy!