Bruschetta Steak (or Chicken)

Ingredients:
*Steak (or boneless/skinless chicken breasts)
*1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
*1/2 Tbsp. olive oil
*3 medium tomatoes, diced
*2 cloves garlic, minced
*2 tsp. dried basil
* salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1.  Combine vinegar, oil, tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt and pepper in bowl.  Mix gently.  Set aside.

2.  Grill/cook/bake steak (or chicken).

3.  Top meat with Bruschetta during last few minutes of cooking.

Serving Suggestion:  Serve over zucchini noodles or with sweet potato fries and a side of roasted veggies.

Lime-Chili Chicken

Ingredients:
*3/4 cup lime juice
*2 Tbsp. olive oil
*2 Tbsp. chili powder
*2 tps. oregano
*2 tsp. cumin
*2 tsp. sage
*salt and pepper, to taste
*8 boneless/skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
1.  Combine all ingredients and allow chicken to marinate for a couple of hours.

2.  Remove chicken from marinade, transfer marinade to saucepan and bring to low boil.  Boil/simmer until marinade begins to thicken.

3.  Grill chicken.  Brush with marinade several times during grilling.

Notes:  This is marinade is fairly mild.  For a bigger "kick", increase chili powder and/or cumin as desired.

Recipe Source:  Adapted from CivilizedCavemanCooking.com

Balsamic Steak

Ingredients:
*steak
*balsamic vinegar
*tomatoes, sliced
*Italian seasoning
*salt and pepper

Directions:
1.  Marinate steaks in balsamic vinegar for 2-3 hours.

2.  Season steaks with salt and pepper then grill.

3.  Top with tomatoes during last few minutes of cooking, sprinkle with Italian seasoning.

Notes:
-All ingredients are as desired, as much or as little as you like.
-Can also be cooked on stove top or in baked in oven.
-To bake:  Place meat in baking dish (may want to add a little olive oil first), bake at 375-degrees until almost done.  (Baking time will vary depending on thickness of steaks.)  Top with tomatoes and Italian seasoning when meat is nearly done, then broil for about 5 minutes.

Serving Suggestion:  Serve on a bed of baby spinach leaves (the meat juices and balsamic make a good dressing), or with a spinach salad.

Butter-Stuffed Chicken Breasts

This dish is my own concoction, inspired by something I used to make and something I saw on a Paleo recipe website. It was really good and we'll have it again.

Ingredients:
*8 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
*8 Tbsp. ghee (clarified butter)
*1/2 tsp. salt
*1/4 tsp. garlic powder
*1/4 tsp. onion powder
*1/4 tsp. pepper
*collard greens, as much as you like
*parlsey


Directions:
1.  Soften butter and stir in seasonings.  Divide into 8 portions.

2.  Place collard greens in microwave-safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes or until greens are tender.

3.  Pound chicken to about 1/2-inch thickness.

4.  Place one portion of butter on each chicken breast, top with collard greens.

5.  Roll chicken breasts and secure with toothpicks.  Place in baking dish sprayed with olive oil.

6.  Salt and pepper rolled chicken then bake at 375-degrees for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is done.

7.  Garnish with parsley before serving.

Serving Suggestion:  Goes well with spinach salad with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dressing.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This recipe has a lot of ingredients and although it does take some time, it's not as time-consuming as it looks.  Regardless, it's delicious and worth every minute.  (This is not the greatest picture.  Hopefully I'll get a better one at some point.)

Ingredients:  (chicken)
*6-8 boneless-skinless chicken breasts, seasoned and cut into bite-sized chunks
*2 Tbsp. olive oil
*1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
*1 Tbsp. lemon juice
*1 1/2 cups coconut milk
*2 Tbsp. minced garlic
*1 Tbsp. ground ginger
*pinch of cayenne pepper
*generous pinch (or 3) of salt
*1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
*1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
*1 Tbsp. turmeric
*1 tsp. black pepper


Directions:
1.  Combine all ingredients in large baking dish.

2.  Cover and bake at 400-degrees for 45-60 minutes.


Ingredients:  (sauce)
*2 Tbsp. olive oil
*2 cups baby carrots, sliced (optional)
*2 cups sweet potatoes or potatoes, cut in chunks (optional)
*1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
*6-oz can tomato paste
*1 1/2 cups coconut milk
*28-oz can tomatoes, do not drain
*1 Tbsp. lemon juice
*1 Tbsp. minced garlic
*1/2 cup water
*2 tsp. paprika
*1/2 tsp. salt
*1/2 tsp. cumin
*1/2 tsp. garam masala
*1/2 tsp. turmeric

Directions:
1.  In large pot, saute carrots and potatoes in olive oil.  Add onion powder and water and simmer until veggies are tender.

2.  Add remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir often.

3.  Spoon baked chicken into sauce.  Simmer another 20 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.

Serving Suggestion:  Serve over cauliflower rice.

Recipe Source:  Adapted from MarksDailyApple.com

Beef Stew

Ingredients:
*2 Tbsp. olive oil
*1 onion, chopped
*4 ribs celery, chopped
*2 1/2 lbs. stew meat
*baby carrots, as many as you like
*1-2 pints green beans (or 1-2 15oz cans if you don't bottle your own)
*1 sweet potato, cut in chunks (optional)
*3 pints tomatoes (or 3 15oz cans if you don't bottle your own)
*1 tsp rosemary
*1/2 tsp. ground thyme

Directions:
1. In a large pot, saute onion and celery in olive oil until tender.

2. Add carrots and meat and sweet potatoes. Cook until meat it done.

3. Add tomatoes.

4. Add beans and seasonings.

5. Simmer on low to allow liquid to boil off until desired consistency is reached.

Recipe Source: Adapted from PaleoDietLifstyle.com

Lettuce Tacos

Ingredients:
*head of lettuce, washed
*1 - 2 lbs. ground meat
*the following, to taste:
-salt
-pepper
-garlic powder
-onion powder
-cumin
-chili powder
*the following, as desired (optional)
-onions, diced
-pepper, diced
-anything else you like in your taco meat

Directions:
1. Brown and season meat as desired. Add other veggies, if desired.

2. Place spoonful of taco meat on lettuce leaf, roll and enjoy.

Fried Chicken

Ingredients:
*coconut oil
*3 eggs
*2 cups almond flour
*2 tsp. paprika
*2 tsp. garlic powder
*1 tsp. thyme
*1 tsp. salt
*1 tsp. pepper
*2 lbs. chicken

Directions:
1. Pour oil into frying pan til it is about 1/2-inch deep. Heat.

2. In a bowl, whisk eggs.

3. Combine dry ingredients in bowl and stir until uniform. Pour onto large platter.

4. Dip chicken in eggs. Roll in dry mixture to coat.

5. Fry in oil approximately two minutes each side. Move to rack placed on large baking sheet.

6. Bake in oven at 400-degrees until chicken is done. For boneless pieces, approximately 20 minutes. For bone-in, approximately 40 minutes.

Recipe Source: Adapted from PaleoComfortFoods.com

Cabbage and Meatballs

Ingredients:
*1 head cabbage, chopped
*3 lbs. ground meat (I use turkey but anything or a combination of different ground meats will work.)
*1/2 onion, minced
*medium zucchini, shredded (optional)
*2 tsp. ground coriander
*2 tsp. garlic powder
*2 pints tomatoes, do not drain  (or 2 - 15oz cans if you don't have home-bottled tomatoes)
*handful baby carrots or a couple of regular carrots
*salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.  Spread half of cabbage in bottom of slow cooker.

2.  In large bowl, mix meat, onion, spices, salt and pepper with hands until veggies and spices are evenly distributed.  

3.  Form meatballs.  (Make into about 2-inch balls.)

4.  Place meatballs on top of cabbage.

5.  Place remaining cabbage over meatballs.  Add carrots.  Pour tomatoes on top.

6.  Cook on low for 6 hours or until meatballs are done.

7.  Remove and discard carrots before serving.*

Notes:
*Usually sugar is added to recipes calling for tomatoes due to the acidity of the tomatoes.  Carrots supposedly absorb some of the acid, make the sugar unnecessary.

Recipe Source:  Adapted from MarksDailyApple.com