Fajita chicken is a staple at my house. I use it in fajitas, tacos, on salads, as a protein main with other veggies such as green beans or squash and zucchini... you could even top a potato with it and other 'fajita' toppings for a tasty meal higher in carbohydrates. It's pretty versatile. Quick and simple, just like I like it!
NOTE: If you have a George Foreman grill or similar you can simply season the meat and put it on the grill for a fast salad topper. It is lower in fat this way and not quite as tasty in my opinion but very fast and easy. I do not have a grill at the moment, of any type, so am working on fajita meat on the stove top. This one is just a seasoned meat rather than a marinade but I am working on a marinaded fajita chicken as well. INGREDIENTS:
PROCEDURE:
I love pasta. It really is that simple. Lasagna, manicotti, spaghetti, linguini, mac 'n' cheese... the whole lot of them... love them. Before going Paleo I was working on perfecting my recipes for all things pasta related. I had some pretty awesome lasagna and manicotti recipes to be honest. When I stopped eating wheat literally the first thing I did was start searching the web for pasta replacements... nothing quite matches the texture of wheat-based pastas unfortunately. I still eat 'pasta' these days but it comes in a different form. There is a bigger emphasis on hearty sauces in my case... lots of chunky tomatoes, chopped mushrooms, meat, fresh garlic and herbs, a little olive oil. I don't do a lot of cream sauces myself simply because I'm not a huge fan of cream sauces. The 'noodles' are the secondary part of the meal these days, a small portion of the total meal. I will be talking about two types of noodles this week... shiratake noodles (Miracle Noodles are a branded version of these) and zoodles, or zucchini noodles.
Miracles Noodles come in several forms- angel hair, fettuccine, ziti, rice, spinach (angel hair), black (angel hair) and garlic and herb (fettuccine). I only tried three of these for the review... eventually even I get a little tired of pasta. I tried: angel hair, spinach and fettuccine. There were some good things and some bad things for each of the styles but overall I thought they were an replacement but not something I am going to be using all the time in my cooking. I would like to try the ziti and garlic and herb varieties at some point and will review those if I do try them as I think the texture might change somewhat. For all of these noodles there are some important tips you should know: 1. Rinse... rinse a lot. As soon as you open the pouch you will smell a fishy odor as shirataki are packed in brine. This isn't a huge deal in the scheme of things though as you simply dump them into a colander and run them under cold water for several minutes to remove the scent. 2. Cook them in the sauce. The good thing about these 'noodles' is that they absorb the flavors they are cooked in. I made a shrimp scampi with the angel hair... lots of lemon, parsley, garlic and butter. Guess what the noodles tasted of... lemon, parsley, garlic and butter. When I made a meaty tomato sauce they tasted of tomato and garlic. The key is to cook the noodles in some of the sauce so that they absorb the flavors. Toss a little of your sauce in the pan when you are heating the noodles for a better flavor. Angel Hair: This one was the first one I tried. I also tried an off brand of this variety that I found at the local Asian market near my house. I saw very little difference if between the off brand and the brand named angel hair shiratake. This was my favorite of the three simply because I am a texture person and there was less of a chewy consistency to these because they were thinner. I keep a pouch of these in my pantry just in case I get a craving for pasta so that I can grab some of my homemade sauce out of the freezer to cook up with these and be done in a few minutes with little planning. Spinach: I saw very little difference between the normal angel hair and the spinach variety of angel hair shirataki. There may have been a slight difference in the chew but overall they were still chewier than a wheat pasta so I tended to cut the pasta in my sauce rather than twirl the pasta... again, huge texture person and my focus on pasta nights is now the sauce with a little bit of 'pasta' on the side. Fettuccini: These were my least favorite... they are a lot chewier than the angel hair variety since they are thicker. I really did not enjoy the chew as it reminded me of sea food... like a calamari texture almost. My ex enjoyed these as part of a shrimp scampi dish though so it is all about the sauce. If you are a big texture person like me though I would steer clear of these thicker versions of the shirataki noodles. I do need to warn you to read the labels on shirataki you may purchase though (anything you purchase in a package actually) as some contain soy or other ingredients you may not want to eat now that '0-calorie' noodles have been around for a while. I would imagine the additions help the texture but I do not want those things in my body- especially the soy- so I have not tried them. It get's costly to purchase a store bought rub or spice mix any time I want to make something (and there are usually added sugars and other chemicals that I don't want to eat) so I mix my own spices in bulk for things I make regularly. For me this means that, in addition to the dozens of individual spices I have in my cabinet, I have small mason jars of mixes and rubs in the pantry all of the time. It saves me money but, even more importantly on days I get home tired and need to cook still, it saves me time and effort. $1.50 for a packet of taco seasoning or $0.25 or less using quality ingredients and no fillers... let me think... easy decision, right? Right now I only have a couple homemade mixes on the shelf as I have been a little lazy lately and just thought "I'll do it later" when I ran out of things but I have: BBQ dry rub, Rotisserie rub and taco seasoning. This is the recipe for the rub I used on tomorrow's post on the Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken. One note: It does cost more upfront to purchase all of the ingredients to make your own spice mixtures but the per portion cost is lower... so if you are like me and on a budget it might be easier to start with one mix at a time and see how often you use it before mixing up another batch of something so that you don't have unused spices sitting for months on end. INGREDIENTS:
PROCEDURE: 1. Mix all spices together well. You can use a spoon, a whisk, or (if you want a really fine powder that is more consistent) you can even use a Magic Bullet or other processor. 2. Store in an airtight container.
Mayo is a pretty simple and quick condiment to make with the right tools. I have heard of people doing this by hand (ow...) as well as in food processors and with mixers. It seems the best way to make mayo is with an immersion blender and the second best way is with a food processor from what I have heard from others who have attempted this, and similar, recipes. Using an immersion, or stick, blender I have yet to have a batch fail to come out properly but the key is in the super slow drizzle of the oil.
Let's start with the basics of mayo making... you need eggs, an acid, an oil, a bit of salt, mustard, and possibly spices. Some people use egg whites with lemon juice and olive oil while others use apple cider vinegar with whole eggs and avocado oil... it all depends on what flavor you want to come out with in the end. If I want an aioli for instance I am going to use the lemon juice option and toss in some garlic at the end. On the other hand, if I want a good herb mayo spread I'm going to go with the apple cider vinegar and stick with a less flavorful mustard so that the flavors of the herbs I add really stand out. Not only are there many different combinations to make mayo but it is a pretty useful thing to have. It can be used as a spread, in casseroles, in tuna (or egg) salad, in dips and other appetizers, in sauces, as the base of creamy salad dressings... you'll be surprised how many uses for mayo there are when you start looking! My basic mayo recipe is as follows: INGREDIENTS: 1 C Extra Light Tasting Olive Oil (not EVOO) 1 Large Egg Yolk 1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard (I prefer Dusseldorf mustard but they didn't have any at the market... sad day...) Salt to taste PROCEDURE: 1. Mix everything except the oil together in a bowl. *It is best to use eggs that are at room temperature as they tend to emulsify better I have found.
2. Use the immersion/stick blender to whip up the mixture as you SLOWLY drizzle in the olive oil. The key here is slow and steady.
3. Put the mayo into an airtight container and refrigerate.
If you lacto-ferment it then it will last about 2 weeks in the fridge. If you do not then it tends to last about a week. It is also really easy to scale up or down this recipe depending on how much you wish to make. If you don't know how to lacto-ferment your condiments it is a really simple process that I will cover in a few days... so come back and check it out!
What do you use mayo in? What additional spices do you add to it to give it that extra kick of awesome (I've heard of a spicy mayo that sound pretty amazing)? The blender I have is the first one below and I love it but the price has gone up a bit so I also added one that is a little more cost effective.
Bone broth is one of the easiest, most versatile and healthy recipes in the Paleo arsenal. It has a plethora of minerals and proteins that your body needs to run optimally and it tastes great too! As I have joint issues it is very important for me to get a lot of gelatin (and other joint supporting nutrition) into my diet so I LOVE using bone broth in my dishes. Personally, I use it as the base of many of my soups but it can also be used to de-glaze pans when making sauces, roast or saute vegetables, add flavor to a variety of main and side dishes or even drink it alone if you are so inclined. My recipes for bone broth is both super simple and works in the crock pot... which means that I do next to no work to get this fabulous broth! I don't often go through enough meat in any one month to have enough bones using only my leftover ones unfortunately but lucky for me there is an Asian market about 10 minutes away that stocks bones by the pound so I can make bone broth whenever I run out.
A tip for freezing: freeze it in ice trays or other shallow dishes for easy thawing later. I have found that ice trays are perfect as they are pre-measured and small enough to thaw single serving portions fast but I can always grab my bag of broth cubes and make stew quickly as well. Here's the recipe: INGREDIENTS:
PROCEDURE:
2. Add the chicken bones to the crock pot.
3. Fill the crock pot the rest of the way with water.
4. Add vinegar
5. Place top on crock and turn the crock pot on low temperature
6. Walk away for 24-36 hours
7. Strain the broth through a fine mesh to remove veg and bones
8. Cool the broth
9. Remove layer of fat that solidifies on top of the, now gelled, broth if using non-grass fed/pastured animal bones
10. Measure out the broth as desired. You can typically keep it in the fridge for about 5 days or freeze part of it if you won't be using it all right away
*I have an adverse reaction when I chop celery (instant migraine) so I purchase my celery pre-chopped but this isn't necessary nor necessarily optimal.
Your broth may vary in color from batch to batch depending on the bones you are using, the amount of remaining flesh, whether you roast your bones before using them for broth (good for beef bones especially), and the additional ingredients you add such as veg and herbs. Beef broth, pictured in cubes above, tends to be darker than chicken or fish for instance. Curious where I get my ingredients? I get my ingredients all over the metroplex, on Amazon and through Young Living as a distributor. Don't want to search out stores to pick them up? I'll make it easy! You can place an order through me for any oils you may need and here are some quick links for the non-perishable ingredients and tools on Amazon should you wish to order online:
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