Paleo Jambalaya

So, I have been trying to create more budget-friendly paleo meals lately, and let me just say I have not been too successful, but this one was pretty good.

So... here it is, and let me warn you, it's spicy. If you don't like it hot, leave out the Cayenne Pepper!

And, I will be honest, all of my measurements are guesstimates. What I do is spinkle the spices over the whole pan, so I would say it comes out to an equivalent of about 1&1/2 Teaspoons, unless otherwise stated.

Here is what you'll need:

2 TBSP Garlic, chopped
1/2 C Marinara Sauce/Spaghetti Sauce etc
1.5 Teasp Parsely
1.5 Teasp Thyme
1.5 Teasp Oregano
1.5 Teasp Pepper
1.5 Smoked (or regular) Paprika
Sprinkle Salt
3 Bell Peppers, thinly sliced
1 Onion, thinly sliced
1 package Hot Italian Sausage
Olive Oil
Ghee (optional, but delicious!)

Heat the Olive oil and Ghee in a pan. I used about 2 TBSP of each, if you dont have one or the other, you can sub with any fat of your choice. Toss in the bell peppers and onions, and sautee in the oil/ghee mixture for about 3 minutes. Next, add all of the spices (excluding the marinara) and simmer over medium heat with a lid on the pan. After about 3-5 minutes, stir the onions and peppers, then stir in the sausage and the marinanra sauce. Continue to simmer and stir every 3-5 minutes for about 15 more minutes. Turn off the stove and let sit for about 5 minutes, then enjoy.

**Next time I think I will serve this over Cauliflower Rice.

Paleo-ish Coconut Cookies

Alright so I made these two ways because I was not sure which method would taste better. I made one batter only, however, one batch was cooked and one batch was frozen. As you will see in the ingredients, there is nothing that HAS to be cooked to be consumed, so not to worry.

Here is what you'll need:
1 TBSP Vanilla
1 & 1/2 C Shredded Coconut
1/2 C Coconut Flour
1/2 C Coconut Butter
1/4 C Coconut Oil

then

1/2 C Chocolate Chips (I use EnjoyLife brand, it's Dairy free)
1 TBSP Coconut Oil


Start by combining the first list of ingredients in a bowl. You may have to heat up the coconut oil and butter a little bit to soften it up for mixing. Next, roll the dough up into little balls and place them on a cookie sheet or plate (depending on your method of cooking/freezing). If you choose to cook them, they go in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. If you don't want to cook them, then freeze them! Either way, step two is the same. Take the second list of ingredients and microwave them while stirring occasionally. Make sure not to burn the chocolate/coconut oil mixture. Once the mixture is melted, pour a little over each ball and then place them in the freezer for 5-10 minutes.

After making these, I let my family sample them and I made them vote on which were better, frozen or cooked, and we all voted for the cooked batch! Do what you want, but I really think the cooked batch tasted better. Enjoy!

Paleo Coconut Blueberry Muffins

Yummy little bundles of healthy fats!

Here is what you'll need:

1.5 C Almond Flour
.5 C Coconut Flour
1.5 C Blueberries
.5 C Almond Butter
.5 C Organic Raw Honey
.5 C Coconut Milk
4 eggs
1 Teasp Baking Soda
Pinch Salt
Coconut Shavings for tops

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. I am really lazy so I just added everything together in a big bowl and mixed it thoroughly. I had to heat up the almond butter so it was smooth and easier to mix. Next, I filled a muffin tin with some cupcake liners and filled them about 3/4 full with the batter, and sprinkled coconut shavings on top. Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy!

Paleo Beef and Sweet Potato Hash

By the way, I have no idea why my pictures are near the left, they are supposed to be in the center.. whatevs!

So I have sort of an addiction. I am really addicted to grocery shopping, and buying random things. I NEVER go to the store with a list, I just plan my meals as I gaze around the store, that's bad, I know. So sometimes I am faced with a surplus of food in my kitchen and I get nervous it is all gonna spoil so I think of recipes where I can throw random ingredients together, and that is how this came along. I was very skeptical as Paul and I sat down to eat, but wow this was REALLY tasty!

Here is what you'll need:

2-3 TBSP Coconut oil
2 TBSP chopped garlic
1 medium onion, chopped
2 small sweet potatoes, chopped
4ish c spinach
Salt-n-pepper to taste
1 TBSP Coconut flour
1 lb ground beef

In a pan, add 2 TBSP of the oil and the onion, cook until translucent, then add the garlic and sweet potatoes and sautee for about 7-10 minutes. Next, add in the ground beef and salt and pepper, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes. Now add in the coconut flour to soak up some of the beef grease, then the spinach and sautee for about a minute. And that's it, enjoy!

P.S. We had some Tapatio on ours and it was delish! Kind of sweet and spicy!

Paleo Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

I adopted these from a recipe that a friend had at the gym, I think they were from Robb Wolf's site... They are very yummy!


Here is what you'll need:

3 1/2 C Almond Flour
~ 1 c Coconut Flour
1 1/2 Tea Baking Soda
3 Eggs
1/2 c Raw Organic Honey
1/2 c Coconut Oil
1 c Chocolate Chips (I use Enjoy Life brand)
3 Tea Vanilla
3/4 c Shredded Coconut

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all the dry ingredients, including the chocolate chips and coconut.

Next, add the remaining ingredients. Mine was a little dry so I had to add extra honey, just eyeball it.

Bake for 12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Paleo Cream Sauce

I couldn't believe my tastebuds. This was amazing. I was trolling around on one of my favorite blogs, paleomg.com, and I found this recipe. I didn't quite have the exact ingredients, so I tweaked it a little. It was really good, and it kinda resembled a cheese sauce to me.

Here is what you'll need:
Approximately 3/4 c roasted peppers (I used the mini bell peppers, in red, yellow and orange, I just sauteed them in coconut oil)
1/4 c Almond Butter
1/2 c Coconut milk
1 Tea Onion powder
1 Tea Garlic Powder
1.5 Tea Mustard Seeds
Sprinkle of Salt & Pepper

Place all the ingredients in the food processor or blender and blend until you have a creamy sauce. Then, just heat up the sauce on low and pour it over whatever veggies you like. I poured mine over sausages and asparagus. I will definitely make this again!

Paleo Coconut Chicken Strips

These were so good!

Here is what you'll need:

1lb Chicken Strips (I used Free range Organic Chicken strips from TJ's)
2 eggs
1/2 c shredded coconut
1/2 c almond meal
1/4ish c coconut flour
1/4 c coconut oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl, and in a separate bowl, wisk together the eggs. Next, melt the coconut oil in a large sautee pan on the stove. Once the coconut oil is heated up (by the way, it should be over medium heat or it will burn), then just dunk each chicken strip in eggs, then the salt & pepper/flour/coconut mixture and then fry the strips in the coconut oil about 3 minutes each side.

We made some honey mustard to dunk them in, but they were pretty tasty just plain! Enjoy!