We have decided to start a blog to share our recipes and to also keep them in a place we can easily access them. We hope you enjoy them and the little tid bits of our lives that we throw in. Most recipes will be based on primal principles although a few non-primal baked goods may slip in :)

Monday, September 26, 2011

Back to Primal after Pumpkin


This weekend we headed down to the R&J Hideaway in Barnesville for yet another awesome Pumpkin Festival. We over indulged on pumpkin ice cream, porktatos, pie iron masterpieces and of course some of the 6 batches of chocolate chip cookies. Having said all that we both did not feel our best after having ate so many things that we normally do not. If I can say one thing about primal eating is that it makes us feel good. Soooooooooo after our weekly trip to Kroger and in need of some delicious meat we decided to splurge a little on some beef tenderloin.

Bacon wrapped steak: wrap steak in bacon, secure with toothpick and grill to your liking.

Sweet potato: either bake or microwave, add a little butter

Onions & Mushrooms: bring skillet and about a tablespoon of coconut oil to medium heat. Add chopped onion and cover. Once onions are pretty soft add chopped mushrooms and a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Cover and cook on low heat until mushrooms are tender.

Enjoy!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Probably the best meal we have ever made...

Over the weekend Adam and I went apple picking with my parents at Lynd's Fruit Farm. We picked some delicious Jonathon apples. Since then I have been dying to make this recipe. It is a little labor intensive and you should not do it when you are also trying to make 6 batches of chocolate chip cookies for a weekend trip.....ha.

I followed the recipe with a few changes. Of course we used Jonathon apples instead of Granny Smith and used 2 instead of 1. One did not seem like it would be enough and I was right. Two is the perfect amount so that you have enough for stuffing and topping. The recipe also never tells you when to use the cinnamon. I mixed it in with the sauce for one top...YUM! Also did not use the lemon zest or the parsley.

Our side was Adam's green beans (see older post).

Steak 'n Squash


Yet another super easy dinner. Steak with salt and pepper grilled and Papa Pitstick butternut squash baked in the oven. YUM

Monday, September 19, 2011

Angela's Shrimp Tacos!


On this rainy Monday, Adam and I decided to do a semi-primal Mexican dish to make us think of warm sunny days :). It is another easy recipe and good for a Monday.

Shrimp Tacos:

Ingredients:

shrimp (as many as you think you need, we used a package of 30-35 cocktail shrimp)
iceberg lettuce
2 roma tomatos
half of a red onion
1 teaspoon of chopped fresh cilantro
juice from half a lime
1 teaspoon of
1 can of corn
1 can of black beans

For marinade:
4 teaspoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of sauce from a can of chipotles en adobo (it could use a little more if you like a kick. Also you do not use all of the adobo sauce/chipotles so just freeze the rest)
zest of lime (used the lime from above)
1 tablespoon of lime juice (again used half of the lime from above)
2 cloves of garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon of salt

Mix marinade together and marinade shrimp for 20 minutes.

While that is marinading, warm corn and beans together. Pull the lettuce leaves apart and place on plate in fridge.

Dice the tomato and onion, mix it with the cilantro and lime juice, YUM homemade salsa.

Once the shrimp is done marinading, saute in pan until they turn white.

Put all in the lettuce leaves and enjoy! We also put on some sour cream, you could also put on some cheese.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Dinner for One


So Adam is in Nashville for the week for work so I was left to fend for myself. Not used to cooking for 1 anymore. So I went back to a favorite from my single days. A pork chop with peppers and onions. It is really easy and takes only about 20 minutes start to finish.

I was able to pack some more things up for the move and watched Rieley one night which is always fun. We watched Beauty and the Beast, her favorite at the time, and just hung out. She always packs snacks for us to share and I love how happy she is to see me when I pick her up :).

I am ready for Adam to be home!!!! We are running a 10k this weekend in the Hocking Hills called the Indian Run. I ran this last year while training for a half marathon. It is AWESOME! It is a trail run through the beautiful Hocking Hills. We have not been really training to run it in any kind of time, just doing it to help restart out fitness routine which has been slacking since the wedding and all the moving began.

Easy Pork Chops and Peppers:

Grill pork chop or bake it. Baking takes a little longer. Seasoned with salt and pepper.

Cut peppers and onions into long slices. Saute in pan with butter until peppers are soft. I usually put a lid on the pan to help cook them faster. I also like when there is a little bit of almost a roasted look to them. Only use about 1 tablespoon of butter.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Home Grown Squash!


There is nothing better than vegetables from the garden. Adam and I are lucky that my dad plants a HUGE garden every year. This year we got lots of cucumbers, broccoli, onions, carrots and now butternut and acorn squash!

We had tons of time this night so we made the squash the right way and not the easy way. Usually we just cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds, place on plate and cover with plastic wrap and put it in the microwave until it is done. But the best way is to do it in the oven.

It is pretty easy if you have about 45 minutes or an hour to bake it. Just cut in half, scoop out the seeds and score the inside of the squash with a knife. The place in a baking pan with the yummy side down. Add about 1/2 inch of water. Bake until soft.

We usually put some butter and a little brown sugar on top.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Beginning to Move and Comfort Meal



Adam and I spent Tuesday night moving stuff to the house we are going to be renting for the next year. Got a lot moved and then topped it off with a bike ride. The bike path is .8 miles from the house!! YEAH!!

Then it was home to make our favorite meatloaf recipe! And steamed asparagus. The good thing about this recipe is that it makes enough (if it is just 2 people) to take later in the week for lunches.

Variations: Did not use coconut flour, nutmeg or make the celery mush. Also, did not top with bacon since it's hard to crisp it up. Used chopped celery and some almond meal instead. Topped it with tomato sauce. YUMMMMMMM!

Breakfast for Dinner =



BRINNER! Adam loves mushrooms and breakfast, so when we found this recipe in the new Primal cookbook we had to try it. It is a very simple meal.

Portobello Mushrooms stuffed with Eggs, Spinach and bacon

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Ingredients:
4 large portobello mushrooms stems removed
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups frozen or fresh spinach (we used fresh)
6 eggs, whisked
1/2 to 1 cup meat, sausage or crumpled bacon (we used bacon). OR make it veggie and leave out the meat

Drizzle olive oil over both sides of portobello mushrooms. Lightly salt and pepper mushrooms. Place mushrooms on a baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes.

While those are baking, saute spinach with a little oil. Add meat and saute until it is cooked, then turn heat on low and add eggs. Stir eggs, cooking until they reach the consistency you like (we scrambled ours).

Fill mushrooms with eggs mixture.

We topped ours with avocado chunks. If you like cheese, add some cheese. If you like it more spicy add some pepper.



ENJOY!

mmmmm Fried Fish




Angela usually never cooks fish in our household BUT we are glad she did!!! Introducing Almond meal breaded catfish pan fried in coconut oil!

This is VERY easy!

Ingredients:

catfish fillets
1 egg
almond meal
salt and pepper
coconut oil

Clean catfish fillets and let dry on a paper towel. Beat egg in a small bowl. In another bowl mix almond meal with salt and pepper. Dip fillet in egg then coat with almond meal.

In a frying pan, heat about 1 tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat. Once the oil is liquefied and the pan is hot, add fillets 1 or 2 at a time depending on the size. Cook on each side for about 4 minutes or until it is golden brown.

You may need to add some oil from time to time depending on how much is soaked up by the fish.

Homemade tartar sauce: EASY! mayo and relish to taste.

Side for the night was steamed broccoli and cauliflower.

Adam's note: we have some blackened seasoning that would be amazing mixed in with the almond meal



Sweet Potato Hash


We got a yummy EASY recipe from our friends Don and Steph for sweet potato hash. It is super easy and super yummy. We finished the dinner off with some more lamb (what can we say it is super yummy!!!)

Sweet Potato Hash

Ingredients:

sweet potatoes (use as many or as few as you would like depending on how much you want to make)
red pepper
yellow pepper
onion
salt and pepper
olive oil

Chop all veggies to a good chunk size. About 1 inch or so.

Toss the veggies in oil and salt and pepper.

Place on baking sheet and bake until potatoes are soft.

Thanks Losh's!

One of the best dinners ever


This is probably Angela's favorite primal recipe so far. I love artichokes and this was a simple way to make them. It is another recipe from the new primal cookbook with a little variations.

Chicken and Artichokes with Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:

1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
4 garlic cloves finely chopped
zest of 1 large or 2 small lemons
2 pounds of skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch chunks
2 14 oz. cans of artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
parsley to garnish

In a skillet over medium heat combine olive oil and butter. Once the butter is melted, turn off heat and mix in garlic and lemon zest.

The recipe calls for the dish to be cooked under the broiler HOWEVER since our apartment oven sucks, we just baked ours at 375 until the chicken was done.

Garnish with parsley and enjoy.

IT IS DELICIOUS!!!

Coconut Fish


Another easy fish recipe. We baked grouper fillets with butter, salt and pepper, and lime juice. Once the fillets were baked, we topped the fillets with unsweetened coconut and placed under the broiler. (Make sure you keep an eye on them so they do not burn!!!)

The recipe only takes about 20 minutes to make.

Spice Rubbed Grilled Pork and Carrots


We love country style pork ribs and are always looking for new ways to grill or bake them. In the new Primal cookbook there is a recipe for spice rubbed pork so we just took that and used the pork ribs instead of the pork chops.

Again this is super easy recipe and you can swap the pork for chicken and use the carrots as a side for other meals.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of melted butter
1 teaspoon of ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Country style ribs or any meat that you would like
8 carrots peeled and cut in half lengthwise

Mix spices with melted butter. Toss the carrots in a little over half the spice butter. Then rub pork with the rest.

Grill everything for 5 minutes on each side, then move away carrots if they are tender and finish off pork. Remember, the new cooking temp for pork is 145 degrees!! Keep it nice and juicy and tender.

ENJOY!

Kabobs, Cookies and Rieley



Thursday:

We got to watch Rieley after work today :) It is always a fun time having her over. We played hide and seek, went to see the ducks and baked some cookies. Rieley is not a very good hide and seek player. You play and whoever is the seeker says "Is Rieley in here?" and she replies from her hiding spot "Nooooooooooooooo..." Haha. She is growing up to be such a bright little kid.


She also helped Angela make cookies. We think she found out just how delicious chocolate chip cookie dough is :)

After Nick came to take Rie home it was time for some pork kabobs! Once again they are very simple. We matched it with some yummy Ohio sweet corn.


Cube pork and cut onion and pepper into chunks. Stick onto skewers and rub some olive oil onto the kabobs so they do not stick to the grill and add salt and pepper.

Grill until pork is cooked and veggies are tender.

ENJOY!

mmmm Salmon


Adam is the master at baking salmon. We have not figured out a good way to grill it yet but we are working on it.

Easy Salmon:

Wash salmon fillets
Spray pan with oil or use foil
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and pour over fillets. Season with you favorite seasonings. We usually use rosemary, salt and pepper or dill.

Bake for 20 minutes and 400 degrees.

We paired this with roasted red potatoes. Just quarter the potatoes and toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. If the meat does not have rosemary (or even if it does because Angela loves rosemary), then throw in some rosemary.

Bake at 400 until potatoes are tender.

ENJOY!