Tag Archives: cavemanfood

Paleo Pizza with a CRISPY thin crust! (yeah, I said crispy!)

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I know, I have been missing for a while. As much as I think I am a blogger, I really spend all my time raising my daughter and working.
So I finally buckled down and got myself an awesome personal trainer who is helping me get the fitness thing going, and I have had a few moments to think about things in the kitchen!
After my workout this morning, I was crazy hungry and just wanted to lay down. But my brand new copy of ZenBelly (amazing paleo cookbook…give it a read!) was laying on the table as I walked by and I flipped through it becoming more and more inspired. I took a few notes of things i needed from the store to make a couple of the recipes and headed to Whole Foods. While there, I stumbled across the most beautiful tomatoes I have ever seen! And what crossed my mind was pizza.

I have tried many different pizza crusts from different cookbooks and in restaurants…all trying to be the best paleo crust ever and all they ever tasted like were burnt nuts, and soggy at that.
I have used a recipe a couple of times that got the flavor right, but still got soggy as soon as you put toppings on, so I decided to start tweaking it. And this time, I got it! Real pizza crust flavor and crispyness to the crust that doesn’t sog out in the first 5 minutes!

There are more pics of this over on my instagram at paleo_k so come check it out!

Alright, enough banter, on with the Pizza!

Pizza Crust
In a large bowl, combine:
1 cup Tapioca Flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tsp Potato Starch/Flour
1/2 tsp salt
In a small bowl:
1/3 cup water
1 tsp gelatin (sprinkle over the water)
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
Whisk the wet ingredients and add to the dry by mixing with a spoon until combined then kneading with your hands a few times.

Press dough out on your cookie sheet or pizza pan (greased with olive oil). I like to split the dough into 3 or 4 small crusts for more crunch edges. Press the crusts out to about 1/4 inch thickness. Prick the crusts all over with a fork and put in a 400 degree oven for 16-18, until golden and lightly browned.

Remove from the oven and start building your pizza!

MY PIZZA:

Brush the prepared crusts lightly with olive oil.
I topped with shredded Rumiano’s mozzeralla cheese (from organic grass-fed cows!)
VERY thin slices of onion
Thin slices of cherry tomatoes
torn basil
Light dusting of salt and fresh cracked pepper

Put under the broiler for 3-4 minutes, until cheese melts and begins to brown.
Cut with a pizza cutter…..and devour!

NOTE:  I find when I use pizza sauce, the sog happens.

My Twist on Stuffed Peppers

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stuffed peppers 2

stuffed peppers 1

There is a great recipe that I have gone back to over and over for stuffed peppers in “Practical Paleo” by Diane Sanfilippo. It is basic and tasty and good for you! Easy to prepare ahead, even to have in the freezer.

I am always wanting an additional flavor punch. OK. I can’t help but tinker with recipes sometimes.

So with the addition of Chorizo for flavor punch, and spinach for extra veggies, and cumin and double the garlic? OH you just have to make this, it is so good!

Here’s what:

My Twist on Stuffed Peppers:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. While doing that, halve and remove seeds from 3-4 red bell peppers. Place these in a large pyrex dish, flesh side up, and roast for 20 minutes. Take them out and let them cool enough to handle….flip over and they are ready to stuff.

The Filling!
1 pound grassfed ground beef
1 pound organic chorizo (I use a veal chorizo)
begin browning these two ingredients in a large skillet.

As the meat browns, add:
1 onion, diced
8-10 cloves of garlic
salt and pepper
1/4+ tsp red pepper flakes (depends or your heat pleasure!)

Keep moving it all around in the pan, browning the meat and onions as you go.
Add in 1/2 tsp or more dried basil and oregano
add 1/4 tsp cumin
Add in 1 can fire roasted diced organic tomatoes
Add in several handfuls of baby spinach (fresh). Up to 10 oz.

as the spinach wilts, turn off the heat….this part is done!
You can add in some fresh basil leaves at this point as well.

Fill your roasted peppers with the meat mixture, and any extra meat just tuck in around the peppers, someone will eat it!

Put back in the over at the same heat for another 15-20 minutes to heat through and let the flavors meld. (Especially tasty the next day!)

Because of the flavors involved, you can push this as mexican food or italian…maybe this is fusion? I don’t know. But it is a meal in itself. Or you can dice a little avocado on top! Or serve with a salad!

So dern good. You need to try this one!

A Lovely Plate

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again 2

Nothing complicated here, just clean, easy yum.

Fresh avocados with a squeeze of lemon juice and a dusting of coarse sea salt.
Thick cut no sugar all natural bacon, perfectly fried.
A small pile of fresh fruit, all organic.
And the raw crunchy salad I am so addicted to!

The fast way today:

In the bottom of the bowl, 2 TBSP of home made paleo mayo, 2 tsp honey, couple of splashes of raspberry balsalmic vinegar to taste….wisk wisk wisk.
Now add to the bowl a handful of bite size raw broccoli and of cauliflower. also a few dried cranberries. (I usually add radishes and pecans, but was in a hurry!).
Now toss everything together! The longer you have, keep tossing and the flavors build!

So dump the salad on your plate, your done!
Ready, set, delicious!

Oh Simple Thing, where have you been?

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The other night I was on my own for dinner, for a change, and was really having too much fun in the kitchen trying to time a quick meal that would be healthy and yummy while watching the Voice, (vice!) And I remembered a beautiful bunch of asparagus I had in the fridge. I had to do something with it! And it had to include my home made mayo! (The husband only likes mayo when he doesnt know he is eating it, same with my daughter. They see white and start gagging!!!)

So this little side dish made it on my plate, and besides being oh-so-good, was a pretty little number too!

Quick cook the asparagus…2-3 minutes in a shallow pan of boiling water, drain and squeeze lemon juice over the asparagus with a bit of salt.
Have a few pieces of bacon frying up while that is happening.

Place your asparagus on your plate, give it a very generous dollup of home made paleo mayo, and crumble your bacon over the top!

Could it be more simple? Maybe, but dang this is easy and so so so good!
I used nice fat asparagus this time…I usually prefer the thin, but these were fun to just pick up and eat.

Try it. You will like it, I am sure of it!

Let me know what you think!!!

Nom!

Waffle Sandwich, paleo gone wild!

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waffle sandwich

Less of a recipe, more of an idea.

I have recently subscribed to a bloggers site for a very small fee, and the fee paid for itself in one recipe.
WWW.brittanyangell.com is where you need to go, and by joining her Club Angel, you will find all kinds of delights!

One such delight is her Paleo Waffles…so what is the big deal you ask?
They are CRISPY…the way a waffle should be. Soft on the inside, crispy on the edges! You can make them sweet or savory! You can add cinnamon, chocolate chips, blueberries….treat them as a blank canvas and just go wild!

But think about this….pop leftovers in the toaster the next day…..and eat more of them! Toast them super crispy and use them like chips! Or crumble them into your chili!
Layer them with your favorite sandwich materials! Load them up with grassfed cheese and tomoatoes, grilled cheese! Use them and abuse them…they are delicious…versatile, fast and easy!

This morning I topped one with a little Kerrygold cheddar, a few slices of bacon, a fried egg and had an egg sandwich…I was in heaven!

BLTs….add avocado too!

Need I say more, because I could!

But right now, I need a waffle sandwich!

Refreshing light lunch – Paleo Chicken Salad

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chicken saladckn salad prep

My usual hurried run home for lunch found me with a few extra minutes, I actually got to eat it at home instead of packing it up to go!
A grapefruit was calling my name loudly…and I knew that would be in the mix, but I wanted to change up the chicken a bit, so I took the Poached Chicken I have been eating off of this week and diced it up to make a quick chicken salad today….really nice!

Here’s what I did…

Paleo Chicken Salad:
1 cooked chicken breast, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1-2 radishes, diced
Handful of halved grapes
small handful of chopped pecans
salt and pepper
juice of 1/4 lemon
2-3 TBSP home made mayo (see previous post)

Mix all of the above gently and enjoy!
Of course there are a million variations, I was really wanting a little fresh parsely, but I was out!

Simple, beautiful, mayo

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mayoI was asked by a follower on instagram for this one…

I have been a big fan of mayo for as long as I can remember! My childhood consisted of mayo and bread sandwiches, mayo+white bread+american cheese (!), mayo+lettuce+white bread, and on and on… every day for most of my young life! As I grew up, I would eat it on crackers, veggies, you name it. I would pick mayo over butter any day of the week! And, I was a Hellmanns girl. None of that sweet Miracle Whip or Duke’s (although I learned to appreciate MW on a ham sandwich from time to time…).

I always heard how difficult mayo was to make and that home made was ultra delicious, but very tricky.

When I found paleo living, I saw so many bloggers and chefs making their own healthy mayo which had good healthy fats and amped up so many meals, but the recipes were complicated, often needing all ingredients brought to room temp, some were yolks only, some use the blender, some use the food processor, and often it was a game of chance if it would firm up or break.
I have probably tried a dozen different recipes, multiple times each, and was running a 50/50 chance as to whether the mayo would “make” or not!
I started seeing some people using immersion blenders, and that seemed to speed things up! (especially from the workout of using the old fashioned hand wisking method!….pant pant!)

My mother swears by the immersion blender….and I tried it, several times, cursing it every time, as i just didn’t have knack for it. And then I watched her do it and thought, really Kristen? You can do this…

Here is how you do it….

Use a mild flavored oil….I use a LIGHT olive oil that I find at whole foods (NOT extra virgin!)

Beautiful Paleo Mayo!

so….put all of these items in the immersion blender container or a tall narrow container:
1 cup light olive oil
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
dash of salt
up to 1 tsp dijon mustard
1 whole egg

put the blender in the cup all the way to the bottom and start whirring away…bring it up slowly, then slowly back down and up a couple of times until you see the consistency you like…less than a minute.

That’s it! SO simple! and so delicious! This will keep in your fridge about a week or a little longer, if it lasts that long!

Rosemary Fried Eggs – Guest Blog from my sister Tricia!

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tricia bfast

My very young oldest sister has tinkered with Paleo food for about a year, but has recently refocussed and hounding me for recipes! Well, now she is trying out some new stuff on her own!
She sent me a pic this morning of a delicious breakfast and I asked her to write a guest blog entry to go along with it….and she very quickly complied!
As she mentions below, she is working with Joshua Weissman’s The Slim Palate Paleo Cookbook…and everything is coming up delicious! You can find the cookbook in most bookstores and online at Amazon and BN. Joshua is a local, and a really impressive young man! Check out his blog at http://www.slimpalate.com and his facebook page, Slim Palate.

Take it away, Sis!…..

Well,
This is my first blog and I am doing it for my younger sister who inspires me every day with her healthy Paleo eating and her beautiful photos and recipes that entice me to eat healthier.

I went to a cookbook signing with her last week for Joshua Weissman’s new cookbook, The Slim Palate, Paleo Cookbook. He is a High School Senior and is quite amazing. His cookbook has beautiful photos and easy delicious recipes, that I am trying several times a week. My husband is even liking them!

This morning I tried his rosemary fried eggs with garlic-lemon spinach and it is wonderful. Just the right amount of citrus lemon flavor and the rosemary on the eggs are a nice touch. I added a little turkey sausage because I just finished a 30 minute cardio burn workout and needed some fuel fast!

I am marinading his Grilled citrus-mustard split chicken to cook tonight! I am using chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts though. Stay tuned for the outcome!

Kristen, how was that for my first blog ever?

Perfecto!!!!!  😉

 

Egg Foo Young-ish from NomNomPaleo

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eggfooyung

I am obsessed with “Food 4 Humans” by NomnomPaleo blogger, Michelle Tam.
She was the very first blogger I found when I first delved into Paleo. He recipes were simple and tasty and she is so real! I was so excited when her book came out! And it is one of the BEST cookbooks I have ever relied on! I make things from her book and website weekly…give her a try, you cannot go wrong!

The pic above is her interpretation of Egg Foo Young-ish.
My conclusion is they are really handy little omellettey things that travel well!
This morning I topped a couple with sausage, avacados and salsa…nom!

The link to her site and the recipe is:

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/5568966009/egg-foo-young-ish-spinach-egg-ham-coconut

(hope I did that write….this is my first link in a post…if i missed it, just go see her blog at http://www.nomnompaleo.com you will find all kinds of great things before you race out to buy her book!)

I also had the pleasure of meeting Michelle Tam when she came into Houston for a book signing a few weeks ago. She is a doll! So real…just a working mom who adores food and health!
By the way my all time favorite recipe of hers?
Mexican Pot de Creme.
Deeee VINE!
seriously. try it!

Paleo Banana Bread…my Paleo Mom’s latest inspired recipe!

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mothers new banana bread

Mother loves to tinker in the kitchen. She has never met a recipe she has not changed! We giggle about it all the time. So on the weekends, she is usually out at her farm and not close to an organic store, so she makes due with what she remembered to take with her. This is of course a driver in some of the changes, like the one posted here today!

She loves her paleo breads! Usually she’s a muffin girl, but this time she made a loaf…and I imagine the kitchen smelled divine!

She sent me the original recipe which she found from Nourished and Nurtured ( http://www.nourishedandnurtured.blogspot.com ) and then she sent me what she did to it, plus this little blurb…

“Because I am leaning toward almond flour and was out of it! I played with this recipe to try to get a bread like my favorite one with almond flour.
Turned out pretty nice and Papa (that’s my husband) really liked it!

-1/2 cup coconut oil (melted and cooled)
-1/2 cup raw honey
-3/4 teaspoon sea salt
-6 eggs
-2 teaspoons vanilla
-1 teaspoon almond extract
-3/4 cup coconut flour
-1 1/2 large bananas, mashed
-2 small zucchinis shredded and squeezed in a paper towel
-1 teaspoon cinnamon
-1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Preheat over to 350 degrees.
Prepare a standard loaf pan with coconut oil (or line with parchment paper).
In a small bowl combine the coconut oil and honey.
In a large bowl, whisk the salt, eggs, vanilla and almond. Add in the oil and honey mixture, whisk away.
Next, stir in the coconut flour until completely combined with no lumps. Stir in the mashed bananas, zuchinni, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice.
Pour batter into the loaf pan and top with the “coconut streusel topping” below.

For topping:
-4 tablespoons shreeded coconut
-4 tablespoons palm sugar
-2 tablespoons grass fed butter
Crumble together with fingers like for streusel topping

Sprinkle topping evenly over the batter and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. (Keep checking with the “toothpick test” for doneness).

This makes a nice hearty loaf, serves 12.”