Hot Dog!

hot dog

So yesterday I was having one of those BONE TIRED days for whatever reason. When I finally got home from work, the usual tasks loomed before me, feed the zoo, walk the dogs, fix dinner.
All I could think about was how to get my body into bed as fast as possible! There was a pile of dishes taunting me from the sink, and all I could do was yawn, yawn, yawn! What the heck! I ate good food all day, drank plenty of water, no idea.

So on the walk back home with the animules, I started rifling through the refrigerator in my brain trying to come up with the easiest thing I could. I did eggs at lunch, so that was out. And then I remembered the hot dogs!

When I got home I opened the fridge doors and angelic music played in my mind!
Here is what happened:

Threw 4 Applegate Farms all organic grassfed beef hot dogs into the skillett to start browning up on medium heat.
Put another pot of water on to boil, I had some asparagus on hand….that is a quick winner! Boil about 3 minutes, dot with a bit of Kerrygold grassfed butter and squeeze the juice of one lemon over the top with a little salt and pepper…easy!
Dogs are nice and brown, so I placed each one on a large romaine lettuce leaf (like a bun or a taco!) and topped with PaleoChef Srracha and slices of avocado! Had a little beet sauerkraut on the side too!

Literally dinner was plated in less than 10 minutes!
Those dogs are great to keep on hand for days like that, lunches, dinner, even breakfast in a pinch!

Best part? This was compliant all over the board…paleo, primal, 21 day sugar detox, you name it! Clean eating and tasty!

And I was in bed by 8….and watching Teen Wolf at 9, whence I fell asleep!

Thank you DVR!

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I like my chicken CRISPY!

chicken

The bane of my paleo existence is often textures of food. I always yearn for the BREADINESS of bread, the CRUNCH of crackers, and yes, the CRISPINESS of all things “fried”! It can be done, you can get there, but I believe there is an art to it, you have to WANT IT! And here is where I step in.
My daughter who eats mostly paleo is not a huge fan of almond flour, due to the texture. In bread items especially.
So she was sitting at the counter doing homework and rapping along with Kendrick Lamar (exhale, she is a teenager!) watching me halfheartedly throw dinner together. Nothing too startling, broccoli, check, sweet pototoes roasting in the oven, check, chicken on the counter, check….but I could see her eyes on me as I pulled the almond flour out of the pantry. RELAX, I said, you have had this before and loved it!
Here is what she saw:

Heat a large skillett (or 2) until very hot and then add in a few TBSP of coconut oil and 1 Tbsp Kerrygold butter.
Thin strips of chicken (cutlets, tenders, even small chunks are fine…) go into a large ziploc bag with one beaten egg. “squoosh” the chicken around in the egg to make sure they are coated. (Squoosh is a technical term in my brain).
In a small bowl mix together 1 1/2 cups almond meal, 2 Tbsp. tapioca flour, 1-2 tsp salt, fresh ground pepper, 1/4 tsp cayenne (for kick!), 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder.
Dump the mixture into the ziploc bag with the eggy chicken and squoosh some more, coating completely.
Place the chicken into the skillett and let it go for a few minutes, until brown, maybe 3-4 minutes. Turn each piece over and brown another 2-3 minutes until done.
Take out of the pan and place on paper towels to drain any excess oil. Do batch two the same way if you have more chicken.
Tada! golden brown, cripy goodness.
And my daughter….sitting on the sofa eating the chicken with her hands….says OH MY GOSH MOMMA THESE ARE SO GOOD MAKE THEM AGAIN FOR ME AND MY FRIENDS!

Approved!

Trying it out?
Let me know what you think!

Paleo meals can be quick, easy, and so good!

on the table in 20 minutes or less

on the table in 20 minutes or less

I love to be in the kitchen. Seriously! I love to cook, and on the weekends is when I get to take my time and really create or recreate some fantastic things! But, reality is, I am like most people, and most people don’t have hours to spend knocking out a fabulous meal during the week! I try to at least get one large batch of something done on a Sunday to make a couple of nights easier during the week, but you know, best laid plans and such.

So, time. I work. And I ferry my daughter around. And I go to her games. And I take care of the house, the dogs, the errands, the list goes on and on. My mornings start at 5:30 most days, and I get home around 6:30 or so in the evening. Trying to be a good cavegirl and shoot for 8 hours of sleep a night means off to bed at 9 (hahaha, sorry, choked on my coffee there!) So that math gives me what about 2 1/2 hours between work and bedtime to do dinner, a little laundry, tidying the house, getting prepared for the next day…and people wonder why it is so difficult to fit exercise into the mix!

I am a huge fan of the Paleo Community, and all the Bloggers and Authors who put out such amazing recipes and ideas! They are delicious, healthy, and inspirational! Many are quick, but many require a little more time than I have on a weeknight. So where I am going here, is I will try to post the fast and easy stuff! The fast stuff, the things to put together from what you can keep on hand!

This is what we had last night:

Hot Dogs!
What do you need?
Organic Grassfed Applegate Farms Hot Dogs (Keep these on hand!)
Lettuce
Paleo Ketchup (I make mine from the 21 Day Sugar Detox and keep it on hand, but Tessemae’s all natural is a good option!
Paleo Mustard or May
Kraut! (Last night we used Farmhouse Culture Ginger Beet Kraut…yum!)
Sweet Potatoes (small)
Broccoli

here is the order of events….took less than 20 minutes:
Put a pan of water on to boil…about 1-2 inches of water is plenty
Put a skillet on to heat with a little coconut oil in it for the dogs
Place 2 small sweet potatoes in the microwave (fork pricked, then hit the potato button!)
Put your dogs in the skillet and roll them around periodically to get a good “char” going on it.
Place medium size broccoli florets in the boiling water…they only need about 4 minutes. (drain them, hit with a pat of Kerrygold butter, salt and fresh lemon juice…yum!)
Potatoes are ready? cut open and put a pat of Kerrygold butter in there too…season how you like….salt, pepper….cinnamon is good here too!
Put your dogs together….we placed each one in its own lettuce leaf (like a bun!) and added a little kraut, ketchup and mustard!
I threw a few cornichons on the plate because I had some on hand and I love them so!

That’s it!

easy right? quick? you bet! You can do this!
More later….gotta go make the bacon! (so I can buy the bacon!)