MOW - 10.8.12

Meal of the Week

Tomato and Zucchini with Curry Sauce

Pork Roast with Dijon Mustard Glaze

Tomato and zucchini with curry sauce - Paleo Diet Life Style

Serves 4, as a side

Ingredients

• 1 medium zucchini, cut into ½ inch thick slices;
• 3 plum tomatoes, cut into ½ inch thick slices;
• ½ lb mushrooms, chopped;
• 2 cloves garlic, minced;
• 6 tbsp coconut oil;
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste;
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped;

Curry sauce ingredients

• 1 can (14oz) coconut milk;
• 3 tbsp curry powder;
• 3 tbsp raw honey;

Preparation

1. The sauce is what really requires the most preparation time, so I recommend starting there. In a small saucepan placed over a medium-low heat, combine all the ingredients that make up the curry sauce. Combine well and leave on the stove to simmer slightly for about 20 minutes. During this time, stir every so often and allow it to cook long enough so that it thickens.
2. In a large skillet over a medium-high heat, coat the pan with 2 tbsp of the coconut oil. Add the zucchini to the skillet, placing the slices so that they are spaced out and not overlapping. Cook on each side, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Once cooked, remove from the skillet and lie flat on a large serving platter.
3. Return the skillet to the heat and coat it again with another 2 tbsp of coconut oil. This time, repeat the previous step, but with the tomatoes. It should take about the same amount of time, if not even quicker. Every once in a while you may want to give the skillet a bit of a toss, as I found that the tomatoes were sticking to it. Once cooked, remove from the skillet and lay them on top of the zucchini slices.
4. Finally, return the skillet back to the heat, coat with the remaining coconut oil and toss in the mushrooms and garlic. Allow the mushrooms to cook for about 7 to 8 minutes, just so that they shrink in size and get golden brown in color. Remove and pour on top of the tomatoes.
5. By this time, your curry sauce should be slightly thicker and ready to serve. If you are serving the dish to more than just yourself, I recommend pouring the sauce in a separate small bowl, as it’s slightly spicy and some may prefer to use more than others.

Chicken with Rosemary Mushroom Glaze - Paleo Plan

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (4-6 oz each)
• sea salt (optional) and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 4 Tbs coconut oil, divided
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp fresh rosemary leaves or 2 tsp dried rosemary
• 2 tsp hazelnuts, chopped
• 10 white button or cremini mushrooms, sliced

Instructions

1. Season chicken breasts with sea salt (optional) and black pepper.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbs coconut oil when pan is hot.
3. Add chicken breasts and cook until internal temperature reaches 165° F, or until there is no pink in the center.
4. Meanwhile, add remaining coconut oil to a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. When pan is hot, add rosemary, hazelnuts, and garlic. Simmer together for 5 minutes.
5. Add mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are browned. Season with sea salt and black pepper if desired.
6. Pour mushroom mixture over chicken to serve.

Chicken Dive-In!

Ingredients

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, (or breasts)

4 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite size pieces

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup onions, finely diced

1 cup canned coconut milk

½ teaspoon sea salt (more or less to taste)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Sliced almonds

Instructions

Pre heat oven to 350. Place the raw chicken in a pan, sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste, and add enough water just to cover it.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 12-15 minutes for thighs and closer to 20 minutes for breasts.  Remove the chicken from the water with tongs and set aside.  Add the broccoli to the same water and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Drain the broccoli but save the broth for later – now you have some awesome chicken broth to add to recipes or to make a soup!  Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.  Add the broccoli, mushrooms, onions, coconut milk, and spices and mix well.  Spread into a 9×11 glass baking dish and sprinkle the top with sliced almonds.  Bake in your pre-heated oven for 30 minutes. Serves 5.

Steak and Kale – Paleo on a Budget

Ingredients:
• 1 bunch of Kale {a good sized one}
• 8oz of Mushrooms {at least}
• 1 Medium onion chopped
• 1 lb steak, cut up into bite size pieces
• A mug full of chicken stock
• Butter
• Salt, Pepper, Red Pepper Flakes, Dried Basil, Cumin
How To:
• Get butter + Onions in a pan.. to start sweating the onions {ok it really is a term for cooking but every time I type it I think of middle school when girls would look at guys and be like “I sweat you” and I burst out laughing…-sigh-}
• While they’re becoming friends, clean and chop your mushrooms, you can use whatever is on sale that day.. Baby portobellos were only $1.59 so I grabbed those! Then toss that into the pan
• I don’t buy steak tips unless they are stupidly cheap, so I got a piece of steak and cut it up.. {which is what you should be doing at this point}! Then add that in the pan, I added more butter at this point {steak + butter = amazing}
• While it’s all cooking, wash and get your Kale ready {just pull the leaves away from the stem and then break it up with my hand, but you could go ahead and chop it with a knife}.
• Add your kale into the pan, it’s going to look like a lot but it’ll shrink!
• Then add some chicken stock in, it totally depends on how much kale you have, you just want enough to create steam  { I was still feeling icky that day so I just drank the rest of the stock!}.
• Cover with either the lid or tin foil for a few minutes, stirring it occasionally until the Kale is soft and has wilted down.
• Add in spices {I added in only a dash of cumin, just to round out the flavors, totally optional though}, taste test and serve

Crispy Shiitake Mushroom Chips

Ingredients:

• shiitake mushrooms
• salt

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 300ºF.
Line a baking sheet with a silicone liner, silpat or parchment paper.
Remove the stems from the mushrooms (and save them for the next time you make stock).
Lay the mushrooms, top side down, gill side up, on the lined baking sheet and sprinkle them with some salt.
Place in the oven and let them roast until they’ve become thin and crispy, about 20 minutes.
You’ll want to consume these pretty soon after you pull them out of the oven. The longer they’re exposed to air, the softer they’ll get. You can always re-crisp them in the oven, but if they get too brown, they’ll taste slightly burned.

Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms – Everyday Paleo

Ingredients

·        9-10 portobello mushrooms - stems removed and scoop a little out of the inside

·        1 lb grass fed ground beef

·        2 big handfuls of chopped spinach

·        sea salt to taste

·        pepper

·        basil

·        garlic powder

·        olive oil

Instructions

1.     Cover the bottom of a baking dish with olive oil and place cleaned mushrooms in dish.  Mix all other ingredients and stuff the mushrooms. 

2.     Bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until stuffing is no longer pink in the middle. 

3.      Sprinkled with some parmesean if permitted 

Grilled Harvest vegetables- Sharmaine

Ingredients:

• 1 small cabbage, cored
• 2 tbs olive oil
• ½-1 tsp onion powder, optional
• 1/8-1/4 tsp pepper
• 4 medium carrots cut in 1 inch pieces
• 1 small onion cut into wedges
• ½ pound whole fresh mushrooms
• 1 small green pepper, cut into pieces
• 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled, optional

Instructions:

Cut cabbage into 6 wedges, spread oil on cut sides.  Place cabbage on a piece of heavy-duty foil, about 24 by 18 inch.  Sprinkle with onion powder, if desired and pepper.  Arrange remaining vegetables and bacon around cabbage.  Seal the foil tightly.  Grill covered over medium-hot heat for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender, turning occasionally