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Tag: paleo

May 22, 2023

Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs

The inspiration for this recipe came from a Costco shopping trip. They were sampling pineapple teriyaki meatballs and they smelled amazing! I picked up a package to read the ingredients and was, of course, disappointed. Not only did they contain gluten, which meant I couldn’t …

May 1, 2023

Keto Carnivore Chicken Tenders

When most people start a new eating plan, they are so enthusiastic and motivated that they can be successful with very simple meals. But after a while, boredom starts to creep in. If you’re not careful, this is when that desired eating plan can go …

April 3, 2023

Heavenly Eggs and Baconnaise (yes, two recipes in one post!)

It’s the little things that you miss when you start eating Paleo. On the surface, it seems that if you give up gluten, peanuts, soy sauce and cheese, you’ll be all set. But if you dig into the details of the paleo diet, you’ll see that there really is much more to it.

Among the list of “no” foods for the paleo diet, there will certainly be some that are more bothersome to you than others. This is why it is highly recommended that you do an elimination type diet when you first begin. Take everything out and slowly add back in. You’ll learn where you can stretch the rules of the diet and where you can’t.

For example, I can handle a little dairy, but I do not tolerate legumes at all. I am fine with a small amount of grains, particularly white rice, but industrial seed oils send me reeling.

Which is how I came to this recipe for bacon mayonnaise, or baconnaise for short. Mayonnaise helps so many recipes come together. I did not want to live without it forever.

I have to give credit to Diane Sanfilippo and her baconnaise recipe in Practical Paleo because I would not have thought of this on my own. I have tweaked the recipe a bit to suit our tastes, but I got the idea from her. I think I’ve recommended her book about a zillion times, but I’ll do it again in a heartbeat. If you buy one paleo cookbook, buy this one.

The marketplace has changed a lot since my early paleo days when we had to make everything from scratch (and when I first created these recipes). There are now several good mayonnaises on the market that use non-inflammatory oils. Primal Kitchen brand, Chosen Foods, Sir Kensington’s and Thrive Market are just a few. If you decide to buy one of these mayos rather than make your own, just read the ingredients list carefully and make sure they are not mixing avocado oil with canola or some other inflammatory oil. The big manufacturers have been making “olive oil” mayo for years, but they are still primarily made of canola or soybean oil and so that doesn’t count.

My most frequent uses for this baconnaise are in my heavenly (deviled) eggs and bacon and egg salad, but I’ve used it to make salad dressings too when I’ve been out of my homemade avocado oil mayo. But don’t let these two little ideas hold you back. Use this baconnaise anyplace you would use mayonnaise: broccoli salad, turkey sandwiches, coleslaw, and on and on. The applications are endless!

Baconnaise

Like mayonnaise, but with bacon!

Print Recipe

Cook Time 10 mins

Ingredients

1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 cup bacon fat, melted and cooled
1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

In a small mixing bowl, combine egg yolk, lemon juice and dijon mustard.
Slowly drizzle bacon fat into the egg yolk mixture, whisking continuously. This takes coordination! Pour with one hand, whisk with the other.
Taste! Depending on the salt content of your bacon (or lack thereof) you may or may not need to add salt to your baconnaise. Add it now if you need to.
Sometimes when I make this, it whisks up nice and thick. Other times it does not thicken well and I need to refrigerate it for a few minutes. If your bacon mayo is a little too thin, don't worry. Just pop it in the fridge and it will thicken up.
Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator. Keeps for about a week.

Keyword Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo

Heavenly Eggs

Like Deviled Eggs, but More Virtuous

Print Recipe

Prep Time 20 mins

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine American, Comfort Food

Servings 12 deviled eggs

Ingredients

6 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. dijon or yellow mustard, your choice
3 Tbsp. baconnaise
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp. sweet relish, pickle or zucchini* drain some of the liquid

Instructions

Hard boil your eggs. My favorite way is with the Instant Pot. Pour about 1 inch of water in the pot, set in the rack, set eggs on rack, seal pot and set for 3 minutes on high.
As soon as the Instant Pot is done, quick release the steam and remove the eggs to a bowl of ice water.
Once chilled, which only takes about 5 minutes, peel eggs, rinse them and pat them dry.
Slice eggs in half, placing whites on a serving tray and the yolks in a mixing bowl.
Break up the yolks with a fork or a whisk. Add the other ingredients and mix well to combine. Give it a taste for seasoning and add anything you'd like more of.
Either spoon the yolk mixture into the whites or create a piping bag with a ziptop bag and pipe in the filling. You can garnish with a little extra relish, a sprig of fresh herbs or a sprinkle of paprika. I left mine plain and they're still beautiful.
I would never use my Instant Pot to cook only 6 eggs. I would either double this recipe if I were serving a crowd or at least cook more eggs and simply keep them in the fridge for snacks.
If not serving (or eating) these right away, store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

Notes

I use homemade zucchini relish. It’s delicious and well worth the effort to make it every summer. If you want to see how to make it, I have a video here. Otherwise, use whatever pickle relish you like.

Keyword Carnivore, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, keto, Paleo

March 20, 2023

Ultimate Paleo Chicken Salad

For years and years, we ate strictly paleo in my house. Then we were all feeling so well (and the kids got older) and we started easing up a bit. We ate more dairy and we ate more gluten free foods like bread and pizza. …

February 6, 2023

Teriyaki Chicken Wings – For Super Bowl or Any Day!

*This recipe is a blast from the past – 2016 to be exact. That little wing taster pictured below can now legally drive a car. Yes, this breaks my heart a little. She is the number one fan of these wings now and begs for …

January 30, 2023

Italian Meatballs (Gluten free, Dairy free option)

Who doesn’t love a meatball? On top of spaghetti (sing along with me now…), in a crusty hoagie roll (yes, there are gluten free ones in the grocery store now), on the ends of little toothpicks with a yummy sauce at your party. Meatballs are awesome. Yes, you can sometimes find gluten free meatballs in the frozen section section of your grocery store, but they’re tough and not nearly as good as this. Trust me.

Make up a big batch and freeze them for quicker meals down the road.

Italian Meatballs

A simple dish with lots of flavor and lots of possibilities

Print Recipe

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine American, Comfort Food, Italian

Ingredients

1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup milk (almond or coconut work well)
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt or to taste
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 cup parmesan cheese optional, omit for dairy free
1 lb. grass fed ground beef
1 lb. breakfast sausage
2 Tbsp. olive oil
8 oz. cremini mushrooms
1/2 large onion
2 cloves garlic

Instructions

To a large mixing bowl, add almond flour, milk, eggs, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and Parmesan, if using. Mix well. Set aside.
Add olive oil to a heavy skillet and heat over medium to medium high.
Chop mushrooms, onions and garlic finely. I like to use my mini food processor* for this.
Add vegetables to skillet and cook, stirring regularly, until much of the moisture has cooked out of them. Once cooked, remove to a bowl and set aside to cool slightly. I usually just pop mine in the freezer for a few minutes.
Add the meat to the mixing bowl and gently break up and mix in with the wet ingredients. Once the vegetables have cooled slightly, mix those in as well.
Reheat that skillet you used earlier, add a touch of oil and cook a small amount of your meatball mixture so you can taste for seasoning. Adjust as needed. You can add more salt or pepper, if you feel it needs more onion or garlic, easily add in garlic or onion powder.
Form mixture into balls whatever size you like. Sometimes we eat these as appetizers for Super Bowl parties and so I make very small meatballs. Sometimes I use them for meatball subs so I make medium sized meatballs. Sometimes I want spaghetti and meatballs and make them a little larger. It's really entirely up to you! I always use **these scoops so my meatballs are all the same size. Scoop out the meat onto a tray or just your counter. Then wet your hands with cold water and roll them into a neat ball shape. The cold water keeps them from sticking to your hands.
Preheat your oven to 425. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment or foil (this just makes clean-up easier). Spray with avocodo or olive oil spray a cooling rack that fits inside your baking sheet. Be sure to spray that top and bottom of the rack.
Space out your meatballs on this rack and bake until done. For medium sized meatballs, think the size of a golf ball, mine took 18 minutes to cook through.
Alternatively, you can fry these in a skillet in some olive oil and they will taste amazing, but I have found that baking my meatballs helps them to stick together better. They tend to fall apart with all the flipping around in a skillet. Baking is also very hands off, which I appreciate.
Serve with your favorite pasta sauce, over zucchinin noodles or however you like!
These freeze beautifully! I froze mine uncooked for three months, thawed overnight in the refrigerator and they cooked up just the same as fresh.

Notes

I’ve had several of these through the years. They’re a definite workhorse in my kitchen and I highly recommend.

**Scoops for cookies, meatballs, muffins, just about everything!

Keyword Dairy Free, Gluten Free, keto, Paleo

January 16, 2023

Sweet and Spicy Pecan-Encrusted Chicken Tenders

So many years ago, 22 to be exact, my husband took me to Florida and proposed. He also took me to eat at one of the restaurants owned and operated by Emeril Lagasse. That restaurant is long gone, but the memory of that meal lives …

December 5, 2022

Gluten Free Green Bean Casserole

Ah, the holiday staple, green bean casserole. I admit that I was never a huge fan of this dish. What I did love were those crispy onions that I could eat by the can full if allowed! But because those onions and that gloopy soup …

November 28, 2022

Jalapeño Popper Pork Loin

This dish is decadent and rich and oh, so yummy! I make this for a regular, old Wednesday night, but it would be perfect for a special occasion meal or a family, holiday get-together. The red bacon and green jalapeños do have a certain Christmasy-ness to them!

And don’t worry about the spice level of this dish. I do not enjoy spicy things and I like this just fine. I remove all the ribs and seeds from the jalapeños and they end up just adding great flavor and the teeny-tiniest amount of heat. You could certainly substitute bell peppers if you prefer.

Jalapeño Popper Pork Loin

A rich, decadent meal perfect for everyday or company

Print Recipe

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 50 mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Comfort Food, Holiday

Servings 8 servings

Ingredients

1 3-4 lb. center cut pork loin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. finely ground pepper
1 package Kite Hill Almond Cream Cheese, plain
1 package bacon
1 Tbsp. ranch seasoning see note
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese optional, can substitute with nutritional yeast, just use only 1/4 cup and don't sprinkle any on top, only add it to the filling
2-3 medium jalepeno peppers or more to taste
1 Tbsp. avocado oil

Instructions

Cut bacon into 1/4 inch pieces and cook in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and allow to drain on paper towels.
Prep the jalepenos: wearing gloves if you are sensitive to heat, slice the peppers in half and remove the ribs and seeds. Dice finely. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
While bacon cooks, trim all visible fat from the pork. It will not render in cooking so needs to be removed.
Butterfly the pork by placing the pork on a cutting board and with a clean hand flat on top of the meat, hold a sharp knife parallel to the board and carefully make a lengthwise cut about a third of the way from the bottom, stopping about 1 inch from the opposite end. Be careful not to cut all the way through. Open the loin like a book. Continue the cut, now slicing halfway from the bottom and stopping about 1 inch from the opposite edge. Open that edge as well. You now have one large, evenly flat piece of pork.
Cover the pork with plastic wrap and use a meat mallet to pound to an even 1/2-1/3 inch thickness. Pat dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.
In a mixing bowl, combine the almond cream cheese, 3/4 of the bacon and all of the ranch seasoning. Spread this mixture evenly over the pork, leaving about a 1 inch border all around. Sprinkle on about 1 cup of the shredded cheddar (if using) and jalepenos.
Tightly roll the pork loin to enclose the filling. Using kitchen twine, secure the roll.
Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper on the outside of the pork loin roll.
Heat a large, oven proof skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat. When hot, add the pork loin. Sear each side until nicely browned, 2-3 minutes per side.
Transfer to hot oven. Roast until the pork loin reaches an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Be sure to test the temperature at the center of the loin, not the edges.
Baking will take 30-50 minutes, depending on the size of your pork loin. Mine typically take 45-50 minutes.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle on the remaining cheese (if using) and remaining crumbled bacon. Bake 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest 10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Homemade Ranch Seasoning Mix:

1 Tbsp. garlic powder

2 tsp. onion powder

1 Tbsp. dried dill

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. celery salt

1 tsp. ground mustard

zest of one lemon

Mix all to combine well and store in an old spice jar or other sealed container.

Keyword Dairy Free, Gluten Free, keto, Paleo, Primal

November 21, 2022

Thanksgiving Dressing (or Stuffing)

This dressing is just as good (may I say better?) than the old gluten filled version. It’s so chock full of flavors, no one will suspect it’s “healthy” in any way! For a step-by-step video of the preparation of this recipe, see the link below.