Italian Dressing Marinated Grilled Chicken

Fresh chicken breast marinated in Italian dressing and then grilled is a simple way to make chicken delicious! Unfortunately, most all store bought Italian dressings are full of scary ingredients and preservatives. My recipe for home-made Paleo Italian dressing is a perfect marinade for full flavored, juicy chicken minus the junk found in store bought dressing. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh chicken breast

Dressing:

3/4 cup EVOO

1/4 Roasted garlic red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon celery salt

Sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste

Method:

1.) In a larger bowl, combine EVOO, red wine vinegar and all seasonings. Whisk together until well mixed.

2.) Add chicken breast to dressing mixture, toss to coat and cover with a lid or foil. Place in refrigerator for at least 4-8 hours or overnight.

3.) Pre-heat grill on high. Remove chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking. Grill chicken over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through. 

4.) Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Creamy Primal Chicken and Sweet Potato Bake

Fall is here and it's my favorite time of year. The weather is perfect for rich and hearty dishes that taste of comfort. This is a quick and delicious chicken bake that combines hearty vegetables with creamy goodness. Perfect for a cold night or when you are in need of comfort food, this primal chicken recipe will do the trick.

Ingredients:
1.5 pounds of fresh chicken breast diced
2 medium Japanese purple sweet potatoes (or any sweet potato) diced
1 cup fresh button mushrooms sliced
2 1/2 cups fresh green beans diced (steamed in microwave for 2 minutes)
1 tablespoon diced sweet pimento pepper
1 sweet onion diced and caramelized in grass fed butter
1 can Amy's organic gluten free soup (vegetable)
8 oz all natural sour cream (Daisy brand)
1 teaspoon Kame Fish Sauce
1 cup grated grass fed cheese (Mozzarella)
Seasoning (garlic powder, chili powder, sea salt, black pepper, poultry seasoning, red pepper flakes)

Method:
1.) Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. In a 9x13 glass baking dish, place diced sweet potatoes evenly on the bottom.
2.) Place diced chicken in large bowl and season with 1/2 teaspoon of each spice. Next add in mushrooms, green beans, pimento pepper, onion, soup, sour cream, and fish sauce. Stir together until all ingredients are mixed.
3.) Pour chicken mixture evenly over sweet potatoes in baking dish. Top with cheese and cover with foil.
4.) Cook for 45-1 hour, or until chicken is done and sweet potatoes are tender. Remove foil for last 5 minutes of cooking time.

Asian Cashew Chicken Wraps with Spicy Mushroom Egg Drop Soup

Typical Asian chicken wraps are made with a rich peanut sauce and served in lettuce cups. My Paleo version uses savory cashew butter as the sauce base and crunchy Napa cabbage for the wrap. Topped with toasted cashews and served alongside an egg drop soup, this is a quick and satisfying weeknight meal.

Asian Cashew Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh ground chicken breast
3 green onions (diced up to 2 inches of green)
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 tablespoons shredded carrot
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup raw cashew butter (if cold, warm up)
1 tablespoon Tamri
1 teaspoon Sriracha Chili Garlic Sauce (more or less to taste)
1 tablespoon unfiltered apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon chicken stock
1 head Napa cabbage
2 tablespoons raw cashews toasted

Method:
1.) In a large cast iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon EV Coconut oil over medium high heat. Add in garlic, ginger, ground chicken, carrots, and green onions. Cook until chicken in brown (about 10 minutes).
2.) Meanwhile, mix together cashew butter, Tamri, apple cider vinegar, Sriracha, and chicken stock in a small bowl. Add mixture to cooked chicken, mix well and remove from heat.
3.) Serve chicken in Napa cabbage leaves and top with toasted cashews.

Spice Mushroom Egg Drop Soup

Ingredients:
1 carton organic gluten free chicken stock
1 egg whisked in small bowl
3 green onions diced (up to 2 inches of green) *Reserve a few onions to garnish on top
1 cup mixed mushrooms (Shiitake, Oyster, Cantrell) thinly sliced
1 clove garlic minced
1 teaspoon Tamri
Red pepper flakes to taste

Method:
1.) Combine onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and mushrooms in a medium sized pot with 1 teaspoon of EVOO. Cook over medium heat for 4 minutes, or until garlic is tender.
2.) Add in chicken stock and Tamri and bring to a slow boil.
3.) Reduce soup to a simmer. With a spoon, slowly stir the soup and pour in the eggs. The eggs should form into "noodle" like shapes.
4.) Remove from heat and garnish with fresh green onion.

Venison Sausage Hash Scramble

My Dad hunts deer every season and loves to make smoked venison sausage. After a recent trip home, I was given several pounds of venison sausage, sealed in freezer proof  bags. One morning after discovering I had used up all the bacon, I decided to try the venison sausage for our breakfast protein. The venison seared up nicely and went well with the sweet potatoes. This delicious breakfast hash scramble is a great change up to the everyday bacon and eggs.

Ingredients:
1 cup sliced fresh pre-cooked venison sausage
6 omega-3 rich eggs (whisked together in a bowl)
1 medium sweet potato diced
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Method:
1.) Heat 1 tablespoon of EVOO or Grass Fed Butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add in sweet potatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes.
2.) Add in sausage. Cook for 4 minutes, flipping regularly.
3.) Add in eggs, reduce heat to low and continue cooking until eggs are done. Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Country Style Pork Ribs

If you are craving ribs, but are wanting more meat and less work, give country style boneless ribs a try.  By precooking the ribs, you are able to achieve tender and juicy meat minus the bone. Add the smokey taste of a grill and charred on BBQ sauce to make these ribs taste amazing.

Ingredients:
1 pound hormone free country style boneless pork ribs
Rib seasoning (1 teaspoon each garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, chili powder and sea salt)
1/2 cup Gluten Free Spicy BBQ Sauce

Method:
1.) Pre heat oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl combine all seasonings together. Dry the ribs and generously rub the seasoning on the ribs. Place 1 tablespoon of EVOO in a large Dutch oven. Heat over medium high heat. Sear each rib for 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Add 1/4 cup of water to Dutch oven.
2.) Place lid on Dutch oven and continue slow cooking in oven for 1 hour 30 minute or until ribs are tender.
3.) Heat grill over medium high heat. Once hot, add cooked ribs to grill. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes or until grill marks appear. Baste each rib with BBQ sauce during last minutes of cooking.

White Sweet Potato Oven Fries

I recently discovered the white sweet potato and I have to say it is delicious! The white sweet potato is less sweet and more firm than an orange sweet potato, making it ideal for Paleo fries. The combination of sweet and spicy chili powder with savory garlic is a great fry seasoning that pairs well with the sweet potato. These Paleo fries go great with everything grilled and make perfect party appetizers. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 large white sweet potato
Extra Virgin Coconut oil
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Sea salt

Method:
1.) Pre heat oven to 400 degrees. Peel white sweet potato and cut into fries.
2.) Place fries on large baking sheet. Melt 1 tablespoon EV coconut oil and pour over fries on baking sheet and mix to coat. Season fries with chili powder, garlic powder and sea salt to taste.
3.) Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Deconstructed Shepard's Pie

If you are craving easy and delicious comfort food, grass fed beef simmered with vegetables in a rich sauce is it! When topped with fried sweet potatoes, this is a Paleo remake of traditional Shepard's pie that will be your new go to week night fix.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground grass fed beef
1 sweet onion chopped
3 cloves fresh garlic minced
1 cup carrots diced
1/2 cup celery diced
2 cups fresh green beans cut into pieces
1 can organic gluten free non-condensed vegetable soup (Amy's brand)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon basil
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 large sweet potato (peeled and diced)

Method:
1.) In a large Dutch oven (or pot) heat 1 tablespoon of EVOO over medium high heat. Add in ground beef, onions, and garlic. Cook until beef is browned and drain fat if desired.
2.) Add in carrots, celery green beans, soup, fish sauce, basil, black pepper, and sea salt to taste.
3.) Bring to a simmer stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low, cover with lid and continue simmering for 45 minutes or until vegetables are tender and soup has thickened. Remove from heat and let cool 10 minutes while sweet potatoes are cooking.
4.) In a cast iron skillet, cook diced sweet potato in coconut oil until crisp and golden brown. Serve sweet potatoes over Shepard's pie.