Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites

I found this recipe on Pinterest a couple months ago and have been dying to try it for the sole reason that I thought they looked cute. Turns out, they taste great too! They make a great side dish or appetizer, or you could even use the filling for spreading on a sandwich! A couple of things that I've noted for the next time I make them are to not overdo the garlic, a little goes a long way! And also be sure to use both parsley and basil so the filling is a brighter, prettier green color. I didn't have parsley this time so the filling looks a bit dull. 

Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites

Ingredients

2-3 large zucchini

1 can artichoke hearts, squeezed of excess water

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

1 cup fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves

1/4 cup walnuts

Pinch of salt and pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup parmigiano reggiano

Directions

Cut the ends off the zucchinis, then use a mandolin, cheese slicer, or another tool to slice them into long thin ribbons. They should be about 1/8 inch think, so they will be easy to roll and stand up on their own. Sprinkle each side with salt and pepper.

Heat the grill to high, and quickly sear the zucchini. They should only take about 30 seconds on each side, just enough to take the raw edge off and give them some pretty grill marks. Remove the grilled zucchini ribbons to a plate.

In a food processor, throw in the artichoke hearts, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, basil, walnuts, and pinch of salt and pepper, and parmesan. Process for about 20 seconds, until everything is finely chopped. With the food processor running, stream in the olive oil. 

Place a spoonful of pesto into each zucchini ribbon, spread it out, and roll it up. The pesto is sticky and will hold it together well. 

Recipe adapted from Fifteen Spatulas: http://www.fifteenspatulas.com/grilled-artichoke-pesto-zucchini-bites-and-a-50-oxo-goodie-bag-giveaway/

Sirloin Steak with Avocado Salad

If you have a friend who you are trying to convince to try paleo, feed them this meal. They will be sold on their first bite. Better yet, make this meal and don't share it with anyone! Thanks to Luke for finding this recipe. Served here with Grilled Artichoke Pesto Zucchini Bites, see next post for recipe.

 Sirloin Steak with Avocado Salad

Ingredients
2 big sirloin steaks
1 avocado, diced
1 large red bell pepper, with seeds removed
1/2 cup of celery, sliced
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Garlic powder
Worcestershire sauce

Directions
Rub steaks with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Place in ziploc bag, and sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce, and set aside. Combine avocado, green onion, celery, lemon juice and olive oil in bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover bowl while preparing red pepper so the avocado doesn't brown. Remove seeds from red pepper, and grill for 30 seconds to one minute each side, until slightly charred but not soft. Dice and add to salad. Grill steaks to your liking. Lest rest before slicing, and serve topped with avocado salad.

Recipe adapted from Paleo Diet Lifestyle: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/sirloin-steak-avocado-salad/

Whole Wheat Pancakes

It isn't very often that Luke has a hankering for pancakes, so when he requested them the other morning, I decided to go all out and make them Montion style. What is Montion style pancakes, you ask? Well, it is when you don't just pour some syrup on and call it good. First, you spread butter all over the pancake, then smother it with homemade fruit syrup with fruit picked from the yard, then pour maple syrup all over it, and finally, a nice big dollop of freshly whipped cream. The real kicker, is that you also have to magically stay skinny as a toothpick after eating them. I have yet to figure that one out.
For these pancakes, I used Mom Montion's whole wheat pancake recipe, and then topped with butter, Mom Montion's homemade raspberry jam, maple flavored agave nectar, and fresh blackberries. Thanks Mom! No whipped cream this time. They were a real treat, because they were the first pancakes that Luke and I have eaten since we started paleo in January. Everyone needs a break now and then!

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
2.5 cups milk (I substituted 3 cups almond milk)
1 teaspoon butter, melted (optional)

Directions
Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients. Add wet to dry. Stir only until mixed, to avoid getting tough pancakes. Grease skillet, and use 1/4 cup of batter to make perfectly sized pancakes. Flip when the bubbles break on the surface of the pancake. Serve warm.

Steakhouse Chili

My sister, Faye, suggested this recipe to me and said that it would be right up Luke's alley. Well she surely wasn't kidding. A delicious smoky flavor combined with the bacon in this chili recipe makes it just a bit different than your everyday chili. It is a Rachel Ray recipe, and I tweaked it just a bit by adding beans, substituting agave nectar for the brown sugar, and topping it with plain Greek yogurt. 

Steakhouse Chili

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 slices lean, smoky bacon, finely chopped

2 pounds ground sirloin beef

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 tablespoons chili powder (I used 2.5 tablespoons)

Salt and pepper

1 15 ounce can tomato sauce

1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup dark brown sugar (1/4 cup agave nectar)

2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (I used a dash)

2 cups beef stock

2 cans kidney beans

Sour cream or plain greek yogurt, for topping

Directions:

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the bacon and cook until the fat renders, about 2 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring, until browned, 8-10 minutes. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chili powder, a little salt and lots of pepper. In a bowl, stir together the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, agave and hot sauce. Stir into the chili. Stir in beef stock and beans and bring to boil, then lower the heat and cook until thickened, 6 to 7 minutes. Serve, topped with greek yogurt.

Recipe adapted from Rachel Ray: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/rachael-ray-30-minute-meals/steakhouse-chili

Barbecue Pulled Pork

With the weather getting nicer, I've been spending more time outside in the sun and less time on my computer, hence the lack of recent posts. What little time I have been on the computer has been spent researching my future place of residence, Alaska! One very exciting thing that I found while researching is the Home Grown Market in Fairbanks. Everything they supply is fresh and local, from produce to grass fed beef to salmon! Sounds like a paleo friendly place to me.

Getting back to the purpose of this post, another delicious recipe. Barbecue pulled pork is a favorite of both Luke's and mine, and it can be served a couple different ways. One way we like to eat it is on a plate with a fork, alongside some broccoli. To switch up the leftovers, make sweet potato and pork sliders. Slice a sweet potato, skin and all, and toss with olive oil, chili powder, garlic powder, pinch of cumin, salt and pepper, and then spread out on a greased cookie sheet. Bake on 400 for about 10 minutes each side, or until browned. Assemble sweet potato, pork, coleslaw, and then another sweet potato and you've got a delicious little slider. Don't like barbecue sauce? Neither does Luke, but he loves this homemade barbecue sauce. So give it a shot even if you don't typically like barbecue flavor.

Paleo Barbecue Sauce

Ingredients:

1 onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 can (6oz) tomato paste

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons mustard

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 pinch ground cloves

1 pinch cinnamon

Smoked paprika to taste

Hot sauce to taste

Directions:

Heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet and add the onion. Once browned, add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasonings to your liking. Poor right over pulled pork, or cool and store in the refrigerator. 

Turkey Bacon Egg Cups

Happy first day of Spring! One advantage to living in the deep South is the sunshine and warm days in the Spring, unlike the snow up North. We took full advantage of the beautiful weather today by having a picnic at Beaver Lake for lunch. On the menu were carrots and peppers with hummus, grapefruit peeled Grampy Tom style, turkey bacon egg cups, and green smoothies. The turkey bacon egg cups worked out perfectly for the picnic because they were easy to pick up and eat, and using mason jars for the green smoothies kept them from spilling in the basket on the way there.

Turkey Bacon Egg Cups

Ingredients:
6 slices turkey bacon
8 eggs
2/3 cup all-natural egg whites
2 tablespoons Italian spices
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375ºF and spray muffin tin with Pam. Cut slices of turkey bacon in half and criss-cross two pieces in each hole in the muffin tin. Beat together remaining ingredients and pour over the turkey bacon until holes are about half full. The eggs will expand a bit during baking, so do not overfill. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. After taking out of the oven, let sit for a few minutes before removing from the muffin tin. Eat while they are still warm.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

As you can see from my previous posts, I've been deviating from the paleo diet a little too often lately, so for dinner last night Luke asked me to make something that was seriously paleo. He also said my blog is starting to look like a normal foods blog instead of a paleo food blog. Well I'll show him. Get ready for some delicious paleo recipes these next few weeks! To start it off, I made Chicken Lettuce Wraps with a side of honey lemon carrots. My secret ingredient: you must pretend you are sitting in PF Changs while eating them.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:

Lettuce (Romaine holds up well)

1 pound chicken breast, ground or whole

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons agave

Dash of cayenne pepper

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained, chopped

1 bunch of green onions, sliced

2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions:

If using whole chicken breasts, bake in the oven and then shred and set aside. If using ground chicken, cook in skillet until nearly cooked through. Add onion, garlic, ginger, soy, agave and cayenne pepper, and continue to cook until chicken is fully done. If using shredded chicken, add it now. Add water chestnuts and green onions and cook until onions are softened, about 2 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in sesame oil. Scoop mixture onto lettuce leaves and eat like a taco.

Note: I did not have water chestnuts or green onions in the house, so I left them out this time and it still tasted delicious! They certainly add a nice crunch, however, so they are worth adding.