Pad Thai {Paleo}

I'm all about new Paleo recipes right now!! Bring 'em on. One of my oldest friends in life knows this about me and shared a recipe that she came up with for Pad Thai. If you know me {and she knows me} I love-love-LOVE Pad Thai. She instructed me that the basic premise for the recipe is a protein, veggies, egg, lime, and almond butter. Now having made it, I will agree that basically, if you work around that, the possibilities are pretty much endless. I am seriously in Pad Thai HEAVEN. I am forcing myself not to not eat the whole thing... and I totally can't wait to make this again. So, here goes:

Pad Thai {Paleo}

ingredients

A protein {chicken breast, shrimp, any ground meat will work... I used chicken thighs}

Cabbage sliced like noodles {or for the lazy, ie me: a bag of fresh coleslaw mix}

Optional: Red/Green Peppers, Sliced onions, Mushrooms, Garlic

Sesame oil

1/2 tsp of "Chinese 5 spice" {can also use nutmeg and cinnamon}

Salt + Pepper

Juice of half of a lime

2 eggs

1 heaping tsp of almond butter

1 Tbl water

Finish with: red pepper flakes and sesame seeds

instructions

1. Saute protein and vegg in "just enough" sesame oil 
2. Season with 5spice and S+P
3. Once veggies and chicken are cooked and seasoned, finish with the juice of half a lime
4. Crack eggs in and lightly scramble
5. Mix almond butter with a little water to thin it out to a sauce, then add into pan and mix well
6. Finish with red pepper flakes{adds heat!} and sesame seeds 

notes

• So, I don't have Chinese 5 spice in my repoirtoire, and I used cinn/nutmeg- that being said, the flavor was slightly off. It was a little too sweet-spicy. Aka, cinnamonny. Or nutmeggy. Or something. Either way, because I fully intend to make this again, I fully intend on visiting Penzey's to get myself some 5 spice. 
• I used about 3/4 of the bag of Cole Slaw mix - it worked perfectly fine, I wouldn't bother actually slicing cabbage.
• For veggies, I cut up 1 red bell pepper, 1 green pepper, 1 small yellow onion, probably a half cup of baby bellas, and threw in a little minced garlic. 
• Because I used chicken thighs, I baked them separately {425 for 25-30 mins} I put a little sesame oil on them, S+P and a dash of red pepper flakes. Skin didn't really crisp up, which I was bummed about, but I wasn't planning on eating it anyways so it didn't matter. Next time I will probably try shrimps. Mmm. 

Shepard's Pie {Paleo}

Ok slight change in plans after the grocery store adventure. Wanted nothing to do with going to a second grocery store for fish, so Sunday shifted to Shepard's Pie. And thank goodness it did. You would NEVER guess that this dish was paleo/good for you/not packed with processed junk. Get ready for your mouth to literally start watering as you read the recipe. 

And for dessert? I finished it off with coconut chocolate chia seed pudding. Stop it. Nope, I can't. It's kinda scary how delicious paleo food can be... You know you're jealous. 

Shepard's Pie {Paleo}

Recipe originated from: www.eat-yourself-skinny.com 

ingredients

1 lb grass fed ground beef

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 carrots, chopped

1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary, divided

1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage, divided

1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme, divided

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp organic vegetable stock {like Nature's Promise}

1 Tbsp potato starch {I couldn't find it, so I actually used regular flour- this makes the dish not paleo}

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped

1 egg

Salt and pepper, to taste

instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a large skillet, brown ground beef. Add onion, garlic, carrots and mushrooms and cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
3. Add a 1/2 cup of chicken stock, potato starch and corn and bring mixture to a light boil, mixing often.
4. Turn off heat and add half of your fresh herbs (you'll use the other half in the cauliflower mash) along with salt and pepper. Set aside.
5. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a rolling boil. Cook cauliflower for about 7 to 10 minutes, until soft. Drain.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, 2 tablespoons of chicken stock (or more if needed) and the cooked cauliflower. Using a potato masher or whisk, mash cauliflower until smooth and add reserved herbs and a good pinch of salt. {you can also use a food processor or blender here - that's what I did}
7. Evenly divide the meat mixture into ramekins until almost full. Using a spatula, spread cauliflower mixture over top until meat is completely covered.
8. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for 10 minutes then switch your oven to broil and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.
9. Allow a few minutes to cool and enjoy!

notes

• Had I not burnt the tops of my little pretties, there would have been pics of these babies. I had my broiler on "normal" {I have low, normal, high} and left in for 8 minutes and it was entirely too long, obviously. Next time I will go to low and probably watch after 5 minutes.
• I will 100% be making Cauliflower Mash again in place of mashed potatoes. The cauliflower mixed with vegetable stock and an egg, baked in the oven, literally almost tastes like potatoes. I am looking forward to experimenting with that!
• I intend to go to Whole Foods this week to hopefully procure potato starch. Again with the "we didn't want to go to multiple stores" today, I didn't bother. I figured it was only 1 Tbl of flour, so it's not the end of the world.. but using that changed the paleo nature of this recipe. Boo. 

Sweet + Spicy Basil Shrimp

Sooo tt decided to make me dinner one night this past week which was an extremely welcomed surprise. Even more of a surprise, was the recipe he found online to make. Shrimp with Mango and Basil is where it started, and it morphed into this sweet and spicy one-pan wonder, channeling warm Indian spices, and throwing your tastebuds for a loop with a pop of sweet pineapple. 

Sweet + Spicy Basil Shrimp

From EatingWell: February/March 2005, The EatingWell Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook (2006) 

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/shrimp_with_mango_basil.html

ingredients:

1 pound raw shrimp, (21-25 per pound), peeled and deveined, tails left on
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large ripe, pineapple- peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup firmly packed fresh basil leaves, finely chopped

{serve it over: wild rice}

instructions:

1. In a large Ziploc bag, toss shrimp with salt, cayenne to taste and turmeric. Seal the bag and marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. 
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; place the shrimp in a single layer and cook until the undersides turn salmon-pink, about 1 minute. Flip them over and cook for 1 minute more. 
3. Add pineapple and chopped basil and cook, stirring, until the shrimp is just cooked and starts to barely curl, 1 to 2 minutes more.

notes: 

• Makes 4 servings, 1 cup each
• Nutrition per serving: 183 Calories; 5 g Fat; 1 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 168 mg Cholesterol; 16 g Carbohydrates; 20 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 352 mg Sodium; 478 mg Potassium (based on recipe with mango rather than pineapple--but really, its probably not much different)