Grilled Yellow Squash

Ah, summer. Ah, the bounty from a garden. Yellow squash is delicious either on the grill, or in a grill pan, like the photo above. This is a quick way to have yellow squash as a side dish.

I rubbed a little coconut oil on my grill pan and heated it up.

I washed, cut off the ends,  and sliced 3 yellow squash.

I placed them into the grill pan in a single layer.

I brushed the top of them with Garlic Gold Oil with a silicone brush. (If you don't have Garlic Gold oil, you can brush them with olive oil and then sprinkle them with garlic powder) garlicgold.com.

I sprinkled them with smoked sea salt (salttraders.com) and freshly ground black pepper.

I cooked them until they were tender, flipping them now and then.

They were so good!
If you do this on the grill, run two skewers through 5 or 6 pieces so they will be easy to flip on the grill.

Simple Cucumber Dill Salad

Someone sent cucumbers and yellow squash home with Ger from the box this morning. I thought it might be Kim, but it wasn't. I have to find out who to thank for the gifts from the garden!
If you have lots of cucumbers from your garden, make this with a meal now and then.

I washed 2 small cucumbers and cut off the ends. Then I peeled down them longways now and then, until they looked striped. I didn't want to peel all of the green off.
Next, I sliced them and put them into a small bowl.
I added just a bit of diced onion, and 1/4 tsp dill. (Fresh dill would be even better!)
Next, I added 1 TBSP balsamic vinegar, and sea salt and pepper, to taste.

I stirred this up so that the cucumber could soak up the vinegar.
THEN I added 1 TBSP olive oil and gave it one last stir.

I put it in the fridge until the rest of dinner was ready: http://feedinggersasser.blogspot.com/2013/05/crock-pot-grass-fed-beef-roast.html

Paleo Herb Tomato Chicken

This is paleo comfort-food at its finest. We enjoyed it greatly.

I mixed the following ingredients in a shallow dish:

1 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder (or garlic nuggets)
1 tsp rosemary
2 TBSP almond flour (I like the unblanched almond flour and always uses it, but either works)

I heated 2 TBSP coconut oil in my cast iron skillet.

I coated 1 1/2 - 2 lb boneless chicken thighs in the herb mixture and then added them to the skillet. I cooked them 3-4 minutes on each side until they were getting that golden brown color and were cooked inside, although I did leave them rolled up. Then I took them out and set them aside so I could use the skillet for the next part of this recipe.

I added 1 TBSP coconut oil to the skillet. I added:

1 small red onion, diced (I've also used yellow onion in this recipe)
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
1 tsp almond flour
sea salt
freshly groung black pepper

I cooked this 3-4 minutes, until softened.

Next, I added:

 1 can diced tomatoes, DRAINED
1 1/2 cups chicken stock

I brought this to a boil, stirring often. I reduced the heat and let it simmer 5 minutes.

I stirred in 3 TBSP coconut milk.
I put the chicken thighs back into the cast iron skillet and cooked until they were heated through and turned over in the sauce.

This makes such a tender chicken thigh meal. It's an economical way to feed the people you love some great paleo protein.

Paleo Whole Roasted Cauliflower

This is a tasty and fun presentation for a cauliflower.

I put the following ingredients into a stock pot:

2 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup olive oil
2 TBSP sea salt
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
2 TBSP coconut oil
1/2 tsp red pepper
1/2 tsp rosemary
2 bay leaves
6 cups water

I brought that to a boil and then gently added a whole cauliflower head that I'd taken the leaves off of.

I turned it down to a simmer and timed it for 20 minutes.

Then, I took the cauliflower out of the liquid carefully and placed it in a baking dish.  I roasted it for 30 minutes at 475 degrees.  ( I turned the baking dish around after 15 minutes, just so it would roast evenly.)

I drizzled a little Garlic Gold Oil on the top, just before we ate it. (garlicgold.com)

Fennel Rubbed Pork Roast

Well, THIS recipe was instantly loved!  I like to hear the compliments for my creative endeavors in this Southern paleo kitchen. The best part may be how easy this one is - I hope you try it.

I put 1 TBSP coconut oil in the slow cooker and rubbed it around.
I placed a 3-4 lb pork roasting the slow cooker. This was my last roast from the current half a pig from a local-ish farm and I wanted to honor it.  (I have a whole pig spoken for in October - yay! - and I am giving half of it to Ger and Cassie as part of their wedding present. That August 2nd wedding is fast approaching!)

Anyway, I rubbed 1 TBSP smoked sea salt and
1 TBSP fennel into the top of the pork roast.
I sprinkled 1/4 tsp red pepper and
freshly ground black pepper, to taste on the top also.

I added 1/3 cup water and cooked it on low for 7 hours. (It also works on high for 4 hours)

There was even a big lovely bone for Mikko and a little one for Daisy. Everyone was happy.

Lemon Garlic Kale

This is a beautiful and healthy side dish. It also works with other greens. You can just taste the nutritional value of this dish.

I put on a pot of water with a little salt to boil.

I tore a large bunch of kale from the stems. When the water was boiling, I there in the kale and stirred it. Then I turned it down to simmer for 3 minutes. That's not long - I wanted the kale to still be bright green. (When I do this with spinach it only takes one minute.)

After the three minutes I poured off the water and added 1 TBSP olive oil, the juice from half of a large organic lemon, and 1 TBSP garlic nuggets. (garlicgold.com or however you make things "garlic-y")

This pairs well with most meats. Give it a try!

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Marinara

This chicken dish got more than one compliment tonight! I can't get enough fresh basil lately so this was delicious. Here's how I did it:

First, I  cut a spaghetti squash in half and scooped out the seeds and stringy stuff. I placed the two halves cut-side down in a 9 x 12 glass baking dish. I added water until it was 1/2 inch deep in the dish and put the dish in a 350 degree oven for 30-40 minutes, until tender. (the size of the spaghetti squash can alter the cooking time, so I stick a knife in it to check to see if its soft.)

After the squash cooled for a few minutes, I poured the water off the spaghetti squash and scraped out the squash into the same baking dish!

Next, I pulled the leaves off of a container of fresh basil.

I also cooked several chicken tenders in a skillet with coconut oil, smoked sea salt, and pepper.

I added the fresh basil to the baking dish, along with 1 jar of marinara sauce (read the labels and buy sauce with no added sugar....) and 1 can of diced tomatoes that I'd drained completely.

I stirred all of this up and added the chicken.
I popped it into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Now, Ger said I was being lazy since I didn't cut up the chicken into bite-sized pieces...... but he told me how delicious it was twice!  With ingredients this beautiful, how could I go wrong? And, there's only one dish. Easy!

Paleo Skillet Bananas

This easy recipe was a big hit after dinner. You just might have the ingredients right now!

I put 1 heaping TBSP coconut oil, 1 TBSP honey, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon into a skillet over medium-low heat and stirred until combined.

I sliced 4 large organic bananas into bite-size chunks and put them into the skillet.

I also added 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut. (We love the big chunky coconut chips)

I cooked the bananas, stirring and flipping, for 5-6 minutes.

Then, we ate it. Quickly. Next time, they said, make 5 or 6 bananas!

Congratulations, Ger, for taking first place at the Battle of Bluegrass!

Colorful Vegetable Skillet

I put 2 TBSP chicken stock and 1 TBSP coconut oil in a skillet.  I added:

1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1  8 oz package of shitake mushrooms, chopped
1 head of broccoli, chopped
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp garlic nuggets
smoked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

I cooked this over medium heat until crisp-tender.  It was great with http://feedinggersasser.blogspot.com/2012/12/garlic-baked-chicken-thighs.html.

This meal was quick, easy, and so healthy. Do-able!

Andouille Sausage Gumbo

I bought 2 lbs of andouille sausage - nice and cajun-spicy - and this is what I did with it. You can use other sausage if you'd rather.

I poured a 32 oz organic chicken stock into my slow cooker.
 I diced the following veggies and put them into the slow cooker:

1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
1 orange pepper
1 organic white onion
2 lb andouille sausage, uncooked and cut into 6-8 pieces each

Next, I poured in a 15 oz can of organic diced tomatoes.
I added the following spices:

2 TBSP smoked paprika
1 TBSP Garlic Gold nuggets (garlicgold.com)
1 TBSP smoked sea salt (salttraders.com)
2 tsp chipotle chili pepper
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

I put the lid on and cooked it on high for 4 1/2 hours. (It can also go for 8 on low)


During the last hour I prepped two more ingredients.

I thawed one package of large shrimp, pulled off the tails and threw them into the gumbo.

I pulsed 1/2 of a large cauliflower in my food processor, until it looked like white rice, and scraped it into the gumbo.

These last two ingredients were in the slow cooker on high for over a half-hour. If you do yours on low, they should probably be in there a little longer than that.

This gumbo is real-food, immune-system boosting, cajun-heat delicious! 

Broiled Asparagus Wrapped in Prosciutto

I made a Saturday morning trip to The Wild Ramp and bought the most fresh and delicious asparagus. I honored it in this way:

I covered a large baking pan with foil. (easy clean-up!)
I broke off about an inch of each asparagus spear to discard and then laid them on the baking pan.

I poured 2 tsp garlicgold.com Gralic Gold oil on the asparagus and tossed them with my hands until they were covered.  (If you don't have Garlic Gold Oil yet, you can use warm coconut oil, or olive oil)

I made the bundles by wrapping a piece of prosciutto around two asparagus spears, rolling from just below the top, down to the bottom.  I laid them out in the pan.

I seasoned them with smoked seat salt salttraders.com, freshly ground black pepper, and Garlic Gold Nuggets. (minced garlic, or a little garlic powder would substitute)

I put them under the broiler for 5 minutes, took them out and turned them over, and broiled for another 5 minutes.

Incredible!

If your asparagus is tiny, you will want to broil a little less time, so adjust and watch them.