Chicken with Artichokes

I made this for the dinner group we participate in several weeks ago (and again this past Memorial Day weekend) - and it's one of my favorite recipes because it is SO easy & great for a big group!

Chicken Thighs with Artichoke Hearts and Feta Cheese 

Adapted from:  Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

• 6 skinless boneless chicken thighs, excess fat removed
• 6 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup feta cheese (optional & can easily be omitted if you don't do dairy)
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
• salt and fresh pepper

Combine artichoke hearts along with liquid and chicken and let it marinate about 20 minutes or longer. After it's marinated, drain all liquid, add garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.

Grill chicken & artichokes until cooked. Artichokes just need a minute or two to get a little crispy & do best in a grill basket so they don't fall through the grate of your grill to be lost to the fiery abyss - so sad because they are delicious!.

Place chicken & artichokes in an oven-safe dish. Then top chicken with feta and broil in the oven for a minute to melt the cheese. Remove from oven and top with fresh parsley.

Pesto Green Beans & Spice Rubbed Pork Chops

Last week Mr. Buck and I took advantage of a sunny Seattle day to fire up the grill. I also was super excited that Trader Joe's has brought back their $2.99 basil plants - and ours had tons of leaves ready to be used up - so pesto it is! Now, green beans are debatable as far as their compliance with the stricter tennets of the Paleo diet - but I'm not going to debate that here. I'm just going to say this...we eat them occasionally.  If you prefer not to eat green beans, this pest would be great on just about anything so  use it as you see fit.

Pesto with Green Bean Ingredients:
(this recipe makes enough for one meal, I'd recommend doubling to have some on hand for dipping veggies or sauce for spaghetti squash later in the week)

• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 4 medium sized garlic cloves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 lbs green beans

Place it all (except the green beans) in your food processor or blender (both will work) & blend to combine.



Then get your greenbeans ready. Yes, we used frozen, but fresh would be great as well.



I microwaved them to steam as the bag suggested & then threw them in a pan with the pesto sauce to finish them off.




Spice Rubbed Pork Chops Ingredients:

• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 & 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 pork chops

Mix all spices together & rub on all sides of your pork chops. Rub all that spicy goodness in real good!



Then get your husband to grill them up - he prescribes 5 minutes on one side, 5 minutes on the other, then 5 minutes on the first side again but turn the chop 45degrees and repeat for 5 more minutes on the second side. That should do it, but of course check them to make sure the juices run clear and they're cooked all the way through.



Plate & enjoy!

Grilled Coconut Kale & Roast Beef

Tonight's dinner came together based on what we had available in our fridge - and was a repeat (with some minor changes) of a meal we enjoyed with some friends last week. The kale has a wonderful almost meaty texture & is really complimented by the coconutty sauce.

These two pair very well together and the cooking of both is quite complimentary.

Grilled Coconut Kale:

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of Kale
• 1 can of Coconut Milk 
• 1 tsp. Paprika
• 3/4 tsp. Cayenne
• 1 tbsp. Lemon Juice

Directions:
Wash & dry the kale, remove the rough lower stems, but leave the leaves intact. Put in a large bowl. In a saucepan over low heat combine the can of coconut milk, paprika and cayenne. Warm just until everything combines. Add the lemon juice & then pour over the kale. Mix well & let marinate for 4 hours. Just when you're ready to eat, grill the kale for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Roast Beef

• Beef Bottom Round Roast (2.5 - 3 lbs)
• 1 1/4 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Mix all ingredients (except the roast) in a small bowl. Set aside to let the flavors come together for a few minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare your pan. We don't have a roasting pan w/rack, so I make-do by creating tin foil spirals & placing them on the bottom of a Pyrex dish. Coat the meat with the spice mixture, rub all over. Place on your roasting pan w/rack, or on top of the tinfoil spirals in your Pyrex dish. Roast in pre-heated oven for about 1 hour or until thermometer inserted into the middle reaches 145 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from oven, cover loosely with tin foil & let rest for 15 minutes. Slice & Serve.

Roast Beef recipe adapted from here
Kale recipe adapted from here

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

This dish is on regular rotation in our household these days. It satisfies our craving for something warm and comforting, and is something I wouldn't be ashamed to serve to guests. It's a great recipe to have in the back of your mind as well as it's pretty adaptable to whatever you may have around the house (i.e. use a can of diced tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes & pizza sauce, or spinach or other vegetables instead of the broccoli). Mix, match & enjoy!

 Ingredients:

• 1 Medium Spaghetti squash
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 1lb ground beef
• 1 bag of frozen broccoli (or 1 head of fresh broccoli, chopped)
• 1 cup diced tomato (I used cherry tomatoes because that's what we had on hand)
• 1 cup Muir Glenn Organic Pizza Sauce (keep the remainder of the can for paleo pizza later in the week :-) )
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or as much/little as you like depending on how spicy you like your food)
• Enough Coconut Oil to grease a 7x11 Pyrex baking dish

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit
• Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds & innards
• Place one half of squash cut side down in pyrex dish and add about 1/2 inch of water to the bottom of the dish, Microwave for 10-12 minutes. When one half is cooked, pull the squash out and set aside, repeat with second half.
• While the squash is cooking, add garlic, onions & ground beef to a pan on the stove over medium/high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meet is browned. 
• Add tomatoes & broccoli, stir
• Add pizza sauce, 1/2 cup water and spices (basil, oregano & crushed red pepper flakes)
• While the meat mixture simmers, use a fork to scrape the spaghetti squash into strands. I find that doing this over a big bowl is easiest & helps to contain the mess. Then I just dump all of the scraped squash into the pan with the meat mixture. Stir to combine
• Now that the squash is done cooking in your pyrex dish, you can use that same dish to bake the casserole. Dump out the water & grease the dish with coconut oil
• Transfer meat/squash mixture to baking dish, bake in oven for 20-30 minutes until bubbly.
• Enjoy!

 

Recipe adapted from Mark's Daily Apple