The big day is coming….Super Bowl Sunday!!  I have to admit I’m not a huge NFL girl.  I mush rather watch a college football game then I would NFL, but I make an exception for Super Bowl Sunday.  Yes, the commercials are fun…and the halftime show….but my favorite is cheering for the underdog.  Makes it a little more exciting to me for some reason.  So who will the underdog be this weekend….we shall see and I promise I’ll be cheering them on till the end. 

Another favorite thing about Super Bowl Sunday is the food.  I love mapping out the bites for the game!  With that being said I had to test out a test run this weekend on these chicken salad crostini’s.  The exciting part about these crostini’s is they are totally Paleo and your guest will totally not know they are Paleo either.  

I’m going to keep this short because I’m one totally tired girl and need a little shut eye.  It’s going to be a busy week.  Working and mapping out some things that I hope will change a few things around here.  Don’t worry nothing too major….just exciting!  Stay tune and enjoy these Paleo Crostini’s!   

Sundried Tomato, Bacon, Chicken Salad Crostini

1 pound chicken breasts

1 quart low sodium chicken broth

2 bay leaves

3 slices sugar-free bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (packed in olive oil), diced reserve some for topping the crostini’s

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

2 to 3 green onions, diced

Garlic Herb Mayonnaise

Paleo Herb Buns

Instructions:

Wash chicken and season with salt and pepper.  In a large pot bring chicken stock with bay leaves to a boil.  Place chicken breast into the stock, cover and remove from heat.  Let chicken sit in the stock for 40 to 50 minutes until cooked through. 

Remove chicken and dice or shred chicken.  Place chicken into large bowl and add sundried tomatoes, bacon, fresh basil, green onion, and garlic herb mayo.  Remember to reserve some of the sundried tomatoes to top the crostini’s.

Cut the paleo buns in half and lightly toast in a toaster oven.  Top each half with chicken salad mixture and top with sundried tomatoes and extra chopped fresh basil.

Makes about 14-16 crostini’s.

You can also serve chicken salad as is without the paleo bun/crostini’s.  Still delicious!

Enjoy!!

I’m very excited about today’s post and partnering with some very talented bloggers and Paleo mom’s, Stacy at Paleo Parents and Jenni at Urban Poser.

Stacy reached out to Jenni and I and we all tossed around some ideas and decided to each feature a “course” to give you a full New Years Eve menu.  I’m featuring an appetizer with these Sundried Tomato Herb Chicken Sliders surrounded by a Paleo Herb Bun.  Jenni took on the main course of a chicken pot pie – which sounds amazing!  I haven’t had chicken pot pie since cutting gluten out last January so I’m excited to try her recipe.  And the wonderful Stacy did a dessert – a take on Jenni’s marshmallows, a S’more Marshmallow! Yum!

Here is a glimpse at these fabulous ladies recipes.

Jenni at Urban Poser used leftovers to make an amazing looking main course, Chicken Pot Pie.  Can’t wait to try this!

Warm, savory and the perfect match to a cold winters day…Try this grain free rendition of the classic ‘Pot Pie’. These personal sized pies are chock full of hearty chicken, seasoned vegetables, and thick (grain free) gravy. Then they’re topped off with a flaky almond flour crust, just like my Grandma used to make…only better for you!

Now for Stacy’s fabulous dessert of Marshmallow S’mores….can you say YUM!  A great end of the year treat for your New Year’s Eve!

These marshmallows won’t have you missing anything. Especially the sticky burning goo on your fingers. Or the smoke in your eye. But, if you’re into that sort of thing, by all means – eat them beside a bonfire and let the chocolate melt in your hand instead of your mouth! But first, you have to make them…

Click the links and head to their sites for the full recipes!  You won’t be disappointed, I promise!

 Now to skip to the front of menu to the appetizer.  Here is the recipe for my Sundried Tomato Herb Chicken Sliders with Paleo Herb Bun with a Garlic Herb Aioli.

Sundried Tomato Herb Chicken Sliders

1 pound ground chicken

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (packed in olive oil), chopped

2 slices bacon, just cooked and crumbled

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

1/2 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

1 teaspoon fresh garlic, finely minced

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Paleo Herb Buns

Fresh Baby Spinach

Garlic Herb Aioli (optional), recipe below

To make burgers:

Heat a nonstick grill pan over medium high heat.

In a large bowl, add chicken, sundried tomatoes, bacon, thyme, basil, garlic, salt and pepper.  With a fork combine the ingredients make sure not to completely over work the slider mixture.

Form mixture into small sliders and place on the preheated grill pan and grill sliders for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until slider is cooked through.

Garlic Herb Aioli

1 egg

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground mustard powder

1/2 cup avocado oil

1/2 cup light olive oil

1/2 tablespoon garlic, minced

1 tablespoon rosemary, minced

1/2 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

To make aioli:

In a food processor, process egg, lemon juice, and mustard powder.

Slowly add the avocado oil and olive oil while processing to fully emulsify.  When the oil has all emulsified and you have a creamy mayonnaise, add salt and pepper, and continue to blend

Add garlic, rosemary, and basil and process until smooth.

So there you have it folks, a “Trifecta” post with some very special ladies for a NYE Menu.  Now go and check out these recipes!  And most importantly HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  See you back here in 2012 for another fun filled year of recipes.

Back from vacation and had a wonderful time away with my family.  We had a lot of fun and now we have a lot of new memories to add to our box.  I look at my little ones and I’m amazed every day how big they are becoming.  It makes me so sad so gathering all those memories are very important.  I will always remember Christmas 2011 in one of the magical places in the world….Disney World! 

Now that we are back it was nice to get back in my kitchen and make something for my Paleo palate.  Word to the wise….Paleo eating at Disney World can be a little challenging.  Thank goodness I pre-made some things for the trip for snacks and brought along some of my favorites from Steve’s Original.  Those saved the day on many occasions.  Today I spent the better half of the day cooking away.  First on the list was this salsa.  I think I have told you in the past but sweet potatoes are my little addiction.  I love them.  If I could I would have them every day.  My husband jokes that one day I might turn into a sweet potato!  Hmmmm…weird thought!  Ok, so lets talk salsa.  I’ve made all kinds of salsa, but never a sweet potato salsa….and let me tell you it will be made again.  The sweet potato adds a slight sweetness to the salsa.  Now the beauty of this salsa is you can use it in the traditional way, ok not totally traditional in the Paleo world but in my Paleo traditional way, dipped with a Paleo Cracker. But you can also use this salsa in scrambled eggs for breakfast, on top of a salad, there are many possibilities.  Either way its a sweet little bite!  And perfect to serve as a appetizer for New Year’s of the Super Bowl!

Enjoy!!

Roasted Sweet Potato Salsa

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced small

1 small red onion, diced

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium tomato (seeds removed), diced

1 avocado, diced small

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

salt and ground pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  On a baking sheet, toss sweet potato, red onion, and olive oil.  Roast until sweet potato is tender and browned in spots, about 20 minutes.  Transfer to a large bowl and let cool completely.

Add tomato, avocado, cilantro, and lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.

Note: To enjoy salsa serve with Paleo Crackers, scatter over a salad, use in scrambled eggs at breakfast, or inside an omelet (or on top).

Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart

A few weeks ago while in Sedona my mom and I had a wonderful tomato salad as an appetizer before my birthday dinner.  Of course being Paleo we had them split the salad for us because my mom the cheese lover had cheese with her tomato salad while I stuck with just the tomato and basil.  It was such a refreshing salad that we had it again a few days later.  I’ve been thinking about that salad since I got home so while walking through the produce section at my local Whole Foods this weekend I almost jumped and rejoiced when I saw that the heirloom tomatoes where on sale.  With only a few remaining I quickly gathered a few that looked good and stored away in my cart.  The remaining time spent at Whole Foods was spent daydreaming about the tomato salad I was going to recreate once I got home.  Amazing how the smallest things can brighten your day…and funny that it’s food! Once home, it didn’t take much to put this salad together.  You only need 5 ingredients and maybe 5 to 10 minutes to prepare and presto you have great appetizer, side dish, or even a main dish!  I know summer has pretty much ended which means tomato “season” has ended too but with temperatures still way up there here in South Florida it still feels like summer which makes this salad perfect!

Heirloom Tomato Basil Salad

 Print Recipe

2 to 3 heirloom tomatoes

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

1 to 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

Sea Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

 

Instructions:

Cut tomatoes in slices in thickness of choice.  Place on a large plate or in a bowl and drizzle olive oil and balsamic over tomatoes.  Use the amount you like, some like more some like less so use according to your liking.  You can always use less and add more.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Store in refrigerator for about 30 minutes and before serving sprinkle freshly chopped basil over tomatoes.  Serve and enjoy by themselves or as a side dish.

Note: And for my non-Paleo followers out there….add some fresh mozzarella to this salad and I’m sure you can make a meal out of this…that’s what my mom does

Enjoy!!

I’m back from vacation.  I’m still trying to get back into the swing of things.  I have to say a getaway to a spa on your birthday is absolutely fabulous and I highly recommend everyone do that one in their lifetime.  It was a well needed break for my mom and I!  We had a great time!  I was sad to leave my little ones for 4 days but in the end I came back a happier mom.  I’ll be recapping my trip soon.  After I download over 150 photo’s that is! 

On our trip to the spa we had the chance to participate in a cooking demo by one of the chefs at the spa.  The wonderful thing about the Enchantment Resort in Sedona is the food is healthy and they are willing to make any changes you may need to fit your diet needs.  So all you Paleolovers out there….this is the perfect place for a vacation!  There wasn’t anything on the 3 restaurants on site that didn’t offer something that wasn’t Paleo friendly with just a few minor adjustments. 

Now back to the cooking demo, in the demo the chef made a version of this recipe.  Instead of using watermelon like the chef used I used cantaloupe, honeydew and pineapple.  So try different fruits in your recipe to adapt it to your favorites.  This was great when I was there and great when I got home and made it for the hubby.  If you don’t like things too spicy just don’t use as much jalapeno pepper.

I’m going to keep this post short because I’m a tired girl who just headed back to work today and need to get some shut eye before my 4:30am wake up call happens tomorrow morning.  CrossFit calls!

Enjoy everyone!!

Spicy Lime Shrimp with Fruity Pico De Gallo

Print Recipe

Spicy Lime Shrimp

15-20 Large Shrimp (about 1 pound), clean and peeled

1/2 Jalapeno Pepper, diced (less if you don’t like spicy)

3 limes, juiced

1/2 cup green onion, diced

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon coconut oil

Instructions:

Preheat saute pan to med heat with coconut oil.

Saute shrimp on medium heat.  Cook 3/4 of the way through, add garlic and then deglaze with the lime juice.  Toss for 2 minutes or until shrimp are cooked.

Finish with fresh jalapeno, green onion, and cilantro. 

Fruity Pico De Gallo

1/2 cup pineapple, diced

1/3 cup cantaloupe, diced

1/3 cup honeydew, diced

1 tablespoon red onion, diced

1/2 Jalapeno, diced

1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

salt to taste

fresh ground pepper to taste

Juice of one lime

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Mix well.  If time allows allow to stand in refrigerator for 1 hour before serving other wise serve on top of shrimp and enjoy.

Enjoy!!

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