Just Chicken

Ingredients: warm the George Forman or go out and buy one
7 strips of chicken
1 sweet potato
1 bowl of broccoli
1/2 or so butternut squash
some olive oil
1 garlic clove minced (I hope by this point you always have one in your fridge)
sprinkle of Thyme
sprinkle of Sage
sprinkle of pepper

I got home at 9pm thinking, "I don't want to make a big meal, so I'll just have chicken." It's usually just that, but I really enjoyed my homemade chicken seasoning.

First, heat a pan on medium for the chicken, then start on cutting the Sweet Potato. 1/2 sweet potato per person is a good amount.  So cut it up into little fry pieces.  Make sure you oil them up with olive oil.  Put them in the George Forman, turn them once or twice, and YUMMI!  It should take around 10-15 minutes for them to cook.

When the pan gets warm, add about 1tsp olive oil - or just dribble around the pan.  Add minced garlic to the oil, stir for a second.  Add the chicken to the pan.  I sprinkled the Thyme, Sage, and pepper only on 1 side on purpose. They will cook rather quickly, about 3 minutes per side. I usually just watch the chicken cook through until it's only half rare, then I flip.

While the chicken is cooking put 1Tbs. water in your broccoli bowl and cover with saran wrap or put it in a steam bag or steam it on the stove top if you have the pans.  I added some leftover brussel sprouts to the broccoli.  Put it in the microwave for 2-3 minutes for a medium bowl. If you make a lot for the family, it'll be longer.

You can put butternut squash in a bowl with some water and cover for . . . lets say 6 minutes? Just make sure you can easily poke a fork into it like a soggy potato.  Shaun and I traded cooking places and he did a wonderful job finishing the 3rd veggie side!  He had both the broccoli and the squash in the microwave for 10 minutes (I already had the broccoli in for 2 before trading).  The squash was uncovered but drenched in water.  It turned out super moist when i drained it, and it was super Tasty!

Colorado Chicken

I got this recipe from The Paleo Diet Cookbook. The main difference between this and The Primal Blueprint is the Paleo Diet Cookbook has many recipes but no pictures. Although The Primal Blueprint has fewer recipes, I love it because there isn't only a picture of the final product, but also a picture of all the ingredients plus picture during the making of the meal.

Ingredients:(serves 2)
preheat oven 425 degrees
5 - 3 oz. chickens
1 diced tomato
2 cups mushrooms sliced
1 cup chicken broth
olive oil
pepper

Heat the pan on medium. Add olive oil and some pepper. Add your chicken, cover and cook 2-3 minutes on each side (if you are using larger breasts, make it 5 minutes). I put the chicken in a glass baking dish and kept it aside. I went back to the pan on the stove and added mushrooms and covered for about 10 minutes, then I added the diced tomato and chicken broth. Bring it to a boil then simmer for about 5 minutes. I added the mushrooms,broth, and tomatoes to the chicken in the baking dish. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.

While that was cooking I put brussel sprouts and olive oil on medium heat on the stove. When they were almost finished cooking (a point when you can easily put your fork through em and they start to brown) I tried something new and squeezed some tangerine juice and then tore apart the rest of the tangerine to add to the dish.

Almond Crusted Chicken Fingers

You thought that once you go paleo, you can't eat good food. Not True! This is a great recipe for kids AND adults!

Ingredients:
olive oil
almond meal
seasoning (I used Kick'n Chicken)
dill
1 egg
chicken strips

First, heat the olive oil in the pan on medium or a little less than medium heat. Get 1 bowl and 1 plate. 1 bowl is for the egg (beat it like you're making scrambled eggs. This is the coating so your almond meal sticks to the chicken). 1 plate is for your almond meal (add seasonings. I used both dill and kickn chickn).


1. dip a chicken strip in the eggs. You just want a thin layer, not big clumps of egg.
2. Roll the chicken strips around in the almond meal
3. put the chicken in the hot oil in the pan. Cook each side for about 5 minutes. They might look cooked on the outside, but the inside could still be uncooked. You don't want the heat too high because it'll burn the outside almond meal. Next time I'll probably take the chickens out of the fridge early.

I also made acorn squash for the side. Cut it in half, dig out the seeds (but keep them!). Put the half in a medium bowl, add a squirt of water, cover with saran wrap and put it in the microwave for 3-4 minutes. If you want an AWESOME snack, then turn the oven on 350 degrees, get a baking sheet and foil. put the seeds on the foil (but make sure all the stringy guts are cleaned off them) and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until they are lightly browned. WOW so freaking good!

Chicken Pesto Spinach Salad

Main Ingredients for 2 people:
8 chicken strips
lots of spinach
3 strips of bacon
a medium bowl of cauliflower
pesto

Pesto Sauce recipe provided by Everyday Paleo
4 oz fresh basil (3 ½ cups)
1 cup walnut halves and pieces
6 garlic cloves
1 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
Juice from ½ a lemon

Firstly, I bought pesto from Bloomingfoods. It included parmasen :/ I've made paleo pesto in the past when I grew the basil. This time I bought it. I didn't use lemon in my recipe, but it's good to try new things. I put the bacon on the george foreman; while that was cooking I washed and cut up the spinach (don't forget to pat dry the spinach). When the bacon was done I cut it up into pieces. Then I put the chicken on the george foreman. In the meantime I steamed the cauliflower with a drop of water in a bowl, covered with saran wrap for 2-4 minutes (it depends on how much cauliflower you makeit shouldn't be hard when you take it out of the microwave).

I wanted to try out the new mini food processer my grandma gave me, so i put my cauliflower in it with some garlic. If you try this, put in tiny amounts of garlic and taste it as you go along. I made mine with WAY too much- i used half a clove on that small plate.

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 3 slices lean, smoky good quality bacon, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 10 sticks of asparagus
  
• 1 Leek, cut white roots, wash really well, and chopped into 1/2 inch piece,
  
• some salt
• some garlic powder
  
• 1/2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 (15-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes no salt added
  

Directions

Heat a medium soup pot or deep sided skillet over medium-high heat with diced tomatoes.

On a skillet I added chicken, and cooked asparagus next to it. I seasoned the chicken withwith Weber's Kickin Chicken. On a Seperate Skillet I cooked the bacon; when it was brown and crisp, I added the leeks and cut up the asparagus that was cooking with the chicken to the bacon grease. After about 5-10 minutes when i figured it was a good time,I combined the stock and veggies with the tomotoes. Cut the chicken into pieces and add to the soup. I added some garlic and salt for seasoning. You can add other spices and flavors to your taste.