Pages

Friday, March 27, 2015

Sausage and Sweet Potato Hash

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 large sweet potato, peeled and grated
1/2 lb sausage
1/2 tsp chives, dried or fresh
1/4 tsp Simply Organic All-Purpose seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
fried eggs, optional

Melt coconut oil in a large skillet.  Add onion and sweet potato.  Saute until vegetables become tender.  Crumble raw sausage into pan and continue cooking on medium heat.  Add in spices and cook until sausage is cooked through.  Top with fried eggs, if desired. 

image



Thursday, March 26, 2015

Skillet Frittata

This is a technique that can be used to make many variations.  All you need is skillet with a tight fitting lid.  Pictured is a bacon, asparagus and leek frittata.  You can swap out about any kind of veggie & meat combinations.  The best part is it only dirties one pan!

image 
  
Ingredients:
coconut oil
chopped leeks
chopped bacon
few asparagus spears, trimmed and chopped
2 eggs, scrambled
chopped peppers

Melt oil in pan.  Saute leeks, bacon and asparagus for a few minutes.  Turn heat to low, add eggs, salt & pepper.  Top with peppers.  Cover with lid.  Every couple minutes gently lift the side of the frittata and allow the raw egg to run to the bottom of the pan.  When egg is completely cooked, it's ready to serve.  This is enough for 2.  Or just eat it by yourself out of the skillet, no plate to wash!  :)

Winter Squash & Beef Chili

The calendar may say Spring, but it's still feeling like winter around here!  I'm wearing a sweater as I type this, but longingly looked at a pair of strappy sandals in my closet this morning.  So, in an effort to embrace this extremely long winter & not be jealous of our friends & family heading south for spring break (you know who you are!), I'm posting a soup recipe.

A friend made this for us soon after our baby was born and it was such a quick, filling, healthy meal.  She gave me a copy of the recipe and I love making it.  I could not find the original source to give credit to, so here it is.

Winter Squash & Beef Chili
1 2lb winter squash peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used a butternut I had purchased from Costco that was all cubed up in the refrigerator to simplify.)
2 Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil, divided to use
1 lb grass-fed ground beef
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
4 medium celery stalks, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled & chopped
3 cups chopped broccoli or cauliflower
4-6 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cups pureed tomatoes (or one 15 oz can diced tomatoes)
3 cups beef broth (I used a box of vegetable broth)
sea salt & black pepper to taste
Chopped green onion, for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place the squash on the baking sheet & toss with 1 Tbsp of the oil.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until tender and brown in spots.  Set aside.   
2.  Heat the remaining oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the beef.  Cook, breaking up until almost cooked through.
3.  Add onion, celery, carrots and broccoli.  Stir to combine.  Cover the pot and cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring twice.
4.  Add the garlic, chili powder and cumin.  Stir for 1 minute.
5.  Add the tomatoes and broth.  Bring to a rapid simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
6.  Stir in the roasted squash.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.
7.  Serve in bowls garnished with green onion.

  



Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Whole 30 and Giveaway

Guess what???  I've had my blog for a year now.  It's been an eventful year and the time has gone by so fast!  In celebration, I have decided to do another giveaway.  My baby is now 2 months old and life is starting to normalize again.  I've been slacking in eating well and I don't feel as great as I do when I am eating good.  I'm thinking I will try a Whole30 starting in April to try to curb some of the bad habits I've succumb to.  Click here to learn the Whole30 "rules." 

Here's the giveaway part.  You can be entered into the drawing by doing one of the following.  Please use this email:  renaeats@gmail.com  I will close the drawing a week from today on March 31 at midnight.
1.  Comment or email me why I should do a Whole30.  Tell me if you've ever done this & if you liked the results.
2.  Comment or email me a recipe you would like me to try & review.
3.  Comment or email me your favorite recipe from this blog. 
4.  Want to join me in a Whole30?  Let me know and I'll enter your name twice!

So, let the fun begin, bombard me with lots of inspiration!  Depending on your location, I will either deliver some homemade paleo friendly food, or mail you 1 of my favorite products. 

I had better go put away the large can of salted, dark chocolate covered walnuts I munch on when feeding the baby and replace it with a cooler full of veggies!