Pear Cinnamon Green Smoothie

When I started Paleo I had smoothies all the time. It is an easy meal replacement, and an easy meal to not have to think too hard on. I had smoothies so much that I burned out. Hard. The last few times I made myself a smoothie I felt like I was gagging through them. Sad, I know.

So I have been on a smoothie break. A long one. I broke that break today and it was worth it.

We were running low on most things in my refrigerator. This morning I was dreaming of eggs, but I had none. Apples and almond butter, but no more apples left. I would have even taken a Paleo waffle, but I had none of those left in the freezer. However I did have all the ingredients I needed for a delicious green smoothie.

Pear Cinnamon Green Smoothie

Serves 2

2 very ripe pears peeled, chopped and frozen

1.5 cups vanilla unsweetened almond milk

2 cups spinach

½ tsp cinnamon

1.       Allow the pears to thaw a little while before making smoothie, about 15-25 min, until you can break apart the pieces.

2.       Add all ingredients to a high powered blender.

3.       Blend until its smooth.

Tweet

Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowl

I love Chipotle, guys. I think I have well established that with my post about cilantro lime rice. But really I am crazy for it.

I am strange, though about how I eat it. I get my toppings on the side so I can pick at them. I always get steak and fajita vegetables.  Always. I never get beans. To be honest I really don’t like beans all that much. So no beans on Paleo is easy for me. I do love cilantro lime rice. And by now you can probably tell I am NOT strict about my Paleo. I kind of do a little cheat here and a little cheat there. But I try to not cheat with gluten. The point here? I do eat rice some. However from my reading about Paleo, I have found that if you are going to eat a grain, white rice is not a bad one to eat. It is easy to digest and not damaging on your gut. (Sounds like free reign to me. Right?)

That said, I think  I am going to mess around with veggies and cilantro lime flavoring to make something I could eat instead of rice.  Maybe even with spaghetti squash. I don’t know. I will share if anything turns out good.

Ok now, my “as good as it’s going to get” Chipotle chicken and fajita. This one is not spot on but it is YUMMY. Here is the down-fall: you need access to a Trader Joe’s. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s anywhere within a 50 mile radius, I am seriously sorry. If it’s 50 miles (or so) make a good list, go and stock pile some stuff. You’re thinking What?! Drive 50 miles for a grocery store?! You’ve got to be kidding. No, no I’m not kidding. Trader Joe’s is worth the drive. But buy more than you think you need (time number 2, 3, 4, ect, will be easier to do this because you will realize what you LOVE and need much, much more of).

Get this NOW at Trader Joe's. An absolute must!

What you will need from Trader Joe’s is their taco seasoning. Again you may not think driving a ways for this is worth it (probably not if this is all you get), but it is really a great seasoning and one of the few packs of seasonings that is gluten free. Warning: it is hotter than you would expect. For a pound of ground beef I use about 1/6 of the packet. For this recipe, however, I use the seasoning to marinate my meat and even season my vegetables. 

Close Enough Chipotle Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves

¼ cup olive oil

½ pack of Trader Joe’s taco seasoning (more or less to taste)

Juice of 1 lime

1.       I cut my chicken breasts in half so they are much thinner, this makes for quicker, more even cooking.  Mix all ingredients in a gallon ziplock bag and refrigerate 2 hours to overnight.

2.       Take chicken out of fridge about a half hour before you are ready to cook it to allow it to come closer to room temperature before cooking.

3.       Place chicken cutlets in a hot skillet. Don’t over crowd the pan, cook in batches if needed. Cover and cook until chicken is done, flipping in the middle, about 10 minutes.

4.       Remove chicken from pan and cut into cubes.

With a half of the pack of seasoning, this was a great flavor but not overly spicy, feel free to add more seasoning.

Fajita Vegetables

(make as much as you want)

Green bell pepper

Onion

Trader Joe’s Taco Seasoning

1.       Slice peppers and onions and sprinkle with taco seasoning.

2.       Sauté vegetables in an oiled skillet over medium heat. About 5 minutes or to desired doneness.

Yep, that easy.

Burrito Bowl at Home?

Cilantro lime rice (recipe here)

Fajita vegetables

Chipotle chicken

Monterey Jack cheese, grated (if you eat dairy)

Sour cream (Daisy brand, again if you eat dairy)

Salsa of choice or pico de gayo

Tobasco (to add some heat if you need)

Guacamole

Lettuce

1.       Layer (or dump) it all together as you like it. Add what you want and not what you don’t want.

Tweet

Better Than Chipote Cilatro Lime Rice

My husband spoils me with compliments.  

Here is the background first:  We. Love. Chipotle. Seriously. No joke. My family is crazy obsessed with Chipotle. I don’t think there is ever a time we would say no to Chipotle. Ever. Not hungry? Chipotle anyways? Yes please!

However, when we have eaten Chipotle 3 times in a week I start to feel guilty for eating out so much. Did I stop craving it? Heck no! So I had to make due to salve my conscience; I had to make something at least close at home.

That’s where the spoiling me with compliments come in. I made my own mock-Chipotle rice and he told me it’s better than Chipotle. Seriously, is that possible? I was just hoping to come close. He wasn’t just being nice though, this stuff is crazy good!

Better Than Chipotle Cilantro Lime Rice

Serves 4.

1 cup basmati rice (rinsed until water runs clean)

2 cups chicken broth (preferably home-made, recipe to come)

2 TBS light tasting olive oil, separated

Juice and zest of 1 lime

½ cup chopped cilantro

1.       Bring chicken broth, ½ TBS olive oil, and rinsed rice to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.

2.       Remove pan from heat. Keep covered and let it sit for 5 minutes.

3.       While rice is cooking (or sitting) mix remaining 1 ½ TBS of olive oil, lime juice, zest, and cilantro in a large bowl.

4.       Stir in rice and mix well.

Tips: Do not, no matter what, uncover the rice until it is completely done. It is easiest if you have a pan with a glass lid, if you don’t, just trust the rice—DO NOT uncover it. Sometimes the rice is not done well after 15 minutes, if there is still a lot of liquid left after it simmered allow it to simmer another 5 minutes or so. Then let it sit for 5 minutes.

Tweet

BBQ Ribs in the Oven and Cilantro Coleslaw

I've been busy, busy, dreadfully busy. You've no idea what I have to do. Busy, busy, shockingly busy. Much, much too busy for you. If you know your Veggie Tales, you probably pictured that sung by an asparagus or a blueberry.

I have had so many intentions of putting recipes on here lately, but carving out the time out to come and write has seem quite difficult. So now I have stored up some recipes to share, I just have to pick what goes first.

I have been cheating a horrible amount lately. We just can't have Cheetos in the house without me consuming the whole bag. No one else stands a chance at getting them. Why oh why I keep buying Cheetos I just don't know! I tell myself over and over that I won't do it again and yet I keep buying and eating those delicious orange puffs of goodness (or badness, whatever). I keep trying to get back on track. Like seriously on track. As you will see from today's recipe I'm still a little bit cheating  even when I'm trying not to. Hence the store bought BBQ sauce.

Without further ado:
*disclaimer- I am a grilling kind of girl but my grill has been broken for a while, this was really a last resort.

BBQ Ribs in the Oven

1 rack of pork ribs
Dry Rub:
1 TBS season salt
1 TBS chilli powder
1 TBS cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/4 cup coconut crystals
1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
BBQ sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 225 and line a baking sheet in aluminum foil.
2. Set the ribs meat side down and peal off the silver skin, that is the membrane that covers the meat and bones on the back side of the ribs.
3. Mix the dry rub ingredients or use your favorite dry rub.
4. Rub half of the dry rub onto the back of the ribs, place meat on the baking sheet and rub the remainder of the mix on the top of the meat.
5. Cook the ribs uncovered for 2 hours.
6.  Remove ribs from oven and coat in your favorite BBQ sauce.  (If keeping strict Paleo, make your own sauce, otherwise as always be sure to read the ingredients.)
7. Cover and cook for another 2 hours.
8. If you wish, uncover, add a little more sauce and broil until the sauce thickens and browns on the meat.

When I made this I felt like the cumin was a little strong, my daughter thought it was too spicy. When I ate the leftovers, however, I was over all pleased with it.Also, the meat was SO tender. It really was falling off the bones, I picked a bone up and it slipped out of the meat--oops!

Cilantro Coleslaw
This is adapted from The Functional Foodie's recipe.

juice of 1 lime
4 TBS of white balsamic vinegar
2 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
3 TBS honey
salt & pepper
1/4 cup of good olive oil
handful of cilantro, rinsed well and minced
2 green onions, chopped
1 bag of pre-shredded slaw

1. Mix lime juice, vinegar, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and honey in a large mixing bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, then whisk in the olive oil.
2. Mix cilantro green onions, and coleslaw mix in. Stir well to coat. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a few hours.

Tweet

I Scream for Ice Cream (Banana Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Soft Serve)

Really, if that's what it takes to get ice cream, I will scream.

Today, around 11 am Josh looked at me and said "Ice cream today?" I casually said "Sounds good." Oh yeah I am that cool. I'm all like yeah, what 'evs. But inside I was very much ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM! I immediately started thinking about what flavors I wanted. Mentally I very well may have planned my day around ice cream.

So we hung out till the middle of the afternoon. I silently dealt with the internal war of deciding if I can ask if we are heading out for ice cream or if that will make me seem to desperate. I chose to say nothing and just save my excitement for that first bite I would be having (at some point today). Then we went out to run some errands. Everywhere we went I made mental notes of all the possible ice cream places near us and listed them in my mind in order of preference. Still I kept all this quiet.

We finished our errands and headed home. We ate dinner then Josh and Little Bit turned on a video game to play together. That's when I broke my silence. "Ice cream?" You know, just throwing it out there, letting him know I have not forgotten. He smiled at me, but that smile made it obvious he didn't really want it anymore. So I tried again, "I'll go pick it up, you two can stay here and play games, just tell me what you want." That same smile. Darn! And he said he didn't want any anymore. Shoot.

I didn't give up there, though. "Are you sure?" I asked about 10 minutes later. And, "Really, really sure?" another 10 minutes after that. Yeah, he was sure. Did I give up yet? No, not really. I went paced the living room for a minute and contemplated just going, then I realized the roads are not really good right now and that it may be unwise. I mean I would really kick myself if I wrecked or got stuck all in the name of dessert. And, a little more to the point, I really didn't need to cheat anymore. Part of Josh's smile said to me, "I know you're cheating again." I have been horrible about cheating on my Paleo diet lately and I know and he knows, I want to do it right again. So I decided not to leave.

I almost gave up at that point. Well kind of. I started thinking how I really don't want to break out my ice cream maker, and that takes too much time anyways.  Then I remembered banana ice creams. I had never made one before, but this was as quick and as close to the real stuff as I could possibly get tonight. So I did.. It's not bad. Not exactly what I was itching for but it scratched the itch anyways. And I didn't cheat when I really wanted to! (Finally.)

For this recipe you will need a powerful blender or food processor.

Banana Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Soft Serve
(Boy that's a mouthful of a name isn't it?!)
Serves 3 (or 2 if you want a lot, or 1 if you're really pigging out.)

3 frozen very ripe bananas
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBS almond butter
Paleo Chocolate Syrup (recipe follows)
 1-2 TBS chocolate chips (I suggest Enjoy Life brand

1. Slice frozen bananas and place them in blender.
2. Add vanilla, and almond butter. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour a layer of chocolate syrup on top, pulse to mix.
4. Add the chocolate chips and pulse a few time to break them up.
5. Top with chocolate syrup and enjoy!

This should be sweet enough as is because of the ripe bananas. If you prefer it sweeter, taste it before you add any chocolate and you can add some honey or agave syrup to taste. The syrup hardens when its cold, like a chocolate shell so it will not remain syrupy when you put it on top. When I made this, I added too much syrup for my taste and ended up with a stronger chocolate flavor than I intended. This ended up working for my benefit though, as I was tasting all that chocolate I realized it could taste kind of like the Blizzard I wanted if I added Heath pieces. The results were yummy. (See I still cheated a little.)

Paleo Chocolate Syrup (Chocolate Shell)


1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons maple syrup
! teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients well. I store in a squeeze bottle in the fridge. This will harden when it's cold so you must warm it up before using.

Tweet