Paleo Seafood Stew

Billie and I were craving soup last weekend, when the weather was cold and rainy. This soup hit the SPOT. I can't wait to make it again! I really wish I would have doubled the batch!!

Original Recipe From: DrHyman.com 

As written, this recipe makes 2-3 servings. 

- INGREDIENTS -

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large leek, dark green leaves removed
• 2 bell peppers, stemmed and seeded
• 3 garlic cloves
• 16 ounces tomato puree
• 8 ounces full fat coconut milk

• ½ pound celery root
• 1 pound white fish (monkfish, haddock, sole, halibut, etc.)--
•  I used frozen cod, thawed 
• * I also added 6 ounces of thawed shrimp as well-- perfect addition! 
• 2 tablespoons of chopped thyme, oregano, rosemary, and or parsley
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• sea salt, to taste

Step 1:

Gather all your vegetables and chop them into small pieces and set aside.  Then cut the fish into bite-size pieces and set aside.

Step 2: 

Heat the oil in a 2 quart sauce pan on medium-high heat then add the leeks, celery, and bell peppers. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Add the garlic, cook for an additional minute, and then add the tomatoes and coconut milk. Simmer for 5 minutes before adding the fish.

Step 3: 

Continue to cook for 15-20 minutes before tasting, adding the lemon juice, salt to taste and stirring in the chopped herbs. Spoon into two soup bowls and serve immediately. Store any leftovers refrigerate, in a sealed glass container,  for up to 3 days.

Nutritional analysis per serving (Without shrimp) 

Calories 431 • Total fat 22 g • Protein 28 g • Fiber 3 g • Sugar 5 g • Sodium 186 mg

Romesco Garlic Shrimp and Zucchini Noodles

Romesco Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles

From The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom. Serves 2

Prep Time: 45 minutes*
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

*Save 25 minutes of prep time by making the Romesco Sauce up to 3 days ahead of time.

Garlic Shrimp with “Zoodles”

4 medium zucchini (about 4 cups of “noodles”)
2 tablespoons cooking fat
¼ onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound large shrimp, peeled
and deveined
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh
parsley leaves
Romesco Sauce (see below)

PEEL the zucchini with a regular peeler. Then, using a julienne peeler, make long slices along one side of each zucchini until you get down to the seeded core. Rotate the zucchini and continue to peel until you’ve done all four sides. (If you have a spiral slicer, you can use that instead of a julienne peeler.) Discard the core, and set the noodles aside.

ADD 2 cups of water to a large pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil while you begin cooking the shrimp.

MELT the cooking fat in a large skillet over medium heat, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. When the fat is hot, add the onion and cook, stirring, until translucent, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the shrimp, toss to coat with the onion and garlic, and cook stirring, for 2 minutes. Add ¼ cup water to the skillet and cover with a lid. Cook until the shrimp form the shape of a “C,” 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl (draining any remaining water), and season with the salt and pepper.

AFTER you add the water and cover the shrimp, place a colander or steamer inside the large pot of boiling water. Add the zucchini noodles, cover, and steam until the zucchini is al dente in texture, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain the “zoodles” and transfer to a serving dish or individual plates.

SPRINKLE the shrimp with the parsley, toss, and spoon over the zoodles. Spoon the Romesco Sauce over the shrimp and zucchini and serve.

Romesco Sauce

2 tablespoons cooking fat
½ cup almonds, chopped
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1½ teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

MELT the cooking fat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the fat is hot, add the almonds and toast for 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Add the chili powder and paprika and cook until the flavors open up, about 30 seconds. Finally, add the tomatoes, mix into the ingredients, and cook, stirring to bring up the tasty bits from the bottom of the pan, until the tomatoes are warmed through, about 2 minutes.

TRANSFER the sauce mixture to a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on low speed until the sauce is smooth, then pour into a serving dish or glass storage container.

ALLOW to cool before refrigerating; the sauce will keep for up to 5 days.

- See more at: http://whole30.com/2015/04/romesco-shrimp/#sthash.x1d28By7.dpuf

Paleo Sushi

A few weeks ago, I decided to make my own sushi. Paleo style. 

First, I bought some nori (seaweed) sheets from the grocery store. Then I "riced" cauilfower, sauteed it with coconut oil and coconut aminos, then spread it on the nori with cucumber and smoked salmon. (Avocado would have been perfect too!) 

The nori is hard to cut through, so it didn't look very pretty. But it tasted good! 

Then I saw a picture on Instagram of these beauties... "Naruto Rolls," which means wrapped in cuucmber-- no rice. 

I looked at sushi menus around Clarksville to find a restaurant that makes Naruto. If you're in Clarksville, that place is Kisoro! The naruto roll at Kisoro has tuna, salmon, crab, and avocado, wrapped in cucumber. Very good! We dipped in coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. 

Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

Gosh, I love mango. I forgot how much until I made this! I made this recipe a couple years ago from the Paleo Diet Cookbook. The recipe I have below is what I remember from that, so it may not be exact!

You will need:

3-4 filets of white fish (I used mahi mahi this time!) 

You can use tilapia, bass, cod, halibut, etc.

Mango Salsa:

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped

1-2 avocados, chopped

fresh lime juice

cilantro, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1. Make the mango salsa and store in airtight container in the frig to let the flavors mingle.

2. Cook thawed fish according to package directions, with a little salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper OR cajun seasoning

Not a fish person?? That's ok! Make this similar recipe for "Beyond Easy Pulled Pork with Mango Salsa."

Mardi gras dinner

Saturday night, we had some fellow Louisianians over for gumbo. It was Billie's first time meeting them. Lindsey and Seth grew up in Baton Rouge and have two little girls. Seth is special forces in the Army. Lindsey's cousin is married to a friend of mine from grad school----they "introduced" us! 

Perfect gumbo. This recipe is the one my mother in law makes! I have realized I'm a picky gumbo eater... I like flavorful, but not too spicy. Thick, not too thin. And this recipe is just right! 

Lindsey's bread pudding. 

Perfect Gumbo 

**Serves about 12

1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts 

1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 stick butter
3 bags (12oz. each) frozen seasoning blend (chopped onions, peppers,celery) thawed
1 bags (16oz. each) frozen cut okra (I omit this!)
1 Tbs. crushed garlic
1 package (12 ounces each) beef hot links cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
2 packages (16 ounces each) beef smoked sausages cut into 1/4 inch rounds
3 cans reduced-sodium chicken broth
5 cups water
2 boxes (7oz. each) gumbo mix with rice, Zatarains brand
2 bay leaves
2 pounds frozen peeled and deveined large shrimp, thawed
2 T file powder

1.  Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. In large bowl, toss chicken with Cajun seasoning. In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook chicken, working in batches, until chicken is browned. Remove from skillet and set aside.

2.  Wipe out skillet. Return to skillet to medium heat; melt butter. Add seasoning blend, okra, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until completely heated through. Remove skillet from heat, set aside.

3.  Set a big pot on medium heat setting. (I spray the inside with Pam!) Add beef hot links and smoked sausages to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is lightly browned and juices are released. Add chicken and vegetable mixture and stir to combine.

4.  Add chicken broth, the water, gumbo mix, and bay leaves. Stir till thoroughly combined. Bring to boil; reduce heat. Simmer for 1 hour.. stirring occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom. Add the shrimp. Simmer about 15 minutes more or until shrimp are opaque and cooked through. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, season to taste with pepper. Stir in file powder. Enjoy!

Shrimp and Sausage Creole

I found this recipe on Instagram from @Paleoanddirtydishes. If you are eating paleo, you should definitely follow her! She has an amazing story-- Texas mom and wife. She and her husband started paleo in April 2013 and are down a total of 72 lbs. More importantly, she is off of SEVEN medications and her hubby is off one. How incredible is that? She's honed her cooking love and skills into paleo and her food pictures will make you drool. Consider yourself warned.

This photo is from her Instagram... I'm borrowing it because it's prettier than my photos!

After I made this last night, Billie said it is now one of his top 3 favorites. He said "I could eat this all night!" :)

Shrimp and Sausage Creole

5 small sweet peppers (see pic below)

1 T minced garlic

1/2 onion

28 oz can diced tomatoes 

2 tsp Old Bay seasoning

2 tsp Cajun seasoning 

1 head of cauliflower

Raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

Nitrate free andouille sausage 

1. Chop the peppers and onion. (I always use my food processor for this!) 

2. Sauté the peppers, onion, and garlic in olive oil until the pepper are softened. 

3. Add the can of diced tomatoes. Let simmer for about 20 mins.

4. Add in spices. 

5. Add 2 cups of water and to let the mixture continue to cook down.

6. Brown sausage and shrimp in a different skillet with Cajun seasoning. Add into the tomato mixture. 

7. Chop the cauliflower in the food processor, until it's the consistency of rice.

8. Cook the cauliflower with olive oil in a skillet until a little browned. 
9. Serve the shrimp and sausage mixture over the cauliflower rice-- Enjoy! 

These are the small sweet peppers I used! 5 of assorted colors.

Something's fishy!

Well two things are fishy: my kitchen AND that Blogger is telling me I had 100 blog views a couple days ago and only 8 followers? :) Come on, follow me already. 

Back to my fishy kitchen. Remember my loot from the Farmers Market a while back? It included Alaskan Cod and salmon, which I was a little nervous about cooking. I didn't want to mess it up! But we found fantastic recipes for both.

Honey Mustard Salmon
Copied from www.paleology.com

Ingredients

• 1 salmon steak (about 8oz)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Pinch of dried rosemary and basil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Wash and pat dry the salmon steak. Preheat oven to 375F
2. Make sure coconut oil is melted and combine with minced garlic, mustard, honey, rosemary, basil, salt and pepper …mix thoroughly
3. Split the dressing in half and rub one part all over salmon with a little salt and pepper
4. Place salmon on a rack and bake for 25 minutes
5. Drizzle the rest of dressing on the cooked salmon and serve

Cod with Salsa Verde
Copied from: www.ourlifeinfood.com

Serves 2

12-16 oz cod fillets
chili powder
ground cumin
salt and pepper
butter
salsa verde (homemade or your favorite jarred variety)

1. Season cod filets with spices.
2. Add a couple pats of butter to a saute pan over medium heat. Add the cod, and saute until cooked through, about 2-4 mins per side.
3. Serve the cod topped with salsa verde and chopped cilantro. 

Coconut shrimp and near death

Ok, maybe I exaggerated a little. But frying with coconut oil was the most intense cooking experience I think I've had! I had to stand off to the side and get Billie to quickly bring me a long sleeved shirt so I wouldn't get grease burns on my arms. Whew.

BUT- it was worth it.

I got this recipe from www.wellnessmama.com. Click here for the recipe! (Her picture is way prettier!)

We made mango sauce for dipping and ate asparagus, cucumbers, and carrot/sweet potato mash on the side.

TIP: Our batch of 1lb of shrimp only used HALF of the coconut/almond flour mixture. I felt so wasteful throwing it away. But I couldn't salvage it since I dipped egg-covered raw shrimp in it! So I suggest only making half the amount.

Eating coconut shrimp reminded me of mine and Billie's trip to Las Vegas. We ate coconut shrimp at Kahunaville before seeing Mystere Cirque du Soleil!