Butternut Squash Chicken Mash Taken Up a Notch

Here's a recipe that I would definitely make again - with a couple of minor changes.  I found the original recipe for the Butternut Squash Chicken Mash on Pinterest from Paleo at Home.  I followed the recipe almost closely, except for using shredded kale and Brussels sprouts instead of spinach because that is what I had on hand.  And except for the "magic" I added which I think took the mash over the top (Paleo Grandad gave it four bacon strips). Next time, instead of cutting up and baking fresh butternut squash, I will use the organic frozen butternut squash I get at Save-On for $3.99 a bag - it is worth it to me to save time (and work).

First night of the work week and first quick dinner of the week.  Do you watch KCTS Cooks?  I know it is a fund raiser, but they have interesting recipes and I like to find ones I can Paleo-ize.  This is one recipe I saw on that program, I am not sure if it was one of their home cooks or a chef, but it sounded good and looked easy to prepare - Pancetta Wrapped Asparagus and Shrimp with Cucumber Ginger Slaw.  They run through the measurements quickly (after all they do want you to buy the cookbook), so I usually just jot down the ingredients and go from there.

This recipe had few ingredients and while I used their ingredients, but changed the method a bit to make it quicker and use fewer pots and pans for quicker clean-up.  I used this as a main dish for dinner, but you could also make it as an appetizer.  I found this recipe for Paleo Hoisin to go with the pancetta wrapped shrimp and asparagus.  Paleo Grandad gave everything 4 bacon strips!

Thanks for Dinner, Juli Bauer!

Michelle Tam from Nom Nom Paleo planned dinner for the other night and, tonight, it was Juli Bauer from PaleOMG's turn and it was delicious - four and a half bacon strips from Paleo Grandad.

The recipe is Bacon Wrapped Meatballs over Butternut Squash and besides being super easy, it was good.

I did a few things differently (just because I could):  I used frozen, organic butternut squash to save time; I added an egg to the pork mixture because without the egg it was not sticking together to well.  Besides, a little more protein never hurts; and, I doubled the recipe so we would have leftovers for lunch tomorrow (and a view spare for fridge grazing).  I also served it with a side of oil and vinegar broccoli slaw, which was a great complement to the sweetness of the pork and squash.

Spaghetti Squash "Mac & Cheese" Dinner

As the week goes on I need to have easy dinners planned as I get too tired to plan and do a lot of cooking. So Tuesday night's dinner is a primal Spaghetti Squash "Mac and Cheese". The original recipe comes from www.fitsugar.com but I changed a few ingredients to suit our needs.

Paleo Grandad is extremely lactose intolerant so we use organic, lactose-free cheese and nutritional yeast when a recipe calls for cheese.  It is a little bit of a contradiction because true Paleo does not use dairy, but there is Primal Paleo that uses dairy if you can tolerate it.  You can find organic, lactose-free cheese at Save-On Foods in the "healthy" food aisle.  I put healthy in quotes because a lot of the healthy food in this aisle is over-processed and full of sugar and chemicals.  You need to read labels to make sure you only pick-up products that contain recognizable ingredients (minus sugar and bad fats).

Thanks for Dinner, Michelle Tam!

We have Michelle Tam (Nom Nom Paleo) to thank for Monday night's delicious dinner.  Michelle didn't actually cook it (I wish), but she provided the tasty recipes.  The menu was Siu Yoke (Crispy Roast Pork Belly) from her new cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo Food for Humans, and Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad with Asian Citrus Dressing from her blog.

If you haven't bought Nom Nom Paleo Food for Humans, you should - step by step instructions and pictures so there is no guessing about technique, easy recipes with basic ingredients (for the most part), and cartoon drawings that are fun.  And, most importantly (to me!) a great index making it easy to find recipes by ingredients or recipe name.

Beef Stew with Dumplings

What's your comfort food? Unfortunately, mine is ice cream and, while there are Paleo versions of ice cream (made with coconut milk or bananas), there is nothing like the real thing.  My winter comfort foods are hearty one pot (or slow cooker) meals, and I always make large batches for lunches or another meal during the week.  I had grass-fed stew beef in the freezer and it is a cold (Vancouver cold) day, perfect for beef stew. All my mother's stews and then mine (pre-Paleo) included dumplings, so I experimented with those.  The dumplings weren't the fluffy ones I used to make, they were more solid, but they were great for sopping up the gravy.  I also used small red potatoes in the stew, which are not considered to be Paleo by the Paleo Police, but we like them once in awhile.  I thought the stew was really tasty, but Paleo Grandad only gave it three and a half pieces of bacon out of five. What do you think?

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins

The end of another busy week, time to plan for next week's menus.  I find it so much easier (and less expensive) to cook if I have a plan, though I was beyond tired on Thursday night and ended up with fast food - I just could not face cooking and,  by Thursday, the leftovers are pretty much gone.  However, I did do a fridge raid and use up the little bits and pieces that were left into a hash with two fried eggs on top for Friday morning breakfast.  It was good and, yes, in hindsight I could have done that on Thursday night for dinner.  Other than that slip, I stuck to the plan.

Primal Coconut Flatbread Reuben

Regular wheat flour bread is not on a gluten-free or Paleo diet and sometimes you may miss one of your old favourites, like grilled cheese or Reuben sandwiches.  Here is a tasty alternative for a Reuben sandwich that takes only a few more minutes than a "real" Reuben sandwich, using coconut flatbread instead of bread.  You can pick it up and eat it just like your old favourite.

Add a dill pickle and you've got Sunday lunch.