Crispy Oven Wings

Do you like chicken wings?  Crispy chicken wings?  Crispy chicken wings without deep frying?  If you said yes to everything, I've got the recipe for you - Crispy Oven Wings with Asian Sesame Sauce.  I found the recipe on Primally Inspired's site. 

The recipe comes with a technique for making the wing really crispy in the oven and a tasty Asian Sauce.  I think it would also work really well with Buffalo Sauce, though I haven't tried that yet.

It's quick and easy to put together and the rest of the time is just baking in the oven.  Roast some broccoli spears at the same time and dinner is done.

Lobster Crab Mac & Cheese

Hi - it has been awhile.  The last few weeks have not been good for my stomach, but things seemed to have settled down again, but not until I was so uncomfortable I had to go to the doctor.  He prescribed a proton pump inhibitor and another drug to get things under control.  I still don't know what caused the problem but it killed any desire I had to cook (or eat for that matter) for too long.

During that time Paleo Grandad and I each got a new toy - a Fitbit.  It's wristband that you wear 24/7 that tracks your steps and your sleep.  You can also track your food and other things, but I wanted it mainly to track my steps and my sleep.  You have probably heard that we all need to take 10,000 steps a day - that is a lot of steps - but you can set the Fitbit for any goal you want and I started with 5,000.  We went for a walk yesterday afternoon and ended up taking 6,517 steps!  When you meet/exceed your goal the wrist band buzzes (made me jump).  I also know I had 7 hours and 9 minutes sleep last night, and was restless for 14 minutes during that time.  Cool.

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.