Most of you already know this, but I get a lot of my recipes from Nom Nom Paleo. I often will modify what she has done, with what I have in the kitchen. This one she threw together from things she had in her kitchen, and so did I.
Ingredients:
- 2 whole chicken legs, split into drumsticks and thighs (You can definitely double the amount of chicken and I would recommend it for left-overs.)
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil (If this isn’t already a staple item in your kitchen, get some.)
- 1 to 2 Tbsp Sigona’s Green Poultry Seasoning (contains thyme, sage, pepper, coriander, marjoram, & parsley) (*Lucky for me that I have a sweet garden. I just pulled what I could to make up this seasoning.) 
- 12 oz bag of frozen artichoke hearts
- 16 oz bag frozen peeled & ready to use pearl onions
- 10 cloves of garlic, peeled and trimmed
- 3/4 cup organic chicken stock
- 2 Tbsp Banyuls vinegar (I substitute balsamic, sherry or wine vinegar.)
Method:
1.) Preheated the oven to 325 F and assembled all my ingredients.
2.) Don’t bother defrosting the artichoke hearts or pearl onions, they will quickly cook in my skillet.
3.) I have become a believer in bone-in, skin-on thighs. You can get this at Trader Joes, Whole Foods or any local grocery store worth a lick. If it is a whole chicken legs…just cut them into thighs and drumsticks (cut through the cartilage and not the bone or you’ll mess up your knife).
4.) Season chicken with green poultry seasoning mix, salt, and pepper.
5.) Heat 2 tablespoons of avocado oil over medium high heat in a 12-inch, oven-safe, lidded skillet and sear chicken parts until they were browned on each side.
6.) Remove the browned chicken to a plate.
7.) Throw in the frozen pearl onions into the empty skillet, season with some salt and freshly-ground black pepper. Once the onions are caramelized, toss in the frozen artichoke hearts and the garlic cloves (along with more salt and pepper). Then sauté all the vegetables until they were nice and toasty.
8.) Nestled in the chicken parts and pour in the chicken broth and vinegar.
9.) Bringing everything to a simmer, cover with lid, and put it into the oven for 45 minutes.
10.) Enjoy.
Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Chorizo
This is a quick, easy appetizer and always a crowd pleaser. Warning these are hard not to eat!
Ingredients:
15 pitted dates (It really does matter with dates – buy good quality. I like the ones at Whole Foods.)
1 pound Spanish chorizo (The spice really makes this dish!)
5 slices bacon, cut into thirds
1/2 cup maple syrup
Method:
1.) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2.) Line a sheet tray with silicone baking mat or parchment.
3.) Make an incision on one side of each date and insert a block of chorizo.
4.) Squeeze the date shut in your hand to secure.
5.) Wrap each date with a bacon strip and secure with a toothpick (toothpick optional).
6.) Place all the dates on the prepared sheet tray.
7.) Roast the dates in the oven until the bacon on top is starting to crisp, 5 to 6 minutes.
8.) Turn the dates over and repeat the process.
9.) Remove the dates from the oven and brush or drizzle both sides with the maple syrup (Syrup is optional, but delicious).
10.) Return the dates to the oven until the dates are really crackly and sticky, 1 to 2 minutes.
11.) Serve hot.
This is a very easy recipe that I took from nom nom paleo. If have soy sensitivity be careful to use coconut aminos versus soy.
Ingredients:
1 pound ground meat
1 pound thinly sliced mushrooms
1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons of lard
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 cups of organic slaw
1/2 cup of shredded carrots
2 scallions, thinly sliced
One handful of cilantro, thinly sliced
1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce
1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1-2 tablespoons of aminos (use coconut if you are going paleo)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method:
1.) Finely chop onion in food processor, then put in skillet with lard and saute on medium heat until translucent.
2.) Add sliced mushrooms and some salt/pepper to skillet. Cook until excess mosture is cooked off.
3.) Add minced garlic and stir everything for 30 seconds.
4.) Add ground beef, stir until there are no big clumps and the beef is no longer pink.
5.) Add equal amounts of fish sauce, apple cider, and aminos and top with black pepper.
6.) Once everything seems cooked and seasoned (you might want to taste), add slaw and shredded carrots. Stir everything around until veggies are soft.
7.) Spoon the beef and veggie mixture onto lettuce leaves.
8.) Enjoy!
Peanut Butter…it’s delicious.
I have to admit I have a weakness for peanut butter. No seriously, I eat at least two heaping tablespoons a day, which has caused me to rethink the pros and cons of giving up my favorite nightly snack.
Is it really that bad? Well we can skirt around this all day, but the answer is yes. In terms of protein and fat, you are getting both. However, let’s think about the kind of protein and fat you are getting…the best way I ever heard this put was by Robb Wolf “it’s a third world protein.” Don’t get me wrong, it delicious. The thought of some Creamy Peter Pan is causing my mouth to salivate right now.
The major bummer to peanut butter besides being a cheap protein is that P Butter is crafty, it is a Aflatoxin mold by product, which is bad for your liver. Peanuts in general are very irritating protein, they seem to be able to make it through your gut almost intact, hence the term “peanut gut” plus they increase chances for auto immunity diseases. I know what you are thinking, ok I will go out to Whole Foods and buy me some quality P Butter, not Peter Pan or Jiff. Afraid that will not help friends…organic P Butter has more Aflatoxin than the cheap stuff.
The only real solution is to learn to love almond butter, which you can make yourself. I think I will keep both in my pantry for those days I want to #treatyoself or the dog, or until I can completely wean myself off.
Super-Duper Easy Chipotle Pepper Chicken
The inspiration for this recipe came from Nom Nom Paleo, it was originally tandoori chicken. However, I like spice, so I threw out the tandoori and added red chili paste and chipotle peppers.
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 cup full fat Greek yogurt (or substitute full fat coconut milk)
- 1 heaping tablespoon roasted red chili paste (optional)
- Half a 7 oz can of Goya Chipolte Pepper (blended in food processor)
- Juice from half a lemon
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or fat of choice
Method:
1.) Trim off any excess fat, season the chicken parts evenly with kosher salt and put in large bowl.
2.) In a separate bowl, combine the yogurt, chipotle pepper, roasted red chili paste and stir.
3.) Take each piece of poultry and drench it in the seasoning. Be sure to work it into the poultry with your hands.
4.) *** Optional*** Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for 4 to 8 hours to marinate.
5.) When you’re ready to bake the chicken, preheat the oven to 375°F on convection roast setting (or 400°F in a non-convection oven).
6.) Place a wire rack on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Grease the rack with a paper towel dipped in melted coconut oil.
7.) Arrange the chicken on the rack skin-side down and put the tray in the oven and roast for about 40 minutes. ***Be sure to flip the pieces skin-side up at the halfway mark.
8.) The chicken is done when there’s yummy charred bits all over and the juices run clear when stabbed with a skewer.
Making Atlas Stones
A few weeks ago I attended a CrossFit Strongman Certification with Rob Orland, at Hybrid Athletics. A course, that I highly recommend for anyone looking to incorporate some strongman into their CrossFit. Eager to get to doing some strongman lift, I asked him what two strongman toys he recommended you purchase first, Rob told me to makes some atlas stones, and to buy a yoke. Following his advice I got to it, and surprisingly enough, he was right, atlas stones are really pretty simple to make.
I have also purchased a Rogue Y2 Yoke. The Y2 is perfect for a garage gym, you can push it, pull it, carry it, it serves as a bench/squat rack, and you can attach a pull up bar up top that you can do pull ups or ring dips from. If anyone is considering what piece of equipment to buy for their garage gym, I simple cannot say enough about the Rogue Y1-Y3 series.
Making Atlas Stones
Ingredients:
- buckets
- silicone lube
- zip ties
- trowel or a nice garden hand shovel
- clippers/scissors to remove zip ties
- flathead screwdriver
- a rag
- a rubber mallet (optional)
- a chisel or you can use steel wool
- the molds (you can get them from hybrid athletics or rogue)
- cement – quikrete works best (amount depends on number of stones)
All these ingredients are pretty darn cheap, we are talking less than $100 to have your own set of stones.
Method:
1.) Spray the inside of the molds. Be very liberal with the silicone spray! It should look like runny jello, very thick. This step will be key when you are taking the molds off, this is what helps them come apart.
2.) Zip-tie the halves of the mold together. This can be done first, then you can spray the inside and wipe it down with a rag.
3.) Mix the cement and fill the mold. I used a wheel barrow to mix the concrete.
* Consistency is important, you don’t want it too runny, but you don’t want it too thick either. It should like soft dog doo, sorry this is the best visual example I can think of to explain this.
* Make sure once it is full that you lift and shift it, this will help it fill fully and create more space to fill. Make sure you round it up top to get a circular ball and cover with a rag.
4.) After 24 hours, the stone is ready to come out of the mold. This is where you will need to use your flat head screwdriver to go around the edge and start taking it apart. Once you have one half off, you will want to pound around the edges with a mallet or the back end of your trowel. Be careful not to break the edges of the mold.
5.) Now clean up any rough edges with the steel wool.
6.) Rob Orlando said, the longer you can keep the cement wet or damp, the stronger and the better the cure on the cement stones. So after an hour baking in the sun, hose down the stones periodically to ensure their strength.
7.) Finally, clean up the molds carefully so that they last. DO NOT use sandpaper to remove debris. I made this mistake, so try and remember that you want to try your best to keep the plastic as smooth as possible.
8.) Let the stones harden for about two weeks before using them in your WODs.
This video – Mold Prep and Pouring, by Rob shows the process from start to finish.
Pressure Cooker Baja Pork Loin
I have come to really enjoy the pressure cooker, it is awesome and fast! Plus you don’t lose any seasoning, it has a wonderful kick to it.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 Cup chili sauce (Don’t have chili sauce? Check out the bottom, and get to it. It really is too easy.)
- 2 Tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 Chipotle peppers, minced
- 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce (from the can of the peppers)
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup (or brown sugar)
- 1-2 pounds pork, cut in 1″ cubes
- 1 Tablespoon oil (use coconut or olive oil)
- 1 Large onion, diced (about 1.5 cups)
- 1 Whole fresh green, yellow or red peppers, diced
- 1/2 Cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon slat and pepper
- 1 large sweet potato, cut into 1″ chucks
Method:
1.) Mix the chili sauce, mustard, worcestershire sauce, and syrup until fully blended.
2.) Add the cubed pork, and toss until fully coated.
3.) Cover, and refrigerate to marinate for 30-60 minutes. (This really is optional, the flavor will hold without)
4.) Heat the oil in the pressure cooker, and add chopped onions. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, until they start turning clear.
5.) Add the peppers, and cook for 1-2 more minutes stirring continuously.
6.) Add the water, and deglaze the pan of all the tasty onion bits.
7.) Now add the sweet potatoes. They are going to cook the full-time, and be used as a sauce thickener at the end.
8.) Dump the marinated pork on top of the onions, peppers, and broth, but do not stir.
9.) Bring the pressure cooker to pressure, and reduce the heat just low enough to maintain 15 psi for 8 minutes.
10.) After 8 minutes open the cooker using quick release method, and add the rest of the cubed sweet potatoes.
11.) Bring back to pressure, and cook for another 5 minutes.
12.) Again use the quick release method.
13.) Open the lid, stir everything up.
14.) Enjoy!
How to make chili Sauce:
Ingredients:
- 29 oz (or 1 can) of diced tomatoes
- 2/3 Cup sugar
- 2/3 cup vinegar
- 1 Cup chopped onions
- 3 Tablespoons cinnamon
- 1 Teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 Teaspoon salt
- 2 Teaspoons cayenne peppers
