EASY & FAST!!!

It's primal, it's gluten free, dairy free, grain free and more!  Most importantly, it's fast and easy!  I was hesitant as I have never cooked such giant steaks before.  I had defrosted two giant grass-fed steaks that my husband was supposed to cook last night.  Meetings ran late, plans for cooking were canceled and dinner was now going to be at a local restaurant.  SO here we are the next night and no husband home, I MUST cook these steaks!  I found this recipe and just happened to have a bunch of tomatoes and cilantro that needed to be used- couldn't have found a more perfect recipe for what I had on hand (thank you again epicurious.com)
I know I will definitely make this again, enjoy!
* I used a cast iron skillet and lard instead of olive oil, from the farm of course.  The four minutes each side suggestion worked perfectly!  Don't forget to let the meat rest before slicing into it.  No pics this time, had to serve it super-fast for my super-hungry toddler "mommy, I want steak!" but it plates beautifully if you slice it just right.  

Easy Thai Beef

Tonight is the second time I have made this dish.  It was cooked and eaten in under an hour.  The first time I made it as is and this time I only had a regular onion (instead of a red one) and I added some broccoli.  Both times I eliminated the peppers (I just don't like them) and served it in uncooked cabbage leaves (you could steam them if you prefer).  My husband and the baby both loved it as much as I did, I hope you do too!

I am LOVING this!

this was one banana, a perfect single serving

with organic chocolate syrup...not as yummy

One ingredient ice cream.  So easy, so delicious.  More delicious then you would think.  When you first start the food processor you don't think it's actually going to look like the picture, and then all of the sudden it does.  The one change I recommend is that I think you need to freeze the bananas longer than two hours.  I added some chocolate syrup on top thinking it would be even more fabulous, but no, it was actually much better on it's own.  It's gluten free, grain free, dairy free, egg free and sugar free.  But definitely not taste free and very much like eating ice cream.  Enjoy!

Lamb Curry

So this is a dish we make pretty much once a week,  I guess that makes it a staple in this house.  It's fast, easy, delicious and I pretty much always have all of the ingredients on hand.  I buy my ground lamb here, and usually stock up on four or five 1lb packages when I do.  If you don't like lamb you can use any other ground meat in this recipe.  But I find the flavors of this dish just perfect.
I start with this recipe, only I substitute ghee or coconut oil for the vegetable oil and use some garam masala (a blend of spices you can find in most Indian specialty stores, also in the international section of Wegmans) in place of some of the curry powder.  I skip the broth and it still works fine, probably because I am not putting it over rice or sopping up the sauce with some bread.  I feel the sweet potato and peas provide plenty of "carb" for this dish, no need for any more.  Enjoy!

Worth the work

I apologize for my slacking...I am working on figuring out how I can video my cooking therefore eliminating one step (the blogging after wards.)  As most of my clients know, I am already pushing the clock in the evenings between cooking & cleaning, bath and bed for the toddler, client emails and prepping everything for the next day.  Although I help others to balance their lives as my job, I am still working on my own balance, every day.  The last two weeks included some delicious lamb burgers (made into a delicious salad for the next two days of lunches) and yummy taco salad!  I will post those recipes, but tonight I share the recipe that was made in our house two times in under 24 hours.  She is amazing!  Gluten free, grain-free in fact and she uses no soy or refined sugars.  I am always recommending her website for recipes, especially those looking to bake allergen free, but this recipe was for dinner.  The only changes I made were that instead of the chilis, I used a little red pepper flakes.  And I did not have arrowroot powder, so I used kudzu root starch which is a sea vegetable and another healthful alternative to corn starch as a thickener.  It is a lot of prep; cutting the chicken, napa cabbage, six cloves of garlic, ginger and more...but it was soooo worth it and again, I wound up making it a second time less than 24 hours later.  That time I doubled the amount of the chicken, so there would be leftovers for everyone.  Oh, and we used chicken thighs instead of breast...much more tender and delicious.  If you get your chicken from a farm where they are raised right, the dark meat is where all the flavor and nutrition is!
Make sure you leave a comment for those who give it a try- and like most Chinese food (which this is a spin off of a Chinese dish) it was even delicious cold the next day!

My "go to" easy meals...

...always seem to start with poached chicken breast these days.  Simply because it's easy, I don't have to turn on my oven or really even pay that much attention as I am cooking them (which is good because my eyes are on my ever-discovering, ever-wandering around every drawer and cabinet, toddler!)
So I have promised many of you that I'd post how I poach chicken, and perhaps a few ideas of what to do afterward...so here goes.

I take two boneless skinless FOA chicken breasts, rinse, place them in a large saute pan and cover with water.  I will also add some leftover white wine (if it happens to be open in the fridge and needs finishing), lemon juice, garlic (unless I am really crunched for time, then it's organic garlic powder), herbs de Provence, perhaps a bay leaf or two, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.  Bring to a boil, cover and turn off the heat.  Set a timer for about 10 minutes (this is trial and error based on number of breasts, thickness, etc...)  I then remove the chicken and set on a plate to rest about 5-10 minutes.  Once cooled, I cut it up into pieces for my little one to toss with some salad or cooked veggies with sea salt and EVOO.  For me and my husband, I typically make chicken salad to put over greens.  As of recent I am not using mayo (because of an egg white intolerance) and I have come up with some delicious alternatives.  Today I was about to rush out the door, telling myself I would just pick up lunch at the Wine Kitchen but then that little voice said to me "walk your talk!"  I knew I had one last chicken breast in the fridge and plenty of things to complete a quick meal.  So I took five, yes only five, minutes and made myself a delicious lunch.  I chopped the chicken into bite-sized cubes, coarsely chopped some pecans and dried cherries, sprinkled some sunflower seeds, cut up apple, all tossed with a good balsamic vinegar, sea salt, fresh pepper and good EVOO.  In another bowl I threw some pre-washed organic spring mix.  When it was time for lunch I tossed the chicken mixture with the greens, added a little more sea salt and EVOO and WOW!  It was delicious, I just finished and had to write this post.  So quick, so last minute, so random and sooooooo yummy!
Don't make the excuse of no time to cook or prepare your own foods...you just have to make a plan, shop for the right ingredients to have on hand and start!

Greens, grains and squash- it sounds delicious!

I did not make this up, nor did I make it yet. But I can't wait to and I thought I'd share.

Let me know if anyone tries it first.

Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa Salad Recipe - Michael Symon | Food & Wine

***Update!
I made it.  It was in fact delicious.  A few changes, I didn't have delicata squash, so I used acorn squash.  I love delicata squash and you can even eat the skin, but acorn is also one of my favorites and worked perfectly with the flavors of this dish.  I also didn't have any fresh parsley, didn't miss it.  And lastly, I tossed the arugula with a little EVOO and sea salt before plating the dish.  It was wonderful!