Simple Kale Salad with Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette

This recipe is an original recipe but it was inspired by a friend who told me if you massaged kale with citrus juice it would soften it. I only can stomach kale cooked when chopped into very small pieces so I was hopeful I could learn to enjoy kale in abundance and raw. This salad did it for me. It's very simple so you are free to add whatever you like to it or eat it alone as a side. You could easily add some grilled chicken or fish with an assortment of fruit and other veggies.

This salad was so good I was even able to get my dog to eat kale!

Ingredients:
1 head of curly kale, washed and chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced, or 2 heaping tsp of garlic from a jar
1/4 cup of lemon juice
2 tsp of olive oil
1/2 tsp Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning
3 heaping tbsp of parmesan or romano cheese, finely grated
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Wash and tear the kale leaves off of the stems and discard the stems.
2. Chop the leaves into bite size pieces. Place in a large bowl.
3. Add lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, Mrs. Dash, salt and pepper in a seperate bowl. Mix well with a fork or whisk until the ingredients are relatively combined.
4. Pour over the kale leaves and toss and massage the kale in the vinaigrette for 1 minute or so.
5. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour to let the lemon juice tenderize the leaves.
6. When ready to eat, sprinkle parmesan over the kale and toss again. Enjoy!

Whole 30/Paleo Challenge: Easy "Spaghetti" and Meatballs

I found the recipe for the meatballs from a great blog linked below, but I added a few tweaks myself. My meatballs did not come out quite as firm as some would like but the flavor was great. It's not completely paleo but I am not one to be super strict. The spaghetti squash was perfect. When picking a spaghetti squash out, I recommend finding one that is not too large if possible with few blemishes and a firm shell. The secret to roasting spaghetti squash without it getting too watery is short cooking time with high heat. Check the squash often as you are roasting so it does not get over cooked.

http://easypeas-y.blogspot.com/2012/03/paleo-meatballs.html

Ingredients:
Meatballs
2 lbs of ground bison (or any meat you like)
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped spinach
1/2 onion, diced
1 tbsp of spicy mustard
2 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

"Spaghetti"
1 spaghetti squash, cut in half length wise
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp garlic powder
Sprinkle of salt and pepper
1 tsp italian seasoning herbs
1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450 F
2. Cut the spaghetti squash in half length wise (use a large sharp knife) and scoop out the seeds and goop in the middle. Discard or clean and roast seeds later. :-)
3. Spray the inside of the squash with olive oil or drizzle a tsp on each half. Sprinkle red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and italian seasoning herbs evenly over the squash halves.
4. Flip the squash halves facing inside down on a baking sheet covered in parchment or foil (to help with clean up)
5. Roast the squash for 30 minutes. Skin should be tender enough to prick with a fork. If it is a large squash, leave it in for 35-40 minutes.
6. While the squash is roasting, combine ground meat, eggs, mustard, hoisin, thyme, parsley,
 basil,oregano,minced garlic, onion, spinach, salt and pepper in a bowl.
7. Mix and fold all ingredients together with hands until all items are well mixed.
8. Use your hands to form small meatballs or use an ice cream scoop to form into smooth balls and place on greased baking sheet.
9. When spaghetti squash is done, set aside to cool and turn the oven down to 375 F.
10. Place the meatballs into the oven for 20 minutes in the 375 F oven and turn over once. (I let mine bake through without turning though and they were fine.)
11. While meatballs are baking, use a fork to flake off the strings of the spaghetti squash to prepare them for serving.
12. When the meatballs are done, place the squash strings in a bowl, pour your heated favorite marinara sauce over the squash, and place meatballs on top. Enjoy!

Whole 30/Paleo Challenge Recipe: Balsamic brussel sprouts with bacon

This recipe is from the lovely Ina Garten from the food network. I did my recipe a little different than hers but mostly its a copy cat. This recipe was delicious, it was sweet, sour, and savory veggie goodness. I served it with bison meatloaf!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/balsamic-roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe.html

Ingredients:
2 cups of brussel sprouts, halved
2-3 slices of bacon
1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar, reduced to 1/8 cup
2 tsp of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F
2. Thinly slice core off the end of the brussel sprouts and then cut each in half.
3. Place on baking sheet.
4. Spray with olive oil to evenly coat the brussel sprouts then sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir on sheet. If you do not have an oil mister, drizzle 2 tsp of olive oil on the brussel sprouts
.
5. Chop up the raw bacon slices into small pieces and mix with the brussel sprouts on the sheet.
6. Set your oven timer to roast the brussel sprouts for 25 minutes.
7. While the brussel sprouts are initially roasting, bring the balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small pot. Let it simmer until it has reduced by about half. (10-15 minutes)
8. 10 minutes before your brussel sprouts are done add the balsamic reduction to your sprouts and stir. Place back into the oven to continue roasting.
9. Take out of the oven after the full 25 minutes and enjoy!

Crispy spicy kale chips

Made these a few times and I'm learning this is the only way I like curly kale. I enjoy dinosaur kale in soups but curly kale is too bitter for me, unless it is in chip form!

This recipe is tweaked a bit from this food network recipe.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips-recipe/index.html

Ingredients:
1 head of curly kale
1.5 tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of red chili flakes
1 tsp chipotle spice
Sea salt to taste

Directions:
1. Wash and pat dry kale. Tear the leaves from the stem and discard the stems.
2. Chop kale leaves so they are in 1 to 1.5 inch pieces.
3. Toss the kale in 1.5 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of red chili flakes, 1 tsp of chipotle spice, and sprinkling of sea salt.
4. Place kale evenly on a cooking sheet. I often cover mine with foil to help with clean up.
5. Put in the oven at 270 F for 15-20 minutes.
6. Shake the pan half way through cooking or use a spatula to mix the leaves up to brown all sides.

"Skinny" Spaghetti

I found this recipe on pinterest from The Londoner blog.

 http://www.thelondoner.me/2012/04/skinny-spaghetti.html

 It is my favorite pasta alternative I have found so far. If you like cabbage rolls, you will love this!

1 small head of green or white cabbage
1 chopped onion
1 tbsp of garlic or one chopped garlic clove
1 jar of marinara sauce (You can also use tomato sauce and tomato paste to make a lower calorie sauce if you like. Add salt and italian spices to that with no oil to bring calories down.)
1 lb of ground bison, beef, or turkey (I used ground bison meat because of preference)
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Begin sauteing the ground meat, no oil needed as you can cook it in it's own fat.
2. After sauteing for a few minutes add in 1 chopped onion and 1 chopped glove of garlic
3. Saute both meat and onions until meat is browned
4. Once meat is browned, pour in jar of marinara sauce or tomato sauce and tomato paste into pot. Stir.
5. Add oregano, red pepper flakes, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste. You can add 1/4 cup or so of red wine if you're feeling frisky.
6. Let the sauce come to a slow boil, cover, and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
7. While sauce is cookiner, wash and slice the cabbage head into thin strips (should slightly resemble pasta)
8. Steam the cabbage for 5-7 minutes. You do not want it to be soggy, you want it to still be slightly crisp.
9. If you do not have a steamer pot, put cabbage in a hot pan with 1/2 cup of water and some salt. Cover and let steam for 5-7 minutes.
10. Drain cabbage
11. Pour meat sauce over drained cabbage and sprinkle with grated parmesan (optional)