Quick and Easy Meatball Soup

We were having a rather chilly day the other day and something warm sounded good.  Meatballs came to mind and I also had soup on the brain, so why not combine the two and make Meatball soup?!  Here is the recipe for the soup I created and we all enjoyed that day. As always please take liberty to change what you need to make it more to your liking or to what you may have in your fridge.  This is just an idea to inspire you, enjoy!

QUICK AND EASY MEATBALL SOUP

For the Meatballs:

2 pounds grassfed ground beef

2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp dried oregano

2 eggs

1/2 cup blanched almond meal

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well with your hands.  Then roll  into small meatballs, mine were a bit larger than I will make them next time, but it's really just a matter of what you prefer.  Set them off to the side, wash your hands and then assemble all your soup ingredients.

Soup:

6 cups beef broth

1 can Italian style diced tomatoes (not stewed, they generally contain corn syrup)

3/4 cup chopped yellow onion

1/2 pound fresh spinach, chopped (or several large handfuls)

6 stalks of celery, chopped

2 cups of chopped carrots

1 cup zucchini, chopped

2 cups yellow summer squash, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, diced

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

2 tsp chopped fresh organo

1/4 cup parsley

Sea salt and Pepper to taste

Combine all of the soup ingredients and bring to a boil, then add the desired amount of meatballs ( I ended up adding all of them in the end).  Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes or until your meatballs are nicely done and your veggies are done.  Quick, Easy and Tasty! Pin It

"Pizza" Paleo Style...and Yummy!

This recipe was inspired and adapted from a recipe in the book Everyday Paleo by Sarah Fragoso, Everyday Paleo Pizza.  I have made some modifications to her recipe to meet our personal preferences, if you would like to try her original recipe please reference her book (page 84).  You may buy a copy of her book here.

PALEO PIZZA

That said here is my take on her recipe:

CRUST INGREDIENTS:

2 cups blanched almond meal

2 large eggs

3 TBSP olive oil

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp garlic powder or granules

3/4-1 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet with olive oil and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl combine all the ingredients until well combined, then using your hands form the dough into a ball.   Place the ball of dough in the middle of your cookie sheet, then using your hands flatten and pat the dough out into a circle, making the dough as thin as possible.  It should be about one foot across.  Bake just the crust for 20 minutes.  

While the crust is baking is a good time to prepare your toppings.  I used leftover spaghetti meat, grass fed ground beef with Kirkland Signature Marinara sauce.  But you can use whatever you like, sausage, chicken, ground turkey etc.    The first time I made it I used the leftover meat/sauce from spaghetti, topped with some chopped yellow summer squash and some chopped fresh tomatoes.  The second time I made it we topped it with the same meat, but used some olives, chopped sweet onion, and some chopped fresh basil too.  Use your imagination or what you have around, the crust is really just a base and a yummy one it is!  The crust will give you a thin crunchy, tasty crust to build off of.  Even the quantities of ingredients for your toppings can be adjusted to your preference, this is really your recipe.  Have fun!

Topping suggestions:

1 pound or more of ground sausage, ground beef, ground turkey, chicken etc.

1 cup yellow squash, diced

1 TBSP chopped fresh basil (or more)

1/2 cup chopped tomatoes

1/3 cup chopped Lindsey Natural olives
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion or red onion

Jar of marinara sauce, you won't need it all so a partial jar would work too. (Be sure it's gluten free, and free of unwanted additives or added sugar)

You may do as I did and premix the sauce and meat (which is my preference) or spread the desired amount of sauce on the crust and top with your toppings.  Once you have your "pizza" assembled place it back in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes.  Enjoy!  

I don't think of it as Pizza per say, but a yummy Italian style dish, everyone including my skeptical big kids loved it and request it!  It was a nice alternative to the Paleo meals we have been eating lately, lot's of grilled meat and veggies.  Like I said earlier, use your imagination as far as the toppings go, get creative and enjoy!

Crust baked and topped with meat and sauce combo. 

All the toppings on and ready to bake (this was my 2nd pizza version).

Baked and ready to eat.  Mmmm, yummy!

This is what my first version looked like after it was baked and ready to eat. 

Both versions were supper tasty!

One delectable slice of Paleo Pizza, Yum!

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Orange Herb Chicken

This recipe was inspired by a recipe by Robert Irvine from Food Network, Roasted Chicken.

Orange Herb Chicken

2 teaspoons sea salt

5 large garlic cloves, crushed

2 tsp chopped fresh chives

1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

2 TBSP olive oil

1 (4 pound) whole chicken

2 whole oranges

baby carrots

In a bowl combine first 6 ingredients and rub all over the chicken.  Let marinate for an hour or two.  Remove from the refrigerator and let sit while your oven Preheats to 425 degrees.  Stuff the chicken with the chopped oranges and place in a baking pan breast side down for the most moist chicken.  Add any of the oranges that won't fit to the pan and throw a couple of handfuls of baby carrots around the chicken.   Pour a little chicken broth over to cover the carrots and to baste the chicken with while cooking.  Place chicken in preheated oven and roast 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to cook chicken basting periodically.  Cook the chicken until done or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Don't forget to baste your chicken while it is cooking and if it starts to brown to quickly cover it loosely with some foil.   It may take longer or shorter depending on your oven and size of chicken.    Generally 15 minutes per pound of chicken.  Remove chicken when done and let rest for about 15-20 minutes before serving.  Serve with baby carrots and juice from chicken.  The baby carrots will be really tasty due to cooking in the juices from the chicken and oranges!

Chicken rubbed and stuffed with oranges.

 Chicken rubbed, stuffed and surrounded with carrots and oranges.

 Baked chicken and carrots, ready to eat!

 Sliced and plated chicken, baby carrots and oranges.

My little girl enjoying her chicken leg.  Mmmmm...yummy!

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Blueberry Crisp...so delicious!

After searching the internet I found this same recipe on several Paleo Blogs and let me tell you it is so good!  It is best warm for sure!  Hot out of the oven it was off the chart!  I enjoyed it best with some coconut milk poured over it, tasted like oatmeal and blueberries!  I loved oatmeal in my pre-paleo days so it was a nice treat to have something that tasted so good and was still "Paleo".  Not only that but it is super easy and I look forward to trying it with other fruits too.  I will try to get some pictures posted soon, it's just so delicious I had to share it. If anyone knows who the original creator of this recipe is please post in comments so I may give them credit.

Blueberry Crisp

• 1 1/2 cups almond meal
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1 cup chopped pecans or  walnuts (I used walnuts)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup organic butter, or coconut oil, warmed
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup maple syrup (may want to decrease this amount depending on personal preference and the sweetness of your fruit)

 Blueberry Crisp  with pecan crumble ready to bake.

 Blueberry Crisp baked and ready to serve.

 

Blueberry Crisp with Pecan crumble, served with Vanilla Coconut Ice Cream.

• Mix all the dry ingredients together and add in the wet ingredients. Grease a 8x8" pan with coconut oil and fill the bottom of the pan with a nice thick layer of berries.  I used a lot of berries (about 4 cups worth), and then topped it with the crumble topping and baked at 350 for about 30-35 minutes depending on your oven.  
• Remove and enjoy, top it with some coconut milk for a yummy breakfast, or top with some coconut milk ice cream for dessert, or just enjoy it as is. 
• I made this again tonight to go with my homemade ice cream but with pecans and it's amazing the difference the nut makes.  The Pecans make it more of a dessert dish for sure, I also used blanched almond meal this time.  The first time I  used unblanched almond meal and walnuts and like I said it had a totally different taste, reminded me of oatmeal with some coconut milk poured over it.  My personal preference is with the unblanched almond meal and walnuts.  But either way is very delicious, will probably continue to make it both ways depending on the occasion.
•  

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Yummy Blueberries and more....

This week we took a little drive out to Mckinleyville with the family to pick Organic Blueberries, which are currently in season.  It was a fun experience for everyone, they even provide cute little buckets for the littlest guys to "pick" in, though I think the majority of their berries made it to their bellies.  It's a fun little outing that will also net you some delicious fresh Organic blueberries.  Their location is:  Wolfsen Farms, 2103 Mckinleyville, California and their phone number is 707-839-2017.  They offer Certified Organic Blueberries, July 1st-September 15 each year, they were about $5.00 a pound when we bought ours last week.  
I have been finding it such an educational value for the children to see and learn how the food they eat is grown and where it comes from.  We have been growing our own vegetable garden this summer and I have found it very rewarding and enjoyable.  I actually started it with the nudging of the children, they have been wanting to grow a garden for some time.  I knew however, that at some point the novelty of it would dwindle and they would loose interest.  They did for a while, but now that it is producing yummy snap peas, green beans, zucchini, multiple kinds of lettuce, kale, spinach, chard, etc. they are back to enjoying it and wanting to check it's progress.  I think it has made them enjoy their food more too.  We have tomatoes and sweet bell peppers growing, neither of which they like, but they are so excited about the fact they are ripening.  And we have discovered as many of you know just how much tastier farm fresh, home grown veggies are!  If you can't grow you own I would suggest visiting your local farmers market for a delicious assortment of fresh produce. And if you are a bit adventurous now is a great time for picking wild blackberries.

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Some fun new recipes to try....

I've been trying some new recipes this week, and found a couple worth passing along.  We made Everyday Paleo's Puerto Rican Beef, with mashed sweet potatoes the other night and it was a hit.  It has a very homey, comfort food sort of appeal.  

 And last night we had Pulled Pork Barbecue from Primal Palate, and Roasted Root Veggies from Sarah Fragoso's Everyday Paleo Book, which if you have the book it's on page 139.  The roasted veggies was an attempt to venture outside my normal veggies, and it was delish!  I haven't had beets since  was a kid and even thought I didn't like them.  But I'm finding that many of the veggies I thought I didn't like are actually quite good, thus the reason I am trying to venture out a bit.  The Roasted Root Veggies contain, beets, parsnips, carrots, red onion, garlic and some seasonings, which are a delicious combination worth trying.  As for the Pulled Pork Barbecue, it was really quite good, it got a thumbs up from the kids.  Finding a good tasting "Barbecue" sauce since going Paleo has been a challenge, this one is good, in fact probably the best one I have tasted so far, and I will probably make this dish again.  But I'm still holding out for the barbecue recipe that makes me gasp and go Ahh now this is it!!  I shredded my meat, added it back to the crock pot, poured the sauce over and mixed well, then left it on low for a while and finished getting the veggies ready.  Oh and I used honey for the Stevia.  

One thing I will warn you, I don't consider the Pulled Pork recipe to be budget, any recipe that requires me to purchase ingredients I don't already have and are a little spendy aren't considered budget for me.  It calls for shallots, which to me a a "luxury" item, as they are more expensive then onions.  And the smoked paprika cost me over $6 a bottle, while tasty, it's a bit expensive and not something that Winco carries at all, nor did I find it at the Natural foods store, I found it at Murphy's Market in Cutten.  And it uses a large amount of chicken broth that is discarded, I would suggest straining it and saving it for a soup.  I can't stand waste, when I boiled my sweet potatoes, I saved the broth from them too, lot's of good nutrients in there.  Anyway, enjoy and happy eating. Pin It

Crustless Salmon Quiche with Swiss Chard

1 Tablespoon coconut oil

1 Tablespoon bacon grease

1/4 cup almond meal

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 6 oz can salmon, drained

1/3 cup (heaping full) of finely chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups Swiss Chard, chopped (very full cups)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/8-1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp dried dill 

4 eggs

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Using the coconut oil grease a 10 inch pie plate with a thick layer of coconut oil.  Then sprinkle the pan with the almond meal and shake to coat evenly, discarding any extra.

 Melt the bacon grease in a medium size skillet over medium high heat.  Add your onions, chard and garlic, sauteing until the onions are tender. 

 

Add the salmon and reduce heat to low while you prepare the eggs. 

In a small bowl beat the eggs, coconut milk and seasoning with a wire whisk.  

Then spread the salmon mixture in the bottom of the pan and pour the egg mixture over it.  

 

Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until the center is set.  Enjoy!

 

 *NOTE*

You can adjust this to your personal preference,  add more eggs if you like it eggier, more chard, less salmon, there are lots of other options, you can even change up the spices if you would like, maybe try some Marjoram instead of dill for example.  Pin It