1/2 cup sundried tomato pesto, plus 1/4 cup for tops (see recipe below)
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 pound fresh grass-fed beef
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup blanched almond flour
1 large egg
1/2 pound fresh ground veal
4 slices bacon
Sundried Tomato Pesto
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (in oil if you can, rehydrate per instructions if dried)
1/2 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup fresh basil (a small bunch)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Add the garlic, sun dried tomatoes, tomato paste and herbs to your food processor and blend. Stream in the olive oil until the pesto comes together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, add veal, beef, almond flour, pesto, herbs, salt, pepper, onion,and garlic. In a small separate bowl, whisk in the egg and add it to meat mixture. With your hands or a spoon, combine the mixture until well incorporated.
Form mixture into 4 equal rounds and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Wrap bacon strips around each meatloaf round. Top each round with additional sundried tomato pesto.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until the meatloaf is cooked to desired doneness.
Chicken Salad with Roasted Bell Pepper in Avocado Cups
Chicken Salad with Roasted Bell Peppers in Avocado Cups
4 skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds total)
4 bay leaves
1 quart organic low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth (or half of each, which I did here)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted, roasted almonds, finely chopped
1/2 large red onion, diced
1/2 a bunch asparagus, roasted and diced into small pieces**
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
2 roasted bell peppers (red or yellow peppers), skin removed and diced (recipe below)*
salt and pepper to taste
Mustard Herb Dressing:
1/3 cup fresh parsley, tightly packed
1/3 cup fresh basil, tightly packed
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon gluten-free Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
fresh ground pepper to taste
Instruction:
*To Roast Bell Peppers:
Preheat oven to 45o degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with coconut oil, set aside. Cut the peppers in half and clean out the seeds and innards. Place them on a baking sheet skin side up. Bake peppers for 15 to 20 minutes. Once the skins are brownish-black, remove from the oven and immediately place the peppers in a large ziploc bag. Close and let sit for 20 minutes or so (or until the peppers have time to cool and “sweat”). Once they have cooled you will be able to peel the skins right off. What you will have left is a moist, wonderfully cooked pepper. Yummy!
**To roast asparagus, toss asaragus in a little olive oil and season with a little salt and pepper. Roast in the 450 degree oven for 5-10 minutes, depending on size of asparagus, while bell peppers roast. Remove and allow to cool before cutting into small pieces.
For Chicken Salad:
Put the bay leaves and the chicken broth in a large pot with a lid and bring stock to a simmer. Add the chicken breasts to the pot. Return the broth to a simmer. Cover the pot. Turn off the heat. Let the chicken steep in the stock for 30 minutes to an hour.
While the chicken is cooking, chop the other ingredients – garlic, almonds, onion, asparagus, basil, parsley, roasted bell peppers – and add to a large bowl. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
When the chicken breasts are cooked, remove them from the broth and let them cool. When they are cool enough to handle, shred the chicken breasts into bite-size pieces by hand. Mix the chicken pieces in with the rest of the ingredients.
To Make Dressing:
In the bowl of a food processor combine parsley, basil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, and salt. While food processor is running slowly add olive oil in a small drizzle. You may have to stop the food processor to scrape the sides. You want the mixture to come to a liquid consistency. Add fresh ground pepper to taste.
Add dressing to chicken salad and toss to combine.
Serve chilled or at room temperature. Or inside a halved avocado. Take an avocado, remove pit, and place chicken salad in the inside.
Lamb and mint are a natural pairing and they go together perfectly in this dish. This was one of those dinners where you’re sad when it’s over because you’re not still eating it!
LAMB KABOBS WITH PALEO MINT PESTO
serves 2 people for dinner with 1 portion leftover for lunch 🙂
ingredients:
~1.5 lbs lamb stew meat or boneless leg of lamb cut into chunks
any mix of your favorite kabob vegetables – I used chunks of zucchini and yellow squash, but tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, etc would all be good too
1 bunch of fresh mint (about 1.5 cups)
1 big handful of fresh parsley (about 1 cup)
juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of red pepper flakes
In a food processor or blender, combine mint, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes and turn into a coarse puree
Combine the pesto with the lamb and vegetables and leave to marinate 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat your broiler. Line a large baking sheet with foil. Drain the lamb and vegetables (reserving the marinade), place on the baking sheet, and broil 7-10 minutes or until desired doneness.
8 large Swiss chard leaves, washed, stems removed, leaves left whole
14-oz chicken broth
1 jar marinara sauce
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
In a large bowl mix beef, shallot and spices until just combined. Divide mixture into eight oblong portions. Lay chard leaves flat and place one portion of beef closer to the end where the stem was. Tightly roll the chard around the beef and place seam-side down in a large skillet. Repeat with remaining beef and chard leaves.
Pour broth in skillet, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until instant read thermometer inserted into the center of rolls reads 165 degrees F, about 8-10 minutes. Discard remaining broth. Serve the rolls topped with marinara sauce.
, mix almond butter until creamy
