Omelette

I like making omelett muffins, spanish tortillas, frittatas or whatever else they are known by.  I just like having my breakfast made ahead of time so all I have to do is gently heat it in the morning.  It saves me time in the morning and I like that.  I can go to the pool without getting up extra early and on the mornings I don't go to the pool I can either sleep in a little bit or spend the morning relaxing before I go in to work.

The good thing about these omelette type dishes is that they are all quite easy to make and can be loaded with whatever you like.  This omelette is loaded with butternut squash, green & red bell peppers, onions and sausage.  Just saute it all up first and pour the scrambled eggs over the top and let it cook on low.  Towards the end pop your oven/broiler proof skillet under the broiler and let it finish cooking.  Voila!!  Breakfast for the work week is complete!

Shakshouka

I found this recipe one day while hunting and gathering on the web (my favorite past time).  I've had it tucked away in my notebook and had forgot all about it.  I was digging around for another recipe when I flipped this over.  I decided to just make it as printed although I didn't have pomegranate molasses.  I did have molasses (probably not kosher paleo) and pomegranate juice so I pour a little of each in the skillet.  I have since learned that you can get a sugar free pomegranate molasses online or at a Mediterranean market.  The brand is Cortas and it doesn't list any ingredients except pomegranate juice on the label.  That's what I read anyway so I'll be looking into that for future recipes.
This recipe is apparently a mash up of two dishes, muhammara and shakshouka.  Muhammara is a hot pepper dip containing walnuts and spices.  Shakshouka features eggs cooked in a spicy tomato stew.  That being said, it wasn't a spicy dish.  So if you like heat then bumped up the spice.  It's a wonderful dish and something different for breakfast.  I made the stew base, which makes quite a bit, and stored it in the fridge.  Every morning I put a scoopful in a small skillet and heated it until it just starts to bubble.  Then I cracked my eggs on top of the mixture and covered the skillet until the eggs were poached to my liking.

Shakshouka (found at EatsWellWithOthers)

3 red bell peppers, roasted, skinned, and seeded
2 oz walnuts
4 cloves garlic
1 large onion
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
28 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
pinch red pepper flakes
6 eggs
1/4 cup parsley
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Combine the roasted red peppers, walnuts, onion, and garlic in a food processor and process until the combined.

2. In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, combine the red pepper blend, molasses, tomatoes, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, smoked paprika, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes so that flavors can meld. Add salt to taste.

3. Crack the eggs into the pan and into the sauce, gently, so that the yolks don't break. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes or until set. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

*The original called for feta cheese which I omitted.

Zucchini and Sundried Tomato Tart

A few weeks ago I bought some sun dried tomatoes to add to my pantry and since then I've been thinking of using them.  I had my eye on a stuffed chicken breast recipe that Civilized Caveman posted but I always did something different with my chicken breasts.  Then while taking inventory in the fridge and planning some weekend meals I decided what to do with them.  In the fridge were a couple of zucchini and my sister told me I could do something with them.  I knew right then that I wanted to make a tart.  I've never made one before but the zucchini just seemed like the perfect match for my sun dried tomatoes.  So I then started mulling over a crust recipe and started scoping out online for something that would work.  I was going to use my almond meal but just needed a little guidance to have it come together.  I found a couple of savory almond meal crust that both linked back to Elana's Pantry and to a cookbook called The Gluten-Free Almond Meal Cookbook.  It sounded familiar and after checking out my bookshelf I discovered I had this book (thanks Mom)!  So I prepared the rosemary crust recipe and it was simply delicious.  It smelled so good while it was baking and the flavors were extraordinary.  This is a great tart and the filling can be easily change to accommodate whatever veggies you have on hand.

Zucchini and Sun dried Tomato Tart

1-2 medium sized zucchini, cut into rounds about 1/4 inch thick
1 large shallot, diced
1/2 C sun dried tomatoes, diced
2 T. olive oil
3 to 4 eggs
1 pre bake rosemary tart shell (recipe follows)

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the zucchini rounds.  Saute over medium high heat until the zucchini start to brown.  Remove from skillet and place on paper towel to soak up any excess oil.
2. Add the shallot and tomatoes to the skillet and cook until the onion starts to get soft.  Remove the mixture from the skillet into a bowl and set aside.
3. Lay the zucchini on your tart crust in an even layer.  Top with the tomato-shallot mixture.
4. Whisk the eggs in bowl and then gently pour over the veggies in the tart shell.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until the eggs are cooked.  (note: You may want to lay some aluminum foil over the edge of the tart crust so that it doesn't get to dark.)

Rosemary Tart Crust

1 1/2 C blanched almond flour
1/2 t. salt
1 T. minced fresh rosemary
1/4 C. grape seed oil
1 T. water

1. In a bowl combine the almond flour, salt and rosemary.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the oil and water and whisk together.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir to combine.
4. Press the dough into a 9 inch tart pan.  (My pan was larger so I increased my recipe including the filling.)
5. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Remove and let it completely cool before you add your filling.

*Note:  My tart pan in about an 11 inch pan which I didn't realize when I started so I sort of winged it with increasing this recipe.  The next time I will get my measurements down before starting but I think increasing the crust recipe by half should do the trick.  I did use 4 eggs for mine but if you are using a 9 inch pan then 3 should work just fine.

Please, pack your knives and go.

I think the first thing I learned when trying to lead a Paleo lifestyle is preparation.  It's the key to success.  In my early efforts I would fail to buy the right things at the grocery store.  Overbuying some weeks and falling short on others.  I would sometimes get home with three different types of squashes and no other veggies.  I was a disaster when it came to grocery shopping and awful at preparation.  I'm doing a little better now and I must say that I really like the menu lists and shopping lists that Paleo Plan provides me.  The past couple of weeks I have ventured out on my own and haven't used the lists.  I think I've done a fairly good job with purchasing and preparing my meals without guidance.

Another obstacle is my work week.  I work 12 hour shifts and every other weekend I put in 4 days in a row.  During this time I don't like to do anything except get up, shower and grab a bite for breakfast.  I then gather my lunch and dinner out of the fridge and put it in a sack and head to work.  When I get home I go right to bed.  So I try to prepare all my meals in advance for this little stretch.  That's my key to eating Paleo during this time.  In my pre-Paleo days I would hit the drive thru, order take out, raid the candy bins in the cafeteria and eat whatever meal I brought with me (spaghetti, enchiladas,etc).

I truly enjoy cooking and while I may not be a top chef in the kitchen, I think I do a pretty decent job for someone who just started cooking in the past couple of years.  Sure, sometimes I bomb and from time to time I make something inedible but since it's just me eating this food I don't really worry about it.  I'm just glad I'm not cooking for these three.  

Here are some pics of what will be on my lunch and dinner menu while I work this week.

Omelette Muffins for breakfast so I don't have to cook in the morning!  I just chop up whatever veggie I have, saute some onions and sausage and put a scoop in each muffin tin and fill with beaten eggs.  I bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes.  I use a jumbo tin so for a regular size tin just cut back the time.  They freeze up great and I just pop one in the microwave in the morning to heat it up.  Great time saver!

Mashed Rutabaga is going to be a side dish for some leftover braised shortribs that I had earlier in the week.  I just cubed up the rutabagas and tossed them in a small pot with some water and boiled, covered until they were soft and then I mashed them with a little chicken stock.  I found the recipe for the braised shortribs here.  I simply made whatever adjustments I needed to the recipe in order to make it my style of Paleo.

Baked chicken leg quarters using a recipe in one of my Rick Bayless cookbooks.  This one called for making a little marinade with orange juice, mexican oregano, diced garlic, ground canela, cloves, apple cider vinegar and pasilla chile powder.

Sauteed Kale in tomato sauce.  I find that I always make kale with a tomato sauce so the next time I'm going to search for a recipe sans tomato.  I suspect I do this because I'm still trying to get use to the taste of kale as well as other dark greens.  I never ate these in my pre-Paleo days so I'm trying to acquire a taste for them.  I simply soaked some ancho chiles and then ground them up in my vita-mixer with some crushed tomatoes and chicken stock.  I sauteed some onions in a skillet and then added the tomato-chile mixture.  I let it cook for a minute or so then added the chopped kale and covered it so the kale could steam.

Jumbo pork chop braised in some apple juice with aromatics.  I mix in some crushed ginger with the apple juice and then chopped up some celery, apple and onion.  I put this all in a baking dish and baked the chop until I thought it was done.  I think I may have over cooked my protein which would get me booted off Top Chef.  Thankfully Tom, Gail and Padma  aren't critiquing my dish.