Buffalo Lime Taco Lettuce Wraps

I never noticed before all of the junk that is in normal taco seasoning, so this recipe caused me to go on a hunt for a "healthy way" to season tacos...
When I read the ingredients for store bought taco seasonings, I noticed there was sugar, flour, corn starch, several assorted "gums", and preservatives and artificial flavors.  Since I am on a mission to avoid, excess junk in my food, I decided to figure out a better way.
After cooking the buffalo meat, I squeezed about 1/2 cup of lime juice on it to give it a kick.
Then I mixed in chili powder, garlic powder, dried onions, cumin, salt and pepper. It takes a lot of seasoning for the meat to catch on to the flavor, so it all totaled about 1/4 cup.
These tacos were great. For toppings, we added onion, cilantro, sour cream, cheese, and fresh tomatoes.

Italian Braised Chicken

This was a Better Homes and Gardens Recipe that I adapted to make it more primal...

2-2 1/2 lbs of chicken 

1 fennel bulb cored and cut into thin wedges.

1 medium yellow sweet pepper

1 medium onion 

3 cloves of garlic

1 teaspoon fresh snipped rosemary or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1 teaspoon fresh snipped oregano or 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes undrained

1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon fresh snipped parsley

I put everything into the crock-pot except the cheese and parmesan cheese. Place chicken in first and then everything else on top. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2 1/2-3 hours.

Sprinkle each serving with parsley and parmesan.

For a super tasty alternative, I used goat cheese instead of parmesan. It is alot creamier and has tons of flavor! 

"SWEET AS LEAH" SCALLOPS

This dish was inspired by my sister who said "it was the best thing she had ever cooked", so  how could I not try it the next night! 

1. Preheat oven to 375. 

2. Wrap scallops in bacon and hold together with a toothpick. (We used Wright's maple bacon, which is our favorite! I think any bacon will do the trick!)

3. Bake in oven for 15 minutes.

4. While that is cooking combine the following ingredients into a small saucepan...: the juice of one lemon, 1tablespoon of butter, 1 clove of garlic, and add two tablespoons of honey.

5. Simmer on the stove until it is all melted together.

6. After 15 minutes of baking scallops, pour the sweet lemon butter garlic juiciness over the scallops. 

7. Flip them over and get both sides with the goodness.

8. Place back in the oven for 15 more minutes at the same 375 temperature.

Healthy and Deee-lish-us!

Meatballs, organic tomato sauce, carrots, and a salad!

Beef with Broccoli

I love Beef with Broccoli take out but I am just not sure what all is in that delicious treat! So here is my Primal version.  

Ingredients:

1 pound skirt or flank steak

1 head of broccoli

5 handfuls of bean sprouts

4 teaspoons of minced garlic

1/4 cup of cilantro

1/4 cup of mint

1/2 cup wheat free Tamari 

1 tablespoon chinese 5 spice (You can buy it or look it up online, its not too hard to make out of spices you probably have on hand. I think its cinnamon, cloves, etc...)

Cauliflower steamed then lightly chopped in blender to look like rice.

1. Marinate the meat in chinese 5 spice powder, garlic, and 1/2 cup of wheat free Tamari Sauce for several hours.

2. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a pan and Saute all of the above in a skillet until meat is cooked well.

3. Add broccoli until cooked well.

4. (Begin steaming cauliflower for rice substitute if you want it.)

5. Add bean sprouts to beef and broccoli and cook for 3-4 minutes.

6. If the meat mixture looks dry add more Tamari.

7. Add chopped cilantro and mint at the last minute before serving.

SMOKED BRISKET

Brisket is my favorite and a much talked about subject in my family. Everyone has a special way of cooking it to perfection.  I wish it didn't make the whole house smell like smoke for a week, but it is really worth it! Lucky for me my boyfriend enjoys smoking a brisket so much that he doesn't even care that it takes up his entire day and sometimes nights! 

I love it by itself and then mix it will eggs for breakfast. I also love a brisket wrap in lettuce.

This one is fabulous because I can eat it for multiple meals!

Super Easy Onion Pork Chops

My Austin Zola taught me about this one. She dumps one packet of onion soup mix over some pork chops and then chops up half an onion and throws it in the oven. I loved the simplicity but after reading what is in onion soup that was not an option... So I went to the farmers market and asked my favorite spice lady how she would do it.  Here is my version...

Onion Soup Mix 

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon parsley dried or fresh

8 teaspoons of chopped onion dried 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

4 teaspoons beef boullion flavoring (I used an organic one that was a liquid so I just poured it over the chops before putting the powder mix on top.)

Mix together in a bowl.

Preheat oven to 350

Chop 1/2 of an onion and put on top of pork chops in oven safe dish. 

Drizzle a very small amount of honey on pork chops, about 1 tablespoon.

Pour powder mix over chops.

Cover chops with foil.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes 

Lower temp to 300 for 30 minutes.

ENJOY!!