Meetza Meetza

Although it's a lot more 'Primal' then 'Paleo'  this concoction is something that's going to be on the menu a lot - especially on the weekends when I have a tendency to miss our traditional 'Junk Food Evening'.

The original idea came from something from the old original Atkins book.  I don't have that book anymore but it at least gave me idea that it could be done.  So, here's my own...

• 1.5 lbs ground  beef
• 2 eggs
• 2 T Italian spices divided
• Salt
• 1 Cup shredded cheese
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• pizza toppings

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Lightly brown the beef breaking up any chunks - do not over brown some pink is ok as this will continue to cook in the oven.
3. Drain the excess fat from the meat and mix with eggs, 1 T Italian spices and salt
4. Spread meat mixture evenly over the bottom of a deep dish pizza pan (I use a cast iron skillet)
5. Pour tomato sauce over top of the meat, spread evenly and sprinkle remaining Italian spices over the top
6. Spread cheese evenly over the top and then add the pizza toppings of your choice
7. Place in oven and cook for 15 minutes
8. After removing from the oven, you'll want to let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!

Orange Saffron Chicken

I had planned chicken for dinner tonight, but found out we were out of almond butter, which was an ingredient in both of the recipes I had in reserve.  So, I went to the fridge and internet for inspiration.

Of course a quick look up of chicken brought me to recipes for all sorts of varieties of  "Lemon Chicken" and that's were the process started.  Actual lemon chicken was out of the question because I didn't have whole lemons to make the sauce I had in mind.  But, I did have oranges - so I built a recipe around those two things.  I think it turned out fabulous.  Hubby said it needed to be either more sweet or more spicy, but you could easily adjust by either adding Orange Marmalade (sweet) or Coriander (spicy).

and now to the recipe

• 3 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• salt and pepper to taste
• Ghee as needed (clarified butter)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/2 orange, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 tsp cardamom
• 1 star anise
• 3 whole alspice
• 1/2 tsp saffron

1. Preheat oven to warm. Place a serving platter into the oven to warm. (I used a small cast iron pan)
2. Cut the chicken into 1/2-inch medallions and season with salt and pepper 
3. Heat the Ghee in a cast iron skillet; pan-fry the chicken pieces until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Work in batches and do not crowd skillet, adding more Ghee as needed . 
4. Place the chicken pieces onto the warmed platter in the oven. 

5. In the same pan, cook and stir the minced garlic in the skillet until fragrant, about 20 seconds. 
6. Pour in the white wine and scrape and dissolve any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. 
7. Stir in the orange slices, star anise and allspice and bring the mixture to a boil. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce reduces to about 2/3 cup, 5 to 8 minutes

8. Add the orange juice and saffron; simmer until the sauce is reduced and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes more. 
9. Remove star anise and allspice kernels.
10. Arrange the chicken medallions on serving plates and spoon sauce over each portion to serve.

Cinnamon Roast

I was experimenting with roast the other day, trying to figure out how to make it 'my own'.  I think I found an amazing combo that gives the meat a unique flavor that I really enjoy!

I cook roasts in the crock pot, but you could do the same thing in an oven if you like.

Drop the roast into a crock pot with a little stock some onions and carrots (for extra flavor).  Now, for the twist, the spices.

1 stick of cinnamon
2 star anise
2-3 whole allspice

and of course salt and pepper

Let it cook until the roast is 'roasted'... and enjoy

One thing I think I'm going to do next time is to caramelize the onions before dumping them into the pot to give it just that much of a sweeter taste.

If you try this, and like it -- let me know!