REAL food recipes
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Is it 5 pm and you’re wondering what’s for dinner? Thankfully you don’t have to resort to going out to eat! This dish is quick to prepare and can be paired with almost any type of side salad.
Preheat 350
Warm baking pan in oven.
Place salmon, skin side down, on parchment paper on heated pan.
Mix ingredients and spread over flesh side of salmon fillet.
Bake 20 minutes.
If you’re looking for an easy-to-make meal that can go from freezer to table, this is your winner — and a crowd pleaser!
Preparation:
Mix together flour, cheeses, salt, pepper.
Dip chicken pieces in melted butter, then in cheese mixture.
Tuck sides of chicken breast under to form individual bundles (or simply fold over).
To freeze, wrap each bundle in plastic wrap and then place in freezer bags.
Cooking:
Thaw, then place chicken bundles in shallow baking dish.
Melt butter and pour over bundles.
Sprinkle with 1/4 c parmesan cheese.
Bake uncovered at 350 for 1 hour, until chicken is crispy.
Burgers are the classic summer fare and adding cheese to the middle of the patties yields a delicious surprise for dinner! Use grass-fed beef and raw milk cheese for the most nutrition and best flavor.
In a large bowl, place the ground beef.
Using a fork, gently break apart the hamburger.
Add the blackening seasoning, garlic, and ground pepper. Mix gently until everything is incorporated.
Divide the meat into 8 sections. Form into thin patties, about 1/4 inch thick.
Divide shredded cheddar cheese into 1/4 cup servings and then rolls the cheese in your hands until you form a little cheese ball.
Mash the cheese ball down to form a thick patty.
Sandwich the cheese between two burger patties and press around the edges to seal.
Grill over high heat until each side is seared. Lower the heat and cook until the burgers reach your desired temperature.
These burgers make great leftovers, so doubling or tripling the recipe will give you meals for several days.
Meatloaf is one of the easiest main dishes you can make. It also freezes well, so doubling or tripping this recipe will give you lots of leftover to freeze for quick and easy dinners. Meatloaf is also versatile, so you can add whatever seasonings you have on hand.
Note: You can omit the cracker/bread crumbs if desired and add one extra egg. The mixture will be more delicate and will do better in a loaf pan than a baking dish.
Preheat the oven to 350.
Prepare glaze mixture and set aside.
In a large bowl, add the meat, onions, eggs, milk, garlic, and seasonings.
Gently combine and then add the bread crumbs. Stir until the crumbs are distributed evenly.
For a free-formed loaf, pour ingredients on a sheet pan or glass baking dish and shape into a loaf. For a loaf pan, oil the pan with a little coconut oil, and pack the meat mixture evenly into the pan. You can also make mini loafs by using smaller loaf pans. This is perfect for freezing individual loafs for quick dinners.
Pour the glaze over the top of the meatloaf.
Place in oven and bake 1 hour.
Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before slicing. If you’re freezing, let the loaf cool completely in the fridge before wrapping up and freezing.
Stout beef stew is common around St. Patrick’s day, but frankly, it’s delicious any time of the year, especially on cold winter days. You can add a variety of vegetables to the stew, depending on your tastes. This dish also freezes well.
Cut beef into bite-sized chunks if it’s not already. Set aside.
In 6-quart dutch oven or large pot, cook the onions and garlic until browned and caramelized. Remove the onion mixture from the pot and set aside.
Dry the chunks of beef with a clean paper towel.
Heat coconut or palm oil the same pot. Add 1/4 of the beef. Don’t overcrowd the pan to ensure proper browning.
Rotate the beef and once it has browned on each side, remove it from the pot and start the next batch (add more oil as needed).
Once all the meat is browned, add all of it to the pan and sprinkle flour over the meat. Stir until the meat is coated. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often.
Add onion mixture and chopped vegetables to the pot, along with the stout. Let that cook for a couple minutes before adding the beef broth and tomato paste.
Bring to a boil. Add spices and reduce heat to low.
Cover and let simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Taste for salt and pepper.
Serve over mashed or boiled potatoes if desired.
Here’s a new, in-season idea than can be a great side dish to take to the next potluck (or even a holiday feast). A little side note: my kids had a much easier time eating their greens in this recipe. It’s amazing what a little cheese can do, isn’t it?
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put potatoes and onions in a 9×13-inch casserole dish. Drizzle olive oil over potatoes, sprinkle in thyme and peppers, and stir to incorporate.
Bake for 20 minutes or until potatoes are slightly brown around the edges.
While potatoes bake, if you plan on using bacon, brown it now. Set aside.
Semi-finely chop broccoli and cabbage. Grate carrots.
Some might choose to use the skillet the bacon was browned in with a little bit of the grease reserved to stir fry the broccoli, carrots, cabbage, and mushrooms. Others might want to use a little olive oil instead of bacon grease. Stir fry over medium/high heat for about 5 minutes, or until the veggies are the consistency you want them. Add garlic and stir to incorporate.
Once the potatoes are done, layer the stir fry, then the cheese, then the optional bacon over the taters. Put dish back into oven and broil for 2-3 minutes, just to melt the cheese. Serve warm with an optional dollop of creme fraiche on top to add some creamy, probiotic-rich goodness to aid digestion.
Abundance is the word of the season. Oh, the variety of in-season vegetables during summertime! Then, there is the squash. So. Many. Squashes. And tomatoes. The glorious onslaught of ‘maters. But when you get about 50 pounds of organic produce in your CSA box each week and you still have ten pounds left the day before the next box arrives and your storage space is laughable… Ya gotta find a way to use up a lot of veggies all at once. Well here you go, then. And, because I am philosophically opposed to using the oven when it’s 100+ degrees outside, this is a stovetop only recipe.
Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Add sausage, squashes, bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Saute until soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and reserve in a bowl.
Now it’s time for the crust, which is basically potato pancakes. Mix grated potatoes and onions, eggs, flour, salt and pepper in a bowl. Because less dirty pans is more, in the same pan you sauteed the squash mixture, (your biggest cast iron skillet is the best choice), heat some more olive oil, about a tablespoon or two, and press potato mixture into the bottom. Cook on med/high heat for 4-5 minutes. Cut in four sections and flip.
Turn heat to medium. Spread pizza sauce (see below for a recipe) over potatoes. Sprinkle squash mixture, then sliced tomatoes and optional basil, then cheese. Cover and cook for about 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Or, if you don’t mind turning on the broiler, place covered pan in broiler for 5 minutes.
Here’s a simple pizza sauce recipe my mom taught me (you’ll probably only use half of this recipe; it can cover up to two normal pizzas):
Pizza Sauce
15 oz. tomato sauce
1 Tablespoon each: minced garlic (1 clove), crushed basil and oregano
2 Tablespoons parmesan cheese
Mix all ingredients and use.
This is the simplest dish ever. It almost shouldn’t be listed as a recipe. It was so delicious, though, that it didn’t seem right to keep such a dish to myself, so here it is. This is perfect for any season, really, but I love to save it for the summertime when the oven and I take a break from each other *sniff*. If you’d like to make it GAPS-legal, use your favorite squash instead of potatoes. This is the incredible five minute meal. That’s all it takes to assemble, then you let it slow cook for about 7 hours. It fills the home with a fragrance that puts those chemically air fresheners to shame.
Wash chicken. Stuff chicken with lemons, slightly squeezing them in the cavity to release the juice.
Place chicken in the crock pot and surround it with potatoes (or squash). Brush chicken with olive oil & drizzle just a little bit over potatoes.
Sprinkle seasoning over chicken and potatoes. Don’t be afraid to use a lot. Sprinkle garlic halves around chicken.
Cook on low for 6-8 hours if your crock pot tends to be on the hotter side of things (like mine), or 8-10 if it’s, well, slow like a slow cooker should be.
*TIP: Don’t allow chicken to get super brown on top or it will take on that “crock pot taste.” Just check that the thickest part of the meat isn’t at all pink and it reaches 165º. This is a wonderfully moist chicken dish, and the potatoes get nicely light brown and crispy along the edges.
This simple, traditionally-prepared, gluten-free dish can easily be transformed into a GAPS-friendly meal by placing the chicken on a bed of squash instead of rice (I’m using up my non-GAPS ingredients in case we decide to go for it). All it takes to prepare this is a little forethought at the beginning of the day instead of at four o’clock. But I love that, don’t you? Knowing dinner is cooking away while I go about my day is just plain happy. This recipe leaves no leftovers for our family of six (our oldest is only nine, mind you), so if there are more of you or you want leftovers, I recommend doubling it.
First thing in the morning or the night before, soak rice in 4 cups filtered water with the cultured dairy or lemon juice. Cover and set aside (the rice should soak for 7-12 hours).
Begin the next two steps 6-8 hours before dinner. Combine honey, mustard, curry powder, and butter in a saucepan. Mix over medium-high heat until it reaches a boil. Boil 1 minute.
Place chicken in the crock pot. Drizzle prepared glaze over the chicken. Place lid on top and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
1 hour before serving, drain and rinse soaked rice. Put in saucepan with 4 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil. Skim off any foam, reduce heat, cover, and let simmer until all the stock is absorbed. This takes about 45 minutes.
To serve, spoon a bed of rice onto dinner plates. Drizzle juices from crock pot over the rice and place one or two pieces of chicken on top of the rice. This goes great with a side of fresh veggies or a side of vegetables sauteed in butter. Spooning some of the juice from the chicken over the veggies is suggested. Sprinkle Celtic sea salt and pepper over everything to taste.
Prime rib or standing rib roast are the same cut. Take care when preparing grass-fed beef as it’s much more delicate and should not be cooked at as high of temperatures. For best results, buy your rib roast a week in advance and allow it to age in the refrigerator. If this is not possible, a day or two aged will still be good.
Allow your roast to sit at room temperature for an hour before prepping it for the oven. Preheat your oven to 215 degrees. Tie twine at both ends of the roast, the twine running parallel to the bone.
Heat a large roasting pan over two burners set at medium-high heat. Place roast in hot pan and sear on all sides. Be sure to get a good browning on the roast now as this will be it’s final color.
Remove roast from pan and set the wire rack in place. Replace the roast on top of the wire rack. Season generously with salt and pepper.
Roast the prime rib until the internal temperature reads 130 degrees for medium-rare, about 3 to 3 1/2 hours.
Remove roast from oven and tent with foil. Allow to stand for 20 minutes before carving.
Serve with Au jus (French for “it’s own juices”).
This chicken salad is a perfect way to use up leftover chicken or turkey, but is festive enough for a holiday meal! The tartness of the fresh cranberries is beautifully balanced by honey mustard dressing. Serve on a bed of greens with extra dressing, if desired.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, adding mayonnaise or sour cream as needed. Taste, and adjust seasonings. Serve atop a bed of greens and garnish with homemade candied pecans!
*You can make a simple honey mustard dressing by combining healthy mayonnaise and sour cream, then adding several tablespoons each of dijon mustard and honey, thinning with milk or water if needed.
Kid-friendly main course and classic party appetizer!
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet (or use an ungreased pizza stone).
Using the whisk attachment, mix together eggs, butter, salt, and garlic. Add coconut flour and baking powder and beat the batter really well until there are no lumps and the eggs have had a good beating (it sounds harsh, I know, but the key to fluffy, grain-free baked goods is thoroughly beating the eggs).
Drop batter by big spoonfuls onto prepared sheet. Keep the biscuits plump so you can push hot dog pieces into them.
cut hot dogs into fourths and push one piece in each biscuit. Sprinkle grated cheese (or place sliced cheese) atop the pigs in the blankets.
Bake for 15 minutes.