Practicing Paleo

Well, it's 2012 and hence a new round of resolutions has begun. Mine? Hydrate like crazy and try out a paleo diet.

I've tried this before. John and I went Partially Paleo in the weeks before our wedding with great results, so we thought to try it out again. John is still eating some oats and potatoes, and we're both allowing a glass of wine a night (plus a square of 83% dark chocolate), but other than that I'm going to see how it goes!

Over the break, we picked up a copy of Make It Paleo, a cookbook which seems like a really great resource for beginning paelo's.  Nauseating boy-meets-girl introduction aside, I think this is an excellent book, and it seems like it will make it easy for us to make the (probably temporary) switch.

Today, I made eggs for breakfast and then basically thew them on the floor while getting in the car....so really, I had trail mix for breakfast. Seeds and dried fruit, for the most part. No granola, a little bit of chocolate, and that was it!

I felt pretty full through lunch, where I had a bowl of leftover chili from last night. I also made a pot of egg drop soup, which will be lunch for tomorrow.

For dinner, I made Make It Paleo's Smoked Paprika Chicken and Sauteed Spinach, along with Everyday Paleo's Walnut Red Pepper Dip. Everything was delicious...the Walnut Red Pepper Dip, though? AMAZING...and it will certainly become a staple in our house!

So, we'll see how this goes! It was certainly a challenge to resist eating all of those muffins and breads that I made today in order to get rid of all the flour and sugar in our kitchen (and to clear out some freezer space...somehow we managed to collect 2 dozen old bananas?), but I did it! Plus, now our house smells like delicious baked goods. Always a good thing.

Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Kale and Chicken Sausage

This is a recipe that I took from Food Network magazine and made last night. It was amazingly quick, because almost everything cam straight out of a package (love it!) John and I both have our Bible Studies on Wednesday night's, so it's important that we have something quick to make.

We made this with chicken sausage that I got from Trader Joe's (LOVE them for quick meals). This one was their Spinach, Fontina and Roasted Garlic variety and it was yum-yum-good!

Just a note- I've had kale before, but for some reason I really didn't like it in this dish? I think it's because there are already a lot of heavy, dark flavors...if I made it again I think I would switch it out for spinach! Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

1/2 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, and diced
1 tbsp. butter
3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 1/4 c. chicken stock
1 bunch/package kale (I would remove the ribs...they're tough!)
1 package gnocchi
4 links of chicken sausage, sliced 
1/4 c. parmesan
1 tbsp. butter

Directions:

In a cast iron skillet, melt butter and saute squash until soft.

Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Wilt kale in stock in batches.

Add gnocchi and cover in sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Add sausage, cheese and butter. Cook in broiler for about 10 minutes, until brown and bubbling.

Grr...this picture is SO ugly...I want a better camera...or an iPhone.

Twilight...

Sometimes, you realize that you're watching Twilight on FOX at 9:45 on a Wednesday while drinking a $4 bottle of red wine, and you just have to be OK with that.


That's really all that I have to say.

Baked Pasta w/ 6 Cheeses

Ingredients:

1 lb. cheese, shredded (I used mozzarella, triple creme brie, bleu, sharp cheddar, parmesan-asiago, and pepper jack)

1 lb. pasta (I used gobetti, penne or rigatoni would also work)

4 strips bacon, fried, crumbled, reserving the fat
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/2 c. skim milk, hot
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp. mustard powder
1 tbsp. seasoned salt (I used a cajun-style seasoning)
Salt
Pepper
1/4 c. panko

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Boil pasta until al-dente. Drain and set aside. 

Combine bacon fat and flour in a sauce-pan. Cook oven medium heat for 5 minutes, whisking constantly. Take whisk and slowly temper a small amount of flour mixture into the hot milk. Once tempered, pour milk into sauce pan and cook over medium low heat for about 10 minutes, until very thick (about the consistency of a cream gravy).

Take 1/4 c. of the milk mixture and slowly temper it with the egg in a separate bowl. Once tempered, add the egg mixture to the milk mixture, and cook for 5 minutes. Add mustard, seasoned salt, sat and pepper to taste.

Slowly add the cheese in 2-3 installments. Whisk until combined. Pour over pasta and mix until combined. Pour pasta into a greased pan, topping with bacon, panko and additional cheese. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until bubbling and browned on top.