Recipe: Primal Eggplant Rollatini

Long time no see blog followers!

It's been such a busy couple weeks and thankfully Patrick has been stepping up on the cooking front. Finding the time to blog these wonderful meals that have been prepared the last 2 weeks has been difficult!! Finally I have a second to blog about what I made last night: Primal Eggplant Rollatini stuffed with Ricotta and Italian Sausage topped with a home made marinara and a creamy béchamel sauce. Yes my mouth is watering just typing it. Lately we've been continuing with our ketosis phase and being more "primal" than paleo using lots of yummy grassfed creams and cheeses. I can say I miss eating fruit SO MUCH!! This weekend we both caved and ate some frozen grapes and strawberrys that we brought to hold us over at the Mets game. Now we are focusing back on being in ketosis until May 18 so Patrick can make weight for his Jiu Jitsu competition. Then I'm totally eating all the pineapple and water melon in sight..watch out!

Back to the eggplant. We obviously wanted something high in fat and protein that would help kickstart our ketosis phase. With a few ideas in mind I went to the grocery with my list of things needed for the week and stumbled upon the 'reduced price produce' section that had everything I needed for this meal and then some!! Feeling extremely inspired I grabbed some plum tomatoes and onions along with my eggplant to make this dish extremely tasty and 'from scratch'.
Recipe: Primal Eggplant Rollatini

Filling
1/2 lb ground sweet italian sausage
8 oz Ricotta (GF if you can find it)
Shredded Italian cheese blend (parmesan, romano, mozzarella, provolone)
1 egg
2 cloves minced garlic
1 Tbsp basil (fresh) chopped
1 Tbsp oregano (fresh) chopped
Salt/Pepper

Start by sautéing the ground italian sausage in a pan until its almost cooked through (I leave it barely pink inside to allow for 'rest' and baking time). In a mixing bowl mix the Ricotta, cheese, egg, garlic, herbs, and salt/pepper thoroughly. Once the sausage is done I added 1/2 of it into the cheese mix.

Marinara
1 Sweet yellow onion
2-3 cloves minced garlic
GF Butter or Bacon fat (I actually used fat from the italian sausage after cooking it)
15-20 Plum Tomatos
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1/2 Tbsp red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp basil (fresh) chopped
1 Tbsp oregano (fresh) chopped
Italian sausage (cooked from above)

Salt/Pepper

Started off by sautéing the onions and garlic on low heat in the sausage fat until they were near caramelizing. Then I added the tomatos and turned put the lid on it. Checked it maybe 15-20 min later and the tomatos were ready to burst! Using a hand blender ( you could also transfer this to a regular blender) I blended the tomatos to the consistency I wanted. If you like chunky sauce vs well blended sauce its all up to you!! I chose somewhere in between. Then I tossed in half of what was left from the italian sausage above (leaving 1/4 of the cooked amount left over) along with the tomato paste and red pepper flakes. Last I added in the basil and oregano and left the heat very low to simmer as I prepared the rest of the meal.

Rollatini
1 eggplant
Filling from above
Marinara from above
Italian cheese blend
Salt/pepper

Preheat the oven to 350. Using a mandoline (or a very steady hand) slice the eggplant "length wise" in to thin slices. I chose to make my slices extremely thin, about the thickness of a quarter, however if you want a more beefy eggplant flavor feel free to go a little thicker -- not too thick though you want to be able to easily roll it. Using the filling I made above I placed a nice dollop and rolled the eggplant around it. In a baking pan I coated the bottom with a thin layer of the marinara sauce and carefully placed the rolled eggplant into the sauce. Once all of the pan was filled (or the filling ran out) I painted a little more marinara on top of the eggplant and sprinkled with some of the left over italian cheese. Placed in the oven for 15-20 min.

Béchamel Sauce
1 stick GF Butter
1-2 Tbsp coconut flower
2 Tbsp cooking wine
GF Heavy cream
Minced Garlic (to taste)
salt/pepper

While the eggplant is in the oven I melted some butter in a sauce pan. Add the coconut flower and stir around until its a golden brown color (making a roux) Pour in the cooking wine and Add enough heavy cream to get the consistency of the sauce you want. I added some minced garlic and salt/pepper to it for enhanced flavor.

Final Product
Once you take the eggplant out of the oven, I plated the rollatini on some marinara and topped it with the béchamel sauce. I sprinkled the remaining sausage over top of the rollatini along with some fresh herbs for extra flavor.

Hope you guys enjoy!!!

Kim

Best Egg Salad Ever

I feel like this week has flown by but moving in slow motion at the same time! It's always the moments i want to slow down that go too fast and the moments i want to speed up the seem to move at the speed of a turtle. None the less, I've finally made it to Friday! I love Friday for a number of obvious reasons however one of my favorite things about Friday is being able to work from home. I love being able to have full access to my kitchen which is typically stocked with my paleo friendly items rather than the office kitchen that is stocked full of wonderful tempting goodies! Thankfully up to this point I've avoided all temptation! I'm also excited because I finally was able to get back into the gym this week for Brazillian Jiu Jitsu class. I've been out for 3-4 weeks between being sick, injuring my rib, and work being so hectic! The soreness I feel today feels so rewarding. But now I'm hungry :)

Today for lunch I decided I wanted to make some egg salad. I don't like to brag, but I truly feel my egg salad is the best I've ever had. I always look to my mom in her cooking methods. Her flavor ideas always have been amazing and she's the one who taught me the tricks to the best egg salad ever..so why not paleo-ize it :)

Egg Salad Recipe: (recipe serves 2-3 people.. or great for leftovers! )
6 Eggs
1/3c Mayo (home made paleo)
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1-2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Lemon juice
Onion powder
Dill
Salt/pepper

I start by hard-boiling 6 eggs.  Once they're ready (and cool enough to touch) I peal them and dice them. In the bowl I add my Paleo mayo, the dijon mustard and balsamic vinegar and stir around. The balsamic vinegar is really the secret ingredient in this dish that I truly believe takes the egg salad to the next level. Please note it does turn the color of the salad kind of an ugly yellow-brown color. If the color is too much of a turn off you can always buy white balsamic vinegar or possibly substitute apple cider vinegar or even white vinegar...my preference is for balsamic though..Once its nicely blended I add a squeeze of lemon juice..No more than a table spoon. Then I sprinkle onion powder to lightly dust the top of my mixture. I do the same thing but more liberally with the dill. Last add your salt and pepper and then mix everything together. Taste it make sure its to your liking and feel free to add any of the above ingredients to achieve it!!

Normally people enjoy their egg salad with chips or on a nice slice of white bread. Who needs that! I took a nice vine tomato and hollowed it out and stuffed my wonderful egg salad in there! Sprinkled a little dill on top and it was perfect!! I decided with the leftover inside of the tomato I could chop it up and add some cubed avocado, some minced onion and a little lemon juice and balsamic to pair perfectly with the dish.

Happy Friday everyone!!

Kim

Quick Monday Night Meal

Hello again!

What a busy first half of the week! Thankfully I've been able to find time for cooking meals. My monday I got home and wanted to make something that was quick because I got home so late! I have a few "go to" meals for days like these, and if my refrigerator is stocked properly before the start of the week these meals are a cinch! My monday evening meal was a Spicy Mayo Baked Salmon with a side of Green beans tossed with toasted almonds and coconut oil and some of my left over paleo coleslaw that I made over the weekend.

Spicy Mayo Recipe 

Paleo Mayo
Siracha (use with caution)
Rice vinegar
Lemon Juice
Garlic powder
Salt/Pepper

So I can't make this dish without my Spicy Mayo so I start with my already made paleo mayo, depending on how much you want to make..I like to make extra for later days or just to add to the side to my Salmon. So lets start with 1/2 cup of Paleo Mayo and 1 tsp of siracha (these are total guesses)..remember the more siracha you use..the spicer its going to be, so definitely use caution when you're making this and also remember that you can always make it more spicier (or add more mayo to lessen the heat) . I blend that together and it should give the mayo a very orangey/pink color. Then i squeeze 1/2 of a small lemon, and around a tablespoon of rice vinegar. I finish the Spicy Mayo with some garlic power (duh) and salt and pepper. Taste test when done to make sure you have the flavor you want!

Now the fun part, preheat the oven to 375. I usually buy the precut 6oz portions without the skin (personal preference) salt and pepper...and garlic powder..spray the pan with a little olive oil to avoid sticking. Once the salmon is placed on the pan I smothered it generously with my spicy mayo. It's okay..don't be shy! When the oven is preheated stick that baby in! I usually have it in for about 20-25 min.

While your salmon is cooking I take green beans and steam them for 3-4 min. During that time I throw some almonds in a pan and lightly toast them. I then melt coconut oil to the pan with some minced garlic and add my steamed green beans and toss them together for a few min.

Once everything is done and put on the plate I like to drizzle more spicy mayo on top, maybe some more siracha if you like the heat!

Kim

Recipe: Ultimate Paleo Whopper

Paleo Whopper...

Ultimate Paleo Whopper (2 burgers)

16 oz ground beef 85-15 Grassfed

Almond flour

Sweet Onion

garlic

garlic powder

salt/pepper

Boston leaf lettuce (4)

Bacon

Apple cider vinegar

Just as a preface, i'm horrible with measurements so bare with me!! Also a second note is that I love garlic in large amounts..and I realize not everyone is in love with it like I am, so just remember if you decide to recreate it choose your garlic amount wisely :)

Started off by mincing 1/4 of a small-medium sized sweet yellow onion. I also minced about 2-3..okay maybe 4 cloves of garlic (I know.. I know.. but I'll never have problems with vampires) Add both the minced onion and garlic to the beef and incorporate well. I added maybe a cap full of apple cider vinegar, some almond flour (just enough to hold everything together) ..I'll take a wild guess and say about 1/8 - 1/4 cup almond flour. Don't for get some salt and pepper to taste! Then I split the meat in half and shape my patties. These come out pretty thick!! You could easily make 3 burgers out of this amount..so either huge portion for two people or some good leftovers. Before sticking them on the grill I added some garlic powder and a little salt/pepper on top so that when you put them on the grill they will have a great crust and lock in all the juices!

Once  at a perfect rare-medium-rare they were pulled off the grill and ready for building!! You can get creative for what you like on your burgers. I put bacon, zesty paleo ranch, paleo onion rings, and tomato! I used Boston leaf lettuce in place of buns which were perfect to hold up to this juicy mess of a master piece!! And with a side of paleo coleslaw this meal was nothing less than epic. Enjoy!!