Steak with Swiss Chard

Well, it's a Friday evening and I just finished cleaning the heck out of my living room. I spent at least 4 hours vacuuming the rug, sweeping and mopping the floor, vacuuming the couches and giant bean bag, fluffing pillows, sweeping under the couches, wiping down the dining room table and chairs, and mopping the tile in the hallway. To say the least, I'm beat. On the bright side, I did spend the evening with two of my delightful friends, KAOS and PC, painting pottery. I was so engrossed in trying to decide what to do and then actually executing my plan, that I forgot to take photos. It seems like I can only remember to photograph food. Anywho, here's some of the food I remembered to take a photo of...

Steak with Swiss Chard and Roasted Peppers

1 top sirloin steak (other cuts work too)
salt and pepper, to taste

1 bunch Swiss chard, chopped into 1-2" pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
1 pinch crushed red pepper
2 Tbls ghee

Roasted Peppers

1. Set oven to broil.

2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over high heat on the stove. Once hot, add the steak and cook for 2 minutes on each side.

3. Place the steaks 3" away from the top of the oven. Cook for 13 minutes, flip, and cook for another 13 minutes (for medium-rare).

4. While the steaks are cooking, heat 2 Tbls ghee over medium heat. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes and the minced garlic, and saute for a minute or so.

5. Add the Swiss chard, cover, and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Flip over the leaves, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes. The chard should be soft and look like sauteed spinach leaves. If it's dry, add a tablespoon of water and cook for another couple minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

7. Once the steaks are done, remove pan from the oven, transfer steaks to a plate, and cover with tin foil. Let rest for 5 minutes. Then serve with Swiss chard and roasted red pepper.

Chemo - Part 2 - Day 1

Today was our first day of chemo. We all went to the oncologist for this first one so that we would know what the procedure is for when I'm not in town. Each patient gets a reclining chair in a "room" with curtains as walls between each patient. There is a small TV with 15 channels and a DVD player for you to use, but my family each brought something to do. A book, the newspaper, and my iPad for typing up this blog post. Oh, and for your first day of chemo, they give you a folder of information for you to review if you wish. My dad is currently highlighting the important parts of one of the booklets. Did I mention that we came prepared with highlighters? Yeah, that's how we roll...

Today's cladribine drip took two hours, but the overall visit lasted four hours. We were told to expect each visit to take roughly that long. We started off with Zofran, "The Mercedes of Anti-Nausea Medications," which is taken orally, so requires some time to kick in. After that, we chatted with the nurse for a little bit. She gave us a brief summary of what to expect and what to watch out for: shortness of breath, red blotches, itching, lower back pain, and sore throat. If we notice any of these, we're supposed to let her know immediately. (So far, so good.) The nurse then inserted the IV, which is to be kept in for the next three days. Who knew that an IV connection could remain for that long? She connected a bag of saline "to keep things flowing" and then connected the cladribine bag via a pump which maintains a steady flow of the chemo drug.

Because we were here during lunch hour, we each brought something to snack on. Altogether we brought water, yogurt, almonds, dried cranberries, dried blueberries, Toasted Oatmeal Squares cereal, a Diet Coke, Sweet Potato Scrambled Eggs, carrots, celery, and pistachios. I ate the eggs.

Here's what I put into my Sweet Potato Scrambled Eggs (mainly a mix of leftovers):

2 eggs

1/4 cup baked sweet potato, mashed

1 handful of celery, chopped

6 cherry tomatoes, quartered

a pinch each of oregano, basil, salt, and pepper

Start with the celery in the pan, adding the tomatoes once the celery has softened a bit. Add the sweet potato, whisked eggs, and seasoning, cooking until the eggs are done.

This morning, before heading off to the doctor, I whipped up some Stuffed Peppers to cook in the slow-cooker while we were at the doctor.

Stuffed Pepper with Rice

4 bell peppers, thoroughly scrubbed

1 1/4 lb ground beef

1/3 cup + 1 Tbls olive oil

2 Tbls lime juice

3 chipotle peppers

2 tsp adobo sauce (the sauce that canned chipotle peppers come in)

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup chopped green bell peppers

2 cups cauliflower, roughly 1.5" diameter bunches

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the olive oil, lime juice, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, cumin, oregano, paprika, pepper, salt, and green peppers. Mix in the ground beef and set aside.

2. While the beef is marinating, prep the bell peppers (you can use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and remove the white flesh on the inside of the pepper.

3. Put your cauliflower into a food processor and pulse 6 times, or until the cauliflower has been reduced to rice-sized pieces.

4. Heat ~1 Tbls of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Transfer the ground beef mixture to the skillet and brown the beef. Once the beef has finished cooking, remove from heat and stir in the cauliflower.

5. Spoon the ground beef and cauliflower into the bell peppers, leaving 1/4" of space from the top. Brush the outsides of the peppers with a little bit of olive oil.

6. Place the peppers into the slow-cooker, cover, and place on the lowest setting. Cook for 2 hours.

Before

After

This really only needs to cook on low for a couple hours, but let it go for as long as you're away. I'd suggest cooking this one weekend while you're at home doing chores, or running a few errands.

Another note about this dish. It can be pretty spicy depending on how many chipotle peppers you add, so this would be best at the beginning of chemo before any potential stomach/intestinal issues pop up. Spiciness doesn't always agree with people.

Tilapia Ceviche

Tilapia Ceviche
2 tilapia fillets
2 Tbls coconut oil, melted
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1/4 green pepper, finely chopped
10 yellow cherry tomatoes, finely chopped
2 Tbls fresh parsley, chopped
2 1/2 Tbls fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp sea salt
3 Tbls lime juice, fresh if possible
1 tsp hot sauce (i.e.,Tabasco)
2 Tbls olive oil
1 avocado
extra cilantro for garnish

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat both sides of the tilapia fillets with the coconut oil and cook for 5 minutes per side, or until thoroughly cooked.

2. While the fish is cooking, combine all of the remaining ingredients, except for the avocado and extra cilantro.

3. Cut the tilapia into small pieces. Combine with the mixture you just made and place in the fridge for a couple hours for the flavors to meld

4. Remove from the fridge. Chop up your avocado and combine it with your tilapia mixture. Plate and garnish with cilantro if desired. And you're done.

You can use lettuce, spinach, kale, Paleo crackers, or just a fork to eat the ceviche.

Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Mini Peppers

I had an open can of chipotle peppers from the Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes I made the other day, so I decided to use a few more of the peppers. I also happened to stop by Sam's Club after work last Friday and found mini sweet bell peppers, and I stopped at the Whole Foods on the way home from crew practice and bought pasture-raised split chicken breast. And so I decided to combine the results of my grocery shopping sprees.

Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Mini Peppers

1 lb chicken breast, pasture-raised, grass-fed (Paleo)
2 1/2 cup spinach, thoroughly rinsed and dried
1/3 + 1 Tbls cup olive oil
2 Tbls lime juice
5 small cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1/4 onion, chopped (you can use more if you like, but I don't really like onion)
3 chipotle peppers, minced
3 tsp adobo sauce (the sauce that the canned chipotle peppers come in)
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
20 mini peppers (you can only see 14 in the photo, but trust me, you'll make enough for 20)
1 quart-sized Ziploc bag

1. Chop 4 cloves of garlic and the chipotle peppers. Put into a small bowl and mix with 1/3 cup olive oil, lime juice, oregano, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper.
2. Place your chicken breast into the Ziploc bag and add 2 Tbls of the mixture. Place in the fridge for 2-3 hours.
3. While the chicken sits, chop off the tops of the mini peppers, and scrap out the seeds and fleshy insides. Set aside.

4. After the chicken has soaked in the chipotle seasoning for a couple hours, heat the oven to 350 F. Cook the chicken for 20 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Remove the chicken from the oven and set aside to let the chicken cool.

5. While the chicken cools, heat 1 Tbls olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and 1 clove of garlic, minced. Cook until the onions are translucent. Add the spinach and wilt the spinach.
6. After the chicken has cooled, shred with your hands. Add into the pan with the onions, garlic, and spinach. Mix in the remaining sauce. Cook for another few minutes until the sauce has been absorbed into the chicken.
7. Stuff the mini peppers with the chicken mix and spread on a tin foil-lined baking sheet. Place the pan into the oven and cook for 20 minutes at 350 F.

Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

I found this recipe last week and wanted to give it a try. Here's the original recipe:
http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/healthy-chipotle-chicken-sweet-potato-skins/

Really all that needs to be done to make this recipe Paleo is to not use cheese or Greek yogurt, depending on how Paleo/Primal you are. I changed the heat and timing a little to suit my oven. I also made a little more sauce.

Chipotle Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

3 sweet potatoes

1.5 pound boneless skinless chicken breast

2.5 cups spinach

Chipotle Sauce

1/3 cups olive oil

1 1/2 Tbls lime juice

4 cloves garlic, minced or grated

4 whole chipotle pepper, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin

2 1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Wash your sweet potatoes and prick all over with a fork. Place in the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes or until fork tender. Place your chicken in a baking dish and rub with a tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in the oven with the potatoes and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and shred the chicken with your hands. When the sweet potatoes are done cut in half and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes.
2. While the potatoes and chicken are baking... In a medium size bowl combine the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chipotle peppers, oregano, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.
3. Heat a small skillet over medium heat and wilt the spinach (this can also be done in the microwave). Toss the spinach and shredded chicken together, set aside and keep warm.
4. Scrape the sweet potato out of the peel, leaving a medium size layer of flesh inside with the peel and place in a baking dish. Brush the skins with with a little of the chipotle sauce and bake for 5-10 minutes until nice and crisp. While the skins bake mix the spinach, chicken and chipotle sauce together.
5. Remove the skins from the oven, and top with your chicken mixture and fresh cilantro. Eat. Enjoy.

Spaghetti with Roasted Grape Tomatoes

I finally got a spaghetti squash to taste delicious. The first two times that I attempted it, the result tasted horrible. Seriously. LMR and I coated it with more and more pesto trying to get it to taste good, but it didn't work. It was still terrible. This one is much better. And it's so colorful!

Spaghetti with Roasted Grape Tomatoes

1 spaghetti squash

2 cups shredded kale

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup chopped carrots

1 1/2 cup broccoli

1/2 cup each of chopped red, yellow, and orange bell peppers

2 cups grape tomatoes, sliced in half

4 Tbls extra virgin olive oil

Cooking supplies:

2 baking sheets

2 frying pans, 1 needs a matching lid

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and brush the flesh with extra virgin olive oil.

Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Place the spaghetti squash face down on the lined baking sheet.

Place into the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes or until the skin is squishy when poked.

While the squash is cooking, start on your veggies. Prep all of the veggies (rinsing, shredding, chopping, etc.). Heat 2 Tbls of olive oil in large pan. Put the kale, broccoli, and carrots into this pan and stir to coat evenly with olive oil. Sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. The kale will turn dark green, and the carrots and broccoli will be soft.

In a separate pan, toss in the mushrooms and peppers. Stir occasionally.

Remove from heat after 10-15 minutes, or until the mushrooms have been cooked down. Mix in with the kale, carrots, and broccoli, and cover to keep warm.

When there is roughly 15 minutes left for the squash you can start working on the tomatoes. In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with 1 Tbls olive oil and a couple shakes of salt. Spread the tomatoes onto the second pan and put into the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the squash from the oven and flip over. Drag a fork across the flesh and the squash will come off in strands. It will look like spaghetti.

Scoop the "spaghetti" into your serving bowls and mix with the veggies. Stir in some of the roasted tomatoes and top with as many extra roasted tomatoes as you want.

Go Bad and Go Big

"WHY?" I ask you, "Why?" I was bad, REALLY bad, at lunch yesterday. I wasn't feeling very good; I had a sore throat, just felt generally icky, and was having an incredibly hard time staying awake. I blame running outside and "sucking up" (in my dad's words) allergens, because the sore throat kicked in shortly after my run on Tuesday. Anyways, when I don't feel good, my willpower is zilch. And I guess I have this idea that eating food will make me feel better. Does it? Hell no. And after eating a small square of lasagna I felt even worse. Not only did I have a sore throat and my ever-present headache, but also I could feel the "bad" food just sitting in my stomach. If that food could talk, it'd probably say something along the lines of "F' you!", "Gotchya!", and You're gonna suffer now!" That was one of those decisions that, as soon as I finished eating it (and even slightly before I finished), I thought I really wish I hadn't done that. I wish I could take that back. That was stupid. But I can't undo it. Ctrl-Z does me no good. (Did you know that Ctrl-Y is "re-do"?) There's no way to take it back aside from sticking a finger down my throat to make myself throw up. And I don't do that. Nor does it work on me anyways. I've tried in the past when I've accidentally eaten something with shrimp/shellfish in it, and apparently my gag reflex isn't strong enough.

So sadly, I got the spend the afternoon suffering through a sore throat, achy body, and angry tummy. If it wouldn't have drawn attention, I probably would have smashed my head on the desk a few times for being so idiotic. And do you want to know what the worst part was?? The food wasn't even that good. Stupid catered food from lunch meetings. If only my fellow Paleo-ish buddy (BA) was around to smack some sense into me before I ate anything. I must remember that if I'm going to slip up, I might as well do it at a fancy restaurant with high quality food, or at home, where I know the food is going to taste good and I know what went into the meal, like homemade pasta using my nifty pasta maker. Why do I make such stupid decisions???

In response to my bad decision, I made a Paleo version of lasagna. Now most of you probably think that I'd substitute the lasagna noodles with eggplant, but you're wrong. I hate eggplant. I've tried to like it in the past, but no matter how many times I've tried it, I can never finish the dish. Since going Paleo, a lot of my taste preferences have changed, but eggplant is not one of those. Instead of eggplant "noodles," I used sweet potatoes.

Paleo Lasagna

(prep steps are color-coded)

1/2 lb chicken, in strips or cubed

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 tsp pepper

1 link of all-natural sausage

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise (say hello to the mandoline)

1/2 cup canned coconut milk

1 acorn squash, cubed
1 1/2 Tbls olive oil
2 Tbls olive oil

1 1/2 yellow onion

2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup artichoke hearts

1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

2/3 red pepper, sliced

3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

3/4 jalapeno, thinly sliced

Mix the purple ingredients in a ziploc bag and marinade the chicken for 2+ hours. After the chicken is chillin' in the fridge, prep your blue ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Pull out that acorn squash and remove the outer shell and the seeds. Chop the acorn squash into bite size pieces. Pull out a large square of tin foil and put the squash into the tinfoil, drizzling with 1 1/2 Tbls of olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Fold the tinfoil over the squash and put in the oven on 400F for ~30-40 minutes.


Heat 2 Tbls olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat to start cooking the green ingredients. Once hot, add the onions and garlic, cooking until onions are translucent. While cooking the onions, season with salt and pepper. Add the peppers, acorn squash, jalapeno, oregano, cayenne pepper, and 1/4 tsp garlic salt, cooking for another 10 minutes.  Mix in the mushrooms, artichokes, and cherry tomatoes. Cook for another 10 minutes. All of your veggies should be soft at this point. In a bowl, mix your coconut milk with 1/4 tsp of garlic salt, and a few shakes of salt and pepper.

Lower your oven from 400F to 375F. And it's time to start layering. Grab an 8"x8" pan and grease the pan (I used a little EVOO). Begin by spreading a layer of sweet potatoes. Overlap the edges of the slices. Next layer is your veggies, followed by the acorn squash, and then your meat. Repeat until you run out of ingredients (I got two sets in). Top with a layer of sweet potatoes. Pour the coconut milk over. So for you visual learners, out there:

Coconut Milk

Sweet Potato

Purple
Blue

Green

Sweet Potato

Purple
Blue

Green

Sweet Potato

Cover your pan with tin foil and place in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes. Check to see if the sweet potatoes are fully baked. If not, cook longer, checking every 5 minutes until they are ready. Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Paleo Pizza and Running

For some reason, I find that when I cook during the week, it usually takes me a long time. And by the time that I actually finish whatever it is that I'm making, I'm not really hungry anymore and it's about time for me to go to bed. Sigh. At least I know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow.

I went for a run yesterday after I got home and unloaded the groceries into my fridge. I started my run around 7:15p.m. today, with the temperature at about 86°F. My old running coaches always said to dress for weather 10°F higher than what it is, because that's what it'll feel like. And let me tell you, between the heat outside, the humidity, and the amount of heat my body was generating, I felt like I was cooking from the inside out. My legs started hurting that night, which only warned me how much it'll hurt this morning. When I stiffly walked into work this morning, you know the culprit.

I wanted to make something that I hadn't done in a while, so I decided to make some Paleo pizza.

Paleo Pizza Crust

1/2 cup almond flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp basil

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground pepper

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir up the dry ingredients. Taste to see if you want any other seasonings (then add said seasonings). Crack and whisk two eggs in a separate bowl before mixing in with the dry ingredients.  Use your hands to knead the dough to make sure everything is fully incorporated. Place the dough onto a well-greased or parchment paper-lined baking pan, and spread (using your hands or a rolling pin) until roughly 1/4" thick. Place is preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crust is solid and starting to brown on the edges. And now your pizza crust is done. Voilà!


I topped my crust with a mixture of 1/4 chopped onion, 1/3 of a small red bell pepper, 1/3 of jalapeno pepper, 1/2 cup of quartered cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup mushrooms, 1 cup spinach, 1 clove garlic minced, and 3 chiffonaded basil leaves that I had cooked in a pan for about 20 minutes. Delish! The basil definitely gave it a good flavor!

Chicken Basquaise

Last night GS and I cooked dinner. We looked through a French cookbook and decided on Chicken Basquaise. It gets its name from the French Basque style of cooking.

As a warning, this dish takes a while to prepare. I'm not exactly a fast vegetable chopper, but honestly that's not what makes the process long. It really comes down to the fact that you cook the veggies by themselves for about 55 minutes. Then you combine the chicken and veggies and cook for another ~20 minutes. So cooking time comes out to be about 1 hour and 20 minutes if you're operating at max efficiency. If you take a little time to transfer from one task to another and add in the prep time for the veggies, you're looking at roughly 2 hours before you can eat.

Chicken Basquaise

      cooking tool: deep-sided skillet with cover or Dutch oven (at least 1)

4 lbs chicken breast, cut in half

5 tbls olive oil

2 onions, sliced

4 green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced in 1/2" strips

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced in 1/2" strips

3 mild chiles, thinly sliced

6 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme

1/4-1/2 tsp Piment d'Espelette (chili powder will work as well)

1 tsp salt + to taste

pepper to taste

Heat 2 tbls olive oil in a deep-sided skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, cooking for 10 minutes or until soft but without any change in color. Stir every few minutes. While the onions are cooking, prep all of the peppers and chiles. Add these to the onions with 1 tbls of olive oil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes until the peppers are soft. After 20 minutes, add the tomatoes, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, Piment d'Espelette (chili powder), 1 tsp salt, and pepper to taste. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.

While the peppers, onions, and spices are cooking, prep your chicken. Heat 2 tbls olive oil over medium heat in a second pan/skillet. Pat the chicken breasts dry and place in hot oil. Cook the first side for 5 minutes (browning the chicken), then flip over and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside. Pour 3/4 cup white wine into the pan to deglaze the pan. Cook until the liquid is reduced to ~2 tbls. Add the chicken into the pan again and cook for roughly 4 minutes. Spoon the pepper/onion mixture over the chicken. Cook for 20 minutes. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked through before serving. (The recipe we used recommended that you serve over rice, but since that's not paleo, your other options are eat it by itself or eat with cauliflower rice).

Sunburn for the Pale

By Monday evening, I had already managed to get sunburned. It's a really unfortunate sunburn on the back of my thighs and my upper back, so it makes sitting and laying down very uncomfortable. By some miracle, I'm not sunburned down the middle of my back. My sides? Yes. Center of the back where I can't actually reach? Nope. The thing I really don't understand is how I always get sunburned despite reapplying sunscreen repeatedly. I also want to know how my parents are so much tanner than I am. I mean, I am the product of them, so shouldn't my skin tone be at least the same as one of theirs, if not somewhere in between? Ah, genetics... how I don't fully understand you. Yes, I spend a significant amount of time hiding from the sun at work, whereas my mom takes the puppies for walks and plays tennis on the weekends. But even during winter she seems to have more color to her. And my dad? He's just naturally more tan. He's like me and spends an exorbitant amount of daylight hours locked inside an office building and yet, if you take a photo of him and me, you see my white skin boldly declaring my paleness!

Monday night dinner was burgers that my mom had brought. My dad chose to have his with bread, but my mom and I stuck with the Paleo version.  I served mine on a bed of romaine hearts and is topped (from bottom up) with tomato, cucumbers, roasted onions, orange bell peppers, mushrooms, and Spicy Kale Chips (recipe below). These kale chips gave the burger a real kick. I also topped the burger with some spicy Dijon mustard just because.

Spicy Kale Chips

1 bunch kale chips

2 tbls olive oil

1 tsp black pepper

2 tsp garlic salt

2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Rip the kale into small one-inch pieces. Place into a gallon size Ziploc bag with the other ingredients and toss to coat evenly. Spread onto greased baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, stirring halfway through to make sure that the kale chips don't stick to the baking sheet.

Almond Chicken Scrambled Eggs

Monday was my first full day on the beach, so I had to start off my vacation the right way. After going for a short 2-mile jog with my dad (I'm slowly working my way up to half-marathon distance by next January), I came home and made some breakfast for my mom and me (my dad chose to eat cereal for breakfast). Here's what I whipped together.

Almond Chicken Scrambled Eggs (serves 2)

4 eggs

1/2 Almond-Crusted Chicken Breast, sliced

1/2 orange pepper, cut into 1 cm pieces

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste (~3/4 tsp each)

2 tsp olive oil

Heat the olive oil over medium heat on the stove. Add the orange pepper, season with a couple sprinkles of salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes before adding the chicken. Season the chicken and pepper with paprika, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Add in the whisked eggs. Once the eggs are cooked through, plate and top with salsa (optional).

More Almond-Crusted Chicken Scrambled Eggs...

Tuesday's breakfast included 1/2 zucchini, sliced and halved, 2 cups of spinach, 1/2 of a red pepper, 1/3 of an onion, and 2 chicken breasts, sliced. Start with the onions in the pan because they require more cook time, then add, in this order: the red pepper, zucchini, and chicken, about 2 minutes apart. Mix in 6 eggs. Heap onto a plate, add a porch on the beach, and enjoy! It tastes particularly good after a three-mile jog.

Chorizo Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Chorizo Turkey Stuffed Peppers

I found the recipe below for Chorizo Poppers on The Food Lovers Kitchen. Instead of using 1 lb of mini bell peppers, I used 3 large bell peppers. I also added some garlic salt.

Ingredients


The night before:
1 lb Ground Turkey
1 Tbsp Paprika
1 tsp Black Pepper
2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1/2 Tbsp Cumin
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

For when you're actually making the meal:
4 large Bell Pepper, tops removed, and seeded (I went with one red, one yellow, and one orange and had just over 1 cup of meat leftover)
1 cup Tomato, diced
1/2 Onion, chopped
[1 Tbsp Cilantro, minced] - Recommended unless you're like me and don't have any at home

In a bowl, season the ground turkey with garlic salt, chili powder, paprika, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper, and apple cider vinegar.

Use your hands to mix the turkey and spices.

Cover the seasoned turkey with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Rinse the bell peppers using cool water. Cut off the tops of peppers, and remove the seeds and membrane from the insides. Set aside peppers.

Brown the seasoned ground turkey in a skillet over medium heat. While this is browning, chop the tomato and onion. Remove the turkey from heat, and stir in chopped tomato and onion. I didn't have any cilantro at home, but if you do, now would be a good time to add 1 Tbls of minced cilantro.

Stuff bell peppers with chorizo turkey mixture, and place on a baking sheet (I lined mine with tinfoil for easy clean up).

Bake peppers for 20–25 minutes at 400°F, or until peppers are somewhat soft.