Alicia TL Hamilton

Chicken Thighs with Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce

Whole 30 compliant, commercially prepared sauces are sometimes difficult to find. I like a fair amount of sauces for my food so I often just make my own. I came up with some delicious teriyaki sauce to go on some chicken thighs. I love this chicken teriyaki served with Thai Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice.

Begin by preparing the the sauce:

Pineapple Teriyaki Sauce
8 ounces 100% pineapple juice
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup coconut aminos
1 clove garlic- crushed
1/2 sweet onion diced
4 dates soaked
2 Tablespoons red boat fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon ghee

1. Melt the ghee in a small pan over medium-high heat. Cook the sweet onion for 2-3 minutes until translucent and softened but not browned.

2. Add all the ingredients, including the onion, to a blender and blend well into a smooth sauce.

3. Place blended sauce in a small sauce pan over medium heat to simmer for 10-15 minutes to thicken.

Once the sauce is made you can prepare the chicken:

Preparing the chicken
4-6 Bone in and skin on chicken thighs
Salt and pepper for sprinkling
2 teaspoons ghee
Sesame seeds for sprinkling- optional

1. Start by removing the bones from the chicken thighs. Start at one end, and begin to cut out the bone being careful that you do not cut through the meat. Stay as close to the bone as possible to reserve the most meat on the thighs.

2. Season the thighs with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the skillet over medium-high heat and add in the ghee.

4. Cook the thighs for approximately 4-5 minutes per side until browned and cooked through or until a meat thermometer reaches 165 degrees F.

5. Add in a few scoops of the teryaki sauce to coat the sauce and thicken a bit more.

6. Slice the chicken into strips, add a little sauce from the pan to the chicken and sprinkle with a few sesame seeds.

7. Serve with Thai Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice.

Paleo, Recipes, Sauces, Whole 30

30

Grilled Green Shrimp Skewers

Grilled Green Shrimp Skewers

1 pound large, raw shrimp peeled and deveined
2 scallions roughly chopped
1/3 cup cilantro
1 clove garlic
1/3 cup olive oil
juice of 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
a few grinds of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper powder- optional

metal or bamboo skewers- if using bamboo skewers soak them for 20 minutes before using.

1. Process the scallions, cilantro, garlic, olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth.

2. Pour the the marinade over the shrimp, cover, and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours.

3. While the grill is heating, skewer the shrimp. Cook the shrimp about 2 minutes per side or until the shrimp becomes pink and is no longer translucent.

Serve the shrimp skewers with Pineapple Salsa and grilled avocado.

To make the grilled avocado simply slice a ripe avocado in half and remove the pit. Squeeze some lime juice over the avocado halves then simply gill them over the heated grill for a couple of minutes or until they are slightly browned and warmed throughout.

Paleo, Recipes, Whole 30

26

Pineapple Salsa

Pineapple salsa

2 cups fresh pineapple cut into small chunks
1/3 cup of sweet onion diced
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and diced
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

1. Prepare all the ingredients as listed above.

2. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

3. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.

Serve the salsa in the same manner as you would any salsa- with chips, on top of grilled meat, with some grilled shrimp skewers, or grilled tilapia.

Dressing & Condiments, Paleo, Recipes, Vegetarian, Whole 30

26

Grilled Artichokes

I absolutely love artichokes. In the past I’ve simply steamed the artichokes whole and then removed the undesired parts as I ate it. Since we are coming up on summer I wanted to play around with grilling artichokes.I didn’t want to grill them whole because I’m sure it would take forever. I found this great video from Gourmet Magazine on how to trim artichokes.

Here is what you will need:
1/2 to 1 artichoke per person.
1 recipe of Roasted Garlic and Bacon Aioli
To make it vegetarian serve it with Roasted Garlic Aioli instead

1. Simply trim the artichokes as shown on the video (linked above) then cut them in half.

2. Steam the artichokes for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan and rinse in cold water to stop the cooking process then pat them dry.

3. Drizzle the artichokes with olive oil, salt, & pepper.

4. Grill the artichokes on heated grill for 3-5 minutes each side to char slightly.

5. Serve them with aioli.

Make it vegetarian, Paleo, Recipes, Sauces, Tips and tricks, Vegetarian, Whole 30

Zesty Salmon Cakes

Zesty Salmon Cakes

1 (14.5 ounce) can of Salmon
¼ cup green onion
¼ cup yellow onion minced
¼ cup grated carrot
1/3 cup celery- finely diced
1 teaspoon lemon zest
½ Tablespoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
A few grinds of fresh black pepper
¼ cup almond meal
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons ghee
Lemon wedges to serve

Open the can of salmon, drain the liquid from the can, and transfer the salmon to a mixing bowl. Use your fingers to break up the fish into flakes and remove the bones.
Add the remaining ingredients to the salmon and mix well with hands to combine.
Measure about 1/3 cup scoop of the mixture and form into a patty that is approximately 1 inch think and 2 inches wide. Continue making patties until all the mixture is used- it should make approximately 4-6 patties.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat and melt the ghee.
Add 3-4 patties at a time (or whatever will fit) into the skillet and fry each side approximately 3 minutes or until browned. Continue cooking all the salmon cakes until they are all finished.
Serve with roasted garlic aioli and lemon wedges.

Paleo, Recipes, Whole 30

Bacon and Roasted Garlic Aioli

Alicia Hamilton2

Bacon and Roasted Garlic aioli
6 cloves of garlic
3 slices of compliant bacon
Olive oil for drizzling
1 egg yolk from a large egg
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard- make sure it is compliant!
1 cup extra light tasting olive oil
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
Kitchen supplies needed:
A small sheet of foil
Stick blender with immersion blender cup or a wide mouth mason jar
Measuring spoons
1 cup, spouted measuring cup- I like Pyrex- for measuring the olive oil
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place 6 cloves of garlic (peels still on) on the foil and drizzle with a little olive oil and a small sprinkle of kosher salt. Fold the foil into a packet and place in the preheated oven. Roast the garlic in the oven for approximately 35 minutes or until the garlic is soft and slightly browned. Let the garlic cool for a little while before removing the cloves from the peels and smashing and chopping until the garlic is in small pieces.

Fry the bacon over medium heat until browned and crispy. Drain the bacon on a paper towel and reserve the bacon grease. Once cool enough to handle break the bacon into small pieces.

Place egg yolk, water, lemon juice, mustard, and salt at the bottom of the cup.

Pour the bacon grease into the spouted measuring cup and then pour in the olive oil until 1 cup of oil is reached. Pour the oil on top of other ingredients in the blending cup.

Let all the ingredients settle for 45 seconds.

Place head of the stick blender all the way at the bottom of the cup. Switch the blender on and slowly lift the head of blender and tilt as necessary until all the oil has been emulsified.

Mix in the garlic and bacon pieces into the mayonnaise until well combined.

Dressing & Condiments, Paleo, Recipes, Sauces, Whole 30

Roasted Garlic Aioli

Alicia Hamilton3

Roasted Garlic Aioli

6 cloves of garlic
Olive oil for drizzling
1 egg yolk from a large egg
1 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard- make sure it is compliant!
1 cup extra light olive oil
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt

Kitchen supplies needed:
A small sheet of foil
Stick blender with immersion blender cup or a wide mouth mason jar
Measuring spoons
1 cup, spouted measuring cup- I like Pyrex
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Place 6 cloves of garlic (peels still on) on the foil and drizzle with a little olive oil and a small sprinkle of kosher salt. Fold the foil into a packet and place in the preheated oven. Roast the garlic in the oven for approximately 35 minutes or until the garlic is soft and slightly browned. Let the garlic cool for a little while before removing the cloves from the peels and smashing and chopping until the garlic is in small pieces.

3. Place egg yolk, water, lemon juice, mustard, and salt at the bottom of the cup.

4. Measure the oil using the measuring cup and pour the oil on top of other ingredients in the cup.

5. Let all the ingredients settle for 45 seconds.

6. Place head of the stick blender all the way at the bottom of the cup. Switch the blender on and slowly lift the head of blender and tilt as necessary until all the oil has been emulsified.

7. Mix in the garlic into the mayonnaise.

Here is the aioli on top of some Zesty salmon cakes.

Dressing & Condiments, Paleo, Recipes, Sauces, Whole 30

Roasting Garlic

Alicia Hamilton0

Roasting garlic is simple and easy. I love roasting garlic because it makes it soft, creamy and it brings out the sweetness of the garlic. Once roasted it can be added to sauces, condiments, or it can be used as a spread all on its own. Some people will roast an entire bulb of garlic at a time but I find I never need that much so I only roast the number of cloves I need at a time. If you do roast the entire bulb then you can slice off the top 1/4 inch off the tops so the cloves are exposed then adjust the roasting time to a bit longer- about 50-60 minutes. Recently I made some delicious Roasted Garlic Aioli and Roasted Garlic and Bacon Aioli with some of these roasted cloves.

Follow these simple steps to making some great roasted garlic:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Place desired number of cloves of garlic (peels still on) onto a sheet of foil and drizzle them with a little olive oil and a small sprinkle of kosher salt and a grind or two of black pepper.

3. Fold the foil into a packet and place in the preheated oven.

4. Roast the garlic in the oven for approximately 35 minutes or until the garlic is soft and slightly browned.

5. Let the garlic cool for a little while before popping the cloves from the peels. Then you can smash or chop as desired to add to the recipe of choice.

Paleo, Tips and tricks, Vegetarian, Whole 30

Make your own ketchup

Alicia Hamilton0

I love ketchup. I was one of those kids who put it on everything. Fortunately, I don’t eat this way anymore but I still enjoy some ketchup with burgers or on home fries. Most commercial ketchups are filled with high fructose corn syrup and preservatives. Making homemade is always a good option if you want to know everything that is in your food. I enjoy the complexity of the flavors of this ketchup a lot. It has a subtle sweetness and has a good mixture of spices in it’s but not too sweet either.

Ketchup

1- 7 ounce jar of tomato paste
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
Dash of ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground allspice
1 date coarsely chopped & soaked
3 Tablespoons water- or more to get the desired consistency

Start by soaking the date in some hot water. When it is a bit softened drain off the excess water. Add the date to a stick blender cup or a blender.
Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend for 30 seconds until the ingredients are well combined and make a smooth paste.
Store in an airtight container or jar in the fridge.

Dressing & Condiments, Paleo, Recipes, Sauces, Whole 30

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