Paleo Chorizo Sausage Sweet Potato Frittata with Caramelized Onions

Delicious for any meal!  I doubled it to make it for dinner for our family and served it with steamed broccoli and fruit.

• Ingredients
• 1 small sweet potato, or half of a large one
• 1 large yellow onion
• ½ lb chorizo pork sausage (I got mine at whole foods)
• ¼ cup ghee (or cooking fat of choice) for the onions
• 2 tbsp ghee (or cooking fat of choice) for the sweet potatoes
• ¼ tsp salt
• 6 eggs
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ⅛-1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. First caramelize the onions. Melt ¼ cup of ghee in a medium saute pan over med-low heat. Cut the onion into quarters and then slice very thin and evenly. Add the onions to the pan and toss with the ghee to coat. You will stir every once in a while to make sure they cook evenly. They will cook for about 30 minutes.
2. While the onions are cooking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9 inch pie plate or baking dish. Peel your sweet potato and chop off the ends. Slice it into very thin rounds, or if it's a thick one, cut in half and then slice thin.
3. Preheat a large heavy skillet over medium heat and add the 2 tbsp ghee, then the sweet potatoes. Toss them around so they cook evenly. You want them to cook until golden brown and soft.
4. Meanwhile don't forget to stir the onions! After the onions have been cooking 10 minutes, stir in the ¼ tsp salt and continue to cook over med-low heat.
5. Once the sweet potatoes are lightly browned and soft you can add them to the baking dish and spread them along the bottom. Keep the heat going in the pan and add the chorizo, breaking up lumps so it browns evenly. Cook the chorizo and continue to stir while breaking up lumps until it is fully browned. Then add it to the dish on top of the sweet potatoes.
6. By now the onions should be pretty caramelized - a light to medium golden brown color. Add them to the dish over the chorizo.
7. In a large bowl, whisk the 6 eggs and stir in the paprika, garlic powder, and remaining salt. Pour the egg mixture over the onions, chorizo and sweet potatoes and spread around so it covers everything.
8. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set and the frittata is bubbly and toasty. Remove from oven and let it sit for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Works great for any meal and for leftovers too.

Found on Paleo Running Momma

Crescent City Jambalaya

Delicious and easy to double for feeding a large crowd.

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 EACH green and yellow pepper
(can also add 2 stalks of celery and mushrooms... not part of the original recipe, but delicious additions)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) fire roasted or regular diced tomatoes
1 c. water
1 package of Jambalaya mix (like Zatarain's)
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I sub 1 pound of cooked diced chicken because Patrick doesn't like shrimp)
1 pound spicy sausage cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in large deep skillet or Dutch oven on medium heat. Add onion and peppers; cook and stir 7 minutes or until vegetables begin to soften.

2. Sitr in tomatoes, water and Jambalaya mix. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

3. Stir in shrimp and sausage. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer or just until shrimp turn pink and rice and veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

Honey Cashew Chicken and Rice

This one was passed to us by Nick and Karen years ago, and I still make it often. Every time I make it, it gets rave reviews, and it is easy and quick, which makes it a winner in my book. It is originally from myrecipes.com

Yield: 4 servings

1 c. rice (prepare as directed on package, omitting oil)
1 lb. Chicken breast, cut in cubes
2 T. cornstarch
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
1 T. canola oil
1 T. dark sesame oil (Since I don't have this, I just add another T of canola oil)
2 c. broccoli florets (I use frozen)
1 c. frozen shelled edamame (I usually sub green beans)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 c. cashews, unsalted
1 T. rice vinegar (I just use distilled vinegar)
3 T. honey
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. hot sauce (adjust for your tastes - I use less because the kids don't like spicy)

1. Combine chicken and next three ingredients in a bowl and stir to coat. Heat large skillet over medium-high. Add oils. Add chicken and com 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Increase heat to high and add broccoli and next 4 ingredients (through red bell pepper). Cook 5 minutes until veggies are crisp-tender and chicken is done, stirring frequently.

2. Stir in cashews.

3. Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a  small bowl. Stir with a whisk. Add to chicken mixture, and toss to coat. Serve with rice.

Sweet Potatoes with Shredded Chicken

This is a nice change of pace from the typical dinners we make. The rotisserie chicken is delicious, and there's usually enough leftover to use for a different recipe that week. You can also cook the sweet potatoes ahead of time to make for a quicker meal option during the week.

6 sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped celery
1/4 cup dried tart cherries
1/4 cup golden raisins
3 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
1/2 cup dry-roasted cashews, unsalted
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions


1. Preheat oven to 400°. Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork. Rub potatoes with olive oil; wrap each in foil. Place potatoes on a jelly-roll pan; bake at 400° for 1 hour or until tender. Partially split potatoes in half lengthwise; fluff the flesh with a fork. Sprinkle evenly with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil; swirl to coat. Add celery; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cherries and next 5 ingredients (through salt); cook 1 minute. Stir in chicken and cashews; cook 2 minutes. Sprinkle with onions. Top potatoes with chicken mixture.

Recipe courtesy of Cooking Light

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

A favorite go-to. This is delicious, inexpensive, and filling. We sometimes skip the tortillas and serve it over rice instead as a burrito bowl.

3 cups sweet potatoes (peeled and diced)
1/2 onion (chopped)

Saute in large frypan in 1 tablespoon oil just until tender. Add water or apple juice as needed to prevent sticking. (Cooks much faster if you cover it)

2 cups cooked black beans
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add and cook until heated through.

8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (shredded)

Divide bean mixture and cheese among the tortiillas and roll up. Place in a 9x13 baking pan. Lightly spray with olive oil if desired. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with sour cream, salsa, and/or fresh cilantro

Coconut-Oat Chicken Nuggets

We've made this twice in the past week. It was so delicious!

2 pounds Chicken Breast, pat dry, sliced into 2 inch nuggets
1 cup oats
3/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut Flake
a few pinches Garlic Salt (to taste, you can add more later)
a few pinches Black Pepper
1/4 tsp ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon Smoked Paprika (add more or less to taste)
1 teaspoon dried Parsley
1/2 cup Egg Whites
Optional: Red Pepper Flakes or Cayenne for some heat. Combine with other dry ingredients.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with rack in the middle of the oven. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place a lightly sprayed wire rack in center of baking sheet. Place oats, coconut, garlic salt & spices in the bowl of your food processor. Grind to fine bread crumb consistency. Taste mixture to see if you want to add any more spice. In another bowl, whisk egg whites.

With one hand dip the pieces of chicken in egg whites, let the excess drip off. With the other hand coat chicken in the oat/coconut mixture. Lightly spray both sides of the chicken nuggets. Lay nuggets down in a single layer on the greased rack.

Bake in oven for about 20-25 minutes, until cooked through. Don't let chicken overcook as you want to keep them crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. You can finish & crisp up the nuggets under a low broiler for about 2 minutes, just watch they do not burn.

Recipe courtesy of marlameridith.com

Pierogis

Pierogi Dough

Recipe for about 60 pierogis         (make some caramelized onions ahead of time for the sautéing step)

6 cups flour   (added a lot more flour when kneading the dough)

2 egg yolks

1 egg

8 oz. butter (2 sticks)

1 ½ cup water

½ tsp salt

-Sift flour to the bowl and add salt as you go.  Make a little hole in the center and add all other ingredients. 

-Knead until smooth (this takes quite a bit of flour on the surface) and let it stand for about 20 minutes.

- Using 1/8 of the dough at a time, roll out to 1/16 inch thickness: add flour to the rolling pin and surface

-Cut circles with a biscuit cutter or floured glass (we used a 4” circle bowl to cut)

-Fill the circles with a full spoon of filling (golf ball size), pinch to seal (you can use a little water on the edges, it will make it easier to get the dough to stick together.

-Boil 6-8 minutes (2 minutes after they start floating).   If you plan to make ahead and freeze them, remove when they float and put the pierogis in a zip lock gallon bag with a little bit of olive oil to keep them from sticking together)

-Sauté in caramelized onions adding butter or oil to the pan if necessary. The oil from the frozen ones was enough to sauté the pierogis.

Potato and Cheese Filling

6 cups of mashed potatoes (cold)

2 Tablespoons grated onion

4 Tbsp butter

4 Cups of cheddar cheese (grated)   I used Murray cheese which had lots of good flavor)

Salt and pepper for taste

-Cook the onion in butter until tender.  Combine it with potatoes and cheese, add salt and pepper.