End of Month...

So I work as an accounts receivable rep. It is SUPER exciting work. (*drip drip dripping with sarcasm*)  Especially right now. This is end of month, so we are processing every last invoice humanly possible before we close the month books. I spend HOURS upon HOURS crunching numbers, typing invoices, calling field techs to get their paperwork in so I can repeat the process. This goes on for about 2 weeks before the month finally closes out. Tomorrow is when it closes so today and tomorrow morning are the big pushes. It is tiring. It isn't manual labor exhausting...it is mentally exhausting. I think the repetitiveness and the numbers and the fact that you don't move from your desk for days on end...well...it is just exhausting.

Needless to say, some nights I don't want to work very hard on dinner and other nights, I don't mind putting in a little bit of effort if it means I can have some serious comfort food. Tonight....I just wanted comfort food. Being Paleo, comfort food takes on a new shape, taste, smell, whatever. All I could think of on my way home was beef stroganoff. In my mind I am imagining thick beefy sauce laced with sour cream and mushrooms and onions all poured over a big bed of egg noodles and sprinkled with fresh parsley and a little parmesan cheese. My mouth is now watering just thinking about it...again. Growing up...this was a staple in my house...and I could never get enough of it. I would eat so many helpings you would have to roll me to the couch to let me digest before I could function again. Between this and spaghetti...it is a wonder how I managed to stay a normal sized child.

Obviously, I can't eat beefy deliciousness laced with sour cream (since I can't have dairy) and poured over a bed of egg noodles (because I don't eat grains). So what is a girl to do!? How do I go about having my comfort food...the very thing I need to get me through this difficult dreary end of month evening? Why by golly...I find someone who, in their infinite wisdom has come up with the very answers!!

Here's the thing, I love to cook and I will very often come up with something on my own or modify to make something work...but then there are times when you find a recipe and it is perfection just as it is. So here you go...here is the super awesome comfort dinner from tonight and the links to where you can find the super awesome chefs who created the recipes. Enjoy!

• Paleo Beef Stroganoff by Paleo Mama

Mad props from one mama to another...mad props! The boy ate 2 helpings and asked for a third and then requested this for tomorrow night's dinner as well!

Since I can't have egg noodles I poured this over top of smashed cauliflower. I have tried many recipes of mashed cauliflower in search of something that came close enough to mashed potatoes that my non-paleo eaters in the house might consider trying them. I have only ever found one recipe that could get the job done. No offense to any others out there but here is my favorite, hands down....and from what I can tell from the empty bowl, the family would agree.

• Garlic Cauliflower "Mashed Potatoes" by Nom Nom Paleo

Have a wonderful holiday weekend!! School starts next week for the kiddos...let's see what we can come up with! :)

Bork Bork Bork....

I wanna know who started the evil lie that burgers or meatballs or meatloaf or ground whatever needed to have eggs in them to hold them together. Since discovering my son's egg allergy I quickly realized that these things do NOT require egg to hold them together. As a matter of fact, a lot of things can be made without eggs to hold them together. Burgers and meatballs and meatloaf in particular though contain plenty of fat and
meaty goodness to hold everything together. You aren't baking a cake you are cooking meat - leave the eggs in the fridge.

As you can tell, today's recipe is all about meat. Now, I realize this is no big revelation to make a burger without egg (for some people who already know the secret that they don't need them) but these burgers will BLOW YOUR MIND!  No, seriously, they are pretty awesome.

Bork Burgers

• 1 lb. ground bison (Note: Buffalo will also work since, in America, we use these terms interchangeably.)
• 1 lb. ground pork
• 2 Tbsp. Special Spice Blend (see below)

1. Thoroughly mix together in a large bowl.
2. Grill or broil until cooked through and juices run clear. (Please remember you are working with pork...don't under cook these.)

Special Spice Blend
This can be made in bulk and kept in a cabinet to sprinkle into anything you want. It is a perfect seasoning salt. This has replaced Lawry's for our household.  Simply mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl then transfer to your favorite spice container.

• 1/2 C. Paprika (I used smoked, but a sweet paprika would work as well.)
• 1/2 C. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp kosher salt, finely ground
• 1 Tbsp mustard powder
• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 Tbsp garlic powder
• 2 Tbsp onion powder
• 2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp ground black pepper
• Cayenne, to taste (optional)

Okey Dokey...enjoy! :)

Egg Free Paleo...

I suck at blogging. Seriously, I can't seem to keep up with writing blogs on a regular basis. I don't know how other people do it. I constantly think that I would like to start a blog, I started this one. I think, "I'm going to do better this time." I don't. I fail to open my laptop on nights I'm exhausted or the night gets away from me....or something really great is on TV or a good book keeps calling my name. I guess the fact that I am not a good blogger makes me a novice at that too. Wow...I really did well at picking my blog name.

Anyway, someone the other day told me I should start writing down my Paleo recipes. Many Paleo recipes contain eggs. My son is allergic to eggs so I am forced to modify most recipes pretty extensively and in many cases simply scratch the whole thing and figure it out on my own. There are probably many others like myself who love eating Paleo but have trouble with the mass quantity of eggs that seem to be consumed.  Don't get me wrong, I am not allergic to eggs. I will often have a hard cooked egg for breakfast on the go. But for dinner and weekend breakfasts and lunches...well...I gotta be able to feed my kiddo safely.

Tonight I will begin, hopefully, the journey of bringing you my novice approach to Paleo eating but more specifically, Paleo eating without the eggs. Let it be known, there are many occasions I have to "cheat" on the idea of Paleo for this to work - don't be a hater, I am doing the best I can. Also, as previously mentioned, I suck at blogging - there could be weeks between blogs - don't be a hater, I am doing the best I can.  Oh and yes, I know I am using other people's recipes - I will give credit where credit is due, promise. My inspiration recipes come from wonderfully creative people who are FAR better bloggers than me. I will attempt to do better just for you though. So, with no further ado, here is your first recipe and one of our favorites in my house.

Egg-Free Paleo Chicken Nuggets (with Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce)
Modified from original recipe posted by: The Domestic Man

For the Chicken:

• 2-3 lbs chicken breasts, cut into 1/2'-1' cubes (or the closest thing you can get - chicken breasts aren't square, I get it)
• 1/4 C. dill pickle juice
• 2 Tbsp (or 1/8 C) coconut milk (not the stuff from the can, the stuff from your fridge)
• 2 Tbsp (or 1/8 C) favorite egg-free mayo (I use Veganaise Soy-Free - light green top*)
• 1/4 C. Arrowroot flour/starch
• 2 Tbsp Almond/Coconut flour
• 1 Tbsp Paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• Dash of cayenne - to taste
• 1/2 - 3/4 C coconut oil or lard (or oil of choice - like bacon fat, for realz YUM - mix in some coconut oil to help the smoke level) for frying

1. Place chicken in a gallon ziplock bag and add the pickle juice. Allow to marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour. (I only did 1 hour and I was super impressed with the results but feel free to go longer if you want.)
2. After marinating, pour out excess liquid/pickle juice.
3. Add coconut milk and egg-free mayo to the bag and mix and squish around to coat the chicken. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
4. While it is resting, in a separate bowl, mix together your dry ingredients in a small bowl.
5. When your 5 minutes are up, pour out excess liquid. (I did a kind of squeeze action here over the sink so it wasn't too soupy but it should be wet and look creamy-ish.)
6. Add the dry ingredients to the bag and squish and mush and wiggle and massage and shake and repeat until all of the chicken is coated.
7. Heat your oil/fat in a frying pan.
8. Fry the chicken pieces in batches - do not over crowd the pan - approximately 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown and crispy.
9. Remove to a paper towel to drain excess oil.
10. ENJOY THE HELL OUT OF THESE!!! Dip in mustard sauce that follows!

For the Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

• 2 Tbsp Favorite Honey Mustard
• 1/2 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
• 2 Tbsp Veganaise

1. Mix together and enjoy!

*NOTE: Yes, I do realize that Veganaise contains rice syrup and pea protein.

And yes, I realize that rice is a grain and pea protein comes from a legume. And yes, I realize that grains, including rice, and legumes are no-nos in the Paleo lifestyle. Let me say a few things to this: 1) If you are looking for egg-free recipes, you likely already know how incredibly difficult it is to find and egg-free mayo that is truly Paleo safe...this one is the closest I have ever found. 2) If you have never tried to find an egg-free mayo that is Paleo safe and you are going to judge me for using this, I suggest you give it a go for yourself and let me know what you find. 3) If you have found a Paleo safe, egg-free mayo - FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THIS WORLD...SHARE!!!  

I would also like to point out that Veganaise is non-gmo...which to me is more important at this point than finding something that may be completely Paleo compliant but potentially has gmos. So there...be a hater if you like, but this is as good as I could get...but again, if you have found one better, please let me know what it is.

So there it is. Your first, egg-free Paleo recipe. Hopefully there will be many more to come! Enjoy! :)