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15-Minute Paleo Taco Skillet Dinner
This 15-Minute Paleo Taco Skillet Dinner is ready in just about 15 minutes and it’s loaded with quality protein, fibrous leafy greens and if you top it with avocado, you’ll get some bonus healthy fats. A perfect, low-carb, one pan meal to please all!
I have been loving a good one-pan meal these days. Despite the, I am sure, blanket assumptions that when you don’t have kids, you have all the time in the world for meal planning, it can actually be quite hard, even still, in a child-free home. Without the forced structure and routines that comes with having little ones, we can often flail and have to just “make do”.
I am not that great at planning ahead some weeks and I am often not that methodical with our meal planning, so there are always staples that we have around, so there are always those staple-inspired meals. You know the ones – they aren’t all that glamorous and they are more about the function than the fashion.
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Greek Lamb and Cabbage Bowls {Paleo, Keto, Gluten-Free, Whole30}
These Greek Lamb and Cabbage Bowls are a simple one-pot weeknight paleo meal, ready in about 15- 20 minutes and loaded with so much Greek-inspired flavor. If you aren’t into lamb, swap in grass-fed ground beef instead, it’s just as delicious.
Most of our favorite weeknight meals aren’t at all glamorous or photo-worthy, many aren’t pretty and often times they are just dishes that I have made up on a whim with what I have on hand and flavors I love, and can be ready quickly. Some become one time things, others become staples. This dish is exactly that.
Born from the flavors I love so much in Pastistio, one of my most favorite classic, Greek comfort foods, these Greek Lamb and Cabbage Bowls have a subtle amount of tomato kissed with cinnamon and a hint of nutmeg. Such an amazing pairing of flavors and truly my version of comfort food. The cabbage makes this a really nice one-pot meal with veggies included. I have also swapped in spinach or other greens for the cabbage in the past.
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Creamy Tomato Tikka Masala Soup {dairy-free}
This Creamy Tomato Tikka Masala Soup is the ultimate in flavor. With aromatic spices in a creamy, rich tomato broth it’s the perfect comfort food.
I refuse to subscribe to the notion that there is a “Soup Season”. Sure, winter and fall are much more conducive to warming, comforting bowls of the steamy stuff, but there is something so cozy about soup and it can often make for a nice, one pot, fuss free meal, no matter the season.
As a lover of all things Indian-spiced I am constantly experimenting with dishes that are inspired by those very distinct spice blends. Since my husband is the exact opposite and prefers to avoid many of those spices, like the plague (he had a bad Indian restaurant food poisoning incident that forever ruined him) I dont get to play nearly as often as I would like.
On a rare night at home alone, recently, I was experimenting with a creamy garam masala spiced dish, somewhere between chicken makhani (butter chicken) and tikka masala, I was making the sauce creamy with coconut milk instead of heavy cream and as I was adding the tomatoes and broth, I found I had gone a little too far with the liquids, my sauce turned more to a soup and I simultaneously fell in love with this accidental dish. Creamy Tomato Tikka Masala Soup. Read the rest of this entry »
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Baked Eggs with Spinach, Chorizo and Salsa Macha {Paleo, Keto, Whole30}
If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that I am having a bit of a moment right now with Salsa Macha. It’s a very deeply rooted love affair and I have no shame in the fact that every single breakfast for the last week has featured it, among other meals and snacks.
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Gluten-free Pastitsio (Greek-Style Baked Pasta / Lasagna)
I literally cannot believe that after nearly 7 years of blogging and sharing recipes here with you, that I have never shared this one. It’s literally one of my MOST favorite foods ever. Gluten-free Pastitsio (pa-STEE-tsee-oh), a Greek-Style Baked Pasta / Lasagna, of sort, this is 100% my kind of comfort food. A Christmas dinner tradition, this is the food I grew up eating for the holidays. My Yia Yia always made an incredible tray of pastitsio and since her passing, we can always count on my mother to manage the task and do it as if she herself was the Greek one. Years ago, when I discovered my gluten intolerance, my mom so graciously tweaked the family recipe to be made gluten-free and I never had to be without. Overtime I have made it myself and continued to slightly adjust things and I am so honored to be sharing it with all of you, finally.
With layers of ground meat (beef or lamb) and pasta and a creamy, puffy, eggy, cheesy béchamel on top, there are hints of warming cinnamon throughout the entire dish and then it’s baked to perfection. This dish steps in where casseroles and lasagna leave off. Traditionally made with bucatini, a long tubular pasta laid out going in the same direction, I make mine gluten-free using instead an organic brown rice penne. In place of regular flour in the béchamel, I use a gluten-free all-purpose blend.
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Chicken Ruby Murray (Chicken Curry from Dishoom)
Our trip to London in October was one I certainly will never forget. Traveling halfway around the world with my love, without any major plans beyond knowing where to stay, a list of restaurants as dishes I had to have and a few sights that were “musts” and not much more. Such a wonderful way to travel.
Staying in the Shoreditch neighborhood in London was the perfect place for us. The grit of a big city matched with the deeply rooted history of London, it was the perfect edgy urban vibe that we love! The streets of “The Ditch”, as locals call it, are lined with charming cafes, coffee shops and restaurants, beautiful street art tucked into the most unsuspecting corners – it’s got that cutting edge vibe that juxtaposes the proper bits of London, just so perfectly.Being in London I was able to safely eat gluten-free easier than probably any other city I have ever visited and the food was incredible – I was stunned, not at all what I had expected nor remembered from my trip to the UK over 15 years ago. I plan to write up a post sharing some of my personal favorites from the Trip, but in the meantime I wanted to share my single most-favorite dish from all of my UK travels, shoot maybe all of my European travels, even.
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Paleo Sweet Potato Gnocchi with 15-Minute Tomato Sauce
The Paleo Sweet Potato Gnocchi is an absolute dream come true! Just like you always remembered, soft, little pillows of luscious goodness. Perfect little cloud vehicles for whatever your favorite sauce and they are a breeze to make.
I am super excited about today’s post and I have been eagerly awaiting sharing it with you all. If you follow me on Instagram or Snapchat you likely saw me testing this recipe, you also could probably sense my insane excitement over it’s success. Paleo Sweet Potato Gnocchi has been on repeat and now I get to share it with all of you.
October is National Pasta Month and when Calphalon asked if I would partner with them to create my twist on a classic pasta recipe, I jumped at the chance.
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Grain-free French Tomato Tart {Paleo-friendly}
How are we rounding the corner to the second half of August already? Where has this summer gone? This is about the time of the season where I start to feel a bit like a crazed maniac, trying to consume as much of the seasonal produce that I can, before it’s gone again until next year.
The heirloom tomatoes have been particularly beautiful this year. They are like luscious, vibrant gemstones. We’ve mostly been enjoying them in summer salads, often as the solo star of the show, but this tart has got to be my favorite way to enjoy them, right now.
A rustic savory pie meets pizza, meets a sophisticated sandwich. This tart is so simple to put together, you could easily impress guests and whip it up for a weekend brunch, a picnic or tea! (I like how I say tea like I have ever in my actual adult life hosted a tea).
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Turkey Club Chopped Salad with Aioli Vinaigrette {Paleo-friendly}
I have jokingly said this before, but I truly, deep down, really mean it. My husband has become somewhat of a muse for me in the kitchen. Or one of my muses I should say. First and foremost, from a heavily selfish place, my own autoimmune conditions, food intolerances and sensitivities are my biggest creative driving force when it comes to recipe development. I also, of course, find so much joy in creating for all of you and your varying dietary challenges and lifestyles. All that said, my husband happens to be one of those more and more rare specimens whom isn’t afflicted with any food allergies or issues. He’s a tank, he can eat anything and everything, he’s healthy as a horse and he generally doesn’t have to worry too much when it comes to food.
He is, as he says it “on the Beth plan”, at home, as I do all of the cooking and I generally don’t hear a complaint out of him. However, when we eat at restaurants some of his decision-making is so far askew from my own and how we eat at home, that I can (apparently) look at him like he has 3 heads, while he orders. It’s mostly a curiosity of how and why he would still want certain things after eating how we do, I am always curious how eating a bunch of starchy, grainy carbs before a meal can feel good, when he generally eats grain-free at home. I get it though, he didn’t exactly sign up to eat this way, it’s somewhat by default. But, I digress, I don’t give him
too muchshit, however I do take note. I take these opportunities to know that I can come home and recreate certain foods to be more healthful, to remove some unneeded processed foods and to hopefully win him over with an even better, cleaner version. It’s a game of sorts for me and the winner is always him. -
Savory Veggie Breakfast Bowls with Herb Olive Oil Drizzle {Paleo-friendly}
So here we are, another recipe on Tasty Yummies where I leave a lot of the decision-making to you guys. I have to say these end of being my favorite recipes, in a lot of ways. It’s not due to a laziness on my part, more, it’s that this has always been my approach to cooking in my own kitchen and to teaching others in their own unique culinary journeys. I always want to give you the tools to make the right decisions for you, your unique desires and/or your dietary needs. My hope is that I can always help to empower you to feel confident in the kitchen, to try new things, to get adventurous and make decisions on the fly and who knows, maybe even jump outside of your comfort zone at times.
Our nutritional needs can vary just as wildly as our fingerprints. This is why I don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition and eating, it simply can’t work. I don’t believe in slapping a label on my diet, following an arbitrary set of rules and ignoring my body’s intuitive response to food. That said, the fundamentals and foundations that we know to be true, can absolutely be applied across the board, with many little variations along the way. I think this is what I love about food so much, it can be tweaked, the details shifted to suit your needs, cravings, desires and even location – the sky truly is the limit.
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Chilled Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup
This Chilled Roasted Heirloom Tomato Soup is so much more than your average gazpacho. It celebrates the tastes of summer by bringing out their very best flavors and honoring the preparation that makes them truly shine. It’s strange, despite the insane heat waves, I still have the days where I find myself craving comfort foods like soup and stews, yet I still want to soak up much of abundant fresh summer produce that I can. But, a girl can’t live on salads, smoothies and popsicles, alone.
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How-to Make Homemade Barbecue Sauce
Yesterday’s summer solstice marked the official start of summer, which means we also kicked off the season of grilling and barbecue. A good traditional barbecue sauce is key to a season of delicious backyard feasts. However, if you are like me, when you turn over most jars and bottles from the store, to investigate the ingredients, you are sorely disappointed. Most contain loads of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, various preservatives, thickeners, artificial flavors, colors and who know’s what else. Let’s be honest, they are also not all that good. We can do better!
Making your own sauce is incredible simple, you don’t need any special ingredients and with this simple tutorial and formula, I also give you the options to customize your sauce and make it just how you like it.
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Gluten-free Mediterranean Flatbread
Did you know that May is Celiac Awareness Month? I shared the following over on my Instagram account but I thought it was worth mentioning here, as well.
While I discovered my own severe gluten intolerance over 11 years ago, I was actually never properly tested for Celiac (until it was too late) and now as many years later, as additional health issues have shown up to the party, many of which you guys have read about right here on the website – I now certainly suspect Celiac to be the underlying cause. (Though I denied this truth for many years)
That said, frankly speaking, my 11 year journey of eating 100% gluten-free and guiding others on their path, no matter the need, it has always been about celebrating food, exploring ingredients and hopefully encouraging others to get excited to be in the kitchen and create. Fresh, seasonal, nutrient-dense whole foods – to me it’s all about the amazing things that are naturally gluten-free, rather than supplementing with overly processed substitutes.
That said, given the nature of my work and the fact that not everyone has the ability to work from home, cook all three meals a day completely from scratch and that many of you have a whole family to feed – I am also always on the look out for gluten-free products that will make life easier, while not being loaded with terrifying ingredients. Read the rest of this entry »
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Chicken Kapama – Greek Braised Cinnamon Chicken
I don’t have the best memory, I never have. I forget things easily, but my memories surrounding foods and scents, especially with family – those are strong. I still remember the very distinct aromas of my Great Yia Yia’s home. The basement often smelled of chocolate, the living room of butterscotch candies and the kitchen, of so many amazing Greek flavors. Sometimes it would be Greek pastries or bread, often there was a stew or soup bubbling away or greens she plucked from the yard cooking down in some tomato sauce.
Growing up in a Greek family meant lots of traditional Greek dishes passed down through the generations, most without a written recipe anywhere to be found. Some dishes, like this one, Chicken Kapama {kah-pah-MAH}, I can still remember both my Great YiaYia and my YiaYia and eventually my parents, making for us. I can very clearly recall the distinct aroma the house would be filled with. The warming, comforting scent of cinnamon when mixed with tomato, to this day warms my heart and brings a smile to my face. This unique flavor combo pops up in several classic Greek dishes and it is a favorite of mine. It smells like home.
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Greek Lamb Gyro Bowls with Tzatziki
Being away from my family living in California, it has gotten a bit easier with time and there are less and less tears over random moments, holidays, but one of the things I miss most is Sunday dinner as one a big family.
I grew up eating delicious home cooked Greek food. My family, they know their way around the kitchen. Everyone has their specialties and their things. My mom is an incredible baker, while not Greek herself she has mastered Greek desserts and pastries, baklava, koulourakia cookies. My dad is the king of savory, the grill master, the Greek God of souvlaki, marinated grilled leg of lamb, roasted potatoes among many other specialties. Sadly while my dad makes THE best lamb you’ll ever eat, neither he nor anyone else in our family has ever mastered homemade gyro. Whenever my parents serve up gyro, which isn’t super often, it usually comes already prepared and frozen. Meh. It makes me sad that we aren’t making it ourselves. Also sadly, these pre-made gyro meats tend to be very processed and they almost always contains gluten, so naturally I won’t touch them. Short of going to a more traditional shop, cart or restaurant, where they cook the meat traditionally over a spinning spit or rotisserie – it’s impossible to get the real thing, I haven’t had it in many, many years.
Traditional Greek gyro, from what I have read, is made with whole cuts of pork, slowly cooked rotisserie style, and thinly shaved, while Americanized Greek gyro is the pressed, almost sausage-like, thinly sliced minced beef and/or lamb blend. Usually served in a pita, wrap style it is a meal that I never get to eat, yet I still find myself craving it.
I am home in New York right now, with my family, visiting and meeting my brand new nephew Keaton James, born just three weeks ago. As I was preparing for this trip home to Buffalo, I got giddy at the thought of all the homemade Greek food I would be eating. Greek food is my comfort, it’s what I crave at the holidays, when I am homesick or when I come down with a bug. Greek food from a restaurant is just never the same and somehow making a big feast of Greek food at home, just the two of us, while I do it occasionally, it just never tastes the same to me. This is the food best served with a large group of the people you love most. A big Greek feast needs to come with a side of very loud chatter, tons of laughs, stories from back in the day and it needs kids running around the very same living room that my dad ran around as a little kid.
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Grain-free Savory Breakfast Muffins
Whenever I ask, over on the Tasty Yummies Facebook page, what types of recipes you guys want more of, inevitably, easy, healthy breakfasts are almost always requested. I’m with you guys, when life gets hectic and we are on the go, often times breakfast is the first meal to get the boot. If there is time for a morning bite, maybe you just grab a coffee and a muffin or a breakfast bar on the way out the door, eat it in your car, while you drive and hope for the best. Sadly, this is a sad tone to kick start any day on. Not only is your digestion confused by the state in which it’s being forced to eat, but starting off your day loaded with sugar, even of the natural variety, gets the blood sugar control game out of whack before it ever had a chance. You can be sure with a sweet breakfast and a coffee, that mid-day crash is sure to follow.
For me, starting the day with a breakfast filled with protein and healthy-fats, not only means that my body is armed with a more long burning fuel source, but I also find that I stay full much longer. I also really love eating veggies at breakfast, it feels like I got one up on the rest of the world, who doesn’t even consider this move until lunch time.
These Grain-free Savory Breakfast Muffins are a wonderful option for those busy mornings. Make them ahead and keep them in the fridge, grab and eat chilled or slice in half, pop it into the toaster oven to take the chill off and bring a little crisp to the outside. Maybe add a small pat of butter and a little hot sauce, when serving.
What I really love about this recipe, like so many others you will find here on Tasty Yummies, it is super customizable. The veggies can be whatever you have on hand and specific to the season. If you wish to add bacon, sausage or another meat, that would be delicious, if you like cheese, add your favorite.
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Summer’s Harvest Farmers Market One-Pot Zucchini Pasta
We have all seen the one pot pasta phenomenon and while I am a big fan and even shared a gluten-free rice pasta version of this today, I also wanted to create a grain-free version, highlighting my personal favorite, noodle – zucchini noodles/pasta AKA “zoodles”!
This veggie-centric take on the classic, simple, weeknight meal is not just a great way to enjoy the best of the season, but I have found it’s also a wonderful way to use up some of those last bits of veggies, the things in the fridge you aren’t sure what to do with, the scraps from another recipe. Toss them in and go to town. You can’t go wrong.
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Lettuce Wrapped Grain-free Sweet Potato and Broccoli Veggie Burgers with Cilantro Sauce
I think we can all agree that with summer nipping at our heels, there are certain foods that conjure up feelings of quick, light bites perfect for our busy summer schedule that we all tend to pack solid. Quick meals that can be eaten outside on the deck or around the pool are usually on the menu in our house. I know for me, I think of burgers. Besides tacos, it’s the quintessential food that you can eat with your hands without much fuss. Unfortunately, if you can’t have grains this means rolls are either out of the question or you have to find a grain-free alternative that doesn’t require tons of prep.
I, for one, prefer to simply go without the rolls, after all it’s all about the burger, not matter what kind. I adore a good lettuce wrapped burger. I find that crunch is a great fresh texture. I also love a good homemade veggie burger. With the right ingredients and toppings, it can be a meal on it’s own. So many store-bought veggie burgers are loaded with legumes or grains/gluten, soy, gluten and other things we some of us may not be able to have. The list of ingredients can be quite long and by the time you’ve found a comfortable seat at the store to sit down and read through them all, you get to the end, only to find it just won’t work for you.
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Slow Cooker Spicy Asian Portobello Tacos with Sriracha Slaw
I am super excited to share this simple but delicious recipe for these Slow Cooker Spicy Asian Portobello Tacos with Sriracha Slaw, nspired by the beautiful green cabbage in-season now.
I feel like cabbage has to be one of the most underrated vegetables of all time. I honestly feel like it gets a bad rap. Most people simply boil it or roast it, maybe they ferment it or add it to salad. I don’t feel like enough meals are centered around cabbage – it seems it’s usually an afterthought. In comes these Slow Cooker Spicy Asian Portobello Tacos with Sriracha Slaw. This super easy to prepare meal is all about the cabbage! From the filling of the tacos, to the tasty slaw, we use the entire head!
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Chipotle Barbacoa Burrito Bowls with Cilantro Lime Cauli-Rice
Part of being a food blogger is being lucky enough to meet and become friends with loads of other amazing and talented food bloggers, cookbook authors, recipe developers, food photographers, etc. It just sort of happens over time. Besides having social media feeds loaded with food photos and constantly chatting about what’s for dinner, it’s mostly just incredibly inspiring. Being surrounded virtually and in the real world with people that are passionate about food, eating and sharing this love and passion with others. It’s pretty darn amazing.
More and more of these talented folks are authoring beautiful cookbooks filled with their creative recipes. I now have bookshelves full of incredible recipe resources. In 2014, I got a bit behind on my cookbook reviews and I am working to remedy that this year. So, I am working on a new series I am calling Foodie Friend Fridays, where every other Friday (or there-abouts), I will share cookbook reviews and recipes from some of my favorite cookbooks, guest posts from incredibly talented friends, occasional giveaways and more! Some of the reviews will feature cookbooks that are paleo, some vegan, others just a general topic cookbook, with recipes that would work for us gluten-free folk, but be sure I will always share gluten-free recipes and I will always give you my honest critiques.
First up is Against All Grain: Meals Made Simple by Danielle Walker. It felt natural that this would be the first cookbook I’d review and share a recipe from, in this new year, as I had the pleasure of working closely with Danielle this past fall on the set of Access Hollywood. Danielle was a guest on a segment promoting this book and she asked if I would work as her food stylist for the shoot. This meant I shopped for and made all of the recipes from her book featured on the episode, from start to finish, plating the dishes, getting the set all prepped for the shoot and making it all pretty. (watch the segment here, check out the sweet plating, the props from my home collection and the pretty flowers, too while you’re there 😉 ) It was an incredible experience and also a ton of work. I now have an immense amount of respect for people that do this on the regular. More than anything, I was excited to get to get my hands dirty creating 3 of the delicious recipes from Danielle’s latest NY Times Best Seller.
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How-to Make Chickpea Flour and Socca Pizza
{Have you entered the Blendtec Giveaway yet? It ends this Friday}
I know by now, I really don’t have to tell you guys how much I enjoy making things from scratch! I would say that is quite apparent after over 4 years of blogging. Mostly I choose this way of living because I would always prefer to know what exactly is in everything I am eating. I love knowing that things are safely gluten-free and not processed or filled with weird, scary junk.
Until I received The Homemade Flour Cookbook from Erin Alderson, the thought had never really occurred to me to try making my own flours at home. I know what you are thinking – ‘flour? you are gluten-free, what do you want with a book all about how to make homemade flour?’ (or something along those lines, am I right?) I too honestly thought that there may be a recipe or two for me in here, but there are several chapters filled with wonderful tutorials and tips on making flour from gluten-free grains to legumes, seeds, nuts and so on.
This wonderful book is an in-depth guide to a variety of nutritious flours, milled right in your own kitchen plus a wide range of tasty recipes to create with your homemade flours. The possibilities are endless and the delicious dishes are a testament to the amazing things you can do with homemade flour.
It is no secret I love soccas! I have previously shared recipes here and here. Soccas are just amazing. They are a pancake or crêpe of sorts, made of chickpea flour. Served hot and crispy, this chickpea pancake is a quintessential street food found in Nice, France. Many times it is browned or even blackened around the edges, and it has an almost custard like, soft and tender inside. Serving one as a pizza is quite brilliant and although the texture is slightly different from a traditional dough, it is delicious in it’s own right and it’s a totally unique way to shove pizza toppings into your face!
