Nom Nom Paleo

So as most of you know I have Celiac disease. It's an allergy to all things amazing. ;) Actually, its an allergy to wheat, barley, malt and rye. These things are in everythinggggggg. They are hidden too, in ingredients like "natural favors" and "caramel color". It sucks! BUT since it is now 2014 things that are gluten free actually don't taste like cardboard anymore! woohoo! (I still crazy miss mozzarella sticks and cookie dough ice cream) But I have been SO much healthier since I've been gluten free for the last 9 years. 

We wanted to start eating healthier and our friends suggested we try a Paleo diet, since it is 100% gluten free already. No modifications! Yay! So they sent us a cookbook and we went at it. For like 3 days. Haha. We reverted back to the old ways very quickly. We visited them recently in Florida (Shotout to Rick, Kate and our awesome godson, Logan!) and while we were there Katie constantly cooked using her paleo cookbooks. I was nervous, some of the recipes seemed odd. I tried everything of course, and it was ALL amazing.

So we get back from FL and I hop right on Amazon and order some new cookbooks. We aren't eating strictly paleo, fyi, it would cost a zillion dollars and I like dairy. MMMM ice cream....cheese..... potatoes...... peanut butter......bacon.....honey....... yeah.... I also like cereal from time to time and other random crap that isn't "paleo". We use these cookbooks for ideas for healthy meals. We aren't literally on, what people call, the carnivore diet. Paleo=Paleolithic=Caveman.....whatever.

The first two books I ordered were Nom Nom Paleo - Food for Humans by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong. I LOVE IT! So many awesome recipes.

 I also ordered a book called Well Fed 2. I was not a fan and sent it back right away. It didn't have many recipes I thought my kids would like. 

Speaking of the kids. They LOVED ( even Kyla who doesn't eat steak) this:

Sorry about the terrible photos. I took them pretty much after the food was done so they were fast and bad! Honestly, I don't even know if it's legal for me to post photos from the book in here so someone please tell me if it is or isn't! ahh!

This is from Nom Nom Paleo of course ;)

It's an extensive recipe but I'll try and break it down (it's not so bad to make!)

GET:

Cherry BBQ Sauce

2 tsp. Ghee or fat of choice (I used coconut oil, not sure if that counts haha)

1/2 c minced shallots (I skipped this b/c of the picky kiddos)

Kosher salt

1 Garlic clove, minced

(okay, here's the thing, I cheat A LOT. I didn't have cloves, so I used the already crushed stuff you keep in the fridge..... it was just fine ;)

1 (1-inch) piece of ginger peeled and finely grated (about 1 tablespoon)....and yeah, I cheated again and bought the squeezable stuff!

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 c. coconut aminos

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/4 c. apple juice

10 oz pitted fresh or frozen dark sweet cherries, roughly chopped

(hello walmart freezer aisle!..... though I did defrost before!)

Freshly ground black pepper

Smashed Steak Skewers 

1 (1 1/2 lb) Flank Steak

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons melted ghee or fat of choice

1/4 c. scallions (thinly sliced - optional) 

Steps:

1. Make the BBQ sauce. Melt the ghee over medium heat in small saucepan. Add shallots and a pinch of salt and saute til translucent - about 5 min (since I skipped this I just went right on to adding the other ingredients to the melted fat). Next, stir in garlic, ginger and tomato paste, and saute for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add coconut aminos, vinegar, apple juice and cherries. Bring to a boil.

2. Lower heat and simmer for 10 min or until mixture has thickened. (Ours never really did, probably because I used coconut oil, so we added a water/cornstarch mixture just to thicken it up!) While the sauce is simmering smash the cherries against the side of the pot. 

3. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

4. Cut the steak in to 16 pieces (picture included!) Stab each chunk with a skewer. 

5. FUN PART! ( I skewered after this step. Whatever!) Smash the steak to about 1/2 thick. Season the beef with salt, pepper and melted ghee. 

6. Fire up the grill! (Why is this step 6?) I guess it can be if you have a propane grill! We are all about the charcoal, baby. Cook skewers over high heat for 1-2 min on each side. 

7. Rest meat skewers for 5-10 min before brushing on the BBQ sauce. Garnish with green scallions (if you don't have picky kids!)

Serve immediately!

:)

You can eat this on the skewer. I slid them off and cut them up because I am a crazy mom who wants NO choking!!!! ;)

 Sauce with whatever I had left on the counter that I decided to throw in to the picture ;)

 ( new at this, okay?! )

Before grilling. The white is the coconut oil. It had hardened because the steak was still cold.

After grilling and saucing.

 HAHAHA I told Dan to let me take a picture of his plate. Seriously, could I have maybe made it look nicer, or not used the oldest, crappiest plate we own? Maybe..... OOPS

We had grilled corn with it and garlic mashed cauliflower. I will post that recipe tomorrow because it was tastyyyyy!! 

And I have to go study for my A and P final which is TOMORROW all on the reproductive system! Woohoo! An interesting topic!!!! Lol ;)

Xo Em!