Super Bowl – Protein Style

It is an early morning rise for my hubs as he fires up the Traeger. Seriously one of the best gifts we have gotten! We have honestly made so much on it. Two organic chickens at a time from Costco, Pork butt, chicken breast, gluten-free pizza, ribs, party wings, and the list can go on and on. Today our protein will consist of baby back ribs, party wings, and junior franks. All of these will come from my Costco run.

First we will be making Rob’s Famous Ribs. They are fall off the bone good! We soak the ribs overnight in Organic Unfiltered Apple Juice (I get mine from Trader Joe’s).

We then use Paleo Spirit’s Dry Rib Rub. I am all about making our own seasoning instead of a store bought combo. Rob had an idea of what he wanted so when he found this recipe for dry rib rub it was a hit. You can find the dry rib rub here. Again super easy to toss together.

In the morning we transfer the ribs into a clean pan, and pour the left over apple juice from the pan into another heat safe dish. We rub the ribs down generously with the dry rub and massage the rub in too. Pre-heat the Traeger and set the temp for 225 degrees. Arrange the  ribs bone side down and place the left over apple juice pan in the corner. We cook them for about 5 hours. At hour 4 we spread some Annie’s Organic Sweet and Spicy BBQ sauce on top and let them finish cooking the last hour. Wrap in parchment paper and let rest. If need to transport them, wrapping in parchment paper is the way to go too.

We will also be doing up some party wings.  I like to keep my wing seasoning simple, but tasty. I toss my party wings in a tablespoon or two of Avocado Oil. I season them with himalayan salt and cracked pepper. That is it my friends! I then will serve them with a side of Frank’s Red Hot for those that would like a sauce with theirs. Otherwise, they are just as good with the simple seasoning. Today though I used some of the leftover rib rub with these wings. They turned out delicious!

Lastly will be Teton Waters Ranch (TWR) uncured beef junior franks. You can’t go wrong with TWR. I have loved everything I have tried from them so far! I will throw these in a crock pot and call it good to go! They go great with some mustard on the side. Just the way I like them! I will also serve them with side dishes of organic ketchup and Annie’s  organic sweet and spicy BBQ sauce for those that would prefer to eat them a different way. I try to keep my ingredients I use or offer to be fairly clean.  Remembering it is a party and not an everyday lifestyle way of eating.

I will also be making up Wellness Mama’s Broccoli Slaw to go along with these dishes. I am made a double batch for the crew. The great thing about this, is you can make it the night before. It allows the dressing to soak in. Plus it also makes great leftovers the following days! I use her recipe with homemade mayo and omit the honey. I did use homemade mayo for this even though I used store bought for my Chicken Salad. 99% of the time I make my own, but with cooking all day and already making a batch of mayo, I was tapped out! Honestly this was the first time I bought mayo in over 4 years. It will not be an always occurrence, but came in handy!

Makings of a great Super Bowl evening! I hope your evening was one of great laughter too.

Chicken Salad

It is Super Bowl weekend and I am looking forward to cheering on the Atlantic Falcons! I will also be spending my Sunday morning up at the mountains for a trail run. It will then be time to prep for our Super Bowl party. We will be watching the game, playing cards, and enjoying this beautiful Arizona weather.

We have a lot on our super bowl menu this year. I will be sharing some of my recipes with you all over the next few days. I am starting us out with making chicken salad to snack on. It is great with celery, on lettuce leaves, or even with some rice crackers. I made a big batch because one I already have a big family and two we are have guest coming!!

Trail Mamma’s Chicken Salad

• 2lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast (organic if can)
• Minced Onion
• 1 1/4 cup chopped Celery
• 1 cup of quartered Grapes
• Walnuts – couple handfuls to your liking  *Optional
• 10 TBSP Mayonnaise or more if needed
• Oregano
• Thyme
• Garlic
• Salt/Pepper

1. Cook chicken with minced onion, garlic, salt and pepper. When chicken is cooked through set aside to cool. I even make my chicken the night before. Then shred the chicken.

2. Cut up the celery and grapes and set aside with the walnuts

3. In a big bowl mix the chicken and mayonnaise untiled combined. Add in a himalayan salt, ground pepper, ground oregano, thyme, and garlic powder until your liking. For me it is usually a few shakes of each. Add in the celery and mix. Fold in the walnut pieces if you  are adding. I only use a couple handfuls of walnuts and break up the pieces with my hands. Finally add in the grapes and give one last stir.

I hope you all enjoy this as much as we do. Makes for great snacks and quick lunches throughout the week too!

Cast Iron Chicken Dinner

Having a cast iron is a must in my house. I have three 12inch cast iron skillets and two 6.5inch cast iron skillets. I have cooked several dishes in them, baked desserts, and even take them camping with us! Bonus, they are super easy to clean with just hot water.

Tonight it’s Chicken Dinner. Quick and easy meal to throw together and make. I used bone-in chicken thighs and coated them with Kerrygold Butter, mustard, salt/pepper, and sage seasoning. Make sure you get under the skin too. You can certainly season them however you like. Couple of ways I have done them are: avocado oil, salt, and pepper. Butter, salt, pepper, and garlic. Be creative!

Place chicken thighs in cast iron skillet, and cook in oven. I used 2 cast irons and made 8 chicken thighs. Cook at 425 degrees until chicken temps at 165 degrees (approx 45-50 minutes). I also cooked my cauliflower pop at the same time. Set those aside to rest.

Next I microwaved my sweet potatoes and russet potatoes in my Pampered Chef round cover baker for approx. 6 minutes. Remember to poke your potatoes before cooking. I miss my double oven because I would have otherwise cooked my potatoes in the oven at the same time as well.

While the chicken was cooking in the oven, fired up the grill and made grilled veggies and chicken wings since I was already meal prepping for the week. Otherwise you could do this whole meal on the grill too!

I lightly drizzle avocado oil on top of the raw zucchini, carrot, and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in grill veggie rack. Grill up until zucchini is done. About 3 minutes and stir. Then cook for about 2 more minutes. I like my veggies a little crunch still, if you don’t then cook them a little longer.

You can easily warm up leftovers in the cast iron on the stove or oven the next day.

Enjoy this delicious wholesome dish.

Chicken Dinner

Dinner can be one of the hardest meals to prepare, but it really doesn’t have to be. Just a little bit of planning and quick easy dinner can be put together. Key here, is PLANNING. With kiddos being rushed here or there, homework needing to get done, and all else life throws our way can make “what are we having for dinner” a rush to get something on the table.

When I plan out my meals and do some meal prep during the week, my life goes so much smoother. Even if I didn’t get any prep work done, I try to keep my meals simple so they are still easy to throw together. I wasn’t always a planner when it comes to meals, but it just clicked one day with me. I plan for almost everything else in life (sporting events, meetings, church, school, etc.) why wouldn’t I take the same time and plan meals? Why wouldn’t I want to be sure they get a good balanced meal? Why…Why…Why… Really something to think about.  I am in control, I have the options available. I know at times I may get in a bind, so a quick breakfast for dinner is what we have if I am short on time. I can quickly throw eggs and veggies with a salad on a table. I can fire up the grill and have a meal out in less than 30 minutes. That is exactly what I did this week. Fired up the grill and made some chicken!

Grilled Chicken Stuffed with Goat Cheese:

Ingredients:

1. Chicken breast (I did 5)
2. Goat Cheese
3. Lemon Pepper Dressing ( Tessemae’s is the brand I use. Can find it here)
4. Toothpicks

***I buy organic when I can

Here is the 3 ingredient needed to throw this quick dinner together. 

Lay out the chicken breast on the cutting board and some parchment paper, or put in a zip lock bag.

Pound chicken to even them out and flatten them a little.

Transfer them to a dish bowl and add the lemon pepper dressing. Enough dressing to coat them. Massage the dressing in. 

Lay chicken breast one at a time on the cutting board and add goat cheese.

Roll chicken and secure with a toothpick. 

Grill until internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees. ( I did a couple breast without goat cheese in them too)

Serve with your favorite sides. A few of mine are green beans with almonds, acorn squash with coconut cream, baked potatoes, salad, etc.

Enjoy this simple and easy dinner!