Honey mustard chicken

I am always looking out for new recipes, as even with a monthly rolling menu, some are less successful than others.  I was looking on Google for paleo chicken recipes, and the fact one came from a regular recipe board seemed good.

The recipe came from all recipes and was called honey mustard chicken.  The reviews had said that the honey needed to be reduced as equal measures of honey and dijon mustard was too sweet, so I halved the amount of honey.  It also said that it was better if marinaded for 30 minutes or so.  I cooked it covered, as I though it would dry up otherwise.

A quick and easy recipe using things you would have in your cupboard.  It would probably benefit from mash with it, to soak up the sauce as it was a little spicy.

Meatball muffins

I had read something on Pinterest about making meatloaf in a muffin tin, on the same day I found a new recipe.  The recipe from What I gather is called Stuffin' muffins which are essentially a meatloaf mixture cooked in muffin tins.

The recipe are alright, although the children complained that there was too much vegetable in proportion to the meat.   I think that another time, it would be better to put the vegetables through the food processor to shred them much smaller.  Making a less 'lumpy' mixture and improving the taste.

However, the idea of using a muffin tin is good as it cooks quicker and is easier for portion control.  Although we did need all 12 holes to feed three of us, so not sure how we would manage feeding four?

Chicken drumsticks

It is quite easy to find packets of chicken drumsticks, thighs and quarters, as most people prefer the chicken breasts.  They are an easy dish to take to a 'bring and share' buffet meal or just for dinner.

Chicken can be quite dry as you have to cook it sufficiently to ensure that it is cooked all the way through, so if you can cook it in a way that prevents this, that is good.  I have found that lemon juice and herbs is a tasty variety that is quick and easy. 

I remove the skins as although they may be pleasant when hot, chicken skin on a cold joint is not so good!  Then 'slash' each drumstick or thigh to get the juice into the meat.  Sprinkle generously with lemon juice and a good pinch of dried herbs on each piece.  They need about 35 minutes for chicken thighs and 30 minutes for drumsticks.

Serve hot or cold.

Pork with pineapple salsa

I found some interesting recipes in the free Asda magazine, using pineapple.  It is unfortunate that they all seem to have sugar as well, which seems silly when pineapple is quite sweet anyway.

This one is using pork fillet or loin steaks; I replaced the sugar with honey for the marinade.

100ml pineapple juice
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
600g pork fillets/loin steaks
300g pineapple, fresh or tinned, cut into small pieces
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
3 spring onions, chopped finely
2 tbsp fresh coriander

Put pineapple juice, honey, vinegar, 1tbsp lime juice and oil in a bag. 
Add pork and toss to coat.
Leave to marinade for 2-3 hours, turning occasionally.
Mix pineapple, chilli, spring onions, 2 tbsp lime juice and coriander to make a salsa, and chill.
Preheat grill.
Take pork from marinade and grill, turning regularly.  Destroy marinade.

Serve with sweet potato mash and vegetables.

Fish cakes

We have tried different fish cake recipes that don't contain the usual bulking from potatoes, but to be honest they all seem to be missing something.  On the whole they all seem to be dry.

Today we used the Crab cakes (using tinned salmon) from Everyday Paleo, but did not follow the recipe completely, as to make this dish would need a dozen eggs to make them for the four of us, as well as the tinned salmon, which does not makes them a sensible price.

I made up the fish cakes as the recipe says, but used a packet of hollandaise sauce - I'm not entirely happy about this, but I have to be realistic when I have to balance time against what my family are prepared to eat.  They haven't chosen to eat paleo, and forcing them is not likely to make them what to do it.

I will continue looking for a moister mixture.

Slow cooker beef stew

To make the best use of a weekend, we like to use the slow cooker.  Chopping vegetables at the same time as breakfast, means that there is only one lot of clearing away.

Today we had a tasty beef stew from Denim and Dots.  Adding mashed sweet potatoes and an extra vegetable took only 10 minutes, so it was quick to get everyone to the table to eat.

Low carb pizza = Meatza

We used to have pizza occasionally before, but my husband was not really keen.  Having meatza means we can make something is reasonably acceptable for everyone.

There are various recipes for meatza on the internet, but from a bit of experimenting we have worked out a good method. Ours is roughly based on one from Wellnessmama

The meat mixture needs to be cooked in a hot oven for about 12 minutes in a tray with sides.
It needs a hot tomato/vegetable sauce that is well cooked and thick, as it is only in the oven for the few minutes to melt the cheese. 

Edit: The blog this originally came from is no longer available, so I will try and load my recipe