Category: Meal Plans

Tomatillo Chicken Breasts

This very easy dish is just different enough to tantalize your taste buds. It uses simple ingredients and techniques that do not disappoint.

Core & Advanced Plan

Serves 4

Shown here with Mexican Green Beans

For Marinade:

4 Free range, organic chicken breasts, pounded to equal thickness

juice of 2 limes

1 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons coconut aminos

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Sauce:

5 tomatillos

1/2 sweet onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup organic muenster, mozzarella, or provolone cheese, shredded or sliced

sea salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

Pound chicken breasts with a meat mallet to equal thickness

Combine lime juice, chili powder, coconut aminos, and garlic powder and marinate for 30 minutes to overnight.

Grill chicken breasts on an outdoor grill, indoor grill pan, or air fryer until cooked through. (These can be made ahead of time but bring to room temperature before assembling).

Put tomatillos and water in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the tomatillos start to split. Add diced onions and garlic and cook until the onions are softened. Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Arrange chicken breasts in a baking dish, top with cheese then with tomatillo sauce. Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is melted sauce is bubbly.

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Moroccan Kefta

This is an easy, flavorful dish that is popular street food in Morocco.  Served with spicy harissa, it is a unique dish that can be served with almost any side.  You can also form the meat around skewers for a kebab-type option.

  • 1/2 lb grass fed ground beef
  • 1/2 lb ground lamb
  • Juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1 small onion, quartered
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 8 pitted green olives
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • Harissa,  for serving (check label)

Place beef, lamb and lemon juice in a large bowl. Combine (don’t over mix). Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 min to 1 hour.

Place onion, garlic and olives in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add to the marinated meat along with parsley, salt and pepper. Gently combine until evenly incorporated.

Oven option: Preheat broiler with rack at upper third of oven. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment and set a wire rack on it.Using about 3 tablespoons of the meat mixture for each, form 12 thin patties, about 1/4 inch thick. Place on the wire rack. Broil the patties until brown and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Grill option:  preheat grill and heat to high.  Grill patties about 3-4 min per side.  

Serve with harissa, if desired.  This is the brand I use. https://amzn.to/3r5k85l 

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Grass Fed Ribeye Roast – Prime Rib

Advanced Plan

Serves 3-4

This is a fabulous, exclusive restaurant-style dish.  It is much simpler than it looks and is perfect for a holiday feast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

4-5 lb grass fed standing rib roast
1 onion, quartered
1 head garlic, sliced in half
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary

Herb Butter Rub

1 stick grass fed butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Red Wine Sauce

Drippings and vegetables from roast
1 cup grass fed beef stock or free range chicken stock
2 cups red wine
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder

Take the roast out of the refrigerator about 2 hours before you are ready to cook it to bring it to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Mix the Herb Butter Rub ingredients together in a small bowl.

Place the onions, halved garlic, and herb sprigs in the bottom of a glass baking dish.

Rub the Herb Butter mixture on the back side of the roast (bone side).  Flip it over and place on top of vegetables in roasting pan.  Rub the rest of the mixture over the top and sides of the roast.    The temperature will raise about 5-7 degrees as it sits.

Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes in the 450 degree oven.  When timer goes off, turn oven heat down to 250 degrees.  Roast for another 1.5 to 2 hours.  (see below for internal temperatures)

  • Rare – 120°F. Remove from oven when it is 115°F.
  • Medium rare – 125°F. Remove from oven when it is 118°F.  (IDEAL TEMPERATURE)
  • Medium – 130°F. Remove from oven at 125°F.
  • Medium well done –  135°F. Remove from oven at 127°F.

Take the roast out of the roasting pan and put on a cutting board and cover and let sit for 30 minutes (the roast will continue to cook)

To make the wine sauce, transfer everything from the roasting pan to a saucepan and add the wine and broth.  When slightly heated, add a spoonful of the liquid to the arrowroot powder in a small bowl and mix.  Then add it to the saucepan (this will prevent lumping). Cook until reduced to the desired consistency.

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Chipotle Chicken

This is a knockoff recipe for Chipotle’s chicken.  This tastes almost identical to the restaurant’s popular chicken.    I cooked the chicken on the griddle which also makes it taste even closer to the restaurant version. It is simple to make and can be used for tacos, taco salads, or with a couple of side dishes.

2 lbs free-range, organic chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
¼ cup red onion, cut into chunks
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp adobo sauce (most store-bought adobo sauces contain small amounts of sugar.  To avoid this, you can make your own.  This is the recipe I use to make my own https://leitesculinaria.com/104253/recipes-adobo-sauce.html)
Juice of 1 lime
tbsp avocado oil
1 tbsp chili powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp oregano
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp pepper

Mix all ingredients (besides chicken) and place in a large ziploc bag, mixing well.  Add chicken and marinate at least 30 minutes to overnight.

Heat the griddle or cast iron pan to high heat.  Place chicken on the hot griddle (use a little avocado or coconut oil if your griddle isn’t oiled) and do not touch for 3-4 minutes or so.  Carefully flip chicken using a metal spatula to be sure to pick up all of the blackened bits.  Cook the other side until chicken is cooked through.  Put all of the chicken in a large bowl and cover with a towel and let rest for 10 minutes.  Cut chicken into chunks and pour any extra juices over the chicken and serve as desired.

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

My new favorite outdoor cooker – Griddle vs. Grill

I love summertime outdoor cooking but have never loved grilling.  Then my husband bought me a smoker and I feel in love with outdoor cooking again.  It makes the absolute best smoked jerk chicken, smoked salmon, and smoked grass-fed roasts.  I could also use it as a regular grill but that never really appealed to me either.

Then, one of my friends showed me his Blackstone Griddle and I have been blown away.  To say I love this thing is an understatement.  It has a solid steel (non-toxic) griddle top that when seasoned properly, becomes an amazing non-stick surface.  It is ridiculously easy to start and to clean.  (Note:  cleaning a traditional grill was one of the main reasons I avoided using it).  It also produces very little smoke and has a great grease-catching pan. It allows you to cook up several different things at one time making it way quicker and more efficient.  Plus, it saves you from dirtying up all sorts of pots and pans in your kitchen.   And speaking of kitchens, you don’t have to be stuck in yours while everyone else is outside.  It is small and portable but still fits a ton of food on it.

I was shocked that the price was under $300 for all it can do.  See more about the Blackstone Griddle here…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some pictures of how I used the griddle in the first 2 weeks I had it.

Grass-fed Hamburgers for a crowd

 

 

Veggies for taco night

 

Grainless Pancake, Turkey Bacon, and Free-range Scrambled Egg Breakfast

 

Grass-fed hot dogs with organic red potato hash browns (core plan)

 

Free-range chicken stir fry with brown fried rice (core plan)  and veggies

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment

Tortilla Chip Chicken Casserole

Advanced and Core Plan

Serves 8

This is a quick and simple dish that is hearty and satisfying.  By cooking the whole chicken, you get more flavor and nutrients and can save the bones to make homemade chicken broth.

2 cups chopped free range chicken (you can cook a whole chicken or brown diced chicken breasts and/or thighs in a skillet)
1/4 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tablespoons minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1¾ cups free-range chicken broth or cream of chicken soup + 1 cup water (check ingredients)
1 tomato, cored, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1-2 cups grass fed cheddar cheese, shredded
1 bag grain free tortilla chips (like Siete brand)
1/4 cups sliced black olives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Guacamole and organic sour cream as garnish, if desired.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the chicken (I did mine in my InstantPot) and set aside.  Put onion, garlic, chipotle peppers, broth or soup, tomato, and salt in a blender and mix into a smooth sauce.

Put a layer of chips in a casserole dish.  Top with half of the chicken and half of the sauce.  Sprinkle a light layer of cheese then repeat with another layer of chips, sauce and cheese and sprinkle with sliced black olives, if desired.

Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.  Top with cilantro and serve hot.

 

Kimberly RobertoLeave a comment