Paleo Plate Pictures: Day 15

The weather was a gorgeous 80 degrees today until the sky clouded over and a storm moved in. That was all the excuse I needed to make a nice big batch of this Chicken Tomatillo Soup.

You basically saute 6-8 peppers of your choice (I used red & green bell, jalapenos and poblanos), with some garlic & onions. Season with chipotle powder, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and salt (use about 2 tsp of each). Then you add a large can of tomatillos, drained & chopped, about 2 lbs of shredded, cooked chicken breasts or pulled pork and 4 cups of chicken broth. Simmer for about 2 hours and then gobble up.

I'm not exact in the measurements because I don't measure for this recipe. I've made it so frequently that I just add a little of this and that. My non-Paleo husband likes it with mozzarella cheese, crunched up tortilla chips and sour cream. To each his own!

Paleo Plate Pictures: Day 14

This is what happens at home when you are in charge of Teacher Appreciation Week at school. Your house, your children, your spouse gets ignored (and this is nothing. You should see what we've done to my partner in crime, Evelyn's, kitchen!).

I would take the craziness of this week times 10 because my daughters' teacher are so worth it. We have been incredibly blessed with stellar teachers through the years. Teachers that were born to teach. Teachers so deserving of much more than a simple week of gratitude.

But needless to say, because I've been living at the school and in Evelyn's kitchen (and occasionally in mine), I'm certainly not going to be taking the time to cook up a hearty Paleo feast. So I've turned to Qdoba.

And they never disappoint!

Paleo Plate Pictures: Day 13

Dishonesty is one of my biggest pet peeves (that and dirty microwaves), and I try my best to be a pretty honest person. My mother says I'm brutally honest, so technically what can often be considered a desired trait can also be a flaw.

But I blatantly lied once when I wrote my resume. I said "multitasking" was one of my greatest strengths. I'm not sure how a wooden nose didn't shoot out of my face the instant I typed that word. It was the furthest thing from the truth.

Mark is always telling me about how he'll be in his patrol car running someone's plates on the computer while simultaneously talking on the phone and his radio and maneuvering through traffic. I would have long since mowed down a pedestrian and taken out a stop sign or two if that was my job. Luckily for the fine citizens of Boise, it is not.

Because I can't even saute onions and garlic while unloading a dishwasher 3 feet away. See those little black charred bits in the photos above. Those are onions. Well, were onions before they met my greatest strength.

I just pretended I was going for a smokey flavor and ate them anyway. I'm flexible like that.

Scrambled Eggs with Avocados and Tomatoes
Sauteed Broccoli, Peppers and Zucchini with charcoaled onions & garlic
Orange slices

I'm flying to Seattle tomorrow for the Tacoma Marathon. If you never see another Paleo post from me it's because I didn't make it. I'd say wish me luck, but at this point luck can't even help me.

Paleo Plate Pictures: Day 12

I had to keep stuffing my face with snacks like this all day because all I want to do is eat some caramel corn. Or cookies. Or a bread stick. Or some sea salt caramels.

When I get really busy, I find myself not paying attention to my nutritional needs. It's eat this on the run. Grab that quickly. Rush here. Rush there. Repeat. All the hurrying causes me to forget breakfast. Forget my water bottle. And forget my will power.

Here's hoping life slows down here before too long or I'll find myself elbow deep in a pan of gooey brownies.

Paleo Plate Pictures: Day 11

I can't stop eating this. It's possible it's one of my very favorite new recipes. It is so simple too. And we just so happen to be growing spaghetti squash in our garden, so I suspect this will become a summer staple. Next time I'm going to add grilled chicken and make it a full meal as opposed to a side dish. Did I mention it's delish?

Tomato Basil Spaghetti Squash

1 Spaghetti Squash
Olive Oil
Garlic Salt
Pepper
2 small Roma Tomatoes, chopped
2-4 Tbs Fresh Basil Leaves, finely chopped
Grated Asiago and Romano Cheese (can also use parmesan or mozza)

Preheat your oven to 400. Hack the squash in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scrape out all the guts. Drizzle olive oil all over each half, then sprinkle garlic salt and pepper (totally your call on how much here. You can always add more after it's baked). Place squash cut-side down on a baking sheet (I put mine on a Silpat) and bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully flip over. Use fork to pull squash strings away from the side. Mix in the tomatoes and basil and top with cheese (again, your discretion. I just used a pinch, but my kiddos like a bit more). Place back in the oven and broil on high for 3 minutes.

Yumm-o!