Shrimp Ceviche

My wife and I love shrimp and I am always looking for different ways to prepare it. We tried this recently and it was very successful!

Ingredients
Ceviche:
2 pounds small (41 to 50 per pound) shrimp, peeled and deveined, see Cook's Notes
3 lemons, juiced
3 limes, juiced
2 oranges, juiced

Salsa
1 large tomato, seeded, and cut into medium dice (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/3 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced Spanish onion
1 teaspoon finely chopped chile pepper, see Cook's Notes
1 lime, juiced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Good quality corn tortilla chips, for serving

Directions
To make the ceviche: Toss the shrimp with the lemon, lime and orange juices in a large non-reactive bowl. Refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours or until the shrimp have turned opaque.

While the shrimp is "cooking," make the salsa: Toss the tomato, cilantro, olive oil, onion, chile, and lime juice in a bowl to mix. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

When the shrimp are ready, drain them and discard the marinade. Toss with the salsa. Divide among martini glasses or other serving dishes and garnish each with a corn tortilla chip. Pass remaining chips separately.

Cook's Notes: Peeled and deveined shrimp are now available at most markets. You will save a considerable amount of prep time by purchasing "P and D" shrimp instead of those that need to be peeled and deveined.

Choose your chile depending on how much heat you can tolerate. For a milder dish, choose serranos or jalapenos and remove the seeds before chopping.

Mexican Pork Tenderloin

This goes with everything and anything, I enjoy some quinoa and some fresh grilled veggies!

Ingredients:

1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
2 chipotle peppers canned in adobo (adjust to your heat level)
3 T cider vinegar
2 T orange juice (I've seen some add more)
1 T sugar
2 teas canola oil
1 teas fresh oregano (less if dried)
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin
1/2 teas ground cumin
1/2 teas salt
1/4 teas black pepper

Directions:

1. Using cooking spray, cook the onion & garlic over med-hi heat for 5-7 minutes. Puree in a blender with the chile peppers, vinegar, OJ, sugar, oil, oregano. Place pork in a shallow dish & massage in the pureed paste. Cover & chill overnight.
2. Preheat grill to med-hi heat.
3. In small bowl, combine cumin, salt, pepper. Remove pork from marinade. Rub with the cumin mixture. Grill for 10 minutes & move to a cooler section of the grill. Cover & grill until desired temperature. Remove, cover & let rest for 5 minutes or so. Slice & top with avocado if desired.

Lemon, Prosciutto and Spinach Smothered Chicken

Who doesn’t love prosciutto?! Prosciutto gets all crispy and delicious and is the perfect flavor to complement the crispness of lemon. One of my favorites dishes is Chicken or Veal Saltimbocca, but as I try to stay away from pasta and remain Primal I need to get my fix without falling off the path of what I am doing. This plate gives me that experience without the guilt. But don’t just take my word for it, try it yourself and see!

4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken breasts

2-4 T fat of choice: coconut or olive oil, butter, animal, etc.

9 oz fresh spinach

4 oz prosciutto, torn into pieces

2 shallots (or ½ medium onion), chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 Meyer lemon (regular lemon would work, too, but Meyer lemons are ridiculously amazing in here)

salt and pepper

pinch garlic powder

Optional ingredients if you eat dairy:

1/3 cup feta cheese

sprinkling of Romano

*Feta and Romano are excellent, healthy choices if you can eat dairy. Romano is almost always made from the milk of grass fed sheep and feta is also usually made from the milk of grass fed goat or sheep.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat your oven to 375.

In a 9×13 baking dish, add 1-2 T fat of choice. Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken breast and add a small sprinkle of garlic powder to them.

Bake for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is baking, add 1-2 T of fat to a large skillet over medium heat.

Add your shallots (or onion) and garlic and cook for one minute.

Add the prosciutto and spinach to the pan and cook just until the spinach wilts. It won’t take very long at all.

Remove the skillet from the heat.

Once your chicken has baked for 20 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and spread the spinach mixture evenly over each chicken breast. If you are using the cheese, sprinkle the romano over each spinach topped breast and then add the feta.

Cut ¾ of the Meyer lemon into very thin slices and make sure to remove the seeds. Place the slices over the chicken breasts. Squeeze the juice from the remaining ¼ of lemon over all the chicken breasts.

Place the baking pan back into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until chicken is cooked throughout. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

And yes, you can eat the whole Meyer Lemon slice – rind and all! It’s amazing!

Pomegranate Arugula Salad

A simple salad that will fill you up and provide taste, texture and personality all along a Primal plan. 

4 cups of arugula
½ cup of pomegranate seeds
¼ cup of chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

In a large salad bowl, combine arugula, pomegranate seeds, and walnuts. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar mixture, toss, and serve.

Chicken and Goat Cheese Pizza With Fresh Herbs

This was one of those "let's try this one and see if the kids like it" ideas. Well, I got pretty good reviews from the family on this one so give it a try and let me know what you think!

Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

I have had fish tacos before and I have prepared them a number of ways but last night I think I found a way that made them enjoyable not only for me but for all four of us. You see my kids are pretty picky when it comes to what we eat so I am always looking for ways to get them to eat healthy. Give this a try and I think you may find success.

Ingredients
Fish, I keep frozen tilapia in my freezer at all times, you can pick up a bag of individually sealed filets at you local Sam's Club or whatever bulk location you shop at.
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound white flaky fish fillet, like tilapia or halibut

You can also bypass the marinade and do the bottled Baha Chipotle if you are culinary challenged.

Chipotle cream:
• 1/2 cup plain nonfat yogurt
• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons chipotle pepper, in adobo sauce (you can use the Baha Chipotle marinade here also!)
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage or lettuce
• 1/2 cup corn kernels (thawed if frozen)
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• Lime wedges

Directions
In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.

Pour over the fish fillets and let marinate for 20 minutes. Put the yogurt into a strainer lined with paper towel and place over a bowl to drain and thicken for 20 minutes.

Remove the fish from the marinade and grill on a preheated grill or nonstick grill pan over a medium-high heat until cooked thorough, about 3 minutes per side. Set the fish aside on a plate for 5 minutes. (you can also bake this in your oven)

In a small bowl combine the thickened yogurt, mayonnaise, and chipotle pepper.

Heat the tortillas on the grill or grill pan for 30 seconds on each side.

Flake the fish with a fork. Top each tortilla with 1 tablespoon of the chipotle cream. Top with fish, cabbage, corn and cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

I made a side salad to go with this that worked well if you are interested.

Ingredients
• 3 cups of Fresh Spinach
• One small can of Mandarin oranges
• Half of a medium red onion diced into 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch squares
• 1/4 cup of Ken's raspberry vinaigrette dressing

Directions

Place all in a mixing bowl and hand toss!

If you really want to get the full experience try a nice Reisling wine with this!