I hate March. I do not care if it's the month when you were born. Nor do I care if it is when your child was born, your grandmother, dog, cat, parakeet, or any other pet/family member/friend. If it's the month of your wedding anniversary, I am sorry. You can finally get your driver's license? Ditto. There is nothing about this horrible, brown, muddy, ugly, insanely LONG month, that warrants glee. Sure there is St. Patrick's Day (which I love), but even this wonderful binge-drinking holiday cannot pull me from my funk during the month of March, it is just simply the longest and ugliest month of the year.
It is no surprise that Eric and I found ourselves ordering and eating out more in the last four weeks than we did in the three months prior. This should also bring around the answer (lightbulb moment) as to why I have been the m.i.a. blogger as well. Motivation is hard to find when all you see outside are dirty sidewalks, maize-colored lawns, and icy cold rain mixed with a bitter wind. Perhaps I should apologize to all those who I whined to during those long 31 days, but honestly the snow on Friday did not improve my spirits, nor did my allergies, so don't hold your breath.
However, let's pretend for a moment that I am an optimist (hah!) and I am trying to see the "silver lining." One such optimist would point out at this time (rather obnoxiously) that although March sucked, at least I gathered a plethora of quick and easy primal recipes from the deal. The same giddy, smiling, slightly annoying person might also point out that it is now April and spring is in the air. That person is very close to getting a slap upside the head, however they are correct (I hate it when those happy people are right). Eric and I managed to drag ourselves (and our primal-ness) through the longest month ever fairly intact by doing several things: 1) drank lots of red wine, 2) ate the same thing A LOT 3) found some snazzy shortcuts to make delicious meals in a pinch while Rachel is sulking... that is to say IF I actually sulked.
So, although I planned to share everything about bacon in this post, I will instead be sharing several quick meals. If you have a problem with that it might be wise to tell me so in May when the leaves are out. These meals were originally broken into two posts (mostly because I hate overly long posts), but I changed my mind and they are now one. In this lengthy blog you will find #1 Carnitas con Huevos (pulled pork and eggs) , #2 Cajun Soy Chicken Drumsticks, and #2 Almond-Parmesan Chicken Tenders with Asparagus.
As always, we hope you enjoy...
#1 Carnitas con Huevos
- Trader Joe's pre-cooked/packaged Traditional Carnitas
- Eggs (we do one per person)
- Cheese (American is suggested)
- 1 bell pepper, choppped
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 3 cups fresh, uncooked spinach
- 1 tbsp cumin, garlic powder, onion powder (or more to taste)
- 1 tsp chili powder (same as above)
- 1 tsp Frank's Red Hot (ditto)
- 1/4 cup water
- salt and pepper to (you guessed it) taste!
- sometimes we add chopped onion as well if we aren't being lazy!
- if you like salsa, pick one as a condiment
Cut a small vent hole or two in the TJ's carnitas and microwave for 2ish minutes. You want it hot but not completely re-heated. Take it out of the bag and carefully shred without burning yourself. I use my hands, Eric uses two forks. Pre-heat a large skillet to medium and add a little olive oil with your garlic cloves and pepper. Saute for 2 minutes and then add shredded pork. Mix around for another 2 minutes, then add water and all spices. You might need to drizzle more water occassionally since the pork is like a sponge for some reason. 
Once everything is well mixed and the pork is hot, maybe even starting to brown a little, add the spinach and mix until wilted (30 seconds). Portion out onto plates, but keep the pan on, spray with olive oil, and add the desired amount of eggs. Eric and I like ours over easy but any kind is fine. When the eggs are almost done (you need to know how to cook eggs I am not telling you how to tell if they are done) add the cheese to the top and let melt. Add the finished product to the top of your pork tower, some salsa on the side, and voila!... you have yourself a nice breakfast, dinner, or hungover snack.
So. Good. It makes about 3 servings for us, but maybe more if you aren't an aggressive eater. Remember to let the egg yolk mix with the goodness below, and try not to sigh too much.
On to the next; the most primal of them all, and usually our emergency lunch top pick!
I must say, nothing is quite as primal, caveman (or woman) evoking, as ripping meat from the bone with your bare teeth. Sidenote: for my vegetarian friends, in case you didn't figure it out already, this post might not be for you. I mean, yeah it's gross to watch other people enjoying side ribs, wings, or drumsticks, and maybe I tend to judge, but if I am the one on the eating end you will hear no complaints. Luckily, cooking parts of animal legs in the oven also happens to be very easy, although kind of lengthy in terms of time in the oven. Here is our most common go to meal when we are starving, irritable, and just don't feel like prepping much.
#2 Cajun Soy Drumsticks with Simple Salad
- chicken drumsticks (we get the big ones from BJ's)
- olive oil
- soy sauce
- cajun seasoning, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper
- spinach (or other salad base)
- chopped red peppers, goat cheese, black olives (or your own toppings)
- tinfoil and baking sheet
Preheat oven to 425. Our drumsticks are always frozen, so they cook for a total of about an hour. If yours are thawed, cut the time in about half. Line pan with tinfoil (just makes life easier) and place drumsticks onto pan.
Drizzle with olive oil (easy on the oil), and dust with all the dry seasonings. We put on a good amount, then flip them over and repeat. Place in oven for 3/4 of the needed cooking time (45mins if frozen, 20ish if thawed) and then pull out of oven to drizzle with soy sauce, flip and repeat. Put back in for about 10 minutes regardless of frozen or thawed and take out one more time for another soy drizzle. Let cook the rest of the time until done.
We prep the simple salad while drooling over the smell of the roasting chicken legs and then just add the drumsticks at the end. Use your favorite dressing for the salad (and chicken if you want), and remember... cavepeople don't use napkins!
This last quick meal was all Eric, he is just making me write about it. We usually work together on this meal, one is the "dunker" while the other cooks (aka sets off the smoke alarm). I say this meal is easy in the sense of prep, but honestly anytime I try to cook a breaded anything I always end up making our place very smokey. At least the result is always delicious! Here goes...
#3 Almond-Parmesan Chicken Tenders with Asparagus
(enough to feed us for dinner and have leftovers)
- 2 lbs chicken breasts cut into "tender sized" piece
- 1ish cup of almond flour (will vary on how much breading you like)
- 1/2ish cup finely grated parmesan cheese (again, varies)
- to taste: salt, pepper, italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder
- 2 eggs beaten in a bowl
- 1 ?bunch? asparagus (is it called a bunch?)
- olive oil, lots of olive oil
For this one I always cook the chicken tenders fist and worry about the asparagus after, but if you handle stress well go for the gold and start the asparagus halfway through all the tenders being done. The first thing you need to do is get your tender assembly line going. Chicken tenders, then egg, then breading mixture. To create the breading, just mix with a fork all the dry ingredients (almond, parm, seasonings). sidenote: I never make enough the first time and as a result am frantically re-mixing halfway through... measuring is for wimps anyways. Anyways, get that assembly line ready and then get tendering! Dip the tender in egg to coat, then both sides get pressed into the second bowl of breading. Some people like to repeat this one more time but I always just throw them right in the pan. However, if you have more patience, double dip, then lay the tenders on a plate so you can throw them all in the pan at the same time.
Once the tenders are made (over-acheiver) heat the pan to medium. Pour in enough olive oil to cover the pan and put in your first batch of tenders. PLACE THEM GENTLY in the pan, otherwise the coating will come off and you will start swearing. Seriously. Be careful. I cover them while each sside cooks to speed up the process (again, I am impatient), but you can cook them over a lower heat for a longer time if you have all day. Flip them when they are brown on the cooking side and repeat. Make sure to add olive oil when you flip. Also, make sure to cut into the fattest tender to make sure they are done before you remove them. It's no fun biting into a raw tender *ahem*
Continue the breading and flipping process until you have a nice stack of cooked tenders sitting on a plate covered in a paper towel.
Now you can added your asparagus, a little more oil, some garlic powder, onion powder, and maybe a dash of water to the pan. Cover for real this time and let cook until they are desired crunchy-ness.
Get a plate, heap it with tenders and asparagus, add ketchup, and eat away... these guys are filling but I swear they are better than normal tenders, and better for you too!
Here ends our first Quick Meals... these have all been R&E originals
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