15 Minute Meals: Pan Seared Lamb With Brussels Sprouts & Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Firstly, I'm quite sorry for the long absence. I spend the weekend celebrating my 30th birthday and was tied up with preparations and celebrations! I'm going to be doing a post about the party, as the menu was almost gluten & dairy free thanks to the wonderful catering of Magdalena Banquet Hall in San Francisco, but I'm waiting on the photos to share.

All the celebrations and house guests didn't allow for a lot of time for cooking, so I came up with some simple Paleo recipes that don't require too much prep or cook time.  This is the first post of several more to come on the topic to 15 minute minute meals.

Many of the ingredients are from Trader Joe's and unfortunately the vegetables are not organic. I strive to eat about 90% organic but sometimes the need for convenience is more important than the need for being organic. Ideally, Trader Joe's would have a greater selection of organic products, but one can only wish. Luckily, I did find this gem there:

Yay for Pastured Raised Lamb at Trader Joe's! I paired the lamb with frozen Brussels Sprouts and half a can of organic fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies. The total prep time for the meal was 15 minutes, because sometimes you just don't have the time to slow roast fresh ingredients, but still want to eat good food.

Pan Seared Lamb With Brussels Sprouts & Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients

2 Pasture Raised Lamb Steaks

1 tbsp Duck Fat

1 tsp Celtic Salt

1 tsp Bavarian Seasoning

1/2 can Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes

1 bag of frozen Brussels Sprouts

Process:

1. Melt duck fat in pan on medium heat

2. Cost each side of steaks with seasoning and salt

3. Place lamb in pan and sear for 6 minutes

4. In a dutch oven, place Brussels Sprouts and tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes

5. Flip steak and cook on opposite side for 6-8 minutes

6. Serve & Enjoy!

Weekend Snack Attack! Real Food for Your Weekend Out & About

Why is eating good food on the weekends so hard for me?? During the work week, I pack breakfast, lunch and snacks to store in the fridge at the office, but during the weekend I have a much harder time planning ahead. The result is a hungry me, standing in line for food at birthday parties, willing to ignore my food allergies and sensitivities. I think one difficulty I seem to have is figuring how to make real food portable and capable of surviving a full day in my bag. I'm getting better at planning but there is still much more that can and will be done. This weekend, I did make some headway and came up with a couple items that I was able to carry around with me: roasted Brussels sprouts and kale & shallot mini quiches.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients:
4 cups Brussels Sprouts
2 tsp Bavarian Spice
1 tsp Celtic Salt
2 tbsp Olive Oil

Process
1. Preheat oven to 425 

2. Wash Brussels Sprouts and slice in half length wise

3. Place into glass baking dish and pour oil evenly throughout the dish

4. Sprinkle salt and spices and mix well with a wooden spoon

5. Bake in oven for 35-40 minutes

6. Enjoy!

Kale & Shallot Mini Quiches (makes ten)
Ingredients:
4 stems of red kale
1 tbsp ghee
1 large shallot
8 eggs
1/2 tsp salt for kale
1/2 tsp salt for eggs
1/4 cup water
1/2 smoked paprika
1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
Dash of pepper from a grinder


Process:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Heat ghee in pan

3. Chop shallots finely and put in pan to brown

4. While shallots are browning, chop kale very finely

5. Add kale into pan, add vinegar, salt, and paprika

6. Saute for 8 minutes and set aside to cool

7. In a bowl, break 8 eggs and salt salt and pepper

8. Whisk eggs for a few minutes and add water and whisk for a minute

9. Add in sauteed kale and mix well

10. Line a muffin tin with muffin cups, pour in mixture

11. Bake for 22-25 minutes

 

12. Enjoy!