Paleo Chicken Stir Fry with Shiitake Mushrooms & Baby Bok Choy

Stir fries rarely disappoint! They are quick, tasty and have the ability to please just about everyone! Simply put, they are "feel-good meals"! Tonight, my daughter and I picked out our favorite ingredient and built our dinner around that. Our ingredient: shiitake mushrooms! Oh, we just love those and any excuse to add those to a dinner makes for a couple of very happy ladies! I hope this stir fry makes you happy and feel good, too!

Recipe:

4 chicken breasts, sliced in thin strips

2 T coconut oil

4 baby bok choy

1 sweet onion, sliced

1 T fresh ginger, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

18-20 shiitake mushrooms, sliced

2 T toasted sesame seeds

1/2 C coconut aminos, divided

Marinate chicken strips in 1/4 C coconut aminos (for at least 20 minutes). In a large skillet, heat 1 T coconut oil over medium/high heat. Add chicken strips to pan and quickly saute until browned. Remove from skillet, and set aside. Add another T coconut oil to skillet and saute garlic, onions and ginger. After a couple minutes, add bok choy and shiitake mushrooms. Stir continuously. Slowly add remaining coconut aminos. When bok choy is slightly tender, add chicken strips back to pan. Toss all ingredients well and add sesame seeds and serve! (IF desired, drizzle with just a tad of sesame oil and a pinch of course grey sea salt). Enjoy!

Shrimp & Cabbage Stir Fry

Oooops. I forgot to take something out of the freezer, and I had NO idea what to do for dinner! Ever have one of those nights? I used another great shopping staple from Costco... frozen shrimp! It is super quick to thaw and doesn't take long to cook. This was made up on-the-spot, with ingredients I had on hand (lots of miscellaneous veggies). I am happy to report that is was VERY tasty. Hope you enjoy our last minute, unplanned creation! Paleo meals CAN most definitely accommodate our busy lives. It doesn't hurt to keep some easily thawed items in the freezer for emergencies! :-)

Now, I'm off to bed... a bit sore from today's Turkish Get-Ups!

Recipe:

1 shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T olive oil

1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped

2 C mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup cashews, raw, unsalted

1/2 C fresh Italian parsley, chopped

~1 lb. shrimp

1 small head cabbage, chopped

1/4 tsp. red chile flakes

2 T coconut aminos ("Coconut Secret" soy sauce substitute)

1 tsp. wasabi

Pinch sea salt

Heat oil in large skillet. Saute garlic and shallots. Add peppers, mushrooms, cashews and Italian parsley. When mixture looks thoroughly sauteed (about 5 minutes) remove to a separate dish and add a little more olive oil to skillet. Saute shrimp and cook until just no longer pink, and remove. (I do not like over-cooked shrimp... too rubbery!). Now add cabbage to skillet (maybe a tad more olive oil). Let the cabbage cook down a bit (about 8 minutes). While that's cooking combine wasabi, chili flakes, sea salt and coconut aminos. Now add all ingredients back to the cabbage saute. Mix well, making sure everything is thoroughly heated and well blended. Serve up, and enjoy!

Shrimp & Broccoli Stir Fry

A good old shrimp stir fry is such a great stand-by dinner! You can really use whatever vegetables you have on hand! And you can change up the spices to whatever suites your fancy! It doesn't take much time, and it always turns out delicious! I always keep the 2 lb. bag of frozen shrimp handy from Costco. I buy the raw, tail-on, peeled & deveined! This is one of my favorite quick meals.... Hope you enjoy!

Tonight's stir-fry:

Shrimp, (I took out about 20 frozen shrimp and did a quick thaw in warm water)

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 C grated carrots

1 C chopped broccoli

3 small red sweet peppers, chopped

1/4 C coconut aminos (soy substitute)

2 tsp. olive oil

dash cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp. black pepper

pinch sea salt (optional)

Heat olive oil in a skillet, and saute shrimp (this is when I added a little cayenne pepper and red pepper flakes). Cook until nicely pink! Set aside. In same pan, heat a little more oil (if necessary) and saute onion and garlic. Add peppers, broccoli and carrots. Add the coconut aminos and cook until vegetables are just tender. Add shrimp back to pan. Season with a little black pepper and sea salt (if desired). Toss well and serve! Enjoy!