Wild Duck Skewers with Apricot Dipping Sauce
Quack!
Is that too much already? I needed to get it out of my system.
This is my very first duck dish, you guys. First time I’ve made it and possibly first time I’ve eaten it. We got some wild duck breasts from a friend (thanks, Joe!) and they sat in my freezer for awhile.. just waiting until I was brave enough to cook them. And then they sat in the fridge thawing for awhile.. as I tried to decide what in the world to do with them. #firstworldproblems
Which brings us to skewers. When you don’t know what to do with something, just put it on a stick. (New life motto in progress).
Any brainiac would tell you to put these on the grill, but I am a lazy person (we have a charcoal grill, haha) so I did them in the oven along with some squash that didn’t make the photo. While they were quickly cooking, I made the apricot dipping sauce on the stove. The original plan was actually to put halved apricots on the skewers like I saw in this beautiful post, but I waited too long and the apricots got a bit soft, so I went with sauce instead. Just a little change of plans.
Honestly, I was a little nervous about how the duck would turn out. The breasts had the fat removed, so all of the typical duck cooking advice did not apply and I was afraid it would be dry and bland. The meat ended up being quite flavorful- even the kids were eating off sticks like little cave people. It was kind of a giant mess, but very entertaining at the time. I think next time I would actually baste the skewers with the sauce when they come out of the oven to help the duck retain some moisture- so definitely try that out the next time you’re skewering some duck. It won’t cut down on the mess, but I think it would take the dish up a notch.
These random freezer-clean-out meals have been stretching my culinary comfort zone. It’s been fun, but kind of exhausting mentally. I’m ready to start fresh.
- 2 lb duck breasts, trimmed
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar (make sure there is no added sugar for GAPS)
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
- 1 small onion, minced
- 6 apricots, pitted and chopped
- juice of ½ orange
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (consider removing this or making homemade mustard for true GAPS or paleo)
- chopped parsley, for serving
- A few hours (or up to a day) before you’re ready to cook, marinate the duck in the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use. Soak your wooden skewers in water, if using.
- Prepare your grill or preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Prepare the sauce- heat the butter in a saucepan and saute the onion until it begins to soften. Add the apricots and cook until they begin to break down. Add the orange juice, honey, mustard and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking as the duck cooks. Puree with a stick blender if you like a smoother sauce.
- Cut the duck breasts into small chunks and place on skewers. Grill for just a few minutes on each side or bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes per side. Try not to overcook the duck- it’s okay for it to be pink. Baste with the sauce if you like and serve immediately with the chopped parsley.
Salmon, Swiss Chard and Egg Skillet
It’s been a minute since I posted a savory recipe, hasn’t it? It’s been all juice concoctions and coffee cake and pancake stacks up in here lately.
It’s a lot easier to post things like fat pancakes and banana bread that I can photograph during nap time than it is to catch a photo of what we’re actually eating for dinner. (All my food bloggers out there know what’s up.) I have lots of savory meals I’d love to share with you, I just have to figure out the logistics.
I have a bit of a thing with breakfast/breakfast-for-dinner foods. More specifically, baked eggs. The last savory item you saw here on Oven Love was Baked Eggs with Spinach and Bacon, which is a no-brainer combination that I had to share. If you haven’t tried those yet, add ’em to your list- you won’t be sorry.
Now here I am putting a whole skillet of baked eggs in your face. Can you blame me, though? I would eat a tree branch if it were covered with runny egg yolk. (Ugh, please, no one take me up on that.) Dippy eggs for life!
You guys this is a ONE DISH meal. All you need is the skillet. Hallelujah for less dishes! I am the queen of the giant, everlasting dish pile. If you’ve ever spent more than an hour or two at my house, you’ve seen it. You also might have seen it here.
It is also a FIVE-ingredient meal (if you don’t count the cooking fat, salt and pepper). Win.
By the way, I have been toying with the idea of writing an e-cookbook of five-ingredient meals. The recipes would be whole-food, grain-free and labeled as Paleo/GAPS/Whole 30/Blah-Blah-Blah. 😉 Meals like this one that are simple, but not bland. Easy, but still interesting.
Is that something you guys would be into?
Because if you’re into it, I’m into it! I feel like I’ve gotten into a bit of a same-old-same-old rut with the blog and I need a new project to inspire me. If that idea sounds lame and you want me to just continue posting and keeping things normal, then I’m cool with that, too. I just want us all to be a big, happy family with full, happy bellies.
If you have any other cool ideas you think I should take on, share those with me, too! I’d love to hear about them.
Also, a few more things about this meal:
- You can swap out the salmon for any other hearty fish or meat (or even more veggies)
- You can substitute kale, spinach or another dark leafy green for the chard
- You can use pre-cooked salmon for a meal that comes together even faster
- You should probably smother this with mashed avocado, just to be safe
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 12-16 ounces fresh salmon (or other hearty fish)
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 bunch Swiss Chard, chopped (stems included if you like them)
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- salt and pepper
- 4-6 eggs
- fresh herbs for garnish (optional; I used a bit of basil on top)
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- When the skillet is warm, add the butter until it sizzles. Add the salmon and cook on both sides until it flakes easily with a fork, about 5 minutes per side (depending on how thick your salmon is). Set the salmon aside. **You could also use previously cooked salmon to make this an even faster dinner.**
- Scrape any bits of salmon skin off of the pan and add more butter, if needed. Fry the onion in the butter until it begins to soften. Add the chard and continue cooking until it wilts. Then add the garlic and season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until the vegetables are soft.
- While the vegetables are cooking, flake the salmon into large chunks with a fork. After the veggies are cooked through, add the salmon to the skillet. Give it one gentle stir to incorporate.
- Crack the eggs on top of the salmon mixture. Put the whole skillet in the preheated oven and cook until the eggs are set to your liking (anywhere from 5-15 minutes). Check them often so you don’t overcook and serve immediately out of the oven.
Coconut Banana Bread (GAPS, Paleo, Grain-free)
I think my kids are getting sick of bananas.
They used to eat them up non-stop, but not lately. No interest at all. Whole bunches used to disappear in a day or two, but now all my bananas are sad, neglected and brown. But that means I get the chance to give them a new life as banana bread, so really, I’m not complaining. I just think it’s weird. I mean, who gets sick of bananas? They are awesome.
Well actually, you know what? I vaguely remember my mom telling me that I used to love bananas as a child and then I refused to eat them again until I was like 19. So.. maybe they were doomed from the start? Oh, and I also hated coconut forever and always, until like 3 years ago when it became my BFF. If you asked my pre-2010-self to eat this bread, I would have definitely said no.
If you asked me to eat this bread right now, I stop you mid-question and help myself.
This banana bread is like a coconut triple threat- coconut oil, coconut flour and shredded coconut all in one place. Drink it with a glass of coconut milk, slathered with coconut butter and you might explode. Or you can just be a normal person and eat it plain. Or toasted with some yummy grass-fed butter. Do what you want, no one’s watchin’!
Are you guys fans of baking with coconut flour? It took some getting used to for me, but now it’s my go-to flour. I love that a little goes a REALLY long way. I mean.. that stuff can suck up some liquid!
Wait! Before you go, this thought just hit me- this bread would be great for cutting into cubes, toasting and then making a parfait with coconut whipped cream, and maybe some fresh pineapple or mango? How great does that sound? I will definitely be looking into that for you ASAP. I want that in my belly now.
Anyone else have an inspired banana-bread-related idea? I’m all ears.
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted and cooled (ghee can be used here as well)
- ½ cup raw honey
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 6 eggs (room temperature is best)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract (optional)
- ¾ cup coconut flour
- 2 bananas, mashed
- 2 tablespoons shredded or desiccated coconut
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a standard loaf pan with coconut oil.
- In a small bowl, combine the coconut oil and honey.
- In a large bowl, whisk the salt, eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract. Whisk in the coconut oil and honey mixture. Next, whisk in the coconut flour until completely combined with no lumps. Lastly, stir in the mashed bananas.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and top with the shredded coconut.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If your coconut topping is browning fast, tent some aluminum foil on top to prevent burning.
- Let cool completely (or as long as you can wait!) before removing from the loaf pan and serving. Keep refrigerated.
Moving, Snacking and Cleaning out the Freezer.
The countdown is on, people!
We move out of this house in four weeks. Unbelievable.
I’m at the point where I start thinking sappy thoughts about my friends and my town, and then I have to snap myself out of it and try to remember my best sappy stuff for future moments when I’m writing thank-you notes or trying to say goodbye/sobbing at our going-away party. Get it together, sister!
Aside from cleaning things up to show our house, we haven’t done much packing or anything yet. My main focus has been eating all the food in the chest freezer because I can’t bear to think about all the other stuff I should actually be doing. I made a list of all the stuff that needs to be eaten, posted it on the fridge and we are working our way through it. Bring on the awkward (I mean, creative?) meals made of random freezer and pantry ingredients, hooray!
Since the whole thing was consuming my thoughts, I wrote more about it over at MPMK. The focus of the post is how to eat healthily while you’re moving or traveling. I am a little scared that I won’t be able to stay on the GAPS wagon during this transition, but I am darn well going to try! The snacks pictured above are some of my favorite on-the-go foods that hold up well during travel (love me some pistachios on a road trip!)
Tell me how you stay healthy when things get stressful or you’re on the go. I want to know your secrets!
Friday Things.
(photo from yesterday’s post, Grain-Free Peach Cobbler)
Hi, dolls!
It’s Friday, thanks Heavs. My hubby is on his way home and I couldn’t be happier! Only one more week of training and he’s ours for good again. Yes. Just in time to help us pack up and get our rear ends up to Ohio..
Anyways, amidst all the moving business (aka house showings and paperwork and avoiding actually packing anything), I just thought I’d chat it up with you a little bit and share some links that have been on my radar this week. Enjoy!
Cold Avocado Soup. Let’s discuss. Looks good, sounds good.. can’t imagine actually preparing it or putting it in my mouth. I have never been on board with cold soups.. it just seems weird to me. Like eating a smoothie out of a bowl? But again, I really think it sounds good, so maybe I’ll grow up a little and try it.
I definitely need this ghee tutorial. If you follow me on Twitter, maybe you remember when I totally burned a batch a few months back? #gheefail
Have you ever heard of Jaggery? This post was my introduction and now I really want to try it. I love products with traditional preparations.
This super cute shop called Camp Brand Goods is calling my name. I want all the things.
The move is in about a month, and I’m planning on picking up one of these books about moving for the kids. Anyone else have any book recommendations or tips on how to prepare the little ones for moving day?
Wondering if I can pull off one of these turbands. I love the look, but I’m 98% positive that I am not cool enough to wear it.
I loved this post with Pandora workout station recommendations. I would like to officially add “Eye of the Tiger” radio to the list ‘cuz it’s my jam.
And lastly, The Surest Way to Promote God’s Good Plan for Marriage and some sweet words on Teaching Children the Bible (which features my very favorite kid’s bible.)
Grain-Free Peach Cobbler (Paleo, GAPS)
Feels good to be home.
Feels good to be home alone, with no babies. Just for the day.
Feels good to do some cooking, take some pictures and be leisurely about writing a blog post.
(Also feels good to watch old episodes of Friday Night Lights while I do.)
The kids and I were traveling and visiting family for the last two weeks, and we were lucky enough to have my parents come back to spend the July 4th holiday with us. While they were here, we went down to Lane Southern Orchards for their celebration. They’re a huge producer of peaches here in GA and they make an awesome peach cobbler. Since I’m on GAPS, I couldn’t enjoy Lane’s cobbler while we were there, so the idea of a grain-free cobbler has been bouncing around in my head for a few days.
Today, since I’m home alone, I finally had the chance to mess around in the kitchen. I took one bite and I knew I had to sit right now and blog the recipe right away. Now, I’m not a real Southerner, and I haven’t had many cobblers in my life, but the taste and texture of this recipe is just what I expected a cobbler to be.
This is one of those grain-free recipes that I think anyone (grain-free or not) would enjoy. You can rest easy serving this to a wide range of guests- it’s grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free if you want, paleo, full GAPS, vegetarian and vegan-adaptable if you want.. really simple and crowd pleasing. Great choice for a summer potluck if you bake it in an 8×8 pan- or you can bake it in ramekins I did (in the hopes that I wouldn’t eat the whole thing in one sitting. I’m doing good on that so far, but it’s touch and go.)
This would be delicious served with ice cream, whipped cream or coconut whip (I actually meant to top it with coconut whip, but it’s too hot in my house to make any. The A/C is out so it’s kinda roasty in here).
I feel like maybe these cobblers are my little grain-free ode to Georgia.. we’re 5 weeks away from leaving and I’m starting to get sentimental about the place. Sentimental meaning I am eating a whole lot of peaches, saying a lot of y’alls, listening to Down Home Girl on repeat and seriously watching too much Friday Night Lights.
And tonight, I’ll be eating cobbler while I watch, y’all. Georgia forever.
- 2 cups peaches; peeled, pitted and sliced
- ¼ cup filtered water
- 4 tablespoons butter (I use KerryGold) or coconut oil
- ¾ cup almond flour (I use Honeyville)
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup full-fat coconut milk or heavy cream
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons raw honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- cinnamon and nutmeg, for topping
- full-fat coconut milk, heavy cream or ice cream for topping
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- In a saucepan, add peaches and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, slice the butter into pieces and place them into 4-6 small ramekins or an 8×8 baking pan. Place the ramekins or baking pan in the oven and let the butter melt.
- While the butter is melting and peaches simmering, mix the almond flour, coconut milk/cream, egg, honey and vanilla until well-combined.
- Remove the baking dishes from the oven and pour the batter on top of the butter and do not mix. Drain the peaches and spoon them evenly over the mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg over the top.
- Bake the cobbler for 25-30 minutes or until they look brown and bubbly.
- Serve warm with a drizzle of full-fat coconut milk, heavy cream or ice cream.
16 Summer Sweet Potato Recipes
Last week, I shared my favorite summer chicken recipes. Today, I’m back with 16 ways to use the humble sweet potato. (I’m actually not eating sweet potatoes right now, but for some reason, I am still craving them and hoarding sweet potato recipes like it’s the end of the internet. It’s only a little heartbreaking to look at those gorgeous photos. Some day..)
Lots of great options here- fries, chips, soup, stuffed potatoes, and BROWNIES. Get to pinning!
Row 1: Thai Sweet Potato Stacks, Sweet Potato Almond Butter Muffins, Slow Cooker Beer Pulled Pork-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, Grilled Sweet Potatoes with Cherry Salsa
Row 2: Sweet Potato Breakfast Biscuits, Brown Butter Sweet Potato Doughnuts, Paleo Sweet Potato Brownies, Garlic Butter Sweet Potato Fries with Creamy Feta Dip
Row 3: Roasted Grape, Goat Cheese and Honey-Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Potato and Pineapple Salad, Black Bean, Sweet Potato and Red Quinoa Soup, Sweet Potato Pulled Pork Sliders
Row 4: Homemade BBQ Sweet Potato Chips, Baked Sweet Potato Falafel, Sweet Potato Coconut Curry Soup, Loaded Black Bean Sweet Potato Boats
Patriotic Pancake Stacks
I am pumped about these Red, White and Blueberry Pancake Stacks that I’m sharing at MPMK today. Seriously, I love them. I want to feed them to everyone. They are adorable, are they not? Perfect for 4th of July breakfast or any other patriotic holiday. Let’s celebrate ‘Merica with a short stack this year!
Best thing about these is how versatile they are- you can use your favorite pancake recipe (gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, vegan, whatever) and use dairy-free coconut whip if you need to. Adaptable to all diets- you know I love that! Go forth and eat pancakes, my friends.
16 Summer Chicken Recipes
Good day, darlings!
I have been noticing some trends on my Pinterest recipe boards and I thought I might take some time to share my latest favorites with you. I’ve been all about collecting summery chicken recipes, so here are 16 tasty meals to get that protein in this summer. There’s something for everyone- kabobs, burgers, wraps, salads, crock pot meals and a garbage-free CHIK FIL A KNOCK OFF RECIPE. So yeah, something for everyone. 😉
Cluck, cluck, cluck.
Row 1: Chipotle Chicken Kabobs with Avocado Cream Sauce, Caribbean Chicken, Cheddar Jalepeno Chicken Burgers with Guacamole, Crockpot Tex Mex Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Row 2: Grilled Chicken Salad with Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette, Barbecued Chicken, Thai Grilled Chicken Breasts, Raspberry Chicken Thighs
Row 3: Greek Chicken Burgers, Cashew Chicken Mango Salad, Garbage-Free Chik Fil A Nuggets, Slow Cooker Jerk Chicken
Row 4: Pineapple Chicken Kabobs, Pineapple Grilled Chicken, Paleo Jalepeno Chicken Burgers, Tropical Quinoa Lettuce Wraps
Grain-Free Fat Almond Pancake
A few weeks ago, I pinned this Fat Almond Pancake from Green Kitchen Stories and I knew I had to make one. (Definitely check out their blog, it’s gorgeous!) The original recipe wasn’t exactly grain-free, but I knew I could do some tweaking and make easily make it GAPS-friendly. I just loved the look and ease of it. And mainly, I just loved that it was called a fat pancake.
And so I hit the kitchen and came up with this beautiful thing. I mean, don’t you just want dig your spoon in there? You do. Trust me. We ate it hot and fresh from the oven for breakfast.. and then we ate it cold in the back of the car as we watched a freak rain storm.. then the kids finished it off during their bath time. So, yeah. We liked it.
Surprisingly, we all preferred to eat this cold. You can taste more of the almond flavor and the sweetness. I couldn’t tell you if it keeps well.. I imagine you’d want to eat it all in a day or two- let me know if it lasts that long in your house, I’d love to know how it keeps.
If you’re wondering, the fruit on top is a mix of strawberries, white peaches, blueberries and cherries. Any fresh summer fruit will do, but I love the look of the red, white and blue. Especially with the 4th coming up! This would be a perfect dish to whip up if you’re having company for the holiday.
Fat pancakes! It’s a thing.
- 5 eggs
- 2 cups milk (cow’s, coconut, almond.. etc)
- ½ cup pureed squash, apple or pear (or more milk, if you like)
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons almond flour
- 2 tbsp organic butter or coconut oil
- chopped fresh fruit, mint, yogurt, honey and coconut chips for serving
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a 8×11 casserole dish in the oven to warm up.
- While your dish is warming, whisk eggs, milk, squash and honey in a large bowl. (To make sure your honey is well incorporated, keep your ingredients at room temperature or whisk vigorously as you add the honey.) Make sure you have no lumps in your almond flour and add it to the liquid ingredients along with the salt.
- Take the pan out of the oven and add the butter or coconut oil and swirl it around as it melts. Add the batter to the pan.
- Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the pancake is set and golden brown. Top with chopped fruit, honey, mint and coconut chips; then serve in bowls with yogurt.
