The thought of Sarah being away for a full week brought about fear and anxiety. Yes I’m a Paleo Dad, however, balancing full time work and spending so much time in the kitchen to plan meals, make school lunches, prep snacks and cook dinner seemed like a daunting task. I have a ton of respect for the mom’s and dad’s who do this on a daily basis. It’s so easy to succomb to the boxed cheerios, grilled cheese or bologne sandwiches and the occasional lolly pop to keep the kiddos happy so you can manage your day. (on a side note I think I just covered the food pyramid with that menu). Anyhow, what I’ve learned first hand is that Paleo can be done and it’s not as difficult as many people think. I knew this going into it because, well my wife runs this very popular blog called Everyday Paleo, which most of us have heard of. And yes I have cooked many meals in the past, for those who remember Dad’s Pork Chops, yeah that was me. Yet, Iv’e always had my amazing wife to guide our family with shopping lists that coincide with dinner, packing lunches, making sure an after school snack is ready for Jaden, making breakfast, etc etc. This time it was only me, sink or swim as they say.
Day one was an eye opener! Breakfast and lunch went great, however while driving home from work I realized that dinner had to be made. Yikes! A bit tired and groggy from a long day at work I brainstormed for ideas, and then it hit me, it’s tuesday! Many of you long time followers know what’s on the menu that day, Paleo tacos. They’re so good and we simply never get tired of them. Those go to meals are a life saver. By the second day I found my groove and the rest is history.
It’s been a great week of good food, exercise and quality time with the family. Tonight we even managed to create a wonderful recipe for you to enjoy!
The recipe:
2 large skinless chicken breasts (halved)
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice from 2 lemons (about 1/3 cup)
2 1/2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried thyme
Mix all wet and dry ingredients (except the chicken) in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken breasts. I halved the chicken breasts because it makes them easier to grill and they seem to marinate better. Place chicken breasts into the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 30 -60 minutes, allowing it to marinate ( I only allowed for 20 minutes and it came out great, but the more time you have the better). Pre-heat grill on high. When chicken is ready place on grill for about 6-9 minutes each side. Cooking time will of course vary based on grill and thickness of chicken. Finally, as Sarah would say Enjoy!
John, I love that you’re guest posting! It’s clear that you and Sarah are awesome partners that support each other in everything you do!
Thanks Nom Nom. It’s a great team effort, this whole thing is so much more manageable with the both of us on board. We both love what we do at home and at work and have definitely grown together through this journey. I’m a decent second string food blogger!
Way to go, Dad! And thanks for the recipe. 😎
I’ve been following “everydaypaleo” and nom nom for awhile now and look forward to the recipes and videos of Nom Nom cooking. Keep it goin!!! It motivates my wife and I to be more like you guys…..and girls
Quick tip – rather than cutting them in half, I always pound my chicken breasts out with a heavy rolling pin so they’re an even thickness before seasoning them and putting them on the grill. It makes them more tender, takes away the “squeaky” texture and they cook evenly and quickly.
Great idea. I’m going to make this for me and the kids tonight. mmmmmmmmmmmmmm…..
Great tip Sarah, thanks for the info
Great chicken John! Work, kids, exercise and now blog posting-amazing!
Thanks! Yeah it was fun, but will be glad to have my wife back soon : ) Working as a team is a lot more fun.
It is so great to see a dad who is involved with his family. My husband just spent the afternoon making Garden Fresh Meatballs and Karina’s Hash. Yummy!!
Gotta love the team effort! Those are both great recipes, especially the meatballs.
Hi Sarah & John! I am an NSW wife and was at the Hyatt this weekend. Great seminar you gave! We used this recipe for dinner last night and it was delicious! Thanks again!
http://www.amazon.com/Jaccard-200348-Supertendermatic-48-Blade-Tenderizer/dp/B001347JK6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1317653764&sr=8-1
This is the best tool ever for tenderizing/marinating meat. I am just about to use it with your recipe above. The only change I will make is using chicken thighs instead of breasts. Thanks!!!
Hope you enjoy it, thanks for the info.
Wow, a simple recipe with stuff I already had on hand, and my new absolute favourite marinade! I’d read the comments before starting, so followed Sarah’s advice and pounded the chicken, and then I reserved a tiny amount (maybe an 1/8 cup) and drizzled it over the chicken when it came in from the barbecue. Seriously good, this one is a keeper! (I used Santa Cruz organic lemon juice, but their lime juice would probably be good, too.)
So glad you enjoyed it, I’ll give the tenderizing a go next time around. Definitely an easy recipe that is really tasty!
Hey John,
Great job. My husband is a great cook and frequently chips in. Glad to see there’s more than a couple of modern cavemen out there who can hunt and then cook it!
-Patti Jeanne
Hi Patti,
I can pretty much cook and hunt anything pre-packaged 🙂 Hope you like the recipe and thanks for the kind reply.
Dust those things in Almond flour before the grill and you’ll feel like you just ate at Carrabas! Great recipe!!
What do you think about using a whole chicken and baking rather than grilling? I have one from my CSA and condo living doesn’t make grilling easy…ideas?
I think baking it with this marinade would be great!! I would go for low and slow for this. Depending on the size of your bird but a 4-5 lb bird would probably take about 2 hours at 325.
I made this tonight for my family…oh.my.GOSH!!!! It was absolutely delicious. I have never made chicken this way before and my husband and I AND our two young daughters LOVED it!!! Thank you so much for posting it! I cannot wait to try it again!
This was phenomenal.
Not only was the chicken delicious, but I got to release some well-stored stress by beating the hell out of the chicken with my meat tenderizer! 🙂
I am new to this whole Paleo diet thing and am excited to try this. I am almost 2 years gluten free and just realized (upon much research) that all grains have gluten that can be harming me even if I am not seeing the damage. Thanks for the post can’t wait to read more on the site and get started cooking!
I made this tonight for the guys at my fire house…and all ten of us loved it! Keep up the good work, all of you!
So glad you all liked it!!
this looks great! I’ve yet to try grilling, but I’ve been toying with the idea. what do you think of the health issues with char?
I’m going to try this tonight. We don’t have a grill, so I will be sticking it in the oven and baking instead. Hope it turns out as good as it looks!
Where can I get the meatball recipe, and what was the site that talked about gluten free? Thanks