The ingredients list is for dinner for 4. Size accordingly if you want to plan for leftovers. If you make it on Sunday, you could probably get through Wednesday lunch with the leftovers. But you can’t push it much further without the fries & asparagus going soggy.

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 6 Tbs olive oil
• 3 Tbs each dried sage, dried thyme
• 3 yams/sweet potatoes
• 1 lb asparagus
• 2 Tbs coconut oil
• salt, cracked black pepper

Into a ziplock bag or tupperware container, place the chicken, 3 Tbs of the olive oil, and the dried spices. Stir around to coat evenly, and let that all sit for a while to marinate. Even a half-hour is worthwhile, but a couple hours would be better.

Preheat your oven for 365. Slice the yams into oven fry shape, about 1/2″ thick. Toss in a bowl with the remaining 3 Tbs of olive oil, and a healthy dose of salt & pepper, maybe 2 Tbs each? If you’d like, about 2 Tbs of garlic powder is also great here. Once that’s all mixed well, lay onto a rimmed baking dish in a single layer. The more you can keep the fries from touching each other, the crispier they’ll get. Pop those in the oven and set your timer for 15 minutes. When that goes off, turn them over with some tongs, and back in for another 10 minutes or so.

At the same time you initially put the fries in the oven, throw your chicken on the grill. If you’re indoor-bound tonight, then you could also slice the meat into quarter-breast sized pieces, like chicken finger sized. You could then fry those up in a separate saute pan as you stir-fry your asparagus.

And speaking of asparagus, heat up a wok or saute pan nice and hot. By preheating the pan before adding the oil, it allows the pores in the pan to close up, giving it a more slippery quality. As it’s heating, snap any woody stems off of your asparagus, and cut the remaining stalks in half. Basically, you grab each end of each stalk (one at a time), and you bend the stalk. You’re trying to see where the naturally stiff bottom part stops, and the more supple top part begins. That’s where you snap. Depending on your batch of asparagus, sometimes it seems like you’re throwing away half of what you bought. It’s up to you of course, but if you’re not gonna enjoy eating that tough part, why torture yourself. Consider it a lesson learned, and next time, buy younger asparagus!

Okay, by now your pan’s hot. Turn the burner down to medium-high, add the coconut oil, and as soon as that melts, throw in your asparagus and sprinkle on some salt & pepper, maybe 1 Tbs each. Let that cook until you start getting a little browning on the tips, and the thick end of a stalk feels tender when you stick a knife point into it.

Enjoy!

Best. Stew. Ever.

This was my make-ahead lunch concoction for the week. Fully paleo-compliant, fully delicious! And maybe 15 minutes total prep time. I made it in a crockpot, but you could use the oven as well.

• 2-3 lbs sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes.
• 1 Tbs coconut oil (optional)
• 1 large onion, sliced into thin rings
• 1 small to medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1/2″ pieces ( Or just use half of a package of the precut butternut from Costco. I love that stuff. So convenient! )
• 3 large yams, cubed into 1/2″ pieces. I find the skins on Garnet yams too bitter, so if that’s what I’ve got, I peel ‘em. If you use regular yams or yellow sweet potatoes, feel free to keep the skins on.
• 8 oz coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen brand, but any brand’s fine as long as it’s from a can, okay? Not that sugared-up, watered-down crap they sell next to the soy milk in the dairy cooler.)
• 4 oz red wine
• 8 oz beef stock (or chicken or vegetable stock if that’s all you’ve got handy)
• 2 Tbs fresh minced garlic
• 2 Tbs each: dried cilantro, basil, ground black pepper, salt

Heat a nonstick skillet nice and hot. Depending on exactly how “non-stick” your skillet actually is, feel free to drop in a spoonful of coconut oil in once the pan is hot. Or you can skip it…up to you.

Chop the steak into bite-sized cubes, sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt and black pepper, and add to the skillet. Stir it around quickly for about a minute. Our goal here isn’t to cook the  steak, just to get a nice sear on the outside. When that’s done, dump into a crockpot, or into a Dutch oven or covered saute pan if you’re gonna use your oven.

Add the wine, stock, onion, garlic and dried spices to the pot, give it a quick stir, and cook on low for about 3 hours. If you’re using the oven, set if for 325, and cook for about an hour.

After that time is up, stir in the squash, yams and coconut milk. Another 3 hours in the crockpot, or another hour – 90 minutes in the oven. Check to make sure a piece of yam is tender, and you’re good to go. Enjoy!