Parchment Baked Salmon

adapted from Pioneer Woman
serves 4

1 yukon gold potatoes, very thinly sliced (see note for Paleo, Whole 30, and AIP)
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, each stalk cut in half
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 lb center cut salmon filet, cut into 2 filets
2 tsp olive oil
1 lemons, thinly sliced
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
a few sprigs of thyme

Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare 2 large ovals of parchment paper, and fold it in half. 

Divide thinly sliced pieces of potato between parchment ovals and place on the bottom half of the parchment. Divide asparagus and red onion pieces between the ovals and place on top of potato slices. Drizzle with 1 tsp olive oil and then sprinkle with a few pinches of sea salt and pepper. 

Place salmon filets on the vegetables. Drizzle salmon with remaining olive oil and a few pinches sea salt and pepper. Top with lemon slices and thyme sprigs. 

Fold parchment paper over starting at one corner and pinching the edges over to close the packet. When the edges are completely closed, it will look like a calzone.

Bake the fish for 15 minutes on the center rack in the oven. Remove and unwrap, test fish and potatoes for doneness. Fish should be flaky in the center and potatoes are soft in center. 

Serve immediately.

NOTE: For paleo, Whole 30, and AIP sub white sweet potatoes for yukon gold. Create parchment pouch with just sliced potatoes and bake for 15 minutes before adding asparagus, red onion, salmon, lemon and thyme. Follow recipe as written. For AIP, omit black pepper.

Salisbury Steak

adapted from realplans.com
serves 4

1 lb ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, minced, divided
2 tsp coarse sea salt, divided
4 cups beef stock (sub chicken or veggie stock if needed)
2 Tbsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp arrowroot starch
2 tsp filtered water
2 Tbsp bacon fat (sub coconut or avocado oil if desired)
1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced thin

In a large mixing bowl, add ground beef, garlic, half the onion, and 1 tsp salt. Mix until well combined.

Form the meat mixture into patties and set aside while you prepare the sauce.

In a medium saucepan, bring stock, thyme, and remaining salt to boil over a moderately high flame. Continue to simmer until reduced by half. In a small bowl, combine arrowroot powder and filtered water. Pour into sauce and stir to incorporate. Remove sauce from heat and set aside.

In a large skillet, melt half the fat over medium-high heat. Cook the remaining onions until they begin to soften. Add the mushrooms and continue sautéing until the mushrooms are soft. Transfer mushrooms and onion mixture to a plate and set aside.

Melt remaining fat in the skillet and add the ground beef patties to the hot fat, searing on both sides until nice and brown on the outside but still pink in the center.

Smother the patties with sautéed mushrooms and onions. Top with the sauce. Continue to simmer over a moderately low flame until the steaks are cooked through.

Serve hot, topped with mushrooms and sauce, over a bed of mashed sweet potatoes or cauliflower rice.