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Showing posts with label meat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meat. Show all posts

crock pot from heaven

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I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love crock pots. If you don't have one, get one, and use it all the time. Maybe even try some of these recipes..

Pork Shoulder Carnitas
like a gift from god...

3-4 lbs pork shoulder, bone-in or out
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp coarse salt
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cinnamon

Place the pork in the crock pot, dump all the rest of the ingredients evenly on top, rub in with a spoon. Add a little bit of broth or water to the bottom and set to low and go to work or whatever. About 6 hours later you will have a delectable hunk of meat to pull apart and do whatever you'd like with.




I chose to make mexi style lettuce leaf tacos.









a healthy southern

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This week's ethnic paleo dinner party was based around Southern cuisine. Well kinda. Once we started looking up various southern recipes we discovered we weren't all that into greasy fried vegetables and meat dripping with a messy overpowering sauce. So we healthified it! That could be a verb, right?

Not Your Average BBQ Ribs

2 racks pork ribs
2 cups applesauce
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp paprika
2 tbsp celery salt
2 tbsp freshly ground pepper
1-2 tbsp hot chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
zest of 1 lemon
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Combine all ingredients (except the meat, oil and vinegar) in a bowl. Slowly add the oil until completely mixed, then slowly add the vinegar.

The consistency will be more of a paste then sauce. Rub this all over the racks of ribs, leaving about a third for re-rubbing later on. Place ribs in a shallow baking pan and cover with tin foil. Cook in oven at 250 for about 4 hours. Remove from oven, spoon the rest of the BBQ sauce on ribs and throw on your barbecue to grill the outsides. Serve!



Cajun Pulled Chicken
I made a healthy dose of the cajun seasoning and stored it for easy seasoning in the future

3-4 chicken breasts (you could use thighs too)
1 cup chicken broth
ground salt and pepper

4 tbsp cajun seasoning:
   2 tbsp paprika
   1 tbsp salt
   2 tbsp garlic powder
   1 tbsp black pepper
   1 tbsp onion powder
   1 tbsp cayenne pepper
   1 tbsp dried oregano
   1 tbsp dried thyme

Season the chicken with the cajun mixture and rub into the meat well, flip and repeat on other side. Place into baking dish, pour broth into the dish. Cover with foil or a well fitting lid and place into oven at 250 for about 2.5 hours depending on size of meat.

Remove, uncover and let cool until it's not too hot to handle. Using a fork (or fingers) "pull" chicken apart into strips, put back into the dish, cover and back in the oven (turned off or to very low) to keep warm.



Fried Asparagus

1/4 cup butter (you can use coconut or olive oil)
2 tbsp olive oil (omit if you used oil instead of butter)
1 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb fresh asparagus, trimmed

Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in the olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook garlic for a while, but do not brown. Add asparagus, and cook for 10 minutes, turning to insure the asparagus are cooked evenly. Remove from pan and serve.



Steamed Rutabaga
better than any potato I've ever had!

2-3 lbs rutabaga
olive oil
salt and pepper
parsley, chopped

Peel and cut rutabaga into desired sized pieces for eating. Use your choice of steaming for 25 minutes, covering the pot with a lid. Drain any water and place pieces into a serving bowl, toss with olive oil, salt, pepper and parsley.



Southern Pecan and Apple Salad

1 cup pecan halves
3 tsp orange zest
juice of 1 orange
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and ground pepper
2 medium red or green apples, cored and sliced thinly
2 heads Belgian endive, separated into leaves
2 cups mixed greens (like arugula and radicchio)

In a large salad bowl, combine orange zest, juice, mustard, vinegar and oil, taste and make sure you have a good balance between oil and vinegar and adjust accordingly adding salt and pepper to taste. Add apples, greens and half the pecans to the dressing and toss gently with your hands. Add remaining pecans on top and serve.

We kept the pecans on the side.

As I've mentioned before, we have a pair of lovely friends that we do this paleo night with. They are awesome and wonderful and moving away and leaving me. So sad about this. Anyways, Tiffany is an amazing american tribal style belly dancer and creator of beautiful handmade silk, lace and recycled sari flowers. Please check out her work HERE.

recipe catch up

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With the combination of being away for the holidays then catching a nasty flu, I've been a little M.I.A. on the recipe front. I swear my (probably misjudged) attendance at last nights crossfit class beat the flu right out of my body though because I woke up feeling great! So here's a recipe update...


Easiest Stuffed Mushroom Caps
you can substitute or add any other veggies for the spinach in the filler, so explore!

12 large mushrooms
1 egg
3 cups fresh spinach 
1/2 cup red onion, diced small
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper

I had never made stuffed mushrooms before so I really just did what I thought made sense. First, wash mushrooms well and trim bottom ends off stems. Next, remove the stems for the caps and dice them up smallish (stems, not the caps.)

In an oiled pan, sautee onion and garlic until nearly translucent, add spinach and diced stems. Continue to cook until everything is cooked well through, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Let the filling cool slightly, beat the egg and add to cooled filling. Spoon into mushroom caps and bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes depending on the mushroom size.
before baking

Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup
the only thing I ate when I was sick

1 medium butternut squash
4 stalks celery
2 carrots
1/2 red onion
3 cloves garlic
3 cups chicken or veggie stock
1/3 cup coconut milk
3 tbsps yellow curry paste
salt and pepper

My secret to any and every soup I make comes from a tip my gourmet chef sister gave me years back: dice the celery, carrot, onion and garlic, cook in 1 1/2 tbsp oil for about 20 minutes on low to medium heat. This is the base to awesomely flavourful soups, every time.

While thats going, cook the squash, I chose the lazy way and pierce the thing and microwaved it whole for 6-8 minutes. It doesn't need to be completely cooked, just soft enough to peel and dice up.

Once the celery mixture is cooked, add your diced squash, curry paste and coconut milk and continue to cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently to avoid any burning. Add stock and allow to simmer, adding salt and pepper to taste. I left mine simmering for about 45 minutes. Next, transfer to a blender or food processor and blend until consistently smooth. Enjoy!

Coach Kevin's Spinach Meat Pie
basic, easy, and feeds two. Delicious!
1 lb ground venison or ground turkey
1 clove garlic
spinach
1 large tomato
cilantro
oregano
olive oil
Fry ground meat on stovetop in olive oil and a garlic clove.
Lay out a bed of spinach on baking sheet. Spread cooked ground meat on spinach bed. Slice one fresh tomato and layer.
Chop and add fresh cilantro and fresh oregano. Douse with olive oil.
Bake on 350 for 10-15 minutes. Let cool slightly and serve.
A great addition is to add fresh chopped jalepeno peppers, black olives, and a cured meat such as prosciutto or bacon prior to baking.
before cooking
after cooking

Coach Kevin's Paleo Crunch
straight from Kevin's kitchen

2 cups almonds
1 cup walnuts
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
4-6 tbsp coconut oil
1/4-1/2 cup honey (the thicker the better)
1 cup unbleached and unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
All ingredients should be raw, in purest form as possible. There is some great local honey to be found at Choices. I found all of these ingredients at Choices Market.
Put wanuts and almonds in blender seperately and blend till fine. Place on baking sheet and put in oven at 300 to roast for about 15 minutes. You will have to turn and mix constantly so the nuts dont burn but this is the key step to give that roasted flavour.  
On stovetop warm up honey and coconut oil in saucepan just until they melt together.
Mix all ingredients together in large bowl. If mixture is dry add more honey..
Place mix on coockie sheet and press out firmly till its about 1/2 inch thick. You really have to pack it well. Put in fridge for one hour. Keeping it cool and serving it cool limits the amount it crumbles. Remove, cut into squares and enjoy!
I have expermented with this recipe a few different ways. The key is to get the mix to stick together with the proper amount of honey, and not too much coconut oil. Extra blended almonds will also help. I have also tried to bake the mix afterwards by adding two eggs but its very finicky to find a balance of not burnt, and cooked enough. I have made it four times and the above recipe has worked best for me.