Pumpkin Pie Pork

Whoa, this is one of the best things I have ever made and quite a splurge as we usually try to keep our carbs down.  I really wanted to give this idea a try though!  The chipotle was kindof of a whim, but hey, the way I think, anything worth adding pumpkin and maple to is worth adding chipotle to!


Pumpkin Pie Pork

Whatcha Need

3 pound pork roast
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup maple syrup (you can use up to 2/3 cup if you don't mind the carbs and would like it really sweet)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 ts salt
1 ts pumpkin pie spice (see above)
1 ts Worcesteshire sauce
1/2 ts chipotle pepper (optional)

Whatcha Do

This is as easy peasy as they come.  Put the roast in the crockpot, mix up the rest of the ingredients and pour them over the top.  Cook it on low or high depending on how much time you have.  I usually start checking a roast about 5 hours in on low, then I cut it up to make sure the flavors are penetrating the whole roast.  When it gets more toward falling apart done, I cube it or shred it, depending on how I want to use it, and pop it back into the juices again for at least 15 minutes on the keep warm setting.  Watch out, this one is addicting!

Cocoa Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

I have always loved chipotle sweet potatoes, whether I am making a cheater version with powdered chipotle or enjoying a more time consuming creation like my friend Lyla makes. So when I saw a mashed sweet potato with cocoa recipe, my thoughts immediately went to the awesome chocolates I have had with a bit of a spicy kick.  I kinda tossed it together when I didn't have alot of time, and it was a bit of a mushy mess, but still absolutely delicious.  I am going to note what I did but also how I think it could be made much better.

Cocoa Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Whatcha Need

2 large sweet potatoes
coconut oil for coating baking dish
6 ounces full fat coconut milk
3 small chipotle en adobo (I didn't measure them, but they were prb about 1TB each, maybe a bit smaller)
2TB cocoa powder
1 ts salt
1/2 ts pepper

Whatcha Do

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For my first try at this, I popped the sweet potatoes in the microwave for 15 minutes because I needed to run out to the store.  I didn't expect them to be totally soft from that, but they were.  I just went ahead and pulled the skins off and cut them up.  I would recommend peeling and cutting them up in chunks and steaming for about 15 minutes instead.  Coat a baking dish with coconut oil and put the sweet potatoes in.  Put the coconut milk, chipotle, cocoa powder, salt and pepper in a food processor and mix until smooth.  Pour over the sweet potatoes and bake for about 30 minutes or longer based on how soft the potatoes are.  Yum!

Delicious Crockpot Pork Roast

I wanted to get this written up ASAP because it came out soooo good.  I put some honey in it, so it isn't technically Whole 30, but I am going to tag it as such because I think it would still be great without it, or you could throw some raisins into the sauce or some other fruit to sweeten it up if you want.   Plus, it is super easy peasy!

Delicious Crockpot Pork Roast 

Whatcha Need

3-5 pound pork roast

1 cup chicken bone broth

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves

3 TB olive oil

3 TB apple cider vinegar

2 TB honey (leave out for whole 30)

1 ts oregeno

2 ts chili powder

2 ts dried rosemary 

2 ts ground cumin

2 ts salt

Whatcha Do

Put your roast in the crockpot and pour the bone broth around it.  Put everything else in a food processor and pulse it until the onion is in small pieces.  Pour it on top of your roast and cook it on low until it is falling apart.  Really, that's it.  I was using a roast that was about 3 1/2 pounds, and it took about 6 hours.   I ate it by itself with cole slaw one night and then used it to make a taco salad type thing the second.  Amazing both ways! 

Moroccan Beef Stew

I had to get this written up ASAP as this was the most I have ever liked beef!  And I don't think I have ever been so excited to eat leftovers lol.  I had about 4 lbs of stew beef on had, so this is what I used for that amount.

Moroccan Beef Stew

Whatcha Need

2 TB coconut oil
3.5 - 4 lbs of stew beef
2 med onions, chopped
about 2 inches of fresh ginger, grated
1 TB minced garlic
1/2 TB ground allspice
1 TB ground cinnamon
2 cups red wine
6 oz tomato paste
2 TB honey
1/2 ts crushed red pepper
1 ts salt
1 cup chicken bone broth
15 dried apricots

cauliflower rice for serving (optional)

Whatcha Do

Heat the coconut oil in a pot or large dutch oven and cook the beef until browned on all sides.  (I needed to do this in two batches.)  Transfer the beef into a bowl, reserving the juices.  Add the onion, ginger and garlic to the pot and cook until tender.  Return the beef to the pot and add the allspice, cinnamon, wine, broth, tomato paste, honey, red pepper and salt.  Stir enough to combine the ingredients, then bring to a low boil.  Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for one  hour.  Cut the apricots into halves or quarters, depending on the size, and add them to the pot.  Simmer or another 20 minutes uncovered.  You can eat it by itself as a stew or serve it over cauli rice.  I made a Moroccan carrot salad to have with mine.  Delish!

Osso Buco with Saffron and Mushrooms (Crockpot)

Let me start out by making a confession.  I really don't like the taste of beef.  I only started eating it fairly recently, and I only like it with ALOT of extra flavor.  I found a couple ways to make roasts or stew meat that I really like, but I was getting a bit bored with them, so I decided to go in hunt of something new.  I adore saffron, so on a whim, I decided to hunt beef recipes with saffron in them.  I was pleasantly surprised to find many of them.   After looking at several, this is what I ended up trying in my kitchen.  I really didn't know what to expect, but it turned out quite yummy!

I had some osso buco I wanted to use up, but you could use this recipe with any beef that needs long cooking with liquid.  I also think it would be absolutely fabulous with the addition of fennel.  Let me know if you try it!  I am going to list exactly what I used, but this recipe is very adaptable.  You could use just about any root vegetable.  My only complaint was that it could have used more salt, but I realized later that I used straight up chicken bone broth versus stock, so the amount of salt to add is going to depend on what you use for your liquid and personal preference.

Osso Buco with Saffron and Mushrooms

Whatcha Need

3 pieces of osso buco (or any beef good for slow cooking - up to about 5 lbs worth)
2 TB coconut oil plus extra for coating meat
1 onion, sliced
1 ts loosely packed saffron threads
1 TB crushed garlic
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup chicken stock or bone broth (or beef broth would probably be fine too)
12 oz pkg of washed and sliced mushrooms (yeah I am lazy)
handful of baby carrots (or any other root vegetable of choice and/or sliced fennel)

Whatcha Do 

Start out by heating the coconut oil in a skillet and adding the onions and saffron.  While the onion is cooking, get enough coconut oil to rub over the surface of the meat, and then follow with rubbing garlic over the surface.  Finish up with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  When the onions are translucent, move them to a bowl and turn the heat up to med high.  Add the osso buco pieces to the skillet and brown them well on all sides.  Transfer the osso buco straight to your crockpot.  Now add the mushrooms to the skillet and cook just long enough to get any brown bits scraped up from your skillet.  Add a bit more coconut oil if it seems necessary, but the mushrooms will start to release their own moisture and most likely do the job.  Add a bit of salt to your bone broth if you think  you will want more, and then pour it into the crockpot around the meat.  Top with onions and mushrooms and any other veggies you choose to use.  Cover and cook on low for about 5 hours.  Cooking times will vary depending on the cut you are using.  When I am cooking a whole roast, I often cut it into quarters or even smaller pieces after about 5 hours to get an idea of how done it is and also to make sure it gets to soak up the flavor.  This recipe was great with osso buco.  It literally fell right off the bone and was practically melt in your mouth tender!  Enjoy!