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!

Heavenly Crockpot Brisket

I never thought I would like beef this much! Hence my glowing title for this recipe lol.  It is sort of a BBQ spin off I guess.  I have had this brisket in my freezer for months, having no idea of what to do with it.  But then I got determined and did some research, made some adaptations, and voila.  I present you the best beef I have ever made, imho.

Heavenly Crockpot Brisket

Whatcha Need

1 brisket, 2-3 pounds
8oz can of tomato sauce
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 TB olive oil
2 TB chili powder
2 TB dijon mustard
2 TB apple cider vinegar
1 cup crushed pineapple
1 ts sea salt
1 onion, diced

Whatcha Do

Mix the tomato sauce, garlic, olive oil, chili powder, mustard, vinegar, pineapple and salt in a bowl.  Put the brisket in your crockpot and pour about half the sauce over it.  Turn it over and pour the rest of the sauce on it.  Put the onions over the top.  Cook it on low until it is falling apart.  For me that was about 7 hours but might vary depending on how hot your crockpot is and the size of the brisket.

I kept thinking how good this would be with bread lol.  Need to think about good ways to serve it.  There is also SO much wonderful, delicious sauce that I would like to come up with ideas for.  I was thinking it might be good in scrambled eggs but haven't tried that yet.

Bacony Chili

I am not sure how many chili recipes I have posted in my blogging career, and I honestly didn't think I would post any more, but then I discovered the mother of all chilis.  Chili AND bacon?  Need I say more?  The only problem with this recipe is the size.  :)  I like to double it or even triple it when I can!

Smoky Delight Chili

Whatcha Need

1 lb ground beef
6 slices bacon, cubed
1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, diced (I usually leave this out as my husband doesn't like them, and it is still delish)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 14oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1 TB chili powder
2 TB smoked paprika
1 TB cumin
1 ts cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
greens of choice, optional

Whatcha do:

Cook the bacon in a large pot or dutch oven.  Add the onions, peppers and garlic, and saute about 5 minutes.  Add the ground beef and spices to the pan, and saute until the beef is cooked through.  Add the tomatoes and mix well.  Let it simmer for at least 10 minutes, or longer if you can.  It will only get better!

Cauliflower Bisque

This has been one of my favorite soups for a long time, but I always made it with dairy.  I try to eat Whole 30 style whenever I can, so I tried it with coconut milk, and it is just as good if not better!  I am a total saffron slut and not ashamed of it!

Cauliflower Bisque

Whatcha Need:

2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth (bone broth if possible)
1/8 ts saffron
3 TB ghee
2 cups onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs cauliflower, chopped
sald and pepper
3/4 cup full fat coconut milk (or can use cream if that is your thang)

Whatcha Do:

Bring the water and chicken broth to a simmer.  Remove from head and crumble in the saffron.  Let it sit for 20 minutes.  In a pot large enough to hold the liquid, saute the onions and garlic in ghee for a few minutes, then add the cauliflower and stir to coat.  Add the liquid to the pot and and salt and pepper to taste.  This soup can take a decent amount of salt.  It seems to bring out the flavor of the saffron more.  Simmer the cauliflower about 20 minutes, or until very tender.  Now comes the easy or hard part, depending on your kitchen tools.  :)  You need to blend this sucker up, and there is nothing I hate more than transferring soup into a blender.  That is why I got an immersion blender, and oh how I love that thing!  So hopefully you have one too!  Whatever your method, process til smooth and then add the coconut milk.  Put it back on the heat to warm it up if necessary and prepare to indulge your senses!

Pork Tenderloin with Merlot Sauce

This is such a delicious recipe!  If you are doing Whole 30, I am sure it would be great with balsamic vinegar substituted for the wine!

Pork Tenderloin with Merlot Sauce

Whatcha Need:

1 pork tenderloin
4 ts minced garlic
1/2 ts salt
1/2 ts pepper
4 TB ghee
3/4 cup merlot
1 (8 ounce) package button mushrooms
1 ts rosemary

Whatcha Do:

Rub 2 ts of minced garlic into the tenderloin and sprinkle with the salt and pepper.  Heat 2 TB of ghee in a non-stick pan and sear the tenderloins on both sides until browned.  Move the tenderloin to a baking dish and add 1/4 cup of wine to the saute pan and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add another TB of ghee and heat until just melted.  Pour the sauce from the saute pan over the tenderloins and bake the tenderloins at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  During the last 10 minutes of baking, heat the last TB of ghee in the saute pan.  Add 2 ts of minced garlic, the mushrooms and rosemary, and saute on high heat until golden brown.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of wine and simmer for 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the mushrooms over the tenderloin and prepared to be delishified.  Yeah I just made that word up.  :)

Spiceology: Smoked Paprika

I think I have found my new favorite spice in the world!  It makes everything wonderful and is good in so many things.  I especially like it on chicken, but I put it on so many things!  It is wonderful stirred into mayo and amazing in scrambled eggs.  I love smoky flavor and spice, so I can imagine adding it to just about anything!  If you have never tried it, I highly recommend it!

Balsamic Beef Stew

I was so excited when I started this blog to get all my favorite paleo recipes in one place, but life happens, and I seem to spend most of my time in the kitchen, shopping or cleaning!  But I want to start getting back to this project, mainly so I don't have to go hunting recipes I used for inspiration.  I think my biggest holdup was that I wanted to take lots of PICTURES! That doesn't seem to be in the cards, though.  I have a hard enough time sitting down to type up instructions!  I guess while the kids are young is not the time for me to have a fancy photo blog.  :)  If I get some up from time to time, good for me. If I don't,

On that note, I am going to kickoff my reentry into blogosphere with what has become my favorite beef stew.  If you knew me a few years ago, you would never have imagined those three words put together would ever come out of my fingers lol.  But I have managed to develop a taste for beef, as long as it is well seasoned.  I still don't care for a straight up steak, and not sure I ever will, but in the meantime, I am finding things to do with the grassfed cow share I bought this year, and this one, in my humble opinion, is divine!

Balsamic Beef Stew

Whatcha Need

Enough ghee to brown your beef, or other FOC (fat of choice)
2-3 pounds stew beef, grass fed if possible, cut into cubes
1 onion, chopped
8 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
1 cup chopped tomatoes (or a whole can is probably fine - I usually use about a cup of the tomatoes I slow roasted from my garden, and those are amazing, but not everybody has slow roasted tomatoes on hand. :) )
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
4 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
Salt and pepper to taste
Big handful of greens (optional)

Whatcha Do

Heat up your FOC in a dutch oven, and brown the meat.  You may need to do this in batches.  Set the meat aside in a bowl as it is finished.  Saute the onion and garlic until the onion is starting to brown, then add the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar and stir to make sure you are scraping up any yummy bits that have collected on the bottom of the pan.  Add the meat and any juices back to the pan, and add all the spices.  Cover the dutch oven, and cook on low for about 2 hours.  You can also finish this off in a crockpot on  high for about 4 hours.  If I don't have any other veggies to go with my meal, I will often toss in some arugula or kale at the end and cook just till it wilts down.