Korean Beef Bowls or Fusion Soft Tacos

 

This is one of our favorite quick and easy ways to use burger.  It is a really versatile dish you can serve in many ways.  We usually use venison burger and combine it with an Asian slaw in a low carb tortilla (I know, not paleo - we are leaning more keto these days), but you could also add sauteed veggies of your choice and serve it over cauliflower rice, or even go with spinach, bean sprouts, fried egg, etc. for a bibimbap flair!  If you thicken it enough, it could work as a lettuce wrap as well. 

Ingredients:

½ onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

Oil of choice for sauteing 

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 ts freshly grated ginger

1 pound ground beef or other burger of your choice

salt and pepper to taste

NOTE: I always season veggies while sauteing, and my standard for a pound of burger is 1/2 ts salt and 1/4 ts pepper, but the sauce is already salty from the soy sauce, so you want to season very lightly while cooking.

Sauce:

⅓ cup soy sauce or coconut aminos

2 TB brown sugar substitute - I use Swerve

2 TB rice wine or sherry

2 - 3 TB Gochujang

2 ts sesame oil

¼ ts black pepper

Xanthan gum as needed

Optional for serving:

Green Onions

Sesame seeds

Chili Flakes

Cauliflower rice

Low carb tortillas

Asian Slaw

Pickled veggies

Bean Sprouts

Spinach sauteed in sesame oil

Fried egg

Instructions:

Start by sauteing the onions and peppers in a large skillet over medium heat.  When veggies are done to your liking, add the garlic and ginger, and cook about a minute more.  Add the burger, salt and pepper, and cook until all the pink is gone. 

While the veggies and meat are cooking, make the sauce.  In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the xanthan gum.  When the meat is done cooking, pour the sauce over it and stir to combine.  Start sprinkling the xanthan gum very gradually while stirring.  Give it a bit after each addition to see how much it thickens up.  Continue to your liking.  

Serve in any of the ways mentioned above!

Keto Chili

Ingredients:

Olive oil for frying
1 onion,  diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced 
2 lbs of burger
2 15 oz cans chopped fire roasted tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 4 oz can green chiles 
3 TB chili powder
2 TB cumin powder
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1 TB cocoa powder
2 ts oregano
2 ts chipotle
1 1/2 ts salt
1/2 ts pepper 

Instructions:

In a lightly oiled skillet, over medium-high heat, cook the onion and pepper until tender. Add the garlic and saute for about a minute. Add the burger and cook, breaking up until browned. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Simmer or 30 minutes to meld flavors. It can simmer for even longer if you prefer.

Thanksgiving Stuffing

A paleo stuffing?  How can it be?  Simple - make your own homemade loaf of almond flour based bread as the base!  I have been making this for years, and it has been a hit with a variety of people.  Read on! 

Notes:  I like to make the bread a couple days ahead of time so it can get nice and dry.  I usually cut it into when it is cool and put it on a cookie sheet to dry out.  If it is still moist on Thanksgiving, sometimes I toast it a bit in the oven before finishing the dish.

Ingredients

Bread:

2 1/2 cups almond meal
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon poultry seasoning
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
3 eggs
1/3 cup water
2 ts sugar substitute

Stuffing:

1 TB butter
1 large onion, chopped
6-7 cups chopped celery - about 2 small bunches
1 bunch parsley, chopped (about 2 cups)
4 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 ts salt
1 cup broth, plus more according to moisture needed
2 eggs if baking stuffing  - can use 1 - 3 depending on how melded you like it

Instructions:

Bread:

Heat oven to 350 F.

Butter the bottom of a large loaf pan .  Mix dry ingredients together (a whisk works well).  Whisk together wet ingredients, then add to dry mix and stir well.  Pour into loaf pan.  Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until top is lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean.  When cool enough to handle, remove from pan and let cool completely.  Cut into desired size cubes for stuffing.

Stuffing :

Saute onion and celery in butter until soft.   Add parsley and cook for a minute or so, until wilted. Add seasonings and stir to blend.  Whisk the eggs.  Gently mix together the vegetables, bread, broth and egg.  Adjust seasoning and moisture. If you're going to stuff poultry with it, leave it on the dry side because it will absorb a lot of juices during cooking.  Transfer to a casserole dish and bake at 350 F. for about half an hour, or until browned on top.

Mole Mole Mole

I love mole so much I have to say it three times! Is this the best mole recipe ever? Not even close, but I am a mole snob. It is, however, pretty darn good, especially when you want to make an easy version. Also, as much as I love throwing things into the crockpot in the morning and being mostly done with dinner, I think this recipe would be better made differently because the chicken releases more liquid as it cooks and dilutes the sauce. So I will give directions for a couple ways. One day I will try my hand at a paleo version of my traditional mole recipe that takes 3 days to make, but that is not this day. In the above picture, I served it over cauliflower "rice" (sauteed with ghee, garlic, salt and a bit of paprika, oregano and cumin) and zucchini sauteed with ghee, garlic, salt and chili powder - my favorite way to eat zuke!) Now all I need to do is figure out how to make a wrap and turn these into enchiladas.... hmmm.

Ingredients:

About 4 chicken breasts or 6 thighs (I like to use a bag of boneless, skinless thighs from Trader Joe's)

2 TB ghee

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups tomatoes, chopped (or you can use a 15oz can if that is how you roll)

2 TB raisins, optional (I leave these out when we are low carbing, and I still think it is great)

1 - 2 cups chicken broth (I want to try just 1 next time, whether crockpot or not)

3 TB sunflower seed butter

3 TB chili powder

2 TB cocoa powder

1 ts cinnamon

1 ts cumin

1/2 ts coriander seed

1/2 ts anise seed

1/8 ts ground cloves

1 ts salt

1 ts pepper

Instructions: 

Start cooking your chicken by your desired method. I usually just bake mine in the oven,but you can also saute it if you cut it in small pieces ahead of time. In the meantime, melt the ghee in a good sized pot, and saute the onion and garlic for about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and raisins, if using, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the broth sunflower seed butter, chili powder, cocoa, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, anise, cloves, salt and pepper. Stir until the the sunbutter is melted and all is well combined.

For the next step, if you have an immersion blender, you are a happy camper as you can just blend it up right in the pot. If not, transfer it all to a blender and whir it up, then pour it back in the pan. Cook on low for about another 10 minutes just to get the flavors nice and melded. Are you in heaven yet just from the smell? Can I haz for soup now pleez? :D

When your chicken is done, drain off the fat and add it to the mole pot. Simmer for another 5 minutes or so on low, just to get the flavor nicely mixed up with the chicken. Longer would be fine too, but you don't want it to go too long or your chicken could get overcooked.

Crockpot option: Don't cook your chicken ahead of time, but instead put it in a crockpot, then pour the sauce over it when it is done. Cook on high for about 4-5 hours or low about 6-7.

NOTES: I would really like to try this with an equivalent amount of unsweetened baking chocolate. If you do, let me know how it is!

Amazing Breakfast!

I tried a couple new things this morning and loved them both. Sorry no pictures as I couldn't wait to dive into it lol! The key to this was having radishes I had cooked in the bottom of my crockpot with a chicken. You could try this with just preboiling them, but I don't think the flavor would be nearly as good. Here is what I did:

Saute some onions and garlic in ghee until well done, add precooked, sliced radishes and continue cooking until they brown up.

In another pan, I fried up some prosciutto (my favorite genius moment so far!) with a bit of smoked salt. Actually too much smoked salt. It is really too much for the prosciutto. It would probably be fine fried up on its own, but I just love smoke flavor! The point is, prosciutto will crisp up if fried, and has no nitrates or sugar in it! Who needs bacon?!

Then I fried up a couple eggs in the same pan I made the prosciutto in. Sigh, what a classic looking breakfast this was! Now I wish I had taken a picture. This won't be an everyday thing as it was rather time consuming, but I am glad for the knowledge of this awesomeness.

Warmed Arugula Salad

Anybody else a fan of spinach salad with a warm dressing? Mmmm, one of my favorites. But since I am cutting my spinach intake waaaay down, as I have talked about elsewhere on this blog, and I like to have recipes my low oxalate friends can eat, I wanted to work on an alternative recipe which would also be sugar free. And so this recipe was born! I have been making it for lunch when I have time. A bit of work, but really worth it! If you are newly sugar free, this might not taste as sweet as the "real thing", but if you are used to appreciating the natural sweetness of things, this will knock your socks off. Or at least it did for me. :) The following is what I do for one main dish serving.

Warmed Arugula Salad

Whatcha Need

3 slices bacon
1/2 cup thinly sliced sweet onion
2 TB balsamic vinegar
1 ts tarragon
1/2 ts dijon mustard
3 generous handfuls of arugula, or however much you feel like eating - it will diminish a good amount even from just wilting
1 hard boiled egg, sliced
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 avocado for garnish (optional)

Whatcha Do

In a deep skillet, fry up the bacon. Give it a good shake when you pull it out to leave as much grease as possible, then lay it on paper towels to cool. Add the onion and saute it until very well cooked. Carmelize it if you have the time - this is part of where your sweet flavor will come from. Crumble your bacon while the onions cook. At this point I usually turn the heat off for about 5 minutes, because if you add the vinegar now, it really sizzles and partly evaporates. Grind your tarragon a bit if you have a mortar and pestle, or rub it between your fingers later as you add it to the pan. This will help it release more flavor. After your oil and onions have cooled a bit, stir in the vinegar, tarragon and mustard. Turn the heat back on low, and throw in your arugula. Stir it around until it is coated with the dressing and beginning to wilt. I like mine fairly wilty because it helps mellow out the characteristic arugula flavor so it is more like spinach, but you don't want to actually cook it! Put it on a plate, and then top with fresh pepper, hardboiled eggs and crumbled bacon. Sometimes I add sliced avocado too! Yum!

Salsa Chicken

This recipe is so embarrassingly easy, it can hardly be called a recipe! But all the more reason to include it here I guess! You need a bunch of chicken and a jar of salsa. That's it. I use a bag of Trader Joe's boneless, skinless thighs and one of their chipotle salsas. Put the chicken in a crockpot, pour the salsa over it, and 7 hours later, you have dinner. Again, that's it. You can shred the chicken a bit at the end if you want. We serve this over lettuce and topped with guacamole. Sometimes I add sauteed peppers or zucchini if I have the time to make them.

Low Carb Moussaka with Sundried Tomato Bechamel

This isn't exactly paleo because I used a sugar substitute, and it has dairy in it, so that is personal choice when it comes to paleo, but it was so amazing that I wanted to write it up somewhere!  The salting process with the eggplant is optional, but I really like doing it because it pulls out any bitterness, and it also can reduce reactions in sensitive individuals, at least in my personal experience.  Eggplant tends to upset my stomach, but if I do the salting process, I don't have that issue.

Low Carb Moussaka with Sundried Tomato Bechamel

1 medium eggplant, about 1.5 lbs
salt

2 ts olive oil
1 cup chopped red onion
1 lb ground beef
15 oz tomato sauce
3/4 cup dry red wine
1 TB Swerve brown sugar substitute
1 ts dried oregano
1 ts ground nutmeg
1 ts ground cinnamon

1 3/4 cup heavy cream
7 oz cream cheese
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 ts salt
1/4 ts pepper
1/4 ts ground nutmeg
3/4 cup sun dried tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup green onions,  chopped

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, then slice into 1/4 inch thick pieces.  Spread the pieces out and liberally salt them.  Let sit for 30 minutes, then rinse the salt off and let the pieces sit in a strainer to dry off.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat and add the onion.  Cook until transparent and add the ground beef.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Cook until the meat is no longer pink.  Drain the fat if needed, depending on the leanness of your beef.   Add the tomato sauce, red wine, Swerve, oregano, nutmeg and cinnamon.  Simmer, stirring occasionally until the mixture becomes think and almost dry, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350.

To prepare the bechamel, add heavy cream, cream cheese, garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg to a nonstick saucepan.  Bring ingredients to a boil while stirring.  Lower the heat and simmer for a few minutes, until it reaches desired consistency.  Stir in sun dried tomatoes and onions.  Try to time this to finish around the same time as the meat mixture or keep warm on lowest setting.

Prepare a 13x9 with cooking spray.  Layer half the eggplant in the bottom of the dish and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Spread the meat mixture over the eggplant evenly.  Arrange another layer of eggplant over the meat and press down so they are as flat as possible.  Pour the bechamel over the top and spread it evenly.  Sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Bake until the golden and bubbling around the edges.  Start checking at about 45 minutes.  The recipe I based this on said 1 hour, but mine looked a bit overdone at that point.  It still tasted great though!

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!

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.

Mini Vanilla Cake

I am calling this a mini cake because I make it in a mini loaf pan.  I was experimenting with something I could make for my daughter, who is on GAPS, that she could have at her brother's birthday party, and this is what I came up with.  I am not sure how larger amounts of batter might bake up in a bigger pan.  Will update it if I try it.

Mini Vanilla Cake

Whatcha Need:

1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 ts baking soda
1/8 ts salt
5 egg yolks
3 TB honey
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
2 TB full fat coconut milk
1 ts vanilla

Whatcha Do:

Use a bit of coconut oil to grease the pan.  Mix together the dry ingredients in a small bowl.  In another small bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are creamy.  Because of the small amount, you will probably need to use a beater with just one attachment.  Add in the other liquid ingredients and blend well.  Add the dry ingredients and mix until there are no lumps.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.  Check the cake with a toothpick starting at 20 minutes.