Ingredients:
1-2 Tbs coconut oil
2 pounds grass-fed ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can tomato puree
1 1/2 tsp parsley
1 tsp basil
salt and pepper to taste
1 head cabbage, shredded (like for coleslaw)
1. Heat coconut oil in large saucepan over medium heat.
Add beef and cook until no longer pink. Add more oil if it is sticking or looking dry. No need to drain if you are using 100% grass fed beef. If you are not using 100% grass fed beef, then drain and maybe omit the oil.
2. Stir in onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook until just fragrant. Add tomatoes. Add about 1 1/4 C water to the can and swish it around to get remaining tomato in the can. Add it to the pot. Stir in all parsley, basil and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 5 minutes.
3. Stir in half the cabbage and cook covered for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining cabbage and simmer covered for 90 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve with bacon mashed turnips (find recipe here) and string beans, if desired. You can also serve with a little grated Romano Cheese to give it more of a lasagna taste.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Shrimp n "Grits"
I know what you are thinking. How can you eat grits while eating paleo? Aren't grits corn and isn't corn technically a grain so it is therefore not paleo? You are right! Grits are not paleo, but cauliflower is! Using cauliflower, you can make a great grits substitute!
To make cauliflower grits you will need just the florets of 1 head of fresh, raw cauliflower and a food processor. First process the cauliflower in the food processor using the grater attachment. Then process it in the food processor angain using the blade attachment until it resembles grits. Fill a medium sauce pan with about 1/2 inch of water. Add the "grits" cover and bring to a boil until they soften a little and warm through. Add 1 -2 TBS butter to create a creamier grits and season with salt and pepper, if desired.
Shrimp and "Grits"
1 recipe cauliflower grits.
3 chorizo links, casings removed and sliced thin or cubed
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 lbs raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes
Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium high heat for about 2 minutes. Add onion and cook 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add shrimp and cook until opaque. Add tomatoes and heat through. Serve over cauliflower grits.
I served this with bacon wrapped asparagus. (YUM!)
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Sausage and Brussels Sprouts Bake with Honey Mustard Sauce
Here is a recipe that I adapted to be more paleo. Even my 6 year old (the picky one) asked me to make again! It is almost a one dish meal, and super easy to make! I opted for almond milk over coconut milk since the flavor is milder. However, if I knew my kids weren't goign to like the sauce (even though I should have known better) I would have used coconut milk.
Ingredients:
1 pound Brussels sprouts, quartered
2 onions, sliced into rings
2 lbs sweet Italian Sausage or Brats (any flavor)
Himalayan pink sea salt, to taste
for the honey mustard sauce:
1/2 C almond or coconut milk
1/4 C brown mustard
1 TBS Raw, unfiltered and preferably local honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (I prefer Bragg)
Heat oven to 450 degrees (F)
Remove casings from the sausages by making a slit lengthwise in the casing and peeling it off the sausage. Slice sausages into 1/2-1 inch pieces.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown sausages until almost cooked through and browned on the outside.
Remove sausages to a baking dish trying to keep the fat from the sausage in the pan.
NOTE: If you are not using pastured sausage, discard the fat and add 1 TBS olive oil. Otherwise, keep the sausage fat in the pan and add the sliced onion. Cook until translucent and edges start to brown.
Add the onion to the baking dish, making sure you scrape the fat and as much of the brown bits from the pan into the baking dish. Add the quartered Brussels sprouts. Sprinkle with salt and mix well.
Bake for 20 minutes. Stir and then bake another 10 minutes.
While the sausage is cooking, combine mustard, honey, vinegar and milk in a small sauce pan. Simmer on low so the flavors combine and the sauce heats through. About 5-10 minutes.
Serve sauce on the side or on top of the sausage. My kids did not like the sauce (which I anticipated) so I put it on the side for them. The sauce is a little thin so you might want to put it in a small bowl so they can dip. My kids liked the meal without the sauce.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Honey BBQ Spare Ribs (in the pressure cooker) with bacon mashed turnips
Here is the dinner I made last night. I made the ribs in my pressure cooker, but I think if you plan a little better, this recipe would work in a slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours. You can also make the turnips ahead of time and re-heat them.
Honey BBQ Sauce:
2 6oz. cans tomato paste
1/3 C white or apple cider vinegar
1/4 C water
4 TBS Honey
1 TBS brown mustard (or Dijon mustard)
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set in refrigerator overnight so flavors blend.
3 lbs pastured pork ribs
Add 1/2 C water to pressure cooker.
Brush BBQ sauce on ribs, generously. Mix remaining sauce and water in pressure cooker. Place ribs in pressure cooker and cook on high for 20 minutes. Quick release the pressure and serve with turnips.
Bacon Mashed Turnips:
2 pounds turnips
2 TBS Butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 pound nitrate free bacon, diced.
2 TBS bacon fat
Peel and cube turnips and cook in boiling water in a large saucepan until very tender.
While turnips are cooking, cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain and save 2 TBS bacon grease, strained.
Drain turnips and mash with the butter add garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
Add bacon fat back to the skillet along with the bacon and the turnips. Heat through and serve.
Honey BBQ Sauce:
2 6oz. cans tomato paste
1/3 C white or apple cider vinegar
1/4 C water
4 TBS Honey
1 TBS brown mustard (or Dijon mustard)
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of cinnamon
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and set in refrigerator overnight so flavors blend.
3 lbs pastured pork ribs
Add 1/2 C water to pressure cooker.
Brush BBQ sauce on ribs, generously. Mix remaining sauce and water in pressure cooker. Place ribs in pressure cooker and cook on high for 20 minutes. Quick release the pressure and serve with turnips.
Bacon Mashed Turnips:
2 pounds turnips
2 TBS Butter
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 pound nitrate free bacon, diced.
2 TBS bacon fat
Peel and cube turnips and cook in boiling water in a large saucepan until very tender.
While turnips are cooking, cook bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Drain and save 2 TBS bacon grease, strained.
Drain turnips and mash with the butter add garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
Add bacon fat back to the skillet along with the bacon and the turnips. Heat through and serve.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Grain-free Tacos - No they weren't on a lettuce leaf!
I know, I know, I teased you with my shrimp and Grit(less) recipe idea, but I haven't made it yet, though I should have you know that I have bought all the ingredients for it. However, I am now probably going to wait until Friday to make it since it is Friday during Lent. Needless to say the shrimp went into the freezer.
However, tonight I'd like to share with you a recipe that was a pretty big hit (however, not so much with my 6 year old, but he never likes anything...)
I made soft tacos using no grains and no corn!
I first made the taco filling with 2 lbs grass fed beef and 4 TBS of homemade taco seasoning, but you could use any all natural/organic one that you would like. I also used a can of diced tomatoes, undrained and added that to the meat in stead of salsa. (I was out of organic tomatoes, so I had to use a can of conventional ones):
First I browned the meat. When it was almost cooked through, I added the tomatoes and the spices.
Then I followed the crepe recipe from the TACA Facebook page
The recipe says to process the eggs in a food processor, but didn't say for how long. I processed mine until the eggs got foamy. Then poured them into a hot buttered skillet. Since they cooked pretty quickly by the time I tried to spread them out with a spoon (even using 2 hands), when I flipped the crepe, I pressed down on them with the spatula in order to flatten them. This seemed to work pretty well and I ended up with very thin crepes.
I followed the advice of the TACA recipe and I ran the taco meat mixture through the food processor. The thought of doing this, at first made me ill since i wasn't sure what kind of consistency it would become. However, after making the crepes, I realized the crepes were way too delicate to hold the taco meat. Once it was processed, however, the meat took on a finer texture and was able to be held by the crepe without a problem.
The result was great tasting tacos that tasted almost like "real" soft tacos!
My next project will be to see if the crepes freeze well... that would open up all new possibilities! (Including taking them camping...)
However, tonight I'd like to share with you a recipe that was a pretty big hit (however, not so much with my 6 year old, but he never likes anything...)
I made soft tacos using no grains and no corn!
I first made the taco filling with 2 lbs grass fed beef and 4 TBS of homemade taco seasoning, but you could use any all natural/organic one that you would like. I also used a can of diced tomatoes, undrained and added that to the meat in stead of salsa. (I was out of organic tomatoes, so I had to use a can of conventional ones):
First I browned the meat. When it was almost cooked through, I added the tomatoes and the spices.
Then I followed the crepe recipe from the TACA Facebook page
The recipe says to process the eggs in a food processor, but didn't say for how long. I processed mine until the eggs got foamy. Then poured them into a hot buttered skillet. Since they cooked pretty quickly by the time I tried to spread them out with a spoon (even using 2 hands), when I flipped the crepe, I pressed down on them with the spatula in order to flatten them. This seemed to work pretty well and I ended up with very thin crepes.
I followed the advice of the TACA recipe and I ran the taco meat mixture through the food processor. The thought of doing this, at first made me ill since i wasn't sure what kind of consistency it would become. However, after making the crepes, I realized the crepes were way too delicate to hold the taco meat. Once it was processed, however, the meat took on a finer texture and was able to be held by the crepe without a problem.
The result was great tasting tacos that tasted almost like "real" soft tacos!
My next project will be to see if the crepes freeze well... that would open up all new possibilities! (Including taking them camping...)
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Stay tuned...
I really love Shrimp and Grits. I know, to people not living in the Southern US, this probably sounds gross, but trust me, it is really good. Unfortunately, being paleo, I can no longer eat corn or dairy (since many shrimp and grits recipes are creamy and/or cheesy). The other day while looking through some magazines, I spotted a recipe for Shrimp and Grits that I really think I can convert to a paleo dish. I have an idea for a grits substitute that would be paleo. I am hoping to try this recipe out on my guinea pigs... er family sometime this week. Hopefully by Tuesday. If it is good, I will post the recipe. :D If not, I will update anyway with a warning not to try this at home. Please check back Monday or Tuesday.
:)
:)
Friday, April 1, 2011
Meatless Dinner-A frittata of sorts
Fridays during Lent have been proving very difficult for me. I am not too fond of fish and can no longer eat pasta for a quick meal (even gluten free pasta is off limits). Tonight was a particularly confusing night. We took the boys out after school and we ended up home a little too close to dinner time. I hadn't gone to the store today to buy fish and really had no clue what to make. I decided on gluten free pasta for the boys as a treat. They are not quite Paleo (yet) but usually eat Paleo dinners. So it was pasta and butter sauce for the boys with fruit. But that left the adults. What to make?
Rummaging through the fridge, I had a zucchini, and onion and a red pepper. I grabbed about a half dozen eggs and I went to work om a frittata of sorts/.
Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 red pepper
1 medium onion
1 zucchini
6 eggs
1tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
3T grass fed butter
Dice onion and pepper. Slice Zucchini into 1/4 inch think slices. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat (on my electric range, that was a "5" on the dial). When butter is melted, add onion and saute until it is translucent add the peppers. Cook for 2-5 minutes. Add Zucchini and cook an additional 2-5 minutes. While vegetables are cooking,lightly scramble eggs.
Spread out the vegetable mixture so that it is nearly flat and covering the entire bottom of the skillet. Pour eggs over top and cook on medium low (I set mine range dial to "4"). I try to gently lift the sides of the egg while it is cooking and tilt the pan so the uncooked egg runs to the bottom of the pan so it will cook. When the bottom of the egg is just about set, cover the pan and reduce the heat (again, on my stove I reduced it to a "3"). Carefully watch the frittata and make sure they are not burning. You will need to gently lift the side of the frittata to check the bottom. Do this carefully so as to keep the frittata in one piece. Continue to cook until the egg is set to your liking. Cut the frittata in half (I find it is easier to get it out of the pan this way, but if you can get it out in one piece, then go for it.) And serve. This served my husband and I. He was impressed with the dish. :)
Rummaging through the fridge, I had a zucchini, and onion and a red pepper. I grabbed about a half dozen eggs and I went to work om a frittata of sorts/.
Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 red pepper
1 medium onion
1 zucchini
6 eggs
1tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
3T grass fed butter
Dice onion and pepper. Slice Zucchini into 1/4 inch think slices. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat (on my electric range, that was a "5" on the dial). When butter is melted, add onion and saute until it is translucent add the peppers. Cook for 2-5 minutes. Add Zucchini and cook an additional 2-5 minutes. While vegetables are cooking,lightly scramble eggs.
Spread out the vegetable mixture so that it is nearly flat and covering the entire bottom of the skillet. Pour eggs over top and cook on medium low (I set mine range dial to "4"). I try to gently lift the sides of the egg while it is cooking and tilt the pan so the uncooked egg runs to the bottom of the pan so it will cook. When the bottom of the egg is just about set, cover the pan and reduce the heat (again, on my stove I reduced it to a "3"). Carefully watch the frittata and make sure they are not burning. You will need to gently lift the side of the frittata to check the bottom. Do this carefully so as to keep the frittata in one piece. Continue to cook until the egg is set to your liking. Cut the frittata in half (I find it is easier to get it out of the pan this way, but if you can get it out in one piece, then go for it.) And serve. This served my husband and I. He was impressed with the dish. :)
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Favorite Grain Free, Dairy-Free Pancakes
I am trying to transition the family into a paleo lifestyle. It has proven difficult with them, especially with the 6 year old who has stubbornly decided to hate everything paleo 9even if he really likes it.) At least I finally have him eating eggs int he morning... as long as they are farm fresh eggs or Egglands Best brand eggs (he is so picky and has never liked regular supermarket eggs). The 9 year old loves pancakes. I did an Internet search for paleo pancakes and I came upon a recipe. With a little tweaking, these have easily become a favorite with my 9 year old. He has been eating them every day for about 2 weeks now. :) The 6 year old just doesn't like pancakes (never has). Now if only I could transition him to pure maple syrup... Luckily Log Cabin makes a HFCS-free pancake syrup. Not as good for you as maple syrup, but much better than the HFCS ones. One day I will start mixing the pure maple syrup with the Log Cabin one to get him used to it...
Favorite Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Pancakes
3 large eggs
1/4 Cup almond or coconut milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 C almond meal/flour
Lightly beat eggs. Add milk and vanilla to eggs and mix together. Add Almond flour and cinnamon and mix well, breaking any lumps. It should look like pancake batter. Heat skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add butter and let it heat with the pan. When the butter is melted, pour your batter and cook like regular pancakes. They will not bubble, so you need to watch them. You will see them set up on the edges and then you will know it is time to turn them. I usually made 6 3-4 inch pancakes. Top with fresh fruit, honey, maple syrup, or just more butter and eat plain. You can also top one with a fried egg and bacon, add another on top for an egg sandwich. There are many possibilities.
These pancakes are also great for those following a gluten free lifestyle.
Favorite Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Pancakes
3 large eggs
1/4 Cup almond or coconut milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 C almond meal/flour
Lightly beat eggs. Add milk and vanilla to eggs and mix together. Add Almond flour and cinnamon and mix well, breaking any lumps. It should look like pancake batter. Heat skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add butter and let it heat with the pan. When the butter is melted, pour your batter and cook like regular pancakes. They will not bubble, so you need to watch them. You will see them set up on the edges and then you will know it is time to turn them. I usually made 6 3-4 inch pancakes. Top with fresh fruit, honey, maple syrup, or just more butter and eat plain. You can also top one with a fried egg and bacon, add another on top for an egg sandwich. There are many possibilities.
These pancakes are also great for those following a gluten free lifestyle.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Chicken Thighs
WOW is all I have to say about the chicken I made tonight. I was inspired by a recipe for bacon roasted chicken thighs with potatoes that I found on www.allrecipes.com, but I took it to a whole new level... Here is what I did.
I made 1/2 of this recipe for paleo stuffing from www.paleolifestyle.com:
(here is the exact recipe I used it is 1/2 of the original)
STUFFING:
1/2 lb ground beef
1 tbs cooking fat (I used coconut oil)
2 stalks celery chopped
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 apple diced
1 cups finely chopped walnuts
1 clove garlic, minced
generous amt of poultry seasoning
salt and pepper
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
8 slices of bacon
5 (or more) carrots, sliced
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
in a large pan saute the ground beef and celery in the cooking fat for about 3 minutes. Make sure the beef is crumbled into small pieces. Add the apple and onion and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the seasonings, garlic and walnuts and salt and pepper. Mix well. Set aside.
Take the boneless skinless chicken thighs and lay them face down. Place a little of the stuffing on each thigh and roll up. Wrap a piece of bacon around the thigh. Set aside. Do this for the remaining thighs. I made 8. If you need to, you can use a toothpick to secure each thigh. I found the bacon held it together perfectly.
Add the carrots and mushrooms to the bottom of a 9X12 baking dish. Mix any remaining stuffing mix in with the veggies. Place the bacon wrapped chicken on top of the veggies. Bake at 400 degrees for about 1 hour. Turn the broiler on and broil for about 10 minutes to crisp the bacon. Put it back to 400 for a few more minutes and serve. It was delicious and even my picky 6 year old ate all of it!
I made 1/2 of this recipe for paleo stuffing from www.paleolifestyle.com:
(here is the exact recipe I used it is 1/2 of the original)
STUFFING:
1/2 lb ground beef
1 tbs cooking fat (I used coconut oil)
2 stalks celery chopped
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 apple diced
1 cups finely chopped walnuts
1 clove garlic, minced
generous amt of poultry seasoning
salt and pepper
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
8 slices of bacon
5 (or more) carrots, sliced
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced
in a large pan saute the ground beef and celery in the cooking fat for about 3 minutes. Make sure the beef is crumbled into small pieces. Add the apple and onion and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the seasonings, garlic and walnuts and salt and pepper. Mix well. Set aside.
Take the boneless skinless chicken thighs and lay them face down. Place a little of the stuffing on each thigh and roll up. Wrap a piece of bacon around the thigh. Set aside. Do this for the remaining thighs. I made 8. If you need to, you can use a toothpick to secure each thigh. I found the bacon held it together perfectly.
Add the carrots and mushrooms to the bottom of a 9X12 baking dish. Mix any remaining stuffing mix in with the veggies. Place the bacon wrapped chicken on top of the veggies. Bake at 400 degrees for about 1 hour. Turn the broiler on and broil for about 10 minutes to crisp the bacon. Put it back to 400 for a few more minutes and serve. It was delicious and even my picky 6 year old ate all of it!
Introduction
So I decided to try my hand at writing a blog. I thought I would name it Paleo Camper since we love to camp and I have adopted the paleo lifestyle. I hope that I will be able to share with you on this blog my paleo journey as well as health adn nutrition info and recipes, either ones I have made up or ones that I find (in which case I will share the link).
I first learned about the paleo lifestyle when I decided to try a 21 day sugar detox from www.balancedbites.com ON oCT. 1, 2010. I had only very briefly heard of paleo before then and never bothered to research it since it seemed too hard to do. I had a MAJOR sweet tooth and loved ice cream and chocolate! During the sugar detox, not only was I not allowed to eat sugar but I had to stop eating dairy, and all legumes, potatoes, corn, soy and grains. I was really surprised at how limited it was in what I could eat, at first. It started out really tough, but by the end of the 3 weeks, I found my energy increased and I actually LOST 8 pounds despite the fact that I was eating and never felt hungry! While on the detox program, I discovered Robb Wolf's book, The Paleo Solution (www.robbwolf.com). As I read his book (which by the way is an incredibly easy and entertaining book to read for a nutrition book), I realized the science behind it made sense. I was sold. (The fact that I felt great and had more energy than I had had in YEARS helped me make my decision).
It is now march and I have lost 20 pounds and 2 sizes. I am one size away from my goal size and then I will be the size I was in high school! I really love feeling this way and losing weight and not being hungry. I have realized that this diet is really not as restricting as I originally thought. It is just different. In fact, I can basically eat as much as I want. There is now counting calories or points or weighing food or worrying about eating something with too much fat. I just have to make sure I avoid the foods I listed above, that I stick to whole fats (olve oil, coconut oil and occassionally butter). I feel great and have a lot of energy, which are the main benefits. I hope you subscribe to my blog and come back often to see my progress and to get soem ideas and recipes and hopefully adopt this very helpthy lifestyle for yourself!
I first learned about the paleo lifestyle when I decided to try a 21 day sugar detox from www.balancedbites.com ON oCT. 1, 2010. I had only very briefly heard of paleo before then and never bothered to research it since it seemed too hard to do. I had a MAJOR sweet tooth and loved ice cream and chocolate! During the sugar detox, not only was I not allowed to eat sugar but I had to stop eating dairy, and all legumes, potatoes, corn, soy and grains. I was really surprised at how limited it was in what I could eat, at first. It started out really tough, but by the end of the 3 weeks, I found my energy increased and I actually LOST 8 pounds despite the fact that I was eating and never felt hungry! While on the detox program, I discovered Robb Wolf's book, The Paleo Solution (www.robbwolf.com). As I read his book (which by the way is an incredibly easy and entertaining book to read for a nutrition book), I realized the science behind it made sense. I was sold. (The fact that I felt great and had more energy than I had had in YEARS helped me make my decision).
It is now march and I have lost 20 pounds and 2 sizes. I am one size away from my goal size and then I will be the size I was in high school! I really love feeling this way and losing weight and not being hungry. I have realized that this diet is really not as restricting as I originally thought. It is just different. In fact, I can basically eat as much as I want. There is now counting calories or points or weighing food or worrying about eating something with too much fat. I just have to make sure I avoid the foods I listed above, that I stick to whole fats (olve oil, coconut oil and occassionally butter). I feel great and have a lot of energy, which are the main benefits. I hope you subscribe to my blog and come back often to see my progress and to get soem ideas and recipes and hopefully adopt this very helpthy lifestyle for yourself!
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