Stick-to-Your-Ribs Crockpot Stew

We had something rare blow into these parts of Texas yesterday, a cold front - an actual COLD front - not just one of those day-long, breath of fresh air kind of fronts that only leaves you wanting more. It's shivering weather. And when the thermostat approaches the freezing point, I start craving good, hearty foods.

And one such feel good food is stew. I had a few recipes in my binder, but they were from our pre-Paleo days and just wouldn't do. So I combined a few ideas, made a few substitutions, and came up with this:

Stick-to-Your-Ribs Crockpot Stew

Stuff You Need:

• 2 lb. beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ½ lb. Italian sausage
• 1 yellow onion, cut into large chunks
• 1 large zucchini, cut into large chunks
• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into large chunks
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into large chunks
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into large chunks
• 1 - 4 oz can tomato paste
• 1 - 14 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
• 2 chipotles in adobo, finely chopped
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 Tbs garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• 1 Tbs black pepper
• ½ tsp cayenne
• ½ tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano

What To Do:

1. Crumble sausage into a skillet and brown until no pink remains.
2. Remove sausage by slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
3. Use reserved grease from sausage to brown beef. I like to do this in small batches to prevent excess water build up.
4. Place beef and sausage in the crock pot.
5. Next sauté the veggies in your skillet for a minute or two, stirring often.
6. Place veggies in the crock pot.
7. Use apple cider vinegar to de-glaze you skillet.
8. Add beef broth, tomatoes, and tomato paste to the skillet, mixing until tomato paste fully incorporated.
9. Add the dry spices and mix well.
10. Pour liquids from the skillet to the crock pot.
11. Cook on low for 8 hours.

I can't tell you how comforting this dish has been. I have eaten it for lunch and dinner 2 days running. And I'm not TOO embarrassed to admit that I had it for breakfast today as well.

It's also a really versatile recipe. These are just the veggies we had on hand. If you've got something else around - sweet potatoes, okra, mushroom - whatever is on hand or whatever sounds good to you, just pop 'em in. Don't have Italian sausage handy, use ground beef or breakfast sausage or even chorizo. This is really one of those clean out the fridge kind of meals.

I sautéed all the veggies, but that is really a personal preference. Aside from browning the sausage and beef, you could get away with just dumping this all in the crock pot. And if I had been short on time, I likely would have considered that option. But, for a change I had some time on my hands, so I pulled out all the stops.

Regardless of the changes you make, I think you will find this a great cold-weater feel good meal!

Orange Chicken

I guess I should start with lots of apologies. It's been AGES since my last post. And I have no real excuse. Sure, work is busy. But what else is new? I have been experimenting in the kitchen. Sometimes, it's just tweaks to a familiar dish, others it's a big leap of faith.

And such is the case with this particular dish.

You see ... I just love Asian flavors. And orange beef, chicken, and shrimp are some of my ALL TIME favorites. But typically, these meals are loaded with sugars. So I have stayed away from them except on special treat days. However, early last week, I was browsing a non-Paleo food blog (The Pioneer Woman) when I stumbled over an excellent-looking take on orange chicken.

But since it's more than a month before my birthday, I decided I would attempt to Paleo-ify her recipe (thus the leap of faith). And this is what I came up with:

Orange Chicken

Stuff You Need:

• 1 - 1.5 lbs chicken tenders, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 egg whites
• 2 Tbs tapioca powder
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 Tbs coconut aminos (or soy sauce, if you are not strict Paleo)
• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 Tbs vinegar
• ¼ tsp grape seed oil
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper (or more to taste)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp tapioca powder
• zest of 1 orange
• ¼ cup water
• 2 whole green onions, chopped

What To Do:

1. For the chicken: In a large bowl, whisk together the tapioca powder and egg whites with a fork until almost frothy, about 1 minute.
2. Add the chicken to the mixture and allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. For the sauce: Put the orange juice, coconut aminos, honey, vinegar, grape seed oil, salt, crushed red pepper, garlic, ginger, and orange zest in a small nonstick skillet and whisk together.
4. Heat 3-4 minutes until it starts to bubble and thicken.
5. Whisk together the tapioca powder and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl or cup until well combined.
6. Add 1 or 2 Tbs of the tapioca powder slurry to the sauce and mix well.
7. Continue to stir while sauce thickens (for about 1 minute). NOTE: If sauce gets too thick, just add in another 1/4 cup water and whisk in. If sauce is too thin, add another Tbs of the tapioca powder slurry until it reaches a nice syrupy consistency.
8. Heat about 2 inches of coconut oil in a heavy-bottomed pot until a deep-fry thermometer inserted in the oil registers 350 degrees F.
9. In small batches, carefully drop a few pieces of chicken into the oil, stirring often for 2-3 minutes or until light golden.
10. Remove from the oil and let the chicken drain on a plate lined with paper towels for 2 to 3 minutes.
11. Once all of the chicken has been browned, drop them back into the oil for 1 more minute to really solidify the coating.
12. Remove from the oil again and return to the paper towel lined plate to drain.
13. Finally, toss the chicken in the sauce and serve immediately with orange zest and sliced green onions for garnish.

This is basically the recipe for Orange Chicken featured on the Pioneer Woman's site, with just a few substitutions. I traded tapioca powder for corn starch, honey for her brown sugar, grape seed oil for sesame oil, and coconut oil for peanut oil.

The results were AWESOME! We just LOVED this dish and you can bet it's one I'll be repeating in the very near future (I have a surplus of orange juice. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Fabulous (Taro) Fries

I know it's been a while ... I'm still experimenting in the kitchen and have a bit more tweaking to do before I get to share some new favorites with you.

But in the meantime, I wanted to let you in on a little secret ....

Taro root fries are seriously addictive!

These have become a family fave to the Nth degree and are Wonder Boy's favorite fry ever. He even prefers these fries to those you would get at your favorite (ahem) fast food establishment. That's not to say that he's a fan of all Paleo-ish foods I put down before him, but this is a MAJOR SCORE in my book and I'm going to enjoy it!


As a bonus, taro root is seriously inexpensive (a $3 USD jumbo taro root will last our family about a 3 weeks, even with me preparing it at least twice a week) and these little shoestring fries are super simple to make! I have baked them and fried them and either way works well. For seasoning, my crew prefers just a bit of sea salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. You can slice them super thin and make chips or you can make thick slices like home fries. It really IS up to you this time!

This is the way I most commonly prepare and serve our favorite tuber:

Baked Taro Fries

Stuff You Need:

• 1/4 of a taro root, peeled, sliced thin, and cut into strips
• 3 - 4 Tbs grape seed oil
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp black powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Place your taro fries on a parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Drizzle the grape seed oil over the fries and use your hands to make sure all fries are coated.
4. Once all of the fries are coated in the oil, spread them out in a single layer on your pan.
5. Next sprinkle the dry seasonings on the fries.
6. Bake for about 20 minutes (depending on the thickness of your fries) until they are a light golden brown color.
7. Cool them slightly and serve!

If you are in a rush for time, frying them in your grape seed oil is a quick option. On weeknights when we are often rushed, I will go this route. Either way, the taro comes out crunchy and full of flavor! ENJOY!

Slacking and Snacking

I haven't truly been slacking with this blog, it just SEEMS that way because I haven't posted anything new as of late.

But the truth is that I have been pretty busy in the kitchen. I'm trying out new recipes and trying to dial in some changes before I share them with you here. I am [--- this close ---] to having things ready to share on at least 2 or 3 different recipes. But we've got to eat the results from my previous experiments before we can try again and make sure before I commit to posting them here.

In the mean time, I'd like to talk about snacks.

And I'll admit that this has been one of the tougher transitions to our Paleo-ish lifestyle. When you think about snacks, you want something quick, easy, and satisfying. And when you are avoiding sugary, pre-packaged foods, this can be a bit of a challenge. But we have found a few things that help to satisfy when we get a case of the munchies.

Nuts:
Our first go-to snack has been (& will likely continue to be) nuts. They're easy to take along with you, can be spiced for add flair, and are just an EASY way to add a few bonus calories to your day. Nuts are packed with protein and when seasoned just right can take the edge off of even a serious junk food craving.
Fruit:
After nuts, you'll often find us reaching for fresh fruit, nature's candy. In fact, we all enjoy at least one fruit snack per day. Personally, I prefer to mix a few fruits together in something resembling the fruit cocktail cups my mom packed in my lunch as a 3rd grader. I like to mix tart fruits (like black berries and raspberries) with something sweet (like strawberries, pineapple and/or peaches). The only drawback to this is that you have to keep a fair bit of fruit on hand (which means you have to take care to eat it all before it goes bad) and it takes a bit of prep time to put it all together. It's not a lot of time, but it's definitely more than grabbing a handful of almonds or tearing straight into an apple on its own.
Tuna:
Another snack I truly enjoy, but that again requires some prep time, are tuna wraps/boats. My mom makes the most amazing tuna salad I've ever enjoyed and this version comes pretty close to her original. The trick (for me) is to always make sure I sprinkle the top with a bit of smoky paprika. That added kick always makes this dish just sing, if you ask me. I will wrap up my tuna in a lettuce leaf, plop it on top of pickle slices (see below), or even use it as a dip for apple slices. If I have a Paleo bread on hand, I'll even enjoy it my favorite way - as a toasted sandwich. Once you get past the initial preparation time, this is a snack that will come together quickly when you need a quick bite and as a bonus, if you make a good bit of it at once (I like to use the "family size" cans of tuna) then you can keep it on hand for a few days at a time (unless you go nuts and eat it all at once - which I wouldn't advise, no matter how tasty you make it).
Chips:
At this point, I'm starting to reach when it comes to quality snacks. But we try to keep at least a bag or two of Paleo-friendly chips in the pantry. Our favorites are plantain chips, lightly salted. We will sometimes keep sweet potato chips on hand (I like to crush them and add them to several recipes as well). And then from time to time, we enjoy an "exotic mix" of taro, parsnip, sweet potato, and batata chips from our local grocery store. We can (& do) make most of these chips from scratch on our own from time to time, but when you just want a quick bite of something to keep you from cheating, going through the process of making your own rarely happens (at least in my kitchen). So having something like this on hand really helps. A word of caution though ... this is one of those cases where you REALLY need to read your labels. Most spiced chips (spiced with anything other than sea salt, that is), will likely contain sugar. It really narrows down your chip choices, but we have found at least 2-3 brands of chips in our local store that fit the bill. Just don't skip on reading those labels!
There are many more snacks, of course, but I have found that these are the ones we turn to most often. These require little or no preparation, will satisfy a particular taste (fruit for sweet, tuna for a snappy treat, chips when a salt craving hits, and nuts for a more filling snack), and are regular staples in our kitchen.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

If you have spent any time following this little blog, you know I have a bit of a sweet tooth. And I particularly crave chocolate. For me, it was a true relief to learn that dark chocolate is often featured in Paleo kitchens around the globe.

My chocolate donuts are a family favorite when we need to satisfy our sweet cravings and we often take them to pot luck dinners since they are such a decadent treat, enjoyed by even those who do not embrace Paleo cooking methods. But when faced with dinner with friends who have nut allergies, we needed to find a nut-free alternative to our favorite dessert.

These cupcakes feature coconut flour and arrowroot powder in place of almond meal. This recipe reminds me of devil's food cake in that it is moist and rich with a lovely dark color. Wonder Boy and I both really like dark chocolate and thus these were an instant favorite. Our friends all seemed to enjoy them as well. It is likely that this will be a recipe that we can take to church or school functions where you don't know if there will be anyone present with nut allergies.

Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

Stuff You Need:

• 3/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted
• 1/3 cup coconut flour, sifted
• 1/3 cup arrowroot powder, sifted
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 5 eggs
• 1 cup all-natural applesauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 Tbs vanilla
• 1/2 tsp liquid stevia
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

What To Do:

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Wisk cocoa powder, coconut flour, arrowroot powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt in your mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, applesauce, honey, vanilla, and stevia. Mix on high for at least 2 minutes. The longer you mix, the lighter and more airy the cupcakes will be.
4. With the mixer still running on low, drizzle in the melted coconut oil until well combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients, 1/4 cup at a time until well incorporated.
6. Fill your cupcake pan with paper liners and fill 2/3 full with batter. This should make between 18 - 24 cupcakes, depending on how long you whipped up the batter.
7. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before icing.

I suggest this fantastic whipped cream frosting recipe from Elena's Pantry for the icing! And if you are like me and prefer chocolate icing with your chocolate cupcakes, then I suggest you add 1 Tbs of cocoa powder to turn Elena's Whipped Cream Icing into a truly sinful tasting chocolate cream icing.

Cocoa-Crusted Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Wonder Boy has a ... how do you say it? ... let's be polite call it a "selective palate," which means I am constantly on the lookout for foods that the whole family can enjoy (so I don't end up making multiple dishes for each meal). And when I find one that works, well, I tend to shout it to the roof tops.

This is one of those rare gems that truly earns the label of family favorite! The fact that it's a crock pot meal to boot is just a bonus!

Cocoa-Crusted Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Stuff You Need:

• 3 lb chuck roast
• 2 Tbs cocoa powder
• 1 Tbs sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp habanero chili powder
• ½ dried oregano
• 1 Tbs grapeseed oil (or olive oil)
• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 large onion, quartered

What To Do:

1. Combine the dry seasonings in a small bowl.
2. Rub the spice mixture over your roast and refrigerate for 30 minutes (over night is great, if you think about it before hand).
3. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan (I use a cast iron skillet) over medium hat.
4. Once the oil is hot (when it starts to shimmer, but before it begins to smoke) add your onions to the pan and let them cook until slightly browned.
5. Separate the onions and line the bottom of your slow cooker with them.
6. Add the broth and set aside.
7. Brown your roast on each side, until you have a nice crust, 2-3 minutes per side.
8. Transfer the roast to your slow cooker, place on top of the onions, and cook on low for 8 hours.

This comes out of the crock pot ready to fall right apart for you! It's juicy and tender and full of flavor.

We like to serve it with a side of tarrow root fries, snappy apple slaw, or just a fresh green salad.

I hope you will enjoy it as much as we have!

Sour Sippers

In our efforts to put only "clean things" into our bodies, we recently gave up most (if not all) of our artificially sweetened drinks. I was enjoying at least one flavored water per day. But it was sweetened with apertame or some other chemical. So it had to go. That left us with water as our primary sipper throughout the day.

And that's fine. We've been drinking primarily water for a good long while.

But every now and then (about 1 meal per day), I really like to have some kind of sweet and/or snappy treat. so I started sampling lemonade recipes. It took a while, and a bit of tinkering, before I found the right sour sipper for me.


Sour Sippers

Stuff You Need:

• 10 - 14 lemons (enough for 1 cup of lemon juice)
• 4 - 6 limes (enough for ½ cup lime juice)
• ½ cup agave nectar
• 6 cups water

What To Do:

1. Warm the water on the stove over medium heat. It doesn't need to boil or even simmer, we just want it hot enough to help the agave dissolve.
2. Add the agave nectar and stir until dissolved.
3. Add lemon & lime juices, stir until well mixed.
4. Refrigerate until cold and enjoy!

I like to garnish my drinks with frozen fruit instead of ice cubes. Raspberries and blackberries are my favorites, but pineapple chunks and strawberries are also very flavorful.

I find this to be a nice, snappy, and down right refreshing drink. I have gotten into the habit of enjoying a small glass at lunch each day, especially now that the sun is starting to shine on us again. It's a perfect compliment to a fresh tuna salad or lettuce wrap, but honestly, I enjoy this little treat all on its own. I hope you will as well!