Saturday cookathon!

It has been forever and a day since I have made a blog post, and for that I apologize.


Well, fall is officially here. Kids are gearing up for Trick-or-Treating. The yard is full of leaves that need to be raked. Pumpkin / squash is served on every plate. 


Lately I have been getting lots of new recipe ideas and finally have the time to try a few. My original plan for this first dish included roasted turkey from a left over carcass but unfortunately we could not afford a turkey this check so it will have to do without. This recipe takes forever to make and I would have used the crock pot to make it but it is currently tied up with a pork roast recipe that you will find down below. 

Pimptastic German Pumpkin soup. 

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Organic (if available) Ingredients:

2 Small Baking Pumpkins
1 Large Onion, chopped
1 Leek, chopped
3 Large Carrots, peeled and sliced
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Large Tomato, chopped 
1 Small Root of Ginger, around 3" Peeled and grated (my food processor has an awesome grater attachment for that)
1 large Sweet Potato, peeled and cut into cubes
1 pack of Pastured Bacon, cooked and chopped
3 cups Chicken broth
1 cup Water
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Kerrygold Butter
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Coriander
1/2 Teaspoon Paprika
1/4 Teaspoon Salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
1/8 Teaspoon Ground Cayenne Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
Take one of the pumpkins, cut it in half, and scoop out  insides. 
Save the seeds to roast in the oven for a yummy snack later (Big part of being primal is not wasting usable food sources)
Cut the pumpkin into quarters and peel off the skin with a potato peeler.  

Once the skin has been peeled, chop the pumpkin up into roughly 1 inch cubes. Set them aside.

Now take the other pumpkin and cut off the top as you would when carving a pumpkin.
Use a spoon to scoop out all of the seeds.
Sprinkle some sea salt inside the pumpkin and place a tablespoon of butter inside of it and place the cap back on. Place this pumpkin in a casserole dish and bake in the oven for 45-60 minutes, or until the inside of the pumpkin is fairly soft and the outside has turned a deep orange color. DON'T FORGET ABOUT IT (I did and it was too soft to use as a bowl but still tasted yummy)


Heat the fourth cup of olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a very large pot. Add the onions and saute until nearly transparent, about 10 minutes.
Then add the chopped pumpkin, potatoes, carrots and coriander.
Allow to cook for 20 minutes, stirring every couple minutes to cook the vegetables evenly. 


Then add the garlic, ginger, leek and tomato and allow to cook for 20 minutes, stirring every couple minutes again.

Add Chicken broth, Water,  paprika, sea salt, cloves and cayenne pepper and mix well. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.  
Once done ladle it into a blender or food processor and make a nice puree of the soup. 

Ladle the pureed soup into the roasted pumpkin (assuming you didn't ruin yours) and serve it hot sprinkled with the chopped bacon and a dash of cinnamon. 
You can also mix in a splash of heavy cream if your not a dairy paleonazi, I did in mine. 


ENJOY! 


You will have more than what will fit in the other pumpkin. Just put that in the container and toss in the fridge for later unless your family manages to devour ALL of it in one sitting. 


P.S you may want to wait until last minute to make your bacon...I found mine didn't last until the dish was complete and I had to make more. 






Repollo Enchilada de Carnitas Y Salsa Verde 


(Cabbage Enchilada Carnitas and Salsa Verde) or Carnitas stuffed cabbage if you prefer.


As far as I know this recipe is one of a kind. If not then I'm sorry! 

I still had half of the 8lb pork loin sitting around from the other day and figured I could get at least two decent recipes out of it. I prepared both of these at the same time. 




Ingredients.


2lb pork loin (or shoulder)
1 1/2 cups salsa verde (paleo friendly) 
4 Cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 small can of diced green chilies
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 Large Head of Cabbage
1 large Pablano pepper diced
1 onion diced
1 Tablespoon Kerrygold butter
1 Tsp Pepper
1/2 cup salsa (home made or paleo friendly store bought)


Place Pork loin fat side down in the Grokpot.
Rub down with garlic and pepper.
Add Worcestershire sauce and cover top of pork loin with 1/2 cup of salsa verde and diced chilies.


Set Grokpot to low and let cook for 8-9 hours until meat falls apart. 

Remove from Grokpot and shred with a fork. (at this point I split my 4lbs into two halves. One half for this and other for BBQ pulled pork.)


Add Butter to medium skillet, melt , add onions and pablano pepper. Saute until onions are soft. 







Set oven to broil 400 degrees. 
Place porkloin in glass baking dish. 
Add onion, pablanos, remaining salsa verde and the 1/2 cup salsa. Mix well and place into oven.


Broil until top layer is crispy 10-15 min. 
Remove from oven and flip meat over. Place back into the oven and crisp other side for another 10- 15 min. 

While meat broils:


Cut stem from bottom of Cabbage by cutting a square shape around it and about 1.5" down into the cabbage head. Pop it out. (sorry forgot to take a pic)

Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add whole cabbage to pot cover and cook around 5 minutes or until leaves are soft enough to pull off individually. I found that by the time I pulled a leaf and trimmed it the next leaf was ready.

As the cabbage leaves loosen, remove them and place in a colander to drain.

Carefully cut the stiff stem from each leaf being very careful not to cut all the way through.

Place small handful of meat inside cabbage leaf and roll it like you would a burrito or egg roll. Don't blunt roll or your meat will fall out the sides. 

Place rolls into Glass baking dish, Add a desired amount of salsa on top (this will help keep them from drying out while baking as well.) I used a mix of Rojo and Verde salsas (Red and Green) you could even use a gluten free enchilada sauce if you like. 


If you aren't anal or can handle dairy feel free to add some cheese on top as well. 

Place into 350 degree oven and bake for 35-40 minutes
Remove from oven and serve with a fresh squeezed margarita NOM NOM NOM

Quick and Easy BBQ Pulled Pork


I used the other half of the pork roast that was prepared above but here is the basic recipe.

Ingredients:

 2lb pork loin (or shoulder)
4 Cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 small can of diced green chilies
1/2 cup Salsa Verde (optional, recommend omitting)
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 Cup Spicy Caveman bobs Paleo BBQ sauce (can be found here http://www.cavemanbob.com/ )
1/8 Tsp Pepper




Place Pork loin fat side down in the Grokpot.
Rub down with garlic and pepper.
Add Worcestershire sauce and cover top of pork loin with 1/2 cup of salsa verde and diced chilies.


Set Grokpot to low and let cook for 8-9 hours until meat falls apart. 

Place into a glass baking dish and shred with a fork.
Add bbq sauce, mix well and place into 400 degree oven on broil.
Broil for 10-15 minutes until top layer is crispy. Remove from oven, flip meat and place back into oven.
Broil for another 10-15. Remove from oven and Serve!

This will be used for dinner tomorrow night and will probably be served on top of spaghetti squash. An Idea I got from Tim Swart aka Big Tim.


Have a good weekend everyone!

Bacon lovers dream pie

After a long day at the NARBC reptile expo I came home starving and to a empty pantry.

My original plan was to just make a handful of bacon and call it good...But as I pulled the bacon out of the fridge, I spotted a jar of Paleo-friendly pizza sauce in the pantry.

I had a mental firestorm. Bacon pizza crust? Hmm, sure, why not. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like it might work.

As I was lining the bacon dish with bacon, I realized that no matter how I layered it, it wouldn't hold together too well...especially once I added sauce.

EGGS! Of course! Eggs can hold everything together. It's at this point that I started having my doubts about how effective it was going to be, but I proceeded anyhow.

   
  Ingredients

1. 1/2 pack of bacon
2. 3 eggs
3. 3/4 cup pizza sauce
4. cheese of your choice
5. toppings of your choice (c'mon its pizza, I don't have to spell it all out for you) ;)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Line baking dish with desired amount of bacon.

bake in oven until browned and lightly crispy.

Drain Grease

*Side note, cook bacon a little longer than I did. I used the rationalization that the bacon would continue to cook, but it didn't really. Some was crispy and some was chewy. I would cook until its crispy.

Mix eggs in a bowl, add splash of milk or what ever YOU use for scrambled eggs. Pour mixture over bacon and return to oven for several minutes until eggs are firm.

Remove from oven and drain any additional grease if you can.

I found it easier to just turn the pan over a cookie sheet. Eggs and all came out nearly perfect.

Spread sauce over makeshift pizza crust

Add cheese and toppings

Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted to a golden brown

Cut and Enjoy!

I was rather surprised that this tasted just like the pizza I had been missing for the past few months. Really makes me wish I had researched Paleo pizza recipes prior. Not sure if there are any out there like this...if so then I guess it's not as original as I had thought. The only downside is you really still need a fork to eat it. You could pick it up but the "crust" is still pretty soft. 

Have a good weekend ~ Micheal

Eat like a dinosaur cook book!

I am very excited to hear about the release of the Paleo Parents new cook book Eat Like a dinosaur! Full of kid friendly recipes and lunch box ideas. I have 3 young children and have been looking for something like this. Pre orders can be done here http://paleoparents.com/eat-like-a-dinosaur be sure to order a copy soon!

A rare outing with the family.

Ever since hearing about DMK burger on food network ( I think it was the best thing I ever ate, but also featured on diners drive-ins and dives), I have been wanting to try it out. This is the most paleo-friendly restaurant I have found to date. They use 100% Grass fed beef, as well as pastured eggs, bison, turkey, and lamb. Their philosophy is that if cows where meant to eat corn, they would. sound familiar? Here is a link to their website: http://www.dmkburgerbar.com/index.php

After a lot of consideration, I went with a number #4 roasted hatch green Chile, fried farm egg, sanoma jack cheese and the most amazing smoked bacon.

For the appetizer I got an order of deviled eggs - I have to say, it's either been a really long time since I have had them, or they really were amazing. They also have quite a few different kinds of freshly made french fries: So many that its impossible to choose just one! Guy Ferreri suggested the truffle fries. They were okay, but nothing compared to the sweet potato fries with lemon tabasco aioli. My mouth is watering just thinking about them!

If you live near Chicago (or are planning a visit), I highly recommend stopping by and enjoying a very Grok friendly burger!

Orange Chicken and Fried Brown Rice

One of my wife's biggest complaints since going primal is that she misses her orange chicken that we used to get from take out or the trader joes bagged one (lets face it, its freaking delicious)

I have seen some paleo recipes floating around but was going to just wing it. Thanks to a FB friend for pointing me towards a relatively simple recipe. I did make a few tweaks for my own personal taste. The original recipe can be found here http://www.health-bent.com/proteins/paleo-orange-chicken 

We had one head of Cauliflower laying around, and I could of used it to make paleo friendly fried rice, but I opted to save it for mashed cauliflower instead. This is the first official "cheatish" meal I have had since going primal, so i do not feel that guilty. Feel free to sub the fried rice recipe for a Cauliflower one. 

Rice Ingredients

• T olive oil
• 2T Tamari
• 1.5 cups organic brown rice
• 3 eggs lightly beaten
• 3 cups water
• 3 T Ghee (or coconut oil)

• 1 cup peas
• 1/2 cup mushrooms diced
• 1/2 shallot diced

Chicken Ingredients

• 3 boneless, skinless Chicken breast chopped into 1" cubes(I prefer breast over dark meat)
• 2 T Ghee (or coconut oil)
• Juice of 3 oranges
• 2 T orange zest
• 1 t fresh grated ginger
• 1/4 c Tamari (or coconut amino's) 
• 1 t chili garlic sauce
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 heads of broccoli (optional if you want steamed broccoli with it)

First step is to Cook the rice.

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in Med size pot. Once boiling add brown rice and return to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 50 min or until water is absorbed. Stir with fork every once in a while.

Once rice is done, remove from pan and spread on greased cookie sheet cool to room temperature. If you are lazy and impatient like me you can pop it in the freezer for a quick cool down for a few mins.

In a small size sauce pot, add the orange juice, zest, ginger, 1/4 cup Tamari and chili garlic sauce. Set over medium heat and let simmer to reduce and thicken while the chicken and rice cooks.

Rice

Heat a wok over Med heat until hot, add 1T Ghee and heat for another 15-30 seconds until melted.

add eggs and cook for about a minute or until just set on the bottom. Turn eggs over and stir to crumble until cooked but not dry. Remove from wok and set aside.

Chicken

In a separate saute pan heat 2 T Ghee over med high heat. Add the Chopped chicken breast and cook until a nice brown crust develops (approx 6 min) Remove from pan, drain grease and return meat to pan. 

Add sauce to pan stir until well coated.

Rice

while chicken is cooking add remaining Ghee to your Wok and heat until melted. Add peas, shallots and mushrooms saute for 5 min stirring frequently. Feel free to add cooked and chopped bacon if you have any in the fridge ( I really wanted some but didn't have any left as usual)

Add cooked rice, 2T tamari and 1T olive oil. Cook 5 min stirring frequently add cooked eggs cook until heated through. Remove from wok and place in a serving dish

Serve your chicken with Fried rice and steamed broccoli if you made any. Enjoy!

Side note, OMG WAS THIS FREAKING GOOD! 

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Chimichurri Sauce

This was the first time that I have ever attempted at making a Chimichurri Sauce. Matter of fact, it was the first time ever had it at all. I just happened to be sitting in the break room at work yesterday watching a cooking show. The gentleman was grilling a skirt steak and the thought just hit me like a ton of bricks.  "Chimichurri!" I shouted out loud drawing a few stares from my coworkers. I had happened to remember a conversation that I was having with a buddy who recently returned from Peru and all he could talk about was how great chimichurri was and how it was in just about everything they ate while there. 


I did some quick internet searching for basic ingredients and did some modifying for my own personal taste. The recipe was a big hit with the family, including my wife who is rather picky and does not like most sauces.

Ingredients

1/2 Cup Fresh Basil

1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley

1/2 Cup Fresh Thyme

1/3 Cup Fresh Cilantro 

1-2 Jalapenos to taste

Juice of two lemons

2 Shallots 

4 cloves of Garlic 

Pinch of Crushed red pepper

Place above ingredients into a food processor and pulse until the desired consistency like shown below.

Allow the sauce to sit for at least an hour to allow the flavors to mingle.

You can use as a marinade or as a  dipping sauce. You can also double the recipe so you have some left over to use in other meals. I tried some tonight on fried eggs and it was surprisingly tasty.

In my case it was a nice sized skirt steak that I picked up at the local supermarket for only $6

I rubbed the steak down with Garlic and the freshly made chimichurri sauce.

Grilled each side for several minutes and served with sauteed onions and red peppers. 

I also prepared some BBQ Chicken for quick reheat meals over the weekend. 

BBQ sauce for the Chicken was from http://www.cavemanbob.com/ a paleo condiment provider who uses paleo freindly ingredients in his sauces.