Catch up...

Hi All, 

Hope everyone's week is going smoothly. George and I are headed off to Hawaii next week for our honeymoon and getting VERY excited. We are staying on Kauai and it's our first time, so any recommendations are appreciated!

Check out this post from Robin at Everymom to Ironmom. Her story gave me chills. What an empowering post! I can't imagine being in that situation, nor being able to handle it as well as she did. I hope that I would.

Moving on, here are a few catch up photos from my phone I've taken in my recent travels...

becoming an expensive habit... would love to try and make my own someday.

getting more and more into beekeeping with my dad.

necessary quality check while we were spinning the honey :)

pretty successful day... 50+ pounds

wedding pig roast!

grilled chicken fajita salads! since we got our grill last year, we grill everything!

one of our many tomato plants

delicious marinated steak from Trader Joe's

tomato, mozzarella and basil salad from the garden. well not the mozzarella...

late night snack of apple and almond butter

strawberry salad with an ass ton of chicken from a local place near my work. so damn good.

90% of the time I pack a lunch for work, but occasionally I run out of time or just don't feel like throwing something together. Do you buy or bring your lunch to work?

balsamic marinated flank steak

oh boy was this good. a little prep went a long way.

flank steak (about 1 pound)
1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar
1 clove of garlic, minced or grated
1 tablespoon of worchestershire sauce OR coconut aminos
1 tablespoon of honey
salt & pepper

in a small bowl, mix the balsamic vinegar, garlic, worchestshire sauce or coconut aminos, salt, pepper and honey. i had to microwave the honey for 15 seconds so it would mix together nicely instead of lying in a clump at the bottom of the bowl.

place the flank steak into a gallon size freezer bag (or just a regular ziplock) then pour the marinade over. i marinated this for 24 hours, but anywhere from 11-24 hours would work. i wouldn't go anymore than 24 hours though.

when you're ready, grill or broil the flank steak 5-7 minutes per side. tent the meat and let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing and serving. make sure to slice the meat against the grain or it will be too tough to eat.

i think we ate half of it right off the board.... couldn't wait for it to hit the plate!

meals in between



colorful garden salad



pint of grape tomatoes sauteed until they burst over marinated chicken breast



bacon wrapped asparagus



brussel sprouts and bacon, pre-bake



grilled chicken, brussel sprouts, roasted sweet potatoes and a side salad



buffalo bolognese with spaghetti squash EDIT: directions for this are posted in the comments section

 

grass fed burger topped with peppers, onions and avocado

 

grilled chicken, brussel sprouts and baked sweet potato

 

paleo meatloaf

  



1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 large yellow onion, chopped
red pepper flake
3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
2 pounds of ground beef
1/2 cup of almond flour
2 eggs
1/4 cup of diced tomatoes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tablespoon of 21 seasoning salute
salt & pepper
1 small can of tomato paste

first, saute the bell pepper and onion over medium heat in your choice of fat; coconut oil, olive oil, butter, etc. season with salt & pepper. once they are cooked halfway, add the red pepper flake and garlic.

remove the peppers and onions from the heat when they are done, about 15 minutes, and let them cool slightly. i recommend mixing with your hands, so you don't want the vegetables to be super hot. in a large mixing bowl, add the beef, eggs, diced tomatoes, almond flour, garlic powder (i like the combination of fresh and powdered garlic), 21 seasoning salute and finally the onions and peppers. mix everything together until it's just incorporated. don't over mix or it will become tough during cooking.

place mixture in a loaf pan or form into a loaf in a baking dish.

top with tomato paste and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. my apologies for the lack of a final photo. this pairs well with virtually any vegetable.

crockpot beef stew

even though a crock pot or slow cooker was made to eliminate some of the preparation, i feel that there are some things that just can't be replicated. beef stew for instance; the caramelization you get when searing the beef over a high flame can't be duplicated in a crock pot. so in my version, i do the same prep work as i would if i was cooking it on the stove. i then transfer all the ingredients into the crock pot so the work is being done while i'm out of the house.


2 pounds of stew meat
coconut oil (or your choice of fat) for cooking
salt & pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound of baby or chopped carrots
3 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 bay leaves
several glugs of red wine
28 oz. can of diced tomatoes

first, preheat a pot to high heat. next prepare your meat. dry the meat off very well using a clean kitchen or paper towel. when everything is dry, season all sides liberally with salt & pepper.

add the fat of your choice to the pot and brown the meat in batches (i did mine in 2). don't worry about cooking all the way through, get COLOR on every piece. color = flavor.



as the meat gets done, add it to your crock pot insert.

when you are finished cooked the beef, add your vegetables to the same pot along with the 2 bay leaves. let this cook for a few minutes then add the red wine. scrape all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan up. dump this whole mixture into your crock pot insert.

top with the can of diced tomatoes. cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

once it was finished cooking, i added about a half cup of frozen peas (technically a legume, i know) and let those soften with the crock pot on the 'warm' setting for 15 minutes or so.

i served it over steamed cauliflower.



i did all of the prep work the night before and refrigerated the whole crock pot insert until the next morning. all i had to do before work was put the insert into the shell and turn it on.



muffins, pwo shake, a delicious appetizer and more!

i saw Health Bent's banana bread recipe and decided to make muffins to bring to my parents house one morning. i added walnuts to the batter and to the top. before paleo i used to do a ton of baking, so it was nice to bake again...

the muffins turned out great. they were a little on the dry side, but that is expected when you aren't using wheat flour. to help the dryness, we ate them heated with lots of butter. PROBLEM SOLVED.

i swear this tastes like a milkshake:

6 ice cubes, half a can of full fat coconut milk, 1 scoop of whey, 1 tablespoon of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon of almond butter and a dash of cinnamon. blend until smooth. honestly, it doesn't need any added sweetener, but if you're looking for something a little sweeter a couple chunks of pineapple or a dab of honey would do the trick. it is SO delicious post work out.

it doesn't matter if you're feeding fellow cavemen or not, these are a great appetizer for everyone. pitted dates, stuffed with an almond, wrapped in bacon and baked until delicious. i found i didn't need to used a toothpick to keep them together. as long as you do a good wrapping job, they will stay together.

 i experimented with a few of the dates by stuffing them with goat's cheese...

CAUTION: THESE ARE ADDICTING!

irish bangers were on sale at TJ's on St. Patricks Day week, so i bought a pack. roasted them in the oven with some onions and served them with mashed cauliflower and unsweetened applesauce...

made my paleo pot roast another night and served it with mashed cauliflower... are you seeing a cauliflower theme??

happy chickens lay happy eggs!

happy hump day :)

meatballs version 2.0 aka "bison balls"

i found some ground bison at the market and thought... meatballs. i added it to my original meatball recipe and they turned out great. let's go for it:


sauce--

• 3-4 (mine were small so i used 5) cloves of garlic, grated or finely minced
• 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme, minced
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 cup of chopped carrots
• 2-28 oz. cans of whole peeled tomatoes, san marzano if you can find them
• 6 oz. of tomato paste
• red pepper flake
• 2 bay leaves
• salt & pepper
• olive oil



prep the garlic, thyme, peppers, onions and carrots. preheat a deep pot to medium-highish heat.

saute all the vegetables until they are starting to get soft, about 7 or 8 minutes. season with salt & pepper and don't let the garlic burn!

next add the 2 bay leaves followed by tomato paste. mix everything together well and finally add the 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes, crush the whole tomatoes in your hand as they go in. you could smash them with a potato masher once they are in the pot too. once everything is in, reduce the heat to low and cover.

meatballs--

• 1 pound of ground bison
• 1 pound of grass fed ground beef
• 1 pound of ground pork
• 2 duck eggs (or 3 chicken eggs)
• 1/2 cup of almond flour
• salt &pepper
• 2 teaspoons of garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons of Montreal Steak Seasoning (or your favorite steak seasoning)

next up are the meatballs! preheat your oven to 350 degrees. add all the ingredients to a large bowl and mix together. remember, don't mix them too much, just enough so they hold together. the longer you mix, the tougher they will be. this recipe yielded about 20 mediumish sized meatballs. i cooked them on a silpat for about 25 minutes.

this is a good "all-day" recipe because the longer the sauce simmers, the more concentrated the flavors get. i made the sauce late morning, and made the meatballs 25 minutes before we wanted to eat. it was perfect served with steamed brussel sprouts but spaghetti squash was excellent the last time i made meatballs.

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