Crockpot jambalaya

A fairly quick crockpot soup/stew, from the CFSCC blog...

1. Chop 1 large onion and 1 bell pepper, and saute them with 3 minced cloves of garlic. Put this mixture in your crockpot.
2. Brown 2 chicken breasts, chop into chomp-sized bits, and add to the pot.  You'll also need to cook and chop up some sausage to add--this time, I used half a bag of the loose sausage from our pig.  I think it was about 2 sausages worth. (This sausage is so salty that I didn't add any other salt to the recipe! You may need to if your sausage is more...sedate.)
3. Add 4 c chicken broth, a can of diced tomatoes (I drained some of the liquid), and a tablespoon or so of Cajun seasoning (cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika).
4. Cook this on low for 4 hours.
5. Finally, add 1 lb of cooked shrimp (I bought raw ones and sauteed them), 1 c of spinach, and 1 head's worth of cauliflower rice.  Cook it long enough for the spinach to be droopy and everything to be hot--I think I did another hour or so, but you could put it on high instead.

It came out good!  Again I think I skimped on the seasonings and I feel like it needs one more flavor... I'm not sure what.  I'm going to have to compare some other jambalaya recipes.  Also, next time I'll use chicken thighs instead of breasts since I think they'll dry out less in the crockpot.

Beef braised in coconut milk

I made this beef braised in coconut milk and was thoroughly impressed!  It came out tender and flavorful, although I think next time I might actually increase the seasonings some.  It mostly tasted like coconut and beef--delicious, but the other flavors didn't really come through.

1. Preheat the oven to 275, and cut a ~3 lb beef chuck roast into six or so pieces.  Rub them with salt and brown them well in coconut oil in a big (oven safe) Dutch oven.  You'll want to do them in batches, and reserve them on a plate to the side.  I also took a lime out of the fridge now so it would be at room temperature for later juicing.
2. Drop the heat on the Dutch oven to medium and add a chopped onion, 2 minced cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of freshly grated ginger, the zest of one lime, and 2 tablespoons of curry paste.  Saute this for a few minutes to partially cook the onion, scraping the beefy bits off the bottom of the pan.  Then, add a can of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce.  Now, you put all your beef (and any juices) back in the pot, cover it up, and put it in the oven.  It took mine 3 hours to get to falling-apart tender.
3. Pull the pieces of beef out and put them on a cutting board to cool slightly.  Meanwhile, put the pot over medium heat and add a chopped bell pepper; simmer for a few minutes to cook it.  Add the juice of that lime, 2 chopped scallions, and 1/4 c of basil cut into thin ribbons.  Chop or shred the beef into bite size pieces and add them back in!

We made cauliflower rice and served it over that--it was perfect.  I''ll definitely be making this again!

Thanksgiving 2010 menu

We usually have a few friends over for Thanksgiving and cook a big meal.  This year, we did it all paleo with dairy!  The menu was:

Appetizers:
* Marinated olives
* Crudite and shrimp with green goddess dip
* Parrano cheese with grape jam (really good!)

Main course:
* Brined turkey
* Mixed mushroom and tarragon gravy

Sides:
* Bourbon walnut sweet potatoes
* Cranberry sauce in port wine with cinnamon
* Smoked paprika broccolini with almonds
* Cauliflower and mushroom stuffing

Dessert:
* Pumpkin pie
* Flourless chocolate cake

Everything came out really good!  We ended up with very few leftovers, and lots of people went back for seconds, which made me happy. :)  It was definitely the best turkey we've ever done--brining is the way to go.  I even had one guest tell me it was the best Thanksgiving food he'd ever had.

Pork spare ribs in the crockpotribs

Ingredients;

• 2 racks of pork spare ribs
• a can of diced tomatoes
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 chopped onion
• ~3/4 tablespoon anchovy paste
• ~1.5 tablespoon soy sauce
• ~2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ~1/2 tsp green chile paste
• 1 tblsp tomato paste
• salt and pepper

I put all this in the crockpot for 8 hours on low.  The flavors came out pretty good!  However, it really didn't need to be in there for 8 hours. Maybe 4 or 6 next time! 

Turned roasted chicken

This is my go-to roast chicken recipe.  The cooking method is from my Joy of Cooking, but the vegetables and herbs vary with what I have on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken
• Aromatic vegetables
• Herbs
• Butter
• Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees!
2. I prep the stuffing first, so I chop all my vegetables coarsely and toss them in a bowl with some of the herbs, salt, and pepper.  This time I used an onion, a carrot, and a stalk of celery, and three cloves of garlic that I smashed with the side of my knife.  For herbs I used dried basil, oregano, and thyme.
3. To prep the chicken, rinse it and pat it dry with paper towels (and take out the bag of organs, little plastic pop-up thermometer, etc).
4. Next, stuff the cavity of the chicken with the vegetable mix.  This time I tied the legs together with cotton twine to help hold it in better!
5. Liberally salt the chicken all over the outside.  Sprinkle it with pepper and your herbs too.  Finally, brush the chicken with 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter.
6. Set the chicken on its side (that is, with a leg up) in a v-shaped rack in a roasting pan or something that will catch drips.  This goes in the oven for 25 minutes for the first 4 pounds, plus 3 minutes per additional pound.  Then take the chicken out and turn it so the other leg is up, and put it back in for the same amount of time. Finally, turn it breast side up and finish cooking it--another 15-30 minutes, or until the thigh is 170-175 degrees.

Today I put a whole butternut squash in the oven with the chicken, just punctured in a few places to keep it from exploding.  It was good just mashed with a fork with a little olive oil, alongside the chicken!  Later we ended up roasting the extra vegetables that didn't fit along, with the vegetables from inside the chicken (doubtless contracting dire salmonella) and tossing them with some loose Italian sausage.  Also delicious!

Prosciutto wrapped pot roast

Prosciutto wrapped pot roast

Bored with pot roast - I was looking for a new twist.

Everyone said that the house smelled fantastic -- and a lot like corned beef.

Ingredients:

2.5 pound whole beef eye round roast

2 medium onions

1 celery stalk

garlic - chopped (as much as you like)

1/2 bell pepper - I used orange - very high in vitamin C

Olive oil

Veggies - as you like. I used a pound of carrots, a turnip and threw in a package of frozen carrots and broccoli for extra veggies.

8 cups of chicken stock - or beef, whatever you have

Red wine

Steak rub - Salt, pepper, garlic, paprika

8 oz prosciutto

Basil, thyme, bay leaf

Chop onions and saute in Dutch Oven with a couple tablespoons of olive oil.

Chop the bell pepper and add to pan.

Add salt and pepper

Rub the Beef with the steak rub all over -- a good coating.

Lay the prosciutto over the top and wrap it over the ends..... You could tie it - but it all falls apart if it is done right anyway.....

Now layer garlic onto the prosciutto

Lay the beef into the Dutch Oven

Add the broth

Add the bay leaf

Cook for 3-4 hours on low

Add 1/2 cup red wine, chopped turnip, carrots and broccoli and simmer for another hour.

Yum!

Slow cooker pork loin

I needed a crockpot dinner on Friday but all I could find without pulling the entire pig out of the freezer was a boneless pork loin.  Not ideal!  But I tried it anyway...

I rubbed it all over with salt and pepper, oregano, basil, and thyme.  Then I poked slits in it and inserted about 4 cloves of garlic cut up into chunks.  This went in the crockpot on a bed of onion slices and orange and white carrots.  I poured a mixture of chicken broth and balsamic vinegar over it, and cooked it on low for 6 hours (it was still a little frozen in the middle when it went in!).

This came out not too bad!  The flavors were good, and while it was dry it wasn't inedibly so.  It would probably be really good with a fattier cut of meat.

Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ingredients: 

• Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Ham
• Swiss cheese
• Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup shredded pecorino romano cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 4 tbsp butter
• 2 cups of milk
• and of course - salt, pepper and garlic

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Spread Olive Oil in a baking pan ( I used a 7X10 for 4 servings )
3. Pound the breasts so they are relatively flat and about 1/4 inch thick.
4. Place 1 in the pan
5. Layer a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss cheese onto the chicken breast.
6. Place another breast on top.
7. Make as many of these little breast sandwiches as you want.....
8. For the sauce:  Melt the butter in a 2 quart saucepan.  Add the milk, cheeses and seasonings.
9. When heated throughly, pour over the chicken.
10. Bake for 40 minutes.

I roasted some eggplant alongside in the oven --with Olive Oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

(posted by Erin for Mom!)

Braised lamb shoulder

We got a deboned Icelandic lamb shoulder at Whole Foods, already neatly trussed up.  I decided to braise it with a bunch of vegetables following the instructions in "Art of Simple Food."

1. I took a small glass baking dish and covered the bottom with chunks of onion, celery, sweet potato, and orange and white carrots.
2. I rubbed the lamb shoulder all over with salt, pepper, oregano, and basil.  If I'd thought of it, I would have done this step last night!
3. I put the lamb on top of the vegetables with the fat side up, and added enough chicken broth to come about a third of the way up the lamb.
4. This cooked in a 375 degree oven for an hour, then I flipped the lamb over.  I cooked it another half hour, flipped it again, and cooked it one more half hour.  At this point, the lamb was tender when poked with a fork and the vegetables were mushy and delicious.

This made an awesome lamby vegetable stew that we floated slices of the shoulder on.

Chicken Fajita Salad

Chicken Fajita Salad

Just a quick lunch Wednesday morning, from The Paleo Solution, very colorful! Easy to make too, made it in the morning right before work.

2 tbsp olive oil

1 chicken breast

1/2 an onion

1/2 bell pepper

1 avocado

1 tomato (if you like them, I hate them. But I tried to eat it.)

Salad

Heat olive oil, throw in sliced onions, cook till soft. Add chicken, cut into strips. Season with oregano and cumin. Once chicken is browned, toss in sliced bell pepper to soften it a bit. Toss chicken/onion/pepper mixture over the salad, add sliced avocado and tomato.

Came out delicious and was very filling, will definitely make it again, minus the tomato. Overcooked the chicken a bit too.

Butternut Squash Soup

I made this soup today. Bit of an experiment... I roasted the squash first instead of boiling it. It added a different flavor to the soup - richer.

1 butternut squash (I buy mine previously cut because it can give me a nasty burn if I cut it myself)
2 cups Chicken stock
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
nutmeg
salt and pepper

Peel, remove the seeds and cut up the squash. Place on a cookie sheet with some olive oil, salt, pepper. Roast for 45 minutes at 375 degrees.
Transfer to a Stock or Soup pot.
Add the chicken stock
Add the onion
Add the garlic
Nutmeg ( 1/4 tsp to 1/2 tsp - Hard to tell when you are grating a nut)

Simmer until tender.

Smash or use a hand blender to smooth the soup.

Slow roasted pork shoulder

A little while ago Lurene and I split a local pastured pig with a trainer at our gym.  It turns out a pig has a lot more meat than I expected, so two full freezers later we'll still eating pork at almost every meal!  Today's pork adventure is a roasted bone-in pork butt.  I based it on the recipe at Cook's Illustrated , but slightly modified.

1. Last night, I scored the fat cap of the roast into little one-inch squares, and rubbed it all over with kosher salt and sprinkled it with Chinese five-spice powder.  (I use this all the time on pork.  It tastes like it should be in cookies, but there's no actual sugar in it!)  Then I double-wrapped it in plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge overnight.
2. This morning, I unwrapped the roast and brushed off any remaining salt.  I sprinkled it with pepper and put in on a V-rack in a roasting pan.  I added about four cups of water to the bottom of the roasting pan, and put it in the oven at 325 degrees with a thermometer set to go off at 185 degrees.
3. This takes about 5-6 hours to cook. (Mine was about 5.) Twice during the cooking process I pulled it out to baste it.  (Of course I don't have a convenient basting device, so I have to use a spoon.  I make Lurene do this if I feel like I might burn myself today.)
4. Wen the timer went off, I pulled it out of the oven, covered it loosely wit tinfoil, and let it rest.  I was supposed to let it rest an hour, but we only made it 30 minutes.

We had this with some steamed carrots.  I also made a quick pan sauce by deglazing the roasting pan with some chicken broth and apple cider, and added a little black pepper and garlic powder.

I think this was one of the best things I've ever made.  Probably a lot of credit goes to the pig, though.

Meatloaf

I watch the Food Network all time and get ideas. Then I alter them to work within the Paleo diet. Here's how I did it with Meatloaf. This works for Meatballs as well.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef (or you can use a mix of pork, veal, whatever you like)
2 eggs
2 tsps crushed garlic or 5 cloves chopped
1 package of frozen organic chopped spinach, defrosted and drained
1 medium onion chopped finely
Salt and Pepper, of course
Take off your rings and mix all together with your hands. ( Messy!)
Place in a loaf pan or casserole dish.

Add a 1/4 cup of organic beef broth or dry red wine.

For an Italian twist - I add Parmesan Cheese and Romano Cheese and bake it with tomato sauce at 375 degrees until the internal temp reaches 175.

For use in meatballs - just roll them into 1.5 inch balls. Brown them in a large frying pan. Add liquid of choice and cook for 45 minutes on simmer. Turning every 15 minutes.

Chicken Pizza

I was missing the taste of Pizza so I created this recipe. So many options with it!

The process is so simple..... Just pound boneless chicken breats flat and line them up on a cookie sheet prepped with a little olive oil.

Then - add the toppings you love on pizza.
Some of my favorites:

organic tomato sauce
sliced mushrooms
chopped eggplant
garlic ( of course!)
fresh baby spinach
Fresh mozarella and ricotta ( I *like* dairy)
Fresh parsley and basil

Bake it at 375 for 40 minutes

Yum!

Welcome!

Welcome to Paleo on the Farm!  After we kept saying "We really should start a food and recipe blog" long enough, I finally got around to setting one up.  Here, my mom, my sister, and I will post our weekly food triumphs.  The ground rules: no grains, no legumes, minimal dairy.  We'll post meal plans and recipes, along with what worked and what didn't.  People really can and do eat this way long term, day in and day out, and it's not that hard to do!  Hope you enjoy!

--Erin