Football Food

When the Baylor Bears play football we act like it is a national holiday.  Last game day all of the kids were here, ready to eat and cheer on the Bears! 

The following recipe is from Ree Drummond - better known as the Pioneer Woman.  I found this recipe several years ago on her blog (not in her cookbook) - it has become our football food!

Italian Drip Beef Sandwiches

1 whole Beef Chuck Roast, 2.5 to 4 pounds
1 can beef consommé or beef broth
3 Tablespoons (heaping) Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup water
1/2 of a 16 ounce jar of Pepperoncini Peppers with juice
Buttered toasted deli rolls

Combine all ingredients (except the rolls of course) in a crock pot.  Stir to combine seasonings with liquid.  Cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or until meat is falling apart.

Remove the meat from the slow cooker and shred with 2 forks.  Place back in the crock pot.  Serve with the buttered rolls, letting everyone make their own sandwiches.  I put out small bowls of the liquid for the dipping part.

This also delicious with the grain free sandwich rolls from "Against All Grain" cookbook by Danielle Walker.

I made a green and strawberry salad to go with this.  And for the non-Paleo peeps, chips.  For dessert, lemon curd cups from "Meals Made Simple" by Danielle Walker.  Yum. . .

And by the way - Sic 'em Bears!  

Picture from Pioneer Woman blog.

Flavored snack nuts

It is very hard to find commercially made nuts to snack on that are free of peanut oil or canola oil. It is very easy to make your own.

Start with raw nuts:  I buy mine at Sprouts or Trader Joes.  Store them in the freezer.  Otherwise they might go rancid.  I also rinse and pat dry - especially after purchasing bulk nuts (scooping them out of the big bins.)

My favorite snack nut recipe:

2 cups nuts (pecans, cashews, almonds, walnuts - any combination)
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 tsp. curry (I heap my measure up a little)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. sea salt
good sprinkle of smoked paprika

Mix all in a bowl then spread on a rimmed cookie sheet.  Bake at 325 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. You can reduce the oven temp at this point to 180 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes.


Alternate seasoning:

2 cups nuts
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 Tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 heaping teaspoon chili powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
good sprinkle of cumin and smoked paprika
1/4 tsp. sea salt

Same instructions.

I am going to try another blend over the weekend and will report back.

Salmon for Breakfast?

One of my favorite breakfast treats on the cruise was smoked salmon, capers, and cream cheese (I left off the bagel).  DH found beautiful smoked salmon at Costco and brought it home just for me.  Here is a picture of the salmon ready to be consumed together with the package.

On the ship, the salmon was presented very thinly, almost paper thin, sliced with the capers and a little bit of cream cheese.  If this picture were a close up, you would be able to tell that instead of the beautiful thin slices, this salmon looks like it was attacked by a chain saw.  My knives must not be very sharp.  Anyway, this is a wonderful alternative to eggs for a high protein breakfast.  Enjoy.

Favorite Salad Dressing

Several years ago Melissa d'Arabian won the Next Food Network Star on the Food Channel.  I loved everything she made and she very much deserved the win.  Below is a variation of her Cafe Green Salad Dressing that is our family favorite:

1 garlic clove, grated
3 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
3 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
3 splashes soy sauce
9 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Sea salt and black pepper

Grate the garlic clove (I use a microplane grater) into a measuring cup or bowl.  Add the rest of the ingredients, tasting for saltiness and add pepper to taste.  Pour all into a jar and shake.

This recipe is 3 times the original.  I use it on everything: vegetable salads, green salads with fruit.

Enjoy!  And thank you Melissa!

Favorite Grocery Stores and Markets

Trader Joe's has come to our town!  Last night DH (Dear Husband) and I went on a reconnaissance mission to check it out.  I am so glad we did - it was everything we expected and more.  Interesting and new produce for lower prices. Truly free range organic chicken for the lowest price I have seen.
And pumpkin everything which I am pretty sure was not Paleo but looked fantastic!

So here are my 4 favorite stores and why:

Trader Joe's - variety, new products, great prices, clean stores, larger variety of organic produce
Sprouts - great prices on produce over all
Costco - yes you read that correctly.  Costco has great prices on things like olive oil, avacado oil, almond flour, grass fed ground meat and wild caught fish.
Local Yocal - only in McKinney but hopefully you can find one where you live.  True grass fed beef in a variety of cuts, free range chicken, eggs, and occasionally produce.  I go for the meat.

Where do you shop?

Favorite Cookbooks

There are a plethora of Paleo cookbooks on the market.  My favorites so far, are:

Nom Nom Paleo - Food for Humans by Michelle Tam and Henry Fong - especially good if you are trying to move children into a Paleo lifestyle

Against All Grain by Danielle Walker 

Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo - Diane explains good nutrition, how to get there and includes many wonderful recipes.

And the book I do not have but cannot wait to get:  Danielle Walker's Meals Made Simple

Sea Bass and Asparagus

While on a recent cruise the seafood offerings at each meal were fantastic.  It is all I ate - partly because I wanted to learn new ways to prepare fish.  My favorite new try was sea bass.  Below is my favorite new recipe:

1 pound sea bass fillet
2 Tablespoons Ghee or Kerrygold Butter
1 1/2 Tablespoon finely chopped green onion
2 slices pickled jalapeno, chopped very finely (more if you like more heat)
Juice of 1 lime
Coconut oil
Sea Salt and Pepper

For the side dish - Asparagus, olive oil and 1 onion

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Wash and trim the asparagus.  Lay in a pan, place cup up onion (in biggish chunks) on top.  Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and papper.  Place in oven for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, rinse fish and pat dry.  Place in a foil lined pan and drizzle with a little coconut oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Turn oven temp down to 375.  Leave asparagus in and add fish.  Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until fish is flaky.

Meanwhile, mix the sauce - melt the butter and add the rest.  Serve over the fish.

This was so good.  There was not one bit left over.  There was a little asparagus which incorporated into this morning's omelet!

Enjoy, and please share recipes for your favorite fish dish.  Did I take a picture?  No - forgot - but will next time.

Welcome!

Starting a blog on cooking is a little daunting and a lot exciting!  Many of my friends and family have adopted  Paleo lifestyle.  And we like to share out discoveries, recipes, menus and ideas.  This is for all of us!  Let's get started and have fun!