The original recipe for this beef stew is called Oven Braised Beef Stew but I have adapted it for a crock pot and made a couple other changes. Although I have a dutch oven, I find it’s a little harder to clean and I didn’t feel like dealing with that today. The crock pot, on the other hand, is quite an easy thing to clean.
I made a guacamole sauce to go on top of this stew which made it turn out all the more wonderful.
Here are the ingredients (minus the meat and salt) …
These paleo Lamb Burgers were easy to make, delicious, but a tad expensive. And the expense includes driving around looking for ground lamb — not an easy search, at least not in my Minnesota neighborhood. But, I finally found a small, off the highway, market that I walked into that has a full butcher shop in the “back” called Hagberg’s Country Market.
The cashier told me she had worked at a large supermarket nearby for 27 years but would never go back. Nor, she said, would she purchase meat from anyone else as the flavor you get at Hagberg’s is superb. Â I don’t believe she was biased either.
You’ll be grilling these burgers on the stovetop after combining the ingredients together.
Grilled Lamb Burgers
Since we’re still on a paleo diet, we are eating very little bread (except for the occasional “cheat”). So, I attempted, and failed, to put them on large lettuce leaves but it didn’t turn out well as the rest of the ingredients made it quite heavy. Next time we’ll use cut-up lettuce on the bottom which will work perfect then we’ll stack the veggies on top, i.e. lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, cucumber and a tad of feta.
This is what it looks like — quite scrumptious!
Paleo Lamb Burger
Here’s the recipe for you to try …
Ingredients
2Â pounds ground Lamb (it’s okay to have leftovers — we didn’t eat 2 pounds in one sitting — just in case you’re wondering)
1Â tablespoon Coriander Seeds, ground
1/4Â cup chopped fresh Mint
Salt and Pepper
1Â Cucumber, sliced
1/2 cup crumbled Feta
4 cups Romaine lettuce, in pieces
Tomatoes, sliced
Avocado, sliced
Directions
Preheat your skillet to medium-high.
Put all the ingredients (except the vegetables) in a bowl and mix together (hands work great for this).
Form the meat into 6 large balls or 10 small balls making sure not to flatten yet.
Place the balls on the griddle and press down with a large spatula to make thin patties.
Place the cooked patty on a plate then top with cucumber, feta, lettuce, mint, tomatoes and avocado or any other vegetables of your choice.
These burgers can be made ahead of time.
Make sure you check for “doneness” using a meat thermometer. For medium (which I don’t recommend as I don’t eat meat that is not fully cooked) the recommended temp is 160. Â So keep them on there a tad longer and make sure nothing red oozes out.
Then sit back and enjoy your dinner.
(This recipe was adapted from the one I found at The Chew.)
Orange chicken. I usually think of Chinese food when I think of orange chicken — like sweet and sour orange chicken. Hmmm … haven’t had any in awhile.
I found this recipe on The Chew — an ABC food show that I sometimes watch. It came out pretty good so I’d recommend you try it.
The ingredients aren’t hard to find …
Marinade Ingredients for Orange Chicken
And the ingredients for the dressing/salad that goes along with it … You’ll, of course, need romaine lettuce for this recipe which is not shown in the picture.
Dressing for Orange Chicken Salad (minus the lettuce)
You’ll be putting the marinade ingredients in a large bowl that can also accommodate the chicken breasts.
Marinade for Grilled Orange Chicken
Then add the chicken breasts in the marinade …
Marinade for Grilled Orange Chicken
I deviated from the original recipe which says to remove the chicken from the marinade and then grill it. Â I cooked the chicken on the stovetop — Minnesota weather is just too cold right now to grill outdoors.
Grill or Cook the Chicken
The rest … well, the rest is below. Just a few pictures to show you how easy it will be (no pictures of the salad since that too is quite simple).
Ready to try it?
Ingredients (for the chicken)
1/2Â cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1Â Orange (zest and juice)
2Â Garlic cloves (minced)
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
Salt and freshly Black Pepper to taste
4Â Chicken Breasts (boneless and skinless)
Ingredients (for the Salad)
1Â Head of Romaine (chopped)
2Â Oranges (segmented – reserve 1/2 of an orange for the juice)
2Â tablespoons Honey
2Â tablespoons Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon Oregano leaves
1/2Â cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2Â Red Onion (slivered)
Pinch of Cayenne Pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
Whisk together the marinade ingredients in a rimmed baking dish.
Add the chicken and turn it to coat it in the marinade.
Allow the chicken to marinate for up to 30 minutes at room temperature. (But do not marinade for more than 30 minutes or the citrus from the orange juice will start to break down.)
Meanwhile, put a large skillet on the stovetop on medium low heat.
Add the chicken and the marinade to the skillet.
Cook the chicken for 7 minutes or so on one side then flip it over and cook it on the other side.
While the chicken is cooking, start the salad (see directions below).
Use a meat thermometer to test the temperature of the chicken for doneness — it should register 160 degrees when its fully cooked.
Remove the chicken and serve with the Orange and Romaine Salad.
Directions for the Salad
In a large bowl, whisk together the orange juice, Dijon, oregano, honey and olive oil.
Season with cayenne, salt and pepper.
Toss the remaining ingredients together the with the dressing.
Add only a tad of cayenne pepper — unless you like your food spicy, then add as much as you like.
And that, my friends, is pretty much it. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
My favorite nut is the pistachio and I can eat bags of them. And for weeks now, I’ve had a small bowl of pistachios as part of my lunch. Don’t think salad bowl when I say a small bowl — think a two inch wide, two inch high small snack bowl.
Nuts (Courtesy, Microsoft Free Images)
For a couple of weeks though I’ve had what I thought were problems with my lingual nerve — a burning tongue (only on the left side) and small irritable tongue bumps. The problem usually occurred in the afternoon — after lunch. So — I decided to remove the everyday lunch item from my diet and the pistachios were a major “normal” so they were eliminated.
The first day I stopped having pistachios for lunch, I had no problems. Â Coincidence? The next day, I didn’t have pistachios again — no problems. I have now been without pistachios for 5 days and have had no problems. So — I have to believe that I have a pistachio allergy OR that I was simply eating too many of them at once. Is there such a thing though as eating too many of this wonderful nut? Sigh …
Wednesday, I was making a salad and decided to throw in some pine nuts. First I toasted them on the stovetop and, to make sure they were toasted enough, I popped two in my mouth. Within minutes I had a large itchy bump on my tongue — large enough for me to be concerned.
What is going on here? I knew it was an allergy immediately. I waited for 15 minutes or so to see if I experienced any other problems. Yes, I felt chest tightness but just a little. I drank lots of water and, while waiting, read a few Google articles about pine nut allergies. I knew I had to watch my symptoms carefully because throats have been known to close on people who have had pine nut allergies.
Fortunately, within the hour, the symptoms went away.
I recently read an article on the American Pistachio Growers website that said “According to the International Food Information Council, allergy to tree nuts, which includes pistachios, is one of the most common food allergies among adults and children.”
I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Â No — not really. But I eats nuts on a regular basis so I was a little troubled that perhaps I would have to eliminate them from my diet.
I decided to try other nuts to see what happened. I don’t recommend anyone do this but consult a doctor first. I just happened to blindly do a test run of other nuts by eating some of the recent paleo granola that I had made. I had varied the type of nuts in this recipe as I don’t make the granola the same way every time anymore (so much growth in my cooking experience).
This batch of granola had almonds, macadamia nuts and walnuts. I ate a small amount and waited. Â Nothing happened. Â I ate a little more and I had no ill effects. Hmmm … I finished off the bowl. And I felt happy.
The pine nuts I had used were in the cupboard for at least 4 months. I wonder if that had something to do with it … But, the pistachios were fresh from the store so I could blame it on the age of the nut.
My plan is to (when my husband is home) scale back on the amount of pistachios I eat and see if I experience any problems. Perhaps eat 5 … is that possible? Pistachios to me are like Oreo cookies — can’t have just one of them.
Fortunately for me I don’t have pine nuts on a regular basis since they are so expensive which is why they were in the cupboard for 4 months — I should have frozen them. At least I’ll be able to keep my grocery bill low on a non-pine-nut diet.
Because the pine nut experience was a lot worse than the pistachios, I’ve decided not to have any — ever. Sure — I could go and be tested for nut allergies but that costs lots of money and even under the new Obamacare insurance (I say this tongue-in-cheek) things are expensive.
Anyone else experience a pine nut or pistachio allergy?
This was an interesting recipe. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry so didn’t have time to take photos of the different steps. Mea culpa. Next time I make it, I’ll have to come back and post more pictures.
I adapted the original recipe. I’m starting to get a lot more comfortable in doing that — just replacing ingredients with ones that I like more or that are cheaper. For this particular recipe, I had bought a large batch of beef strips from Costco and had feta in the fridge already so that’s what I substituted. Skip the feta if you’re following a really strict paleo diet.
Here’s the recipe …
Ingredients
1/2Â teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4Â teaspoon salt
1 1/2Â tablespoons olive oil, divided
4Â teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 pound or 3 large beef strips
Cooking spray
1Â teaspoon honey
1/8Â teaspoon salt
8Â cups loosely packed baby arugula
3Â plums, thinly sliced
1 avocado
1/4Â cup crumbled feta cheese
Directions
Combine the pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a small bowl then rub this over both sides of the meat.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Coat the skillet with cooking spray.
Add the meat to the pan and cook 5 minutes on each side or until it reaches your desired degree of doneness.
Remove the steak from the skillet then let it rest for 5 -10 minutes.
Cut the meat diagonally across the grain into thin slices and set this aside
Combine remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, honey, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a large bowl and stir it well with a whisk.
Add the arugula to a bowl and toss gently with the dressing to coat it.
Arrange about 1 1/2 cups arugula mixture onto each of 4 plates and top each serving with 3 ounces steak, about 1/2 cup plums, sliced 1/4 avocado and 1 tablespoon of the cheese.
Pretty simple, no? Here’s the final product.
Beef Strips Salad with Plums and Feta Cheese
This recipe is similar to the Thai Steak Salad that I made before. Â Scrumptious!
Two back-to-back sunny days in Minnesota encouraged me this morning to head outside to take one last peek at what our 1/2 acre back yard was doing this time of year.
Seeing “green” is not a good thing for us — mainly because we don’t really have evergreen trees that are healthy and growing. So, when I saw this patch of green ahead in the trail I knew exactly what it was — the noxious garlic mustard plant in its first year.
First Year Garlic Mustard Plant
As I walked around, I saw that I had small groupings of this weed throughout sections of the property but I was quite happy when I stopped in the area where I spent hours this past summer pulling the 2nd year plant as there were no 1st year plants growing there. Â Yes!! This means I pulled the plants before the seeds were able to fall to the ground.
First Year Garlic Mustard Plant
The plant, uh, weed sure is pretty though with its kidney shaped leaves. If I didn’t kill it, the plant would stay green all winter (assuming the snow didn’t cover it completely), grow 3-4 feet and produce small white flowers that eventually would have seed pods that fall to the ground and grow many more weeds.
First Year Garlic Mustard Plant
So — with the pesticide in hand, I promptly started spraying the plants wherever I saw them. It was quite a windy day though so I had to make sure the pesticide didn’t touch other plants or bushes or I’d kill them also. There was one patch next to the house where I was not able to spray because the bushes and garlic mustard plant were too close.
The pesticide I used is called Ultra Kill, Weed & Grass Killer.
Ultra Kill, Weed & Grass Killer
I tried very hard not to use pesticides but there comes a time when you have to do what you have to do. Pulling up these 1st year plants would have meant having to dig them up as opposed to pulling them up — way too much trouble. I guess I could have waited til next year when the plant was larger but then I risk the seeds falling to the ground before I remove it.
And — look what I found in the midst of some garlic mustard plant groupings … do you see what I see?
Young Buckthorn Plant
Yup. A young buckthorn plant. Fortunately, these weeds pull up quite easily whether they are young or old. I pulled some up but also sprayed some of the larger ones.
I doubt I’ll head back into the yard to spray any more weeds this year, however, I may head out to clean up large branches that keep falling from the trees so that next year’s cleanup will be easier because …
My husband and I recently attended two evening classes on garden design so that next year we can start planting Minnesota native plants to replace the weeds. Do you know what I learned? I was a little disappointed but mainly because my expectations and the classes’ expectations were a little different.
Being in a “tech” family, I expected to arrive at class, sit in front of a computer and design my backyard for next year. Instead, we arrived at class, watched a slide show on sustainability (not too bad) and then we were handed graph paper to plot out our yard. Graph paper? A tad low-tech for me.
The class was held by Master Gardeners which was okay but they really didn’t have very many ideas for our property which really seems to have 2 seasons — the leaf season and the snow season. Â (laughing) Â
But, like a good student, I did as I was told and bought graph paper, tracing paper, a ruler, pencils then proceeded to measure our yard and plot the locations where all the trees are — a tedious task since we live on a wooded lot. But, hey, that’s okay.
My hopes are to either 1) find free software on garden design or 2) see if a nursery has a free design service if we purchase our plants through them. Do you suppose my expectations are too high again?
Only time will tell. This winter, I’ll have to do a lot of exercises for my back in preparation for a LOT of yard work come spring.
October just ended and with it a slew of yard work. Although, we’re supposed to have a fairly nice Sunday so I’ll probably use that day as my last “leaf” clean-up day of the year. The trees have not yet completed their cycle of changing colors and dropping to the ground. A meteorologist explained the reason — 2 years of drought which has confused the trees.
Last year, at the end of September, we had beautiful autumn colors –
2012 Autumn Colors
And even driving along the St Croix River the colors were quite vibrant –
2012 Autumn Colors, St Croix River
Even the “reds” were magnificent — last year —
2012 September Autumn Colors
And this was my absolute favorite autumn picture of 2012 — right in my own neighborhood.
2012 Autumn Colors
If it sounds like I’m lamenting last year’s autumn colors — I’m not. I’m simply in “waiting mode” for this year’s trees to burst forth in a showy flash of color although I’m not sure it will be quite as spectacular since yesterday a lot of leaves just plopped to the ground un-majestically.
Autumn always reminds me of an old John Denver song whose lyrics are below —
“Reflections in the water, like shadows in my mind, speak to me of passing days and nights and passing times. The falling leaves are whispering, winter’s on its way. I close my eyes remembering the warmth of yesterday.
It seems a shame to see September swallowed by the wind. And more than that, it’s oh so sad to see the summer end. And though the changing colors are a lovely thing to see — if it were mine to make a change, I think I’d let it be — but I don’t remember hearing anybody asking me.”
Autumn does seem to bring out a sadness in me — moments of sadness. Nothing that lasts more than an hour or so periodically and thankfully not every day. I used to wonder why those unshakeable moments suddenly covered me with their sense of reflection. And indeed, it feels like a covering — something I want to shake off as if an object landed on my whole body and I can’t brush it off.
Sometimes on these days, I’m taken back to memories of when I used to walk to my grandmother’s house in Chicago. The air would be crisp, the leaves would be bursting with color as I walked to the house of one of my favorite people.
Perhaps that memory, and others held inside that don’t surface, are what bring on the moments of sadness when so much beauty surrounds me.
Although these moments can get pretty intense, I, unlike John Denver, would not trade my favorite season of the year — autumn.
I’m considering this salad paleo although I did use aged sliced parmesan cheese and most dedicated paleo-ites don’t use cheese but since the cheese can be omitted, I’m labeling it paleo. Â (smile)
Lately, I’ve had a salad almost every day. Something about romaine lettuce, spinach, kale, etc. just seems to draw me.
Here are the ingredients …
Ingredients (“greens” not shown)
So … let’s put this recipe together …
Ingredients
1 bag of Spring Mix Salad
1 bag of Power Greens (baby kale, baby chard & baby spinach)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 red apple, thinly sliced
1 Anjou pear, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons Spiced Cider (I used Trader Joe’s as it has no added sugar)
2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Pure Maple Syrup
Kosher salt and pepper (according to your taste)
1/4 cup aged parmesan cheese
Directions
Add the Spring Mix and the Power Greens to a large bowl.
Squeeze a little lemon juice over the apples and pears and toss with the greens. This will keep them from turning brown.
Add the parmesan cheese and toss to blend it all together.
In a small bowl, combine the cider, cider vinegar and maple syrup then add the oil and whisk it all together.
Add salt and pepper to the dressing and stir to combine.
That’s pretty much it! Â Serve the dressing on the side so that you can save any leftover salad — otherwise it will be soggy later.
Orchard Salad
This recipe was adapted and paleo-ized from an Orchard Salad by Rachael Ray.
I absolutely loved, loved and loved this paleo Chicken Soup. Even my “hum-ho, it’s okay” husband thought it was really good. Â That means I’ll be making it again.
And, it was so easy — look at the ingredients …
Ingredients for Chicken Soup (minus the chicken and coconut oil)
The instructions say to shred the chicken and after I cooked the chicken and let it cool, I used my hands to cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. It was fun!
Cut Chicken into Bite-Size Pieces
So … here are the instructions for you to try this wonderful soup — let me know if you change anything in the recipe as I made a few changes myself.
Ingredients
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1Â onion, minced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
2 celery ribs, sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 1/2Â quarts chicken broth (original recipe calls for bone broth)
(I doubled the amount of carrots and celery as I wanted a heartier soup. I also decreased the amount of fresh parsley.)
Directions
In a large skillet, on medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
Once the oil is heated, add and grill the three chicken breasts until cooked through. If the chicken breasts are thick, you can slice them in half before adding them to the skillet to make sure they get cooked all the way through.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the skillet and set it aside to cool for approximately 10 minutes.
After the chicken is cooled, shred the chicken with your hands into bite-sized pieces (or use a knife to cut it up). Set this aside until needed.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, carrot, and celery then cook until the vegetables are soft.
Stir in the thyme, broth, and the chicken.
Bring everything to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes or so.
Stir in the parsley.
Pour the beaten eggs into the soup in a slow steady stream and stir slowly.
Remove the soup from the heat then add salt and pepper according to your taste.
So delicious! The cold Minnesota nights just got a little bit warmer because of this soup.
I changed this Real Simple recipe just a little bit because I couldn’t find the collards at the grocery store. Is that strange? I don’t believe I’ve ever bought collards before so I don’t know if they are a regular food item that the grocery store should carry.
Anyway, the spinach worked just fine.
Here are your ingredients (besides your chicken thighs, salt and pepper) …
Ingredients
And your baked chicken thighs will eventually come out looking all pretty, like this …
Baked Thighs
There’s simply not much to this tasty recipe so — let’s get ready to try it.
Ingredients
1 pound parsnips, cut into 3-inch lengths, halved or quartered
1Â tablespoon honey
2Â tablespoons olive oil
Salt and black pepper
4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1/3Â cup raisins
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1Â bunch of spinach, stems discarded and leaves thinly sliced (about 2-3 cups)
Directions
Heat your oven to 425° F.
Toss the parsnips, honey, 1 tablespoon of the oil, and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper on a rimmed baking sheet.
Roast, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Season the chicken with 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and brown the chicken in batches, 4 to 6 minutes per side.
Transfer the chicken to a rimmed baking sheet but reserve the drippings that are left in the skillet.
Bake the chicken in the oven until cooked. I stab my chicken with a wooden skewer and my chicken is done when no “pink” liquid comes out of it. You could also use a meat thermometer and insert that in the thickest part of the chicken. You want a temperature of 165° F for doneness. You’ll be baking the chicken for 12-15 minutes more or less.
While the chicken is baking, add the raisins, vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to the drippings in the skillet and combine it all, scraping up the bits stuck to the pan, until the vinegar is reduced by half, oh – a minute or so.
Add the spinach to the skillet and cook, stirring, until wilted, 3 to 5 minutes.
Serve the salad with the chicken and parsnips.
Quite a snap to make and this recipe had everything incorporated into it — the meat, salad and a veggie.
