Mexican Shrimp Stew

Although it is spring, you wouldn't know it if you looked outside here in North Idaho. It is 45 degrees and has been raining all day! It feels like a soup day! I made this soup for my sisters over the weekend, they both loved it and even had seconds! It is pretty spicy, if you don't like the heat you can omit the chipotle peppers.

Spicy Shrimp Stew

2 tsp. Olive oil

1 Onion

2 Stalks celery

4 Carrots

2-3 TBSP. Chipotle chile's in adobo (it is tricky to find these clean, but it can be done!)

2 tsp. Cumin

2 tsp. Chili powder

4 Cloves garlic

4 C. Chicken Stock

1 14.5 oz can Fire roasted tomatoes

1 Tbsp. Lime juice

Salt and Pepper

1 LB. Shrimp (I used medium raw)

Cilantro and avocado for garnish

Pre-chop all your veggies into even chunks. Heat the oil in a large pot, add the veggies, garlic, spices and chile's. Saute over medium heat for about 6-8 minutes or until the carrots just start to get soft. Add the tomatoes and stock. Cook until the veggies are soft, an additional 15-20 minutes.

Peel and rinse the shrimp and add them to the stew along with the lime juice. Cook for about 4 minutes until the shrimp are pink and cooked through.

Serve into bowls and top with cilantro leaves and avocado chunks.

MMM Meatloaf

If you think that eating clean means giving up your favorite comfort foods you are mistaken. I have yet to find a favorite dish from my life prior to clean eating that I couldn't modify to be Paleo. I love meatloaf! This recipe is packed with veggies and protein, not to mention delicious!

Loaded Meatloaf

2 Lbs Ground Beef or Ground Turkey

2 Eggs

1 Green Bell Pepper -diced

1 Carrot -grated

1 Small Zucchini -grated

1/2 Onion- diced

1 tsp. each: Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, and Paprika

Either Salsa or Classico Spaghetti sauce for the topping.


Place all ingredients excluding the salsa or Classico in a large bowl. Get in there with your hands and get messy! Mix until all the ingredients are well combined. Put into a loaf pan and top with salsa if you like a little spice or for a more traditional taste top with Classico tomatoe basil sauce. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Enjoy!

Do Chickens Have Nuggets?

What do you think this is? Does it look like delicious strawberry ice cream??? Well it's NOT... What you are looking at folks is mechanically separated chicken... Yeah, that's right CHICKEN! This is what we are eating when we put naughty food into our bodies like chicken nuggets, chicken patties and a range of other pseudo chicken products.

Basically what you have here is the whole chicken, blood, guts, eyeballs and yes even legs all mashed and ground up. It comes out looking like this pink cotton candy crap we have to the left. Next they wash it with ammonia, well more like give it a bath in ammonia. After its ammonia bath they re-flavor it to taste like chicken, because who wants to eat pink ammonia flavored goo. Lastly, they add artificial color to make it "look" like chicken again... Now next time you feel like going through the drive thru to get a 20 piece chicken nugget for $4.99, think of the pink goo and you just might make a healthier choice!

Fried Chicken, (dare I say the best ever?)

There were a few things in life that I was adamant about before I went Paleo... Steak always cooked well done, chicken breast was the only cut of chicken I would eat and lastly I hated coconut and mushrooms. I like my steak rare now, chicken thighs are the best cut if you ask me, and I LOVE any and all coconut products.Ok, so I still hate mushrooms. Its funny how your taste changes as you eat differently. I guess its my inner cave woman coming out! This recipe is melt in your mouth good, I adapted it from Americas Test Kitchen on PBS and it is now my favorite chicken ever! Try it, you'll love it, I promise!

Pan Fried Chicken with Lemon Parsley Sauce

3.5 #'s Chicken Thighs, rinsed,patted dry and seasoned with salt and pepper.

1 TBSP Olive Oil
3/4 C Chicken Broth

Heat up a large skillet and fry the chicken in the olive oil over medium high heat. Make sure to have the skin side down for the first 8-10 minutes. NO PEAKING! This will ensure a nice even browning. Cook for 10 minutes, flip and add
the broth, cover and cook until the thighs reach 170 degrees. Remove from the pan and put on a plate, skin side up and tent with foil.

The chicken should have a nice golden brown skin like in this picture. Pour off the liquid from the pan and save it in a bowl. Wipe out the pan and add back in 1 tsp of Olive Oil. Heat and put the chicken back in the pan skin side down to give it a second good seer and a really nice crispy skin. Cook until it reaches 175 degrees this will take about 4-7 minutes. the picture below of the dark skin is what you are looking for. The crispier the crust the better!

Skim the fat off the liquid that you reserved, you can use a spoon or use a paper towel to skim off the fat like in the photo below. Add broth to make 3/4 C. liquid of you are a little shy.

To make the sauce, add 3 TBSP very finely chopped onion to the pan, (don't worry about cleaning it out the stuck on bits of chicken add all the flavor) let the onions saute a bit. Add 2tsp arrowroot, using a whisk add the reserved liquid to the pan, add 1 TBSP lemon juice and 1/4 C. Chopped fresh parsley. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until thick and serve over the chicken.

This is the finished dish. It was so good, the sauce has great flavor and the chicken is so moist. I served this when I had dinner guests, they couldn't get enough!

These are a few of my favorite things

When I'm feeling like a little treat these are the things I turn to. My mom got me hooked on the lemon ginger tea and after trying that flavor I had to try more and found the raspberry which is my new favorite! And of course a girls got to have chocolate! Most of the varieties offered by Endangered Species are clean, just glance at the ingredients to be sure. They are sweetened with beet sugar and some of the proceeds go to help the endangered species in the world. I like the 88% dark the best, but the mint is a close second! If you live in North Idaho you can find all these things at Super 1 Foods, Fred Meyers and Pilgrim's Market.

Carnitas

You asked for it and here it is, more slow cooker meals! This recipe is so easy I almost didn't post it, but my hubby was raving over how good it is so I thought I would share it. We ate this plain and on a lettuce leaf taco style. I also made a simple veggie slaw and topped it with the warm pork and it was to die for! Maybe you will think of a special way of eating it, post your ideas to the comments.

Pork Carnitas

1 large pork shoulder

1 large onion

salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 jar of your favorite clean salsa

Place the pork shoulder into the crock pot and season with liberal amounts of salt,pepper,cumin and chili powder.

Add the tomatoes and salsa and top with the onion cut up into large pieces.

Set your slow cooker on low for 6 hours. a bit


Use two forks to pull the pork apart, taste to make sure the seasonings are just right and dig in!