A Fabulous Find

I Love Costco, even though there is rarely Paleo friendly samples... This is my new favorite Costco find, It is clean and smokey and delicious! You can either heat it up on the stove or in the microwave. It contains 2 lbs of smoked pork goodness and costs $9.99, so worth it! I made it and ate some over sauteed cabbage and onions and then had some plain for lunch the next day. I bet it would be super fantastic to mix the pork with clean BBQ sauce and eat in a lettuce wrap yummy!

Beef Jerky 2 Ways

I am always looking for tasty ways to get protein and its a bonus if they are easy to make and easy to take along to work or for a pre-workout snack. Both of these jerky recipes fit the bill. If you went to the Halloween party this is the recipe I used for the jerky I was handing out. I have a super sweet food dehydrator and its what I used to make the jerky, if you don't have one you can always cook it in the oven at 200 degrees for about 5 hours.
I got this dehydrator at Cabela's for $79.99 and Its been great! With the rectangular shape you can fit so much more on the screens then the round versions that you typically see.

For the traditional Jerky I used a roast that I had the butcher at Safeway cut super thin when it was on sale for $1.99 a lb. ( It happens often in the fall watch the ad's and stock up, jerky usually runs about $8.99 a lb so you save big when you make it yourself!). I made a marinade and soaked the meat for 24 hrs. 1/2 C Tamari (wheat free soy sauce), 1/2 C Pineapple juice, 1 tsp each Salt and Pepper, 2 tsp each Chili powder and Garlic powder, a dash of nutmeg and 1 Tbsp Vinegar (this helps tenderize the meat). I also made a little rub out of the dry spices and sprinkled it on the meat as I put it on the trays to dry.

For the ground beef jerky I mixed 1 lb of ground beef, 2 tsp each Salt, Garlic powder, Onion powder, Curry powder, 1 tsp Cayenne pepper and 1 tsp Black pepper.

with rolling pin roll it out to 1/4 inch thickness between 2 sheets of waxed paper.

Peel the back sheet of paper off and place on the rack then peel off the top sheet.

You have a few options here, you can either roll it into big sheets that cover most of the surface of the rack or you can make smaller pieces, you just have to roll alot more out! If you do it in a sheet cut a hole in the center to get better circulation.

Here is what they look like when I did them out of 1 Tbsp of meat and rolled them out to make medallions.

Here is the Jerky out of the roast when its all dry and ready to eat.

Here is the medallions, I found that its best to take the ground beef jerky out about 1/2 way and dab it with a paper towel to remove some of the excess grease.

This is the finished ground beef jerky that I made into sheets. I took a pair of kitchen shears and cut it into uniform pieces. I think this way looks pretty legit but I like the medallions better they just seem more caveman to me! You can see in the picture the grease that I had dabbed of the jerky during cooking. It really does need to be done I'm not sure how it would turn out if it was left.

Making jerky is NOT as hard as it seems and is totally worth it in the end! If you have a great marinade or recipe for jerky please post it to the comments for us to try!

The Veggie of the week is... Chayote Squash

Chayote Squash: (Scientific Binomial Name: Sechium edule).
Pronounced: KAY-OH-TEE
Usage: Use like any other squash. Steam, bake, stuff, fry or even eat raw.

Also know as the vegetable pear or christophene, good quality chayote will be unblemished, firm and will have light to medium green skin. The skin can either be rough or smooth. Avoid squash that is soft or has a growth coming out the crack (its a baby plant). Chayote is available year round and peaks September-May.

Chayote squash is very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Its a good source of Niacin, B6, Pantothenic Acid, Magnesium and Potassium and a excellent source of Fiber, Vitamins C and K, Folate, Zinc and Copper.

Chayote is naturally grown in Mexico and is used in Spanish and Caribbean cooking.

Chayote Squash Stir fry with a Hint of Mexico

2 tsp Oil

4 Cloves crushed garlic

1 Chayote squash

1 Sweet Onion

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Chili flakes

Juice of 1 lime

Pepper

It doesn't get much easier than this! Saute the onion and garlic in the oil until they are caramely and delicious add the squash and spices and cook until slightly soft about 5 minutes. Squeeze a bit of lime juice over the top when you serve and enjoy!

Meal on a Budget Part 2

I wanted to make another affordable dinner, In fact lets make this a trend... $10.00 meal for a family of four. My last 10.00 meal was the fish tacos, if you haven't made them yet DO IT! They are so good. I will try and post a few budget meals a month. We are going for simple, affordable and delish. I have been craving grilled cheese dipped in tomato soup, well I couldn't do the grilled cheese part but the soup is do able. It turned out great! It has so much flavor and is extremely easy to make. I did my shopping at Super 1 Foods and included the prices to prove how affordable this dish really is. Enjoy!

1 TBSP Olive oil (.25)
4 Coves garlic (.15)
1 Very finely chopped onion (.45)
2 28oz Cans crushed tomatoes ($2.40)
1 Box chicken stock ($2.00)
20 Leaves fresh basil ($1.98) I only used half the package so this technically is .99

In a 6 qt pot get the oil nice and hot, add the garlic and cook until it starts to brown. Add the onion and saute until it turns a nice caramely color. At this point I added a little sea salt and pepper.
Take the basil and tear the leaves from the stems. Roll the leaves into a little bundle. This is a method for cutting called chiffonade. It will help you get the basil into thin strips. Use a sharp knife and slice the basil as thinly as you can.

Lastly add the crushed tomatoes, stock and basil. Let simmer for 20 minutes and serve.

Veggie of the day... or week... or month...

So I have decided that there are SO many veggies out there that we never utilize, or never try because we don't know how to cook them or we get caught it the same groove of tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, mushrooms... You get the point! There is so much more available to us then that, I think we could all get a little more creative if we had the proper instruction and information. That's were I come in.

I will alphabetically be posting a veggie, it may be bi-weekly or monthly depending on how creative I am feeling! I will also include nutrition information and benefits of said veggie. Before we know it we will be cooking with all the colors of the rainbow! If there is something in particular you have always wanted to try but are unsure of how to go about cooking it or are just scared to try something new, leave me a comment and I will do my best to accommodate your request!

I'm going to start out on (your guessed it) A. And the veggie of the month is:

Asparagus

Asparagus is a member of the Lily family which includes onions, leeks and garlic. Its peak growing season is from April-June and in this season when the conditions are just right it can grow 10 inches is a 24 hour period (sounds like my great dane). Asparagus is a nutrient dense food and contains high amounts of Folate, Vitamin B-6, A, C and Potassium. At just 4 calories a spear you get 3G of fiber per 5 oz serving. To purchase the best asparagus look for firm, fresh spears that are uniform in size and have closed tips, the larger in diameter the more tender it will be. There is over 5o varieties of asparagus one of with is albino and is white in color due to sun deprivation. Now to the cooking! I went simple for the first one, don't worry I will come up with some pretty grubbin' stuff!

Oven grilled asparagus:

1 lb Asparagus

1 Tbsp olive oil

4 Cloves garlic-chopped

Salt and pepper

Place your asparagus on a cookie sheet and toss with oil, garlic and seasoning. Bake in a 450 degree oven for 35-45 minutes depending on how big the spears are.

And here is the finished product. In perfect time for Halloween, you wont have to worry about any vampires when you eat this!

Primal Pizza

Pizza is one of those comfort foods that as a Paleo eater is hard to give up. Have no fear I have come up with a perfectly clean pizza that is loaded with protein and you can top it however you want! I made mine with sausage, bell peppers, onions, and olives.

Here is another great idea for a topping Taco Pizza, its one of my favorites! Make the crust and sauce the same and top with taco meat bake until warm and top with lettuce, olives, onion, tomatoes, jalapenos and salsa.

To make the crust:

Boil 2 chicken breasts until cooked through, Cut into 1/4's and put in your handy dandy food processor and blend until smooth add 3 eggs while its still blending it will form a thick paste. Add 1 tsp salt and a few pinches pepper. Line a pizza pan with parchment or if you are like me and don't have one a cookie sheet will do. Pour the chicken mixture into the pan and pat out to about 1/4 inch thick. It will look like this:

Pop the crust into a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with Pizza Sauce: 1 small can tomato paste, 3/4 C water, 1 tsp garlic minced, 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1 tsp Olive oil a pinch of sea salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the toppings of your choice, mine looked like this:

Put back into the oven for 15 minutes more and enjoy! Here is the finished product!