Poor Man's Irish Stew... A SEMI paleo Recipe

I am going to call this a Semi Paleo recipe... because as listed, it is probably not what you are looking for as a Neanderthal.

I would make the necessary modifications if I was going 'hard core', but right now I am taking it 'easy'. 

Chancey Irish Stew Recipe

  

•  14-16 oz smoked kielbasa or sausage of your choosing. I chose a nice smoked greasy kielbasa.  Cut into 1/2-1 inch slices.

•  8 frozen Corn Cob halves
• Bag of baby carrots. Smaller bag.
• 1 small onion chopped
• 6 Potatoes quartered
• half head of cabbage, rough chopped and reserved til end. 
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 TBS Paprika
• 1 TBS Black Pepper
• pinch of salt optional
• bay leaf
• 4-6 Cups beef Stock
• 4-6 Cups Chicken Stock

Combine all ingredients except for cabbage, in stock pot or crockpot. Simmer low to med heat for 4-8 hours. 20 minutes before serving bring to a soft boil and add in cabbage to soften cabbage. Serve once cabbage is wilted lightly. 

More pepper may be desired.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

4 Medium Red Peppers cut Lengthwise (or green, I cut the tops off when using green, they stand up better than the red)

1 lbs. ground beef

1/2 Onion Chopped

4-6 mini sweet peppers orange, yellow, red or one larger sweet pepper chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

1/2 bunch Cauliflower, shredded with cheese grater attachment

Handful of Kale torn

1 Can of tomatoes or 2-3 romas chopped and smashed lightly

2 cups of stock

1 Tbs Mexican Seasoning

1/4 cup Shredded Cheddar (optional for Dairy peeps)

1 thin Slice Muenster Cheese, torn up (optional for Dairy lovers)

Preheat oven to 375. Line a Lasagna Dish with Peppers cut side up.

Saute onions, peppers and garlic in a Tbs or two of fat/oil in a large pan. Add in beef and brown. Sprinkle with seasoning and mix well. Add tomato and toss for a minute, then add cauliflower and do the same. Cover with stock, you may not use all of it Add torn Kale. Simmer down until liquid is reduced. About 15-30 minutes.  Fill Peppers with mixture. Top with Cheese if using Cheese. Bake until peppers reach desired softness. Ours were firm yet soft after about 20 minutes.

Spinach Breakfast Pie

Spinach Breakfast Pie:

6 Eggs

1/2 cup Chopped Bacon (optional, or sausage)

1 1/2 Cups Chopped Spinach

1/4 Onion Diced thinly

1-2 Clove Garlic Crushed

1/2 Cup Coconut Milk

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/4 tsp Pepper

Dash Sea Salt

Beat all ingredients together until fluffy. Bake in a greased 9" Pie Pan at 350 for 30 minutes.

Creamy Chorizo Sopa

Creamy Chorizo Soup:

2-3 Tbs Fat/oil

1/2 Onion Chopped

2 cloves garlic Crushed

1 tsp Oregano

2 bay leaves

3 Chorizo Links, cut open

6 cups stock

7 oz. can of Hatch or Green Chiles, or roast your own!

2 Diced Sweet Potatoes

1 Cup Chopped Kale (or Spinach)

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

1 Cup Coconut Milk

Heat Fat/Oil in pan and brown Chorizo that has been removed from the skin, add onions and garlic and saute until translucent. Add Oregan and Bay and Saute 2 minutes more.

Add Stock, Chiles, Sweet Potatoes and simmer until potatoes are soft.

Add in Chopped Kale until Kale softens slightly.

Season with salt and pepper.

Add in Coconut Milk and simmer for 5 minutes more.

Serve!

Shredded Mexican Chicken Tacos

Shredded Mexican Chicken Tacos:

2-3 Larger Sized Chicken Breasts or equivalent

1/2 half Onion Sliced

1/2 half Green Pepper Sliced

1/2 half Colored Pepper Sliced (or just a whole green one) I like a little red as well.

3 Roma tomatoes roasted or a can of tomatoes

2 cups Chicken Stock

2 tsp Favorite Mexican seasoning (more to taste, I went to far last time, ahhaha)

dash of cilantro

Put All in a pot and boil together until chicken is cooked through. You can crock-pot this as well.

I let this go a few hours, add more stock if needed. Shred chicken when cooked through, and stir all together well, and simmer for 10+ minutes more or until liquid has reduced. This can be ready in 45 minutes or many hours. Depends on how much time you want to put into it.

Fill crisp lettuce with Filling, top with crumbled muenster cheese if you are eating dairy.

Favorite Mexican Seasoning:

4 Tbs chili powder (I make my own)

4 Tbs Paprika

2Tbs Coriander

1 Tbs Salt

1 1/2 Tbs Cumin

2 tsp Cayenne

2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp oregano (I like Mexican oregano, but regular works)

Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad:

One large bunch of Broccoli, cut heads off

3/4 -1 cup Homemade Mayo

1-2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1/4 cup Almonds or other

1/4 cup Raisins or other (Grapes halved?)

1/4 cup Bacon or other

Mix Mayo and Vinegar to desired taste. You may add a few TBS of sugar sub if you are using any. We are not

Then add the rest of the ingredients and toss until well coated.

Roast Beef & Butternut Squash Stew

Roast Beef & Butternut Squash Stew:

2 lbs Stew Beef

2+ cups of Butternut Squash cubed

1/2 onion chopped

1 1/2 cups Carrots chopped or baby

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 celery stalk chopped

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp basil

2-4 cups beef stock

In a large pot, saute the beef until browned with a small amount of oil/fat.  Remove the beef from the pan,  Saute the onion, carrots, celery, squash and garlic for 5 minutes.

Add in the dried seasonings, saute for 1-2 minutes.

Add beef back to the pot, and the stock.  Add 2 cups stock and cover. Simmer for 1-2 hours.

Or add 4 cups stock and reduce by half. 

Or Crockpot for 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 on low.

This was our first taste of butternut squash, the whole family loved it. We do enjoy all other squashes... we have had most of them. Hehehe. So, it was not a stretch to welcome this one in. You really do not miss the potatoes with the squash in there.

Taco Night?

One of our only hang ups about dropping breads/carbs out of our daily line up is that being Mexican in background... I have a tendency to make rice and of course a lot of Tortillas. 

We LOVE Tortillas around here. We make our own, we buy them local... we will eat them anywhere, anytime, with anything (or alone)!!!!!!!!

So, How do I make my favorite meats that we usually fill up our Tortillas with???

My solution is... Mexican Lettuce Tacos! 

Using Lettuce Wrap Technology... we made pork filling and my famous Chicken Burrito filling (coming later). Ha.

Here is my Pork Recipe:

PORK TACOS:

5-7 lbs Pork Loin

1/4 - 1/2 cup Fat oil
3 Tbs Chili Powder
1 Tbs Cumin
1 Tbs Granulated Garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Start by covering your pork loin in water, and I like to add some homemade salsa or something I enjoy for a little flavor to the water, not sure if it makes a difference.

Simmer on Low for 7-8 hours, you can crockpot this as well.

When the loin is ready to shred easily, remove from water and shred.

In a separate sauce pan, warm your fat/oil with your 1/2 to all of your seasonings, just to a warm, not a boil.

Add this to your meat, and mix well.

Serve in Lettuce Wraps, if you are eating cheese - I recommend  Muenster!

Sauteed peppers and Onions are also a great condiment!

(I am not eating this, being on the Autoimmune guidelines... but my family is eating it happily!)

Paleo Mayo?

Paleo Mayo

I tried my hand at my own Mayo. I will not be eating it, because I am doing the Autoimmune thing. But my family will. And I put in my upcoming broccoli salad.

It may not be perfectly Paleo, but here is what I did.

2 whole Large Eggs

2 Tbs Vinegar

1/2 tsp Ground Mustard

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups of any combo Fat/Oil you like.

Pulse the first 4 ingredients in the food processor. Then poke a whole in a plastic cup with a toothpick (or larger depending on the thickness of your fat/oil), put the cup into the spout of your food processor, and fill with your oil. It will drizzle in slowly and eventually form a Mayo.

It worked nicely in the Broccoli Salad, and it may not be perfect, but it is better than store bought.

Roasted Veggie & Tomato Soup

Roasted Veggie & Tomato Soup

14-15 Roma Tomatoes cut into 1/8 chunks

2 Celery Stalks, rough chopped

3 Large Carrots, rough chopped

1/2 Onion, rough chopped

1/2 Green Bell Pepper, rough chopped

1/2 Red or Orange Bell Pepper, rough chopped

6 Garlic Cloves

1 tsp dried each: Rosemary, Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Parsley, Sage & Pepper

Drizzle of fat/oil.

4 cups Chicken Stock

Directions:

Toss Veggies with Seasonings and Oil. You can really use anything you like. It turns out yum anyway you make it.

Roast at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Hand Blender, Blender or Food process after roasting. At this point I put it through a food mill. But you can eat all the chunks. We have gone both ways.

After milling the veggies, add 4 cups chicken stock and cook down until reduced by half. 

At this point we add bacon, sometimes. And cook til warmed through.

It is good with or without 'cream', it is good with or without cheese... but mine love some shredded Parmesan.

I portioned out some for freezing, some for lunches, etc. Easy warm up.

I forgot the Onion in this one, still good.