Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Paleo Crock Pot Beef Stew



2 pounds chopped chuck roast
1 onion
3 carrots chopped
3 celery stocks chopped
2 cups green beans
3 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 carton Pacific Organic Reduced Sodium Tomato Soup, (more is fine)
1 Tbsp Savory (more to taste or add optional seasoning)
1 tsp pepper or more to taste (more to taste)
You may need to add Organic Reduced Sodium Beef, Chicken or Vegetable Broth, it will depend on how thick or thin you want the stew. 

Optional- 1 cup spinach or 1 cup mushrooms
Optional- for a twist use broccoli, cauliflower or both

Prepare a crock pot with cooking spray or with a liner

Add all vegetables, soup and seasoning and cook on low for 3 hours, add meat and stir (after the meat has cooked for about an hour, stir and add a little broth if needed, stir again and cook for 2-3 hours or until meat is cooked through.  My crock pot cooks really fast even on low, so my cooking time was 5 hours

Optional Seasoning, Garlic Powder, Basil, Oregano or Parsley

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Paleo Zucchini Lasagna







1 very large Zucchini or 2 or 3 medium Zucchini
2 pounds ground beef or turkey or 1 pound ground beef and 1 pound ground sausage or turkey sausage
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 onion chopped
2 cups sliced and washed mushrooms
1 15 oz can organic no salt added tomato sauce
1 15 oz can organic no salt added diced tomatoes drained well
1 6 oz organic tomato paste
1 large handful spinach rinsed and patted dry
Optional- 1 package Daiya shredded mozzarella cheese, it is dairy, soy and casein free

Here you will adjust to your personal taste, more or less of any seasoning will still taste yummy

1 Tbsp Garlic Powder
1 Tbsp Oregano
1 Tbsp Basil
1 Tbsp Thyme
1 Tbsp Rosemary
1 Tbsp Marjoram

If you do not have a liking for any of these seasonings, just reduce the amount or omit and add more of the others. 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350

Grease a large skillet
Brown the meat with the bell pepper and onions, drain, and pour the meat back into the skillet
Add sauce, tomatoes, paste and seasonings, stir on medium heat
Taste and adjust all seasonings as needed
Turn the heat off

Slice the ends off of the zucchini, and then slice lengthwise into strips to resemble lasagna noodles
(keep them thin)

Spray generously a 13 x 9 inch glass dish
Layer half the meat, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, then the rest of the meat on top

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, with a fork check to see if the zucchini is tender and the sauce is bubbling, if so, spread the cheese over the top and bake until the cheese is melted.  About 10 more minutes but check at 5 so the cheese does not burn.  If the zucchini is not tender when you check it, bake for another 5-10 minutes before adding the cheese.

Let it sit for a couple minutes.  When you cut into it, it there will be a lot of liquid in the bottom of the dish from the zucchini and mushrooms.  They create a lot of liquid as they cook.  It will still stay together and will not mess up the recipe.  There is no way to avoid this.  My only tip is to drain diced tomatoes well, pat spinach and mushrooms dry after washing them and drain the browned meat, onions and peppers well.









Thursday, July 18, 2013

Paleo Crock Pot Pork Loin Cooked in Organic Tomato Soup

The soup makes it very tender for slicing or easy shredding

1 2-4 pound pork loin
1/2 cup Vegetable broth reduced sodium we use Pacific Brand
1- 1/2 cup Organic Tomato Soup reduced Sodium, we use Pacific Brand
Pepper
3 Cloves minced garlic

Optional-
1 tsp Chipotle Pepper or 1/4 tsp Cayenne
1 tsp garlic or onion powder
Diced green onions
Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy or Tableblend

When using low sodium broths and soups, you often need to add your own sodium free pizzazz.  I highly recommend any of the options or a combo of any of them. 

Spray a cork pot with Sunflower Spray or cooking spray of choice or use a liner
Place washed pork loin in the crock pot (I wash it to give it extra moisture only)
Pour Vegetable broth and soup over loin
Dash pepper on the pork and the sauce, don't be stingy
Set on low

Time will vary from crock pot to crock pot and will depend on the size and thickness of the pork.  My crock pot should be called a fast cooker because a 2 1/2 pound pork loin on low was done in 5 hours.  However, I would hate for you to expect your dinner to be ready when you got home and it was still raw in the middle or it was shriveled up.  Hopefully, you know your slow cooker well.  :)