Pork stuffed Pork Chops

Yea, I got your attention! Pork INSIDE of pork? It makes it total sense.

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

1-1/4# Sausage link of your choice (raw). Spicy Italian works out great
1 med Granny Smith apple, small dice
6 med White mushrooms
1/4 onion, small dice
1 ea celery stalk, small dice
1/2 tsp dried sage
S/P
Oil to saute, I use coconut oil

2 Thick cut Pork chops, bone-in, at least 2"-3" in thickness, about a 1# each.

Remove sausage from casing and saute in a very hot pan, breaking up the meat. Brown. Add onion, saute until translucent. Add apples. Saute for 2 mins. Add Celery. Saute for 2 mins. Add mushrooms. Add salt; this will draw out the water from the mushrooms. Saute from another 3 minutes.

Cool sausage stuffing.

*For those in new territory being in the kitchen, to Saute is derived from the verb sauter "to jump." So when you saute it usually mean med-high heat, with constant stirring and movement in the pan.

With a sharp knife, cut a long slit in the middle of the pork chops, lengthwise, starting opposite of the bone. You want to make a deep pocket to stuff. Once the stuffing is cool, pack as much of it into the slit. Taking toothpicks, use them to "staple" the slit closed.

In an oven safe fry pan, heat oil (coconut oil because it has a high smoke point 300+ degrees) until smoking. Sear both sides until a nice crisp, dark brown. Immediately stick into the oven. 1# should take about 35-40 mins. I would pull it out at 35 mins, cover with foil and let the meat "rest." It will continue to cook out of the oven. But always check with a fork that the juices run clear and not red, pink is ok. REMOVE THE TOOTHPICKS BEFORE SERVING :)

Be a heathen and throw out the knife and fork and eat it with your hands-- that's why there's a bone, it doubles as a handle :)

~Chef Assassin 

Stuffed Bison Filets!

I saw this recipe on primal-palate.com and immediately thought of Diso. But to all of the other meat lovers out there... enjoy. The bison filets used in this recipe are from US Wellsness Meats and well, the description that these paleo bloggers give is perfect...

"This recipe was unbelievable. I'm pretty sure Bill and I both agree that we would willingly eat this every night of the week with no complaints whatsoever. The grass fed bison filets from US Wellness were so tender and juicy. They literally melted in our mouths. The flavors of the mushroom and onion stuffing, sauteed in a hint of balsamic vinegar complimented the flavors of the steaks beautifully. I think we will be dreaming of this recipe until we place our next order."    -Bill and Haley (primal-palate.com)

Ingredients:

• 2 grass-fed bison tenderloin filets
• 1 package (about a cup and a half) of shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon unrefined, virgin coconut oil
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Process:

1. In a frying pan, melt coconut oil on medium heat.
2. Add garlic, onion, and mushrooms to the frying pan and saute until the onions are translucent and the mushrooms have softened.
3. Pour balsamic vinegar over mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and continue to saute for 3-5 minutes.
4. Remove mushrooms from heat and set aside.
5. Preheat grill to medium heat.
6. Rinse bison filets under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
7. Cut a small pocket in each filet, leaving about 1/2 an inch between the pocket and the outside of the filet.
8. Stuff the filets with the sauteed mushrooms and onion, leaving remaining mushrooms for garnish.
9. Grill bison filets for 5-7 minutes per side.
10. Top with sauteed mushrooms, and serve.

Paleo Choc-Chip Cookies (again)

Chocolate Chip Cookies (paleo, of course)

People have been asking me to repost this recipe, so here you go! One day I'll fix the "search" button on the blog so you all can easily find old recipes.

***One thing to note is the brand of chocolate chips. In order to keep these paleo, buying that brand is very important. Most choc chips contain soy but the "Enjoy Life" brand is gluten/dairy/soy/nut free. You can find them at Whole Foods. :)

Ingredients:

3 cups Blanched Almond Flour
1/2 cup Virgin Coconut Oil, unrefined
1/2 cup Pure Maple Syrup (I use dark amber)
2 Omega 3 Eggs
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 cups Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium sized mixing bowl combine dry ingredients.
In a small mixing bowl beat eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer. (My hand mixer broke so I just used a wooden spoon and my crossfit muscles. They still came out delicious)
Pour wet ingredients into dry and beat with hand mixer until combined.
Melt coconut oil, pour into batter, and continue to blend until combined.

Stir in chocolate chips.

On a parchment lined baking sheet, drop balls of cookie dough, about a tablespoon in size.
Bake for 15 minutes.

Breakfast cupcakes!

It's very strange that I've never posted anything breakfast related before because it really is my favorite meal of the day. I have perfected my omelet down to the last detail. But this little take on it makes it way more fun and... you can make these once to last all week, CRAZY! I added and subtracted some ingredients to better suit my own taste buds (added bacon and kale), but you can find the original recipe and more at primal-palate.com.

Ingredients:

• 50/50 mix of omega 3 eggs and Trader Joe's Cage Free 100% Liquid Egg Whites
• Red onions
• Kale or spinach
• Peppers (green or red)
• bacon
• Coconut oil
• Non-stick muffin pan or a traditional size muffin pan with cupcake papers.

Process:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Saute the vegetables in a frying pan over medium heat with the coconut oil. Besides tasting great, coconut oil has many health benefits (and is also a fat-burning catalyst, because it is a medium chain fatty acid. Here is a great article explaining the health benefits of coconut oil!)
3. Cut off the sauteing process about half-way through cooking. The veggies will finish in the oven.
4. Divide vegetables evenly between your muffin tins.
5. Mix the eggs and the egg whites in a bowl, and pour into the tins. Only fill the tins ¾ of the way to the top – they will rise a little.
6. Stir the vegetable and egg mixture briefly to disperse the vegetables evenly in the tins.
7. Bake the egg muffins in the oven for approximately 20 minutes. Your cooking time may vary depending on the tin, the oven. Adjust accordingly.
8. Once muffins have cooled, store in your refrigerator for a healthy breakfast meal / anytime snack! They typically keep for about a week.

Curried Meatballs!

I used this recipe last night to cook my first order of ground bison from US Wellness Meats. Let's just say... I will never buy anything else. It was so tender and juicy... I barely had to chew it. Diso was right all along, Ha. This curry recipe complimented it really well and it was HONESTLY super fast to make. Try it out this weekend!

Meatballs

3 lbs ground beef

1 cup finely diced red onion

1 cup apple finely diced

1 egg

2 tablespoons curry powder

½ tablespoon sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, place all of the meatball ingredients and mix well.   using your hands.  Form into meatballs just a little bit bigger than a golf ball and place into a large glass baking dish.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Makes 24 meatballs.  While the meatballs are cooking prepare the sauce!

Curry Sauce

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 tablespoon raw organic honey (optional)

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 tablespoons tomato paste

½ cup chicken broth

In a large skillet saute the garlic in the coconut oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the honey, curry powder, and tomato paste and whisk together.  Add the chicken broth and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth.  Bring to a simmer.  After the meatballs come out of the oven, add them to the sauce in the skillet and coat well.  Cover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.  Serves 6-7.

I found this little gem today on primal-palate.com and my mouth immediately began to salivate. Fancy salads have been a minor obsession lately. Mendocino Farms and Tender Greens being some favorite lunch spots. Check these places out or... make this one at home. So easy and delicious. (duh, there's bacon in it)

Warm Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad

Salad Ingredients:

3 cups peeled and diced sweet potatoes

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 apple diced

8 strips of bacon, diced

2 leeks, thinly sliced

6 oz of fresh baby spinach

Handful of sliced almonds for garnish

Dressing:

¼ cup olive oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp spicy brown mustard (from Trader Joe’s)

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

1 tbsp of dried basil

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400.  Toss the diced sweet potatoes with the coconut oil and spread evenly on a baking sheet.  Bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes.  While the sweet potatoes are baking, cook the diced bacon in a large skillet.  Once the bacon is crispy, add the sliced leeks in with the bacon and saute for another 4-5 minutes.  Put your spinach in a large salad bowl and add the bacon and leek mixture. Toss well, letting the warm bacon wilt the spinach.  Add the apples and sweet potatoes to the salad and toss together.  In a separate bowl whisk together the salad dressing ingredients.  Pour over the salad, mix well and garnish with the sliced almonds.

Hard Work Pays off

I'm a day late, but I just wanted to say congrats to everyone who participated in the IWC Challenge. I'm so excited to see how going paleo/zone has transformed all of you! There are so many great benefits to eating clean food. The goal of this challenge was to help your mind/body get accustomed to eating clean so that you could reap the benefits of being stronger, faster, and healthier.

Before this challenge started, I was eating mostly paleo. Mostly meaning no gluten/dairy/soy because it makes me super sick. BUT...I was consuming way too much sugar (fruit, dark chocolate) trying to compensate for always being hungry.  For this challenge, I cut all of those sugars out. Haven't had one chocolate bar, fruit occasionally (not everyday) and I can totally feel the difference. I have lost a little bit of mid-belly softness, I'm not savagely hungry between meals and I have found that I sleep sooooo much better when sugar is absent in my diet. I have also gotten significantly stronger. Little by little lifting more and more weight. So many PR's since the challenge started.

Food has some crazy effects on the mind/body. I would love to hear your experiences, struggles, victories, PR's, epiphanies with the challenge. On that note, take some time to celebrate your accomplishments. Keeping it clean, of course!

I celebrated last night with a little bit of this goodness... :)