Southwestern Beef Tortillas

I came across this recipe in the Taste of Home magazine and tweaked it a bit to my liking.  But if your like me, you've split a cow with somebody and you have a freezer full roasts in your garage and you don't know what else to do with them besides a Roast and carrots and potatoes, or Roast Beef Sandwiches.  So I was excited to see a wrap that called for a beef roast rather than a pork roast.  And these were absolutely delish!  And YES, its a crock pot recipe. So yeah!!!

 1 Boneless Beef Chuck Roast (about 2 lbs)
1/2 Cup Water
4 large tomatoes - peeled & chopped ( I used one of my bottled tomatoes- juices drained)
1 Medium green pepper chopped
1/2 medium onion - chopped
1 bay leaf
1 garlic clove - minced
2 tblsp olive oil
1/2 Cup ketchup
1/2 cup pickled jalapeno sliced -chopped
1 tblsp juice from jalapeno jar
1 tbslp cider vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic salt
Tortillas

Take your beef roast and put it in your crock pot and add your 1/2 cup of water.  If you are home, set it on high for 2 hours then turn to low the rest of day.  If you are not at home, just put it in early enough that it can cook on low for 8-9  hours.
When done, Remove Meat from crock pot and reserve 1/2 cup of liquid and set aside.  Shred the meat with 2 forks.  In a large skillet, cook tomatoes, green pepper, onion, garlic and bay leaf in oil for 18-22 min.  Or if you use bottled tomatoes, heat your oil, and add everything listed above except the tomatoes and let brown and the onions turn translucent, then add your bottled tomatoes (chopped& drained) and let simmer for 5 min.  Then stir in your ketchup, jalapeno slices & juice, vinegar, salt, garlic salt & reserved cooking liquid.  Bring to a boil and stir in shredded beef.  Let simmer for another 5 minutes or if you have time to spare dump everything back in your crockpot until you are ready.  Serve on a heated tortillas with melted cheese and enjoy!  This could be a gluten free meal if you use a corn tortilla!

Zucchini Spaghetti Noodles with Roasted Eggplant

Well wouldn't you know it.  Here I am cooking another Paleo meal and loving it, so I had to share!  I guess doing something for 2 weeks DOES make a habit!  Anyways, if your anything like me, you hear the word Eggplant and immediately move on to a different recipe, not because you don't like it, but because it's somewhat foreign to you and you haven't really tried it before.   Well stop here my friend, because this was DANG good, and DANG easy, and I will for sure cook it again, and again.  And see those yummy zucchini noodles in the picture? Just go to Kitchen Kneads and grab yourself a Julienne Peeler for $8.95.  It's WORTH the money, I promise!!!  And I didn't feel like I was missing or wanting the regular spaghetti noodles, the zucchini was awesome!!!

I used this New Marinara sauce from Walmart that I thought was Awesome!  A lot of people like to do "home-made" marinara sauce, but it's really like throwing a can of this, and a can of that and a packet of this in there, so I figure this is just easier!  This Rao's Homemade All natural was sooo good, and nothing bad for you in the ingredients!  So Enjoy!

2-3 Medium Zucchini - Julienne Peeled
3/4 lb of ground pork Sausage
1 Jar Marinara Sauce
1 Med Eggplant   - Sliced
1 Tblsp Olive Oil
Salt & Pepper to Taste
1 tsp minced Garlic

Preheat Oven to 425*  Cut the tops off your Eggplant and slice into1/2 inch rounds, then in 1/2's.  Put your eggplant in a bowl and toss with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.  You be the judge of how much olive oil you need.  Place them on a cookie sheet and Roast in the oven for 18-20 min.
In a large saute pan, put your sausage (I do half sausage have beef) in and cook until browned all the way through. Drain Fat.  Add your marinara sauce and simmer for at least 10 min.
Now take your zucchini and just slice away with your julienne peeler, skin and all.  Put it in a microwavable bowl with the lid on and nuke for about 2 min.  You don't want to overcook or they will get soggy, so you be the judge.  When done, drain the excess water and or pat dry.  Add your sauce, and then your Roasted Eggplant, and Wala!!

Valentines Popcorn Treat

Let's be Honest.  I just finished the Paleo challenge and it was a wonderful experience and I felt really good about myself even though it was the hardest thing ever to do!!!  BUT, I have to be honest with myself that I know I wont ever be 100% Paleo unless I am in another challenge.  But I do think I am forever changed because of it, and my eyes have been opened because of it.  I know you can lose weight from it, I know you are eliminating a lot of things that can be harmful to your body from doing it.  But I think for my lifestyle right now I'm probably going to stick to it 85% of the time!  So if your looking for straight paleo recipes you might have to look else where because I'm pretty sure that their is going to be bit of variety on this recipe blog!  So for now, this popcorn treat is to die for and my entire family devoured the whole thing in one night!!! Enjoy!

 2 Bags of lightly buttered popcorn - (you don't want mega butter because it will over take the taste and your    popcorn will be too yellow)
1 Bag of white chocolate ( or about 8 bakers squares)
2/3 Cup chocolate covered heath bits
1 Cup mini m&m's (valentine colors preferebly)

Just pop your 2 bags of popcorn and try to remove as many kernals as possible when cooled.  Melt your white chocolate as the bag instructs.  Drizzle over the popcorn and add m&m's and heath bits and stir until well combined.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and let dry.  Break apart and add to little goody bags to give away  (I added valentine candy corns just for decoration) or fill a bowl and put in a good movie and go to town!!

Coconut Chicken Nuggetts

The Basics, my friends.  Sometimes you just need to cook the basics so your whole family can join in!  These Chicken nuggetts are absolutely great, and paleo through and through.  I was soo sick of making 2 dinners that I thought, what can I eat, that my boys will eat too!  And Chicken Nuggetts were the first thing that came to mind.  So I went on a search and this one sounded the easiest and the yummiest!  I found it off of MULIPLY DELICIOUS BLOG!

1 pound ground chicken

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ cup + ½ cup almond flour

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut  (chopped small)

½ cup coconut oil

Salt & Pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a bowl combine ¼ cup almond flour, ½ cup coconut and salt & pepper. Mix to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the ground chicken, ½ cup almond flour, onion powder, garlic powder, egg yolk and salt & pepper. Mix well until everything is incorporated.

In a sauté pan, melt coconut oil on medium heat. Take about 2 tablespoons worth of the chicken mixture and roll into a ball and smash to the shape you want and then coat with the coconut and almond mixture. Repeat with the remaining chicken. You should make about 20 chicken nugget/balls.

In small batches place nuggets into heated coconut oil and cook on each side for about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer balls to a parchment lined bake pan and place in oven for 4 to 5 minutes to allow the chicken to cook through. Repeat with the remaining chicken nuggets.

Crepes - Paleo!

Is anyone else looking for something else to eat for breakfast besides eggs and bacon on this Paleo chanllenge???  Well  I was!!  These crepes are darn good, and darn easy!!!  If you think about it, the main ingredients is eggs, and you only have to do a little ingredient swapping and wala!!!  These tasted just like the real deal to me, maybe a little more eggy than flour(y), but that's what we are going for, right???  I just topped mine with Justin's brand Maple Almond Butter (my favorite) and Pure maple syrup!  They were awesome!  And I didn't feel left out while my kids and husband were eating their crepes!

3 eggs
1/4 Cup Almond Milk (I like Vanilla)
1/4 Cup Almond Meal
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tblsp olive oil (or coconut oil)

Just whip all ingredients up in a blender.  Heat your skillet on medium heat.  Spray with coconut cooking spray and scoop about 1/3 cup of batter onto skillet.  Pick up skillet and swirl it to make a big circle.  Wait until edges start to curl a little and the underside is slightly browned and flip.  Beware, this does take skill, and you will get better with practice!!!

Spicy Honey Chicken

 How about this, a Paleo Dish, NOT found on a Paleo Website.  This is from one of my favorite blogs, OUR BEST BITES!  And it's yum, and can be eaten as a salad dish as well!  This chicken calls for the grill, so I bundled myself up and turned the grill on in my garage!  And my garage still stinks today! Just click the title to each picture and and it will take you to Our Best Bites site for instructions.  I love to take time to find the recipe, make the recipe, and take pictures of the recipe, but to write it down when it's way tooo easy to attach a link is pushing it!!!  Hope you don't mind!!!

 SPICY HONEY CHICKEN

 SPICY HONEY CHICKEN SALAD

Serve with red onions, green onions, avocados, mushrooms (not pictured) Mangos (optional)

 HONEY CITRUS VINAIGRETTE

Broccoli Salad

This Broccoli Salad is to die for, AND VERY addicting!!!  It just has that bacony fresh yummy taste to it that makes you want to keep eating!  Of course this is probably better non paleo style, but if you are good at making your own paleo mayo then it should be a cinch!  My Friend Kelsey made this for us in Hawaii and it was the first thing I made when I got home!  YUM!   And by the way, how in the world do people get the color in the pictures to pop???  Mine just look soo bland.  Is it a setting on your camera or photoshop?  Cuz I have a nice camera....

1 Cup Diced Chicken
1 Cup Chopped Broccoli
1 Cup Chopped Cauliflower
1 Cup Chopped cooked Bacon - (or bacon pieces in a jar)
1 1/2 Cup Purple Seedless grapes
1 Cup chopped Celery
1 Cup Salted Sunflower seeds
1/3 Cup Chopped purple onion
1 Cup Mayo - (Paleo style if you are being strict)
1 Tblsp Sugar - Use a natural sweetner like (xylitol)
1 Tblsp Vinegar

The preferable choice of chicken would be to boil a chicken breast then chop it up (Don't shred).  If your in a hurry, canned chicken will do.  Just make sure you chop those veggies really small (especially the purple onions).  I use my pampered chef chopper, cuz you want to get a little bit of everything in every bite!!!  Then add everything else in and stir it really well.  If you can let the all the flavors simmer a bit in the fridge, then serve!  DOUBLE the batch if you are bringing it to a party!