Paleo "Fettucine" Bolognese

So for noodles, I have used kelp noodles, spaghetti squash, and shredded cooked sweet potatoes. I think this sauce will go nicely over any of these options. I have also seen, but haven't tried noodles made from zucchini...

Bolognese sauce:
2 T olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
1 fennel bulb, finely diced
1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 T fennel seeds
3 thyme sprigs
8 oz white mushrooms, sliced
1 pound grass fed beef
dash of sea salt
dash of black pepper
1 cup dry red wine
9 fresh ripe tomatoes (2.75 lbs) diced
1 (15oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup chicken broth

Heat heavy pot over medium heat. Add oil and onions, saute about 3 minutes. Add fennel, carrot, celery, garlic, fennel seeds, and thyme and saute about 15 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Add beef, salt and pepper and cook until beef is browned. Add wine and cook until almost reduced- about 8 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juices, sauce, and broth. Bring sauce to a simmer. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are tender, about 1 hour. Uncover and continue simmering until sauce is thickened slightly, about 1.5 hours longer. Season with salt and pepper, or other herbs of choice. **NOTE** I have alternatively made this in a slow cooker, where I put all of the cooked ingredients in the slow cooker and cooked it on low for 6-8 hours and it was delicious.

Serve over your "noodle" of choice. Enjoy!!

Rotisserie Chicken - 2 ways

So, I tried to make lemon pepper chicken for Christmas. I found no grocery stores open, and didn't have any lemons, so came up with a different way to make rotisserie chicken... Here are 2 ways to make some good chicken:

Option 1: Lemon Pepper
1 chicken (4 pounds)
2 lemons
3 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper divided
2 tablespoons butter softened
10 cloves garlic

Option 2: Herb and Garlic
1 chicken (4 pounds)
10 cloves garlic
olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1 Tablespoon dried sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Option 1: In a small bowl, grate the zest from 1 lemon and mix it with 2 tsp. of salt and the pepper. Add the lemon zest mixture to the butter and stir with a fork until the all the ingredients are evenly mixed. Set aside.Salt the cavity of the chicken with the remaining 1 tsp. of salt. Cut the lemons into quarters and place them in the cavity of the chicken. Peel the cloves of garlic and place 5 of them in the cavity of the chicken along with the lemons.Place the chicken on the rotisserie spit. Tie the legs tightly together so that the ingredients inside will not drop out when the chicken is rotating on the rotisserie.Apply the lemon and butter mixture to the chicken. Rub approximately 1/2 of the butter under the skin of the chicken, spreading it out evenly. After rubbing the butter under the skin, place the remaining 5 garlic cloves sporadically under the skin. If the outside of the chicken is moist, dry it off with a paper towel and then rub the remaining lemon butter mixture on the chicken. Now finish tying the chicken around the fatty parts of the legs and tying the wings to the body.Cook according to manufacturers directions, around 90-120 minutes or until the internal temperature of the thickest part of the thigh reaches 175°F. Remove from rotisserie and remove the items in the cavity. Tent the chicken with foil and allow it to rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

Option 2:
Salt the cavity of the chicken, and place 6 cloves of garlic in cavity of chicken. Place remaining cloves of garlic under chicken skin. In bowl, combine all seasonings. Brush chicken with olive oil and rub herb mixture over entire chicken. Roast chicken in a 400 degree oven for 2 hours or until internal temperature registers 175 degrees. Allow it to rest under foil for 15-20 minutes before carving.

** Note- if using a rotisserie oven and you need kitchen twine, this is also hard to find when the grocery stores are closed. In a pinch, I used alot of dental floss to tie the bird. It worked out fine.

Pot Roast

1 - 3-4 lb beef roast, preferrably grass fed
4 cloves garlic
2 cups carrots
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup red wine
1 - 14 oz can of organic, no salt added diced tomatoes
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Cut a few slits in the meat and insert cloves of garlic into the slits
Place roast in a slow cooker, along with all other ingredients listed
Cook on Low 8-10 hours.

Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Brandon's Chicken and Sausage Roulade

Butterfly a boneless skinless chicken breast, place between 2 sheets of Saran wrap and pound to about a 1/8" thick or so (just so it will roll nicely) Place a thin layer of Italian sausage on top of the chicken covering about 3/4 of it. Roll. Tie the roll together using butchers twine or pin together with tooth picks (just remember to take them out when done cooking). Add a splash of olive oil and sprinkle salt, pepper and some herbs if so desired before placing into a 350 degree oven. Cook for about 1 1/2 hours or an internal temp of 165 is reached.

Bacon wrapped sage pork roast with apples and onions

Today, I was inspired to use the rotisserie oven. If you don't have one of these, I think roasting this in the oven in a roasting pan will do just fine.

Ingredients:

2 pound pork roast - I used a boneless top loin roast

1 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt containing seasoning- I used the Chicago Steak seasoning by Weber that has sea salt, garlic, onion, red bell pepper and red pepper flakes

4 slices thick cut nitrate free bacon

3 medium cooking apples, cored and sliced - I used golden delicious

1 large onion, pealed and quartered

Combine sage, black pepper garlic powder and sea salt seasoning to make rub. Rub mixture on roast and wrap bacon around roast. Secure with cotton cooking twine. Ask for this at the butchers- they might just give it to you for free! Place apples and onions in a pan. Place in oven beneath pork roast. Roast in oven 1-1.5 hours until meat thermometer registers 160 degrees. Stir apples and onions occasionally to coat with pan juices.

Everyday Paleo's chili verde

Thanks to Matt for making this one and thanks to EverydayPaleo.com for wonderful recipes- check them out!!

2.5 lb pork shoulder roast, cut into ½ inch cubes 2 lbs tomatillos 2 cups chicken stock 2 tablespoons coconut oil 1 yellow onion, diced 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 bunch cilantro Juice from 1 lime 1 jalapeno 1 tablespoon cumin ½ teaspoon smoked paprika ½ teaspoon black pepper Sea salt to taste Cut pork roast into ½ inch cubes. Heat the coconut oil over medium high in a large soup pot and add the pork once the oil is hot enough that it sizzles when you add a piece of meat. Brown the pork pieces for 4-5 minutes and remove the pork from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onions and garlic to the oil and pork drippings and sauté for 7-10 min or until the onions start to brown. Turn the heat down a bit and add the cumin, paprika and black pepper to the onions and garlic and mix well (it will be kind of pasty). Add the chicken broth to the onion mixture and mix well, making sure to scrape all the goodness off the bottom of the pan. Add the pork back to the soup pot into the liquid and bring to a boil. Turn down to low. While the meat simmers, peel and wash the tomatillos. Dry them well and in a large skillet over medium heat char them along with the jalapeno turning often, until the skins start to blacken (about 10 minutes). Place the charred tomatillos, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice into a food processer or blender and blend until smooth. Add to the pork in the soup pot and simmer for 2 to 2 ½ hours or until the pork is fall apart tender. The sauce will reduce down and become thicker over the course of the cooking process. Serve with sliced avocado and cilantro for garnish.

Dave Kreps' paleo cuban soup

1. boil a 2lb bag of yuca (casava) in water till tender but firm then let cool, dice and set aside.

2. In the same water, put in a pork roast and boil it for about 30min

3. then add the following: 4cups of beef or chicken stock, dry oregano, basil, one lg onion, 10 carrots chopped, 5 cloves of garlic, 1 lg green pepper, dry cumin, sea salt

4. Then add 1 can roasted dice or crush tomatoes, 3 lg green plantains (cut into 1" chunks).

5. Keep boiling on low for 30min or till pork and plantains are tender.

6. Then pull out the pork and set aside.

7. Puree the stuff in the pot.

8. Dice the pork into small chunks and add back to the pot with the yuca.

9. Serve with avocado, lime and cilantro. You can also add sweet potatoes, squash etc. etc. along with the plantains.