Southwest Sliders over Spicy Avocado Slaw

The weather is changing here in Denver and spring seems to have arrived! Which naturally, calls for grilling. Our tiny house doesn't have air conditioning, so once the warm weather decides to stick around, we don't cook indoors for fear of raising the internal temp of our home to dangerous highs. Unfortunately, our patio table's glass top shattered this winter under the weight of snow so our outdoor cooking had to find a new venue last night. Naturally, we invited ourselves over to UTM's house, our best friend, honorary uncle and Godfather to our daughter, to grill. I took over the kitchen and we had a lovely meal outside by the fire. Now, let me preface some of this critique with the fact that our UTM is boarderline a gourmet cook. He's amazing and can create crazy dishes from original ideas. I, as you know, cannot and I'm forever nervous to cook for him.

First Thoughts: 
 
Ok, I really need to make an effort to find recipes that could possibly turn out poorly. This recipe is from my absolute favorite Paleo recipe blog: www.paleomg.com. Juli, the author/chef is a trainer at my Crossfit gym. She's badass, completely inspiring and a freaking phenomenal cook. Unfortunately, UTM hates turkey burgers with a passion. He refers to them as a "foul, cruel joke" (very punny). Thus, we modified the recipe a wee. We used Buffalo instead. Also a delicious lean meat. Because of this we didn't use the suggested 1 Tablespoon of fat. We also grilled these instead of skillet cooking.

The Recipe:

The actual link to the recipe page is: http://paleomg.com/southwest-turkey-sliders-spicy-avocado-slaw/. Claims a 15 minute prep, 10 minute cook time for the sliders. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
For the burgers

• 1lb ground turkey
• 1/4 red onion, minced
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 poblano pepper, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon fat (bacon fat or coconut oil)                                                                                                           

For the slaw

• 1 small head of cabbage or bag of cabbage, chopped
• 2 avocados
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper, to taste
•                                                                  

Notes on ingredients: As I posted above, we used Buffalo and omitted the tablespoon of fat. We also found that because our avocados weren't quite ripe enough, we had to add a little extra olive oil, lemon and lime juice to make the actual "mayo" for the slaw. I'm sure if we'd had good ripe avocados, we would've been fine. 

The Method:

First make your burgers

1. Add all your ingredients for your burgers in a large bowl.
2. Shape small burger patties.
3. Heat up a large skillet under medium heat with a bit of fat in it (I used bacon fat) and add your sliders. Flip after about 3-5 minutes or when you see the sides of your sliders begin to turn a white color (meaning they are cooking through).

Now make your slaw

1. Pull out your handy dandy food processor, add all your ingredients for the slaw other than the cabbage and pulse until smooth.
2. Pour your avocado “mayo” on the cabbage and mix. Top off with a bit of salt and pepper.
3. Place your cabbage on a plate and top off with your sliders!
4. Consume!

The Critique:

Ease of Recipe: 5/5 Stars

 

The estimated prep and cook time is completely right on. The only thing we had trouble with was the consistency of the "mayo", but I'm not sure that there is any blame there except against Whole Foods who only stock unripened avocados.

Cooking Method: 5/5 Stars

Very easy to understand and very easy to pull off. We used a handy little gadget from Sur La Table that helped us form and grill our sliders, which was helpful for portioning correctly.

Flavor: 5/5 Stars

Delicious. The buffalo was a lovely alternative. They have a nice southwestern kick without being too terribly spicy.

Kid Friendliness: 4/5

Now to be fair, this blog is not geared towards being a resource for kid friendly foods (although many of her breakfasts are incredibly kid friendly). My kids wouldn't eat the veggies in the burgers because of the texture. It would be really easy to set aside a couple of sliders for kids before adding all the chopped veggies though. And my kids already usually opt to have their burgers sans buns.
 
Photo Evidence: 5/5 Stars

Yummy.

 

 

Even our gourmet supreme UTM enjoyed them...

 Overall: 4.5/5 Stars. Just a great spring/summer recipe!

Sarah Fragoso's Pecan Crusted Chicken

Sorry to do another chicken post right off the bat, but this one is totally worth it. I plan on experimenting exclusively from here on out, but this recipe has become a weekly standby for my family and friends. It's fast, simple and only has 4 ingredients. But I can serve this for a dinner party and get nothing but rave reviews. So I'm sharing. You're welcome.

First Thoughts:

If you aren't familiar with Sarah Fragoso, she's kind of the "Queen of Family Friendly Paleo Recipes". She claims her kids eat all her meals. Mine, however, do not. But I can guarantee you that even the busiest of families can find time for these recipes during the week! Her cookbook "Everyday Paleo" was my first Paleo cookbook. While I now own no less than 5 Paleo cookbooks, hers is still my standby. There are things it lacks, like a quality photographer, but overall, it's quite reliable. I highly recommend it.


The Recipe: Pecan Crusted Chicken: Claims a 10 minute prep time, 45 minute cook time and serves 4-5

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Spicy Brown Mustard 
2 Tablespoons Raw Organic Honey (Optional) 
1 Cup Crushed Pecans
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

Notes on Ingredients: I like Dijon better, but that's just my preference. Either way, make it organic. Honey is optional? No. Delicious is the word she's searching for. Don't take this out. You can, however, substitute agave nectar. Equally Awesome.

The Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.
2. Toss the pecans in a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely chopped. Pour the chooped pecans into a large bowl and set aside.
3. Using a paper towel, remove any excess moisture from the outside of the chicken breasts. (This is key as the honey mustard won't stick if the chicken is too slippery.)
4. Taking one chicken breast at a time, roll the chicken in the honey mustard mixture and coat on both sides.
5. Transfer the coated chicken into the chopped pecans and again, cover both sides.
6. Place the crusted chicken into a greased glass baking dish and sprinkle each chicken breast with with just a little sea salt if desired. Bake 45 minutes or until chicken juices run clear.

The Critique:

Ease of Recipe: 5/5 Stars

Yes, it is really this simple. The 10 minute prep is completely accurate. The 45 minute bake time is accurate as well, even in high altitude. I recommend the long bake at a low temp to keep the chicken super juicy. 

Cooking Method: 5/5 Stars

Again, "accuracy" is apparently the word of the night. The only thing I tend to change when I do this recipe is to go slightly heavier on the honey mustard mixture and the pecans. I probably use closer to 3/4 cup mustard and 3 tablespoons honey. I just like how the flavor is richer with a little extra. I'm sure it changes the dietary numbers a bit, but I don't pay attention to that. This recipe also doubles well. I've served up to 10 people with doubling it.

Flavor: 5/5 Stars

Obviously this wouldn't be a standby if it weren't delicious! Even my uber gourmet friends come by every time I plan on making it. 

Kid Friendliness: 3/5

This is where this recipe falls short.  I don't know many 3 and 5 year olds that like mustard. I have actually done this in chicken nugget form with only honey and pecans and my 5 year old ate it, but my 3 year old wouldn't touch it with a 10 foot pole.

Photo Evidence: 5/5 Stars

 My shadowy cell phone pics even beat her craptastic photography.


Overall: 4.5/5 Stars. And that is why it's a standby.

My First Victim (Why I love Pinterest)

My newest addiction is Pinterest. If you haven't gotten an invite, you must request one. Likely you have at least 60 friends playing on there daily, so just suck it up and ask. I have a board on my page titled "Paleo/Crossfit" where you will find a plethora of inspiring phrases and potential yumtastic paleo recipes.

First thoughts:

My first victim is the blog "health-bent.com". This Orange Chicken recipe sounded super easy and super yummy. So I tried it this evening. I went to my local organic grocer for the ingredients. Let's start there. Chicken thighs are weird. And fatty. And isn't Paleo all about lean cuts of meat? The recipe calls for 1 lb of boneless skinless chicken thighs, but I'd recommend at least 1.5 lbs. I trimmed off seriously 1/2 a lb of tendons and fat. I wouldn't recommend substituting though, because it turns out the thighs have the exact right texture and flavor for this recipe. Breasts wouldn't have been nearly as successful.

The recipe: The direct link is: http://www.health-bent.com/poultry/paleo-orange-chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite size pieces)
• 3 T fat (coconut oil works well here)
• juice of 2 oranges*
• zest from 1 orange
• 1 t fresh ginger
• 3 T coconut aminos or wheat-free soy sauce
• 1 t chili garlic sauce or sriracha
• 3 green onions, chopped

Notes on the ingredients: I used coconut oil. Which I love for it's frothy texture and mild flavor. I used the recommended 3 Tablespoons and could not get the "brown crust" on the outside that the "method" discusses until I emptied out half of it. So truly, I'd recommend 2 Tablespoons at the most.
I also used the Coconut aminos, which you can find next to the soy sauce in the Asian aisle of your local market.

The Method: 

In a medium size sauce pot, add the orange juice, zest, ginger, coconut aminos and chili garlic sauce or sriracha. Set over medium heat and let simmer to reduce and thicken while the chicken cooks. Ok, so here are my suggestions. Squeeze your oranges over a strainer set on top of your saucepan so you don't get pulp and seeds all up in there. Also, I ended up with this on high and constantly whisking trying to get this sauce to thicken! Maybe it's my high altitude, but it took about 20 minutes total for that to happen.
In a saute pan, heat 3 T of the fat of your choice, over medium high heat. Remember the note about no more than 2 T of coconut oil. And even that may be a wee on the heavy side. Just dump a little out if you're not getting that "nice brown crust".
Add the chopped chicken thighs and cook until a nice brown crust has developed on the chicken pieces, about 6 minutes. Again, took me about 20 minutes, not 6. The chicken wasn't even cooked through at the 6 minute mark.
Add the chicken to the sauce pot and stir to coat with the orange sauce.
Serve topped with sliced green onions.

*Taste your oranges. If they don’t taste orange-y, then neither will this dish. Use tangerines if you gotta or add a teaspoon of sweetener until you’re satisfied with the flavor. I used about teaspoon of Stevia for some extra sweetness.

The Critique:

Ease of recipe: 4/5 stars 

This recipe is really simple with only a few ingredients. 

1) More seasoned paleo cooks know where to find coconut aminos, or already have them on hand. I'm new to this. I had to ask for help and guidance. 

2) Chicken thighs take a lot of prep to trim the crud off.

Cooking method: 4/5 stars

1) Just the browning of the chicken took an extra 15 minutes. 

2) That sauce took forever to thicken. Ended up whisking on high for 10 minutes after simmering on medium for 20. Would be super easy to burn if left to it's own devices. 

Flavor: 5/5

Yum. Just yum. It was definitely a hit. The texture and flavor of the thighs was a good ingredient call, as breasts just wouldn't have mimicked the Chinese Restaurant feel they were going for.

Kid Friendliness: 5/5 

My 3 year old asked for 2nds. And 3rds. But did mention that it was a wee bit spicy. Cut back that Sriracha a wee if your child has any aversion to spice.

Photo evidence: 5/5

Just as pretty as the original blog.

Overall: 4.5/5 Stars. I will definitely make this again.

Stuff the Pork with Pork Crock Pot Pork Tenderloin (Get it? it's Pork).

I've owned a crock pot for 10 years and used it maybe 5 times. But I've been looking up crockpot recipes lately in anticipation of some spring time snow days. Since we're getting buried up to our eyelids today, I thought today would be a good day to start. I didn't find anything I loved, so I'm tweaking one for pork chops. This recipe starts with about 20 minutes of prep, but it's totally worth it. My house has smelled BEYOND delicious all day. For some reason I didn't think to take photos until just now, so I'll be as descriptive as possible to make this extra easy.  This was also a total win on the kids friendly paleo menu. Both kids LOVED this and even asked for seconds. (I may or may not have told them it was chicken....)

Ingredients:

1 trimmed pork tenderloin: 2-3 lbs
1 tablespoon of your favorite cooking oil
6 large strips of bacon cut into bite sized chunks
3 granny smith apples, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
1 medium whole head of garlic (It's annoying but again, so worth it) peeled, crushed and cut into large bits)
1 cup of raw, unsalted pecans
10 green onions, chopped
1 lemon (for zesting at the end)

cooking string or twine cut into 5-6 15 inch pieces for binding loin (that sounds dirty).

Directions:

Pre-prep: toss a tablespoon of your favorite cooking oil (I used coconut) into a skillet. Put bacon in and cook until it's about 80% cooked and browning. Toss in the apples and garlic. Cook until bacon is about 90% cooked. Use a slotted spoon and stuffing mix from pan and let cool. Keep the bacon grease in the pan and turn off the heat. Throw the onions into the pan but don't cook them. Just toss them and coat them in the bacony fatty goodness.

On a cutting board, lay out your cut pieces of twine about 2 inches apart from each other. Most tenderloins are already cut down the center and fall into two pieces. Hold them together and center tenderloin on twine pieces. Stuff the center of the tenderloin with the half of bacon-apple-pecan stuffing, and then tie the pieces of twine individually around the tenderloin so it's completely bound with stuffing cascading out the top.

Line the bottom of your crock pot with half of the onion/bacon grease goodness. Place bound tenderloin on top. Dump the rest of the stuffing on top of the tenderloin and let it fall and fill the bottom portion of the pot. Cover and cook. All. Day.

You can cook this either on Low for 8 hours, or for the first two hours on high, and then 3-4 hours on low. Pork's internal temp needs to be 145 degrees to be servable. There is no broth or anything in this recipe, but the pork will ooze juices all day. For the last hour, I scooped the juices and poured them back over the pork just to let it marinate even more. Remove tenderloin and let it stand 10 minutes before serving (it will continue to cook while you do this). You can serve it with some of the filling from the bottom of the pan the way it is, or smash it up in a bowl to make it more like applesauce and line the tenderloin with it when you serve it.  Be sure to cut off twine before serving.

I'm planning on serving this on a bed of spinach, so that I have a spinach-bacon-apple salad along with my tenderloin. Plus it's pretty.

Makes 5-6 servings.

Revamping my favorite recipes...

I'm a high school art teacher. Everyone wants to cut our jobs, so I have to prove myself somehow, aside from the normal gold key art shows and full ride scholarship offers. No. I have to really prove my worth. So tomorrow, I'm entering a chili cookoff at my school to help feed a staff of 120 for parent/teacher conferences. I have an all time favorite chili recipe, but alas, it's not Paleo. So I'm revamping the original recipe to meet my health goals. Here is my Paleo Autumn Harvest Chili. Enjoy.

Pre cooking disclaimer: This is NOT a weeknight chili. While the cooking time is minimal, the chopping time is 30-40 minutes alone. I also doubled my recipe to feed more poor starving educators, so my photos may look more bountiful than your actual creation. It does impress though and you have my permission to bring it to ANY chili cookoff and take full credit. Unless you win money. Then I take a 20% cut.

Paleo Autumn Harvest Chili:

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Coconut Oil
1 1/2 lbs Apple Chicken Sausage
6 green onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into bite sized chunks (about 6 cups)
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
3 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored and chopped into bite sized bits (save a handfull for garnish)
1 tablespoon fresh snipped sage

Directions:

1. Melt 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in large dutch oven over medium high heat. Add sausage and cook until medium brown (about 3-4 minutes if pre-cooked). Remove from pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Add onions and garlic to oil in pot and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add butternut squash, stir to coat in oil and oniony garlic goodness. Cook about 6 minutes. Stir in chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper; cook for 1 minute. Return sausage to pan and add broth; bring to boiling; then reduce heat.  Simmer, covered for 8 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in medium sized skillet, heat remaining oil over medium high heat. Cook apple slices in hot oil for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until light brown. Transfer apples to chili. Simmer for about 8 minutes, until apples are tender. Top with fresh snipped sage and extra apple slices. Serve and devour.

4. Serve at chili cook off. Kick ass. Take names. 

Cooking tip: Keep your handy dandy Newfoundland around to clean up any delicious morsels that may have accidentally hit the ground while cooking.