PC Day 20: Keep It Simple, Stupid

Yesterday's workout was a doozy! That's the thing about CrossFit, you never know what you're really getting into until you start doing the work.

WOD:
4 rounds
45 sec. HandStand hold
rest 45 sec.
Hollow Rocks 45-50 reps
rest 45 sec.12-15
Ring push outs
rest 45 sec.
45 sec. Straddle hold
rest 45 sec.

Phew! After that WOD, me and the Caveman were just ready to eat dinner and pass out.. thus, I opted for a Super Easy Stir Fry. Quality meat and fresh produce makes this meal stand out so much more than your average paleo fare. Again, the Holy Grail of supermarkets (the Asian market) came to the rescue. The meat we used was thinly sliced, top sirloin.. about 8 dollars for a pound and a half of good meat. Not too shabby I think. Trust me, once you try this type of meat for your stir frys, you won't want to substitute it if you don't absolutely have to.
Recipe:
1-1.5 pounds thinly sliced sirloin
1 half of a red, yellow or orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
4-5 stalks of asparagus, chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 cup sliced mushrooms/
1 large handful of spinach
salt & pepper
4-5 cloves freshly chopped garlic
olive oil as needed

Method:
Heat up large sautee pan with olive oil. Separate the slices of sirloin (this is a lot easier if they are still slightly frozen, they thaw quickly in the pan since they are so thin.. just like in Korean BBQ!) Season with salt and pepper and place in your pan, in a single layer. You'll need to cook the meat in batches but it doesn't take long at all. Once the meat is all cooked set aside in a bowl. In the same pan, add additional olive oil, bring to heat and toss in your garlic. Sautee till fragrant and add in your vegetables in order of cooking time. For instance I added the asparagus first, let that cook for a minute or two, then the bell peppers, mushroom. Spinach went in last along with our cooked meat. Heat through until all ingredients are blended and spinach has wilted. Serve hot!

The Caveman loves this dish, specifically because of the meat choice. The veggies you can always mix-up, based on what you have at home. You can also mix up the spices, maybe adding crushed red pepper or onion powder.. super easy, right? It's like a CF workout, you'll rarely be eating the same exact stir fry each time. ;)  Live well, be well!

PC Day 19: Daddy Cakes

My dad was always the main cook of the house, making my old favorites like spaghetti with meat sauce or concocting new dishes from whatever we had just lying around our refrigerator or freezer. I guess you could say I gained my food-experimenting tendencies from him.. and to that, my taste buds say thank you (at least most of the time). In honor of Father's Day today I thought I'd recreate a childhood favorite and a my-father original: a combination, almost omelet, almost frittata, pancake-sized, meaty creation I hereby dub Daddy 'Cakes'.

Recipe: (Makes 4-5 large 'cakes')
1 lb ground beef
8 eggs
1tsp salt
1/4 of a large onion, chopped
green onions, chopped (for garnish, optional)

Method:
Heat a large pan and 1 Tbsp olive oil (or any paleo-friendly cooking fat). When oil becomes hot, toss in your onions and stir till almost translucent. Add the meat into your pan with your onions and sprinkle with salt (pepper would be good here too but I ran out.. *tear). Cook all the meat until done, remove from pan and set aside. In the same pan heat up a tsp of oil or cooking fat. In a bowl, beat exactly 2 eggs and add in 1/4 (or 1/5 depending on how big your pan is) of the meat & onion mixture. Mix thoroughly into the beaten egg and place mixture in pan. Shake the pan horizontally, so that it spreads out flat and even. Cook for about 2-3 minutes on one side (until ready to flip). Flip, and cook for another minute or so. Repeat same steps for remaining mixture/ eggs.

It literally takes only 4 ingredients to make, but they're addicting, paleo-friendly and can serve as a side dish, grab-n-go breakfast or mid-day snack. Enjoy and Happy Father's Day!

PC Day 14: No Thai-m to Waste!

So sometimes cooking paleo can get a little tedious, not gonna lie. There are days when I get home late from work, haven't defrosted anything and am starving! But luckily there are a lot of quick recipes out there that can get dinner on the table in little to no time flat!

This last Tuesday was one of those days. With nothing defrosted before hand, I peered into my freezer hoping for a miracle.. YES! A pound of shell-on frozen shrimp. Now if you don't know, raw shrimp is one of those things that can defrost in about 10 minutes in a luke warm water bath. Also, buying it shell-on opens up soo many flavor possibilities! But I'll discuss that later.. Again I borrowed a little somethin' from the tried and true Everyday Paleo blog. I usually adapt recipes to what I have on hand because I prefer not to sweat the small stuff.

Recipe for Green Thai Curry Shrimp Soup:
1 lb shell on raw shrimp
1 4 oz jar of Thai Kitchen green curry paste
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
1 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced into strips
4-5 stalks of asparagus (cut into 1 inch pieces)
1/4 of an onion, diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3-4 baby bok choy, washed and leaves separated
large handful of spinach
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
lemon wedges (optional)

Method:
First peel and de-vein the shrimp, be sure to SAVE the heads of the shrimp. Take the heads and put them in a small pot along with 1.5 cups of water, 2 tsps salt, and sprinkles of pepper and garlic powder. Let shrimp-head broth come to a boil (shrimp heads will turn bright pink.. turn heat to medium low and set aside).

In the mean time, open your can of coconut milk, DO NOT SHAKE IT BEFORE HAND, scoop out the thick cream on top and into your large, hot pan. Watch out for the sizzle! (More tips/ info about this part on EP). Once the coconut oil has broken from the water, and has reduced, add in your onions and garlic and stir till fragrant. Then add in the entire jar of Thai green curry paste and stir to combine. After, add in the asparagus and bell pepper. Stir in the rest of your coconut milk and let simmer, uncovered for 2-3 minutes. Next add in the shrimp and season generously with salt and pepper. Shrimp cooks rather fast, so stir to combine.. about 4-5 minutes. Next add in 1- 1.5 cup(s) of shrimp-head broth (leave out the heads) then add in the baby bok choy. Don't forget to stir! Layer the spinach on top and cover. Bring to a simmer until greens have wilted. Serve with lemon wedges.

It may sound like a lot of work but it cooks up in no time, I promise! The shrimp-head broth was a great way to add in more shrimp-flavor as well as liquid to make it into a filling soup.This meal was sooo GOOD! I'll definitely be cooking it again soon! I love adapting recipes and making them my own, so feel free to take my recipe and add in or take out whatever you want!

Happy Eating, friends!

PC Day 13: The Holy Grail

So it's Day 13 of this Paleo Challenge and we're staying strong! Minus yesterday when we celebrated the Caveman's college graduation by going to Disneyland! (You don't even want to know what we gorged on! Eek!) Well at least we quickly got back on the horse today.. but before I post about our dinner tonight, I'm gonna post about my recent trip to the Holy Grail of grocery stores... the asian market!

So why exactly do I consider asian super markets the "Holy Grail"?:
1) Produce is at least 40% cheaper than typical grocery stores. I'm not even kidding. Fruits and vegetables, including the exotic and not-in-season are seriously inexpensive!
2) Many products are without additives or are minimally processed. IE. paleo-friendly coconut milk!
3) Sea food is plentiful! Which brings me to the golden nugget of this post...

Crab Soup - (Filipino Style)
Recipe:
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion
3-4 cloves garlic
6 small blue crabs
4-5 baby bok choy
2-3 cups chicken broth (liquid amounts dependent on how much broth you want)
2 cups water
2-3 bay leaves
3 green onions, cut into 2-inch long pieces

1 tbsp salt or 2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp fresh cracked pepper
pinch of paprika for heat

Method:
Clean your crabs under cool, running water VERY WELL! (I used a scrubbing brush to get into the crevices. Seafood carries all types of bacteria and nothing ruins a good meal like an upset stomach.) Saute onions and chopped garlic in olive oil till fragrant. Add in broth, water, paprika and bay leaves. This is where salt and peppering to your individual taste comes in (or use the fish sauce). Bring broth to a simmer or almost-boil then place the cleaned crabs in the pot. Cover and let simmer for 15 minutes until done. You'll know they're done when the shells turn bright orange-red! Lastly, add in green onions and place baby bok choy (leaves separated) over the top of the crabs. Cover pot and let simmer until greens have wilted. Serve immediately!

If I was at my parents house I would probably nom one crab with a whole mess of rice. (The soup is similar in taste to the filipino dish sinigang) But since I'm not at my mom's, and because of the PC challenge, I cooked and ate it more as a soup. But I managed to truly enjoy the crab meat of two crabs instead of one.. along with the simple, yet delicious broth. Yum!

Until next time feeding time.. Happy Eating!

PC Day 8: Slow Cookin' to Glory

Last night the Caveman suggested we use my crock pot over night so that we had brunch waiting for us in the morning. GENIUS. We had just bought some pork chops from the grocery store, so it was Slow Cooked Apple & Onion Pork Chops on the menu for the next day.

Recipe:
2 Bone-in pork chops
1/2 of an apple (doesn't matter what kind, quartered)
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 tsp thyme
1.5 tsp black pepper
salt to taste

Method:
Throw apple pieces into crock pot. Sear pork chops for one minute on each side in non-stick pan. Place pork chops in crock pot. Combine chicken broth, water and spices into same sauce pan used to brown chops. Throw in onions and bring to a simmer. Pour broth and onions into crock pot. Set on low for 8 hours. Voila!

The next morning for brunch, I served my chops with a side of caramelized brussel sprouts and two sunny-side up eggs. nomnomnom. The Caveman had his eggs scrambled.. *sigh...it's a shame he's never appreciated the goodness of runny, golden yolk perfection. Fried egg should seriously be considered as a condiment. Ketchup, Mustard, Relish, Mayo, and Fried Egg. It's only a matter of time...

Hasta Luego!

PC Day 7: Paleo for Dummies

If there ever was a "Paleo Diet for Dummies", this blog would be it. Nabbed myself a quick recipe for Chicken Fajitas for an easy-peasy dinner!

Recipe:
2 lbs chicken breast, cut in thin strips (I used chicken thighs)
2 bell peppers, sliced (red, green or yellow)
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp oregano, chili powder, cumin and coriander
4-6 chopped garlic cloves
Juice of 1 lemon
salt/ pepper to taste
4 tbsp cooking fat (coconut oil, tallow or ghee are excellent here)
Butter lettuce to serve (I used iceberg)
You choice of toppings: diced tomatoes, fermented pickles, sauerkraut, sliced avocados, salsa, guacamole, mayonnaise and/or salsa verde)

Method:
Mix all the spices into the chicken, along with the lemon juice. If you have time, marinade for an hour or more. If not, just throw it in a hot pan with some olive oil and brown till done! Set chicken aside. Next, hit the pan with a little water or chicken broth to deglaze the the flavor nuggets from the pan. Throw in the onions and peppers and sautee till desired crispness.

I served mine on iceberg lettuce with guacamole and chopped tomatoes. I also had bought extra, pre-seasoned beef fajita steak meat at the grocery store for variety.. and because the Caveman insisted on it. Both tasted wonderful and took almost no time to prepare!

Happy Eating!

PC Day 6: Playing Ketchup

For lunch we had Paleo burgers (nice& easy). Instead of boring you with the details of this Googable meal, the true shining light of this foodventure is the Paleo Ketchup that the Caveman made for our burgers. To be honest, I'm not a huge ketchup fan at all, but the Caveman was literally dying without his favorite condiment. Thus, he set out to find a Paleo Ketchup recipe.. turns out I enjoy Paleo ketchup a heck of a lot more than regular ketchup. Who'd a thunk it?

Here's the Recipe:
‎1 small can (12 oz) of plain, sugar-free tomato sauce
1 small can (6 oz) tomato paste
2 tsp vinegar (he used apple cider)
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
a pinch of ground cloves
1/4 tsp allspice

Later I bought a condiment bottle for it, to prevent it from looking like elementary school mystery meat sauce. *shudders*

I was in a rush to go to work that day so it was definitely Iron Chef time in my kitchen. While I was preparing the burgers I also prepped my ingredients for Crockpot Beef Stew. Borrowed this little gem from definedwellness. (Recipe and directions are in the link) I left out the tarragon and rutabaga because I didn't have any on hand. I also tweaked the recipe to fit my size crock pot.

Nothing's better than coming home after a long day to your house smelling like deliciousness. The beef stew turned out pretty darn good but I would suggest a few things for next time:
- Sear the meat in batches before placing it in your crock pot. (It helps seal in the juices and adds to flavor)
- I would probably add a tsp of salt to season the veggies and meat.
- Also, pepper.

The soup itself was very savory and the meat was perfectly tender. Gotta love slow cookers!