Organic Kale Salad with Cranberries and Almonds

Courtesy of Young and Raw

We brought this salad to a potluck at the Organic Pastures Dairy Farm.  The second annual Camping with the Cows was Memorial Day weekend.  We had so much fun!  On Saturday night they have a potluck and OPDC provides grass-fed beef chili, raw milk cheese, and raw milk.  So yummy!  Maybe we'll see you there next year.

Our salad was a huge hit.  Enjoy!

Salad:

1 bunch of raw kale (may be slightly steamed if you have trouble digesting raw)
1 large carrot, shredded
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup toasted, chopped raw almonds (or raw nut of choice)

Combine all ingredients and top with Apple Cider Vinaigrette

Dressing:

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon raw honey
pinch sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

Whisk together all dressing ingredients except olive oil and shallots.  Gradually pour in olive oil, whisking continually until combined.  Stir in shallots.

Paleo Beef Stew

My husband makes a variation of this dish A LOT - so much that our daughter finally said, "no more stew"! It is easy and delicious, though. The recipe below is adapted from The Paleo Mom.

Courtesy of The Paleo Mom

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs grass-fed beef chuck stew meat, cut into 1-2” chunks

2-3 Tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

2 medium yellow onions, peeled, halved and sliced into wedges

2 large carrots, roughly chopped into 1/2 inch chunks

8 stalks celery, roughly chopped into 1/2 inch chunks

2 medium sweet potatoes, roughly chopped into 1/2 inch chunks

2 large parsnips, roughly chopped into 1/2 inch chunks

8 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups homemade bone broth or organic, gluten-free beef broth

1 bay leaf

1 generous sprig of rosemary, chopped

1½ Tbsp chopped, fresh thyme

2-3 cups kale, stems removed, roughly chopped

Directions:

1. Heat 2 tbsp coconut oil over medium-high heat in a large dutch oven or slow cooker.

2. Add beef to the hot oil and stir frequently until browned. Remove from pot.

3. Add vegetables, garlic, and another tbsp of oil, if needed, depending on how fatty your beef is.

4. Stir frequently and cook until vegetables are starting to get soft, about 10 minutes.

5. Add the meat back to the pot. Add the broth, bay leaf, rosemary, and thyme.

6. Cover and cook low & slow for 4-6 hours.

7. Add kale the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Osso Buco

Since buying our cow I've been learning how to cook unfamiliar cuts of beef like meaty shank, chuck roll, chuck steak, stew meat, cross rib roast, and bottom round roast.  As I try out recipes I'll be posting the good ones here.

The chuck, brisket, round, and shank are the most exercised muscles and therefore, the toughest. Cuts from the chuck are the least tender and are best suited for moist heat cooking methods such as braising/pot-roasting, stewing, or steaming.  

Osso Buco
adapted from Paleo Nick's Osso Buco.

Ingredients:

2 - 3 lbs grass-fed, bone-in, meaty shank
1 cup mire poix, diced (1/2 cup onion, 1/4 cup carrot, 1/4 cup celery)
2 tablespoons fresh, minced garlic
1 cup diced organic tomatoes
4 cups homemade bone broth or organic, gluten-free beef broth
zest of one orange
sea salt, to taste
olive oil

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a dutch oven or slow-cooker, or cast iron skillet.
2. Season shanks with salt and sear them in oil.  Allow shanks to brown generously on all sides.
3. Remove shanks and reduce heat to medium.
4. Add mire poix to pan and deglaze, stirring regularly for 30 seconds.
5. Add tomatoes, broth, garlic, & zest and bring to a boil.
6. Add shanks to broth and vegetables.  Stir to cover meat.
7. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Slow-Cooker BBQ Beef

We bought a cow!  Well, we bought a 1/4 of a cow.  Our first adventure was with Da-Le Ranch.  It has been great and we love sharing our cow with friends.  Today we just received a 1/4 of a cow from Alderspring Ranch.  We decided to try Alderpring because of their podcast on Bulletproof Executive.  This time we have a few friends buying the cow with us.  What an adventure!

I've always been fearful when it comes to cooking beef.  It seems too easy to overcook and ruin a good cut of beef.  Since buying a cow I've had to learn how to cook it.  I'll be posting the successful recipes, so stay tuned.

Courtesy of Paleo Indulgences

Slow-Cooker BBQ Beef 

Adapted from Paleo Indulgences

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 3-5 lbs organic grass-fed beef chuck roast

• 1 15oz can tomato sauce

• 1 6oz can tomato paste

• 3 tbsp raw honey

• 2 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar

• 2 tsp sea salt

• ½ medium yellow onion, diced

• 3 garlic cloves, minced

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 tbsp Coconut Aminos, Bragg’s Aminos, or Tamari

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1/8 tsp cayenne

• Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1)      Place the roast in a large slow cooker

2)      Place all the sauce ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well to combine. 

3)      Pour the sauce over the roast. 

4)      Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or until meat falls apart easily.

5)      Shred beef in the pot using two forks. 

Serve over chopped salad or roasted spaghetti squash and top with chopped red onions or try with gluten-free rolls as a bbq sandwich.

Coconut Lemon Bombs

This turned out to be a good after school snack, dessert, and sweet lunch treat all in one.  Thanks for the inspiration Addicted to Veggies.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1 1/2 cups dried, shredded, unsweetened coconut

1/3 cup coconut flour

2 big pinches of salt

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp grade B maple syrup or 1/4 cup raw organic honey

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp vanilla 

1 Tbsp lemon zest 

1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil

Directions:

• Mix all of your dry ingredients together, set aside
• In a small mixing bowl combine the wet ingredients
• With a hand mixer or standing mixer on low, slowly stream the wet ingredients into the dry  

• Keep your mixer on low and slowly stream in melted coconut oil

• Form dough into ball bombs and place on a cookie sheet

• Warm bombs in the oven on the lowest heat setting (mine is 175˚) for 1 hour, leaving the door cracked open

• Allow bombs to cool, then chill in the fridge until set, about an hour

Your finished bomb will be dry on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth moist inside.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Chicken

We don't eat chicken* much anymore. For those times when I'm really craving chicken we only buy organic, pastured chickens.  Here's a recipe I adapted from Everyday Paleo.

1 5-6 lb free range organic chicken - giblets removed, rinsed, and patted dry with paper towels
1 white onion sliced

 Everyday Paleo

1 tsp sea salt
1 pinch cayenne
1 tsp pepper
1 T sage
3-4 cloves crushed garlic, depending on how much you like garlic

Cover the bottom of the slow cooker with the sliced onions.  Mix all spices in a small bowl and then rub the spice mixture all over the whole chicken.  If you don't have some of these spices on hand, be creative and use what is in your arsenal.  Place the spiced chicken on top of the onions in the slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours (depending on your slow cooker).  No need for any liquid, the chicken will cook in its own juices. 

After I pulled the chicken out of the slow cooker I added some broth to the onions and blended them together with my immersion blender.  It made a nice sauce to pour over the chicken.  I served my chicken with rice, the onion sauce, and garlic green beans - Yum!

Family rating: 2 thumbs up and keep the recipe!

 *Chicken is high in unhealthy polyunsaturated fats that oxidize easily during cooking and promote oxidative stress inside the body, making chicken low on the scale of protein choices.  Chicken and turkey should be eaten sparingly.

Pi Day Shepherd's Pie

Today is Pi Day and on Pi Day you should eat pie.  I'm reposting my Shepherd's Pie recipe so you CAN eat pie!

The bottom is organic, grass-fed ground beef and 

any organic veggies.

Use your choice of grass-fed beef - ground is easiest for me.

Cook the ground beef until there is no more pink then sauté the veggies with the cooked ground beef.

Transfer beef and veggies to a baking dish.  To the skillet add raw cream, oregano, and thyme.  Thicken the sauce with a little arrowroot powder and add sea salt to taste. 

 Combine the beef mixture and the sauce and top with mashed cauliflower or sweet potatoes .  Add 3-4 teaspoons of grass-fed butter on top and bake at 350º for about 20 minutes until heated through and top is golden.