Fennel and apple slaw with pork chops

For any MDA followers, the comment sections provide many opportunites to explore other people's primal blogs just like AMW².  I randomly clicked on one called "Primal Texas" because it sounded cool.  I spotted a recipe for fennel, which we haven't used yet.  So thanks to Primal Texas for the delicious recipe for fennel and apple slaw with pork chops.  There is definitely something great about apples and pork chops. And the recipe makes plenty of leftover slaw for lunches!

Primal pancakes and the hike

This is another variation of primal pancakes!! These are vanilla pancakes and we topped them with fried bananas and almonds and maple syrup.

After a delicious breakfast we loaded up our backpacks (Ang with a 20 pound pack and Adam with a 30 pound pack) and drove down to Clear Creek Metropark south of Lancaster. It was a beautiful day for a hike and the park did not disappoint. We hiked the loop starting in the Fern picnic area which included some huge elevation changes up to the ridge. With weighted packs it was no small feat. This is our 2nd weekend out with our packs and we definitely felt much stronger. Can't wait for the next trip!

Pineapple and Pork Fried Cauliflower Rice

We had a craving for a Chinese inspired dish this week and decided to mix things up and use pork this time.  I also love cooked pineapple so why not throw it in!  We modified a recipe in PB Quick and Easy for "Pork Fried Cauliflower Rice" for the ingredients we wanted.

I chopped up: mushrooms, red, yellow, and orange peppers from our lunch salad stash, cut up a fresh pineapple and added a can of diced water chestnuts.  Sauteed this mixture in a large skillet with coconut oil.

Next, I made up some cauliflower rice in the food processor and threw that in with the veggies once they were well on their way.  Right before I added the meat, I added 2 whisked eggs and stirred the mixture until the egg was cooked.

For the pork, I just sauteed the cut pieces of 2 chops in a skillet of bacon grease and Tamari (wheat free) soy sauce.  I added it all together and served it out! Delicious!!    

Lunch this week

Chicken salad!

A change up from the usual roasted chicken. We wanted something that was quick and easy since we are both pretty busy at work and need something that we can just grab from the fridge.

We made 2 kinds. First a normal chicken salad and then an avocado chicken salad.

We baked 3 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Once it was cooled we threw them in the KitchenAid with the flat beater attachment and put it on medium high until the chicken was shredded (yet another great thing the KitchenAid can do!).

We divided the chicken evenly into two bowls.

Regular Chicken Salad:

Shredded Chicken

Mayo (as much or as little as you like, we like ours with not too much mayo so I used about 3/4 of a cup)

Relish (again as much or as little as you like, we only used a spoonful)

Onion (again as much or as little as you like, we used about 1/4 cup)

Salt and Pepper

Avocado Chicken Salad:

Shredded Chicken

Mayo, 1-3 spoonfuls

1-2 avocados (we used 1)

Onion (again as much or as little as you like, we used about 1/4 cup)

The juice of half a lime

Salt and Pepper

YUM!

Beef Broth

While strolling through the aisles of Weiland's this morning, Angela spotted a bag of frozen beef bones in the freezer section.  Perfect day to make some beef broth!

No secret formula here...somewhere between 12-15 cups of water, 1 tsp salt and pepper, dash of thyme, beef bones, 3 large carrots, inner celery stocks, and 1 onion quartered...throw it in a pot and simmer for 2.5 hours.  Afterwards, let it cool, then place in the refrigerator overnight.  In the morning, I will scrape off the fat layer that forms, then pour the broth into ice cube trays.  1 tray has 16 cubes and it's 2 cups of broth exactly.  Makes it easy to portion out for recipes.

Dinner tonight was leftovers and I ended up chowing down the cooked carrots from the broth and nibbling on the cooked bone marrow.  Pretty good!

Un-stuffed cabbage

This was a random selection out of PB Quick and Easy Meals cookbook.  We both like stuffed cabbage, so why not give this a try?!  The great thing about this recipe is that the ingredients are easy to round up and it doesn't take long to make.  And there's plenty of leftovers for lunch!

1 small onion finely chopped

2 large turnips, peeled then grated (a head of grated cauliflower can be used instead. We'll have to try that next time)

1 pound ground meat (the recipe called for 1/2# pork and 1/2# bison or beef. We used 1# of pork)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 Tbl dried parsley

1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes (the recipe didn't say whether or not to drain this before adding, we didn't, and it was probably a mistake)

1 head green cabbage

In a deep pot over medium-high heat, saute onion and turnip for a few minutes, then cover with a lid and cook for 3 minutes to steam turnip.

Add ground meat and seasonings.  Saute for 6-8 minutes, then add tomatoes. Simmer rapidly for 10 min, stirring occasionally.

With the meat simmering, cut the cabbage into fourths, removing the inner core. Separate the leaves slightly, then microwave covered for 5 minutes (we did it longer until the leaves were more tender. on the 2nd round we put butter on the leaves).  Season with butter and salt.

This was really good and is definitely on the repeat list!!

Paleo Chicken Pot Pie

All I have to say is...THIS IS AMAZING! Cold winter nights have been calling for something warm to eat. I can't remember the last time we had chicken pot pie and didn't know it would be possible under the primal diet. But if it is one thing that I have realized since going primal, it's that most "normal" recipes can be adapted to primal ones.

I was a little skeptical of the gravy....soaking cashews and turning into a gravy sounded very weird. But it turned out great.

We don't have small ramekins so we just made it in a large casserole dish and baked it slightly longer. This is definitely a repeat.

Find the recipe here.