Because I Have So Much Time On My Hands... Chicken Pot Pie/Chicken With Dumplings

I'd say I'm back, but with the arrival of boy #2 (oh yeah, I had another baby... surprise!), I doubt if I will keep up with the blogging.  What I AM doing is really trying to share all the half written recipes I've saved here, since I need them on the blog and easy to access instead of this half written draft limbo.  So, you're welcome I guess?

Anyways, this is DELICIOUS and fairly easy, although some time is required to prep things.  I have been doing the chopping and laying out of ingredients in the morning, first round of cooking during naptime, and finishing it off before heading out to get my older son in the afternoon.  Read here: I am doing the crock pot version of this since I don't have 1 hour to devote to standing in front of the oven without someone crying or pulling at my pants.

However, in simpler times the oven version was my favorite (with a Pillsbury crust of course), so whichever you choose you cannot go wrong.

Chicken Pot Pie/Chicken With Dumplings (Crock pot or Oven)

Filling

• 2-3 cups shredded or chopped roasted chicken (depends how much you want in filling, read at very bottom for how to cook in crockpot)
• 1 cup chicken stock, with 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed in
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (or all coconut milk if no stock present)
• 3 stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
• 6 small carrots, cleaned and diced (1 cup)
• 1/2 medium onion, peeled and chopped (1/2 cup)
• 4 ounces mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
• 1/2 bag frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• sea salt and ground pepper to taste

GF Crust (or use store bought)

• 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
• 2 Tbsp chilled grass-fed butter
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cook or shred or chop the chicken.  If you are doing the crock pot version of this meal, place your chicken breasts in the crock pot just covered with water.  Add salt, pepper, and a little thyme.  Cook on low for 3 hours, then set liquid aside (can use as your stock) and chop/shred breasts.  OR just buy a rotisserie and save yourself the hassle (this requires advance planning, which I am incapable of).

Once chicken is chopped, or while chicken is in crock pot... Warm oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add celery, carrots, onion, mushrooms, and thyme and saute for 5-10 minutes or until tender. (For spaced out version, this is the end of part one. Your kid is probably up from their nap. Turn off the stove and set pan aside with ingredients still in it.)

(For spaced out version, this happens after you've cooked and chopped your chicken) Add remaining spices, chicken, peas, coconut milk, and chicken stock (make sure you added the cornstarch to it) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer to allow mixture to thicken.

When thickened to desired consistency, pour into casserole dish and cover with the GF** or regular crust.  Place crust of your choosing over top of chicken mixture and bake at 375 until crust is crispy, and filling is bubbling.

**If making GF crust... add flour, butter, egg, and salt in bowl of a food processor, pulse until a soft dough forms. Transfer to a sheet of parchment and use your hands for form a ball.  Top with another sheet of parchment, press down, and use a rolling pin to form dough to a 1/4-inch thick layer.

OR if you don't have time for that crust/cooking in the oven and using a timer sh*t...

Place your mixture in a crockpot on low for 1-2 hours... serve over biscuits of the coconut flour cheddar or almond meal variety (this one only take 90 seconds)!

The End.  Enjoy!

Oh. You wanted a picture?  Here's my kitchen after the first stage. Maybe I'll post more if my toddler lets me later tonight.

Freezer Meals Part Two: Pre-cooked Originals

It's me again! Last time I shared some new easy to prep meals that I was then freezing in preparation for the arrival of our first child. Well, that was just part one. Today it's all about recipes I have already shared, but that I put a little twist on to make freezer-friendly. This time, they are pre-cooked, cooled, and then frozen in serving trays (see below) for easy re-heating. Not many pictures this time, but you can see the original blogs posts for the visuals...

Freezer Beef Chili - similar to this, minus the beer

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pepper, chopped
• 1 can Trader Joe's fire roasted green chiles
• 1 can diced tomatoes (drained)
• 1/2 can tomato sauce
• ½ lb of frozen corn
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper to taste

Heat pan on medium with a little olive oil, add pepper and onion, cook for a few minutes.  Add the meat, cooking for about 5 minutes until light pink.  Drain the fat, place back on stove, add all remaining ingredients.  Cook until slight pink remains.  Allow to cool.  If watery, drain a little liquid before portioning into ziploc bags or re-heatable container.

When ready to cook, place in crock pot on low for 3-4 hours.

Spaghetti Squash Bake - similar to this

• 1 medium spaghetti squash (about 2 cups when shredded)
• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• veggies of choice, chopped (mushrooms, zucchini, pepper, etc.)
• 1 can tomato sauce (14.5 oz)
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup mozzerella

Cut spaghetti squash in half and cook in oven at 350 until fork goes in easily... like in this blog post about shrimp scampi!  Set aside and let cool, then shred with a fork.

While squash is cooking, combine beef and onions in pan and cook until meat is light pink.  Drain grease and remaining ingredients EXCEPT cheese, stirring for about 5 minutes.  You don’t want the meat or veggies completely cooked.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Once cool, mix in cheddar and parmesan cheese.  Portion into re-heatable containers (glass or aluminum) and add mozzarella to the top of each.

When ready to cook, bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes, until bubbling.

Non-freezing option:

Follow above directions.  Instead of portioning into freezer containers, put in casserole dish and top with mozzarella.  Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes, until bubbling.



The last item on the menu is my travel-able protein cookies that we love to take hiking. This one was not modified, just allow to fully cool and place in a ziploc bag and freeze!

Here's the meals (not scones or cookies) in the freezer ready to be eaten. Oh, and as always... enjoy :)

Still Comfort Food Season... Easy Italian Chicken Bake!

I thought I might like March this year, but so far I am still unimpressed.  In fact, instead of prepping for spring, I am finding myself yearning for deep winter comfort foods.  Enter my latest creation.  It's warm, cheesey, healthy, and full of tender chicken protein.  Not only that, but this was a pretty painless meal to prep for, with minimal clean up (another big plus in my book).

Well, since it's March I don't have much else to say, but I don't mind sharing... so here it is!

Easy Italian Chicken Bake

• 2 lbs chicken breast or thigh
• 1 head broccoli, cut into small chunks
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzerella
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan
• 1 tbsp butter (if adding pasta or rice)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

Season chicken breast with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste, and drizzle with olive oil.  Broil on high for about 5 minutes each side, until pink is not clearly visible on surface.  Remove from heat and let cool as you prepare the rest of the items.  

Add veggies to greased casserole dish with the garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt aand pepper, and olive oil.  Toss a few times.  You can saute the veggies a bit to soften and add flavor, but if you are super lazy and want the meal easier then don't.

Dice the broiled chicken and add it along with the juices to the casserole dish.  Don't panic, there should be a hint of pink still.  Again, if you would rather pan fry this instead you can, just adds to the level of effort.  Next mix the diced chicken, tomatoes, tomato paste, and cheeses into the dish with the veggies.  Dot with the butter on top and sprinkle more cheese as you see fit.

Bake at 375 for 25 - 35 minutes.  Serve over rice, add garlic, more cheese, more sauce, more veggies, more meat, or even PASTA... the possibilities are endless.

And of course, enjoy!

*this has been an R&E original

Quick and Easy Comfort: Chicken Parm Spaghetti Bake

Well, it's officially cold.  In honor of winter coming early, I thought you might want something to warm you up!  And so I bring you PRIMAL chicken parmesan spaghetti bake!  Could you do this with regular spaghetti?  Probably.  Do you need to?  No way!  Eric and I both had two servings of this deliciousness, and the pasta was not missed :)

Also, this is a fairly quick and easy recipe since the majority of the cooking is done in the crock pot.  I did the prep on Sunday afternoon, the crock pot was on during work on Monday, and all I had to do was mix and pop it in the oven when I got home.  If that doesn't sell you on this, what will?!

So, here it is... enjoy!

Chicken Parm Spaghetti Bake

• 1 medium spaghetti squash (about 2 cups when shredded)
• 1 lb chicken breast
• 2 lbs chicken thighs
• 1 can tomato sauce (14.5 oz)
• 1 can diced tomato (14.5 oz)
• 1 can tomato paste (6 oz)
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup mozzerella

 

Cut spaghetti squash in half and cook in oven at 350 until fork goes in easily... like in this blog post about shrimp scampi!  Set aside and let cool, then shred with a fork.  If not using until the next day put in Tupperware in the fridge.

In crock pot the morning of the meal, combine chicken, tomato items, balsamic vinegar, and the seasonings.  Do not add cheese, this is for later.  Cook on low for 8 hours.

When home, transfer crockpot chicken into large casserole dish, separating chicken into smaller pieces with wooden spoon.  If you are ambitious, you can saute some veggies to add in at this time.  If not, add the spaghetti squash, the cheddar and Parmesan cheese, and any other seasonings you might need to taste.  Combine them all and top with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30 - 45 minutes until bubbling.  Then take out, and eat eat eat!

 

**this has been an R&E original

Comfort Food Season: Stuffed Acorn Squash with Balsamic Baked Pork

Well, the cold season is upon us.  Between the earlier sunset and chilly breezes whipping around the city lately, I've been cooking all the comfort food I can.  Of course, as usual I have a bunch of recipes to share and just not enough time to type them all up, but since I just made this one tonight and it was fresh on my mind I decided to share.

It took me about an hour total to make the entire meal, which included prep and cooking time... not too bad for something as warm and delicious as this!  It is fairly similar to a stuffed squash recipe I shared last year, but with a few alterations that actually results in an easier recipe and more delicious result.  This recipe, like the one last fall, is made with ground pork.  Yes, I am obsessed with it.  For some reason it seems to be my favorite comfort food meat.  Not sure why.  But you could easily substitute another ground meat for the pork.  Go ahead, get creative!

Well, here it is... I must say, I ate mine very quickly :)

Stuffed Acorn Squash with Balsamic Baked Pork

• 2 lbs ground pork
• 2 acorn squash
• 1 leek, diced
• 2 cups braising greens mixed with 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 clove minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/8 cup beef broth
• 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup mozzerella cheese
• 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese

Halve and de-seed the squash, put in oven at 450 for about 10 minutes.  Cook until slightly soft, then set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile add leeks and garlic to a pan, cook for 2 minutes, then add greens, pork and spices.  When pork is only slightly pink turn off heat and add remaining ingredients.  Mix well and put aside.

Scoop out a little of the squash filling and save for another purpose (smoothies, hash browns, etc.)

Add pork filling plus 1-2 tbsp of juices from the pan drizzled over the meat.  Top with grated cheddar cheese and put 1 cm of water on the bottom of the baking dish.

Bake at 350 until cheese golden brown. Eat with a side of applesauce and enjoy!

The Mayans Were Wrong: 2013 and Ground Pork

Let me first say welcome to 2013!  We didn't die in a fiery inferno, tsunami, polar shift, or (my personal theory) zombie apocalypse.  That means I have no excuse for my lack of a December post, but I am still going to blame the Mayans.  It's their fault.  Sorry.

The new year marks R & E's official two year anniversary of living primal.  It's weird to see that number up there, because it seems so much longer than that, and in a good way.  Our bodies feel great, and even though we are getting close to the *gulp* triple decade mark, we are able to run/hike/climb/adventure faster, longer, and more enjoyably than ever before.  Of course we have our slips from time to time (holiday cookies), but overall it is no longer a chore to live the primal lifestyle; it's just want feels right.

I also cannot believe how far the primal (or paleo) community has come in just those two short years.  When we started, we relied heavily on Mark for most of our exercises, recipes, and advice.  Now there are hundreds of websites out there, and some of my own family members have started to join our ranks as well!  Needless to say, life is good, and the recipes are still being created, even if I have been a huge slacker getting them up.

In fact, I currently have about 20 recipes I want to post, it's just the control freak in me that won't let me simply throw them up.  I want them to be perfect for you, so many are still in the final tweak stage.  But, in light of new resolutions and habits, if you ever want more than what's posted here, feel free to ask!  I don't mind sharing :)

Now, to the point.  Ground pork.  It's delicious, and versatile.  I don't know why I spent the last 27 years of my life not even knowing it existed.  Ground pork is basically the same as ground beef (duh) but, for lack of a better work, is lighter.  Seriously, it is.  It almost melts in your mouth, which makes it ideal for things like chili.  I recommend you cook with ground pork yourself to see what your favorite way of eating it is, but here are two of my favorites.

First up is a great comfort food.  It takes some patience, but honestly isn't too time consuming once you get the hang of it.  Plus, nothing smells better than this baking in the oven.

Butternut Squash Stuffed with Apple Pork

• 1 large butternut squash (about 2 lbs)
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 lb ground pork (or beef)
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 ribs celery, diced 
• 1 McIntosh apple, peeled and diced
• 1 stalk leek, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup + of shredded cheddar cheese
•  salt and pepper to taste

Cut squash in half the "hot dog" or long way and scrape out the seeds.  Place face down in a pyrex dish with 1/2 inch of water and cook for about 40 minutes on 425.

While squash is in oven, cook the bacon in a pan until crispy, set aside.  Leave the bacon fat in the pan and add all remaining ingredients except apples and balsamic to the pan and cook over medium heat.  Continue stirring until almost no pink left.  Add apples and balsamic and stir one more minute, then remove from heat.

 

 

 Remove the squash from the oven, when you can handle it scrape out some of the flesh, leaving about 1/4 inch of squash.  Add scraped flesh to bowl with meat.  Crumble your bacon and add that to the bowl too.

  Mix well and then stuff your squash halves with the mixture, topping with shredded cheese.  Place back in oven, this time at 350.

Cook for about 20 minutes, until cheese is light brown.  Let cool for at least 5 minutes before digging in!

  **modified from http://fastpaleo.com

The next is a modification of an earlier chili post.  To be honest, I wasn't even going to share it I think it's the "same recipe"... but my mother has assured me that it isn't, and so here it is.  There are no pictures because this was a last minute addition.  You can thank Denise for it being here at all! :)

Pork (or not) Chili

(crock pot needed)

• 2 lbs ground pork
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pepper, chopped
• 2 cups chopped kale
• 1 can (4 oz ) Trader Joe's fire roasted green chiles
• 1 can (14.5 oz) Trader Joe's fire roasted diced tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 tbsp flour or arrowroot powder (mix with cooked pork)
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper to taste

Heat pan on medium with a little olive oil, add the meat, cooking for about 5 minutes until most of the pink is gone.  Do not drain the fat.  Add arrowroot powder, all seasonings plus the can of green chiles.  Cook until almost no pink remains.

In crock pot mix remaining ingredients and add meat from pan.  Combine all and cook 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 on low.

And of course, enjoy! 

**this has been an R&E original**

Better Than Chowder

Welcome!

This is my first blog, so let me give you some background.  My boyfriend Eric and I are currently attempting to adopt the Primal Blueprint lifestyle.  This "lifestyle" is designed around what our ancient, primal ancestors ate (read here no sugar or carbs) and did every day for exercise.  They were hunters/gatherers so this means lots of meats and veggies, running short distances, and lifting heavy things.  I of course am a big fan of this from a scientific standpoint because although many things have changed over those millions of years (body hair, brain mass, etc.) one thing did not change much... our body's blueprint!
 

Now, I have been on similar diets before (Atkins, gluten-free, Canadensis) and this one fits right in with the same rules, most of which I do not have an issue with, except for this one small thing.  No sugar and no grains (or at least most grains).  This is what results in my most creative moments and also my greatest melt downs.  However, for the purpose of this post let's just say it lead me to one of the best meals I have ever made... I call my creation "Better Than Chowder" and this is how it came to be.

Ever have one of those days, weeks, or months where you just can't shake that "comfort food" craving?  If you haven't, then stop reading now and never come back.  If you have... you are in luck!  I stumbled upon this recipe when I was sulking one day and wishing I wasn't the type of person who cared what I ate, because all I wanted was a big fat bread bowl full of steaming chowder.  In my self-loathing state I went to the only website that has yet to fail me when it comes to talking me down from the "food ledge".  Lo and behold, I found the below recipe, which (being the person I am) I immediately revised to my stomach's grumbling liking.  The result was honestly the most fantastic soup/chowder I have ever had... be warned, part of the primal blueprint diet is a comfort and acceptance that bacon is okay to eat daily.  If you do not believe this then you might have some issues with this recipe.

Better Than Chowder Recipe

• 4-8 slices bacon
• One large leek OR one bunch of watercress (wash and separate the leaves and stems then chop the stems up fine)
• 1 red onion, finely chopped (or white onion)
• Large turnip, peeled and cubed
• Baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• Inner stalks/leaves of celery (to add flavor to the broth)
• pepper to taste

Directions:

Start by frying the bacon in a large, deep frying pan. Then remove the bacon, chop it up and set it aside; use the bacon grease to sauté the onion and garlic until browned. Add turnip and saute another 2 minutes. Then add the watercress stems (if using leeks do not add now), mushrooms, crumbled bacon, stock and celery leaves. Combine well and add SLOWLY cream and coconut milk. Simmer for at least 30 minutes with a lid on then add the watercress leaves (or the leeks) and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Pluck out the celery stalks/leaves. Add pepper if needed, but the watercress and bacon should already provide adequate seasoning.

I know it seems like a weird combination but it is DELICIOUS, I am eating it now, and it's easy to make!

Be sure to check out the Primal Blueprint lifestyle and the original recipe I modified at the website http://www.marksdailyapple.com/