Crockpot Paleo Poached Pears

I put 1 1/2 cups organic orange juice, 1 1/2 cups water, 1 package of Reduced Sugar Craisins, 1 TBSP cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp valencia orange peel (buy it with the spices) into my crockpot.  I turned it on low.

I washed, and quartered 5 pears. I cut the core part from each piece. I didn't peel the pears - a lot of the nutrients are found in the peel. I put them into the crockpot and let it cook on low for several hours.

When a fork would go into the pears easily, I turned it down to "keep warm."

When I was ready to serve them, I put them on a plate and put a big spoonful of the orange juice stuff on top. I added toasted pecan pieces and a few raspberries for garnish. I also sprinkled just a bit of the valencia orange peel on top, too.

These can be made if your pears are ripe or not so ripe, but very ripe pears will not take as long to cook.  Remember, you don't want your crockpot on high; you just want to simmer them.

They are so pretty!

Paleo Pumpkin Pie Pudding with Pecans

So, if you love pumpkin like I love pumpkin, this will be a favorite. It's easy!

I put 1/2 cup pecans on a small cookie sheet in a 325 degree oven for 15 minutes, just enough to get them smelling all toasty. While they were toasting I stirred up the paleo pudding. (the second time I made this, 2 days later, I toasted some big coconut, too)

I put the following things in a big bowl:
1 can coconut milk ( I used Native Forest Unsweetened Organic Coconut Milk from vitacost.com)
1 can pumpkin
1 TBSP cinnamon
1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup agave nectar (you may want a little more but it's plenty sweet for people used to paleo)
1/2 tsp sea salt

I stirred it up.
I turned off the oven, but left the pecans in there. I poured the pumpkin pie pudding evenly into 4 white coffee mugs and placed them into the refrigerator for 45 minutes. Then I took them out and topped each mug of pudding with some of the toasted pecans.

OH, WOW!

Crockpot Chicken Legs Paleo

         Are you feeling too busy to cook another paleo meal?
 Are you stressed from the price of quality food?
Are there not enough hours in the day to work your job, eat healthy foods to fuel your WODS, clean the house, keep up with the laundry, run errands, figure out Halloween costumes, and work on that other project you wish you had time for? ( and, oh, yeah, that home improvement project....and don't even whisper the "Christmas" word.....)

Me, too.

         These organic chicken legs were not too expensive. The crockpot is a good friend to me, but I'd never put chicken legs in there before today.  It turned out all right, though, excellent, even.

They ate every bite!

         I diced 2 organic yellow onions and threw them into the crockpot. (Yes, I threw them - I was in a hurry....)      
          I took the skin off 12 ( maybe it was 10) chicken legs and put them in next. I put sea salt and freshly ground pepper next.
         In a small bowl, I put half of a squeeze-container of Gourmet Gardens Lemongrass. That's about 2 oz, if you choose to use fresh lemongrass, but this stuff is really good and really easy!  I added 1 can of coconut milk, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp smoked paprika, and 1 TBSP whole seed mustard. I also threw in 1/2 tsp Salt Traders Cherry Smoked Sea Salt. I stirred this up and poured it on the chicken legs in the crockpot.
         I put it on low all day.

         I felt like I had accomplished something good when dinner was ready!

This photo was Ger at Barbells For Boobs at CrossFit Thunder. 2012. (He had on pink socks.) This was when he did Grace at 225 lbs! His time was 6:36. Wow.
It's really amazing how far he has come since then. His nutrition, coaching, and life - all on point!

Paleo Chicken Thighs with Fuyu Persimmons

 I give you "Paleo Chicken Thighs with Fuyu Persimmons." It's not a great photo, but it's a great dish. I'll make it again soon and try to get a better photo.

I melted 2 TBSP of virgin coconut oil in a large skillet. I added 3 lb of antibiotic-free, boneless chicken thighs, Salt Trader's Cherry Wood Smoked sea salt, and freshly ground black pepper. I browned them on both sides and then took them out of the skillet and set them aside.

Next, I chopped a large organic yellow onion and put it into the skillet, to soften for a couple of minutes. Then I added these things to the skillet:
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried ginger
1/2 tsp Chipotle Chili Pepper
5 peeled and diced Fuyu Persimmons
1 package fresh sliced organic mushrooms
1/2 cup organic orange juice

I gave it a stir and put the chicken back on the top of the mixture in the skillet. I put a lid on it and let it cook on medium low for 20 minutes, making sure that the chicken was completely done.

I can't even begin to tell you how good this is. It's worth peeling and slicing the persimmons! You need to make this one during persimmon season.

I took this shot of the persimmons so you will know what to look for in the store. These are the type of persimmon that are squat and round, kind of tomato-shaped. The ones on the plate are the ones that went into the dinner. The one that is off the plate, at the top of the photo, is hard and yellow and not ripe. It would be ok in the recipe, but not as good.

I want to make a paleo persimmon bread, tweaked from the recipe my mom made when I was a little girl. It was one of my favorite gooey things and she hardy ever made it - just when someone would give her persimmons off their tree.  
Update: OH, HEY, I blogged that. It's made with the American persimmons.....very different from these Fuyu persimmons. Here's the link to that recipe that's so special to me:          

   http://feedinggersasser.blogspot.com/2013/10/paleo-american-persimmon-cake.html. 

Dinah's Paleo Breakfast Bars

These are like my very own Paleo Power Bars. They are very easy to change up. I made them today to help out through the week with breakfast or snacks on-the-go. I hope they make eating healthy easier for you, too. (The ones in the first photo are Goji Rasberry Macadamia Nut, a very nice combination.)

First, I lined a 9 x 12 pan with aluminum foil and rubbed it with coconut oil.

Then, in a large bowl,  I stirred up:
1 cup old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup almond flour
2 scoops vanilla protein
1 TBSP cinnamon

Next, in a small bowl, I stirred up:
2 eggs
 1 cup pumpkin (applesauce works, too)
1/4 cup raw honey (or, if you prefer, agave nectar)
2 TBSP almond butter

I stirred the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients together.

THEN, I stirred in 2 1/2 cups of my choice ingredients. It should always be:
1 cup nuts and seeds
1 1/2 cups dried fruit
(Today I used 1 cup sunflower seeds, 1 cup chopped dates, and 1/2 cup Ocean Spray Reduced Sugar Craisins)
I spread the mixture into my prepared pan evenly with the back of a wooden spoon and cooked at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. I let them cool and then used the foil to lift them out of the pan. I cut them into bars.

Now, here's where it gets creative: that 2 1/2 cups of "choice ingredients" could be any combination of:

unsweetened coconut
freeze-dried rasberries
dried cherries
goji berries
pecans
walnuts
cocoa nibs
dark chocolate chips
macadamia nuts
brazil nut pieces

Buffalo Roast

Today was Barbells For Boobs. Ger went to Crossfit Thunder and did Grace at 225 lbs in 7 -ish minutes! I knew he would be hungry.....

I was looking forward to a nice buffalo roast all tender and awesome from the crockpot, and that's exactly what I got. If you haven't had bison, you should treat yourself!

I put the following items in the crockpot:

a Buffalo roast, just over 2 lbs.

2 cups of basic chicken stock

1 large package of carrots (I always peel my own organic carrots now)

4 yellow onions, chopped

1 tsp Salt Traders Cherry Wood Smoked Sea Salt (salttraders.com. I buy this in the 1-lb packages - that's much more economical than buying the little 3 oz jars)

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

It cooked all day on low, maybe 9 hours. I fished out the bay leaves and let them know that dinner was ready.  It was so tender and moist that both my sons, Ger and Isaac, said it was AWESOME. 

You should try it for yourself. It has great flavor.

Ger is adding more Smoked Sea Salt in the photo - I think he likes that stuff as much as I do now!

Paleo Haystacks

So, lots of paleo blogs have a recipe for No-Bake Cookies, like we used to eat, but now they don't have oatmeal, they have coconut, and they don't have sugar and they have agave nectar or honey. I found many that are so close to each other. Try them out.

 Or, try my version. You know how I like things dark and cocoa-y! They are quick!

I put in a medium saucepan on the stove:

 1/3 cup Tropical Traditions gold label coconut oil, (tropicaltraditions.com)
1/3 cup raw honey, (or local honey, or agave nectar)
 1 tsp cinnamon
 2 TBSP Ghirardelli all natural premium baking cocoa

 I turned it on medium heat until it boiled, then made sure to stir and boil it for another minute.
I took it off the heat and added:

 1/3 cup smooth almond butter
1 tsp real vanilla.

I stirred until it was mixed well.

I added:
 2 cups Unsweetened Organic Coconut Chips (nuts.com) Unsweetened shredded coconut would be fine, too, but I just love this chunky coconut from nuts.com! I stirred the coconut in.

I used a cookie scoop from Pampered Chef to quickly put the "haystacks" out onto wax paper that was  on a cookie sheet. Then I popped them into the refrigerator.

After dinner, they were ready!

Paleo Crockpot Apples, Dates, and Pecans

This is one of my new favorites. The dates sweeten up the tart apples, dried cherries, and pecans. The coconut oil and spices make it taste so rich. It's really good for you! Everyone loved it and it smells amazing!

I washed 8 medium Granny Smith apples and quartered them and cut out the core and seeds. I put the quartered apples into a big crockpot. If you have bigger or smaller Granny Smith apples, you may want to adjust. (or any other apple - red organics work just as well!)
Aren't they pretty?

I added: 1 cup dates, chopped (the already chopped dates have added sugar - ( oh, we don't need that)
              1 cup pecan pieces
              1 cup dried cherries ( the kind with no added sugar, or you can use cranberries sweetened with apple juice)
Now for the spices!

I sprinkled over the top:
        1 TBSP cinnamon
        1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
        1/2 tsp nutmeg
Next, I put 1/4 cup coconut oil and 1/4 cup raw honey in a little bowl and melted it and stirred it. I poured this onto the top of the apple mixture in the crockpot.
The LAST thing I did was pour in 1/2 cup water.
I put on the lid, put the crockpot on HIGH, and waited for 3 hours. It could go longer if you are busy or if you like your apples mushed down more. It could also go on LOW all day while you are at work.

I can't explain how good it is.
You just have to try it.

Now, if you really want to go crazy, put a little coconut milk vanilla bean ice cream on the top of it while it's still warm form the crockpot. WOW!
(I might throw in coconut next time....)
Enjoy! It's good for days in the fridge. If you are an oatmeal eater, it's great on top of that, too. 

Paleo Buffalo Chili

     
I cooked 2 lbs. ground buffalo meat in a skillet. (Mine came form Whole Foods, but they do have bison at Kroger, too.)  I put it into a stockpot, along with the following ingredients:

1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 TBSP ground Chipotle Chili Pepper
1 tsp dried Cumin
1 tsp dried Oregano
2 tsp Garlic Powder

1 small red onion, diced
1 cup chicken stock
1 15 oz can organic Butternut Squash ( or roast it yourself, OR use a can of pumpkin)
2 28 oz cans organic diced tomatoes

I stirred and put the lid on. It cooked on medium heat for a couple of hours and I  stirred once in a while. We put a little bit of KerryGold Pasture Cheese on top.


It's spicy and really delicious! If it's too hot for you, adjust it when you prepare it, OR put avocado on top, to cut the heat.