A Surprise Delight- Paleo Slow Cooker Sausage, Pepper & Onions

School is back in! (Enter: Hallelujah chorus)

And with that starting back up this week, I wanted to focus on easy,  simple, but delicious and healthy dinners. So, after scouring my cookbooks, Google and Pinterest, I made up a meal plan for a week's worth of dinners. 

All starring, the ever-amazing, crock pot (or slow cooker)!  

Let's face it. My life runs just a little bit smoother when I meal plan, and using the crock pot on top of that makes it a little more simple. Which I need with a husband and three children to look after! 

I made two lists. One list was the seven meals that I'd be making every day. Complete with the website or cookbook and page number that I found the recipe so I could go back and look up when it was time to put that meal together. 

The second list was my grocery list. 

And then I was ready to go! With list number two in hand, I bought all my groceries and headed back home to start meal number one. 

Last night was meal two and it was a new one for us. My husband is working nights right now (gotta love shift work) and I was unsure if my picky children were even going to eat it, but I was shocked and thrilled when they all loved it! My three year old ate up her plate and asked for more. My extremely picky five year old ate without complaint...or gagging. And my eleven year old gobbled up his plate with hardly a breath between bites. And I clearly will need to double the recipe next time I make it. It was gone in a flash!

This meal is a keeper and so I thought I'd share it with you guys as well! Its healthy, grain-free, and super yummy!

 Paleo Slow Cooker Sausage, Pepper & Onions

                                

Ingredients: 

• 1 12-16 ounce package of sausage (I used Italian Style sausage) 
• 1 red, green & yellow bell pepper 
• 1 small yellow onion 
• 15 oz can diced tomatoes 
• 4-6 garlic cloves minced 
• Italian Seasoning 
• salt and pepper  

Directions: Cook on LOW in slow cooker for 8 hours

This meal can easily be freezer for cooking at a later time as well. Just combine all the ingredients in a ziplock and freeze. When it comes time to cook, no thaw is needed. 

Also, while I didn't serve it with anything else, you could easily serve this over rice as well. 

Easy peasy.

Let me know if you decide to try it out! Hope you enjoy!

  

Braised Chicken in Artichoke-Mushroom Sauce

Against All Grain by Danielle Walker, page 132

I tried out a second paleo recipe tonight and it was a really big hit! I listened to my oldest son "mmm" repeatedly throughout the meal. We had one piece of chicken left over when it was all done. 

I posted a picture of my meal on Facebook and had requests for the recipe so here it is! 

It came out of the same cookbook (Against All Grain) that my last blog post for the Korean Beef Noodle Bowls recipe came from.  

Again, I had to substitute a couple of ingredients. Until I can make it to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, I have to make do with what I have available to me. In this case, I sent my husband to the store, so I had to make do with what he brought back to me. Ha! 

Braised Chicken in Artichoke-Mushroom Sauce

prep time: 45 minutes   cooking time: 60 minutes    yields: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

6 tbsp bacon fat, ghee, or unsalted butter, divided

2 lbs chicken leg quarters 

2 lbs chicken drumsticks

1 tea sea salt, plus more for finishing

1/4 tea cracked black pepper

1/2 tea paprika, plus more for finishing

1/2 lb sliced cremini mushrooms, stems removed 

3/4 cup chicken broth

1&1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tea honey

1 tbsp coconut flour

2 cups marinated artichoke hearts

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2.Place 4 tbsp bacon fat (I used butter) in a large Dutch oven or stockpot and heat over medium-high heat.

3.Rinse and dry all the chicken, then sprinkle with the salt, pepper, and paprika.

4.Add the chicken to the pot and cook for 8 minutes, turning every 2 minutes to brown evenly on all sides.

5.Remove chicken and set aside.

6.Add the remaining 2 tbsp of bacon fat (I used butter) to the pot, then add the mushrooms, and sauté for 5 minutes.

7.Stir in the broth, vinegar, honey, and coconut flour and simmer for 10 minutes.

8.Return the chicken to the pot, and then scatter the artichoke hearts around it.

9.Spoon a bit of the sauce over the top of the chicken and artichokes, cover, and place in oven to bake for 40 minutes.

10.Remove from the oven and finish with a pinch of salt and paprika. 

I hope you try it and enjoy!! I know we did! 

My dinner ready to eat! 

Korean Beef Noodle Bowls

Against All Grain by Danielle Walker, page 184

   Recently, I've started to educate myself a little of the Paleo diet. (Or, lifestyle, as I prefer to call it.)   Basically, the Paleo lifestyle is based on the notion of going back to a "caveman" mentality in regards to food, to achieve optimal health.  Cavemen ate whatever they could hunt or scrounge for. There was no processed food.  So with eating a paleo diet, we go back to eating real, whole, unprocessed food that are far more healthful rather than harmful to our bodies. 

I'm still learning. But while I am, I am starting to cook grain free, gluten free, paleo recipes. My first one was last night and was a huge success! So much so, that I wanted to share the recipe with you! 

First off, I found it in a new recipe book I recently bought. I came across her Facebook page thru my mom. Danielle Walker overcame an autoimmune disease by removing all grains, lactose, and legumes from her diet. You can read her story on her website. 

Against All Grain by Danielle Walker

Without further ado... here's the recipe! 

I did have to tweak a couple ingredients because I couldn't find coconut amines or shitake mushrooms. (I'll be making a trip to Whole Foods or Trader Joe's soon!) 

Korean Beef Noodle Bowls

prep time: 20 min + 6 hours marinating time

cooking time: 20 minutes  yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

MEAT:

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

2 tablespoons coconut aminos (I used liquid aminos)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 pound flank steak, sliced against the grain into thin strips

NOODLE BOWL:

4 large zucchini

1 teaspoon sea salt, divided

1 & 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced 

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 tablespoon coconut crystals or honey

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup coconut aminos (again, I used liquid aminos)

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup shitake mushrooms, stems removed and halved (I used white mushrooms) 

3 cups baby spinach

1 cup shredded carrots

sesame seeds

Directions:

1.Prepare the meat. Place all ingredients , except the meat, in a bowl to combine. Place the flank steak in a shallow dish, pour the marinade over it, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Or up to 24 hours.

2.Peel the zucchini and use a spiral slicer or julienne peeler to create long noodles, discarding the seeded portions. (I used a regular peeler because I'm not fancy! Haha!) Lay the noodles on a tray lined with paper towels, and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Set aside to "sweat" out the excess liquid.

3.Place 2 teaspoons of sesame oil in a deep sauté pan or wok and heat over medium-high heat. Pat the marinated beef dry with paper towels and add to the pan and cook for 5 minutes, until browned. Remove from the pan, drain the liquid, and set aside. 

4. Add the remaining sesame oil to the pan, and heat on medium-high. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 

5.Add the coconut crystals, vinegar, amines, red pepper flakes, and remaining salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, then add the mushrooms, spinach, and carrots and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the vegetables are soft. Toss in the zucchini noodles, and let them cook for 5 minutes, until soft. 

6.Serve garnished with sesame seeds

It was delicious and will be a meal we do again and again!! 

Hope you all enjoy!