One problem I tend to have with a lot of meat recipes is the sauce… so often recipes call for bottled sauces loaded with sugar, or soup packets mixed with ketchup and coke (not even kidding), or various other gross-sounding concoctions.
So for this braised beef short rib recipe, I decided to just wing the whole thing and see how it turned out. Turns out, I make a pretty mean (husband-approved) sauce. Also, short ribs are literally fall-off-the-bone tender once they’ve been cooked “low and slow.”
Here’s what you’ll need, if you do it like I did:
• Beef short ribs – I had 3 “long” ones that made 9 short ones when I cut them up
• 1 onion, diced
• some minced garlic
• EVOO
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 3 cups of stock – your choice
• apple cider vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce
• salt and pepper of course
So here’s how it all went down.
1. Brown/sear the short ribs on all sides in a pan with a bit of oil. Salt and pepper all sides.
2. Meanwhile, in another pan, start cooking the onions and garlic in olive oil. Or if you want to wash one less pan and you’re patient, you can wait till your meat is seared, remove it, then do the onions and garlic in the same pan.
3. In a big measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the tomato paste into 2 cups of stock. Add a splash of apple cider vinegar and a splash or two of Worcestershire sauce.
4. When the onions are cooked enough for you, either dump them over the meat, or re-add the meat to the pan. Add the sauce too.
5. Cover, turn to low, and simmer about 2 hours or longer if you want. Check on it now and then, and you can turn the meat so that it all gets covered in sauce… and if the liquid is looking low, you can add more broth. I added about another cup which is why I said you’ll need 3 cups. This would probably work really well in a crock pot too. I don’t think anything could be harmed by letting it cook even longer – if anything, the meat might get more tender.
Serve and enjoy! We had ours with cucumber salad. Basically this without the tomatoes.
The meat was really tender and fall-apart-y. Our only complaint was that there wasn’t enough meat! Our short ribs had good quantities of fat on them, so once we were full of meat, there was only a tiny bit of leftover. Oh well.
Shepherds Pie (Rob Exline)
2 tablespoons butter
salt & pepper taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup frozen organic peas & carrots, thawed
3/4 cup frozen organic green beans, thawed
1 pound ground grass-fed beef or bison
1 tablespoon coconut flour or almond flour
3/4 cup beef stock or broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Break the cauliflower into chunky pieces and steam until just tender.
Put in the food processor with 2 tablespoons butter and process until smooth. Add salt & pepper to taste.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add onion and sauté several minutes until soft. Add beef and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring to break up the meat so it browns evenly. Add peas, carrots and green beans and cook another five minutes.
Stir in the coconut flour. Add broth and herbs and reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from skillet and put into a 9-inch pie pan. Spread the cauliflower over the top.
Bake 30-35 minutes.
Paleo Bake
Sauce:
1-2 small chipotle peppers, chopped (from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce), plus 1-2 tsp. adobo sauce
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. ground chili pepper
2 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
pinch sea salt (optional)
2 C organic chicken broth, low sodium
3 C (or 3 8oz. cans) organic tomato sauce, no added salt
Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low/simmer while you prepare everything else.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees!
Chicken:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 head cauliflower, shredded with food processor until rice-like consistency
Fresh cilantro, chopped
Boil chicken breasts in water for about 8-10 minutes. Remove from water, and with two forks shred chicken into pieces. Set aside. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute onion, until transparent, add garlic, bell pepper, and spices. Saute a little longer to combine flavors. Add shredded chicken to the skillet, and mix together. Now add sauce to the chicken skillet ... RESERVING 1/4 C sauce for the cauliflower rice. Mix well.
Put cauliflower rice in the bottom of a baking dish. Add 1/4 C of the sauce. Mix well. This is the bottom layer of your enchilada bake. Now add the remaining chicken/sauce mixture over the cauliflower. Cover with tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove foil, and bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. Serve with avocado slices, too!
Fat Guacamole Devils
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 1 avocado
- 2 teaspoons hot sauce
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- salt & pepper to taste
- 8 thin slices smoked beef
Peel and half the eggs and spoon their yolks into a bowl. Mass the yolks with the avocado, hot sauce, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Refill egg whites with the yolk mixture. Drape smoked beef slices on top, and serve!
You'll notice the recipe is just slightly modified from the original on MDA. A little less avocado, a little more smoked beef. They were very tasty, Tamara Baysinger, who came up with this recipe for MDA's challenge really had a great idea. The avocado replaces the original mayonaise very well. Plus my bf noted they are actually easier to make than plain old deviled eggs.
I did think he was smart not to use as much avocado as Tamara called for, because they were already very very rich. The smoked beef was nice as a topping, but anything salty would probably do. The yolk mixture doesn't have much taste of it's own, so I wouldn't go without a topping.
Chez Lorraine's Baked Salmon
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon dill weed
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
Lime wedges
Place individual salmon steaks on pieces of aluminum foil large enough to wrap each steak. Pour a tablespoon of lemon juice over each steak, sprinkle with dill and seal each steak in an aluminum pouch. Put the aluminum sealed steaks in a Pyrex dish and bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve salmon with sprinkled chives and lime wedges.
N'Orleans Broiled Catfish Fillets (this is even wonderful with Tuna or Salmon)
4 catfish fillets
½ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon oregano
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ cup lemon juice
Mix spices together in a shallow dish. Put lemon juice in a bowl. Dip fillets in the lemon juice and then coat lightly with seasoning mixture. Preheat broiler. Spray rack of unheated pan with nonstick spray. Put fish on rack and broil 4 inches from heat until fish flakes easily with fork (4 to 6 minutes). Turn once while broiling.
Barbecued Juneau Shrimp
¼ cup virgin olive oil
3 garlic gloves minced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne paprika
Dash of cayenne pepper to taste
Shelled shrimp with tail left on (2 ½ pounds)
Lime wedges and parsley
Mix olive oil, spices and lemon juice in a bowl. Fire up grill. Brush shrimp with mixture, place on hot grill, turn (1-2 minutes per side) at once and remove. Garnish with lime wedges and parsley.
Primal Jambalaya
There’s nothing easier than throwing a bunch of fresh ingredients into a pot and calling it dinner! We love this cooking method which is why we put together this Primal twist on a classic Louisiana Creole dish. It includes three kinds of meat and a bunch of veggies that are all brought together in a savory tomato sauce. And of course it wouldn’t be Primal if we included the traditional rice, so we used pulverized cauliflower as a rice substitution. Give this dish a try and let us know what you think in the comment board!
Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
1 lb andouille sausage, cut into ¼ inch thick slices
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced crushed
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1.5 cups chicken stock
1/2 tsp dried leaf thyme
1 tbsp parsley (fresh is preferable, but dried will do in a pinch!)
1 tsp chili powder
1 large head of cauliflower
2 cups shelled, deveined and cleaned shrimp
Salt and pepper to taste
Method:
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and lightly cook the sausage and chicken over medium heat. Once golden, add onion, bell pepper and garlic and sauté until onion becomes translucent. Transfer items from the frying pan into a large pot. Add diced tomatoes, chicken broth, thyme, parsley and chili powder and bring to a simmer. While the mixture is simmering (you’ll want to let it go for about 20 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally), place the cauliflower in a food processor and shred until it becomes the consistency of rice. Add the cauliflower “rice” to the mixture and simmer for another 15 minutes until tender. Add shrimp and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste and adjust other spices as needed. Serve piping hot. Serves 6.
Shrimp Stuffed Avocados (Tricia's fav!)
3 medium sized avocados
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 ½ pound small or medium sized shrimp, cooked, shelled, deveined and chilled
Cut avocados in half; remove seed and skin. Stuff with shrimp; add lemon juice.
Luscious Lime Shrimp
3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 green onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon minced, seeded jalapeno peppers
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon minced garlic
20 large shrimp (about 1 pound) peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon minced red peppers
20 cucumber slices
Stir together lime juice, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno peppers, oil and garlic in medium bowl. Toss the shrimp with two tablespoons of the dressing in another medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate shrimp for 30 minutes. Preheat broiler or grill. Broil shrimp about 3 inches from heat for 1 ½ minutes per side or until opaque. Immediately toss hot shrimp with the remaining dressing and red pepper and cool to room temperature. Arrange shrimp on cucumber slices.
Crockpot Buffalo Chicken
Boneless Chicken Breast (can use frozen or thawed) Cut into large chunks. Your favorite Buffalo Sauce. Place raw chicken into crock pot
Drizzle couple tablespoons of buffalo sauce and toss chicken (just enough to make the chicken slippery)
Cook on HI in Crockpot for approx 2-3 hrs (if using frozen chicken 4-5 hrs). Scoop out - into a separate container most of the water juices that fill the crock pot after cooking. You'll use this later. (Leaving all that water in there will leave you feeling like you could "wring" out the chicken). Use two forks to split up/shred the chicken. Once the chicken is shredded pour in the buffalo sauce and toss. You can add back some of the water juices a little at a time to keep the chicken moist.
Continue cooking on low for about another hour, then move to simmering. Great cold or reheated! Use as little or as much chicken as you want, I usually use a family pack of boneless chicken breasts and then there are leftovers! Unless of course, it's for a Crossfit party!
Pizza Crust- a paleo classic
2 cups almond meal
2 eggs
1 tsp olive oil
½ tsp salt.
Mix all ingredients together to form the dough and roll out on a non-stick pan as thin as possible. Bake crust at 350 for about 15 mins or until slightly browned. Once baked cover with tomato sauce of your choice and any from a million of pizza toppings. You can use goat cheese or real mozzarella, sticking to the 80/20 rule.
Trout Simmered in White Wine Sauce
2 trout
2 tablespoons of olive or canola oil
1/3 cup minced shallots or onions
2/3 cup minced carrots
2/3 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
3 tablespoons fresh parsley
Sauté the shallots, carrots, and mushrooms in oil until the shallots are soft. Add wine and seasonings. Simmer for several minutes. Add trout and cook about 6 minutes per side.
Paleo Sides
Mashed Cauliflower - The paleo version of mashed potatoes! www.thelabelsayspaleo.com
Here is what I started with:
1. Chop raw cauliflower and steam until very tender.
2. Put the cauliflower in a food processer with just a bit of coconut milk and blend until smooth.
3. Add pepper to taste.
I tasted this, and it was good. It did not, however, taste just like mashed potatoes. The texture was similar, but it tasted still like cauliflower. If I was cooking for myself, this would have been fine. But I was cooking for Team Paleo Thanksgiving, so I wanted to make it a little more special. So, I roasted some garlic, chopped up some green onion, and added a little flax-oil mayonnaise to thicken it up just a bit. Still didn’t taste like potatoes, but I think it was pretty delicious!
Cranberry Sauce
Disclaimer: Paleo experiments generally don’t involve measuring on my part. I’m doing my best here to be as specific as possible, but I make a lot of decisions as I go. For this recipe, I started with the recipe on the back of the bag of cranberries, which involved boiling 1 cup of water + 1 cup (!!) of sugar, then adding the cranberries.
Ingredients:
• 1 bag (12 oz) fresh cranberries
• 1 orange
• 4-5 dates
• 1/2 c applesauce
Recipe:
1. Puree dates and applesauce. Add enough water to make about 1.5 cups.
2. Add zest and juice from the orange. (Sorry, no measurements here. Just however much zest and juice you can get from 1 orange)
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Add cranberries, bring to a boil again. Stir a few times.
5. Let cranberries boil for about 8-10 minutes. When they start to break open, they are done.
6. Serve chilled.
Brussel Sprouts (Eric's fav)
1 bag brussel sprouts
3 T olive oil
Dash of salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Cut the ends off, slice the brussel sprouts in half or fourths if they are large, place them in a pyrex dish with the inside facing up. Sprinkle a little olive oil with salt and pepper over them. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.
Condiments
Paleo Mayo
• 1 pastured egg (works best if egg is allowed to come to room temperature)
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice (fresh squeezed works best)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup walnut oil (or another nut oil, or grapeseed- otherwise the EVOO flavor is very strong!)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Combine egg, mustard powder, and lemon juice in a food processor until it reaches a thick, creamy consistency.
• Slowly blend oil into egg mixture.
• Add salt and pepper as desired.
• Store in a glass jar (perfect way to reuse a jar!) in the fridge. Mayo will thicken over the next few hours.
Variations
• Lemon-Dill: Add lemon zest and a generous amount of fresh dill. This is FANTASTIC with salmon.
• Chipotle: Use chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Add to desired level of spice. Great for dipping baked sweet potato fries.
• Roasted Garlic: Add 1-2 cloves of roasted garlic and freshly ground black pepper.
• Herb: Experiment with your favorite fresh herbs! This is an easy change that will make a world of flavor difference. Two of my favorites are fresh basil leaves and fresh cilantro (NOT together!)
