TWO, That's Right, TWO Ingredient Crock Pot Pulled Pork!

Busy days coming up.... dress rehersals, ballet recitals, teaching VBS. And you know what busy times call for......the crockpot!! Us mommies have to put dinner on the table even when our schedule is full and there seems to be no time for cooking.

Well I bought a pork shoulder last week thinking I would make my friend George's crock pot pulled pork for my dad because I LOVE it. Well we ended up taking my dad out to eat most of the time so I still had this beautiful pork shoulder in the fridge. Even though George's recipe is super simple, It was late and I needed to get that thing cooking. So instead of going and gathering all the spices to rub on the pork, I literally just threw the 2 and a half pound shoulder in the crock pot. It has enough fat that no water or anything else is needed. That cooked for 10 hours on low while I was snoozing. This morning the house smelled great!!! The shoulder was falling apart.

I pulled the shoulder out of the crock pot, poured off the fat and returned the roast to the pot. I shredded it with 2 forks and added 1 cup of magic!

Those of you with Whole Food stores around you need to go ahead and make a trip if only for one thing. This one thing will make our busy paleo lives that much simpler. It is Tessemae's dressings!! There are a few that contain soy so make sure you read your labels, but most are 100% paleo... and DELICIOUS! I mentioned the southwest ranch flavor that I had with breakfast yesterday morning on FB. I also take that with me when I go out to eat to avoid the funky oils served in restaurants. Well, they also have a bbq sauce called Matty's BBQ. It is phenomenal! I'm from NC and it totally made my pork remind me of the vinegar-y tasting pulled pig from my home state. It was juicy, vinegar-y and sweet tasting. I also got a thumbs up and "delicious" from my non-paleo hubs and both the kids!! SCORE one for mom!!

So to recap...
throw a pork shoulder in a crock pot and cook on low for 10 hours
pull out pork, pour off fat and return roast to pot
shred with fork
add tessemae's matty's bbq sauce and cook for another hour on high
devour

If you don't have a whole food or a place that carries tessamae's you can order here online. You can also find locations close to you that sell it on their website also.

P.S. I get NOTHING for recommending this product, I just love it and it makes life a little bit simpler! :) And who doesn't need that!?!

Now check out these wonderful ingredients....

And now....check out that gorgeous, tasty pulled pork!!!!! 

What A Weekend!

Wow! It has been a while! I was under the weather there for a few days, which kept me from posting. Stupid allergies! It was miserable there for a day or so then it was bearable. But I got well just in time for my BIRTHDAY!! And while it is usually just another day, this year it was UBER special! My husband elaborately planned out 3 months in advance a surprise party for me and a very special surprise guest. He flew my dad in who I usually only get to see once a year! AND my dad and I share birthdays so that made it much more special! We went early morning fishing with my 5 year old, went to a baseball game and visited the zoo! It was so much fun spending time with my daddy and him getting to spend time with his grand-daughters!! My dad just left to go back home today, so needless to say all my attention was on him and not so much blogging. But now things are getting back to normal and I will be getting back in the kitchen. Today I made some chocolate dipped macaroons for the kids as a treat. I thought I would share them with you guys. Hope you like them! Recipe below.

Now for a question for you!! I'm thinking of selling these t-shirts and was wondering if any of you would be interested. All proceeds would go toward recipe development for the cookbook! If we ever reach 1000 fans on FB I will more than likely give a couple away as a giveaway as well!! They would cost approximately $17 bucks plus shipping. Yay or nay?!? Interested?? Anyone!?!  Feel free to suggest different colors!! :)

Chocolate dipped macaroons

4 egg whites
2 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup of maple syrup
2 Tablespoons of coconut flour
1 teaspoon of almond extract
pinch of salt
6-8 ounces of melted enjoy life chocolate chips



- in a large mixing bowl wisk for egg whites, syrup, extract and salt
- add in coconut and flour and mix till well incorporated
- set in fridge to harden a bit for about an hour
- scoop out with a 1 inch scoop or use two spoons and place on a parchment lined baking sheet
- bake at 325 for about 20 minutes. they will start to brown around bottom edges and will be firm to touch.
- let completely cool
- melt chocolate in the microwave or double boiler
- dip each macaroon in chocolate and place on parchment or wax paper
- let the chocolate harden or you can place in fridge to speed up the process. By this time my kids were tired of waiting and just ate them! haha!

It's GIVEAWAY time again!!!

I know that YOU know that the crock pot is a very valuable tool for us busy paleo mommies, or anyone for that matter! I mean, it cooks for you, and your dinner is ready when you are ready for dinner! It's a win-win situation. Well today I'm gonna make a great thing even better for you!! How about a chance win a paleo cookbook completely devoted to your slow cooker!! Chrissy Gower has written the perfect cookbook for crock pot lovers called Paleo Slow Cooking, and I've got a copy for one lucky reader.

Want to know what you have to do for your chance to win??
1. "Like" Paleo Mommy on FB here
2. "Like" Paleo Slow Cooking on FB here
3. "Share" this LINK on FB, make sure it is public or I can't see you did it.
4. Leave a comment on my FB page to let me know you completed the steps!! :)

 

I will select a winner on Saturday at 5:00 P.M. and post the winner on my FB page. The winner will need to message me on FB within 24 hours to give me their address or I will have to pick another winner. :(

Good luck!! Get to sharing!!!

Fruity Chicken Salad

Hi people! It's been a while! I have been working on the cookbook that I can only hope to finish and have available to you all sometime in this lifetime! It is a long process but the creating recipe part is SO FUN! There is no feeling like the one where someone LOVES something you have created. It is still unbelievable to me to see someone eating my food or my recipe, or telling me how one of my recipes is requested for dinner from their family. It is AH-MAZE-ING! And I am so glad you guys share that stuff with me. It makes me keep on keepin' on!! :)

Well Springtime has sprung around these parts and one of our favorite pastimes, when were aren't dodging severe weather, is visiting our botanical gardens. So the girls, my mother in law, and I braved the pollen and headed out. Among the beautiful scenery and cute attractions, they also have a little cafe there called Clementines. This place serves a gazillion or so varieties of chicken salad among other things. My favorite one there is the fruity chicken salad. Craving chicken salad today, I decided rather than driving 30 minutes and paying 11 dollars for some, that I would take a crack at my own fruity chicken salad. Here it is just incase you want some too!!

Serves 2

1 roasted chicken breast, cubed
2 T of mayo (my fave recipe, make sure your eggs are from a trusted source)
1/2 stalk of celery, finely diced
6 red grapes, sliced
1 mandarin orange or clementine, chopped
1/4 cup of pecans, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Mix it up and enjoy..... I know I did!

Easter time...treat time!!

Look, I know you know that I whole heartily believe that Paleo peeps need to lay off the sweets. And I know you know that sugar is sugar no matter what form, albeit different qualities. That being said....It is Easter time and in my world that would call for a cute little coconut cake in the shape of a fluffy white bunny, or a yummy carrot cake. Well, I don't have that kind of recipe for you today, but I do have.......... Chocolate Macadamia Nut Pie with a Coconut Crust!!! Whoop-whoop!! I mean C'mon!! I could just throw all those ingredients in a blender, drink it and it would taste good, but I put a little more effort into it than that. I even made the mac butter myself. Follow me and I will tell you how this pie went down......

Ingredients
Crust
2 cups shredded unsweetened coconut
2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
1 Tablespoon of REAL maple syrup
pinch of salt

Filling
1 can of FULL FAT unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup of enjoy life semi sweet chocolate chips
1 package of knox unflavored gelatin
3/4 - 1 cup of macadamia nut butter (if you are making it yourself you need.. 1cup of macadamia nuts, 1-2 Tablespoons of coconut oil, 1 Tablespoon of REAL maple syrup, and a pinch of salt) 
chopped macadamia nuts for garnish

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees

2. First things first, make the crust. In your food processor dump your coconut, coconut oil, syrup and salt. Process until it starts to begin to come off the sides of the processor. About 2 minutes.

3. Dump mixture into an 8X8 glass baking dish and press into the bottom of the dish to form the crust. Bake in the 350 degree oven for about 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on it. You want it lightly, lightly brown but not burnt.

4. If you don't have store bought mac nut butter, make it.  So while the crust is baking, let's do that. You can wipe out your food processor real quick or not. Doesn't really matter. But in your food processor dump 1 cup of Macadamia nuts. Start processing.

5. You will have to stop, scrap down and start multiple times. Once it starts blending drizzle in the maple syrup, add your pinch of salt and drizzle in your coconut oil. It will probably take about 5 minutes of processing until your nuts start to look like nut butter.

6. Once it is done, scrap out into a large bowl add your 1 cup of chocolate chips to this bowl as well and set it aside

7. Check on your crust!! Don't forget about it. Once it is done set it aside to cool down.

8. Now in a medium sauce over medium heat pan dump in your coconut milk.

9. Sprinkle 1 package of plain gelatin in the milk and stir.

10. You want the milk to almost come to a boil and you want to keep stirring it until all the gelatin is dissolved. This will take about 5-7 minutes.

11. Pour your hot milk over the nut butter and chocolate chip mixture and let it set for about 3 minutes

12. Grab a wisk a mix it all together until smooth

13. Pour onto your prepared crust and place in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours.

14. When you serve, garnish with chopped macadamia nuts

15. Eat it! :)

Quick Fudge Recipe

Just a quick recipe for you guys. I hope you like it!! :)

1 cup of cashew butter
1/4 cup of raw honey
1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa
2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup of walnuts (optional)

In a food processor blend all the ingredients except the nuts. The mixture should start to pull from the sides of the processor. Dump contents in to an 8X8 or even a loaf pan and press the mixture down flat into pan. Press walnuts into the top of mixture if your using them. Place in the fridge to set for at least 3 hours. These must stay in the fridge.

Paleo at Costco??? Let's Go!!

During the last couple of paychecks, I've sorta botched my grocery budget. I'm not sure what happened, or how it happened but I've found my food didn't last as long as I anticipated. I'm now looking for ways to save. Today my MIL asked if I wanted to go to Costco with her. I said yes, and grabbed a pen and paper to record everything paleo that I saw and the price to compare. I thought I would share my findings with you today....just in case you are interested. :)

Pacific Gold jerky (just beef and spices, but not grass fed beef) - (2) 8 oz. bags - $14.49

Dates - 48 oz. - $6.99

Kirkland brand marinara (no sugar) - (3) 32 oz. - $5.49

organic tomato sauce - (12) 15 oz. - $6.99

organic stewed and diced tomatoes - (8) 15oz. - $5.99

organic tomato paste - (12) 6 oz. - $5.99

canned mushrooms - (12) 4oz. - $6.65

pistachio in the shell - 48 oz. $15.69

pistachios shelled - 32 oz. $18.99

sliced almonds - 32 oz. $9.69

pecans halved - 32 oz - $12.89

walnuts - 24 oz. $23.99

almonds - 48 oz. $12.79

macadamia nuts - 24 ox. - $17.99

balsamic vinegar - 1 liter - $10.99

rotel - (8) 10oz. - $5.99

olives - (2) 21 oz. - $5.69

sun dried tomatoes - 32 oz - $8.89

hearts of palm - (2) 25 oz. - $8.99

artichokes jarred - 32 oz. - $5.39

organic salsa - (3) 32 oz. - $7.49

wild canned albacore tuna - (6) 5 oz. - $9.99

wild canned salmon - (6) 6oz. - $12.39

wild sockeye salmon canned - (3) 6 oz. - $10.99

wild sardines - (6) 5 oz. - $9.99

organic chicken stock - (6) 32 oz. - $10.99

unrefined, cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil - 54 oz. - $15.99

extra virgin olive oil bertoli - 3 liters - $16.99

kirkland brand EVOO - 2 liters - $11.49

pure vanilla - 16 oz. $6.89

minced garlic - 48 oz. - $4.29

sea salt - 30 oz. $2.79

almond butter - 26 oz. - $6.99

organic brown eggs - 2 dozen - $7.69

almond milk - (3) 64 oz. - $7.59

wild frozen salmon - 3 lbs - $26.89

frozen shrimp - 2 lbs - $12.49

coconut water - (6) 1 liter - $14.99

frozen stir fried veggie mix - 3.5 lbs - $7.49

avacado - 6 count - $3.99

onions - 5 lbs - $5.59

organic spring salad mix - 1 lb - $4.49

organic baby spinach - 1 lb - $4.49

bell peppers - 6 count - $6.99

organic carrots - 10 lbs - $6.79

peeled whole garlic - 3 lbs - $4.99

organic chicken breasts - 3.5 lbs. - $19.71

organic whole chickens - 2 - $22.39

Some of the things I didn't think to look for and I didn't see are coconut and almond flours, and guacamole. Other than that I was fairly impressed with what I found! They did have lots of organics there which I was happy to see and a LOT of paleo friendly fare. There was however no grass fed beef there. :(  I'm gonna be crunching some numbers to see if this is something that will help out the budget. I hope this post helps you with your paleo budget too!!