Root Vegetable Chicken Apple Sausage Stew

Such a comforting stew in the cold winter! Yum!

1 butternut squash or acorn squash
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
1 & 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth or chix broth or grapeseed oil, divided (I used veg broth - Brand: Pacific Natural Foods)
2 c kale, spinach, chard or collards, washed, chopped, and stems removed
4 chicken apple sausages, fully cooked and sliced (I used Adiells Chicken and Apple Sausage)
Cayenne Pepper
dried thyme, crushed

Preheat oven to 400f.
Pierce squash with the point of a knife and microwave on high power for 3-4 minutes. when the squash is cool enough to handle, peel, seed and cube it.
In a saute pan, saute the squash and sweet potatoes in 1/2 cup of the broth until they begin to soften. Add the greeens, continuing to saute, stirring frequently. Stir in the remaining broth, then add the sausages, pepper and thyme to taste.

Bake for 30 minutes, basting 2 or 3 times with the pan juices. Serve hot.

Pulled Pork

This is so easy in the crock pot and fall apart delicious! I am including the recipe as a whole, however if you want to make it Paleo (I did) just omit the items in italics.

Part 1:
1 6-8 lb pork shoulder or butt roast
3T Paprika
3 T onion powder
2T brown sugar
1/2 tsp of salt and pepper

Part 2:
8-10oz cider vinegar (** I substitute organ apple cider for the vinegar)
6 t worcestershire
1 t dry mustard
1 t garlic salt or powder
1/2 t sugar
1/2 + t cayenne red pepper

Directions:

Rinse and pat dry pork. Mix ingredients in part 1 and rub over the entire pork roast.

Place in the crock pot on high for 6-7 hours.

Mix together ingredients in part 2 and add to crock pot. Put the crock pot on low for 10-11 hours.

When pork is very tender, with a fork, remove roast from crock pot.

Chop or pull roast very fine (basically as much as you can cut it with a sharp knife and fork.

Take a Tablespoon and ingredients from part 2 (bbq sauce ingredients) and apply over the chopped or pulled meat.

Enjoy!

Mashed "Potatoes"

Since I made stew, I felt like we needed mashed potatoes. Instead mashed cauliflower!

1 head of cauliflower, cut into big pieces
1tsp Salt
water
1T garlic oil or olive oil and 2 cloves of garlic
1/4 c chopped parsley

Put cauliflower and salt in a deep saucepan. Fill the pan halfway with water. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook for 20 more minutes. Cauliflower is done when it's very soft. Strain the cauliflower very well.

Transfer the cauliflower back into pot and mash it. If water builds in bottom of pan, re-strain. Add the garlic oil and stir. Sprinkly with the parsley.

Paleo Lemon Meringue Pie

This was super delicious. I made one change and added a paleo pie crust. Thanks Living Paleo!

Recipe:
Lemon Filling
1 cup lemon juice
5tsp finely grated lemon rind
(approximately 4 lemons)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 /2 cup coconut milk
4tbs arrow root
5 egg yolks

Meringue
5 egg whites
2tbs maple syrup

Instructions
Pre-heat fan-forced oven to 160 degrees Celsius (320 F).

Place lemon juice, lemon rind and maple syrup in a medium size pan on low heat.

In a small bowl, combine coconut milk and arrow root powder. Add to lemon juice mixture, stirring consistently until simmering.

Beat egg yolks together in a small bowl then add to simmering lemon mixture, stir constantly for 3-4 minutes, or until mixture has thickened. Pour into a pie dish.

To make the meringue, beat the egg whites and maple syrup in a medium size mixing bowl until stiff peaks form.

Spoon the meringue on top of the lemon filling then place into oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Cool before serving.

Paleo Pie Crust:
Almond Meal and Coconut Oil until it spreads like pie crust. Bake in 350 F for about 12-15 minutes.

Beef Bourguignon

After a trip to Paris, I was inspired to make Beef Bourguignon, Ina Garten style. It is definitely yummy, but very time consuming.

1 tablespoon good olive oil
8 ounces dry cured center cut applewood smoked bacon, diced
2 1/2 pounds chuck beef cut into 1-inch cubes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound carrots, sliced diagonally into 1-inch chunks
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 teaspoons chopped garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 cup Cognac
1 (750 ml.) bottle good dry red wine such as Cote du Rhone or Pinot Noir
1 can (2 cups) beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature, divided
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 pound frozen whole onions
1 pound fresh mushrooms stems discarded, caps thickly sliced
For serving:
Country bread or Sour Dough, toasted or grilled and rubbed with garlic clove
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, optional
Directions
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is lightly browned. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a large plate.

Dry the beef cubes with paper towels and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. In batches in single layers, sear the beef in the hot oil for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove the seared cubes to the plate with the bacon and continue searing until all the beef is browned. Set aside.

Toss the carrots, and onions, 1 tablespoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of pepper in the fat in the pan and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac, stand back, and ignite with a match to burn off the alcohol. Put the meat and bacon back into the pot with the juices. Add the bottle of wine plus enough beef broth to almost cover the meat. Add the tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and place it in the oven for about 1 1/4 hours or until the meat and vegetables are very tender when pierced with a fork.

Combine 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour with a fork and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. Saute the mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of butter for 10 minutes until lightly browned and then add to the stew. Bring the stew to a boil on top of the stove, then lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste.

To serve, toast the bread in the toaster or oven. Rub each slice on 1 side with a cut clove of garlic. For each serving, spoon the stew over a slice of bread and sprinkle with parsley.

Sticky Buns

I haven't made these yet, but I have every intention of doing so! I wanted to make them for Christmas morning, but ran out of time! If you make them, remember to read all the directions because you need to make the dough the night before! Also, let us know how they were!


INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm whole milk (105°F to 115°F)
2 envelopes active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon plus 2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

PREPARATION
Stir milk, yeast, and 1/4 teaspoon sugar in small bowl. Let stand until mixture bubbles, about 6 minutes. Stir again.
Mix remaining 2/3 cup sugar and orange peel in medium bowl.
Add flour, cinnamon, salt, and ginger to bowl of heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; mix on low speed. Add yeast mixture; mix on medium-low speed until dry shaggy mass forms, scraping down bowl occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add egg and egg yolk; beat on medium speed until well blended. Add sugar mixture; beat until moist soft dough that resembles thick batter forms, about 3 minutes.
Add butter by 1 1/2 tablespoonfuls; beat on medium-low speed until almost incorporated before adding more, about 2 minutes (dough will be sticky). Beat dough on medium-high 2 minutes longer. Let dough rest in bowl 10 minutes (dough will become less sticky).
Scrape dough out onto work surface; gather together. Place in large buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise at room temperature until almost doubled, about 2 hours. Punch dough down; cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Follow directions for Brown Sugar-Pecan Sticky Buns.

Brown Sugar Pecan Sticky Buns

INGREDIENTS
TOPPING
1 1/2 cups (packed) golden brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cup honey
3 cups pecan halves
FILLING
1/2 cup sugar
6 tablespoons golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Spiced Sweet Dough (click for recipe)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, warm room temperature
PREPARATION
TOPPING
Butter two 13x9x2-inch glass baking dishes. Whisk sugar, butter, and honey in small saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth and bubbling around sides. Divide hot syrup between prepared baking dishes, allowing topping to cover bottom of each dish. Place pecan halves, rounded side down, in syrup, dividing equally. Cool.
FILLING
Whisk both sugars and cinnamon in small bowl.
Turn cold Spiced Sweet Dough out onto floured surface; sprinkle with flour. Divide dough in half. Roll out dough to two 15x12-inch rectangles. Using fingers, spread 2 tablespoons butter evenly over each rectangle. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over each. Starting at 1 long side of each dough rectangle, tightly roll up dough jelly-roll style, enclosing filling. Using large knife, cut each roll crosswise into fifteen 1-inch-thick slices. Arrange 15 dough slices, cut side down, atop cooled syrup and pecan halves in each baking dish, spacing evenly apart. Cover with waxed paper; let rise in warm draft-free area until buns are puffy and doubled, about 1 hour 45 minutes.
Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 375°F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment; place dishes with sticky buns on baking sheets. Bake buns until deep golden brown and filling is barely bubbling around edges, about 25 minutes. Let buns stand 2 minutes. Cut around sides of buns to loosen. Place large rimmed platter atop each baking dish. Using oven mitts, firmly hold baking dish and platter together and invert buns onto platter. Cool at least 45 minutes. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.