Week 2 Paleo Challenge and 30 days of Crockpot Meals

I have survived week one. I have  made Slow Cooked Cumin Pork, Paleo Brownies, and Paleo Macaroons. Tonight I am having the girls  over for dinner for Paleo Sheppard's Pie. I came across this  little link today and thought it would be helpful to you all!

Go over  and Check out  Holly's listing of 30 Crockpot Paleo Meals!! This  week I am going  to make Slow Cooked Roast Chicken and Gravy. Yum!! I am also going to make Paleo Bison Burgers. I do not  know what Bison is BUT I will figure  it out  before I get  to the  grocery store.

Breakfast was  a huge  challenge for me last week. Stay Tuned as I found a recipe for Blueberry Muffins. I will let you know how they turn out.

Have  a great week.

paleo diet day 2 dinner

paleo diet day 2 dinner, a photo by AdventureOfShaw on Flickr.

So my gym is having a challenge... a Paleo challenge.

First up -- take a picture of myself in a bikini ...ummmm not yet. I got the email last week with all the details for the 30 day challenege. 30 days -- I can do this right??
Day 1 * had all the best intentions in the world. I will be honest here. I brought ALL Paleo freindly foods. Even researched NON egg related beakfast because I did not want to get them from the cafeteria. But I FAILED... yep I said it....FAILED. I ate girlscout cookies and not just one but MANY. Then my daughter came down with the stomach bug SO .... we had soup. That was not Paleo.

DAY 2 *** Winner because I didnt eat anything :) I did cook Slow Cooked Cumin Spiced Pork. It was delicious. I am so excited to make it and have it for lunch. Thanks to Sarah for this recipe.

Cumin Spiced Slow Cooked Pork

2 lbs of Pork Loin (I used 2 – 1 pound loins)

Cumin, Sea Salt, Pepper

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 yellow onion, sliced

2 cups sliced mushrooms

Sauce

1 1/2 cups green or red salsa (I used the salsa verde from Trader Joe’s)

1 1/2 cups strained tomatoes

1 tablespoon Cumin

3 garlic cloves, minced

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a large skillet, heat the coconut oil over medium to medium high heat.  Sprinkle the pork on all sides generously with salt and pepper and then with the cumin powder.  Use your fingers to rub the cumin into the pork loin.  Sear the cumin spiced pork in the hot coconut oil for about 3 minutes per side or until the pork is nice and brown all the way around.  Move the pork from the skillet to the slow cooker and top with the sliced onions and mushrooms.  In the same pan that you seared the pork in, add the salsa, strained tomatoes, the 1 tablespoon of cumin, and garlic, and whisk together until bubbly.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if desired.  Pour the sauce over the pork, onions, and mushrooms in the slow cooker and cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 7-8 hours.

Bon Apetit!

My enntire family loved dinner and I cannot wait for Desert.
Here is too the rest of the week!

Superbowl Sunday

Hipster

I love this day! I love getting together with Friends, Watching the 2 best teams battle it out for the Championship, I love drinking beer - yes I said it, I love eating all the snacks, I love the Commercials!! I hate that they are getting leaked earlier and earlier each year.

Here is what I am making for our Superbowl Party...

Amaszing White Trash Puff Balls

Mexican Black Bean Dip

BLT Dip

Enjoy! Hope your team wins. Go Giants.

Healthy Eating Saturday Night

Roman Style Chicken by Giada

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 yellow bell pepper, sliced

3 ounces prosciutto, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves

2 tablespoons capers

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Directions

Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

In a heavy, large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, cook the chicken until browned on both sides. Remove from the pan and set aside.

1/4 cup olive oil

Keeping the same pan over medium heat, add the peppers and prosciutto and cook until the peppers have browned and the prosciutto is crisp, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, wine, and herbs. Using a wooden spoon, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup white wine

Return the chicken to the pan, add the stock, and bring the mixture to a boil.

1/2 cup chicken stock

 Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 to 30 minutes.
If serving immediately, add the capers and the parsley. Stir to combine and serve. If making ahead of time, transfer the chicken and sauce to a storage container, cool, and refrigerate. The next day, reheat the chicken to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the capers and the parsley and serve.

SERVES 6; Calories: 266; Total Fat 13 grams; Saturated Fat: 2 grams; Protein: 28 grams; Total carbohydrates: 8 grams; Sugar: 4 grams; Fiber 1.5 grams; Cholesterol: 76 milligrams; Sodium: 1,307 milligrams

Southwest Meatloaf

Hello Lovelies.... Since I have gone back to work and MrM has started traveling again, I have been planning my weekly meals on Sundays. Monday night has turned into Meatloaf night, Tuesdays are crockpot days and Wednesday is something left over from the crockpot meal. Thursdays are my night so that means a sub from Publix!

Lately, I have  been stalking Christina's blog so bear with me this week if it seems overly obvious.

So here are my pictures from the Southwest Meatloaf... thanks for the recipe Christina. It was a hit with the fam. They did request a sauce to go on top next time. I am working on it.

The Ingredients

1 lb. angus ground beef, 96/4 extra lean

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels

1 4 oz. can fire-roasted diced green chiles

1/4 cup skim milk

2 large egg whites

1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 oz. goat cheese, crumbled

Southwest Meatloaf

IPreheat oven to 350*. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, mixing lightly. Add meat mixture to a greased loaf pan and press down to smooth top. Crumble goat cheese atop loaf. Bake for 55 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165*. Let rest for 20 minutes until slicing. Makes 4 servings.

Sorry I did not get the finished product. The family was hungry! Thanks for the recipe Christina.

And here is my LilMissJ with her makeup and earrings. Wow I am getting too old for this.

Girls weekend baking

I spent hours at the store getting all the ingredients for our little vacation coming up tomorrow. It is now almost 10:15pm and I am blogging instead of packing.

After going over all these picks I learned one thing -- I need better bowls and better photo skills as these do not seem very exciting. Another note... I am a little embarrassed at how much Walmart brand foods were used. If my husband saw this before eating it - he wouldn't. Good thing this is not for him.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Fruit Salad

Texas Caviar

Hope you all enjoy your weekend. I know I will. I am going to eat like a queen.

Sunday Night Dinner ~ Yummers

My Dear Hubs aka Mr.M. is getting ready to go back to working life on the road. To show him my appreciation for spending time with me all weekend instead of the OTHER woman in his life…. not to worry –it is only the golf course. I am making him a FANTABULOUS dinner.

This morning I made him a wonderful omelet with yogurt parfait, a bagel thin and French press coffee. This should be the only way you should drink coffee.
Now onto Dinner tonight – Seafood and Sausage Pasta.

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First we started with Fresh Shrimp and peeled and deveined them. Then took the hot chicken sausage out of the casing and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Chopped up all the veggies – Red and Yellow peppers, Shallots, Green onions, Garlic, and lemon. The remaining ingredients included parmesan cheese, linguine pasta, Emeril Essence, olive oil, heavy cream, parsley and my all time FAVORITE and desperately missed side to each meal – dry white wine. Heck – I miss all wine.
Let me tell you a little story about this white wine used into tonight's dinner. On my limited budget before  marrying Mr.M. I would drink Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc because it was affordable and DELISH. On my first trip to Canada with  Mr.M., we had gone to dinner and I was in sticker shock at some of the prices. Here is a prime example:

This is our $35.00 bottle of Monkey Bay. We had to take a picture because I was laughing so hard. Mr.M. did not believe me  that we drank this wine back home for ….wait for it….. $9.99!! I love it. So tonight I got it for us ..err him and our meal.

Mine on the left. Ice Cold Diet Tonic Water with Fresh Squeezed Lime and Mr.M’s on the right. A fine Sauvignon Blanc White Wine. Yes I am a good mommy to be. 
He came home from hockey tonight to a home cooked meal, wine and dessert. He absolutely loved it even with him not being a huge shrimp fan. BoomBoomShaw has been kicking away so the baby must have enjoyed it as well. Have a great evening. I am going to put my feel up and relax while Mr.M. does the dishes.