Crockpot Peppered Pork Steak

I apologize its been so long since my last post! Things have been pretty crazy around here! For starters, IM ENGAGED! Kyle proposed on Christmas Eve and I couldn't be happier. I've already begun wedding planning and settled on September 21 of this year... There is so much to do! So I am going to do my best to keep updating recipes and posts amongst the craziness.

Also, the 2013 class of Bridging the Wellness Gap is getting ready to start, which Is SO EXCITING! The program did amazing things for me and changed my life in so many ways. I am now honored to say that I'm coming back for this class as a wellness coach! So there will be plenty more Interesting blog posts once that get underway. But for now, lets stick to why you're really here. To see the recipe for the most tender, mouth watering pork steak I've ever made. FYI: I'm typing This blog post from my phone so I apologize if the quality is poor!

Ingredients:
-4 bone-in pork steaks (or however many mouths you're feeding)
-1 large onion, cut into slices
-2 bell peppers, cut into strips. any color, i used green and orange because that's what I had on hand
-Minced garlic (I buy the jar packed in olive oil)
-1 14 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained
-3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
-3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (not completely paleo but..whatever)
-salt & pepper, garlic and herb spice mixture (optional)

1. Slice your onions and peppers and layer them in the bottom of the crockpot
2. Trim the fat and then brown all of your pork steaks in a skillet. This really doesn't take long, and it gives your pork steak better flavor.
3. Once browned, lay them on top of the peppers and onions in the crockpot
4. Pour can of diced tomatoes over the top of the steaks
5. Top each steak with a little bit of minced garlic
6. Add Worcestershire and cider vinegar to the pot, Then add seasonings of your choice. I used salt, pepper, and a little bit of a garlic and herb spice
7. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours. The meat gets so tender it literally falls off of the bone.
8. Top with onion and pepper mixture and eat your little heart out.

Sorry folks, no picture. It was one of those meals that I wolfed down in no time and then thought to myself "maybe I should blog that". But trust me, it got two thumbs up from all four of the people at my dinner table tonight, so you should make this recipe. What do you have to lose? :)

Paleo Roasted Tomato Vegetable Soup

So Christmas is slooowly (but not really that slowly) creeping up on us. Lets just say that last year during this time i seriously gained about 13lbs. THIS IS NOT A JOKE PEOPLE. I let my sweet tooth get the best of me and I ate cookies, cake, chocolates.. etc with NO self control what-so-ever. It has also taken me all year long to work all of that back off and get to where I want to be. This year I'm not letting that happen again. Ive already had a few slip ups and bombed out days but the only thing that you can do is bounce back and take on the next day determined and without guilt from the day before. Trust me on this. I am THE WORST at beating myself up over what I ate so this is the best advice that I can give: It's a NEW DAY to start over and give it your best!!!! I have found that the best way to control myself is to just PRAY. I rely on God so much throughout the day for strength, especially in tough situations, and saying NO to certain foods qualifies as a tough situation in my book.

Tonight was just one of those nights to be snuggled up on the couch watching Christmas specials (Saturday Night Live Christmas to be exact) in front of the Christmas tree with a fire going. And fuzzy socks. And bassett hounds. and my boyfrind. Oh and wine. Cant forget that. If you're having a hard time picturing this let me show you...

This is happening right now. Be jealous.

Along with this cozy day comes cozy food. What better cozy food than tomato soup???? I set out to find a homemade tomato soup because my days of eating shit out of a can are long gone. Homemade soup is 100000000x better tasting and better for you anyway. I came across this website http://blog.seasonwithspice.com/2012/08/homemade-tomato-basil-soup-recipe.html and thought that it sounded delicious. I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand so I kind of took her idea and ran with it and this is the soup I came up with. It was SOO GOOOD, it made the "best soup i've ever had" category by kyle, which is huge because his family is full of awesome cooks! This is one of those recipes that even the non-paleo eaters will go nuts over. trust me.

INGREDIENTS

• 5-6 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
• 1 green or red bell pepper, cut into chunks
• 1 zucchini, cut into chunks
• 1 medium sized onion, cut into chunks
• 5-6 cloves of garlic, cut into chunks
• 1/2 bag baby carrots, coined (you could use 3 full sized carrots but I didnt have any)
• handful of spinach
• 2 cups chicken/vegetable broth
• 2 tsp -ish basil
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp butter
• olive oil
• salt to taste

1. Set your oven to 375. While that is preheating, cut up your tomatoes, onion, pepper, garlic, zucchini and carrots and spread them out on a baking sheet. Drizzle some olive oil over the top and sprinkle with basil, salt, & pepper. Place in the oven and let roast, it took about 25-30 minutes but keep an eye on it.

 

 

2. While those are roasting, heat the chicken broth, paprika & pepper on low in a large pot.

3. When the veggies are done roasting, add them all to a blender along with the handful of fresh spinach and blend together. I left mine a little bit chunky but you can blend until smooth if you like.

3. Add tomato mixture to broth and stir together. Cook on medium for a few minutes and then stir in butter and milk. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes.

4. Serve hot

 

I made kyle a grilled cheese to eat with his but I cut up half of an avocado and added that to mine. It was ABSOLUTELY DELISH. I know I say this about all of my recipes but seriously this one is a MUST try! Especially for those cozy winter nights :]

 

 

Happy cooking!



Paleo Oatmeal

So lately I've been getting a little tired of just plain eggs or fruit for breakfast. I had been looking for something new and warm and delicious for wintertime and I'm so glad that I came across recipe on http://onapinktypewriter.com/2012/01/09/paleo-oatmeal/ , it's EXACTLY what I needed to switch things up a little!

This is the best paleo oatmeal that I've made so far, so good that I may or may not have made it every day for breakfast last week........ :]

Ingredients

• 2 egg whites
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 2 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp honey
• frozen fruit of your choice, my two favorites are blueberries and rasberries

1. whisk together egg whites and almond milk. Then add the rest of the ingredients and make sure its blended well. (I found that peeling the banana and microwaving it in a bowl for about 20 seconds helps mash it much easier!)
2. heat in small saucepan on low-medium heat and stir frequently until it reaches the right consistency. This took me about 10 minutes until I could tell that it had all been cooked through.
3. DEVOUR

This has become one of my new favorite breakfasts... or lunches... or dinners (when kyle has school and im cooking for just myself). I have not yet tried to make it in the microwave but i'm sure that it would work just fine if you continue to stir it every 30 seconds or so. Trust me, this recipe is a keeper!

Banana Avocado Chocolate Pudding

Hello everybody! It's been a few weeks since my last post and I apologize! Things have been pretty crazy and I've had alot going on!

Last week my mom, my aunt and I flew out to LA to visit my cousin for her 30th birthday. We had a BLAST! But lots and lots and lots of wine, and lots and lots and lots of bad food. Friday we ventured to a horse ranch in Santa Barbara, but the rainy weather put an end to that adventure much earlier than we had hoped, so we went wine tasting in Malibu instead. That was AWESOME! And I can honestly say that California wine is wayyy better than the 10$ box wine that I usually stock up on in my fridge :].We also had a chance to visit Hollywood, which was very...........different. People dressing up as characters from movies and charge money to take picutres with them, hustlers on the street trying to sell cd's, the sidewalk was so dirty and packed full of people that you couldn't even see the celebrity's names on the stars. But on the bright side I dont think I have ever people-watched so much in my entire life. That's one of my favorite things to do. It makes me realize how many different kinds of people there are in the world and everyone is out to find their own happiness. I feel that Living in a world with such diversity, being close-minded is only going make yourself miserable at the end of the day.

Here are some pics from the trip:

Airport fun!

 

My cousin Wendy and I on her birthday, she makes 30 look GOOOOD! :]

 My beautiful mom and I at Malibu Winery

 

Wendy, myself, my mom and my aunt at SIP Winery

 

Mom and I at Kodak Theater in Hollywood

 

 

Now don't get me wrong, I had SO MUCH FUN, but after I got home, I was miserable! I was bloated, fatigued, swollen, grouchy, and all around feeling crappy. I had stuffed myself with so much wine, pizza, more wine, more pizza, and lots more wine. I couldn't wait to get back on my normal diet and eating/workout schedule.

 

I had heard great things about this recipe so I decided to see for myself. I originally found it on http://www.thefoodieandthefamily.com/2012/01/22/banana-cado-chocolate-pudding/ , but instead of making 12 servings, I switched it up a little to make just 1-2 and it was delicious! I HIGHLY recommend that you try this one, I even let co-workers who tend to poke fun of my healthy eating habits try it and they even agreed that it was delicious and couldn't believe it was made from avocados.

 

INGREDIENTS

 

• 1 avocado
• 1 banana
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1 TBS cocoa powder
• 1 TBS honey or maple syrup
• dash vanilla
• dash cinnamon
 

Put all of the above in a blender and blend until smooth! Then chill in the refrigerator for atleast 30 minutes. this stuff is THE BOMB DIGGITY! 

 

 

Hot n Spicy Paleo Meatloaf....and Running.

MAN it's been too long since my last blog post. I have been such a little busy bee lately. I just recently started a new job, which I absolutely LOVE. My previous job was a 45+ minute commute each way, and now I work just 5 minutes down the road with AWESOME hours! I'm done everyday by 2:30, how cool is that? So since I have all this new free time, I decided that I needed to pick up another hobby. Who in the hell would have ever guessed that hobby would be running? NOT me that's for sure! I started this whole running thing when I began Bridging the Wellness Gap, and since then it has just taken off. I started at just going 1-2 miles once or twice a week, and here I am now signed up for a half marathon in March. WHO AM I?

I love the way that running makes me feel. Well, after the runner's high kicks in that is. Until then it kind of sucks. The first two miles are always so hard for me and then after that I get lost in my own euphoric state of mind where nothing bothers me. Nothing stresses me out. I get a sense of satisfaction that I have control over my well being and I feel so alive! Now, I'm not saying that I go out and run 10 miles every day. or ever. But I have found that 5-6 miles a few times a week is just what I need to stay sane and it helps keep my mindfulness on track.

ANYWAY, enough about that. Let's get to the food.

When I was younger, I HATED when my mom made meatloaf. I don't even know why. Maybe it just had something to do with the name. Meatloaf. Something about that just sounded un appetizing... in my PRE paleo days, that is. Now that I'm a meat-atarian (yes, I just made that word up), I can't get enough. Sometimes I feel like the dog on the Beggin Strips commerical... like "BACOOONNNNN!!!! BACON BACON BACON BACON I SMELL BACONN!!!". It's that bad.

I just compared myself to a dog....................oh well.

So I set out to make a meatloaf, with no specific recipe in mind. it couldn't be THAT hard, right? I mean it's just a bunch of meat...in a pan... So I literally just threw a bunch of stuff together and this is what I got. Now the ingredients list is a bit long, but seriously don't let it scare you! This was so easy to make. Obviously I got a little spice happy so you can add or omit any of them that you like to make it more or less spicy.  Kyle and I just love spicy food so that's why I went a little crazy but I love the way that it turned out! Kyle thought it was amazing, and I asked him if it was the best meatloaf he had ever had. His response: "It was delicious, but it wasn't as good as my Nana makes it". Now, if his Nana wasn't one of the most precious, sweetest, kindest little lady's that I have ever met, and  really didnt make some damn good meatloaf, then he might have been thrown in the Dog House after that comment. I decided to let this one slide.

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground turkey (or beef, your choice)
• 1 lb ground pork sausage
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 tbsp almond flour
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 - 3/4 cup hot saunce, I used Franks
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• salt & pepper

1. Set your oven at 400 degrees
2. Heat up a skillet with some Olive oil and toss in your green pepper, onion, and garlic. Saute until onion is translucent.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine meat, egg, flour, tomato paste, hot sauce, and spices. Mix well
4. Once veggies are done in the skillet, add them to the bowl and stir to incorporate.
5. Transfer meat mixture to an 8x5 loaf pan, and bake uncovered for approx 45-50 minutes, until no longer pink on the inside.
6.  Have your glass of water ready because this stuff is spiiiiccyyyy, but absolutely DELISH! Sorry no picture, but everyone knows what meatloaf looks like. Or atleast I hope you do. If not just picture a loaf of bread.....made out of meat.

HAPPY COOKING :]

Crockpot Apple Porkchops and Other Ramblings

So this past weekend was pretty amazing. It started out Friday evening when Kyle took me on a date. A WHAT!? Yes, a date. Our first one since buying our house back in May. And I know why--  Shit's expensive now-a-days! Two movie tickets was 20 bucks! Although I am ever so grateful that we actually got out of the house and did something, saving money and renting a Redbox is seriously the way to go!

Saturday Kyle woke up at the buttcrack of dawn to go hunting. He was like a little kid at Christmas with a huge grin on his face, all decked out in his camo and brand new bow ready to go at 5am. Now, why anyone would want to leave a warm comfy bed and go sit in a tree in the freezing cold for HOURS is beyond me. To each his own i guess. He must really like it because my hunny came home with a big ol' doe! After I dried my tears and got over the fact that he killed Bambi's mom, I couldnt be more excited about all the meat in the freezer... The Deer jerky is marinating now... working on perfecting a recipe! :]

Saturday was also the last day of the Bridging the Wellness Gap program. I'm so sad that it's over! I could go on and on about the wonderful things  that it has done for me and changed in my life but I will save that for a later blog post. What I will do though is talk about how proud I am of myself and everyone that finished. We met at the gym for our final testing, and everyone had amazing results and improvements after 12 weeks. I ended up not losing any weight, but I lost a total of 4.5 inches off of my biceps, waist, hips, thighs & chest combined. My 1 mile run improved from 7:47 to 7:22, my max effort pushups improved from 31 to 50, my reach improved 2 inches, my blood pressure lowered, and my situps improved from 44 in 1 minute to 56 in 1 minute. I was so surprised! I am definitely one to look at the scale a little too often, and believe a little too much what it's telling me. So when the scale wasn't moving, I was feeling EXTREMELY discouraged and no self-confindence. After the testing on Saturday I can honestly tell you that losing INCHES is a much better feeling than losing WEIGHT!

As if Saturday morning wasn't amazing enough, in the afternoon my mom and I headed down to Mallow Run Winery for Wine at the Line. What a beautiful day for this race! I was originally signed up to run the 5 mile, but I was pretty fatigued from my testing that morning and I wanted to have more of a "fun" run rather than a killer one, so I opted to switch to the 5k. I just went at my own comfortable pace, expecting to finish somewhere around 30 minutes which seems to be close to my average. To my surprise, I rounded the corner and crossed the finish line at 26:54!!!! I COULDNT BELIEVE IT! That was my fastest time Ive ever had! I was so proud of myself for all that I accomplished that day and all the hard work that I put into it. How did I celebrate you ask? WINE OF COURSE! :] Here are some pics from the run:

 

My beautiful mom and I, she did the walk and I did the run! So proud of her!

 

Some of my PR Fitness crew, we all Rocked it! - Photo courtesy of Sherri!

 

Stacy and I celebrating at the finish line and tasting each other's wine, hey ya gotta do what ya gotta do! - Photo courtesy of Stacy!

 

 

Ok enough rambling and back to why you're really looking at my blog. THE FOOD. Not JUST food, but pork chops. Probably my favorite meat. Big ol' thick boneless ones from Meijer. Those are the best. We always grill them so I set out to find a recipe that was a little different and this one caught my eye: http://denimanddots.com/2011/09/09/easy-slow-cooker-apple-and-onion-pork-chops/  .. mainly because I had all the ingredients. I jazzed it up a little bit though and it was AMAZING--Perfect for a fall evening! I also made it in the crockpot so that's bonus points because it took about 3 minutes to throw together.

Ingredients:

• 2 thick cut boneless porkchops (or however many mouths you're feeding)
• 2 medium apples (i used gala), cut into 1 inch chunks (I left the skin on)
• 1 medium onion -- diced
• 3/4 cup chicken broth
• 2 tbs apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp rosemary
• salt & pepper

1. Spread apple chunks and diced onion in bottom of crockpot.
2. Dash with salt, pepper & some rosemary
3. Lay pork chops on top of apples & onions
4. Mix together broth & cider vinegar and then pour into crock pot
5. Add minced garlic on top of pork chops
6. Finish with more salt, pepper & rosemary on top
7. Close the lid and watch the magic happen. Well, not really, unless you have nothing to do for 8 hours except watch pork chops cook and if that's the case I think you need to get yourself a hobby. Just a thought.

I actually cooked mine on high for 4 hours but you could probably cook them on low for 7-8. These pork chops were SO TASTY. Very juicy and full of flavor! I topped the cooked chops with the apples from the bottom of the crock pot. The apples were so yummy just to eat by themselves! This is definitely a keeper recipe and very easy to make. Happy Cooking!

Maple Roasted Butternut Squash with Bacon

Today was my first Monday off work. I made a promise to myself that I would spend these days off extremely productive and would NOT be lazy. BUUUUUTTTTTT today was my first one and it was cold and rainy and all I wanted to do was snuggle with my pups. So thats what I did, AFTER going to PR Fitness this morning of course! So, given the weather conditions and my mood, I wanted to make squash with dinner because it makes me feel all fuzzy inside.

So there was a butternut squash, acorn squash & 2 spaghetti squashes sitting on my counter staring at me. I literally played eenie meenie miney mo to decide which lucky little squash was going to be on my plate for dinner, and butternut won!

I don't make butternut squash alot so I was throwing ideas around in my head on how I should prepare it-- I really only know of three ways: soup, roasted & mashed. Roasting it seemed the quickest to prepare.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium to large butternut squash
• 6 strips of bacon
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• sea salt
• olive oil
• maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 400
2. Cut in half & peel your butternut squash and remove the seeds. Then slice into 1 inch chunks.
3. Throw into a roasting dish and toss with olive oil
4. Sprinkle with salt, cinnamon & nutmeg
5. cut your bacon strips into 1-2 inch pieces and lay on top of squash
6. LIGHTLY drizzle maple syrup over the top of bacon
7. Put in oven and roast for approximately 45-50 minutes, until bacon is cooked and squash is soft.

Sorry I didn't take any pictures, I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out so I had no intentions of putting this recipe on here. To my surprise, though, this was very tasty and I paired it with 2 eggs over easy (I like to eat really random food together and eggs take about 2 seconds to cook so it's always my go-to meal!)

Easy clean up and now Kyle and I are about to hash it out for the tv, Monday Night Football vs. The Voice... I WILL WIN! :]