Lasagna dip

Ok I have been bad about food blogging, partially because I haven;t been cooking much, haven;t been good about diet, and just haven;t felt up to blogging. But I wanted to share this one as it is what I am making for dinner tonight.

http://www.closetcooking.com/2013/10/lasagna-dip.html

I cooked up a lbs of free range grass fed bison, used a full jar of spaghetti sauce, a half a large tub of ricotta and a half a large block of mozzarella. Ours is in the oven right now.

Images credit to the original blog at Closet Cooking.

Looks amazing right? So why don;t you give it a try? And you can choose a wheat free option for dipping!

The devil got steamed (eggs)

Our family loves deviled eggs. Here is a recipe for some I really like. I raise chickens so a fresh supply of organic, truly free range eggs is never in short supply. The trick is how to successfully peel a truly fresh egg. It does help for the eggs to be at least a few days old, preferably a week. From there there are a few little tricks you can use for best success.

4 eggs (or however many you like)
mayonnaise (I prefer homemade)
Yellow and or dijon mustard
salt
pepper
dill
turmeric
garlic
paprika
cayenne
(any other spices you like)

Get your steamer ready. Fill bottom of pot with water, cover with lid and set to boil. In steamer basket add eggs gently. Once water is steaming set basket on top of pot and set timer. 6 minutes for a softer center 8 minutes for hard boiled.

Meanwhile set a clean pot or bowl large enough to hold your eggs into sink.

When your timer goes off, using hot pads, remove basket from steaming pot (turn off heat). Turn water from tap onto cold and gently dump eggs out into cold running water. Let water run on cold over eggs for a few minutes, until eggs shells have cooled and eggs have had a chance to shrink and to pull away from shell.

You want to peel eggs when freshly steamed or boiled, never store in the shell as they will be harder to peel latter on.

Now comes the fun part.

If the yolks are nicely centered you can just cut your eggs in half to scoop out yolks. However often when you steam your eggs the yolk will be sitting on one side, visible through the white. If this is the case you can simply cut through the white over the yolk and scope it out, leaving the egg as more of a boat. This is what I have done on the ones pictured.

The scooped out yolk will need to go into a small bowl, set your whites aside.

I have not given you amounts on what to add as it will vary with taste.

Add mayo and mustard to taste and till consistency you like. Add spices one shake, dash or pinch at a time till desired flavor.

Scoop yolk mix back into whites and serve right away, or chill. You may sprinkle tops with paprika and serve with a sprig of parsley.

These are great as a side or a snack! Enjoy!

Raw chocolate syrup

Ok guys check out this amazing chocolate syrup mix! 

7 foods you may not know have gluten

7 foods you likely didn't know have gluten.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/19/surprising-foods-with-gluten_n_3769463.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

Saved from junk food smoothy

So I have been at the local Scandinavian festival all day, I did not cave, I did not fall off the food wagon, but I did smell and stare at ice cream, funnel cakes, corn dogs, meat pies, elephant ears, and the list of no no foods goes on. Pastries of fried awesome everywhere I turned!

So get home and I am craving starch, wheat and sugar! My answer? Smoothy!

We had frozen strawberries from our early summer crop, and fresh blackberries from well yesterday, lol, and fresh blueberries from the store, some raw local honey, some Greek yogurt and some raw goats milk, through in some spices and nom! So here it is....

Small handful blueberries
Small handful blackberries
Large handful frozen strawberries
(Any combo of fresh and frozen fruit or berries would work.)
Two spoonfuls of honey (One would do but some of the berries were a bit tart.)
Three spoonfuls yogurt
Enough milk to cover half the contents
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
small pinch nutmeg

Blend

Enjoy

Paleo Chili

Tonight we are making one of my hubbies favorites, chili. It is stewing in the crock pot and will be ready tomorrow.

Authentic Texas Paleo Chili

3 lbs Boneless beef chuck roast cut into 1 " cubes
2 tbs olive oil or bacon grease
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion chopped
3 chili peppers diced

3 tbs chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs oregano dry
1-3 tbs paprika
1/4 -1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper ground

[(optional ingredients to add to meat when you add to pot)
Stewed tomatoes
green chilis
any other vegetables you like]

1/2 tsp blackstrap molasses
1/2 tsp raw local honey

28 oz beef broth, divided

In a large skillet, heat oil on medium high, add beef cubes and saute till browned. Reduce heat to medium and add in garlic, onion and peppers.

Meanwhile in a  small bowl, combine spices and sprinkle over meat. Stir in till all beef is evenly coated.

At this point you can either add to a crock pot and slow cook on high or cook on the stovetop as follows.

If cooking in crock pot, add meat  mix and any additional veg to your crock pot and turn on low. Add your molasses and honey. Add all of your beef broth, cover and cook 8-10 hours or until meat fully tender.

If cooking on stove, pour 1 1/2 cups of beef broth  over meat. Add in honey and molasses and any additional veg. Stir well and bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 90 minutes. Add remaining beef broth and simmer for 30 more minutes.

Serve hot with grated cheese melted on top and a dollop of sour cream, salsa and if you like fresh guacamole.

Milk and the Dairy Industry

You may have noted that many of the paleo meals have fully cut dairy, but why? It's good for you right? And you may have noted that I always mention raw goat milk in the recipes I post. But raw is dangerous right?

I wanted to share this great article on milk. The one food you should never eat.

With that said I have a hard choice ahead of me, my dr has warned I am absolutely not to consume any raw dairy if I become pregnant. I think the answer will be to give up dairy over going back to pasteurized.