Beet and Sweet Potato Pancakes

When I think about fall in the Canadian prairies I think of sweaters, hearty dishes and an array of beautiful colors. To me, the quintessential fall vegetable is the beet. I love beets! They are such a versatile vegetable but messy as heck! I mean after you have peeled, chopped or grated the beets your kitchen looks like something out of a horror movie. Red stained hands and counters and if you're like me there is a nice splatter pattern of red beet juice on the wall or back splash. I may be a good cook but a messy one! Anyways, I hit up the farmers market this past weekend and purchased a huge bag of beets for five dollars. So, now I have seen searching for some new beet recipes and this one made the cut!

1 1/ cups coarsely shredded peeled beets (about 2 medium)

1 cup coarsely shredded sweet potato

1 medium onion, shredded

1 large egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp cumin

olive oil or coconut oil

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Combine beets, sweet potato and onion in large bowl. Mix in egg, salt, pepper and cumin; stir to blend well.

Heat  oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Using 1/3 cup beet mixture for each pancake, drop 4 pancakes into skillet. Flatten each into 3-inch round. Cook until brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to baking sheet in oven; keep warm. Repeat with remaining beet mixture.

Enjoy!

Russian Cutlets with Mushroom Sauce

I make no claim that this is actually a dish in Russian culture! I was searching the net for something different to try and stumbled across this recipe. I decided to give it a try. Knowing me, I obviously made some changes to the recipe. To me these cutlets are more like a hamburger steak but hey maybe in Russia this is what they call a cutlet?

Cutlets

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 med onion, blended

3 cloves garlic, blended

1/2 tsp each salt, white pepper, ground mustard

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp butter or ghee

Mushroom Sauce

1 cup mushrooms, chopped

1/4 cup onion, chopped

2 tbsp butter or ghee

1/2 cup beef stock

fresh ground pepper

For the cutlets, blend your onion and garlic together into a paste (as always I use my magic bullet), then get your other ingredients ready. In a saucepan, melt the butter/ghee on medium heat, then add the onion/garlic paste.  Simmer on medium heat for about two minutes, to sweat the liquid out of the onions and to lessen the oniony taste.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine the other ingredients for the cutlets and gently mix together with your hands. Be careful not to over-mix the meat. Form the ground beef into six oval-shaped patties and place them on a baking sheet.  Place the cutlets in the middle rack of the oven and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then broil them for another two minutes.

Meanwhile, using the same pan you sauteed the onions and garlic in add the butter, mushrooms and onions on medium heat. Fry the mushrooms and onions until the mushrooms release moisture and start to cook down. Add the stock and season with pepper. Let simmer for 10ish minutes. 

Once the cutlets are ready remove from the oven and top with the sauce. I served my cutlets with a poached egg and wilted spinach. The egg added some extra creaminess with the soft yolk.

Enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of The Domesticated Man!

Crockpot Minestrone Soup

I would like to thank everyone for their patience while I took some time to collect my thoughts and get back into the kitchen. My plan for the fall will be to post new delicious recipes every Sunday and Wednesday. This will allow me some more time to perfect and bring you new delectable recipes. 

Minestrone Soup is not one of my family recipes but I personally love soup. Soup helps to warm you from the inside out and when fall starts to become cooler nothing is more enjoyable. This recipe is courtesy of Our Paleo Life and I was inspired to make this when a friend post the delectable picture of a steamy bowl of this soup on instagram!

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 sweet potato, diced

1 cup carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

2 zucchini squash, diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

28 oz chicken stock

28 oz can diced tomatoes with juice

½ cup frozen spinach

2 bay leaves

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 tsp parsley

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp sea salt

1-1/2 lb ground pork sausage

Place the olive oil in the bottom of the crock pot. Add the prepared sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, zucchini, onions, and garlic to the crock pot. Pour in the chicken broth. Add the entire can (including juice) of diced tomatoes. Add the frozen spinach (no need to thaw and drain, just add it frozen). Add in the oregano, basil, parsley, cayenne, and salt. Stir everything together, add the bay leaved, cover, and cook on low for 6-8 hours. This just barely fit in my crockpot! About 2 hours before the soup is done, brown the ground pork sausage, breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon. Once the pork is cooked through (no pink), add it to the crock pot and mix it all together. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Enjoy!!

Beautiful Beet Borscht

Well I hate to admit it but autumn is drawing near. The endless summery days are fading into cooler evenings and a beautiful array of colors. Autumn isn't all bad, in fact it's probably my favorite season. The days are still warm and the evenings are cooler making more enjoyable to sleep, workout and of course bringing out a whole different set of clothes. Growing up autumn always meant lots of cooking, baking and canning in my household. My mother would harvest the vegetables from her garden and start the arduous task of making large batches of borscht, salsa, pickles, pies and whatever else you can think of. It was always a treat coming home to a fresh bowl of soup or other goodies that may have been created that day. So now it is my turn to share some of those family favorites as well as some new recipes with you. Prepare yourself over the next few weeks to find yourself reading some delicious recipes that truly come from the heart!

The first autumn recipe and possibly one of my favorite dishes is a traditional Polish/Ukrainian soup called Borscht. Borscht is a soup made from beets, onions, and carrots that is simmered with dill, vinegar and cream. Now I must warn you that this recipe is not 100% paleo but it could easily be modified. I personally couldn't do it, I mean you can ruin a good thing!

To start with we need to make the soup base or broth. Now, personally I think this is a must however if this seems too time consuming you can use the purchased beef or pork stock. 

Stock

3 or 4 beef or pork soup bones

A package of short beef/pork ribs

4 L water

Place beef or pork soup bones and the package of short beef/pork ribs in pot. Cover with water, bring to boil. You will notice this lovely layer of "black foam" appear on the top, we need to get rid of this. Drain the water reserving the bones. Add new hot water to pot and simmer for 1.5 – 2 hours. Let mixture cool, skim fat and remove bones and meat. Reserve meat for later.

3 cups of chopped beats (we always shred the beets in my household)

1 big onion chopped

3 carrots, chopped

1 tbsp salt

¼ cup vinegar

1 tbsp white sugar (omit for true paleo)

Dill to taste

Reserved meat

Add these ingredients to the broth and let boil together until the beets are soft. Then add:

 

1 – 2 diced potatoes (omit for the paleo purist)

¾ cup of frozen peas

Simmer until vegetable cooked. Add:

2 cans of tomato soup or stewed tomatoes

2 cans of pork and beans (I know this is weird but it really does the trick!)

Let simmer for a few minutes. Take some soup of the pot and add 1 small container of whipping cream to the removed soup. Pour back into the pot and heat.

Enjoy! This is truly a family favorite and I hope you can add this to your repertoire as well!

New Recipes on the Way!

Hey Everybody!

Sorry I haven't posted in a few days but life has been busy! I am going to be busy in the kitchen over the next few weeks and I will be back with some great new recipes in a week or so. If you have any suggestions or recommendations please let me know!

Thanks again for all your support!

Jesse

Chicken Satay with Almond Butter Sauce

Chicken Satay
Boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders (or chicken breasts cut into pieces) and a corresponding number of skewers
1/2 cup coconut cream (store your coconut milk can in the back of your fridge for a few hours and the cream will to rise to the top of the can)
2 tsp fresh ground ginger
2-3 minced garlic cloves
1 tbsp of curry powder
A squeeze of lime juice, plus a little bit of zest
Salt and pepper

Combine the coconut cream, ginger, garlic, curry, and lemon zest in a ziplock bag and squish it all around. If the coconut cream is too thick, loosen it up with a little lime juice and water. Add salt and pepper, then taste for seasoning. Add more curry powder, if you love the flavour.

Add the chicken to the bag and massage the bag to get the chicken coated. Marinate for a minimum of an hour, the longer the better. Once the chicken is done marinating, thread each piece onto a wooden skewer. Soak the skewers first if you choose to prevent them from burning. 

Place them on a heated grill and cook till no longer pink about 8 - 12 minutes. 

Almond Butter Sauce
1 tbsp almond butter
1/4 cup coconut aminos
1 tsp crushed red pepper
Juice of one lime
Some hot water

This sauce is the easiest thing in the world. Just mix all the ingredient together, adding the hot water last and add in just a little at a time until it loosens up the sauce to the consistency you want. 

Serve with chicken and enjoy! I made this for the first time this week and I love it! I will definitely be making this recipe again!