paleo Archives | Page 2 of 4

Cucumber & Cilantro Chicken Salad

August 1, 2014 by Kristin

Have you ever been such a busy bee that when you came home from the grocery store you realized, not only did you forget something, but you brought home another thing that already had fair representation in the fridge? Like cilantro. I’ve purchased cilantro three times in less than a week. Not good.

Luckily my roommate’s gym schedule is about an hour behind my yoga schedule. And since we both go to the grocery store on a daily basis {I wish I was joking}, I knew he could pick up that onion that slipped my mind. And as far as the boat loads of cilantro? I’d just whip up a batch of super summery chicken salad and pretend the overstock was all on purpose.

And then I’d be thankful. Because chicken salad with cukes, red onions, cilantro, lime, and homemade mayo is such a darn good combo. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne pepper and man oh man, you’ve got yourself something special.

Array

Homemade Grapeseed Oil Mayo

July 30, 2014 by Kristin

At some point during every summer, I start craving massive amounts of sandwich salads {minus the sandwich part}. Chicken, tuna, egg – I could easily rotate the three every day from May to August. Insert a slaw here and there, and you’ve got yourself the happiest of girls.

But then there’s mayonnaise. I strategically create salads and slaws that have simple ingredients and then add a mystery ingredient condiment to bind it all together? It just doesn’t make sense. So I turned to Melissa Joulwan, fellow Austin food blogger, for her paleo olive oil mayo recipe.

And then I failed. Hard. Not because of her instructions or impatience. But because I didn’t sample the olive oil before creating the most beautiful, fluffy, poisonous tasting mayo ever.

So I went back to the grocery store on a mission to purchase the lightest tasting oil I could find. I walked away with grapeseed oil and ended up with a beautiful, fluffy, delicious mayo the second time around.

Using only egg, lemon juice, salt, and grapeseed oil completely changed my perception of mayo. I eat eggs and use lemon juice/oil as salad dressing on the regular, so there was no longer anything mystery about it.

If you’re a sandwich salad lover as well, I highly suggest you make your own mayo this summer!

Shredded Beef With Red Cabbage Slaw

July 28, 2014 by Kristin

You know those people who take forever to eat salads because they want a bit of every ingredient with each and every bite? That’s me to a tee, which is why I can’t get enough of shredded meat lately. It’s a totally lazy way to make sure you get some meat in every bite.

I crock potted up about 3 pounds of boneless chuck roast with 4 cups of water, 1 chopped onion, 3 chopped celery stalks, 3 sliced garlic cloves, and salt and pepper on low for about 8 hours. And after shredding with two forks, I did something I hadn’t ever done before, and reduced the stock in a saucepan on high heat for about 20 minutes until it was thick and flavorful. Game. Changer.

After the meat soaked up the bulk of the reduction, I spread a thin layer of it on a plate and topped with a heaping scoop of red cabbage slaw. And that slaw… was really the highlight of this meal.

I used a mandolin slicer to achieve super thin and delicate slices of cabbage. Then added mild veggies, cilantro, citrus, and homemade mayo to create a light slaw that’s perfect for summer {especially a Texas summer}. I’m so looking forward to coming home to these leftovers tomorrow!

Array

Achiote Pork Salad

July 18, 2014 by Kristin

Gosh, this salad. Where do I begin? Ultra tender achiote pulled pork and sweet and tangy pickled red onions on a bed of fresh spinach – a wow worthy meal, for sure!

I started by making a double batch of homemade achiote paste {not by choice}. A pre-made paste was nowhere to be found, so I Googled my way through the Whole Foods aisles until I found annatto seeds {the red nuggets in the photo above} and a recipe that made sense.

I then purchased the rub ingredients from this recipe, but didn’t care much for the cooking instructions {or the review comments}, so this big hunk of pork and I went rogue in the kitchen.

After coating the 4 pound bone-in pork shoulder with the rub, I wrapped it tightly with plastic wrap and let it hang in the fridge for about 16 hours. I placed the pork in a slow cooker, poured 32 ounces of veggie broth around the sides {being careful not to wash the rub off the meat}, and placed a few quartered yellow onions around the pork. I let it cook on low heat for about 8 hours {until the meat pulled away easily from the bone} and then used two forks to to shred the meat.

After the meat was prepared, assembling the salad was super easy: baby spinach, pickled red onions, pulled pork. And the best part about this salad? The pork provided fat and the pickled onions provided acid, so the addition of salad dressing was unnecessary.

« Previous Page