Pork Lettuce Wraps with Sriracha Mayo & Heirloom Tomatoes

An original creation by Sam! I gotta say, one of the best things about eating meat again is that Sam is super motivated to cook all the time, it’s amazing. He came up with these just by rooting around the fridge and throwing some things together with the leftovers from our Fresh Ham Roast. We’ve had them several times since and I haven’t changed a thing, which is rare!

Directions

1. Thaw some frozen leftovers from the Fresh Ham Roast (or any pork roast) in the fridge overnight.
2. Cut into small pieces and put in a microwave-safe bowl. If you have saved juices from the roast, pour some of the juice over the pork. Microwave for 30 sec to 1 min, until warmed through but not hot.
3. Use a piece of romaine, butter lettuce, iceberg, etc. Wash and pat dry, then lay on a plate.
4. Fill with however much pork you want! Make sure to get plenty of the amazing marinade.
5. Top with sliced red onion and wedges of baby heirloom tomato. Any tomatoes would work fine, but we love the extra flavor of the heirloom tomatoes from Trader Joes.
6. In a small bowl, mix 1 part Sriracha with 1 part mayo. We go a little heavy on the Sriracha.
7. Drizzle the sauce over the wrap and enjoy!

Fresh Ham Roast

This was so good that it will be hard to venture out and try a different marinade for the next roast. This was the kind of roast where you walk in the house and your knees buckle a little just from the amazing smell. After the incredible first meal, Sam carved it and we froze it in a few different serving sizes. Between the leftover meat, the juice, and the fat, I think we used this one roast for probably five more recipes! I’m kind of salivating just thinking about it. Might be time to get another one of these going…

Ingredients

• 7-8 lb fresh ham
• 4 Tbsp dried rubbed sage
• 1 head garlic, peeled
• 2 Tbsp fennel seed
• 2 Tbsp asise seed
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1/3 cup maple syrup

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Combine sage, garlic, fennel, anise, thyme, salt and maple syrup in a blender or mini food processor. Blend until a thick puree forms.
3. Place ham on a roasting pan and smother all sides with the puree.
4. Insert a meat thermometer in the deepest part of the meat, but not against the bone.
5. Place in the oven and set the timer for 15 minutes.  When the timer goes off, turn the oven down to 300F.  Continue cooking for about 2 more hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°.
6. Remove from oven and let it rest 5-10 minutes before you cut into it.  Enjoy!

Recipe credit: thepaleomom.com

Banana Pancakes

This recipe is the result of a couple years of tweaking. I didn’t like how almond meal pancakes always turned out so dense and I wanted these to be as “normal” as possible. I’ve finally reached a consistent result that I’m really happy with! The batter consistency is exactly what I’m used to in homemade wheat pancakes and they cook up beautifully on a griddle. Of course the main draw is that you get a delicious pancake breakfast that is full of healthy protein-y goodness! They’ll never be as fluffy as buttermilk pancakes, but apples and oranges, right? Or apples and bananas, I suppose 🙂

Ingredients 

• 2 ripe bananas
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 3/4 cup almond meal
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Mash bananas in a mixing bowl. If you are using frozen ripe bananas, thaw completely and mash.
2. Mix in the eggs, vanilla, and almond butter.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients: almond meal, cinnamon, cloves, baking powder, and salt. Sometimes I use a sifter for the spices and baking powder to make sure there are no clumps.
4. Mix dry ingredients in to the wet ingredients.
5. Heat a pan over medium heat, or heat a griddle to 325°. You want to be able to cook the pancakes for a few minutes on both sides so they get done all the way through. The natural sugars in banana cause these pancakes to get darker than usual, and they can burn easily if the heat is too high.
6. Grease pan with a little butter, olive oil, or coconut oil, and pancake away!
7. Serve hot. I highly recommend a little grass-fed butter, some Grade B maple syrup, and a sprinkle of sea salt over the top.

Sweet Potato Jalapeño Biscuits & Coconut Sausage Gravy

Our half-of-a-pig delivery came with some delicious breakfast sausage and Sam found a recipe for biscuits and gravy immediately. He has made this a couple times now and it is our new go-to breakfast recipe for when we have guests. Rave reviews so far! The combination is just decadent, it is hard to believe that it is so healthy. The kick of the fresh jalapeño is the perfect compliment to the sweet biscuits and gravy.

This was another amazing find from PaleOMG.com. Now that we are eating pork and beef, our Google searches always include the keywords “paleo” or “paleomg.” We have yet to not absolutely love one of her recipes.

Biscuit Ingredients

• 1-2 sweet potatoes (about 2 cups mashed)
• 3 eggs, whisked
• 3 Tbsp coconut flour
• 4-5 shrimp, cooked, diced small (optional)
• 3 Tbsp bacon fat or butter, melted
• 1 jalapeño, thinly diced
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• fresh ground salt and pepper, to taste

Biscuit Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Pork holes in your sweet potato with a fork and wrap in a damp paper towl. Microwave for 8 minutes, turn over, and microwave for 4 minutes or until completely cooked.
3. Peel sweet potato, place in a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher.
4. Add the eggs and mix well with the mashed sweet potato. Then add in the bacon fat or butter and mix well.
5. Add your dry ingredients: coconut flour, baking powder, garlic powder, and salt and pepper. I sift in the coconut flour as it tends to clump. Mix well.
6. Finally add your diced cooked shrimp (optional) and jalapeños. Mix well.
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop biscuits on the sheet. Use an ice cream scoop or a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Try to make them all equal in size so they cook the same.
8. Place in oven and bake for 22-27 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let rest for five minutes.

While those bad boys are baking, whip up your delicious gravy!

Gravy Ingredients

• 1 (14 ounce) can of coconut milk
• 1 pound pork breakfast sausage
• 3 Tbsp coconut flour (or arrowroot powder)
• ½ tsp dried parsley
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp dried sage
• ⅛ tsp smoke paprika
• salt and pepper, to taste

Gravy Directions

1. Preheat a cast iron pan. Add the breakfast sausage to the pan and cook until you no longer see any pink, breaking up the sausage as it cooks.
2. Once meat is cooked through, remove with slotted spoon and set to the side.
3. Pour the coconut milk into the pan and whisk for a minute while it heats up.
4. Slowly add in the coconut powder, whisking constantly to break up lumps, until the gravy has your desired consistency.
5. Whisk in the parsley, garlic powder, sage, smoked paprika and salt and pepper. Mix well.
6. Add breakfast sausage back in. Taste and salt and pepper as needed.
7. Plate two biscuits and smother in a generous scoop of gravy. Grind a little fresh pepper over the top and sprinkle with parsley for a splash of color!

For my vegan/vegetarian friends, I’ve made the gravy with Morningstar breakfast sausage and it turned out great! And also for my vegan friends, obviously the gravy can be used with any vegan biscuits, and I also found this recipe for Vegan Sweet Potato Biscuits that looks pretty promising. If you try it (or a different one), let me know how they turn out!

Recipe credit: PaleOMG.com

Swedish Pancakes

Time to throw your diet out the window. Swedish pancakes are one of those magical foods that you can go on eating forever. They are crispy and buttery on the edges, and the insides are just pillows of crepe-like goodness. You can top them with anything delicious and they are even awesome to watch while they bake.

My dad made these for our family while I was growing up, and I think they must be one of the most beloved of our childhood dining memories. Imagine waking up on a Saturday morning, you realize you don’t have to go to school, Saturday morning cartoons await you. Suddenly you think you hear something…yes! The sound of John Phillip Sousa marches drifts up from the kitchen, and you know. It’s pancake day. The anticipation of Swedish pancakes is the only thing you can think about and your tummy starts to grumble before you’re even fully conscious. Who even cares that this is the day we get to dig the television out of the basement and watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? (Just kidding, we cared a lot.)

Not my photo – I need to find one of the several that I’ve taken over the years!

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Spray a 9×13 pan VERY well with cooking or olive oil spray.
2. Mix first three ingredients on high in a blender for at least a minute, until fluffy.
3. Slowly add the salt and flour while while mixing.
4. Add the butter while mixing. You don’t want the hot butter to cook the batter at all, so make sure the butter has cooled for a bit (I put it in the freezer for a few minutes after I melt it) and that you pour it in VERY slowly.
5. Pour pancake batter over a spatula or spoon into the pan so that the oil/spray isn’t disturbed too much.
6. Bake for 25 minutes. Make sure there is enough room above the pan – the pancakes will become very puffy!
7. Loosen with a spatula and dump upside-down on to a cutting board. Cut into squares.
8. Serve hot with butter, syrup, jam, fruit, whipped cream, honey, whatever!