Rendering Animal Fat (Lard, Tallow)

RENDERED ANIMAL FAT
lard or tallow

Place lard or tallow (suet) in a pot.  Melt on medium heat.  Cook on medium heat 1-3 hours or until small pieces of meat are extremely brown beyond being edible.  Pour hot oil into jars.  Wipe jar mouth immediately and place canning lid on jar (if any fat residue remains between the glass and the canning lid it will not seal).  The jars of fat will self-seal if placed on the counter.  I place a towel on the counter and the jars on the towel.  Following the same protocol as regular canning there shouldn't be any cool are directed at the jars. Any jars that don't seal can be put in the refrigerator for an indefinate amount of time until used.  After a jar has been opened for use it should be returned to the refrigerator until it's consumed.

Brown Rice Porridge (Cream of "Wheat")

BROWN RICE PORRIDGE
1 heaping cup brown rice flour (I make my own brown rice flour with organic short grain brown rice run through a grain mill)
4 cups water or chicken stock
3/4 teaspoon real salt
Optional:
coconut oil (or animal fat, ghee, butter, etc.)
sweetener of choice (our favorites are raw honey, dehydrated cane juice, or applesauce)
cinnamon
powdered ginger (aids in digestion, but a pinch goes a long way)

Heat water or stock to boiling.  Slowly whisk in brown rice flour (the slower the flour is added the more silky smooth your cereal will be, the faster it's added, the lumpier your cereal will be).  Add salt.  Cook for 10-15 minutes on medium heat or until cereal is thick.  Add optional fats (too much fats can make the cereal runny), sweetener of choice (too much honey or applesauce can also make the cereal runny), cinnamon, and ginger.  Enjoy!

Chicken and Beef Stock

STOCK
2 whole chickens with gizzards, etc., thawed, rinsed OR
6 lbs. beef knuckle and marrow bones
1 jumbo onion, peeled and cut into eighths
2-4 carrots, washed, peeled and ends trimmed
2-4 celery ribs, washed and ends trimmed (if they're fresh and clean you can include ends)
10 cloves garlic, peeled and ends trimmed
water

Dump all ingredients into 20 quart stainless steel stock pot.  Fill to the top with water.  Bring to a boil.

(SKIP FOLLOWING IF MAKING BEEF STOCK)
Boil chicken until meat is tender (approximately one hour).  Remove from stock pot and remove meat from bones.  Divide meat into 14 sandwich bags.  Place sandwich bags filled with chicken meat into a gallon size freezer bag.  Return bones, skin, innards and everything not in sandwich bags to the stock pot.

(FOR CHICKEN AND BEEF STOCK BOTH)
Cook at a slow boil for 24-72 hours.  Remove bones and gristle only.  To increase nutrition, break open marrow bones and add marrow back to stock pot.  Blend skin, fat, and vegetables (remove celery before blending if in GAPS Introduction Diet Stage 1).  Add blended skin, fat, and vegetables to stock pot and stir.  Fill quart size freezer bags with stock. Lay filled freezer bags flat on a cookie sheet to freeze.  When frozen they'll stack better.

To thaw:  Place frozen quart ziploc bag of stock in a bowl.  Cover bag with HOT water until bag can be easily removed.  Place partially frozen stock into pot and pour any already thawed stock in also.  Squeeze stock fat from the ziploc back into the pot. Turn on low heat until stock is thawed.
OR:
Place frozen stock in bag in a container in the refrigerator over night.

"Soup"er Creamy Chicken Goodness- GAPS Style

"Soup"er Creamy Chicken Goodness- GAPS Style

 

I actually made this soup by accident.  I was trying to make a healthier version of a delicious soup I recently tried, and came up with something completely different, but totally delicious in it's own right.  I love creative 'disasters.'

 

 

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup onion, finely diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup celery, finely diced

4 tablespoons almond flour (or use blender and blend raw almonds)

2 cups zucchini, finely shredded (or other summer squash)

2-4 cups chicken stock (less for creamier soup, more for brothier soup)

1 cup carrots, finely shredded (when I make this soup again, I'll double shred the zucchini and carrots through my salad shooter)

1 cup chicken meat, cooked and diced

2 cups yogurt

1 cup fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon parsley

 

Saute the onion, garlic, and celery in butter over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent.  Add the almond flour.  Let the butter and flour mixture cook for about 1 minute.  Slowly add chicken stock.  Add carrots, zucchini, and chicken.  Once the mixture thickens, add the spinach and seasonings,  Simmer until soup is heated through.  Remove from heat and stir in yogurt.  Salt to taste.  Serve and ENJOY!

GAP Style Cafe Rios Chicken Tortilla Soup

The "Soup" requires about 10 minutes of prep, and 2-3 hours to cook in your crock pot, so it requires a little planning.  Even though there are tons of ingredients and steps, it's worthwhile and actually very simple!  Make sure you have home made chicken stock and chicken meat from making your chicken stock before starting.  Otherwise this simple meal could easily become time consuming.

Soup
1 T. animal fat or butter
1 onion, diced (approximately 1 cup)
1/2 t. cumin
dash cayenne
1/2 t. chili powder
5 cups chicken stock
3 T. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lime
pepper, to taste

Saute onion in butter in a small skillet, until onions are translucent.  Stir in cumin, cayenne, chili powder, and saute an additional minute or two (I had to add a tablespoon of chicken stock to keep it from sticking).

Transfer seasoned onions to a small crock pot.  Add chicken stock, fresh cilantro, lime juice, and pepper to taste.  Simmer on high heat for 2-3 hours.

Salsa
6 Roma tomatoes
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 T. jalapeno, minced
2-3 T. lime juice
1/2 t. salt

Mix all ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate while soup is cooking.

When close to serving your soup, make the "Rice" and "Chicken."

Cauliflower "Rice"
3 c. cauliflower pieces
3 T. butter
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 c. water for saucepan cook method

Cook cauliflower (steam or stove top method), until cauliflower is VERY soft (14-20 min).  It should crumble easily.  Drain water or remove from steamer.  Add butter, salt, and pepper to taste.  Dice fine.  Set aside.

Chicken
3 c. COOKED chicken, diced or shredded
2 t. chili powder
1/4 t. cumin
2 t. onion powder
1/4 t. garlic powder
1 t. salt
1 T. paprika

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan just until warm (approximately 5-10 minutes). You may need to add a tablespoon of chicken stock or water to keep the chicken and spices from sticking to the pan.

Garnishments (optional)
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2-3 avocados, cubed
fresh cilantro, chopped
lime wedges

In individual bowls layer 1/2 c. cauliflower, 1/2 c. chicken, 1/3 c. salsa, 1/3 c. diced avocado (optional), 1/3 c. cheddar cheese (optional).  Ladle 1 cup of soup over layers.  Finish garnishing as desired.  ENJOY!