GAPS Stuffed Bell Peppers

I have to say that most of my meals are not mine from my imagination alone.  They are usually a compilation of recipes or inspired by original recipes that I once loved but aren't the healthiest.  This one is fairly close to the original recipe specifically published for the GAPS diet in 'Internal Bliss', but with a variation I saw on the LWN by Kary Osmond.  It made a huge difference to add the bay leaves!

GAPS Stuffed Bell Peppers

5-6 Bell Peppers (red is best... green is a little too pepper-ish, and the orange and yellow are a little too bland)
2 T. butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 lb. ground beef or ground elk
4 cloves garlic, finely diced
2 t. cumin
2 t. oregano
1/2 t. salt
chopped cilantro (I like about a 1/4 c.)
1 c. meat broth
2 bay leaves
1 tomato, sliced
optional: shredded cheese


Melt butter in a large skillet.  Saute the onion on low heat for about 5 minutes.  Add the seasonings and crushed garlic, and stir.  Add the meat and saute until meat is browned.  Turn the heat off and mix in the chopped cilantro.  Adjust seasonings if desired.

Heat oven to 350 degrees if using a glass baking dish (read further for crock pot instructions).  Wash peppers.  Cut tops off and remove the pith and seeds.  Place in a glass baking dish or slow cook crock pot in a single layer on the bottom, cut sides up.  Fill each pepper with ground beef filling and return pepper top to each pepper.  Pour broth around the peppers.  Tuck the bay leaves between peppers in the broth.

If baking in a glass dish, cover with a lid or aluminum foil (making sure the foil isn't touching the peppers), and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes or until peppers are tender.  When done, remove pepper tops and place one slice tomato and cheese on each pepper.  Return to oven and bake a few more minutes until cheese is melted.

If using a crock pot, cover with lid and cook on LOW 2-3 hours or until peppers are tender (I've let them cook 5 hours out of necessity and they're a little over done, but still delicious).

Ground Beef & Lentil Tacos

Who doesn't love Mexican food?  Mexican is pretty 'whole' already, so revising it to be GAPS and digestion friendly isn't very hard if you make it yourself.  Below is our version of tacos.

Tacos
1 c. lentils
1 quart chicken or beef stock
2 garlic coves, crushed
1/2 t. salt
1 lb. ground beef or ground elk
3 T. homemade taco seasoning
Romaine lettuce, washed
Optional toppings: Shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, diced onion, shredded cheese, homemade salsa

Homemade Taco Seasoning
1 c. minced dried onions
1/2 c. chili powder
1/4 c. garlic powder
1/4 c . cumin
2 T. oregano
2 T. salt
3 1/2 T. paprika

Homemade Salsa (revised from a Betty Crocker cookbook)
6 Roma tomatoes
1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1/2 c.)
1/4 c. yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
1 T. finely chopped seeded jalapeno
3 T. lime juice (juice from one large lime or two small)
1/2 t. real salt

Rinse lentils.  Pour stock, garlic cloves, salt, and lentils into a medium stock pot.  Simmer for 45-60 minutes, or until lentils are tender.  Cool slightly.  Puree in blender for a 'refried-bean-like' texture.

While lentils are cooking, make salsa (combine all salsa ingredients) and refrigerate.

After salsa is made and while lentils are still cooking, brown ground beef with 3 T. homemade taco seasoning.  Prepare any optional toppings.

Spread pureed lentils down core of a Romaine lettuce leaf.  Spoon ground meat over lentils.  Add any optional toppings.  roll the Romaine lettuce leaf or fold together taco-style.

A less hands-on version is to serve the lentils, meat, and toppings over a bed of torn lettuce for a taco salad.  Enjoy!

Simple Chicken 3 Ways

The Rosemary Chicken version was shared with me by my sister quite a while ago and was the basis for the other two.  I believe the original recipe came from "Taste of Home" magazine but I've eliminated a few steps and don't seem to miss them.

Rosemary Chicken (my way)

2 full chicken breasts or 8 chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on has more flavor)
1/4 c. butter
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. rosemary, crushed
1/2 t. sage
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Arrange chicken in a 13"x 9" glass baking dish.  Slice butter into tablespoon portions and place sliced butter on chicken.  Sprinkle remaining ingredients evenly over chicken.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30-50 minutes, or until juices run clear.  If using chicken with the skin on and a crispy skin is desired, broil for 2 minutes or until desired crispness is obtained (watch closely to avoid burning).

Italian variation:
Omit rosemary and sage.  Add 1 t. dried basil.  Sprinkle with optional Parmesan cheese when chicken is removed from oven.

Seasoned variation:
Omit oregano, rosemary, and sage.  Sprinkle liberally with an unsalted seasoning of your choice (I love Costco's Kirkland brand Organic No-Salt Seasoning).

GAPS Shepherd's Pie (no milk, no potatoes, no canned soup)

I got the idea to make this Shepherd's Pie from The Holistic Squid.  I would have used her recipe except it had flour in the ingredients.  I made several versions of this trying for something that would thicken nicely without the flour.  They were all delicious, but once I found this recipe for Alfredo Sauce, and used it for the filling sauce, it stands alone in all its delicious glory!

GAPS Shepherd's Pie

6 T. butter, divided
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets (if you're able to have potatoes, you could sub mashed potatoes for the cauliflower and decrease the cost of this dish)
1 lb. ground beef or ground elk
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
1 c. green beans
1 c. peas
1 T. chopped parsley or 1 T. dried parsley
Salt & pepper to taste

Alfredo Sauce
1 c. raw cashews
1 c. water or coconut milk (I always use the water)
1 clove garlic
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 t. onion powder
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black ground pepper
optional: 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms or mushroom pieces

Soak cashews for 1 hour for the Alfredo sauce.  After cashews have soaked for 1 hour, place drained cashews and remaining Alfredo sauce ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Warm sauce in a double boiler on low or in a saucepan on VERY low.  This scalds easier than milk.  Stir continually for best results and least amount of scalding.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  In a large saucepan, cover the cauliflower florets (or potatoes) with water and boil until tender.  Drain cauliflower (or potatoes) and add 3 T. butter to cauliflower.  Using an immersible blender or hand beater, blend the cauliflower until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

While the cauliflower and Alfredo sauce are cooking, saute the onions, carrots, and green beans, with 3 T. butter until they begin to soften.  Add the ground meat to brown, breaking meat apart into small pieces. Add the peas and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add the Alfredo Sauce and remove from heat.

Divide the meat and vegetable mixture between two 9" pie plates.  Spoon the cauliflower mash (or mashed potatoes) over the meat and spread evenly.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.  Garnish with parsley and serve.

We love this dish served with a simple side salad and dressing.

Chinese Coleslaw Remade by the Little Sis

My sister brought this salad to a family get together and everyone LOVED it!  We loved the 'traditional' one with cabbage and Ramen noodles crushed over the top, but no one even missed the noodles when she made it this way.

The Dressing's Inside Story:

4 T. dehydrated cane juice or 3 T. raw local honey

2 t. real salt

4 T. Japanese rice vinegar

1/2 t. black pepper

1/2 c. olive oil

2 t. sesame oil

The Salad's Inside Story :

spinach

chopped green onions

slivered almonds

sesame seeds

optional: cooked chicken

She mentioned that she heated the honey to mix it better with the other dressing ingredients, and uses the optional cooked chicken to make a light meal instead of just a side (which I am so excited to try).

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.

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!