Paleo Pork Chops Pizzaiola

Hi!! Mallory made me laugh recently in the gym when she said, "When are you going to do another blog post, I haven't eaten since November 20th"! Haha!

Well, with the kick off of the CrossFit Open and some things settling down a bit in my personal life, I think it's time to get my blog back on! The Open is a great time to focus on health and fitness and dial in beneficial life habits. I, for one, am excited to workout and share a whiteboard with the big names in CrossFit. What other sport enables you to do that? Do I expect to get to regionals or the Games? Nope! But I DO expect to have a complete blast these next 5 weeks trying my hardest and sweating bullets with my fellow CrossFit friends! Let's have some fun! :-)

Recipe:

4-6 Pork Chops (1-1/2 inch thick), boneless and trimmed of fat

2 T olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 large shallots, chopped (about 3/4 C)

1 tsp. fennel seed

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp. dried oregano

sea salt and black pepper

1-6 oz. can tomato paste

1 C red wine (or substitute an additional cup chicken broth)

1 C chicken broth

Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the minced garlic and saute. Add the pork chop to the pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and garlic is caramelized. Remove the pork chops to plate and set aside. Add fennel, shallots, red pepper flakes and oregano. Reduce heat and cook until onions are tender and aromatic, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste, broth and wine. Stir until sauce is well combined. Place pork chops back in pan. Cover and cook on low for another 15 minutes. When the pork chops are done cooking, arrange them on a plate and pour extra sauce over the top! Enjoy. My son said the house smelled like pizza... I took that as high praise! :-)

Sides: I served this with sauteed red chard and roasted vegetables. But I think spaghetti squash would be great with a tossed green salad!

Paleo Bacon Coleslaw

I had SO much fun cooking tonight's dinner. If you can... make an evening out of it! Sip some wine and enjoy the process! ... Gourmet & Paleo!!! Enjoy! :-)

Recipe:

1 head cabbage, cored and thinly sliced

OR you can cheat and buy a bag of pre-shredded cabbage w/ carrots! :-)

1 carrot, shredded

1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced

6 strips bacon, cut into 1" pieces

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T honey

1/2 C apple cider vinegar

1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil

Pinch sea salt & pepper

Combine cabbage, onion and carrot in a large bowl and set aside. Cook bacon pieces over medium heat until throughly browned and crisp, about 10-12 minutes. Transfer bacon to a dish lined with paper towels... to drain. Set aside. Reserve bacon grease for later. Combine mustard, honey, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add about 2 tablespoons bacon grease and all but 2 tablespoons bacon. Mix well and pour over cole slaw. Sprinkle remaining 2 T bacon over slaw and serve!

I used whatever remaining bacon grease for the sweet potatoes side! Use 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed, add to a baking dish. Saute 4 cloves minced garlic in the bacon fat. Do not let the garlic burn! Add about 2 T fresh rosemary (chopped finely) and continue to saute slightly and quickly. Pour mixture over chopped sweet potatoes. Toss well and bake for about 40 minutes at 350 degrees!

I served both these delicious sides with an old recipe favorite: "Bacon Wrapped Pork Chops with Rosemary"! Everything complimented each other nicely! Yum.

Paleo Italian Pork Chops

I was SO proud that I remembered to take out some pork chops from the freezer (totally last minute) as I was running out the door this morning, but I had absolutely NO idea what I was going to do with them when I got home! In fact, throughout the entire day, a pork chop dinner never once again crossed my mind! Woops... so when I did get home I frantically investigated the pantry and refrigerator for ideas! Based on available ingredients (and personal cravings) I came up with an Italian-style pork chop recipe and it was really GOOD! ... And proof that you can have an unplanned (scour-the-pantry-for-ideas-type-dinner) with utter delicious successfulness! As long as the meat is thawed, anything is possible. Hope you enjoy! :-)

Recipe:

6 pork chops

3 eggs, lightly beaten

~3 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

14.5 oz can dice tomatoes

3.8 oz can sliced ripe black olives

3/4 C chicken broth

1-1/4 C almond meal

Spices:

3 T dried parsley flakes

1 T Italian seasoning

2 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. paprika

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a shallow bowl, lightly beat eggs together. In a separate shallow bowl, combine almond meal and all listed spices. In a large skillet (I used a cast iron) heat olive oil over medium heat. Trim pork chops of visible fat (if desired) and dip each chop into he egg mixture, then into the almond/spice mixture (coating evenly). Place coated pork chop in the skillet and brown for about 5-7 minutes on each side (until it's nice and brown and crispy). Place pork chops in a baking dish, set aside. Add minced garlic to skillet and saute until tender (add a tad more olive oil if needed). Deglaze the sauté pan with chicken broth. Add canned tomatoes and canned black olives. Stir well and bring sauce to a low boil. Pour sauce over the pork chops and place in the oven, uncovered. Cook for about 25-30 minutes.

Apple and Onion-Stuffed Pork Chops

As a kid, I really didn't like pork chops much... I always remember them being dry and chewy! As an adult, I have come to really enjoy them! And as a Paleo enthusiast... I love their versatility in a recipe! Tonight's dinner was one I found on the Food Network (and made only minor changes). We completely enjoyed this (even the kiddos)... So, I give this a "highly recommend" rating.

Now, if we could only figure out who gets the (1) leftover chop for lunch tomorrow?!?

... Ro Sham Bo?

Recipe:

4 boneless pork chops, about 1 inch thick

2 slices bacon, roughly chopped

1 large sweet onion

1 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and thinly diced

olive oil

2 T pineapple juice & 6 oz pineapple juice

1 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. ground sage

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

ground black pepper

pinch sea salt

1 T fresh parsley

1 T fresh lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Gently cut a pocket horizontally in the side of the pork chop. Season the outside of the chops with some freshly ground black pepper and sea salt. In a skillet over medium heat, saute the bacon. When it starts to crisp, add the onions, thyme and sage. Cook until onions start to caramelize (about 10 minutes). Pour mixture in a bowl. Add apples and 2 T pineapple juice to the bowl and mix well. Stuff each pork chop with the mixture and secure the opening with toothpicks (there will be leftover filling). In the same skillet, add olive oil to coat pan and heat to medium-high heat. Sear the pork chops on both sides until golden brown. Transfer to a baking dish, and bake for 20-25 minutes. While pork chops are cooking, add pineapple juice to skillet and deglaze pan. Bring the liquid to a simmer and cook until it reduces (about 5 minutes). Add leftover apple, onion and bacon mixture to skillet. Add lemon zest and fresh parsley. Pour sauce over the pork chops and serve! YUM! :-)