The Best Chili, Ever.

How good is this chili? Well, I made a large crockpot FULL, and ate two small bowls before running out to my painting class. When I came home, there was a medium plastic container of chili left, and a dirty crockpot. Which was quickly washed by the man who ate three large bowls of chili. I think we're strategizing over who gets to the leftovers for lunch first.

I think this combines the best of traditional red/tomatoey/beef chili with one of my favorite dishes, Chile Verde. There's beef, pork, tomatoes AND green chiles. Yum.

Mom's Best (Paleo) Chili

1 lb ground beef, browned
2 lbs boneless pork country-style ribs, cut in 1" pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
red (or yellow or green) bell pepper, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
carrots, chopped or shredded (I used pre-shredded carrots that I chopped up)
4 smallish yams, peeled and chopped
1 can stewed tomatoes, chopped
1 can Rotel Original tomatoes with chiles (small can)
1 can (16 oz) tomato sauce
2 cups water
2 tbsp (or to taste) chile powder

Brown meats separately, add to large crockpot. Saute vegetables in some olive oil until softened and add to crockpot. Add remaining ingredients, cover and cook on high 4-5 hours, or on low 8-10 hours. Probably would be best if refrigerated overnight, but no chance of that in our house.

It was delicious with some chopped avocado. Mmmmmm.

Adjust vegetables to contents of your refrigerator, but this is a good combination. Hil, you can leave out the mushrooms. I was going to add some chopped kale, but never got around to it. Maybe next time. Feel free to add beans if that's up your alley.

Paleo Chicken-Potato Salad

Let's ignore the name of this recipe, it was actually most of the contents of my fridge thrown in a bowl with some Paleo mayo.

First, Paleo Mayo. Make it. Everything that Melissa tells you to do, do it--really slowly. It took me like twice as long as she said to stream in the olive oil because I was scared I was doing it too fast. But my mayo turned out perfectly and I was stoked so, worth it? Yes.

Then comes Sweet Potato Chicken Salad. I found that recipe on my Pinterest from a long time ago, and it served as my inspiration. This recipe could make a lot of food or just one serving, depending on the amounts of each ingredient. Of course, I made way more than I planned but it was great leftover, so no problems there. Naturally, add more potatoes/chicken/veggies/mayo than listed below if you're making a bigger batch.

Paleo Mayo
Sweet potatoes (1-2 depending on how much other stuff you have)
Cooked chicken breasts (1-2 depending on how much other stuff you have)
Raw carrots, celery, snap peas, bell peppers, any other veggies you might have...
Dill
Garlic Powder
Salt+pepper
TJ's Everyday Seasoning and/or Lemon Pepper
Olive Oil



So, cube your sweet potato(es) and roast those the way you want (oil + s/p at 425 until tender). My chicken was already cooked, so I diced that. I chopped some carrots, celery, snap peas, bell peppers, who knows what else (it's been a month or so since I actually did this). Basically, any veggies you want would work in here. Once the potatoes are done and cooled, add those with all your chopped veggies/chicken in a mixing bowl. Plop a couple spoonfuls of mayo and start mixing (but don't mash the potatoes). Add more mayo, depending on the amount of veggies and chicken. You could also drizzle some olive oil in with the mayo to thin it out a bit. Then add seasonings: garlic powder and dill, salt and pepper, TJ's Everyday Seasoning if you'd like. Mix it up and eat it all.

Paleo Pizza

I actually followed this recipe for pizza crust and it turned out a little flat-bread-y, but it still worked for a pizza. It could probably be really good for sandwich bread too...

Paleo Pizza Crust from Caveman Strong

3 eggs
1 garlic clove- crushed
2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease it with coconut oil.
Beat eggs and milk together with both garlics. Add the coconut flour and baking soda and mix/whisk until smooth. Let it sit for a minute to thicken. Pour onto greased parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes.

From here, I flipped the crust over, added some cheese (shhh, I know it's not Paleo), cooked ground chicken sausage, leftover sliced Brussels sprouts, roasted bell peppers, and some more cheese (shredded cheese would have been easier than slices). I was just pulling things out of the fridge and throwing them on there, so this could be any kind of pizza, depending on what you have. I stuck it under my broiler for 5 minutes, then drizzled Trader Joe's Balsamic Glaze (buy this, just do it) with some olive oil over the top.

Since the crust was soft, it wasn't easy to pick up and eat, so I ate most of it with a fork and knife. I had enough for dinner with leftovers for lunch and a piece or two to spare.